The Small Town

The caravan reached its new stopping point in the afternoon.

It was a small town called Gold Creek Town. It had once prospered because gold could be panned from a river there, but unfortunately, as the gold mine was completely exploited, it gradually declined. Before the caravan even got close to the town, an alarm bell rang out, followed immediately by someone riding over to investigate. This area was still on the edge of the wilderness, so the people living here were very vigilant. After confirming it was a caravan, the people in the town allowed them through, and someone also came over to inquire about goods.

In places relatively far from cities, some people would sell goods cheaply to caravans for them to take into the city and sell.

At the same time, they would also buy some things from merchants to sell in nearby towns. Unless it was a large caravan like this Northland one with a strong guard force, ordinary merchants would not engage in long-distance trade.

This was because it was quite dangerous and the travel was very troublesome.

The little girl was in high spirits today, perhaps because the journey had been relatively peaceful. As soon as they arrived at the small town, she jumped down and looked around curiously.

The Guard Captain told Soren that they would be staying in the town tonight and he could look around freely. He just needed to go to the inn by the East Gate in the evening.

The entire town was surrounded by walls.

They were double-layered walls built from sturdy logs, each log about twenty centimeters thick, sharpened at both ends and driven into the ground. There was a watchtower about every hundred meters, which could be climbed using a ladder from below. The town had two gates, one on the east and one on the west, both very thick and heavy, making it look like a sturdy stockade.

This was to defend against attacks from Gnolls and potential bandits.

In towns like this, there were always people keeping watch at night, as Gnolls could potentially sneak in.

"Brother, look!"

The little girl held Soren's hand and looked around. Hearing the shouts nearby, she pulled him over curiously.

Two people were training.

One was a middle-aged man, and the other was younger. They looked somewhat similar, so they were either father and son or uncle and nephew.

"Watch your right!"

The middle-aged man holding a shield and wooden sword let out a low shout, then continued, "When the enemy attacks from this direction, you must learn to use your shield."

"Watch carefully."

"When blocking, always keep your arm at a distance to allow for room to maneuver."

"Don't take too big a step when performing a shield bash."

"The truly deadly weapon is the sword or knife in your hand, not this shield."

"All you need is the impact force of the shield to make the opponent lose their balance, and then thrust with your weapon."

The two were training seriously.

The middle-aged man didn't even look back, but the young man was slightly distracted and was immediately knocked to the ground by the middle-aged man's shield: "This is the second thing I want to tell you, never be distracted during combat."

"Continue training."

The young man gritted his teeth and climbed up, his expression much more serious, and he launched a rather fierce attack.

Perhaps it was because being watched had stirred his competitive spirit.

The middle-aged man remained calm and unhurried, blocking while saying in a deep voice, "Watch closely."

"Facing an enemy's chopping attack."

"The shield is not the only means of defense; you also need to learn to parry with your weapon."

"A cleaving attack is a line."

"At this time, if you can't dodge, you need to find a way to parry the enemy's attack."

"Just like this."

The middle-aged man swung his sword to parry, then charged forward and moved sideways, using his shoulder to knock the young man to the ground: "It's not just swords that can defeat enemies; our bodies are also weapons."

"Get up."

A very realistic and ruthless training method.

Soren looked at the blood flowing from the young man's nose, his expression gradually becoming serious as he carefully observed them.

The middle-aged man only glanced at them at this moment.

However, he didn't pay much attention. After twirling the wooden sword in his hand, he continued, "If an enemy stabs at you with a sword."

"It's best not to parry or block at this time."

"You need to learn to use your body to dodge. A piercing attack is a point, and parrying is very difficult, but as long as you move your body a little, you can easily avoid the attack."

"However."

"When an enemy stabs, it's often just the beginning of the attack."

"You need to learn to judge instantly."

"Pay attention to their shoulders."

"Any attack launched has a trajectory. When they need to exert force, their bodies will inevitably make corresponding movements."

"For example, you can do this."

The middle-aged man flashed to avoid the incoming stab, then twisted his waist, stepped forward, and swung his sword to slash at the young man's wrist. The wooden sword clattered to the ground.

The young man, who had been defeated repeatedly, finally became a little discouraged.

He lay on the ground, panting, not even bothering to pick up his sword. The middle-aged man looked at the sky and slowly said, "Training ends here for today."

