The system panel flashed, and Everlearn’s half-closed eyes snapped open wide, and rays of blue light flickered from their depths, streaming upward in beams that pierced into the sky.
Blue runic lines spread all over his skin magically, and his severed arm began regenerating.
Bones rapidly grew, muscles following, and then, the skin of his severed arm.
In seconds, he fully regenerated, and this time, with more luster to his skin than previously.
These were the external changes.
Internally, all Everlearn felt was fiery heat, like molten lava pumping out from his rapidly pounding heart and quickly all through his body.
Though painful, it didn’t last forever, and a soothing cold feeling followed, making him almost moan from relief.
║Level Up Complete! ║
To Everlearn, it was a sharp, contrasting feeling.
One moment, he had felt incredibly weak, his body losing its strength, and now,
The ground quivered as Everlearn, lying on the ground, immediately rose to his feet with one push.
His fingers folded, the sound of creaking bones filling his ears.
’So much strength...’
He muttered, but then he paused, eyes turning behind him to look at the Panthercrack.
The spear was still lodged in its skull, and he stepped forward, pulling it out with one forceful yank.
’I could create tougher weapons with its claws,’ the thought occurred to him, but then his outstretched hand paused as his ears flicked.
The sound of rushing steps.
Naturally, the scent of a beast’s blood attracts others, each eager to fight for its possession.
Immediately, Everlearn stepped back and rushed away from the scene.
A minute from now, this place would be teeming with creatures wanting a piece of the Panthercrack, and things would only get bloodier.
The last thing he wanted right now was to get caught in it.
Two minutes of running, and he found a suitable tree, quickly pulling himself up.
Unknown to him, just three bounces were all it took for him to climb 7 meters up the tree.
He looked around to see if any beast was following his trail, but he found none.
Only then did he take a seat, exhaling in relief.
As much as he was currently filled to the brim with strength, he couldn’t help the exhaustion in his soul.
And before he knew it, he slept off, head hanging limply to the side.
But even in slumber, the hold on his spear didn’t loosen at all for some weird reason. Official source ıs 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝⁂𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚⁂𝔫𝔢𝔱
A faint burning sensation across his face stirred Everlearn awake.
His eyelids fluttered open, golden rays mixing with blue to create a breathtaking halo.
His lips parted as he yawned loudly,
"Such a scary nightmare," he muttered out loud, blinking a couple of times.
Naturally, he could see the leaves fluttering from the branches, but what really gave him the dose of reality was the bloody spear clutched in his hands, and the scanty clothes he had on.
"It wasn’t a dream. It was real..." he muttered to himself, just as the panel blinked.
║ Congratulations on surviving the night, Host. ║
’I guess the system is real too,’
The sudden sound of rumbling echoed out, and Everlearn turned to find his stomach rumbling.
’I need to get something to eat, but first—’
"Initiate MDS Protocol," Everlearn called out, and immediately it flickered before him.
He quickly navigated through the tabs and finally came upon what he wanted.
╔══════════════════════════════════════╗
║ [ SYSTEM INTERFACE ] ║
╠══════════════════════════════════════╣
║ ▸ Name: Everlearn Snowfall ║
║ Endurance: 12(+5) ║
║ Intelligence: 20(+5) ║
║ Attribute Points: 30 ║
"I’ve levelled up to level 3," he muttered beneath his breath, but then he noticed the bracketed +5 points beside his stats.
"And I’m guessing this is what gave me that feeling of strength I felt after the level up?"
║That’s correct, Host. The new stats are due to levelling. ║
The system was explained, and he nodded in understanding.
"What are attribute points, though?"
║ Every level up will grant attribute points, which are a stat factor the Host can add to each of the stats for growth. ║
║The host gained 15 attribute points from levelling to level 2 and another 15 from levelling to level 3. ║
The system informed him, and Everlearn nodded, well aware.
But that also brought a question: how should he input the stats?
He thought about it silently and in the end, he made his choice:
"Add 10 points to Strength, 10 points to Agility, 8 points to Endurance, and the rest to Charisma."
║ Points have been successfully added. ║
║ Attribute Points: 0 ║
║ I’m forbidden from influencing your choice of stat distribution, but don’t you think it was good when you had Intelligence higher than most of your stats? ║
The system panel blinked, and Everlearn hummed, standing upright.
"I understand what you think..." he said, looking away from the panel and into the distant land.
"Do I not think it was advantageous to have Intelligence higher than most stats?"
"When I got my affinity core test," Ryuk began
"I realized I had too low a potential and could never be a corer. I essentially could never grow in physical power."
"That realization led me to disdain power, thinking those corers were nothing but brutes." He said, smiling in nostalgia.
"I told myself intelligence was the best, and vehemently walked the path to prove it... only to fail."
Now, I’ve realized the hard truth..." he mused, his memories dragging him back to his final moments.
"Intelligence and strength, they’re just tools that call to be used for a particular situation where they’re needed."
"Intelligence wasn’t what I needed to stop Mecha Eva. Only power would have helped me in that situation."
"But it was my knowledge of the panthercrack that enabled me to defeat it, so in that situation, Intelligence was a necessary factor."
"That leads me to the singular conclusion."
"It is better to be just as intelligent as powerful, hence both being in equal measure than one being above or below the other..."