Chapter 31 - 27: A Small Test of Skill

Chen Jue didn’t know what was going on with himself.

He had clearly been nervous during the warm-up, yet his first three darts had been surprisingly good!

Not only was Wei Jinseng, his opponent, stunned, but even Liu Songfu, who was acting as the referee, was dumbfounded.

What the hell!

’I was planning on showing off in front of the girls, to make my presence known.’

’But it turns out I ran into a suspected pro. Isn’t this just offering up my face to be slapped?’

Even the spectating club members burst into a commotion, crying out in surprise when they saw the score of 125.

’Am I a big-game player? A natural-born show-off?’

’The more people there are, the better I perform?’

’That’s not right! I’m supposed to be a social phobe!’ Chen Jue looked up at the scoreboard, then walked up and pulled out his darts with a bewildered expression.

So-called "big-game players" were the type who performed better the larger and more enthusiastic the crowd.

These kinds of players usually only perform at 60 or 70 percent of their potential during regular practice. But when a major competition starts, it’s like they’ve eaten gunpowder and been shot up with chicken blood—they have a burst of power and unleash 120 or 130 percent of their strength, stunning everyone.

"Brother Jue! You’re amazing!"

"So cool!"

Seeing this score, the two pretty girls, Lin Ling and Hu Feifei, clapped excitedly from the sidelines.

...

The pace of an international darts match is very fast, especially in a singles game, which can be over in just a few minutes.

As for Wei Jinseng, after being stunned by Chen Jue’s near-perfect opening three darts, his composure instantly shattered.

He knew he had run into an expert this time!

In the following two rounds, Wei Jinseng’s performance was mediocre due to his shattered composure. After nine darts, he had only scored 210 points, a complete choke.

Chen Jue, however, watched his Proficiency soar. He grew more and more spirited with each throw, his touch red-hot, and ultimately scored a high of 300 points.

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

With the best-two-out-of-three rule, Chen Jue won the first two games, bringing the match to an immediate end.

But what surprised Chen Jue the most was that as soon as the result was decided, a new series of notifications popped up on his panel:

——————

[Ding~]

[You have completed a qualifying technical spar and achieved victory. You have gained a 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 understood the charm of competitive sports. Your mentality, willpower, and focus have been thoroughly trained.]

[Spirit Attribute +0.01]

——————

A cool and refreshing sensation shot into his head. The competition had been extremely draining.

After staring at the dartboard for so long, Chen Jue’s eyes felt sore and his temples were throbbing.

But as soon as his Spirit Attribute increased, the soreness and throbbing were instantly soothed away.

’There’s a benefit like this to competing with others?’ Chen Jue was taken aback.

He was suddenly reminded of the esports livestreams he loved to watch. Besides high-intensity training within their teams every day, those pro players had to frequently participate in various large and small tournaments to maintain their competitive edge and game sense.

The more matches they played, the higher their skill level became.

Once they slacked off on practice, their skills would decline sharply.

It was the same principle for steel-tip darts; sparring and exchanging pointers with others could also accelerate the increase of his Proficiency.

However, just as Chen Jue’s match ended, the surrounding club members started to cheer.

Because the young lady from the front desk had already prepared dozens of cups of coffee and, with the help of a few other staff members, was wheeling them to the competition area on a serving cart.

"Xiaowei, thanks for the coffee!"

"Old Liu, you better hurry it up! Everyone’s waiting for you to treat them to cake!"

Hearing these two jokes, Wei Jinseng, who was scanning a QR code to pay, felt his face twitch.

Getting utterly destroyed was one thing, but being sarcastically mocked like this on top of it felt like taking a dart to the chest.

’My friends, that really hits where it hurts!’

As for Liu Songfu, when he heard the young lady from the front desk say the cake was on its way, he snorted, "It’s not over ’til it’s over!"

Then he took off his jacket, stepped up to the line, and started warming up with some practice throws.

However, competitive sports aren’t won by talking trash.

