Chapter 03 - The Cultivator

Fortunately, the rest of the morning passed expeditiously. The merchants and their workers were obviously competent at their work as before long, the camp was reassembled and the horses fastened to their wagons.

For some reason, despite helping out, I didn’t receive a copper coin this time. However, after some deliberation, I decided to abstain from asking why.

Also, as the caravan leaders announced it was time to take off, a worrisome problem appeared

Dark and Atom were still offline.

When I asked the still drowsy Luna if she could contact them, she shrugged and explained that they had met in Easton and weren’t actually friends in real life.

Thus, it was with a heavy heart that we continued on our journey to Durnatel.

…

Luna wasn’t nearly as comfortable with conversastion as Dark was. And since she seem interested in starting one, I shrugged, took the hint, and turned my attention back to the road ahead.

Glancing around the caravan, it dawned on me that Atom and Dark weren’t the only players who’d missed the departure—presumably because it was so early.

“I hope they’ll be alright.” So far, the roads had felt relatively safe to traverse—at least during the day—but then again, that might've had more to do with the size of the group I was traveling with.

“Hopefully, I’ll see them in Durnatel.”

The caravan continued without any obstacles or issues and—despite my worst fears—no bandits showed up to attack us. Though admittedly, many of my fellow players probably would've welcome the challenge.

But with the number of armed guards employed by the caravan, maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised that no bandits dared to approach us.

A couple hours after midday, the caravan stopped to rest. Many of the players groaned as they collapsed to the ground, not used to this kind of physical labour. Unlike them, however, I actively decided to approach Hou Wen’s guard detail.

When I arrived at their camp, the young swordsman I had beaten up yesterday immediately glowered at me; yet, when he noticed that I wasn’t perturbed by his glare, he scoffed and ignored me.

“How petulant.” I sighed in disappointment.

“Well, well, well—if it isn’t the prodigy swordsman!” Hou Wen greeted me with an arched eyebrow and a teasing smile. Around him, four other veteran guards gave me a once-over, sizing me up like I was fresh meat on the chopping block.

"I wouldn't have stood a chance against any of these guards..." I realised.

“Hello, Hou Wen.” I replied, offering the clasped-fist salute—an action that immediately earned me a few approving nods from the mercenaries.

"I'm here to request another spar."

“Oh?” The leader looked at his men, a few of whom seemed intrigued by the prospect. “Are you looking to make another wager perhaps?”

Shaking my head, I clarified, “There’s no need for a wager. I’m just looking to improve my swordsmanship before teh White Tiger Sect's recruitment."

Hou Wen huffed in laughter, slapping his knee before rising to his feet and stretching his back with a groan.

“Spoken like a true swordsman indeed!” Hou Wen said, sizing me up with a predatory grin. “I know I said it yesterday, but you really do remind me of myself back in my prime."

For some reason, no one groaned this time.

“I do not mind giving you a quick lesson, young man,” Hou Wen said, tossing a glance at one of his men. The guard gave a curt nod and strode off toward one of the carriages.

"But first," Hou Wen continued, "If you're here asking for favours, isn't it time you introduced yourself?"

Realising my oversight, I quickly bowed my head.

"Apologies,” I said, feeling a bit chagrined. I still wasn’t used to having to introduce myself to NPCs. “Name's Bishop."

“Swordsman Bishop huh.” Hou Wen repeated, showing no sign of confusion or curiosity over the obviously non-Chinese name.

“Maybe the NPCs have been programmed not to notice?” I mused silently. In the end, though, it didn’t really matter.

“Well, come on then, Bishop. Let's see what you've got." Hou Wen smiled, resting one hand on his sheathed sword, the other gribbing the scabbard with ease. "I ain't got all day."

Looking around their camp, I raised an eyebrow.

“Here?” I asked. “Shouldn’t we move somewhere more suitable for a spar?”

Also, there was the risk of accidentally hurting someone.

“That’s the first lesson I'll teach you today, Bishop.” Hou Wen said, stepping toward me. Something in the shift of his posture instantly put me on guard.

