Just as I was overwhelmed with joy, another notification icon popped up.
[Refinement Task Triggered (E-rank)! Objective: Raise Basic Repair to level 4. Reward: Character Experience +2000.]
"Woohoo~~"
I couldn't help laughing. The surprise had come too quickly. While unlocking a secondary profession and gaining its skill, I had actually triggered a daily quest too, even if it was only a lowly E-rank quest...
But even a mosquito leg was still meat. What beggar ever complained that their food had gone sour?
When I opened the skill panel, I could see that the production skill experience section already held 300 points of experience.
Star Abyss's skill proficiency system differed somewhat from other games. After successfully performing a skilled operation, what increased wasn't proficiency but Skill Experience, which could then be used to level up skills.
Although it seemed a little redundant, Skill Experience of the same type could be used interchangeably to level different skills, avoiding the awkward situation where certain production skills were difficult to level.
Additionally, Star Abyss had another setting: when a skill reached levels 4, 7, and 10, it granted bonus attribute points. Therefore, the higher a player's overall skill levels, the stronger their attributes would become. That was beyond doubt.
As for the experience required for skill upgrades, going from level 1 to 2 required 1,000 points, level 2 to 3 required 2,000 points, and so on in a non-proportional increase. Raising a skill from level 1 to 4 required a total of 6,000 points; from level 1 to 7 required 21,000 Skill Experience; and from level 1 to 10 required a terrifying total of 54,000 Skill Experience!
During the closed beta, most top-tier players raised all their skills to level 7 to ensure efficiency and value. As for level 10, too many people gave up because of the sheer amount of time it required.
Silently, I dismantled the recorder, pulled out the repaired wire to return it to a damaged state, then reconnected the wiring and tightened the screws again.
[Congratulations, you successfully repaired the recorder. Skill Experience +200!]
This was bad...
I frowned. On only the second attempt, the Experience Points had already diminished. That meant repeatedly repairing the same appliance to accumulate vast amounts of Skill Experience wouldn't work.
However... if I only wanted to raise Basic Repair to level 4, it wouldn't be a problem!
So I began the mechanical process of dismantling and reassembling it, putting the recorder back together again and again as my Skill Experience steadily accumulated.
"Tick-tock~~ Tick-tock~~~"
The hands of the old clock on the wall had reached around three in the morning. By then, after repeatedly dismantling and assembling the recorder, I had finally accumulated a full 6,000 points of Skill Experience!
"Whew~~~"
I poured all my Skill Experience into Basic Repair!
As the skill icon continuously flashed with light, a ding-dong sound rang beside my ears the next moment.
[Congratulations! Your Basic Repair skill (C-rank) has successfully reached level 4. Your repair ability has greatly improved, and you have additionally gained 1 Agility point!]
At the same time, the task had been completed.
[Congratulations! You completed Refinement (E-rank) and received Character Experience +2000!]
I was delighted.
In Star Abyss, Character Experience and Skill Experience were separate, and gaining experience did not immediately trigger a level-up. Players had to select the "level up" button themselves.
2,000 Character Experience was neither too much nor too little—just enough to reach level 2.
Confirm. Level up!
After I pressed the level-up button, a strand of golden radiance descended from the sky and bathed my entire body, filling me with a soothing sensation.
I received 3 freely assignable attribute points and 1 skill point.
As usual, I put all 3 attribute points into Strength. My profession would focus on Strength in the later stages, and a pure Strength build would push my character's attributes to their limits. As for Agility, Stamina, and Spirit, bonuses from late-game equipment would be enough.
However, level 4 Basic Repair alone still wasn't enough.
The next moment, I slowly turned around and fixed my gaze on the broken clock hanging on the wall, one that I had no idea whether it even kept accurate time.
Repair it!
In the blink of an eye, it was already the next morning.
Aurelia still hadn't returned, while I remained immersed in the passion of "mad repairs." Not only had I dismantled and reassembled the clock and radio countless times, but even the old mechanical watch in the drawer and a rusty alarm clock that had been broken for years had been ravaged countless times overnight.
By then, I had finally saved up more than 17,000 points of Skill Experience!
That was enough to raise Basic Repair to level 7!
After pouring all the Skill Experience into it, another series of thrilling Ringtones sounded in my ears.
[Congratulations! Your Basic Repair skill (C-rank) has successfully reached level 7. Your repair ability has greatly improved, and you have additionally gained 2 Agility points!] [Congratulations! As the first player on the entire server to raise a skill to level 7, you have received an additional reward: Practice Makes Perfect (S-rank)!]
A streak of golden light flashed across the skill panel before one's eyes.
"What?!"
I could hardly believe it. I had actually been rewarded with an S-rank skill?! No way! In the closed beta, all S-rank skills had been called god-tier skills. Even my "expert player" account, ranked 99th on the entire server, had only possessed two S-rank skills!
The next moment, I shifted my gaze toward the skill I had just obtained.
