Amateur-Level Darts, Level 3

An hour of morning practice did not turn Chen Jue into some martial arts master.

He found that this simplified version of the Twelve Taiji Forms was clearly more geared toward health preservation. Other than breaking out in a slight sweat and feeling more energetic after finishing, there were no other changes.

Even the soreness and swelling in his muscles had only eased somewhat thanks to adding points to his physique.

As for the supposedly miraculous traditional martial arts fighting techniques people bragged about online, Chen Jue had felt none of that.

Maybe he had only just reached Lv1, and the level of [Twelve Taiji Forms] was still too low for any noticeable effects.

If an hour or two of practice was enough to get someone into a ring for a boxing match, then it would not be traditional martial arts—it would be divine martial arts!

Still, Chen Jue was quite satisfied to have learned another skill that could increase proficiency and attribute points.

After leaving his residential complex for breakfast, Chen Jue slowly made his way to Wangdao Park.

It was only nine in the morning. Most of the shops in Wangdao Park had not opened yet; only the gym and several breakfast eateries were already open.

There were still a few days left on his gym trial card, and Chen Jue did not want to waste them, so he came early.

However, he could not do a normal workout today.

His right arm and both legs had not fully recovered yet. Only his left hand could barely manage some exercise.

Seeing Chen Jue arrive so early, the young receptionist's eyes lit up.

She remembered Chen Jue, the trainee who had attended a trial session. Most people who came back after one trial class eventually became members.

As long as Chen Jue paid for a membership card, she would receive a decent commission.

So the moment he walked in, the receptionist warmly said, "Sir? You're back? Would you like me to call a coach for you? Coach Li isn't on duty today, but another Coach Lin is here."

"Huh?"

"No need. I'll just work out on my own. I won't trouble you," Chen Jue said, waving his hand.

His trial card was only valid for seven days. Once it ended next Monday, he had no intention of buying a membership here.

Taisheng Finance was about to collapse. Chen Jue himself could not even guarantee whether he would still remain in Jianye Park afterward.

Getting a gym membership now would be a complete waste!

Besides, he had already gotten a free trial lesson. Troubling them again would be rather thick-skinned and pushing his luck.

Seeing Chen Jue decline, the receptionist did not press further.

The service industry was all about knowing the right boundaries. She was afraid that being too enthusiastic would scare off Chen Jue, a potential customer.

After all, everyone had different personalities, and all kinds of people came here to work out.

Some were outgoing social butterflies who liked attentive service, while plenty of socially anxious people preferred to exercise undisturbed.

With his glasses and slightly chubby appearance, Chen Jue looked like the sort of socially anxious shut-in.

After filling his own water bottle with some warm water from the dispenser, Chen Jue first wandered around the gym.

Seeing a hot-bodied female coach leading a scantily clad female trainee through exercises, Chen Jue only glanced twice before hurriedly looking away.

He lowered his head, pulled out his phone, thought for a moment, then edited the [Prompt] he had seen on the Attribute Panel last night into a message and sent it to Coach Li Chaoqun for advice.

The coach was probably resting after a shift change, so he did not reply.

Chen Jue then went to the Leisure Sports Room, picked up some darts, and began throwing.

Thud~

Thud~

Thud~

The sound of darts striking the wall-mounted target echoed through the Leisure Sports Room and could be heard clearly even in the equipment area outside the glass walls.

After a night of rest, Chen Jue's left hand had recovered its strength.

With the [Darts] skill having reached Lv2, he had gained a deeper understanding of steel-tip darts. When Chen Jue threw again, nearly every throw received a Standard+ or Excellent evaluation prompt.

His proficiency was shooting up by +2 and +3 at a time! It was like using a double experience scroll!

And while practicing darts early in the morning, Chen Jue discovered that his mind was free of distractions, his head was clear, and he was more focused than usual.

In that remarkable state, he began hitting the bullseye more and more often.

After practicing for less than an hour, just as his left wrist and forearm muscles were becoming unbearably sore, the familiar Attribute Panel prompt appeared again.

