《The Jianghu》 Prologue - They Must Die "We''ll have them killed." A thick cloud of smoke billowed from the mans mouth as he spoke. The other man, who had previously stood with his head bowed, looked up sharply. ¡°Ex...Excuse me?¡± The first man took a long drag of his cigar, causing the end to glow a deep red in the remnants of the smoke cloud, before continuing. ¡°We have invested much money into their research. We cannot allow it to be lost. We will have them killed.¡± He grabbed his phone and stood from his desk. ¡°Couldn''t we...¡± An edge of desperation in his voice, ¡°Mister Aristov, sir, I don''-¡± He was silenced by Aristov''s raised hand. Aristov raised the phone to his ear. Two faint rings could be heard before someone picked up. ¡°Boris?¡± A pause. ¡°Is Artyom. I have job for you.¡± As the conversation continued, Aristov turned his back to the other man and looked out his office window at the city. ¡°Yes, yes.¡± A deep chuckle. ¡°Alright, I must go. You will call my secretary for the details, yes? Good, good.¡± Aristov turned for a moment and looked at the other man, rolling his eyes while mimicking a yapping mouth with the hand which held his cigar. He got an awkward smile in return. ¡°I must go, Boris. I have man waiting. Farewell.¡± He hung up and turned back towards the other man. ¡°Now, Randalph,¡± An abnormally large grin spreading across his face, ¡°I hear your own research has been struggling for funding, yes?¡± The other man gulped, pale face stricken with guilt. He shook his head as if to clear it. ¡°Yes, Mister Aristov,¡± He stopped to think for a moment, a grin of his own forming, ¡°And I believe it will provide ample opportunity for profit.¡± ** ¡°Do you really think destroying what we have will be enough, Ming?¡± The man stopped pacing for a moment to look at his wife, eyes lingering of her beautiful red hair. ¡°Rose, I don''t know if it will,¡± He continued pacing, ¡°I just know we have to try. We can''t let them use the research for... for that!¡± He ended with a shout. The woman, her green eyes glossy and close to tears, tried again. ¡°Maybe it wont be so bad? Maybe we can convince them to-¡± ¡°No!¡± Ming shouted at his wife. The both stood staring at one another in silence after his shout. A tear rolled down Rose''s cheek and Ming''s face softened. ¡°Look, I''ve put too much effort into this,¡± The man was back to pacing through the kitchen. ¡°I''ve poured my whole life into this. I cannot allow them steal it from me. From us. We will have to destroy the research and go into hiding. We can start over from scra-¡± He stopped short, cocking his head. ¡°Did you hear that?¡± Rose wiped her face with the sleeve of her sweater. ¡°What?¡± Ming turned and began walking towards the front of the house, stopping abruptly at the archway which opened into the front room. ¡°...Ming?¡± Rose asked after a moment. Her eyes widened as her husband slowly fell to the ground, revealing a bald man. She opened her mouth to scream, but never got the chance as a hand slammed around her mouth and a knife into her left armpit. Not much later, their young son stumbled upon the still warm corpses which were once his parents. He had just returned home from school and was expecting the Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich his mother had promised would be waiting for him, but now it would never be there. The boy managed dial 911 before he broke down in tears. Soon, sirens joined with the cries of the child. ** ¡°The kid''s two-for-two.¡± A large man said as he stuffed his face with the last bite of a donut. ¡°Huh?¡± A much thinner man inquired, turning from the coffee machine and stirring his small Styrofoam cup. ¡°The kid,¡± He gestured to the child sitting next to an old Chinese man on the other side of the glass, ¡°His real parents were killed by some maniac back in 2019. Now his adoptive parents are murdered. He''s two-for-two.¡± The man chuckled at his own comment. The thinner man sneered at his colleagues bad taste and then turned to head into the office. ¡°Are you sure you don''t want a coffee, Mister Lin?¡± He asked once again as he sat down opposite of them. Mister Lin shook his head, but didn''t open his mouth to respond. ¡°Alright, then.¡± He cleared his throat and shuffled the papers on the desk in front of him. ¡°It seems everything is in order. Just a few more signatures and young Brian here,¡± He smiled at the child as he looked upon hearing his name, ¡°will be free to go home with you.¡± This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.When Mr. Lin did not respond, he continued. ¡°Now then,¡± Taking on an air of seriousness, ¡°I need you to decide if you absolutely want to...¡± He paused for a second, glancing at Brian. ¡°If you really want to, er, take responsibility of...¡± Gesturing at Brian, who was once again ignoring the two adults but giving all the attention in the world to his swinging feet. ¡°No one would blame you. Not your blood after all.¡± He concluded in a whisper. Mr. Lin''s frowned at the question and finally opened his mouth. ¡°I am sure, Mister O''Donald,¡± His thick accent made the name sound odd. The man looked uncomfortable for a moment, but regained his composure almost instantly. ¡°Alrighty then, please sign here,¡± Spinning one of the papers so it faced Mr. Lin. He offered a pen with a smile. Mr. Lin took the pen and signed his name in Chinese characters. Mr. O''Donald looked as if he would object for a moment, but shrugged instead. He took the paper, shuffled the papers once again, and then stapled them all together. ¡°We''re done, then.¡± He rummaged in his desk for a moment and took out a cheap sucker. He rapped it on the desk to get Brian''s attention and then handed it to you child. ¡°Are you ready to head home with your Uncle Jie, Brian?¡± He asked with a smile. Brian just gave the man a sad stare for a moment before lowering his eyes back to his feet without an answer. He frowned and stood, leading the old man and young boy out of his office and towards the elevators. ¡°Now, if any issues come up,¡± He handed the older man a business card, ¡°Just call me at that number. Or text me. Both work.¡± Mr. Lin gave a single bob of his head and left the office with Brian. ** ¡°Mom!¡± And then a few moments after, ¡°Dad!¡± Jie awoke to hear the screams of his new charge. Groaning, he got up as quick as he could and half-ran towards Brian''s room. ¡°Uncle Jie!¡± Brian screamed as Jie made it to the bedroom. ¡°What''s wrong?¡± Jie asked as he approached the bed. Brian just sat quietly wiping the tears with his long-sleeved pajamas. Jie let out a long sigh and went to the corner of the room. He then dragged an old rocking chair to the side of Brian''s bed and sat down. ¡°I saw them again.¡± Brian whispered after they had sat in silence for a few minutes. Jie, still unfamiliar with his Nephew, gave a awkward pat to Brian''s shoulder. In response to his Uncle''s touch, Brian began to quietly sob. In a panic, Jie scrambled to figure out a way to get him to stop. After a few moments he had one. ¡°How would like hear story I tell your father when was your age?¡± In his thick accent. The sobbing stopped and an eager face looked up at Jie. Clearing his throat, he began. ¡°The setting is Song Dynasty, during time of great strife for China. Guo Yang was young man raised on the plains of Mongol-¡± ¡°I don''t like it.¡± Jie arched an eyebrow at the young boy. ¡°I don''t know what most of those words mean.¡± He explained. ¡°Hmm,¡± Jie mused. It took more than a handful of minutes, in which Brian waited patiently for his promised story. Eventually, Jie got an idea and slammed his closed fist into his palm, causing Brian to jump. ¡°What?¡± ¡°An idea. Would you like hear story of greatest Kung Fu master of all time?¡± Brian nodded, but asked, ¡°What''s a Kung Fu Master?¡± ¡°Eh, is someone that fights.¡± ¡°Like a knight?¡± Brian asked, excited. ¡°Well...¡± Jie thought for a moment, ¡°Well, maybe. They both believe in code of chivalry, honor. So yes, a Kung Fu master is like knight.¡± The boy clapped. ¡°But we start in the beginning, before he became Kung Fu master. Or even knew what Kung Fu is. Alright?¡± Jie asked. ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Alright then,¡± Jie sat straight, cleared his throat, and began the tale. ¡°There was once young boy,¡± He smiled at Brian, who looked like the definition of eagerness. ¡°Just about your age...¡±
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Chapter 1 - Uncle Jie Brian had just left the bathroom and was heading back to his table when his phone began to ring. He waited until he had sat back down before he answered. ¡°Hello?¡± ¡°Brian Lin?¡± The voice on the other side of the line asked. ¡°Yep, this is he.¡± He answered cheerfully before sipping on the latte on the table before him. ¡°This is Kim from HR,¡± She explained. ¡°I''m sorry to tell you that your services as a night guard for Celeste Warehouse and Storage Services are no longer required.¡± Brian tried to interject a, ¡°What?¡± but got cut off. ¡°The belongings in your locker have shipped to your address already, so we must ask that you do not return to the premises. Your final paycheck will be deposited, as well. Thank you for your work up until now.¡± The call ended. ¡°What?¡± He half-yelled at his phone, garnering stares from the few other patrons. Blushing, he tucked his phone back into his pocket, slumped his shoulders, and went back to sipping on the still much-too-hot latte. Just great. He stared out the large glass window at the fading sun on the horizon. Why couldn''t they give me more warning? He had been just moments from leaving the cafe and heading down the road to the large warehouse complex he had worked at. He hadn''t even known Celeste had an HR department until just then. As far as he knew, it was a family run operation. He had shook the owners hand on his first day. Brian was settling into his newly formed melancholy when he got another call. Sighing, he took his phone out and a smile spread across his face when he saw who it was. He answered. ¡°Uncle Jie!¡± ¡°Brian! How are you today?¡± The old man who had raised him for most of his life asked. Brian''s smile widened, it seemed like each time they talked, the old man''s Chinese accent became more and more faint. ¡°I''m doing alright.¡± He wasn''t able to keep his voice cheerful, ¡°How are you doing?¡± ¡°Hmm, you don''t sound alright,¡± Uncle Jie accused, ignoring Brian''s own question. ¡°Eh, I don''t want to talk about it.¡± ¡°Well, we will talk about it,¡± A loud chuckle emanated from the phone and then his uncle got serious. ¡°Listen, Brian, tonight Aniyah is coming over for dinner. To celebrate my latest release,¡± Brian could hear a twinge of hope in his voice, ¡°I was wondering if you would come, too.¡± It had been a while since he last spent time with Uncle Jie. Even though they lived in the same city, he never seemed able to find the time to stop by. And seeing how he was fired, he had all the time in the world. I guess losing my job isn''t so bad. ¡°Sure,¡± He replied, sounding more happy already, ¡°What time?¡± ¡°About seven thirty is when the food will be done. Can you make that?¡± Brian pulled his phone away from his ear for a moment and looked at the screen. It read 6:13PM. It would only take maybe thirty minutes to navigate through the traffic and get to his Uncle''s house. ¡°Sure can,¡± I let him know. ¡°I may even come a bit early, if that''s alright.¡± His uncle chuckled and said it would be more than alright. They both said goodbye and Brian ended the call. However, just as he was putting his phone in his pocket, he noticed a gaunt man shambling towards him. Man, I''m popular today... After taking more time than Brian thought was necessary to cross the cafe, the man finally made it to his table. ¡°Brian Lin?¡± The man asked. ¡°Sorry, man, but I''ve already been fired once today.¡± He joked. The man, looking baffled, reached his hand out for a shake. ¡°Randalph,¡± Brian shook his offered hand, ¡°Randalph Klein.¡± ¡°Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Klein.¡± ¡°The pleasure is mine,¡± Randalph sat down opposite of Brian. ¡°And please, call me Randy.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± There was an awkward silence between the two, as Randy just smiled at Brian. He took the time to examine the guy. He was taller than Brian''s own five feet and nine inches, that was for sure. His hair ¨C of the tiny amount left ¨C was a light gray, suggesting his age. Brian was sure there wasn''t a muscle on the mans body, as his arms looked incredibly tiny in the T-shirt he wore. ¡°Er... Can I help you, Randy?¡± Brian''s words caused the man to jump in his seat, but he quickly composed himself. ¡°Yes, I noticed you after I had entered the cafe,¡± He nodded towards the door. ¡°And thought, ''That looks like a grownup version of Ming''s kid!'' and decided I had to come over.¡± This shocked Brian, as he hadn''t heard his fathers name in years. The last time had been when Uncle Jie told him how his brother Ming, Brian''s father, would be proud of him at his High School graduation. ¡°You knew my father?¡± ¡°Oh yes. We worked together quite a lot, back in the day. Had a picture of you at his desk.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Brian prompted. He didn''t know much about his father''s work, besides the fact he was a scientist. ¡°Mmhmm,¡± The man eyed Brian. ¡°Did old Ming ever mention our research?¡± The question caught him off-guard, but he answered anyway. ¡°Nah, he and mom tended to keep their work away from home.¡± Brian sounded solemn about it. ¡°Indeed? Well, it was interesting research, I can tell you that. Your father wanted to change the world with it.¡± The man explained. ¡°Tragedy he couldn''t continue.¡± ¡°Yeah, but I would love to hear about it.¡± He was almost desperate to hear anything about his parents at this point. Uncle Jie didn''t know much about his mom, nor his father after he had left China. Or he said he didn''t, anyways. Brian had his suspicions, though. Just then, the man made a show of checking his watch. ¡°Oh, is that the time?¡± He said, almost as if he had rehearsed the line. ¡°I''ve got to go. Great talking to you, Brian. Maybe we can talk about your old man some other day. Goodbye!¡± The man promptly got up and left, his awkward shamble gone. Replaced with a long, quick gait. Brian watched the man go through the door and then watched him through the window as he got into the backdoor of a black car with tinted window. Almost immediately, the car peeled away from the curb and headed down the road. What a weird guy. ** Later the same evening, Brian pulled up outside of his Uncle''s home. A swanky little two-story in one of the better suburbs of the city. Letting himself in, he called out to let his uncle know he was there. After a few moments of getting no reply, he realized he smelled something burning and sprinted to the kitchen. ¡°Uncle Jie!¡± He called out as he entered. Not getting an answer once again, he began to worry. He turned off all the burners and the oven itself, not bothering to check what was causing the smell. Calling out again, he headed back into the front room and shot up the stairs, hoping to he was working with his ear buds in again. For some reason, though, he couldn''t shake the feeling something was wrong. And what he found as he stepped into his uncle''s study validated the feeling. Slumped against the desk was his uncle, a small pool of blood still expanding from where he sat. ¡°Uncle Jie!¡± He yelped, ¡°What''s wrong?¡± He rushed to his uncle, dropping to his knees besides him. In a moment of panic, he reached down and shook his uncles shoulder, causing his head to fall forward much to easily. He wasn''t sure what he should do. Sniffling, he took a deep breath to help calm him. Then, he tentatively reached out and placed his fingers on his uncle''s neck, hoping to feel a pulse. He has a momentarily surge of hope when he felt his uncle was still warm, but the hope died when he felt no pulse. He then checked his wrist for a pulse, but nothing. As a last-ditch effort, he pulled back his uncle''s still-warm head and moved his ear to his uncles open mouth, praying for a breath. But there was nothing. Flashbacks of his parents, in the same state as Uncle Jie was now, forced their way into his mind. Unable to cope with the devastation, Brian fell into massive sobs. He didn''t know how long he had been crying when Aniyah had come, but his uncle had begun to become cold. ¡°Aw, are you boys having a mome- Ohmigawd!¡± Aniyah screamed, coming upon Brian sobbing over his dead uncle. Brian turned his head to look at the black woman, but he wasn''t able to meet her eyes. Instead he stared at the ground, mimicking the way he had coped with his parents death years before. ¡°Oh god, oh god,¡± Aniyah seemed to be on the verge of a panic attack. