Chapter 52: Return

Azure flames scorched the test tube wall, the colorless liquid inside boiling. A wisp of orange flame emerged within the liquid, like the first ray of sunlight rising in the early morning—this was the Dawn Flame Potion.
"The success rate is too low."
Su Xiao lifted the test tube from the flame, tapped it with his pinky finger, and the orange, flame-like potion inside gradually settled.
He placed the finished Dawn Potion on a test tube rack, which already held over a hundred bottles. This was the result of five days of work for Su Xiao. Unfortunately, he didn't own these potions; otherwise, he could have sold them for a large sum of Paradise Coins. After all, this was a permanent enhancement potion usable below 50 attribute points, suitable for Second Rank Contractors.
Su Xiao walked to the window and pushed it open. A fresh breeze blew into the room, lifting the thin velvet curtains and dispersing the mixed scent of various materials.
Sitting on a wooden chair by the window, Su Xiao checked his Alchemy skill tree. At the top of the skill tree was Bomb-making, followed by Pharmaceutics, Biology, and further down, Plant Harmonization. Beyond Plant Harmonization, everything was gray and white.
Alchemy couldn't be "self-enlightened" without spending a great deal of time on research and experimentation. Su Xiao didn't have that much time, so he obtained higher-level knowledge through his combat strength.
[Plant Harmonization Lv.11. Upgrade this ability? To perform this upgrade, consume 10,000 Paradise Coins + 110 Proficiency Points.]
He only had 5,760 Paradise Coins left. Fortunately, Beini had a small treasury on the side. Although he didn't know where that cat had gone to fool around, after receiving the message from Su Xiao's team, Beini directly deposited a 200,000 Paradise Coin savings card into the team storage space. Clearly, that cat had come into a windfall.
The Paradise Coin savings card shattered in Su Xiao's hand, and he chose to upgrade Plant Harmonization.
[Plant Harmonization has been upgraded to Lv.12.]
[Plant Harmonization has been upgraded to Lv.13.]
...
...
[Plant Harmonization has been upgraded to Lv.25. Insufficient Proficiency Points. Cannot continue upgrading.]
Su Xiao didn't even look at the Reincarnation Paradise notifications. He pressed one hand to his forehead as his temples throbbed violently. A massive amount of knowledge about Alchemy was flooding into his mind.
It took nearly half an hour before Su Xiao recovered, the stabbing pain in his head fading.
[New Recipe Unlocked: Sacred Dragon Guardian (Unique Potion for Plant Harmonization Lv.20).]
[Sacred Dragon Guardian: Each creation requires 500 Mana Points. Required materials: Sacred Dragon Flesh, Bio-Energy Thread (Type C), Birth of the Guardian, Crystal Vial.]
[Note: This potion is extremely difficult to create. It is a unique potion unlocked after reaching Plant Harmonization Lv.20.]
[Effect: Requires subcutaneous injection upon use. After injection, 10 hours are needed to modify the user's subcutaneous tissue, generating a Sacred Dragon Guardian. This guardian can block one instance of a curse, viral invasion, or microbial erosion below Fourth Rank intensity. If the Sacred Dragon Guardian remains fully intact, it defaults to an internal protective layer of 300 intensity (this potion is effective for Stamina below 80 points. Repeated use can be fatal).]
[New Recipe Unlocked: Active Force.]
[Active Force: Each creation requires 1,000 Mana Points. Required materials: High Vitality Essence, Eternal Strength, Purified Water, Life Aggregate Substance T, Crystal Vial.]
[Effect: Upon drinking/injecting, permanently increases Strength attribute by 6 points (this potion is effective for Strength below 80 points. Repeated use will cause Strength Rampage).]
...
Plant Harmonization had been upgraded by a full 14 levels, but only two potions were unlocked. Su Xiao wasn't surprised. In Alchemy, the higher the level of a recipe, the rarer it was. Beyond a certain level, Plant Harmonization couldn't even unlock new recipes.
Even so, Su Xiao would continue to improve this ability. If he obtained a high-level recipe in the future but couldn't master it due to insufficient Plant Harmonization level, that would be the most frustrating outcome.
