Practice Makes Perfect

Just as I was ecstatic, another prompt icon popped up.

[Quest Triggered: Perfectionism (Rank E)! Quest Objective: Level up Basic Repair skill to Lv. 4. Quest Reward: +2000 Character EXP.]

"Woohoo~~"

I couldn't help but laugh. The surprises came too quickly. While unlocking my sub-profession and gaining its skills, I even triggered a daily quest. Even though it was just a lowly Rank E quest...

But even a mosquito's leg is still meat; a beggar can't be picky about stale rice!!

At this moment, when I opened my skill panel, I could see that the Production Skill EXP bar already had 300 points.

The skill proficiency system in Star Abyss is a bit different from other games. When you complete proficient operations, what increases isn't proficiency, but it converts into Skill EXP, which you then use to level up your skills.

Although it feels like a roundabout way of doing things, Skill EXP of the same type can be used to level up skills, avoiding the awkwardness of some Production Skills being difficult to level up.

Furthermore, Star Abyss has another setting: as your skill level increases, you gain extra attribute points when your skills reach Lv. 4, 7, and 10. Therefore, the higher your overall skill levels, the stronger your character will undoubtedly become.

As for the EXP required for skill upgrades, Lv. 1 to Lv. 2 requires 1000 points, Lv. 2 to Lv. 3 requires 2000 points, and so on (not a proportional increase). To level a skill from Lv. 1 to Lv. 4 requires a total of 6000 EXP. To level from Lv. 1 to Lv. 7 requires 21,000 Skill EXP. And to level from Lv. 1 to Lv. 10 requires a terrifying 54,000 Skill EXP!

During the beta, to ensure efficiency and a good return on investment, most top players leveled all their skills to Lv. 7. As for Lv. 10, due to the excessive time investment required, many players gave up.

I silently dismantled the recorder, unplugged the repaired wire, causing the recorder to return to its damaged state, then reconnected the wires and screwed it back together.

[Congratulations! You have successfully repaired the recorder. Skill EXP +200!]

It's over...

I frowned. This was only the second time, and the EXP already decreased. This indicated that the method of repeatedly repairing the same appliance to accumulate a large amount of Skill EXP was not feasible.

However... if it's just about leveling Basic Repair to Lv. 4, it shouldn't be a problem!

Thus, I began the mechanical process of disassembly and reassembly, assembling the recorder over and over again, accumulating Skill EXP.

"Tick-tock~~ Tick-tock~~~"

On the wall, the hands of the old clock had reached around 3 AM. At this time, through my repeated disassembling and assembling, I had finally accumulated a full 6000 Skill EXP!

"Hoo~~~"

I poured all the Skill EXP into Basic Repair!

As the skill icon flickered with light, a ding-dong sound echoed in my ears the next moment.

[Congratulations! Your skill Basic Repair (Rank C) has successfully leveled up to Lv. 4. Repairing ability greatly increased, and you have gained an additional 1 Agility attribute point!]

At the same time, the quest was also completed.

[Congratulations! You have completed Perfectionism (Rank E). Reward: +2000 Character EXP!]

I was overjoyed.

In Star Abyss, Character EXP and Skill EXP are separate, and gaining EXP doesn't immediately update; players need to click the "Level Up" button for it to take effect.

2000 Character EXP was just enough to level up to Lv. 2.

Confirm, level up!

As I pressed the level-up button, a stream of golden light descended from the heavens, bathing me. A comfortable sensation spread throughout my body.

At this moment, I received 3 free attribute points and 1 skill point.

As usual, all 3 attribute points went into Strength. My profession heavily relies on Strength in the late game, and a pure Strength build will maximize my character's attributes. As for Agility, Stamina, and Spirit, relying on equipment upgrades in the late game will be sufficient.

However, just Lv. 4 repair is not enough.

The next moment, I slowly turned, my gaze falling upon the broken clock on the wall, whose accuracy was questionable.

Repair it!

In the blink of an eye, it was the next morning.

Aurelia had not yet returned, while I was immersed in the passion of "crazy repairing." I had not only disassembled and reassembled the clock and recorder countless times, but even the old mechanical watch in the drawer and a rusty alarm clock that had been broken for years were subjected to my abuse countless times overnight.

And at this time, I had finally accumulated over 17,000 Skill EXP!

Enough to level Basic Repair to Lv. 7!

After inputting all the Skill EXP, a series of heart-stirring chimes sounded in my ears again.

[Congratulations! Your skill Basic Repair (Rank C) has successfully leveled up to Lv. 7. Repairing ability greatly increased, and you have gained an additional 2 Agility attribute points!]

[Congratulations! As the first player on the server to level up a skill to Lv. 7, you have received an additional reward: Practice Makes Perfect (Rank S)!]

A streak of golden light flashed across my skill panel.

"What?!"

I couldn't believe it. I was rewarded with an S-rank skill?! No way. All S-rank skills were called "god-tier skills" in the beta. My "pro player" account, ranked 99th on the server, only had two S-rank skills!

