There's a big problem with dreams in this world.

Lu Qing opened the dagger upgrade page and began reading it page by page.

There isn't much text; most of the time, it's filled with various patterns that look as if they were printed on, and they're very neat.

Unlike the basic dagger manual, which focuses on techniques for attacking or striking with a dagger, this advanced dagger manual primarily covers how to deal with enemies using various weapons.

These are all based on experience. In addition, there are methods to deal with being surrounded by multiple enemies, and how to use weapons to deflect the opponent's attacks.

After finishing the entire book, Lu Qing couldn't help but show a puzzled expression.

Although the book seemed helpful to her while she was reading it, Lu Qing felt somewhat lost after finishing it.

Unlike the basic dagger manual, this book doesn't cover training methods at all; it's all about experience and strategies for dealing with different enemies and scenarios.

There are advanced techniques, but they were only described briefly.

For example, the book describes how to deflect the force of an enemy's weapon attack with a dagger, but it doesn't explain exactly how to do it.

After reading it, I had a lot of new knowledge in my mind. Although I remembered a lot of it, it's questionable whether I can use it in actual combat.

Something seems off, but upon closer inspection, it doesn't seem wrong.

After all, this kind of thing cannot be described in detail in words. The direction of the enemy's sword strike and the different attack trajectories will cause changes when using advanced techniques.

Ultimately, these skills must be learned little by little through practical experience. This book merely provides experience and ideas for advanced techniques; whether you can put them into practice depends on yourself.

Lu Qing put the book "Advanced Daggers" back on the table and picked up the book "Throwing Knife Mastery".

There's not much to say. The throwing knife specialization and dagger advancement are similar. To put it simply, throwing weapons are all about being more accurate and ruthless.

However, the throwing knife specialization offers a technique for high-speed weapon throwing, which allows you to throw a large number of knives in a short period of time.

Besides these, there are other outrageous techniques, such as using another throwing knife to attack the knife thrown in front, causing the knives to collide with each other in mid-air and change their trajectory.

However, according to the book, this technique requires brainpower, and people with insufficient calculation ability cannot use it.

Of course, if you're so experienced that you don't need to calculate to know how to throw it, that's a different story.

"Two hours left."

After finishing reading the throwing knife specialization guide, Lu Qing glanced at the time and said...

She only has the Fancy Daggers book left to read. As for the books on Dagger Advancement and Throwing Knife Mastery, after reading them once, there's no need to read them again anytime soon.

"is that so......."

Lu Qing sat on the wooden chair, looking at the fancy dagger skill book on the table while using her right hand to spin the mithril dagger in her palm.

The skill of fancy daggers was surprisingly simple; she easily performed all the movements described in the book.

It didn't take long at all. After Lu Qing finished reading the entire book while trying it out, her skill proficiency in fancy daggers had reached 80%.

She could easily perform the actions described in the book, and they looked very impressive. As for why she hadn't reached 100% proficiency, Lu Qing thought it was because she wasn't yet skilled enough to use the skill.

These movements were all performed by her own hands according to the contents of the book. She hadn't yet reached the level of muscle memory, meaning she didn't need to think much; her fingers could subconsciously control the dagger to perform fancy dagger movements.

"One hour left."

Glancing at the time, Lu Qing went to the notice board.

I opened the game forum, found the post about the official event in my favorites, and clicked on it.

Scroll to the very bottom of the post; there is a numbered line there.

This is the dream number for the dream realm we'll be entering for this event. After Lu Qing clicked on it, the interface redirected to the [Dream Space] module.

[Dream Name: ??? (To be displayed after the event officially begins)]

[Dream Difficulty: Gray Five Stars]

【? ? ? 】

[Main objective: ???]

Secondary objective: ???

Ticket Price: 1 Dream Coin

[Would you like to purchase the Artificial Dream? Tickets cost 1 Dream Coin.]

【whether】

[Note: Purchasing this ticket grants you access to the official newcomer event, the [Newcomer Showdown]. For details, please visit the official game forum address: XXXXXXX]

After selecting "Yes", Lu Qing had one Dream Coin deducted, and then a metal card appeared on the wooden table in the cabin.

Lu Qing picked up the card and examined it carefully.

The material feels like metal and has a slightly cool feel. There are no patterns on the card, only dark red metallic lines that emit a faint red glow, making it look like fluorescent powder.

Of course, it can't be used yet, since the event hasn't started.

After thinking for a moment, Lu Qing returned to the training room, preparing to spar with the wooden man again within the next hour.