Only six hours of stay time remained. Over five hundred portions of materials had been consumed by Su Xiao. There was no point in staying longer.
[The Hunter has chosen to return to Reincarnation Paradise. Remaining stay time cleared.]
[Transmitting...]
Bang!
Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, and Amu vanished from the room. A few seconds later, a youth wearing a black top hat and holding a metal pipe leaped in through the window.
"Vanished?"
The youth pressed one hand on his top hat, his gaze shifting to the test bench, which was nearly filled with Dawn Flame Potions.
...
[The Hunter has returned to Reincarnation Paradise. Beginning settlement of derivative world rewards.]
Derivative World: One Piece: Summit War
Difficulty: Lv.3～?? (Open World, difficulty varies by region).
World Source Obtained: 114.2%
Quests Completed: 4 (Main Quests x4).
Comprehensive Evaluation: S+
Beginning World Source collection...
World Source collection complete. Beginning reward tally.
Rewards Obtained: 14 True Attribute Points (including those obtained in the derivative world), 97,800 Paradise Coins.
Comprehensive Evaluation: S+. Current Hunter Level: Lv.40. Hunter Level +4 (Derivative World Rank x Quest Completion Count + Comprehensive Evaluation - Quest Completion Time). Hunter Level has been raised to Lv.44.
...
As soon as Su Xiao returned to his Exclusive Room, he spent 4,750 Paradise Coins to heal his injuries. Relying solely on self-recovery, it would be difficult to fully heal the blood hole created by Akainu.
Large patches of emerald-green light particles appeared around Su Xiao. Bubu Wang also began to repair its fur. To keep its fur neat, it first let Beini, who was laughing so hard she was nearly in shock, shave it. Judging by the click, click of photos being taken, this was a wrong choice.
Ten minutes later, Bubu Wang had regained its smooth fur. Judging by its expression, it was clearly planning to do some home-wrecking for fun.
Su Xiao's injuries were fully healed, and his left arm, which had been slightly numb, returned to normal. He began to tally the rewards from this trip.
Among the many items, four were of the highest value: the Growth-Type Equipment Chest, the Black King's Soul, the Soul Severing Shadow Stone, and the Trial of Steel.
After checking the various items, Su Xiao placed the six Demon Fruits into the team storage space. These Demon Fruits could be appraised for their attributes, but the cost was high. Having Beini sell them was the best choice. Besides, Beini had also "scavenged" quite a few items in Mary Geoise. Most were of low rank but numerous.
Beini took the Demon Fruits and other items to the Trade Market for financial management. Bubu Wang, who had been busy all world, also went out to have fun. Amu, on the other hand, fell asleep immediately, having remained vigilant the entire time at the Revolutionary Army branch.
Half an hour later, in the Attribute Enhancement Hall, inside Enhancement Pod 175.
[The Hunter has completed True Attribute allocation. Strength +4, Agility +4, Stamina +3, Intelligence +3. Proceed with this enhancement?]
Su Xiao pressed his hand on the console, and the Attribute Enhancement Pod began to operate. He had experienced this feeling many times, and his body had adapted to the enhancement. Still, the sensation of his physical attributes gradually strengthening put Su Xiao in a good mood.
At lower ranks, enhancing physical attributes was far from a pleasant experience. Even at the Fifth Rank, the experience wasn't great, but Su Xiao had long since gotten used to it.
[Attribute enhancement complete. Unarmored True Attributes are as follows.]
Strength: 108 (True Attribute)
Agility: 108 (True Attribute)
Stamina: 107 (True Attribute)
Intelligence: 107 (True Attribute)
Charm: 1 Point.
[Note: The Hunter's Charm attribute is too low, severely affecting interaction with Order faction plot characters. Please consider raising this attribute appropriately.]
...
Su Xiao stepped out of the Attribute Enhancement Pod, a thoughtful expression on his face. Perhaps due to killing too many enemies on the battlefield, his Charm attribute had dropped to an unprecedented 1 point, to the point of triggering a notification.
"I need to find a way to raise it by a few points. No, at least above 10 points."
After pondering for a moment, Su Xiao realized there didn't seem to be a good way to raise his Charm attribute.