When Ed opened his eyes again, the sun was already high in the sky on the first day of November.
"Is it already noon?"
Ed muttered to himself in surprise; he truly hadn't expected that analyzing and imitating Oliver to advance to the Middle Tier would actually cause a period of "disconnection."
Oliver, who had been bound by layers of magic, had long since turned into a wisp of dried ash. Ed stretched his body and immediately excitedly opened his panel to check:
[ID: Ed Adrian
Level: 30+1
---Basic Attributes---
Strength: 43+1
Agility: 44+1
Physical condition: 40+1
Willpower: 43+2
---Special Attributes---
Plant Compatibility: 29+1
Animal Compatibility: 20+1
Mechanical Compatibility: 20
Psionic Energy Compatibility: 22
---Talent Abilities---
Inherent Abilities: [ Vitality Touch Mark ], [ Verdant Crown ], [ Otherworldly Half ]
Derivative capabilities:
[ Hybrid Creation: A derivative ability derived from the Vitality Touch Mark, capable of creating new species by mixing the genes of some organisms. Currently limited to: plants and some Low Tier animals. The created species do not have stable reproductive capabilities and will undergo uncontrollable mutations after several reproductions.]
[ Form Transformation: A derived ability from the Verdant Crown, capable of selectively expressing one or more biological genes from the gene pool, freely switching between current states and abilities; higher ranks will grant more comprehensive simulation capabilities.]
[ Soul Webway: A derivative ability from the Otherworldly Half, capable of summoning otherworldly souls into the lost soul body in this world via the otherworldly network. The first summoning of a single individual must be within the territory. Current maximum soul capacity: 2^31.]
Looking at his stats, which had become somewhat inflated, Ed's first thought was something else entirely—
He seems to actually be able to control the Hoofed Beast in the trees now.
This not only means that he can produce a large number of cavalry, but also that monsters will start spawning in the wilderness within the Second Holy See's territory from now on.
These monsters, which experienced players can easily kill with a single kick, are extremely valuable to new players. Ed felt it was his duty to ensure a good gaming experience for the vast majority of players.
Aside from that, there don't seem to be any particularly noticeable changes on the panel after reaching the Middle Tier. One's abilities remain the same as before. Perhaps this is because these Authority- type abilities are already powerful enough, and advancing to the Middle Tier basically only changes the numerical values of these abilities.
Realizing that his art style was gradually becoming strange, Ed understood that this was an inevitable step from a mechanic-driven weirdness to a numerically-driven weirdness.
Will I turn into something strange in the future?
"Hmm..."
Little Green's voice echoed in my mind:
You seem to have gotten a lot stronger.
"The same as you."
Ed responded with a smile, then noticed a small problem— Little Green seemed... completely unchanged.
He couldn't help but ask in confusion:
"But you haven't changed much in appearance, have you?"
The sapling was silent for a moment before speaking in his mind:
"This is a symbol, not a fact."
"Oh, so it was all a disguise."
"It is a symbol, a symbol of a concept."
Ed didn't press further or make any more jokes. He simply felt that his connection with Little Green was stronger than before, which he assumed was a result of both of them becoming stronger at the same time.
What will happen when we reach High Tier if this continues?
He's a little unsure now.
However, Ed told himself that he shouldn't throw the baby out with the bathwater, and then prepared to experiment with new ways to use his abilities.
Now he plans to first sense his surroundings and experience what it's like to be a Middle Tier cultivator.
Recalling the area-of -Detection Spell spell that Willow had once used, Ed floated slowly into the air in the empty castle hall.
His body underwent some changes, and his appearance became more like a lich. The Little Green in his eye sockets had completely transformed into a blue sapling, with each tender leaf flowing with pure Psionic Energy.
After closing his eyes and sensing for a moment, Ed's expression turned strange.
Willow... seems to have gotten herself into trouble.
Knowing he was somewhat in the wrong, Ed chose to return the Psionic Energy he had stolen from Willow, with interest, believing she would soon wake up after being replenished.
However, I will simply act as if this never happened, and then make sure the other party prepares for evacuation before the next advancement.
Seraphina's greetings quickly arrived from the Root Network. As the top combatant of the Second Holy See, the dragon girl was sincerely happy for Ed's promotion. She also mentioned that the commotion caused by the promotion in the middle of the night was quite loud. If this place were closer to Fir City, Antiya Lisi might have come to see for himself.
Ed then realized that his promotion hadn't been discreet enough, but with a bodyguard hired through bad debts, he didn't need to worry too much about security.
Reaching the Middle Tier brought Ed a great sense of accomplishment and security. He hummed a little tune as he returned to his recliner, practicing his updated abilities while checking on his lively players once again.
Inside the workshop, Bennett had completely fainted after experiencing the Psionic Energy fluctuations in the latter half of the night. Gray tried to wake her up with electric shocks more than ten times but failed. He could only feed the old vampire some tree sap that he hadn't had time to send away to replenish her life force, and then left her aside without paying any more attention to her.
The two Soul Returner had already logged off in the corner. Gray was already used to their ability to fall asleep anytime, anywhere, to the point of being completely unwakeable. He returned to his room and focused on fiddling with the two boxing gloves on the table.
The two gauntlets he inherited from his master had been mostly destroyed in previous battles, and Gray was trying to repair them little by little using some spare brass parts, ironwood parts, and some parts he had taken from himself.
And those discarded parts weren't thrown away by Gray...
Several hours later, Gray finally finished what he was doing.
He rubbed his stomach, and a long-suppressed hunger suddenly surged up.
After getting up and changing his clothes, Gray stepped out of the Antasia, intending to try the signature dish of a certain Soul Returner, as a preliminary investigation for future food procurement in the Graycast Corridor.
Just as he took a step toward the stall, a tall figure appeared beside him...
In the evening, [ Traditional Eccentric Wheel ] and [ Do Some Farm Work ] went online again, and waiting for them was Gray, who seemed to have been waiting for a long time.
The traveling merchant placed a brass-made side-sliding curved knife into the hands of [ Do Some Farm Work ], and then handed a double-edged straight knife to [ Traditional Eccentric Wheel ].
The soft light from the Fluorescent Velvet Grass cast a chilling glow upon two short swords marked with symbols of Graycast Corridor.