Lu Luo hurried back to the 12th floor. The mechanical shark and sea kelp corpses still lay there. The strange noises from below could no longer be heard, suggesting the monster hadn't followed him up.
He crouched before the mechanical shark, hoping to dismantle some iron materials from its mechanical arm or metal legs to fashion into weapons.
[You have successfully killed 2 Exotic Species, but there are no rewards. However, their bodies are already the best rewards. Enjoy them well.]
"Enjoy? Do you mean eat?"
[Experience the effect of Grade S-02 Devourer. Although I find its reputation somewhat inflated when compared to me, you humans seem to hold it in high esteem.]
Devourer... Lu Luo paused. Focusing his attention, he brought up the attribute panel once again.
The most noticeable change was in his Talent Sequence.
Sequence S-02-Devourer: LV1
Effect 1 - Devour: Devour energy substance.
[Devourer LV2: 500 energy + Constitution 10 + Sequence Value 20 + Devour 1/30 energy substances]
Sequence S-04-Fusioner: LV1
Effect 1 - Fusion: Fuse items.
Effect 2 - Change: Alter items.
[Fusioner LV2: 500 energy + First Tier Occupation + Sequence Value 20 + Dark Spirit Stone 50 grams]
Sequence S-11-Observer: LV1
Effect 1 - Information: Provide hints.
[Observer LV2: 500 energy + First Tier Occupation + Sequence Value 10 + Clarity Herb + bird-type Exotic Species' eyeball + Dark Spirit Stone 30 grams.]
"Good." Lu Luo clenched his fists, feeling somewhat exhilarated.
All three talents displayed abilities and information. Though this information was rather basic, he had already witnessed the power of the Observer and the Fusioner.
The Observer's hints allowed him to anticipate danger and plan his moves in advance, while the Fusioner could directly create items and alter their forms.
Both Talent Sequences possessed effects capable of turning the tide of battle—truly incredible. It wasn't an overstatement to call them Grade S talents.
Moreover, all three talents now provided clear directions for leveling up, giving him a definite path forward.
Lu Luo looked towards the only Talent Sequence he hadn't used yet.
"Devourer, don't disappoint me!"
His initial 144 energy points had dwindled to just 12 after three instances of fusion crafting.
Lu Luo sensed the inexplicable connection with his Talent Sequence and actively tried to understand how to use the Devourer.
As his consciousness connected with the Devourer Sequence, an intense hunger surged from deep within his body. Lu Luo felt something pierce the skin of his fingertips.
It was an incredibly thin, black thread, almost invisible if not observed closely. The light around it dimmed considerably.
The black thread pierced the sea kelp's corpse. An unknown energy flowed along the thread into Lu Luo's body, gradually easing his hunger.
The sea kelp began to wither and decay. His remaining energy points increased from 12 to 26.
"Only 14 energy points? It cost 100 points just to craft a knife—a knife that wouldn't cost more than five dollars outside. That doesn't seem right, does it?"
[How can you entertain such a superficial thought? Do you imagine creating an item instantaneously is easy? Such ignorance; you don't even know what you should fear.]
The fact that it cost 100 points to create a simple knife left Lu Luo somewhat speechless. But then again, the ability to create items was so outrageous that perhaps it made sense.
If he truly possessed unlimited energy, and if Fusioner could indeed create anything imagined, couldn't he make a nuclear missile or something similar?
[Stop entertaining such foolish thoughts. Let's not even discuss the Fusioner level required for high-grade items. You can guess that a weapon like that would demand immense energy, which you lack. Imagination won't change the fact that you're currently broke. Face the harsh reality, young man.]
"Okay, I was just thinking about it."
According to this world's history, firearms had vanished after the Intelligent Machinery Crisis. The eras of the Dark Energy Invasion and the Exotic Species Crisis followed.
Guns, nuclear bombs—such things were long gone, truly distant from the present.
After 'eating' the sea kelp, Lu Luo approached the mechanical shark and began the second round of devouring.
What shocked him was that even the metal mechanical parts of the shark began to corrode and rust under the black thread's devouring, turning into a pile of iron slag.
"Metal can be devoured too?"
[Dark Energy can distort all matter. This includes human Sequences, the transformation of other objects into Exotic Species, and the birth of intelligent machinery—all originating from the continuation of the Intelligent Machinery Crisis.
Their metal is all Dark Energy-infused distorted metal, fundamentally different from normal metal. To put it simply, it's the difference between living metal and dead metal.]
"Living metal!"
The mechanical shark's corpse before him began to wither at a visible rate. Once Lu Luo had absorbed all its energy, the shark's body and metal dissipated like burnt-out cinders.
The mechanical shark yielded significantly more energy than the sea kelp, raising Lu Luo's total energy to 76 points—an increase of 50.
"Feels really good. Did this process release a lot of dopamine or something?"
[Pay no mind to such trivialities. The noble Grade S Sequence – Observer – is far too dignified to explicitly tell you that now is the time to allocate your points.]
Allocate points...
Lu Luo automatically ignored the previous prompt, focusing on his personal attributes and remaining energy points.
He had already seen the '↑' symbols behind each attribute, indicating they could be increased—a rather straightforward function.
After contemplating the concept of attributes for a moment... Strength probably affects damage, Agility means speed, and Constitution is health or defense?
Considering his current situation, weapons compensated for damage, and while Constitution could increase his margin for error, it wouldn't bring a substantial change. Therefore, the attribute with the most potential for improvement was undoubtedly Agility.
Lu Luo focused his attention on the '↑' behind Agility.
[1.2, 1.3, 1.4...]
His Agility began to increase steadily, 0.1 points for every 2 energy consumed. The process wasn't slow, taking about two to three minutes. By the time it reached 2.0, Lu Luo had used 18 energy points.
"Such a significant stat increase? Then why did I spend 100 energy points to make a knife? Wouldn't it have been better to just allocate points and thrash that sea kelp?"
[You talk as if you could have survived without making that knife. Would the Exotic Species have just stood there and waited for you to finish allocating points before fighting? Do you think this is a turn-based game? I initially thought you were intelligent, but your current stupidity is suffocating. If I could switch hosts, I would have advised you to scrap this character and start over long ago.]
Alright, that does make some sense. If the situation hadn't been so urgent, he probably wouldn't have created that knife.
Beyond 2.0 Agility, each 0.1 increase required 3 energy points. Without hesitation, Lu Luo spent another 30 points, raising it to 3.0.
He then used another 18 points to raise his Constitution to 2.0, reserving the final 10 points for the Fusioner's temporary use.