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. But, as if a switch had been flip, she stopped. ¡°It''s going to be alright, Brian,¡± She assured him as she took out her phone and began dialing. ¡°Just wait here,¡± She told him, as if he had planned to leave his uncle. A moment later, she was telling the 911 operator about his uncle. ** Brian rolled over in his bed, trying to muster the will to do something. It had been almost a month since his uncle had died and been buried next to his parents. Yet every morning he woke up with teary eyes and evidence of a fitful sleep. He was thankful he usually did not remember the dreams. Even the pleasant dreams of his uncle would make him overly emotional and start the waterworks. The dreams of his dead parents had started again, too. He did, however, remember what he had been dreaming about prior to waking up. It had been a flashback to the days when he had first lived with his uncle. When he was just eight and the nightmares about finding his parents dead on their kitchen floor were frequent. In this particular flashback dream, Uncle Jie had been reading Brian the manuscript of the second adventure from the story he had created for him as a kid. Uncle had just finished the last page and asked what Brian had thought. Instead of answering as his uncle had expected, Brian had jumped out of bed and hugged his uncle close. He then whispered, ¡°I love you, Uncle Jie.¡± And he had awoken. Thinking back on the dream made him feel bad two-fold. Because remembering the good times with Uncle Jie still hurt. But also because, for the life of him, Brian couldn''t remember much about the story his uncle had written. It was a want to remedy this that convinced him to finally get out of the bed and start his day. He hopped out of bed, not bothering to put on a shirt, and headed towards the spare bedroom; the only other bedroom in the small house he rented. He had stored most of the boxes of stuff from his uncle''s house in there, including several containing books. He hoped one would have the Young Adult novels his uncle had published, based on the original story he had crafted for Brian. This was the first time he had bothered to look through the boxes Aniyah and her husband had packed. Thinking back on it, he felt bad for not thanking them at the time. But then again, Brian hadn''t muttered a single word for over a week after his uncle died. Brian noticed a pattern. He seemed to completely shut down and go on auto-pilot when he became depressed. He made a mental note to talk to the doctor about it. Then he, surprised to find he didn''t sound so gloomy, wondered if going through his uncle''s stuff was helping. By the time he had finished this thought process, Brian had two stacks of books in front of him. One contained all six books of Uncle Jie''s series, each looking brand new and obviously never used. Wonder if he was shy about his work. The other stack was an odd find. They were a bunch of old Chinese novels, most of them thin. Brian probably wouldn''t have paid attention to them if not for someone, his uncle he assumed, had written in English in blue ink pen on all of the covers. Judging by what was written - Epic of the Crane Heroes, Half-Gods and Almost-Devils, The Frowning, Morose Wanderer, to name a few ¨C he assumed the English to be the translated titles. One in particular caught his eye, though. At the top, like the others, was a translated title. However, there was another translation circled in red. He initially assumed it to be the authors name, but the oddness of it made him second guess. Heroic Forest. It just didn''t make sense as a name. Unless it happened to be a literal translation of the name, instead of the pinyin most Chinese names used when being translated. His interest piqued, Brian got up and sat at the computer desk was also in the room. Deciding his uncle thought this particular novel to be important, Brian began his search. He was able to confirm that Heroic Forest was indeed the authors name. Well, a pen name. He was apparently respected for a certain type of fiction, called Wuxia. He even had a large number of his works translated into English. Brian found himself impressed at how many reviews some of his translated works had. Almost all of them five stars. Sure, it wasn''t near as many as a native best seller would have. But this Heroic Forest fellow had seemed to have gathered a cult following in the States. He decided to place orders with all the translated novels he could find. However, he couldn''t find anything to match the one he had found in his uncle''s collection. He wondered if his uncle had just translated the title wrong, but he couldn''t find anything on the Internet to match the Chinese characters, either. As he searched, though, he did come across an interesting tidbit. Apparently Heroic Forest had written the lore for a certain game. It was the worlds first, and still only, true Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online, or VR MMO, game. Brian had done some PC gaming during his early High School years, but had fallen out of the hobby during his senior year. He thought he still had the Virtual Reality goggles he would use to play most of the games. However, this particular VR MMO was supposed to be true Virtual Reality. Upload your mind to the game type stuff. This surprised him, as he hadn''t thought technology had come so far along yet. As far as he knew, the closest tech had come to achieving this was basic brain-interface stuff which let you move the cursor with your mind. That and electronic drugs that induced hallucinations. But they could only be partially influenced, not controlled. Kids called it Drifting when he was in school, but he wasn''t sure if it was still a thing. As he delved deeper into the information, he found the tech had been out for a while now. He wondered why he hadn''t heard of it sooner. But then again, I have spent the past two and a half years sleeping most of the day... The more he read, the more he wanted to get his hands on the device; called an Ingenium. Not just because he found the possibility of real Virtual Reality mind blowing. But also because of the flagship VR MMO, The Jianghu. The Jianghu. A unique Wuxia setting created by Heroic Forest. One Wuxia blog he had stumbled upon described it as the most detailed and exciting Wuxia setting to date. A few gaming blogs heralded it as the most realistic game to date. I guess that wouldn''t be hard to achieve in Virtual Reality. Brian was all-around excited up until he visited the Ingenium store page. Buying the most basic model, a simple black pod about the size of a single bed, costs over ten-thousand dollars. And that wasn''t including the installation fees or the mandatory one-year subscription to the Jianghu. Altogether, it would come to just under eleven-hundred dollars. For a while, Brian just stared at the screen and weighed his options. He had the money for this ¨C his uncle had left his entire estate to Brian. A hefty lump sum, all future royalties for his novels, his house and all his possessions. And Aniyah had taken most of the important items from the house and sold it as-is, furniture and all, at his request. He was going through the final phases of the sell already, and would have the money soon. But that was still a huge sum. He could pay all his bills for a year with so much cash. However, he also saw this as an amazing opportunity to connect with his Uncle Jie in ways he had never taken advantage of while he was still alive. Uncle Jie had always talked about this Wuxia thing, but Brian had never paid it much attention. Now his uncle was dead, and each memory of a mention of Wuxia stabbed at his heart; thousands of tiny failures he regretted. He almost felt like he owed it to his uncle to do this. That if he didn''t go into The Jianghu and discover the mystery of just who this Heroic Forest guy was, and why his uncle had this mysterious book, he would be betraying him. In the end, Brian made the purchase.
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Chapter 2 - Log In In the weeks it took for the Ingeium to be delivered, Brian split his time equally between researching The Jianghu and reading his uncles novels. He had tried to read the Young Adult series, but just couldn''t seem to get into it. He could no longer relate with eight year-old Johnny Whoopus and the rest of the gang. Truth be told, Brian had only ever had the first two novels read to him and then he kind of grew out of the story. That didn''t stop his uncle from writing them, though. The books he had been reading were the translations of Heroic Forest''s novels. He had ate these up, finishing half of them in a single day. It helped that most seemed to be relatively short. More like novellas or novelettes. He had enjoyed them, though. Some were even up to six-hundred pages. He had never been much of a reader, but for some reason these stories sucked him in like nothing he had ever experienced. He could see why his uncle had fallen in love with this type of fiction. It was basically fantasy superheroes. Most of them seemed to center around a single man on a journey of self-discovery, traveling around ancient China. He would start off weak, but as things progressed and the protagonist learned more, his abilities would end up at a superhuman caliber. Really, it was no different than a Western superhero story. Except the protagonist learned his powers through training. And it was set in ancient China instead of modern times. But other than that, there were a lot of similarities. Heck, most of the origin stories began with tragedy. Parents killed by a villain, pushing the protagonist to do good and fight against evil. Johnny Whoopus got his start that way. His uncle had written Johhny''s parents death so Brian could relate to him, of course. But it seemed like Johnny''s adventures had a lot in common with the general formula for a Wuxia novel. Heavily Americanized, of course. But most of the elements were there; Tragedy, adventure, mystery, revenge, lots of Kung Fu, and even some romance in the last two novels. He had also done a decent chunk of research into The Jianghu. The game honestly didn''t seem so much more advanced than some of the games he played as a kid. Of course, the key feature which made it all the more amazing was the Virtual Reality. He had VR Goggles as a kid - most people did back then, before the fad had faded. But they weren''t true Virtual Reality, just an image projected onto your eyes. With the Ingenium, you would actually be in the game. You would be your character, have complete control over all its movements. And the Jianghu wasn''t anything to scoff at, either. Supposedly taste, smell, and even textures could be replicated spot-on. No one knew how they accomplished it. Heck, during their initial ad campaigns, there had apparently been a coalition of scientist who had claimed what Brain Dynamic Corp was promising with the Ingenium was simply impossible. They got proven wrong, of course. The game was completely free-form. You were dropped in the world and then left to do whatever you pleased. Of course, there might be consequences for some actions. The game had a large population of NPCs you had to coexist with. Which was another anomaly, as far as the great minds of the world were concerned. Apparently, even with some massive leaps in computing technology, it shouldn''t be possible to do anything like what the Ingenium had accomplished. Brian had spent day after day, staring at the computer screen and trying to find any solid information regarding the game and how to play it as he could. Most of it was futile. People often wouldn''t agree on things and would offer conflicting information. A lot of the good information was hidden behind password-protected forums and chatrooms. Every once in a while he would come across a tip or piece of information that he believed he could trust, which he would write down in a journal. It was just after he had jotted down a particularly juicy tip that he heard his doorbell ring. Groaning as he stood and stretched, he headed to the door. What he saw instantly had his adrenaline pumping. Through his living room window, he could see a truck with the Brain Dynamic Corp logo on the side. He was so excited he had trouble opening the door for the deliveryman. "Hell-," The deliveryman started but stopped, staring at Brian. Confused at first, Brian realized he had forgotten to wear a shirt. "Oh," Brian chuckled. After a moment the deliveryman joined him in his chuckle. "I guess you''re Brian Lin?" The man inquired. "Yep, that''s me," Brian replied, "And I guess you''re the man who will install my Ingenium?" "Sure am," The man stuck out his hand, which Brian shook. "I''m Mike." Brian spotted an old T-Shirt sitting the back of his nearby couch, which he grabbed. "Now, where would you like your Ingenium installed, Mister Lin?" The man asked as Brian slipped the shirt on. "Well," Brian paused to think. He hadn''t actually thought about this, which he berated himself for. "I''ve got a spare room. But I''ll need to move a few boxes around." Brian explained. "No problem, it''ll take me about five or ten minutes to get the Ingenium out of the truck. Just make sure there''s a double socket nearby." "Alright," He said as the man turned and walked back towards his truck. Brian hurried back to his room and began to stack the boxes containing his uncle''s stuff into one corner. Some had to be carried into his own room, but most were able to stay in the spare room. He also moved his computer over to the opposite wall of where he wanted the Ingenium installed, unsure of how much room Mike would need to work. It wasn''t long before the man showed up, pulling a furniture dolly that held a large, tall box. "That wall, there?" Mike asked, nodding at the empty wall. "Yep." "Alright, then." He pulled the dolly into the room and gently let the box down. "Thank you for having a one-floor home, by the way. You wouldn''t imagine how hard this thing is to take up steps." Brian gave a polite chuckle at the comment. "This will take a while," He explained. "You shouldn''t leave the house, but no need for you to sit around with me." "Ok," Brian replied. Then after his stomach let out a soft growl, "I''ll be in the kitchen having lunch, then." Mike nodded and got to work, cutting open the box. In the meantime, Brian headed to the kitchen and made himself a peanut butter sandwich. He had neglected his grocery shopping and didn''t really have anything in the house but some stale bread, peanut butter, and a few cups of ramen. Most nights he ordered out, so it hadn''t really bothered him til now. As he ate, he also noticed that his kitchen was a mess. The small size of the space made all the clutter look even worse. Pizza boxes, old Chinese food containers, microwave meals, and more occupied the counters and most of his table. Some of the trash had even spilled off the edge and fell on the floor. After he was finished with his sad little sandwich, he began tidying up the kitchen. Half-way through, he realized he was out of trash bags and began ferrying armfuls of stuff to the trash and recycling bins behind his house. However, those also filled up as he hadn''t taken them to the curb in a while. Brian grimaced at his dilemma. I need to get my life back together... On his return trip to the kitchen, he found Mike waiting for him, a tablet in hand. "All done," He explained. "Fantastic!" Brian smiled. "Just a couple of things," He held the tablet to Brian. "Need a thumb scan here," Brian complied. "And a signature there." Brian had always found it awkward to write on touch pads, and was slightly embarrassed by the mess he created that was supposed to be his signature. "And we''re done." Mike tucked the tablet under his arm and Brian lead him to the door. "The manual and Quick Start guides are on top of the pod. It''s suggested that you at least read the Quick Start guide before hopping in the pod." Mike explained as they got to the door. "Warranty information is on there, too," He continued before leaving. "Basically just says that unless you tamper with the thing, you have a life-time full-replacement plan." "Alright, thank you for your help." Brian said as he closed the door on Mike. He didn''t want to be rude, but he wanted to get in his Ingenium and give it a whirl. He practically sprinted to his spare room. He stopped in the doorframe. For some reason, the Ingenium had almost seemed like a dream during these past few weeks. Until now, he had only read about it and seen pictures. A few videos, too. But still, actually getting to see it with his own eyes made it so much more real. Seeing it now, he understood why it was nicknamed the "pod." It was a glossy black, about seven or eight feet long, half or so that across. It sat low to the ground on eight stubby legs. On the end towards the door, on the upper half that made up the lid, was a small screen that currently displayed the Ingenium logo. Brian guessed that it was eight by five inches in size. Beside the screen was another, much smaller, screen that was currently black. He wondered what it was for. The whole thing had a rounded design that screamed, "Sci-fi!" to him. Just as Mike had said, three separate booklets sat on top of the pod. He strode over and picked up the smallest of the three, assuming it to be the Quick Start guide. He was right, and began thumbing through it. Most of it seemed to be helpful tips, general safety warnings, and boasting about all the possibilities that Ingenium offered. About halfway in, though, it got to the real "quick start" guide. The first portion explained that he would need to set up his account. Apparently the thumb scan he had done with Mike was the first step in this process and now all he had to do was give a second scan using the small black screen he had noticed next to the bigger one. Brian kneeled down next to the pod and placed his thumb on the pad. He felt a brief flash of heat and then the larger screen came to life, displaying instructions for the next step. Apparently he also had to do an iris scan using a small scanner above the large screen. He hadn''t even noticed it because it was so flush with the rest of the pod, but looking closer it was obvious. Once that was done, the screen prompted him to continue reading his guide. