Stretching hard, Ethan Drake turned his attention to his property panel. It hadn't changed much, but thanks to discovering a natural wonder earlier in the day, he'd earned a thousand civilization points. Combined with the achievements triggered, his total had swelled to an impressive **1,370 points**.
"Right, I remember learning a skill earlier. Something about boosting morale..." Ethan muttered, scrolling down. "Ah, here it is."
**Encourage Morale (Active):** Boosts overall morale by 10% (5% × 2) through simple words and actions. (This skill is directly influenced by 'regulation.')
The skill's description was simple enough, but its exact usage remained unclear. Testing it now was inconvenient, given the darkness outside. Ethan shelved the thought and returned to the trove of civilization points he'd accumulated.
At the top of the property panel, five new project categories gleamed: **Military, Culture, Industry, Production, and Health.**
Curious, Ethan clicked on **Military.** At the top, it displayed **11 military points**. Below that, a skill tree-like interface revealed two options:
**Weapon Polishing (Level 0):** Increases the success rate of polishing weapons by 10%, efficiency by 10%, and weapon quality by 20%.
**Conquest of the Barbarians (Level 0):** Boosts the party's overall strength by 15% when battling barbarian tribes.
He tapped on the **Weapon Polishing** icon, prompting a system notification:
**System Tip:** *Do you wish to spend 10 military points and 100 civilization points to upgrade "Weapon Polishing" to Level 1?*
Ethan immediately understood the system's mechanics. "If civilization points are this world's currency, then military and cultural points must be skill points. Upgrading sector-specific abilities requires a combination of both," he realized.
Still, with only 11 military points, using up 10 for one upgrade felt risky. "Weapon Polishing" seemed useful for enhancing weapon durability and power, but it implied potential failure during the process. That meant time investment.
On the other hand, **Conquest of the Barbarians** offered immediate combat advantages. Its drawback? Its usefulness diminished as civilizations advanced, leaving invested points wasted.
After weighing the options, Ethan made his decision.
**System Tip:** *Do you wish to spend 10 military points and 100 civilization points to upgrade "Conquest of the Barbarians" to Level 1?*
"Yes." Ethan confirmed. The skill icon glowed faintly, and its level rose to 1.
Satisfied, he switched to the **Culture** tab. He had gained a significant amount of cultural points earlier, as he suspected. The panel displayed **22 culture points**, but only one development project was listed:
**Surname System (Level 0):** Each population with a formal name has a 3% chance of contributing one cultural point daily.
Ethan chuckled. "A self-sustaining skill, huh? That 3% chance might seem small now, but once the population grows, the returns could be substantial."
Despite its potential, the skill wasn't exciting. It felt like investing in an enterprise that fed back marginal gains. Still, with plenty of cultural points to spare, Ethan upgraded the **Surname System** to Level 1, leaving him with 12 cultural points.
Switching to **Industry** and **Production**, Ethan encountered a frustrating roadblock: insufficient points. He had only two industrial points and three production points, while upgrades required at least ten points.
The lone bright spot in Production was the **Fishery** icon. It already had one production point, likely tied to catching his first "squid" earlier in the day. This implied progress could come from actions like fishing or discovering new aquatic species.
"That's something, at least," Ethan muttered, making a mental note to expand the tribe's fishing efforts.
Finally, he opened the **Health** tab. It displayed **10 health points** and two options:
**Health (Level 0):** Reduces the chance of infection or inflammation by 10%.
**Wound Treatment (Level 0):** Speeds up wound recovery by 10% through basic dressings.
The choice was clear. Infection and inflammation were the real threats in this era. Slow recovery was manageable, but untreated infections could be deadly. Ethan upgraded **Health** without hesitation.
As he finalized his decisions, exhaustion weighed heavy. After a quick check-in with the night guard, he trudged to his tent.
Inside, the darkness was absolute. Ethan blindly felt for the thick animal hide on the ground, collapsing onto it with a heavy sigh. Sleep claimed him almost instantly.
In the hazy realm between wakefulness and slumber, the system chimed in his mind:
**System Tip:** *Congratulations, player "Ethan Drake." Your civilization's development has reached its first milestone. Do you wish to log out? During the novice protection period, logout costs 100 civilization points. Afterward, it will cost 500 civilization points.*
The words pulled Ethan back to full consciousness. The offer was tempting, the allure of returning to the modern world palpable. But Sam's warning echoed in his head: Logging in or out always cost points.
A round trip during the novice period required 200 points. Outside that, it jumped to 1,000. The absurd expense now made sense. Ethan realized how lucky he'd been to discover the natural wonder earlier. Without it, novice players would struggle to break even.
Shaking off temptation, Ethan made his decision.
"I can't afford to retreat," he murmured, his resolve hardening.