It was another best-two-out-of-three match. Chen Jue’s touch was still hot; at least one of his three darts would hit the bullseye every round. He once again easily secured victory with scores of 285 to 255 and 305 to 260.

When the match ended, the young lady from the front desk, who had been enjoying the show, cheerfully presented the payment QR code to Liu Songfu, repeating several times, "Thank you, President Liu!"

Since he was treating the entire place, the staff members were no exception. Everyone on duty got a free cup of coffee and a delicate little cake.

"Don’t mention it, it’s just pocket change."

"As long as everyone’s happy."

"We’re all part of the same club. Friendship first, competition second!" Liu Songfu put on a magnanimous smile, a complete change from his previous stubborn, unwilling-to-lose attitude.

But everyone has a competitive streak. Don’t be fooled by Liu Songfu and Wei Jinseng’s polite exteriors.

In reality, they were both cursing up a storm in their heads.

Spending a thousand or so on the treat was nothing to them.

The main thing was being defeated by a club newcomer. They had truly lost face in front of everyone.

Moreover, they had lost in front of the girls they were interested in. No matter how they thought about it, they felt utterly frustrated.

...

As for Chen Jue, after exchanging a few rounds of commercial-grade compliments with Liu Songfu and Wei Jinseng, he accepted the coffee and cake from the front desk girl and began to slowly savor them.

At the same time, he started to reflect on the match he just played.

This was his first time competing against someone in Darts. Although his opponents weren’t professionals, it gave him a direct, personal experience of a Darts competition.

During the match, Chen Jue found that his focus was sharper than usual, and his physical movements were more precise.

This caused his[Darts] Proficiency to increase at a rapid pace.

On top of that, when the results were announced and his tense mind relaxed, he felt as if he had been sublimated!

The pleasure from that instantaneous release of pressure and catharsis was incredibly intoxicating.

And the victory itself was proof: all the hard work he had put into practicing Darts had not been in vain!

This sense of accomplishment and reward—of effort paying off—was something Chen Jue had never experienced in all his years of toiling away at his job.

’This must be the charm of competitive sports!’ Chen Jue marveled internally.

He glanced at his Attribute panel again. The Proficiency for[Darts]had already reached Lv3 (1826/2000).

He was just a little bit away from leveling up!

’There’s still time this afternoon. I have to hurry up and practice[Darts].’

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

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

In an instant, Chen Jue once again became a thorn in the side of all the lecherous club members.

But this time, it wasn’t a cloth-armored character pulling a mob and getting aggro from everyone!

After the two previous crushing victories, Chen Jue was now clad in +999 Defense Profound Iron Armor; he could walk sideways through the club now.

For a reserved but inwardly proud man, the result of this little show of skill was a massive win!

...

Under a sea of envious gazes, Chen Jue began practicing with the two pretty girls, Lin Ling and Hu Feifei.

You throw a dart, I throw a dart. Back and forth they went, the three of them having a blast throwing at a single dartboard.

During practice, Chen Jue would occasionally correct their dart-throwing posture and fix their power-generating techniques with his own hands.

For the two girls, who were both former fitness instructors, this minor physical contact was perfectly normal.

But this intimate gesture made the other members practicing nearby burn with jealousy.

’Damn it! Why does he get to practice with girls?’

’And two at once!’

’Is this the treatment experts get?’

If looks could kill—or in this case, pierce—Chen Jue would probably look like a worn-out dartboard by now.

Fortunately, after about half an hour of practice, Chen Jue took the opportunity of his final dart hitting the bullseye of the electronic dartboard to finally max out his [Darts] Proficiency.

At that moment, new notifications appeared on his Attribute panel:

——————

[Ding~]

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

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

[Through your unremitting efforts, your steel-tip Darts skill has reached a professional level. The sport of steel-tip Darts no longer holds any technical secrets for you.]

[Suggestion: You should now make some changes, try some different types of Darts Skill, or add some difficulty for yourself and challenge your own limits!]

[Restriction Notice: Normal practice of traditional steel-tip Darts will no longer grant Proficiency growth.]