That feeling of confinement was triggered when he allocated his attribute points to reach one hundred in strength - a Gene Lock.
Specifically, the second-level Gene Lock that once again sealed his strength at one hundred points.
After that, he had stopped trying to allocate points, relying on his current strength and mask enhancements for combat.
But now, that confinement was clearly beginning to loosen!
As his body reassembled, an extraordinarily comfortable sensation shot straight through his skull!
He had never experienced pain before, never knowing that this world contained sensations far more intense than mere pain (after all, he lacked such experiences).
He nearly cried out on the spot, but though no one was around, he forcefully held it back.
As the Divine Might Baptism concluded, he seemed to hear a sound emerging from the depths of his soul.
Click!
With that beautiful sound, it officially marked Lu Ce's entry into the next stage.
This was probably what the game previously referred to as "the shackles of human life."
Becoming a Divine Envoy meant all Gene Locks would disappear, since one was no longer human - a form of ascension.
But Lu Ce didn't feel at a disadvantage; he knew that walking before a god and being dragged before a god were two entirely different concepts.
If this Gene Lock could be broken, then presumably there were ways to deal with all the various locks that followed!
He would choose the fastest path among all possible routes, but only if he could control it.
"My Divine Might Baptism is the strongest..."
"I wonder what effects others might have experienced."
Lu Ce murmured to himself as he slowly opened his eyes. Instantly, golden light shot out like twin lightning bolts, the momentary brilliance enough to stun anyone.
With every movement, the feeling of lightness was exceptionally pronounced, making him feel somewhat unadapted once again.
Even without allocating points, he could distinctly feel that he had grown significantly stronger.
"Status panel."
At his call, Lu Ce summoned his personal attribute panel to check his various stats.
Since reaching the limit in strength last time, he hadn't even allocated points to other attributes.
Just then, the game's voice suddenly sounded again.
[Divine Might Baptism has concluded. Next is full attribute enhancement!]
[Please prepare yourself, player!]
Though it said to prepare, the enhancement began the moment the words finished. A powerful force instantly surged through his entire body, making Lu Ce feel like he had expanded somewhat!
The feeling of power came quickly and left just as fast. The sensation of expansion soon disappeared, but Lu Ce could clearly feel balanced growth across all attributes!
In this wave of baptism, all his attributes had increased by ten.
Even these points included Luck and Spirit!
His panel values instantly leaped to a new level.
[Strength: 100→110.]
[Speed: 50→60.]
[Coordination: 30→40.]
[Luck: 3→13.]
[Spirit: 7→17.]
It was worth noting that Luck and Spirit, since he rarely used them and their point allocation was relatively expensive, had always been neglected.
Getting such passive growth was quite surprising, especially with Luck - he had thought there should be some upper limit to this kind of thing.
[All enhancements completed. Player may organize accordingly.]
[Reminder: Your side effects have not disappeared.]
"What side effects?"
Lu Ce was stunned. He didn't recall any mention of side effects from the Divine Might Baptism.
[Seven Deadly Sins Heart, Sloth. Side effects still present. Please quickly select items to bring out of the game.]
No way?
Lu Ce was instantly shocked. Even after such a massive reconstruction, with his body disassembled and baptized, the Sloth side effects were still there?
This was terrifying - the mask's priority level was actually this high!
Relying on instinct, he quickly equipped himself with the Black Knight and mask. His Dimensional Backpack had enough slots, so he wasn't too worried.
[Game stay time has reached limit...]
As the game's voice gradually faded away, Lu Ce, completely unable to resist, fell into deep sleep.
......
Splash~
Waves crashed against the beach and rocks, throwing briny seawater toward a person on shore.
As the sounds in his ears gradually cleared, Lu Ce slowly opened his eyes.
"Hiss~"
Feeling somewhat weak all over, Lu Ce barely managed to push himself up from the ground into a sitting position.
Looking at the endless ocean and the blazing sun overhead, he knew he had returned to the real world.
This was a remote island somewhere in the Pacific. He didn't know where he was or what time it was.
"How long have I been asleep?"
Lu Ce examined his body, finding no obvious external injuries, and muttered to himself with lingering fear.
Without wearing his mask now, the advantage was no risk of exposure, but the disadvantage was potential death.
After playing so many games, that previous period was probably the most dangerous time he'd experienced.
He had truly learned about the domineering nature of the Sloth mask - when it came to side effects, there was absolutely no escape.
"Black Knight, how do we get home?"
He casually tossed out a metal sphere. He had to bring this thing; otherwise, he'd be trapped on this island.
"How should I know?" the Black Knight immediately began complaining upon appearance. "But I roughly know the direction. Let's head back to the country first."
Lu Ce was too exhausted to argue, directly swinging onto the vehicle.
The Black Knight slightly altered its form to appear less conspicuous before speeding across the ocean surface.
Just as Lu Ce was wondering when he should jump off and swim to avoid attention, he suddenly noticed something strange about the seawater ahead.
—The color was wrong!
It was as if seawater of different densities had converged, forming some kind of pattern.
Normally, color changes of this degree wouldn't attract attention, but Lu Ce's current situation was special, his nerves already taut.
The seawater stratification caused by different densities formed an arrow pattern!
The arrow pattern appeared briefly before quickly disappearing. Just as he doubted whether he'd seen correctly...
He discovered that not far ahead, the seawater churned and converged again, forming another arrow!
Pointing in a specific direction.
"Hey boss, are you seeing this?" the Black Knight instantly spoke up, sounding like it enjoyed stirring up trouble.
"Do you think there's any possibility this is just nature's miraculous coincidence, not someone guiding you somewhere?"