Happy Darts

"Darts?"

"That counts as a skill too?"

Chen Jue blinked.

He glanced at the skill section of the Attribute Panel, and sure enough, a new skill tile had appeared: [Darts Lv0 (1/100)].

"First Stone Skipping, and now Darts."

"Does this panel really activate skills that randomly?"

Chen Jue rubbed his eyes. He definitely hadn't misread it.

Just like when he'd tossed stones into the pond in the little rooftop garden at work, he'd unexpectedly activated Stone Skipping.

This time, Chen Jue had tried playing with the needle darts, and the panel had turned that into a skill as well.

According to the notes in the instruction manual, the full name of this dart sport was British Needle Darts.

It had originated in England in the fifteenth century, become popular in bars around the world in the early twentieth century, and eventually developed into a professional sport, with professional associations and international-level tournaments.

Back when Chen Jue was in school, he'd seen classmates play it during PE.

Nobody had looked into the details back then. They'd all just called it throwing darts.

He hadn't expected to run into it at a gym today, much less have it become a skill on his panel.

But after examining the newly triggered Darts skill, Chen Jue cast a suspicious glance around the gym at all the different equipment, then at the board games, cards, and chess sets in the little rooms.

He tried touching them all, but this time, he was stumped.

With all the different activities in the gym, the panel didn't react to a single one!

"What's the logic behind activating skills?" Chen Jue folded his arms and pondered.

Since awakening the panel yesterday afternoon, he'd tried several different kinds of exercise.

Cycling, running, leg presses—the panel hadn't reacted to any of them.

Even the wide variety of gym equipment, as well as the board and card games on the shelves, hadn't activated anything.

The only sports skills he'd activated were Stone Skipping and Darts.

"The only thing they seem to have in common is throwing something by hand."

"Could that have something to do with it?"

Chen Jue picked up a couple of marbles and tossed them around. He even found a shot put and threw it once, but the panel still didn't react.

"How strange!"

Chen Jue was filled with suspicion.

Did the Attribute Panel he'd awakened have some bizarre taste, picking only obscure, niche sports to try out?

But marbles, Chinese checkers, and Gomoku were all pretty niche too. By rights, they should have activated something.

After more than half an hour of experimenting, he still couldn't figure out the specific reason.

And he hadn't awakened a third skill.

Still, he'd just activated a new skill, Darts, so Chen Jue didn't look dejected.

Instead, he switched to his left hand, stood at the throwing line, and tried throwing the needle darts a few more times.

------ [ Ding~]

[Action meets requirements]

[Darts skill proficiency +1] ------

[ Ding~]

[Action meets requirements. You completed an excellent throw.]

[Darts skill proficiency +2] ------

After throwing a few darts and watching the notifications roll across the panel, Chen Jue couldn't help smiling.

Darts was a lot like Stone Skipping: both were leisurely activities that brought him joy.

The higher the score he hit, the wider his grin grew.

It was just like playing ranked games and climbing the ladder—the higher the rank, the more satisfying it felt.

On top of that, Chen Jue had worked out how proficiency in Darts increased.

The closer a dart landed to the bullseye in the middle of the target, the more proficiency points he gained.

When he hit the bullseye, he even got a [Perfect] rating, earning four proficiency points at once.

That made Chen Jue grin from ear to ear!

That was because Darts had a clear upper limit: hitting the bullseye.

An ordinary person could play for a few minutes and throw enough times to get lucky eventually.

It wasn't like Stone Skipping. After trying all evening, the highest he'd ever gotten was a single +3 [Excellent] rating.

"Passable, Excellent, Outstanding, Perfect!"

"I wonder if there are any higher ratings." Chen Jue thought to himself, having figured out the panel's rating system.

After activating a new skill, Chen Jue stayed in the Leisure Sports Room until nearly noon.

By the time he left the gym, his Darts skill had smoothly risen to Lv1 (103/200), progressing faster than Stone Skipping, the first skill he'd awakened.

Darts didn't take many resources. As long as the needle darts didn't break, he could reuse them.

And throwing darts didn't take as much stamina as Stone Skipping.

Basically, he just had to raise his hand, swing his forearm, then use his wrist and fingers to flick the dart.

However, the sport put more strain on his eyes and his mind.

To hit the target, he had to concentrate.

If he threw carelessly, he could easily miss the target and stick a needle dart into the wall.

