Master begets outstanding disciples! After receiving instruction from Clark, Jake's alchemy skill immediately advanced to the advanced level. It's worth noting that this level is something that many people may not achieve in their entire lives. Jake truly hit the jackpot this time!
Jake was overjoyed and secretly proud of his foresight. Even if he could learn alchemy from someone else in the future, it definitely wouldn't be as good as what he learned from Clark.
"Now that you've learned alchemy, you must practice diligently and not neglect it," Clark advised.
"Yes, Master, I will practice diligently," Jake replied. Then, he hesitated and said with some difficulty, "Master, to practice alchemy, I'll need a sufficient amount of herbs. Although I've learned the skill of identifying herbs, I don't have suitable tools to collect them."
Jake was again thinking about the medicinal shovel. Now that he had obtained the alchemy skill, it was time to make a move on the shovel he had admired for a long time.
"You make a good point," Clark nodded. "In that case, you don't need to return the medicinal shovel I gave you before. It was the shovel I used when I was an apprentice. Although it's not a divine weapon, it's still suitable for gathering herbs. You can keep and use it."
My master is generous! He understands my thoughts! Jake was instantly delighted, but he didn't show it on his face. Instead, he looked worried and said to Clark, "Master, if you give me the shovel, what will you use in the future? Your disciple can't take away what you cherish."
"Don't worry, it's just a shovel. It was merely the tool I used when I was an apprentice. I have others," Clark replied and took out another shovel from his house. Judging by its appearance alone, the shovel he held was much more exquisite than the one in Jake's hand.
Jake couldn't resist using the Identification skill on the shovel.
Featherfall Shovel: Gold Grade. Greatly increases the success rate and speed of digging herbs. There's a chance to double the yield of herbs. Strength: 3, Agility: 3, Constitution: 3, Attack: 10. Jake instantly felt that the shovel in his hand wasn't as good.
"Alright, you can go now. I need to start making medicine," Clark told Jake. Jake could only leave and decided to go to the home of the village elder.
"Oh, it's you. What's the matter?" The village elder was lying on a recliner at the door, leisurely watching the sunset.
"Elder Village Chief, I have a question about the Identification skill," Jake said.
When the village elder heard the words "Identification skill," his eyelids visibly twitched, and he stopped moving on the recliner. "Speak!"
"It's like this," Jake hadn't noticed the elder's strange reaction and continued, "I found that when I use the Identification skill on a target, some show a response, while others don't. Why is that?"
"Using the Identification skill is essentially attacking the target, emitting hostility. If the target's strength is lower than yours, they won't feel anything. But if the target is stronger than you, they will sense your provocation," the village elder explained, though he felt a bit irritated, he still clarified it for Jake.
So that's how it is! Jake understood, but then he had a new question. The Spotted Fierce Tiger, being stronger than himself, could sense his use of the Identification skill, which was understandable. However, why could Wendy also sense his use of the skill? Could it be that she was stronger than him? This doubt couldn't be asked to the village elder.
Just then, Jake's vision went dark, and when it returned, he found himself back in his rented room. The village elder watched Jake suddenly disappear without showing any surprise on his face. He reclined back on the chair, lazily swaying and squinting at the sunset.
"Back already? It's around the same time as before. I wonder if the Village Chief got scared," Jake wasn't prepared to be teleported back either. After lying in bed for a while, it was already bright outside, so he got up. Although he didn't sleep much, he still felt refreshed.
While putting on his shoes, Jake hesitated but decided to wear the pair of Cloud Stream Boots he had just obtained. "They're quite comfortable, and they look good too. But is it too unusual to wear these boots?" Jake muttered to himself. These types of boots were normal in the game world, but in reality, they were a bit eccentric. He estimated that if he wore them on the streets, many people would stare at him.
"If only they could look like sneakers," Jake thought. Just as he had that idea, the Cloud Stream Boots on his feet suddenly emitted a flash of light. Then, the boots transformed into the appearance of sneakers, looking no different from the common ones found in the market.
"They can actually change?" Jake was instantly delighted. He then transformed the Cloud Stream Boots into running shoes, leather shoes, cotton shoes, and various other styles. Each transformation was successful, and every style looked fashionable and exquisitely designed. At first glance, it was evident that they weren't ordinary goods but crafted by a skilled artisan.
After playing around for a while, Jake left wearing the Cloud Stream Boots, heading to the Princeton University campus. There weren't many students at the campus's sports field.
It was still late August, a few days before the start of classes, but Jake once again spotted a familiar figure, Wendy. Her graceful figure was incredibly attractive on the sports field. Not only Jake, but other students also couldn't help but let their gazes follow Wendy.
"Could she really be stronger than me?" Jake still couldn't let go of the fact that Wendy noticed his use of the Identification skill. Wendy appeared as a delicate woman, not weak to the point of being defenseless, but Jake couldn't believe that she was stronger than him.
"Could it have something to do with that 'Peak of Excellence' in her information?" Jake recalled Wendy's limited information, and one of the items mentioned was 'Peak of Excellence.' However, he didn't understand its meaning. At that time, Jake didn't pay much attention to it, but now it seemed that this information might not be so simple and could be related to her discovery of his secret use of the Identification skill. Today, the two of them didn't have any interaction.
In fact, according to Jake's observations, Wendy usually ran on the sports field without interacting with anyone else. Yesterday was the first time she took the initiative to talk to him, which was quite rare.