Well, there’s some information that I need to share with everyone. I was really bad at cheating back then, even if it was to save my life from being killed by Caules. What do I mean, exactly? Well, I’ll explain that for you to understand.

~Gato, talking about how the fight ended up getting worse, before getting better

#

If ever Gato was so inclined to swear, this would be one of those times that deserved swearing. Why am I even dealing with this mess to begin with?! How come Caules has it out for M’thr’ln and I like this?!

The reason for this outrage was simple. He had to deal with all the skeletons clamoring about in an attempt to reach his ally, on top of the Hell Bats that were oh so inclined to feast on his blood. Why that was a thing, he didn’t know.

Well, time to get serious for once, it seems.

With a brief look at the nearest Hell Bat, he muttered, “Analyze.”

Hell Bat

Servantry Level

5

Master Level

25

Servantry HP

250/250

Master HP

6,250/6,250

Servantry MP

200/200

Master MP

5,000/5,000

A relatively weak member of the demonic races, Hell Bats are considered a relatively minor threat to the people they typically fight, since they suck a lump sum of magical power out of their targets. The only way to get back that magical power is by killing the bats who stole it to begin with.

Gato felt his eyes widen in shock. What in the world is wrong with this picture?! he thought. Do I even have enough of this magical power to manifest the boxes any longer?!

[Your power does not run on MP, which is short for Magic Points, nor does it run on any of the other energies you might have access to. Just a heads up.]

Gato nearly tripped over his own two feet because of that comment. Ugh… this is getting ridiculous. Is there anything else I should know about this situation?

[Just that you’re almost out of MP right now, due to those bats taking away 40 MP per bat from the two of you combined.]

Wait… how many bats had stolen MP from me, particularly?

[Two bats, but that’s because of your low MP score right now. You’re currently down to 11 MP… as in, you regain 11 MP per hour, and it’s already been six minutes since the last time you used an MP-based ability.]

Gato groaned when he read that. Just my luck… thanks for letting me know, though.

[Don’t you have some skeletons to check up on right now?]

Oh, right!

With a brief glance at the nearest of the skeletal minions, he muttered again, “Analyze.”

Skeletal Soldier

Servantry Level

3

Master Level

15

Servantry HP

300/300

Master HP

4,500/4,500

Servantry MP

0/0

Master MP

0/0

An even weaker member of the demonic races, the Skeletal Soldier is a member of the living dead in certain portions of the underworld known as Hell. These skeletons are incapable of using any magical power, instead having the power of mighty physical swings to their attacks, especially when buffed by more intelligent skeletons… which are hard to come by.

Gato felt one of his eyes twitch when he read that. You’ve got to be kidding me, are you not?

[You wish... I’m sorry about this being a tougher challenge than you’re capable of, but it needs to be stated that this was unaccounted for, Gato.]

Let’s get this over with… Gato thought.

He turned to face the nearest skeleton of the next highest tier in the fight, before he muttered for what he felt was to be the final time of the fight, “Analyze.”

Skeletal Knight

Servantry Level

7

Master Level

35

Servantry HP

1,120/1,400

Master HP

14,000/14,000

Servantry MP

0/0

Master MP

0/0

The next highest tier of skeletons in existence, Skeletal Knights are able to use the gear and equipment that they had in life, but no magical powers allowed whatsoever. While that might be a major restriction, they never needed magic in their existence whatsoever. However, that doesn’t mean that they’re idiot skeletons. Idiot skeletons don’t lead contingents of soldiers under their personal command.

Well… drat, Gato thought, even as he shuddered from the implications of what he just read. What am I supposed to do now? Take out the Skeletal Knights? Their minions? Or do I take out the Hell Bats?

[I’d suggest taking out the Hell Bats, personally, since your party member M’thr’ln uses MP for his fire blasts… and there’s a lot of Hell Bats in the area now.]

Gato turned to look at the Hell Bats in question. How many of them are there?

[To save you the trouble of having to count the bats on your own, I’ll give you the answer, Gato. You need to take out 90% of the bats, which comes out to about 36 bats, leaving four to run away and restore the remaining MP to you and M’thr’ln.]

Gato nodded, before he thought of something that was bound to give him trouble. Wait, how am I supposed to disperse the bats at this rate?

[Look for something you can throw at the bats, then chuck it with all your might at the first bat you come across. You’ll defeat them that way.]

