Taiping Residential Area, sixth floor of Building Four.
Fang You was still lying on the floor, his chest heaving unevenly, unable to get up.
He didn't want to get up either.
Too tired!
Though not as exhausted as when he was in the state of endless practice, pushed to his limits—in that state, if he hadn't been pulled up like a puppet, he would have fainted from exhaustion.
But now, his entire body felt as tired as if he had run ten kilometers.
Every part of him ached, his muscles sore and swollen.
Without even looking at the game interface, Fang You knew he currently had a 'severely fatigued' status.
"Is learning a skill this strenuous?"
"It was indeed learned in an instant, but..."
As expected, shortcuts come with a price.
He had originally planned to learn 'Eerie Tracking' and 'Palm Thunder' as well, but now he felt he needed to take a break.
Learning an ordinary level skill was already this draining. Would learning a rare level skill through direct infusion completely empty him out?
No, he was already drained.
If he was drained any further... well, did they support debt?
"After learning Basic Swordsmanship, my physique increased from 1.3 to 1.6. This is quite good, though the process was far more painful than using a physical enhancement potion."
"But my physique has improved, so learning the next skill should be easier?"
"So... before learning Eerie Tracking, should I first increase the proficiency of Basic Swordsmanship? This way, my physique will also improve."
He had quite a few skill training cards on hand now.
One left from before, two obtained from missions, and three from draws.
That made six cards in total.
He couldn't use them all on himself, after all, Brother Black Blade was his primary fighter, but he could use some... After all, he had provided crucial long-range support.
For now, he'd use one card to upgrade Basic Swordsmanship to the proficient level.
It's just...
"Based on the situation when learning skills, increasing proficiency is likely not going to be easy either."
"When I helped Brother Black Blade improve before, didn't he also enter a 'fatigued' state for a while?"
He hadn't paid attention.
Controlling Brother Black Blade was just a point-and-click game. Some details indeed needed to be experienced firsthand to understand the difficulty.
Brother Black Blade wasn't having it easy either.
He had given Brother Black Blade three training cards at once before. Fortunately, he hadn't overloaded Brother Black Blade.
Fang You lay there and rolled over.
"But Brother Black Blade's stamina recovers quickly. Is it because his physique is naturally strong?"
Fang You, who still didn't want to get up after lying down for half an hour, thought probably not.
His stamina had only recovered by a drop or two in half an hour, and he still felt weak.
The difference between him and Brother Black Blade couldn't be that huge, right?
"One possibility is that the space Brother Black Blade occupies is special?"
"Like an Apostle's space, perhaps?"
Fang You, having recovered some stamina, picked up his phone and tapped away on it.
There were currently only four modules.
Destiny Apostle, Destiny Draw, Item Inventory, Mission Dispatch.
Several other modules were grayed out with a lock icon, indicating they were locked.
They required certain conditions to be met.
One important module was labeled 'Base'.
Fang You kept tapping and poking it. Perhaps annoyed by his persistence, a 'ding' sound and a notification popped up.
"The Base module can be unlocked with three Destiny Apostles. Current condition: 2/3."
Fang You: "..."
Good heavens, he actually managed to poke something out of it.
He wondered if Brother Black Blade usually stayed within this unactivated base.
And if Brother Black Blade's rapid recovery was also related to the base.
"The condition includes myself, but we still need one more Destiny Apostle. Perhaps the next draw will yield one?"
"The requirement for the next draw is 9 Destiny Points."
Nine Destiny Points wasn't too difficult. He had already earned 1.2 units today. With a bit of effort, he would reach it soon.
It was easier than drawing a five-star character in some mobile games.
It's just...
Could he actually draw a Destiny Apostle?
Fang You thought it was likely.
"The probability of the third draw will increase significantly, likely yielding a blue-tier item. Drawing an Apostle is also reasonable."
"Will I continue to draw a special Apostle, or a real-world one?"
"Will it be a muscular man, a pretty lady, or even a non-human?"
Fang You looked at the Apostle list, which only contained two people, a handsome guy and a muscular man, but not a single alluring lady. He felt quite unsatisfied.
This Apostle list was better left unlooked at!
After resting for a good while, Fang You took a hot shower, ate lunch, and took a nap.
When he woke up naturally, he felt refreshed and full of energy.
He held his beginner's wooden sword and practiced each move, drawing, carrying, lifting, blocking... familiarizing himself with the sword techniques.
His movements weren't very skilled, but they were in good form, at least he wouldn't injure himself.
However, the living room was too narrow to move freely. The set of sword techniques was combined with footwork, but he had to interrupt halfway through and move his position to continue, otherwise, he would hit the furniture.
Some sword moves also had to be restrained, making them less than standard, which felt awkward.
"After practicing the sword technique intermittently, my in-game character's Basic Swordsmanship increased from 'Novice 0%' to 'Novice 0.06%'. This shows that daily training is useful."
He didn't feel much himself.
This kind of thing required perseverance. Training was never easy. But since he could see clear progress on his character panel, this kind of training was easier to stick with than for others.
But it was still not easy.
"My moves just now weren't standard. If I could practice a complete set, I might gain 0.1% proficiency. Practicing a thousand times would be enough to reach the proficient level."
"But a thousand practice sessions..."
People get tired. To perform Basic Swordsmanship moves correctly, one set would consume a considerable amount of stamina.
A thousand times was definitely not easy.
So,
Let's cheat!
Fang You's achievements today are all thanks to his diligent gameplay.
He opened his item inventory.
My turn, select Skill Training Card, use!
Instantly,
It felt like the world was spinning. When he came to his senses, he was in a dilapidated training ground, empty except for himself.
And in his hand, he held a wooden sword.
He had already started practicing on his own.
Classic replication, so to speak.
...
At the same time,
Outside Taiping Residential Area, several figures had arrived.
Wei Nian, Ke Yuan, and several support staff.
The primary responsibility of investigators was to find and eliminate evil spirits. The entire Investigation Bureau naturally couldn't consist of only a dozen investigators, nor would they let investigators waste their energy on trivial matters.
There were more support personnel.
A team of investigators was usually equipped with several support staff. However, last time at the construction site, it was confirmed that evil spirits were present. To avoid accidental harm, the support staff remained outside the blockade line.
This time,
The personnel responsible for communication had clarified the situation.