When Scott checked the details of those genes again, the data was completely different from before the upgrade.
[ First Ordered Foundation Gene: Lvl 3 Mycelial Heart]
[ Description: The core of Sporeborn evolution, this gene integrates a symbiotic mycelial network throughout the user's cardiovascular system. It modifies the host's heart, allowing the direct absorption and processing of ambient Life Energy.]
[ Status: Passively absorbs ambient Life Energy to sustain the body. Medium Efficiency, providing more than enough for basic survival and slow regeneration of minor wounds.]
[ Effect (Lvl 3): Improves host's cultivation of Life energy by 0.16 per day. Life energy storage and recovery rate +67.5%. 3.38 fixed points of upgrade experience are gained daily, with additional, random experience points earned through continuous exercise.]
[ Upgrade Path: Each level will significantly increase the efficiency and speed of Life Energy absorption by an additional 50% through expanding the body's capacity for storing Life Energy, directly improving recovery rate and stamina.]
[ First Ordered Foundation Gene: Lvl 3 Bull's Frame]
[ Description: A powerful transformative gene acquired from the spores of a Grave Horn Bull. Successful inhaling the gene will fundamentally rebuild the user's musculoskeletal system for incredible strength and resilience.]
[ Status: Reinforces bone structure and increases the density of muscle fibers. Provides a physical foundation far superior to a normal human, though it is currently suffering from systemic failure due to Life Essence depletion.]
[ Effect (Lvl 3): Physical body reforging effect +338%, 3.38 fixed points of upgrade experience is gained daily, with additional, random experience points earned through continuous exercise. ]
[ Upgrade Path: Each level will directly repair and enhance the user's physical body by an additional 50% through restoring bone density, rebuild atrophied muscle, and increase overall physical strength, durability, and resilience.]
Scott analyzed the new data, his mind racing as he compared it to the base Level 0 stats he'd seen just minutes before.
The Mycelial Heart was the most critical change.
First the passive life energy improvement increased from 0.05 to 0.16 points per day, which made his cultivation speed multiple times faster than others.
While the recovery rate and the maximum life energy capacity also jumped from a meager +20% recovery rate to +67%.
That was more than a three-fold increase in efficiency.
He could feel it in the powerful, steady way his body was now drawing energy from the Heartwood Tree.
It was the difference between trying to fill a bucket with a leaky eyedropper versus a flowing hose.
The daily experience gain had also shot up from 1 point to 3.3, which meant he could improve his level much faster.
Then he looked at the Bull's Frame.
The physical body reforging bonus had more than tripled, from +100% to a staggering +338%.
He understood that this was a multiplier applied to his base stats, which were still incredibly low due to his weakened condition.
But the number represented raw potential.
As his body healed and his base strength returned, that 338% bonus would make him very powerful among the sporeborn.
That's three times more powerful than the sporeborn of the same level as him, capable of challenging those above his level without burning his life energy again.
He could feel it in his limbs. The sensation was no longer one of simple repair; it was one of reinforcement.
His bones didn't just feel mended; they felt denser. His muscles didn't just feel less atrophied; they felt primed, ready to grow far beyond their original limits.
His old, aged looking body was being fundamentally rebuilt from the inside out, not just back to how it was, but to something much stronger.
A few more hours passed.
The steady, powerful flow of life energy, now efficiently processed by his Level 3 Mycelial Heart, had saturated his body.
Scott felt that his body was already filled with enough energy to function on its own; there was no need to stay tethered any longer.
With a simple flex of his newly reinforced muscles, he broke open the mycelium cocoon without much effort.
The threads tore like paper.
Just as he was ready to leave the chamber, to step out into his new life, when he stopped.
He turned slightly and looked back at the three elderly men, still wrapped in their own cocoons, their lives hanging by a thread.
They had fought hard for the camp many times, throwing away their lives without even a second thought.
