After waking up early in the morning as his smartwatch sounded an alarm, Russell did his morning routine, then started traversing the forest to go back to the only available station in this region after tidying himself up.
– Yellow Sun Station
After some time, with his strengthened body after receiving the benefits yesterday which he didn't expect, he reached the only station of Northernmost Olympia where he came from. There were already civilians, who didn't career being a player for their own reasons, and adventurers, who didn't mind the risk of being a player, who occasionally raided a Strayed or Tower Dungeon available to the public.
He noticed the time it took for him to get back compared to the time yesterday when he traversed the forest.
'It's remarkably quicker.'
He told himself as he started to walk to ride an Air Train bound for the Red Star Station of Central Olympia or Obelisk City. There were four Air Trains stationed in the Yellow Sun Station, two of them were bound to the Central Olympia, while the other two were bound to a Northern major country in the Orion Continent.
Although Portals exist that allow for instant travel, due to its high demand, some people preferred using an Air Train if they were not in a rush.
...
After finding a seat on the Air Train, Russell comfortably sat before recollecting everything that had happened yesterday.
Starting from his journey, traversing a certain part of Armageddon Mountain, sleeping in the middle of nowhere which gave off a tranquil atmosphere that seemed to be a characteristic of nature itself, admiring the magnificent night sky and the bluish moon hanging above it, finding the Hidden Dungeon, meeting the Goddess of Night, and so on.
But, aside from the unbelievable encounter he never anticipated, the particular words of the Goddess of Night keep lingering in his mind.
- You are a strayed soul... and at the same time, are not.
- You know very well what I mean.
'...What did "She" mean by that..?'
He muttered in his mind, avoiding himself to speak verbally due to some passengers who might hear him, which would probably make him look like a broken-hearted man if his words were taken out of context.
He racked his brain, searching for the possible meanings regarding the enigmatic words that came out of the Goddess of Night's mouth.
Although he couldn't easily arrive at an answer, he was certain of one thing... That it was about his reincarnation in this world.
'...Strayed soul... and at the same time... are not, huh...?'
As he admired the view he was seeing from the window of the Air Train, his deep blue eyes dilated due to the sudden realization of the underlying meaning behind the Goddess of Night's words, which contained underlying mysteries.
'...I am reincarnated in this world... a world that's highly similar to the first novel I wrote which I didn't manage to publish. I was born here more than 16 years ago if I include the months, and I wasn't transferred to some other character's body, but rather directly born in this world...
'Hmm... I guess being called a strayed soul would probably mean that I'm a reincarnated person, and I have the memories of my past life, especially the knowledge about my unpublished novel.
'...And at the same time, I'm not a strayed soul because I was born in this world, I'm originally a resident of this world... with my family.'
Russell hypothesized about the possible reason for the Goddess of Night's words, but he couldn't come up with a conclusion just based on what he thought.
He recalled the first notification that indicated the Goddess of Night's presence when he entered the Hidden Dungeon.
The System said that the Constellation, 'Night of Primordial Chaos' had observed his "very being".
'...I wonder if "She" knew that this world, at least not all of it, was designed by me."
Living sixteen years of his life in this world, one thing that was slapped to him was how trashy his unpublished novel was. He didn't know if he should laugh or cry upon recollecting everything that happened, but one thing was certain... that he was thankful for being reincarnated in this world.
'Thank you, supercar!'
He cackled in his mind with the thought of being grateful to the supercar who ran him over in his previous life.
...
After an unknown period of time of enjoying the journey inside an Air Train, a product of Magic Engineering, Russell checked his "Status Window" again, to double-check the unbelievable fruit of his journey.
He gained +20 for each Variable Stats: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Agility, Vitality, and Magic Power.
On the one hand, these were the stats that were called Variable Stats due to various reasons such as these stats were heavily influenced by external factors such as player equipment, from weapons, and armor, to consumables just like the Seed of Chaos that Russell consumed which gave him a raise of +15 in his every Variable Stat, and +5 after he underwent Profession Evolution.
On the other hand, the stats such as Willpower, Tenacity, Charm, and Luck were called Invariable Stats, although it's called Invariable Stats, these could be increased, but with more effort required.
The Willpower and Tenacity stats were always the same in number, and could only be increased by either mental training or some unexpected factors, while the Charm stat basically referred to one's physical appearance which was something that Russell didn't even want to talk about, and the Luck stat, however, was something that could barely change.
'...I have no idea how can my new Perception stat be increased...'
He thought inwardly as he browsed the System information regarding the details of something called Power Stats.
...
When it comes to Divine Power, Evil Power, and in his case, Chaos Power, they were called the Power Stats. Although it could fall into the Variable Stats category as it was somewhat similar, there's a difference that needed to be taken note of... that the Power Stats were something that was heavily influenced by the Constellations' nature and power.
One would need some conditions to increase a Power Stat, and in Russell's case, it's to either find something that could boost his or to use the Chaos Consumption (EX) skill to the Strayed Dungeon's or Tower Dungeon's monsters upon their deaths.
Magic Power was something that was not considered a Power Stat as this was considered a general power that anyone could manifest, due to Mana being abundant in the world, and without the need to have a contract with a Constellation.
Although Magic Power was something that anyone possessed, the difference in power, in how efficient and potent it could be used, was heavily dependent on one's training, Mana-related Passive Skills, and equipment that helps Mana Regulation.
