Chapter 10: Joyful Darts

"Darts?"

’This counts as a Skill, too?’

Chen Jue stared blankly for a moment.

He glanced at his panel’s Skill Bar. Sure enough, a new Skill block had appeared: [Darts Lv.0 (1/100)].

’First it was [Stone Skimming], and now it’s [Darts].’

’Is this panel always so random about activating Skills?’

Chen Jue rubbed his eyes. He wasn’t seeing things.

It was just like when he had accidentally activated the [Stone Skimming] Skill by tossing a rock into the pond in the small rooftop garden at his company.

This time, Chen Jue had tried playing with these steel-tip darts, and the panel had likewise solidified it into a Skill.

According to the instructions, the full name for this sport should be English Steel-Tip Darts.

It originated in 15th-century England and became popular in pubs around the world in the early 20th century, eventually becoming a professional sport with its own professional associations and international-level competitions.

Chen Jue had seen classmates play it in gym class back in school.

Back then, nobody looked into it; they all just called it "throwing darts."

He never expected to encounter it in a gym today, let alone have it solidify into a panel Skill.

After observing the newly triggered [Darts] Skill, Chen Jue skeptically scanned the various equipment in the gym, as well as the board games, card games, and chess sets in the small booths.

He went around and tried touching all of them. This time, Chen Jue was dumbfounded.

Faced with a gym full of different activities, the panel didn’t react at all!

’What’s the logic for activating Skills?’ Chen Jue wondered, crossing his arms in thought.

Since his panel awakened yesterday afternoon, he had tried several types of exercise.

Cycling, running, leg presses—the panel hadn’t responded to any of them.

Even the wide array of fitness machines and the chess and card games on the shelf failed to activate anything.

The only two Sports Skills he had activated were [Stone Skimming] and [Darts].

’The commonality between them seems to be that they both involve throwing something with my hand.’

’Is that what it’s related to?’

Chen Jue then picked up a couple of marbles and flicked them, and even found a shot put to toss, but the panel still didn’t react.

’How strange!’

Chen Jue was baffled.

Could it be that the Attribute panel he’d awakened had an extremely peculiar taste, specifically picking out niche, obscure sports to sample?

But marbles, Chinese checkers, and Gobang were all pretty niche. Logically, they should have been activated too.

...

He spent over half an hour experimenting but couldn’t figure out the specific reason.

Nor did he awaken a third Skill.

But since he had just activated a new Skill, [Darts], Chen Jue didn’t look too dejected.

Instead, he used his left hand, stood at the throwing line, and continued to try throwing the steel-tip darts a few more times.

——————

[Ding~]

[Action meets requirements]

[Darts Skill Level +1]

——————

[Ding~]

[Action meets requirements. An excellent dart throw was completed.]

[Darts Skill Level +2]

After a few throws, Chen Jue couldn’t help but smile as he watched the notifications scroll across his panel.

Darts was a lot like Stone Skimming; they were both recreational activities that brought him joy.

The higher the score he hit, the wider Chen Jue’s grin became.

It was like climbing the ranked ladder in a video game—the higher your rank, the greater the satisfaction.

In addition, Chen Jue also figured out the pattern for increasing his Darts Skill Level.

The closer his dart landed to the bullseye in the center of the board, the more Skill Level points he gained.

When he hit the bullseye, a [Perfect] rating actually popped up, giving him a whopping +4 to his Skill Level.

This made Chen Jue ecstatic!

This was because the sport of [Darts] had a clear ceiling: hitting the bullseye.

An ordinary person could play for a few minutes, throw a few times, and eventually get lucky with one.

Unlike Stone Skimming, where after trying all night, the best Chen Jue had managed was a single +3 with a [Superb] rating.

’Acceptable, Excellent, Superb, Perfect!’

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

...

After activating the new Skill, Chen Jue stayed in the recreational sports room until almost noon.

By the time he left Yi Lian Fitness, his [Darts] Skill had smoothly risen to Lv. 1 (103/200), progressing even faster than his previously awakened [Stone Skimming] Skill.

This was because Darts wasn’t a resource-intensive sport; as long as the steel-tip darts weren’t broken, they could be reused.

Furthermore, throwing darts didn’t consume as much stamina as [Stone Skimming].

