The Game and the Sword

Xu Shuche’s gaze remained fixed on the computer screen.

At this moment, they were fighting the first boss in the Snow Mountain dungeon.

This boss was called the Bell Keeper, carrying a large bell on his back.

His attack method was the sound waves produced by the bell ringing.

During the bell phase, he would also generate a shield.

If the shield wasn’t broken, everyone in the team would gradually have their mana drained.

Xu Shuche’s alternate account wasn’t weak.

With more than twenty thousand cultivation, and under Orange’s group healing, he could stand through the whole fight.

He cast a gust of wind at the boss, emptying its energy bar.

When the boss’s energy was gone, its defense dropped, making the shield easier to break.

This was what the only Qingfeng player in the team was supposed to do.

After casting the wind skill, Xu Shuche explained to Jian Yixun.

“This game is called Jianghu Dream. It’s a martial-arts RPG online game.”

“Oh?”

Jian Yixun’s hair was still damp.

He sat down beside him and scratched his nose.

“This Qing… this female character is your account? She looks really pretty.”

Xu Shuche had originally intended to explain what main accounts and reward accounts were.

But then he thought about it again.

Jian Yixun didn’t even play this game, so why bother explaining so much?

He simply nodded.

“Yeah. My account.”

“What’s that character?”

Jian Yixun pointed at the Bell Keeper.

“Why is he so much bigger than you guys?”

“Because that’s the dungeon boss.”

As Xu Shuche finished speaking, the boss’s energy bar filled again.

He pressed a key and sent another gust of wind, emptying the energy bar once more.

When Xu Shuche first started playing Jianghu Dream, he actually used this Qingfeng account.

But the Qingfeng sect was located in a snowy mountain range.

The moment players stepped onto the mountain, their health would start dropping rapidly.

The only way to survive was by drinking spicy soup to maintain health.

Back then Xu Shuche didn’t know where to buy that soup.

His health kept dropping endlessly.

Frustrated, he immediately created another account to play a healer.

Still, this Qingfeng account had been his very first character.

After thinking about it for a long time, he never deleted it.

Once his healer account became stronger, he picked up the Qingfeng account again.

Even if he only joined dungeons every week as a reward account and picked up small drops, the rewards added up over time.

The characters on the screen surrounded the Bell Keeper and continued attacking.

While casting wind, Xu Shuche explained to Jian Yixun.

“My character is a swordsman, which means it’s a damage-dealing role. This class has a skill called Hidden Wind Flowing Clouds. It releases a gust of wind that empties the boss’s energy bar, making it easier for everyone to attack.”

“I see.”

Jian Yixun nodded, then pointed to another character.

“What about that one? What is he?”

“That sect is called Tahe. They specialize in internal energy attacks. We usually call them Daoists.”

Xu Shuche hovered his mouse over the character.

“They have very strong area damage, so teams like bringing them into dungeons.”

“Then… do you think that sect looks cool?”

Jian Yixun clenched his fist and rested it against his lips.

“I mean… between Qingfeng, Tahe, and the others you mentioned, which one do you think is the coolest?”

“I think…”

Xu Shuche paused and tilted his head slightly, thinking seriously for a moment.

“I think Tahe is the coolest.”

“Really?”

Jian Yixun suddenly looked very pleased.

“What a coincidence. I think Tahe is the coolest too.”

“But Tahe players have a lot of scumbags.”

Xu Shuche didn’t notice Jian Yixun’s unusual excitement.

“That sect always shows up in gossip posts. Either cheating people’s feelings or dating multiple people at once. It’s probably because their character models look handsome, so lots of healer players like them.”

“Then if you were going to find a partner in the game,” Jian Yixun asked,

“would you choose someone from Tahe?”

“Probably.”

Xu Shuche thought for a moment.

“After all, it’s just linking accounts online anyway. When people choose partners in games, they pick someone good-looking. But personally, I think the male Youlan characters are even more handsome.”

After saying that, he suddenly looked at Jian Yixun curiously.

“How did you know this game has a partner system?”

“Well I…”

Jian Yixun clicked his tongue.

“I’ve played older RPG games before. Of course I’ve heard of the partner system. But I’ve never really experienced it myself.”

Xu Shuche nodded in understanding.

At that moment, the Bell Keeper had already been defeated.

The reward screen popped up.

Xu Shuche clicked his mouse and chose “Give Up” under the reward request option.

“Isn’t that the dungeon reward?” Jian Yixun asked.

“Why don’t you want it?”

“I’m here to fill the reward slot, but I’m not actually taking rewards.”

Xu Shuche considered explaining the complicated reward-slot rules.

But then he realized an outsider wouldn’t understand anyway, so he gave up explaining.

On the screen, the female Qingfeng swordsman mounted a white horse and followed the team forward.

After passing through broken walls and ruins, the sky suddenly darkened.

Snow began falling from the previously clear sky.

Along with the snow came a health-draining debuff.