The next moment, I shifted my gaze to the newly acquired skill.

[Practice Makes Perfect] (Rank S): Passive Skill, Production/Combat Skill EXP can be used interchangeably. This skill cannot be leveled up.

"Holy crap!"

My eyes widened, my heart pounding like crazy, even more intensely than when I first held a girl's hand in high school!

The skill Practice Makes Perfect might seem simple, but it's actually anything but.

There's a vast chasm between combat and crafting skills; they operate independently, never interfering with each other. After all, crafting skills are easier to gain experience from, while combat skills are honed through life-or-death struggles, consuming immense resources and posing extreme danger.

So, after acquiring the passive skill Practice Makes Perfect, I could sit in the safe zone, disassembling and assembling electronics and machinery to gain crafting skill experience. This experience could then be used to boost all my combat skills, giving me an edge over other players in terms of stats and skill damage!

Moreover, this S-class passive skill was a reward for being the top player on the entire server, making it highly likely to be unique.

Awesome!

Just as I was reveling in my newfound awesomeness, the sound of a door opening echoed, and the sailor-girl Aurelia walked in, giving me a strange look.

"You seem to have recovered well, but why are your eyes so dark?"

Seeing my silence, she frowned, picked up the hand axe hanging on the wall, and said, "Let's go. I'll teach you a few things, so you don't accidentally become monster chow."

"Okay..."

I didn't refuse.

Following Aurelia out of the room, the blinding sunlight poured down, making it almost impossible to open my eyes.

Only then did I have a chance to take in the appearance of the small town.

Shabby houses stood in clusters, encircled by a wall that protected the entire town. The wall was covered in barbed wire, with even animal fur clinging to it.

There were slogans painted on the wall with lime, faded but still vaguely legible.

The left side read: "Fewer births, better births, a happy life."

The right side read: "Shatter feudal superstition, embrace science and civilization."

Yep, very nostalgic!

"Given that you might become the next sheriff of this town, I'll introduce you to the people first."

Aurelia swung her sturdy arms, pointing into the distance, introducing them one by one: "This is Aunt Liu Yumei, she used to be a primary school teacher. This is Grandma Alice, and this is Grandpa George, and that's his granddaughter Jenny..."

I nodded to each of them.

The people in the town were a bit like NPCs, nodding blankly at me without speaking.

Aurelia stopped under a tree, where a circle was drawn at head height. She hefted the hand axe, let out a sudden roar, and threw it!

"Thump!"

The hand axe arced through the air and hit the bullseye with precision!

"The wilderness isn't just home to beasts and aberrations, but also to insane outlaws and scum from the Undercurrent organization. If you want to survive, you need to learn how to kill. Do you understand what I mean?" she explained patiently.

My gaze fell upon the double-barreled shotgun in her beat-up jeep. Honestly, I'd rather learn how to shoot.

Basic Repair was a skill that came with my sub-class and didn't consume skill points. Practice Makes Perfect was a system reward skill, also without cost. Therefore, the single skill point I gained at level 2 was incredibly precious, and I had to choose wisely what to learn.

"Try it?"

Aurelia handed me the hand axe.

When I picked up the hand axe and threw it for the first time, the handle hit the target, an invalid attack. The second throw was much less accurate. On the third throw, a voice sounded in my ear.

[Do you wish to learn the skill 'Throwing Skill' (C-grade)?]

I was slightly taken aback.

Throwing Skill was a beginner skill. Coincidentally, my character in the beta test had also learned it. It was quite useful in the early game when there were no firearms, and still decent later on for throwing daggers or energy blades.

More importantly, the bonus attribute points gained from upgrading Throwing Skill were Strength, which could be stacked to increase my own attack power!

In the early game, with nothing to my name, I shouldn't be aiming too high. Building up my combat power was the way to go!

Confirm, learn!

The next moment, the Throwing Skill icon appeared in my skill bar. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough skill experience to upgrade it yet.

After teaching for a while, Aurelia held her forehead, seemingly despairing of me as a student.

"You practice on your own."

She patted my shoulder and said earnestly, "I need to go about 300 kilometers away to the Darkstone Stronghold settlement to trade for some food. I should be back around this time tomorrow. This town is full of old folks and women and children; you need to protect them."

"Don't worry."

I nodded. "I'll do my best!"

"Good!"

Aurelia drove the jeep and left the town.

I wasn't tired at all, nor did I feel like sleeping. I just wanted to build up my stats as soon as possible, so I strode towards the town's residents.

"Oh, esteemed Teacher Liu Yumei, your old color TV seems to have a problem."

"Oh, my dear Grandma Alice, does your bread maker need me to clear some dust for you?"

"Dear Grandpa George, your wheelchair seems to need fixing."

In just half an hour, I became the most popular guy in town, raking in countless skill experience points in the newbie village. I was on a roll.