Chen Luo had known that reading with someone increased the progress by 0.2 each time, definitely more than ordinary help, but he had never expected it to be this much more.
And the difficulty of that commission was a little insane too.
What was this supposed to mean? Two stars?
This was the highest-difficulty task Chen Luo had ever done.
Was she some kind of flood beast? Or did she have a bad temper? Or was she picky, and not just anyone could read with her?
Or was it because it was a repeatable task?
Thinking about it carefully, for nearly two years, he had come every Saturday morning to read with her. Sometimes, in order to grind commissions, he came on Sundays too.
During summer and winter breaks, if he had no commissions, he came even more frequently.
After all, a job that paid well, required little work, and was close to home was truly rare.
And this commission specifically stated that he must not incur her dislike, so Chen Luo could only stare blankly at this damn Theory of Relativity.
He did not dare move. He did not dare move.
This was 100 Primogems. He would have to steal Little Loli's Lollipop from twenty little girls, or beat up Blondie ten times, to earn that much.
As Chen Luo was spacing out, he suddenly sensed someone approaching. A shadow fell over him, and when he looked up, he saw Sister Meng quietly placing a copy of Story Club beside him.
"An angel," Chen Luo said, looking at her emotionally. He even had the illusion that a pair of angel wings was spreading behind her.
Then, Chen Luo tucked that copy of Story Club inside Theory of Relativity.
Honestly, Theory of Relativity was truly profound and unfathomable. Chen Luo could not understand a single word of it. Just reading the preface made his mind go blank.
Of course, while reading, Chen Luo could not help wondering what Herrscher of Knowledge was doing. Had she gone hungry? Had she caused any trouble?
Just like that, two hours passed.
Ding! Mission complete.
That wonderful sound instantly snapped Chen Luo, who had been sitting stiffly for two hours, awake.
Karma-Type Skill—Half a Catty of Chess Supremacy
After completing the mission, Chen Luo let out a sigh of relief inwardly.
This was 100 Primogems. Although he had no idea why the reward was so generous, the difficulty so high, and why it even came with an arts-related reward, he could not miss it.
Seeing that the girl had no intention of stopping her reading, Chen Luo turned his attention to the rewards.
There was no need to mention the 100 Primogems. They had already been added to Chen Luo's Primogem balance.
It was just a pity that they had not been doubled.
Then there was the physique enhancement reward for completing the mission. Perhaps because someone else was present, it had been directly stored in his inventory, to be used whenever he wanted.
Sometimes, the talent panel's consideration made Chen Luo quite satisfied, but other times it did not, such as when it cheated him out of Primogems.
Lastly, there was that arts-related skill.
Arts skill extraction in progress. Extraction range—zither, chess, calligraphy, painting.
Seeing that, Chen Luo could not help feeling rather underwhelmed. Zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting could not directly increase his combat power. It really seemed rather average.
Cultivating one's temperament was not something Chen Luo needed, at least not for now.
Ding! Extraction complete.
Congratulations, you have obtained the chess skill: Half a Catty of Chess Supremacy.
"???" What kind of strange name was that?
Half a Catty of Chess Supremacy: Whenever you engage in any chess match, the game will automatically be converted into Gomoku, and you will immediately receive half a catty of pieces. If you throw those half a catty of pieces onto the board and successfully connect five pieces, you will immediately win the match, and no one will raise any objections.
"???"
"???"
What the hell was this? Where was the promised chess skill?
This worked too?
Chen Luo was instantly dumbfounded.
This was a plot development Chen Luo had never imagined.
What exactly was this talent's skill extraction mechanism? Why had Chen Luo not seen a single normal skill so far?
First Furniture Mastery, and now this Half a Catty of Chess Supremacy.
"Um, Lian'er, do you know how to play chess?" After hesitating for a moment, Chen Luo raised his head and asked the girl who was reading.
"Chess? What kind? Go, Chinese chess, international chess, Aeroplane Chess, or Gomoku? I know a little about all of them."
"Then, how about we play a game? Go, then," Chen Luo suggested.
"Sure." Although she found Chen Luo's sudden idea strange, the girl did not refuse.
Then Chen Luo watched as Sister Meng took out a Go board and two boxes of pieces from a cabinet beside the bookshelf.
The girl did not get out of bed. Instead, she sat cross-legged on it, had Sister Meng place the board on the bed, and told Chen Luo to sit across from her.
The match began.
Chen Luo took Black and moved first. Then he watched helplessly as a basket of black stones suddenly appeared in his hands.
After a moment of silence, Chen Luo carefully poured the basket of black stones onto the board.
Clatter! Half a catty of black stones was no joke. They nearly covered the entire board and even piled up on top of one another.
Forget five in a row—even ten in a row would not have been a problem.
"You win." Holding a white stone, the girl frowned at the Go board covered in stones.
"I never expected your chess skills to be so superb," the girl could not help praising him.
"Indeed, I never expected Xiao Luo to be so good at chess," Sister Meng praised from the side as well.
"...All right, all right, stop praising me." Chen Luo covered his face.
Chen Luo did not know what that game looked like in their eyes, but in his eyes, it had been utterly absurd.
Absurd beyond absurd.
This chess skill was actually a Karma Type skill.
But although it was a Karma Type skill, it seemed it could only be used for chess and nothing else.
