With Black Whirlwind's explanation, Gusion got a rough idea of what End Space was.
They were currently on the Ancient End Vine, a massive vine climbing through the void, divided into ten heavens by its branches.
Or rather, nine, since the lowest level was the commercial district, usually called the "Bottom" by explorers—they were currently on the first layer, where all first-tier explorers lived.
The bottom commercial area was also home to a special class of explorer called Supporters. Gusion suspected this was what End Space meant by downgraded benefits.
From Black Whirlwind, Gusion learned not all explorers had as tough trial worlds as he did. Some failed without being killed, returned alive, and got demoted to Supporters, working in production in End Space.
Since they weren't good at fighting, the End Space didn't force them into missions often. Teleportation cost resources, so Supporters only had two or three missions a year, and those were easier—just gathering special materials, for example.
Kind of like lifestyle players in games. While their path to strength was cut off, if they were good at production, they could get rich.
After learning the layout of facilities, Gusion parted ways with Black Whirlwind, paying the agreed 50 End Coins.
Getting well-organized intel quickly was worth it to him, saving a lot of time.
According to End Space, Pioneers usually stayed in the End Space for one month at a time, so Gusion had his plan ready.
He headed straight for the Enhancement Hall. Contrary to his expectations of a futuristic building, the vine had smaller branches ending in giant carnivorous plants, some dripping with slime.
Gusion watched as explorers pinched their noses and got swallowed by the plants, only to be spat out later—sticky but looking refreshed—so he knew he was in the right place.
Still, this enhancement method looked pretty gross.
Confirming he was in the right place, Gusion didn't hesitate and dove into a plant's maw, instantly wrapped in a thick liquid.
Surprisingly, it didn't feel suffocating or sticky—instead, it was cool and refreshing.
Lying inside, a floating menu appeared before him, controllable by thought.
[Pioneer No. 008, you have 5 free attribute points. Please allocate them.]
Gusion had already decided: 2 points each to Constitution and Strength, 1 to Agility.
His Spirit stat was naturally high, and the spiritual training he got in the Bleach world could further improve it, so there was no need to add more.
As for Charm, he didn't see much use—being handsome wouldn't stop enemies from attacking. For dealing with natives, he figured Strength worked just as well.
[Enhancement will begin. There will be some pain. Please prepare.]
Soon, he felt a tearing pain throughout his body, but after all he'd been through, this was nothing compared to being slashed by Captain Unohana.
After about an hour, Gusion was spat out, ignored the slime, and eagerly checked his new stats.
[Pioneer No. 008, your base stats (including title):]
Constitution: 20 (+2)
Strength: 20 (+2+1)
Agility: 19 (+1)
Spirit: 24
Charm: 6
Luck: 1
[]
He didn't put more in Agility since his Zanpakuto boosted his reflexes after release, compensating for that stat.
He also learned from Black Whirlwind that private rooms could be heavily customized—he could make his room a training ground to further boost his stats.
After cleaning up, Gusion went to the market to look for equipment or techniques.
He was most interested in techniques. In his previous life, martial arts had declined and much was lost; he wanted to see internal energy methods or powerful body-training skills.
Soon, he arrived at the first-tier explorer market. For easier management, End Space had layer-separated markets instead of one big one.
On the Ancient Vine, aside from the bottom market, explorers could only access areas within their Mark's permission—first-tiers could only access the first layer, not the second.
Gusion, as a Pioneer, had his Mark permission increased by one, so he could access the second-tier market and buy better stuff if he had the money.
Lower-tier explorers weren't blocked from high-tier gear—they could get it custom-made in the commercial district, but it was more expensive.
Market goods were mostly items explorers acquired in mission worlds—things they didn't need and could trade for End Coins, then use the coins to buy power-ups.
After a round, Gusion got a sense of prices.
For example:
Fine-quality main weapons: 1,000–3,000 End Coins
Rare-quality main weapons: 3,000–10,000 End Coins
He was right not to pick the treasure chest—the most it could give was about 10,000 coins.
As for Small Inheritance Crystals, he didn't see any for sale. When he asked a vendor, the look he got made him feel like an idiot. He guessed most explorers wouldn't sell them—so they were rare and hard to find.
"How much for this?"
Gusion stopped at a stall, eyeing a "technique."
He put "technique" in quotes because it wasn't quite what he thought of as a martial art, but it could be considered a body-training art.
[Armament Haki Training Method]
Quality: Rare
Category: Skill/Technique
Requirements: Constitution 15, Strength 15, Spirit 20
Details: From the world of "One Piece," Armament Haki is the latent power all humans possess. It's an innate ability—fighting spirit, killing intent, will to struggle... When you manipulate these unseen feelings, your will becomes a weapon. This mighty force is called Haki.
This item is the training method for Armament Haki. In End Space, using it allows the explorer to directly learn Armament Haki at level 1–3, depending on their aptitude.
Rating: 100+
Evaluation: Dodging? That's for cowards. Just muscle through.
[]
Gusion smiled at the evaluation—he suspected everyone saw different comments on their items.
He knew about "One Piece" but only had fragments of it. He could study up in End Space anyway, in case he ever visited that world.
He knew Haki had high potential as a system.
This item was only rated "Rare" because it let you learn Haki but didn't give you a high starting level.
In the One Piece world, Haki was common in the New World, but common didn't mean low potential—it depended on the user.