Michael was a little taken aback.
After using Slow Curse, he went on to cycle through several other skills in quick succession.
In the brief span of a minute and a half, he tested: Spearmanship, Acid Shot, Bone Spear, Blind Curse, Bone Armour, Acid Ball, Mana Arrow, Death Ray, Basic Martial Art... followed by Bull Strength, Iron Skin, Limit Burst, Spirit Eyes, Mana Shield, Acid Bomb, Berserk, and Ghostwind Steps.
There were still some skills he didn’t bother with—Undead Summoning and Undead Revival chief among them.
The latter was useless without a corpse, and the former... well, Michael had already examined the space he was in.
While it seemed to mimic certain aspects of the real world, it was still only a virtual construct.
And truthfully, it wasn’t as though he tested every ability in full. He was simply confirming whether his own casting methods and knowledge could function here—and so far, they did.
In a way, this handicap wasn’t a complete one.
Yes, it was extreme—especially when compared to his true state—but looked at from a different angle, it could even benefit certain classes.
After all, the reduction simply dragged participants back to a level they had already experienced before. And unlike in the past, they now had better control over their abilities, far more refined combat instincts, and a wealth of experience.
For some, that meant they might actually be stronger than they were at that earlier stage.
Michael considered that quietly.
However, he didn’t have much time to think about a lot of things as a certain countdown was still running.
The first thing he navigated to was his stats menu.
He took a glance to run the numbers in his head.
With two hundred free attribute points, there were countless ways to distribute them—but only a few that would give him the best return for this particular challenge.
Here, raw numbers still mattered. And while his handicapped state meant less sheer power than he was used to, the ability to allocate points at will was an advantage most participants would waste with poor decisions.
A small, wry smile tugged at his lips.
It was almost ironic.
This so-called "leveller" stripped away the very things that defined him, and in doing so, showed him exactly how unremarkable he could be without them.
In this state, Michael wasn’t a qualified Necromancer. He was, at best, a passable spearman, or a mage barely worth a second look—someone who could hold his own but inspire no real awe.
That realisation landed heavier than any handicap. It wasn’t just the blow to his pride—it was the stark reminder of how much further he had to climb.
If he’d been able to operate as a true sub-mage, capable of flexibly wielding magic without leaning on what he got from his talent, then this test would have been far less of a disadvantage. But he wasn’t there yet.
Of course, it wasn’t Michael’s fault.
Aside from the fact that it had only been three months since he’d first stepped into the supernatural world, and yes, while he had leaned heavily on his talent, how could that be a flaw?
If he hadn’t used it, he wouldn’t be standing here now. Choosing not to exploit such an advantage would’ve been the height of stupidity.
Still, this situation... it opened his eyes.
After Michael finished distributing his 200 attribute points, the panel shifted and updated.
[Name]: Michael Norman
[Level]: 20 (Half of registered level 40)
[Attribute Points Remaining]: 0
[Skills]: Summon Undead, Slow Curse, Blind Curse
[Custom Points]: 2000
He had gone for balance, but with a clear lean toward Intelligence for spell potency and Constitution for survivability. Strength and Agility were given enough to keep his melee competence respectable, but nothing more.
Michael’s eyes shifted from the updated stat panel to the glowing [Custom Points: 2000] line.
With a click, he opened the item list—and rows upon rows of options bloomed before him, each neatly categorized.
Bone-etched Spear – 500 points – Lightweight, slightly boosts piercing damage.
Runed Short Staff – 600 points – Modest Intelligence boost, improves spell control.
Blacksteel Dagger – 400 points – High Agility scaling, bonus to critical strikes.
Light Bone Armor – 700 points – Basic physical defense, minor resistance to curses.
Padded Mage Robes – 500 points – Low physical protection, moderate magic resistance.
Reinforced Leather Vest – 600 points – Balanced physical and magical defense.
Lesser Mana Potion – 50 points each.
Lesser Healing Potion – 50 points each.
Explosive Flask – 100 points each – Small AoE fire damage.
Summoner’s Pouch – 300 points – Holds temporary skeletal minions (up to 3 uses).
Charm of Focus – 800 points – Reduces casting time by 15%.
Hunter’s Talisman – 600 points – Increases Agility slightly, improves tracking skills.
Scrolling through, Michael quickly noticed the variety wasn’t overwhelming—but the pricing meant there was no way to grab everything.
A full weapon-and-armor loadout could easily eat up half his budget, leaving little room for utility or consumables.
He tapped his fingers against his thigh.
His fingers hovered over the purchase list, but his mind drifted for a moment.
The way this system operated still had an undeniable... game-like quality.
It all felt like something ripped straight out of an RPG interface.
Sure, the virtual space had been impressively configured to match the real world—textures, movement weight, even the feel of his mana was eerily accurate—but this layer of structured, numerical convenience reminded him that it was still a simulation.
Unknowingly, this realisation reduced Michael’s tension.
Michael’s lips curved into the faintest smirk. If they wanted him to play it like a game, then he’d treat it exactly like one—min-maxing included.
He locked in his choices quickly.
For his main weapon, he went with the Bone-etched Spear. At 500 points, it was cheap enough to leave room for other purchases, and it paired well with his [Spearmanship] skill.
He could have chosen a staff but michael was evidently used to close combat. He couldn’t just abandon that now to olay mage though a mage fighting close combat was odd for several reasons.
For armor, he chose the Light Bone Armor for 700 points.
The remaining 800 points were split with precision. Three Lesser Mana Potions (150 points), three Lesser Healing Potions (150 points), and two Explosive Flasks (200 points) for emergencies. That left exactly 300 points, which he used on the Summoner’s Pouch—a gamble.