In the forum, there were many debates and arguments about the initial dungeon, but there was one point that no player would dispute. For every new player entering the game, the most challenging thing to deal with was the synchronization of the Flowing Calendar.
Three minutes after the Flowing Calendar entered the synchronized state, Guhan would face the first wave of Yuankou attacks... a gray-furred wild wolf.
This wild wolf was not a demonic or magical wolf; it was just an ordinary wild wolf, one that relied on its teeth and claws to tear apart its enemies. However, this wild wolf was not an ordinary wolf. It was a wild wolf from the second dimension, its true form hidden in the gap between the second and third dimensions. Any weapon or attack from the third dimension was ineffective against it; only a Sword Maiden could harm it.
Therefore, before the attack, the system required players to synchronize with one of the three initial Sword Maidens to receive their assistance in dealing with the attack from the second-dimensional wild wolf.
However, Guhan did not choose any of the initial Sword Maidens. How would he deal with this second-dimensional wild wolf?
———
Without any surprise, at the thirty-fifth minute of the dungeon, three minutes after the Flowing Calendar entered the synchronized state, two green, gem-like light points appeared in the darkness outside the exhibition hall, accompanied by piercing howls. A few seconds later, a living wolf slowly crawled into the hall.
It was clear that the wild wolf's steps were very relaxed, clearly not taking the unarmed man in front of it seriously. This man had killed countless others on its way, merely a tool for it to sharpen its teeth. What truly made the wild wolf feel uneasy was the cabinet behind the man and the motionless man beside it. Its animal instinct told it that there was something in there that could kill it.
"First, I'll bite this ordinary human to death, then I'll destroy what's inside the cabinet!!!" The wolf, a highly active creature, thought this and pounced at Guhan. In its mind, its sharp claws would tear a bloody hole in the man's stomach, and its blood-soaked mouth would easily snap the man's neck. In less than three seconds, the man would become a corpse full of holes.
The wild wolf's plan was beautiful, but it didn't know that a few minutes earlier, a leopard had the same plan... However, that leopard was not from the second dimension, so this wild wolf might still have a chance.
"Animals are so stupid, exposing their vital points while attacking their opponent's vital points!" Seeing the wild wolf pounce so foolishly, Guhan sneered. Just like he had dealt with the leopard, he carelessly offered his throat to the foolish wild wolf while simultaneously drawing the Qingpin Sword from his waist and thrusting it into the wolf's white belly.
"Stupid human!! Don't you know that the weapons of this world cannot harm your powerful wolf grandpa?" The wild wolf paid no attention to the Qingpin Sword, not even thinking to dodge. Its hunting experience over the past few days told it that the weapons of this world had no effect on it... not even a single hair would be damaged!!
As Guhan said, the wolf was a fool. The Qingpin Sword circled the wolf's belly, and its internal organs fell like rain. The wild wolf couldn't understand why it would die at the hands of such a weak human.
Unlike the creatures of the third dimension, which leave a corpse after death, when the second-dimensional wild wolf died, a spatial vortex appeared in the void, sucking the wolf's body and its spilled organs and blood into the vortex, leaving no trace... not even a drop of blood.
According to human research, the Yuankou forcibly entered the third-dimensional world, but their true forms or origins were still in the second dimension. Once they died, without the support of their souls, they would be returned to their original second-dimensional world by the rules between dimensions... This was just a hypothesis based on data, and no one had truly proven it.
"Indeed, just as the post said, the Qingpin Sword is also half a Sword Maiden!!!" Seeing the wild wolf's body being cleared by the spatial vortex, Guhan muttered to himself.
No one in the world could fight the Yuankou without the help of a Sword Maiden, not even Guhan, who had the protagonist's aura and had prepared for twelve years for this day.
But Guhan had indeed defeated the Yuankou wild wolf because he had the Qingpin Sword, which he had obtained from the Flowing Calendar's home. This unremarkable long sword, bought by the Flowing Calendar's grandmother for square dancing, was actually a Sword Maiden, though it could only be considered half a Sword Maiden.
Since humans forged the first sword, billions of swords have been created worldwide, but only 9,678 of them have synchronized with humans and awakened as Sword Maidens... This number excludes the later mass-produced artificial Sword Maidens and only records the naturally born Sword Maidens.
In the real world of 3001, from a certain perspective, there are two types of Sword Maidens. One type is the naturally born Sword Maidens, like the Sword of Goujian, which existed in the world and naturally awakened upon contact with the Flowing Calendar.
The other type is the artificially forged Sword Maidens, created using the templates of naturally born Sword Maidens and some special methods. For example, the Qingfeng Sword, the White Iron Sword, and the Hundred-Refined Sword are all specially forged.
Humans discovered the method to artificially forge Sword Maidens around the year 2500. Before that, naturally born Sword Maidens were the only choice for sword wielders.
At that time, humans organized the data of naturally born Sword Maidens and found that there were three conditions that determined whether a sword could naturally awaken:
1. Fame: Swords that have records in history books, are widely known by the public, or exist in legendary novels have a 100% chance of awakening as Sword Maidens, provided they are genuine.
2. Age: The older and more ancient a sword is, the higher the chance of awakening. For example, swords forged before the Qin Dynasty have a 70% chance of awakening, while by the Qing Dynasty, only about 1% successfully awakened. As for swords born in the 20th century, there are only three records of awakening.
3. Killing aura: If a sword has neither fame nor age, it can only awaken through killing. The more lives it takes and the more blood it drinks, the higher the chance of natural awakening. For example, the most powerful Sword Maiden in the path of killing was originally just a sword from a border family. Over three hundred years, more than ten thousand foreigners died at the hands of this family, leading to her becoming the supreme existence in the path of killing.
Only by fully meeting one or more of these conditions can an ordinary sword naturally awaken and become a naturally born Sword Maiden.
However, some swords meet part of the conditions but not fully... For example, they have some fame but are not widely known, or they have some history but not long enough, or they have been stained with blood but not enough to harvest souls, plus some very special conditions... These factors make these swords have the potential to become Sword Maidens. They can allow sword wielders to inject sword elements into the sword, harm the Yuankou, and kill them, but they cannot synchronize with the sword wielder and fully awaken.
Such swords are very rare, rarer than naturally born Sword Maidens, and are called half Sword Maidens by sword wielders.
Half Sword Maidens are defective Sword Maidens. Their three basic attributes are far below those of true Sword Maidens, and their utilization rate of sword elements is shockingly low. They cannot generate a protective shield to protect the sword wielder, have no skills, and are merely swords that can harm the Yuankou, not Sword Maidens that can transform into maidens and engage in intense battles with the Yuankou.
No sword wielder would choose to use a half Sword Maiden in battle; no one would play with their life.
The Qingpin Sword is such a half Sword Maiden. A few decades ago, a sword wielder who used a half Sword Maiden in reality discovered this secret upon entering the game for the first time and obtained the Qingpin Sword, posting it on the forum.
However, no one paid attention to this information, just as no one chose a half Sword Maiden.
But this was Guhan's most pleasant discovery, the most critical part of his plan. Only with the help of the Qingpin Sword could Guhan defeat the six waves of Yuankou attacks without choosing an initial Sword Maiden.
Yes, six waves of Yuankou.
The single wild wolf just now was only the first wave. Five more waves of Yuankou were waiting for Guhan.