Shen Xingyan was astonished, looking at the new skeleton in front of him. His innate talent for summoning a skeleton was nothing like he had expected. Not only did Wangcai not disappear, which was already a pleasant surprise, but now he could summon new skeletons!
"If they exist permanently, then every 24 hours I can summon a new skeleton. If this continues into the future… it's simply unimaginable," Shen Xingyan muttered, his gaze shifting from the new skeleton to the skill description in his stats panel.
He used to think that the 24-hour cooldown meant the time for a skeleton to disappear and be summoned again. But the reality was far more generous—it was simply the skill's cooldown time.
This unexpected gift from fate literally stunned Shen Xingyan, pulling him out of his state of excitement and plunging him into a slight dizziness.
Wangcai also curiously examined its new comrade, slightly tilting its skull as if expressing confusion and interest.
When Shen Xingyan came to his senses, his body relaxed, and his mind began to get used to this pleasant discovery. The confidence that had appeared thanks to the professional skill's mutation now became even stronger, like an indestructible rock.
Checking the new skeleton's stats, Shen Xingyan found that they were almost identical to Wangcai's—all attributes were a single point. Such weak skeletons were useless in combat, even in huge numbers. But in his professional space, they were priceless. Their loyalty and tireless nature, combined with his skill for a 10% increase in plant growth progress, had an incredible effect.
"In the future, my skill will accelerate plant growth, and the skeletons will handle all the other field maintenance," Shen Xingyan mused. "When there are more of them, not only will the harvest reach its peak, but I'll also have time to train. Maybe I can even go beyond the base and fight low-level Catastrophes. The thing I've always dreamed of could become a reality!"
At the thought that he could fight outside the base, Shen Xingyan felt a rush of adrenaline; his eyes gleamed. When he awakened the Farmer profession, he had resigned himself to the collapse of his dream. But now, thanks to these two powerful skills, his shattered dream seemed to be pieced back together, becoming almost tangible. This made his nose tingle.
Although Shen Xingyan was mature beyond his years, he was still a recently-matured youth. His usual reserve was a necessity—it was required by his family circumstances and life in a world full of dangers. But now, under the protection of these two powerful skills, he felt as if he had found his sanctuary, where he could finally relax and be himself.
"Wangcai, little skeleton, let's go pull weeds!" Shen Xingyan exclaimed, quickly returning to his usual state. However, now his demeanor carried a sense of lightness, and in the depths of his eyes appeared an unshakeable resolve.
Hearing the command, Wangcai immediately followed his master. But when they reached the edge of the wheat field, Shen Xingyan suddenly stopped. Wangcai also froze, tilting his skull and looking at his master questioningly.
Shen Xingyan, however, was not looking at Wangcai, but at the new skeleton, who remained rooted to the spot. At first, he was surprised that the rookie wasn't following his command, but then a look of understanding dawned on his face:
"Ah, I forgot! The new skeleton doesn't know anything yet; of course, it didn't understand my command to pull weeds!"
Shen Xingyan was about to teach the new helper himself, but after taking half a step, he stopped, as if something had occurred to him.
"Wangcai, teach the new skeleton how to pull weeds," he said, crouching down and stroking the skull of his primary helper.
Shen Xingyan wasn't sure if Wangcai would understand his request, but he decided to try. His idea was simple: with the number of skeletons growing, he wouldn't be able to train each one personally. Although training one skeleton daily didn't take much time, in the long run, it would become tedious, especially with the work becoming more complex as his profession leveled up.
Wangcai, having worked all day, was already well-versed in all the agricultural tasks. If he could train the new skeletons instead of Shen Xingyan, it would save a lot of time and effort.
To Shen Xingyan's surprise and delight, after a moment's hesitation, Wangcai headed toward the new skeleton. Shen Xingyan crouched nearby, watching intently.
Wangcai approached the rookie and with its grass-stained bony fingers, pointed first at Shen Xingyan, then at itself. Then it tapped the new skeleton's skull twice and walked toward the wheat field.
The new skeleton looked at Shen Xingyan, then at Wangcai, slightly tilted its head as if it understood, and followed Wangcai to the field.