Skill Emblem: Barbarian Skin

The Loot Generator was the largest of the three machines.

It was like a large boiler that burned coal.

It was hard to imagine that nanotech the size of a watch could build such a large machine.

It could only be said that nanotech was truly magical.

This large machine included seven entrances and seven exits, as well as an LCD controller.

The total controller's authority was with Cheng Shaofeng. He could control it through the base interface. Without Cheng Shaofeng's authorization, no one else could operate it.

After the Raider's corpse went in, it was decomposed by an unknown red energy.

One of the exits opened, and a conveyor belt delivered two pieces of loot.

A ring and a square metal plate the size of a palm.

When he held them in his hand, a brilliant blue light flashed before his eyes, and the base's auxiliary AR vision appeared.

Lines of information appeared above the two loot items.

[Copper Ring of Radiation]

[Quality: Fine]

[Radiation Damage: 2~5]

[Health Recovery Speed +1 per second]

"Huh? Is this... equipment?"

Zero: "That's right, Master. The Loot Generator is a special feature of our nano-base. It can use ultra-high frequency quantum beams to break down the structure of placed items and then perform quantum reconstruction to generate random loot. The quality of the loot is directly proportional to the energy intensity of the placed item itself. Most non-consumable items can only be used by you and the Clones. Excellent equipment can greatly enhance your strength, Master."

Cheng Shaofeng nodded, feeling that this function of the base was very useful.

If the players saw this... wouldn't they be thrilled?

"This attribute... explain to me what 'Radiation Damage: 2~5' means. Will I take damage myself after wearing it?"

Zero: "Master, this damage refers to the amplification for the user. For example, if you throw a punch with all your might and it deals 10 points of physical damage to a wooden stake, after wearing this ring, your punch will deal 10 points of physical damage plus 2~5 points of radiation damage. This value will be applied to all your attacks. If you shoot with the ring on, the damage caused by the bullets will also add the 2~5 points of radiation damage provided by the ring."

"Oh, I see. That's pretty good. Looking at how Thin Dog only dealt about 20 points of damage when poking a Raider with a wooden stick, this little ring can boost my attack power by 10%~25%."

Zero: "It's roughly as you said. The other attribute of this ring is to increase your cell vitality and improve your health recovery speed. Your base health recovery speed is 0.5/sec, and now it's 1.5/sec."

"Wow, that's quite a boost. So, if my wounds used to take an hour to heal, now they might only take 20 minutes?"

Zero: "For ordinary injuries, that calculation is correct. However, if a certain part of your body sustains severe damage, such as a gunshot wound to the arm, you will need to use medical means to remove the bullet before the wound can heal normally."

"Oh, I get the general idea. High health recovery speed isn't invincible; if you're crippled, you're still crippled."

Cheng Shaofeng slipped the ring onto his finger and felt a surge of power spread from his finger, invigorating his entire body.

He could distinctly feel himself becoming stronger.

"Amazing."

Cheng Shaofeng's gaze swept over the other loot item.

[Skill Emblem: Barbarian Skin]

[Radiation kills the weak, while the strong can absorb radiation to strengthen themselves, granting their skin superior defense.]

[Passive Skill]

[0/12 Level]

[Next Level: 1]

[+3% Health]

[+4% Physical Resistance]

[+5% Radiation Resistance]

[Applicable Profession: Barbarian]

[Requires: 1 Barbarian Profession Specialization Point]

Zero: "Congratulations on obtaining a Skill Emblem!

Skill-type loot is considered rare. Each Skill Emblem will benefit you and all the Clones in the Calamity Base! Once your physical strength reaches the minimum standard for learning skills, you can learn any profession's skills through the Skill Emblems, thereby enhancing your own abilities."

After listening, Cheng Shaofeng asked, "Then what's the standard for this specialization point?"

Zero: "With your current physical strength, you can learn all skills that require a specialization point of 4 or less."

"Huh? There's such a good thing? Isn't this just giving me passive skills for free?"

As an old player of Diablo-like games, Cheng Shaofeng knew that these kinds of passive skills were the most comfortable. Once learned, they would directly improve combat effectiveness and were hassle-free.

Especially those that increased physical attributes by a percentage. The bonus might be small now, but the stronger you become, the more beneficial they are.

"Health, physical resistance, radiation resistance... these are all things I can use right now. There are many Raider camps around Four Mountains and Colossus City..."

According to Zero's analysis, the Raiders' attack methods were mostly physical, supplemented by radiation.

"Learning the Raiders' skills and then countering them... that's interesting."

