Chapter Twenty-One: The Gift of a Blade

"I see. Thank you for the clarification, Brother Wang. If you hadn't warned me, I might have truly found myself in danger."

Xiao Jie was not just being polite. These were hard-won lessons paid for with the lives of his predecessors; in games, experience is often accumulated through the trial and error of players' deaths. Clearing a dungeon might require wiping out dozens or hundreds of times, but in those games, death was merely a waste of time—hardly a heavy price to pay.

In the game of the Old Lands, however, every bit of experience was purchased with real life. To call them "bloody lessons" was no exaggeration. Thus, Xiao Jie's tone was exceptionally sincere.

"Haha, think nothing of it. We’re all players from the same village; we have to look out for one another, right?"

As their conversation ended, "I Want to Become an Immortal," who had been listening in, chimed in. "Brother Suifeng, thank you for what happened yesterday."

"Don't thank me. Thank Brother Wang here; it was his money, after all."

"No, I certainly have to thank Brother Wang, but it’s also a fact that you saved me. Regardless of your reasons, a life-saving grace is a life-saving grace. It’s like how police officers are paid for their work, but if I were in real danger and received help from an officer, I’d still show my gratitude, wouldn't I?"

Xiao Jie thought to himself that this kid was actually quite reasonable, and his perception of the reckless fellow improved slightly.

"Heh, no need to be so formal. Just try to be less reckless in the future, and that will be worth more than anything. After all, you only have one life in this game; there aren't many chances for a do-over, and not everyone will be there to save you every time."

"I understand, Brother Suifeng. I was too confident before. Yesterday’s incident was a lesson for me. Oh, right, Brother Suifeng, take this as a token of my appreciation."

As he spoke, he opened the trade window. A blade appeared within—a Goose-Quill Saber!

Xiao Jie was surprised. This item was worth thirty thousand credits. He hadn't expected the kid to be so thoughtful; he must have bought it specifically for him. Seeing him chatting with Wang Kai earlier, that must have been when he was purchasing the blade.

Of course, thirty thousand was nothing compared to a life, but in this society, there were far too many stories of people returning kindness with ingratitude. There were endless news reports of people being extorted after helping the elderly, or of those who risked their lives to save drowning children ending up in the hospital only to be abandoned by those they saved. There were even hikers who, after being rescued, told the search-and-rescue team that it was their duty and no thanks were needed...

Having seen too many of these infuriating headlines, Xiao Jie had grown quite cynical about human nature. Facing the heartfelt gratitude of "I Want to Become an Immortal," he felt genuinely taken aback.

He wasn't one for false modesty, though. Since the other party had the heart to give it, there was no need to decline. "Alright, I won't stand on ceremony with you then. I’ll accept it." He clicked the confirm button.

Xiao Jie looked at the Goose-Quill Saber in his inventory and immediately equipped it. He felt very satisfied with the fine blade in his hand. Although he had lost his leather armor, having this weapon made a world of difference; if a fight were to break out, he felt much more confident.

"Brother Suifeng, I have one more presumptuous request. Would it be possible to take you as my master? I think your gameplay is exceptional, and if I could learn a thing or two, I might be able to go further."

"Let's skip the master-apprentice stuff. It's just a game; we can exchange experiences, but there's no need for that. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. If I know the answer, I won't hold back."

Information is something that must be shared to grow. Just as Wang Kai hadn't hoarded information about the Night Ghosts, Xiao Jie didn't consider his own bit of experience to be some great secret. Most importantly, in an online game, having more friends meant having more paths forward. Especially in this "death game," the importance of teammates was unquestionable. If he wanted to clear dungeons and take down bosses in the future, he couldn't rely on himself alone; he needed to build a reliable team. Xiao Jie was used to being a guild leader, and naturally, he was already considering forming a faction. However, the number of players in this game was small, and since these were the two he knew, it was only natural to build a positive relationship.

Hearing this, "I Want to Become an Immortal" was straightforward. "Brother Suifeng, can I ask how you learned that combat skill?"

Xiao Jie chuckled inwardly. So that’s what he was waiting for. He didn't mind, though, as the question was asked politely. He remembered that one could pay the militia captain to learn combat skills, provided they had the prerequisite weapon skills. It was incredibly expensive—too expensive for him—but this kid looked like he wasn't short on cash, so it was worth a shot.

"You can't learn my combat skill. If you want to learn combat skills, go to the militia captain. He has a few entry-level ones you can pay to learn."

He wasn't just brushing him off. There was a difference between "comprehended" skills and "enlightened" skills. A skill like [Blade Weapon Mastery] could likely be learned by anyone who chopped wood for long enough, but a skill like "Split in Two" probably couldn't be learned without the "Enlightenment" buff, no matter how hard one tried. Furthermore, Xiao Jie highly suspected that even with the buff, the enlightened skills might differ.

"I went to the militia captain," said "I Want to Become an Immortal," "but he said my aptitude wasn't good enough and refused to teach me."

Xiao Jie explained, "To learn combat skills, you first need the corresponding weapon skill. That 'insufficient aptitude' he mentioned likely refers to that. NPCs in this game don't usually spell things out clearly, so you must learn to interpret the real information behind their words. When they say your aptitude is poor, your talent is lacking, or your strength is insufficient, they are usually talking about prerequisites, character attributes, or class levels."

"Then how do I learn weapon skills?"

"By doing chores. Different jobs correspond to different weapon skills. For example, I comprehended Blade Weapon Mastery by chopping wood. Following that logic, if you want to learn the blade, go chop wood; if you want the axe, go fell trees; if you want the hammer, go to the blacksmith. I can't say for sure what exactly you’ll comprehend—I’ve only been playing for a day—but this is my deduction based on current information. It might not be one hundred percent accurate, but it shouldn't be far off."

Hearing this, "I Want to Become an Immortal" was visibly excited. "Thanks a lot, Brother Suifeng! I’m going to go find a job then. Can I come back to ask you if I run into trouble?"

"Sure, no problem."

Watching "I Want to Become an Immortal" dash off toward the woodshop, Xiao Jie thought he shouldn't waste time either. He bid farewell to Wang Kai and started his own work for the day.

His "Enlightenment" buff only lasted seven days; he had to make the most of it. If he played his cards right, it would be enough to build a significant advantage in the early game. The basic combat skills taught by the militia captain were clearly inferior to his "Split in Two." If he played it well, he could surely comprehend even more powerful skills.

However, he had to carefully consider which job to take and which development path to follow. There were many chores in the village, and each likely led to a different skill, but with only six days left, he had to make choices.

To ensure he chose the optimal path, Xiao Jie didn't rush to work. Instead, he wandered around the village, asking everyone he met if they had work, recording every trigger in his notebook. After spending the entire morning roaming, he had triggered over a dozen chores. He summarized them all, ready to give it some serious thought.