Back in his armor maintenance bay, Keran pulled up his System Panel.
Right now, besides his Junior Armor Engineer skills, he had six months of grueling training under his belt in basic hand-to-hand combat and marksmanship.
In his opinion, the Armor Engineer class wasn’t particularly strong.
It was actually pretty underwhelming.
But Keran had never once doubted his choice.
Because the true power of an Armor Engineer never came from the armor they wore.
It came from technology that could be endlessly iterated and improved.
Given enough time and resources, this path had almost no limits.
He’d been in the Star Abyss for six months.
He’d figured that out a long time ago.
Keran poured his stockpiled experience into his Junior Armor Engineer class and started leveling up.
[Junior Armor Engineer upgraded to Lv3. Strength +1, Intelligence +1, Endurance +1. Gained 2 Free Attribute Points. Gained 1 Potential Point.]
…
[Junior Armor Engineer upgraded to Lv10 (MAX). Strength +1, Intelligence +1, Endurance +1. Gained 2 Free Attribute Points. Gained 1 Potential Point.]
A flood of knowledge poured into his mind.
The armor engineering concepts that had once been confusing and obscure suddenly clicked into place.
Looking at the scattered parts around the maintenance bay, Keran felt a sudden sense of mastery.
So the cap for basic classes is Level 10.
I’ll need to advance to keep leveling up.
This round cost him 140,000 experience points, pushing his Junior Armor Engineer class from Level 2 all the way to max.
He gained an extra 8 Strength, 8 Endurance, 8 Intelligence, 100 Stamina, 16 Free Attribute Points, and 8 Potential Points.
Now that his Junior Armor Engineer was maxed, he was still one step short of the requirements for the advanced class.
Keran had expected this.
He set it aside for now, calm and unhurried.
He spent another 150,000 experience points to max out both Structural Analysis and Simple Armor Repair to Level 10, earning 1 Potential Point for each.
These two skills were the core of his plan.
He couldn’t do without them.
He spent a final 10,000 experience points to raise Basic Armor Perception to Level 3.
The class upgrades had given him 8 Potential Points.
Maxing the two skills had given him 2 more.
That brought his total to 12.
Keran grabbed the two class knowledge tomes he’d hidden away earlier from the shelf.
He took a deep breath and spent his Potential Points.
[Spend 1 Potential Point to learn Advanced Materials Science from the Armament branch?]
[Spend 1 Potential Point to learn Power Circuit Reconfiguration from the Armament branch?]
Confirm.
A flood of knowledge crashed into his skull.
His head throbbed like something was trying to split it open from the inside.
Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes from the pain.
It took a full ten minutes for it to subside.
Keran spent another 20,000 experience points to raise both Advanced Materials Science and Power Circuit Reconfiguration to Level 2, deepening his mastery.
That left him with exactly 180,000 experience points.
He’d saved every last one for blueprint fusion.
Blueprints were the single most important thing for an Armor Engineer.
Over the past six months, Keran had figured out almost everything there was to know about his System.
Class upgrades, skill enhancements, knowledge learning.
Those were just the basic functions.
The real core was knowledge fusion.
You combined two or more class skills, spent experience, and took a chance on developing new blueprints.
That was the main reason he’d stockpiled half a million experience points.
Keran’s palms were slightly sweaty as he stared at his panel.
He dragged Advanced Materials Science Lv2 and Power Circuit Reconfiguration Lv2 together.
Combining these two Tier 2 skills could produce six different blueprints.
The experience cost doubled for each subsequent attempt with the same combination.
The first try only cost 10,000 experience.
200,000 would be enough for four tries.
He took a deep breath.
These four tries.
He had to get the one he wanted.
[Initiate knowledge fusion: Advanced Materials Science + Power Circuit Reconfiguration. This fusion will cost 10,000 experience points.]
Yes.
His mind went blank for a split second.
[Fusion successful. You have developed Foldable Wing Panels!]
Not that one.
