Joining a guild

"What? Cai Die. Your family is willing to give out the Gliding steps?" exclaimed Sun Rose as she saw the technique that her friend was pointing out to Li Wei.

"Yes. This is to show our sincerity. We apologize for the meager conditions we offered earlier and hope that you will really consider joining us. Gliding steps is one of the main techniques of my family. It does not sound very impressive right now, but if you train it to a certain degree, it is possible for it to evolve into a better one, or so my patriarch says," explained Bright Sun with a look of determination in her eyes.

"Even I learned the Gliding Steps, I can already prove you its utility if you want," quickly added Bright Sun.

Li Wei looked at the techniques. It was clear that the Gliding Steps was a better technique than the Flowing steps. To be able to glide on normal ground? He imagined what kind of moves he would be able to pull out with that.

Before giving an answer, he turned to look at Sun Rose to see if she would try to pull out something better, but the latter remained silent, biting her lower lips.

"Alright, can I please see the technique. If it suits me, I have no objection on joining Avalanche."

"Great! I can do it right here; Gliding Steps does not need a lot of space," gladly said Bright Sun.

She placed down her staff and stood up in a corner of a room. "Watch!"

Bright Sun slightly lifted her priest robe, just enough to show a small pair of shoes. She slightly tilted her body and without raising her feet off the ground, she glided to the side as if she was standing on ice. After what looks like a distance of a normal step, she once again tilted her body and this time slid in the other direction. She repeated that move once again, making a Z like movement.

Li Wei was attentively watching as Bright Sun was performing the technique. He simply thought that this defied the law of physics. It was as if, the friction disappeared between the ground and her shoes.

"So? What do you think about it? Interested?" asked Bright Sun. She released her dress and walked back to the sofa. She could clearly see the small glimmer in Li Wei's eyes as she demonstrated her technique.

"Yes! Of course. It is the one I want to learn," quickly said, Li Wei, as he nodded to Bright Sun.

"Mmmm! This is great for you, Cai Die." Sun Rose said. She was genuinely happy for her friend, the two were close childhood friends and even though they were separated due to their respective family's conditions, they remained close and promised each other to no let family matters get between them.

The Cai and the Liu family were well known to be long-time allies. They both gained or lost prominence together.

"Thank you Sister Beibei!" nodded Bright Sun.

"In that case, let's have a look at the small details, right?"

...

After 30 minutes, Li Wei and Bright Sun left the inn and went to the training center. At Algate City, the training center was open 24/7. As long as players paid for the rooms they used, they could stay as long as they wanted.

During the last 30 minutes, Li Wei discussed and clarified all the terms of the contract. He chose a free contract. That is, that he could leave the guild at any time, but if he left within one year, he would have to pay 200 golds for his freedom and would be unable to join any other guilds for one year. There were contracts that bounded players for 1 year to 5 years, the longer the duration, the more resources they were allocated, but Li Wei was only interested in the techniques themselves.

Since they were following the sect system, it was equivalent to having Li Wei join the outer sect. Bright Sun wanted Li Wei to sign a fixed contract, but she was still satisfied that he at least joined Avalanche. Her friend was still in the room when they were discussing, and if she was too harsh, she might end up pushing Li Wei toward Heavenly Garden instead.

With his current contract, Li Wei only had access to the basics such as a room at an inn. His only duty were to participate in the weekly expeditions organized by the guild and to sell part of his resources to them. Since Avalanche was a branch of the Fleeting Clouds Sect, they shared the same trade counter. He could exchange his loot there for contribution points and to show his sincerity, he exchanged half his loot there, obtaining 200 contribution points.

Also, Bright Sun increased his reward for joining the guild to show her sincerity and apologize for the previous offer she made. Instead of receiving 20 gold, he would receive 30. Li Wei did not object.

Li Wei was impatient to try the technique he obtained. Bright Sun readily agreed to lead him to the training center. It coincided with her own schedule since, after a day of hunting, she would usually train her own techniques in the evening. Although training these techniques produced fatigue, the inn's rooms of the city had better recovery rate than the ones at the beginner's town. Even the training center had a 5% fatigue/hour recovery rate.

Li Wei could naturally just train in his own room, but he decided to check out the training center. The Fleeting Clouds Sect permanently rented a large room to allow all the members to train there if they wanted. It was a good opportunity to witness the other techniques of these families. Alternatively, private rooms were also provided by the guild in case someone would like to train their own secret technique.

Bright Sun gladly accompanied him. She kept explaining to Li Wei the different services and facilities provided by the guild. For example, he could repair his weapon at one of the guild's blacksmith with a 20% discount.

Li Wei was not aware that weapons now had a durability characteristic attached to them since he did not read the information booklet yet. But since he played games before, he easily understood that mechanics.

He was also recommended by Bright Sun to pick a profession. Regardless of what classes players picked, they could choose a crafting profession as a secondary role. Various professions were available, ranging from blacksmith and alchemist to musician and cook.