[Ding~]

[Proficiency has reached 100%. Skill level increased.]

[Darts Lv2 (500/500) → Lv3 (1/2000)]

[Your understanding of steel-tip darts has greatly improved. Your throwing form has become increasingly standard, and you now possess the level of an amateur player.]

[Ding~]

[After a period of training, the muscle groups in your left hand and left forearm have increased slightly.]

[Strength Attribute +0.01]

After the two rounds of prompts finished scrolling, Chen Jue put down the darts and shook out his sore left hand.

Such intense, continuous practice had already exceeded the limits of what his body could handle.

Fortunately, his effort had paid off!

Not only had the [Darts] skill leveled up, but his Strength had also risen a little, reaching 0.80.

"Level 3 counts as amateur level! But it needs 2,000 proficiency to level up afterward?"

"Wouldn't I need to throw for more than four hours total, like just now, to grind enough?" Chen Jue calculated the time and improvement rate, then began feeling discouraged.

That was only because he had been in good condition this morning, allowing him to grind out 500 proficiency points in a little over an hour.

If he was in poor condition, the training time would probably be even longer.

And Chen Jue's stamina was not unlimited. Once his wrist and arm got tired, he needed time to rest and recover.

To continue leveling [Darts] to Level 4, he guessed he would probably need to endure for a week, or even ten days or so.

"The early levels rise quickly."

"Once the later proficiency requirements get longer, leveling will slow down."

"These attribute points are probably the same. Improvements come quickly when the base is low, but they should slow down later too." Chen Jue thought of the fitness content creators who had recently exploded in popularity online by filming their disciplined workout routines.

When those disciplined creators first started making videos, they were all severely overweight. With a high starting weight, they could lose more than ten pounds after just a few days of discipline—shockingly fast.

Later, the lower their body fat became, the worse their daily weight-loss results got.

After all, body weight was a figure with neither a particularly high upper limit nor lower limit.

If it dropped too far, it could easily trigger various illnesses.

Just as Chen Jue was shaking out his arm to relax, his phone rang.

Coach Li replied, "Mr. Chen, the increased appetite and nutrient absorption you mentioned after exercise are actually very common."

"Yesterday, I looked at your body composition report. Your basal metabolic rate is normal, only 1,640 kilocalories."

"Among the members I've worked with who have body types similar to yours, most reach 1,800 kilocalories after training for a while."

"At that point, you need to increase your nutritional intake. If you want to gain muscle, it's best to eat more high-protein foods such as eggs and beef. At the same time, maintain a balanced diet, eat more vegetables to supplement vitamins, dietary fiber, and minerals, and remember to drink more water! As your metabolism increases, the water in your body will also be consumed faster!"

"For professional coaches like us and professional athletes, normal meals alone are not enough. Some of us also supplement with whey protein, otherwise our nutrition cannot keep up."

Seeing how patiently Coach Li had replied, Chen Jue sent several thank-you stickers in a row.

After seeing unfamiliar terms such as [Muscles], [Training], [Aerobic Exercise], and [Anaerobic Exercise] repeatedly appear on the Attribute Panel, he had vaguely guessed that its prompts were advice based on existing knowledge of the human body in the real world.

Chen Jue had only just begun exercising and fitness training. Aside from lacking experience, he was equally clueless about this knowledge of the human body.

Having a professional guide him one-on-one and fill in the gaps would allow him to grasp exercise-related knowledge much faster.

Just as Chen Jue stared at his phone and considered how to get more free exercise-related knowledge from Coach Li—

The hot-bodied female coach, curvy in all the right places, pushed open the door and entered the Leisure Sports Room. In a light, clear voice, she asked curiously, "Were you the one throwing darts just now?"

Third update~

Still asking for recommendation votes~

A lot of big-name authors have started new books recently. I hope you guys can help push mine up a bit. Updates will definitely be plentiful!

I got one stat wrong. Darts was written as Level 4 instead of Level 3, and it has already been corrected.