Keran clenched his fist and tried again.
[This fusion will cost 20,000 experience points.]
[Fusion successful. You have developed Power Arm!]
Still not it.
[This fusion will cost 40,000 experience points.]
[Fusion successful. You have developed Power Arm!]
He’d gotten the same useless blueprint twice, his experience pouring away like water.
Keran’s eye twitched.
He took a deep breath.
One more time.
[This fusion will cost 80,000 experience points.]
[Fusion successful. You have developed Power-Reinforced Armor (Light)!]
“Phew… finally got the one I wanted!”
He let out a long, slow breath and leaned back in his chair for a moment, only then pressing that surge of emotion back down.
180,000 experience points.
Almost all gone.
But it was worth every single one.
He looked down at the final state of his panel.
Name: Keran
Identity: Otherworld Lifeform
Race: Human
Level: 20
Experience: 30,000
Class: Junior Armor Engineer Lv10 (MAX)
Discipline: Mechanics
Health Points: 580/580
Stamina Points: 660/660
Base Attributes: Strength 32, Agility 28, Endurance 34, Intelligence 15, Spirit 5, Charisma 2, Luck 2
Free Attribute Points: 17
Energy: 50/50
Power Level: F+
[You’re still a long way from being a real Otherworld Lifeform]
Talents:
Fast Learner: Increases learning and crafting speed by 10%
Minor Willpower Enhancement: Willpower +5
Skills:
Basic Armor Perception Lv3
Structural Analysis Lv10
Simple Armor Repair Lv10
Basic Hand-to-Hand Combat Lv8
Basic Marksmanship Lv8
Blueprints: Foldable Wing Panels, Power Arm, Power-Reinforced Armor (Light)
Potential Points: 3
Class Skill Tree:
— Modifications: Basic Armor Engineering Lv2, Power Circuit Reconfiguration Lv2, Advanced Materials Science Lv2, [17 unlearned skills]
— Energy: [20 unlearned skills]
— Armaments: [20 unlearned skills]
Equipment: None
Keran closed his panel and spent 5 Free Attribute Points to bring his Intelligence up to exactly 20.
That was the minimum requirement to craft the Power-Reinforced Armor (Light).
Not a single point less would do.
He saved the rest of his attribute points for emergencies.
Free Attribute Points could be allocated at any time.
In a pinch, they were far more valuable than fixed stat increases.
With Undercurrent coming, it never hurt to hold a few cards close to your chest.
He glanced down at the scattered parts and disassembled machinery covering the floor.
His expression was calm, like he was just doing another routine repair job.
The eternal yellowish glow of Azure City’s dome seeped through the crack in the window, glinting coldly off the shards of metal on the floor.
Keran sat down, laid out his tools one by one, picked up his wrench, and got to work.
…
Azure City’s walls were hundred-meter-tall monoliths of alloy, covered in energy shields and every kind of defensive weapon imaginable.
They loomed against the desolate wasteland, an unyielding steel barrier.
The area for several kilometers outside the gates was considered relatively safe for residents.
It was called the Safe Zone.
To solve their food shortage, Azure City had cleared vast farmlands outside the walls, protected by energy shields that kept mutated creatures out.
The city guard patrolled the outskirts every day, hunting down any low-level creatures that slipped through the defenses.
Watchtowers and supply depots were scattered along their patrol routes.
Even so, the danger never truly went away.
A heavy transport plane touched down in Azure City’s central square.
The ramp lowered, and eight fully armed Undercurrent Operatives stepped down. Get faster updates on g.com.
Their faces were cold and impassive, their eyes hidden behind dark goggles.
They radiated an aura of unchallengeable authority.
The man leading them scanned the square, then paused when his eyes fell on the two people waiting for him.
“Long time no see, Rufina. You still have that same stomach-turning icy look.”
His voice was flat, like he was stating a meaningless fact.
His name was Zevran, Senior Inspector of Undercurrent.
He was famous for his cold blood and ruthless precision.
