"I'll call you 'Yuǎnfāng'. You can call me Miaozi or A-Miao," Li Miao said casually.
They made a simple exchange of names.
Of course, Li Miao used an alias—he wasn't dumb enough to use his real name in a full-immersion game.
"I'll call you Li Miao then," Yuǎnfāng replied.
"Whatever works."
"Oh right—how did you get into this game? There should be very few slots. My roommate couldn't enter at all." Li Miao couldn't help asking.
"I saw it while browsing the marketplace… so I clicked it, and I got in." Yuǎnfāng said.
Li Miao scratched his head.
So the slots were… randomized?
"Forget it—doesn't matter."
He stood, lifting his rusty starting weapon.
He didn't act arrogant. Instead, he admitted honestly,
"I've only played for a short while myself. I'm not a pro or anything—just picked up the basics. Let's learn from each other and get stronger together."
"That still counts as being a pro. Your gear definitely isn't beginner-tier," Yuǎnfāng said with a polite smile.
"No no, nothing like that…"
Li Miao chuckled—but with a tiny hint of guilt.
Could he say it was actually given by the Candlekeeper?
Nope. Definitely not.
"Alright, I'll walk you through the core mechanics and some important basics of this game."
"Okay."
Yuǎnfāng nodded earnestly.
Seeing that eager, humble expression, Li Miao felt… a little smug.
It felt pretty damn good to be the experienced one.
"Alright—no more nonsense. Let's get into it."
"First, this Spirit Candle—it's extremely important. It's your respawn point and healing point…"
"Then the most important part of combat—dodging and striking…"
After thinking for a moment, Li Miao began explaining everything in detail.
Yuǎnfāng listened seriously, nodding from time to time.
When they reached the combat part, Li Miao suddenly remembered something and asked,
"Oh yeah, Yuǎnfāng—what's your talent and starting skill?"
As soon as the question left his mouth, he realized it was a bit intrusive.
So he quickly listed his own talent and skill first.
But Yuǎnfāng didn't mind.
"My talent is [Diligence]—I learn skills faster. Also gives +1 Spirit."
Both started with the same skill: [Dodge]—likely the universal starting skill.
"Spirit stat, huh…"
Li Miao nodded. He had no idea what Spirit did, so he didn't pursue the topic.
"Alright, go spend your unused stat points at the candle. Then we'll go kill some mobs and level you up."
But Yuǎnfāng suddenly asked:
"Do I have to spend my stat points now? Can I save them for later?"
Li Miao froze.
Now that he thought about it…
Maybe?
Did they have to?
He had only added his because the Candlekeeper told him to—he never questioned it.
"Honestly, I don't know. Try going outside without spending points?"
That caught his interest too.
Yuǎnfāng nodded, walked straight out of the cave, and glanced back.
Li Miao went silent.
…If he had known, he wouldn't have dumped his points immediately.
Five points—five!
He only got one per level…
Sure, the Candlekeeper said stat resets were possible,
but that function wasn't even unlocked yet…
Still, he didn't dwell on it for long.
He walked out and joined up with Yuǎnfāng.
"If you're not adding points now, be extra careful when fighting. These monsters hit hard."
Yuǎnfāng nodded obediently.
From the beginning until now, he hadn't ignored a single word Li Miao said—
none of that impatient "gamer monkey brain."
"I'll show you a demo first—watch me kill a murloc. Then you can practice."
"You can check their stats first."
Li Miao picked up a stone and grinned.
"Yuǎnfāng, Spirit Candle is different from every other VR game.
The physics and logic feel too real—I haven't found any bugs so far."
"For example, this rock—no item info, yet you can pick it up, and hitting monsters actually pulls aggro."
"Watch—"
"Ha!"
He yelled and hurled the stone at a murloc's head.
He missed.
"Uh… just logged in, hands aren't warmed up. One more time."
He cleared his throat awkwardly.
He readjusted, focused—threw again.
This time—perfect hit.
"ROAR!"
The dumb Tidemire Murloc took the bait and charged straight at him.
Li Miao didn't mess up this time.
One smooth roll to the side—
One clean beheading strike!
[You have slain: Tidemire Murloc]
"Amazing," Yuǎnfāng praised sincerely.
Li Miao straightened his back with pride.
After all, he was the first player in the game. How could he not perform?
"Thanks, Li Miao. What you taught me was really enlightening."
Yuǎnfāng lifted a stone and bowed slightly in gratitude.
The praise made Li Miao's ego swell a little.
So he might actually be… the creator of the "stone pulling technique," huh?
"Practice dodging and striking first," Li Miao said, suddenly serious.
"Get comfortable with it, then jump straight into real combat."
"No matter how much you practice, nothing beats a live fight.
If your mental fortitude sucks, a single monster pounce will make you forget everything."
"You won't die anyway, and the pain is toned down. Just go for it."
He shared everything he knew—not because he liked being flattered.
First, the Candlekeeper gave him the quest.
Second, they were both first-generation players.
Soon they'd be entering the "early game exploration" phase—
cooperation was key.
Hoarding knowledge would only slow them down.
"Oh right—the Candlekeeper gave you a weapon, right?"
Li Miao asked when he noticed Yuǎnfāng had nothing in his hands.
"Yes."
Still staring at the stone in thought, Yuǎnfāng pulled out a dagger from behind him.
"Why do you have a dagger? Isn't the starter weapon supposed to be a knife?" Li Miao asked, surprised.
"I asked the Candlekeeper if I could change it.
He showed me a selection, and I picked the dagger."
"…"
Li Miao felt foolish.
This was a near-real VR game—why was he still bound by old game mindset?
Soon, Yuǎnfāng started practicing dodges and attack motions.
Seeing this, Li Miao said nothing more and went back to slaughtering murlocs.