Chapter 30: Rising Power

Logan Lane looked at the dark green chunk of meat and could tell at a glance it was no ordinary cut.

His vassal, Kevin Lake, had no system interface—he wasn't a "survivor"—but his eye for quality told him this was something special.

Logan flipped through a book, pondering future arrangements. He'd told Kevin to teach him fighting skills.

Honestly, if they were on equal power levels, Logan might not beat him. He also figured Kevin could serve as manual labor—chopping wood, hauling stone, and such.

As for the two women in his service, he'd initially considered having them serve him intimately. But now his feelings had changed; there was no spark of interest left.

He might as well have them do chores. Anna Young was from the Celestial Empire, same as him, and younger. He'd assign her to watch the district chat interface and the trading interface.

Logan had neither the time to fish for supply boxes nor to keep an eye on chat 24/7, so Anna could do that. Sometimes valuable items flashed by in an instant, and if he missed them, it'd be his loss.

He could have the other woman—Rena Dane—handle hunted prey, gather fruit, maybe farm or wash clothes.

Once he amassed more resources, he could feed them rank-grade food to raise their strength and make them even more useful.

Logan glanced at the Contract Card in his backpack, thinking about controlling a real "survivor" that way. After all, vassals and survivors were two different categories; only this card would ensure total loyalty from a fellow survivor.

Outside, thunder rolled amid the heavy rain, and wind lashed the trees.

Logan sat on a blanket, reading and inhaling the aroma of roasting meat that filled the hut.

"Kevin Lake, the two water purifiers are full. Grab two wooden buckets and separate the purified water, then refill the purifiers with rainwater," Logan instructed without looking up.

Kevin nodded, still focused on the roast. He collected the normal purified water and the C-grade purified water in separate containers, then fetched more rainwater to pour into each purifier's basin.

Logan took a cup of the C-grade drinking water, accompanied by the now-cooked Dragon Armor Beast Meat.

He sprinkled a pinch of salt on top and ate it before Kevin's envious gaze.

Even E-rank Dragon Armor Beast Meat was strong stuff, but the C-grade drinking water was a bigger punch.

After Logan swallowed a few drops, his face reddened.

The huge energy coursed through his body, intensifying the pain far more than last time. He endured it, then checked his attribute panel, watching the numbers climb visibly.

But that wasn't enough.

Gritting his teeth, Logan took another gulp of C-grade water, then signaled Kevin to remove the cup. Kevin did so hastily, only to see Logan's body expand like an overinflated balloon.

His belly swelled first, popping a few buttons from his clothes. If not for wearing oversized garments, he'd be in tatters by now. His eyes were bloodshot, face taut with veins bulging. No trace remained of his once-handsome features. Over the next few minutes, his neck, arms, and legs all elongated, the agony near unbearable. Still, since Logan controlled his intake well, he avoided actually exploding.

Base Attributes: Divine Strength: 17, OverSpeed: 15

(1 point of Divine Strength = 10 Strength, 1 point of OverSpeed = 10 Agility.)Divine Strength: 20, OverSpeed: 19Divine Strength: 27, OverSpeed: 21Divine Strength: 33, OverSpeed: 30

…

Constitution: F (mid-level)

A system prompt rang out:

"Congratulations to survivor Logan Lane for reaching mid-F-rank and activating level authority. The main ranks are:

F, E, D, C

Half-Incarnate Spirit: B, A

Spirit: S, SS, SSS

Beyond Spirit: ??? (Activated if you surpass SSS)

Each of these mortal ranks has four stages—early, mid, late, and peak. Each half-incarnate spirit rank is divided into nine sub-levels: moving mountains (1–4) and melting seas (5–9). Each spirit rank has three phases: Xuan Realm, Earth Realm, Heaven Mirror.

Once any survivor reaches SSS, all other survivors automatically vanish, and the remaining 5% of the population is sacrificed as energy to open the unknown."

Logan Lane's red-rimmed eyes widened as he read the notice. A moment later, his stats peaked around Divine Strength: 39, OverSpeed: 35, though leftover energy still trickled through him.

He sensed his innate capacity hit a bottleneck. Possibly a matter of talent.

The entire transformation lasted an hour. When it ended, he was soaked in sweat. The ground beneath him was drenched, as if he'd been poured on by buckets of water.

Looking at the dark sludge caked on his skin, Logan stripped off his torn clothing.

He hauled several wooden buckets of collected rainwater over to the D-rank boiler, using less than one-thousandth of a Fire Spirit Stone's energy to boil it.

Then he poured it into a D-rank large bath bucket and sat inside, ignoring Kevin Lake's lingering shock.

Noting the cramped space of the thatched hut, Logan's gaze shifted to Kevin, who dwarfed the interior. Perhaps he should upgrade the hut?

Then again, the next upgrade—Cabin—didn't offer that much more space, and he preferred the hut's coziness. If he wanted real room, he'd have to jump two tiers to a small villa.

He briefly considered housing Kevin with the two women. "But I didn't buy them just to let them enjoy each other's company," he muttered. "Anyway, letting them share a room might produce an awkward outcome."

Kevin Lake, unnerved by Logan's thoughtful stare, stiffened. As a former coach, Kevin realized how merciless Logan was—someone who could torture himself so brutally would hardly show pity to others.