CHAPTER 41: CHAPTER 41 INTELLIGENCE AND SINKING_1

Or perhaps, it was about enhancing [Imaginary Enemy].

However, Lu Yuan was more inclined to use this skill point on [Absolute Focus].

Firstly, [Absolute Focus] significantly improved learning efficiency, applicable to both the [Student] and [Fighter] professions. Once upgraded, the leveling speed for both professions would increase significantly.

Secondly, [Imaginary Enemy] had only been unlocked for a few days, yet its effects had exceeded expectations and, for Lu Yuan, were more than sufficient for now. Even if upgrading it unlocked new abilities, at this stage, he doubted they would be more helpful to him than [Absolute Focus].

Having made his decision, Lu Yuan had no reason to hesitate. He directly invested the skill point into [Absolute Focus].

Unexpectedly, as [Absolute Focus] rose from Lv2 to Lv3, a line of light immediately began to extend rapidly upwards. Then, an unlockable skill emitting a faint gray glow manifested.

The second Core Skill for the [Student] profession panel!

Lu Yuan’s heart instantly felt as if several cats were scratching it with their claws, an unbearable itch. [Absolute Focus] was already a "godly skill" in his opinion. So what kind of surprise would the second Core Skill bring?

But, what a pity... He now had no skill points left.

"Sigh..."

Lu Yuan looked at the two profession panels over and over again.

Suddenly, he made a decision: to use his remaining attribute point as well. He added it to his intelligence attribute.

His intelligence, originally 10 points, was now 11.

The moment he allocated the point, Lu Yuan felt as if his head had been fiercely pricked by a needle, a sharp pain shooting through it. However, this intense, stabbing pain came and went quickly, lasting less than a second. In its place, an unprecedented ’sense of pleasure’ spontaneously arose. This ’pleasure’ was transmitted to him by his extremely active brain.

Lu Yuan felt as if his mind had never been as ’clear’ as it was now. His brain processed information at lightning speed, with various kinds of data flooding in from both external and internal sources.

He noticed a black crack on the floor tile beneath the front left leg of the large wardrobe beside his desk.

About three point five centimeters, with a margin of error not exceeding two millimeters...

This figure had simply popped into his mind the moment he noticed the crack. He paused, then retrieved a ruler from his drawer and measured it: exactly 3.6 centimeters.

In the cardboard box full of comics under the bed, there are two hundred yuan tucked into the eighty-fourth page of Super Mech Legend 3, which is at the bottom right of the stack...

Lu Yuan hurriedly bent down and pulled out a dust-covered cardboard box from under his bed. Following the information from his brain, he located the comic and indeed pulled out two crisp, new one-hundred-yuan bills from within.

The moment he picked up the two banknotes, details about their origin flooded his mind—he had earned it working for his father, Lu Xinghua, during the summer vacation of his second year of junior high. He had earned a total of 245 yuan. He had only spent forty-five, unable to bear parting with the remaining two hundred. He’d treasured it, tucking it away in the comic, only to completely forget about it a few months later.

Now... he remembered. He even recalled many details from the day he hid the money with perfect clarity.

Lu Yuan then randomly pulled a book from the bookshelf—’Tao Baixing Herb Compendium’. It was a large dictionary of Chinese herbal medicine, his father Lu Xinghua’s book, quite old and almost never opened by anyone.

Lu Yuan opened the thick tome and randomly selected a page. He read the entire page from the first word, meticulously going through it sentence by sentence. Then, he closed the book, picked up a pen, and began to write down what he had just read from memory. Upon finishing, he compared his writing to the original text and found only two punctuation errors.

The entire experiment of testing his intelligence attribute increase lasted nearly an hour. Lu Yuan closed the last of his subject workbooks, having by now more or less figured out the changes brought about by this point in intelligence.

The most obvious improvement is memory. Anything I’ve seen within the last hour, I can recall almost perfectly, achieving near-photographic memory. Then there’s my calculation ability; I’ve become much more sensitive to numbers. My thinking speed has quickened, and my comprehension and concentration have improved dramatically. Abilities related to language, music, expression... all these areas have seen some enhancement... And my ability to integrate existing information...

It was as if his mind automatically presented a fact: someone with his current level of intelligence would likely only be found once in every 120,000 people. He had no idea what past information, seen at some unknown time and place, this calculation was based on.

In conclusion, he had indeed "become smarter."

I never expected that in my lifetime I would formally join the ranks of ’intelligent people’...

When he used that attribute point to increase his intelligence, his initial thought was simply that—

Intelligence is the hardest to increase. Increasing intelligence could extend the activation duration of [Imaginary Enemy] and increase its number of uses. This would be beneficial for practicing Martial Arts. And also... since maxing out the basic skills of the [Fighter] profession grants attribute point rewards... then if the basic skills of the [Student] profession are maxed out, will I also receive attribute point rewards? Higher intelligence could shorten this time, allowing me to verify this idea.

The benefits of 11 intelligence points are far greater than 11 strength points... Lu Yuan couldn’t help but sigh with emotion.

Now, when he closed his eyes and recalled the teachings Lin Zhiquin had imparted at the martial arts dojo that afternoon, those scenes replayed in his mind, frame by frame, like a movie. This alone, Lu Yuan felt, made it all worthwhile.

Let’s test the effect of Lv3 [Absolute Focus]! Lu Yuan suddenly remembered; this was one thing he hadn’t tested yet.

He glanced at his desk. His homework for the day was already finished. He might as well use Martial Arts for the experiment.

Crane-shaped Pile!

There were eighteen movements in total, each with different knacks and essentials; merely memorizing them all was no easy task, let alone physically reproducing them.

Lu Yuan took out his small, dedicated training mat and spread it out. He stood barefoot on it, assumed the first ’Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg’ posture, and then silently intoned, [Absolute Focus], activate!

BUZZ—

The moment the skill activated, it felt as if someone had violently yanked him from behind.

WHOOSH—

Lu Yuan instantly ’fell’ into water. His body sank uncontrollably, deeper and deeper... All the clamor of the mortal world receded from him.

In reality, if an observer had been present, they would have noticed that at this moment, Lu Yuan’s pupils were dilated, his expression was vacant, and he seemed to be in an unconscious state. Yet, his body continued to move, following instinctive commands to perform each posture and movement of the Crane-shaped Pile.

TICK. TOCK. TICK. TOCK...

The ticking of the second hand on the digital alarm clock on his desk.

WHOOSH—

Lu Yuan, who had been holding a particular posture for a long time without moving, suddenly ’collapsed,’ as if jolted awake from a ’profound dream.’ It was also as if someone who had been submerged underwater for a long time had suddenly broken through the surface, seeing daylight once more.

"I... I..."

Just as Lu Yuan was about to say something, his expression suddenly twisted. A series of muscle-tearing pains, like machine-gun bullets, riddled his entire body, turning him into a ’sieve’ in an instant. His entire body convulsing, Lu Yuan collapsed to the floor with a thud...