I expected my intelligence to be lower than my other stats. After all, I’ve dedicated everything to raising the stats I need on the front line and never really made an effort to increase my intelligence.
Intelligence58Intelligence 58Intelligence58
But isn’t this a bit too low?! What’s my level right now, and I only have 58?!
Stunned by how much lower the number was than I’d anticipated, I accidentally snapped the pen in my hand, forcing me to dig around my desk for a new one.
Calm down. Let’s stay calm. Logically, there’s no way my intelligence, the intelligence of a hardcore pro like me, could be this low.
Yeah. This is just the status window in the game. It’s just Lucy Allen’s stat, nothing more. Lucy’s the dumb one, not me!
Yeah! That’s it! Thinking that way, I managed to tear my eyes away from the intelligence stat and began noting down my stats from the top of the window.
Strength105Strength 105Strength105
<What are you writing down now?> "It’s my physical capabilities." <Strength must refer to muscle power, correct? So what does 105 mean?> "Hmm. Well, an average adventurer is around 50, and a standard knight is about 80. So, it's a pretty high stat, right?"
Even by game character standards, this number is quite significant.
To surpass 100 by the end of the second semester, even if you’re not at the hardcore level, you'd have to be at least skilled.
And what if you were hardcore? You’d abandon everything else and invest solely in one stat to reach a maximum of 207, or realistically, with balanced development, you could reach around 130. But since this world isn’t the one beyond the monitor, that’s a pointless story.
After all, in reality, we can’t force ourselves to do the crazy things we make game characters do.
Agility91Agility 91Agility91
<It’s lower than your strength.> "That’s because I didn’t focus on training agility."
Physical abilities are interconnected, so training one tends to strengthen others as well.
But that growth only follows the primary stat you choose to train; it can never be equal to the main stat.
"Still, isn’t this much enough? I don’t need to be fast."
The reason I haven’t trained specifically for agility is simply because there’s no need. As the tank who holds the shield in the front line, I just need a certain level of agility, and that’s all.
<Well, you’re not that far behind, so it’s fine.>
It seemed that my grandfather shared a similar view, as he didn’t find the lower agility a problem either.
Endurance121Endurance 121Endurance121
<You mentioned a difference of 30 between an adventurer and a knight.> "On average, yes." <Then how should I interpret this score, which is 40 points higher than most knights?> "Grandfather, it might be easier if you compare it to the Allen Order knights rather than average knights." <...That does make sense.>
Although I tried to sound confident to my grandfather, I had to calm my surprised mind.
I expected my endurance to be high, but I didn’t think it would be this high. All those brutal training sessions with the Allen family are paying off.
Back during training, I thought I might die from overwork rather than at the hands of some evil god, but now, seeing the numbers, I can’t help but laugh.
Maybe I should try training even harder. And next is intelligence... no, let’s skip that for a moment.
Magic75Magic 75Magic75
<Is this because you’re a paladin?> "Yes, probably."
Since I use divine power to accomplish what magic would otherwise do, it’s natural for my magic stat to be low. Besides, I’ve never trained with magic in mind.
But still, my untouched magic is higher than my intelligence? What’s the problem here?
No, let’s not dwell on it. It’s just an error, a mistake. It has nothing to do with me.
This chapter is updat𝙚d by freeweɓnovel.cøm.
Divinity192Divinity 192Divinity192
<...192? Did you confuse a 9 with a 0?> "Grandfather, I’ll have you know, I’m the Apostle of the Goddess."
My divinity stat was unusually high, but it wasn’t surprising.
After all, I’m the Apostle of the Goddess. My divinity is so strong it’s affected my very body, so it’s only natural for the stat to be this high.
But looking at such a high number, I can’t help feeling a bit wistful. Once your divinity reaches this level, you can usually go to the Sacred Lands or the Goddess’s church to take on various quests.
If it weren’t for my need to avoid contact with the Goddess’s church right now, I’d drop everything and head straight to the Sacred Lands.
Luck???Luck ???Luck???
<Are they joking now?> "...I think so too." <Then why do you sound like you’re reading someone else’s words?>
Hey, it’s because this lowly Goddess’s status window decided to display it this way!
What’s with the “???” I’ve never seen such a stat in any game before!
What’s going on? Is my luck so high it can’t be quantified?
Well, I doubt I’ll get an answer by obsessing over it, so let’s just move on.
Judging by my good grades on randomly guessed test questions, my luck must be high. Probably.
The moment I stopped, grandfather’s curious voice spoke up.
<Hmm? Isn’t there supposed to be a stat for intelligence or wisdom? Judging by the format, it wouldn’t be strange to have one.>
But I ignored his comment. I could already imagine what he’d say if he saw that intelligence score of 58.
