The First Failure

The two stood on the hill, a cool breeze carrying a hint of fresh earth and grass against their faces.

Gazing out, their vision was filled with an endless expanse of lush green. This was Wang Yang's first time experiencing the plains so freely. The vast, quiet scenery dispersed the congestion in his chest, making his breathing feel much smoother.

"It's beautiful," he praised sincerely.

Of course, it would be even more beautiful if there weren't wandering monsters posing a danger. Undeniably, the world in SAO was truly magnificent, but it was like a poisonous rose with thorns; beneath its beautiful exterior lay deadly peril, even from the seemingly docile boars below.

"Before we start, open your skill panel and put the One-Handed Straight Sword into a slot," He Gu said, his eyes fixed on the Frenzied Boars down the slope.

Wang Yang followed his instructions and opened the skill panel. He saw a row of skill names in the long, narrow submenu, including basic skills for weapons like the One-Handed Straight Sword, One-Handed Warhammer, and One-Handed Spear, as well as skills like Seeker and Stealth, and Strength.

Next to the skill panel was another submenu, arranged from top to bottom with a series of square slots. Except for the first two slots, which were lit, the rest were grayed out.

"At level 1, every player only has two skill slots. Since you chose the one-handed sword, you can only select one-handed sword skills. For the other skill slot, you can choose anything that doesn't conflict with your weapon," He Gu explained.

After exploring on the first day, he was already quite familiar with skills.

Wang Yang looked enlightened and clicked on the One-Handed Straight Sword skill description.

One-Handed Straight Sword Lv1: Dash forward in a straight line for two meters, dealing damage to enemies within range. Damage against Armor Type Enemies will be reduced by 30%, and you will suffer 10% Rebound Damage.

Below the skill icon was an image of a small figure in a starting pose. Only when the standard pose was adopted and the skill name was silently recited would the system detect it and assist the player in performing the attack. Players often felt a "whoosh" as the skill was executed after they prepared the starting pose.

Skills cast in place were manageable and controllable. However, dash skills were uncontrollable. Once the starting pose was initiated, the system would assist the player in using the skill. There was no way to interrupt the forward dash once it began. For example, with the One-Handed Straight Sword, once the starting pose was ready, the player would be stuck in a straight dash for two meters before stopping.

Although the dash speed was less than a second, unfamiliar players often lost their lives because of this brief moment. In fact, on the first day of the game, most players lost their lives due to unfamiliarity with basic skills.

The fundamental reason was that all basic weapon skills were hard-coded dash skills, and misjudging the distance could also lead to great danger.

Wang Yang was unaware of this. He added the One-Handed Straight Sword skill to a slot. For the second slot, he chose Block, located at the bottom of the skill panel.

Block Lv1: Use a shield to withstand the impact of any attack.

The reason Wang Yang chose this skill was simply because his off-hand equipment was a shield.

Seeing Wang Yang close the system menu, He Gu knew he had filled his skills and asked, "Which skill did you choose for your second slot? I chose Strength, which grants immunity to Paralysis."

Wang Yang looked up, held up his shield, and smiled, "I chose Block for my second slot."

"Block? Is there such a skill?" He Gu frowned immediately and instinctively opened the learnable skills list. He found it filled with basic skills for each weapon, but no Block.

"Why isn't the Block skill in my skill panel?"

"Uh..." Wang Yang paused, then asked, "Is it because I have a shield equipped?"

"Impossible. The Sword Shield User I teamed up with yesterday didn't have Block in his skill panel. He even complained to me about not having exclusive shield skills," He Gu shook his head.

Wang Yang looked puzzled, only to hear He Gu say casually, "Never mind, let's start hunting."

"Okay, I'm a little impatient."

Hearing this, Wang Yang no longer thought about blocking. He excitedly swung his slightly heavy short sword, his fiery gaze fixed on the frenzied boar that was unaware of the approaching danger.

"Go ahead with confidence, but you need to get familiar with the starting stance before you can successfully use the One-Handed Straight Sword," He Gu said with a smile.

The heat in Wang Yang's eyes immediately dimmed a little. After that, under He Gu's patient guidance, it took him half an hour to correctly assume the starting stance.

After familiarizing himself with the starting stance, Wang Yang walked towards the frenzied boar not far away with full confidence. Step by step, when he reached a distance of two meters from the frenzied boar, the boar, with its back to him, seemed to sense something and suddenly turned around, its eyes completely blood-red, staring fiercely at Wang Yang.

Under the realistic sensation, Wang Yang's heart skipped a beat. Without time to think, he saw the frenzied boar glare with its red eyes, pawed the grass a few times with its front hooves, and then charged at him.

The fierce and powerful appearance startled Wang Yang greatly. In his panic, the starting stance for the One-Handed Straight Sword skill he assumed couldn't trigger the auxiliary system.

"Bang!"

Wang Yang was sent flying several meters onto the grass by the calf-sized frenzied boar.

This wasn't over. After knocking Wang Yang away, the frenzied boar snorted a puff of white air from its nostrils, pawed the ground, and charged at the fallen Wang Yang again.

He Gu was prepared and immediately positioned himself between the frenzied boar and Wang Yang. However, the frenzied boar didn't care what was in front of it and just charged headlong.

He Gu chuckled, showing no fear at all. He assumed the starting stance for the One-Handed Straight Sword, adjusted slightly for a moment, and then a fluorescent light suddenly flashed on his bronze sword. After holding still for a second, He Gu suddenly lunged forward, and with a swish, he brushed past the charging frenzied boar.

Wang Yang happened to be getting up from the grass. He saw a clear sword mark on the left side of the frenzied boar, and the HP bar on the boar's right side was only half remaining.

The frenzied boar, having taken a hit, became even more enraged. The white air from its nostrils pressed down on the green grass, making it unable to lift its head. It turned and charged at He Gu, its speed several points faster than before.

He Gu, still a meter away, was in a slight stiffening state and unable to attack preemptively. But just as the frenzied boar's hard head was about to hit his lower back, the stiffening state disappeared. As if he could see behind him, he turned and precisely dodged the boar's charge.

The frenzied boar, having missed its target, slid on the grass with its four limbs, trying to slow down. However, this was not easy, and it only stopped after sliding for two meters.

He Gu's expression was extremely serious at this moment. As the frenzied boar stopped with its back to him, he used another One-Handed Straight Sword skill, crossing a distance of two meters, and accurately stabbed the frenzied boar's hindquarters.

As a basic sword skill, the cooldown for One-Handed Straight Sword was only two seconds.

After suffering a fatal blow to its hindquarters, the frenzied boar's health bar immediately dropped to the critical point. Its massive body stiffened, and after letting out a shrill roar, it exploded into flying glass shards and then disappeared, turning into a pile of data.

Ding!

A pleasant sound rang out, and a purple notification box displaying "26 exp" appeared in front of the stunned Wang Yang.

This was his first time gaining experience points, and it was also his first failed battle. Only through personal experience did he understand the difficulty of combat. Only now did he understand why so many people died on the first day of Sword Art Online's official launch.

Because battles that endangered life were extremely cruel. With just a slight mistake, they could ruthlessly take a player's life!

This was the world of Sword Art Online, a world where fighting was always dangerous.

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