The Importance of Proficiency

Evening.

A gentle breeze rustled, the sky was clear, and the last sliver of twilight lingered on the horizon, like a corner of an unfurled legendary scroll, incredibly mysterious and captivating.

Within the forest, not a single small monster could be seen for several kilometers around, making one wonder if this was still that perilous fantasy world.

The reason was simple: before its demise, the Great Horned Deer Lord was likely the overlord of this area. Now that Zhang Yang had taken it down, it was unlikely that any monsters would dare to trouble him for some time, unless some reckless new powerhouse appeared.

But Zhang Yang himself knew that the current peace was an illusion. Even if he was about to have 14 captain-level soldiers, it still didn't mean he had a strong and well-equipped army.

So, he felt a strong urgency but dared not be too hasty, fearing he might overlook something.

"Wu Yuan, the hawk-feather arrows Qin Yidao and the others are making will take some more time, but they should be ready by tomorrow evening."

"New recruit training will take another three days. Once they're done, I'll use complete Demon Souls to promote all of them to elite level. That way, even if something unexpected happens, they can work with the captain-level soldiers to defend the village."

"The kid's exploration of the surrounding underground ore veins will probably take another twenty days or so. After all, it's too weak and still needs to cultivate. It can only search a small area each night, but there's no rush for this; it can be prioritized later."

"The Village Building Order upgrade still has 74 hours left, meaning it won't be completed until three days from now. But before that, the first thing I should do is build a temple of any faith. With a temple, I can exchange for Level 3 Invisibility Talismans, Level 3 Protection Talismans, and Level 3 Reconnaissance Talismans. These Talismans will greatly increase the soldiers' survival rate in the wild."

"A castle must be built, and walls must be built, otherwise, the villagers' survival cannot be guaranteed. Wait, I need to strengthen my air defense, for example, against monsters like the Red Hawk. If they appear, they can cause massive casualties to my farmers. So, Arrow Towers are necessary, but building Arrow Towers requires artisans, and building a temple also requires artisans. Damn, I only have three recruitment slots left, assuming the temple doesn't require a priest."

"Hmm, then I'll recruit two first. No, just one artisan for now."

After careful consideration, Zhang Yang solemnly used one recruitment slot.

With a flash of white light, a strong man appeared before him. He looked to be about twenty-five or twenty-six, stood very straight, had a healthy complexion, lively eyes, and wore a coarse linen shirt. He held an axe in his hand and looked around curiously, showing no signs of subservience.

This was the first time Zhang Yang had recruited an artisan since binding the Village Building Order, so he didn't rush to speak with him. Instead, he opened the village interface and brought up the artisan's attributes to examine them.

Name: Zhao Tiezhu Level: Junior Artisan (Can only construct basic buildings and repair/manufacture basic tools, weapons, armor, machinery, etc.) Strength: F+ Agility: F+ Defense: F+ Spirit: E+ Talent: None Artisan Equipment Slots: (Axe), (Empty), (Empty), (Empty), (Empty). Main Skill: Repair 50 (Proficiency), has a very small chance to repair basic items. Main Skill: Manufacture 50 (Proficiency), has a very small chance to manufacture grey-quality items with attributes. Secondary Skill: Bow and Crossbow Manufacturing/Repair 10 (Proficiency). Secondary Skill: Cold Weapon Manufacturing/Repair 10 (Proficiency). Secondary Skill: Tool and Machinery Manufacturing/Repair 10 (Proficiency). Secondary Skill: Building Manufacturing/Repair 10 (Proficiency). Secondary Skill: Herbal Medicine Manufacturing 10 (Proficiency). Secondary Skill: Mining and Smelting 10 (Proficiency). Description: Main skill proficiency requires the support of secondary skill proficiency. That is, the main skill's proficiency will only increase by 1 point for every 5 points of proficiency gained in at least two secondary skills.

This artisan was indeed very basic, but his attributes were interesting because he actually had a very small chance of manufacturing grey-quality items with attributes. What did this mean? He had struck gold!

One should know that elite-level soldiers' weapons were grey quality and didn't even have attributes; they were the absolute lowest grade.

Only captain-level weapons were white quality with attributes.

In a flash of thought, Zhang Yang made a decision: he would train this artisan with all his might, from all angles, to turn him into an all-around master artisan.

There was no other way. In other villages, there were dozens or hundreds of artisans, but here, he was the only one.

At this moment, Zhang Yang was full of fighting spirit. He had to be, because to ensure the village's survival for at least 300 years, he couldn't slack off. What if there was no population? Could he not farm without farmers?

I refuse to believe that nonsense!

Next, not only would he farm, but he would also focus on infrastructure, starting with building a large castle.

At this moment, Zhang Yang showed a charming smile and kindly asked the junior artisan, Zhao Tiezhu, "Have you eaten? Are you hungry?"

"Uh, Village Chief, I... I'm not hungry yet." Zhao Tiezhu was a bit overwhelmed; this leader was truly kind.

"Not hungry, good!"

Zhang Yang chuckled, then turned his head and shouted to the group of people busy making feather arrows not far away, "Wu Yuan, come here and take this brother to make bows and arrows! If there's anything he doesn't know, you must teach him everything. If he gets tired, he can sleep in the Wood Demon Tower. If he's hungry, he can eat roasted meat. If he's thirsty, he can drink the sweetest mountain spring water. Treat him like a VIP, but... making arrows cannot stop! Let him make ten thousand of them himself first!"

After Zhao Tiezhu was somewhat bewilderedly and enthusiastically pulled away by Wu Yuan and the others, Zhang Yang didn't just stand there. He had someone call over Wang Mumu, who was resting.

Now that it was night, the patrol teams didn't need to patrol a large area. Zhang Yang's requirement was to patrol in circles, with the Wood Demon Tower as the center and the Training Ground as the farthest point of the radius.

And the Song Dachui quartet were the patrol leaders. At night, they split into two small teams that rotated. For example, Song Dachui and Zhou Datou were one team, leading four soldiers, and Wang Mumu and Duan Kuan were another team, also leading four soldiers.

Soon, Wang Mumu, like a small mountain, stomped over, carrying his giant tower shield with loud thuds. The ground shook with each step.

"Village Chief, you called for me?"

Standing by the fire, Wang Mumu bowed respectfully.

"Hmm, I want to draw a Battle Rune using monster blood. The Mountain Monster Battle Tattoo on you seems to be defense-oriented, likely the Iron Wall from your talent. So, could you tell me your thoughts on this Battle Rune, or anything you know about it?"

Zhang Yang asked patiently. He had accumulated a large amount of demon blood and monster materials, but the Golden Scales couldn't sell these items. They weren't edible, and it would be a waste to throw them away, so he felt these materials should be put to use. For example, if he could draw the Iron Wall Battle Tattoo that Wang Mumu possessed onto a piece of leather armor, wouldn't that instantly and significantly increase the armor's defensive capabilities?

These Battle Runes could even be carved onto city walls, castles, and city gates, all of which would increase defense.

It's often said that science and technology are the greatest productive forces. If Zhang Yang could just figure out these Battle Runes, the sky would be the limit; there would be endless possibilities.