309: The Mystery of Attributes

"100,000 Movement Skill points?"

Huang Chen was stunned by Soros's question! 11,000 Movement Skill points are enough; I'd be crazy to put 100,000 points into it. Wouldn't it be better to put those potential points into Physique and Strength?

Although he grumbled internally, Huang Chen still respectfully said, "Senior! I only put 11,000 points into Movement Skill."

"11,000 points? Then..." Soros asked, puzzled, "Soul Severing Stab is a semi-locked skill. Under normal circumstances, it's impossible to dodge at an extremely short distance, unless one's Movement Skill exceeds 100,000 points and the dodge attribute is activated..."

Soros shook his head, completely baffled.

After hearing Soros's words, Huang Chen finally realized just how significant the special training from the great demoness Zi Han had been for him.

It seems there are still many secrets in the Star Abyss that he needs to explore.

"Senior!" Huang Chen paused, deciding to seize this opportunity to see if he could find answers to some of his questions from Soros.

"Actually, I've been undergoing special training for the past three months..."

Huang Chen recounted the special training methods Zi Han had given him in detail, naturally omitting Zi Han herself and merely stating that he had made attempts based on his own insights.

After listening to Huang Chen's words, Soros couldn't help but exclaim repeatedly,

"What a monster!"

"Truly a heaven-sent genius!"

...After watching Soros shake his head for a while, Huang Chen finally asked, "Senior, what did you mean earlier about Movement Skill reaching 100,000 points?"

"Haha!" Soros looked at Huang Chen, his eyes filled with admiration and appreciation. "Little fellow, since you asked, I'll tell you about the deeper rules of the Star Abyss."

"The Star Abyss digitizes everything, not just to quantify strength, but also to guide Trial Takers to understand the essence of power and find the most correct path to improvement." Soros's voice carried the steady tone of someone who understood the rules.

"Your potential points aren't high right now, so you might think the 'Movement Skill' attribute merely increases movement speed and attack speed, right? But according to the Star Abyss's data rules, reaching 100,000 Movement Skill points is a huge watershed."

He paused, then continued:

"When your Movement Skill breaks through the 100,000-point threshold, the Star Abyss grants you more than just faster speed. At that point, the Star Abyss will simulate a dodging skill ability for you."

"So-called skill lock," Soros extended a finger and tapped the air, "is essentially establishing a temporary, invisible 'data link' between the attacker and the target. Once the link is successfully established, the attack's energy or effect will follow this link and act upon the target. This is why many skills seem unavoidable."

"But when Movement Skill reaches 100,000 points," a glint flashed in Soros's eyes, "it means your body's perception and reaction to space and energy flow have reached a new height. You can not only sense the establishment of this 'lock link' in advance, but even at the moment the link is established, through extreme movement and energy disturbance, you can forcibly 'interrupt' or 'distort' this link! Thus achieving evasion."

Soros's gaze refocused on Huang Chen. "And you, with only 11,000 Movement Skill points! Yet you relied on pure technique and combat instinct to dodge my 'Soul Severing Stab' at extremely close range! Although 'Soul Severing Stab' is only a semi-locked skill, and its link strength is not as strong as fully locked skills, this talent... it truly shakes the past and present!"

Huang Chen's heart trembled. The effect of Zi Han's hellish special training far exceeded his imagination. This was not just about improving evasion ability; it was about touching the threshold of high-level rules in advance.

"However," Soros's tone changed, becoming more serious, "while your method is strong, it also has its limitations. Movement Skill is the foundation, the 'fuel' that supports your techniques. Your foundation is insufficient now. Against top-tier locked skills that establish links extremely quickly and have extremely high link strength, or attacks with a very large range that cover all your evasion paths, you won't be able to dodge with just technique. Your 'fuel' is not enough to support that level of evasive action."

"Tell me, what's your current attribute allocation like?"

"Almost 90% of my current potential points are allocated to Physique and Strength," Huang Chen truthfully replied. "Senior, I believe output and survival are fundamental."

"Your thinking is correct, but balance and thresholds are equally crucial," Soros patiently explained. "The Resistance attribute is the same. You might currently think the main difference between 10,000 Resistance and 1,000 Resistance lies in the 'absolute damage reduction' value. But when your Resistance accumulates to 100,000 points, it will also trigger a qualitative change—your absolute damage reduction ratio will see a significant leap! At the same time, your resistance to negative statuses (such as control, curses, slowdowns, and stuns) will also significantly increase."

He continued to elaborate: "More importantly, Health and Resistance are complementary! When your Resistance is very high, it means the damage threshold your body's 'unit volume' can withstand has greatly increased, which is to say, the 'quality' of your Health points has improved. At this point, if your Health is too low, it's like building a thin layer of armor with the highest defense material; although the material is good, the total amount is too small and can easily be shattered by powerful forces instantly. Therefore, when Resistance is high, you must simultaneously increase Health to increase your 'total volume'."

"Conversely, it's the same," Soros gave an example, "When your Health is extremely high, it's like a huge sandbag. If your Resistance is too low, it means the 'quality' of the sandbag is very poor, and every hit can take a large chunk out of you. At this point, the benefits of increasing Resistance are far more cost-effective than simply stacking more Health. Because increasing Resistance is equivalent to directly increasing the 'density' and 'toughness' of your entire huge sandbag, or even transforming your sandbag entirely into the highest defense material."

"Strength and Internal Energy follow the same principle." Soros looked at Huang Chen. "Have you noticed that as your Strength attribute continuously increases, the damage you deal is not simply linear growth? After Strength reaches a certain critical point, every additional point of Strength brings a doubled increase in damage! The same principle applies to Internal Energy's amplification of energy-based skills. This is the 'qualitative change effect' after an attribute breaks through its threshold."

Huang Chen nodded continuously. Soros's words seemed to open a new door for him.

The Star Abyss's attribute system was far more complex and subtle than he had previously understood.

The interconnections between attributes, balance, and the qualitative changes brought about by breaking through thresholds all contained immense knowledge. His previous attribute allocation strategy, while practical, seemed too simple and crude.

It seems he needs to thoroughly study the art of attribute allocation.