A flicker of genuine emotion, a remnant of the original Scott's respect and affection, stirred within him.
He couldn't just leave them.
He walked over to the Elder he had first scanned, Alistair.
He stopped in front of him and checked his panel again, but this time with a specific question in mind, "Can I upgrade others?"
A new expectation bloomed in his thoughts as his main focus shifted.
Could he upgrade others, like he did himself? If he could help them, he definitely didn't want to let these heroes die in vain after two short years.
Moreover they are essentially no different from his own family, and as a Lord of the cam they can help him in many ways.
If someone questions about how he could do this? He could just attribute it to him awakening his innate talent and becoming an Innate Sporeborn during his life and death struggle against the Tiger Zombie.
Although Innate Sporeborn are a legend, there should be some in the surrounding camps.
It's just that his ability to Upgrade might be completely on a different scale compared to other Innate Sporeborn.
If he couldn't upgrade others, then there was nothing he could do but feel sorry and thankful for their bravery.
He focused his will, pushing the Upgrader function towards old man Alistair's panel.
To his amazement, it worked. The panel shimmered and rearranged itself into the familiar upgrade interface.
However, as he looked at the details, he noticed a key difference.
The attribute improvement for each level seemed to be just a 30% increase, unlike the 50% he received.
His cheat was clearly most effective on himself.
Still, it was something. He looked at Alistair's base attributes with some surprise.
Because of his higher level and decades of experience, his foundation was stronger than Scott's had been at First Order Level 3.
Alistair's Mycelial Heart had a basic +35% recovery rate 15% higher than his, and his Bull's Frame retained a +130% physical improvement, which is also a 30% higher.
The most staggering part, however, was his accumulated experience.
The man had lived a long, hard life, and it showed in the numbers.
His upgrade experience, accumulated over the years, was in the thousands for both foundational genes and other genes.
Now that he had the means to save them, using their own life's work as the fuel.
A small, determined smile touched Scott's lips.
"Alright, old man," he whispered to the unconscious Elder. "Let's get you back on your feet."
This time he didn't go step by step as he did before.
He understood the system now, and there was no problem in upgrading faster.
With a single, decisive thought, he commanded the system to upgrade Alistair's foundation genes, both Mycelial Heart and Bull's Frame, pouring all the thousands of available experience points into them until they could go no further.
The effect was instantaneous and violent.
Alistair's body, which had been passively accepting energy, suddenly became a massive vortex.
The mycelium cocoon around him erupted in a blinding, emerald-green light.
The air in the cultivation chamber crackled and hummed as the Heartwood Tree, sensing the change, began to pour a torrent of pure life energy into the old man.
Roots in the walls and floor glowed with power, all directing their flow toward the single, consuming point.
"Far more efficient." Scott mused, watching the incredible display with wide eyes. "But without the support of the Heartwood Tree, it won't be possible to upgrade so violently.."
Looking at the surrounding changes, he also has a clear understanding of the demand for life energy to upgrade the Bull's Frame to a higher level.
The level numbers on Alistair's panel began to climb rapidly: Level 1... Lvl 2... Lvl 3... Lvl 4...
When the level ticked over to five, Scott noticed something odd.
A note flashed on the panel:
[Breakthrough reached. The upgrade effect temporarily doubled.]
"A threshold bonus," Scott realized. "Level five must be a major milestone for a gene's development. The attribute improvement just jumped from 30% to 60% for this single level."
After the upgrade reached level five, the bonus promptly returned to its standard 30%.
Simultaneously, he became aware of another rule change: From Level 5, the experience required will double for each subsequent level.
1200 points of experience for Level 5 to 6, 1400 points of experience for Level 6 to 7 and so on.
That explained the massive experience cost.
The upgrades continued until Alistair's panel finally settled.
Both his Mycelial Heart and Bull's Frame had reached Level 8.
Inside the now-fading cocoon of light, Alistair's body was visibly transforming.