Under Black Whirlwind's enthusiastic explanations, Lu Li finally gained a solid understanding of the Terminus Space's structure.
First and foremost, the mega-structure they were currently standing on was called the Ancient Terminus Vine. It was a colossal plant that grew endlessly upward through the void. Based on the major branch divisions, the Space was separated into Ten Tiers.
Or rather, Nine Tiers, because the absolute bottom level was a massive commercial district generally referred to as the "Foundation." The branch they were currently standing on was Tier 1, the designated residential zone for all First-Tier Explorers.
The Foundation's commercial district also served as the primary residence for a special class of Explorers known as "Supporters." Hearing this, Lu Li realized this was exactly what the Terminus Space meant by a Contract "downgrade."
According to Black Whirlwind, not every Explorer faced the same brutal "pass or die" ultimatums that Lu Li did. Some Explorers had mission failure conditions that didn't involve instant eradication. If they failed their Trial World but managed to survive the extraction, they were permanently downgraded to Support Personnel and tasked with logistical production within the Terminus Space.
Because these individuals were not combat-oriented, the Space didn't forcefully deploy them to high-lethality warzones—after all, spatial teleportation expended valuable dimensional energy. Compared to active Explorers who went on high-frequency combat deployments, Supporters were only dispatched two or three times a year on relatively safe, low-difficulty gathering missions. Their primary job was just stepping into a world to harvest specific local resources or materials.
It was essentially the equivalent of a "Life-Skill Player" in an MMO. While their path to ultimate combat supremacy was effectively severed, if they possessed a talent for crafting, alchemy, or forging, they could easily become absurdly wealthy.
After memorizing the layout of the major facilities, Lu Li parted ways with Black Whirlwind. Even though they hadn't signed a formal, system-enforced contract, Lu Li transferred the agreed-upon 50 Terminus Coins without hesitation.
In Lu Li's eyes, paying 50 Coins for a comprehensive, neatly organized beginner's guide was a fantastic deal. It saved him hours of aimless wandering and potential fatal rookie mistakes.
According to the rules, a Pioneer's standard downtime in the hub between deployments was exactly one month. Lu Li had already mentally mapped out his itinerary.
His first destination was the Enhancement Hall. However, "Enhancement" didn't take place in the sleek, high-tech sci-fi facility he had imagined. Instead, sprouting from the side of the Ancient Terminus Vine were dozens of smaller branches, each terminating in a colossal, grotesque carnivorous flower. Some of the massive petals were slowly dripping with thick, translucent viscous fluid.
Lu Li watched as a line of Explorers pinched their noses and voluntarily stepped into the gaping maws of the man-eating flowers, instantly being swallowed whole. A few moments later, the flowers would violently spit them back out. Even though the freshly ejected Explorers were completely coated in slimy goo, every single one of them stretched their limbs with expressions of absolute, euphoric refreshment. Seeing this, Lu Li knew he was in the right place.
It's highly effective... but the visual presentation is seriously disgusting, he thought.
Confirming he was in the right area, Lu Li didn't hesitate. He stepped directly into the open jaws of an empty carnivorous flower. The petals instantly snapped shut, and he was completely submerged in a dense pool of liquid.
To his surprise, he didn't feel any suffocating panic, nor was the liquid sticky and gross. Instead, it felt incredibly cool, soothing, and violently refreshing.
As he floated comfortably within the flower's stomach, a holographic menu projected directly into his mind, operable by mere thought.
[Pioneer 008, you possess 5 Free Attribute Points. Please allocate them.]
Lu Li had already decided on his spread during the walk over. He allocated the points directly: +2 to Constitution, +2 to Strength, and +1 to Agility.
His baseline Spirit attribute was already naturally high, and the Shin'o Academy's Reiatsu meditation technique was a highly effective, continuous method for grinding that specific stat without wasting free points. Therefore, raising Spirit was currently his lowest priority.
As for Charm... he couldn't see a single tactical use for it right now. Being handsome wouldn't stop an enemy from trying to chop his head off. And if Charm was meant to facilitate "diplomacy" with native NPCs, Lu Li firmly believed his Strength attribute served the exact same purpose. Physical communication was still communication.
[Enhancement sequence initiating. The process will induce a moderate degree of pain. Pioneer, please brace yourself.]
Shortly after the prompt echoed, Lu Li felt a deep, agonizing tearing sensation, as if his muscle fibers and bones were being violently shredded and stitched back together. However, having endured far worse in his previous life—and surviving Unohana's daily surgical dismemberment—this level of pain was practically a light massage.
Roughly an hour later, the carnivorous flower violently spat Lu Li out onto the wooden platform. Ignoring the translucent slime coating his body, he eagerly opened his character sheet.
[Pioneer 008, your base unequipped attributes are as follows (Title buffs included):]
Constitution: 20 Points (+2)
Strength: 20 Points (+2 Base, +1 Title)
Agility: 19 Points (+1)
Spirit: 24 Points
Charm: 6 Points
Luck: 1 Point
He had deliberately chosen not to dump two points into Agility because his Shikai, Qiu Mo, passively drastically elevated his dynamic neural reflexes. That specific buff effectively bridged any microscopic gap in his raw Agility stat.
