World-Ending Level
Colonel Lafei's regret was palpable.
In the Galactic Federation, the hierarchy of contempt among the major professional systems is very clear.
As the martial arts department is considered to be at the bottom along with other departments, even if Lister's strength is not necessarily weaker than other Overlord Tier recruits, he is still regarded as the bottom of the Overlord Tier in the conventional understanding.
Even when Hoffman met him in the Alchemy Ruined City, it was the same.
The first person they decided to invite was Kavin, since the Mechanical Engineering class belongs to the second tier of the Federation's hierarchy of contempt.
It was only at the very end, when Lister admired his behavior and character, that he extended the invitation.
Seeing that Colonel Lafei ultimately did not extend an invitation to him, Major Qi breathed a sigh of relief.
"Major Qi, I still have 11 recruit battalions to cover. Let's begin distributing special resources now."
After the two nodded in acknowledgment, Colonel Lafei turned to look at the two lieutenant colonels behind him.
The two then took out a black leather case and carried it in front of them.
At the same time, Major Toke had arrived at the edge of the entire simulation training hall and activated his permissions.
The entire simulation training hall was sealed off once again, and the next moment, countless blue rays converged around Lister.
An oval-shaped blue cabin appeared out of thin air.
"Authorization in progress: Authorizer Major Siegfried, Battalion Commander of the Federation Military District's Arcane Recruit Camp, authorization obtained."
"Co-authorized by Colonel Lafei, Temporary Special Resources Issuing Officer of the Federation Military District. Authorization has been obtained."
"Authorization approved."
A streamlined, small cabin appears before you; the hatch opens at this moment.
At the same time, Colonel Lafei authorized the opening of the leather case in front of him.
Inside, there was actually just a jar of grayish-brown reagent.
It was impossible to tell whether it was a liquid or a gas, but it was inserted directly into the side door opening of the small compartment, sealing it perfectly.
In an instant, the entire small cabin turned into a hazy, gray mist.
As if it had been fully activated, even the system was now beeping.
"Congratulations, you have discovered the 'Galactic Federation Special Enhancement Pod'."
[Galactic Federation Special Enhancement Pod (S-Rank): Allows for comprehensive enhancement of life forms. (Note: Requires special resources to use)]
"Recruit Lister, federal special resources are ready."
According to records, using this resource carries a 1-2% chance of death.
You now have the right to decide whether to use it or not.
Colonel Lafei was conducting the final confirmation of the official procedures.
"Use!"
Lister couldn't believe he was so unlucky as to die while using such a special resource.
Moreover, he has another chance to be resurrected, and he is now even more eager for this resource.
"Due to the special nature of this resource, its use must be conducted under our full supervision to ensure that it is used by the recruit himself."
"You can lie down now. The time for the entire lifting process varies from person to person, so don't worry."
Lying down in the specially designed cabin, it felt cool and comfortable.
The hatch has now been closed.
"Start up."
Lister only heard this one sentence before the space in front of him suddenly disappeared and changed, and all the sounds around him began to stop.
A moment later, he found himself in a gray, foggy space.
The system notification tone followed immediately.
"Congratulations, the Galactic Federation Special Enhancement Pod is now in use."
Congratulations, you have discovered a special resource: Soul Crystal.
System notification: Your compatibility with Soul Crystals is extremely high. Do you wish to absorb and use it directly? (Note: Direct absorption has a utilization rate of 99%, while using the Federation Special Enhancement Pod has a utilization rate of 35%~78%).
Only when he heard the word "Soul Crystal" did Lister realize what was happening.
So the so-called special federal resource was actually the Soul Crystal that he had been clueless about all along?
So, is this so-called improvement actually an improvement of the soul of the living being?
Lister is still uncertain about the effects of soul enhancement.
Since direct absorption and utilization are more efficient, his choice is self-evident.
Congratulations, you have chosen to absorb directly.
An endless stinging sensation spread throughout his body in an instant, and the gray mist of the entire space kept pouring into Lister's body.
The intense pain rendered him unable to move, causing him immense suffering.
As the gray fog intensified, the torment of pain continued to escalate.
