He said, "Not a big problem," but Alex still listened to his instincts and opened the shop.
To see whether he could buy something that would temporarily increase his combat power.
However, even after adding the Skill Essence Vera had offered before, Alex only had 186 Skill Essences left.
He still had 13 Multiverse Crystals.
As for the divine artifacts in the shop that caught Alex's eye, every single one cost more than 20 Multiverse Crystals.
The items he was interested in, such as the Hypnosis Necklace or the Hourglass of Time, had already gone up in price because he had purchased the Traveler's Ring.
The price had risen from the original 100 Skill Essences to 200 Skill Essences.
'What a profiteer!'
Alex complained to himself.
Not to mention he couldn't afford them. Even if he could, 200 Skill Essences was equivalent to 4,000 proficiency points.
Wouldn't it be better to use those 4,000 proficiency points to upgrade talents?
After all, external items were still external items. Only talent abilities truly belonged to him.
'Right, I still have the Glory Shop.'
Alex slapped his forehead and opened the Glory Shop.
"Ten Rings King's Helmet. Useless."
"Sling Ring. I don't know the Portal spell. Useless."
"Portal spellbook. I could buy it together with the Sling Ring, but I'll think about that later."
"Ancient Martial Arts."
"That guy used it last time. The effect wasn't bad."
"Fine, I'll buy it."
"Twenty Glory Tokens. More expensive than the Portal spellbook."
Alex chose to purchase it. The number of Glory Tokens changed, dropping to 44.
Immediately, information appeared on his retina.
[You have learned [Taiji: Using Four Ounces to Move a Thousand Pounds (Ancient Martial Arts)].]
[Taiji: Using Four Ounces to Move a Thousand Pounds (Ancient Martial Arts): An ancient martial art from the Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings universe. It can redirect an opponent's attack and return it to them.]
[Note: It cannot redirect attacks that greatly exceed your strength limit. Trying to force the redirection will only backfire.]
[Remark: You can collect more ancient martial arts in the Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings universe. Perhaps they can help improve your unsightly combat skills.]
"Heh! Unsightly, huh? Sharp tongue."
Alex rubbed his nose.
Thinking about it, that was true. His combat skills came from the original owner.
And for Homelander, overwhelming power made combat techniques unnecessary.
So it was fair to say he didn't really have any techniques.
Well, at least now he finally knew one move: Using Four Ounces to Move a Thousand Pounds.
After that, Alex opened his status screen.
He started putting Skill Essences into Bio-Force Field.
[Bio-Force Field proficiency +20]
[Bio-Force Field proficiency +20]
[Bio-Force Field proficiency +20]
[Your Bio-Force Field proficiency is full. It has now upgraded to Bio-Force Field +5]
[Bio-Force Field +5: Bio-Force Field range increased by 300%. Bio-Force Field strength increased by 200%. Magic resistance success rate increased by 30%.]
[Your Bio-Force Field has reached its maximum level. Due to the lack of Awakening Stones, it cannot be advanced further.]
[Remark: Breaking through the current bottleneck requires 3 Awakening Stones.]
Alex looked at the information on his retina in surprise.
Bio-Force Field +5 had already reached the maximum level and could no longer be upgraded.
To break through this bottleneck, he needed 3 Awakening Stones.
'What are Awakening Stones?'
'How do I get them?'
'At least give me a hint.'
Alex shook his head and could only put the matter aside for now.
Next, he spent another 50 Skill Essences to upgrade Heat Vision by one level.
[Your Heat Vision proficiency is full. It has now upgraded to Heat Vision +5]
[Heat Vision +5: Temperature limit increased. You can now use heat attacks reaching up to 5 million degrees. The Chain Explosion effect has been enhanced, and the number of small explosions has increased by 100%.]
[Your Heat Vision has reached its maximum level. Due to the lack of Awakening Stones, it cannot be advanced further.]
[Remark: Breaking through the current bottleneck requires 3 Awakening Stones.]
Looking at the information before him, Alex remained calm.
'Again, Awakening Stones.'
'Without them, Bio-Force Field and Heat Vision would remain permanently stuck at Level 5.'
After spending 100 Skill Essences, Alex spent another 76 Skill Essences.
He forcibly raised Divine Strength to Level 4.
[Divine Strength +4: Strength limit increased. Maximum output can now reach 300%. Multiple Impact has evolved into Power Concentration. Power Concentration can focus your strength to the greatest extent, making your attacks no longer earth-shaking, but allowing your power to act effectively and directly on the target.]
"Not bad."
Looking at the words on his retina, Alex nodded.
He had already noticed before that although the Divine Strength talent made every attack of his earth-shaking, a large portion of his power was often wasted or dispersed during attacks.
Now, with the Power Concentration effect, his strength would be far less likely to scatter, be redirected, or be used against him.
If he fought Martin again now, the latter's Using Four Ounces to Move a Thousand Pounds would probably be much harder to use effectively.
In the blink of an eye, the 186 Skill Essences had been reduced to just 10.
Alex did not dare spend any more.
After all, he needed to keep some for paying the cost of staying in the DC universe.
If the Skill Essences ran out and he was forcibly returned, all his work over the past few days would have been wasted.
After upgrading everything, Alex opened his status panel.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
[Name: John (Homelander)]
[Life Level: Level 6 (Legendary)]
[Status: Normal]
[Talents: Heat Vision +5 (0/???), Deep Space Flight (156/200), First Cosmic Velocity +1 (35/300), Bio-Force Field +5 (0/???), Divine Strength +4 (0/1000), Super Regeneration +1 (78/300), Eye of the Truth(113/200)]
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
Looking at the obvious improvements to his talents, Alex closed the status panel in satisfaction.
He then focused his attention back on the nuclear power plant and heard Vera's voice coming from inside.
"Is it just you two pieces of trash?"
"I have to say, this is a little disappointing."
"You'd be better off calling your master Darkseid here."
"A watchdog and an old woman."
"What's the point?"
Alex let out a chuckle.
'She is quite arrogant.'
'It seems she still has plenty of hidden trump cards.'
———
Inside the nuclear power plant, the white-haired woman remained expressionless after hearing Vera's words.
But Steppenwolf roared.
"Insolence! You dare speak the great ruler's name directly!"
Vera laughed, "Why wouldn't I? It's not like he dares come himself."
"Otherwise, why would he send trash like you to lead the charge?"
"A coward. Why should I be afraid of him?"
[🙇🏻 You Can Support the Story Through P@tr3on—AmbitiousTranslator. It also has 40+ Chapters of all the novels and fanfics. Thanks for reading~]