Gato did as he was instructed, even if he felt more than a little anxious in the process. Eventually, he found something that he could use to throw at the bats, namely a small pile of rocks near where the edge of the bandit camp was originally. This took a while longer than it should have… he thought. What gives?

[This pile of rocks works better than anything else here. Go on, throw a rock at the nearest bat. If you want to get in a little closer, go ahead… just don’t move too far away from the pile of rocks that you can’t return to it swiftly.]

I hope you know what’s good about the rocks, box, Gato thought.

He didn’t get a reply just yet.

Well… I guess I have to do this the hard way, then, he continued thinking. He picked up a rock, before he felt that there was a sharp edge to the material. Huh, what do you know?

Gato positioned his arm to throw at the nearest of the bats, before he made his throw with all his might, expecting the throw to not do much as he did so —

*WHOOOOOOOOSH!!*

*THWACK!!*

—before ultimately seeing that he was wrong.

[You have dealt 900 points of damage to Hell Bat A! Critical kill! Hell Bat times 1 defeated! You have gained 350 XP and 200 Cash Points!]

[You have Leveled Up! Your maximum Hit Points and assorted Supernatural Energies have gone up in number and recovered in full! You have gained 10 Stat Points!]

Gato’s eyes nearly bugged out of his sockets. What just happened?! I mean, how did I get that much XP from killing a Hell Bat?

[Simply put, you gained an extra 50 XP for the critical kill. Hell Bats are worth 300 XP per bat killed.]

Okay… wait. What about the Cash Points and the Stat Points? What are they good for?

[Cash Points are worth a single copper piece per point… at least, they are here on Terra, anyway. Regarding the currency exchange, though, that means you now have 200 copper pieces. Regarding Stat Points, however, you’ll need to wait until the minions are fully cleared out of the area. Not enough time to go over that tutorial.]

Oh, joy… what am I supposed to do with this information, anyway?

[You need to wait until you can go shopping again, Gato, at least regarding the Cash Points. The Stat Points won’t take nearly that long to handle.]

And how would you know that, huh?

[I know because you’re still in the middle of a fight, and the Stat Points tutorial will be made available after the minions have been taken care of.]

Gato gaped when he saw the latest box, before he shook his head rapidly for three seconds. You know what, forget it. I’ll take out the remaining bats now.

He picked up another rock, before he repeated the process of throwing at a Hell Bat... which hit both the intended target and a target off to the side.

[You have dealt 915 points of damage to Hell Bat B! Critical kill! You have dealt 907 points of damage to Hell Bat C! Critical kill! Hell Bat times 2 defeated! You have gained 700 XP and 400 Cash Points!]

[Due to repeating specific actions, the skill {Power Throw} has been acquired!

{Power Throw (LVL MAX): Your throwing speed and power are increased to the point of causing massive damage with the object tossed. You now deal almost maximum normal damage at minimum… at a cost of 10 MP per throw.}]

Wait, what? I killed two Hell Bats that time, and I got a skill out of this?

[Due to performing a very specific action, the skill {Ricochet Throw} has been acquired!

{Ricochet Throw (LVL 1): When throwing something at an enemy, there’s a random chance that the object thrown will ricochet towards a single enemy. At higher skill levels, the random chance will go up in probability, and there will be more chances to ricochet the object thrown to other enemies. Activating this skill costs 5 MP.}]

You’ve got to be kidding me!

“Hey, Gato, are you the one throwing rocks at the bats? Keep it up!” M’thr’ln yelled out from his position on the battlefield.

“You got it!” Gato threw more rocks in the direction of the different bats, aiming to use the Ricochet Throw skill with each Power Throw… he began the process of eliminating every single one.

#

Well, talk about something completely uncalled for, M’thr’ln thought as he prepared to crush even more of the monsters that worked under Caules of the Prideful Wrath. How are we supposed to get rid of the minions of this demon as fast as possible? At the rate that this is going, we’ll be creamed by his minions!

While he was working to restore his total magical power, the platinum dragon was unsure of how many of the Hell Bats had stolen whatever amount of his magical energy was within him whatsoever. He needed to be careful, true, but at what cost would it boil down to? In fact… he shook his head. He needed to focus on the here and now. No use doing anything else.

