(Can be purchased separately; each language mastery costs 65 Primogems.)
Chen Luo did indeed see English Mastery among them, since Linguistics Mastery included English, but he no longer had any desire to buy it.
Although Chen Luo did have 65 Primogems right now, the problem was that talent, wasn't it?
"Good heavens, so there really are people with talent abilities in this world besides me. I don't know whether their Talent Awakening process is like mine, but without a doubt, this world really does have supernatural powers."
"And maybe aside from these strange talents, there are also powers cultivated through training. In short, this world's waters really do seem quite deep."
Looking at all those bizarre skills that added up to nearly 20,000 Primogems, Chen Luo admitted that he was intimidated.
Chen Luo had never planned to use his special abilities for personal gain. Perhaps that was because he was not desperately short of money, and now it seemed that choice had been the right one.
"No, I have to make things clear to Fu Hua later and tell her not to go around playing hero. What if she runs into someone she can't afford to provoke? Then it'll be over," Chen Luo muttered.
The Herrscher of Knowledge had not encountered any espers or cultivators yesterday, but that did not mean she would not encounter them today. If she kept playing hero, something would happen sooner or later.
If you walk by the river often enough, your shoes are bound to get wet.
"I should've shaken Sister Meng's hand. I wonder if she has any special abilities." Chen Luo suddenly felt deeply regretful.
"Look at hers, then look at yours. Other people's talents can be worth tens of thousands and look ridiculously powerful, while you had to get some Traveler talent that left you without any real combat power." Chen Luo complained as he opened his talent panel.
Would you like to sell the EX-level talent—Traveler?
"Holy shit, I can sell it?" Chen Luo stared at the words that had popped up on the talent panel, utterly astonished.
This talent is priced at 1,000,000 Primogems. Would you like to sell it? Several more words appeared on the talent panel.
"Sell my ass. I'm not selling it! Forget whether I'd actually get those million Primogems afterward—if the talent's gone, I can't pull cards anymore. What use would Primogems be to me then? Throw them at people? Besides, only an idiot would give up this talent." Chen Luo grumbled.
Chen Luo had never imagined that one day he would argue with himself—no, more precisely, with his talent panel.
Or rather, ever since getting the talent panel, the chances of Chen Luo arguing with himself had only grown higher and higher.
"The more you know about this world, the more dangerous it gets." After sighing over that, Chen Luo pedaled his bicycle harder on the way back.
Ever since learning that there were likely other people with special abilities in this world, Chen Luo barely dared to use his Vision anymore.
"Ha, you rushed all the way back just to tell me this?" The Herrscher of Knowledge, who had been feeling a little guilty while looking at the filthy, wrecked living room, wore an exaggerated expression after hearing Chen Luo's explanation.
"Can you not doubt me? I'm telling the truth. There really are people with special abilities in this world," Chen Luo said helplessly.
"Of course I know that. Aren't you one?" The Herrscher of Knowledge nodded.
"I mean besides me." Chen Luo tried to correct her.
"I know that too. I forgot to tell you yesterday—after I crossed into this world, I found that there's no Honkai energy here, but there is another kind of strange energy. It's no weaker than Honkai energy, and unlike Honkai energy, it's good for the body instead of corroding it." The Herrscher of Knowledge seemed to remember something upon hearing Chen Luo's words.
"You should've told me sooner!" After falling silent for a moment, Chen Luo grabbed the Herrscher of Knowledge by the ear and shouted.
"Let go, let go! How is that my fault? Shouldn't you blame yourself for not asking?" After Chen Luo grabbed her ear, the Herrscher of Knowledge swiftly caught his wrist, then slammed him onto the sofa with a snap.
"???" Chen Luo stared blankly at the ceiling, having no idea how he had ended up pinned there.
Was this what it meant to be a Melee Grandmaster?
"Mm. You're not getting any dinner tonight," Chen Luo suddenly said after pondering for a while.
"I'm sorry, I was wrong." The Herrscher of Knowledge immediately surrendered.
The Herrscher of Knowledge Changed Your Consciousness
"Little Senti, can we discuss something?" After using dinner to force the Herrscher of Knowledge into apologizing, Chen Luo sat on the sofa and asked.
"Little Senti? What kind of weird nickname is that?"
"You don't like it?" Chen Luo tilted his head.
"I can't say I dislike it. It's just a little strange, but I can accept it. It sounds better than Herrscher of Knowledge, anyway." The Herrscher of Knowledge nodded.
"Oh, right. What was it you wanted to talk about?"