Xu Shuche calmly used a healing potion.

Jian Yixun looked nervous.

“Why are you losing health? Are you going to die?”

“No.”

Xu Shuche calmly controlled his character and moved toward a nearby campfire.

Once the character reached the fire, the debuff immediately disappeared.

He patiently explained to the curious newcomer.

“This is a buff in the snow mountain area. If you don’t stay near a fire while it’s snowing, you’ll keep getting this debuff.”

Just as he finished speaking, a loud roar came from the computer speakers.

A giant snow ape appeared, swinging a massive bone club.

The wind from the club made the campfire flicker.

“Can this fire go out?” Jian Yixun asked.

“Yes.”

Xu Shuche tapped the movement keys, guiding his character closer to the wall.

“If the snow ape hits it too many times, it might go out. Another situation is—”

Before he finished speaking, the fire suddenly went out with a puff.

Xu Shuche calmly moved his character to another campfire.

“It can also go out if someone in the team dies.”

After saying that, he opened the team panel.

He had assumed some careless reward-slot player had been crushed by the snow ape.

But unexpectedly, the one who died was Chachuan.

As a healer with over thirty thousand cultivation and about five hundred thousand health, dying like that really shouldn’t happen.

Xu Shuche frowned slightly and opened the team chat.

He was about to type something.

But remembering that Jian Yixun was sitting beside him watching, he swallowed his words.

Forget it.

Otherwise he’d look like one of those toxic gamers who liked scolding people.

Xu Shuche sighed quietly.

But someone in voice chat clearly wasn’t as patient.

The main damage dealers in the group were two sworn friends of Orange.

One was a Yasheng male character, and the other a Youlan female character.

The Youlan character had a soft, girlish voice.

The other one—the Yasheng player—spoke with a strong northeastern accent.

He said directly,

“Hey girl, how did you die?”

Chachuan was suddenly called out and sounded flustered.

“I didn’t know that reward-slot players weren’t allowed to die.”

“Listen to what you’re saying.”

While scolding her, the Yasheng player kept attacking.

His paper bird exploded on the snow ape, instantly dealing over one hundred thousand damage.

“Haven’t you done this dungeon before? Don’t you know basic stuff like that?”

Orange quickly tried to smooth things over.

“Ah, she’s still a newbie. It’s normal if she doesn’t know.”

“Fine.”

The Yasheng player’s keyboard clattered loudly in the background.

“Newbies get a forgiveness ticket.”

His tone was obviously sarcastic.

But Xu Shuche actually found it quite satisfying to hear.

Beside him, Jian Yixun suddenly spoke.

“Is she really a newbie?”

Xu Shuche looked at him in surprise.

“Hm?”

“I mean, I’ve experienced this in other games too,” Jian Yixun said.

“If someone doesn’t know how to play, shouldn’t they say so earlier? Why wait until the whole team gets dragged down?”

“You’re right,” Xu Shuche said.

“But clearly, many people won’t do that.”

Because Chachuan’s death extinguished one fire earlier, the team now only had three campfires left instead of the planned four.

The Yasheng player didn’t have self-healing skills.

He relied entirely on Orange’s healing.

Barely, precariously, they managed to defeat the snow ape.

“What’s the next boss?”

Jian Yixun now seemed completely absorbed by the game.

He leaned closer to Xu Shuche, watching the screen with full attention.

“The graphics and characters look really beautiful. Even the clothes look nice.”

Xu Shuche nodded.

He was about to explain the next boss.

But suddenly, the phone beside him rang loudly.

It sounded urgent, almost like a death summons.

Xu Shuche quickly picked up his phone and glanced at the screen.

Then he stood up and tapped Jian Yixun’s shoulder.

“In a moment, help me take the sword.”

Jian Yixun froze.

“What? Take the sword?”

The third boss fight had already started.

Xu Shuche hurried to answer his advisor’s call and typed a quick message in the team chat.

“I’m not very good at taking the sword.”

“It’s fine, I’ll teach you,” the Yasheng player said over voice chat.

Ever since turning on his microphone earlier, he had been extremely talkative.

“It’s no big deal. Don’t worry.”

Xu Shuche signaled Jian Yixun with his eyes to handle it, then stepped outside to answer the phone.

Jian Yixun stared at the screen and cleared his throat.

He was about to tell the Yasheng player that he actually knew how to take the sword.

But before he could say anything, the voice chat shouted.

“Lucky Goose! Lucky Goose, are you there? Get ready to come in and take the sword!”

He quickly moved the character.

But because he hesitated for a moment, he missed the best timing.

The boss’s sword energy swept across the battlefield.

The entire team was instantly wiped out.

Everyone revived at the entrance to the third boss.

Jian Yixun hadn’t even typed an apology yet.

Chachuan suddenly spoke in the team chat.

[Chachuan]: Qingfeng, pay attention next time. Everyone was waiting for you.

[Chachuan]: Why are you so careless when doing a dungeon?