Chapter 126 - 125: Be a Little Harsher on Oneself

Chapter 126: Chapter 125: Be a Little Harsher on Oneself

Tang Ruan let go.

The Wooden Spear pierced most of the way through the Leather Armor.

Its power was clearly much stronger than before.

When Tang Ruan pulled out the spear this time, she nearly toppled the wooden man.

Looking at the wooden man again, it had another deep hole in it.

Judging by this Attack Effect, it certainly matched the Skill Description for Thrust.

Although this Leather Armor’s Durability was low and its Defense Power had dropped significantly.

But Tang Ruan was also using a Wooden Spear.

If she switched to an Iron Spear, the power would multiply.

Tang Ruan said excitedly, "My Lord, isn’t it amazing? This Skill you set up for us is really powerful."

Zhao Chi said, "This Skill will get stronger as you practice. But it consumes Energy, so you probably get very sleepy after using it a few times, right?"

Tang Ruan nodded. "Yes, after using it a few times, I feel a bit exhausted and want to sleep."

Zhao Chi pulled on his pants.

"So, you have to choose the right moment to use this Skill. While its power is doubled, the Consumption is also significant. Using it blindly could put you at a disadvantage."

"Understood, My Lord." Tang Ruan nodded, then shouted to the side, "Qi Yue!"

"Coming!"

Qi Yue rushed over from the group of training Female Soldiers, her steps light and her speed fast.

"Hello, My Lord. Hello, Sister Gu Qing."

Like Tang Ruan, Qi Yue also called Gu Qing "Sister."

After all, Gu Qing was indeed a bit older than them.

Besides, Gu Qing was a natural-born Hero, and she was very close to Zhao Chi, so these women were more polite to her.

Tang Ruan said, "Quick, use your Skill. Let My Lord see the Effect."

"Okay." Qi Yue nodded lightly.

Then she said softly to Zhao Chi, "My Lord, I’ll use an Ordinary Attack first, then an attack with my Combat Skill. You can compare the Effects."

"Good, that would be best."

Qi Yue stood in front of the same wooden man.

But seeing that the wooden man was a bit crooked, she balled her small fist, went up, and pounded it twice to set it straight again.

She held a short blade and fixed her eyes on the wooden man.

The next second, she rushed forward and delivered three consecutive slashes.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

Her speed was immense.

The wooden man was knocked severely crooked again.

Three new gashes appeared on the old Leather Armor.

Three deep marks also appeared on the wooden man’s body.

Zhao Chi knew this wasn’t her Combat Skill, just her Ordinary Attack.

Qi Yue righted the wooden man, then said softly, "My Lord, watch closely now."

Instantly, a faint red fluorescent glow appeared on Qi Yue’s body.

It was faint, but visible.

Her arm moved so fast it became a blur.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

She finished all three slashes within a second.

The eye could barely follow.

Looking at the Leather Armor and the wooden man’s Body, they both showed the same Damage as before. The increased speed hadn’t reduced the Damage.

In a real battle, an enemy would have a hard time blocking this.

They could only passively take the three hits.

A fragile enemy would be killed instantly.

Qi Yue chuckled lightly. "My Lord, this Skill is very useful. Thank you."

Zhao Chi nodded. "From now on, you’ll be our main attacker. Keep it up. I have high hopes for you."

Tang Ruan praised, "My Lord, Qi Yue is the most hardworking one among us. She’s especially serious when she practices."

Qi Yue waved her hands dismissively. "Everyone is very serious."

Zhao Chi said, "If Tang Ruan says so, then it must be true. Keep up the good work, Qi Yue. When I get the chance, I’ll get you some good Improved Genes. It might not be too soon, though, as I’ll have to search for them slowly."

Qi Yue said softly, "It’s alright, My Lord. Please don’t spend too much Time on me. Your own business is more important."

Gu Qing smiled. "Qi Yue, this is the time to just smile and say thank you."

Qi Yue froze for half a second.

Then she nodded at Gu Qing and smiled at Zhao Chi. "Thank you for your concern, My Lord. I’m looking forward to it."

Zhao Chi laughed. "Exactly. That’s the spirit. You should look forward to it."

Zhao Chi had now seen both Combat Skills and had a general understanding of their power.

They would definitely be useful on the battlefield.

If used in coordination, their killing Efficiency would increase dramatically.

Zhao Chi said, "Gu Qing, Tang Ruan, and Qi Yue, you all keep up the good work. I’m going over there to work hard too. See you later."

Qi Yue bowed her head slightly. "My Lord, please take care of your Body."

Gu Qing said, "Don’t push yourself too hard. I know Time is tight, but if you collapse from exhaustion, it will just hurt our Efficiency. If the enemy is only 200 Tier 0 Magical Beasts, we can handle them without a problem."

Tang Ruan said, "My Lord, every time you came back to soak in the hot spring yesterday, your face was deathly pale. If you need it, you can have Sister Gu go over and take care of you. I can manage the territory, so you don’t have to worry."

Gu Qing was tempted. "That’s a great idea. My Lord, let me go, okay?"