As for that wasted hour, so be it. She needs to get a good ranking in the upcoming activities, so improving her skills as soon as possible is the most important thing.

After spending another 10 Dream Coins to adjust the wooden dummy's level to 1.5, Lu Qing, wielding a wooden dagger and a wooden throwing knife, activated Eagle Eye and began fighting her opponent.

Ten minutes later.

[Dagger proficiency increased by 20%!]

[Dagger advanced skills have been unlocked!]

Current skill: Dagger Advancement (Learning: 20%)

Lu Qing glanced casually at the notice board and continued fighting with the wooden figure.

Forty minutes later.

[Throwing knife mastery skill proficiency increased by 20%!]

[Throwing knife mastery skill unlocked!]

Current skill: Throwing Knife Mastery (Under Learning: 20%)

------------

Night City: The Legend of the Headless Horseman

------------

Chapter 122: The City of Night: The Legend of the Headless Horseman

Player ID: Stranger

[Level: 5 (Gray)]

【Strength: 11】

[Agility: 14]

[Physical Fitness: 17]

【Spirit: 15】

[Skills: Basic Dagger (White), Dagger Throwing (White), Basic Dance (White), Basic Singing (White), Contract: Ripper's Throwing Knife (White), Basic Disguise (White), Body Manipulation (Blue), Wilderness Walk - Forest 20%, Noble Etiquette 20%, Throwing Knife Mastery 20%, Dagger Advancement 20%, Ripper Throwing Knife Technique 40%, Basic Acting 40%, Fancy Dagger 80%.]

[Pseudo: Basic Climbing (White), Basic Assassination (White), Basic Concealment (White), Low-Level Eagle Vision (White), Basic Swordsmanship (White), Basic Parkour (White), Basic Riding (White)]

[Card Slot: The Eagle of Florence]

[Contract: Raven Wayne]

"It feels like I have so many more skills now," Lu Qing thought, looking at her own attribute panel.

She didn't know how many skills the other players possessed, but she figured they probably didn't have much more than her.

After all, besides the skills learned in the dungeons, Lu Qing also successfully learned some skills by relying on the hut.

Other players don't have a small house like hers, and she can read skill books after returning to the dream world, so it must be quite difficult to improve her skill proficiency.

With more than twenty minutes left before the event started, she lost interest in continuing to fight the wooden figure. After picking up the kerosene lamp from the ground, she returned to the hut and sat on a wooden chair to wait quietly.

Just five minutes after Lu Qing stopped training, Fang Qingrou's avatar lit up in the friends list.

[Loves Donuts: The event is about to start, and I'm feeling a little nervous.]

[Stranger: What's there to be nervous about?]

[Loves Donuts: This is a live stream! So many people are watching this event. I'm getting nervous just thinking about how many people will be watching.]

Looking at the message Fang Qingrou sent, Lu Qing rolled her eyes speechlessly and typed:

[Stranger: What's there to be nervous about? If you're going to participate in this event, you should at least prepare yourself mentally. It's about to start, what are you saying?]

[Loves donuts: Waaaaah, Little Deer, you're mean to me!]

[Stranger:........]

After chatting with Fang Qingrou for a while, the time for the event to start was drawing closer. With only one minute left before the event officially began, Lu Qing sent a message to Fang Qingrou:

[Stranger: I'm hanging up now, the event's about to start, see you inside.]

Upon seeing Lu Qing's message, Fang Qingrou glanced at the time and then sent a message in return:

[Loves donuts: Okay, see you inside.]

After closing the chat window, Lu Qing picked up the event ticket; the countdown on it now had less than thirty seconds left.

Lu Qing waited quietly, her icy blue eyes fixed on the countdown on the card.

The moment the countdown on the card reached zero, a row of dark red, semi-transparent windows appeared above the card.

[Enter the Artificial Dream: Night City: The Legend of the Headless Horseman?]

【whether】

Not having time to think about the name of the dream instance, Lu Qing was afraid that she would miss the start time of the event while thinking, so she chose the "Yes" option without hesitation.

The next moment, space distorted, and the world before her eyes shattered. Lu Qing felt as if she had lost her sight and could not see any light.

After a moment of confusion, when Lu Qing came to her senses, she found herself in a vast desert filled with yellow sand.

Welcome to the dream world. This is a large-scale, multi-person dream. The dream content is as follows.

[Dream Title: Night City: The Legend of the Headless Horseman]