Chapter 11: Lucky Noob

Shield... I don’t have any income or levels because of the Level One Dungeon Challenge. I should check the category rewards at higher levels and decide how long I want to keep this up. And then there’s my challenge with Chaosgraphy. Still, I need a shield right now.

Martin pulled up the academy shop listings anyway.

The cheapest shield still cost more than he had.

[Balance: 0.]

[Weekly payout: Pending.]

"What’s your nickname? You’re hiding it," the whispering player asked.

"Hmm? Ah, right. It’s Emperoar," Martin replied.

[You have received a friend request from NukEncore Lv. 1]

"Oh, you’re also level one... but... didn’t you come out from the academy’s dungeons?" NukEncore asked in a low whisper as she stared at Martin’s profile.

Martin accepted the request, and he could now see she was a level-one player too.

"Yeah, I did," he replied. "Have you also been to the Level One Dungeon?"

NukEncore shook her head. "No. But this must be one of those secret dungeons people gossip about online. Some even reroll just to get invited. You must be pretty good, then... maybe I shouldn’t take much of your time?"

When she asked that, she shot him a sideways look and blinked sweetly.

It wasn’t calculated. It was natural, effortless, the kind of pick-me vibe that made you want to reassure her and prove you weren’t the guy who’d brush her off.

For half a second, her posture straightened into something flawless, like she’d stepped onto an invisible mark. Then she shrank back into her whisper again, eyes lowered.

Martin swallowed. Saying no suddenly felt harder than it should’ve.

"Nah. I want to see how it feels to tank magic skills. What about you, though? Shouldn’t you be level five by now?" Martin asked, trying not to let himself get leashed.

"I should be, but... my first quest went so poorly that the NPC told me to think again if I want to be a mage. Um, I couldn’t really aim well with my magic skills... but I don’t care. I want to be a mage. Annoying as he was, the NPC gave me good advice," NukEncore explained.

Martin squinted. "Did he tell you to find a Guardian player who would use Threat on you, so each attack would land perfectly? That would give you a better sense of staff placement and muscle memory."

"Wow! You’re so spot-on!" NukEncore beamed. "M’kay! I’ll help you get a new shield. I wandered around the academy and saw a few weapon stores."

Just then, Martin noticed Rangar walking side by side with a new player. His eyes lit up. Rangar would have the best answer to his shield problem.

After all, it was him who invited Martin to the Level One Dungeon Challenge.

"Rangar!" Martin shouted.

"Oh, Emperoar." Rangar smiled, but his eyes sharpened. "You’re out of the dungeon. What happened?"

Martin didn’t hide his loss. "I died. My shield broke, so I need a new one."

"Haha! Right! You two have an ongoing wager. You went overboard, didn’t you?" Rangar chuckled. "It’s fine. I’m your caretaker until you hit level twenty. I can only issue four replacement pieces of gear per week. Break them all, and you’ll be waiting for the reset. Open your system."

[Caretaker Issue: Steel Shield (Blue) x1, Steel Sword (Blue) x1]

[Weekly caretaker issues remaining: 3/4]

[Would you like to accept the issue?]

[Yes.]

As soon as Martin accepted, two familiar icons appeared in his inventory. He had his equipment back, plus a brand-new sword with intact durability.

Four a week. If I break this shield again, I’m done until the reset.

"Thanks, Rangar. I’ll pay you back in the future," Martin said.

"Become the best tank our academy can be proud of for years to come, and that will be more than enough for me! Haha! I still can’t believe you guys call Guardians tanks. It sounds off to me!" Rangar burst out laughing, once again captivated by the new words he kept learning from players.

Martin returned the smile and bid him farewell. He couldn’t keep Rangar all to himself, especially when Rangar was on his way to introduce the Level One Dungeon to yet another player.

When Martin turned around, NukEncore was staring at him with a pout. "I don’t like this guy. It was him who told me that I should reconsider being a mage."

"He’s a good guy. He must’ve said it because... you did terribly at the tutorial."