<Child, is there?> "...No, nothing like that." <Oh. Really? Nothing at all?>
Ignoring the mischievous chuckle that seemed to suggest he’d caught on to something, I looked down and checked my skills.
There was the Iron Wall, which had protected my life since the day I first entered this world.
Hero’s Spirit, a skill that gave me the strength to endure brutal training, and which, even under a different name, remains my most cherished skill.
And Fear Resistance, which helped me avoid getting trampled in the midst of danger.
The passive skill tab was filled with countless other skills.
<Do you really have this many blessings?>
As I wrote each one down on paper, my grandfather’s voice grew sharper with disbelief.
"Like I said, Grandfather, I’m the Apostle of the Goddess." <Even if you are the one beloved by the Goddess, this is...> "Weren’t you similar, Grandfather? You were part of the Hero’s party, right?"
Back when both the benevolent and malevolent gods were actively intervening in the world, my grandfather was one of the heroes at the forefront of the war against the dark forces. Naturally, the heroes were granted many skills.
So if anyone would understand, it would be my grandfather.
<Even then, this amount... No, is it only possible now?> "What are you talking about?" <Never mind, forget it.>
Hey, Grandfather! I’ve told you multiple times that I don’t like it when you leave things vague! I openly showed my annoyance, but he didn’t respond.
Well, I’m not getting an answer this way.
Fine. If it were really important, he’d tell me.
Muttering to myself, I kept writing, and as I checked each skill’s proficiency, I frowned.
Most of my main skills had already reached their growth limit.
Ugh. Damn it. How long has it been like this? How much proficiency have I lost?
That’s why you have to level up consistently, but after defeating Nakrad, I got too comfortable.
As soon as I get back to the mansion, I need to start leveling up again. I can’t let this go on.
As I filled my notebook, I paused in front of one skill. Its constraints forced me to stop.
MesugakiMesugakiMesugaki
I couldn’t look at the skill that threw me into this world with anything other than bitterness.
After all the trouble its compulsion caused me, how could I look at it with a smile?
But remembering how the Mesugaki skill helped me survive and protect those dear to me, I couldn’t exactly glare at it either.
Is this what they call a love-hate relationship? As I looked at the skill with mixed feelings, I glanced at its proficiency and chuckled dryly.
ProficiencyA−(CurrentLimit)Proficiency A- (Current Limit)ProficiencyA−(CurrentLimit)
Yeah, I guess skills naturally accumulate proficiency, but I don’t know whether to be pleased about this one. It doesn’t seem like it’ll only bring good things.
Staring at it wasn’t going to help, so I forced myself to look away from the Mesugaki skill.
My hand felt free again.
After a while, as I finished writing in my notebook and thought about the future, I realized that a lot of the game’s storyline I knew had become irrelevant.
There are just too many variables.
There’s no telling how the Goddess’s church will react when they find out Faye has been recognized by the Goddess.
And who knows what the dark forces will do after losing the powers of Light and Darkness in just a year.
Not to mention people like Kariana, the weird Apostle who never appeared in the game. Who knows what impact they’ll have.
And there’s the First Prince, who seems somehow different from what I remember, and the Second Prince, who looks changed in many ways.
The presence of the Allen family, myself included, will affect the world’s power dynamics.
If I had exceptional political skills, I could probably steer these variables in the direction I want.
Even if not me, the influence of those around me isn’t something to be taken lightly. It could work.
But I’m a dumb 58-intelligence fool, so any scheming I try will probably backfire and trip me up.
With a self-deprecating laugh, I erased the outlandish plans forming in my head and looked at my status window.
I’ll just stick to what I’m good at. If things get urgent, the Goddess will guide me with a quest, and I’ll just build up the strength to overcome any crisis then.
To do that, the next thing I need to decide is which stat-boosting potion to use.
Logically, it makes sense to use an agility potion to bring my agility to 100.
Since I don’t know exactly how much luck I have due to the “???,” increasing agility is the safest option.
But...
I can’t stop thinking about my intelligence.
Seriously! What’s with 58?! 58!
A well-built wizard character would have reached 58 before even starting the first semester of freshman year. So how am I still at 58 heading into my second year?
I can’t accept it! I’m not that dumb!
How could a fool become a hardcore player of Soul Academy?
Yeah. The right choice is to use a potion to increase my intelligence.
If my luck stat displayed as “???” is indeed over 100, then there’s no problem even if I work to get my agility to 100.
And what’s the harm in getting smarter? Fighting well is ultimately a matter of intelligence, too!
I was coming up with every reason to drink an intelligence-boosting potion when I opened my inventory, only to realize I only had potions for strength and endurance.
No wonder my intelligence is 58.
...Tomorrow, once the sun’s up, I’ll go visit the people from the Newman family again. I need to ask them about potions and find out where to get a good set of armor.