The First to Take the Risk

"Runes, runes, runes."

You need runes to do anything in the Zane Dungeon.

Sai Ke kept muttering Rune's name, his eyes filled with a desire for money, a desire for overnight riches that had never been stronger than now.

"Hey, stop being so obsessed," Qiao Ke La reminded her, feeling that her companion was acting like one of those magicians who had gone mad from being engrossed in magical experiments.

Two years ago, an elder magician she knew went mad and turned himself into a monster with mixed characteristics of many demons. He committed evil deeds everywhere before being killed.

It is said that the tragedy of this elder she knew was not an isolated case, and similar news is heard every year.

"I'm fine, perfectly lucid, so don't worry." Sai Ke waved his hand, his eyes filled with endless imagination.

If he could kill the demigod Godrick of Stormveil Castle, he would surely be able to obtain enough runes to learn all the Weapon Skill.

Unfortunately, their strength was probably no match for the legendary demigod, so they had no choice but to run back to the front of the checkpoint and try to sneak up and hunt lone soldiers, Bat Monster, wolves, and the like.

This naturally resulted in very low efficiency in accumulating runes, but it was the best they could do.

Back when the Zane Dungeon first opened, Leon, Si Telan, and others all went through this initial accumulation phase.

The difference between Sai Ke and Qiao Ke La and Leon and others is that they crash and burn much more often.

By the time the outside world had reached its zenith, they had finally saved enough money to learn the "Shattered Step" technique and couldn't wait to go to Beinal to learn Shattered Step.

"Then, I will teach you this Weapon Skill."

As Beinal said this, Sai Ke and Qiao Ke La seemed to enter a mysterious state. They "seemed" to see Beinal demonstrating the technique of the Shattered Step Weapon Skill to them, and they followed along, learning it again and again, and "seemed" to have touched the threshold of using it.

"Knock knock."

The bells that signaled the imminent closure of the Zane Dungeon rang, awakening Sai Ke and Qiao Ke La's consciousness.

"Ah!"

Suddenly, Sai Ke cried out, an overwhelming exhaustion surging through her body, and she collapsed to the ground, unable to support herself.

Qiao Ke La wasn't much better off than him, but she still maintained her composure and insisted on walking to the bench in the corner to sit down before she started panting heavily.

Both of them looked like they had been training for a very long time, and they were both a little overwhelmed by this sudden exertion.

But upon closer inspection, something strange can be found: the two of them seemed to have been standing still without moving.

Something's not right. Something's not right. They really felt like they had been studying with Beinal for a very, very long time, and a long period of time had indeed passed.

Upon careful recollection, Sai Ke couldn't recall exactly what he had learned from Beinal. He only remembered the general technique of using the Shattered Step and the additional [Battle Ash: Shattered Step] in his hand. If he wanted to use this Weapon Skill, he would still have to rely on Battle Ash.

The difference between Beinal's teaching and directly giving the ash is that he paved the way for adventurers to master Weapon Skill on their own without relying on the ash.

Among the Weapon Skill produced in the Zane Dungeon, many appear to be replicable by adventurers through their own actions. In fact, some people have indeed done so, and some have recently succeeded.

To master Weapon Skill through one's own strength, one needs to repeatedly use combat ash to release and experience the Weapon Skill. The more one uses them, the more one will gradually understand how to use them. Depending on one's comprehension, the duration of this process varies, and some can be very long.

This is just the beginning; you'll need much more practice to truly master it.

But if you can even get started, you've already surpassed many others.

Beinal's existence essentially saved the initial effort, and for the vast majority of people with average comprehension, this was an opportunity that was hard to come by.

"I... I think I understand a little bit how to use the Shattered Step technique."

Although his body was exhausted, a smile gradually appeared on Sai Ke's face. Looking at his feet, he felt that the future was bright.

Qiao Ke La shared the same feeling. The sensation of gradually mastering a skill from scratch is the greatest joy for a learner, and a smile appeared on her face.

But just then, she suddenly felt someone staring at her. When she looked up, she saw it was Sai Ke.

The latter immediately revealed a smug expression, as if to say, "So, Weapon Skill are still the best, right?"

Qiao Ke La's expression changed several times before she finally turned her head away and ignored the annoying guy.

Although learning Weapon Skill is very rewarding, and although Teacher Bernahl teaches very well, although...

But I just think magic is the best; magicians even built academies!

"You have great talent and you've mastered it well," Beinal said at this moment, but it was hard not to suspect that this was just a polite remark. "Now you feel like you've touched the threshold of using the Shattered Step, right?"

"Thanks to you, I feel like I've become stronger again." Sai Ke struggled to get up and thanked you.

"It's good that you have a feel for it. You should take advantage of this short time to practice as soon as possible and try to master it on your own."

"Short?"

Sai Ke astutely grasped the meaning of the key word: "Brief".

Could this feeling be going to disappear?

After some questioning, he discovered that the "feeling of the beginning" he had learned from Beinal did indeed dissipate, and could only last for a day or two.

If you want to maintain this feeling, you can use half the amount of runes needed to purchase Battle Ash to talk to Beinal and continue to enjoy this feeling!

