The First Failure

The two stood atop a small hill. A cool breeze brushed their faces, carrying the fresh scent of earth and grass.

As far as the eye could see, the land was a vast expanse of green stretching to the horizon. This was the first time Wang Yang had felt so free in the open plains. Their vastness and stillness eased the tightness in his chest, and even his breathing seemed to come more easily.

"Beautiful," he said, unable to keep the heartfelt admiration from his voice.

Of course, it would have been even more beautiful without the dangerous monsters roaming around. There was no denying that the world of Sword Art Online was breathtakingly beautiful, but it was like a poisonous rose covered in thorns. Beneath its lovely exterior lurked deadly dangers—even the boar below, which looked rather harmless.

"Before we begin, open your Skill Bar and put One-Handed Straight Sword in a slot," He Gu said, watching the Frenzied Boar below the slope.

Wang Yang did as he was told and opened his Skill Bar. A row of skill names appeared in the long submenu: Basic Skills for weapons such as One-Handed Straight Sword, One-Handed Warhammer, and One-Handed Spear, as well as skills like Search, Stealth, and Fortitude.

Beside the Skill Bar was another submenu. A column of square slots was arranged from top to bottom. Only the first two slots were lit; all the others were dimmed.

"Every player only has two skill slots at level one. Since you chose a one-handed sword, you can only choose skills for one-handed swords. As for the other slot, you can choose anything except a skill that conflicts with your weapon," He Gu explained.

After spending the first day learning the ropes, he was already quite familiar with the skills.

Wang Yang nodded in understanding and opened the description for One-Handed Straight Sword.

One-Handed Straight Sword lv1: Lunge straight forward for two meters, dealing damage to enemies in range. Damage dealt to armored enemies is reduced by 30%, and you take 10% reflected damage.

Below the skill icon was an image of a little figure posing in the starting stance. The system would only detect the skill if the player struck the proper pose and silently recited its name. It would then assist the player in carrying out the attack. Players often found that, once they had assumed the starting stance, the skill whooshed into action.

Skills that could be activated in place were manageable, since they were controllable. Lunge skills, however, were uncontrollable. Once the player struck the starting stance, the system would assist them in using the skill, and there was no way to stop themselves once they lunged forward. With One-Handed Straight Sword, for instance, once the starting stance was ready, the player would blindly charge straight ahead for two meters before stopping.

Although the lunge lasted less than a second, unfamiliarity with the skill could cost a player their life in that fraction of a second. In fact, on the first day of the game, most players who died had been unfamiliar with the Basic Skills.

The root of the problem was that all Basic Weapon Skills involved an unavoidable lunge, and misjudging the distance could be extremely dangerous.

Wang Yang didn't know any of this. He added One-Handed Straight Sword to a slot, then chose Parry for the second one, the skill at the bottom of the Skill Bar.

Parry lv1: Use a shield to withstand the force of any attack.

The only reason Wang Yang had chosen this skill was that he had a shield equipped in his off hand.

When He Gu saw Wang Yang close the system menu, he knew he had finished filling his slots. He asked, "Which skill did you choose for the second slot? I chose Fortitude. It makes me immune to paralysis."

Wang Yang looked up, raised his shield, and smiled. "I chose Parry for the second slot."

"Parry? Is there even a skill like that?" He Gu frowned and instinctively opened the list of skills available to learn. It contained only the Basic Skills for each weapon—no Parry.

"Why isn't Parry in my Skill Bar?"

"Uh..." Wang Yang stared blankly for a moment, then said, "Could it be because I have a shield equipped?"

"Impossible. The Sword Shield User I partied with yesterday didn't have Parry in his Skill Bar. He even complained to me that there were no skills specifically for shields." He Gu shook his head.

Wang Yang looked puzzled, but He Gu merely said, "Forget it. Let's start hunting."

"Okay. I can hardly wait."

Wang Yang stopped wondering about Parry and excitedly swung his slightly heavy little sword. His eager gaze settled on the Frenzied Boar, still unaware of the danger approaching.

"Go ahead, don't worry. But first, you need to get used to the starting stance so you can successfully use One-Handed Straight Sword," He Gu said with a smile.

The eagerness in Wang Yang's eyes dimmed a little. Then, under He Gu's patient instruction, it took him half an hour to get the starting stance right.

Once he had mastered the stance, Wang Yang confidently walked toward the Frenzied Boar a short distance away, one step at a time. When he was two meters from it, the boar, which had its back to him, seemed to sense his presence and abruptly turned around. Its blood-red eyes fixed on him with a vicious glare.

The realism made Wang Yang's heart leap. Before he could think, the Frenzied Boar glared at him with its red eyes, scraped its forehooves over the grass, and charged.

The boar's ferocious appearance startled Wang Yang badly. In his panic, he couldn't strike the starting stance for One-Handed Straight Sword properly, so the assist system failed to activate.

"Thud!"

The Frenzied Boar, which was the size of a calf, sent Wang Yang flying several meters across the grass.

That wasn't the end of it. After knocking Wang Yang away, the Frenzied Boar snorted a cloud of white breath, scraped at the ground with its hooves, and charged again at him where he had fallen.

He Gu had been ready. He immediately stepped between the Frenzied Boar and Wang Yang, but the boar didn't care what was in front of it. It simply lowered its head and charged.

He Gu gave a chuckle, completely unafraid. He took the starting stance for One-Handed Straight Sword and made a slight adjustment. A faint glow suddenly flashed along the bronze-colored blade. After holding still for a second, He Gu lunged forward, whooshing past the charging Frenzied Boar.

Wang Yang had just gotten to his feet. He saw a clear sword mark on the boar's left side, while the HP bar above it had dropped to half.

Struck by the sword, the Frenzied Boar grew even more violent. The white breath from its nostrils pressed the green grass flat as it turned and charged at He Gu, moving several times faster than before.

He Gu, only a meter away, was still slightly rigid and couldn't attack in advance. But just as the Frenzied Boar's hard skull was about to slam into his lower back, the stiffness wore off. As if he could see behind himself, he spun around and narrowly dodged the boar's charge.

Having hit nothing, the Frenzied Boar hurriedly dug its hooves into the grass to slow down. It wasn't easy, though, and it slid a full two meters before stopping.

He Gu's expression was utterly serious now. When the Frenzied Boar stopped with its back to him, he used One-Handed Straight Sword again, crossing the two-meter distance and striking the boar precisely in its hindquarters.

As a Basic Sword Skill, One-Handed Straight Sword had a cooldown of only two seconds.

The Frenzied Boar took a critical hit to its hindquarters. The Health Bar above its head immediately dropped to a critical level. Its massive body stiffened, and after letting out a mournful cry, it burst into a shower of glass shards before vanishing, leaving behind only a pile of data.

Ding!

A pleasant chime rang out, and a purple box displaying 26 EXP appeared in front of the dumbfounded Wang Yang.

This was his first time gaining Experience Points, and his first failed battle. Only after experiencing it himself did he understand how difficult combat was. Only now did he understand why so many people had died on the first day Sword Art Online officially launched.

Because combat that put one's life at risk was brutally unforgiving. The slightest mistake could mercilessly take a player's life!

This was the world of Sword Art Online—a world where simply fighting could be dangerous.