Lord of the Myriad Worlds

Chapter 253: Full-Attribute First-Level Awakening

Without a moment's hesitation, Li Wei chose to activate and bind the one-star Scout Card, making it his fourth profession.

The instant it activated, his mind rang like a thunderclap. The Scout Card dissolved into a beam of golden light, layering over his previous three profession cards and completing the fusion binding seamlessly — not the slightest discomfort. It felt more like a long-lost friend encountered again after years apart.

Perfect.

Even the Destiny Grid light was harmonious.

Interestingly, with the addition of the golden Scout Destiny light, the other three cards' Destiny lights shifted subtly as well.

The Farmer Card's light turned black — it was at the bottom, after all, like dark earth.

The Hunter Card in second position took on a pale blue, like rivers and lakes.

The Woodcutter Card in third turned light green, like a forest.

And the Scout Card at the top glowed pale gold, like sunlight streaming down — harmonious, as though a small ecosystem had formed.

Lines of text surfaced one after another.["You have bound the One-Star Rare Scout Card. You have gained your fourth profession — One-Star Scout."]

["Your Agility attribute automatically +3."]

["You have gained Scout Talents."]

["You have gained 5 Free Attribute Points."]

["Your current Scout Destiny Grid is 12."]

["Due to the Scout Card's bonus, your Hunter Destiny Grid has increased. Current value: 52. Your Woodcutter Destiny Grid has increased. Current value: 51."]

["Due to the Hunter and Woodcutter Destiny Grid bonuses, your Scout Destiny Grid has increased. Current value: 13."]

["As this is your fourth profession, its advancement requirements are slightly higher. You will need 100 Scouting Experience points + one Bronze Quality Clearance Token + 100 Standard Gold Coins to advance to Two-Star Scout."]

Not bad at all. Li Wei equipped the Dog Butcher title for +1 Agility, plus the boots' +2 Agility, bringing his total Agility to 34 — and he felt no discomfort whatsoever. He'd even bet that if he dumped all 5 Free Attribute Points into Agility at once, the worst he'd feel was hunger. Nothing else would go wrong.

That was the advantage of Destiny Grid stacking.

Hunter Destiny Grid: inclined toward Agility.

Woodcutter Destiny Grid: close to Agility.

Scout Destiny Grid: Agility is my very nature.

That was the foundation of his confidence.

So for now, he needed to add Defense and Stamina. Defense had to reach First-Level Awakening — that would prevent a weak link from dragging down his overall performance. Then everything else went into Stamina. His current 300 Stamina was impressive, but still not enough.

He now had harder bones, tougher muscles, and a superior physique — he could push himself harder, rage harder. Without sufficient Stamina, none of that mattered.

Of course, he couldn't add everything at once.

Li Wei added 1 point to Defense first, then immediately pulled out food to handle the consumption. It was just one point — but it couldn't be ignored, because this was already a First-Level Awakening.

Sure enough, hunger hit immediately. Fortunately, Li Wei had brought plenty of food. After wolfing it down, he was fine.

Only then did a blazing wave of heat surge through his body, rushing through every limb and bone. He felt deeply satisfied — no dramatic outward change, just the sudden sense that he had more strength than before, his bones slightly harder. The kind of hardness that could headbutt a wooden door open.

More interestingly, his Strength attribute passively gained +1.

As expected — Defense and Strength were linked.

["Congratulations. Your Defense attribute has undergone a qualitative transformation, completing First-Level Awakening. You have gained additional Awakening Talent bonuses. Your bones have become significantly harder (approximately double the density of an ordinary person's). Your muscle groups can now store more power. Your Strength gains an additional +1. When you are attacked, you will receive a solid damage reduction effect. Additionally, injuries will have a greatly reduced impact on your overall combat effectiveness."]

["Congratulations. All five of your base attributes have completed First-Level Awakening. You have become a Veteran Warrior. Furthermore, because your total Profession Destiny Grid count is 136, you are now eligible to participate in the Omniverse Arena. Note: The Omniverse Arena involves only combat and killing — no other burdens. Achieving a notable ranking in the Omniverse Arena will earn you various rewards, and you may have the opportunity to earn Omniverse Mercenary titles of different tiers. Participation is not mandatory — proceed at your own discretion."]

["Friendly reminder: Guard your life carefully. Upon death, your profession cards will drop, your Destiny Grid will fracture, and your attributes will be lost. The consequences are severe."]

"Omniverse Arena? Omniverse Mercenary titles? PvP?"

Li Wei smiled to himself and didn't give it much thought. He knew the difference between a professional and an amateur.

