Closed-Door Training

A hot bath and a bed that was not exactly soft but absolutely clean had worked far better than Xia Lin expected.

He slept deeply, dreamless through the night, as if the warm steam had washed away his exhaustion, fear, and sorrow, leaving even his soul a little lighter.

The next morning, sunlight filtered lazily through the bathhouse window, grimy with oil stains.

Xia Lin stretched, and his bones gave a faint crackle as long-lost vitality filled his body.

He changed into old clothes Granny Prin had dug out from some corner. They were faded from washing but absolutely clean. They did not fit very well, but they were far better than the filthy, bloodstained rags he had worn before.

"Leaving already, young master?" Granny Prin asked, pipe clenched between her teeth as she leaned against the counter and watched the neatly dressed Xia Lin.

"Yes. Thank you for taking care of me, Granny Prin." Xia Lin walked over, his tone sincere. "You are... one of the few people in this city I can trust."

Granny Prin blinked her clouded eyes, apparently surprised to hear him say such a thing.

She waved a hand and blew out a puff of smoke. "All right, enough of that sentimental nonsense. This old woman just can't stand seeing young people ruin themselves. Take these. Eat them on the road."

She pulled out two rock-hard Black Bread loaves from beneath the counter and stuffed them into Xia Lin's hands.

Xia Lin did not refuse. He thanked her solemnly, then turned and left the shabby bathhouse that had given him one peaceful night's sleep.

The Adventurer's Guild hall was as noisy and chaotic as ever, filled with the mingled stench of sweat, alcohol, and cheap tobacco.

Xia Lin made his way to the counter responsible for settling low-level quests and tossed up the string of rat tails, threaded together with twine and already dried stiff.

Behind the counter sat an expressionless middle-aged man. Without even raising his eyelids, he picked up the tails and counted them, then weighed several particularly thick ones in his hand.

"Sewer District 1 Rat Infestation Cleanup... Hmm, enough of them. There are even a few oversized ones." His voice was flat, as though reading from a list. "Forty-five copper coins total. Take them."

He counted out a small pile of stained copper coins from a drawer and pushed them toward Xia Lin.

From beginning to end, he never asked why a quest originally accepted by three people was now being turned in by only one.

Xia Lin silently put away the coins as well.

That unspoken indifference was the norm at the Adventurer's Guild.

The dead did not come back to claim their share.

With forty-five copper coins in his pocket and nineteen heavy silver coins in his Space Bag, Xia Lin did not wander around the city. He went straight to the market instead.

Using the "severance pay" from the man in purple robes, he spent a full five silver coins—enough to cover an ordinary family's expenses for an entire month.

He bought enough of the finest food and drinking water he could afford to last for a week.

Smoked meat, hard cheese, white bread mixed with oats, a large barrel of clean water, and even a small bag of dried fruit to keep himself alert.

He carried the supplies back to the long-vacant residence of House Toremo.

Then he shut the front gate.

For the next week, he would not go anywhere.

He would train in seclusion here.

After settling the food away, Xia Lin pulled out the worn notebook from his robes, its corners frayed and its pages carrying a faint smell of mildew—Green's Beginner's Guide to the Magic Warrior.

He opened the notebook. The paper was rough and yellowed.

He skipped straight past the mysterious sections about sensing the "Magic Net" and condensing an "Arcane Pool"—he had neither the time nor the talent to study magic right now.

His goal was clear: the pure swordsmanship techniques recorded in the back in crooked handwriting and crude stick-figure drawings.

"If you can't build a solid foundation, cultivating both magic and martial arts is bullshit..." was scrawled messily across one page of the notebook.

Xia Lin agreed wholeheartedly.

He walked into the dust-covered backyard and drew his shortsword.

Taking a deep breath, he began practicing the new moves according to the illustrations and descriptions in the notebook.

[Counterattack]: The notebook emphasized that this was not a head-on block. Instead, one used the flat of the blade or a specific angle—such as forming a slanted "roof"—to guide the incoming weapon aside and redirect its force. Then, the instant the opponent's attack missed and their balance faltered, one twisted the wrist and sent the sword tip striking like a venomous snake into the opening they had exposed.

Xia Lin rehearsed against the air again and again, imagining an invisible enemy. He tried to deflect imaginary slashes before swiftly returning with a thrust.

His movements were clumsy, and his timing was poor, but he repeated them over and over.

[Basic Swordsmanship Proficiency +1]

[Skill Acquired: Block Counterattack lv.0 (1/100)]

[Pierce]: The notebook called it "Pierce" and stressed the importance of coordinating it with footwork. First lower the body, then take a fierce step forward, drop the body low, and drive the arm out with all one's strength, focusing all force onto the tip of the sword in pursuit of maximum penetration.

