Shane immediately confirmed his [Skeleton Crew] spell was now available to select among his active spells and decided to replace [Minor Self Empowerment]. This swapping of spells here made a certain sense, especially when the latter completely drained mana from full in twenty seconds. Good, now I can focus on morphing the [Skeleton Crew]. At that moment, Shane realized he still wouldn't have enough [Soul Points] to morph a rare-quality spell—even with the level-up scroll.

That's fine; a level is still a level, after all. Shane found the level-up scroll within his inventory and used it. A window confirming the change appeared shortly after.

-Congratulations! You Are Now Level 10!-

You Have Earned The Following:

5 Attribute Points 2 Soul Points

The grey-hound hopped up and down excitedly as if it knew Shane had become stronger. That made him smile. Shane quickly decided to add two more points to both [Intellect] and [Wisdom], with the last point going into [Luck]. Satisfied, he studied his character stat page.

Name: Shane Carther

Race: Human

Class: Sage

Level: 10

Exp: 499/3,240

HP: 200/200 (18/18 Overshield)

Mana: 219/219

Fatigue: 0/143

Soul Points: 4

Attributes:

Strength: 30

Agility: 29

Vitality: 23

Endurance: 25

Intellect: 42

Wisdom: 32

Luck: 26

Physical Attack: 59 (36 Base)

Magical Attack: 10 (0 Base)

Physical Defense: 38

Magical Defense: 44

Usually, Shane would be a bit more excited about the myriad increases to his stats. However, with everything that had happened lately, he had begun to regard these notification windows and the allocation of points as part of a mechanical process. It felt akin to a checklist of things he needed to do and accomplish to achieve his goals. Shane was beginning to realize this and tried to keep himself grounded.

There's no point in living in this world if all I'll be able to think about is revenge. Shane thought within a moment of self-awareness. Are this world and these experiences not what I've always secretly wanted? Part of him responded with yes, just without the bad shit. The other part of him, the realist side, rejected that answer. That's pretty childish thinking there brain; excellent job. I have to expect and accept the good and bad equally. Only then can I appropriately adapt.

The grey-hound tilted its long snout and head at Shane's furrowed brow and intense, wandering stare. Shane noticed the greyhound's cute antics and couldn't resist petting its head some more, which it responded to with happy tail wags that kicked up small clouds of dirt. The night sky with hints of the morning sun's bloom encapsulated what he was feeling and looking forward to.

"My head feels a bit clearer now."

Shane looked back down at the greyhound's inquisitive blue-gray eyes. They sparkled at him in a way that made him think the dog understood his words. He met those brilliant eyes with an equally bright grin.

"Let's see what kind of shield I got, boy!"

The loot-less pupper gave two sharp barks in response that he liked to think meant "good luck!"

Shielded Iron Kite Shield of Riposting

(Uncommon)

+6 Vitality

+5 Endurance

-Modifiers-

Shielded: Can create a barrier that blocks attacks and magic from the front and absorbs up to 50 damage before breaking.

Riposting: If the user blocks within half a second of a physical attack, the follow-up attack is faster, more damaging, and won't miss.

-Enchantment-

Make 10 Perfect Blocks To Evolve Item To [Rare] Quality

Perfect Blocks: 0/10

"Oh wow," Shane said with surprise. "I've never seen an Enchantment before. I didn't even know this was a thing that could roll on an item!"

Did the director have a hand in creating this new mechanic? Shane surmised it was more than possible. Truly, it was a discovery that was certainly exciting and equally troublesome. Shane hoped that if the director continued creating more new systems, they wouldn't have the downsides of the horrid timed quests he had yet to receive. He put that thought on the back burner and slotted the shield onto his left hand within the inventory screen.

The shield was a far cry from a magic-enhancing wand. Still, after seeing what the shield looked like up close, the fantasy of cosplaying Captain America quickly became less fantasy and more reality. Physically inspecting the new tool came next, with it, came new surprises.