Boom!
White light appeared, enveloping the wooden house.
The same special effect as the previous upgrade flashed and disappeared, and the wooden house in front of him had already changed.
The wooden house as a whole grew a size larger, and the thickness of its walls also significantly increased.
Tiny crystals were embedded in the crevices, emitting a faint blue glow.
The mutated features were also retained; dark red tendrils wrapped around the surface of the wooden house, undulating slowly.
Blue and red intertwined, a unique style.
Rolling Crystal Shard Wooden House (Tier 2, un-upgradable): 51/500 wood, 30/200 stone, 25/100 crystal shards
Evaluation: Barely qualified to stand in the Mist World, but only during the novice period, and requires a bit of luck.
The system’s evaluation had changed.
Previously, the Dilapidated Wooden House and the Rough Stone Wooden House wouldn't survive the novice period, but the Crystal Shard Wooden House now had a chance to live.
Jiang Lin believed this was due to the crystal shards, which greatly enhanced the wooden house's defense.
Coupled with the strange oil lamp gifted by the system, it was enough to ensure most players survived the novice period.
However, the system's last sentence was quite thought-provoking.
Did this mean that bad luck could lead to dangers beyond what he could currently resist?
Jiang Lin subconsciously thought of the changes in the mist earlier, and the faint feeling of being watched.
He couldn't be complacent!
Since he had already mastered the Mutation Art, he had to strive to do his best within his capabilities.
He only had one life; if he was careless, everything would be over.
Thinking of this.
"Little Pickaxe, keep digging for stones around here."
Jiang Lin felt he needed to work hard... to make his employee work hard.
Little Pickaxe, true to his title as Labor Model No. 2, immediately sprang into action upon hearing the command.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
His spider legs moved, a bit comical but highly efficient.
Watching Little Pickaxe work diligently, Jiang Lin's sense of security soared, and most of his anxiety disappeared.
It wasn't that he wasn't working hard, but the results of his efforts were less than half of his employee's... As a qualified boss, he needed to manage the overall situation and devote his time to more important matters.
For example—opening a treasure chest!
Jiang Lin took out the wooden treasure chest and gently caressed it.
Wooden Treasure Chest: Contains random items, 75% chance for Tier 1, 25% chance for Tier 2
"Sacrifice twenty years of illness, open!"
A white light, even more dazzling than last time, flashed.
Jiang Lin knew from the special effect that this haul would definitely be better than the last.
Powerful Slide Tackle (Skill Book): Tier 2, Gathers all strength into the legs to slide forward with immense force. Injecting stamina can increase its power. Of course, if you don't have a physique-type talent, it might be more suitable for escaping.
Physique Potion: Permanently increases physique by 3 points, making your flesh more tender and delicious.
This time there were only two items: a blue book and a pure white potion.
Jiang Lin took them out separately and placed them aside.
He tossed the empty treasure chest into a corner of the wooden house, placing it with the previous one.
These treasure chests were useless now, just plain wood, perhaps usable for planting tomatoes.
He set the potion aside for now. Jiang Lin looked at the Slide Tackle skill book in his hand, lost in thought.
Should he directly use Mutation on the skill book, or use it first and then Mutate the skill?
Based on previous experience, using Mutation on a physical object always required consuming uses and spiritual power.
However, when he used Transformation Art on the panel last time, it seemed to have no such requirements.
That’s right, he wanted to exploit a bug again.
Last time, he directly transformed into the Mutation Art using Transformation Art without any consumption, only a momentary system lag.
He guessed this might be a bug, and perhaps he could try if the same applied to skills.
Maybe he could avoid consuming uses and spiritual power?
—Just do it!
Even if it didn’t work, he could still use Mutation Art on the skill tomorrow.
With a thought, he used the skill book.
The blue skill book instantly transformed into a white light and drilled into Jiang Lin's head.
In an instant, he understood how to use Slide Tackle, feeling like he could kick a tiger to death.
Jiang Lin suppressed his inflated thoughts, knowing it was just an illusion; his physique was nowhere near capable of kicking a tiger to death.
