Chapter 89 - 87: Truly Happy for Her

Chapter 89: Chapter 87: Truly Happy for Her

Obviously, the fact that Lu Wei was willing to demonstrate [Stealth] for Bai Ya meant he didn’t actually "hate" her that much.

After all, it wasn’t like he could learn [Imitation] anyway.

And as for selling it, he’d never be able to unless he could find another "one-in-a-million fool" with only 1 point in Perception.

So, giving it to Bai Ya was the best possible fate for this Skill Book.

At the very least, Bai Ya getting a little stronger was a good thing for him, her boss.

’Sigh, I’ll just consider it an investment in the future.’

’On the bright side, at least I don’t have to give the Soul Pendant back.’

"Alright, I’m starting," he announced.

The thought of the Soul Pendant finally restored some of Lu Wei’s emotional balance. After giving her a heads-up, he began to attempt entering Stealth.

Channeling Magic Power, feeling for the resonance... His Stealth was now at Level 1, and with the bonuses from his high Agility and Perception, his success rate was very high.

He succeeded on his first try this time, entering a state of Stealth within seconds.

Of course, since they were face-to-face, even Bai Ya, with her 1 point in Perception, was still able to see him.

But that feeling of "there’s a person standing in front of me" had magically vanished.

How to describe it? It was as if Lu Wei had suddenly turned into a lifeless "humanoid statue," much to Bai Ya’s amazement.

Then, the statue came to life.

And then it died again.

Came to life again.

Died again...

After going back and forth like this ten times, Lu Wei finally dropped out of Stealth completely and asked curiously:

"Was that enough times? Did you learn it?"

"I think so! It’s in my Skills list now!"

Bai Ya reported excitedly, "Level 1 Stealth! Zero-slash-zero-zero!"

’What the heck is zero-slash-zero-zero?’

’Oh, she means 0/∞, right?’

’Damn it, she actually learned it...’

Jealousy twisted Lu Wei’s features. He gritted his teeth and muttered, "Well? Why don’t you try using it?"

"Oh, okay!"

Bai Ya nodded and, mimicking Lu Wei’s earlier actions, began to try entering a state of Stealth.

The exact same movements, the exact same breathing rhythm, even the exact same expression... It was like copying a classmate’s test paper and accidentally writing down their name, a completely clumsy imitation of Lu Wei.

Normally, this would have no effect whatsoever.

Take Furen’s [Jump Slash], for example. Although it looks like just jumping up and slashing downward—an action anyone could perform—without having learned the Skill, it’s nothing more than a simple "jump" and "slash." The force behind it is merely the power of a normal swing, with no additional bonus from the Skill or one’s Attributes.

But Bai Ya was different.

As she moved, fluctuations of Magic Power actually appeared around her body.

And then...

"I did it!"

Under Lu Wei’s skeptical gaze, she suddenly exclaimed, "I’m in Stealth!"

"Uh, are you sure...?"

Lu Wei sized her up doubtfully, seeing no change at all.

However, it might have been because they were too close to each other.

"Alright, go walk a circle behind Zovir and see if he notices you."

"Okay!"

Like a child with a new toy, Bai Ya nodded eagerly and tiptoed toward Zovir, who wasn’t far away.

Zovir had his back to them, cutting bread on a rock, seemingly oblivious to everything.

Twenty meters, fifteen, ten, five...

Under Lu Wei’s watch, the distance between them shrank, and soon she was only about three meters away.

According to [Stealth]’s effect of greatly masking sound and smell, combined with the fact that Bai Ya was on her tiptoes, Zovir shouldn’t have noticed a thing.

But when Bai Ya took another step forward, closing the distance to two meters, he suddenly lifted his head.

Then, he looked back, a bit puzzled.

"Ah, Miss Bai Ya, did you need something?"

"I... I..."

Bai Ya froze, her expression instantly becoming one of utter embarrassment. She felt like a Thief caught red-handed trying to steal a purse, stammering for a long time before finally forcing out a sentence—

"I was just... taking a walk..."