"Sometimes, you've got to be ready to fight—even when the conditions are far from ideal."

Before I could get a word in, he lunged.

I scrambled to deflect the strike—only to realise too late that it was a feint.

Dodging instinctively, I barely avoided getting smacked into the dirt in the very first exchange.

“Which brings us to the second lesson,” Hou Wen smiled as he pressed the assault, keeping me on the defensive and unable to launch a counter of my own.

“An experienced swordsman," he continued, circling me, "will use your tendency to lock eyes with your opponent against you."

As if to demonstrate, House Wen's gaze dropped briefly to my right arm—drawing my attention—only for his wrist to flick, sending a strike toward my left side instead.

“Shit!” I panicked as his sword moved like a coiled snake, fast and unpredictable. Instinct took over—I threw up my arm to blook.

Luckily, the veteran swordsman's scabbard wasn't sharp.

Unluckily, it still hurt like a motherfucker.

Reeling from the blow, off balance and wincing, I struggled to keep up as Hou Wen shifted seamlessly into another swing.

Lifting my sword to block—but my eyes widened as the impact knocked my weapon clean out of my grip.

Before I could react, Hou Wen's sheathed blade came to rest firmly on my shoulder.

“And finally,” Hou Wen said calmly, “when facing a physically stronger opponent, don't try to block. Evade, or redirect the force."

Somehow, the spar was over before it even had a chance to begin.

Fortunately, only the guard detail and Luna had witnessed my embarrassing display of swordsmanship.

Before I could thank the man for his lessons, though, a consoling prompt materialized before me:

[Through disciplined sparring and tactical instructions from Guard Captain, Hou Wen, your proficiency with the sword has increased and your understanding of combat fundamentals has deepened.]

[Results: +2 Swordsmanship Levels (Beginner 2 → 4). Spatial combat awareness has increased slightly.]

Dusting myself off, I clasped my hands in gratitude; meanwhile, I did my best to ignore the sharp pain that suddenly pierced through my aching arm.

“Thank you for the lessons, Hou Wen.” I said honestly. Though a bit unfair, the spar had given me a lot to think about.

First, I realised I was way too trusting of strangers. Hou Wen’s attack startled me more than it should have. I wasn't in civilised society any more, and it was time I started acting like it. Moreover, it would be a waste of my brand new sword if I wasn’t prepared to use it at a moment’s notice.

Second, I wasn't an experienced swordsman. I had some sparring experience, sure, but when it comes to actual fights, I struggled to keep up with my opponent.

Third, unlike the majority of people in the real world, these NPCs actually know how to fight. Hou Wen's advice about not relying too much on my opponent’s eye-movements was something of an eye-opener; pun intended.

After some self-reflection, a new goal became clear to me. I had to adopt a more holistic approach in my swordsmanship moving forward. Although it would be difficult, in order to avoid falling for feints so often, I had to start paying more attention to my opponents’ hips and and shoulders.

“But I have no idea how to defend myself against that coiling sword art of his…” I sighed in defeat.

“Don't be too hard on yourself, Bishop.” Hou Wen smiled encouragingly. “As a matter of fact, I would be a lousy guard captain if I couldn't even teach a brat like you a thing or two every now and then.”

“That's right kid!” One of the observing guards whistled in agreement. “You still did better than Tan Fang usually does.”

“Hey!” One of the other guards, presumably Tan Fang, immediately raised his voice to defend himself. “You ought to take a long and hard look in the mirror before you start critiquing others, Jian. Also, I wasn't the one whose overconfidence lost him a sword yesterday.”

The young man I defeated yesterday grumbled something incoherent, probably an insult of some kind.

“Oh come on. You are not still touchy about your loss, are you Huan? I say get over it already. Honestly, you should probably take a page out of the kid's book. At least he knows how to get his ass kicked with integrity and honour.”

“What you know about honour wouldn't even fill half a page, Jian.” Huan snapped harshly at his fellow colleague.

Jian stood up looking ready to throw cuffs when Hou Wen suddenly interrupted the bickering men with a loud whistle.

