Christian worked steadily for a few hours, hands moving automatically, focus unwavering — until finally, he stopped and leaned back.
It was ti for a short break.
He checked the ti and date — and then it hit him. He had been asleep for three days straight. That ant it was ti to collect his Idle accumulation.
And while he was at it, it was also ti to finally assign all of his Idle slots into the Lie Detection skill.
After all, he had already developed the mini nuclear reactor. There was no longer any need to continue researching the General chanic skill. At least, that’s what he thought...
Until a ssage window appeared in front of him — one he hadn’t noticed before.
It wasn’t just the usual ssaged windows.
He had gained a new passive skill from the Idle System!
Concentration Skill.
Christian’s eyes lit up as he saw the notification, and he hurriedly opened its description.
[Concentration (Passive) Lv.-]
The ability to concentrate on anything you do, allowing you to perform tasks with at least 50% more efficiency.
"Wow!" Christian couldn’t help but exclaim, clearly excited.
This kind of skill would help him imnsely.
And it wasn’t just in the real world — no, the true value was in the Idle Practicing slots.
Because if better concentration ant more efficiency... then the outcos would be far more fruitful.
The Idle process was directly tied to his own capabilities, after all. And if his base ability increased, then everything that relied on it would be enhanced as well.
But what really caught his attention was one simple word in the skill description.
It didn’t just say 50% more efficiency.
It said at least 50%.
It didn’t place any upper limit on how high the efficiency boost could go — which ant...
The possibilities were countless.
He also suddenly understood why his earlier work had gone so smoothly — why he’d made far more progress than expected.
He’d assud it was just the experience he gained from building Anastasia’s android, or from working nonstop for months.
But it turned out... that wasn’t the only reason!
The Concentration skill had played its role along the way, and its effects were already making a difference.
Despite Christian’s bubbling excitent — and the laugh that wouldn’t stop rumbling from his throat — he still didn’t forget his main business.
[You have received 1,200,000 Experience.]
[The skill Expert General chanic has beco Lv.5 (20%).]
[The Idle Practice in the Fourth Slot, Lie Detecting Ability, has started.]
[You have received ...]
[The skill...]
[...]
Christian instantly noticed the difference in the amount of information flowing into his mind.
And his laughter only grew louder.
The difference was huge.
And from this point onward — his progress was bound to skyrocket.
.......
In a dark place — a domain so ancient and hostile that mortals dared not even dream of stepping into it — the very air shimred with silent threat. Here, even the qualified were tested. To rely walk this land, one needed strength. But to truly endure it, to see clearly amidst its gloom, required sothing far greater.
The stillness was suddenly broken by a flicker of light — faint, but alive — accompanied by a wave of heat. Like a lone lamp trembling in storm-ridden skies, the glow wavered but refused to vanish. It cast a quiet defiance against the oppressive dark, guiding a path for the lost.
But the master of this place was not pleased.
An irritated voice echoed through the void, both ancient and feminine.
"Please, Anastasia, can’t you enter the normal way?"
"And what exactly is the normal way?" Anastasia replied dryly, arching an eyebrow.
Her eyes scanned the darkness until they locked onto the source of the voice — a woman who seed to be part of the abyss itself.
Rhea.
Floating in the air with effortless grace, Rhea exuded an unsettling stillness. Her pale white skin looked sculpted from moonlight, yet it held no warmth. Her hair, long and black as the space surrounding her, moved as if in slow motion, lting into the gloom like wisps of ink in water. And her eyes... they were twin voids, devouring not just light, but the very notion of distance. A gaze from them was like being swallowed whole.
Rhea had been poised to scold, but halted as her eyes t Anastasia’s — more specifically, the golden eye now uncovered.
A faint hint of surprise touched her otherwise impassive face.
"I see... you’ve taken off the eye patch," she said. "Have you finally decided to take my advice?"
"Of course not," Anastasia shot back without hesitation. "It was my disciple’s request. How could I possibly refuse?"
"Disciple?" Rhea repeated, as though trying to recall the aning of the word.
Anastasia straightened slightly, her tone growing proud.
"Yes. I’ve finally found soone interesting enough to take under my wing."
"No... actually, I don’t think I could find anyone more fitting than him, even if I searched for hundreds — no, thousands — of years more."
With that, she continued speaking, her words picking up speed as she began to brag about Christian.
She avoided certain specific details — carefully — but everything else? She didn’t leave a single point unembellished. To hear her tell it, Christian was the most talented man to ever exist, the most handso, the most innocent, and, for so reason, also the cutest scaredy-cat in the universe.
Her eyes glowed with pride as she talked.
And she didn’t stop there.
With a swipe of her hand, Anastasia brought out the android Christian had made for her, floating it before Rhea like a trophy.
"This," she declared, "is an android that my disciple made for !"
She was clearly expecting praise, but the mont Rhea laid eyes on it, her expression twisted. Her nose wrinkled slightly, as if she’d just sniffed sothing unpleasant.
"...What is this pile of scrap tal?" Rhea muttered.
Then her eyes narrowed.
"And is he from the Academy? Have you really grown so bold that you’re poaching people from them now?"
There was unmistakable contempt in her voice when she spoke of the Academy.
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