"Oh, okay."

Zovir replied blankly and turned back to cutting his bread.

Meanwhile, Bai Ya scurried back to Lu Wei’s side and muttered in a small, disappointed voice:

"Umm, I think it failed..."

"It didn’t fail completely. It’s probably because your Perception is too low."

Lu Wei, who had more or less figured it out by now, analyzed with a beaming smile, "[Stealth]’s effectiveness is tied to Agility and Perception. You only have one point of Perception, so even if you enter the state of Stealth, the effect is really poor. Hahaha."

"Ah, that does sound very reasonable..."

Bai Ya stared at him blankly. "But Captain, why are you laughing...?"

Lu Wei immediately straightened his face. "Hm? Was I?"

"You were, and very loudly..."

"Ahem, that’s probably because I’m so happy for you. After all, no matter what, at least your Imitation ability is real."

"That’s true... Well then, Captain, you should go eat first!"

After being "comforted" by him like that, Bai Ya really wasn’t disappointed anymore. She immediately perked up again, tossed out a sentence, and ran toward Furen.

"Furen! Furen! Are you done resting yet?!"

"Hurry, hurry! Only two more times to go! You can do it!"

...

...

Another ten-odd minutes later, just as Anna had finished preparing lunch, Bai Ya finally "learned" [Jump Slash].

Compared to [Stealth], [Jump Slash] was only related to Power.

Although Bai Ya’s Power wasn’t particularly high, at least it wasn’t as low as her Perception, so her execution of it looked decent enough.

"Heiyah!"

Wielding a battered One-handed Sword that Lu Wei had casually brought back from the Goblin Nest, she mimicked Furen’s tone with a "Heiyah!" and leaped high into the air...

CRACK!

With a crisp sound, the blade of the One-handed Sword sank completely into a tree stump—something she had definitely been incapable of doing before.

"I did it!!"

Seeing this, Bai Ya was instantly overjoyed. Her long hair and the hem of her skirt bounced lightly in the sunlight... because she herself was jumping up and down.

It was a very typical "girlish celebration."

In any case, even though she couldn’t pull the Sword out of the stump, it didn’t change the fact that she had indeed learned [Jump Slash].

Watching this from not far away, Lu Wei and Furen both nodded with gratified smiles.

"I’ve never seen her this happy before,"

Furen remarked with great maturity. "It reminds me of how I felt the first time I used Jump Slash. I was just as excited."

"That’s right. I’m sincerely happy for her, too,"

Lu Wei chimed in "sincerely." "This must be what it feels like to witness a comrade’s growth."

Furen: "Indeed. This feeling is even more joyous than becoming stronger yourself."

Lu Wei: "Yes, I’m just so joyous."

Furen: "...So she’s learned Stealth, too?"

Lu Wei: "Yup, she has."

Furen: "So if you count that, plus Imitation, she’s mastered three Skills now."

Lu Wei: "And you and I only have one each."

Furen: "..."

Lu Wei’s statement hit Furen like a sucker punch, rendering him completely silent.

This tactic of his was called "pain sharing." When you encounter something that makes you unhappy, just make someone else unhappy too. From a certain point of view, it’s like you’ve offloaded a portion of your own pain.

Although in theory the total amount of pain doesn’t decrease, in practice, it really is effective.

Unfortunately for Lu Wei, Furen was far more righteous than him, and he quickly snapped out of it.

’Hey! You shouldn’t say things that undermine our unity!’

’We’re comrades! I’m not going to be envious... Okay, fine! I’m actually really envious!’

’But this will only serve as my motivation!’

"That’s right! I will definitely become stronger, too!"

Shouting this in his heart, Furen clenched his fists, trying his best to console himself.

And just as he was about to succeed, Bai Ya suddenly came pattering over to them. As if she had discovered some huge secret, she put her hands on her hips and showed off:

"Heehee~ I just thought of something~"

"Guess what it is?"

"It’s that I now know more Skills than both of you combined!"

"..."

Furen: ’Right, right...’