A Small Test of Skill

Chen Jue had no idea what was going on with himself.

He had been quite nervous during his warm-up just moments ago, yet his first three Darts had performed surprisingly well!

Not only was Wei Jinsheng, who was competing against him, stunned, but even Liu Songfu, who was acting as the referee, was left dumbfounded.

What the hell!

He had intended to show off in front of the girls and grab some attention.

Instead, he had run into someone who looked like a professional player; wasn't this just handing his face over to be slapped?

Even the club members watching from the sidelines erupted into a commotion, gasping in surprise after seeing the score of 125.

Could it be that I'm a big-game player? A natural-born show-off?

Do I perform better the more people there are?

That's not right! I'm supposed to be socially anxious! Chen Jue looked up at the scoreboard, pulled the Darts out with a suspicious expression on his face.

A so-called big-game player is the type who performs better the more crowded and intense the competition venue is.

Such players often only display 60 or 70 percent of their skill during practice, but once they reach a major competition, it's as if they've taken stimulants or gunpowder; they go berserk and pull out 120 or 130 percent of their ability, stunning the entire crowd.

"Brother Jue! You're amazing!"

"So cool!"

Seeing the score, Lin Ling and Hu Feifei, the two pretty girls, began to clap excitedly from the sidelines.

The pace of international Darts matches is very fast, especially in one-on-one competitions; a round can basically be finished in a few minutes.

As for Wei Jinsheng, his mindset completely collapsed after being stunned by Chen Jue's near-perfect opening three Darts.

He knew he had run into a master this time!

In the following two rounds, Wei Jinsheng performed mediocrely due to his unbalanced state of mind, finishing nine Darts with only 210 points—a total flop.

Chen Jue, however, watched his proficiency skyrocket; the more he threw, the more spirited he became. With his hand feeling hot, he ultimately secured a high score of 300.

The second game yielded a similar result: 295 to 230, a crushing victory by a large margin.

Under the best-of-three rules, Chen Jue had won the first two, officially ending the match.

But what surprised Chen Jue the most was that as soon as the result was decided, the panel popped up with a new notification:

[Ding~]

[You have completed a qualifying skill exchange and achieved victory. You have gained a deeper, special insight into the sport of Darts.]

[Darts Proficiency +100]

[Ding~]

[You have experienced an informal offline competition, felt the enthusiasm of the audience, and realized the charm of athletic competition. Your mindset, willpower, and focus have been fully exercised.]

[Spirit Attribute +0.01]

A cool, refreshing sensation surged into his head. The match had been very draining.

After staring at the target for so long, Chen Jue had felt his eyes aching and his temples throbbing.

But as his Spirit attribute increased, this soreness and tension instantly faded away.

"Competing with others actually has these kinds of benefits?" Chen Jue was stunned.

He suddenly remembered the esports livestreams he liked to watch; those pro players, in addition to high-intensity team training every day, had to frequently participate in various large and small tournaments to maintain their competitive state and "feel" for the game.

The more they played, the higher their technical level became.

Once they neglected practice, their skills would decline sharply.

The same logic applied to these steel-tip Darts; exchanging pointers with others could also accelerate the improvement of his proficiency.

However, just as the winner was decided, the club members watching from the sidelines began to cheer.

The young lady at the front desk had already finished brewing dozens of cups of coffee and, calling over a few staff members, had them delivered to the competition area on serving carts.

"Little Wei, thanks for the coffee!"

"Old Liu, hurry up! Everyone is still waiting for you to treat us to cake!"

Hearing these jokes, Wei Jinsheng, who was busy scanning the QR code to pay, felt his face twitch.

Being treated like a novice and crushed was one thing, but being mocked with such sarcasm felt like taking a Dart to the chest.

My friends, that really stings!

As for Liu Songfu, upon hearing the girl at the front desk say the cake was on its way, he snorted, "Who wins and who loses isn't decided yet!"

He then took off his jacket, stepped up to the line, and began his warm-up throws.

However, sports competition is not something you can win just by talking tough.

It was another best-of-three, and Chen Jue's touch remained scorching hot. Every set of three Darts was guaranteed to have at least one bullseye, and he ultimately secured another easy victory with scores of 285:255 and 305:260.

As the match concluded, the young receptionist watching from the sidelines happily brought the payment QR code over to Liu Songfu, saying repeatedly, "Thank you, Boss Liu!"