His abilities were highly respected within the organization, but almost no one wanted to work with him long-term.
Rufina stood her ground, her silver hair whipping wildly in the wind from the transport’s engines.
Her crimson eyes met his gaze without a flicker of emotion, her voice ice cold.
“When Undercurrent stops wasting everyone’s time with small talk, the Hundred Cities Federation might actually be half as safe. You’re here to inspect the Otherworld Lifeform, not to catch up. Gather your men and stop wasting mine.”
Cyrus stood beside her, stepping forward half a step smoothly, his tone even.
“Senior Inspector Zevran. Thank you for making the trip.” He paused.
“The Lord is waiting for you inside. We can discuss the inspection details once we’re in.”
Zevran looked away, said nothing more, and gestured for his team to follow.
The group walked toward the Lord’s mansion, their footsteps heavy and synchronized on the stone square.
…
Maintenance Bay.
Keran tightened the final retaining clip, set down his wrench, and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
In front of him sat a set of light armor, covering his torso and shoulders.
The outer plates were pieced together from scrap manganese steel he’d scavenged from the maintenance bay, lined with a lightweight metal frame for support and shock absorption.
It wasn’t pretty.
The weld marks were clearly visible.
But the structure was solid.
Every stress point had been calculated and recalculated.
The power core had been the hardest part.
When Keran had dug that core out of the scrap pile in the corner, it had already been marked for recycling.
It was barely functional, with less than twenty percent of its rated energy remaining.
Under normal circumstances, it would have been completely useless.
But he’d completely redesigned the power circuits.
He’d bypassed the damaged main conductors, compressed all the remaining energy into the auxiliary circuits, and redistributed the output nodes using mechanical engineering principles.
Theoretically, this design would drastically shorten the core’s lifespan.
But until that happened, it would provide more than enough power.
The blueprint had given him the framework.
His own judgment had filled in the details.
Building it by hand was far more complicated than following the System’s step-by-step process.
But it also gave him room to make adjustments.
The benefits far outweighed the drawbacks.
[Power-Reinforced Armor (Light)]
[Quality: White]
[Base Stats: Attack 35~58, Defense 22~29, Power Level 41, Durability 310/310]
[Equip Requirements: Endurance 35, Strength 25]
[Weight: 19.3 lbs]
[Special Effects: Triggers energy feedback when hit by melee attacks, dealing minor concussive damage. Power core is barely functional. Performance will degrade after more than 6 hours of continuous use.]
Equipment quality tiers from lowest to highest: Gray — Commonplace.
White — Ordinary.
Green — Good.
Blue — Superior.
Purple — Excellent.
Pink — Rare.
Orange — Legendary.
The System notified him that he had completed his first independent craft, awarding him 3,500 experience points.
Creative technical work always paid far better than simple assembly and repair.
Besides the armor, Keran had also done a simple modification on a standard issue pistol marked for repair.
After replacing the firing mechanism and recalibrating the rifling, its attack power had increased from 31~40 to 44~56.
As long as he had ammo, it was a perfectly reliable weapon.
He’d also taken the leftover high-grade steel from cutting the armor plates, ground it down on the grinding wheel, and cold-forged a tactical knife.
It dealt an extra 12 points of armor-piercing melee damage.
The material would have gone to waste anyway.
Keran slipped the modified pistol and knife into his belt and glanced around the maintenance bay.
Thanks to his months of laying low and being completely unremarkable, the research base had removed the dedicated guard watching him.
Only the hallway cameras panned over occasionally.
He’d spread out the work between grinding parts, breaking the manufacturing process into small steps.
The guards who glanced at the monitors every now and then probably just thought he was doing his usual routine of mechanical repairs.
No one had noticed a thing.
Keran glanced down at his panel and spent his last few Free Attribute Points on Endurance, meeting the armor’s equip requirements.
He put it on and rolled his shoulders.
Now all that was left was to wait and see when Undercurrent would make their move.