Each of these professions had their own advantages, but these advantages would only be revealed when they reach a certain level of mastery, and naturally, a lot of time needed to be invested to reach that point. Since he thought that these were secondary, Li Wei decided that he would choose his profession later. Right now, his aim was to compete for the leaderboard.

...

At the training center, with their identification crystal, they were allowed into a massive room that looked like a training field. Many players were training in there, some were punching mannequins, some were dodging obstacles while some were simply meditating in silence.

"If you like working in this environment, you can come here. Most people would mind their own business but if you prefer a quieter environment, you can use the private rooms. The basic ones are free, but if you want to have access to more advanced one, then you will have to pay with your own gold or contribution points," explained Bright Sun as she led Li Wei to an empty spot.

Li Wei silently nodded as he watched the nearby players practice. He could see weird movements, some were fast and erratic, while some were very slow and smooth. The scene gave Li Wei some strange vibess. 'It feels like a dojo in martial art movies'

"Good. You should try one set on your own, I will be nearby if you need help," said Bright Sun as she moved a dozen meters away and started her own training session.

Li Wei looked at her for a moment, she was wearing a tight training suit that fitted her body. She started by making stretches. Her movements inadvertedly highlighted her long smooth legs and her plump bottom. Li Wei froze; he had to admit that she had a great figure, the priest robe completely hid most of her features. Just now, all the males in the room had been partially disturbed as she passed near them.

He quickly recollected himself and took out the manual he was given. It contained the Gliding Steps technique. Many drawings and small descriptions were written on the different pages. They represented the different postures he needed to take. Naturally, in the game, everything was simplified to an extent, but the movements still needed to be synchronized.

Having memorized the patterns, Li Wei put back the manual in his inventory. It was a special item that would be destroyed if he died and he would not get a new one if that happened.

He understood why everyone could train in the same room without fear of having their techniques stolen. There were many hidden movements and details in the manual that just could not be witnessed when watching others practice. Besides, they were bound by the contract, forbidding them from sharing the technique with others.

Taking a deep breath, Li Wei started making the movements indicated. Slightly bending his knees, moving his arms to maintain his equilibrium, he started moving his body as mentioned in the manual. It was not just physical movements; he also needed to breathe at the correct moment, depending on the movement he was doing, different types of breaths were required; long ones, short ones, deep or shallow ones.

Li Wei intently focused. It was his first time trying such training and he wanted to perform well. He slowly got used to the rhythm and even felt his heartbeat synchronize with his movements.

After 30 minutes, Li Wei was covered with sweat. He felt his muscles complaining but still resolutely maintained his posture. It was something he did not expect the game to reproduce, 'Does the game also reproduce muscle pain?' thought Li Wei.

And finally, Li Wei completed his set of training. A system prompt popped up in his event log:

[System prompt: You have completed a training cycle of [Gliding Steps]. Completion rate: 89%]

He saw that a new entry in his skill window: [Gliding Steps (15/100)]. These numbers represented the mastery of the skill. It was self-explanatory that he needed to obtain 100 mastery points to obtain the desired skill. He was surprised seeing that number. Did he not need 10 training cycles to obtain the skill? How come he was already 15% through?

As she saw Li Wei finishing his set, Bright Sun approached him. She had also just performed the Gliding Steps but since she started first, she finished before Li Wei.

"So, what do you think about it? Is it easy? What is your completion rate?" asked Bright Sun as she took out a towel to wipe off the sweat off her front head.

Li Wei calmly caught up his breath and answered; "Yes, being a martial artist is not easy. I only have 89% completion rate, unfortunately, I could not reach 100%"

Bright Sun suddenly looked at him with a shocked expression, "What did you say? 89 % completion rate? My god! Do you know what that represents?"

Li Wei did not understand what was so amazing about 89 %, did not that mean that he did not perform the technique correctly but then he quickly realized something as he matched that with the fact that his skill did develop faster than intended.

"Is it really your first time practicing martial arts? The average completion rate is only 70%. Even I can only reach 75%, but it was just your first try and you can already reach 89%?" exclaimed Bright Sun.

She was shocked to learn that Li Wei was so talented, but she could not help but feel somewhat depressed. She herself, practiced martial arts since her young age. Yet, a random stranger she just met could perform the technique's training cycle better than herself.

Li Wei quickly noticed her attitude and tried to cheer her up, "You know, maybe this technique is just more adapted for men. Maybe that is why you have a lower completion rate."

"It is fine, I know very well that I am not very talented for martial arts. No need to cheer me up, I am glad to have recruited someone as talented as you," replied Bright Sun. She was clear about her own talents and limitations, it was normal for people to surpass her.

"No, I mean what I just said," said Li Wei while looking at Bright Sun, "although I am not too sure about myself, I feel that the movements are adapted for men. But of course, it is just my first time trying this, so I might be wrong."

Bright Sun smiled hearing that but quickly responded, "This is fine, Gliding Steps was long perfected by our old patriarch. I doubt that there is anything wrong with it but still thank you for cheering me up! "

"Let's put that behind us. Your fatigue level should be quite high already. Have a good rest. There is a guild expedition tomorrow, you will need to wake up early!" continued Bright Sun as she turned towards the exit.