[Veil of the Stars]

[Category: Special Skill]

[Effect: After using this ability, you can disguise yourself as any appearance. Only entities with a mental attribute exceeding the player's by more than 100 points can see through it.]

Sterl was quite surprised by this.

The Veil of Nothingness concealed his abilities, and now the Veil of the Stars could disguise his appearance. With this, Sterl could fully exert himself while adventuring outside!

He could create countless false identities, and no one would guess that the powerful individuals stirring up trouble were actually just an ordinary genius from the third tier of Earth's Spark Project—Sterl.

"Doesn't this sound a bit pretentious?" Sterl criticized inwardly.

Over the next few days, he also upgraded some miscellaneous items.

Firstly, the Heart of Plant Essence he had obtained from a boss drop, which Sterl was quite excited about regarding its potential evolution.

Upgraded once.

[Heart of Plant Essence] → [Spirit of Flora].

What originally looked like a transparent, heart-shaped, emerald soft jade, pulsating continuously, now ceased its beating and transformed into an emerald crystal, with a vague human silhouette flickering inside.

[Spirit of Flora]

[Effect: Allows for the fusion with a pet, granting it plant-based energy and related skills, and significantly increasing the pet's hatching speed. When integrated into equipment, it adds a high vampiric effect and strengthens plant-based attributes.]

An item that seemed somewhat mediocre instantly became something Sterl was in dire need of.

"Accelerate the pet's hatching?" Sterl was pleasantly surprised. He knew the hatching time for an SS-grade Stellar Egg was far longer than the B+ grade versions Teresa, Linna, and Rayna had!

Sterl had braced himself for not enjoying the benefits of his pet anytime soon, but now there was an unexpected joy.

He didn't hesitate to use it on his SS-grade Stellar Egg.

Then, Sterl saw a clear display on the Stellar Egg—[This pet egg will hatch soon. Please be prepared.]

After evolving the Heart of Flora, Sterl, who was staying in the shelter, successfully received the delayed rewards for joining the Spark Project.

The white skill book was [Blink], allowing the player to move a short distance quickly.

The equipment was a level 10 iron-grade, Very useless—

[Crude Wooden Ring], with the simple effect of adding 5 to mental attribute.

The iron-grade equipment Sterl had previously obtained in the Starfall Wilderness dungeon was much better.

He suspected that this kind of iron equipment might be what you'd find dropping from ordinary monsters.

It was the third reward, however, that compensated with 5 million credit points and 50 silver coins, that Sterl handed over to Linna and Rayna for them to manage the household's daily expenses, giving the two beauties a good time.

This considerably improved Sterl's mood as well.

By the way, Sterl had given the two level 50 pieces of equipment he obtained from defeating Philip Waldo to Teresa to handle. He planned to sell them for about thirty to forty gold coins, but they hadn't been sold yet.

Then, Sterl spent another two days evolving two bottles of advanced experience potions to stockpile.

The drama within the base finally came to an end. This incident had caused quite a stir, attracting several third-tier players from higher-level bases. After verification and calculations, they deemed everything to be normal.

The star energy from before might be an unexplored mechanism within [Transcendence].

Countless ordinary people and players gradually moved back to the base.

...

After Sterl and his companions returned home, they were busy for a while, tidying up the rooms that had been left in disarray in preparation for their escape.

Linna and Rayna ungracefully collapsed onto the floor.

The blonde beauty pouted, "Low-level bases are just not reliable."

"Sterl, when can we move to a mid-level base?"

"I heard that after becoming a professional, you can apply to take the assessment."

"Over there, we shouldn't have to deal with a bit of weirdness causing such a fuss, right?"

"There was really nothing strange, yet they made such a big deal out of it."

Rayna, who was usually quite reserved, couldn't help but make a small complaint, "Yeah, the security in lower-level bases is too low, even without this incident."

"It could be breached by a monster siege at any time."

Sterl paused for a moment but smiled and reassured them, "Don't worry, I'll be moving us out soon."

"Really?" Linna was somewhat surprised, and Rayna looked hopeful.

