Chapter 292: Boss-Level Template
[You are dead! Simulation ended!]
Summary: A life that could barely be called glorious—you once strove to save the world, nearly giving everything you had. Within your faction, everyone respected you, and all were proud to know you. You stood at the pinnacle of wisdom in this world, only a step away from becoming its savior. But because there was a traitor within your faction, and in order to maintain the world's chaos and their own dominance, both hostile sides were forced to join hands to completely annihilate your forces.
Yet your death was not meaningless. You became the one who sounded the bell against the evil organization. In the final battle, within just five minutes, you slew 23 supervillains including Lizardman Hawkeye, Radiation Man, Tremor Man, Black Bull, and Rampage. Even Injustice Superman Steve Rogers was heavily injured. In this twisted post-apocalyptic wasteland, your influence lived on.
Evaluation: D+
World exploration: 30.8%
Because your exploration surpassed 30%, you earned 15 Traversal Coins.
Because you left a major impact on world history, you earned 25 Traversal Coins.
[Your alignment has changed: Lawful Evil → Lawful Neutral.]
[Simulation ended. Please make your choice.]
[1. Randomly receive three skills or specialties you acquired during traversal.]
[2. Randomly draw three items you acquired during traversal.]
Zhou Ning: …
This seemed to be his first D-rating since his very first traversal. Why did it feel like, though the map was cheap, it was actually hell-level difficulty?
In his eyes, the template itself wasn't weak. Despite the D rating, in terms of personality, ability, and charisma, it was top-tier. His performance was solid, and he'd essentially drawn out all of his potential. But it was like playing Warcraft: just as you built your base, the opponent was already at Tier 3 with cavalry and gryphon riders. Without cheat codes, all you could do was type GG.
He could only admit he lost fairly.
As for the reward…
Although the skills "Mutant Formula" and "Lizardman Formula" were quite handy, option two held the one thing he truly coveted: the 5th Generation Super Soldier Serum. Since there were only two possible items in that pool, it was guaranteed. No doubt it was a single-choice question. Zhou Ning didn't hesitate and chose option two.
[You have chosen option two.]
[You obtained the Legendary item: Tony Stark's Super Soldier Serum (5th Gen).]
[Tony Stark's Super Soldier Serum (5th Gen)]
Quality: Legendary
A Legendary item, a slightly diluted version of the [Super Soldier Serum], infused with 29.3% Heart-Shaped Herb essence and 19.3% Berserker Serum. It can be directly injected. Injection enhances metabolic function and all bodily abilities, unlocking human potential, and slightly increases magic resistance.
Usage: Inject it!
Description: The test tube glows with a bright, clear light, carrying a palpable sense of danger.
[You obtained the Epic item: High-Frequency Vibrational Iron Gauntlet.]
High-Frequency Vibrational Iron Gauntlet
Type: Fist Weapon
Rank: Epic
Level Requirement: 39
Class Restriction: None
Attributes: +8 Strength, +25 Defense
Effect: Allows you to make the air before you explode with force, creating shockwaves that deal heavy damage to enemies.
Remaining Uses: 11/11
That was it. Because only two items were awarded, this traversal ended unusually with one slot missing. His hopes of getting even a partial prototype of the Full Variant Warframe were dashed.
Apart from the undeniably powerful Super Soldier Serum, the gauntlet was just a low-level toy in his eyes—something only newbies would find useful.
Zhou Ning didn't hesitate to put it up in the guild shop, pricing it at a fair 2,000 contribution points. It might prove effective in the upcoming professional league.
After obtaining these two items, a new section appeared in the Hall of Curiosities: "Endless War (II)."
On its shelves now sat the two new items, along with returns of 12 and 30 Traversal Coins respectively.
At the end of the Hall of Curiosities, three new synergies appeared:
[Treasure of Earth-92817 Universe: Tony Stark's Super Serum (5th Gen) + ???? + ???? + ???? + ????]
[Villain's Deadly Weapons: High-Frequency Vibrational Iron Gauntlet + ???? + ???? + ????]
This simulation refunded 32 Traversal Coins. Adding the 45 refunded from traversal, he ended up with a net loss of 43. But given the serum's practicality, that loss hardly mattered.
Zhou Ning took a deep breath, closed the Hall of Curiosities, opened his inventory, and pulled out the serum. Just as described, the test tube glowed bright and clear, with silvery-white sediment settled at the bottom.
Familiar with the process by now, he wasted no time and injected it into his veins.
Unlike the previous two injections, this one instantly sent searing heat surging through his veins, wracking every muscle with violent spasms. His skin broke out in patches of silvery-white goosebumps.
It was the Heart-Shaped Herb's medicinal power spreading through his body. The burning sensation lasted about fifteen minutes before gradually subsiding. As the serum coursed through every vessel, Zhou Ning could feel his physique ascending once more—this time far more dramatically. His entire body brimmed with raw strength.
Opening his game panel, the notifications began flooding in.
[You used Tony Stark's Super Serum (5th Gen). Fusing with existing Super Soldier Serum in your body… Fusion complete. Permanent attribute increases: Strength +3, Agility +5, Stamina +4!]
[You used Tony Stark's Super Serum (5th Gen). Fusing with existing Super Soldier Serum in your body… Fusion complete. Permanent attribute increases: Strength +3, Agility +5, Stamina +4!]
...
[Injection complete. Total gains: Strength +12, Agility +15, Stamina +16, Spirit +4.]
[Your Elite Specialty [Legendary Physique (Advanced)] is upgrading… Upgrade complete. Specialty evolved into Boss-level Specialty [Legendary Physique (Expert)}!]
[Legendary Physique (Expert): Your body has reached the ultimate threshold. Increases primary attribute gain per level by 1.25. Passively restores +8 HP/s and +12 Focus/s. Passively increases reaction speed and attack speed by 5%. Additionally, your magic resistance increases by 20%.]
A Boss-level specialty! Zhou Ning was both shocked and ecstatic. After months in the game, he finally owned his first Boss-level specialty! Just one more, and his template could advance.
Even more outrageous, the specialty's primary attribute gain had risen from 1 to 1.25, while his HP and Focus recovery per second had jumped from 8 to 12. This massively boosted his sustainability. Summoning high-level creatures would now place far less strain on him.