The Third Class Advancement Quest and the Shadowless Blade

Six months have passed in the blink of an eye.

Since the federal conscription order had been issued long ago, Lister was worried that there wouldn't be enough time, so he only asked that the forging of the sword be the priority.

In the past six months, just as Captain Boren had predicted, the standard for military merits awarded for missions has indeed risen.

As of last month, a total of 17 tasks were completed, with the lowest being 5,000 merits and several tasks even exceeding 10,000 merits.

Whether it's the number of missions or the magnitude of military merits, he now truly has enough to accumulate and advance rapidly.

Lister attributed all of this to the successful completion of that major collaborative project.

And this is also due to Captain Boren's powerful background and the support he received from Lieutenant Commander Kali.

He never imagined that the real, deeper key factor would be himself.

In fact, the mission that Lieutenant Colonel Kali initially assigned to Captain Boren was also due to him.

Otherwise, according to the original plan, Captain Boren's A73 warship would have to remain dormant for at least half a year.

This month, due to the approaching federal mobilization, A73 has finally had some free time.

In the dedicated training room of B4, Lister injected the last dose of azure reagent.

That refreshing and invigorating feeling spread throughout my body, as if I were being completely purified and cleansed.

Unfortunately, this pleasant sensation didn't last long; it receded like the tide before I could fully experience it.

Congratulations, your strength... has increased.

[Attributes: Strength 240 (Base 120, Bonus 120), Stamina 240, Intelligence 240, Agility 240]

Because he preserved the "core eye drops," Lister was ultimately able to gather enough resources through his military achievements over the past six months.

Now that my four attributes are finally maxed out, I'm accepting the quest without hesitation.

Congratulations, you are now accepting a job change quest.

"Notice: Basic attributes and all skills are now fixed. You cannot upgrade existing skills before completing the job change quest. (Note: You can continue to upgrade skills and learn new skills before completing the job change quest.)"

"Notification: You have one opportunity to increase the difficulty of the Third Advancement job advancement quest. Do you wish to use it? (Note: Once the difficulty is increased, it cannot be changed or abandoned. Upon completion, the strength of the Third Advancement job advancement will be enhanced.)"

"Use!"

Notification: The Third Advancement job advancement quest has been re-drawn and distributed; the system is notarizing the process... Notarization complete!

Congratulations, your job change quest has been drawn and issued.

"Lister Merrick's exclusive third job advancement quest: The brand-new Merrick Civilization has just been born and is developing rapidly. However, within its Galactic Federation, it is still somewhat immature. The development of a civilization requires not only recognition and acceptance, but also the attention and respect of other civilizations. It is now up to you to enhance the reputation of the Merrick Civilization within the Galactic Federation and gain the respect of more civilizations!"

Task specific requirements: One stage (one stage in total):

Reputation within the Galactic Federation has reached 50,000 points, currently (231/50,000). (Note: Reputation is based on system evaluation, measured by the number of civilizations that have reached the level of awe towards the Merrick Civilization!)

"Whew!"

Looking at the task, Lister breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, this time there was a clear and direct task, unlike the second job advancement task which had no hints and required you to figure it out on your own.

However, the task is indeed not simple. As it stands, it requires 50,000 civilizations to develop a sense of awe towards the Merrick Civilization.

Currently, there are over 1.5 million officially registered civilizations in the Galactic Federation.

Level 0 and Level 1 civilizations account for over 95% of the total, with Level 2 civilizations only making it into the top 5% of the Galactic Federation.

There are more than 7,000 Level 3 civilizations, which is how they squeezed into the lower-level power structure of the Federation.

Lister wanted other civilizations to be in awe of him, he first had to exclude Level 0 and Level 1 civilizations.

Unfortunately, most Level 0 and Level 1 civilizations cannot participate in the Federation's major affairs; at most, they are exploited for resources by higher-level civilizations.

Due to limited information, unless Lister personally demonstrates his strength, the number of 50,000 civilizations is indeed unrealistic.

