Chapter 5: Overjoyed
1301 Words
Entertainment in the Primitive Era
In this era, nighttime offered little in the way of entertainment. Luo Ji had imagined a group of people singing and dancing around a campfire, but reality proved him wrong. Everyone was exhausted from a day's labor and, coupled with the scarcity of food, no one had the energy or mood for singing and dancing.
One by one, they took a short rest, exchanged a few words, and then prepared to return to their tents to sleep. Seizing this opportunity, Luo Ji pulled the elder aside to discuss the matter of 'names.' It was clear that Luo Ji intended to delegate the task of naming everyone to the tribe's elder.
Establishing the Surname System
Luo Ji hadn’t memorized the hundred family surnames, but he could easily list a dozen or so common ones. As he recited these surnames, the system predictably made its presence known.
System Prompt:Congratulations, player ‘Luo Ji,’ for establishing the ‘surname system.’ You have earned 100 civilization points and 10 culture points.
Luo Ji was pleasantly surprised by the amount of civilization points and the additional culture points. However, upon reflection, it made sense. After all, 'surnames' are a significant cultural inheritance passed down through the ages. If he could memorize the entire list of a hundred family names, he might earn even more civilization and culture points.
For now, though, the dozen or so surnames were sufficient for the elder to ponder over for some time.
Researching Other Matters
Having given all necessary instructions, Luo Ji stretched and finally had time to explore other matters. His mind was brimming with ideas from the day.
Casually shifting his attention to Luo Yong, who was diligently grinding the two stone axes per his orders, Luo Ji focused and a status panel popped up.
"Sure enough, I can view their status panels!" Luo Ji thought, delighted. Being able to view his tribe members' status panels was a significant advantage as it clearly showed each person's strengths.
Status Panels
Name: Luo Yong
Gender: Male
Age: 26
Condition: Exhausted
Affiliation: Ming Jing
Loyalty: 100 (Devoted. Will follow any command unconditionally and will not drop under any circumstances.)
Bravery: ★★★☆
Intelligence: ★★
Spirit: ★★☆
Endurance: ★★★☆
Leadership: ★☆☆
Talent: Innate Strength: Possesses extraordinary strength far beyond ordinary people.
Skill: The More Courageous the More You Fight (Passive): In battle, there is a 30% chance of temporarily increasing bravery by one star.
Battle Strategy: None
The default loyalty bonus of ten points from his 'ruler' talent, combined with his performance throughout the day, had led Luo Ji to anticipate high loyalty among his tribe members. However, Luo Yong's 100-point loyalty still brought Luo Ji a pleasant surprise. Upon reaching full loyalty, it transforms into absolute devotion, a state that won't decline under any circumstance. This upgrade from delight to elation made Luo Ji feel like he was bursting with joy.
Luo Ji felt the value of his 'ruler' talent, which increased the default loyalty of all his subjects by ten points, had finally manifested. He couldn't contain a silly smile on his face, and he had a premonition that Luo Yong wouldn’t be the only one with full loyalty.
Evaluating Luo Jin
After confirming everything with Luo Yong, Luo Ji turned his attention to Luo Jin, expecting similar results.
Name: Luo Jin
Gender: Male
Age: 23
Condition: Exhausted
Affiliation: Ming Jing
Loyalty: 100
Bravery: ★★
Intelligence: ★★☆
Spirit: ★★★☆
Endurance: ★★☆
Leadership: ★★☆
Talent: Keen Observation: There is a 30% chance of making new discoveries while observing.
Skill: Scouting (Passive): Increases success rate of scouting missions by 10%.
Battle Strategy: None
Confirmation and Contentment
Luo Jin's status panel confirmed Luo Ji's suspicions—he was a scout. While his bravery was only two stars, his intelligence, spirit, and endurance all had four-star potential. Without considering his talent and skills, his overall attributes could surpass Luo Yong's once fully developed. However, their strengths differed, making direct comparison unnecessary.
Finding two outstanding members among his tribe left Luo Ji very satisfied. He then checked the status panels of others around the fire. Unsurprisingly, none had a loyalty below ninety, and several even reached one hundred.
Despite this, none had particularly outstanding attributes. A few had two or three attributes reaching three stars, which was decent but not worth his immediate focus.
Several tribe members had already retired to their tents. Luo Ji needed to view them within his line of sight to check their status panels.
Luo Ji's Own Status
Satisfied with the discoveries, Luo Ji finally turned his attention to his own status panel. It hadn't changed much, but due to discovering a natural wonder and triggering several developmental achievements, his civilization points had accumulated to over 1,900!
"Right, I remember unlocking a skill called 'Boost Morale'..." Luo Ji muttered as he scrolled down, "Ah, here it is."
Boost Morale (Active): When activated, simple words and actions can increase overall morale by 10% (5%×2). (This talent is directly influenced by ‘Leadership’.)
The skill description was straightforward, but the practical use of increased morale was not immediately clear. Since it was late, experimenting would have to wait. He then began to review the various points he had earned throughout the day.
Civilization Development Options
The top of the status panel now featured five project options: 'Military,' 'Culture,' 'Industry,' 'Production,' and 'Medical.'
Military:
Current Points: 11
Options:
- Weapon Grinding (Level 0): Increases success rate of weapon grinding by 10%, efficiency by 10%, and weapon quality by 20%.
- Conquer Barbarians (Level 0): When engaging primitive barbarian tribes, overall combat power increases by 15%.
Luo Ji chose to upgrade 'Conquer Barbarians' to level one, using ten military points and one hundred civilization points, as this would immediately boost his combat strength.
Culture:
Current Points: 22
Option:
- Surname System (Level 0): Each person with a formal name has a 3% chance of contributing one culture point daily.
Though the 3% chance seemed minor, it could become significant as the tribe population grew. Luo Ji used ten points to upgrade it to level one, leaving twelve culture points.
Industry:
Current Points: 2
Production:
Current Points: 3
Both these categories required ten points to upgrade, which left Luo Ji momentarily stumped.
Medical:
Current Points: 10
Options:
- Medical Hygiene (Level 0): Reduces the chance of infection or inflammation by 10% when cleaning wounds.
- Wound Treatment (Level 0): Increases the speed of wound healing by 10% with basic bandaging and medicine.
Luo Ji chose 'Medical Hygiene,' prioritizing infection prevention over faster recovery.
Preparing for Rest
After confirming his choices, Luo Ji yawned as a wave of fatigue washed over him. He informed the night watchman before heading to his tent.
Inside the tent, it was pitch dark without the campfire's light. Exhausted, Luo Ji pulled the thick animal skins over himself and quickly fell asleep.
System Prompt
Half-asleep, he heard a system prompt in his mind...
System Prompt: Congratulations, player ‘Luo Ji.’ Civilization development has temporarily concluded. Do you wish to log out? Logging out during the novice protection period costs 100 civilization points; otherwise, it costs 500 civilization points.
The prompt made Luo Ji momentarily alert. The allure of returning to the civilized world was tempting, but he recalled Gao Su's warning—logging in and out consumed civilization points.
Returning during the novice protection period required one hundred points each way, totaling two hundred points. Normally, it would be one thousand points! Realizing this, Luo Ji felt fortunate for discovering a natural wonder that earned him one thousand civilization points. Otherwise, a typical novice might have found themselves back at square one after just a few development projects.
"Too costly, too costly..." Luo Ji decided, letting the exhaustion take over as he drifted back to sleep.
- Writer