"Zero, how do I learn the [Barbarian Skin] skill?"

Zero: "Master, place your hand on the skill emblem and guide the power within into your body."

Cheng Shaofeng placed his hand on it, closed his eyes, and focused his entire being on the sensation.

The emblem was a circle larger than his palm. As he pressed his hand onto it, a warm, enveloping feeling spread across his hand.

At that moment, he seemed to witness a burst of deep green radiation energy. Countless animal and human bodies began to decay, fester, and rot. Only a small fraction of humans withstood the radiation, their bodies undergoing some inexplicable change. Their skin became increasingly tough, their bodies slowly swelled, their eyes turned blood red, and their heads became covered in muscle. This was the origin of this skill, a mutated form of humanity.

"Hoo~~~"

Cheng Shaofeng opened his eyes. The illusion vanished, and his body had already undergone a subtle change.

Specifically, his rough skin had become slightly tougher.

A flash of azure light flickered in his eyes, and a notification from the nano-base appeared.

[You have learned 'Barbarian Skin', current level: 1] [Upgrade requires: 1 Crystal Power]

"Crystal Power?"

Zero: "Yes, Master. The skills you learn require Crystal Power to upgrade. This energy is easily absorbed by humans, improving their physical structure and raising their potential."

"Where can I find Crystal Power?"

Zero: "I don't know, but if you get close to an area containing Crystal Power, the base will detect it."

"Alright."

In the 18 years his predecessor lived in Four Mountains, he had never heard of Crystal Power, nor did he know where to find this energy that could both recharge the base and enhance human abilities.

"Level 1 is fine. If I can learn hundreds of Level 1 passive skills, my body will probably be strong enough."

Getting three percentage bonuses for free felt pretty good.

"I just used the [Loot Generator] once, consuming 0.01% of the base's power. That's acceptable. However, if more players start using it, the power consumption will accelerate significantly. I need to find more energy sources to charge the base."

Current base power remaining: 0.89%.

Theoretically, it could generate loot 89 more times.

"Oh, right. And this [Attribute Conversion Tower], how do I use it?"

Zero: "The [Attribute Conversion Tower] can convert all items in the world into the unique visual attribute states of the Calamity Base. You can think of it as an appraisal tool, helping you and your clones better understand all the attributes of an item."

"Huh? Then help me appraise this thing."

Cheng Shaofeng placed the mace that Thin Dog had snatched from a Raider onto the first level of the [Attribute Conversion Tower].

A white light flashed over the mace.

[Notification: Attributes of the Rusty Mace are now visible]

[Rusty Mace] [Quality: Common] [Physical Damage: 2~20] [10% chance on attack to trigger Bleeding, dealing 50 Bleeding damage over 10 seconds.]

According to the quality classification given by Zero, this was the most ordinary weapon.

"It has a chance to cause bleeding when hitting someone. It might be a little useful."

Zero: "Master, please be reminded that the base's visual attributes do not represent actual combat situations. Against different enemies, their resistances will affect the damage you deal."

"Got it! The damage I can deal to an enemy depends not only on my strength and... but also on the enemy's resistance. If they have tough skin and iron bones, my 10% chance might become infinitely close to 0, right?"

Zero: "Master, you are very intelligent."

"What did you expect? I'm an old Diablo player!"

Data is just a reference; real combat is unpredictable. For example, if an enemy is a Raider with 1000 health, but is caught off guard and hit in the head with the mace, they might lose half their health and be stunned.

Of course, if the weapon had better attributes, it could kill them in one blow.

The base, through the [Attribute Conversion Tower], allowed him and the players to better understand the attributes of their equipment and items, enabling them to make better strategic arrangements. It was very useful.

Cheng Shaofeng rubbed his stomach; he was starving but had nothing to eat nearby. He could only drink his fill from the lake below the small hill.

Then, he returned, found a spot sheltered from the wind, and lay down next to the three machines.

"I'll head back to Salt Well Town first thing tomorrow morning to exchange the stored supplies for food and materials to create clones. I should be able to summon Thin Dog and the other two again in the afternoon."

Honestly, arriving in this otherworld suddenly, he was quite scared at the thought of living alone.

Late at night, Cheng Shaofeng remembered the strange old man who appeared and disappeared out of thin air in the dungeon, and he shivered.

"I'm too weak; I need to get stronger quickly."

Besides, he couldn't dwell on it; the more he thought about it, the more scared he became. All the ghost stories he'd heard before came flooding back!

"Damn it! Why does your Salt Well Town have so many ghost stories too?"

On his first night in this world, Cheng Shaofeng trembled.