They had also heard that the selection for joining a mid-level base posed no danger to life. Sterl was already a professional, so trying wouldn't hurt.

However, Sterl had decided to develop for a while and directly sign up for the selection of a high-level base.

Typically, moving from a low-level base to a mid-level base required professional level, and advancing to a high-level base required second-tier level.

Incidentally, if you're a native of the base, to obtain permanent residency, the requirement drops a level: for a mid-level base, you simply need to be a player, and for a high-level base, becoming a professional is sufficient.

However, even with reduced requirements, every year, many people from mid-level and high-level bases are forced to join lower-level bases because the population capacity of mid and high-level bases is limited. To make room for newcomers, the old residents must leave.

Meanwhile, the human race on Earth continues to build lower-level bases to ensure there's enough space for the growing population.

With Sterl having a 3S-grade profession, he estimated that by around level 50, or even sooner, he would have the strength to challenge second-tier players.

He simply decided, with the Veil of Nothingness and the Veil of the Stars abilities at his disposal, to develop a bit more and then fake a level 60 profile with a completed second-tier transformation with relative ease.

Although advancing to the second-tier at such a pace would seem miraculous, at least the level, something others wouldn't covet. By completing the selection for a high-level base, he could ensure Linna and Rayna live in a safer place.

Since their establishment, Earth's human race's high-level bases have never been breached.

For his family, Sterl decided to reveal a bit more of his capabilities.

...

The next day, at five in the morning.

Sterl had already arrived at the location of the base's teleportation circle, the same old place—the hall serving the pioneering players.

He didn't say goodbye to Linna and Rayna because the incident with the last dungeon had made the two beauties overly nervous, fearing Sterl would venture into danger again.

Thus, Sterl decided to act first and explain later—runaway first!

After arriving at the hall, he settled the rewards for the last pioneering mission with the staff, receiving only 5 silver coins.

However, every little bit counts.

Sterl also picked up another mission from the pioneering task list, heading to "Death Village" to collect three plague spores. The reward for this task was just a bottle of antidote potion.

But Sterl didn't hesitate to accept it because he was heading to Death Village to complete a mission scroll that dropped from Philip Waldo, which was more profitable than aimlessly grinding monsters.

Taking on an additional mission for extra profit was always good.

Then, he spent two silver coins to use the teleportation circle within the base to travel to base number 70111.

Following the map he obtained through the pioneering player benefits, Sterl left base number 70111 and headed southwest. He then stepped into a dense forest and never came out again.

Five minutes after he entered the forest, a burly man with a scar on his face emerged from the other side of the forest and headed southeast.

This burly man was naturally Sterl's disguised appearance.

It was only now that he officially headed towards Death Village.

However, Sterl hadn't gone far before his expression suddenly changed, revealing excitement.

He took out the Star Egg from his backpack. At this moment, the pet egg was constantly shining, pulsating like a heartbeat.

Thump! Thump!

Thump! Thump!

"Is it finally going to hatch??" Sterl looked forward with anticipation as he placed the Star Egg on the ground.

Subsequently, intense energy fluctuations surged.

The Star Egg, originally the size of a palm, rapidly expanded to three times Sterl's height, becoming a giant egg!

Then, the sky suddenly changed color! The clear sky was instantly covered with dense clouds, and silver snakes flickered faintly among the clouds.

Boom!!

With a loud noise, a bolt of lightning struck directly down!

"Oh shit!" Sterl didn't have time to react and couldn't dodge in time, getting struck by the lightning along with the Star Egg!

He was severely injured by the strike, but fortunately, Sterl quickly activated the [Power of the Stars]. With his domain activated and the boost from his professional trait, the Avatar of the Stars, his injuries rapidly healed.

At this moment, Sterl felt the absurdity of having an SSS-grade profession, marveling at how his severely injured body could recover in just over a minute!

Absolutely outrageous!

But at that time, Sterl couldn't afford to be happy as he noticed a crack appearing on his precious Star Egg. However, it wasn't a crack from the pet inside hatching, but damage caused by the lightning strike!