Chapter 894: Chapter 893: Research on Special Skills

As time passed day by day, the members within the guild gradually stabilized. Fang Zheng decided to make a sweeping announcement declaring a temporary halt on recruiting more members. After all, it’s not always beneficial to recruit as many members as possible in a guild. Even if some can pass trials, it’s not necessary to take everyone in. After Fang Zheng’s adjustments, only five people, including Yuna, were truly added to the frontline raid group.

They were Yuna, Seven Seas, Mimel, Shinong, and Lingyin.

Similar to Eiriri and Aoba, Seven Seas was a high school student and a game player, except she was often lost in thought and always a beat behind when talking to others. To be honest, at first glance, Fang Zheng was a bit skeptical about whether this seemingly airheaded and cute girl could actually join the raid group. Though she volunteered, her leisurely personality raised some doubts for Fang Zheng.

However, in battle, Seven Seas exhibited a completely different combat spirit than her usual demeanor. Her speed wasn’t as fast as Black Cat and Asuna, but she excelled in steadiness. Regardless of the enemy or situation, Seven Seas consistently performed at her best capability. Such a stable talent was invaluable to the team, so Fang Zheng kept her on board.

Like Fang Zheng, Mimel wielded a Two-Handed Sword. She was a rather fiery and straightforward woman, slightly older than most girls in the guild. Although she possessed strong combat abilities, Fang Zheng’s true reason for including her was to… increase the drop rate for his Greatsword…

Although it’s unclear just how effective that really is.

On the other hand, Shinong was a relatively quiet girl with neat short hair, who used a Long Spear. Despite her decent performance and hard work, Fang Zheng couldn’t help but worry. Historically speaking, there’s always been that… stereotype about lancers, right?

Among the newcomers, the most outstanding was Lingyin. She used a One-Handed Sword and her skills were quite impressive, even comparable to Asuna. With such an exceptional attacker, Fang Zheng couldn’t let her slip by and added her to the team.

After clearing the first floor’s lord, Fang Zheng didn’t rush to tackle the second floor immediately but instead gave everyone a three-day vacation for some proper rest. After all, they were just a group of young girls who might have never even killed a chicken before entering this game. The sudden drastic changes posed great mental stress, and with such continuous training and combat, their nerves were likely at the breaking point, thus a break was well-needed.

Otherwise, they’d eventually crack.

Meanwhile, Fang Zheng brought Yuna to his room to ask her in detail about the “Chant” skill and how she acquired it.

“… So you’re saying you de-stressed everyone with singing every day, and suddenly one day, after singing, you were prompted that you learned this new skill?”

“Yes…”

Hearing Fang Zheng’s question, Yuna nodded.

“I don’t know why this happened, but there might be some connection…”

“How do you increase the proficiency level of the skill? Can you improve it by singing alone, or do you need an audience?”

“It seems an audience is necessary. I tried it alone, but the more people listened, the faster my skill proficiency increased.”

“Hmm… I see, I understand.”

Fang Zheng casually noted down Yuna’s words, then smiled and nodded at her.

“Alright, thank you for your cooperation, Miss Yuna, you’re free to go rest now.”

“Thank you, goodbye, Mr. Fang Zheng.”

Upon hearing Fang Zheng’s words, Yuna respectfully gave a slight bow before turning to leave the room. Fang Zheng, meanwhile, intently stared at the information recorded on his screen, narrowing his eyes.

Fang Zheng wasn’t looking to learn this chant skill himself, but from Yuna’s Chant skill, he realized that these unexpected skill effects might significantly impact conquering the game world. If they could figure out how these skills were activated or acquired, it would make dealing with bosses easier.

Beyond that, knowing how Yuna acquired her skill gave Fang Zheng some daring ideas of his own…

Now, let’s test those ideas.

Thinking this, Fang Zheng got up and walked out of the room.

Unexpectedly, upon exiting the room, he saw Asuna approaching from the other side of the corridor.

“Asuna? Where are you headed?”

“Ah, Mr. Fang Zheng.”

Seeing Fang Zheng, Asuna seemed somewhat tense. Despite fighting side by side for some time, perhaps the initial strong reprimand from Fang Zheng left a deep impression, causing Asuna to instinctively feel nervous every time she saw him.

Facing Fang Zheng’s inquiry, the girl straightened up as if afraid of being scolded by a parent, and quietly responded.

“I planned on leveling up…”

“Isn’t the leveling up schedule only in the morning? Are you going to continue training now?”

Hearing Asuna’s answer, Fang Zheng frowned.

“I understand where you’re coming from, wanting to leave this world and clear the game as soon as possible. But as the saying goes, haste makes waste. Relax when it’s time to relax, rest when it’s time to rest. This is only the beginning. If you haven’t learned how to relax yet, I’ll exclude you from the next lord raid.”

“———-!”

Hearing Fang Zheng’s words, Asuna’s body trembled slightly.

“…I’m not saying you have to laze around like Gabriel, but at least take some time to rest. Look, Leafa and Yuki went shopping, Aoba seems to have arranged to tour the city with Black Cat, doing daily tasks or uncovering hidden missions is also a good way to relax.”

By the way, Gabriel dashed back to her room as soon as Fang Zheng mentioned “vacation,” and hasn’t left since, seemingly planning to become a shut-in forever.

“…………”

Asuna didn’t respond, her characteristic stance when unsure what to do. Looking at the girl in front of him, Fang Zheng shook his head helplessly.

“Alright, if I let you relax on your own, you probably won’t find the way. As it happens, I have some errands to run, come with me.”

“…Huh?”

Asuna was taken aback by Fang Zheng’s words, looking genuinely surprised.

Going out with Mr. Fang Zheng…?