Still, what do I need to do in order to activate Gato’s power for myself, anyway? I can’t seem to activate it like he managed it… this is rather pathetic.

At that point, a box appeared within M’thr’ln’s field of vision. Huh?!

[To activate the different menus that you have access to, you need to say them out loud, mighty Platinum Dragon. Please remember.]

M’thr’ln blinked at the sight of the box, before he turned his attention back to the enemy combatants in question. This is gonna take a lot of work, I just feel it… wait, do I need to yell the names of the menus or something?

[No, that would make you look like an idiot. You can mutter the words you need under your breath if you need to, just begin speaking the words when you can.]

What are the different names of the menus, again?

[Right now, there are only two menus available for you, I’m afraid. These menus are your Status Menu and your Skill Menu. The other menus are locked for various reasons, including your Treasure Menu, which was locked because you are reclaiming your treasure.]

M’thr’ln drooped his head in shame. Okay, that makes sense, he thought. Looking back up to see the battlefield, he then muttered, “Status Menu.”

[You’re not supposed to say the word “Menu” in that command.]

M’thr’ln looked as if he was about ready to gouge his own eyes out. You could’ve told me that sooner, you know… “Status,” he muttered.

Immediately, M’thr’ln saw his Status menu show up in front of his snout, a mere foot away.

M’thr’ln the Platinum Dragon Level 50

Current Experience Point Total

42,912,100

Total Experience Points To Next Level

42,925,000

Current Hit Points

148,800

Maximum Hit Points

150,000

Current Magic Points

0

Maximum Magic Points

194,000

Strength

95

-

0

+

Dexterity

99

-

0

+

Agility

94

-

0

+

Constitution

60

-

0

+

Intelligence

91

-

0

+

Wisdom

98

-

0

+

Power

96

-

0

+

Willpower

93

-

0

+

Perception

50

-

0

+

Spirit

92

-

0

+

Charisma

99

-

0

+

Luck

25

-

0

+

Stat Points

0

You’re… kidding, right? M’thr’ln questioned the power that was flowing through Gato.

[No, I’m afraid not. However, you’ve recovered enough of your HP to keep fighting the long fight, at least until someone gets your level up to the next one.]

I don’t get it… care to be more plain about the subject?

[In short? You need to acquire a little more XP, short for Experience Points, to recover all your HP, short for Hit Points, and MP, short for Magic Points, with a level up.]

M’thr’ln looked at the status menu a bit closer. Okay, no changes yet, but that’s to be ex… pected... what?!

[42,912,800]

[42,913,500]

[42,914,550]

[42,915,600]

[42,916,650]

Is Gato killing the Hell Bats that fast? M’thr’ln thought, looking at his partner for the battle. Indeed, the rocks were hitting their targets, even ricocheting at times. Well, that solves that issue…

[42,918,050]

[42,919,450]

[42,920,850]

[42,922,250]

[42,923,650]

[42,925,050]

[You have Leveled Up! Your maximum Hit Points and assorted Supernatural Energies have gone up in number and recovered in full! You have gained 10 Stat Points!]

Wait, you mean…?!

M’thr’ln looked at his Status Menu one more time, to see what it had to say for him now.

M’thr’ln the Platinum Dragon Level 51

Current Experience Point Total

42,925,050

Total Experience Points To Next Level

45,526,000

Current Hit Points

153,000

Maximum Hit Points

153,000

Current Magic Points

197,880

Maximum Magic Points

197,880

Strength

95

-

0

+

Dexterity

99

-

0

+

Agility

94

-

0

+

Constitution

60

-

0

+

Intelligence

91

-

0

+

Wisdom

98

-

0

+

Power

96

-

0

+

Willpower

93

-

0

+

Perception

50

-

0

+

Spirit

92

-

0

+

Charisma

99

-

0

+

Luck

25

-

0

+

Stat Points

10

Well, I can safely say that went well, M’thr’ln thought, even as he noticed the skeletons charging in his direction. Oh, fer cryin’ out loud! I need to stop these pests immediately!

With a deep breath, the Platinum Dragon prepared to ignite the exhalation of air flowing out, before seeing a single box appear in front of the other boxes.

[To truly kill these minions of Caules, you’ll need to add what is essentially an upsurge of your magical energy. Just a heads up, M’thr’ln.]

Wait, how do I do that, exactly?

