As Li Wei left the field of berries, he made his way to the apple orchards which were not as crowded as the fields. Unfortunately, he was not the only one to do so. All the other players also went to the apple orchards, including the members of Damocles.
Everyone was gloomy and even Li Wei felt that being there was just a waste of time. Picking apples would require at least twice the effort and there were more people here since a group of players was already farming here before.
"Let's give it a try but I think it is better to go back to try the other quest!" said Li Wei to himself. Being forced out of the fields was not the end of the world. In fact, if he went back early and rested, his fatigue level would recover enough for him to take the graveyard's quest.
Li Wei quickly got away from the group and used the same strategy as before but in less than an hour, he already noticed that the rate at which he was collecting fruits was much lower than before. In the time of one hour, he collected 49 fruits and killed one 1 giant mosquito.
It could still be considered a decent rate since by the end of the day, he would be able to complete the quest 4 times. Considering the exp he was also getting from picking fruits, it was only slightly worse than any normal day hunting at the dungeon. But clearly, more players were coming as time was going by and fewer fruits were available for each player.
While picking fruits was harder at the apple orchards, the spawn rate of giant mosquito was faster, and a few thieves were even caught and killed by some players.
"It's 10:46 and I have 21% Fatigue... I should go back and rest. There will be enough time for me to look for an instructor too! Going for the graveyard's quest should be more fruitful!" said Li Wei to himself.
Having made his decision, Li Wei spoke to the farmers and received 78% of the rewards of one quest which amounted to 780 exp and 78 Contribution Points. It was not bad, but it could have been better.
It was not lunch time yet, but Li Wei still went to a restaurant for a quick meal. The Warrior Association was providing tutoring as from 12:00 and if he wanted to maximize the time he had, it was better to have an early lunch.
...
12:18, Warrior Association.
Li Wei once again entered the training area of the Warrior Association. His meal took longer than expected but now, his fatigue level was down to 6%. Along the way, he also passed by the quest area and accepted the quest of the graveyard. Fortunately, the quest was still available. All the players were discouraged by the 11 failures.
Out of those failures, five were made by the NPCs while six were from players who tried their best. It was natural for them to be attracted by the high reward and in fact, the reward increased by 50% since the first player attempted the quest. By now, the players of the town already regarded it as an impossible quest.
When he was given the paper to present to the graveyard keeper, Li Wei was also given the testimonials left by the previous players who attempted the quest. The players there were strangely cooperative; they wanted to know the person behind those grave robbing crimes.
To help each other, all the players that took the quest, left behind some thoughts and what they have tried to help the next player. They only hoped that the player to solve this mystery would post the solution on a specially created forum. The quest was unique, and it would not harm the player to share the truth behind that quest.
Out of the six players that took the quest, three of them actually came from the big guilds of the town. Two players belonged to the Golden Mansion which was the Yu family's guild. Li Wei carefully read the testimonials but none of them were very useful; they all mentioned the same thing.
He was more careful when reading that of the players of the Yu Family:
"I tried several things when attempting the quest but, in the end, I failed. The graveyard keeper did a good job at patrolling the graveyard. I often saw him when doing my own patrols. The graveyard keeper himself is innocent. I first suspected him, but I spent the entire night with him and a grave was still robbed."
"The graveyard is closed during the night and I dispatched some players to keep an eye from outside. No one should have been able to enter the graveyard stealthily. The only possibility I see is that the graveyard keeper is in cahoot with someone that he hides but with all the attempts that have been made, not a shadow of that person has been seen."
"I was penalized when I declared that the graveyard keeper was responsible for all the cases. The NPCs have a way to check if they are lying and apparently, it was not the graveyard keeper who did it."
Li Wei carefully read the testimonial, "Very strange... Well, I'll have a look later."
After asking for an instructor, Li Wei was brought into a training room where the instructor he was assigned to was waiting.
The latter was tall and had a muscular body similar to that of a bear. However, the problem was that the instructor was not a man but a woman. She had a square jaw and large physique. A few hairs could also be seen on her thick arms. She was standing there like a statue, facing the emptiness of the training room.
Li Wei calmly approached the instructor but as he got closer and was about to present himself, the instructor suddenly drew her sword and attacked!
Li Wei saw the thick arm of the instructor quickly drawing her sword that was attached at her back. The sword two-handed sword was large and heavy. The instructor was fast, but heavy swords were harder to wield, it would inevitably take longer to draw such a sword compared to a light one.
As soon as he saw the instructor move, Li Wei froze for a moment before quickly sidestepping with Gliding Steps.
"What was that?" exclaimed Li Wei. Right where he was standing one second ago, the heavy sword of the instructor was embedded in the white floor. Li Wei did not feel any threats coming from the instructor but he was nevertheless ready to retreat at any time.
The instructor let out a smile. "Looks like you have decent reaction time and that skill is definitely useful! I am Instructor Delta and I will teach you for the next hour! The first lesson was to always be on alert! You can never know when an enemy might attack. Always be on your guard to a certain extent!"
Li Wei slowly calmed down as he heard the instructor, "There was no need to attack like that!"
