Sword Freak

Finally, he managed to connect that damned helmet, he almost punched it out of frustration at one point, but let's leave the past behind, now that he managed to successfully connect it.

He looked at his surrounding, and saw nothing but white light, it was almost blinding. Suddenly, a beautiful angel appeared in front of him.

"Welcome adventurer to the world of Replica, would you like to hear the background story?"

'Accept / Reject'

Kyle immediately pressed Reject, he was never one to sit around and listen to stories, he preferred to learn on the way.

"Would you like to listen to the tutorial?"

He rejected again

"Please choose your character name"

'Hmm, what should I use?' He has never played a game before. 'Well, I guess ill go with something simple'

'Confirm'

"Do you wish to alter your appearance? (Appearance can be altered to the maximum of 15%)"

'Accept / Reject'

Kyle was never one to think about his looks, so he rejected the offer.

A light flashed in his eyes, and he suddenly found himself in a small village. The spawning plaza was filled to the brim and constant lights were flashing, he hurried to get out of the spawning plaza before his vision will be fully blocked by players, he then decided to take a stroll around the village.

The village was relatively big, but still filled with players. The air was clean, and there was a lot of green everywhere, these things were scarce in cities like the one he grew up in. Every once in a while he saw a building with a wooden emblem on it, there was one with a bow emblem, one with a shield emblem and even one with a book emblem, but since he never took interest, he didn't bother entering.

After some time, he spotted a building with a sword shaped emblem. Finally, he could get a sword in his hands, he already missed the feeling of swinging his sword.

"Welcome to the training hall" an old man with a smile said as he entered the building. There were some players, but it was relatively empty inside.

Kyle noticed some information when he focused on the old man.

[Odor, Sword training inspector of the beginner village]

Level ???

Background: A friendly old man that likes to help to those with a determined heart

"Young man, why have you come here?" Said Odor with a questioning look.

"To train with the sword, of course" he answered while looking around the hall, he spotted a lot of scarecrows and a wooden sword near each of them. He didn't think much about the old man, he was too eager to start training with the sword, but when he tried lifting one of them up, he got a system notification.

He didn't give up and tried to lift it again, but the same message appeared.

"Haha, young man, why are you so eager to use the sword?" Suddenly asked Odor while laughing, Kyle completely forgot about the old man and was scared out of his wits when he heard his voice from behind.

"To train, like I said a few seconds ago" he answered, he didn't understand why would the old man ask such a dumb question.

"That much is plain to see, young man. But why do you wish to train? Is it power you seek? Or perhaps glory and riches?" Asked the Odor, Kyle could swear he saw a glint of ill intent in the old man's eyes.

"No, I just want to train for the sake of training. Can't I train for my own enjoyment instead of some big incredible goal?" He answered with obvious sarcasm, he didn't like being questioned, he just wanted to pick up a sword to calm his mind.

"Interesting, I saw a lot of young men, but you are a rather amusing one. I am interested in your so-called training, go ahead, pick up the sword"

<Ding! You have acquired the talent 'Beginner Sword Mastery'>

[Beginner Sword Mastery]

Level 1 (0%)

Passive: You deal an additional 10% damage while using a sword

Gain proficiency by repeatedly using basic attacks or skills related to swords

Kyle picked up the sword, and held it in his hand.

[Training Sword (Trash)]

Physical Damage: 1

Level Requirement: 0

Note: What did you expect?

Kyle was surprised about the sarcastic note, but his passion quickly got the better of him and just like he said, he started training. After 5 minutes of striking the scarecrow, he received a system notification.

<Ding! +1 Strength due to prolonged training>

Kyle never played a game in his life, he didn't understand what this 'Strength' meant, so he walked to the old man and asked him. "Old man, what is this strength thing and what can it do?"

Odor was shocked, he didn't think this kid was a complete novice. "Strength is one of the stats every player has, to view your stats simply think 'Character Menu' in your mind" Odor said, and then he proceeded to explain what each stat does.

