Leveling Up

After the battle was completely over, a new interface appeared before Gu Hang.

Seeing the words "Resounding Victory," his expression turned a little strange.

Did that mean there were also categories like "Epic Triumph," "Slightly Ahead," and "Hard-Fought Victory"?

He could see not only the overall casualties and losses, but also the specific conditions of each branch of the army.

More importantly, he had earned 19 Grace for winning the battle.

The rewards from this one battle were almost four times his fixed monthly income!

Well, would you look at that. So this really was a War-Maniac System, huh? War was where the biggest rewards came from, and farming was just there to support it?

He opened the system interface and saw that the [Hero] option was flickering faintly.

When he tapped it again, his own name was flickering.

[Hero: Gu Hang (Faction Leader), LV1, enough experience to level up (10 Grace)]

[Constitution: 7, Psionic Power: 14]

[Traits:]

[Psionic Caster: You wield the power of Psionic Power. You can expend Psionic Power to cast psychic spells.]

[Nuxiao Planet Governor: You are the lawful ruler of Nuxiao Planet and have a greater chance of lawfully uniting its local forces.]

This was his personal information.

Of the two traits, Nuxiao Planet Governor came from his position, so there was nothing more to say about it. The other, Psionic Caster, represented his own ability.

Gu Hang was a Psyker. A lawful one.

The Gu Family he belonged to naturally cultivated its core heirs. Education, entering politics or business, providing connections and resources—all that went without saying. And someone like Gu Hang, who had shown psionic talent as a child, certainly wouldn't be overlooked.

His talent for Psionic Power wasn't bad. The system showed his attribute at 14, and that was reflected in his abilities.

Gu Hang had more or less figured out how the attributes worked.

Strength, agility, reflexes, toughness... All abilities based on the body fell under Constitution. A powerful physique was essential for becoming an outstanding warrior.

In this age of extraordinary powers, even with technological advancements, individual prowess still mattered in war. The very best warriors, armed with the very best equipment, could cut a starship in half with a sword—that was an exaggeration, but charging into battle, storming trenches, and taking fortresses were all well within their reach.

That Greenskin beast he'd just fought was proof. Without Gu Hang, it would still have died, but no one could say how many more Servitors and even Marines would have had to give their lives to bring it down.

Psionic Power was far more mysterious. On many benighted worlds, it was called witchcraft or magic.

It was a supernatural force originating from the world's shadow side. Starships' faster-than-light travel and many high-spec, powerful weapons and devices all relied on this supernatural energy. The Empire had specialized energy worlds where Psionic Power was harvested and condensed into crystals.

At the same time, the more advanced the psionic technology in a piece of cutting-edge equipment, the more it required a skilled Psyker to operate it. Powerful Psykers could also fight effectively using psychic spells alone, without relying on any equipment.

Gu Hang had used a psychic spell to deal with the Greenskin earlier. One cast of Soul Severing had temporarily cut off one of its legs, turning it into a sitting duck.

It was the only psychic spell Gu Hang knew, and it was very difficult to learn. He had no desire to spend decades poring over books and studying psychic spells until his hair turned white.

But the upgrade option in the Hero interface offered him a new path.

If he could just level up directly, why wouldn't he?

Before now, there hadn't been an upgrade option. He'd noticed the words "enough experience." He guessed they were a result of winning a war.

It seemed the upgrade option only appeared when he had enough experience.

As for the 10 Grace required to level up, he gritted his teeth and paid it outright.

After getting 19 Grace this time and adding the 2 he'd had left over, he had 21 in total. Enough.

At once, a new prompt appeared before him: [Choose one of five paths—Constitution, Psionic Power, Command, Leadership, or Unique—to gain a new talent.]

There was something like that, too?

Constitution and Psionic Power needed no explanation. They should be related to personal strength.

The next two, Command and Leadership, seemed similar, but there had to be a difference. Gu Hang guessed the former meant military command, improving his ability to lead troops in war, while the latter referred to his ability as a ruler and Archon.

As for the last one, "Unique"... Did it grant an exclusive talent based on each individual? As for what that might be, he had no way to guess.

Gu Hang tried selecting "Unique," but a new prompt appeared: [The Unique upgrade sequence has not been unlocked. Upgrade failed.]

"I wonder what the conditions are to unlock it..."

With no other choice, he could only pick from the first four.

He chose the Psionic Power talent.

He didn't choose Constitution because he was clearly more gifted on the path of a Psyker than that of a warrior. As for the bonuses to Command or Leadership, they were certainly useful, but with few troops and a small territory early on, their impact would probably be limited. By contrast, personal strength would matter more in small-scale clashes.

Besides, if he really became a master of Psionic Power who could move mountains and fill seas, with overwhelming personal strength, that might not be any worse than boosting his entire army or faction.

After he made his choice, he immediately felt a wave of heat rush from his chest through every part of his body, all the way to his fingertips and toes.

His complexion grew ruddy as a result. Fortunately, the only ones nearby were Servitor soldiers. These modified humans, incapable of independent thought, wouldn't ask him any questions.

"Whew..." Gu Hang exhaled a long breath of hot air. He felt strength coursing through his entire body. He could feel his muscles becoming more defined, his joints more flexible, his senses sharper, and his thoughts quicker...

A boost across the board!

But... hadn't he chosen the Psionic Power talent? Why did it feel like his Constitution had increased?

He summoned the system again and saw the numerical results of his upgrade.

[Hero: Gu Hang (Faction Leader), LV2, insufficient experience to level up]

[Constitution: 8, Psionic Power: 15]

[Traits: Psionic Caster, Nuxiao Planet Governor]

[Talents:]

[Aura of Protection: When taking damage, you can expend Psionic Power to negate it. Psionic Power +1]

His Constitution had indeed increased. It seemed that leveling up naturally raised his base attributes. His Constitution had been rather low, so the increase was more noticeable; the increase to Psionic Power, on the other hand, was less obvious.

His Psionic Power had still gone up by one in the end, thanks to the new talent, Aura of Protection.

An increase in Constitution was a good thing. Being healthier and stronger was always good. And a higher Psionic Power attribute would let him cast more psychic spells and increase their power.

The most important thing about the Aura of Protection talent, though, was its special effect.

With a mere thought, he felt a mysterious energy fill his entire body, soaking into every cell. When an outside blow landed, the resulting damage would be canceled out by Psionic Power until he deliberately turned the ability off or ran out of Psionic Power.

Most importantly, Aura of Protection worked very well. It was a passive effect that he could turn on or off. While it was active, it cost nothing; it only consumed Psionic Power when he took damage. Even if he were ambushed, he wouldn't have to worry about being too slow to activate the skill. And if he ever found himself in a critical situation, he could temporarily turn it off and risk taking damage to save some Psionic Power for a counterattack.

All in all, it was very flexible.

Gu Hang was very satisfied with this practical skill that traded a blue bar for health.