[Simple. Hold your breath as long as you can in your lungs, then blast the fire out. The longer you hold your breath, the more magical energy, or MP in this case, your fire will contain.]

That… makes a lot of sense to me.

M’thr’ln waited a bit, feeling able to hold his breath for a long while, but then the fire within his being began to grow more intense. In fact, the fire seemed to be raging all in his lungs, and even in his blood. He still didn’t know how long it’d take for the fire to reach full potency —

[It takes a minimum of 15 seconds to reach full potency.]

—damn.

How much time has it been so far? M’thr’ln thought.

[In your case right now, let it rip!]

M’thr’ln nodded, before spreading the fire out of his body and consuming the skeletons in the immediate area, adding a prayer for their souls. May Lord AO guide their souls to their final rest in whatever world they call home.

Because of the prayer thrown in at the moments before the fire would consume the skeleton army, the fire was proven to be much more successful, especially since M’thr’ln was a Holy Platinum Dragon at that. In fact, the fire flaring from his mouth was of such an intensity that no mortal on Terra could describe it effectively. As a result, the fire was effectively able to fry the bones of all the skeletons facing him, proving that his actions were a great deal successful, even more than expected.

What in the name of Lord AO is going on?! M’thr’ln felt his eyes bug out in shock. How many skeletons did I just destroy with my fire?!

[71 multiplied by 12, since there were 12 Skeletal Commanders in the group, each one commanding 70 Skeletal Soldiers.]

M’thr’ln gaped, especially when he saw the XP alerts show up again.

[You have dealt 20,000 points of damage to each individual skeleton on the battlefield! Critical kill! You have gained 29,950 XP for the group kill!]

M’thr’ln felt an eye twitch sporadically. Why is it that the Skeletons give out less XP individually than the Hell Bats?

[That’s because the one who organized the system still hasn’t worked out the bugs for the XP gain yet. This is just going to be one of those days, right?]

M’thr’ln couldn’t help but agree.

#

What in the name of all that is evil and nefarious just happened?! Caules gaped when he saw the damage dealt to his forces. This shouldn’t be anywhere near remotely possible! My minions were destroyed in such a way that I can’t simply reform them when I need them!

To put this into perspective, one should back up and consider what had happened to the skeletons under his command. Because the souls occupying the skeletons were those of damned soldiers, and because his realm of the Underworld was home to a great infernal academy for soldiers to be placed under his command, he was able to acquire soldiers from all over the afterlife and use them to train more of his minions that were born in that part of the Underworld. Of course, because he was forced to summon within his Realm Breaker ability twelve large groups of skeletons, on top of the Hell Bats that were able to steal a person’s vital energies, he had every right to be angry, especially considering that the skeletons he brought were close to being elite soldiers.

To add insult to injury, the main bulk of his forces were elsewhere in the realms, mainly working on expanding his territory. He didn’t need to be a political genius to know that there were many other demonic warlords in the Underworld that wanted his resources. It sure helped his ability to get stronger troops that he could maintain resource gathering the way that he absolutely needed. This, as he had thought earlier, was truly a right pain and a half.

This is getting ridiculous! Caules growled. I need to summon more troops to fight these idiots!

“Something wrong, demon?” he heard the human boy his minions were fighting call out to him. “That can’t be all the soldiers you have for us to fight, can it?”

Caules snarled as he looked at the boy. “Why, you...!”

The dragon, in the meantime, held out a wing and placed it in front of the boy. “Don’t provoke the demon, Gato,” the dragon said. “For all we know, it can summon a massive horde of minions from its home lair in whatever afterlife it calls a base. We don’t want to allow it to summon any extra minions, right?”

Caules looked at the dragon briefly, before a smirk graced his face. “Why, thank you for the excellent idea,” he said, even as he prepared to summon a second wave of demons from his realm. “I’ll bring out here a massive army that will crush you where you stand! Say your prayers, because this is the end of your existences!”

Gesturing his right hand to make a star in front of him in the air, he prepared to send a massive amount of his demonic mana to call forth his new minions, which would help him turn the tides of this battle to his favor. As he did so, he prepared to chant, “May the minions of Prideful Wrath come forth to aid their master in defeating extraordinary foes—”

Just then, both the dragon and the human boy began laughing outright, the boy even falling to the ground and rolling about it.

