“The first task is to collect Snake Tongue Grass. The second task is to find a lost item. The first task requires you to learn Basic Herb Gathering, which can be completed below level ten, but you’ll need level three Stealth. I’ll notify you when you’re capable of doing the second task. In addition to five gold coins, I’ll also give you some quest rewards. Of course, you can choose to abandon the quest, but if you quit midway, you’ll have to pay a penalty of five hundred gold coins. Do you accept?” The rogue mentor Alden looked at William Carter with a smile.

William Carter thought for a moment. Anyway, I have nothing to lose, so he gritted his teeth and decided to go for it—learn the skills first, and if he can’t complete the quest later, he’ll just pay the penalty.

“I accept,” William Carter replied.

System: You have accepted the rogue mentor’s commission.

“Since you’ve accepted the quest, I’ll help you improve your skills.” The rogue mentor Alden returned to his calm demeanor, the glint in his eyes fading. His tattered gray robe made him look like an ordinary old man no matter how you looked at him.

System: Your Stealth skill has been raised to level two.

System: Your Backhand Backstab skill has been raised to level two.

William Carter checked his Stealth skill. The stealth duration had increased from twenty seconds to thirty seconds, the cooldown had dropped from thirty seconds to twenty-five seconds, concealment had improved, and movement speed while stealthed had increased by 5%. As for the Backhand Backstab skill, its cooldown had dropped from thirty seconds to twenty-five seconds, and its base damage had increased from twenty points to fifty points—a rapid improvement.

William Carter calculated the damage potential of Backhand Backstab. If he executed a perfect Backhand Backstab, the damage would be around three hundred points, enough to instantly kill a level five Desert Mansa! But William Carter knew he couldn’t perform a perfect Backhand Backstab every time; he’d need repeated practice to master it. As long as he could achieve over 90% completion, the damage would be considerable.

“Hurry up and go improve your strength.” The rogue mentor Alden waved his hand lazily, resuming his relaxed posture and closing his eyes to rest.

“Thank you, mentor.” In front of the rogue mentor Alden, William Carter always behaved properly. After all, these NPCs were intelligent, possessing wisdom no less than humans. William Carter knew that showing respect was necessary.

William Carter left.

The rogue mentor Alden opened his eyes, squinting as he watched William Carter’s back, his pupils glowing pale blue, as if muttering to himself: “It’s rare to see someone raise Backhand Backstab to level two in such a short time.”

Skill proficiency increases are calculated based on skill completion. For skills like Stealth, each successful sneak behind a monster counts as one point of proficiency. When proficiency reaches a certain level, the skill can be upgraded. Skills like Backhand Backstab, Backstab, and Expose Bone are different: each time Backhand Backstab deals a certain amount of damage to a monster, you gain one point of proficiency; 90% completion gives two points, and 100% completion gives five points.

If your skill completion is high, skill upgrades come quickly. But in reality, few players can even use the skill, let alone achieve high completion. They need to explore and learn the skill bit by bit, sometimes even needing guidance before they can use it properly. Just like William Carter, who so far hasn’t used Backstab or Expose Bone at all—his proficiency in those skills is still zero.

With Stealth and Backhand Backstab at level two, killing monsters was smoother than before. The tight financial situation reminded William Carter that it was time to make money; otherwise, he’d be broke again the next time he needed to upgrade skills.

Chapter 11: Setting Up a Stall

William Carter checked the time—it was already near dusk, with at most an hour and a half left to level up. William Carter headed outside to continue his monster-hunting journey.

William Carter entered the desert, searching for level three monsters, and found an area where level three Desert Unihorn Beetles spawned. When leveling solo, killing monsters of the same level yields more experience and is less dangerous. William Carter preferred to play it safe.

Using Stealth, he snuck up behind a Desert Unihorn Beetle, stunned it with a sneak attack, then used normal attacks. When the beetle recovered and lunged at him, William Carter would retreat and then use Backhand Backstab. Thanks to the high damage of Backhand Backstab, as soon as William Carter used the skill, the Desert Unihorn Beetle would drop dead.

William Carter assessed his strength. He figured he could probably challenge level five Desert Mansas now, but he didn’t dare to rush in recklessly. The Desert Mansa’s attacks were too strong—if something went wrong, all his hard-earned levels would be lost. He decided to level up once more before trying.

Backhand Backstab!

100% completion. Seeing this number, William Carter smiled with satisfaction. After so much practice, his Backhand Backstab was getting better and better. Out of every ten attacks, at least two were at 100% completion, and his body was getting used to the motion.