Chapter 20: Invisible Sword Blade

“Rascal, you can see my sword?” the old man asked, astonished.

“Are you going to continue demonstrating?” Blue Maple replied, furrowing his brow.

“Ah, I shall be more serious, then.” The old man was a little awkward as he replied.

Earlier, the old man was holding his sword with both hands and lifted it up above his head before cutting down. The trajectory of the sword was from top to bottom as it slashed towards Blue Maple. With that kind of movement, it was possible for one to guess the trajectory of the sword. As for why the old man asked Blue Maple whether he could see his sword, it was just a ploy to boost Blue Maple’s ego.Blue Maple’s unrelenting reply left the old man embarrassed.

“Wait a minute.” Blue Maple was the first to speak this time.

“No more demonstrations needed?” The old man was a little anxious. He was afraid that Blue Maple was no longer interested.

“Help me restore my body.” Blue Maple’s words were very obvious. He wanted his mobility restored so that he could engage in the fight properly.

The old man heaved a sigh of relief as he answered, “That’s possible. Originally, I was going to restore your mobility after you assumed a new Class. It’s good as long as you are willing to assume it.”

“Oh.” This time, Blue Maple’s voice sounded a little different. The old man seemed to have gleaned something from it. However, he didn’t pay too much attention, because he was very focused on removing the restriction on Blue Maple.

The old man engulfed Blue Maple with his blue fire. However, Blue Maple seemed to have lost the normal reflexes of a human, and didn’t appear to be afraid at all. He quietly allowed the fire to engulf his entire body.

The old man twisted his lips when he saw this. He couldn’t help but say, “One look and you can tell he’s no ordinary person. Ugh... but this is exactly what I want.”

Not long after, the blue fire around Blue Maple’s body dissipated.

“Alright, check your body now.” The old man was smart enough not to ask Blue Maple about how he felt after being engulfed by the fire, because he knew it would be in vain.

Before the old man finished speaking, Blue Maple had already started swinging his sword in different ways, moving along with these swinging motions.

After a while, Blue Maple furrowed his brow slightly. This expression left the old man a little frantic. He anxiously asked, “How is it? Have you not fully recovered?”

“Did you restore my body according to the Class I assumed?” Blue Maple asked.

“Er, yes. Is there a problem?”

“Then why haven’t I made any improvements?” Blue Maple was puzzled as he asked.

“Ah, regarding that. It seems like you’ve not understood the game properly yet.” The old man wasn’t in a position to pick on Blue Maple. He could only follow up with an explanation.

“Any hidden Class in the game can only strengthen based on one’s original body. This is why a hidden Class is stronger than an ordinary class. Of course, it’s not a given. It’s just that the basic attributes tend to be better for a hidden Class compared to any ordinary Classes. For example, for someone like you, whose attributes are not too lacking, you possess the potential to challenge someone whose Level is higher than yours.” Seeing that his final praise wasn’t working, the old man was helpless and could only continue.

“You are indeed an exception. It’s because your current body is way superior than most ordinary people, especially in terms of your real-life acuteness. I wanted to put more pressure on you earlier. You should know that balance still exists in the game, is why every character’s basic qualities are almost the same. In your case, your attributes will continue to be suppressed if you assume an ordinary Class. Even for my Class, your attributes are supposed to be weakened for balancing purposes. But on second thought, I decided to forgo it since your attributes aren’t overly superior to the other players.

“To put things simply, let us talk about the speed at which you wield your sword and hands. You are definitely faster than normal people in real life. If we base the game on reality, then you should also be stronger than other players in the game. However, for fairness’ sake, the stronger ones will be weakened and the weaker ones will be strengthened. This is to ensure everyone starts on level ground. Do you understand?” The old man expended a lot of effort explaining things, but Blue Maple’s response left him a little disappointed.

“Oh, continue then.” Blue Maple directly lifted his sword and got ready to fight.

Fuck, why do I feel like I’m speaking to a piece of wood, the old man muttered to himself, also readying himself to fight. The old man was a little annoyed as he exclaimed, “Hey, rascal, don’t blame me for not showing mercy on you if you lose.”

Blue Maple didn’t utter a word, and immediately attacked the old man. He was already very unhappy at being restricted whenever he fought. If he was told that there wouldn’t be any restrictions on him if he assumed the old man’s Class, he would have done so without thinking about it. Of course, the old man had to clarify things like he just had. However, Blue Maple didn’t seem like he would listen to the old man.

“Fucking hell, rascal. Don’t you know to bullshit a little before you make a move so that you can assert your dominance?” The old man was a little annoyed that Blue Maple didn’t listen to him.

To Blue Maple, the time used to bullshit could be used to kill. Blue Maple was a cautious guy and always sought to avoid any surprises from happening. Even if he wanted to, he wasn’t capable of bullshitting.

He tested the old man out, and wanted to see if the old man was in fact interested in fighting.

Clang! The old man instantly blocked Blue Maple’s sword, and swiftly retaliated. The old man no longer looked as cheeky as he was earlier. He adopted a serious expression right now, truly solemn! He was also very interested in assessing his future disciple. Most importantly, he couldn’t lose face!

An invisible sword quickly slashed in Blue Maple’s direction. Blue Maple could only infer the direction that the sword was coming from based on how the old man was moving his hands. Not only did this require him to possess excellent fighting skills, it also required him to react fast enough.

Clang! He barely blocked the invisible sword. Blue Maple directly kicked his leg out, but the old man took a step back and avoided the kick. However, Blue Maple’s sword soon followed in the old man’s direction.

