Happy Dart Throwing

"Darts?"

"This counts as a skill?"

Chen Jue was stunned.

He glanced at the skill column on his Attribute Panel, and sure enough, a new skill block had appeared: [Darts Lv0 (1/100)].

"First it was [Stone Skipping], and now I get [Darts]."

"Is this panel just activating skills at random?"

Chen Jue rubbed his eyes, but he hadn't misread it.

Just like when he was on the rooftop garden at his company and accidentally activated [Stone Skipping] while tossing stones into the pond, this time, Chen Jue had tried playing with these British Needle Darts, and the panel had solidified it into a skill just the same.

According to the notes in the manual, the full name of this sport should be British Needle Darts.

It originated in 15th-century England and began to gain popularity in bars around the world in the early 20th century, eventually developing into a professional sport with its own associations and international-level competitions.

Back when he was in school, Chen Jue had seen classmates playing it during gym class.

Nobody studied it back then; they just called it throwing darts.

He hadn't expected to run into it at the gym today, let alone have it solidified as a panel skill.

However, after observing the newly triggered [Darts] skill, Chen Jue suspiciously scanned the various equipment in the gym, as well as the board games, cards, and chess sets in the small cubicles.

He tried touching them all, but this time, Chen Jue was dumbfounded.

Faced with all the various sports in the gym, the panel didn't show a single reaction!

"What is the logic behind activating these skills?" Chen Jue crossed his arms and fell into deep thought.

Since awakening the panel yesterday afternoon, he had tried several different types of exercise.

Cycling, running, leg presses—the panel hadn't budged for any of them.

Even the wide variety of fitness equipment and the board games on the shelves failed to trigger anything.

Only the two sports skills, [Stone Skipping] and [Darts], had been activated.

"The common denominator between them seems to be that they both involve throwing with the hand."

"Does it have something to do with that?"

Chen Jue went to grab two marbles to flick around and even found a shot put to throw, but the panel still didn't react.

"How strange!"

Chen Jue felt a wave of suspicion.

Could it be that this Attribute Panel he awakened had an incredibly eccentric taste, specifically choosing to sample niche, obscure sports?

But these marbles, Chinese checkers, and Gomoku were all quite niche; logically, they should have activated as well.

After spending over half an hour exploring, he hadn't figured out the specific reason.

He also hadn't awakened a third skill.

But since he had just activated a new skill, [Darts], Chen Jue didn't look particularly frustrated.

Instead, he stood at the line and used his left hand to try throwing the British Needle Darts a few more times.

[Ding~]

[Action meets requirements]

[Darts skill proficiency +1]

[Ding~]

[Action meets requirements, performed an excellent dart throw.]

[Darts skill proficiency +2]

After trying the darts a few times and watching the prompts scroll across the panel, Chen Jue couldn't help but laugh.

These darts were much like stone skipping; they were both leisure sports that brought him joy.

The higher the score he hit, the wider Chen Jue grinned.

It was just like grinding a ranked ladder; the higher the tier, the greater the sense of satisfaction.

Besides that, Chen Jue had also figured out the proficiency growth pattern for the Darts skill.

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

After hitting the bullseye, a [Perfect] rating actually popped up, granting him 4 proficiency points in one go.

This had Chen Jue absolutely delighted!

Because the sport of [Darts] has a ceiling, which is hitting the bullseye.

An ordinary person playing for a few minutes, throwing a few times, will eventually land one by luck.

Unlike Stone Skipping, where Chen Jue tried all night and only managed to get a [Superior] rating of +3 once.

"Qualified, Excellent, Superior, Perfect!"

I wonder if there are even higher ratings, Chen Jue thought to himself, having essentially figured out the evaluation pattern of the Attribute Panel.

After activating a new skill, Chen Jue stayed in the Leisure Sports Room until nearly 12:00 PM.

By the time he left the gym, his [Darts] skill had successfully reached the level of Lv1 (103/200), progressing significantly faster than the [Stone Skipping] he had awakened earlier.

This was because darts is not a resource-heavy sport; as long as the needle darts aren't broken, they can be reused.

Furthermore, throwing darts doesn't consume as much physical energy as [Stone Skipping].

It basically involves raising your arm, swinging your forearm, and then using your wrist and fingers to flick the dart out.

However, this sport is quite taxing on the eyes and the brain.

Because to land a dart on the target, one must maintain intense focus.

