"How exactly should I use this trait..."
Ron stared at the [Salvation] trait on the light screen, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
Because he had been utterly exhausted after the previous simulation ended, Ron hadn't had a chance to take stock of his rewards before collapsing onto his bed and falling fast asleep.
Afterward, he was woken up by Bronya, and because he had to deal with both her and Seele, he had no time to be alone in his room and properly sort through his gains from the third simulation.
So it wasn't until now, after he had lazily caught up on sleep, that he finally had the time to take stock of his rewards and think about what to do in the upcoming simulation.
This currently white [Salvation] trait was far from being as pathetic as its color suggested—the moment Ron obtained it, he had keenly discovered its most crucial function.
Setting aside the buffs the trait provided after encompassing a Path, just its ability to contain multiple Paths was enough to place its power in a league of its own, worthy of a T0 strength ranking all by itself.
One had to understand that the Paths were not some kind of upgrade system that could be casually mixed and matched.
They were a genuine path to godhood, requiring a Pathstrider's own philosophy to resonate with the Path's, using their life's goal as a beacon to advance upon it.
Similarly, due to the conflicts between the source powers of the Paths, it was absolutely impossible for a Pathstrider to set foot on another Path while already on one—
Stepping onto the Path of [The Abundance] while simultaneously chasing the fleeting light of Lan of [The Hunt]—how could such a thing possibly exist?
The Paths would simply not open themselves to such a person.
But the [Salvation] trait was absurd. It could forcibly broaden a Path's concept, using a single philosophy to interpret different Paths and draw different powers from them...
It was inherently far ahead of everyone else.
In fact, before obtaining the [Salvation] trait, Ron had been very hesitant about one thing—
Whether he should temporarily uninstall the [Will of Preservation (Purple)] trait he had obtained in the first simulation. After all, immediately becoming a Pathstrider of [Preservation] upon entering every simulation, while greatly shortening his development time, also completely locked in his future path.
For instance, in the last simulation, because his choices conflicted with the Path's philosophy, he had almost been kicked out of the Path...
If it weren't for the [Gaze of the Amber Lord] trait forcefully pulling him back and giving him one last chance, he wouldn't even have had the opportunity to take the Stellaron and self-destruct on the Doomsday Vanguard.
Moreover, in these few simulations, he had come to understand a very abstract matter—
He had picked the wrong class.
The Paths were like classes. Although the Imaginary Energy within a Path could be used according to your preferences—how it was utilized was up to the Pathstrider's will—each Path ultimately had its own focus.
For example, the Path of [Destruction] excelled at annihilation. The Imaginary Energy a Doomsday Vanguard could wield from the Path of [Destruction] was only about twenty or thirty percent more than Ron's, yet their destructive capabilities were in a completely different league.
The Doomsday Vanguard could incinerate planets, turning civilizations to ash... What could Ron do?
At most, he could use the power of the [Preservation] Path to condense one giant Amber rock after another and hurl them like cannonballs, relying on the sheer weight of the rocks and his strength to cause damage.
This was not only a limitation of the Path's philosophy itself but also partly due to the Path's focus.
In terms of destructive power alone, Ron was weaker than the Doomsday Vanguard by an unknown margin.
But this couldn't be blamed on Ron... As a Pathstrider of [Preservation], his entire skillset was focused on "preserving."
If he had a teammate of a similar skill level, Ron would have had a lot of room to maneuver—
He could stack his teammate with a full set of crystal rock shields, then block all of the Doomsday Vanguard's attacks, giving his teammate an extremely safe window to deal damage.
But then came another problem... he couldn't find a teammate who could actually deal damage.
In the last simulation, besides self-destructing with the Stellaron, he had actually managed to injure the Doomsday Vanguard, but that relied on the recoil damage from the golden trait [Gaze of the Amber Lord]. Ron himself couldn't deal any damage at all.
Under these circumstances, it was only natural that Ron got his ass kicked and could only resort to lighting up the Stellaron and going down with the Doomsday Vanguard.
However, with the [Salvation] trait, everything was different...
He could totally keep the [Will of Preservation] and then wait for an opportunity to walk a new Path.
Multiple Paths empowering him at once, wouldn't that be beautiful?
Just think about it: walking the Path of [Preservation] while also walking the Path of [The Hunt], allowing him to shield himself while also having high speed and dealing insane damage with extra turns—
Although such a situation would only occur in a video game, the effect in the simulation wouldn't be much different.
If Ron had a method to reliably damage the Doomsday Vanguard, then he absolutely wouldn't have to die. It was entirely possible for him to close the gap with the Vanguard through skill and forcefully take it down.
Even if he wanted to play it safe, he could walk the Path of [The Abundance], replicate the operation from the last simulation, detonate the Stellaron to blow up the Vanguard, and then spam heals on himself so he wouldn't die in the chain explosion.
...No matter how he thought about it, the future looked bright.
The next simulation, he could probably achieve a no-death run.
As long as he played it safe, for instance by walking the [The Abundance] Path to max out his survivability, a one-life clear was completely out of the question!
Ron nodded in satisfaction. He glanced at the dim scenery outside the window, momentarily unsure of how long he had slacked off again.
However, considering Bronya hadn't come to call for him, he surely hadn't been slacking for too long... right?
Holding onto this small sliver of hope, Ron climbed out of bed, preparing to find Bronya and get to work.
Honestly, as a super lazy dog, Ron definitely didn't want to work.
But Bronya was paying him a monthly salary of 1.5 million credits—with a job like this, your boss giving you one day off is a kindness. If she gives you two days off, you should seriously consider if you're about to be fired.
The him in reality was different from the him in the simulation. He wasn't the all-powerful General of the Empire, just an ordinary working stiff. He really needed this money.
However, just as he was about to leave the room, before he could open the door, he heard a knock—
"You slept for a long time. You must be very hungry... Would you like to eat together?"
Ron opened the door and saw Bronya holding a tray laden with a sumptuous spread of dishes, looking at him with a beaming smile.
What... was this situation?