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. It explained that the thumb and iris scan set him up as the master account holder for the Ingenium. If he wanted to, he could add new users for other household members or friends, but only he would have a master account. Apparently, this was to help keep people safe, as only a registered account holder could open an Ingenium, by press their thumb to the scanner pad. Didn''t want strangers playing with your bits while you''re in Virtual Reality, right? The quick start guide let him know that if he wanted to change any settings for the pod, he could either use the touch-screen on the outside or do it while in the pod itself. Otherwise, it was mostly used to let people know when the pod is occupied. There was also a single button inside the pod, used to open and close it from the inside. It explained that once the pod detects a human inside, it will begin the start process by itself. The last of the guide gave him a brief description of what to expect once he was actually in the pod, but it was mostly fluff. So he tossed it over with the other two packets and pressed his thumb to the scanner pad. It took a second, but then he heard a soft hissing sound. Another second passed and the top portion of the pod began open. It almost looked like a mussel opening up. Inside the pod reflected the outside, for the most part. A glossy black. Brian could see the orange glowing from the open-close button on the padding that made up most of the lower portion of the pod. The padding had him worried, as it looks like there wouldn''t be much room for him. He pressed a hand into it, to test how soft it was, and was surprised to find it mostly hard. However, after a few seconds of pressing his hand down, the padding seemed to begin absorbing it. He freaked out and jerked his hand back. He tested it again, but it was hard once more. Deciding that it was time to actually get in the pod, he kicked off his shoes and began crawling in. It was awkward, but after a few moments of fiddling, he was able to get in a position that felt right. Once ready, he pressed the button that would close the lid. As it closed, his body began to sink into the gel-like padding. Putty was the best description he could come with as it molded to his body. As the lid closed the last tiny bit, there was a much louder hiss than the one he had heard from the outside when it opened. It only lasted a few second, and when it was over he was completely sealed within the pod. The darkness seemed to stretch forever. When''s this thing supposed to start? After what seemed like minutes had passed, he began to panic. This is not a good time to discover I''m claustrophobic. And then there was a bright, blinding light and he found himself floating in nothingness. "Welcome to the Ingenium, Brian Lin." A male voice called out, sounding a bit robotic. "What would you like to do? This unit has New York, Paris, Hobbito-" "The Jianghu!" Brian cut off the voice. Floating in an endless abyss was freaking him out and he wanted to get out of it as soon as he could. Great, first claustrophobia and now agoraphobia... "You would like to load The Jianghu Virtual Experience?" The voiced inquired. "Yes." There was a blinding flash as soon as the word left his lips, causing him to snap his eyes shut. After a few moments, he ventured a peek through one of his eyes. He found himself in a room with a polished wood floor. Opening his other eye, he was able to see the whole room. It had a very rustic look to it. Everything was made of wood, and the walls were plastered an egg-shell white. There were only three pieces of furniture. To his left was a body-length mirror with a very ornate frame. It reminded him of the kind of designs he would see in a Chinese restaurant. To his right was a wardrobe, with similar designs. The wardrobe was only a bit taller than himself and about as wide as it was tall. In the center of the room was a very plain desk, with a very non-plain man sitting behind it. He seemed like a giant. Brian could see the tops of his knees over the top of the desk. He had a wild mane of black hair, crowned by some odd hat with a strap that went under his chin. He had a long beard that fell between his legs. Loose robes, that allowed for very deep cuffs, covered his large frame. Brian was sure that the cuffs could dragon on the ground if the man didn''t hold his arms up. Hesitating, Brian slowly approached the man. He was surprised at how smoothly he walked. Feels almost like I''m floating. "Hel-" Was all Brian was able to get out before the large man held out a massive meat stick that roughly looked like a hand. "First," He intoned, his deep voice booming and echoing in the small room, "You must create your appearance." He gestured to the mirror on Brian''s left. Brian shrugged and walked up to the Mirror, but was stunned when he stepped in front of it. In the mirror, all he saw was a small green marble, with a glow of the same color, floating about five feet off the ground. He waved his hand, but the ball only shook a bit. A moment later, about a dozen screens popped into existence in front of Brian on the edges of the mirror. Each seemed to be focused on creating an avatar. The screen at the top gave him the option of six different basic body shapes. He reached up to press one of the option before he remembered he had no arms. Despite this, though, when he looked back at the mirror he was greeted by some kind of flesh monster that had no details. Brian was familiar with character creation in games, so he had a general idea of what he should do. The problem, though, was that he was never any good at it. He usually went with the default or a random generation for his characters. Luckily, there was a big "Default" button on one of the floating screens. Brian pressed at it with his meat-lump of a hand. Now he was presented with an exact copy of himself. An almost copy, anyways. The version of himself seemed to be in perfect condition. It stood straighter, had muscles that were a bit more toned than the real deal, and he lacked hair on his head. No eyebrows, either. Wonder if that''s because the Ingenium can''t tell what my hair looks like? Brian began searching through the various hair options until he found something he liked. Only about three inches long and trimmed so that none of it got into his eyes. Surprisingly, it defaulted to his own hair color. Satisfied with his new-old body, he pressed the "Accept" button that floated towards the bottom of his vision and walked back to the mans desk. The man just stared at him for a moment and shook his head. "You must alter your appearance to fit with The Jianghu setting." He explained. "Do you want me to make this alterations for you, or would you like to do them manually?" "You can do them," Brian shrugged. The man nodded and Brian felt a slight change. Mostly in his vision. It seemed... off for some reason. Looking back at the mirror explained why. He looked exactly the same, but his hair was now a bit darker. And his eyes had a very slight slant to them. He wouldn''t be confused for full blooded Asian, but there were hints of it in his appearance now. "You are about to enter The Jianghu. China is in a time of strife and the world is dangerous. You may be attacked by other players, and NPCs, at any time. While you will not feel pain, you may encounter feelings of extreme disorientation and may, at times, become uncomfortable. Do you agree to participate in The Jianghu knowing this?" "Yes," Replied Brian. "Fill this out," He handed Brian a piece of parchment. Looking at it, it looked like a character card. It asked for information like his character name, characters date of birth, a short background description, and his "Home Location." As he focuses on each question, he notices that it seems to float off the paper a bit. "Simply focus on a question and speak your answers," The man filled in. He focused on each box and answered; "Junjieming, default, none, and Louyang." He had heard good things about choosing Louyang as a starting city. Plus, one of Heroic Forest''s novels had been set there. He handed the card back to the man, who examined it and then placed it on his desk. "Very well," He started. "You will enter Louyang with only your starting equipment. It is suggested that you refrain from speaking to NPCs about the real world, as they will simply think you insane and it may negatively affect your reputation." "You may," He gestured at the wardrobe to Brian''s right. "Choose an outfit from there." Brian walked over to the wardrobe and began looking for an outfit to wear. He settled on something that didn''t look trashy, but wasn''t fancy either. Not that there was much in the wardrobe that looked fancy. The outfit he had chosen was a thick dark brown, almost black, fabric. Despite its thickness, it managed to feel soft in his fingers. The design was simple enough, and consisted of pants and a long-sleeved shirt. "This is your choice?" The man asked. At Brian''s nod, the man waved his hand and the clothes had disappeared and reappeared on Brian''s body. "Would you like an explanation of the user interface?" The man asked. "No," Brian answered. He had researched the controls extensively already. It was some of the few solid pieces of information he could find on the game. "Then, when you are ready, walk out the door and you will find yourself outside Louyang''s Southern gate." The man thrust his hand out, pointing behind Brian. Brian turned and looked. The door in question was more of a portal. A rainbow of colors swirled on a background of white. Brian walked up to the portal, hesitated long enough to take a deep breath, and stepped through.
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Chapter 3 - Basic Punch Brian instantly regretted taking that deep breath. He came through the portal gasping. As he paniced, he tripped over something and fell. It didn''t hurt, but it sure felt a lot like drowning. Instantly, his hopes of entering the game with dignity and composure were thrown out the window as he lay on the ground trying to catch his breath. "What a noob!" Someone yelled as they passed. Several people laughed. Few had the courtesy to try and hide their chuckles. After a few minutes, Brian felt he could get on his feet and did so. Looking, he saw there was no Portal back to the burly man''s office. Instead, there was a set of steps - the ones he had fallen down - leading up to nothing. An odd sight. Just a random set of steps on the side of a bustling road. And speaking of bustling, as he turned his head, he realized he was next to a large market full of people coming and going. Looking further, he realized the market nestled against a massive wall. Thinking back to the trip to China his Uncle had taken him on as a graduation gift, he reasoned at it had to be taller than the Great Wall itself. The road he was next to, paved with large bricks almost flush with one another, fed into a massive gate. At times, there were four or five large carts going through it side-by-side. An almost constant stream of people flowed in and out of the city beyond the gate. Dusting himself off, Brian set about deciding what to do. Finding a work board should be my first priority... Work boards were a newbies best friend, as far as Brian had heard. A common location where people - usually NPCs - could post odd-jobs and tasks they needed doing. Brian already had a game plan for the type of job he wanted to pick-up. So the first hurtle would be to find a board so he could find the job he wanted. Without hesitation, Brian plunged himself into the market. His reasoning being that a crowded market, especially one outside the city walls, would be the best place to find newbie-friendly tasks. As he traveled, he found himself impressed by how realistic the replication was. As far as he could tell, things looked absolutely like they would in the real world. There was even dust in the air, kicked up from the many feet traveling on the dirt paths in the market. As he passed stalls, he could feel heat from ovens and smell delicious food. He knew from his research that he could eat all the amazing virtual food he wanted, but it wouldn''t fill him up at all. In fact, there were systems in place to force him out of the game if the Ingenium detected his physical body was hungry, thirsty, or even overly tired. Despite what he must look like in the pod right now, being in Virtual Reality didn''t gain him any rest. Eventually, he came across what he had been looking for. A massive work board with tens of parchments nailed upon it. Which was when he came across his first problem. He had no idea how to take a task off the board. He tried to simply rip the page off the board, but it wouldn''t budge. His attempts at taking the task got him a few chuckles from passerbys, but no job. "Having trouble, buddy?" Brian stopped his attempts and looked around. "Over here," Turning to the source of the voice, he saw a giant of a man standing behind a stall to the left of the work board. "You''ve got to point at the task you want," The man mimed pointing at the board. "And think, ''This one.'' Should cause a pop-up that asks if you want to accept the task." Brian nodded and did as the man said. This one. Instantly, a screen popped up at the center of Brian vision.
Docks Looking For Labor
The Louyang Docks are looking for more hard workers. Wages paid by the hour, at the end of each work session. Come to the docks and ask for Foreman Yao.
Accept?YesNo
Yes.
Task accepted.
"Thank you," Brian said turning back to the man. "Not a problem," Smiling. "Now, how do I find the Louyang Docks?" He asked. The man, without hesitation, threw back his head and laughed. Slightly embarrassed, Brian was about to turn and go when the man stopped him. "Here, come sit down." He gestured at a bamboo stool sitting in front of his stall. As Brian sat down, the man placed a couple of steamed buns in front of Brian. He was familiar with them as his uncle had made them from time to time when he was growing up. "I''ve got no money," Brian warned. "On the house," The man grinned at him and gestured for him to go ahead. Shrugging, Brian picked one up and dug in. Damn, this actually tastes pretty good. I think my taste buds are better in the game. "So I take it this is your first day?" Brian nodded. "Well," The man chuckled. "I''m Cao Cao." Cao Cao struck Brian as the type who would laugh at a funeral. Like someone who would rather remember the good times he had with the deceased, than mope about the loss. He had skin much tanner than Brian''s own. He also seemed to be almost seven feet tall, looking silly behind the much shorter stall. His shaggy black hair was pulled back behind a bandana. "Brian." Brian informed him between bites, much to Cao Cao''s amusement. "First, do you see this?" He said, pointing at a blue string tied around his upper arm. Thinking back on it, Brian had seen a few people in the market with these strings. Well, more than a few. Brian nodded. "Most players choose to wear these." He explained. "It helps us find each other and separate us from the NPCs." "Oh," This was something he hadn''t seen on the Net. "Next, about finding where that job is." Cao Cao stopped talking for a moment and dug around in his pockets. He pulled out a folded piece of parchment and handed it to Brian. Unfolding it, he found a crude map of Louyang. "That is a map of the city. Usually, if you wander around aimlessly for long enough, some NPC will come up to you and ask if you know where you''re going. If you say, ''no,'' he will give you a copy of that map." He finished, gesturing towards the map in Brian''s hands. Brian had heard of the helper NPC, actually. The game left you up to your own devices, but that didn''t mean it couldn''t help you from time to time. "If you open the map and bring up the task on your interface, you''ll notice a red circle where you need to go." As Cao Cao explained, Brian did as he said and found a red circle on the edge of the wide river which split the city. "Thank you," Brian said, smiling at the helpful man. "Not a problem. Here," He handed Brian two more of the steamed buns. "Put these in your inventory for later." Brian did. The process was remarkably odd. He concentrated on the word, ''inventory'' and a screen appeared. Then he stuffed the buns into the screen and they disappeared into whatever realm the inventory used. "Alright, you should be good to go for now." "Yeah," Brian agreed, standing up. "One last thing,"
Cao Cao would like to be your friend. Do you accept?