He waited a moment, then distributed the remaining four Free Attribute Points into Stamina, bringing it to 340. That naturally required more food to compensate.

By the time he'd fully recovered, it was around six in the evening. Today was the twenty-ninth day of the month. Tomorrow was the last day. Close enough — time to stir things up.

"Adai!"

At Li Wei's command, Adai — who had been sleeping in the grass all day — instantly snapped awake and took off, climbing to several hundred meters altitude before heading straight for the ruined town on the south bank of the river.

At the same time, Li Wei moved carefully through the forest. Only after Adai confirmed everything was clear from above did he move quickly onto the highway bridge.

The bridge looked solid — no signs of damage, no vehicle wreckage, completely clean. As if something had swept it.

Li Wei crossed at a brisk pace, eyes and ears alert in all directions. He was genuinely a little worried a mutant crocodile might burst out of the river.

Fortunately, nothing happened.

Past the bridge was the ruined town — fairly large, about the size of a small county seat. Seven or eight out of every ten buildings had been destroyed, rubble and broken walls everywhere. But those three young Ability Users had very likely been hiding here.

Interestingly, there were no vehicle wrecks here either. Many of the ruins showed signs of having been systematically searched and scavenged — much of the rebar had been carried off.

That had probably happened a long time ago.

Li Wei didn't cut through the ruined town. Instead, he circled around it, staying in the tree line along its perimeter — much better for concealment.

But the place was too quiet. Adai circled overhead for a while and found nothing. That was wrong. A few days ago, when Adai had scouted this area, it had definitely sent back signals indicating serious danger.

Li Wei didn't let his guard down. He had Adai climb as high as possible — anyone who looked up and spotted a crow circling would know something was off.

After about forty minutes of movement, Li Wei had circled past the ruined town. Ahead lay more low hills and dense forest — difficult to see far into.

He stopped, pressed his back against a tree, and closed his eyes to sense the surroundings. Not bad here — strong life energy, no impurities, just a normal forest. If there was one flaw, it was a lack of depth.

About the difference between a planted forest and an old-growth one.

The forest he'd entered during the beginner mission world had been far richer.

Just then, something stirred in Li Wei's mind. Adai seemed to have spotted something. He immediately held his breath and followed Adai's guidance, moving toward the right and forward.

After about two or three hundred meters, he could faintly sense an abnormal presence — and catch the faintest trace of a strange, sweet fragrance, like some plant in bloom.

Switching to Adai's perspective, he could see it: several hundred meters ahead, a valley. In the valley sat an enormous plant that looked like a cabbage — twenty to thirty meters in diameter, nearly filling half the valley. Giant leaves spread outward from its base like small boats. This was not a normal plant.

A mutant plant?

At its center, something was constantly writhing — as if insects were hidden inside.

This was definitely a four-star mutant plant. So — attack and risk it, or fall back and bring reinforcements?

Li Wei thought it over and decided he needed to scout first. He was a Scout — he couldn't just run at the first sign of danger. He had to understand the enemy's true strength and weakness.

It was already past seven in the evening, but the sky was still bright. The sun blazed like fire on the treetops, and countless leaves shimmered with light — almost magical.

The forest was unnaturally quiet. No birds, no insects. Not even a breeze.

Li Wei crept closer. When he was about two hundred meters from the cabbage-like mutant plant, the sense of danger became unmistakably clear — yet steady, constant. The mutant cabbage clearly hadn't detected him.

At one hundred and fifty meters, Li Wei could feel the hairs on his body standing on end. The danger felt almost physical.

And now he could see the mutant cabbage clearly.

It was enormous — roughly three stories tall, with a diameter of twenty to thirty meters. Massive. Oppressive.

This might be a five-star mutant plant.

Li Wei stopped. He quickly switched to the Tracker title, bringing Perception to +3. Simultaneously, he actively activated the Eagle Eye talent.

In that instant, the entire forest seemed to transform. Even the trees within several hundred meters appeared to reveal their true forms.

And the giant mutant cabbage one hundred and fifty meters away — now he could see it with perfect clarity, every detail exposed.

More than that: Li Wei felt as though he'd gained X-ray vision. He could clearly see that the interior of the mutant cabbage's great head was packed densely with something resembling tapeworm flowers — long, writhing, constantly moving. In the gaps between them, he could make out four or five human bodies. Ability Users?

And at the roots of the mutant cabbage, more tapeworm-like tendrils extended outward — some reaching as far as five hundred meters, coiling around the roots of other trees like oversized blood-sucking IV tubes.

Good lord.