To put it in understandable terms, it was similar to the feeling you get the first time you put on a brand-new pair of shoes. You know how it’s supposed to feel, but something feels off or different, and in a sense, that was exactly what I was going through.
"Why do I feel strangely close to the Particles in the air…" unconsciously, I grasped at nothing, as if trying to catch a fly or mosquito, only to come up empty, both in thought and physically.
A storm of ideas and theories made its way through my psyche as I dumbly stood in the middle of the cavern about 200 feet away from the hulking Wyrm corpse, each one more incredulous than the last until finally I snapped out of my revelry and sucked my teeth.
"First things first, how about we deal with the body? Then I can focus on what the hell is up with me," shaking my head, I turned my attention to the dead monster that had once stood tall, presiding over its domain.
"It’s a shame I had to go with the second heart-killing method. Had I not and had a healthy organ to extract, I could have benefited greatly." I mused while walking up and delivering a weak kick to the snout of the Wyrm.
Wyrms, as with all Draconic Species, were heavily sought after, either for their blood, scales, or organs; nearly every inch of their bodies was greatly beneficial and could be used.
From Tonics and Potions to weapons and armor, the list went on and on, but by destroying the monster’s Particle Heart, I had practically soiled everything except its claws, fangs, and scales.
The meat, blood, and organs were unusable due to particle poisoning having run rampant throughout its body for hours, tainting everything the unfiltered particles came in contact with, effectively turning them radioactive and non-consumable.
"If I had been stronger, I could have gained 20-50 PC just by eating the damn second heart, let alone finding a way to implant part of it into my body surgically, but nooo~ I had to be a fucking weakling." Clicking my tongue, I began the exhausting task of stripping the corpse of all the usable parts and storing them away in my inventory, leaving a giant, naked, dead lizard corpse in the cavern to become food for other monsters and microorganisms.
Sure, it would obliterate the local ecosystem, but what did I care? It wasn’t like I had planned on living in this Instance to begin with. Plus, it would affect anyone entering the caverns after me, and if I was lucky, I could turn this segment of the Instance into an Undead paradise!
’Heh, just the thought of some ignorant fools stumbling into a massive Necro-Wyrm excites me, haha!’ Shaking my head, I tallied up the gains from my harvest before directing my attention elsewhere.
My looting had taken me several hours, but now that I had safely completed the Event Quest before the January First deadline, I wasn’t really in a hurry anymore.
Initially, I had given myself a one-week buffer, just in case killing the monster wasn’t enough and I’d have to backtrack to earn XP, but now that I had safely made it to Level 5 and reached the Peak of No-Rank, I was no longer under pressure.
Stretching out my body and taking a deep, slow breath, I felt the particle content in the air and realized it was a mixture of Alpha and Beta particles, making this a perfect place to try and break through to Alpha-Rank.
"Oh yeah, I should probably check my status to see if there were any noteworthy changes apart from my PC increasing…" My words trailed off as I gave the mental command to Arkadia and examined every line of my Status.
To my confusion, the only thing that had changed was my PC reaching 15 points, which was to be expected, and the added four stat points bringing me up to the annoying uneven 8.86 points.
Unable to figure out why I felt strange, I did the only logical thing I could come up with: I began spitting out random command prompts to Arkadia, yet one after another was met with silence, causing my expression to worsen until I found myself lying on my back, staring at the ceiling in annoyance.
Not really sure how that became a normal thing for me, but at some point during this little excursion into the Caverns, I realized that some of my best thinking occurred while aimlessly looking up at the rocky ceiling of the Instance, thus here I was, vomiting one command after another until I finally spat out the right words to trigger a response.
’Arkadia, as a Non-Ranked 6C, what changes can I expect before ranking up to Alpha-Rank, if any.’
[Upon reaching the level cap of the Non-Rank, Level 5, the Cap on your Stats will be raised by 5 points, and you will be able to spend Stat points on your Particle Count *PC*]
[You will also be able to convert XP into Stat points, with 100% XP being exchanged for 1 point.]
[This process can be completed as many times as the level cap of your rank.]
"W…wow…ok, that’s different…" Sitting up suddenly, I blinked several times as the realization I had stumbled into something broken and overpowered dawned on me.
Updat𝓮d from frёewebnoѵēl.com.
"Five points…so my new cap on stats is 15, while my PC has increased to 20…that’s…fuck yeah," wearing a smug smile, I decided to instantly increase my PC to 20 by spending five stat points before ignoring my Offensive and Defensive ones.
The reason was simple: why in the hell would I waste valuable stat points when I have my CIRCULATION SKILL?
With my Cap increased, not only could I continue pushing my Hidden Vestiges of Physicality toward the next attainment, but I would also be earning free points, leaving my hard-earned stat points to make up the difference if I didn’t hit any bonuses.
With that thought in mind, I quickly verified that this wasn’t a one-off scenario with Arkadia and was pleased to find out this was how it would be every time I reached the level Cap, basically giving me a vast pool of Statpoints that I could assign when needed so long as I could continue leveling.