Looking at the options floating in front of him, Chu Xiu fell into deep thought.
All three restrictions were very useful: Precise could increase his attack accuracy, Optimization could comprehensively enhance the attributes of the Bone Spear, and Bleeding could inflict greater damage.
After careful consideration, he still chose [Bleeding].
This was the choice he made, using that monster, whose true form he had yet to see, as his hypothetical enemy.
Judging from previous traces, the monster seemed to be on the larger side, and the air pressure generated by [Precise] probably wouldn't have much effect on it.
With the Bone Spear upgraded again, its physical strength was now comparable to a finely crafted Wooden Shafted Iron Headed Spear, more than enough to deal with carbon-based creatures, unless the monsters' skin was comparable to Iron Armor, which would require further upgrades.
In this light, [Bleeding] was undoubtedly the most suitable choice for now.
Thinking of this, Chu Xiu no longer hesitated and selected [Bleeding].
Immediately, the talent of [Perfect Refining] activated, with Extraordinary Power forming a mysterious restriction at the tip of the Bone Spear. From the outside, the originally pure white Bone Spear now had a faint crimson tint.
Holding the Bone Spear in his hand, Chu Xiu felt a bit more confident.
But it was still far from enough.
The weapon was just one part; more important were his own attributes.
If the Basic Attributes were insufficient, the margin for error would be too low!
An ordinary person might hunt lions and tigers with an Iron Spear, but a slight mistake could result in death on the spot.
Chu Xiu didn't want to take that risk.
He glanced at the panel, noting that after the first layer of restriction was carved on the Bone Spear, it brought him a full 47 points of Professional Experience!
Counting the previous accumulation, Chu Xiu was now only 24 points away from leveling up, which meant absorbing about 12 more mummified corpses; if the quality was good, that number could be even lower.
Thinking this, he turned his head to Yun Lu beside him: "Let's continue."
...
In the ensuing time, the two continued their cautious search.
There were quite a number of mummified corpses in the apartment building, each one in a more tragic state than the last. No matter how much time had passed, Chu Xiu could still vaguely sense the despair and helplessness of these ordinary people when the apocalypse came.
"Must level up quickly, and gain the power to protect myself!"
Chu Xiu gripped the Bone Spear tightly, focusing all his attention on the surroundings.
At this moment, Yun Lu, walking ahead of him, suddenly whispered, "I smell food, not from those monsters."
"Mushrooms?" Chu Xiu asked.
Yun Lu continued to shake her head: "No, it seems like a kind of herbivore, doesn't have the strong scent of carnivores, should be small in size."
"Actually, I noticed something similar before, but it was either in a locked room, or there was the presence of monster scent nearby, so I didn't mention it."
"I see." This moved Chu Xiu's spirit.
He was not too surprised, after all, although everything in the Abyss was data-driven, it still needed to conform to natural physical laws.
Things like "infinite clean energy zombies" would not exist.
Those monsters also need to comply with the law of conservation of energy to obtain energy from the Outer World.
Compared to them obtaining energy through photosynthesis and the like, Chu Xiu tended to believe that there was a complete food chain here, just that the creatures capable of surviving had sufficient survival means and were hard to find.
Yun Lu's words somewhat confirmed his speculation.
Compared to the meager experience provided by mummified corpses, hunting live creatures was the major source of experience.
So Chu Xiu only thought for a while before saying, "Let's go and have a look."
"But don't rush to take action, rather give up than make too much noise due to combat."
He already knew in his heart that the soundproofing in this apartment building was good, and normal walking or low-level conversations would not attract monsters.
Even the "creaking" of opening a door, as long as it wasn't on the same floor as a monster, the probability of attracting attention was not significant.
The Trial Taker who died miserably before might have made too much commotion while hunting prey, which led to being discovered by the monster.
Following Yun Lu around a corner into a vacant room, Chu Xiu walked in and scanned around, but found nothing except dust on the ground.
He looked at Yun Lu, who fearfully pointed at the wardrobe in the bedroom.
This was a large, two-meter-high wardrobe, half-open at the moment. When Chu Xiu focused his attention on it, he suddenly heard a very slight "rustling" sound, as if something was flapping its wings inside, or nibbling on something.