Yes. "If you have any questions, don''t hesitate to shoot me a call whenever I''m online." He explained. "Will do," Brian stuck out his hand for a shake, which Cao Cao obliged. "Thanks again." Cao Cao laughed as Brian headed out of the market and towards the gate. ** As Brian approached the Louyang docks, he reviewed his strategy. The Jianghu had levels, like most games. However, it also had a stat and skill system. And, despite what you might initially think, leveling up wasn''t the best way to gain stats - arguably the most important thing in the game. The best strategy was to do an activity which reflected a stat. Moving heavy cargo on the docks, for example, would raise your strength pretty quick. Most newbie''s failed to understand this. Heck, most veteran players, from what he had read, failed to understand it. Brian had been lucky enough to come across a post discussing it on some message board. So Brian''s plan was to do hard labor for the first few weeks. He would do this to save up money and raise his strength. Then, he would be free to put his stat points into something much harder to raise; Wisdom. There were six major stats in The Jianghu. Strength would be his first goal. It would help his melee-based attacks - both with and without weapons - a lot more damage. Plus, it would increase his maximum carry weight, allow him to jump higher, and help give his legs the strength to run faster. Wisdom was the most obscure of the six stats. Most people ignored it, but Brian had come across a Brazilian players blog, where he mentioned the important of Wisdom when it came to Qi. And because of that, Brian was going to take a gamble and put all of the points he got from leveling straight into his Wisdom. From what he understand, not many players got the hang of the games Qi system. Most seemed to think it was a myth, which resulted in a lot of players with lost potential. He wasn''t so worried about whether or not the tip about Wisdom was true or not, though. If he played his cards right, he would end up with higher stats than the average player either way. It might take a lot of effort, but the rewards - if the rumors are true - will be worth it. Once he got to the portion of the docks located within the red circle on his map, he began looking for someone who seemed to be in charge. He spotted a slightly pudgy man standing on a large box, overlooking the workers with his arms crossed and doing his best angry face. Thinking back to this former Night Guard leader at the warehouse, he seemed the type. "Hello!" He yelled, approaching the man. The man frowned down at Brian. "Whaddya want?" He demanded. Brian cleared his throat, "A job!" The man, who he assumed was Foreman Yao, eyed him for a moment before nodding. "When the river boats dock," He pointed towards a series of boats tied to the docks. "Take the cargo and put it over there." Gesturing at an area with goods stacked high. "Alright," Brian replied. "If you have any questions, ask one of the men. Don''t bother me unless it''s an emergency, you hear?" "Yessir!" Was Brian''s cheerful reply. His time with Bob-the-Wannabe-Police-Chief back at the warehouse had taught him the best way to get on these types'' good side was to act cheerful and worship the ground that they walked on. Food helped, too. "Oh, sir!" Brian called back at the man. "What?" Yao growled back. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Brian opened his inventory and removed the two steamed buns. He then walked up to the crate and held them up to Yao. "I have some extra buns that I thought you might like." Brian explained. For a moment, Yao looked like he would explode at Brian. He didn''t, though. Instead, he reached down and took the buns from Brian. Satisfied that he had gained some Favor with the man, Brian turned back to the docks and walked away. He got to work immediately. The task was simple enough. Grab things off the boat, put things in the designated area for said things. Most of it being barrels or crates, which made it even easier. The hardest part was not falling over while making the step from the boat back onto the dock with your hands full with something heavy. One of the men he was working with did that, dropping himself and the barrel he was carrying into the water. Luckily for him, there was a river boat nearby, saving him from drowning and the barrel from floating down river. Despite this, and the fact that the barrel only had cheap wine in it and was completely fine, Yao sent the man away. Shouting promises of how he will never work on the docks again at the mans back. As Brian worked, he would get an occasional ping and pop-up screen letting him know his strength had increased. As his strength had started at five, like all level zero characters, the pings came frequently. By the time he had finished two hours of work, he was sitting at twelve strength and about half-way to reaching the first level. He was also able to carry the heavy cargo much easier. There were pop-ups for other stats, too. Occasionally, he would get stamina points. After the first few, he noticed he wasn''t so tired. It was an odd experience, working hard only for the work to get easier and becoming less tired as well. Often when he made the "step of faith" as the men called the practice of walking between boat and dock, he would get a dexterity point as well. From what Brian understood about the stats, Dexterity would make it easier for him to do anything with precision. While Stamina would give him more energy to do things, such as carry heavy crates. Looking up at the sky, he noticed the sun seemed to be getting lower. The boat traffic at the dock had also slowed considerably. Earlier, a new boat would arrive every five minutes or so. Now the men were sitting around and waiting for up to twenty minutes before a new boat arrived. It was during one of these lulls that Yao shouted for the men to gather around. "Works done for today," He kept it short. The men began lining up in front of Yao, who had jumped off his crate. Brian, not sure what to do, joined them. One-by-one, Yao told them how long they had worked and handed them coins. It only took a few minutes for Brian''s turn. "Three hours," Yao commanded, handing Brian a handful of coins. This surprised Brian as, obviously, he had only done two hours of work. He was about to say as much when Yao stopped him. "You work hard," He commented. "Now get going." He jabbed his thumb over his shoulder. After nodding in thanks, Brian did just that and got on his way. As he left the docks, Brian sat about counting his coins. Fifty in all. Which meant he had five-hundred Wen to spend. This pleased him a great deal, as the second step in his plan would cost four-hundred Wen. He had expected to need at least two days of working at the docks to get there, so this was a great boon. The next step in his game plan consisted of finding one of the many book kiosk around the city. He had read a lot about them and they served mostly as places to gather news, but you could also buy some fairly nice Wuxia novels from them. A lot of them written by Heroic Forest, even. He harbored the hope that he would be able to find a translated version of the mystery Heroic Forest novel. However, this wasn''t the primary reason he was looking for the kiosk. No, he was searching for them because of another rumor he had come across. Apparently, a few of these stands had a "private" collection of books. Most of which were actually Kung Fu manuals. Most people didn''t find this out, though, as the NPC would need to like you to share the information freely. Brian hoped simply mentioning the private books would allow him to purchase them, but he wasn''t sure. By the time he found a stand, there were already men walking up and down the city streets lighting lamps. He felt relieved to find the stand still occupied, as he had read about how most shops in the city closed up for the day at around sundown. Only taverns and some wine houses stayed open late, for the large number of laborers who stopped working when it got too dark. The man behind the stand was old and looked frail. Like most older men in the city, he had a beard which fell below his waist line. His hair was white and wispy, especially on the top of his head where he had gone bald for the most part. He gave Brian a gaping smile, revealing a complete lack of teeth. Brian returned it with a brief, closed lipped, smile of his own. He then busied himself by checking the books on display. Unfortunately, all he found were a couple of novels he had already read, a few he hadn''t but had no interest in, and a handful of news broadsheet. "Mind if I," Bringing his eyes back to the old man. "Er... May I see your private collection?" For a moment the old man just continued with his toothless grin. Brian was sure the man was insane. However, the old man reached down under the Kiosk and pulled out a stack of thin books. The adrenaline began to pump. His hopes were once again answered. Sitting before him, in a neat stack, was a small collection of Kung Fu manuals. By themselves, they were useless. Basic skills so easy just about anyone could teach you. Even another players. However, the prize he was after required he go this route. "How much for this one," He asked, tapping the manual on the top of the stack. It read "Basic Punch." Instead of responding with his voice, the man held up four fingers. Nodding, Brian counted out forty of his coins and then handed them to the old man, picking up the manual immediately after. "Thank you. I''ll be back for the rest!" He promised, turning back down the road. Basic Punch was... well, basic. However, it was the first step to entering the Jianghu. Jianghu as a concept, not as a game. As such, Brian was ecstatic to finally experience his first taste of Kung Fu. Half-running, Brian made his way back a few blocks to a small park he had passed earlier. As soon as he got there, he opened the manual and began to study it. There wasn''t much to study, however. Just three sketches and an equal number of sentences, describing how to throw the most basic of punches. The first depicted a sketch of a man with his legs spread about shoulder length apart. The next simply showed the same figure with his fist tucked between his chest and waist, fingers facing up. The last showed his fist extended forward, fingers facing inward. The sentences echoed what was shown in the sketches, but in written form. As he finished examining the last sketch, the manual began to glow. Jerking back, he dropped it. It never reached the ground, though, as it completely disappeared half-way down.
You have learned a new skill!
Basic Punch
Level:0
Primary:Strength (+1)
Secondary:Dexterity (+0.8)
"Ha!" Basic Punch. Before he had even finished the thought, his body automatically snapped into the position described into the book and he threw a fairly straight punch. Brian knew from reading a short guide that to activate a skill, he simply had to think about it. Actually executing the punch was something else, though. It was odd how his body just seemed to remember the movement of the punch, as if he had trained how to do it rather than reading a two-page manual. Brian also knew he would raise a skills level by using it.
Basic Punch has raised 1 level!
He closed the new windows and looked up at the sun. There was about forty minutes before it became too dark to see. So he set about using those minutes to train his new skill. Using Basic Punch over and over got repetitive fast. But it would reap him some nice rewards. First, he would level up the skill itself. This increased the damage dealt by the skill by small percentages early on, but the higher the skill level the higher the damage. As a slight bonus, it would also net him tiny bits of experience points to go towards his overall level each time his Basic Punch went up a level. Second, it would help raise the two stats associated with it. Each combat skill had two stats which went with it; a primary and a secondary. Each provided a tiny a portion of bonus damage to go with the natural bonus damage each level of the skill gave. Usually, this was an exceedingly small amount. For example, his current strength gave his Basic Punch one extra damage. Just as he was about to stop for the night, he received another pop-up.
Congratulations! You''ve reached level 1! Please distribute your three (3) stat points.
Brian smiled. He opened his character window, which displayed all of his stats, he put all three points into Wisdom. This put him at eight Wisdom. His strength had also risen by another three points, putting him at fifteen. Dexterity had only gone up by one, giving him nine. All-in-all and superb day, he figured. Not many other newbies could claim this much stat gain on their first day. Checking his skills, he saw his Basic Punch had gone up to ten. He had stopped paying attention to the ping he got each time the skill went up, so he hadn''t been sure how far he had gotten. He gave a satisfied nod of his head and closed everything. Time to head off for the night. He could feel a slight hunger and he was sure he would find his bladder nearing full. It would probably take another three weeks of work to reach the goal he was striving for, and he would have plenty of opportunity to train along the way. Feeling content with his progress, Brian logged out for the first time.
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Chapter 4 - Boars and PKs Brian''s estimates were almost spot on, and he spent over three weeks working for Foreman Yao at the docks of Louyang. In that time, he had become a regular fixture there and had gained the respect of the other workers. And, through a series of food bribes and excessive compliments, had gained the trust and friendship of Yao. This meant his wages were much higher than the typical worker and Yao would often make sure he found himself with a hefty bonus. Some players had also noticed Brian''s presence on the docks. Most pointed and whispered, though a small number would try to talk to him. However, they were usually ran off by Yao before they got a chance to open their mouth. This provided a decent amount of amusement for the NPCs around the dock, and would cause a small crowd to gather from time-to-time. Apparently the NPCs liked to watch their player counterparts do odd things. Wonder if they''re really curious, or just programmed to be? Their behavior wasn''t so odd when considering how Brian spent at least fifteen hours a day in the game, most of them at the docks. The NPCs didn''t work near as hard or long, so Brian assumed it was difficult for them to wrap their minds around the fact that a player would willingly do so much work. At one time, a small party of players organized themselves and attempted to stage a rescue for Brian, under the impression that he had somehow been enslaved. Brian almost felt bad breaking the truth to them. And Yao had almost fired him for the distraction. If it hadn''t been for Brian''s earlier work at making friends with Yao, he probably would have lost his job halfway through week two. He had purchased an old and rusty lamp the second day. With the lamp, he was able to spend time after dusk training in the secluded park he had found. Every few days he would head to the same book kiosk and buy a new manual. All of them were basic, generic techniques he could have easily taught himself with some experimentation. He hard learned this after he had decided to try and do a kick and found himself with the Basic Kick skill. Despite this, he still purchased the Basic Kick manual from the kiosk. His plan required he buy them all. Speaking of plan... Yao had just called an end to the days work. It had just reached midday, so the men were confused. Most didn''t dwell on in long, though, and began to line up in the usual fashion. Brian had learned that there was a hierarchy of sorts between Yao''s dock workers. Your position within the line depended on your position within the hierarchy. Brian had started at the end of this line, of course. But he managed to move much higher in the past three weeks, though, and was now the third person in line at the end of each day. His turn came up fast and he took the chance to ask Yao about the sudden end of the day. "Got things to do," Was all Yao would supply, handing Brian his four hour wage. Shrugging, Brian got out of the line and was heading out of the docks when someone called at him from behind. "Junjie!" At first, Brian didn''t respond as he wasn''t used to being called his in-game name. "Yeah?" He shouted as he turned to see who had yelled his name. A scrawny man who seemed more fit to be a pickpocket than a dock worker waved at him. Some of the other dock workers surrounded him. "Wanna come have a drink?" The man mimed pouring a drink down his throat, which he exaggerated a great deal. This caused a few chuckles from the men around him. "Nah, I''ve got some other things to do," Brian turned to go. "Aw, you always have stuff to do!" The man called out, causing the rest of the men to break out in laughter. Brian waved over his shoulder and continued on his way. Truth be told, he just didn''t like most of the NPC dock workers. He found it disconcerting how life-like their personalities were. And the realistic nature of their personalities meant most were crude, stupid, and generally hateful. Basically the type of people Brian didn''t want to be around. Plus, he would reason to himself, he didn''t like the odd way the alcohol made him feel. He hadn''t had alcohol in the real world yet - his uncle never drank, and Brian had just copied him. So perhaps he was underprepared for the way it made him feel when he first tried some of the virtual wine at a nearby tavern. He couldn''t even be sure if that was how you should feel, or if the game alcohol had different effects than real life alcohol. Either way, he didn''t like the way it seemed to limit his ability to think, and had sworn off the stuff right after the effects had worn off. Except today, unlike most days, he truly did have a reason for declining. He needed to finish his plan. It didn''t take him long to get to the kiosk. The same old man, with the same toothless grin, was there. Brian wasn''t sure, but he thought he saw the old man''s grin widen just a tad when he walked up. By now, the man knew what Brian was after and took out what he had left of his private collection of Kung Fu manuals. There was only one, and it was relatively thick at four pages. Brian pointed to it and the man held up seven fingers. In his weeks working at the docks he had saved up several Liang, which were a thousand Wen each, so the price wasn''t a problem. He counted over the coins and handed them to the man. Brian picked up the manual and gave it a quick look-over, learning the skill in an instant. Leg Sweep. He then looked back up at the man behind the kiosk expectantly. A hidden event should trigger after purchasing the last of the manuals, and his weeks of effort were about to pay off. Yet, with each passing second with no movement from the man behind the kiosk, his heart fell. He was somewhere between sadness, disappoint, and anger. Worried he might do something he would regret, Brian turned to leave. Becoming an outlaw wont help me. "Wait," Brian snapped his neck over his shoulder so fast, it popped. "I have something for you, young Youxia." Unlike most NPCs in the game, this one had an odd accent. As if English weren''t his first language. Which was odd, as, so far as Brian knew, the whole game had been completely translated into English. Wait a second, he''s never talked before. But Brian didn''t have much time to dwell on the thought, as the old man had pulled out a new manual which was much thicker than all the rest and had a golden cover. He held it towards Brian, who tentatively took it. "How much do I owe you?" Brian asked, running his eyes over the manual. It seemed as if the cover was gold leaf, with the name of the technique being in silver. "Nothing, Youxia," The man explained. "It is a gift for your dedication to Wushu." "Thank you," Brian said, looking back up at the man. He waited for a reply, but none came. Shrugging, he began heading to his usual park. Sometimes, he would take this time to leisurely stroll through the city and enjoy the aesthetics of the game world. Today he just sprinted, not wanting to hesitate in learning this new skill. The reason Brian had worked so hard for the past three weeks was so he would be able to have this moment. He had read about these types of skills on forums. Known as Special Techniques, they were much more powerful than normal techniques. Some might call them "Finisher Moves" in other games. Soon, Brian had reached the park and he began examining the manual. This technique was known as Crane Steps Forward To Strike With Beak. The first page of eight explained the theory. How its purpose was to close the distance between a target up to three meters from you. The technique consisted of eight movement, with three actual strikes. Two kicks and punch. The last strike called for the use of Qi. That didn''t make much sense to Brian. He began reading the technique. Like the other manuals, it had a lot of sketches displaying how you should be moving. However, the sentences were a lot more descriptive than earlier manuals and covered equal parts theory and action. Honestly, a lot of it seemed more like poetry; comparing the movements in the technique to the actions of a crane. Most of the movements seemed simple enough, but the Qi part stumped him. He wasn''t sure how to channel the Qi, or if you were even supposed to actually do it. It could be the mention of Qi was like the mention of the crane - just metaphor. Yet the last page focused on explaining how the Qi should be transferred through certain meridians and focused in his arm and into the fist, just enough to strengthen his strike. Brian had expected the manual to disappear after finishing the last page, but was surprised to find the manual still in his hands. Maybe I have to copy the movements? Standing up, Brian began following the movements as shown in manual. At first he practiced each step separately. Most of the movement were to get you closer to the opponent and build power for the strikes. The first two steps were simply that, long strides meant to help build momentum and get you closer to the target. The first strike was an odd jump kick, where you jumped forward and kicked out with your right foot at the same time. The next movement was landing on the same foot you kicked with and doing a downward angle straight kick with the right leg, ending with a slam of the same foot. And the last two movements were for the punch. It took a few tries, but Brian found he was able to execute the moves without much mistake. He attributed this to his dexterity, which had risen to a decent amount thanks to his constant work at the docks. He then went back to the manual and read it again, but still nothing. Sighing, he sat down with the manual and tried to figure out what was wrong. Maybe it''s because I don''t understand the Qi part. He flipped back to the page of the manual which explained how to the Qi would travel through a set of Meridians and make its way into his hand. There was something about his small intestine and hand, but he couldn''t figure out what it meant. He had a basic idea of Meridians from reading some Wuxia fiction, but most didn''t go into great detail. And the various authors he had read always seemed to explain it differently. Thinking back to novels, he got an idea. When it doubt, visualize . He closed his eyes and concentrated within himself, just as hundreds of students in Wuxia novels before him had been instructed to do. He thought back to all the times he had read about someone learning to master their internal strength. As he did this, he heard a new screen pop up in front of him with a ''ping.'' Opening his eyes, he found something he wasn''t expecting. In front of him was a sort of diagram of a human body. However, it lacked much detail except for some odd colored lines drawn about the body. Upon closer inspection, it seemed like the lines where actually moving. Flowing like tiny rivers. Most of the rivers lead to tiny little reservoirs. This must be my Qi! Experimenting, Brian found he could have some effect on the Qi rivers. As he focused on certain parts of his body, the lines with widen or contract. He didn''t have much control over how much they widened or contracted, but he could do it. He found he could also coax the rivers to flow in certain directions. As he did this, he felt parts of his body change temperature. Now the theory mentioned in the manual made more sense to him. He closed out of the new Qi screen and picked up the manual. He re-read the last page and stood up. This time, before he began, he concentrated on the reservoir he had seen residing near where he assumed his small intestine would be. As he did this, he felt a warmth spread through his abdomen. He coaxed the warmth to rise through his body, to reside in his arm and fist. This took a few tries as he found even a moment of lapse in his concentration would cause the warmth to disappear. Once he felt he could hold his concentration and maintain the warmth, he began executing the technique. This time, as he threw the punch, he felt a definite difference. Almost like his hand was strengthened from the inside, allowing him to punch straighter and harder with more precision. There was even a crisp popping noise after. It was an exhilarating feeling. He turned back to the manual he had left sitting on the ground. Come on, come on... And then it began to glow, slowly dissolving into nothing.
