Future Plans
Lucas then started discussing stuff with Max. As for the reason why Lucas had told Shiv to give him intel on Velvet Org, it was all because Velvet had occupied all other important sites on Planet Alios.
Even though the planet was not very large, it didn't mean it had just one city. The Dark Guild had managed to get the exploration contract for only the capital city, while all other sites were already under Velvet's control.
Lucas knew that if he wanted to take this planet for himself, he either had to become friends or foes with Velvet.
The latter being the best option since he doubted Velvet would collaborate with him, taking control of their sites and getting nothing in return.
"If I want to defeat Velvet, then being alone would not be sufficient. If I fight with it, then my image as a future knight will become bad."
Underworld organizations had many unknown nobles backing them. Although they were called underworld organizations, they acted more like contractors for those nobles. So, taking down Velvet would only earn him the ire of powerful nobles, which was harmful for his growth at this stage.
Lucas was the only human who could successfully reap benefits from Alis technology and knew how important the Alis core was. He wasn't planning on revealing this anytime soon to the Empire, though, because he knew that the moment he released these facts, the competition for grabbing Planet Alios would increase tremendously.
"Sigh… seems like I have to form an alias to deal with Velvet. Haha, things have already started to get interesting."
Lucas then asked Max to report any activity to him, of course, transferring a whopping amount of 1 million credits to Max's account.
Lucas knew that the only neutral party in these areas were service providers like Max, but unlike them, they all had families in Yin-Yang City, so they had to make trips there from time to time. Lucas also found Max's easy-going personality funny, all the more reason to recruit him. So, he valued Max.
After exchanging their numbers, Max dropped Lucas at the Interplanetary Station.
"Max, do your job properly, and I will see to it that you live a good life."
Max's attitude towards Lucas totally changed after being employed by him. "Boss, don't ye worry. I will report to ye as soon as even a fly starts acting suspicious around the Velvet base."
Lucas then went on to board his ship back home. Lucas decided to first allot his attributes as time was ticking.
So he did a self-analysis.
Analysis Complete!
Engineer level – 1
Doctor – 0
Administrator – 0
Fighter – 2
Fitness – 240
Strength – 30
Stamina – 30
Dexterity/Agility – 30
Defense – 30
Energy – 10 (required for physical skills)
Mental energy – 10 (required for psychic skills)
Skills –
....
Free Attributes – 60
Lucas ignored the other stats; he was just interested in his fitness. After some deep contemplation, Lucas concluded certain things.
Due to Alis's life force, he didn't particularly need any special defense, and his battle style also relied on both ranged and melee attacks.
In the end, he decided to put half of his points in stamina and the other half in dexterity. He concluded that given his high regenerating ability, he could last any battle for a long time if his stamina was good. Also, increasing his speed would enable him to use his stamina in the most efficient way and would also give him time to run away and heal again before striking back.
His new stats were now...
Engineer level – 1
Doctor – 0
Administrator – 0
Fighter – 2
Fitness – 240
Strength – 30
Stamina – 60
Dexterity/Agility – 60
Defense – 30
Energy – 10 (required for physical skills)
Mental energy – 10 (required for psychic skills)
Skills –
Plant (Locked)
Harvest
Passive – Photogenic Memory
Active – A given entity can be harvested and stored inside the host's body.
(Sub Skill) – Memory alteration relies on harvest skill; memory can be altered within a certain time period after death. Effect proportional to difference in levels of host and target.
Cultivation
One of the three Farmer skills.
Passive – Experience required for each level is doubled; attributes gained are tripled.
Active – Cultivation helps the host to cultivate a given entity. No levels detected.
Life Reaper
Passive – None
Active – Releases a deadly aura of death causing intimidation, effect proportional to host energy and skill level.
Energy Consumption – 10% physical energy and 10% mental energy.
Nerves of Steel: Due to enforced entry and movement of unknown substance throughout the body, resulted in an increase in strength, flexibility, and resistance to impurity of nerves.
Passive – Increase in attributes (proportional to the strength of heart and level of skill).
Nerves of Steel can be cultivated by circulating the unknown substance.
Active – Sudden boost in speed and strength but causes internal injuries.
Nerves of Steel – Lv 1
Special Attributes –
Aura
Aura of Alis – Due to cultivation of major Alis life force, the host has gained the aura of Alis.
Passive – Heals all physical wounds at a steady rate.
Active – When activated, uses the life force of Alis to heal at 5 times the passive state but utilizes the life force of Alis present in the host's body. The amount of life force cannot be detected due to instrument limitation.
Free Attributes – 0
Lucas now had a grasp on his prowess. He could feel his body getting lighter and more flexible. He also noticed a harmony and pattern to his breathing with muscle movements. The change in attributes was huge, so Lucas knew it would take some time to get used to his new abilities.
With nothing better to do, Lucas started surfing the internet.
Lucas's priorities were clear:
He would first start by developing his own technology, and second would be to form an alias to take down Velvet. The third priority would be to take on missions to increase his power.
Lucas's long-term goal was to become C-rank as soon as possible, as he would be facing a C-rank opponent soon to become a Knight.
The rank summary was very simple: above level 5 corresponded to E rank, above level 10 to D rank, and above level 30, one would be C-ranked. That is why C-rank was considered a major threshold.
Of course, the assassins he fought earlier weren't real D-ranks, but their prowess was similar to D-ranked normal fighters, which is why Lucas tagged them as such.
Lucas also ordered thousands of books to be delivered to his home so that he could harvest them. Lucas's Harvest skill required physical contact to harvest anything, so he had to do this. He also bought a large supply of raw materials and precious ingots to use for his research purposes.
Lucas had enough money for the time being, coming from Zaron Corp, so he spent it lavishly. He had also asked Thomas to deliver him the Black Wedge, as Lucas didn't have the means for transporting it.