Zhao Chi shook his head. "There might be a chance later, but not now. I have to go to someone else’s place to craft, so it wouldn’t be convenient for you to come along."

Gu Qing nodded in disappointment. "I understand."

He said goodbye to them.

Zhao Chi grabbed his Supplies and headed straight for Fifth Brother Wu’s courtyard.

He continued knocking.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

CREAK—

This time, it was Zhao Jing’s subordinate who opened the door.

Zhao Chi asked, "Where’s my Fifth Brother?"

The subordinate replied, "He’s been asleep for a while. If you’re here to craft, please follow me."

"Alright, thank you for your trouble."

"You’re welcome."

As Zhao Chi followed him inside, he suddenly remembered he still had to pay rent.

’He’d spent all the money he had...’

’But I have High Level Medicine now. I can use Medicine to cover it. At worst, I’ll just give him a couple extra. That should be fine.’

But it turned out he was overthinking it.

After opening the door for him, the subordinate left.

He didn’t mention money at all.

’Perfect. I’ll pay him back tomorrow after I sell my goods.’

Zhao Chi locked the door and immediately got to work.

He used his usual technique.

He continued to craft while referencing the gray success rate data.

Soon, the Time on a Speeding Charm expired.

Zhao Chi had timed it perfectly. He had already taken a High Level Medicine beforehand, completely replenishing his Physical Strength and Energy.

Only then did he exit crafting mode.

To his surprise, the moment he exited, he was again hit with dizziness and unrelenting nausea.

It was the exact same feeling as before, with no improvement whatsoever.

He quickly checked his own State.

The Bonus from the Carefree Spring was active.

His Physical Strength and Energy were indeed full.

’Then why do I still feel so sick?’

He endured the discomfort and tried to analyze it carefully.

His Physical Strength was full, so he didn’t feel the exhaustion from before.

His Energy was full, so he didn’t feel the sleepiness either.

It was just the dizziness and nausea that hadn’t improved.

’It seems this is a higher-level side effect caused by the change in the flow of Time.’

’It has little to do with my physical condition.’

’Does that mean I can only endure it for now?’

Zhao Chi found some clean water to wash his face.

The awful feeling seemed to lessen just a tiny bit.

Now that he had Medicine, he didn’t need to sleep for the time being and could continue crafting.

But he could imagine that after exiting crafting mode again, the discomfort would be even more severe.

’Dammit...’

Zhao Chi steeled himself. ’Let’s do this!’

「Ten minutes later.」

It was just as he had thought.

Because he hadn’t slept and had instead immediately used another Speeding Charm.

The discomfort after this second session was extremely severe.

He immediately threw up into the trash can he had brought with him.

He felt like the house was spinning.

He couldn’t stand steady.

He checked his State. By taking Medicine, he was still maintaining a full State.

’Again!’

’Even this suffering has its limits.’

’Even severe vomiting is just vomiting.’

’Even severe dizziness is just spinning.’

’As long as I can adapt to that limit, it’ll be fine from now on.’

’You can adapt to anything.’

Zhao Chi convinced himself and entered crafting mode again.

By the sixth time, he couldn’t take it anymore.

This time, he felt intense discomfort even while inside crafting mode.

Crafting mode and the Speeding Charm were supposed to dull other unrelated sensations.

But this time, it was so severe that he was strongly affected even in that state.

The moment he exited, he immediately collapsed onto the bed and passed out.

「Four hours later, he woke up.」

He was still dizzy.

But it was much milder.

As awful as it felt, his Efficiency today was clearly a step above yesterday’s, and far, far higher than usual.

Although he had been unconscious for four hours, he had previously used six Speeding Charms, which was equivalent to 60 hours of work.

Despite the suffering, he was also overjoyed.

’Then let’s continue.’

Zhao Chi discovered that he was, indeed, getting used to it.

He could now ignore the side effects from the first Speeding Charm.

The intense discomfort would only start from the second one.

It was like getting a small cut on your hand and thinking your hand hurt.

But if you then chopped off your leg, by comparison, your hand wouldn’t seem to hurt so much anymore.

That was the state Zhao Chi was in.

By a little after 6:00 a.m. on the second day, Zhao Chi had accumulated 25 hours of work here.

All 36 Speeding Charms on him had been used up.

In total, he had produced 126 pairs of Silk Stockings.

They were all Coarse Quality, Super-Modified Silk Stockings.

Zhao Chi walked back, facing the morning sun.

His steps felt unsteady.

It seemed some villagers were greeting him, but Zhao Chi couldn’t even react anymore. He just kept walking back slowly.

His brain felt numb.

’It won’t affect my intelligence, will it?’

But making 126 pairs of Silk Stockings in just over a day—this high Efficiency also brought him immense joy.

That was 252 Gold Coins!

Who wouldn’t be happy about that?

Moreover, he had made another discovery.

No matter how sick he felt, he could always control the Mass.

After all, this was a technique he had figured out himself.

Coupled with the gray success rate data, it actually gave the Silk Stockings he produced a guarantee of quality.