The system upgrade had perfectly separated different upgrade attributes into different points.
The white survival points remained unchanged and were used to upgrade an item. It could upgrade a dead object with no signs of vitality or add some weird attributes to items.
Territory points were used for the development of the basin. Everything including the weather, area, environment, and potential could be upgraded with these points.
On the other hand, the system had introduced the blue survival points to use for upgrades on living beings and it had the potential to be used for other wondrous things.
It was a shame that Su Mo previously had not accumulated 100 blue survival points, which was the minimum requirement for upgrades, so he could not try it out then.
Now, he finally had enough.
Su Mo averted his gaze to his body and a different panel appeared for the first time.
[Su Mo (Host)]
[Status (1/5): Deficiency of energy and blood circulation (+)]
[Current physical condition: Excellent]
[Current risk: 0%]
[Information concealment level: Level 2(thousand points)]
[Physical fitness level: 84% human being (Currently: 32.6% interstellar human) (+)]
[Authority accumulated: 5.12% + 1.46% (Dual body)]
Unlike the previous body panel, with the accumulation of a hundred blue survival points, a status tab and two small golden plus signs had appeared on the panel
Su Mo was thrilled to see his physical fitness conditions on the list.
There were subtle changes to his physical fitness every day after using his authority.
Compared to when he was at the sea, both his real body and demigod body had greatly improved.
His eyes returned to the beginning of the list and saw his poor status. He subconsciously frowned as he nodded.
[Deficiency of energy and blood circulation: Unavoidable side effects after serious injuries, needs to have a lot of food and adequate rest; Duration: 46 days (Combat strength in current state -15%, durability -30%)]
[Would you like to spend 100 blue survival points to refresh the status?]
[Limited by the host’s physical fitness limit, you may use this status refresh for up to five statuses. The host can choose to upgrade or replace any status!]
‘Status refresh?
‘I can refresh five at once?’
Blue survival points were hard to accumulate.
Su Mo glanced at the incomplete explanation of the system and did not dare to use it recklessly. He focused his attention on the golden plus signs on the bottom of the panel.
As explained, the blue survival points could be used to improve physical fitness.
For example, 100 points added to a physical body could increase its fitness by 1%.
The same amount of points could also improve the demigod body, which was an interstellar human being, by 0.05%.
At first glance, the ratio seemed to be ridiculously low at 100 to 1 even if it was to improve the physical fitness of an ordinary human body from the Earth.
Another way to look at it was as long as you could find a way to gain blue survival points, with 1,600 points, Su Mo’s body could be greatly strengthened and achieve an interstellar human level.
500 points could directly promote a person who exercised regularly to a different level of life and a qualitative change would occur.
10,000 points used on a pregnant woman would increase the possibility of her offspring being born as an interstellar human!
‘Adding some points to physical fitness is of great strategic significance. Everyone in the basin could reach Level 5 if they were to upgrade to interstellar beings.
‘However, it’s too expensive and is not something we could afford at our current stage.
‘What’s more, if 100 points are added into physical fitness, I’m afraid it won’t cause any significant change…
After giving it a little thought, Su Mo gave up the idea of adding physical fitness.
He glanced at the golden plus sign that flashed behind the status bar of the first item on the list. As he controlled with his mind, a hundred survival points were deducted and became a stream of light pouring into the plus sign.
After about four or five seconds, the other options on the physical fitness panel closed and the status bar began to enlarge.
Behind the status of deficiency of energy and blood circulation, after the text blurred for a moment, five new selection boxes began to become clear.
[The Shameless Rogue: A lean body but a brave heart. The rogue’s strength is increased by 5% in melee combat, and defense is increased by 10%.]
[The Dominator: There is a vast ocean and sky in your eyes. You have a domineering aura and will affect the opponent’s combat power by -5% if your physical quality exceeds the opponent’s.]
[The Fortunate: The fortunate one is blessed by the heavens. The probability of getting external help from others is slightly increased when the fortunate one encounters difficult situations.]
[The Innovative Inventor: The chances of acquiring amazing ideas increase by 30% when you’ve participated in more than 70% of the production process.]
[The Vehicle Destroyer: Unintentionally causing problems to a vehicle allows you to acquire random rewards.]
‘Hmm…
‘Good gracious, the status bar can even equip these things?
The five new statuses displayed were very easy to understand. Su Mo was thrilled looking at the five items listed, although he had mentally prepared himself.
Unlike the state of deficiency of energy and blood circulation, these statuses were refreshed by spending blue survival points. When you chose to equip them, they would be retained and their effects would be applied.