'...Let's just check everything.'
He thought inwardly before he proceeded to check the details of Variable and Invariable Stats in the System's General Information section. It's something he decided to do due to the few hours remaining that he'd be sitting inside the Air Train.
...
[Player Stats Elaborate Information]
– Variable Stats
[Strength]
- Deals with the physical body of the player.
- Each strength stat strengthens the physical body of the player.
- Strength acquisition: Training, Consumables, and Profession Evolution.
[Dexterity]
- Deals with the hands of the player.
- Each dexterity stat helps the player handle weapons more skillfully.
- Dexterity acquisition: Training, Consumables, and Profession Evolution.
[Constitution]
- Deals with the stamina of the player.
- Each constitution stat helps the player not get tired easily.
- Each constitution stat equals 10 stamina points (SP).
- Constitution acquisition: Training, Consumables, and Profession Evolution.
[Agility]
- Deals with the movement of the player.
- Each agility stat helps the player to become more agile.
- Agility acquisition: Training, Consumables, Profession Evolution, and per 3 points of Dexterity stat, 1 Agility stat is added.
[Vitality]
- Deals with the health of the player
- Each vitality stat increases the life force of the player.
- Each vitality stat equals 10 health points (HP).
- Vitality acquisition: Training, Consumables, Profession Evolution, and per 3 points of Constitution stat, 1 Vitality stat is added.
[Perception] – Acquirable Stat
- Deals with the senses of the player.
- Each perception stat helps the player to better sense the surroundings.
- Perception acquisition: Training, Consumables, Profession Evolution, and discovering one's hidden nature.
[Magic Power]
- Deals with the mana within the player's body or the atmosphere
- Each magic power stat increases the Mana Points of the player
- Each magic power stat equals 10 mana points (MP)
- Magic Power acquisition: Training, Consumables, and Profession Evolution.
...
– Invariable Stats
[Willpower]
- Deals with the mental fortitude of the player.
- Each willpower stat helps the player block mental interference.
- Willpower acquisition: Mental training.
[Tenacity]
- Deals with the mind and body of the player.
- Each tenacity stat enhances the player's willpower to a certain degree.
- Tenacity acquisition: Mental training.
[Charm]
- Deals with the physical looks of the player.
- Each charm stat increases the attractiveness of the player.
- Charm acquisition: Training, Consumables, and Profession Evolution
.
[Luck]
- Deals with the luck of the player
- The more luck the player has, the luckier the player will be in random events.
- Luck acquisition: Trigger the player's luck.
...
– Power Stats
[Divine Power]
- Power that is different from Mana because its source is the Divine and Neutral Constellations.
- It is the holy or light attribute.
- Each divine power stat helps the player to wield skills, traits, or authority more proficiently.
- Each divine power stat equals 10 divine mana points (DM).
- Divine Power acquisition: Sign a contract with a Divine Constellation, items with a holy or light attribute, and gain more favor with the contracted Constellation.
[Evil Power]
- Power that is different from Mana because its source is the Evil Constellations.
- It is the unholy or dark attribute.
- Each evil power stat helps the player to wield skills, traits, or authority more proficiently.
- Each evil power stat equals 10 evil mana points (EM).
- Evil Power acquisition: Sign a contract with an Evil Constellation, Items with the unholy or dark attribute, and gain more favor with the contracted Constellation.
[Chaos Power] – Exclusive Stat
- Power that existed before the beginning of time.
- It is neither holy nor unholy.
- Each chaos power stat helps the player wield skills, traits, or authority more proficiently.
- Each chaos power stat equals 10 chaos mana points (CM).
- Chaos Power acquisition: Sign a contract with the Night of the Primordial Chaos, consumables with chaos attribute, and items with chaos attribute, through the use of Skill: Chaos Consumption (EX), and gain favor with the Night of the Primordial Chaos.
...
Russell read through the description of each stat under the three categories: Variable, Invariable, and Power Stats. He caught the glimpse of his new stats, the Perception and Chaos Power, which was added to the System's information.
'...Discovering one's hidden nature...?'
He became confused with the somewhat peculiar condition of how to increase his Perception, but he recalled the Eye of Night (EX) skill that he received upon being the Goddess of Night's champion. Although discovering or looking at one's hidden nature was somewhat broad in his perspective, it was something he must do in the future.
'About Chaos Power... it's quite challenging for now.'
Aside from consuming the Seed of Chaos, and having his heart carved with something, he didn't have anything for the moment that could help him increase his Chaos Power.
'Dungeon is impossible, too... I'm still a student.'
After cross-marking in his mind the possibility of accessing a Strayed Dungeon, he read back the last way to acquire Chaos Power... it's to gain the favor of the Goddess of Night.
'...Hmm, when I think about it...
'...Ah, f*ck. I almost forgot...'
Due to being mentally occupied, he couldn't process everything that had happened, but this time, he recalled the mysterious Egg that was entrusted to him and the items he acquired from the Ancient Treasure Chest from Chaos, which were sucked inside his Dimensional Inventory just before the Hidden Dungeon closes.
He organized his thoughts, browsing the notifications he didn't manage to check as he avoid being buried inside the dungeon that was closing.
Then, after some time, his expression twitched as a grin formed on his face.
"...This... holy hell..."