Xiao Yu picked up something from the ground after he had killed another sandworm. They turned out to be cotton shoes.
Ragged cotton shoes: defense 3-5, speed +1, cotton armor; the prerequisite level: 1.
The shoes could help improve speed, though speed +1 was the lowest value. The cotton shoes also had a low defense. Still, it was better than having nothing or bare feet. Xiao Yu put on the cotton shoes.
He had already gained two levels, but leveling up by way of sandworm kills would be a slow task. Xiao Yu headed to the deep part of the desert, where there were higher-level monsters.
Level-2 sand beetles spawned further into the desert; Xiao Yu should be able to deal with them since he had learned striking skills. However, salamanders were often found near the sand beetles, and those were level-5 monsters, which meant that they were truly formidable foes. As such, he had to be careful when he tried to practice his skills.
Xiao Yu took a look at the skills list and saw three skills: reversed backstabbing, backstabbing, and evisceration. He couldn't help but feel a little troubled, wondering how he should use these three skills.
Having discovered a sand beetle up ahead, Xiao Yu approached it slowly by using stealth travel, then knocked the sand beetle unconscious by using a sneak attack. Then, he thrust the dagger at the sand beetle over and over again.
Backstab!
Xiao Yu used the backstabbing technique on the sand beetle. Unfortunately, the dagger failed to penetrate the sand beetle's defenses when it hit its back.
Backstabbing failed!
"I should have used the simple slash," Xiao Yu thought gloomily.
Xiao Yu hadn't used any of the three skills successfully, whether it be backstabbing, reversed backstabbing, or evisceration. Not even once. However, he had no choice but to try them even though he didn't know how to use them that well. These skills were basic ones for thieves, and he had to learn how to use them sooner or later.
The sand beetle woke up with 50% health left and charged toward Xiao Yu furiously.
Reversed backstabbing!
Xiao Yu used reversed backstabbing based on his understanding of the skill, doing so for the first time in his life. However, he was interrupted by the counter strike of the sand beetle before he could carry out the attack. The strike from the sand beetle caused 23 points worth of damage to Xiao Yu.
Xiao Yu retreated hastily, attacking the sand beetle with his dagger as he was backing up; the dagger emitted numerous flashes of cold light. Though they were merely slashes possessing no skill damage, the harm value generated was still fairly remarkable. Ultimately, he had depleted the remaining 50% health of the sand beetle; the sand beetle had died due to exhaustion.
Xiao Yu took a look at his own health, which remained at 23%; a single strike from a sand beetle would do him in. He took a deep breath and picked up the loot as he waited where he stood for his health to recover.
The back-to-back failures made Xiao Yu wonder why his reversed backstabbing was interrupted before he could even use it.
Reversed backstabbing and backstabbing were two different skills: Backstabbing could only be used to inflict harm to the rear of a monster, whereas reversed backstabbing could be used to strike the rear of a monster when the player stood in front of them. The player would have to suddenly jump to the side so that they could get behind the monster and harm them without being attacked in the process. It was a very useful skill for thieves and for those professional players who specialized in close-range combat. By using this skill, the thieves could attack their opponents from behind. However, there was a higher requirement for this skill because it could be interrupted during the strike, which meant the thieves were required to have a sensitive awareness and agile movements. They could complete the skill only when they struck at the perfect moment.
Since reversed backstabbing could be interrupted, precise timing was even more crucial. Xiao Yu recalled that the sand beetle happened to turn around the moment he used reversed backstabbing, meaning that he had allowed the sand beetle to attack him instead.
Mulling over the skill of reversed backstabbing, Xiao Yu still believed it was something he could master.
After reviewing what he had learned from his failures, Xiao Yu was eager to confirm his theory. He resumed searching for the next monster after some rest.
Xiao Yu told himself to do what he had done with stealth travel after he had learned it. Though his movements were still a bit awkward and he hadn't honed the slow and careful footwork, his moves were fairly accurate and precise nonetheless. He was fully aware that it would become second nature to him if he kept practicing his movements. Once it became an automatic response, he would be able to move precisely without a second thought.
As Xiao Yu moved his fingers slightly, the dagger spun a full circle over his hand and then landed in his palm squarely. This pair of hands could handle weapons freely and with ease, be it a weapon as paper-thin as an insect's wing or a sharp, slender dagger. It was a skill as automatic as breathing.
Xiao Yu was well aware of just how much of an issue habits could be. It was much harder to correct a bad habit since one had to put in a significant amount of effort to do so. On the other hand, establishing a good habit could save half of the effort down the road.
After finding a sand beetle, Xiao Yu snuck to the side of the creature by using precise stealth travel, knocked it unconscious with a sneak attack and damaged the sand beetle with a regular strike.
The sand beetle turned around with a scream and charged toward Xiao Yu. He backed up one step and dodged its charge, his pupils shrinking abruptly before he used reversed backstabbing on the monster.
Xiao Yu dodged the assault of the sand beetle successfully and completed reversed backstabbing. However, he jumped to a spot a bit off his desired position, so he failed to strike the right spot on the back of the sand beetle. Still, the reversed backstabbing skill did some damage.
System: the success rate of reversed backstabbing is 60%, causing 67% skill damage.
Xiao Yu was taken aback because he didn't expect the reversed backstabbing skill to have a bonus. Though it was merely 60%, it certainly was not a terrible start. He figured out the right timing for reversed backstabbing and got the gist of the skill. As of now, he still couldn't time the strike correctly, but all he needed to do was gradually perfect the skill.
Having completed the reversed backstabbing skill, Xiao Yu went to the right side of the sand beetle. Now that he was in an advantageous position, he retreated after he finished off the sand beetle by using the street-run fighting tactic. He looked at his own health, which was at 65%.
He was fairly successful in this battle, having retained most of his health, whereas the fights with the other sand beetles were less than stellar since his health was below 50% then.