As an NPC, having a lot of skills is quite reasonable, right?

The morning sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains and onto the bed. Moen opened his eyes and was about to stretch when a sharp, tingling pain instantly spread throughout his body.

"Hiss." He gasped, lifted his shirt, and saw that his chest and back were covered in bruises.

However, that old guy Gray was kind enough not to slap him in the face, otherwise Moen wouldn't be able to face anyone today.

"Fortunately, the closed beta test is over."

Moen, clutching his back, grimaced as he climbed off the bed.

If those players were to see their mentor, whom they consider a master swordsman, walking with the help of a wall like an eighty-year-old man, the persona he had painstakingly built up on the forum would probably collapse on the spot.

He even had the title ready: "Shocking! Is Instructor Yu Jin Suspected of Kidney Deficiency?"

After washing up, Moen sat at the dining table, drinking hot milk while checking his assets.

Since the Bloodhand Gang was eliminated, and the vicious competition and sabotage were gone, Green's specially made potions have been selling like hotcakes in the Norhamville market.

With the added influence of Night Owl's underground channels, Blackberry Manor is now seeing a steady stream of gold coins flowing in every day.

Current funds: 238 gold coins, 42 silver coins

If the church hadn't taken a substantial tax from each item, Moen would have earned even more.

However, in the beginner village of Nohanville, this amount of money is enough for him to claim financial freedom.

But problems that money can solve are usually not big problems.

Moen sighed and checked his inventory of fragments and life stones.

[Fragment of Mortal Essence: 253]

[Sacred Ritual Fragment: 12]

Pale Life Stone: 0

【Azure Life Stone: 1】

[Violet Life Stone: 1]

"I'm poor!"

In the last wave, in order to kill the stitched corpse puppet, he almost emptied his savings to exchange for the [Mirror Warp].

Although he has now reached level 17, he has lost a lot of extra attribute bonuses due to the lack of a class template.

Moen had previously viewed the newly unlocked [Stitched Corpse Puppet] statue.

Among them, [Corrosive Fountain] and [Meat Hook Execution] are somewhat useless for his high-mobility, high-burst style.

However, the [Proliferation and Division] skill is worth considering. After adaptive changes to the skill, its effect has become that the blood lost when injured can be reabsorbed, restoring a significant amount of health.

As for that sacred skill, [Sin Against the Current].

It's powerful, but it's a Deathrattle skill!

Whether you can afford to exchange for it is one thing, but to activate this skill, you have to die once first!

Moen has no intention of dying yet.

"Looks like I'll have to find a chance to visit the [Sulphur Cave]."

I only explored a little bit before, and I already unlocked one of the elite monster statues.

Because of his inferior attributes, Moen was extremely envious of the skills on these elite monsters. Without using the Life Stone Fusion skill, those skills could be considered overpowered.

Most importantly, he now knows the location of the world boss in the [Sulfur Cave], and he plans to get on good terms with Gray and then go together to kill that boss.

However, the Magmathroat is a sub-dragon species with considerable intelligence; it's unknown whether it will move to a different location after being discovered last time.

Of course, all of that is for later. Right now, the most urgent thing is tonight's special training.

Gray's special training is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If he can learn a few high-level passive skills from that Holy Knight, such as [Iron Body] and [Weakness Insight], those would be permanent benefits that don't take up skill slots.

With nothing to do, and the afternoon passed by, Moen suddenly decided to give his future second-in-command a little extra training.

In the courtyard, Lily was sitting under a tree with her eyes closed, meditating.

Under Erwin's tutelage, her perception of ice elements improved by leaps and bounds; during meditation, several small ice crystal flowers even naturally condensed around her body.

"Lily, stop for a moment." Moen walked over and interrupted her cultivation.

"Today we won't practice meditation, we'll practice our physical skills."

Lily immediately opened her eyes, obediently stood up, and patted the snow off her skirt: "What is Brother Moen going to teach me?"

"Melee combat," Moen said succinctly.

Alvin, who was sitting in the corridor drinking tea and reading a book, almost spat out his tea when he heard this.

She put down her book and looked at Moen with the eyes of someone looking at a mediocre teacher who had misled students:

"Mr. Moen, while I do not deny your combat abilities, Lily possesses the extremely rare Frost Embrace physique; she is a born mage."

"You want her to train in melee combat? Isn't that like sending a skilled archer to smash someone's head with a bow?"

