Skills

With Qin Ran's charged strike, the dagger stabbed into the pursuer's back, sinking in halfway.

Blood instantly flowed from the wound.

"Ah!"

The pursuer let out a scream, his body instinctively lurching forward.

Qin Ran clung tightly to him. He pressed his left hand over his right hand gripping the dagger and forced it downward, but the blade did not move another inch.

Damn, it's stuck on bone!

Qin Ran's heart jolted, and he instinctively pulled out the dagger.

Pfft!

Scalding blood sprayed out, splashing across Qin Ran's face and obscuring his vision.

Temporarily blinded, Qin Ran grew even more panicked. He could only frantically swing the dagger in his hand.

At that moment, Qin Ran had only one thought in his mind: he could not give the other man any chance to catch his breath, or he would be the one to die!

Driven by that thought, Qin Ran swung his dagger at incredible speed!

Slash! Slash! Slash!

A series of metallic sounds of flesh being pierced immediately followed.

After swinging the dagger several times, Qin Ran was astonished to discover that he clearly understood how to use it.

It should not be this blind flailing that merely sliced the opponent's skin!

It should be thrusting!

Avoid the hard bones and stab into the enemy's soft muscles!

Qin Ran's body moved almost instinctively.

The next moment, with his vision slightly restored, Qin Ran gripped the dagger in reverse, drove his elbow forward, and thrust the blade out as though it had been fitted with a spring.

Slash!

The dagger plunged into the pursuer's chest, burying itself to the hilt.

The pursuer, who had been holding a kitchen knife and preparing to strike back, lowered his head in disbelief to look at the dagger in his chest before collapsing straight to the ground.

Even at the moment of death, the pursuer did not understand how someone who had posed no danger just moments ago had suddenly become so deadly.

Qin Ran was equally shocked. Looking at the pursuer's corpse on the ground, the pungent smell of blood reminded him of what he had done.

Bleurgh!

Faced with a completely real corpse, the bright red blood assaulted Qin Ran's vision. At the thought that the other man had died by his hand, his stomach churned, and he could not help vomiting.

As he vomited, Qin Ran's entire body went limp and he dropped to his knees.

With tears and snot streaming down his face, he looked utterly miserable.

"Done vomiting?"

A hoarse voice sounded beside Qin Ran's ear, making him raise his head instinctively.

He saw a face obscured by dust and grime. The gray eyes that should have been bright instead held indifference and wariness.

"I..."

"The spoils are yours. I won't fight you for them!"

Qin Ran wanted to say something, but the other person cut him off directly. At the same time, he pressed himself against the wall, watching Qin Ran closely as he slowly edged away along it.

He didn't trust Qin Ran!

And he was extremely wary!

Watching the other person's movements, Qin Ran came to that realization.

That realization kept Qin Ran from saying anything else or making any further movements—he was afraid the other person would misunderstand and cause unnecessary trouble.

In his current exhausted state, Qin Ran did not think he could handle that kind of trouble.

Therefore, Qin Ran silently watched the other person leave.

Only after the figure had completely disappeared did Qin Ran finally breathe a sigh of relief and push himself to his feet.

"Cold, but still a kind person!"

That was Qin Ran's assessment.

After order had collapsed, not taking advantage of someone in a vulnerable state still counted as kindness, even if one was cold and wary of others.

At the very least, he was several times better than those thugs!

Afterward, Qin Ran looked at the system notification.

[Skill comprehended: Cold Weapons (Dagger) (Basic)]

It was precisely this skill that had transformed him from a complete novice with daggers into someone utterly familiar with them, allowing him to kill his opponent with a single strike.

Curious about the appearance of the skill, Qin Ran opened the battle records.

[Thrust: dealt 15 damage to opponent's Health...]

[Slash: dealt 3 damage to opponent's Health...]

[Slash: dealt 2 damage to opponent's Health. Opponent entered the lightly injured state...]

[Three effective attacks achieved. Skill comprehended: Cold Weapons (Dagger) (Basic)]

[Thrust: vital attack. Dealt 80 damage to opponent's Health (40 Cold Weapons (Dagger) (Basic) X2). Opponent died...]

(Note: Vital attack = actual damage X2)

"Three effective attacks?"

Qin Ran murmured, then quickly opened the skill menu.

In the first slot of the previously empty skill menu, a skill called [Cold Weapons (Dagger) (Basic)] had appeared.

As Qin Ran looked at it, the description for [Cold Weapons (Dagger) (Basic)] quickly appeared on a screen only he could see.