After Odor finished explaining, Kyle did like he told him and opened his character menu.

Name: Swordmaster

Level: 0 (0%)

Race: Human

Class: None

HP 100/100

MP 100/100

HP Regen: 0.5/second

MP Regen: 0.5/second

Strength: 6

Agility: 5

Vitality: 5

Intelligence: 5

Wisdom: 5

Physical Defense: 0

Magical Defense: 0

Luck: 0

Fame: 0

Equipment:

- Training Sword (Trash)

Skills:

None

Talents:

[Beginner Sword Mastery (LV 1)]

Kyle noticed he didn't have a 'Class', so he asked Odor "Old man, what is a class and how do I get one?"

"You can choose your class at level 10. Your class defines the equipment and skills you can use, each class has its advantages and disadvantages" Odor explained. "I advise you to choose wisely when the time comes, young man" He added with a serious tone.

Afterwards, Kyle kept training. At first it took him 15 minutes to get more strength, then 30, and after an hour, immediately after his strength grew again, he received a different notification.

<Ding! Your talent 'Beginner Sword Mastery' leveled up>

[Beginner Sword Mastery]

Level 2 (0.1%)

Passive:

- You deal an additional 20% damage while using a sword

- You can comprehend basic sword skills by repeatedly practicing the same sword move

Gain proficiency by repeatedly using basic attacks or skills related to swords

At this point, some players in the hall were already level 1 from doing quests and killing monsters, but Kyle didn't care about his level. He was training because he enjoyed it, he liked the feeling of constant improvement, especially when he was getting stronger by the hour.

In the real world, he could train for days without seeing any improvement, but now he was constantly improving.

He suddenly recalled the recent addition to his Sword Mastery skill and decided to try something. He struck the scarecrow with his full power, retreated and started over again. And finally, after repeating that process for about half an hour, he received the notification he was looking for.

<Ding! You have comprehended the sword skill 'Strong Strike' due to your Beginner Sword Mastery and repetitive practice>

[Strong Strike (Replica)]

Level 1 (0%)

Active: Your next attack with a sword will deal 150% damage

This skill can be leveled up with repetitive usage

Cooldown: 10 seconds

<Ding! Because you are the first player to comprehend a sword skill, you have received the following rewards: 1 Skill Point, 50 Fame and the title 'Sword Genius'>

[Sword Genius]

You can comprehend and use sword skills of higher level than your Sword Mastery (Max: 3 levels higher)

He was surprised, he didn't expect such bountiful rewards. After receiving so many rewards for comprehending such a simple skill, he decided to try something better. He started using his family's sword art to fight the scarecrow. After half an hour there was no change, but he didn't give up, after another hour and a strength bonus, he finally received a system notification.

<Ding! You failed to comprehend the skill due to low Sword Mastery, to comprehend this skill the talent 'Advanced Sword Mastery' is required>

After reading the message, he was a bit disappointed, but he understood he went too far. Learning a skill similar to his family's sword art this early in the game wouldn't be fair, but he wasn't one to quit after one failure, so he tried to comprehend new skills while training with the sword.

*****

Meanwhile, inside the same training hall, a small crowd has formed.

"How long did you say he is swinging the sword for?" Asked one of the players.

"He was like that since before i entered the hall" Answered a player, ironically, his name was 'Sword Freak', but it was obvious who the real sword freak is. Sword Freak arrived at the hall for the first time over four hours ago, but that player was still swinging his sword at that time.

Players entered and left the training hall, but that player kept striking the scarecrow over and over again, it was like he was inside a world of his own.

*****

Five hours later, Kyle gained 2 more strength points and had a few successes.

[Double Strike (Replica)]

Level 1 (13%)

Requirement: Level 3 Beginner Sword Mastery

Active: Attack an enemy twice in succession, dealing 80% with the first strike and 120% with the second

This skill can be leveled up with repetitive usage

Cooldown: 30 seconds

[Quick Draw (Replica)]

Level 1 (5%)

Requirement: Out of combat, Level 4 Beginner Sword Mastery

Active: Draw your sword with 200% attack speed and deal 150% damage

This skill can be leveled up with repetitive usage

Cooldown: 1 minute

These were the only skills he managed to comprehend, he wanted to learn defense related skills, but he couldn't possibly do that without being attacked. Regardless, his gains weren't small, his Beginner Sword Mastery is close to 35% of level 2.