If you throw carelessly, it's easy to miss the board and stick the needle dart into the wall.

Perhaps because he had just come into contact with [Darts], Chen Jue had already summarized this little bit of insight.

After throwing darts for nearly two hours, besides his left arm feeling a bit sore, both of his temples also felt a slight, dull ache.

It was just like when he had to audit dozens of client orders during overtime at night—it was easy to get dizzy and mentally exhausted.

"Not bad."

"This trial class was worth it!"

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

He glanced at the time and then rubbed his growling stomach.

Chen Jue first found a fast-food restaurant in Wangdao Park to have a meal, then slowly strolled back to his rental apartment.

He pulled the curtains, stripped off his clothes, and collapsed like a corpse.

His "lying flat" routine was practiced to perfection, at least at a master-level rank.

However, this time it wasn't due to mental fatigue from overtime, but rather the physical exhaustion stemming from a proper workout.

Except for his left hand, which felt a bit better, Chen Jue felt sore everywhere!

But after lying down for just over an hour and barely catching a nap, Chen Jue was jolted awake by his phone ringing.

"Fourth, what are you doing?"

"Come out and play a few rounds!"

"Slacker Internet Cafe, waiting for you at the usual spot!" A cheeky voice came from the other end of the line.

This was a call from Jiang Zhe, Chen Jue's college roommate.

After graduating from college, out of the six people in their dorm, only he and Jiang Zhe had come to Hang City to drift.

According to their dorm seniority, Chen Jue was fourth, and Jiang Zhe was second.

Usually, on weekends, holidays, or other free time, the two would often meet up. Whether it was grabbing a meal or going to an internet cafe to game, they had managed to keep their college friendship alive quite well.

"Can't game, brother... You play by yourself! I want to rest for two days..." Chen Jue replied listlessly.

"Damn! You sound like you've been hollowed out!"

"Fourth, confess! Did you provoke some female demon lately? Your master is coming over to help you subdue the demons!" Jiang Zhe joked on the other end.

"I'll pass on your kindness! Jiang the Second... If you're willing to come over, bringing a female demon to warm my bed would be fine too... I really don't want to move..." Chen Jue said a few words with little interest and immediately hung up the phone.

He was very tired now; moving a finger was a struggle.

In the past, he had only felt this desire to sleep forever after going on company retreats and climbing those famous mountains that left his legs feeling like they would break.

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

Chen Jue rented on the first floor, and the window faced the greenery and walkway inside the residential complex.

Moreover, there were no security bars on the outside, so one could climb in with a simple pull.

When sleeping, Chen Jue usually kept the curtains drawn; firstly, to block light and noise so he could sleep soundly, and secondly, to keep some privacy.

Having lived here for two years, only this roommate of his would knock on the window so recklessly.

"Brother! Spare me!"

"Let me rest for two days!"

"Look at me, do I look like I can accompany you to game?" Chen Jue pulled back the curtains and showed off his arms and thighs, which were covered in pain-relief patches.

Seeing this, Jiang Zhe also let out a "Holy crap."

"What's wrong with you, Fourth?"

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

Chen Jue briefly recounted his trip to the gym this morning.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhe immediately let out a wicked grin: "I was wondering why you sounded so hollowed out over the phone; turns out you were working out!"

"I was planning on asking you to game this afternoon, but looking at your sorry state, I guess that's not happening."

"Change your clothes and come with me! Brother is taking you to a great place! I guarantee you'll feel better immediately!"

"Where to?" Chen Jue was initially a bit impatient.

Being disturbed while resting was an incredibly infuriating thing.

But the moment Jiang Zhe pulled out two cash vouchers for a spa treatment at Jingtanghui, Chen Jue's eyes widened, and he hugged the other man's thigh: "Second Brother! You are my own Second Brother!"

He immediately drew the curtains, changed his clothes in seconds, and dragged his exhausted body onto Jiang Zhe's getaway car.

You ask where this car is heading?

It's definitely not going to kindergarten (smirk).

Second update~ By the way, I've welded the car doors shut; no one is allowed to get off.

I originally wanted to write a third chapter, but this cold is truly making me feel miserable.

I took some cold medicine and am feeling a bit drowsy, so Pianfeng is going to sleep first.

If I feel better when I wake up tomorrow, I'll get an update out for everyone early~

Still asking for votes~ A new book needs everyone's care; please click to favorite, add it to your bookshelf, or follow the updates. Thank you, everyone!