Moen shook his head: "What era are we living in? Still using that traditional mage mindset."

Then, from the perspective of a seasoned player from his previous life, he explained:

"In this world, there is no such thing as a safe back row. Once an assassin gets close, a mage who needs to stand still and chant spells is a lamb to the slaughter."

"Furthermore, Lily's ice-based talents come with built-in slowing and control abilities, and most of her skills are instant-cast. If combined with agile movement and close-quarters combat skills, she becomes a Battle Mage that will give all melee classes a headache!"

Of course, Moen wasn't just making things up, because players in the previous life could build their own playstyles based on the different skills provided by the church, and they would also obtain class titles and abilities that matched their characteristics based on the compatibility of the skills.

It's fair to say that Blood and Wine offers an unparalleled degree of freedom. Even in the latest version of the game, new players still occasionally acquire new job titles through amazing skill combinations.

Elwin frowned. Although she was an academic and felt that the unorthodox approach of the Battle Mage was not as complete as the orthodox Spellsword system, she had to admit that Moen had a point.

"Whatever you want."

Irwin picked up the book again and said, seemingly casually:

"However, while analyzing the stone slab of that underground ruin, I discovered a fragment of a text about how ancient ascetics trained their bodies. If you finish analyzing it, you might find it useful."

It's so pleasant to have an academic discussion with a woman who's so reasonable! Moen smiled and turned to Lily: "Ready?"

"Mmm!" Lily clenched her little fists. She would be willing to learn healing spells as long as it was something her brother Moen said.

Over the next two hours, Moen began teaching Lily some basic dodging footwork and short-dagger fighting techniques.

Although Moen was thoroughly criticized by Gray last night, he is more than capable of teaching Lily, a complete novice.

Lily's performance once again surprised Moen.

This seemingly delicate little girl has an astonishing level of control over her body.

She doesn't need to think; her body can instinctively make the most effortless movements. Moreover, Lily's reaction speed is extremely fast. Several times, when Moen deliberately increased the frequency of his attacks, she was able to dodge them with the slightest difference using [Frost Dance].

"A natural-born battle mage..."

Watching the silver-haired girl leap nimbly across the snow, Moen began to envision his future build: a frost slow aura + chain control + enchanted combos...

If you master this skill, it will definitely be a great help in the future.

Night fell, and a cold wind howled.

After dinner, Moen went to the agreed location alone.

At this time, Blackwater Rift Valley was already devastated due to the previous great battle and the rampage of monsters.

Although Gray had ordered a cleanup, many mutated corpses that hadn't been properly removed still roamed around.

They wandered aimlessly through the rift valley, making meaningless hoarse sounds from their throats.

"They've arrived?" A burly figure emerged from the shadows of the watchtower.

Gray still wasn't wearing his conspicuous holy armor; instead, he had changed into a set of coarse cloth clothing that allowed for easy movement. He wasn't carrying any weapons; instead, he was holding two... wooden sticks.

"Grandpa," Moen bowed.

Without saying a word, Gray casually tossed one of the relatively neatly shaved wooden sticks to Moen.

"Catch it."

Moen reached out and caught it; it wasn't light.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be an ordinary ironwood sword, with a blunt blade that couldn't even cut an earthworm, though the tip was quite sharp.

Gray pointed to the rotting corpses wandering in the darkness in the distance, and said calmly, "I specifically told those lads not to clean them all up. Your task is simple."

The old knight turned his head, his expression serious: "Use this piece of wood in your hand to clear out the remaining twelve mutated corpses."

Moen gripped the wooden sword, then paused, stunned. "Can't I use skills?"

"cannot."

"Can't it be enhanced with magic?"

"cannot."

Gray crossed his arms and said coldly, "If the wooden sword breaks, or if you use another power, tonight's special training ends here. Don't greet me when you see me again. I can't afford to lose face like that."

Moen glanced at the aimless, rotting corpses in the distance, then at the wooden sword in his hand that resembled a stick.

Using this thing to kill a bunch of painless undead creatures? And you can't even use skills with it?

This old man is starting with hell difficulty right from the beginning.

But Moen didn't complain. Instead, he took a deep breath and gripped the hilt of his sword tightly.

"Twelve, right?"

His face beamed with excitement at the challenge.

"You'd better prepare a pot of wine to welcome me and wash away the dust of my journey."