21 Skill (1/2)

”Ah! Its you!” Li Ming exclaimed! Li Ming was so shocked that he even dropped the braised fish ball skewer that he was holding onto as he got up and pointed at the old man in surprise.

”Oho! Indeed, it is I!” the old man chuckled as he stroked his scruffy beard.

”Thank you so much for teaching me the spear!” Li Ming bowed in gratitude remembered that he vowed to thank the old man if he ever met him again, ”Because of that, I was able to get recruited to a professional team!”

”Don't'cha worry 'bout it!” the old man laughed, ”It is the duty of the older generation to teach the younger generation! But with just the basic forms of the spear, you were able to join a team? How is that possible? Wouldn't every youngster come running to me at this point?”

The old man chuckled to himself proudly, as if he was anticipating having an army of students under him.

”Oh, actually, I was able to combine your pointers on the spear as well as my previous experience as a mage in the game to become a versatile assassin!” Li Ming explained, ”A mage is like a magician that can shoot out projectiles like balls of fire and blades of wind.”

The old man suddenly looked very interested.

”Hm? If mages can perform such feats, why would you or anyone use melee weapons?”

”Well,” Li Ming was worried. He didn't know if he wanted to dive too deeply into this topic. ”To cast a powerful spell, a mage would need time to chant and set up the spell. For me, I use very weak spells that require little to no time to chant in combination with the spear. I use the spells to disrupt the enemy's pace and form while my spear cuts through them.”

Li Ming thought that this explanation was enough. After all, he explained it quite well. He wasn't lying either. his ”Shunpo” and ”On the Hunt” abilities were definitely used to interrupt the enemy's pacing, but they definitely weren't spells that people normally thought of when they thought of a mage.

However, the old man grew more interested.

”Tell me more!” he demanded.

But instead of telling him, Li Ming instead pulled out his phone and pulled up a recording of the match he had against MeiChie. This was a third person view point, in which he could see the health of both parties as well as all their abilities and resources. He could also see them when they were in stealth, as they appeared as faded images of themselves when they were in stealth.

”So the chara-”

”Shush!” the old man said as he repositioned the phone to see better.

The old man watched the replay in silence with a look of interest about him the whole time. After the video was done, he closed his eyes while as he sat in deep thought. When he opened them again, Li Ming was expecting him to talk about his spearmanship or for the old man to ask about the game. Instead, the old man just pressed on the replay button.

This time, he paused the video from time to time. He was carefully eyeing Li Ming's character. He was paying attention to Li Ming's spear. Every time he paused the video, he would close his eyes, as if he was trying to picture Li Ming's spear in action in his mind. Finally, he was finished with the video.

”You are truly skilled, young man.” He concluded.

”Huh?”

”In this video, your spear was extremely vicious and persistent.” the old man explained, ”It is like the ocean's waves as it comes crashing down while your 'spells' are like the rising waves that unsettles a ship. This style is truly a work of art.”

”...” Li Ming had no response to this. He knew that this old man was skilled in martial arts, but he didn't expect to be complimented from him just watching a single video. However, before he could thank him, the old man continued on.

”However, this is not the style of a dragon. A dragon is domineering and unyielding. A dragon will never be suppressed and will always have the upper hand.” the old man shook his head, ”What you displayed here was more akin to a phoenix. Even when you are at the lowest point you will still rise again. Truly a magnificent sight.”