This made Chu Xiu and Yun Lu both tense their nerves.
Suddenly, the sound stopped.
The next second, a huge gray shadow burst out from inside, charging straight at Yun Lu's face!
Yun Lu was so frightened she almost screamed. At this moment, a big hand reached out from behind to cover her mouth as a sharp glint flashed by, the sharp Bone Spear piercing the gray shadow!
"Sizzle!"
The entire left side of the gray shadow was torn open, grazing Yun Lu's body and falling to the ground.
"Mmm!" Yun Lu's beautiful eyes widened with terror, her heart pounding like mad.
"Be careful, making noise and attracting those monsters would be troublesome." Chu Xiu said calmly.
"Ah, yes..." Yun Lu dropped her head in guilt.
Chu Xiu paid no more mind to the girl and instead turned his gaze to the creature that had just surged out. It was a gray moth the size of a baby, covered all over with grayish-yellow fur, and its wings looked like old, yellowed paper windows. At this moment, one of them had been pierced by Chu Xiu, along with a large wound in its abdomen.
Despite this, it still attempted to take off with the remaining intact wing, its mutant mouthparts clashing like a meat grinder while emitting a nerve-wracking "hissing" sound.
But after only a few flaps, the giant moth fell back to the ground, its wound inexplicably expanding and tearing under some strange force!
Trait [Bleeding].
In just a few seconds, the wound crossing its belly tore the moth's entire abdomen open, almost cutting it in half.
Its viscous, foul-smelling intestines spilled out, unable to move any longer, leaving it to remain breathing weakly with what tenacious Life Force it had left.
Yun Lu stared in shock at the scene before her, while Chu Xiu approached mercilessly and speared its head with a quick thrust.
The entire process was swift and efficient, perhaps influenced by the Demonic Professions, making Chu Xiu particularly calm.
At the moment the giant moth was killed, Chu Xiu felt his Infinite Reincarnation Technique activate automatically, seemingly absorbing something intangible from the moth's body.
[Slaughtered a lifeform, Professional Experience +18]
[Level up!]
[Current Tier: Mortal Tier Level 1]
With the prompting sound in his mind, Chu Xiu felt a surge of heat rush throughout his body, under which he could clearly feel his body being strengthened. It was as if his muscles had undergone a fundamental change, becoming more robust and powerful!
With a casual wave of his hand, the originally heavy Bone Spear felt as light as a twig.
Simultaneously, his mind cleared, and the world in front of him became extraordinarily vivid, being able to faintly see even the dust floating in the air.
His perception ability and neurological response speed increased significantly!
The most strengthened attribute, however, was his Energy Level!
Chu Xiu could distinctly feel a massive force residing in his Dantian!
Feeling the unprecedented muscle strength in his arms, he felt a strong sense of reassurance.
Taking a deep breath, Chu Xiu opened his character panel.
[Name] Chu Xiu
[Tier] Mortal Tier Level 1 (2/200)
[Constitution] 2.14
[Spirit] 3.07
[Energy Level] 3.81
[Equipment] Worn cotton clothes and pants, unremarkable Bone Spear +4
[Profession] Demonic Inheritor
[Talent] Perfect Refining
The Constitution had more than doubled! The increase in Spirit was less, while Energy Level had surged by 3 points!
An over two-point Constitution can basically be said to be at the level of a professional athlete.
"I've heard different professions add different attribute points upon leveling. Close combat types usually get more Constitution, while magic remote professions focus more on Spirit and Energy Level."
"My Demonic Inheritor profession seems to be balanced, with a bit more emphasis on Energy Level."
"I saw online that the A-level profession, Heavy Shield Knight, reportedly gained as much as 3 points of Constitution on the first level up!"
Thinking of this, Chu Xiu was clear-minded. So far, it seemed his Demonic Inheritor profession, although of [MAX] tier, didn't seem to grant that many attribute points and might even be inferior to some S-Class or A-level professions.
The key point probably lay in the word [inheritance].
Chu Xiu's eyes moved down to the new small text at the bottom of his panel.
[New inheritance unlocked]