You have learned Crane Steps Forward To Strike With Beak!
Hell yes!
You have gained 3 Wisdom!
Congratulations! You''ve reached level 4! Please distribute your three (3) stat points.
This impressed Brian. He hadn''t been expecting stat points, nor a level up. He had just achieved level three the day before, and barely had any experience towards level four. Open character sheet.
Junjieming
Level:60%
Strength:35Dexterity:22
Constitution:10Stamina:10
Intelligence:8Wisdom:15
Brian whistled at what he saw. Apparently learning a Secret Technique gave nice experience, as he was already sixty percent to level five. Most players would probably be closer to level fifteen by now, so he felt bad about his slow leveling progress. However, looking at his stats made him feel proud. His strength was at thirty-five now, Dexterity was only at twenty-two, and his Wisdom was sitting at fifteen thanks to the six points he had just gotten. Constitution and Stamina had come up from his work at docks, with ten each. Intelligence was a paltry eight. He was much more powerful than the average level three. Heck, he was more powerful than the average level ten. Plus he had a Secret Technique under his belt, something most people wouldn''t get their hands on without getting a high level and joining one of the more secretive sects. Finally, he felt he could leave the city and start playing the game. Thinking on what he knew of hunting in The Jianghu, he figured starting with boars would be good. Most players, if they went down the combat route, would focus on killing chickens or pigs first. But his stats were high enough, so boar shouldn''t be an issue. Plus, he could sell the skins to leather makers for some decent Wen. The meat might make a nice gift for Cao Cao, too. His research had revealed a small forest to the East of Louyang, apparently full of boar, only about an hour walk from the city. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. With his plan in mind, he set off to the Eastern gate of the city. He made a short detour to the Smiths quarter first, though. The Smiths quarter was where most of the metal workers - both NPC and player - set up shop. You could look up at the sky from anywhere in the city and see the smoke billowing from their forges. Usually, one would head into the market to buy tools and weapons. But Brian felt he could get a better price going straight to the source. It also helped that the Quarter was close to the docks and therefore close to where he currently was. He could even hear the distant clanging of metal on metal from where he stood. It didn''t take Brian long to find himself standing in the midst of hundreds of blacksmith shops. The collective hammering sounded like thunder. He wanted to find a smith offering quality tools but wasn''t prestigious enough to charge absurd prices. He also needed a blacksmith who focused on small blades, as he needed a skinning knife to perform field butchering to get his loot from the boars. He could get crude ones on the cheap in the slum market in which Cao Cao had his stall, but he wanted something of quality. The higher quality the tools, the better the loot quality. And the better the quality, the more money he could get. Brian didn''t mind working at the docks, and it paid well. But he would be damned if it wasn''t repetitive. That, and he was no longer getting good stat gains from the work. Altogether, this made him feel like finding a new source of income and stats was a great idea. Eventually, he found the smith he was looking for. An NPC who ran one of the smaller shops in the Quarter, little more than a forge and a large table to display his work. Yet, despite his humble workstation, the blades he produced looked of a high quality. He even demonstrated the strength of his blades when Brian inquired. The price he charged was modest for a quality blade, only two Liang. Which Brian was able to haggle down to one-and-a-half. With his knew skinning knife safely tucked into his inventory, Brian made his way to the East side of the city and out of the gates. As he passed through, he noted how the traffic was much less than what he had experienced at the South gate. As he left the city, he was in awe of the view. Louyang was located in a part of China known as the Central Plains, and it was suitably... plain. But in a good way. The flat landscape and fertile soil made for amazing farming and grazing lands. So, for a good couple of miles around the city, there were nothing but beautiful hamlets and farmland. And the occasional forested hill. It reminded him of the landscapes he had seen traveling through Kansas during a Road Trip with his Uncle Jie, years before. However, his nostalgia got interrupted by a pop-up message.
Warning! You are leaving the protective area of Louyang! Guards will no longer help you if you come under attack. Proceed at your own peril.
Brian closed the message. He had read how the game was full player-versus-player enabled. People could even attack you in towns. However, doing that would attract the ire of the Town Guard, who were well-trained and equipped. Hoping he wouldn''t get attacked by Player-Killers, called PKs, he continued onward. As he traveled, he went through a couple of small hamlets. These were collections of houses, often owned by farmers. Entering one, he passed by a small cart being pulled by an ox with two guards escorting it. It appeared to be carrying sacks of grain, but Brian wasn''t sure. Once he was in the hamlet proper, though, he came across two players sparring. They even had a small crowd of the locals and a few other players cheering them on. Both were using some type of curved sword, and their movements seemed almost like a dance. Until one of the players sliced their sword through the stomach of the other, anyways. Brian looked away, expecting to see guts spilled to the ground. But when he looked back, all he saw was the other player on the ground with a disappointed look on his face and a glowing red line where he had got cut. As he lay on the ground, one of the other players came forward and began applying some kind of powder to the wound. Guess it would be a bit to brutal to include full gore. He continued onward, past the hamlet. He passed a few of the big killing fields he had read about. As he watched, he saw NPCs weave in and out of the tens of players in the field, picking up the pig corpses and carrying them away. Every few minutes an NPC would lead a string of new pigs to the players. An interesting way to explain the overabundance of pigs available for newbies to kill. It took about an hour, just as he had estimated, to reach a forest he assumed contained the boars. Getting closer, this got confirmed as he heard the squeals and sounds of boar thrashing about the wooded area. The whole thing seemed to be infested with them, judging by the noise. It didn''t make sense, so many large animals living close together. No NPCs in site, either. Well, I''ve got to remember this still a game. Brian reached down and picked up a nearby stone. First testing its weight, he then threw it into the forest. He had thrown the stone expecting to scare a few of the boar out and then attacking one. Much to his surprise, though, a boar picked the exact moment Brian threw the stone to stick its head out of the brush. The stone he threw smacked it right between the eyes. For a moment, the beast seemed stunned. But then it swung its head back and forth, searching for the source of its pain. Sighting Brian, it squealed and charged straight at him. Brian instantly dropped into Combat Stance, with his legs about shoulder length apart and his left slightly forward. As soon as the boar got within range, he executed a Basic Punch straight to the boars head, stunning it.
Basic Punch has raised 2 levels!
Strength has risen by 1 level! Brian closed this new pop-up quickly, as the boar quickly recovered from the stun and was trying to gouge his legs with its tusks. This time, as the boar got close enough, Brian used his Basic Kick and sent the boar flying about five feet back. It landed on its side, but was soon trying to get back on its feet. Brian took this time to activate his new move. Crane Steps Forward To Strike With Beak. Nothing happened. What? Brian didn''t get a chance to think about it for long, as the boar was already charging at him. He sidestepped just in time and used his new Leg Sweep, causing the boar to sprawl on its stomach. "Come on," Brian shouted in the heat of the moment. "Crane Steps Forward To strike With Beak, damnit!" And then the move executed, causing his body to snap into the movements. This time, Brian didn''t have to think about it. Each movement was done on auto-pilot, even the Qi portion. Oh... Guess I need to say Special Techniques out loud.
Crane Steps Forward To Strike With Beak has raised by 5 level!
Congratulations! You''ve reached level 5! Please distribute your three (3) stat points.
Neat. He distributed his new points, making his Wisdom now eighteen. Then, closing the screens that had appeared, he turned back to the boar. As he advanced, he pulled his skinning knife from his inventory. This was something Brian wasn''t sure of. He couldn''t find any guide describing how to use skills like Field Butchery. So, unsure what he should do, he kneeled down and pressed the knife into the boar expecting he would need to literally butcher it. Not wanting to see the blood, he closed his eyes tight. However, after a moment, he realized he met no resistance and opened one of his eyes. Oh, thank god. As soon as Brian touched the boar with his knife, it began to glow like a skill manual and disappeared. In its place sat two tusks, a rough skin, and two separate piles of meat.
You have learned Basic Field Butchery! Basic Field Butchery has raised by 5 levels!
Shrugging to himself and closing the pop-up, he began stuffing the items into his inventory. "Hey!" Someone shouted from behind him. For a moment, Brian panicked. He hoped he wasn''t about to have his first encounter with Player Killers. Quickly, he finished putting the items into his inventory and turned around. He felt a bit of relief by what he saw. Sure, there was a large scary man with a sword at his hip. But there were also two women. Well, one woman and another that would best be described as "girl." The woman was on the left and could be the definition of beautiful for all that mattered to him. It''s just an avatar, don''t be fooled. The girl on the right could definitely be described as cute. However, instead of a warm smile like the woman, she had a slight frown. "Hello," Brian called out as they got closer. "Hey there," The woman replied. "Been killing pigs, hon?" Not wanting to correct the beautiful woman, he just nodded. "Did you get any loot?" The girl asked, her voice a higher pitch than the woman. "Yeah," He replied, turning to the girl. Looking at her closely, her avatar looked more about his age. She was just short and had cute features, definitely attractive but not what he would call beautiful. The woman, on the other hand, looked like she was about ten years older than Brian. "Then you best hand over that pig meat, boy." The man growned as soon as he answered. This confused Brian. Do they think I was at the pig slaughtering grounds? Didn''t they see me kill the boar? Taking his confusion to mean hesitation, the man stepped forward and placed his hand on the pummel of his sword. The woman, stepping forward with him, placed her hand on the mans arm. "Now now," She started. "No reason to get killed. NaruChamp here is level ten. He can kill boar as easy as he can eat pie!" Brian cocked his eyebrow at the comment. What does pie have to do with...? Are these people slow? "Just hand over the stupid pig meat, it isn''t worth the experience loss." The girl interjected. This time, Brian took a step back. It seems his initial fear was well founded. They wanted his loot, and they wanted to kill him if he didn''t hand it over. The man pulled out his sword, taking another step forward and waving it at Brian''s face. Brian weighed his options. He would certainly take some experience loss. But he was only level five and the experience would be easy to get back. On the other hand, if he managed to come out of this with his loot, he could make a handful of Liang. That was worth at least attempting to fight. His thoughts got interrupted by the mans voice. "Last cha-" The man didn''t get to finish, as Brian executed a perfect level forty-eight Basic Punch into the mans face. Oh, level fifty now. The man was stunned only for a second, and immediately slashed in a wide arc at Brian''s head. Brian ducked, slipping into his combat stance. As the man brought the sword back around, Brian kicked him in the side. This didn''t stop his sword, though, and it sliced into Brian''s left arm. Distracted by his inability to move his left arm, Brian almost received cleave to his neck. However, he was able to sidestep the cleave just in time and used Leg Sweep on the man. He then executed two kicks straight to the mans head as he lay on his back. He was about to deliver a third when the girl called out. "Wait!" Brian turned to here, wondering why she was stopping him. As he looked up, he saw the woman running away and had already gotten considerable distance away. Runs fast. "Why?" He asked the girl. "If you kick him another time, he''ll die." "...So?" Brian didn''t see a problem with killing the man. She sighed. "If you kill him, you''ll get a murder count. You hit him first, remember?" "Oh." It made sense to Brian. He had heard of murder counts before, but wasn''t exactly sure how they worked. He knew that if you got one, though, a tattoo would appear on your forearm marking you for what you did. One for each murder. Hence the term "murder count." The girl walked up to the man and executed her own kick to his head. "Idiot!" He groaned in reply. She delivered a second kick and then the mans body disappeared in a mist of light. Reaching down, she picked up the sword and a few other pieces of loot left where the man once sat. "Wont you get a count?" Brian asked. She didn''t answer until she had finished looting and had stood back up. "Not unless you report me." She explained. "That''s what Missy is doing, running to report you for the kill. They''ve done it before, though I don''t think they expected you to fight. You look like a day-one newb." This information worried Brian. He hadn''t killed the man, but he wasn''t sure if this meant the woman couldn''t report him. His concern must have shown on his face, as the girl continued talking. "Don''t worry. You have to be reported by someone who witnessed the murder. She didn''t see anything before she ran." Then, without another word, the girl turned and began walking away. Brian, for his part, decided he needed to head back towards Louyang. So that''s what he did, nursing his disabled arm along the way.
