Chapter 10: Mastering a New Skill

When Li Zhan, Ruoyan, and the lumberjack arrived at the logging site, they saw a dozen or so woodcutters clustered together, holding their blunt axes and facing off against a ring of gray wolves. The blunt axe, like the hoe and fishing net, was a basic labor tool granted to villagers by the system once the tribal center was established. Whenever a villager was assigned to a job, the corresponding basic tool would appear in their hands. These tools could neither be damaged nor traded.

Tool: Blunt Axe
Level: Basic
Durability: —
Efficiency: Poor
Attack: 1

Gray wolves, as low-level beasts, posed little danger to players below level 5—a level 0 player could handle two wolves under level 5 at once. But for NPC villagers, it was a different story. Despite their woodcutting skills being above level 2, they had no combat abilities, and their attack and defense stats were poor.

Beast: Gray Wolf
Level: 4
Attack: 4
Defense: 2
Speed: 1
HP: 15

Because the villagers wielded blunt axes, their attack was slightly increased, making the wolves hesitant to act rashly. Thus, both sides stood in a tense standoff, each side nursing wounds.

In "Empire Ascendant," the tribe’s total production value was linked to player experience. Li Zhan, although not deliberately leveling up, had already reached level 3 by now—more than enough to handle these wolves. Confident that their levels weren’t high, he left Ruoyan and the lumberjack at the edge and dashed toward the besieged villagers.

When the woodcutters spotted Li Zhan running over, they finally saw hope. “Chief, you’ve arrived at last!” “Please save us, Chief!” they shouted.

“Everyone, stay calm and follow my orders. When the wolves lunge at me, attack them from behind!” Li Zhan called out as he ran.

“Yes!” the villagers responded in unison.

Hearing Li Zhan’s voice, the wolves turned to look at him. Seeing he was unarmed, they instinctively judged him easier prey than the villagers, abandoning their siege and charging at Li Zhan instead.

As the wolves lunged, Li Zhan halted, planted his feet firmly, and activated his Basic Combat skill. Basic Combat slightly increased a player’s attack, defense, and speed, consuming 2 MP per minute. With 68 MP, Li Zhan could keep the skill running for over half an hour.

The first wolf barreled toward him, leaping from the ground with jaws wide. Li Zhan swung his fist, striking the wolf square on the snout. The wolf yelped and crashed to the ground, a red “-8” floating above it. With a swift kick to the belly, followed by another “-9,” the wolf stiffened and died.

The woodcutters, emboldened by their chief’s prowess, charged in with their blunt axes, hacking at the wolves from behind. Though their attacks were clumsy, the wolves found themselves beset on both sides, quickly overwhelmed. In moments, four or five wolves lay dead.

The alpha, a level 9 wolf, was battered down to just 5 HP by the barrage of axes. Sensing defeat, it broke free of the chaos, howled, and led the remaining wolves in a desperate escape.

Seeing this, Li Zhan snatched a blunt axe from a nearby woodcutter, mustered all his strength, and hurled it at the alpha. As the wolf toppled, a familiar sound chimed.

“Ding!”—System prompt:
“Dear player, through arduous training, you have learned the ‘Throwing’ skill. This skill increases your attack power and accuracy with thrown weapons. As your skill level rises, its effects will also increase. If you become a military commander, all units under your command that use thrown weapons will receive a portion of your Throwing skill bonus.”

Just like Swordsmanship, Horsemanship, and Spearmanship, the Throwing skill was typically acquired only through joint training with soldiers at the barracks—a process so grueling it could only be described as "arduous." The official website did note, however, that such military skills could also be obtained randomly during personal training, though the odds were vanishingly small. The training ground for Throwing, like the stables for Horsemanship, was a military structure only available in the Feudal Age. With all players still in the Dark Age, for Li Zhan to learn a Feudal skill was an extraordinary stroke of luck. (Even Old Wu was green with envy…)

With the alpha dead, the remaining wolves scattered in disarray. The woodcutters, overjoyed to have survived, gathered around Li Zhan, exclaiming, “Thank you, Chief, for saving us just in time!”

The villagers’ voices pulled Li Zhan from his elation. Noticing a few injured woodcutters, he instructed them to return to the tribal center and rest. Among the others, two possessed hunting skills; Li Zhan told them to drag the dead wolves back, skin them, and make use of every possible resource—pelts, meat, and more. Just then, Zheng Jun arrived with several level-3 villagers, and Li Zhan had them help carry the carcasses back as well.

Once the arrangements were made, Li Zhan eagerly opened his status panel to see how learning the Throwing skill had changed his attributes. According to the official site, each new skill granted players additional attribute bonuses during future level-ups.

Player Name: Li Zhan
Civilization: China
Title/Position: Tribal Chief [Yanhuang]
Level: 3
Attributes—
Potential: +8
Constitution: 10 [+2]
Strength: 12 [+3]
Intelligence: 10 [-1]
Agility: 3 [+1]
Fame: 5
Leadership: 5
Attack: 8+0
Defense: Armor 0+0 / Shield 0+0
Speed: 1
HP: 70
MP: 68
Skills—
Basic Combat 7%
Basic Throwing 1% (Thrown Weapons: Attack +4, Accuracy +5)

Li Zhan could barely contain his joy. The attribute bonuses weren’t high, but in the Dark Age, with no access to military buildings, it was impossible for any other player to learn new skills. In that sense, his character growth was already ahead of every player worldwide.

As he reveled in his good fortune, Ruoyan approached and said, “Hey, what are you standing there grinning for? Hurry up and check how much stone we have in reserve!”