When adventurers have fully mastered their Weapon Skill, they will naturally no longer need to "renew" their subscriptions.

Just like in the Raya Lucaria Magic Academy, adventurers need time to "grind" their way to master magic. If you really want to learn Weapon Skill, you also need to spend time learning runes.

It looks like there might be a problem?

However, compared to learning magic at the Raya Lucaria Magic Academy, this is actually quite fast.

"I will definitely work hard to accumulate runes! I will come back to you for guidance!"

Sai Ke clenched his fist secretly, vowing to learn all the Weapon Skill that Beinal would teach now and in the future.

"Ambitious."

Beinal looked somewhat pleased; this uncle really did have a charming masculine appeal no matter how you looked at him.

"Weapon Skill are proof of Warrior's fighting spirit and the most vivid heroic stories. They convey the meaning of Warrior, which is why I am so fond of swords and Weapon Skill."

He patted Sai Ke on the shoulder again and said, "You must continue to learn Weapon Skill properly."

"Yes!"

Another person has fallen into Sain's clutches.

Meanwhile, in the city lord's room in the Zane Dungeon.

Gong Qiying looked at Sai Ke, who had become a loyal apprentice of Beinal, and was not surprised at all.

"It seems that the Warrior Country is not as hopeless as Pan Sen said; there are still people who genuinely love Weapon Skill."

He tapped the Crystal Ball in front of him a few times, and it immediately split into dozens of images, including many of the adventurers who had come into contact with Beinal.

"The first batch of discoverers are already in place. Even those who lack Weapon Skill cannot deny the existence of battle ash. It's just a matter of time for it to ferment."

He flipped through his notebook and muttered to himself:

"Once the Weapon Skill have spread more widely, we can move on to the second step of the plan. Oh, and I'll notify the Gladiator later to prepare him. We'll need his assistance to carry out the plan."

Gong Qiying paused for a moment, then, as if remembering something, added:

"Actually, it seems like there wouldn't be any major problems if I took care of everything myself."

"."

"Never mind, I feel more alive when I'm working with everyone."

On the other side.

The Zane Dungeon hadn't closed yet, but Sai Ke and his group had already come out.

Firstly, they were exhausted today and had no energy left to practice their Weapon Skill. Secondly, they wanted to get the information from Beinal as soon as possible to exchange for rewards at Te Pi's merchant guild.

"Hurry up, hurry up! If someone gets ahead of us, we won't get the prize money!" Sai Ke ran in the lead, determined to win the prize money.

"I... I'm just a frail mage," Qiao Ke La, struggling to keep up with him, her frail physique a clear indication of her weakness.

However, despite their hurried pace, when they arrived at the Golden Lion Merchant Guild, they still received bad news.

"I'm sorry, the information you mentioned has already been relayed to us."

The dungeon is only open for the first day, and it's already packed with adventurers who come to collect information in exchange for rewards. The atmosphere is just as lively as it is in the Arnor Kingdom.

"How could this be?" Sai Ke petrified, gradually withering away in the wind.

"Sigh, someone did get there before us," Qiao Ke La sighed. "Let's go back to the inn and get some rest today."

Reluctantly, Sai Ke accepted reality; it seemed he was still far from achieving financial freedom.

The Golden Lion Merchant Guild's prize redemption office was located directly within the Adventurers' Guild, so before leaving, he habitually glanced at the notice board where commissions were posted, and one commission caught his attention.

[Investigation of the missing truck]

[Recently, there have been multiple attacks on trucks by unknown monsters in the southern plains outside Black Rock City. Please investigate the truth behind the monsters and recover the missing cargo. Please discuss the details with the client.]

[Client]

"Qiao Ke La, look at this," Sai Ke said, pointing to the commission, "Doesn't it look like what the restaurant owner said this morning?"

This morning when I went to buy Happiny, the restaurant owner said that his truck had been attacked by an unknown monster outside the city.

"It really is." Qiao Ke La glanced at the list and found several more requests with similar content.

"What kind of monster is causing trouble?" she frowned. "Should we take it on too—"

Before she could finish speaking, a guild staff member came over and tore down all the requests for unknown monsters from the bulletin board.

"What's going on? Have all the commissions been completed?" Sai Ke asked.

"I'm sorry, but because the danger level of the quest regarding the attack by an unknown monster has been increased, the guild will be assigning adventurers to complete it, and the quest will no longer be available on the bulletin board."

The staff member advised, "Please don't leave the city for the time being, for your safety."

After the staff left, Sai Ke pondered their words and muttered to herself, "Was this really that dangerous?"

"Let's go, this is no longer our business." Qiao Ke La tugged at him.

What they had to do next was simple: train their Weapon Skill and accumulate runes to upgrade their runes every day in the Zane Dungeon.

This is almost what the vast majority of adventurers do in the Zane Dungeon.

This will be a long process.

Meanwhile, the staff member muttered to himself with some concern:

"When is Mr. Basque coming back from the dungeon? He's made this prize redemption area a complete mess."

"And General You Fei, who went to the underground city with him, I really hope she can come back soon."

"I really don't understand why the guild wants to assign her, a general, to investigate unknown monsters. Do we have that much authority?"