Caules would have questioned what that was all about, but then he felt a surge of pain coming from his heart, which was still repairing itself from when the boy ran him through with a sword. What in the name of all that is evil and nefarious…?! This sort of pain shouldn’t even be possible!

“Okay, this should be enough,” the dragon said, calming down. “Now, how about I explain what you’re obviously wondering about?”

“Oh, sure, go ahead and explain this mess,” Caules snapped. “What do you think you possibly know about how demons like myself deal with pain at inopportune times like now?!”

“Simply put,” the dragon snickered, “you don’t have summonable minions.”

Caules blinked rapidly for a few seconds, before remembering something from the contract that was used to bind him to this realm. Wait, why do I have the feeling that the Onmyouji who summoned me was trying to troll me? He never said anything about how many minions I was allowed to summon, even if as reinforcements for my ability…

“This is too funny!” the human boy exclaimed as he got back up to his feet. “There’s some sort of contract that prevents you from summoning extra help while here. I’m certain this fight is going to be a cakewalk.”

“What are you… talking… a... bout…?” Caules suddenly snapped his head to look outside the battlefield, before he snarled loudly. “Die a trillion times, Hunter of the Onmyouji Order! Now I have to do everything all on my own, and it’s all your fault!”

“What are you talking about?” the dragon and the human boy asked at the same time.

Caules blinked again, before he turned extremely slowly to face his foes. Shit, I should have been more aware of my surroundings… this will definitely be the end of me.

“Wait, hold on, is this acting like a cutscene again?” the human boy asked, looking at something that seemingly only he could see.

“What’s a cutscene?” the dragon asked him.

“Something that prevents free action while a lot of dialogue happens at once, based on my own experiences with cutscenes,” the human boy said. “Trust me, this is very annoying.”

The dragon seemed to notice something in front of his face, before nodding sagely. “Ah, yes, this is a cutscene. I never had one of those happen to me yet, but there’s a first time for everything, so they say,” he said.

“Would you two buffoons make sense?!” Caules demanded.

The dragon and the human boy turned to face him and shuddered. “Okay, note to self,” the boy said, scratching the left side of his face with his left index finger. “Don’t speak of these things when demons are nearby.”

“Agreed,” the dragon said, nodding his own head at that.

“Why, you…!” Caules roared out, before he grabbed his battle-ax again. “I hope you two are ready to die!”

Within his thoughts, the demon added, I need to find a way to get that contract nullified somehow… typical Onmyouji idiots want me to do all the hard work myself. Well, I’ll show them, that’s for sure! I’ll handle this!

#

Gato couldn’t help it. He legitimately felt the need to laugh back when the notification came that Caules was trying to summon extra minions and couldn’t do it. Man, did I need that laughter, he thought. Now, let’s see what all the other notifications say, shall we?

[You have dealt a minimum of 900 damage to each of the remaining 37 Hell Bats! Critical kills! You have gained 12,950 XP and 7,400 Cash Points!]

[You have leveled up! Your maximum Hit Points and assorted Supernatural Energies have fully recovered and have gone up in number! You have gained 10 Stat Points!]

[You have leveled up! Your maximum Hit Points and assorted Supernatural Energies have fully recovered and have gone up in number! You have gained 10 Stat Points!]

[{Ricochet Throw} has leveled up!]

[{Ricochet Throw} has leveled up!]

[{Ricochet Throw} has leveled up!]

[Because of M’thr’ln’s actions in taking out the Skeletons, you have gained 29,950 XP and 192,000 Cash Points!]

[You have leveled up! Your maximum Hit Points and assorted Supernatural Energies have fully recovered and have gone up in number! You have gained 10 Stat Points!]

Gato nodded to himself, before he called up his Status Menu again.

Gato, son of Alexander Level 5

Current Experience Point Total

44,850

Total Experience Points To Next Level

55,000

Current Hit Points

1,500

Maximum Hit Points

1,500

Current Magic Points

1,000

Maximum Magic Points

1,000

Strength

10

-

0

+

Dexterity

10

-

0

+

Agility

11

-

0

+

Constitution

10

-

0

+

Intelligence

10

-

0

+

Wisdom

11

-

0

+

Power

10

-

0

+

Willpower

10

-

0

+

Perception

10

-

0

+

Spirit

10

-

0

+

Charisma

10

-

0

+

Luck

12

-

0

+

Stat Points

40

Cash Points

200,000

Well, that works for me, he thought. Now I need to figure out what all I need to do to improve the abilities that I have access to… this better work.