When the status tab was full and you wanted to equip new ones, the old status would be replaced.
Su Mo wanted to be in the best possible state and was tempted as he glanced at the 1/5 slots in front of him. He wanted to prove his suspicions and used his mind to control the panel.
‘The human body has a value similar to a territory’s potential value.
‘Ordinary humans have limited values, and can only equip one status slot. After reaching the level of an interstellar human, they can unlock another status slot.
‘The reason why I can equip five is that my demigod body carries the power of authority and the potential value is much higher. Therefore, I was given more status slots.
‘Goodness, if the status bar can be shared by two bodies, wouldn’t that mean my body can be buffed by five different statuses even in my human form?’
The Shameless Rogue could increase the strength of melee combat by 5% and defense by 10%.
Five statuses with similar melee buffs would be enough to achieve a terrifying 25% strength and 50% defense increase!
Meanwhile, the Dominator status would cause opponents to lose a quarter of their combat power if they were at a lower level. There would be no possibility of fighting back!
‘This blue survival point upgrade is indeed much more powerful than the white one.
‘It’s a shame that a status refresh requires 100 points.
‘It’d take at least twenty to thirty refreshes to get the same five statuses in the best-case scenario, and that would be too expensive.’
Su Mo’s excitement was quickly calmed when he realized the powerful effect of having five of the same statuses and the number of points needed to achieve it.
He looked at the five statuses given by the system and pondered on them.
Su Mo focused his mind and the status of deficiency of energy and blood circulation gradually disappeared and was replaced by…
The Innovative Inventor!
According to the speed of accumulation of the blue survival points, it would take at least a month or two to save 100 points.
This time, it would also be the long winter.
Choosing a combat status such as the Shameless Rogue or the Dominator would be useless during this period and not beneficial.
The Fortunate relied on appearance for help and the possibility of getting help was extremely low, almost zero.
As for the last status of the Vehicle Destroyer, the vehicles in the basin had been well maintained and hardly encountered any problems, so Su Mo quickly passed over it!
After consideration, the only status to choose was the Innovative Inventor, which looked slightly useful but had unknown effects.
‘This status modification is really amazing, the feeling of fatigue immediately disappeared after replacing my status.
‘In the future, I should save some blue survival points for emergencies!
Su Mo was satisfied and closed the panel. The emptiness he felt in his body was completely gone. He nodded and lay down comfortably.
This trip was the most dangerous one since he came to the doomsday wasteland, the one where he had suffered the most injuries.
Su Mo believed that many territory lords lived more comfortably and easier than him in other larger or smaller territories in the New World.
They did not have to get up early to work till late at night in other territories while trying to solve their territory’s internal problems.
They probably did not need to fight on the front lines and risk being seriously injured while trying to deliver resources back to their territory.
They were like ancient emperors who were only responsible for the general direction and balance within the territory.
Nonetheless, Su Mo was convinced that these people were envious of him!
In other words, these people were envious of his… freedom!
Through the curtains, the wind and snow swayed in the night sky, and the looming moon shined through the clouds.
The lizards that pulled the carriage walked on the snow and every step made a clear puffing sound.
This peaceful scene within one’s own territory was difficult to see, and even more difficult to experience in a lifetime.
Gradually, feeling the carriage swaying up and down, Su Mo maintained a little alertness and closed his eyes, entering a light sleep.
Compared to the basement in Freedom City, he had a less peaceful sleep.
When he opened his eyes, the surrounding scenery was already familiar.
“Avar, what time is it? Where are we?”
Hearing Su Mo’s voice, the bear-man sitting on the carriage axle opened the curtain and smiled.
“Lord Harl, it’s past three o’clock in the morning. Our lizards are eating and refreshing themselves!
“How far is it from my drop-off point?”
“An hour and a half to go!”
The estimated time given by the caravan was a very conservative answer. Their travel speed was evidently much faster as they did not encounter any accidents and did not get lost.
Hearing that it would only take another one and a half hours to reach the basin’s borders, Su Mo quickly woke himself and his drowsiness was completely gone.
“That’s really fast. Your team sure makes a lot of contributions points going back and forth like this!”
“We’re usually not this fast under normal circumstances. The lizards must be in a better mood since it’s snowing so they are walking faster than usual.
“It’s also because our upfront investment wasn’t a small amount of money. Those greedy dwarves sure are a headache!”
“Oh?”
Seeing that Avar wanted to continue the conversation, Su Mo took advantage of the remaining time and sat up straight, showing interest in the topic.
