No, Bro?

After several more unlucky Mudflat Mermen turned to ash,

Li Miao looked once more at Poetry and the Distance, the newbie.

"That should be about enough. Next, let's try some real combat. You give it a shot, and I'll watch over you from nearby."

Li Miao said.

Yuanfang nodded. Then, under Li Miao's gaze, he picked up a stone, aimed for two seconds, and threw it at a Mudflat Merman.

It looked a little off. It probably wouldn't hit...

Li Miao shook his head inwardly. Throwing stones to pull mobs wasn't exactly easy. He had thrown plenty back then before he developed any accuracy.

However, something he never expected happened.

Just as the stone, which had been flying behind its target, was about to miss, the wandering Fishman ahead suddenly paused, then turned and took a step.

It caught the stone perfectly.

That hit?

Yuanfang was pretty lucky... Li Miao could not help but think.

But he quickly turned his attention to the enraged Mudflat Merman lunging at them.

"Watch your Dodge! If it knocks you down, you won't be able to take more than a few hits!"

Seeing that Yuanfang had yet to move, Li Miao could not help but warn him.

The vicious Mudflat Merman drew closer and closer.

Li Miao instinctively raised his blade, ready to step in.

Yet in the next instant, he froze in place.

Yuanfang did not Dodge.

Facing the Mudflat Merman now right before him, his gaze was incomparably calm, as though he had rehearsed everything in his mind countless times.

The next moment, he pushed off with the ball of his front foot and slightly turned his body, directly avoiding the Mudflat Merman's pounce!

And that was not all!

Under Li Miao's stunned gaze, Yuanfang raised the dagger he had long been holding in reserve with his backhand and drove it precisely into the Mudflat Merman's neck!

With a squelch, the Fishman was still struggling.

Seeing this, Yuanfang frowned slightly and twisted his wrist, violently widening the wound.

This seemed to be the only thing he had not anticipated.

[You have slain a Mudflat Merman]

[Obtained: Wax Oil ×1]

It seems the dagger's lightness comes at the cost of reduced lethality...

With that thought flashing through his mind, Yuanfang picked up the Wax Oil.

By then, Li Miao was already dumbfounded.

"..."

Li Miao: =()

Li Miao stared wide-eyed, utterly unable to believe what he had just seen.

"W... T... F!!!"

No, bro?!

This was your first real fight?

You called this newbie-level?

My first real fight nearly got me torn into Wax Ash by a Fishman, and in yours, you treated the thing like a toy?

Thinking of that, Li Miao felt deeply crushed, as if someone had stabbed him in the heart.

"Yuanfang, are you... really a newbie?"

Li Miao could not help asking cautiously.

"Yeah. Why?" Yuanfang glanced at him in confusion.

Li Miao's mouth twitched. "Leaving aside that sidestep Dodge of yours, the way you stabbed its neck looked more practiced than the uncle next door who's been slaughtering pigs for over a decade..."

If you were a newbie, then what was he? A useless piece of trash that could talk?

Hearing that, Yuanfang seemed to realize that his performance might indeed have been somewhat unusual. He seriously offered a possible explanation. "I was carefully watching you fight just now and learning from it."

"And I've been fairly bold since I was young. Plus, I suppose I got lucky. I succeeded on my first try."

After hearing Yuanfang's explanation,

the shock in Li Miao's heart eased somewhat... my ass!

Who became an expert just by watching someone else fight?

Take the simplest example: some video creators made their moves look smooth, easy, and cool. You watched the video and thought you had learned it too, but when you actually tried it...

Eyes: I've got it. Brain: Me too.

Body: If you've got it, then you do it!

Li Miao was not an idiot. He knew that much common sense.

"Are you one of the game's internal staff?"

Or... did you often do this sort of thing in real life...

Li Miao's heart tightened as he probed.

Realizing his analysis might not be something Li Miao could understand, Yuanfang shook his head and put it another way. "Perhaps you could say I have a little talent in this area."

Li Miao thought about it and immediately recalled Yuanfang's [Diligence] talent. There might really have been some connection.

Of course, Yuanfang's own talent definitely could not be overlooked either.

"Your talent is really... terrifying."

Though Li Miao felt somewhat discouraged, he also felt fortunate.

Thankfully, he had not acted high and mighty or tried to show off at the beginning. Otherwise, would he not have gotten slapped in the face repeatedly?

"Bro Miao, let's keep killing monsters and leveling up," Yuanfang said.

That "Bro Miao" suddenly made Li Miao feel a little flattered. "...I feel like I should be calling you Boss Yuanfang instead..."

And speaking of levels...

Li Miao suddenly remembered that Yuanfang had not assigned any stat points before leaving. Other than Spirit, all his attributes were still at 5...

Thinking of that only made Li Miao feel even more crushed...

But what Li Miao did not know was that Yuanfang's talent in combat seemed to be merely the tip of the iceberg...

Time passed unknowingly as the two pulled and killed monsters.

Li Miao's reaction to Yuanfang's near-limit combat style went from shock to surprise, until he gradually became used to it...

His guess had been right. Yuanfang was either an internal staff member or frighteningly talented!

Every battle of his seemed as though it had been rehearsed countless times, and his proficiency was improving at a visibly rapid pace!

Moreover, he was not content with a single fighting style. He actively expanded his own possibilities.

Take the skill Dodge, for example. He deliberately tried rolling, jumping, and crawling in every direction and posture, without counterattacking, solely to deal with the Fishmen's attacks.

The Mudflat Mermen had truly become toys before him, completely at his mercy...

And he did not seem to be playing around. It was more like... experimenting?

"...You aren't even hurt. Why do you keep running back into the cave?"

Seeing him tirelessly rushing back and forth, Li Miao could not help asking.

"I'm testing the function of each attribute."

Yuanfang replied simply.

"What?"

Li Miao froze for a moment, only understanding after quite a while.

He really was testing all kinds of his own theories!

"So, did your tests... produce any results?"

After a moment of silence, Li Miao asked.

Yuanfang nodded. "I'll explain it all to you in a bit."

Li Miao hurriedly agreed. He even shifted farther to the side and went to harass the Fishmen on the other side, afraid of disturbing him.

I'm still figuring out how to kill monsters efficiently, while he's already studying the deeper mechanics of this game...

Li Miao sighed inwardly.

By now, he no longer felt the frustration and dejection from before. Instead, he had begun looking forward to Yuanfang's findings.

This was obviously a powerhouse. He had to hold on tight!

A new book sets sail!

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