“That's enough useless posturing out of the two of you.” Hou Wen commanded with a tone that begot compliance. “You will act in accordance with your stature, especially when in the presence of outsiders. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, sir!" To their credit, neither Huan or Jian hesitated to comply.

“Oh and by the way, Bishop.” With his guard detail in order again, Hua Wen turned his attention back to me. “If—for some reason—you do not pass the White Tiger Sect’s recruitment tests, know that you are always welcome to join my merry little band of miscreants. We could always use another sword prodigy or two.” Hou Wen said with a wink.

Thanking him again for the lessons, I retreated to lick my wounds in solitude. Though I'd done my best to show a good face, underneath the surface, I hated how easily the guard captain had dismantled my swordsmanship.

“I never should've stopped practicing.” I grumbled to myself.

“That sure was a… spectacle.” Luna said as I returned to ‘our’ wagon. “I thought you knew how to use that thing.” She said, gesturing to the sword tied to my waist.

Glaring at her, I bit my tongue in an effort to not say something stupid. Unlike the young guards, I was in control of my emotions, and not the other way around.

After a few seconds of breathing, I found that the anger had lessened greatly.

“I can always become better.” I muttered dismissively.

“And mark my words, I will.”

…

While listening half-heartedly to the chatter of a few nearby players, I caught wind of something interesting. Apparently, our journey hadn't been as uneventful as I'd assumed.

Earlier in the day, some of the guards—and a handful of players near the front of the caravan—had been forced to deal with an ill-tempered boar. According to the players, it had been an absolutely massive specimen.

Of course, I took that claim with a grain of salt. If the thing really had been the size of a horse, I figured I'd have at least seen it. Supposedly, the skirmish ended quickly once the guards stepped in.

Still, the appearance of a wild beast brought my thoughts back to Dark and Atom’s setback.

“They better make it.” I muttered, trying to reassure myself.

At least they were both online now, according to my friend list. Hopefully, they'd catch up to us soon.

While waiting for the caravan to resume its journey, I considered practicing with my sword—but my arm was still sore from sparring with Hou Wen, so I begrudgingly decided against it.

Instead, like Luna, I sat down in the lotus position and began experimenting with different breathing patterns, hoping to stumble upon an original cultivation method.

Before long, I heard the caravan leader's voice ringing out across the camp. It was time to pack up.

…

The sun was beginning to set when we finally arrived at the gates of Durnatel. When I first started playing this game, I hadn't expected to spend two full days traveling with a caravan. Yet, despite the occasional fatigue, the experience had been surprisingly enjoyable.

Not only had I improved my swordsmanship, but I'd also gotten to experience nature in a way I rarely could in the real world.

And so, we passed through the Durnatel town gate.

“Wow.” I couldn't help but mutter as my eyes darted around, taking in the bustling activity.

Though noticeably smaller than the starting city of Easton, Durnatel was absolutely packed—especially with teenagers bustling about, their excitement palpable.

Quan Zan had laughed when I probed him about it. The reason was obvious: the upcomjing recruitment for the White Tiger Sect had drawn hopefuls from all over countryside.

Luna left without a word—and honestly, good riddance. The standoffish attitude she’d developed during the trip had worn thin, and I was glad I hadn't bothered adding her to my friend list.

After exchanging a few polite goodbyes with the caravan's NPCs, I broke off from the group and set out to explore on my own.

A plethora of food stalls lined the streets, offering everything from sizzling meat skewers to colorful confections. Some looked—and smelled—absolutely divine. But with only four copper to my name, I tore myself away and kept walking.

Sugary sweets were my one true bane in the real world; they didn't need to become my vice here as well.

Nevertheless, my miserable financial situation didn’t stop me from window shopping.

Teenagers scurried through the streets like overexcited squirrels, drawing scowls and muttered curses from some disgruntled stall owners. Above the street, NPCs leaned out from second-floor windows, chatting amongst themselves about who-knows-what.

The only inn I managed to find had a weathered sign swinging on the door: NO VACANCIES.

Of course.

And then, just as I was wondering where to go next, I saw him.

My first cultivator.

…