NukEncore crossed her arms. A dangerous move, given her chest size. "Is that so? I just need more practice, and I’ll build it to forte. I want to draw every eye in the room."

The word came out too smooth, like it belonged in her mouth. She seemed to catch herself a beat later and lowered her voice again.

"At least you didn’t whisper that time," Martin sneered.

NukEncore worried her lower lip for a second, then let it go.

Martin set her strange antics aside and put on his new shield. Feeling its weight, he rolled his left shoulder and shifted his arm a few times, enjoying it for a moment before he checked the time.

"Let’s practice, then," Martin said.

NukEncore nodded and followed him to the training grounds, an open space packed with animated wooden dummies and sparring rings.

Martin and NukEncore found a spot and faced each other.

"I’ll do it now," Martin said.

NukEncore hugged her staff close and nodded.

"Just do a normal attack," Martin said.

She raised the staff, and mana frayed into messy, uneven threads before snapping into four spinning strands.

They came in at a crooked angle.

Martin lifted his shield anyway, but the volley veered wide, hissing past his shoulder.

He frowned. "Yeah. Your aim’s all over the place."

NukEncore pressed her lips into a small pout. "I told you."

"Yeah" Martin said. "That’s why I’m using Threat now."

As soon as Martin used Threat on her, NukEncore fired again. The strands still formed irregularly and spun as they flew, but this time they didn’t drift.

They pulled straight onto him and slammed into the center of his shield.

[You have blocked 31 Damage.]

Good. Without Threat, her shots are chaos, exactly the kind that trains my eyes to catch movement from the edge. With Threat, the impact becomes consistent, and that consistency lets me drill timing instead of guessing. If I want to survive the lake, I need both: eyes that don’t miss side pressure, and timing that doesn’t panic.

One cast of Threat drew three normal attacks from NukEncore. The first two hit clean. On the third, something strange happened. The four strands wove together mid-flight into a single ball and slammed into Martin with far more force than before.

Wait. What is this?

BANG!

DING!

The ring came with the impact.

He took a single step back.

[Your Steel Shield has lost 3 durability.]

Three durability from one hit. Even a newbie can chew through my shield if I let her. I need to practice harder, or I’ll burn it down before the lake.

Across from him, NukEncore’s eyes widened. A bright smile flashed across her face, then she caught herself and went still again.

"That was a critical strike! Oh wow! It felt so great! What was that ding sound? It’s so addictive! I want to hear it once more! Please, Threaten me again, Emperoar!" she shouted.

As she did, her voice leaked out in its raw form, turning NPC and player heads alike.

NukEncore stiffened and looked down.

Her fingers tightened around her staff. "Sorry," she whispered, barely audible.

I don’t like how she shut down so fast. Must be because of the others. Yeah, she got loud, but still...

Martin cracked his knuckles. "Could you all focus on yourselves? My friend got too loud, but that doesn’t mean you can leer at her like perverts. Are you perverts?"

No one liked being called a pervert, let alone caught acting like one.

They all looked away.

NukEncore slowly raised her eyes. There was something different in her expression now. "Thanks."

He nodded like it was nothing. "Least I could do. Let’s practice more. I want to learn more about magic."

"See? Every girl’s born with magic. The fun part is learning how to make it listen." NukEncore flashed a smile, like she was proving Rangar wrong, and eagerly asked for more Threat. Martin obliged.

—

At the end of the day, Martin logged off a little later than usual. NukEncore’s pick-me-girl routine kept him there longer than he planned, until he finally told her no.

She pouted and logged out too.

She didn’t even say thanks, but she had a bit of a princess attitude. Maybe it was her huge chest.

Martin yawned. There was something he wanted to do tomorrow during his break at work.

But as he closed his eyes, that something nagged at him.

In the end, he grabbed his phone and squinted at the sudden flashbang.

She said people already talk about the Level One Dungeon. Maybe that Thorn’Shield dude posted about his run? Worth checking.

In a strange twist of fate, Martin, who usually hated checking social media, opened the app.

The feed loaded.

Martin’s face turned bitter.