With a contemplative gaze, he looked at the different abilities that he had access to, before he pressed their names.

[Strength is the ability to carry a heavy load. For every point in Strength, you can carry six pounds of objects and walk comfortably. Strength is also the ability to hurt a target foe, which means that you’ll want more Strength to hurt anyone able to tank a certain amount of damage.]

[Dexterity is the ability to swing a strike and block attacks to your person. The more Dexterity you have, the better you can do those things, which is kinda funny when you consider the fact that your current foe is meant to be way out of your league…]

[Agility is the ability to dodge attacks of any sort that try to hit you. It also is the ability to run as fast as possible.]

[Constitution is the ability to withstand damage dealt. Hit Points are derived from Constitution.]

[Intelligence is the ability to retain knowledge and put it to good use. Magic Points are derived from Intelligence.]

[Wisdom is the ability to reason out logically things that need to be thought out. It also is the ability to recover your missing Supernatural Powers, at least when you have access to them, like with your Magic Points.]

[Power is the ability to see the supernatural entities that are nominally hidden from plain sight. In order to passively find these supernatural entities, you’ll need access to something that you don’t have yet, which will be made available in a later patch of the system.]

[Willpower is the ability to keep your head on your shoulders in the face of a mental attack, and is also the ability to move things with nothing but your mind. In order to use this power, you need to wait for a different patch to be made available.]

[Perception is the ability to make use of the five senses in the physical world. Don’t worry, 10 is a normal number to have for your Perception score, but it could be better… oh well.]

[Spirit is the ability to manifest energy from your body and use it as a weapon. The more you have, the better the chances will be that you can survive just about anything, or so they say.]

[Charisma is the ability to woo the people around you. Not only that, but you can also use it for a final energy source, which will make it clear that you’re as deadly as you are popular.]

[Luck is the ability to gain extra money and loot. The luckier you are, the better quality stuff you’ll find over the course of your adventures, including with hotel rooms and the like… yeah.]

Gato blinked five times in a single second. Wait, what am I supposed to do with this information, anyway? After a couple of seconds, he shrugged, before he decided on a course of action for his development. I hope that this works well for me.

Gato, son of Alexander Level 5

Current Experience Point Total

44,850

Total Experience Points To Next Level

55,000

Current Hit Points

1,500

Maximum Hit Points

1,500

Current Magic Points

1,000

Maximum Magic Points

1,000

Strength

10

-

10

+

Dexterity

10

-

10

+

Agility

11

-

0

+

Constitution

10

-

10

+

Intelligence

10

-

10

+

Wisdom

11

-

0

+

Power

10

-

0

+

Willpower

10

-

0

+

Perception

10

-

0

+

Spirit

10

-

0

+

Charisma

10

-

0

+

Luck

12

-

0

+

Stat Points

0

Cash Points

200,000

[Warning: Once you use Stat Points in the middle of the battlefield, you cannot use them again until after the current battle is over. This means you should use all the Stat Points you have access to in one go, to make sure you have things handled. Are you alright with this knowledge going forward?

Y/N]

Yeah, I’m alright with this knowledge going forward, Gato thought as he pressed the Yes button in front of him.

Gato, son of Alexander Level 5

Current Experience Point Total

44,850

Total Experience Points To Next Level

55,000

Current Hit Points

3,000

Maximum Hit Points

3,000

Current Magic Points

2,000

Maximum Magic Points

2,000

Strength

20

-

0

+

Dexterity

20

-

0

+

Agility

11

-

0

+

Constitution

20

-

0

+

Intelligence

20

-

0

+

Wisdom

11

-

0

+

Power

10

-

0

+

Willpower

10

-

0

+

Perception

10

-

0

+

Spirit

10

-

0

+

Charisma

10

-

0

+

Luck

12

-

0

+

Stat Points

0

Cash Points

200,000

Gato nodded when he saw the overall effects of his increase of power. I wonder what else needs to take place? I mean —

“Gato, duck!”

Following M’thr’ln’s urging, Gato ducked at just the right moment, avoiding the fate of being beheaded by Caules’ battle-ax. Whoa! That was fast! He barely managed to get enough space in time between he and the demon he was fighting… that was rough.

