Chapter 30: Awakening of the Tier 7 Physical Talent

After consuming the holy water, Lin Yi gained 7 points of Strength and 3 points of Constitution, leading to a significant increase in his Health and Vitality stats.

Of course, the increase in Health was not very noticeable, given that Lin Yi already possessed over 1,700 points. However, he noticed that his Vitality had jumped by 8 points, reaching 32. It seemed that Strength and Constitution were the keys to boosting Vitality.

In terms of his four primary attributes, he was now on par with a level 5 player. But when factoring in his massive health pool, an average level 5 player couldn't compare to his durability. Lin Yi estimated that a level 5 player would typically have around 200 Health, provided they had invested points into Constitution. If they hadn't, some might only have a little over 100 Health, making them vulnerable to being killed instantly by a level 7 corpse monster with just a couple of swipes.

The effects of the holy water were truly astonishing. If he could get his hands on a few more bottles, wouldn't he, currently at level 3, be able to attain the stats of a level 10 player?

"Captain," Lin Yi asked hurriedly, "can this holy water—no, divine water—be exchanged with contribution points?"

Seeing Lin Yi’s expression, Gu Chenghu knew he had gained quite a bit from the divine water. He shook his head and replied, "Divine water is an extremely rare resource in Gutan Village. Let alone you, even I cannot exchange for it. Unless you perform a great service for the village, there is no possibility of receiving it as a reward."

"What kind of service qualifies as a 'great service'?"

"The kind that saves the village. Don't even think about it for now."

Hearing this, Lin Yi shook his head helplessly. It seemed there would be no chance for him to obtain more Gutan Holy Water for the time being. Still, he was deeply moved that Gu Chenghu had gifted him such a precious blue-tier resource.

"Captain, thank you. I will definitely repay you in the future."

Gu Chenghu nodded with a smile. "Just don't let me down."

Then, Gu Chenghu said something Lin Yi didn't fully grasp: "Qingshan, to us natives of the Apocalypse Continent, you 'Descenders' represent both hope and salvation. You are the future..."

...

Since moving outside the Ancient Tomb Valley, Lin Yi’s growth, bolstered by his talent, had been rapid. On one hand, his proficiency in the Blazing Sun Blade Technique had skyrocketed to level 8; on the other, he had been accumulating a growing amount of experience points. In just a week, he had saved up nearly 2,500 experience points.

From Dugu Feng, Lin Yi had learned that players faced bottlenecks at level 5 and level 7. It required 400 experience to go from level 3 to 4, and 800 from 4 to 5. Going from level 5 to 6 only required 1,000 experience—the requirement didn't double. However, each level-up from level 5 onward required meeting specific Vitality conditions.

As for the Vitality bottleneck, Lin Yi felt he had nothing to worry about. He consumed small portions of blood-based food daily, and his Vitality was steadily increasing. Since drinking the holy water, his Vitality had reached 35. Since reaching level 5 required 25 points of Vitality, he had already met that requirement.

If Lin Yi used all his accumulated experience now, he could likely reach level 6 directly. After that came the level 7 bottleneck. For both Descenders and the natives of the Apocalypse Continent, level 7 was a crucial milestone. It was said that when breaking through to level 7, one would awaken a Constitution Talent based on their current stats. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; a lucky awakening of a special talent could turn a mediocre person into a peerless genius.

Lin Yi had specifically asked Gu Chenghu about this. When Gu Chenghu broke through to level 7, his high Vitality of 100 had earned him the [Surging Vitality (Green)] Constitution Talent, which allowed him to double his Vitality in battle. Combined with his mastery of the Blazing Sun Blade Technique, Gu Chenghu was practically invincible.

Lin Yi compared this to his own situation. He figured that since his most prominent stat was his 1,700+ Health, he would likely awaken a talent related to it. As for the quality, it would at least be green or blue. After all, 1,700+ Health was an astonishing figure for most. Even if a Descender player dumped all 45 attribute points gained from level 1 to 10 into Constitution, they would likely struggle to exceed 1,000 Health.

However, Lin Yi wasn't satisfied. He possessed a red-tier Universal Talent, so his awakened Constitution Talent couldn't be too shabby—it had to be at least purple. Once he reached level 6, he decided he would pause for a while to frantically refresh his Universal Talent, hoping to obtain another growth-type talent similar to [Blood Extraction].

The only issue was that the level 1 Universal Talent only had one slot. If he chose a new talent, he would have to discard [Born Swordsman]. But that purple-tier talent was crucial; his current combat awareness and blade techniques were inseparable from its bonuses. If he lost [Born Swordsman], his combat effectiveness would likely be halved.

Lin Yi pondered whether he could upgrade his Universal Talent to add another slot, though he had no idea what that would require...

...

In the capital, Liu Bo and Zhou Huaiwen from Linhe City finally finished their training. Over the past two weeks, they had been immersed in political and cultural education, as well as various training modules regarding the Apocalypse World. Supported by national resources, most of the trainees had reached level 5 and had learned at least one external martial art. With their current physical attributes, they were essentially martial arts experts in reality. Of course, the government trained them to protect the public and maintain order.

Because the training was so intensive, their original goals had been delayed. Liu Bo hadn't found the Descender instructor from Dayu Village, and Zhou Huaiwen hadn't gathered any information regarding his son's death.

As Liu Shuang drove them back, he offered comforting words: "Don't be anxious. Since you've joined the national system, you're one of us. Once you become experts in the Apocalypse World and reach the Captain's level, it won't be difficult to investigate things. Besides, even if you found the murderer, assuming there is one, do you think you have the strength to take revenge? Focus on leveling up in the Apocalypse World. Sooner or later, you'll find the answers you're looking for."

In the car, Liu Bo couldn't help but say, "Brother Shuang, I feel like you're just stalling us."

Zhou Huaiwen remained silent. After two weeks of training in the capital, he had learned many secrets about the Apocalypse World and realized that the person who killed his son was likely part of a massive underground organization.

Liu Shuang bit on a toothpick and glanced at Liu Bo in the rearview mirror. "What do you mean 'stalling'? Tell me, doesn't what I said make sense?"

"It makes sense, but some things won't be discoverable if we wait too long. Also, you said there was an instructor from Dayu Village at the headquarters, but I haven't met a single one in two weeks. I suspect you were lying to me back then."

Liu Bo felt a headache coming on. The post-00s generation had their own opinions and were hard to fool.

"Little Bo, I'm on your side. Why would I lie to you? I assume the instructors who trained me were a different batch, which is why you didn't meet them..."

As they chatted, Liu Bo suddenly thought of something and hurriedly sent a message to Lin Yi: "Brother Yi, I'm back. I expect to arrive in Linhe City tonight. Let's find a place to eat then; I have a lot to tell you about what I saw in the capital..."