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Chapter 5 - Get It Together Authors note: I planned to release this sooner, but I had some work deadlines crop up at around the same time. I''m going to aim for at least once a week release. My intention, though, is to release twice a week. We''ll see how it pans out over the next few chapters. I''ve also done less editing than I have in past chapters. Usually, I use a tool that helps point out potential issues - such as wording, long sentences, word-to-syllable ratios, etc... But I figured I would let "my voice" show through more in this chapter without the editing. ----------------------------------------- "I can give you five-hundred for it." "Come on, it''s worth more than that." Brian insisted. "There''s a huge hole in the middle of it!" The merchant argued. Brian sighed and shook his head. This is the last time I deal with a player when selling stuff. "Fine, five-hundred Wen." He stuck out his hand for the money. The man, who now had a big grin spread across his face, handed Brian the coins and took the boar skin. Brian glared at the man as he stuffed the coins into his inventory. He could have gotten a better price if he had put in the effort, but he wasn''t fond of doing merchant work and was willing to take a bit of loss in exchange for convenience. Between travel time and PKs, I''m better off at the docks... Sighing once more, Brian began heading to the part of the market that Cao Cao kept his stall. He still had the boar meat and wanted to give it to Cao Cao. Boar was a mid-tier meat, from what Brian had read. He could probably make about a Liang if he made the effort to deal with more merchants. But he also felt he owed Cao Cao for the help he had given him on his first day. It didn''t take long for Brian to find the the stall. However, instead of the dinky little stall that had been there before, there was now a much more respectable shack. Brian could even consider it a structure now. Where as before there had been a stall and stools made of bamboo, now stood a hardwood bar with a roof and all. The front of the small building was open to the street, though. As Brian approached, he saw there were a couple of people sitting at the bar and two more at a small table set up to the side of stall. While he was admiring the new upgrades, Cao Cao startled Brian with a shout. "Junjie!" The tall man waved, his arm bent by a large margin to keep from hitting the ceiling. Pleased that Cao Cao remembered him, he walked up to the bar and sat down on a stool. Lot more sturdy. "How''s it goin''?" "Good, just got back from a hunt." Brian replied. "Oh yeah? How''d that go?" Cao Cao asked as he sat a small stack of stuffed buns in front of another player at the bar. "Pretty good," Brian said, opening his inventory and taking out the meat. He stacked the two slabs on the bar. "Whoa!" Cao Cao burst into a laugh. "This was all I was able to get, though. Ran into a few PKs." Brian explained. "My arm was actually disabled for a bit, but I ran into a traveling doctor on the way here and he fixed that with some powder." As Brian was telling his story, Cao Cao had began to examine his gift. "This is some high quality stuff, man. I can make you one helluva pork bowl with this." Brian was about to reply when he was interrupted. "Jun, man, is this boar?" He demanded, head whipping up from the meat. "Yep," Was Brian''s simple answer. He threw his head back and began to laugh. Much to Brian''s surprise, the other patrons didn''t even flinch at the loud laughter. "Wow, you''re full of surprises. Most people don''t upgrade to boar until a few months after they''ve played. Can''t afford weapons that can penetrate their hide, you see?" As he said this, Cao Cao had begun to cut the meat into smaller slabs, tucking most of them under the bar. "What weapon did you use?" He inquired as he cubed one of the slabs. Brian lifted up his right fist, which caused Cao Cao to arch his eyebrow in confusion. "My fist," Brian clarified. "I only know bare-fist techniques. No weapons yet, unfortunately." Cao Cao''s reply was a bark of laughter. It was Brian''s turn to arch an eyebrow. "You''re serious?" Brian nodded. "You really are full of surprises," He shook his head as he tossed the cubed meat into a skillet on the stove to his left, right beside the bar. The smell reminded Brian of the Hibachi grill at the local Japanese restaurant. Despite this being a game, the smell felt so much more... real to Brian. Like what he had smelled in real life had only been a cheap imitation of what grilled meat really smelled like. "I see you''ve upgraded," Brian said, looking up at the ceiling. "Ah, yeah. I''ve been saving up for the upgrade for a while now. If all goes to plan, though, I''ll be opening my own restaurant in a city in a few months." "''A city''?" "Yeah, man. Not sure if I want to stick around Louyang. You''ve heard all the stuff about that new gang causing trouble for people, right?" "Hmm." Brian hadn''t heard, but he could believe it. Criminal gangs attracted a lot of players. Since the dawn of online gaming, the route of the Red Player Killer had been a popular one. People usually prefer to kill and steal than to take the route of hard work and effort. "So, you want to learn a weapon skill?" Cao Cao asked, after a short silence. "Yeah," Brian nodded. "One of the PKs I ran into had a sword. Fist is fun, but I don''t see how I can get into a fight with a weapon user without getting messed up." "Then you may want to talk to Jellybean over here," Cao Cao threw his thumb to the side, pointing at the player he had given the stuffed buns to earlier. He only had one left, which he was in the process of eating when Cao Cao pointed him out. The player, Jellybean, looked up, confused for a moment. Brian couldn''t help but notice that his avatar was a bit chubbier than what he was used to seeing in the game. He had come across a few players who were outright fat, but had never had much of a chance to get a close look at them. He was obviously a Martial Artist, with a spear strapped to his back. He also had some leather armor on, protecting his vital areas. Jellybean must have noticed Brian''s examinations, as he began to chuckle. "I used to be a Tourist." He explained, as if Brain should know what that was. He must have realized Brain didn''t know, though, as he continued. "Tourist are the players who only log on to eat and look at stuff. Their avatars get fat," Patting his belly. "Now I''m taking the game more seriously, though, and my avatar is getting more fit." "Oh," Brian hadn''t known that an avatars appearance could be changed like that. It made sense, though. "Anyways," Cao Cao sat a bowl of grilled boar meat atop rice in front of Brian. "Jellybean here is part of a local Martial Arts club that specializes in spears." Jellybean nodded, "Yep, the Broken Twig Spear Club. It''s in the Western part of the city." "Clubs are almost like a Sect, though not as strict. They usually teach their own style, too." Cao Cao explained. "Eh," Jellybean interrupted. "I wouldn''t say they''re almost alike. The difference between a club and a sect is almost night and day. You''re not going to find any badass internal techniques or Qi manipulation in a club. Plus, a club requires that you pay tuition fees to be a member. Joining a sect is usually a life-long commitment. Almost like a cult. It''s why a lot of them will only accept new members at a young age, like Wudang or Shaolin." "I suppose you''re right, man," Cao Cao agreed. "But what I was getting at is they both teach their own styles. As opposed to an Armed Escort Agency or a gang, which will barely train you and then throw you into a fight. A club will teach you something, train you in it, and continue to help you practice. Even if it''s only once a week or whatever." "Speaking of that, Broken Twig is stricter than most Clubs. Two hours a day except for one day a week. Sifu Ma is also a hardass about who he lets in. You''ve either got to impress him or get him drunk." "Drunk?" Brian asked. "Yeah, he''s got a bit of a drinking problem. There''s a few rumors going on around him, some say he''s a failed Shaolin monk and drinks to get over the grief. Personally, I think he''s really a member of the Beggar Sect. Although it doesn''t quite matter, as it''s Cong that does all the instructing." "I see," Brian wasn''t sure about joining up with this Broken Twig club if the Sifu was a drunk. "I-" Cao Cao began speaking but stopped abruptly, staring into the distance. Brian looked to Jellybean, who only shrugged. "Sorry about that," Cao Cao said after a few moments. "Gotta log off. See ya dudes later." "Hope nothings wrong," Jellybean supplies, to which Brian nodded. "I gotta get going, club meet will be soon." Jellybean stood up from the bar.
J3llybean would like to be friends. Accept? Yes/No
Yes "Why the three?" Brian asked. "Plain Jellybean was taken by some asshole." Jellybean chuckled. "If you''re interested in the Club, just hit me up." It was then that Brian realized that Jellybean''s voice sounded a bit... young. Like a teenager in High School. Not that it mattered, but it was his first time interacting with a younger player, so far as he knew. It felt odd. "Alright, will do." Brian supplied, after he realizes he had forgotten to reply. Jellybean waved and then walked off into the market, towards the South gate. As Brian watched him walk, he received a pop-up letting him know his real-life hunger needs were becoming critical. Log off. ** Brian sat in the total darkness of the pod for a few moment. The sound insulation was insane, and he could literally hear his blood flow. As he concentrated on the sound, it began to grow until he felt like he was standing near a white water rapid. While he was doing this, he thought back to the Qi interface in the game, and how he could feel the reservoirs of energy within him. He could almost feel them in the real world, but not quite. It was as if they were there, just microscopic compared to the already tiny pools in the game. A while later, Brian wasn''t sure how much time had passed, he fumbled for the glowing orange button to open the pod. The experience was always an odd one. Despite decent airflow to keep things fresh, the inside of the pod felt like a sauna after he had been in it for a while. As it opened, the much cooler air from inside the house seeped in and chilled Brian. The sudden contrast shocked him out of the meditative state he had been in. Sitting on the edge of the pod, Brian yawned and stretched his arms. The padding was some advanced stuff, as he never seemed to be sore even after spending eight or more hours inside. His limbs definitely got stiff, though. As he stretched, his body popped and cracked in ways he hadn''t known possible before getting the Ingenium. Oddly enough, Brian had come to find the cracking satisfying after a prolonged session. Yawning once more, he made his way to the kitchen. In the back of his mind, he knew he had to pee as well. But for now, the painful hunger in his stomach was more important. His house was dark, as night came much sooner in the real world than in the game world. He had motion sensors installed to turn on the lights automatically, but after his first couple of session he realized that his eyes took much to long to adjust to the brightness and he didn''t feel like shilling out the money for some of the more advanced sensor systems that would auto-adjust to the dilation of his pupils. Instead, he simply disabled the sensors so he wouldn''t have to deal with the blinding light. Once in the kitchen, he sat about making himself a bowl of cereal. Cereal and microwave meals had become his best friend these past few months. Even as he made his bowl, he had to push old containers of Chinese food out of the way. I really, really need to get my life back in order. Sitting down at the kitchen table, he munched on his food, doing his best to eat as quickly as possible. As he sat, though, he noticed his phone half-buried under some junk with a blinking screen. He reached out and grabbed it. The phone showed he had missed two calls a number of hours earlier and he had received a text message. Upon inspection, both calls were from Aniyah, his uncle''s agent, and the text was from her as well.
