Town

The caravan reached its new stopover in the afternoon. It was a small town called Golden Creek Town. It had once prospered because gold could be panned from a river there, but after the Gold Mine was completely exhausted, it gradually declined again. Before the caravan even approached the town, an alarm bell rang out, followed by someone riding over to inspect them. This was still considered the edge of the wilderness, so the people living here were extremely vigilant. Once they confirmed it was a caravan, the townspeople let them through and sent someone over to inquire about their goods.

In places far from cities, some people sold their goods cheaply to caravans, which then carried them into the cities to sell.

They also bought things from merchants and resold them in nearby towns. Unless they had a large escort like the Northern Caravan, ordinary merchants would not engage in long-distance Trade.

Because it was dangerous, and travel back and forth was troublesome.

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

The captain of the Guard told Soren that they would be staying in town tonight. He could look around as he pleased and simply head to the Inn by the east gate that evening. The entire town was surrounded by walls.

They were double-layered walls made of sturdy logs. Each log was about twenty centimeters thick, sharpened at both ends and driven into the ground. There was an Arrow Tower every hundred meters or so, with ladders leading up from below. The town had gates on its eastern and western sides, both massive and heavy, making the place look like a sturdy fortress.

This was to guard against Gnoll attacks and possible bandits.

Any town like this had people standing watch at night, because Gnolls might sneak inside.

"Brother, look!"

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

Two people were training.

One was a middle-aged man, while the other was younger. They looked somewhat alike, either father and son or uncle and nephew.

"Watch your right!"

The middle-aged man holding a shield and wooden sword gave a low shout, then said, "When the enemy attacks from this direction, you need to learn how to use your shield."

"Watch carefully."

"When you block, make sure to leave space between your arms. Only then will you have room to move."

"Don't take steps that are too large when you use a shield bash."

"The truly lethal thing is the blade in your hand, not the shield."

"You only need to use the impact of the shield to throw your opponent off balance, then thrust with your weapon."

The two trained seriously.

The middle-aged man did not even turn around to look, but the young man became slightly distracted. He was immediately smashed to the ground by the middle-aged man's shield. "This is the second thing I want to tell you: never lose focus in battle."

"Continue training."

The young man gritted his teeth and climbed back up, looking much more serious as he launched a fierce attack.

Perhaps having spectators had stirred his competitive spirit.

The middle-aged man remained unhurried. Blocking as he spoke in a deep voice, he said, "Look carefully."

"When facing an enemy's slashing attack."

"A shield is not your only means of defense. You also need to learn to use your weapon to Parry."

"A slashing attack follows a line."

"If you cannot Dodge at that moment, you need to find a way to catch the enemy's attack."

"Like this."

The middle-aged man swung his sword to Parry, then rushed forward and shifted sideways, slamming the young man to the ground with his shoulder. "Blades are not the only things that can defeat an enemy. Our bodies are weapons too."

"Get up."

It was an extremely realistic and merciless training method.

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

Only then did the middle-aged man glance at them.

But he did not pay them much attention. Spinning the wooden sword in his hand, he continued, "If an enemy thrusts a sword at you."

"At that moment, it is best not to Parry or block."

"You need to learn to Dodge with your body. A thrusting attack targets a single point, making it difficult to Parry, but if you simply shift your body a little, you can easily avoid it."

"However."

"When an enemy thrusts at you, it is often only the beginning of the attack."

"You need to learn to judge in an instant."

"Watch their shoulders."

"Every attack has a pattern. When they need to unleash force, their bodies will inevitably make corresponding movements."

"For example, you can do this."

The middle-aged man sidestepped the thrusting sword, then twisted his waist, stepped forward, and swung his blade at the young man's wrist. The wooden sword clanged onto the ground.

After being defeated repeatedly, the young man finally became somewhat discouraged.

He lay on the ground, panting heavily, not even bothering to pick up his sword. The middle-aged man looked at the sky and slowly said, "That's enough training for today."

"If you want to become a qualified Warrior, you still have much to learn."

"Relying on strength alone in battle is nothing but courting death."

The middle-aged man wiped away his sweat with clothes lying nearby, then glanced at Soren. His gaze swept over the Scimitar at Soren's waist as he said sternly, "Outsider."

"I am the captain of the local militia."

"This place does not reject outsiders, but that does not mean they are welcome either."

"You had better not cause trouble."

His tone was serious, without any provocative expression, as though he were merely stating something ordinary. Yet for some reason, it carried an invisible pressure.

"I have never liked causing trouble."

Soren smiled and said calmly, "But if someone provokes me, I will make them regret it deeply."

"We are only passing through."

The middle-aged man nodded. "That would be best."

He was a third-rank Warrior, very likely an Adventurer who had once been quite famous. Soren noticed that one of his legs moved awkwardly. He might have suffered a severe injury in the past, one serious enough to shift the bones. Adventurers like him were fairly common. Many had no choice but to retire after being injured, returning to their hometowns to live ordinary lives.

There were many people with stories in this world.

"Brother."

The little girl picked up a branch and waved it around, giggling. "That man just now looked pretty impressive."

"However."

"The person he was teaching was so dumb. He could not even remember something that simple."

"Look."

Soren glanced at the little girl's crooked stance. She was small and weak, and her posture was off in who knew how many places. Still, Soren did not discourage her. He merely rubbed her little head and said, "It is quite simple."

"But they are all very practical techniques. Of course he is not as smart as my Vivian."

"Come on."

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

While watching the other man train just now, a row of small words had appeared before Soren's eyes:

"Skill Improved!"

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

"Parry +1, Block +1, Dodge +1."

Soren had not expected to trigger two new basic skills like this. He had thought he would have to undergo training related to parrying and blocking in the future before he could unlock those two basic skills. One or two points in a basic skill were not particularly useful. To gain a noticeable improvement, one needed at least ten points or more. Generally, when a basic skill increased by around fifty points, there would be a fairly obvious improvement in ability.

For example, a Shield Warrior with 100 points in Block.

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

Basic skills involved choosing one direction to specialize in.

Then, other basic skills that had been triggered would gradually improve through training over time. Skill Points gained from leveling up were rarely invested in them, because every profession had its specialty.

Most basic skills related to one's class improved rather quickly.

For example, Soren's Dodge skill had already reached 6 points. That was without undergoing specialized training. If he trained in Dodge-related techniques, his Dodge Skill Points could quickly rise above 20.

A Dodge basic skill of around 50 points could passively increase one's Dodge by 1 point.

This Dodge was instinctive evasion.

It was the subconscious reaction people had when attacked, and only certain Feats could increase it.

For example, Feats such as Intuitive Evasion, Improved Evasion, and Greater Evasion were all combat Feats that were difficult to acquire through training, yet their effects were very obvious.

Basic skills were relatively ordinary abilities. Only Feats were skills that significantly increased one's strength.

Naturally, they were also very difficult to master.

Some Feats had prerequisites in basic skills. For example, combat Feats derived from blocking and parrying, as well as Combat Skills derived from blocking, all required a certain level of mastery in basic skill points.

Basic skills below 50 points were fairly easy to master. Continuing beyond that required professional-level ability.

For example, a professional merchant's Diplomacy and Appraise abilities.

And.

A Barbarian's Taunt ability.

Sometimes, when you encountered those simple-minded muscleheads, their few words could make you so furious that smoke practically came out of your ears!

Those professional taunters.

With Taunt skill trained to over 200 points, the moment they opened their venomous mouths and unleashed an area-wide barrage, they instantly became the target of everyone's ire.

Taunt that was too powerful could form an aura. Even if others could not understand what you were saying, they could still see the hatred written all over your face.)