Chapter 11 It Seems Something is Still Missing

Zhao Haiping read the post over and over again and couldn't help but get energized.

Exactly, this is the standard players should have!

Finally, someone had made some constructive guesses about the game mechanics.

So, the game doesn't provide any quest guidelines because all the content in this instance is based on historical models?

Therefore, the players' goal in the instance is simple, merely to try to act as key historical figures from that time, perform similar actions, and ultimately clear the instance.

For example, in the assassin instance, you'd play as Nie Rang, and in the soldier instance, you'd be a common soldier under General Geng.

In the instance, players could obtain physical abilities similar to those historical figures, coupled with a special talent skill to compensate for any shortcomings.

Is it really completely impossible to clear the instance?

Originally, Zhao Haiping doubted this, since, from his own experience, the game's difficulty was indeed very high, but after learning that these were real historical events, he changed his mind.

Since someone in history had already done it once, it wasn't entirely impossible for players either!

Take the first instance "Assassinate the King" for example, Nie Rang had only one chance back then, can you imagine the psychological pressure?

But players not only have talent skills, they can also do their homework, copy others, and try again and again until they succeed.

Thinking this way, the difficulty didn't seem so outrageous anymore.

And Zhao Haiping also knew what he should do during the day, although it was tough not being able to play "Dark Sand" due to his addiction, he could collect some historical data during the daytime!

First, know how the historical figures handled crises, mimic them, train more on his weaknesses, get a matching talent skill, and with several attempts, there's still a good chance to clear the instance.

With this thought, Zhao Haiping set a goal.

He bookmarked the post and followed the user "Chu Song" who said he would continue to update the content in this thread. Zhao Haiping felt he could directly copy the homework later when dealing with instances like the scholar instance which he definitely couldn't pass with his limited intellect.

Then, Zhao Haiping began searching for historical material related to the instance "Achieving Glory Alone."

...

At 10 p.m.,

Zhao Haiping re-entered the world of "Dark Sand."

"I have prepared well today, I must find a way to clear the game!

...If not clear it, at least pass the second stage!"

Zhao Haiping was originally full of ambition, but when he thought about the game's third stage after the second stage, he felt discouraged.

Because after researching the relevant historical data, he found that the eminent General Geng Zhong had defended the northwest borders for over forty years until all the soldiers were gray-haired, and only seventy-four steadfast individuals awaited the arrival of reinforcements and ultimately survived.

During the second stage, the soldiers' ages were around their forties and fifties, clearly almost twenty years away from being "gray-haired."

So, Zhao Haiping guessed that the instance likely had a third stage, only by becoming one of those seventy-four gray-haired survivors, waiting for reinforcements, could he possibly clear the instance eventually.

Immediately after learning about this storyline, Zhao Haiping felt desperate, as he thought reaching the second stage was already as difficult as climbing to the heavens, and it was unimaginable how tough the third stage would be.

He directly entered the second stage of the game and adeptly chose the "Endure Hunger" talent skill.

Because he had died many times before and tried many skills, he discovered that the game's early talent options were not very abundant, going back and forth just those few.

From comprehensive tests, enduring hunger still seemed to be the best talent for countering the negative state of hunger in the second stage.

For a game that pigeonholes players, fewer skills would definitely lead to relatively monotonous gameplay, but Zhao Haiping thought this might be a special mechanism of the beginner instance.

The purpose of the beginner instance was surely to guide players to better understand the gameplay, and providing too many options could actually fail to guide effectively.

Players trying one after another, not even seeing the entire skill library, would definitely play confusedly.

Therefore, in the beginner instance phase, narrowing down the skill library and including some targeted talent skills in it would serve as a better guide.

As for the official content or large instances that would come later, they should unlock more talents, right?

He reentered the game.

Just like the night before, the Beidi barbarian army was pressing the border, and the soldiers of Great Chu were fighting this city defense battle hungry and thirsty.

The soldier beside him passed over the foul-smelling rag bag again.

Zhao Haiping swiftly dodged to the side, allowing someone who needed it more to take it.

After looking up some information, he had a rough idea of what was in the bag.

According to historical records, "the Di People blocked the streams below the city, and the officers and soldiers, thirsty and weary, drank juices squeezed from horse dung."

This meant that the bag contained horse dung and many soldiers, desperate from extreme thirst, could only drink the foul water extracted from the dung.

Zhao Haiping definitely had no courage to try such a thing, which is why he firmly chose the talent "Endure Hunger."

Soon, the thundering sound of war drums rose from beneath the city once again as the Beidi barbarians launched another attack!

Zhao Haiping was fully mentally prepared.

He found that dying repeatedly in the game, he had gradually adapted.

Moreover, with each death, his combat skills improved.

Although it was always the same body, that body held muscle memories about fighting, which Zhao Haiping activated gradually through continuous combat.

Moreover, the almost enlightening effect he experienced after using Nie Rang's body in the first instance and obtaining "Mastery of Swordsmanship" also gave a boost to Zhao Haiping's combat skills.

Dying over and over, although monotonous and dull, he found that he did not suffer much and actually enjoyed it.

He naturally remained in a completely engrossed state and could feel his skills improving with every fight, getting him a step closer to clearing the game.

Before he knew it, several more hours had passed.

As General Geng Zhong issued a desperate roar once more, the Beidi barbarians surged forward and sent Zhao Haiping back to the starting point.

"I can feel the improvement, but…

"It still seems very hard!

"I can't see any hope of passing the second stage, let alone the third."

Zhao Haiping fell into deep thought again.

After such a long period of training, he could feel that his combat skills had significantly improved.

He could now handle two enemies simultaneously without falling behind, which was no small feat given his state of hunger and thirst.

Zhao Haiping's combat experience was improving rapidly, likely because of some hidden special mechanism in the game—at least, the entire combat system was much simpler than in reality.

But it was precisely because he had quickly sensed the power ceiling of this current instance that Zhao Haiping began to doubt his situation.

He couldn't see any hope of winning at all!

The body had its limits; defeating one barbarian might be easy, but what about two, three, or even four?

Thinking of defending the city, let alone fighting four, it would be tough even with forty.

Unless they gave a group buff to all the soldiers of Great Chu so that everyone could fight two at a time, that might stand a chance.

"Strange, it feels utterly unwinnable.

"History records that they held it, didn't they?

"Has the game deliberately increased the difficulty, or is the script not following historical events exactly?

"It's unlikely to be the former since this is just a novice instance and shouldn't be so difficult.

"So, does the true historical record contain some factors I have overlooked?"

Zhao Haiping began recalling the information he had looked up during the day.