Lister's best target would be a Type II civilization, and he would need to make a big splash within the Galactic Federation.

Before he could think it through, Reck had already pushed open the door and entered the training room.

Over the past six months, thanks to his preferential allocation based on his military merits, Reck has grown rapidly.

Now at level 111, having entered the 12th tier, his combat power has remained at B-level under his occasional guidance.

He was currently holding a fancy long box, clearly one of the kinds of boxes Powell's shop often used to bluff customers.

"Sir, this is an item mailed to you by Yalan Civilization."

"Give it to me."

How are the sergeants doing lately? Still complaining a lot?

He took the long box with one hand, opened it, and inquired about the soldier's condition.

They have achieved many military merits in the past six months, especially their Landing Operations Department, which can be said to have achieved the most military merits among all departments on the ship.

Lister also had extra military merit points to distribute to his soldiers.

However, the amount was indeed not much. Most people received 1 point of military merit, while a small number of soldiers with strong individual abilities received 2 points.

After several years, all one can earn in military merit is this little bit. Apart from a very few soldiers who accumulate experience and achieve great things later in life, the path to advancement for life is indeed closed.

There are still some complaints, but not many anymore!

"And everyone is looking forward to this federal conscription, wanting to give it their all in this big mission!"

"Okay, I understand!"

"Take advantage of these last few days to prepare yourself properly, lest you die during the conscription."

Lister slowly shook his head only after Reck left.

The Federation's conscription is indeed a rare and excellent opportunity, for all the officers and petty officers on the ship who are conscripted.

After all, the number of missions available during conscription is unlimited. As long as you can complete them, you will be continuously assigned missions, and the military merits gained from missions far exceed those from daily tasks.

However, opportunities always come with risks, and there are no mortality standards for sergeants in federal conscription.

They were just cannon fodder trained by the Federation Military District!

In past federal conscriptions, the mortality rate of the Civilization Army was generally over 70%, with even officers experiencing a mortality rate exceeding 30%.

It can be described as extremely high risk and high reward.

Lister didn't think about that at the moment, but focused on the answer sheet Powell had given him.

Looking at the lone hilt of a knife in the long box, he couldn't help but frown.

Somewhat to his surprise, the knife Powell made for him seemed to be an unfinished product, as it only had a handle.

The hilt is entirely black, gleaming with a cold light, and has a few silver arcane patterns on it, as if the silver spots have been specially patterned, which looks quite cool.

Lister's brow relaxed after a quick scan with the system.

[Powell's Tantalum Dark Shadowless Blade (S-rank) (Level 120 and above): Attack 3091 points, the blade is invisible and can be extended at will. When attacking, it can absorb the opponent's energy to replenish itself, while continuously increasing the blade's damage and sharpness. (Up to 10% life absorption and up to 50% additional defense-ignoring damage)]

I slowly gripped the handle; sure enough, the density of the Tantalum Dark Alloy was there, and the handle's weight was very concentrated, at least a thousand kilograms.

Of course, for Lister's strength attribute, which far exceeds that of ordinary people, the amount is not an issue.

Slowly channeling his own strength and energy, the hilt of the knife, highly sensitive to energy, instantly extended an invisible blade.

It is difficult for others to discern with the naked eye; they can only perceive the length of the blade by relying on energy fluctuations.

However, for Lister, the user, the blade length could be changed at will and completely controlled.

With a swift swing, the silver-black blade struck the wall of the training room at incredible speed.

The speed is at least 30% faster than before.

Given his original strength, he shouldn't have been able to cause any damage to the wall, but now he has left a deep mark, and the inscription defense of the entire training room has been completely destroyed.

At that moment, Lister's eyes lit up.

Although Powell's forging always tends to produce attributes that stack damage.

But he did like this blade; its base attack was twice as high as the Wounding Saber.

More importantly, it has an unparalleled feel, with an invisible and effortless blade, including extremely strong energy absorption and extension, allowing it to withstand power to the fullest extent!

While Lister was still admiring his new Shadowless Blade, a commotion had already broken out outside the warship.