“Pay attention to me on the battlefield, you little ingrate!” Caules cried out indignantly. “I’m going to kill you for this!”

Uh-oh… I better get faster on the battlefield. I don’t want to die in this battle.

With that, Gato drew the sword from his scabbard, making sure that he had enough of a chance to survive against the demon he was fighting. As he did so, he saw a new notification in his field of vision.

[Due to repeating specific actions, the {Longsword Mastery} skill has been acquired.

{Longsword Mastery (Level 1): Increases damage dealt with a Longsword by 4% and decreases the Strength requirement to use any Longsword by 2%.}]

Well, this ought to be good, it seems…

Gato gripped both hands on his longsword, making sure to keep from losing his hold on the weapon when he needed to charge against Caules. He was not about to make the first charge happen. He was going to make Caules be the first to charge.

“What, are you waiting for an invitation to charge at me like an idiot?” Caules taunted Gato. “Look no further than right here and now to come charging at me!”

What does he take me for, some sort of blockhead? I’m not going to charge him like that… no way!

“If you’re not going to charge at me, then fine,” Caules sneered. “I’ll just charge at you and kill you in one swipe!” With that, he charged at Gato, before swinging his battle-ax at the young man in mid-charge.

Gato brought his longsword up in a blocking position, aiming to use his improved stats to his advantage, although he wasn’t sure if he was able to use it that way. He knew he was about to find out the hard way.

With a swing of his arms and longsword, he managed to block the battle-ax headed his way, keeping the enemy’s blade from reaching him. As the two of them struggled in a deadlock, which he was slowly losing, Gato received a new notification.

[For blocking a deadly strike and keeping it in a deadlock, your Strength and Dexterity have gone up by 3.]

You’ve got to be kidding me! Gato thought.

“How...?!” Caules demanded. “How are you able to withstand such a blow from my battle-ax like it was nothing?!” He began to push the battle-ax even further into Gato’s guard, but the longsword didn’t budge. “You’re supposed to die by now!”

“Honestly,” Gato said, “I have no idea.” With a renewed sense of vigor, he swung the sword in such a way that it would prevent the battle-ax from doing anything but get stuck in the ground below. “However, I do know you’re about to lose, so there!”

[For forcing a superior foe’s weapon to the ground, your Strength and Dexterity have gone up by 2.]

Not now!

Caules gave off a growl, before he exclaimed, “You’re going to eat those words, human!” With a wordless roar, he head-butted Gato, causing the young boy to fall to the ground.

[You have taken 1,000 points of damage!]

You’ve got to be kidding me! How’d I lose that many hit points?!

Before the system could tell Gato more on the situation, he saw that he needed to dodge a strike from Caules’ battle-ax, which was aimed at his head from where the demon was standing near his feet. He spun his prone body to the right, noticing that he was indeed lucky to have evaded Caules’ splitting his head.

[For evading the battle-ax in the right direction, your Luck score has gone up by 3.]

Why, gee, thanks for the info about this bonus…

Gato swiftly got up to his feet, making sure that he could fight further when needed. As he did so, he couldn’t help but worry…

Why do I get the feeling this is gonna suck?

#

M’thr’ln looked at Gato’s success at fighting off the demon, who was getting rather sloppy with his irritation. Well, I’ll be, he thought, shaking his head slightly. Never in my life have I ever expected this to happen at all.

Of course, the Platinum Dragon was less likely to leave things as they were, especially in regards to his ally fighting the demon all on his own. I need to help out… but how am I supposed to do that?

With a quick glance around, he suddenly remembered something. He still had his Status Menu up for him to see!

M’thr’ln the Platinum Dragon Level 51

Current Experience Point Total

42,925,050

Total Experience Points To Next Level

45,526,000

Current Hit Points

153,000

Maximum Hit Points

153,000

Current Magic Points

127,880

Maximum Magic Points

197,880

Strength

95

-

0

+

Dexterity

99

-

0

+

Agility

94

-

0

+

Constitution

60

-

0

+

Intelligence

91

-

0

+

Wisdom

98

-

0

+

Power

96

-

0

+

Willpower

93

-

0

+

Perception

50

-

0

+

Spirit

92

-

0

+

Charisma

99

-

0

+

Luck

25

-

0

+

Stat Points

10

Now, what am I supposed to do with my different scores? M’thr’ln thought. I hope that I can understand why I’m so low on the Hit Point front, compared to the Magic Point front…

[Your Hit Points are tied to your Constitution score. Your Magic Points are tied to your Intelligence… which should be the first thing you boost with your Stat Points, if I’m allowed to advise you on that.]