Su Mo was a big and well-known business in Freedom City in the eyes of the demon souls who were eager to expand their markets. He also happened to be the supplier who invested items in these caravans.
Even if they decided not to continue working in the caravan, they could pave another path as long as they could form good relations with an investor like him.
These temptations allowed Avar to not have any worries and he immediately started speaking.
The stories started with the Demon clan attacking the dwarf territory to the similarities and differences between the two races.
The caravan’s break time had ended before Avar could finish speaking about the customs and events that he had experienced on this way.
However, Avar seemed to want to deliberately show off. He quickly dealt with everything and started speaking again as he drove the carriage.
“Lord Harl, I’m sure you’re unaware of the dwarves’ strange temper, especially the crafting master among them. He’s extremely hard to engage with, and he has the temper of a… child.
“Unlike us, they don’t just care about money but also relationships. They’ll shoot you on the spot if you were to ask them to craft something for you without someone else introducing you to them.
“I wanted to get an ordinary old weapon that did not cost much on the market. According to our contribution points, we could buy one for 800 points, but they refused to sell it to me. I said I could sell it for 2,000 or 3,000 points when I got back but they just didn’t want to sell it to me! What a bunch of stubborn folks!”
Avar was a great storyteller. He kept the majority of the truth and mixed in some fiction to it so that anyone he heard would be shocked.
However, when it was about the negative things in the dwarves’ business, his stories were accompanied by a burning passion.
Unconsciously, he might have not noticed it, but his guard against Su Mo had gradually vanished.
Observing this, it was easy for Su Mo to lead the conversation and get a lot of truthful news out of him.
It was different from everyone in the Demon clan that had gathered in one big city.
The dwarves’ territories were extremely scatted, and most of them gathered in the form of tribes according to different surnames.
However, saying it was a tribe was a bit small according to their scale. It was a rather decent-sized town with complete facilities.
Based on the resources near their respective tribes, there were differences in these dwarf tribes’ craftsmanship expertise.
Some tribes had metal resources nearby, so correspondingly, those tribes had to be good at metal forging.
Some places were good at making food, and those tribes were in a location with convenient transportation and many travelers.
Likewise, the strength of each town that gathered varied according to the rank of a surname.
For example, the tribe that the bear-man Avar collaborated with ranked only in the early thirties among all the tribes in the territory.
There were very few resources near them. They could only rely on forging equipment, so they had to find people like the Demon clan to expand the scale of trade in the city.
“Their strength? Lord Harl must be being sarcastic. The dwarves’ strength comes from their numbers. When it comes to combat power, you don’t even need to compare them with the lunatics from the Light Empire. Even against humans, they might not necessarily win!
“Oh, I don’t mean a strong master like you, Lord Harl. Please don’t take it to heart!”
After making a summary for him and realizing that the person in front of him was also a dwarf, Avar hurriedly changed his words and looked anxious.
“Haha, it doesn’t matter. I’m not a dwarf. I just don’t bother to change my template, so I don’t mind at all.”
Su Mo pointed to the purple mark on his neck and saw the respect that flashed in Avar’s eyes, then waved his hands.
“Alright, stop. This place isn’t far from where I’m going. You can drop me here.”
Su Mo felt the familiarity of the surrounding terrain covered in heavy snow near the basin.
The bear-man Avar, sitting in front of the carriage, was well-informed and aware of the reason Su Mo wanted to get off at the location.
The caravan slowly came to a stop. Su Mo quickly picked up the small bag behind him and jumped out of the carriage. He changed into a form to travel and headed toward the basin without looking back.
“Lord Harl sure is cool. We could only trade pitifully with the dwarves while he was able to engage with the most powerful human, Su Mo…”
“Right? The reason Harl could start from nothing and rise up in such a short period was probably because of his relationship with that human lord, Su Mo!”
“I hope one day Lord Harl will be able to open up a business route to the human territory so I get to see the elegance of the strongest human’s territory!
“Let’s hope that happens!”
They watched as Su Mo’s figure got further and further until it was completely engulfed by the wind and snow falling from the sky.
The voices of hope in the entire caravan could be heard one after another.
Everyone thought that Harl’s achievements were mostly thanks to the relationship he had with the human Su Mo.
He was lucky to find the chance to ride on Su Mo’s success.
However, they were unaware that the prestige of the human king, Su Mo was the result of Harl’s continuous efforts in Freedom City and the “thriving growth” of the Fire Exchange.
Of course, these people, including the bear-man Avar, were oblivious to the truth.
The human king, Su Mo had just walked and traveled through half of the territory with their caravan a few moments ago!
