Chapter Fourteen: Fundamental Skills

Logging into the game, Lin Mu reappeared at the spot where he had logged off.

The current date in Mythical Three Kingdoms was January 5th, 180 AD, early morning.

He glanced at the population attribute of his territory—323 people. The influx of refugees and displaced persons had just refreshed, adding another 160 to the population.

Lin Mu skimmed through the newly arrived refugees and migrants, searching for any with high potential. As for others with special talents, he trusted Chang Yin to assign them appropriately based on their abilities or aptitudes.

At present, Lin Mu intended to focus primarily on military affairs. He wanted to train soldiers; after all, five days had passed since the server opened, yet he was still only at level 2 (0%), having leveled up solely from system rewards.

He assumed other players had made some progress in levels, though probably not much, fully aware of how challenging leveling up was in Mythical Three Kingdoms.

Players had various ways to gain experience—hunting fierce beasts in the wild, training in the official system barracks, engaging in production work like mining, logging, and quarrying, or managing internal affairs of their territories. The options were rich and diverse, catering to personal preferences.

Lin Mu’s path was to develop generals. Although the system didn’t directly offer this choice, once a player decided to increase attributes aligned with combat, the system would lean in that direction.

His highest attribute was currently martial prowess, so he was by default considered a general. Only when officially changing occupation to a junior general would the system formally recognize it.

To become a junior general, three conditions were required: reaching level 10, mastering basic internal skill, and possessing either a junior barracks’ general transfer slot or a “General Transfer Order.”

If the latter two weren’t met but the player reached level 10, they could first transfer to a first-tier soldier; later, once conditions were met, they could transfer to a general.

Reaching level 10 early on was relatively easy, but acquiring basic internal skill and the General Transfer Order was more difficult.

Both items were available in the system’s official market but were expensive—basic internal skill cost 10 gold coins (100,000 copper coins), while the General Transfer Order was even pricier at 30 gold coins. Players rarely had over 1,000 copper coins in their pockets; they had to save slowly or hunt bosses outside for a chance to find drops.

Lin Mu was unsure of the current exchange rate between copper coins and real money on the black market but estimated, based on experience, around 10 copper coins to 13 yuan. Speculators on the black market adjusted the rate frequently, causing fluctuations. Eventually, it generally stabilized between 10 copper coins per 20 yuan because early-stage players desperately needed copper coins, and large financial groups were willing to invest heavily to secure early advantages—hence the high value of copper coins.

For ordinary players, converting copper coins into real money was practical in the early stages.

The Han Dynasty’s currency didn’t drop from wild beasts in the field, unlike many virtual games where monsters dropped currency.

Most circulating currency was held by native NPCs, a significant reason limiting players’ power growth.

Without money, players couldn’t buy weapons, recovery pills, or food—these were swords hanging over their heads. Overcoming these obstacles was necessary for faster development.

Players started with 500 copper coins gifted by the system, which was generous.

Typically, players consumed at least five units of food daily, costing around 25 copper coins at market price. If they didn’t earn money within 20 days, starvation was inevitable. Starting players only had rough cloth clothes and shoes; wanting better gear meant spending money. Without money, it was game over.

Hence, early on, many players spent their copper coins on weapons and equipment, neglecting food, leading to many starving to death and becoming roadside bones.

Thanks to the system-gifted gathering skill, players could hunt wild monsters and collect 1-2 units of meat from corpses, which could be sold at official shops or noble-run taverns for some grain—still manageable.

Meat was slightly more expensive than staples like rice and wheat.

Players with some capability often gathered friends to level up together, avoiding starvation.

However, because Mythical Three Kingdoms featured many beautiful scenery spots, some leisurely players lingered too long and starved. The penalty for death was losing one level, or remaining at zero if already at level zero.

Death penalties were severe in Mythical Three Kingdoms. The deity Nüwa had not yet updated the system; currently, death caused only a one-level loss. Later updates would wipe all progress upon death, making players cherish their lives.

In every county’s temple, white light continuously flashed—signs of players resurrecting after death.

Lin Mu quickly scanned his territory’s residents’ attributes and was surprised to find one with relatively high potential.

Name: Zhang Xiaohu
Potential: 8th rank
Loyalty: 80
Occupation: None
Reputation: 0
Identity: Villager of True Dragon Village
Merit: 0
Level: 0 (0%)
Command: 5
Martial Prowess: 9
Intelligence: 6
Politics: 7
Combat Power: 900
Leadership: 500
Divine Strategy Power: 600
Internal Affairs Efficiency: 7%
Stamina: 100
Speed: 10
Defense: 1
Morale: 60
Talent: None
Skills: None
Specialty: None
Equipment: Cloth clothes, cloth shoes, wooden stick
Wealth: 14 copper coins

These were the normal attributes for an average character; Feng Zhong and Chang Yin’s stats were extraordinary—comparing oneself to others could be disheartening.

Though Zhang Xiaohu lacked talents, specialties, or skills, his high potential brought significant benefits.

