Strengthening and Improvement

After unlocking his skill slots, Lin Maoxian took the A-rank skill he had obtained out of his storage space to examine it:

"A-rank skill: Copper Skin Iron Bone"

"Level 1 effect: Copper Skin—Upon activation, the adventurer gains +3 temporary Strength, consuming 1 energy per second with no cooldown. Iron Bone—Upon activation, the adventurer gains +3 temporary Stamina, consuming 1 energy per second with no cooldown. 'Copper Skin' and 'Iron Bone' can be used simultaneously."

It truly lives up to its A-rank status. The level 1 effect alone provides 6 points, which is more than half of my current base Strength and Stamina combined—that's equivalent to 1,800 Source Points. However, the energy consumption is far too high. With my current 50 points of energy, I wouldn't even last half a minute using both at once. It looks like I'll need to invest in my Intelligence stat later. Lin Maoxian learned the skill, though the high energy cost gave him a headache.

He checked the requirements for upgrading the skill and found nothing unusual; it simply required Source Points. Upgrading to level 4 cost 1,000 Source Points per level, while levels 5 through 9 cost 3,000 per level. As for level 10 and above, the information was not displayed.

Thinking that he hadn't checked the equipment enhancement area yet, he decided it would be a good time to visit, especially since he had two pieces of equipment. As for whether or not to upgrade his skills, he would decide after he had finished exploring everything else.

Upon arriving at the equipment enhancement area, Lin Maoxian received a prompt from the Space: non-legendary equipment (Excellent, Fine, Common) costs 300 Source Points to enhance from levels 1–3, with no penalty for failure. Enhancing from levels 4–6 costs 500 Source Points, with a failure resulting in a -1 reduction in enhancement level. Enhancing from levels 7–9 costs 1,000 Source Points, with a failure resulting in a -2 reduction in enhancement level and a small chance of the equipment shattering and disappearing.

As for legendary or higher-tier equipment, Lin Maoxian didn't bother asking. For one, he didn't possess such high-tier gear, only two Common-grade items. For another, given the Space's typical attitude, even if he did ask, he would likely just receive an "insufficient authority" response. Since that was the case, there was no point in making a futile effort.

Thinking that 300 Source Points for a level 1 enhancement was reasonable, and that the Data Collection Glasses—while providing no stats—were quite useful, Lin Maoxian decided to enhance them once. A flash of white light swept over the glasses. Fortunately, the enhancement succeeded. Although 300 Source Points wasn't much, every little bit counted! Lin Maoxian checked the enhanced stats:

Data Collection Glasses

[Quality]: Common

[Level]: Level 1+1

[Category]: Special

[Description]: Omitted... (All descriptions are displayed only once)

[Attribute]: Probe—Consumes 5 energy to collect target information with greater precision and relay it to the user.

The attributes hadn't changed much, but the information collected should be more detailed, which was still quite useful. "I'll leave this piece of equipment at this level for now. If I have leftover Source Points later, I can consider enhancing it further. Now, it's time to check out the final destination: the Space Store."

When Lin Maoxian arrived at the Space Store, the Space didn't provide a barrage of prompts, only a single sentence: "As long as you have sufficient Source Points and authority, there is nothing you can think of that the Space cannot do." Lin Maoxian was stunned by the sheer arrogance of the statement. If you're so capable, show me a divine artifact or create life for me, he thought.

To his surprise, the Space replied: "Adventurer authority insufficient."

He had heard that phrase many times, but this time it left him truly shaken. He could overlook the divine artifact, but could the Space really create life?

He stood there for a long time before finally coming to his senses and letting out a deep sigh. The more he learned, the more unfathomable the Space seemed. However, these things were far beyond his current reach. It was better to focus on the present; perhaps one day, when he was strong enough, he would find the answers.

He browsed the goods in the Space Store; equipment, medicine, and skills were all available. However, the equipment and medicine were all below legendary grade, and the skills were all below S-rank—not even a single one was higher than A-rank. Thinking of his own A-rank skill, Lin Maoxian suddenly felt quite lucky.

In the Space Store, there was a special "Honor" category, but it only contained two items. One was a medicine that instantly restored 50% of health during combat, and the other was a potion that instantly restored 50% of energy during combat, both priced at 2 Contribution Points. Each could only be purchased once per world, and they required Rank 9 authority to buy.

Both were exceptionally precious. The medicines he had seen earlier in the general category were all Excellent-grade and restored a fixed amount of health rather than a percentage. However, when one's stamina was low, fixed-value recovery was actually more effective. These two items would clearly be more cost-effective once his stats were higher.

