Chapter 12

The pot was filled with Qin Yu's handiwork, a pot of potato and ham rice. Qin Yu, who didn't apply for a dorm room at school and instead rented a two-bedroom apartment off-campus, did so to have more freedom in his eating and drinking. Although the school cafeteria was good and reasonably priced, eating there for too long could lead to taste fatigue.

At least this pot of potato and ham rice, made with peeled potato cubes, authentic Yunnan Xuanwei ham, and high-quality Northeastern rice at 3 yuan per kilogram, was something you couldn't find in the cafeteria.

— Apart from being a bit introverted when with Old Li, Qin Yu was quite particular about the quality of life. The ingredients were all good things he sourced online. As a semi-gourmet, Qin Yu often searched for commendable specialties from all over the country, such as Xuanwei ham and Sichuan Dong腊meat, which were hard to find in the north, and he had stocked up on quite a bit.

Today's potato and ham rice was a carefully crafted dish that combined high-quality ingredients from various regions. The rice was fragrant and sticky, and the ham was fresh and delicious. This meal made Qin Yu feel as if he were in a state of bliss, and the fatigue from cleaning and wiping in the game was completely gone. He felt as if he had been reborn, such was the power of good food.

From a health perspective, overeating was not advisable, so Qin Yu ate until he was 70% full. The 3-liter rice cooker had cooked a large pot of potato and ham rice, and half of it was still left. Qin Yu left a clean set of chopsticks and a bowl by the rice cooker before returning to his room.

— The tightly closed door of the other bedroom indicated that the guy hadn't woken up yet. The sun had just set, and it was clearly not the active period for his professional gamer roommate. The guy was probably still dreaming.

Qin Yu left the bowl and chopsticks and the half pot of rice for his roommate, for which he had been praised by Old Li as a good wife and mother.

After logging into the game, Alpha appeared in the church library... Yes, once in the game, Qin Yu became Alpha again.

Alpha glanced at the seemingly endless, grayish scrolls, lifted the hem of the apprentice wizard's robe, tucked it into his waist, rolled up his sleeves, and picked up a cloth. He then picked up a book titled "The Whispering Words of the Goddess Waukeen," written in Elvish, and began to wipe it.

The hard copper cover of the book revealed a bright copper base color with just a light wipe, looking very beautiful.

Alpha casually flipped through this book, which didn't seem like a religious text but rather a bit like a handwritten yellow book. With his 10-level "Language Proficiency" and "Knowledge Proficiency," although reading it was a bit difficult, he could roughly understand the "Whispering Words" that resembled the sayings of the Goddess Waukeen, such as "Time may be money, or it may be wasted money" and "Without faith in me, wealth will not last three generations." It was quite interesting to read.

— Various and endless Easter eggs were also a major feature of "Dungeons and Dragons." Many of the books in the game were original copyrights bought by the game company, making them worth reading.

Before he knew it, Alpha had finished flipping through the entire "Whispering Words of the Goddess Waukeen" and had wiped it clean. Just as he was about to pick up the next book, a message popped up in his head:

"Language Proficiency enhanced, Knowledge Proficiency in the religious field enhanced."

This... Alpha seemed to understand something.

From the word "enhanced," it seemed that reading in an unfamiliar language like Elvish had strengthened his language skills, and reading and understanding this religious text had deepened his understanding of the Goddess Waukeen, thus enhancing his knowledge in the religious field.

So, if reading books could enhance "Language Proficiency" and "Knowledge Proficiency," could it also accumulate these proficiency levels through reading?

With this thought, Alpha called Lancelot in a private chat.

It would be strange if Lancelot wasn't online during the prime time of 7 to 8 PM. As a net addict who, unlike professional gamers, didn't make money from the game but had a similar inverted schedule, Lancelot was always the top candidate in Alpha's mind for electrotherapy.

Sure enough, Lancelot's private chat was quickly connected. The background was noisy, with shouts and curses, as if he was in a fight.

It wasn't surprising. As a paladin, Lancelot's daily tasks included leveling up and casting "Detect Evil" to bully others.

"Even in housekeeping, you can't be quiet. Speak quickly, I'm in the middle of a fight."

It was clear that the situation was quite intense.

"Who are you catching?"

"One of our rival guild's members. He was scamming NPCs, and I caught him. ... What's it to you? Get back to your cleaning."

