Chapter 6: Level Up
After the battle completely ended, a new interface popped up before Gu Hang’s eyes.
Seeing the words “Resounding Victory,” his expression turned a bit strange.
Does that mean there could also be “Epic Triumph,” “Slight Advantage,” “Bloody Narrow Victory,” and the like?
Not only could he see the overall gains and losses, but he could also view the specific situations of each subunit.
More importantly, there were the 19 points of Favors gained from the victory.
The gains from this battle were nearly four times his fixed monthly income!
Goodness, so this is a war-crazed system, huh? War brings the greatest benefits, and farming is just to serve war?
He opened the system interface and saw the “Hero” section slightly flashing.
Clicking it open again, it was his own name that was flashing.
[Hero: Gu Hang (Faction Leader), LV1, Experience sufficient for level up (10 Favors)]
[Constitution: 7, Spirituality: 14]
[Traits:]
[Psionic Spellcaster: You wield the power of psionics and can consume Spirituality to cast psionic spells.]
[Governor of Fury Owl Planet: You are the legitimate ruler of Fury Owl Planet, with a higher probability of legally uniting local forces on Fury Owl Planet.]
This was his personal information.
Among the two traits, Governor of Fury Owl Planet was derived from his position, needing no further explanation; the other, Psionic Spellcaster, was his personal ability.
Gu Hang was a psion, legitimately.
His Gu family naturally trained its core members.
Education, politics, business, providing network resources—these were givens.
For someone like Gu Hang who showed psionic talent from a young age, they certainly wouldn’t be overlooked.
He had decent talent in psionics, as evidenced by his 14 points in the attribute shown in the system.
Attributes were something Gu Hang had mostly figured out.
Strength, agility, reflexes, resilience—everything based on the body was categorized under Constitution.
A strong physique was essential for becoming an excellent warrior.
In this era of extraordinary powers, even with technological advancements, individual valor in warfare still held significance.
The top warriors with the best equipment might not be able to slice through a starship, but charging into battle, capturing trenches, and taking fortresses were easily within their grasp.
That green-skin beast just now was proof.
Without Gu Hang, while the beast wouldn’t have ultimately survived, killing it would have required sacrificing many more servant soldiers and possibly even marines.
Psionics, on the other hand, were even more mysterious, often referred to as witchcraft or magic in many ignorant worlds.
This supernatural force originates from the dark side of the universe.
The faster-than-light travel of starships and many high-spec powerful equipment and weapons rely on this supernatural energy.
The Empire has designated energy worlds to collect psionics and condense them into crystals.
Moreover, the higher the technological content of psionic devices, the more skilled psionics are needed to operate them.
Powerful psionics, without relying on any equipment, can also exhibit formidable combat abilities using psionic spells.
Gu Hang had used a psionic spell to deal with the green-skin beast earlier.
A single “Soul Sever” temporarily severed its leg, turning it into a sitting duck.
This was also the only psionic spell Gu Hang had mastered; learning these spells was incredibly difficult.
Spending decades studying psionic spells was not something Gu Hang wanted to do.
However, the upgrade option in the Hero interface provided him with a new path.
Why not directly upgrade?
Previously, the upgrade option wasn’t available.
He noticed the words “experience sufficient.”
He speculated this was due to winning a battle.
It seemed that only with sufficient experience would the upgrade option appear.
As for the 10 points of Favors required for upgrading, he gritted his teeth and paid them.
After gaining 19 points of Favors from this battle and adding the 2 points he had left from before, he had a total of 21 points—enough to use.
Instantly, a new prompt appeared before his eyes: [Please choose one of the following directions for a new talent: Constitution, Spirituality, Command, Leadership, Unique.]
There’s even this?
Constitution and Spirituality no longer needed explanation, as they were related to personal abilities.
The next two, Command and Leadership, seemed similar but must have different nuances.
Gu Hang speculated that the former pertained to military command, enhancing the ability to lead troops in warfare, while the latter referred to the leadership abilities of a ruler or official.
As for the last one, “Unique”… it seemed to grant exclusive talents based on individual differences.
What exactly it was, however, was anyone’s guess.
Gu Hang attempted to select “Unique,” but received a new prompt: [Unique sequence upgrade project not yet unlocked, upgrade failed.]
“Who knows what the unlocking conditions are…”
With no other options, he could only choose from the first four.
He selected the Spirituality talent.
He avoided choosing Constitution because it was clear that he had more talent on the path of a psion than as a warrior.
As for the bonuses from Command or Leadership, while beneficial, they might not be as impactful in the early stages when the army size is small and the territory is limited.
Individual strength, on the other hand, would be more prominent in small-scale conflicts.
Moreover, if he became a psionic master capable of moving mountains and filling seas, possessing immense individual strength might actually be more advantageous than boosts to the entire army or faction.
Upon completing his choice, Gu Hang immediately felt a surge of warmth flow from his chest to every part of his body, down to his extremities.
His face flushed with color, though fortunately, only the nearby servant soldiers witnessed this.
These modified beings, who didn’t think for themselves, wouldn’t question anything.
“Hu…”
He exhaled a long breath of warm air, feeling his entire body brimming with strength.
He sensed his muscle contours becoming more defined, his joints more flexible, his senses sharper, and his thoughts quicker…
A comprehensive enhancement!
But… didn’t I choose the Spirituality talent? Why does it feel like my Constitution attribute increased as well?
He summoned the system again and observed the data-driven upgrade effect.
[Hero: Gu Hang (Faction Leader), LV2, Insufficient experience for further upgrade]
[Constitution: 8, Spirituality: 15]
[Traits: Psionic Spellcaster, Governor of Fury Owl Planet]
[Talent:]
[Protective Aura: When taking damage, you can expend Spirituality to negate the damage. Spirituality +1]
Indeed, his Constitution had increased, likely because leveling up inherently boosts base attributes. His Constitution was relatively low, so the improvement was noticeable, while the increase in Spirituality was less so.
Ultimately, Spirituality increased by one point due to the new talent [Protective Aura].
The increase in Constitution was beneficial, making him healthier and stronger.
The enhancement in Spirituality allowed him to cast more psionic spells and increase their power.
The most crucial aspect of the [Protective Aura] talent, however, was its unique effect.
With a mere thought, he could feel a mystical energy permeating his entire body, soaking into every cell.
When external damage occurred, the corresponding harm would be negated by Spirituality until he either deactivated this ability or ran out of Spirituality.
The key feature of [Protective Aura] was its excellent functionality.
It was a toggleable passive effect, consuming no resources while active until damage was taken, ensuring he wouldn’t need to worry about activating it during an ambush.
In critical moments, he could temporarily deactivate it, risking injury to conserve Spirituality for a counterattack.
Overall, it was highly versatile.
Gu Hang was very satisfied with such a practical ability to trade mana for health.