Lin Maoxian checked his Contribution Points; he had a total of 14. Buying these two wouldn't drop his authority. Although using them now might be a waste, they could potentially save his life in a critical moment. After spending 4 Contribution Points to purchase the two supplies and storing them in his space, Lin Maoxian left with a pained heart and headed toward the character enhancement area. He knew that the reward for exploring the entire world's plot was only 5 Contribution Points; if not for the fact that he could maintain his Rank 9 authority, he never would have had the resolve to buy them.

Arriving at the character enhancement area, Lin Maoxian pulled up his character panel. Seeing that his Agility was the highest, he added 2 points to it.

"Adventurer's base Agility has reached 10 points. You may choose one of the following options."

"Reward 1: Agility +2."

"Reward 2: Increase evasion rate by 5%."

"Reward 3: Increase attack speed by 10%."

Lin Maoxian chose Reward 1, because as he heard the prompt, he wondered if he would receive similar rewards for bringing his other stats to 10. If he wanted to balance his stats in the future, those 2 extra points of Agility would save him a significant amount of Source Points.

Following the same logic, Lin Maoxian brought all seven of his attributes to 10. Aside from Charisma, which didn't offer a "+2 attribute" option, forcing him to choose an effect that increased "initial favorability from plot characters," he chose the +2 attribute option for everything else.

He checked his character panel; he had spent a total of 7,800 Source Points, leaving him with 8,150. His stats had increased significantly; aside from Charisma at 10, the other six attributes were all at 12.

Looking at his remaining Source Points, Lin Maoxian calculated and added 4 more points to Intelligence, bringing it to 16, which cost him another 2,000 Source Points.

He then went to the skill enhancement area to upgrade his only skill. He enhanced it three times, bringing it to level 4, which resulted in a significant change in its attributes.

"A-rank skill: Copper Skin Iron Bone"

"Level 1+3 effect: Copper Skin—Upon activation, the adventurer gains +12 temporary Strength, consuming 2.5 energy per second with no cooldown. Iron Bone—Upon activation, the adventurer gains +12 temporary Stamina, consuming 2.5 energy per second with no cooldown. 'Copper Skin' and 'Iron Bone' can be used simultaneously."

Lin Maoxian examined the enhanced effect. It was certainly stronger, but the energy consumption had also increased. Fortunately, it was still within his limits. With his current stats and the natural recovery effect, he could maintain both simultaneously for over half a minute. Using them at a critical moment should be enough to turn the tide of a battle.

Checking his remaining Source Points, Lin Maoxian found he only had 3,150 left. Thinking of the series of skills he had seen in the Space Store, he steeled his heart and spent 1,000 points to unlock two more skill slots. Looking at the remaining 2,150 points, he didn't feel like he had gained much at all. Seeing the high costs in the Space, he felt his meager stash of Source Points was far too little.

He went to the Space Store and bought the two skills he had been eyeing. Thanks to his authority, he saved 50 Source Points, spending a total of 950. After learning the two new skills, he checked their attributes and was quite satisfied.

"Basic skill: Melee Mastery."

"Level 1 effect: Increases adventurer's melee damage by 10% (stacks with any melee damage), and makes the application of Strength more intuitive (the higher the skill level, the better the mastery of Strength)."

"Basic skill: Defense Mastery."

"Level 1 effect: Increases adventurer's defense by 10% (stacks with any defense), and makes the application of parrying and defense more intuitive (the higher the skill level, the better the mastery of defense)."

It wasn't the damage or defense bonuses that Lin Maoxian valued, but the latter part regarding "application." He knew that having high stats didn't automatically mean one could utilize them effectively. It was like giving a gun to a child versus an adult; the adult would use the weapon far more effectively, hitting exactly where they aimed, while the child would just spray bullets wildly. That was why he valued this series of skills—once he used his A-rank skill, he would be able to control the sudden surge in stats without the risk of losing control.

Looking at his remaining 1,200 Source Points, Lin Maoxian knew he couldn't upgrade either of these skills further. If he suddenly needed something and missed out because he lacked the points, he would be devastated.

Thinking that he had finished all the necessary enhancements and was now out of Source Points, Lin Maoxian prepared to head to the adventurer area to see if he could find anything there. Ideally, he wanted to buy a weapon, as he was still practically naked (referring to equipment; he was wearing clothes). Of course, it couldn't be anything too expensive—he just needed something within his budget, and he wasn't looking for anything top-tier.