After looking at his new skills, he noticed that all of them had 'Replica' near their names, so he asked Odor about it.

"Replica skills differ from normal skills you get from skill books, you can't use skill points to level them up, only repeatedly practice them, which makes them a lot harder to train when they reach higher levels." Answered Odor. "Apart from normal skills and replica skills, there is also a third type, 'Evolved' skills. These skills are created when you combine a normal skill with a replica, they can be trained both with practice and skill points, and every one of these skills has a special effect, for example, the special effect of your 'Strong Strike' skill is the ability to combine it with other skills. Since you seem talented with the way of the sword, I will upgrade this skill for you" he added.

"Thanks old man!" Kyle replied enthusiastically.

<Ding! You have acquired both the normal and replica version of the skill 'Strong Strike', the skill has been evolved>

[Strong Strike (Evolved)]

Level 1 (83%)

Active: Your next attack with a sword will deal 150% damage

Special Effect: This skill can be combined with most other skills of the same type

This skill can be leveled up with repetitive usage and skill points

Cooldown: 10 seconds

Because every hour in real life is equal to 5 in 'Replica' it has only been a bit over 2 hours outside the game, so he still had plenty of time. Since he improved so much simply from training, Kyle was starting to get addicted to training, even more than he ever was, so he decided to train until his Beginner Sword Mastery reached level 3.

*****

Ten hours after Kyle began training, a forum post titled "Sword freak in the beginner village" was posted on Replica's forum site. The post showed 2 videos of a player swinging his sword indifferently for 5 minutes, each with the present time displayed at the bottom of the screen. It was clear that there was a 10 hour difference between the videos. But the description was what amazed the players.

'Sword freak striking the same scarecrow for 10 hours without stopping'

The post received thousands of views, and the comments section was full of debate wherever the sword freak is a player or an npc, but one thing was for sure, he earned the respect of thousands.

*****

A dozen hours and 2 additional strength points later, Kyle was finally greeted with the notification he wanted.

<Ding! Your talent Beginner Sword Mastery reached level 3>

<Ding! +1 Strength due to prolonged training, strength training has reached the maximum for your level>

He didn't expect the strength training to have a limit, but he figured it makes sense, after all no one wants a level one player to kill monsters dozens of levels above him with one strike.

After almost a full day of training, even he felt he needed to take a break, so he decided to ask Odor about a question that bothered him for some time "Old man, why do I only gain strength from training? What about the other stats?"

"I thought you would never ask" answered Odor with a grin, he enjoyed helping young adventurers, especially hard working ones like Swordmaster. "Not all stats can be gained from training, but you can get various stats in the other training halls. For example, you can train your agility in the archery training hall" he said.

Kyle thanked the old man and decided to use the opportunity of taking a break from sword training to train his other stats, he was such a training freak.

"See you later, old man" he said to Odor. "Farewell, young man. After you finish your training, come back to me, I have something I need your help with"

Kyle checked his Character Menu, before starting to walk towards the archery training hall.

Name: Swordmaster

Titles: [Sword Genius]

Level: 0 (0%)

Race: Human

Class: None

HP 100/100

MP 100/100

HP Regen: 0.5/second

MP Regen: 0.5/second

Strength: 15

Agility: 5

Vitality: 5

Intelligence: 5

Wisdom: 5

Physical Defense: 0

Magical Defense: 0

Luck: 0

Fame: 50

Equipment:

None

Skills:

[Strong Strike (LV 2)], [Double Strike (LV 2)], [Quick Draw (LV 1)]

Talents:

[Beginner Sword Mastery (LV 3)]

章 2: Sword Freak

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