It was more explosive than a basic thrust, but it also consumed more stamina.

He practiced against a dead tree in the yard, leaving shallow white marks across its trunk with the sword tip.

[Basic Swordsmanship Proficiency +1]

[Skill Acquired: Pierce lv.0 (1/100)]

[Slash]: The notebook depicted a diagonal slash from upper right to lower left, labeled "Furious Slash." It emphasized using the force from the waist and hips, whipping the sword out like a lash in pursuit of speed and power.

Xia Lin sweated profusely as his shortsword cut through the air, leaving behind a blurred shadow.

[Basic Swordsmanship Proficiency +1]

[Skill Acquired: Furious Slash lv.0 (1/100)]

Time flew by amid the monotonous, tedious training.

During the day, he sweated in the backyard, repeating blocks, counterattacks, thrusts, slashes, and the Pommel Strike he had practiced before.

At night, he lit an oil lamp, gnawed on hard bread and cheese, carefully studied the battered notebook, or meditated.

Though he could not sense the Magic Net, it did ease his mental fatigue.

He could clearly feel the changes in his body.

His muscles grew firmer, his movements more coordinated, and his control over the shortsword increasingly proficient.

The throbbing pain in his head still appeared after intense training or studying the notebook, reminding him that Item Appraisal and the newly appeared Attribute Panel did not come without a price.

A week passed in the blink of an eye.

The last piece of smoked meat was gone, and the water barrel had run dry.

Xia Lin stood in the middle of the backyard, bare-chested, sweat streaming down his bronze skin like rivulets.

He closed his eyes and felt the power surging through his body, along with a confidence completely unlike before.

He opened the Attribute Panel.

[Name: Xia Lin Toremo]

[Race: Human]

[Class: None]

[Status: Mild Fatigue]

[Attributes:]

[Strength: 9]

[Agility: 10]

[Constitution: 8]

[Intelligence: 14]

[Perception: 11]

[Charisma: 16]

[Skills:]

[Item Appraisal]

[Basic Swordsmanship lv.1 (101/1000)]

[-Pommel Strike lv.0 (19/50)]

[-Block Counterattack lv.0 (24/100)]

[-Pierce lv.0 (27/100)]

[-Furious Slash lv.0 (31/100)]

[Arcane Pool 1/1]

[Equipment:]

[Weapon: Barely Intact Shortsword (Durability: 3/50)]

[Evaluation: Congratulations, you are only one step away from fighting barehanded! Friendly reminder: the next time you block, pray it does not snap in half.]

[Armor: Nearly Falling-Apart leather armor (Durability: 8/40)

[Evaluation: Excellent ventilation ensures you stay cool even while being stabbed through. Its main defensive function is providing psychological comfort.]

[Nearly Worn-Through Leather Boots (Durability: 5/30)]

[Evaluation: An excellent choice for letting the soles of your feet get close to Mother Earth. Perhaps they should be renamed "open-toed sandals"?]

[Accessory: Ring of Swift Wind]

"So that's how it is..." Xia Lin muttered to himself as he stared at the skill list unfolding like a tree diagram.

The level of Basic Swordsmanship apparently represented his overall swordsmanship ability.

And things like Pommel Strike and Block Counterattack below it were like branching techniques.

The proficiency he gained from practicing those specific moves would automatically be added to Basic Swordsmanship's total proficiency.

No wonder Basic Swordsmanship had reached 101 proficiency points.

But... the next level required a thousand proficiency points?

He then glanced at his pitiful base attributes and could not help curling his lip.

When Basic Swordsmanship reached level 1, it had directly added one point each to Strength, Agility, and Constitution.

What a colossal waste!

The easiest attribute points to gain during the novice period had been added to a nearly blank slate of a foundation.

Still, looking at his improved attributes and the extra skills, Xia Lin felt a sense of security rise in his chest.

Then his gaze swept over the lines of blue evaluation text in the equipment section, especially that shortsword "only one step away from fighting barehanded." The tiny bit of lofty ambition he had just felt was instantly doused with cold water.

"Tch..." Xia Lin curled his lip, feeling that his Golden Finger's mockery was becoming more and more precise—and more and more vicious.

Having strength and skill was useless if his equipment could not keep up.

He had survived last time because he had been "pretty lucky." Next time might not be the same.

He weighed the relentlessly mocked shortsword in his hand, feeling its far-from-reliable heft.

"Looks like leveling up alone isn't enough..."

The food was gone, and so was the water.

If he kept training behind closed doors, his efficiency would only grow lower and lower.

It was time to let real combat test all of this—and, while he was at it, replace this beggar-like outfit.