Brian - HRU? Its been a while. Fear you may have died on me, so coming over tomorrow about 3PM. Also have stuff for you to sign -Aniyah
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Stifling a yawn, he typed out a short reply. He hadn''t seen Aniyah, or even talked to her, since she and her husband had dropped off his uncles belongings. That got him thinking about The Jianghu. It had already been a month since he had started playing, yet he felt like he hadn''t made much progress. During his initial researching into the game, he had known that it would be a slow process. Heck, it seemed like most of the people who had been playing the game since the beginning didn''t know much and hadn''t gotten far. In fact, the only people who seemed to have gotten anywhere in the game were those who had beta tested the game, or those who had gotten close to them. That meant they had at least a year, up to three, of experience on the people who began playing at the official launch. This was thousands of people, but still that was thousands out of millions. I need to work harder to catch up... After downing the last of the milk, Brian tossed the bowl and spoon into the sink and made his way to bathroom. Deciding to be efficient, he brushed his teeth as he relieved himself. Briefly he thought about taking a shower, but decided against it as he really wanted to get into bed. After a quick rinse, he shuffled his way into his room and plopped down on the bed. Not even bothering to cover himself, he promptly passed out. Some hours later, Brian sat up from his bed. A loud knocking had woken him up from a dream. The dream had been about him dueling with people in Louyang and he was really enjoying it. He had been using some odd Kung Fu he had never seen before, but it seemed to be capable of beating everything that went against it. The knocking began again, this time even louder than before. Groaning, Brian lifted himself out of bed and made his way to the front door. As he walked, he had to shield his eyes from the bright sunlight streaming into the house through the windows. As he answered the door, Brian was briefly surprised to see who it was until he remembered the text message from yesterday. "Jeez, you look like shit, Brian." Aniyah said as she pushed past Brian and walked into the front room. "Thanks?" He asked, closing the door. "You look like that ghoul from your uncles fifth novel." She called over her shoulder as she walked into his kitchen. "What was it called again?" Half-yawning, "Dunno." was his reply. There was a crash from the kitchen, causing Brian to jump. He hurried over to find Aniyah had pushed all the junk on the table off the side and was in the process of emptying a bag he hadn''t noticed before. As he watched, the aroma of fresh Chinese food filled the room. "I figured we could eat while we worked," Aniyah explained. "I hope you like white rice and sesame chicken." Brian nodded and sat down. He began sorting through the various boxes. "You don''t have any forks?" Aniyah asked as she dug through the kitchen drawers. "Probably in the sink," Brian said, pointing. Aniyah stared at the mess in the sink before shaking her head. "Good thing I got the plastic stuff," She said and sat down next to Brian. For a few minutes they ate in silence. For his part, Brian scarfed down most of the food without much chewing. He hadn''t realized just how hungry he had been. After spending weeks eating a bare minimum, just barely feeling his stomach once a day, the hunger seemed to have accumulated. He would order out from time to time, but usually didn''t as it meant he would have to be awake without being in the pod while waiting for the delivery. "So," Aniyah began pulling some papers out of a briefcase she had with her. "There''s some stuff for you to sign." She shuffled through the various packets, organizing them. "I had your uncles lawyer - your lawyer now, I guess - look through them and he says it''s OK. But, just in case, I also had a contract lawyer look through them. He gave the OK, too." She said, placing the first packet in front of him and setting a pen on top. Brian finished the last of his food and then sat about signing the pages. Each already had an X next to each spot he needed to sign. He knew this was to ensure all the royalties and rights to his uncles works transfered over to him. The fanbase for Johnny Whoopus had actually signed a petition to try and convince him to release the rights to the public domain or something. Wonder whatever happened to that. "Okay, this next one is a bit odd. Apparently your uncle did a fair bit of publishing in China, too." Aniyah placing another packet in front of Brian. This one was a bit thicker, and it had sticky notes all over. The contract itself was in Chinese. "This is just a formality, for the most part." Aniyah explained as Brian signed on the X''s. "The pirating that goes on over there makes what we have here look like nothing. Don''t expect any money to come over." She chuckled. "And this last one is for the house," She said, referring to his uncles old home. He had put it up for sale almost immediately after receiving ownership after the Will reading. Brian signed it quickly, preferring not to think back on the house where he had come across his uncles body. "You really need to take care of yourself more, Brian." She said as she stuffed some trash into a bin. "Jie would kill me if anything bad happened to you..." Brian stacked the offers and then placed them off to the side. "I guess you''re right." He admitted. "Damn straight I''m right!" She chuckled. "Listen, I''ll start bringing over some groceries and will help you get back on your feet. I can''t even imagine what it''s like to go through this once, let alone twice." "Three times." "Huh?" "This is the third time," Brian explained. "When my real parents were murdered, I found their bodies. When my adoptive parents died, I found their bodies. When Uncle Jie died, I found his body." "...Oh..." Aniyah whispered. There was an awkward silence as she continued to clean. Brian felt like crap, she had just been trying to help and he made her feel bad for it. But she was right, he really needed to get his act together. If he kept up like this, the Ingenium probably wouldn''t even let him connect. He patted his stomach, marveling at how small it had gotten. He had never been overweight, but before the... accident, he at least had some meat on his bones. Now he felt like he had been starving. And his arms. They looked like sticks. What little muscle had been there before was completely gone. Brian was sure that if he went into the bathroom and looked in the mirror, he really would look like a ghoul. I need to do something. "Aniyah," He began, stopped for a moment and started again. "Aniyah, can you do me a favor?" "Huh?" She asked, looking up from her solemn cleaning. "Next time you come by, could you get me some weights or something? Maybe an elliptical? I need to get back in shape." He finished by holding up his bony arm. "Sure," She replied before turning back to her work. "Thank you." "Oh," She looked back up and smiled, her gloom instantly disappearing. "Your welcome! I''ll get you a whole gym. Using your own funds, of course." There was a sharp beep and Aniyah pulled out her phone. After a moment she tucked it back into her pocket and headed back to the table and began repacking her briefcase. "Gotta go. Sam needs me to pick up Jenny from her club and wants me to grab dinner on the way home." She said as she began heading towards the front door. "Alright, thanks for coming." Brian said, following. "Be sure to eat," She lectured. "I''ll be by in a couple of days with some groceries, so try and clean some space." "Alright, I will." She stopped for a moment and sniffed, frowning. "And take a shower, you stink." And then she was gone. Brian chuckled to himself as he closed the door. He stood there for a moment, trying to decide what he should do. Well, I know what to do. He headed to the bathroom and started the shower. As the water heated, he sat back and looked at himself in the mirror. What he saw startled him. His eyes looked sunken into his skull. His hair was a mess, too. The back was smashed close to his head from the padding of the pod, while the top was a wild torrent of hair. He shook his head as he chuckled. Sighing, he stepped into the shower and got to work cleaning himself. He couldn''t remember the last time he had showered, but he was sure it was at least a month and a half. Cleaning himself, Brian''s thoughts drifted to The Jianghu and his plans for that day. That Broken Twig club that Jellybean was in seemed like a joke. Jellybean, however, seemed like an alright guy. So perhaps it isn''t so bad as it sounds. And the encounter with Player Killers yesterday taught him that having a weapon would be a lot safer - he wouldn''t always be so lucky as to run into a level ten idiot. A spear would be a good choice, too. It would allow him to attack from longer ranges and keep enemies further away. As he thought about the virtual injury from yesterday, he rubbed the spot he had been cut in the game. I need to stock up on some of that healing powder, too. He needed to do some research before he decided, though. Even if he didn''t go with Broken Twig, there were dozens of other clubs in the city. He would often pass them and their closed-off courtyards. He usually couldn''t see the members due to the tall walls, but he could hear them train. Some of them would have open training areas that allowed those passing by to watch. But those were mostly the more well-known clubs and the Armed Escort Agencies who wanted to show off their abilities to potential customers. Finishing up, Brian climbed out of the shower and walked over to the spare bedroom as he toweled himself off. Sitting at his desk, he began to search for information about Louyang Martial Arts clubs. Jellybean hadn''t been kidding when he said that his Sifu had a lot of rumors surrounding him. There wasn''t much discussion about the club, but what was available centered around "Sifu Ma" and his drunken escapades. Most seemed to be split between the theory that he was a failed Shaolin monk and that he once ran a successful Armed Escort Agency but lost it all after he got defeated in a duel. The former because he was said to be balled and had some strong fist techniques and the latter because the club taught a spear technique. Spears were the weapon of choice for most of the Agencies in Louyang. There were some posts that defended the school. One of them was from J3llybean himself, on the official forums. He shared his theory about Sifu Ma being a member of the Beggar Sect and said that his drinking was so he could master the sects Secret Style, Drunken Fist. He also said he would accept a challenge from anyone who doubted the ability of the Broken Twig Spear style. One thing Brian was sure of, was that this Sifu Ma fellow was an NPC. Some of the post he read suggested that the rumors were started by other NPCs. None of the other clubs he found information about really stood out to him. Most of the player-ran clubs didn''t actually teach anything and just provided a place for sparring and finding groups for hunting. So essentially like a guild from other games, like he had been told. The NPC clubs seemed to have a lot of drama between them and most of the player members seemed to be displeased with the teachings. That, or they complained about the high tuition fees. In the end, Brian decided he would pay a visit to the Broken Twig club, as he wasn''t having much luck finding something better. No other club in the city, at least of the ones he could find information about on the Internet, seemed to teach spear techniques. The more he read about spears, the more he liked the idea of using one. Plus, someone had posted directions to the club and he knew exactly where it was. Getting up from his chair, he pressed his thumb to the scanner on the pod. As it opened, he slipped on some old clothes he had left on the floor. Dressed, he crawled into the pod and pressed the button to close it.
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Chapter 6 - Broken Twig Spear Author Note - Hello again. It''s been a while. I haven''t updated in a long time. Chapter six is something I''ve been working on very sparingly since Chapter 5 was released. I got another job (a second one... I''m still also doing my other job), which kinda killed my creativity a bit, but helped my wallet significantly. Chapter six may be a bit weak compared to the other chapters. If so, let me know and tell me where. I''d like to get back into the groove and have started on chapter seven. I don''t think it''ll take too long for chapter seven to come out, but don''t hold your breath. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brian stood before a small walled-in complex of buildings. These types of small complexs were common in Louyang, almost like the whole city was made up of mini-castles. Most of the time, such as with the one Brian was standing before, these complexs were owned by Kung Fu clubs or Armed Escort Agencies. Sometimes, they would be owned by single families to use as homes. In some rare cases, they were even used as brothels. The tall walls making them popular for those who wanted to maintain a sense of privacy. The particular complex that Brian had come to was owned by the Broken Twig Spear club. There had been vague directions to the location on the forums, but they weren''t accurate enough to take him directly to the club. After an hour or so of wandering, with none of the locals deciding they wanted to be helpful, Brian had caved in and called Jellybean. Jellybean was ecstatic at being able to introduce Brian to the club and had told him to wait at a nearby bridge. Not fifteen minutes later, Brian saw the teenager sprinting towards him. After that, he had been lead to the small complex he now stood before. Jellybean had told him to wait a moment and had disappeared into the front gate. He had told Brian that he would get the Senior Club member and introduce him. As Brian reflected on the events that brought him here, the gate opened. Out came Jellybean, followed closely by another man. He looked buff, but in a contained way. Although his muscles were well-defined, they didn''t bulge the way a bodybuilders would. He was bald and looked to be about the same age as Brian, though the air around him made him seem much older. He gave the impression that life had dealt him a hard hand which required that he grow up much faster than he normally would have. "Junjieming," Jellybean began, "This is Senior Member Cong Pao." Gesturing to the man. Brian dipped his head in greeting. "Senior Member Cong, this is Junjieming." "Hello," Cong spoke. Despite his appearances, his voice had an eager tone. "I hear you are interested in joining the Club?" Cong inquired. Brian nodded again. "Yes, I''m very interested in learning how to wield the spear. Jellybean has said a lot about how good the Broken Twig Spear style is." Brian explained. The man nodded as if he understood. "Well," He began. "While I wish to stay humble, I personally have to agree with Jellybean here. There is no better spear technique in Louyang!" He said, clapping the young man on the shoulder, chuckling. "Lets head inside and I can introduce you to Sifu Ma. I feel you would be a great addition to the Club, but Sifu Ma has the final say on everyone who enters." Cong turned around and gestured for Brian to follow. He began to do so, but was stopped by Jellybean. "Junjie, you''ll need to impress Sifu Ma." Jellybean warned. "Really impress him. Unfortunately, he isn''t drunk. If this doesn''t work out, we''ll try again tomorrow and I''ll bring some alcohol to get him drunk beforehand." Jellybean looked Brian from toe to head, appraising him. "I think you''ll definitely impress him though. You look like you could kick some serious ass. Remind me to ask you what your stats are later. I''m pretty sure your strength blows mind out of the water." He knocked his knuckles against Brian''s bicep. "Alright," Brian agreed. "I''ve got to get going. Some errands to run before the Club meet tonight. Hopefully I''ll see you there." With that, Jellybean headed down the street. Brian turned and followed Cong into the gate. The courtyard was fairly plain. It contained a couple of trees that had some severe damage to their trunks. Except for the center of the courtyard, there was a packed dirt floor. In the center was a slightly raised platform made up of large stone bricks. They were all flush with one another, creating a smooth surface. There were also three buildings in the complex. A small hut-like building, and two slightly larger buildings. Each had a tile roof and sliding wooden doors, a typical design in Louyang. Cong lead Brian to one of the larger buildings, located on the Northern wall to the right of the entrance. As they approached, Cong stopped and turned to Brian. "It is traditional for potential members to display what they''ve already learned for Sifu Ma. Once I finish your introduction, go ahead and get to it and display whatever techniques you may have learned. If you have none, just throw some basic punches and kicks around. Maybe slam your foot on the ground as hard as you can to show off your strength." Brian nodded, to let him know he understood. Cong returned the nod and turned back around. He then slid the door open and gestured for Brain to enter. After Brian had entered, Cong slid the door shut and then walked across the room to stand next to an old man, who sat on the ground on a plush pillow. Brian wasn''t sure, as he wasn''t the most knowledgeable about these sorts of things, but he thought the old man sat in a lotus position. Much like all the older NPCs Brian had come across in Louyang, Sifu Ma had a long grey beard that rested in a pool in his lap. This suggested that if he were to stand, his beard would potentially reach all the way to the ground. The man had bushy eyebrows and was partially bald, what little hair he had left forming a sort of crown on his head. The old man had no mustache, which seemed odd to Brian. Because of the lack of a mustache, his wrinkly yet pudgy face was on full display. His cheeks had a slight rose tint suggesting that he had been drinking. Yet, he managed to have a severe gaze that penetrated Brian. "Sifu Ma, this is Junjieming. He is a friend of one of our members, Jellybean." The old man grunted in response. There was a silence, which gave Brian ample opportunity to suddenly become nervous. To calm his nerves, took the time to take a closer look at Sifu Ma. His outfit had a dirty quality. It seemed to be made of high quality material, though it looked like there was a thin layer of grim covering it. The top portion was what Brian could best describe as a half-robe. The bottom portion was an average pair of pants, held up by a leather rope tied into a bow at the front. All along the outfit, which was a deep brown, were gourds. Each tired tightly onto the robe and belt of the old man. Brian counted about seven in all, but wasn''t sure if he could see them all. Brian snapped out of his appraisal of the old mans outfit by a sharp cough from Cong. Remembering what Cong had told him before they entered the building, Brian slipped into his basic combat stance. From there, he went through a display of the various techniques he had learned. Basic Punch, Basic Kick, High Kick, Leg Sweep, and Basic Elbow Strike. Once he had repeated each move twice, he stopped and turned to the two men. Cong had a satisfied smile spread across his face. Sifu Ma, on the other hand, had a deep frown. Cong took notice of Sifu Ma''s frown and his smile was replaced by panic. "Sifu Ma, I''m sure you can see how strong this young man is." Cong stated. The old man began to shake his head. "Sifu," Cong begged. "Please. This man holds much potential." But Sifu Ma continued to shake his head. Brian began to worry. "Please. We could dearly use the tuition fees, Sifu Ma." Cong continued to beg, more disparate. Brian watched the display for a moment before deciding to use his trump card. He had hoped he could get away without using it, as he didn''t want to flaunt his owning of a Secret Technique. Plus, from what he had read, using a technique from a different style in front of a Club Sifu could get you on the fast track to rejection. Some took offense to the display of techniques other than their own. Well, worth