William Carter felt a sharp pain in his right shoulder—he’d been struck by the Desert Mamba. His body gradually turned green, a sign of poisoning! The Desert Mamba’s venom was a slowing poison, not a lethal one; it only reduced his speed without causing damage.

　　With his speed slowed, William Carter couldn’t jump, so he had to rely on normal attacks. He could only retreat while swinging his dagger, blocking the Desert Mamba’s strikes.

　　Seeing his health drop to just 19%, William Carter leapt to the side, dodging a blow from the Desert Mamba. The dagger spun in William Carter’s palm and stabbed upward into the Desert Mamba’s head, dealing nine points of damage. The Desert Mamba finally collapsed limply to the ground.

　　Although each attack dealt less than ten points of damage, William Carter managed to wear down and kill the Desert Mamba through sheer persistence.

　　After slaying the Desert Mamba, William Carter collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. That was way too close—his nerves had been stretched tight like a drawn bowstring, ready to snap at any moment. After the fight, William Carter was nearly exhausted. If the Desert Mamba had killed him, all the effort he’d put into leveling up would have been wasted, and he’d be back to level two.

　　William Carter had only been hit five times by the Desert Mamba, but he’d lost 85% of his health. The Desert Mamba’s attack power was just too strong—one more bite and William Carter would have been done for. But he managed to dodge that final strike. This incident taught William Carter an important lesson: physical attacks could be avoided through movement, just like when performing a reverse backstab. That’s the benefit of the game’s free movement mode. Still, it’s unrealistic to expect to dodge all damage in combat—after all, this is a game, not a martial arts novel, and there’s no such thing as a super evasive skill like the Lingbo Microstep.

Chapter 10: A Hero Starved for a Penny

　　William Carter picked up the money dropped by the Desert Mamba. The Desert Mamba added fifty-one copper coins to William Carter’s wallet and even dropped a piece of equipment.

　　Tattered Cloak: Defense 7–9, cloth armor.

　　Wearing it would add a few points of defense. Checking his experience, he was at 67% toward level three. Early leveling was still pretty fast, especially after killing the Desert Mamba. The level five Desert Mamba was higher level than William Carter, so there was an experience bonus—he gained as much experience as from more than ten Desert Beetles combined.

　　William Carter suddenly realized that his skill proficiency for Stealth and Reverse Backstab was no longer increasing. It turned out he’d maxed out their proficiency and needed to return to upgrade the skill levels!

　　William Carter returned to Tabak Town and once again found the shifty-looking rogue trainer Alden, who was dozing in a chair.

　　“Respected mentor, I’m here to upgrade my skills.” William Carter said respectfully to the rogue trainer Alden in the chair. William Carter didn’t believe a rogue trainer would ever sleep without being on guard. Even if he was asleep, William Carter figured he would have woken up as soon as he entered.

　　“Upgrade your skills?” The rogue trainer Alden suddenly opened his eyes, his sharp gaze sweeping over William Carter. If he remembered correctly, this young man had just come to learn skills that morning.

　　“Yes,” William Carter answered honestly. He felt as if his whole body had been scanned. What he didn’t know was that this was the rogue’s Detect skill, which could be learned at a certain level.

　　“Which skills do you want to upgrade?” The rogue trainer Alden looked William Carter up and down, his previously unfocused eyes now sharp and alert.

　　“Stealth and Reverse Backstab,” William Carter replied. Judging by the trainer’s expression, was something wrong?

　　“Reverse Backstab?” The trainer’s eyes lit up, then narrowed as he scrutinized William Carter. He then said, “Upgrading Stealth costs thirty silver coins. Upgrading Reverse Backstab costs five gold coins.”

　　“Whew.” William Carter sucked in a breath. Thirty silver coins to upgrade Stealth was one thing, but five gold coins for Reverse Backstab? That was daylight robbery! But after the initial shock, he calmed down. Stealth was such a useful skill, and upgrading it only cost thirty silver coins. Reverse Backstab, though, cost five gold coins. Thinking back on the skill’s powerful damage, it was probably worth the price. But where was William Carter supposed to get that much money?

　　“I don’t have that much. I’ll just upgrade Stealth for now,” William Carter said a bit regretfully. He only had sixty-three silver coins in his pocket—nowhere near enough for Reverse Backstab. He could only upgrade Stealth for now and make plans for Reverse Backstab later.

　　“Young man, if you don’t upgrade your skills in time, it will affect your future development,” the rogue trainer Alden said earnestly.

　　A hero starved for a penny—what could he do? He couldn’t exactly go rob someone.

　　Seemingly noticing William Carter’s predicament, the rogue trainer Alden smiled and said, “I can let you learn Reverse Backstab for free first, but you’ll have to complete two tasks for me.”

　　“What tasks?” William Carter asked, a bit excited. Being able to learn Reverse Backstab for free was just too tempting for William Carter.