One slide tackle covered seven or eight meters, worthy of its Tier 2 name. He could certainly use it to escape, as it was indeed fast!
But... it was far from enough!
This wasn't the skill Jiang Lin wanted, so—
He opened his personal panel.
Name: Jiang Lin
Talent: Mutation Art (Unique)
Skill: Slide Tackle (Tier 2)
Physique: 8
Sanity: 16
Stamina: 35/100
Spiritual Power: 0/50
Overall Evaluation: Unranked
It was confirmed; using Mutation Art did indeed increase Sanity, and from the area chat, this seemed to be his unique ability.
Although he didn't know its exact purpose yet, an increase should be a good thing.
Without dwelling on it, Jiang Lin looked at the skill section.
Mutation Art activated! Mutate skill Slide Tackle... Jiang Lin felt the panel distort for a moment... then it returned to normal in the blink of an eye.
An illusion?
Congratulations! You have obtained the skill — Ghostly Steps
Ghostly Steps: Tier 3, Gathers strength in the legs to take strange, incredibly fast steps. Can consume stamina to leave behind a ghostly afterimage, attracting the target's attention. The afterimage lasts for 3 seconds.
The Tier 2 Slide Tackle on his personal panel had also been replaced with Tier 3 Ghostly Steps.
"It worked!"
Jiang Lin was now certain; mutating the panel was indeed a bug, and it consumed nothing.
However, the momentary distortion of the system made him feel it was better to do such things as little as possible.
As is well known, knowing when to stop is the wisdom of life.
Ignoring the system for now, Jiang Lin's heart leaped with joy as he looked at the description of his newly acquired skill, a smile unconsciously forming on his lips.
Setting aside the matter of tier upgrades, the skill effects alone were worlds apart.
Slide Tackle? Not even a dog would use it!
Ghostly Steps was a definite life-saving divine skill!
With 35 stamina remaining, Jiang Lin prepared to test the skill's effect.
Outside the wooden house, Jiang Lin focused.
Ghostly Steps activated!
Jiang Lin took a step, and his entire body seemed to twist and shift, appearing ten meters away in the blink of an eye.
Behind him, an identical handsome young man remained.
After 3 seconds, the handsome young man's ghostly afterimage dissipated into black mist.
Powerful!
With this skill, who could catch up to him?
Jiang Lin returned from the mist to the safe zone around the wooden house, a smile of excitement on his lips.
He didn't know if all Tier 3 skills were this powerful, or if only Ghostly Steps was.
In any case, Jiang Lin was very satisfied with the effect of Ghostly Steps. With this skill, he would have the power to protect himself when encountering danger.
After another round of testing.
Jiang Lin gained a deeper understanding of Ghostly Steps.
Firstly, without consuming stamina, Ghostly Steps allowed him to move 3 to 5 meters in a single step; the exact distance might be related to his physique and reaction speed.
Using 10 points of stamina, he could unleash extreme speed, covering 10 to 12 meters in an instant, and leave a ghostly afterimage behind to attract attention.
Jiang Lin played for quite a while before calming down from his excitement.
After all, as an Earthling, this was the first time he had truly used 'superpowers' himself.
He still had 5 stamina points left; he almost used it all up.
Jiang Lin now felt exhausted, slumping down by the wooden house entrance, unwilling to move.
He pulled out his last piece of bread and ate it bite by bite.
As he ate, he walked to the corner where the red tendril cup was, and picked up the cup.
Once rooted, the tendrils could stretch very long; Jiang Lin felt they could extend seven or eight meters, incredibly magical.
Gulp, gulp.
Jiang Lin finished his bread and drank water, feeling much better.
The water produced by the red tendril cup was even clearer than mineral water, with no impurities at all.
After resting for a while, Jiang Lin put the Physique Potion into his system backpack.
He decided to Mutate it tomorrow to see what would happen.
There were still many things that needed to be Mutated, but with only two uses per day, he could only prioritize important items.