Furthermore, he had learned from Black Whirlwind that an Explorer's personal room was infinitely customizable. He could easily convert his 4x4x4 cube into a massive gravity training chamber and spend his month of downtime physically grinding his stats even higher.
After washing the slime off at a nearby public facility, Lu Li decided to head to the trading market to see if there was any gear or combat manuals suitable for his current build.
If he had to prioritize, Lu Li was vastly more interested in combat manuals. In his previous life, true martial arts had severely declined, and countless ancient techniques had been lost to time. He desperately wanted to get his hands on a genuine "Qi Cultivation" manual that generated internal energy, or a supreme external body-tempering technique.
It didn't take long for him to reach the Tier 1 Explorer Market. Whether for organizational efficiency or strict hierarchy, the Terminus Space's player-driven economy wasn't localized in the Foundation; it was segregated by Tier.
On the Ancient Terminus Vine, an Explorer could only physically access the branches permitted by their Mark's authority level. In simple terms, a Tier 1 Explorer was strictly confined to the Tier 1 branch; they absolutely could not ascend to Tier 2.
Lu Li, however, was an exception. Because his Pioneer Mark inherently granted him +1 Authority Tier, he possessed the clearance to stroll directly into the Tier 2 Market and purchase vastly superior items ahead of the curve, provided he had the capital.
Of course, the Terminus Space didn't entirely cut off low-tier Explorers from high-tier gear. If a Tier 1 Explorer had the cash, they could always head down to the Foundation and commission a high-tier Supporter to custom-forge an item for them. The catch was that custom commissions usually came with a massive premium markup.
The items circulating in the player market were generally surplus loot acquired from Derivative Worlds—items the sellers couldn't personally use and wanted to liquidate into Terminus Coins to fund their own progression.
Lu Li spent a good amount of time browsing various stalls, rapidly building a mental index of the Terminus Space's baseline economy.
Using primary weapons as a metric, the price varied wildly based on the exact rating. An [Excellent] (Green) primary weapon generally sold for 1,000 to 3,000 Coins. A [Rare] (Blue) primary weapon commanded anywhere from 3,000 to 10,000 Coins.
This confirmed that avoiding the Random Equipment Chest during his settlement was an incredibly smart move. The absolute maximum payout of that chest was only around 10,000 Coins, and he could have easily rolled a useless magic wand.
As for the [Inheritance Crystal (Small)]... he didn't see a single one listed on the open market. When he casually asked a stall owner about the going rate for one, the vendor stared at him like he was a complete idiot. Lu Li immediately deduced that standard Explorers practically never sold these crystals. They were a priceless, hoarded commodity completely disconnected from the standard currency market.
"How much for this?" Lu Li asked, stopping in front of a small stall. His eyes were locked onto a "Cultivation Manual."
He mentally put "Cultivation Manual" in quotation marks because it was fundamentally different from the traditional Chinese Qi techniques he was familiar with. However, functionally, it could definitely be categorized as a supreme external body-tempering art.
[Armament Haki Cultivation Method]
Grade: Rare
Category: Skill / Cultivation Manual
Learning Requirements: Constitution 15, Strength 15, Spirit 20.
Details: A power system originating from the Derivative World: One Piece. It is an innate, latent power residing within all humans. Presence, killing intent, fighting spirit... when these invisible concepts are weaponized through sheer willpower, they forge an invisible armor. This formidable power is known as Haki.
Usage: This specific item provides the comprehensive foundational training method for Armament Haki. Upon consumption within the Terminus Space, the Explorer will instantly acquire Armament Haki at Level 1 ~ 3, entirely dependent on their personal martial comprehension.
Rating: 100+
Evaluation: Dodge? Non-existent. Just brute force it.
Lu Li stared at the Terminus Space's evaluation tag. He was now severely suspicious that the system actively altered the flavor text based on the specific Explorer reading it.
He was familiar with the manga One Piece. His master had managed to scrounge up a few incomplete, physical tankobon volumes from the pre-corporate era. Though he didn't know the entire overarching plot, he could definitely hit the Space's intel brokers to catch up on the lore later. After all, surviving in the Terminus Space meant there was a very real chance he would be deployed to the One Piece world eventually.
He possessed a solid foundational understanding of the Haki power system. It was an ability with an incredibly high ceiling and practically limitless growth potential.
Although the item in front of him was "only" rated at the Rare tier, Lu Li reasoned this was because the item itself was merely the seed—it only taught the foundational mechanic. The actual ceiling of the ability wasn't dictated by the item's rarity, but purely by the sheer willpower and training of the user.
Furthermore, if he were ever deployed to the One Piece world, Armament Haki wouldn't be a uniquely hidden, legendary skill; it was a highly prevalent baseline ability in the New World. But prevalence didn't mean it was weak. A sword was prevalent, but a sword in the hands of a peasant was vastly different from a sword in the hands of a Grandmaster.
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