M’thr’ln’s left eye twitched when he read that. Why would you advise me about that, exactly?

[I’d explain right now, but then I would have to ruin the surprise proper. I’m not steering you wrong here, just hoping you can follow my advice and get a pleasant surprise.]

M’thr’ln covered his eyes with his forward right paw. Fine… he thought, before he bumped the Intelligence score up by 10.

M’thr’ln the Platinum Dragon Level 51

Current Experience Point Total

42,925,050

Total Experience Points To Next Level

45,526,000

Current Hit Points

153,000

Maximum Hit Points

153,000

Current Magic Points

127,880

Maximum Magic Points

197,880

Strength

95

-

0

+

Dexterity

99

-

0

+

Agility

94

-

0

+

Constitution

60

-

0

+

Intelligence

91

-

10

+

Wisdom

98

-

0

+

Power

96

-

0

+

Willpower

93

-

0

+

Perception

50

-

0

+

Spirit

92

-

0

+

Charisma

99

-

0

+

Luck

25

-

0

+

Stat Points

0

[Warning: Once you use Stat Points in the middle of the battlefield, you cannot use them again until after the current battle is over. This means you should use all the Stat Points you have access to in one go, to make sure you have things handled. Are you alright with this knowledge going forward?

Y/N]

May as well, M’thr’ln nodded in thought as he pushed the Yes button.

M’thr’ln the Platinum Dragon Level 51

Current Experience Point Total

42,925,050

Total Experience Points To Next Level

45,526,000

Current Hit Points

153,000

Maximum Hit Points

153,000

Current Magic Points

206,040

Maximum Magic Points

206,040

Strength

95

-

0

+

Dexterity

99

-

0

+

Agility

94

-

0

+

Constitution

60

-

0

+

Intelligence

101

-

0

+

Wisdom

98

-

0

+

Power

96

-

0

+

Willpower

93

-

0

+

Perception

50

-

0

+

Spirit

92

-

0

+

Charisma

99

-

0

+

Luck

25

-

0

+

Stat Points

0

Is that the surprise? M’thr’ln thought in question. My Current Magic Points total increasing as I up the Intelligence score?

Instead of getting a direct reply about that question, however, he got a brand new notification in front of his Status Menu.

[Congratulations! You have successfully boosted your Intelligence score past 99! You now have a choice of two new skills designed for you alone! Your choices are {Draconic Recollection} and {Draconic War Mind}.]

Wait… this is the surprise?! What do these new skills even do?!

[{Draconic Recollection (Level MAX): When this skill is activated, your Intelligence score is doubled, at least before you add any other skill modifiers that come with the use of skills that boost your stats.}

{Draconic War Mind (Level 1): This skill works in two different ways. When not actively in use, your Intelligence gains 50% of its total as a boost in general purpose terms. When you can actively use this skill, it’s able to boost your Intelligence score by 200% so long as you use it for war-related activities.}]

M’thr’ln gaped in surprise when he read the skills descriptions. I choose Draconic War Mind, then, if you don’t mind.

[Okay. You now have access to Draconic War Mind. Good choice.]

M’thr’ln the Platinum Dragon Level 51

Current Experience Point Total

42,925,050

Total Experience Points To Next Level

45,526,000

Current Hit Points

153,000

Maximum Hit Points

153,000

Current Magic Points

309,060

Maximum Magic Points

309,060

Strength

95

-

0

+

Dexterity

99

-

0

+

Agility

94

-

0

+

Constitution

60

-

0

+

Intelligence

101 + 50%

-

0

+

Wisdom

98

-

0

+

Power

96

-

0

+

Willpower

93

-

0

+

Perception

50

-

0

+

Spirit

92

-

0

+

Charisma

99

-

0

+

Luck

25

-

0

+

Stat Points

0

M’thr’ln nodded as he read the Status Menu. Here’s hoping I can pull this off further, even as I’m not quite ready to be in the middle of a war zone just yet… he thought.

[No need to worry about that. You’re able to improve upon that skill properly. Just give it time.]

M’thr’ln couldn’t help but agree.