"I was just testing your reaction. Come, your time is limited. Attack me with all you've got!" said the instructor. She took a few steps back and easily raised the heavy sword with just one hand, placing it horizontally in front of her.
"Alright!" Li Wei immediately drew his Dark Runic Swords and charged at the instructor. He was not worried that the instructor would not be able to block his attack; she was after all a level 30 NPC!
"Cling Cling!"
Li Wei's swords were easily blocked but he continued to attack. He lowered his waist and aimed at the instructor's legs with one sword while using the other one to stab at her chest!
However, the instructor simply swung her huge sword and pushed away both swords at the same time.
"You are full of openings!" exclaimed Instructor Delta and at the same time, she raised her leg and kicked Li Wei's chest.
The latter was forced to take a few steps back, but he lost 0 HP from this exchange thanks to the effect of the training room.
"Attack again! Be more decisive! Your style is similar to that of a berserker. You need to go all out!"
"Cling Cling!"
...
"Follow the flow, look! You could have aimed at my leg right now!"
"There you could have jumped to dodge my sword and attacked my shoulder!"
"Cling Cling Cling!"
"That was good! But put more pressure on your legs!"
"You can use the spin you just did to add more force into the strike!"
"Cling!"
Li Wei continued to attack the instructor with all his might. He was not holding back at all and yet, the instructor was easily deflecting the attacks. It was not even thanks to her higher stats. She was using pure techniques to fight Li Wei.
It was not a one-sided training though; sometimes, Instructor Delta would also go on the offensive, forcing Li Wei to adapt and protect himself. Her advice was very useful. She would always comment on Li Wei's decision and how he could improve himself.
Li Wei knew he could use skills like the Gliding Steps to land some hits but that would defeat the purpose of the training. He was there to improve his swordmanship and better understand his style.
"You are doing good! You already had a decent fighting style. You just need to consolidate your foundation first!" declared the instructor. One hour went by quickly as they were constantly fighting.
Every few exchanges, the instructor would also stop the fight and demonstrate how Li Wei should have attacked. Although she was using only one sword, Li Wei could still observe her body movement and positioning.
He learned a lot just from this one hour; much more than what he could have understood by self-learning.
"Thank you. Do you have any piece of advice before I go?" said Li Wei as he sheathed back his swords. He knew that he could not stay for much longer since other players might also have booked an instructor.
"You just need to practice! But I would just say that you should choose your style! Using two swords is too broad! Although I said that you fight like a berserker, your thought process is too conservative. There are a lot of branches you can explore but I don't want to influence you on that! It is something you need to find yourself!" said the instructor.
"Then to which class is my fighting style the closest?" asked Li Wei.
"Mmm Something along dual-wielding ranger? Or maybe Trickster?"
...
After the session, Li Wei stepped out of the Warrior Association and went back to the inn to rest. He needed to be at the graveyard at 18:00 to be allowed in by the keeper. Right now, it was 13:45 which gave Li Wei enough time to lower his fatigue. The one hour of constant exercising generated 30% fatigue. This could be considered a very significant amount, especially since he got all of that in just one hour.
He sat down and examined the testimonials he had. All of them were posted on the thread of the forum dedicated to the quest. Although only six players had participated, the forum had more than 2000 followers!
Li Wei leaned against the wall and recalled his training session with Instructor Delta. On the spur of the moment, he did not have much time to analyze the movements and mostly reacted by instinct and to what the instructor was saying. But now that he had time, he could slowly digest what he learned, and he found a lot of information and possible ways to improve!
...
17:50, at the entrance of the graveyard of Verdan Town
Li Wei was slowly making his way to the entrance. He could already see the graveyard; there was a tall dark fence surrounding the place. In it, tombs, gravestones, and trees could be seen everywhere. The graveyard was vast, so vast that Li Wei could not even see its end since his vision was blocked.
To his right, Li Wei could see the respawn point of the players. Although it was said that they would respawn at the graveyard upon death, it was not literally inside the graveyard but just outside. This was because graveyards were actually closed at night and players could still die during that time. Players could not simply be forced to spend a night in this kind of environment.
As he was walking, Li Wei saw two players respawn together.
"D*mn! I did not know it was that hard!"
"Yeah! But at least, we defeated the Giant Golem!"
The two players were discussing among themselves but Li Wei did not listen to their conversation.
At the portal of the graveyard, Li Wei saw a middle-aged man whose face was covered with acne. He was without a doubt the graveyard keeper; he wore a black coat, completely covering his body and had a large shovel in his hand.
Li Wei calmly stopped in front of the man and presented the paper. "Hello, I am Seven. I picked the quest of the graveyard!"
"It's good that you are here. I was about to close the portal! You can call me Oleg. I hope we will be able to catch the robbers tonight!" exclaimed the graveyard keeper.
Despite his appearance, he spoke with a friendly tone and warmly invited Li Wei inside. His attitude simply did not reflect on his appearance. Aside from the acne, his hair was dirty and messy, there was also a mark on his face, making him look like he formed part of a gang.
"Nice to meet you Keeper Oleg. Let's work together then!" said Li Wei as he walked inside.
Oleg pulled onto the metallic portal and closed the only exit of the graveyard. A loud creaking sound resonated through the silent graveyard as the doors were closed and locked.