A Mage's Standard Weapon Is a Longsword

[Ding! Learned Sailor's Basic Swordsmanship, current level: 1]

[Sailor's Basic Swordsmanship Level 1: Preliminary mastery of basic swordsmanship for naval combat. Strength equivalent to an apprentice sailor who has studied swordsmanship for three months and gained an introduction to it. Strength +0.1, Agility +0.1]

[Description: Sailor's Basic Swordsmanship is the simplest swordsmanship learned by sailors. It allows them to fight on pitching decks, narrow ropes, and high masts, which requires sufficient strength and nimble footwork.]

A faint warmth flowed through his arm, and Liu Zhi felt as though his body had changed slightly. Even the saber in his hand became more obedient, as if he had practiced with it for a very long time.

Liu Zhi's eyes lit up. He did not even glance at the cargo in the cabin. Those things had been treasures to the original Sandru, but they meant nothing to him.

He pushed open the cabin door and walked out with his saber in hand.

The instant he stepped outside, Liu Zhi instinctively closed the cabin door behind him.

Perhaps that had been the last lingering attachment of that down-and-out noble named Sandru.

Then Liu Zhi sped up. Although he had not left his cabin since boarding, he still remembered the ship's layout. He rushed up the stairs to the deck and immediately saw the situation before him.

Their ship was a Three-masted Galleon Merchant Sailing Ship, thirty-five meters long and twelve meters wide, with nearly a hundred sailors aboard.

At the moment, their ship was trapped between two medium-sized warships. Those ships were clearly shorter and carried few cannons. Several strange-looking pirates clenched sabers between their teeth and swung over to the deck on ropes.

The sailors fought back and forth with the pirates, and the entire deck rang with the clash of weapons.

As Liu Zhi rushed onto the deck, he happened to see a sailor locked in combat with a pirate. He had no intention of waiting for the pirate to kill the sailor before acting. He raised his saber and slashed at the pirate from behind, the blade striking directly into the pirate's neck.

Liu Zhi's Sailor's Basic Swordsmanship was still at the most rudimentary beginner level. There was no real technique in that slash.

But the sailor had held the pirate in place, and the pirate had never expected someone to suddenly appear behind him. Liu Zhi's strike sliced halfway through the pirate's neck.

Then Liu Zhi's saber got stuck in the pirate's neck.

Seeing that his opponent was doomed, the sailor quickly lunged toward another fight as several more pirates leaped onto the deck.

Still, as he darted away, he said, "Don't chop at bones. It'll slow you down when you pull your blade free."

Liu Zhi had no time to listen to the sailor. He had just gained another 30 experience points, which meant killing pirates earned experience.

He even took a moment to glance at his Attributes panel. A gray plus sign had appeared after [Sailor's Basic Swordsmanship Level 1] under active skills. When he focused on it, the number (35/90) appeared.

"So the experience needed has gone up. That makes sense. If it always only took 30 experience, I could stack this Naval Swordsmanship all the way to level 100."

Boasting to himself, Liu Zhi muttered under his breath as he began searching for his next target.

Fortunately, the deck was in complete chaos, and Liu Zhi quickly found one. Two sailors were fighting three pirates at once, and it was clear that they were evenly matched.

After watching from behind for a moment, Liu Zhi got a rough idea of the two sailors' abilities. Their swordsmanship was quite good, and they worked together seamlessly. They were somewhat surprised when they saw Liu Zhi approach. They knew there were several wealthy passengers renting cabins aboard the ship, but they had not expected Liu Zhi to charge up and risk his life against the pirates.

Liu Zhi also knew that he was far weaker than the two sailors and could not join their fight directly. After thinking for a moment, he shouted, "Give me one. I can hold him off."

Hearing that, one of the sailors stepped back and peeled off a pirate for Liu Zhi. The two sailors then focused all their strength on the remaining two pirates.

Once the two sailors had given him a pirate, Liu Zhi took the initiative and advanced. He swung the saber in his hand at the pirate.

At first, the pirate was startled by Liu Zhi's behavior and thought he was an expert. But after that swing, he realized Liu Zhi was merely a novice who had just started learning. He grinned and raised his blade to hack at Liu Zhi.

However, Liu Zhi had already suppressed his nervousness and fought the pirate seriously. Though the pirate's blade work was decent, his physical Attributes were slightly inferior to Liu Zhi's.

That tiny difference allowed Liu Zhi to successfully block all of the pirate's killing moves.

Just then, a voice sounded behind Liu Zhi. "Raise your blade. Don't make such big sweeping movements. Keep your hand steady..."

Liu Zhi had not even reacted yet, but the pirate was frightened. Liu Zhi suspected that the two sailors had finished off their opponents and were now giving him pointers.

His confidence surged. His attacks became steadier, while the pirate, perhaps feeling the pressure, grew far more disorganized. Liu Zhi seized the chance, knocked aside the man's weapon with one slash, and drove his saber into the pirate's heart.

After kicking the pirate away, Liu Zhi heard the sailor's voice behind him.

"Not bad. Keep it up."

Liu Zhi turned and saw that only one of the two sailors remained to watch the fight. The other had already charged ahead.

Liu Zhi could not help but marvel at their strength. He noticed that whenever those sailors attacked, their sabers seemed like extensions of their hands. Their strikes were precise and swift, completely unaffected by the ship's pitching.

He wondered when he would reach that level.

Pushing the thought aside, Liu Zhi prepared to find another enemy. But just as he set his sights on a lone pirate, he suddenly noticed that the experience requirement after [Sailor's Basic Swordsmanship Level 1] seemed to have changed.

(9+73/90)?

He had gained 38 experience from killing that pirate, and with the original 35, the 73 made sense. But what the hell was that 9 in front?

Liu Zhi retreated to the side and examined it carefully. Only then did he realize that while he had been fighting the pirate, several +1 and +2 notifications had appeared in his experience count.

Thinking it over again, Liu Zhi slapped his thigh. He understood. Those changes had occurred when that sailor gave him a few pointers.

It seemed that experience could be gained not only by killing monsters, but also from guidance from others. Constant practice, reading, and similar things should probably grant experience as well.

Having discovered a great many sources of experience, Liu Zhi grew excited. When the lone pirate noticed him, he let out a roar, raised his saber, and charged forward.