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

However, the sport was quite draining on the eyes, and the mind.

To hit the target, you had to concentrate.

If you threw carelessly, it was easy to miss the board entirely and stick the dart into the wall.

Perhaps because he was new to [Darts], this was the main takeaway Chen Jue had concluded so far.

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

It was just like when he used to work overtime at night, processing dozens of client orders in a row, which would leave him dizzy and mentally fatigued.

...

"Not bad."

’This trial session wasn’t a waste!’

Dragging his exhausted body, Chen Jue walked out of Yi Lian Fitness, glancing back every few steps.

He checked the time and rubbed his rumbling stomach.

Chen Jue first found a fast-food restaurant in Wangdao Park for a meal, then slowly ambled back to his rented apartment.

Close the curtains, take off his clothes, and play dead on the bed.

He had this "lying flat" routine down to a fine art, at least at the Master Level.

This time, however, it wasn’t mental exhaustion from overtime but physical fatigue from proper exercise.

Except for his left arm, which felt a bit better, Chen Jue felt like every part of his body was aching!

But after lying down for just over an hour and starting to doze off for a nap, Chen Jue was jolted awake by his phone ringing.

"Old Si, what’re you up to?"

"Come out and play a few rounds!"

"Moyu Internet Cafe, waiting for you at the usual spot!" a cheeky voice said over the phone.

It was a call from Chen Jue’s college roommate, Jiang Zhe.

After graduating from college, out of the six people in their dorm room, only he and Jiang Zhe had come to Hang City to make a life for themselves.

According to their dorm room seniority, Chen Jue was fourth oldest, making him Old Si, and Jiang Zhe was second oldest, Jiang the Second.

Usually, whenever it was the weekend, a holiday, or they had any other free time, the two would often meet up. If they weren’t getting a meal, they were teaming up at an internet cafe, and they had managed to keep their college friendship going strong.

"Can’t play, bro... You go on without me! I just want to rest for a couple of days..." Chen Jue replied wearily.

"Holy crap! You sound completely drained!"

"Old Si, fess up! Did you get tangled up with some vixen recently? Your master will come and help you exorcise that demon!" Jiang Zhe joked from the other end of the line.

"Oh, thanks a bunch, Jiang the Second... If you’re coming over, you might as well bring a vixen with you to warm up my bed... I really don’t want to move..." Chen Jue said, his voice lacking any enthusiasm, and promptly hung up.

He was so tired right now that even lifting a finger felt like a chore.

In the past, he’d only ever felt this bone-deep desire to sleep forever after going on team-building trips to climb those famous mountains that made you feel like your legs would fall off.

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

Chen Jue’s place was on the ground floor, with the window facing the community’s green space and walkway.

There were no security bars on the outside, so you could just hook a hand over the sill and climb in.

When he slept, Chen Jue always drew the curtains, partly to block out light and noise for a better sleep, and partly to give himself some privacy.

In the two years he’d lived here, only this roommate of his would be so brazen as to knock on his window.

"Bro! Just give me a break!"

"Let me rest for two days!"

"Do I look like I can team up with you for a game?" Chen Jue pulled open the curtain and showed off his arms and legs, which were covered in pain-relief patches.

Seeing this, Jiang Zhe also let out a "What the fuck!"

"What happened to you, Old Si?"

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

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

Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhe broke into a mischievous grin. "So that’s why you sounded so drained on the phone! You actually worked out!"

"I was hoping to team up with you this afternoon, but looking at the sorry state you’re in, that’s probably not happening."

"Get changed and come with me! I’ll take you somewhere great! I guarantee it’ll fix you right up!"

"Where to?" Chen Jue was still a bit annoyed.

Being disturbed while resting was an extremely infuriating thing.

But when Jiang Zhe pulled out two spa cash vouchers for the Jingtang Club, Chen Jue’s eyes immediately lit up. He hugged his friend’s thigh and exclaimed, "Second Brother! You’re my one and only Second Brother!"

He immediately yanked the curtain shut, changed his clothes in a flash, and dragged his exhausted body into Jiang Zhe’s shady ride.

And where was this car headed, you ask?

Well, it definitely wasn’t going to kindergarten. (smirk)