Chapter 1041: Targeting

Chapter 1041: The Target

[You have gained 1 point of Legend.]

"So the feedback from [Divine Artifacts] yields such a fine reward."

Han Xiao's eyes brightened.

[Divine Artifacts] was an innate class proficiency granted upon ascending to the Throne Mechanic rank, activating only when forging cosmic treasures; a successful creation granted additional bonuses. Seeing the precise feedback for the first time, he was instantly struck with delight.

Han Xiao had previously been unaware of any means to acquire Divine Metamorphosis points beyond mere advancement, but now he had finally uncovered a new path: crafting equipment of cosmic treasure grade.

Identical blueprints could not yield repeated rewards; even if he forged another gold-tier Sovereign mech, it would grant no fresh Divine Metamorphosis points, meaning he would need to secure other golden schematics.

Curiosity stirred within him; history recorded other Super-A rank mechanics who had forged cosmic treasures, yet the intelligence supplied by the Empire made no mention of this Divine Metamorphosis pathway.

A fleeting thought brought a vague hypothesis to mind.

Perhaps some Super-A rank artisans who crafted cosmic treasures simply lacked the prerequisites for Divine Metamorphosis, rendering them blind to this effect, much like Austin.

Those who were aware might have concealed the secret out of selfishness or other motives, withholding it from official channels... or perhaps a higher civilization deliberately suppressed the truth.

It was even possible that other Super-A rankers lacked such an interface altogether, leaving him as the sole beneficiary of this channel for Divine Metamorphosis points!

Of course, it might simply be that the Empire remained ignorant while the other two factions knew, given that the three great civilizations were not kin and certainly did not share their deepest secrets.

"The dilemmas posed by my current tier of personal power have finally brushed against the blind spots of cosmic-level civilizations... which makes sense; the Empire is also unaware of the First Sanctuary."

Han Xiao gave a slight shake of his head.

"I still hold the blueprint for the Emperor's Robe; if I forge it, I can secure another point of Divine Metamorphosis. Indeed, strengthening oneself through creation is the true calling of a mechanic."

Han Xiao murmured to himself.

As for the random reduction of stats converted into free attribute points, the effect mirrored a stat reset. With every level up or species ascension, all attributes grew automatically, but this reset allowed him to siphon unnecessary points and funnel them into his primary stats, gradually refining his combat prowess—a utility of no small value.

Han Xiao suspected this reset could be triggered repeatedly, though likely with limitations; perhaps the magnitude of the reset correlated with the crafting difficulty of the cosmic treasure, with greater challenges yielding more points per instance.

Furthermore, extrapolating from the compounding cost mechanism of blueprint gambling... if he repeatedly forged cosmic treasures from the same schematic, the reset efficiency might gradually diminish; for instance, crafting the Sovereign the first time yielded two hundred points, but a second attempt would likely fall short.

"Yet this time, it actually reset my luck..."

Han Xiao opened his attribute panel, and as he watched the vertical bar of his luck stat shrink into a mere dot, the corners of his mouth twitched involuntarily.

In his past life, the [Gambler] secondary class existed; players had tested it, discovering that luck could plummet to zero, an absolute floor that served as the [Gambler]'s final fig leaf, granting them an "invincible" footing.

And here he was, possessing only a single point of luck, which had dropped to zero, only to be replaced by two hundred free attribute points...

Was this not a net profit of one hundred and ninety-nine attribute points?!

"Am I truly fortunate or cursed this time..." Han Xiao's eye twitched slightly.

Though he had profited immensely, he could not bring himself to smile, his tears flowing silently within.

At times, one only recognizes the value of a thing once it has been lost.

"Old friend, we cannot do without you; zero is absolutely out of the question!"

The great technician Han gritted his teeth and solemnly tapped the "+" sign following his luck stat...

adding a single point.

In the next instant, the luck value reverted to that noble, pristine, aloof, and transcendent "1".

At that moment, Han Xiao felt his very soul ascend, echoing the lyrics of that song... I and my final stubbornness, clenching my fists and never letting go!

—In truth, Han Xiao's primary fear was that once luck was emptied, the next reset would exclude it from the random selection pool.

Having secured a windfall of attribute points for free, he masked a sorrowful exterior with inner jubilation, savoring the taste and eager to repeat the process.

"Combined with my existing reserves, I now hold two thousand two hundred and forty-eight free attribute points. My endurance currently sits at over eleven thousand seven hundred; once it surpasses fifteen thousand, my next advancement will yield an additional point of Divine Metamorphosis... hmm, I shall save up a bit longer."