However, the old man’s reaction was similarly quick, and he blocked the attack. Clang! After that, Blue Maple quickly retracted his sword as he relied on the momentum. His body sank slightly before he shot up and his sword stabbed towards the old man’s waist.

The old man couldn’t help but shout, “Fantastic!”. Of course, he also retreated a step after that. Just as he avoided the sword, he slashed his invisible sword towards Blue Maple’s head.

Just as the sword was about to hack Blue Maple’s head, Blue Maple twisted suddenly. However, the sword still slashed his shoulder. Even so, he remained indifferent and stabbed his sword at the old man’s chest. No matter where he thrust, it was going to be lethal.

Evidently, he was trying to repay the old man tit-for-tat. However, the injury he sustained was at most a flesh wound, whereas the attack towards the old man was a lethal one. The old man couldn’t possibly change the direction of his sword now, because Blue Maple would most certainly tilt his body. When that happened, his own chest would be stabbed.

“Rascal, you are vicious!” The old man had no choice but to retract his sword to knock Blue Maple’s sword away. At the same time, he needed to retreat further and further to avoid being stabbed.

The old man had retreated three times consecutively from the start until now.

So what if you have an invisible sword? As long as I can avoid it once and judge if your sword can cause lethal harm, I can repay you tit-for-tat. If I keep forcing you back and leave you in passive mode, an opportunity will arise where I can end you once and for all.

Rascal, you’ve really left me with no choice. Let’s see who’s more vicious then, the old man thought to himself hatefully.

However, the old man was still in a disadvantageous position. When the old man was about to retaliate again, Blue Maple suddenly made a forward charge once again.

“Hmph, you are still coming at me.” This time, the old man aimed for the forehead. It was almost similar to the attack just directly before. Obviously, a head injury was worse than a chest injury, and the old man was clearly prepared this time. He was not going to let Blue Maple avoid it.

However, Blue Maple didn’t deviate at all. it was like he didn’t care if he sustained a head injury.

This rascal… Just when the old man didn’t know what Blue Maple was planning, both their swords were about to hit.

It was at this moment...“Equip!”

The Newbie Sword instantly appeared in Blue Maple’s left hand, pointed straight above his head.

The old man’s pupils suddenly shrank, and he quickly retreated, trying to avoid Blue Maple’s attack.

The game rule stated that an extra weapon in a player’s other hand didn’t possess any offensive power unless specified by a Class or Skill. The damage it could do was as the same as someone’s fist. However, it could still block a lethal attack, as long as the attributes between both parties weren’t too different. Of course, this was limited to ordinary, lethal attacks. For accessory Skills, even if the attributes between two parties weren’t too big and even if the other party was wielding a weapon, it could still take effect. It was just like how Blue Maple dealt with lower-leveled players.

Clang!

Both parties widened the gap between them and stood where they were. The old man’s flaming sword was revealed, too, directly facing Blue Maple’s two swords. It’s just that there was a small hole in the front of the old man’s shirt. However, he wasn’t hurt.

The old man was a little dazed as he stared at the hole. After a brief moment……

“Hahahaha!…” the old man suddenly laughed, leaving Blue Maple a little skeptical.

Blue Maple was a little confused as he looked at the old man. He thought to himself, He seems…a little abnormal...

“Rascal, good for you. You are scheming. You are clearly not familiar with the game, but you are still able to exploit the rule that you can instantly equip yourself in the game. You are rather intelligent.”

Blue Maple was still a little skeptical as he observed the old man.

“Hmph, rascal. Of course I’m not laughing because of these two points. I didn’t expect you to be capable of wielding two swords, too. Hehe!”

After he finished speaking, the old man suddenly formed another sword with his left hand. After this, he crossed both swords and slashed them at Blue Maple. When Blue Maple saw this, he immediately turned his body, ready to avoid the attack. This was how quick his reflexes were! The intersecting blue fires brushed past him. This was the best that Blue Maple could do, considering that he and the old man were still quite close to each other.

“Rascal, seems like we are rather fated. Either you have met someone who has used an invisible weapon, or you have used one yourself before, right?” The old man started to become cheeky once again. At the same time, he wasn’t surprised that Blue Maple could avoid his swords.

“I’ve used one before.” Blue Maple answered. It was a rare, high-technological weapon in. However, there were some flaws with its invisibility.

“Fuck, I knew it. You aren’t sloppy when you fight me. Rascal, how? Do you want to assume my Class?” the old man was a little pressed.

“Alright.” Before the old man could even get excited, Blue Maple asked, “Can I pass my Class-switching quest?” The quest to assume the hidden Class was different from the quest to switch one’s Class.

The old man was delighted as he replied, “Of course. It’s been easy for you. You’ve passed the quest.”

“Switch my Class right away then. I want to leave.” Blue Maple appeared a little crafty as he looked at the old man.

“Ugh… we can’t just do that. The procedure still has to be followed.”

“Then I shall leave.” Blue Maple was unwilling to switch Class now. He resumed his earlier excuse-looking behavior. Although Blue Maple knew he couldn’t find the exit, he was well-aware that he just needed to act as if he wasn’t willing to switch Class.

“No, that, don’t. Let me think it over.” The old man was put in a difficult spot.

“Oh.”

The old man could tell that this ‘oh’ and the previous, nonchalant ‘oh’ sounded the same. It was precisely because of the fact that the old man mentioned ‘as long as you are willing to assume it’ earlier.

Damn it, I’m being led by my nose… The old man was depressed right now.