[Name: Cold Weapons (Dagger) (Basic)]

[Relevant Attributes: Strength, Agility, Constitution]

[Skill Type: Attack]

[Effect: You know how to use a dagger, increasing destructive power by 10%]

[Cost: Stamina]

[Learning Requirements: Strength F-, Agility F, Constitution F]

[Remark: You have merely obtained the basics. Don't dream of slicing through gold and jade!]

"An increase of 10% in destructive power?"

Looking at the description, Qin Ran instinctively compared it with the previous battle records.

Then, he quickly walked to the pursuer's corpse and yanked the dagger buried to the hilt from the man's chest.

The instant his hand gripped the dagger, that sense of familiarity rose from deep within Qin Ran again. Without thinking, he thrust the dagger forward once more.

It was as though he had practiced the motion thousands, even tens of thousands, of times.

Whoosh!

The sound of sharp metal cutting through the air immediately rang out.

The strike was incredibly fast. His hand did not tremble in the slightest, and the blade accurately hit the chest of the imagined enemy before him.

The entire motion was no different from the strike that had killed the pursuer in one blow.

It was fast, precise, and ruthless!

"This is only 10%? And it can be achieved with just three effective attacks?"

Qin Ran muttered in disbelief.

He found it hard to imagine that a 10% increase could create such an enormous difference.

In Qin Ran's eyes, that 10% boost was already a combination of strength, speed, and experience. Without years of training, it would have been impossible to achieve.

Yet he had completed, with only three effective attacks, the training that others would need years to accomplish.

Leaving aside the fact that Qin Ran did not believe he possessed talent beyond others, enough to be called a genius.

Even a true genius could not have accomplished this, could they?

Qin Ran thought silently.

Then a flash of insight suddenly crossed his mind.

"The hint?!"

Qin Ran remembered the game prompt from when he had entered.

Immediately, he began reviewing the system records—

[Main Quest: Survive for seven days, 0/7]

[Side Quest (Optional): Rescue more civilians before the war ends. Every civilian rescued can improve the completion evaluation.]

(Hint: The beginner instance is a rare opportunity for every player!)

Below the main and side quests, the game's hint was clearly displayed.

Qin Ran's gaze lingered on the words "rare opportunity" for a moment before he finally let out a long breath.

"Although the Underground Game is incredibly realistic, some game rules haven't changed. It would never place a 'newcomer' in an extremely dangerous situation. Instead, it proceeds step by step! As long as one can seize the opportunity, one will gradually gain the power to face the crisis!"

Qin Ran thought.

However, Qin Ran soon frowned.

He thought of what would have happened if he had not carefully searched that corpse earlier and obtained a weapon.

At the thought of the possible outcome, Qin Ran felt a lingering fear rise in his heart.

"No wonder only one-tenth of the players survived the closed beta of the Underground Game! Quite a few of those players probably lost their lives because of this kind of carelessness and inability to adapt, right?"

As Qin Ran thought, he lowered his head and examined the corpse before him.

With an extremely serious attitude!

When he had checked the battle records earlier, Qin Ran had not found anything like XP or experience points, even after the other man died. Yet skills existed, and this one had even been marked "Basic."

Clearly, they could be leveled up!

Furthermore, the game had plainly stated that he had entered an instance.

Based on Qin Ran's past gaming experience, he would not gain XP or experience points directly. Instead, he would receive an evaluation only after clearing the current instance.

The quality of that evaluation would directly affect his rewards.

As for how to improve the evaluation?

Aside from the side quests directly provided by the game, it naturally depended on his performance within the game.

And according to Qin Ran's understanding, in-game performance was nothing more than killing monsters and obtaining equipment, gold, and the like.

Qin Ran had no further ideas about the side quest for now.

But he was extremely familiar with killing monsters and obtaining equipment, gold, and the like.

After all, he had searched a corpse not long ago, and there was another one right in front of him.

What was more, he had killed this one himself!

The pungent smell of blood was still just as pungent.

Even after killing someone, Qin Ran still found the smell repulsive, though he had grown slightly accustomed to it.

At least Qin Ran did not vomit again.

Nor did he feel as much fear in his heart.

The first item Qin Ran picked up was naturally the kitchen knife in the pursuer's hand.

[Name: Kitchen Knife]

[Type: Bladed Weapon]

[Quality: Damaged]

[Attack Power: Weak]

[Attributes: None]

[Special Effects: None]

[Can it be taken out of this instance: Yes]

[Remark: It is usually used for chopping vegetables, but of course... you can also use it to chop people.]

The moment Qin Ran picked up the kitchen knife, its item details appeared before his eyes.

After examining it, Qin Ran placed the kitchen knife into his backpack and continued searching.

Very soon, Qin Ran made another discovery.

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