So... it was all a misunderstanding?
"Yes, His Excellency the Bishop has already told us that the real apostate is someone else, and he is currently hiding in White Wax Town."
"The villagers of Upperstream Village..."
"It's in the row of tents over there."
After clearing up all the misunderstandings, old Kaping untied the vines binding Fasi's hands.
Meanwhile, Ed finally remembered what he had forgotten—
He forgot to inform the Midstream Village that the strange events caused by the wooden house monster and the heretic had ended!
In other words, Midstream Village was like a unit in a war that hadn't received a ceasefire order; while everyone else was already popping champagne, they were still anxiously fearing a non-existent sneak attack.
Ed began to think about why this was happening, and soon found the answer.
Midstream Village is different from Upperstream Village. Ed received Kaping's help when he first arrived in this world, so after being able to use the Tree Worship Church's card, he quickly promoted him to the position of village chief and gave him a leaf so that he could contact him at any time.
But Midstream Village wasn't so lucky. Ed didn't know a single person in the village, and even if he wanted to do someone a favor or support someone, he had no corresponding information or reason.
This left Midstream Village with no other means of communication other than human relay.
Ed looked at the young man who dared to come to the castle in the middle of the night to check the situation, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.
Fasi is not only young, but also timid yet possesses a certain decisiveness to explore the truth, making him seem like a promising prospect.
Little Green: "I have a bad feeling..."
Ed offered a tender leaf to Fasi, and at the benevolent bishop's prompting, he allowed the leaf to merge with his flesh and blood, becoming a part of himself.
"From now on, you will be my liaison officer stationed in Midstream Village. If anything goes wrong, you can call on me anytime in your mind."
"Clear."
Fasi bowed his head respectfully, while Ed looked up at the bright moon hanging high in the sky.
"It's past midnight. Why don't you rest nearby and leave when it's light?"
After settling the uninvited guest, Ed returned to the castle's restricted area.
The reason he was able to react so quickly was because he wasn't actually sleeping.
[ Howling Pothos ], as the first player to gain a level, is having his body slowly modified by Ed.
This transformation is like converting previously accumulated experience into real capabilities; it's a process of turning data into reality.
Ed's fingers transformed into roots and vines, guiding the excess power within the body to undergo transformation. Sensing the vibrant life force, Ed could now give a precise definition of the experience points of the World of Disorder.
Regardless of the method, as long as this body grows and improves, it can be categorized as "experience".
This aligns with Ed's understanding of the world: fighting and labor provide more thorough physical training, while absorbing nutrients from prey nourishes the body and stores up so-called "vitality."
This seems somewhat similar to the real world—a proper diet and consistent exercise are ways to level up in the real world.
After working for a while, Ed looked at his body, which was a bit more muscular than before, and thought to himself that he could truly be called Master of putting together good deeds.
[ Howling Pothos ]'s body is much more pleasing to the eye now than when it first arrived in this world. It seems that fitness can also improve appearance in this world.
As for the attribute points gained from the upgrade, Ed used his experience from previous upgrades to retain them for [ Howling Pothos ], so he could decide how to develop it next.
World of Disorder, 8:00 AM.
[ Howling Pothos ] opened its eyes. In addition to the familiar castle ceiling, there were several overlapping semi-transparent notification boxes in its field of vision.
This gave him the feeling that his gaming headset had been infected with a virus, but seeing the familiar interface style, he quickly dispelled his doubts and began to carefully read the contents:
Dear beta testers, today's optimizations include:
The new player panel is now online, with clearer displays of body integrity (health), stamina (hunger), and experience points (growth accumulation). Detailed rules have been added for proper nouns such as attributes and special abilities.
Enjoy the game!
[New Ability Acquired - Directed Alienation) ]
[Body maintenance complete. Current integrity 100%, stamina 100%, experience 0%]
[Dear player, your level has been increased to level 1. Please pay attention to the reasonable allocation of your free attribute points. Click here for details.]
[ Howling Pothos ] focused its attention on the "Details" section, and a new text box quickly appeared in front of it:
In this World of Disorder, players gain 5 free base attribute points and 2 free special attribute points for each level they gain. Properly allocating these attributes will make the effects of leveling up more noticeable.
"So much?"
[ Howling Pothos ]'s eyes widened on the spot. If all five basic attribute points were added to one attribute, it could basically double the effect, and the result would be very obvious.
However, if you choose to distribute the attributes evenly and subjectively balance the various basic attributes, it becomes a different way to play the polygonal warrior.
As for those two special attributes of freedom, they are even more precious. Just thinking about my "fruit knife" [ Howling Pothos ] makes me feel a headache coming on. I don't know how long it will take for my little knife to truly become a knight's sword.
Lost in thought, he opened his player panel:
[ID: Howling Pothos
Level: 1
Body integrity (health): 100%
Stamina (Hunger): 100%
Experience points (growth accumulation): 0%
---Basic Attributes---
Strength: 4
Agility: 7
Physical condition: 3
Willpower: 6
(5 points to be assigned)
---Special Attributes---
Plant Compatibility: 1
Animal Compatibility: 0
Mechanical Compatibility: 0
Psionic Energy Compatibility: 0
(2 points to be allocated)
---Talent Abilities---
[ Soul Returner ]: Your soul originates from an ancient era whose origins are unknown. As a special, immortal being, you can resurrect infinitely with the help of a suitable body. Weakness 1: The strength of Soul Returner depends on the strength of the body, not the soul. Weakness 2: Soul Returner requires a summoner as a medium to connect with the body; if the summoner dies, the Returner is forced to revert to a soul state. The effect of this ability is determined by the following attribute: None.
[ Directed Alienation) ]: By focusing Psionic Energy through willpower, one can guide the body to undergo plant-like Alienation. The effectiveness of this ability is determined by the following attributes: Willpower, Plant Compatibility, and Psionic Energy Compatibility.
Looking at the fully expanded panel, [ Howling Pothos ] fell into deep thought.