Ryder stood at the entrance of the Village. He could already see a few players in the village, looking around for quests.

Ryder didn’t wait for a single moment as he walked towards the place of Sword Elder.

He already knew about most of the secrets of the Novice Village. The things he himself personally didn’t go through, was available online in the previous timeline. 

Ryder greatly enjoyed the game, and he had read almost every article about the game.

“Elder, I want to learn the ways of the sword. Can you teach me?”

He stood before the Sword Elder and asked.

“Oh, Someone who wants to learn from me? You are the first person to come to me. Of course, I’ll teach you. ” The Elder smiled as he tossed a wooden sword towards Ryder.

The Sword Elder made a simple slash with his sword.

“Repeat my movement a hundred times, and you will be able to feel the sword. I’ll teach you a sword skill if you succeed. ” The Sword Elder said.

” Yes.” Ryder didn’t wait for long and started repeating that same movement. He didn’t take a break for even a single moment and finished a hundred strikes in under 5 minutes.

“Amazing! You completed it so fast. You are a genius in the way of the sword. Finally, I found someone I can pass my special skill to.” The Sword Elder exclaimed in excitement as soon as Ryder finished the moments.

That’s what Ryder hoped. In the previous timeline, he took his sweet time to complete the movements. He finished a hundred strikes in 15 minutes last time and was given a sword skill by the Elder.

After a few days, he read an article that mentioned that someone received a unique skill from the Sword Elder.

The person who wrote the article says that he saw it with his own eyes.

It was disclosed that there was a special condition to receive that unique skill.

The first person to complete the task given by the Sword Elder would receive his unique skill and the sword.

It was said that the person who got the skill was the second person to pass a novice village trial and step to the mainland. He later went on to become the Guild Master of the third rank guild, Mercy. Ryder was also a part of that guild.

“I’ll teach you a special skill of mine.” The Elder finally spoke the magical words Ryder was waiting to hear.

A screen appeared in front of him.

[The Sword Elder wants to teach you his skill ‘Enraged Slash.’ Do you want to learn?]

It was written on the screen. There were 2 options. Yes and No. Ryder touched ‘Yes.’

[Skill learned successfully.]

[Enraged Slash: The Enraged Slash of the Sword Master. No monster on the same level as the holder can survive the strike.

Limitation: Can only be used 5 times in a day.

Cooldown time: 60 seconds]

The text on the screen changed and informed him of the success.

“Thanks for the help, Elder,” Ryder said.

“Take this Sword as well, young boy.”

The Sword Elder gave his sword to Ryder, and Ryder happily accepted.

He again thanked the Elder before he left.

Ryder was standing in the center of the village as he got a notification.

He was about to open it when he heard a girl’s voice.

“Ahem… Excuse me, uncle. Do you know where I can find the Sword Elder?” Said a girl.

” You’re the uncle! Your father is the uncle! Your mother is the uncle. I’m still in my prime.” Ryder snorted in annoyance as he turned back, but he was stunned as he saw the girl.

The girl looked like she was a player as well. She looked to be around 16-17 years old. She looked quite beautiful, and Ryder was dazed initially, but he quickly recovered.

Although the system allowed people to modify their looks, they couldn’t modify their looks too much. Only slight changes were allowed like hair, eyes, nose, etc. Girls could modify their breasts in this virtual world as well, but other than that, they couldn’t change much. They weren’t allowed to change their face shape or height.

“I… I apologize.” The girl looked anxious as she stepped back after apologizing. She turned back to leave.

” Hey,” Ryder called her out.

“You’re going the wrong way. You can find the Sword Elder that way. ” Ryder said as soon as the girl turned back. He pointed towards a certain direction.

“Th… thank you.” The girl bowed down and thanked Ryder before she hurriedly ran away.

Ryder again shifted his focus back to the notification that he had received.

“Command Screen.” He called out lightly, and a screen appeared in front of him.

He tapped on the notification icon and saw that it was a friend request. From a guy named… Big Daddy?

“That guy…” Ryder looked at the screen with a wry smile on his face as he closed the screen.

He went back to his work and walked towards a certain location.

He stopped in front of an old lady.

“Uhm… Grandma. You look sick. Should I take you to a doctor? ” Ryder asked the old woman in a caring tone. Of course, it was a part of his careful planning as well.

*Ahu ahu*

“You’re so kind, young man. You don’t need to worry though. It’s just my old age. I don’t think I’ll live anymore. I just wish that I could live for a week more. I just wish I could see my grandchild one last time before I die.” The old woman said in her weak voice. It looked like her vitality was almost depleted.

” Is he not in the village?” Ryder asked.

” He went to another village for business. He is supposed to come back in 4 days, but I don’t think I can live long enough to wait.” She replied.

” Is there something I can do to help, Grandma?” Ryder inquired.

” You can’t do anything, unfortunately. Only the nine sun grass could increase my longevity and make me live for 2 weeks, but it’s impossible. The grass only grows in the beast valley. No one comes back alive from there.” The old woman responded.

” I’ll do it, Grandma. I’ll make sure that you live long enough to meet your son. I’ll be right back.” Ryder smilingly said as he left.