In the bedroom, before the game, Fang You recalled the thrilling battle of the previous night.
"Brother Black Blade killed the eerie 'Knocker-Upper' in two moves. It looked easy, but in reality... it was still quite dangerous."
"It's mainly a matter of consumption."
Fang You had noticed last night that after Black Blade used two moves of 'Blade Slash' to kill the Knocker-Upper, his breathing became noticeably rapid, indicating significant stamina depletion.
After all, there was no mana bar on the status panel.
He guessed that using skills consumed stamina, or perhaps both stamina and mental energy.
This point remained to be confirmed.
He could only verify it once he had skills himself.
「Black Blade」
「Physique: 2.6」
「Spirit: 1.2」
「Mystery: 0.1」
「Skills: Basic Swordsmanship (Novice), Blade Slash (Novice), Eerie Tracking (Novice)」
「Equipment: Beginner's Cleaver」
Well, it wasn't just two-dimensional attributes; after Black Blade killed the eerie entity last night, a new line, 'Mystery,' appeared. He had thoroughly examined Black Blade inside and out last night but couldn't figure out the purpose of 'Mystery.'
It seemed to be merely a placeholder.
He could only speculate that 'Mystery' was equivalent to experience points.
After all, gaining experience from defeating monsters... that was also quite reasonable.
He would wait and see if anything changed in the future.
"I currently have one Stamina Potion, two Double Yield Cards, and four Skill Cultivation Cards left."
"Setting aside the Double Yield Cards, the other two items can be used on Black Blade."
"Especially the Skill Cultivation Cards. I can't use them, but Black Blade can. According to the description, they increase the proficiency of a specific skill, equivalent to several months of arduous training."
Fantastic!
Fang You was envious, but unfortunately, they could only be used on Black Blade for now.
He didn't feel any reluctance. It was all for his own benefit. Brother Black Blade was his only Destiny Apostle. Without Brother Black Blade, he would be stuck.
He couldn't possibly face the challenges himself, could he!
Fang You used the Stamina Potion.
「Hint: 'Stamina Potion' given to Destiny Apostle · Black Blade. Black Blade's Physique 2.6 → 2.8.」
The increase was a bit small. It was probably because Black Blade's own physique was already very strong, and higher stats were harder to improve. This was also reasonable.
He wasn't too surprised.
He then picked up a 'Skill Cultivation Card' and used it on Black Blade.
...
In the empty space with only metallic walls on all four sides.
Black Blade was wielding his combat saber, slashing, chopping, drawing, and lifting... He practiced Basic Swordsmanship over and over again.
Suddenly,
He paused, his pupils showing surprise, wonder, and then more confusion, but it all subsided quickly.
Beneath his mask, he showed no expression, no emotion.
He continued to swing his saber, practicing mechanically and tirelessly.
His body was like this, and so was his mind.
It was as if he could maintain this posture and continue practicing for decades, centuries.
Until, at some point, something within his body exploded with a bang.
...
「Hint: Black Blade's skill 'Eerie Tracking' has been upgraded to Proficient.」
「Hint: Black Blade's skill 'Blade Slash' has been upgraded to Proficient.」
「Hint: Black Blade's skill 'Basic Swordsmanship' has been upgraded to Proficient. Physique 2.8 → 3.1.」
Fang You had no idea what Black Blade was experiencing at that moment.
In a non-deployed state, he couldn't switch to Black Blade's perspective. He could only see from the panel that Black Blade's skill proficiency had increased by an entire level.
From Novice to Proficient, the changes must have been significant!
'Eerie Tracking' and 'Blade Slash' were crucial skills. Fang You immediately upgraded them for Black Blade. After some hesitation, he used another cultivation card on 'Basic Swordsmanship.'
He didn't believe any skill was useless.
As expected,
"Can improving basic skills also lead to an increase in physique?"
"Perhaps other skills do too, but the improvement is not as obvious?"
"So, besides physique, the improvement in Basic Swordsmanship might also make Black Blade's swordsmanship more refined?"
These were all his guesses.
The panel only had simple descriptions; it wasn't intuitive.
However,
Once Black Blade was deployed for a mission, he could secretly... observe Black Blade's combat and find out the answer.
...
Fang You gave Black Blade a 'Rest' command.
He waited patiently for about two hours. During this time, he played a few ranked matches. Seeing the large "Defeat" on the screen, Fang You silently threw his phone aside.
"This stupid game is ruining my youth!"
"I'd better go save the world."
He picked up the old phone with the Salvation Game running, opened the mission dispatch module, and selected the nearest mission point.
A one-star mission.
All others were unknown.
Fang You was a little nervous.
Could Brother Black Blade handle this little eerie entity?
「Ding!」
「Hint: Please select a Destiny Apostle to dispatch. Currently selectable: 'Destiny Savior', 'Black Blade'.」
Of course, he could select both.
There were three black boxes on the screen.
Fang You chose Black Blade, alone.
「Hint: As Black Blade is a special apostle, deployment is required. Dispatch this Destiny Apostle? Current dispatchable locations are:」
「1: Within one hundred meters of the Destiny Savior.」
「2: Random dispatch around the mission location.」
...
Whoosh!
The wind howled, and the sky gradually darkened, as if heralding that something ominous was about to happen.
"Why did it turn overcast? This is terrible."
"Brother Wei, what should we do? Should we wait for the sun to come out before going?"
Two youths in black trench coats crossed the outer blockade line and entered the construction site, which had ceased operations.
Ke Yuan, the younger-looking one, turned his head and asked.
The youth on the left had his hands in his extremely wide pockets, staring intently into the distance.
The entire construction site was eerily silent.
Not a soul was in sight, only the whistling wind, as if it were cut off from the outside world.
"Wait? We can't wait."
"That kind of thing is like a ticking time bomb, it could explode at any moment. We don't have time to wait. Moreover, there are residential areas nearby. What if that thing moves, or hides in a crowded place..."
Gulp.
The young investigator Ke Yuan swallowed.
He also understood the seriousness of the situation. Or rather, anything involving "that kind of thing" was never trivial.
The Investigation Bureau.
Its full name was the Bureau of Eerie Event Investigation, also known as the Seventeenth Bureau, responsible for investigating and handling abnormal events that lurked beneath reality.
It was established seventeen years ago.
Ke Yuan was a rookie. After a period of training, he had recently joined the Investigation Bureau in Baijiang City.
He had also investigated several incidents with Brother Wei.
However, the previous incidents were merely suspicions, with only some abnormal traces. They hadn't confirmed the existence of "that kind of thing."
It was uncertain.
Investigating eerie events without results was common, and sometimes it turned out to be a regular case or a man-made incident.
Ke Yuan really hoped it was the latter.
Dealing with "that kind of thing" was never without danger.
However, other departments had sent some on-site photos. After analysis and judgment by the city's Investigation Bureau... the probability of "that thing" existing at this construction site was as high as 99%!
If they didn't encounter it, there could only be one possibility: it had moved!
Comparing the two, Ke Yuan now hoped they would encounter it.