"Can you modify my consciousness?" Chen Luo asked the Herrscher of Knowledge.
"Huh? You're voluntarily asking me to modify your consciousness? What kind of weird fetish is that?" The Herrscher of Knowledge froze at Chen Luo's outrageous statement.
"Or have you finally realized that this Herrscher of Knowledge is peerless beneath heaven, beautiful, dazzling, and valiant, so you've decided to worship this immortal even more?"
"Do you even believe that yourself? Here's the thing: aside from my Vision, I have another special ability called Furniture Mastery."
"Furniture Mastery? Jackie Chan? So if you worked in a furniture factory, could you beat Thanos?" The Herrscher of Knowledge was instantly intrigued.
"How could that be possible? Though I haven't tried. Just listen first and stop interrupting. This ability lets me skillfully use and control every item that can be classified as a household tool," Chen Luo explained to the Herrscher of Knowledge.
"Uh, that ability is good. Really good. At least your cooking must be delicious, right? No wonder you're such a good cook. But then another question comes up—do kitchen utensils count as furniture?" Another question surfaced in the Herrscher of Knowledge's mind.
"Did you hear what I just said? I said household tools—things that can be used at home. I can control all of them. Kitchen knives, frying pans... why wouldn't those count as household tools?" Chen Luo once again cut off the Herrscher of Knowledge's wild train of thought.
"That makes sense. Then your ability is pretty amazing. Your cooking really is delicious."
"Stop obsessing over whether my cooking is good! That still isn't the point! The point is that yesterday, I discovered another use for Furniture Mastery. If I alter my logic a little, I can extend Furniture Mastery outward. For example, my family owns a bar, so the bar counts as my home, and the things in it naturally count as household tools. That's why I automatically learned bartending."
"That's amazing! Can you make me a drink?"
"Minors can't drink alcohol, and if you interrupt me again, you won't get dinner!" Chen Luo threatened the Herrscher of Knowledge.
Who knew why she had to break one sentence into so many parts?
"Mm-hm." Sensing Chen Luo's determination to deny her dinner through the Herrscher of Knowledge's authority, she hurriedly nodded.
"So I was thinking, if I imagine myself as being from a martial arts noble family, would swords, spears, staffs, and clubs count as household tools? Would I then be able to become proficient with those weapons directly? And this Vision—if I could understand it as an everyday household item, could I become proficient in using it too?" Chen Luo laid out the idea he had long been considering.
"But the problem is that I can't convince myself. I can't convince myself that a Vision is something commonly used at home, and I can't convince myself that I come from a martial arts noble family. I can only convince myself after something has already become an established fact. For example, only after I truly owned a bar could I genuinely learn bartending." Chen Luo said with some frustration.
"I get it. You want me to use the Herrscher of Knowledge's authority to alter your consciousness and make you believe you're from a martial arts noble family, so you can use swords, spears, staffs, and the like proficiently." The Herrscher of Knowledge understood immediately.
"So please." Chen Luo looked at the Herrscher of Knowledge seriously.
"I thought it was something major. Leave it to me. And there's no need to make it that complicated—I can directly modify your consciousness so you think everything is a household tool while preserving your rationality. Why bother with a martial arts noble family? What if you run into a cross? What if you run into firearms? It'd be better to modify your consciousness from another angle."
"You can do that?" Chen Luo froze for a moment.
"Of course I can. Who do you think I am? I'm the Herrscher of Knowledge." The Herrscher of Knowledge smiled smugly.
"Come on, I'll prove it to you. The Herrscher of Knowledge shall now modify your consciousness..." Sitting cross-legged on the sofa, the Herrscher of Knowledge leaned forward, braced her hands against the sofa, and stared directly into Chen Luo's eyes.
At that moment, Chen Luo felt a faint prickling pain in his head, about as painful as being bitten hard by an insect.
But this time, Chen Luo did not use the Guardian's authority to stop the modification. Instead, he accepted it.
Of course, Chen Luo also sensed that aside from what the Herrscher of Knowledge had promised, the modification to his consciousness contained something else.
"Has the consciousness modification succeeded?" Since he did not feel anything unusual, Chen Luo specifically asked the Herrscher of Knowledge.
"Mm-hm, it succeeded." The Herrscher of Knowledge let out a long breath.
It seemed that even for the Herrscher of Knowledge, modifying consciousness to that extent without damaging common sense was somewhat exhausting.
"But I feel like you slipped something extra in there..." Chen Luo muttered.
"!!!"