"If you want to become a qualified warrior, there is still a lot you need to learn."

"Fighting solely with strength is just courting death."

The middle-aged man wiped his sweat with the clothes nearby, then glanced at Soren, his gaze sweeping over the curved knife on his body, and said sternly, "Outsider."

"I am the Militia Captain here."

"Although this place doesn't reject outsiders, it's not exactly welcoming either."

"You'd best not cause trouble." [Intimidation]

The other party's tone was serious, and there was no provocative expression, as if he was stating a very normal matter, but inexplicably, it gave people a sense of pressure.

"I never like to cause trouble proactively."

Soren smiled, saying calmly, "But if someone provokes me, I will make them regret it very much."

"We are just passing through here."

The middle-aged man nodded, "That would be best." [Intimidation Failed]

This was a third-tier warrior, very likely a once-famous adventurer. Soren noticed he had some difficulty with his leg, possibly due to a severe past injury that caused bone displacement. Such adventurers were common; many were forced to retire after being injured and return to their hometowns to live ordinary lives.

There were many people with stories in this world.

"Brother."

The little girl picked up a twig and gestured with it, giggling, "That person just now looked quite powerful."

"But."

"The people he's teaching are so stupid, they can't even remember such simple things."

"Look."

Soren glanced at the little girl, who was gesturing awkwardly. She was small and weak, and her stance was completely off. However, Soren didn't discourage her, merely rubbed her little head and said, "It is quite simple."

"But they are very practical techniques. Of course, he's not as smart as my Vivian."

"Let's go."

"I'll take you to buy something delicious."

Just as he was watching the other party train, a line of small text appeared before Soren's eyes:

"Skill Improvement!"

"You have gained insight while observing others train! ...You have mastered certain combat techniques!..."

"Parry +1, Block +1, Dodge (Movement) +1."

Soren hadn't expected to trigger two new basic skills just like that. He had thought he would have to wait until he trained in parrying and blocking in the future to unlock these two basic skills. One or two points in a basic skill weren't very useful; to see a significant improvement, you needed at least a 10-point increase. Generally, a basic skill increasing by around 50 points would result in a noticeable ability improvement.

For example, a Shield Warrior's 100 points in Block.

That was a professional level of using a shield to block, similar to Soren's ability in Stealth.

Basic skills were about choosing a specialized direction.

Then, other triggered basic skills would improve on their own through training over time. Skill points gained from leveling up were rarely invested in them because 'specialization has its own focus.'

Most basic skills related to a profession would improve relatively quickly.

For example, Soren's Dodge skill was already at 6 points, and this was without specialized training. If he underwent relevant Dodge (Roll) and Dodge (Movement) training, his Dodge skill points could quickly increase to over 20 points.

Generally, around 50 points in the basic Dodge skill could passively increase his Evasion by 1 point.

This Evasion was instinctive evasion.

It was the subconscious reaction a person had when attacked, and only certain feats could increase it.

For example, feats like 'Intuitive Evasion,' 'Masterful Evasion,' 'Super Evasion,' etc., were combat feats that were very difficult to train for and had a very noticeable effect.

Basic skills were relatively ordinary abilities; only feats significantly improved strength.

Of course, the difficulty of mastering them was also high.

Some feats had basic skill prerequisites, such as the combat feat [Offensive Defense] (Parry/Block 100 points) derived from parrying and blocking, and the combat skill [Powerful Shield Bash] (Block 150 points) derived from blocking. These all had requirements for mastering basic skill points.

Skills below 50 points are relatively easy to master. To improve further requires the level of a professional.

For example, a professional merchant's negotiation and appraisal skills.

And.

A Barbarian's taunting ability.

Sometimes, when you encounter these simple-minded, muscle-bound guys, their few words can truly make you furious!

These taunting professionals.

(One of the things player Barbarians love to do is contemptuously flex their muscles at the enemy and taunt, "A bunch of weaklings."

Also, the taunting ability of a venomous witch is very strong.

There were once some players whose mouths were so venomous that even though their class level wasn't high [only level six], their taunting skill actually reached over 200 points [Master level]. As soon as they unleashed their venomous map-wide taunt, they instantly became the target of everyone's hatred.

Taunting that is too strong can form an aura. Even if you don't understand what they're saying, just looking at their expression is enough to fill you with hatred.)