Until the pain reached a certain peak, Lister instantly lost consciousness, as if his consciousness had entered a completely new space.
It was a completely gray expanse, and right in the center was a smaller version of myself.
Its entire body was constructed of gray mist, which is now continuously solidifying.
At the same time, an inexplicable surge of power kept washing over his consciousness.
Until the last wisp of gray mist completely disappeared into his soul.
Lister regained consciousness, and the pain in his body had completely disappeared.
[Level: LV100]
[Health Points: 120322/239560 (Recovering)]
The steadily recovering health points told him that the pain he had felt was real and not a hallucination.
He lost half of his health in an instant, probably because he directly absorbed the Soul Crystal.
No wonder Colonel Lafei warned of a possibility of death.
"Congratulations, the Soul Crystal has been absorbed. Your Robust Soul can continue to improve."
"Congratulations! You can choose two active skills to upgrade (up to S rank)."
I glanced at my experience points and, thankfully, I wasn't in a rush to level up recently, so I immediately invested all my experience points into Robust Soul.
[Robust Soul (Passive, No Rank) LV20→60 (0/60000000) (Note: Can no longer be upgraded, requires Soul Crystals for upgrade): Increases Soul Strength by 60 points, increases Soul-type Skill effects by 60%, all Skill attacks will have varying degrees of true damage ratio, and special judgment rank is upgraded.]
The 1.5 billion experience points were wiped out, but in return, the Robust Soul was greatly enhanced.
Not only did the effect bonus increase, but a new effect also appeared that greatly surprised Lister.
The fact that all skill damage can now deal true damage is an improvement that's beyond imagination!
He subconsciously glanced at the Knee Strike skill in his skill bar.
[Knee Strike (Grade A) LV80 (1/8,000,000): Deals 1490~1691 damage to the enemy with Knee Strike (14.3% of which is true damage), with a very high probability of causing stun, paralysis, knockback, etc. (Determined based on the enemy's and ally's strength, stamina, and intelligence attributes)]
"Should I upgrade the skill Merrick Saber Technique?"
"Yes."
Suppressing his excitement at the huge improvement he had just made, Lister continued to complete the entire improvement process.
All memories of Merrick Saber Technique suddenly vanished from his mind, leaving only countless sensations of the sword's movements themselves filling his brain.
For a moment, Lister was completely absorbed in the moment, his hand unconsciously reaching for the sword at his waist.
An unstoppable, all-consuming ambition surged into my heart.
"Congratulations, your Merrick Saber Technique has advanced to the next level."
[Merrick Saber Technique (A-rank → S-rank) LV100 (1/10,000,000): Uses swordsmanship to precisely attack the target, dealing 9,571~10,298 damage (affected by Strength attribute bonuses) (39.5% of which is true damage). Enters Super Armor state upon striking, immune to control effects (Note: cannot be immune to damage).]
As expected, Merrick Saber Technique advanced, eventually gaining a Super Armor effect.
With this effect, he won't be at a disadvantage when facing some bosses head-on.
Lister was currently hesitating about upgrading the last skill.
After a moment's thought, I finally chose the Federation Shunpo.
A powerful surge of consciousness washed over him once more, recalling countless times he had used the Federation Shunpo in his memory.
As their footwork skills become more refined, they gradually become dissatisfied with relying solely on the special force generated by their footwork for movement.
As our understanding of space and displacement continues to improve, it will eventually reach a certain peak.
As if he had gained special perception, he blasted open a space with a kick and emerged directly from another space in the next instant.
[Federation Shunpo (Rank A → Rank S) LV100 (1/10,000,000): Kicks open the space in front of the user, allowing for high-frequency teleportation within a 300-meter diameter area.]
"Whew!"
Watching the Shunpo evolve from its original footwork technique to its current form of true spatial displacement.
As expected, there was a qualitative leap after upgrading from A-level skills to S-level.
The displacement ability he lacked most has been completely replenished, and now he no longer needs to plan to learn advanced skills from the advanced civilization of the Galactic Federation.
At the same time, the system notification sounded again.
Congratulations, your overall rating has improved.
[Overall Rating: S-Rank → SS-Rank (World-Ending Level)]