What? Did he discover that I added the part where the Herrscher of Knowledge never has to wash dishes after eating?
The Herrscher of Knowledge was shocked.
"Looking at your expression, you really did slip something extra in there."
"What? You were testing me just now?" The Herrscher of Knowledge was shocked again.
"Damn Herrscher of Knowledge. Humanity will surely defeat Honkai," Chen Luo said again.
"Ah, what does defeating Honkai have to do with me? And why would you defeat Honkai? You're not even a Valkyrie." The Herrscher of Knowledge looked at Chen Luo as though he were an idiot.
"..." Chen Luo fell silent.
"What are you thinking about now?" The Herrscher of Knowledge shuddered as a sudden chill ran down her spine.
"I was thinking, didn't you say that one of your forms uses a feather as its host?"
"Yeah. Is there a problem?" The Herrscher of Knowledge nodded.
"Mm, for some reason, I now think feathers count as household tools, so..."
"Wait, wait, what are you doing? Don't come over here! I'll beat you up!" Seeing Chen Luo suddenly stand, the Herrscher of Knowledge instantly flipped off the sofa and assumed a defensive stance.
"Don't be scared. I'm just trying it, really, just trying it..."
"Not even once!"
Bang! A heavy object hit the ground.
Chen Luo was down for the count...
Laying It All Out with Senti
"Come on, don't be angry, okay?" Chen Luo took out an ice pop.
"Hmph!"
"This time, I was wrong." Chen Luo took out some spicy strips.
"Hmph!"
"I won't dare do it again." Chen Luo took out Primogems.
"Wait, what's this? Why isn't it food?" Having accepted the ice pop and spicy strips, the Herrscher of Knowledge looked at the sparkling item in confusion.
"You're not angry anymore, right? Besides, in a way, I'm the victim here, okay? Honestly, you really are worthy of being a Melee Grandmaster." Chen Luo still could not understand why the person who had been beaten into the floor had to apologize to the person who beat him.
"Then I'll reluctantly forgive you." Looking at the ice pop and spicy strips, the Herrscher of Knowledge magnanimously declared.
An immortal had to be generous.
"But speaking of which, your ability really is absurd. If you weren't so weak, you really could affect my actions. How about you let me modify your consciousness one more time? Remove me from your Furniture Mastery." The Herrscher of Knowledge muttered before speaking to Chen Luo.
"No way. Who knows what extras you'd add this time? Tell me, what did you add before?" Chen Luo asked.
"W-what extras? Don't slander people for no reason, okay?" The Herrscher of Knowledge turned her head away.
"If you don't want to say it, forget it. But thanks to you, I've really learned Swordsmanship Mastery now." A completely ordinary longsword suddenly appeared in Chen Luo's hand. The moment he gripped it, he felt as though it were an old friend he had known for years.
Chen Luo lightly flicked the longsword in his hand, and a sword aura instantly shot forth, slicing a fly speeding through the air cleanly in two.
"With Swordsmanship Mastery and Vision Usage Mastery, I should be able to moonlight as a swordsman now, right? The kind of swordsman who can launch sword aura." Chen Luo suddenly felt incredibly handsome.
The kind of handsome that could kill.
"Tch, you? I could beat you with one hand." The Herrscher of Knowledge shot Chen Luo a disdainful glance.
"..." Chen Luo had no response, because the Herrscher of Knowledge was telling the truth.
Chen Luo had once thought that mastery was followed by grandmastery, because Grandmaster was the only different rank he had seen.
That was why Chen Luo had assumed the gap between his combat level and the Herrscher of Knowledge's was only one rank.
Later, after looking at Yun Lian'er's skill list, he learned that there was also a master rank.
Book Reading Master
This skill meant that after reading something once, one could remember eighty percent of it. But it was not quite photographic memory, so it was only master rank.
Once one truly attained photographic memory, that would be grandmaster rank.
In other words, Chen Luo's Cold Weapon Mastery, transformed from Furniture Mastery, would need to rise one rank to become Cold Weapon Master, then another rank to become Cold Weapon Grandmaster.
And in the eyes of a Melee Grandmaster, whether one was a master or merely proficient, they were all rookies.
"All right, since you've helped me, I'll reveal one of my secrets to you in return." Only after being dealt such a blow did Chen Luo realize that there were always people stronger than himself. He then put away the Unsheathed Sword in his hand.
"A secret? What secret?" The Herrscher of Knowledge was instantly interested.
"The secret behind why I like doing good deeds." Chen Luo paused before answering.
Before you continue