"Your chess ability is so strong. Why can't I praise you?" the girl asked curiously.
"I think my chess skills are average. Really, stop praising me."
"Oh, right, there's something else I need to tell you. I might not come on Saturday mornings anymore. When I come will be uncertain." Seeing that it was about time for him to leave, Chen Luo said this to the girl.
"Huh? Why? Isn't it not summer vacation yet?" The girl froze.
Normally, during winter or summer vacation, the times Chen Luo came were indeed uncertain, but there were still eight days until summer vacation.
"Oh, well, it's actually because of my deskmate. The specific reason isn't convenient to reveal. Anyway, I should be pretty busy during this period, so when I come will probably be uncertain." Chen Luo scratched his head awkwardly.
Naturally, Chen Luo could not tell her that he had opened a bar, that he might receive guests from different worlds, and might even go to Different Worlds to accept commissions and complete them.
If he said that, she might think he was mentally ill.
So he could only wrong his deskmate a little.
"And my deskmate is also surnamed Yun. Her name is Yun Xia. Isn't that a coincidence?" Seeing her fall silent, Chen Luo hurriedly changed the subject.
Come to think of it, Chen Luo had considered the possibility that the two knew each other, but when he had mentioned it in front of his deskmate, she had shown no reaction at all.
Chen Luo knew that after reading with her continuously for two years, suddenly no longer coming might make her uncomfortable.
Although he had done nothing wrong, Chen Luo suddenly felt a sense of guilt.
"Yes, what a coincidence." After being silent for a while, the girl revealed a smile that was not particularly happy.
"Don't worry, I'll definitely read with you in the future. I'm just really busy lately, so please understand." Seeing her like this, Chen Luo felt even more guilty. As for why he felt guilty, he could not explain it either.
"Oh, right, we've known each other for so long. How about a handshake?" Chen Luo held out his hand to the girl.
"Hm? Of course." The girl froze for a moment, then extended her slender, fair hand.
After lightly shaking her hand, Chen Luo released it.
"Then I'll be leaving first. Goodbye." After waving to her, Chen Luo stood and walked out of the hospital room.
After Sister Meng walked Chen Luo to the door and saw him out, she returned to the room with a heavy heart.
Just as Sister Meng had expected, the frail, sickly-looking girl sitting on the hospital bed had somehow had her hair turn purple.
Her flowing long hair moved without wind. The decorations, books, and objects in the entire hospital room creaked, and even more astonishingly, countless phantom books seemed to appear behind her.
"Yun! Xia!" The girl who had given Chen Luo the impression of having such a good temper was now clenching her fists tightly to suppress her anger, gritting her teeth as she called out Chen Luo's deskmate's name.
"Don't think that just because you also obtained an S-rank Talent, you're qualified to steal things from me. Ever since we were little, I was the one who stole from her. It was that way before, it is that way now, and it will be that way in the future!"
Bang! The Go board on the girl's bed, along with the pieces on it, was instantly crushed into powder by an unknown force.
"Sigh." Sister Meng, standing at the doorway, could not help sighing.
What a sin.
Seven Luminaries Magus
"I finally made things clear with her. That settles one matter." After leaving the room on the top floor, Chen Luo did not continue working as a hospital attendant. Instead, he left the hospital's main building directly.
Under normal circumstances, after reading with her, Chen Luo would use the noon hours to help the doctors and nurses so they could eat lunch, then take over again after they were done.
But this time, Chen Luo did not stay at the hospital long, mainly because he was worried about Herrscher of Knowledge.
Normally, Chen Luo would stay at the hospital for around four hours, but this time, he left after only a little over two hours.
Although, through his guardian permissions, he could see that Herrscher of Knowledge was indeed obediently staying at home, Chen Luo still had to worry.
Under the security guard's surprised gaze, Chen Luo pushed away his bicycle and greeted him.
Only while cycling home did Chen Luo have time to check the information of Yun Lian'er, this new Friend of his.
Although Chen Luo did not have high expectations, buying some arts-related or knowledge-related skills to supplement his knowledge base would still be pretty good.
Chen Luo could tell at a glance that she was definitely a top student. If he bought something like her English Mastery, would that mean he no longer needed to study English?
Chen Luo really wanted to complain about this talent's friends system. After all, only people he shook hands with were considered friends. It was just too stupid.
But when Chen Luo opened Yun Lian'er's panel, he nearly lost his grip on the handlebars.
Yun Lian'er
Elemental Magus (S-rank Talent): A magus capable of controlling most ordinary elements. Can advance into a Seven Luminaries Magus.
Price: 6,500 Primogems (original price: 10,000 Primogems)
Witch's Body (Physique): After obtaining it, you can become an Immortal Race and gain an extremely long lifespan, but the cost is that your physique will be relatively weak.
Price: 1,625 Primogems (original price: 2,500 Primogems)
Great Library (Special Item): Can record and inscribe magic spells or sorcery you have learned. Magic can be cast instantly when needed.
Price: 1,300 Primogems (original price: 2,000 Primogems)
Zither Mastery...
Chess Mastery...
Calligraphy...
Painting...
Linguistics Mastery: Automatically obtained after becoming proficient in eight or more languages.
Price: 585 Primogems (original price: 900 Primogems)
Before you continue