Chapter 40: Mentor Number One Comes Online

At the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, the morning sun began to climb.

As the players emerged from the underground tunnels, ready to report to Lin Qi and settle their martial arts hall points for the night, they were surprised to find that Lin Qi was not sleeping in the lounge as usual. Instead, he was in a newly renovated sparring room, fiddling with something.

"Master Lin, what are you doing with this mechanical puppet?" Twilight of the Gods approached, filled with a mix of curiosity and anticipation, hoping to trigger some new plot or quest from this NPC.

The mechanical puppet before them was not large, standing about 1.8 meters tall. It looked like a wooden training dummy, with wires connecting it to the generator in the lounge. Its purpose was completely unclear. However, since it was something created by Lin Qi, they assumed a new event must be unfolding.

After making a few final adjustments, Lin Qi turned to the gathering crowd and pointed to the notice board in the training yard.

"Starting today, for the sake of the hall's future development, we are opening up certain disciple training functions and implementing new regulations. We are also introducing 'Hall Contribution Points.' If you don't understand how it works, you can check the notice board."

Faced with these overly autonomous players, Lin Qi had no choice but to bring out the ultimate weapon of any game: a contribution system. Otherwise, he had no idea when his martial arts hall would ever be fully repaired.

Notice One: New hall regulations. No combat is permitted within the premises, and destroying any part of the architecture is strictly prohibited. The first offense will result in a warning and a fine of 200 points; the second, confinement and a fine of 2,000 points; the third will result in immediate expulsion from the hall.

Notice Two: Martial Arts Hall Contribution Points are now active. Unlike hall points, these are a special currency earned only by completing specific tasks.

Notice Three: Skill proficiency testing is now available. Players may spend contribution points to receive a guided evaluation from 'Instructor No. 1.'

For the current players, Instructor No. 1 was a major game-changer. Lin Qi had been struggling with how to handle these bellicose individuals who would damage the hall whenever they were bored. They were damaging the building faster than he could fix it, and they showed no interest in the repair work themselves. This mechanical puppet was the perfect solution. Since these players loved to practice and experiment with techniques learned from other virtual games, he would give them a way to measure their progress.

The mechanical puppet could analyze a player's combat performance, compare it against vast databases of century-old martial arts, and provide a precise score. It was like a martial arts instructor grading a student's exam—even if the exam was one the players had essentially designed themselves. While limited by the available data, it provided enough guidance for the players to refine their self-created techniques.

The crowd gathered at the notice board erupted in excitement.

"Great! After all this time, we finally have a chance to test our skills!"

"But what does 'skill proficiency' mean in the context of Instructor No. 1?"

"It probably refers to our actual combat technique. Physical stats are one thing, but combat ability is another. Still, the guidance is expensive—ten contribution points for one session, while repairing a wall only earns one point."

"At least repair tasks give points. Look at the underground exploration mission; it doesn't give any contribution rewards at all."

The players debated the new features, complaining about the scarcity of contribution points, which effectively forced them to take on repair tasks to earn them.

"Sister Luo, do you think the Master suddenly setting these new rules and opening the contribution system means a new plot line is starting?" Twilight of the Gods asked, looking toward Instructor No. 1 in the sparring room with excitement.

"A new plot?" Luo Wushang scrutinized the notice, considering the implications. "What do you think?"

Repairing the hall had been the main quest set by the game. Adding contribution points—and limiting them to repair tasks—was indeed suspicious.

"Sister Luo, we had that conflict with the White Feather Gang a while ago," Twilight of the Gods whispered. "Now the Master brings out Instructor No. 1, which is clearly designed to test our combat effectiveness. Don't you think we're preparing for a war with the White Feather Gang? Why else test our combat power?"

"That makes sense. We don't have monsters to fight right now, so testing our strength must be the game preparing for the next main combat arc," Fang Zhen agreed. "This game is still in testing; they can't set the opponents too strong, or we'll all get wiped out, but they can't make them too weak, or it won't be a challenge."

"So, they’re using Instructor No. 1 to gauge our current strength to calibrate the future opponents."

"That’s highly likely. I’ve visited game studios before, and they always use a group of elite players for testing," Zhang Qingwei added, looking at Lin Qi, who was finishing his adjustments. "It’s normal for the developers to use us for this. The previous combat lacked challenge, and they probably noticed, so they made Instructor No. 1 to prepare some challenges for us later."

"Damn! Are you guys monsters? You figured all that out?" A Leaf Floating in the Clouds was stunned by their analysis. He had thought this was just a minor update, never imagining the developers had hidden so much depth behind it.

"In that case, we should prepare," Fang Zhen said. "The last mission had good rewards; the next main combat quest will likely be even better. If we perform well, we might finally get our hands on some real weapons."

"Main combat quest?" The Spear-wielder from Beyond the Frontier clenched his fists. "I missed the last one, but this time, I’m going to fight to my heart's content!"

Lin Qi heard none of this. Even if he had, he would only have thought these players were obsessed with fighting. He wasn't some mastermind; he was just a man who wanted his martial arts hall repaired.

...

At the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, in the sparring room.

"Finally, it's calibrated!" After nearly three hours, Lin Qi finished the final settings on Instructor No. 1.

"Who wants to try first?" Lin Qi asked, looking at the players who had each repaired dozens of walls.

"I'll go first," Luo Wushang said, stepping out from the crowd.