Suppressing his excitement, Han Xiao studied his attribute panel, pondered for a moment, and allocated his newly acquired point of Divine Metamorphosis into [Divine Metamorphosis: Mechanical].

Mechanical and Void represented his primary class and species respectively; the essence of these two metamorphosis paths should be identical for all. Through testing, he knew the former enhanced mechanical prowess, while the latter elevated racial traits and provided supplementary attribute completion.

Now that [Divine Artifacts] provided a channel for acquiring Divine Metamorphosis points, he needed to develop more golden blueprints, which demanded enhanced mechanical capability. The primary class route not only increased base mechanical affinity and power intensity but also subtly amplified the effects of various mechanical skills, offering greater specialization.

In the next moment, his cells operated at full capacity, energy fluctuations surging violently as his entire body radiated dazzling arcs of electricity. His flesh and bones grew hot, itchy, and sharply painful, forcing Han Xiao to squint.

[[Divine Metamorphosis: Mechanical (2/?)]

[Stage One: Mechanical Affinity +1000%, Ability Intensity +20%, Base Effects of All Mechanical Skills Slightly Enhanced]

[Stage Two (New): Crafting, Reinforcement, and Repair Capabilities +15%, +1% Mechanical Affinity per 30 Intelligence, Targeted Enhancement of Primary Branch Skill Effects (Virtual Branch)]

"Passable."

Han Xiao scratched his chin, sensing the bonus was slightly weaker than the first time; perhaps the initial surge was akin to an opening gift, an exception, while subsequent tiers would scale higher with each layer.

Speaking of which, he turned his gaze to the new proficiency [Cosmic Treasure Artisan], whose description noted that forging a cosmic treasure meant brushing against new realms of existence. Its effects granted a +10% performance boost to mechanical creations, +1 to all mechanical skills (cap-breakable), a +4% base success rate for crafting gold-tier gear, and a +2% base success rate for researching golden blueprints.

The bonuses were quite respectable, yet Han Xiao's attention was immediately captured by a supplementary prompt attached to the proficiency.

[You possess the [Cosmic Treasure Artisan] proficiency; prerequisites met.]

[You have acquired [First Sanctuary] Skill Fragment x1.]

"This so-called First Sanctuary again..."

A spark of lightning flashed across Han Xiao's eyes.

He now held two skill fragments, their true purpose still a mystery, but given such stringent activation conditions, the items were undoubtedly no ordinary trinkets.

Pondering without clues was futile; Han Xiao temporarily shelved the matter and glanced at the awarded Legend points.

[Achievement Legend: Cosmic Treasure Artisan — You have forged a cosmic treasure. From this moment forth, you stand among the universe's premier artisans, stepping into the ranks of masters. Your creations shall endure, becoming treasures of history.]

"Speaking of which, I now hold core technology; if I were to craft more Sovereigns and sell them, it could certainly subsidize household expenses."

At the thought, Han Xiao couldn't help but smile.

It was merely a passing fancy; trading his trump cards for currency was absolutely unthinkable, and he currently held no interest in wealth.

After tallying the gains on his attribute panel, Han Xiao finally turned his careful gaze upon the gold-tier Sovereign mech.

Lacking any painted livery for now, the Sovereign's form was a magnificent, fully enclosed mechanical battle armor, sharp-angled and exquisitely detailed in every plate, exuding the aesthetic beauty of supreme mechanical craftsmanship, much like a work of art.

Embedded in its chest was a palm-sized triangular device glowing with a soft luminescence; this was the Sovereign's unique companion attachment, the "Throne." Once removed and placed anywhere, the mech could instantly return to the Throne's location, a function rivaling even high-dimensional Apocalypse teleporters.

Its performance vastly surpassed orange-tier gear. As an exclusive artifact for Super-A rank mechanics, it provided a 1.075x multiplier to total mechanical affinity, a 35% splash radius for mechanical power bonuses, and a host of special functions, placing it firmly among the pinnacle of mech-exclusive armor in its tier.

Han Xiao donned the mech immediately, testing it with the eager enthusiasm of a veteran driver behind the wheel of a new car. He logged the detailed parameters before reluctantly storing the armor, unable to part with it.

"A truly magnificent piece. If my previous mech was a mid-range sedan like a Volkswagen, the Sovereign is a hypercar on par with Pagani, Koenigsegg, or Bugatti."