[Practice Makes Perfect] (S-rank): Passive skill. Production and combat Skill Experience may be used interchangeably. This skill cannot be upgraded.
Holy shit!
My eyes widened, and my heart pounded wildly—more intensely than when I had held a girl's hand for the first time in high school!
Practice Makes Perfect looked simple, but it was anything but.
There was an enormous divide between combat and production skills. They each kept to themselves and did not interfere with one another. After all, production Skill Experience was much easier to obtain, while combat Skill Experience came from repeated life-or-death battles and use. Not only was it extremely costly, but it was also incredibly dangerous.
Therefore, after obtaining the passive skill Practice Makes Perfect, I could sit safely in the safe zone, earn production Skill Experience by dismantling and assembling appliances and machinery, then use that experience to enhance all my combat skills. In terms of attributes and skill damage, I would be ahead of every other player!
Moreover, this S-rank passive skill had come from the first-on-the-server reward, so there was a high chance it was unique.
This was awesome!
Just as I was reveling in my delight, the sound of the door opening came from behind me. The sailor-strength beauty Aurelia walked in and gave me a strange look.
"You seem to have recovered well, but why are the circles under your eyes so dark?"
When I didn't answer, 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 food for mutant beasts."
"Mm, okay..."
I didn't refuse.
Following Aurelia out of the room, I was immediately hit by the blinding sunlight pouring down outside, making it almost impossible to open my eyes.
Only then did I finally get the chance to see what the town looked like.
Dilapidated houses stretched together in clusters, while a wall surrounded and protected the entire town. Barbed wire covered the base of the wall, and even animal fur was caught on it.
There were lime-painted slogans on the wall. Though faded and mottled, they were still faintly legible.
The slogan on the left wall read, "Have fewer children and better children for a happy life."
The one on the right read, "Eliminate feudal superstition and promote scientific civilization."
Mm, it certainly had a sense of the era!
"Since you may become the town's next sheriff in the future, I'll introduce you to the people here first."
Aurelia waved her muscular arm and Pointed Towards the distance, introducing them one by one. "This is Auntie Liu Yumei, who used to be an elementary school teacher. This is Grandma Alice, and this is Grandpa George. That's his granddaughter, Jenny..."
I nodded to each of them.
The people in town did resemble NPCs somewhat. They merely nodded stiffly at me without saying anything.
Aurelia walked over to a tree. At about chest height, there was a target circle painted on its trunk. She weighed the hand axe in her hand, then suddenly shouted and threw it!
Bang!
The hand axe carved an arc through the air and struck the bullseye precisely!
"There are not only mutant beasts and aberrations in the wilderness, but also some deranged desperadoes and the scum from the Dark Tide organization. If you want to survive, you must have the means to kill. Do you understand what I mean?" she asked patiently.
My gaze fell on the double-barreled shotgun lying in her battered jeep. Honestly, I wanted to learn marksmanship more.
Basic Repair was an innate skill of my secondary profession, so it didn't consume skill points. Practice Makes Perfect was a system reward skill and didn't consume any either. Therefore, the skill point I had obtained at level 2 was extremely precious, and I had to carefully choose what to learn.
"Want to give it a try?"
Aurelia handed me the hand axe.
I picked it up. On my first throw, the handle struck the target—a useless attack. My second throw was far off target, but during my third throw, a notification sounded beside my ear.
[Would you like to learn Throwing Skill (C-rank)?]
I froze for a moment.
Throwing Skill was a beginner skill. Coincidentally, my closed-beta account had learned it as well. It was incredibly useful during the early stages when firearms were unavailable, and it was still decent later on when throwing knives or Energy Blades.
More importantly, the bonus attribute points gained from upgrading Throwing Skill were Strength, which could stack my attack power!
When I was still dirt poor in the early stages, I shouldn't aim too high. Building up my own combat power was the proper path!
Confirm. Learn it!
The next moment, the Throwing Skill icon appeared in my skill bar. Unfortunately, I currently had no more Skill Experience to level it up.
After teaching me for a while, Aurelia held her forehead, apparently already despairing over me as her apprentice.
"Practice slowly."
She patted my shoulder and said earnestly, "I'm going to the Darkstone Stronghold settlement more than three hundred kilometers away to trade for some food. I probably won't return until around this time tomorrow. The town is full of elderly people, women, and children, so you need to protect them."
"Don't worry."
I nodded. "I'll do my best!"
"Mm!"
Aurelia started the jeep and drove out of town.
But I wasn't tired at all, nor did I want to sleep. I only wanted to build up my attributes sooner, so I strode over to a group of the town's original residents.
"Oh, dear Teacher Liu Yumei, there seems to be something wrong with your old color television."
"Oh, my dear Grandma Alice, would you like me to help clear some dust out of your bread maker?"
"Dear Grandpa George, it seems your wheelchair needs some repairs."
In just half an hour, I became the most popular handsome guy in town, crazily harvesting endless Skill Experience in the beginner village and thriving for a time.