Because he was treating the entire venue, the staff members were no exception; those on duty all received a free coffee and an exquisite small cake.

"Don't mention it, it's just a small amount of money."

"As long as everyone is happy."

"We're all in the same club, friendship first, competition second!" Liu Songfu put on a smile, acting very magnanimous, a complete change from his previous stubborn and sore-loser attitude.

But everyone has a desire to win; don't let the polite faces of Liu Songfu and Wei Jinsheng fool you.

In reality, they were both cursing up a storm inside.

Spending a thousand or so to treat everyone wasn't a significant amount of money for them at all.

The main thing was that being defeated by a club newcomer was a genuine loss of face in front of everyone.

Moreover, losing in front of the girls they had their eyes on made them feel stifled no matter how they looked at it.

As for Chen Jue, after exchanging a few rounds of commercial flattery with Liu Songfu and Wei Jinsheng, he took the coffee and cake handed over by the receptionist and began to savor them slowly.

He took the opportunity to reflect on the process of the match just now.

This was his first time competing in Darts against someone, and although his opponents weren't professional players, it gave him an intuitive, firsthand experience of a Darts match.

During the competition, Chen Jue discovered that his focus was more concentrated than usual, and his physical movements were more standardized.

This caused his proficiency in [Darts] to skyrocket.

Furthermore, once the results were out and his tense spirit finally relaxed, he felt as if he had been sublimated!

The pleasure brought by that instantaneous release of pressure and emotional catharsis was incredibly intoxicating.

And the victory in the match felt like proof: the hard work he had put into practicing Darts had not been in vain!

This sense of achievement and reward for his efforts was something Chen Jue had never experienced during his years of burying his head in work at the office.

Perhaps this is the charm of sports competition! Chen Jue sighed inwardly.

Taking another look at his attribute panel, the proficiency of [Darts] had already reached Lv3 (1826/2000).

He was just a little bit away from leveling up!

Taking advantage of the time left in the afternoon, he had to buckle down and practice [Darts].

However, to Chen Jue's surprise, after the two matches ended, Hu Feifei, Lin Ling's best friend, completely changed her previous perfunctory attitude toward him.

When she came over to congratulate Chen Jue on his win, she even took the initiative to add him on WeChat and invited him to the training area to coach them.

In an instant, Chen Jue once again became a thorn in the side of the club's many "lecherous" members.

But this time, he wasn't a "cloth-armored" newbie drawing aggro!

With the two crushing victories earlier, Chen Jue had already equipped himself with +999 defense Black Iron Heavy Armor; he could walk sideways through the club now.

For a closet lecher, the result of this small display of skill was a total, overwhelming win!

Amidst a crowd of envious gazes, Chen Jue began to accompany the two beautiful girls, Lin Ling and Hu Feifei, in their practice.

One dart from you, one from me, back and forth, the three of them had a great time sticking darts into a single target.

During the practice, Chen Jue would occasionally step in to correct their Darts posture and adjust their force-application techniques.

For two girls who were fitness coaches by trade, these minor physical contacts were perfectly normal.

Yet, such intimate gestures made the other members practicing nearby green with envy.

Damn it! Why can others bring girls to practice?

And two at a time!

Is this the treatment experts get?

If looks could kill, Chen Jue would have been turned into a shredded target board by now.

Fortunately, after practicing for about half an hour, Chen Jue took the opportunity of his final dart hitting the dead center of the electronic target to finally max out his proficiency in [Darts].

At this moment, the attribute panel provided a new notification:

[Ding~]

[Proficiency reached 100%, skill level increased.]

[Darts Lv3 (2000/2000) → Darts Lv4 (1/5000)]

[Through your unremitting efforts, your needle-dart level has reached that of a professional player. The sport of needle-darts no longer holds any technical secrets for you.]

[Suggestion: You should make some changes next, try different types of dart techniques, or increase the difficulty for yourself to challenge the upper limits of your abilities!]

[Restriction Notice: Normal practice with traditional needle-style Darts can no longer provide proficiency growth.]

Second update~

My train of thought was a bit sluggish tonight, so efficiency wasn't high. It's still better to have a clear head during the day and start working early.

I'm skipping the gym tomorrow; I plan to update more (heart).

Still asking for votes~