Han Xiao felt thoroughly satisfied, his face bearing the expression of one who had fully indulged in a driving thrill.

Having organized his latest acquisitions, he ordered his mechanical assistants to tidy the workshop, while he adjusted his Mechanical Divine Throne into a reclining lounge mode.

Settling into it, Han Xiao comfortably opened the forum, intending to reward his wonderful self with the antics of the community's more absurd players.

With the 4.0 update, the player forum underwent a targeted overhaul, introducing the Shining World board, which functioned for players much like a global chat channel.

As more and more players arrived, the Shining World board's popularity swiftly eclipsed all others, becoming the most active channel in the community.

After scrolling through posts for a while, Han Xiao spotted a new video uploaded by Meat Bun.

The Black Star Legion series had released a new episode, chronicling the legion's exploits during the version update, and its view count appeared to have shattered records once again.

He clicked through for a mere glance, not out of admiration for the episode’s craft, but because the swelling ranks of foreign recruits had expanded the Legion’s fertile grounds, drawing countless new eyes to its storied past and sending the view counts of his older recordings into a dizzying ascent.

Ever since the dawn of version one point zero, Rou Bao had been weaving this cinematic chronicle, amassing a sprawling archive that allowed fresh recruits to binge-watch from the very first frame, tracing the Black Star Legion’s magnificent ascent from obscurity to supremacy… For a faction forged in the open gaze of its own followers, it offered an almost visceral, innate immersion.

The foreign recruits flooding the ranks today were largely mercenaries of convenience, devoid of any tribal loyalty and ill-suited to the native soil. Yet, to know a faction’s past was to slowly cultivate a binding cohesion, and Rou Bao’s chronicles now served as a potent catalyst, rich and nourishing as dark earth.

Naturally, not every soul was swayed by such sentiment, yet countless veterans had long woven their hearts into the fabric of the Star Sea. Even from the farthest reaches of alien sectors, the Black Star Legion remained a familiar constellation, and a steadfast portion of them craved that deep, immersive communion, willingly nurturing a bond of allegiance.

“Ideological fortification must remain our steadfast priority; we must steep them in the doctrines of Black Star exceptionalism, until the very notion of home warms their bones.”

Han Xiao murmured the words under his breath, his fingers drifting across the scrolling threads, until a sudden revelation caught his eye: a thread laying bare the machinations of the Infinite Consortium.

The unveiled details were nothing short of Solokin’s clandestine directive, a spy commission demanding that agents barter for secrets plucked directly from the lips of Black Star Legionnaires.

The Consortium’s veil of secrecy had, in truth, been woven with considerable skill; Han Xiao had gleaned nothing of it through conventional channels. Yet all that caution crumbled the moment the players, with casual indifference, auctioned Solokin’s schemes to the public square.

It would take a miracle to remain ignorant of such things…

A faint, involuntary twitch traced the corner of Han Xiao’s mouth.

The player forums existed as a secluded bazaar of whispers, a sanctuary where no outsider could tread, yet he alone possessed the key to wander its halls. Such an unparalleled vantage point, a monopoly on the flow of secrets, was a privilege reserved solely for him.

To his eyes, the players were a living, breathing tapestry of unpaid spies. He need only remain seated in his quiet study, and the forums would steadily bleed the secrets of every rival faction into his lap.

At present, the Infinite Consortium stood as the most voracious recruiter of the masses, second only to his own endeavors. That wretched Solokin, in his folly, had sought to coin the players’ gullibility into a spy network, utterly blind to the fact that his own schemes were being paraded for public amusement, while Han Xiao reaped the harvest without lifting a finger.

—The bliss of absolute privilege was, after all, remarkably unadorned, and profoundly mundane.

The image of Solokin’s countenance, etched with the heavy lines of calculated deceit, surfaced in his mind, drawing a faint, almost involuntary smile to Han Xiao’s lips.

“Why not simply task the Legion’s own to accept his commissions? Let them peddle trivial scraps of information and line their pockets with Solokin’s gold. A wealthy fool is a resource to be harvested; it would be a sin not to.”

As Han Xiao mulled over his mischievous scheme, his gaze suddenly snagged upon a thread title burning with virulent popularity, and his eyes narrowed to a sharp, focused point.

“Legionnaires Repeatedly Ambushed at Their Fallen Forms: Who Lies in the Shadows, Targeting the Black Star Legion!”