According to the Dominion Alliance's strength hierarchy, irrespective of gene grades, combat power can be divided into: Warrior, Battle General, Battle Elder, Battle King, Grimly Reindeer, War Emperor, True Dragon!
Each tier is further divided into three phases: beginner, middle, and advanced.
Less than a day after his gene awakening, Ethan already possessed strength comparable to that of a Battle General. This was utterly absurd!
Next, Ethan moved up to the stone lock, lightly gripped it, and lifted the 200kg heavy object.
"Holy crap, this thing feels as if it weighs nothing."
Ethan weighed it, a dumbfounded look on his face. In this world, compared to the past, the physical constitution of humans has improved significantly.
Before Ethan unleashed his potential, he could tirelessly lift a 200-pound iron lump dozens of times a day.
Now, he feels as if he's cheating, with his strength increasing to an alarming extent.
"Come on, try this one-thousand-pound fellow!"
Ignoring the 500-pound stone lock, Ethan reaches out and effortlessly grabs the thousand-pound behemoth.
Whoosh!
With a few casual swings, a chilling howl echoes throughout the courtyard.
Bam!
The ground shaked violently. Ethan casually drops the stone lock on the ground.
Although his strength is terrifying, Ethan is still a bit dissatisfied in his heart.
Black Steel Battle Body gene, the name itself sounds extremely powerful, but is this really all it has to offer?
"Could this gene really be a counterfeit..."
Host: Ethan Hayes
Gene: Black Steel Battle Body
Gene (1/10)
Abilities: Super Strength (Level 1), Toughness (Level 1), Endurance (Level 1), Self-healing (Level 1)
Martial skills: None
Advanced points: 5/100
Destiny value: 0
"Advanced points? What the hell is that?"
Ethan stared at the bottom line of the panel data, appearing completely baffled.
"Advanced points are the energy required for the host to evolve. When the number of points for each level is full, you will automatically upgrade and increase your gene awakening degree. Also, advanced points can be used for lottery draws too."
The system's voice echoed in Ethan's mind, like a patient teacher explaining a problem to his students.
"I can also win a lottery? This operation is a bit 666 (cool) huh!"
Ethan raised an eyebrow, somewhat taken aback.
"Every draw only requires one advanced point."
The system's voice spoke like a reserved robot.
"So cheap? Can I get any good things from it?"
Ethan's eyes lit up. "The prizes depend on luck and their levels are random."
"I must give it a try!"
Ethan rubbed his hands together, itching to get started.
He thought to himself, he had already received the Black Steel Battle Body gene in the newbie gift pack, his luck shouldn't be too bad.
"Are you sure you want to spend a progression point?" The system prompt sounded.
"Of course!"
Ethan agreed without a second thought.
"Ding! Congratulations host, mystic Value +1!"
Ethan was stunned: What the heck?
"Don't believe it, let's try it four more times!"
He gritted his teeth, and invested all the remaining advancement points, anyway, there were only five, he didn't feel the pinch.
"Ding! Congratulations host, mystic Value +3!"
"Ding! Congratulations host, you've acquired a high-grade earthly weapon, the Sky-Cleaving Great Axe!"
A giant axe suddenly appeared before Ethan's eyes.
"Hahaha, I knew I was super lucky!"
Ethan joyfully picked up the axe.
"Holy cow, it's heavy!"
Ethan was shocked, this thing was heavier than the thousand-pound stone lock!
"Fits perfectly with my freakish strength..."
Ethan immediately started swinging the axe, causing a gale in the courtyard.
"Awesome!" Ethan was elated, growing fonder of the axe.
The weapons were simply classified into four levels by the Dominion Alliance: Celestial, Terra, Profound, and Amber.
The ones of Celestial level were said to be legendary artifacts, and Ethan doubted if he could even handle them.
After having enough fun with the Sky-Cleaving Axe, Ethan put it in the system backpack, and studied the system for a while.
Before long, he more or less understood.
The Black Steel Battle Body Gene was indeed powerful, but he had only awakened a tenth of it.
This tenth amounted to an S-rank gene, what if he fully awakened it?
Of course, to enhance the awakening degree, he needs to accumulate a lot of advancement points.
Ethan found out, his Black Steel Battle Body Gene was pretty ordinary, wasn't it just a meat shield?
Presumably, as the gene awakening degree rose, other heaven-defying skills could be unlocked.
"Once I get the battle armor tomorrow, I'll head to the wilderness outside the city to kill mutated beasts, earn advancement points, and also test the Black Steel Battle Body Gene in real combat!"
Ethan made up his mind and went straight to sleep. As soon as dawn broke, Ethan received his armor delivery.
He put on the armor and admired himself in the mirror, nodding in satisfaction.
"It's time to head out of the city and earn some advancement points!"
He stuffed some dry rations and water into his system space, locked the door, and headed towards the city gate.
As he left the city, the guards were stupefied when they saw his S-class gene.
"Are you Ethan Hayes from Sterling High?"
Someone recognized him.
In just one day, the news of his S-class gene status had spread all over Sterling City.
"Just remember, don't go too deep into the wild. The mutated beasts there are too strong for you right now."
"Don't stray too far from the city walls. If you're in danger, call for us immediately,"
The two guards cautioned.
"Don't worry, I'll be careful!"
Ethan responded, and proceeded to exit the city.
Having awakened the gene of the Black Steel Battle Body, he was able to sprint for half an hour without feeling tired.
The mutated beasts a few miles away from the city had already been cleared out. There was not a shadow to be seen on his path.
But as Ethan moved further and further away, the surrounding wild grass and trees became increasingly dense.