The path to mastery
Bang!
Tang Wen tossed a pebble into the air.
Flap! Flap!
A bird with a red beak fluttered its wings and soared away.
...
After throwing all the pebbles he had collected, he hadn't hit a single bird.
The birds were swift, and Tang Wen's aim was poor, so missing was expected.
"Huff!"
His weak body panted heavily.
He looked serious, his brow furrowed.
How do I learn a new skill?
That's right—throwing pebbles at birds was just deliberate practice.
But after tossing 23 pebbles, there was no reaction from the experience panel.
What's wrong?
Hadn't I learned how to throw pebbles yet?
Tang Wen took a brief rest, bent down, and began picking up the pebbles he had thrown.
Before he could gather them all, his vision blurred, and panic surged through him.
Low blood sugar!
Damn! How long has this body been starving? How could it still be a problem? Could I have overexerted myself today?
Unable to wander outside any longer, he dragged his tired body back to camp, already feeling numb.
It wasn't until he downed a bowl of rice soup that he started to feel better.
After drinking the rice soup, his thin sister, Tang Tang, took their porridge bowl, rinsed it carefully, and poured the dishwater into a broken basin by the door.
Huh?
Tang Wen watched, stunned.
When I was practicing, it felt like I didn't hit a single target.
With food in his stomach, his mind began to work again.
The original owner's farming skill was developed from working in the fields with his parents, growing crops year after year.
That meant the original owner succeeded in farming.
But when I tried hitting birds earlier, I didn't even graze one.
So... does that mean...?
Tang Wen sat up slowly, walked outside, and used a pebble to draw a slightly irregular small circle on the ground.
He crouched in the house, pulled another pebble from his pocket.
Bang!
Missed the circle.
He inhaled deeply and aimed again.
Bang!
The pebble landed inside the circle.
A light flickered, and the experience panel flashed by.
There was a reaction!
Tang Wen's eyes brightened.
Bang! His hand shook in excitement, and the pebble veered off target.
Huff!
He steadied his breathing, aimed again: Bang, bang, bang.
Three successful hits in a row.
His accuracy wasn't incredible; it was just that the circle was only two steps away, and once he got the feel of it, it became easier to land the pebbles inside.
Light changed:
[Name: Tang Wen][Age: 14 years and 9 months][Body: 0.3][Spirit: 0.7][Skills: Farming Mastery (719/1000)][Pebble Throwing Beginner (0/500)]
Tang Wen smiled—new skill: Pebble Throwing!
Bang! Hit the circle again.
[Pebble Throwing Beginner (0→1/500)]
Bang, bang. Two misses. No progress.
Hit again.
Beginner (1→2/500)
Hit again.
Beginner (2→3/500)
The experience panel was stingy, only offering 1 point per successful throw.
But Tang Wen was content; progress, even if small, was still progress.
Inside the house, his emaciated sister, Tang Tang, watched him throwing pebbles. Her dark eyes shifted from confusion to worry.
Is he doing this again?
What is my brother up to?
It was easy to get hungry doing that!
The girl curled up closer to the stove, already feeling the pangs of hunger.
Hit it! Beginner (300/500)Hit again. Beginner (300/500)...
By the time night fell, Tang Wen had developed a rhythm, hitting the target about two out of three times.
But just as he feared, once the experience hit 300, it stopped increasing.
He shook his sore right hand and returned to the house, lying down on the dry grass.
Rustle rustle.
Tang Tang didn't sleep. She came over, stretched out a small hand, and began massaging her brother's arm.
Two small arms—one like a stick of firewood, the other even thinner.
His wrist was sore and swollen. Tang Wen tossed and turned for a while before finally falling asleep.
The next day, before the morning mist cleared, Tang Wen had already eaten his porridge and stepped out of the camp.
He didn't wander too far. He stopped at a large rock, taller than a person.
He took out a charcoal stick, drew a small circle on the stone, then a larger one outside, and another larger one still... until he had a makeshift target.
Taking a few steps back, he drew a line with a branch.
Standing behind the line, he started throwing pebbles.
Bang!
Seven rings!
The pebble bounced off.
A gray, transparent screen flashed.
[Skill: Pebble Throwing Beginner (300→302/500)]
Two points of experience gained!
"It really works!" Tang Wen said aloud.
This method had come to him the night before—turn pebble throwing into a sport.
There must be a target, a comparison of results, and a bit of difficulty to make it worthwhile.
Yesterday's practice had become too simple and lacked a challenge.
Bang!
Six rings!
The pebble bounced off.
[Skill: Pebble Throwing, Beginner (302→303/500)]
...
Tang Wen focused intently, throwing over a dozen pebbles.
[Skill: Pebble Throwing, Beginner (357/500)]
Huff!
He leaned against a bare tree, exhausted, his right arm sore and barely able to lift.
If he pushed himself to throw continuously for 30 minutes, he could end up causing irreversible damage to his arm.
He rested for a while.
Tang Wen stood up and resumed practice.
Pebble Throwing: Beginner (357→359/500)(359→361/500)
The experience gradually increased.
Morning passed with breaks for rest and practice, rest and practice.
By noon, Tang Wen had expended too much energy and couldn't continue. He returned to the camp.
Tang Tang had just come back from fetching water. The camp had a water tower, where people could get clean water for free.
The siblings exchanged glances. Tang Wen lowered his head, staring at his cloth shoes with exposed toes, unsure of how to speak.
Tang Tang carefully carried the water jug into the house, and moments later, smoke began rising from the chimney.
"Who still eats lunch at noon?" a person passing by muttered.
In the camp, those who could afford it ate twice a day, while those who couldn't managed with just one.
Tang Wen drank the rice soup greedily. The hunger pangs had been unbearable.
Sister Tang Tang didn't speak, holding her clear soup with both hands, sipping it slowly, like a squirrel savoring a pine cone, hesitant to eat it too quickly.
After Tang Wen finished his soup, he lay on the dry grass to nap.
Tang Tang came over and gently massaged his arm.
In the afternoon, Tang Wen resumed pebble practice.
After resting and replenishing some energy, his practice efficiency improved.
[Skill: Pebble Throwing, Beginner (495→497/500)][...(497→499/500)]
Bang!
The pebble hit the center of the circle.
The skill leveled up!
[Skill: Pebble Throwing, Mastery (0/1000)]