He was like a golden blank canvas awaiting Lin Mu to paint his future.

Zhang Xiaohu was a teenager of seventeen or eighteen, not yet twenty, thus unadorned with the coming-of-age cap, as per Han customs. Though late in martial training, diligence could compensate. With guidance from Lin Mu and Feng Zhong, Xiaohu’s future was boundless, given his talent.

Lin Mu called Xiaohu and prepared to level up together.

He recalled the junior barracks he had assigned residents to build yesterday should be ready today. Basic buildings like junior barracks constructed quickly.

Lin Mu’s junior barracks was complete and ready for training; both he and Zhang Xiaohu could train there.

He led Xiaohu to the barracks.

The junior barracks was modest, accommodating about 100 trainees. His territory’s population was small, and he did not plan to convert all residents into soldiers. With such a good starting point, Lin Mu set strict standards for future development. He intended to form elite troops with at least 6th rank potential. If population increased, 5th rank residents could serve as city guards or patrol soldiers.

Main combat troops must be 6th rank or above. After all, his territory could boost residents’ potential by one rank.

Lin Mu roughly knew the spawn rates of NPCs with different potentials in Mythical Three Kingdoms.

He remembered that the chance of spawning NPCs above 8th rank was about 0.01%, one in ten thousand—extremely rare. Lin Mu didn’t fully agree with this, as many players’ statistics were based on their own territories, often built with lower-level village construction orders, reducing the chance of high-potential NPCs. Now, with his divine-level village order, the probability of spawning above 8th rank NPCs must be higher, though by how much he couldn’t say. For example, on just the second day, a 7th rank NPC named Xiaohu appeared. With divine-level territory attribute boosts, Xiaohu’s potential was already 8th rank—an impressive enhancement.

The spawn rate for 6th and 7th rank NPCs was about 5%, for 4th and 5th rank around 20%, with the remainder 2nd to 4th rank—forming the majority of the population across the land.

The 1st rank potential NPCs were less common, about 5%, typically elderly, weak, or ill, with no value.

In the past two days, no 1st or 2nd rank NPCs had appeared in Lin Mu’s territory—all were 3rd rank or higher; most were 4th and 5th rank, none at 6th rank, but the 7th rank Xiaohu emerged and, with territory boosts, reached 8th rank, a formidable upgrade.

Pushing open the barracks doors, the place was empty. At the center were various wooden dummies used for training soldier skills—extremely durable and sturdy.

Name: Junior Camphor Wood Training Dummy
Grade: Common
Feature: Territory building tool
Attribute: Durability +1000; automatically restores durability when unused
Description: Training dummy included with junior barracks; no training speed bonus but already excellent—cherish it.

The wooden dummies occupied the courtyard center, and no other equipment was present—very rudimentary. Lin Mu recalled how different this was from previous barracks training grounds.

No matter, the beginning was always hard, and only two people were here anyway.

Lin Mu and Xiaohu entered the camp. The system granted some wooden weapons—wooden spears, wooden swords—ineffective against beasts but suitable for training.

“Xiaohu, what weapon are you planning to use?” Lin Mu asked the shy and reserved youth beside him.

“Ah, my lord, I…I like to use the sword!” Xiaohu answered nervously.

“Heh, Xiaohu, don’t be nervous. I’m not going to eat you—why be afraid?” Lin Mu chuckled.

He admired this fresh-faced youth; although shy now, he believed with rigorous and persistent military training, Xiaohu would change. He seemed to see his former self in him.

“Since you like the sword, then choose ‘Basic Swordsmanship’ as your primary specialty and ‘Basic Archery’ as your secondary,” Lin Mu decided for him.

Mythical Three Kingdoms offered many specialties for generals—swordsmanship, spear techniques, saber skills, and more. Different weapons had different specialties. The higher the specialty’s rank, the greater its combat effectiveness. Each specialty had proficiency levels from beginner to master: Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, Expert, Master, Grandmaster, Divine—seven stages, each enhancing attributes differently. Different specialties also provided various bonus effects. Lin Mu didn’t know all specific data but was familiar with most common specialties.

Each specialty’s rank had tiers from highest to lowest: Heavenly, Earthly, Mysterious, Yellow, Advanced, Intermediate, Basic.

The rank determined the specialty’s potential, while proficiency level reflected mastery.

Xiaohu’s specialties chosen, Lin Mu made his own choice. In his past life, he wielded a spear as his main weapon; now he decided to use spear and bow. Thus, his main specialties would be “Basic Spear Techniques” and “Basic Archery.”

Lin Mu had only recently been reborn. From the fierce wars against Yinglong to now, only a few days had passed. His strength had changed dramatically, and he was still adjusting—he was not yet a master; sudden changes required time.

To the right of the barracks was a room storing weapons and equipment. It contained training weapons—wooden spears, bows, swords, and knives. These were training gear, not adding combat power and inflicting minimal damage, not suitable for actual combat.

Lin Mu and Xiaohu took wooden spears and swords and began training on the dummies—Lin Mu’s first training session since rebirth.