Perhaps because he'd only just started playing Darts, that was all Chen Jue had figured out so far.

After throwing darts for nearly two hours, his left hand was a little sore, and both of his temples felt faintly tight and achy.

It was like when he'd worked overtime at night and reviewed dozens of customer orders in a row—he'd end up feeling dizzy and mentally foggy.

"Not bad."

"That trial class was worth it!"

Dragging his tired body, Chen Jue walked out of Yilian Fitness, looking back every few steps.

He checked the time, then rubbed his growling stomach.

First, Chen Jue found a fast-food place in Wangdao Park and had a meal. Then he strolled leisurely back to his rented apartment.

Curtains drawn, clothes off, and flat on his back.

He'd perfected the art of lying around. He was at least a master-level pro.

But this time, it wasn't because he was worn out from working overtime. It was the genuine fatigue that came from exercising properly.

Aside from his left hand, Chen Jue felt sore all over!

But after lying down for just over an hour and dozing through a short nap, he was jolted awake by his phone ringing.

"Number Four, what're you doing?"

"Come out and play a couple of rounds!"

"Slacker Internet Cafe. Same place as always!" A cheeky voice came through the phone.

It was Jiang Zhe, Chen Jue's college roommate.

After graduating, only he and Jiang Zhe out of their six-person dorm had come to Hang City to seek their fortunes.

Going by their dorm rankings, Chen Jue was Number Four, and Jiang Zhe was Number Two.

On weekends, holidays, or whenever they had free time, the two of them often met up. They'd either grab a meal or head to an internet cafe to play games together, keeping their college friendship alive.

"I can't play, bro... Go ahead without me! I want to rest for a couple of days..." Chen Jue replied weakly.

"Damn! You sound like you've been completely drained!"

"Number Four, come clean! Have you gotten involved with some she-demon lately? Your master will come help you tame her!" Jiang Zhe joked over the phone.

"Thanks a lot! Jiang Number Two... If you want to come over, you can bring a she-demon to warm up my bed... I really don't feel like moving..." Chen Jue said a few lackluster words, then immediately hung up.

He was exhausted. Even lifting a finger felt like too much.

The only other time he'd felt like sleeping forever was after group outings to famous mountains where the hikes had nearly killed him.

But less than fifteen minutes later, someone knocked on the window of Chen Jue's rented apartment.

Chen Jue's place was on the first floor. The window faced the greenery and walkway inside the complex.

There was no security grille outside, so someone could climb in with just a little effort.

Chen Jue usually drew the curtains when he went to bed. It blocked the light and noise so he could sleep more soundly, and gave him a bit of privacy.

In the two years he'd lived there, only his roommate Chen Jue knew would knock on the window so recklessly.

"Bro! Just let me off the hook!"

"Give me a couple of days to rest!"

"Look at me! Do I look like I can play games with you?" Chen Jue pulled back the curtain and showed off his arms and thighs, which were covered in pain-relief patches.

Jiang Zhe saw him and let out a "Holy crap!"

"What happened to you, Number Four?"

"Is it too damp on the first floor? Did you get rheumatism?" Jiang Zhe asked with concern.

Chen Jue briefly told him about his trip to the gym that morning.

As soon as Jiang Zhe heard, he grinned mischievously. "So that's why you sounded like you'd been drained on the phone. You exercised!"

"I was going to ask you to play games this afternoon, but with you in this state, I guess that's not happening."

"Get changed and come with me! I'll take you somewhere nice! I guarantee you'll feel better in no time!"

"Where?" Chen Jue had been a little impatient at first.

Being disturbed while trying to rest was infuriating.

But when Jiang Zhe pulled out two cash vouchers for the spa at Jingtanghui, Chen Jue's eyes lit up. He grabbed Jiang Zhe by the leg and clung to him. "Number Two! You're my real Number Two!"

Then he drew the curtain, changed in seconds, and climbed into Jiang Zhe's clunker, still dragging his exhausted body.

Where was the car headed, you ask?

Definitely not to kindergarten. (Grin)

Second update~ And now we're welding the car doors shut. Nobody's allowed to get out.

I'd planned to write a third chapter, but this cold is really making me feel awful.

The cold medicine's making me sleepy, so Pianfeng is going to bed.

If I'm feeling better when I wake up tomorrow, I'll update earlier~

Still asking for votes~ A new book needs everyone's support, so please hit favorite, add it to your bookshelf, or follow along. Thanks, everyone!