Part-218

  "9850 EXP," he muttered, pulling up his stat s to check his progress. He needed more if he was going to stand a the Level 2 Early Midse. The goblins there were far more dangerous than he’d expected. He had learhe hard way that they wouldn’t give him the luxury of a fair fight. Their archers were deadly accurate, and the sword-wielding goblins worked in perfect synization. He couldn’t take them on without a better strategy.

  As he stretched and tried to shake off the lingering tension from his dungeon run, James couldn’t help but repy the battle in his mind. He needed a way to ralize the goblins’ ratacks while keeping the sword-wielders at bay. The wooden sword had proven useful, but it wasn’t enough on its own. His fists, while powerful in close bat, left him vulnerable to le attacks.

  James sidered his options. He could i in gear upgrades, maybe find a shield to deflect the arrows, or learn a new ability that could ter the goblins’ coorditacks. He could also explore his skill tree more thhly...

  But more than anything, James knew he needed patience. Dungeon-crawling was a marathon, not a sprint. Each failure was a lesson, and each death a ce to refine his approach. He had been too reckless in the Level 2 Midse, overfident after his previous victories. But now, with a clearer uanding of his limitations.

  The day, James met up with Ryan for their usual training session. They were in the middle of a series of stamina exercises—sprints, push-ups, and endurance drills. It had bee their regur routine, pushing each other to the limits of their physical abilities. Ryan, always petitive, loved these sessions, and while James appreciated the challeoday, his mind was elsewhere.

  They took a break, chugging water and catg their breath. As they rested, Ryan’s eyes wao the wooden sword stig out of James’ backpack. With a raised eyebrow, he poioward it.

  “What’s with the sword, man? Pnning on being a samurai or something?” Ryan joked, his usual pyful grin spread across his face.

  James g his backpack, pulling the sword out slightly for a better look. The woodehough pin, had bee a crucial part of his strategy for the dungeon. “Actually,” James said, half-smiling, “I’m thinking of learning swordsmanship.”

  Ryan looked at him, the grin fading into curiosity. “Swordsmanship? You serious?”

  James nodded, wiping sweat from his brow. “Yeah, I figure it could help me with this game I’m pying.” He hesitated for a moment, unsure how much to share. Ryan was his friend, but expining the whole dungeon-crawling experience might be a bit much. “I’ve been thinking it’s not just for the game either. You know, it might help in other areas. Self-discipline, focus, that kind of stuff.”

  Ryan chuckled. “Man, I don’t know. The martial arts ter does have a swordsmanship css, but it’s ly popur.” He leaned ba his hands, looking at James skeptically. “You know why?”