In addition to the sound of kill alerts chiming in his ears, Sterl received another message.
[The effect duration of the Advanced Experience Potion has ended.]
Sterl let out a long sigh, shaking his head slightly with a mix of exhaustion and excitement as he opened his attribute panel to a wave of thrill.
[Player: Sterl]
[Level: 0]
[Experience: 6700/100]
...
[Skill: [Flamestorm (Mastery: 378/2000)]]
In the span of 48 hours, he had unleashed the Flamestorm over 200 times, dramatically boosting the skill to a mastery level of proficiency. Moreover, he had racked up a whopping 6700 points in experience!
What does this mean?
As mentioned before, the player squads Sterl encountered would grind hard all day for just thirty or forty experience points per person, which was considered a handsome yield.
And Sterl? He bagged 6700 experience points in two days, which is forty times the combined yield of that three-person squad!
How insane is that?
Such an astronomical efficiency in gaining experience was off the charts!
Even the powerful professionals within the base, taking on high-level monsters, couldn't farm this much in two days!
It was all thanks to Sterl's evolved Flamestorm being so suited for early-game grinding, coupled with the exaggerated effects of the Advanced Experience Potion, creating this miracle.
After all, the former skill is something players over level 40 would master, and the latter is something even level 70 to 100 legendary figures would use sparingly!
Yet Sterl used them all on level one and two wild monsters.How could the efficiency not be sky-high?
And Sterl quickly figured that this haul was enough to boost him up to level 8! (Pre-transformation experience calculation rule: each level up × 1.5, rounded up. For example, level three to four requires 337.5, which actually rounds up to 350 experience points.)
A level 8 player has eight points in all attributes, plus an extra eight points in free attributes, equating to twelve times the strength of a normal human, and stepping out from the bottom player tier — no longer just scraping by in monster grinding.
A level 8 player could secure a decent income within the base, easily landing a job with a monthly salary of tens of thousands of credit points.
For instance, the official lead newbie leveling teams usually require hitters around levels 8 to 10.
Although Sterl was using cheats, he still felt somewhat dazed. Had he really climbed the social ladder just by grinding for two days? Even capable of leading "newbies" now??
He couldn't help but feel amazed. If he kept developing at this rate... He might soon transcend all the powerhouses within the base!
...
"Today, Linna and Rayna are going leveling."
"I'd better head home for a quick nap, then join them. It's good to have someone watching your back in case of danger."
Sterl pondered after tallying up his gains.
Two days without sleep left his head spinning, nearly forgetting the essentials.
Official-led newbie leveling sessions could still result in casualties.
Though the odds were slim, Sterl wasn't willing to take chances. He cannot entrust his family's safety to others.
Of course, he wasn't a newbie like Linna and Rayna. He wasn't allowed to kill or cripple monsters weakened by the official hitters, or he'd face a horrific fine.
However, Sterl simply being there as a bodyguard was fine.
Soon, he was back at the base entrance, registering his return with the staff.
During the registration, the staff member spoke with a grave expression, "You came back from the southeast area, right?"
"Spending over two days leveling there, did you encounter any dangerous characters? Coming back safe and sound... you're quite lucky."
"Dangerous characters?" Sterl blinked.
The staff member then explained, "You might not be aware, but the base has issued a level B warning. A mysterious power-wielder commanding flames has appeared in the southeast area."
"The output level is already at the professional level, likely a newly spawned boss."
"Now, there are fewer teams heading out for leveling."
"The base's higher-ups have planned to send a team of professionals to hunt down this boss."
The staff member kindly warned.
Sterl was momentarily stunned.
A level B warning? That was considered a major event within the base.
However, what the staff member said made sense. A professional-level boss lurking in the outskirts could deal a devastating blow to newbie players, necessitating a cleanup by the base.
"Wait, that so-called BOSS, you're not talking about me, are you??" It took a moment for Sterl to catch on, but now it clicked.
His Flamestorm, as a green-quality skill, even without Sterl utilizing the Divinity Descent buff, had an effect equivalent to that of a professional-level boss.
"I actually caused a panic within the base?" The more Sterl thought about it, the more it seemed likely, leaving him speechless.
...
After registering, Sterl didn't rush home but first visited the base's official shop. He sold some wolf pelts, Brin skulls, and other materials, purchasing four bottles of Basic Experience Potion. Naturally, two days of leveling didn't just yield experience.
The drop rate for coins and materials from the outer base's wild monsters was low, but Sterl managed to farm several at a time.
In the end, he sold a large amount of materials at the official shop, exchanging them for 95,000 credit points (with a drop rate of about 10% for wild monster materials, each priced around 3000 credit points), spending 100,000 credit points and 10 copper coins on purchasing experience potions.
Leaving the shop, Sterl had two copper coins left and a shared savings of 74,000 credit points with Rayna and Linna.
...
Once home, Sterl found Linna and Rayna were out.
He wasn't surprised. It was noon, and the two ladies had probably gone out to shop for groceries.
He headed to his bedroom first, sitting down cross-legged, ready to start leveling up using the meditation method.
[Human Meditation Method: Increases experience refining speed by 100%.]
[Description: Optimized from the basic meditation method developed by the Earth human race, uniquely suited to this race and cannot be further enhanced.]
Sterl's 48 hours of leveling meant he had an extra evolution point, which he absolutely didn't want to waste, choosing to evolve the basic skill of meditation.
As a basic skill, the Earth human race had almost perfected the meditation method, allowing only one evolution.
Sterl also realized that the Human Meditation Method was more about correcting small errors in the basic meditation method, accumulating small improvements for a 100% effect increase.
Sterl, without hesitation, began to meditate.
Instantly, he "saw" the "scenery" inside his body, resembling a vast and infinite universe, with specks of light that represented the experience points he had earned from defeating monsters.
Sterl's objective in meditation was to converge all these lights into one point.
With the optimized meditation method, this task wasn't difficult. The points of light were captured, kneaded, and converged by an invisible hand.
Time flew by...
Sterl's ears were filled with prompts.
[Congratulations on leveling up to Level 1, all attributes increased by one, and you have received one free attribute point.]
[Congratulations on leveling up to Level 2...]
...
Until —
[Congratulations on leveling up to Level 8, all attributes increased by one, and you have received one free attribute point.]
Sterl exhaled a breath.
The boost from leveling up eight levels in a row swept away his mental fatigue.
At this moment, he felt as though there was an explosive power contained within his body. Even without activating his talent, his basic attributes had increased by as much as nine times!
"Now my strength is comparable to some guild members," Sterl thought with a hint of excitement.
If players below level 5 are at the bottom tier, those above level 5 receive much better treatment, typically being invited to join guilds.
[Guilds] are a distinctive feature in [Transcendence], essentially allowing players to form their own factions, and even the lowest-level guilds can provide buffs like +1 strength, +1 agility, etc.
Thus, power and status in [Transcendence] are primarily held by various guilds.
The middle-aged man who hosted the awakening ceremony had noticed Sterl's attribute boost and wanted to recommend him to join the Green Pasture Guild.
Joining a guild meant becoming a person of high status within the base.
Before having access to cheats, Sterl's biggest dream was to join a moderately strong guild, ensuring a worry-free life for himself, Linna, and Rayna.
But now...
Sterl had no interest in joining any guilds. His goal was to accompany Rayna and Linna until they completed their newbie leveling. After that, Sterl planned to partake in an assessment to become a pioneering player!