a try. "Crane Steps Forward to Strike With Beak!" Brian shouted, silencing both the men, who had delved into a quiet argument. Brian executed each step of the technique flawlessly. He had practiced it many times since learning it and had already raised it to a respectable level. Each move resulted in a crisp, satisfying "snap." When it came time for the final stomp in the technique, he made sure to pour all his strength into it. The result was more surprising than even Brian had anticipated. Where once a solid stone tile had lay, now rested a cracked mess and a small crater. There was a silence as all three men appreciated Brian''s technique. Sifu Ma had the same stony gaze as before, though where there had once been none, a definite respect for Brian''s technique emerged. Cong''s face had adopted a look of horror, staring pointedly at the damage to the floor. Brian, for his part, stood gaping at the two men. I put way too much strength into that... After a few moments had passed, Sifu Ma opened his mouth. "Fine." Was all he said. At his single word, the horror on Cong''s face transformed into joy. He quickly stepped away from Sifu Ma''s side and up to Brian. "Alright, Sifu Ma has agreed to accept you as a Member." He explained. "Tuition for the Club is five-hundred Wen per week." Brian nodded and took out the coins from his inventory. As he did so, Cong seemed to avert his gaze from the odd action of Brian reaching into thin air and retrieving coins from nothing. "But there is the matter of..." This he said this with a pointed gesture at the broken tile. Sighing, Brian took out another five hundred Wen. To be honest, despite the sigh, he felt like he was getting a great bargain. Most clubs that he head read up on seemed to charge in the order of multiple Liang per week. Cong seemed to notice his line of thought. "Sifu Ma wont let me charge more than this for the tuition." He said with disappointment in his voice. For a moment, Cong''s did what could best be described as a "thousand mile stare" looking into the distance with his eyes unfocused. Most of the time, there were little things that gave NPCs away. Either they had the sense of a native around them - as if they had been born and raised in this world - or they had what Brian would call "dead" moments, such as what Cong had just displayed. He wasn''t sure what caused it. Perhaps it was on purpose, some pre-programmed trait that the people in the Jianghu shared. But Brian''s favorite theory was that the artifical Intelligence behind the NPCs required a moment to calculate what they would be doing. "Todays club meet won''t be for another hour." Cong said, recovering from his moment of silence. "Until then, let me give you a quick tour and teach you some of the basics of our style." Cong turned and gestured over his shoulder for Brian to follow. As they reached the center of the complex, Cong gestured at the various buildings. One building acted as the storage facility for the club, with various tools for training inside. Cong told him that he was welcome to come at any time in the day to make use of the equipment to train as part of his membership. The second building acted as a kitchen, room for Cong, and an open area for training when the weather was bad. The third building was the small hut that Sifu Ma used. "I''ll grab a couple of spears so I can show you the basics. It''ll be just enough to allow you to keep up with the Group Training portion of the meet." It only took moment for Cong to head into the storage room and grab the spears and sprint back to where Brian stood. He handed one to Brian. "Now, the club meets every day except for the third day of the week." Cong explained while Brian tested the weight of the spear, "You''re expected to attend all of them unless you''ve got a decent reason not to. Sifu Ma is strict about attendance, even if he rarely makes an appearance at the meets. "We meet two hours before Sun down and train until it''s too dark to see well." He stopped for a moment and looked up into the sky. "We''ve got about an hour to go before the others arrive, so lets get started." Cong walked up behind Brian and used his foot to spread Brian''s feet to about shoulder length apart. He then held his spear with a downward grip so that the pole rested against the inside of his arm and let the end of the spear rest on the ground on the outside of his right foot. The training spears were only wood except for a metal bit at the end, which Brian guessed were to mimic the weight of an actual spear tip. "Alright, this is our basic stance." Cong explained the position they were standing in as Brian did his best to copy it. After a moment of fiddling, Brian got a new pop-up letting him know he had learned "Broken Twig Spear Stance." Huh, guess skill books aren''t the only way to learn new things in this game. "Good, now I''ll be showing you the five basic movements of our style. With these, you''ll be able to do most of what we''ll be doing in todays meet." With that, Cong broke into five different movements with his spear. By Brian''s unexperienced eye, it seemed like only two or three of the movements were actually meant to attack. The rest seemed to be focused on defending. One of the movements confused him and he wasn''t sure what it was for, exactly. He watched Cong as closely as he could while he went through the various movements a few more times before stopping. "This is what we call, ''Nah''." He held the end of the spear high in his left hand, with the tip of the spear lower and pointed toward the ground. "It''s meant as a low block." Brian nodded, to show he understood and mimiced the stance. As he did so, a new pop-up let him know he had learned the skill. "And this is ''Pah''." He said, doing a move that looked similar to Nah but finished with a pull motion towards his lower right. "It''s the most basic parry in our style." "Kum," He did a circular motion with his spear in front of him. This was the movement that had confused Brian in the initial demonstration. "This is the third and final of the defensive movements we''ll be using today. It''s purpose is to press the opposing spear, or any long weapon in general, towards the ground." He gestured for Brian to put him his spear and demonstrated the technique. Brian found his spear almost ripped from his hands and pressed firmly against the ground. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. "We''ll also be using two offensive movements, ''Cheung''," He said, doing a straight thrust forward. "Is self-explanatory." "Chum-Tiu," He said, doing a downward strike with his spear. "Is also fairly obvious, but it''s a downwards strike for hitting something at a distance. Be careful not to let the end of your spear hit the ground when doing Chum-Tiu." As Cong had explained the movements, Brian had done his best to mimic and had learned all of the skills. With the skill systems help, he was able to execute each with some resemblance of success without much effort after having done them right for the first time manually. "Go ahead and practice these movements until the others get here. Take your time, though. Don''t want you tired for the actual meet." Cong chuckled. "I''ll be in the Kitchen preparing Sifu Ma''s dinner. If you have any questions, just let me know." With that, he turned and headed toward the building that contained the kitchen. Suppose that confirms both as NPCs. Brian took his spear over to raised platform that sat in the middle of the courtyard and began practicing the movements Cong had taught him. For the first thirty minutes of his practice, he was happy to hear the ding that let him know one of his skills had risen. Now that the skills he had learned from the old bookseller had risen so high, that familiar ding was becoming less and less frequent. He couldn''t remember the last time he had heard the deeper ''bong'' noise that accompanied a stat increase. Time flew by and before he knew it, a few people began to trickle into the Courtyard. One of them was Jellybean, who only gave him a quick thumbs-up as he went over to the storage shed and got himself his own spear and began practicing most of the same movements that Brian was doing. A few of the movements he was doing were obviously more advanced and he would even string a few of the movements together. The effect gave off the same impression as Brian''s "Crane Steps Forward to Strike With Beak." "Jellybean," Brian began, "Is that a a Special Technique?" "Huh?" Jellybean replied, confused. But after a moment, "Oh! I suppose Cong didn''t explain." "Explain what?" "Well, you see," Jellybean said as he shoulder his spear and walked closer to Brian. "I''m not sure if it''s the same with every style but the Broken Twig Spear style uses a sort of combo system to string together the movements to create techniques. For example," He spread his feet, put his spear at the ready and broke into a short series of the various basic movements. The effect definitely felt similar to when Brian made use of his own Special Technique. The feeling was hard to place, but it was definitely different than when a single movement was done by itself. "Ah, you notice." Jellybean smiled, seemingly understanding what Brian was thinking about. "This is why I think Broken Twig is so awesome. None of the other style taught in the various clubs in Louyang give off that feeling. Most people probably won''t notice it, but since we club members get to experience it so often, we can notice the distinct difference between a normal technique and the combos that Broken Twig can use. I''m surprised you noticed it, though." He knit his eyebrows, thinking. "How do I do the combo?" "Oh, it''s easy. There''s two ways. You can bring up the combo interface, which is pretty neat. You can use it to create and name your own combos to help you memorize what works and what doesn''t. Cong will probably go over some of the more basic combos of the style since this is your first meet. Otherwise, you just have to sorta mentally think, ''Ok, do Kum, then Cheung, and then finish with Chum-Tiu.'' and the game takes over from there." Jellybean executed the movements as he named them off. As he listened to the explanation, Brian managed to open the combo interface with a simple mental command. At first he had tried simply thinking, "Combo interface" but nothing happened. So he specified, "Broken Twig Spear combo" and he got a small window before his face. On the left side was a list of the movements he had learned. In the middle was a column that appeared to allow him to drag and drop movements in sequence. He found that after he had dropped a couple of movements into the box and then concentrated on it, he got a vivid image in his head of himself executing the combo. And on the right seemed to be place to name the combo. Easy enough to figure out. As he was fiddling with the interface, Cong had come out and began giving instructions for the club members to line up. There were only five, not counting Brian and Cong, people in the club. Of course there was Jellybean. Then there were four men and a single woman. The men seemed fairly generic, making them seem like NPCs. Brian hadn''t thought about it, but he guessed it made sense that NPCs would be part of an NPC-ran club. The woman, who also looked generic but had the band on her arm signifying that she was a player and wanted people to know it, seemed to be about thirty years old. She was taller than everyone else, excluding Cong, too. "Right," Cong intoned, looking over his disciples. "Lets get to work." The next hour-and-a-half passed in a blur. The pace was set as fast from the beginning, apparently Brian''s newness to the club had no affect on their usually training regiment. Brian didn''t mind, as having to slow down every time a new member came would result in everyone being held back significantly. The training consisted of going through a number of different movements and combos, repeating them many times. By the end, they had only completed a handful of combos. As the training continued, Brian noticed that every time he achieved a higher rank in his various spear skills, there was a mention of a "group training bonus." Apparently if you trained in a group setting, such as in a club, you learned things faster. That made sense, in a way. In reality, learning something with many people of varying abilities could definitely be beneficial. And the Jianghu was an MMO, so it made sense that there was an incentive to work with others. "Alright, lets finish with half an hour of meditation." Everyone stood from their ready stances and got to their knees, placing their spears to their right side. After a moments hesitation, Brian followed suit. He did his best to imitate the way Cong sat at the front of the club members. His back straight, hands resting palm down on his thighs, and eyes apparently shut. Brian had never gotten much from meditation, so while it was a great opportunity to calm down and catch his breath, he didn''t get much benefit. However, he kept his mouth shut and played along. About half way through the thirty-minute meditation session, Brian was surprised by a skill window popping up and informing him that he had learned the Meditation skill. The flavor text was kind of bland, but it did explain that he would heal much quicker while meditating. While he couldn''t see a benefit from meditation in the real world, he could definitely see a benefit in the Jianghul. With renewed vigor, he threw himself at the meditation. "And we''re done." Cong announced, standing up. "You are dismissed. Junji, return your training spear before you go." Without another word, Cong turned and headed for the hut that held Sifu Ma. Brian turned to the others and saw one of the men who he had through to be an NPC disappear after a brief exchange with the other man, who was now heading out the gate. The woman had already left almost immediately after Cong had said they were dismissed. Jellybean was the only one left in the courtyard, and he was still there after Brian had returned his training spear. As Brian walked towards Jellybean, he arched his eyebrow. "I still have a bit before I have to log off for the night." He explained. "Ah," Brian thought for a moment. "Where can I get a spear?" Jellybean brightened at the question. He seemed to really like being helpful. "There''s a couple of places you can go," He began as they walked out of the gate together. "There''s the woodcarvers district in the South of the city, near the gate that leads to the Louyang Forest. Then there''s the Smiths district," Jellybean explained the various shops that sold good spears and they made their way to one of the his favorite shops. He mentioned that it was ran by an NPC who didn''t like the haggle, but the quality of his weapons were undeniable. "On a level that players haven''t yet achieved, at least in louyang." he explained. As they entered the shop, located on the outskirts of the Woodcarvers District, the shop owner eyed them suspiciously. "Closing soon," He stated, but otherwise left them alone. Jellybean lead him to the back of the shop, which held a wall full of spears of various types and qualities. Brian noticed that as he concentrated on each, a small information box appeared that explained the basics of each. Some of the fields were simply filled with question marks, meaning that his character didn''t know enough about the weapons to be able to fully understand them. Some of the info boxes has small badges of varying colors in the upper right color. Brian asked about them. "Ah, some of the weapons can''t be fully utilized until you''ve reached certain points in your characters development. For example, a Tourist would have no badge and therefore would be completely rubbish with any weapon. You and I are, however, in the Wooden bracket because we''ve taken the first steps into the Jianghu and have some techniques under our belts." As he explained, he pointed at a spear on the wall that had a simple pole and sharpened point at one end. "This is a Wooden-tier weapon. We could make full use of its capabilities as we are. If you were to equip it, it would feel right in your hands. Almost like you had swung it a thousand times already." He pointed at another spear that was a bit more ornate, having a sharper and long spearhead and a short flag attached where the pole and head met. "This is an Iron-tier weapon. After Wood, there is Copper and then Iron. If one of us were to pick up that spear - if we could somehow afford it, that is - we would be more likely to hurt ourselves on it. It''s odd, because even if you were a spear master in the real world, you would still have a high chance of hurting yourself or at least being very ineffective with that spear as a Wood-tier player. Almost like the game sees that your character hasn''t developed enough and makes it more likely for little accidents to happen if you try using it. Hands slipping, accidentally scraping the ground and dropping the spear, that sort of stuff." Brian thought on this for a bit. "So," Brian began. "If I were to equip a Copper weapon, I would do more harm than good?" Jellybean shook his head. "Not necessarily. When the tiers touch, the line blurs. Especially on the lower spectrum. You and I would actually benefit from making use of Copper weapons except in some rare cases. My spear," He pointed to the spear at his shoulder. "Is a Copper, for example." Brian nodded at the explanation. The system kind of made sense. "So I should buy a copper spear?" Jellybean nodded, "Yeah, that''s what I would suggest." Brian took a step back and looked at the wracks of spears again. For the most part, it seemed that weapons were organized based on their tier. Oddly enough, or so Brian thought, there was a small number of Wood and Copper spears, with a bulk of those on display being Iron. There were a few Silver weapons on display above the rest of the spears. These were all fairly ornate. One in particular had a spearhead that was made of an odd material. It looked like a highly polished steel that had glass or perhaps diamond shards embedded in it that reflected light. When he examined on of these, the stat display was nothing but question marks. He turned to the portion of the wall that held Copper-tier spears. There were five of these, all of which that looked almost exactly alike. They all had a rough quality to them, and a couple looked to be secondhand. One of them seemed to be of a decent quality, though. It looked similar to the training spear he used at the Club, but with a metal spearhead. A very blunt spearhead, but one nonetheless. "Jelly, what do you think of this one?" Brian asked, picking up the better looking of the Copper-tier spears. Jelly took the spear from him and looked it over with a critical eye. After a moment, he nodded and handed the spear back to Brian. "That''s about as good as you can get when it comes to Copper weapons. The spearhead is full of impurities though, so you''ll probably have to replace it before too long. But it should be good enough for some basic hunting." As he finished speaking, Jelly got that distant look in his eyes that was the sign they were interacting with some menu or another. After a moment, his eyes refocused. Before disappearing he said, "Gotta go, moms knocking on the pod." Brian shrugged to the air that Jellybean previously inhabited, then turned and took the spear to the shopkeeper. He was afraid the spear would set him back a great deal, but it was surprisingly cheap. After the money left his hand, a new window appeared letting him know about his new weapon. Apparently it was called a Pig Iron Spear. Most of the stats weren''t comprehensible to him and were therefore represented by more question marks. The stat window wasn''t the same as he was used to from the old style of MMOs. Instead of stuff like attack speed or damage, the stat window listed things like materials used in the different parts of the spear, enchantments (which was blank), the current owner, and who had crafted it. There was an icon that looked like a pen on paper next to the weapons name which he assumed could be used to rename it, but Brian didn''t think the weapon needed a name other than the one it already had. He closed the window. Brian wanted to take it out and try some hunting with it, but as he walked away from the shop he got a pop-up alerting him of several real world needs that needed attending. Sighing, he stowed his new weapon and logged out in a nearby alley.