Drake logged back into his rented room at The Silver Griffin Inn in Silverhaven, the real-world rest having cleared the profound fatigue from his [Twin Soul Bladesworn] trials. He felt refreshed, his mind sharp, and an undercurrent of excitement thrummed through him. A new hidden class. Powerful new skills and passives. A quest leading to the mysterious [Echoing Forge]. And the constant, looming pressure of the weekly Mirror Duel.
"Alright. First things first. Get a proper feel for these new blades and skills. The trial was one thing, controlled. Real combat will be different."
He immediately unequipped his old [Rare Bandit Chieftain's Blade] and [Rare Guardian's Buckler]. The system prompted him to equip his new class-specific weapons. He selected the [Initiate's Twin Blades]. They materialized in his hands with a soft chime, one in his right, one in his left. They were sleek, dark Alvari alloy, perfectly balanced, and hummed with a faint, stable energy.
He gave them a few experimental swings in the confines of his small inn room. The movements felt different, lighter, faster than his sword-and-shield style, yet requiring a new kind of coordination. The [Dual Intent] passive was likely already subtly at work, making his off-hand feel less like a clumsy appendage.
He then opened his skill interface, meticulously reviewing the abilities and their Skill Completion Rates, all permanently locked by [Eidetic Execution] at the peak he'd achieved during the grueling trials:
[Basic Attack Combo R/L]: Right Hand 100% SCR, Left Hand 82% SCR.[Parry]: 85% SCR.[Twin Fang Strike]: 83% SCR.[Blade Dance]: 81% SCR.
"Right hand basic is perfect, that's my main damage dealer in the combo. Left hand at 82%... that's in the 80-84% SCR tier for combo length, probably capping me around 17 hits before a forced reset. Not bad, but not the infinite chain 100% would allow. Parry at 85% is solid for a Standard Parry, reducing significant damage, but not full negation like a 90%+ Adept Parry or the Perfect Parry I had with Defend. Twin Fang at 83% and Blade Dance at 81% are functional, decent damage, but no special high-SCR effects like staggers or pulls yet."
He considered his most potent passive, [Relentless Assault]. "With the Right Hand hitting 100% SCR, that's +21 stacks per hit. Left Hand at 82% SCR gives +3 stacks. Parry at 85% gives +6 stacks. Twin Fang at 83% gives +4. Blade Dance at 81% gives +2. I can still build stacks very quickly. But... that combo length cap from the Left Hand's 82%... does that impact how long I can maintain max stacks if there's a slight pause during the combo reset?"
The inn room was too small for proper practice. He needed a training dummy. He didn't want to go all the way back to the main Warrior Training Hall yet; he just needed a quiet spot to get a basic feel for the flow. He recalled a small, rarely used training courtyard behind The Silver Griffin, mostly for staff practice. He headed there.
A few basic striking posts stood in the courtyard. Drake approached one. He initiated his [Basic Attack Combo R/L]. Right Hand (100%): SHINK! << Damage Dealt: 81! >>. Left Hand (82%): shink! << Damage Dealt: 29! >> (Factoring in slightly lower base damage from off-hand if applicable, 82% SCR effectiveness, and the first +5% combo damage bonus). << Relentless Assault: +21 Stacks! >> (From R-100%) << Relentless Assault: +3 Stacks! (Total: 24) >> (From L-82%)
He continued the chain: R(100%)-L(82%)-R(100%)-L(82%)... His attack speed visibly increased as [Relentless Assault] stacks climbed. The +5% damage bonus per hit from the combo skill itself also began to accumulate, making each successive blow slightly stronger. The "Echoing Strikes" set bonus occasionally proced, a phantom image of one blade striking alongside the other for a small burst of extra damage.
<< ...Relentless Assault: 350 Stacks! ... >> His blades were a blur. The damage numbers on the dummy were impressive. But then, after the 17th hit (the cap for the 80-84% SCR tier his 82% Left Hand fell into): << COMBO LIMIT REACHED (Lowest SCR in sequence: 82%)! Stacking Damage Reset! Attack Cooldown (1s)! >>
The furious rhythm paused for that one second. His [Relentless Assault] stacks, which had been nearing 500, didn't drop immediately due to the 5-second duration, but the flow was broken. He had to re-initiate the combo.
"There it is. That 1-second forced pause after the combo cap. If I'm fighting something mobile, or if there's an environmental hazard, that one second could be enough for Relentless Assault stacks to drop if I can't re-engage instantly. And the +5% damage per hit resets to zero every ~17 hits. If my left hand was 100%, the combo would be infinite, the +5% would stack indefinitely, and Relentless Assault would never risk dropping during a reset."
A flicker of doubt. His new class felt incredibly powerful, yes. But was it perfectly optimized with these current SCR baselines? The 82% Left Hand, the 85% Parry, the low 80s on his AoE and burst... they were functional, far better than an average player's fluctuating execution. But he wasn't average. His talent demanded striving for 100% on everything eventually.
"Are these baselines 'good enough' for now? Or should I go back to the Training Hall and grind them higher before starting Jian's quest for the Echoing Forge? Parry to 90%+ for Adept Parry (full negation) would be huge. Getting Left Hand to 90%+ would extend the combo significantly. But that kind of grind... it took hours for each skill in the trial. Doing it for three more skills, especially the Left Hand basic... that could take days of dedicated, mind-numbing practice."
He weighed his options. The desire to progress Jian's quest, to find the Echoing Forge and understand the true nature of his blades and the Hilt, was strong. But venturing into unknown, potentially high-level territory with suboptimal core skills felt risky, inefficient.
"I need data. Real combat data. How does this feel against live, moving targets? How quickly do the stacks drop in a real fight with these short combo resets? Can I manage the stamina costs of the new skills effectively? Practicing on dummies is one thing, but a real battle is the true test."
The decision formed. Further dedicated SCR grinding in the Training Hall could wait, just for a bit. He needed a field test.
Putting away his [Initiate's Twin Blades] for a moment, Drake left the inn's quiet courtyard. He strode through the bustling streets of Silverhaven, not towards the Training Hall this time, but towards the southern gate, the one leading out into the Silverwood Foothills – a Level 20-22 zone he'd briefly touched upon before finding the Alvari Watchtower.
"Silverwood Foothills. Level 20-22 mobs. Perfect proving ground. Let's see what this Twin Soul Bladesworn can really do in the wild, warts and all. Then I'll know if more grinding is immediately necessary, or if I can push on with the quest."