Ji Zhao left the study and found Uncle Wang outside.
【Wang An: "The clan head has already given me her instructions... Young Master Zhao, come."】
What followed was the standard combat tutorial segment... Then again, Ji Zhao had been rather curious about this all along: the game had no HP, no MP, no attack, no defense, so once a fight started, how exactly were the numbers supposed to be calculated?
The answer was unexpectedly simple.
The battle screen unfolded in a tactical grid format, the two pixel figures of Ji Zhao and Wang An standing on either side, three small bars — red, blue, and white — beneath each of them.
And now this Uncle Wang broke the fourth wall and began explaining things directly to the Ji Zhao outside the screen.
【Wang An: "The red bar is health, the blue bar is inner breath, and the white bar is the action bar. Once the action bar fills, a character may act once. Young Master Zhao, try striking at me."】
As he spoke, the Ji Zhao on screen shifted into a controllable state. His movement range was pitiful — only two squares — but after moving, it was just enough to reach Wang An on the other side.
Ji Zhao moved next to Wang An, and four options appeared beside him: Normal Attack, Martial Technique, Rest, and Item. The Martial Technique entry was greyed out, indicating that Ji Zhao had not mastered a single martial technique.
Ji Zhao clicked Normal Attack and selected Wang An, and another prompt appeared below: "Channel inner breath for added force?"
【Wang An: "A normal attack costs no inner breath, while a martial technique carries a base cost. Either one, technique or normal attack, can be strengthened by spending additional inner breath. Different techniques scale by different formulas — some have low base power but high bonus damage, others high base power but low bonus damage."】
"Interesting." Ji Zhao's interest was piqued. Most wuxia games never made internal energy feel like a strong stat; skill costs were always fixed. This added-force mechanic finally gave internal energy enough weight to turn a battle around... Then again, this game called it inner breath.
【Wang An: "However, the ceiling on how much force a technique can take is limited by the user's meridians. The stronger the meridians, the higher the cap on a single boost... Though with as little inner breath as you have, Young Master Zhao, there's no harm in pouring in all of it."】
"...Blunt, aren't we."
Since the man had put it that way, Ji Zhao stood on no ceremony either and dragged the inner breath to full... and yet the normal attack still did not fire off. The white bar turned yellow, then began climbing again from somewhere around thirty percent.
【Wang An: "Loosing a normal attack or a martial technique requires a charge-up. The more inner breath you pour in at once, the longer the charge takes. Improving your Inner Breath Burst Power and your martial theory can effectively shorten it."】
Then Wang An on screen landed a plain auto-attack on Ji Zhao. A -8% floated up from Ji Zhao's body, after which the yellow bar promptly dropped by more than half!
【Wang An: "A person's health and inner breath are difficult to reduce to figures, so both are represented by percentages instead... Once you take a certain amount of damage, your 'stance collapses' and most of your action bar is knocked back. So if you mean to unleash a great surge of inner breath for a killing blow, you must pick your moment."】
The battle screen ended.
【Wang An: "Do you understand, Young Master Zhao?"】
【Ji Zhao: "I understand."】
【Wang An: "Good."】
Then Wang An on screen reached into his robes and drew out a book.
【Wang An: "The clan head went to particular trouble to obtain this for you, Young Master Zhao... Take a look."】
【Obtained: Rotten Wood Scripture ×1】
【Rotten Wood Scripture】
(A work of the Rotten Wood Recluse, created especially for those of wretched Constitution; its Constitution requirement is extremely low.)
【Training Requirement: Constitution Lv1】
【Training Realm: Not One Aperture Open (0/100000)】
【Training Formula: 5x+200】
【Inner Breath Power: C-Lower】
【Inner Breath Density: C】 (Actually C-Middle; the word "Middle" may be omitted.)
【Inner Breath Burst Power: D-Peak】
【Overall Physique Enhancement: D-Upper】
Final experience multiplier: 1.03–1.09
【Internal Art Effect: None】
"The flat experience is high... so that's how it works."
The Ji Zhao on screen accepted the Rotten Wood Scripture.
【Wang An: "By rights I ought to teach you the art of conversion at this point, Young Master Zhao. It can turn the inner breath of one cultivation method into the inner breath of another, though a portion is lost along the way. However, with your Comprehension, Young Master Zhao... and besides, you have only dabbled a little in the Qi-Nurturing Scripture. Spending a great deal of time on the art of conversion now would be somewhat wasteful. Better to practice the art of dispersal instead — a single afternoon is enough to learn it."】
【Ji Zhao: "Very well..."】
After that, Ji Zhao sat down cross-legged. The sun rose in the east and set again, and evening came quickly.
【Ji Zhao has grasped "Dispersal."】
【Wang An: "Get to sleep early, Young Master Zhao. As for the defense of the city, worrying will do you no... there is no need to fret over it too much."】
"...What a way with words."
The Ji Zhao outside could not help snarking aloud.
The Ji Zhao inside went back to his room and slept the night through. The screen darkened, and when it lit up again a sundial had appeared in the upper right corner, marking the time, while two new entries — Cultivation Methods and Martial Techniques — had been added to the bar along the bottom.
At the same time the main quest refreshed, and a line of large, gold-glowing text appeared.
【Better yourself. Use every means to stop the city from falling.】
The sundial marked the year, month, day, hour, minute, and second, and the sight of it made Ji Zhao's heart lurch. Seeing this quest on top of that, he was now certain: if the player failed to finish certain tasks before a fixed time, the main storyline would fail. But here was the problem... no matter what key he pressed, no save option ever came up.
A main quest so plainly on a timer, one that would in all likelihood leave you cooked if you failed it — and it gave you no save — wasn't that going too far?!
Even granting that this game was half-finished, adding a save function would hardly take any effort.
"There's something odd about this game..."
He had thought so for a while already, but the complete absence of a save function truly sent the doubts in the back of his mind rocketing to their limit.
He half wanted to make a call and ask whether this game was some low-budget single-player title cooked up by the young people over at Uncle Liu's — but then again, it really was not his problem. Someone had installed a game on his new computer without a word, and had gone to deliberate lengths to plant an Easter egg in it, in all likelihood because they wanted him to stream it and advertise for them. And in that situation, he was supposed to be the one calling up to ask this and that... No. There was no such logic anywhere under heaven.
【"Still, even if I really were interested — a half-finished thing that doesn't even have a working save function, is it really at the point of needing traffic driven to it... Or is this event a scripted defeat you can't get past, the equivalent of a prologue, which is why there's no save?"】