... Hey, block him for me, this despicable cheat!!!

While replying to the private chat, Lancelot was shouting.

The paladin class was more involved in others' affairs and even more in their own. Activities like monster snatching and malicious PK were not allowed, and profanity and lying were monitored by the gods, i.e., the system. "F***" was clearly not allowed and would lower the paladin's righteousness value.

If the righteousness value dropped to a certain level, the paladin would lose their status and the ability to use divine spells, requiring a long and complex redemption quest to restore the righteousness value. Therefore, paladins generally avoided profanity.

Fortunately, Lancelot corrected himself in time and added "despicable cheat" to express his hatred of evil, thus avoiding a decrease in righteousness value.

"I'm just thinking of sharing the points with you."

Alpha laughed.

"Damn! You're so annoying. What do you want?"

"Can reading increase Language Proficiency and knowledge-related proficiencies?"

Alpha always teased his friend but got to the point when it mattered.

"Of course, this isn't the old games like 'Xuan Yuan Sword' or 'Rich Man.' 'Simulation' you understand... In the name of Harnois!!!"

It seemed he was in the middle of a fight, using either "Smite Evil" or "Holy Strike." The sound effects were intense, and a faint scream echoed in the private chat, indicating that some unlucky guy had been caught by Lancelot and was probably sent back to the resurrection temple, where he would face a doubled resurrection time.

"Shouldn't there be a proficiency level?"

"No, it's all hidden. It only gives you an enhancement prompt, not the enhancement value. Are you reading while working? Hey? Hey? F***!"

... No, despicable, shameless cheat...

With his doubts resolved, Alpha ignored Lancelot and hung up the private chat, causing the paladin to curse again. Lancelot quickly put on a righteous face to make up for it.

— The paladin class was not for humans but for actors.

"This idiot, reading while working. How long will it take to finish this task?"

Lancelot muttered, using a "Smite Evil" to split a mage with the "League of Legends" guild mark into a corpse.

A guildmate nimbly picked up a piece of equipment dropped by the mage, "Chaste Young Master."

— Before level 60, death had no substantial cost, making equipment drops the worst thing for low-level players in "Dungeons and Dragons." Of course, it was even worse to be punished by a paladin, who would double the resurrection time.

Paladins, as enforcers, were not allowed to pick up equipment dropped by criminals. Therefore, when a paladin from a large guild killed an enemy player, a guildmate would pick up the equipment.

"Brother Round Table, this guy is level 50 and still using such trash. No wonder he's so weak."

The one picking up the equipment was a level 40 rogue named "Come and Go." He showed the silver ring dropped by the mage, "Chaste Young Master," to Lancelot. "Lancelot" was a bit awkward to abbreviate, so everyone who knew him called him Brother Round Table, after the knight Lancelot.

While speaking, Come and Go displayed the equipment attributes:

[Servant Ring (Fine Ring):

Durability: 140/140;

Level Requirement: 10;

Class Requirement: None;

Alignment Requirement: None;

Health Regeneration +1/second;

Health +5;

Charged Spell: 1st Level "Invisible Servant" 1/1 (use), Spell Use Class Requirement: Warlock, Wizard;

Invisible Servant (1st Level): 1st Level, Conjuration, summons a neutral force to serve you, Strength 10, Speed 30, Health 50, Duration 10 minutes;

Casting Time: None, Mana Cost: 0, Recharge Time: 10 minutes/use.]

A ring usable at level 10, the blue text indicated it was a fine quality item. For a level 40 mage, it wasn't very useful.

Perhaps the mage wore this ring to save a spell slot for "Invisible Servant." Although this spell was very practical as a life tool, it couldn't help in combat but could perform special tasks in certain environments.

The invisible servant, with high stealth, could avoid almost all known detection methods, even the infrared vision of drow. The only drawback was that it could only perform one type of task during its existence and couldn't perform tasks related to the Weave or deities. However, it could handle dirty tasks like disposing of bodies, which was quite valuable for players.

However, in a game where combat was the main focus, wasting a spell slot on a life tool wasn't appropriate. After all, the number of spells a character could learn was limited, usually determined by the main attribute of the class, such as intelligence for wizards, charisma for warlocks, and will for clerics.

"This ring is quite suitable for that guy."

Lancelot looked at the "Servant Ring" and nodded.