Chapter 18
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Bonus Stats
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[You have entered .]
[Due to resident privileges, drop rate increases 10-fold.]
[Level up.]
[10 bonus stats granted. Check them now!]
Not long after entering the Trial, my senses returned, and a barrage of notifications appeared.
Looking down, I saw my hands flickering in and out of existence.
[You are currently in an invincible state.]
Every time you enter a Trial, you get this temporary damage immunity.
It's to keep you from getting dragged into a fight right away and dying on the spot.
"Is this the Trial zone?"
"Looks like it."
Raising my head, what I saw were endless stairs plunging deep underground and a long stone cavern.
The ancient stairs were thick with dust, cracked and crumbling in spots, as if bearing the weight of countless years.
The cavern stretched deep—its end invisible—instead filled with thick darkness coiled up, staring us down.
The Saintess glanced around once, then approached me.
"But... is Seo-yeon okay?"
"She's fine. No need to worry."
Even in her prime, with specs like hers, Shin Seo-yeon could solo the first Trial no problem.
It's no fluke that her ability is transcendent-tier.
'She could clear it bare-handed, and I even handed her a weapon. She'll probably hit the next area in under a day.'
Drop her in some hellish environment? Cold's no issue for a fire-user, and heat's fine in short sleeves.
Even someplace with zero food—she's got one of the three backpacks I stuffed full of Rest Area supplies and essentials.
'Her unique ability's such a cheat code that her survival's already locked in.'
No wonder she's S-Rank material.
"Still, this isn't right. She'll be hurt. She might be crying all alone right now."
The Saintess voiced her concerns, calling it the wrong call. Watching our sweet, kind-hearted Saintess, I stroked my chin.
"Hmm... well."
Shin Seo-yeon, hurt? Somehow, I doubted it.
If anything, she'd be grinding her teeth, honing her blade of revenge—not bawling like some wounded girl.
My half-hearted response made the Saintess pull something from her bosom.
'Ah.'
It was the [Summoner's Letter Envelope]. A transcendent item that pulls your target straight to you.
"I'll bring her here. You gave it to me, so I can use it however I want, right?"
Our sweet Saintess—who usually couldn't refuse a paper cup—now had her cheeks puffed out in adorable stubbornness.
I was thrilled by this cute little corruption from her first-run self, but it was a tad inconvenient right now.
"Why her? You're not even that close."
"But it's about trust. And more than that... how heartbreaking is it to be left behind alone...?"
...Now that I thought about it, the Saintess had been ditched by her two comrades and left in the Tutorial too.
Hit me late that I'd messed up. It was only days ago—could've left her with trauma.
"I've got one. I'll call her."
She was seriously about to activate the real [Summoner's Letter Envelope], so I hurriedly stopped her and pulled the replica from my inventory.
'Tch. Gotta drag that Shin Seo-yeon here.'
But skipping it might puff those cheeks even more—cuter overload. Hmm, maybe bounce her once without summoning...
[You have used .]
Such thoughts aside, I used the replica as promised.
Cute wings sprouted from the envelope—like a fancy party invite—and it flapped up and down.
It twisted open a rift in the air and slipped right inside.
'Replica's mechanics match the original.'
I counted silently in my head. Took about ten seconds, I remembered.
'7, 8, 9, 10.'
Smoothly, the air split again, and the envelope popped out, wings fluttering.
It hovered before me, bowed like a reporter saluting the boss, then gaped its mouth wide open.
And unceremoniously dumped its cargo right in front of me.
"Uwaak! Wh-what the hell is this?!"
Shin Seo-yeon tumbled out, sprawling on the floor.
The envelope spat on her head—ptui ptui ptui, like it'd tasted something nasty—then vanished back into the rift.
"Shin Seo-yeon?"
"Huh? Dickhead?"
Our eyes met. I blinked and asked,
"...Shin Seo-yeon, you crying?"
Clear tear streaks ran long under her eyes—definite tears.
Whoosh—her face flushed beet red in an instant. She shot to her feet and shrieked.
"Wh-who said I cried?!"
"You're crying right now."
"Not that! I tripped chasing you runaways! Hit my shin—tears leaked out before I knew it?!"
"Not 'leaked.' Looks like full-on bawling."
"No! You wanna get punched?!"
I stared her down, and she frantically wiped her cheeks with her hands, then thrust them at me.
"Look! Where's the bawling?! Just one tear streak!"
"Sure, if you say so. Not denying you cried, though?"
"......"
She trembled, bit her lip hard, and huffed ragged breaths.
Oh, a day I'd win a shouting match with that Shin Seo-yeon. Guess my ten years weren't a total waste.
"Hey! What's your MBTI?!"
"You picking now to ask that?"
Hand to her forehead, she shook with rage.
Soon she swallowed her anger, turned away to dab her tears, and muttered under her breath.
"...That introvert prick. Gotta have a T in there. Ah, shit. So embarrassing. And he saw it."
She hastily wiped her eyes and spun back to me.
"So what the hell? Ditching me one minute, dragging me here the next?"
"Oh, that? Ha-na..."
That's when the Saintess cut me off and stepped forward.
"Min-jun asked me to cooperate in teasing you."
"Hah?! For real? This asshole's pranking me with that?!"
Shin Seo-yeon stormed over and thwacked my arms with her fists. I took the painless barrage and glanced at the Saintess.
"Ha-na, why?"
She just smiled gently.
Our Saintess really has the kindest heart.
After dealing with a brat like Seo-yeon, just looking at her soothes the soul—pure healing.
Compared to that one...
"She's got zero use outside her body."
"Hey! Talking about me? Control your inner monologue!"
"Oops, caught that? Meant for you to hear."
"This?!"
Her punches packed a bit more sting now, but still didn't hurt a bit.
Just the gap between her pitiful strength and my overwhelming stamina.
'Anyway, glad that nagging doubt cleared up.'
Acting on ten years of brain-dead habits, I'd realized too late my slip-up.
The instant I left Seo-yeon behind, disappointment had flickered in the Saintess's eyes.
'Can't burn down the thatched roof catching fleas. Gotta watch my actions more from now on.'
I steeled my resolve, gazing at the Saintess—back to her warm, sunny self. Our eyes met, and she beamed pure trust my way.
"So, where are we?"
"[Lair of Evil Spirits]. Think of it as a dungeon."
I turned and looked up the stairs.
A bright-lit entrance poured light down. Shin Seo-yeon tried heading there but bounced off an invisible wall midway.
Our gazes shifted as one—to the stairs below.
Into the thick darkness, bottomless and unseen.
"Straight in?"
"Nah, assign bonus stats first."
"Right, that."
We all stared into space, deep in thought.
Their conflicted expressions made it obvious they were agonizing over allocations.
"Hmm."
No need to put on airs for a status window, at least—the Saintess wore an uncharacteristically serious face.
I approached her.
"Want some advice?"
"Huh? Oh... please."
"Half Stamina, half Agility. Or dump all into Stamina this time, Agility next."
The Saintess's [Recovery Authority] barely uses mana.
Full heals, even.
With her [Robes of Lumina], she can spam heals infinitely—no need to pump Magic Power for mana pool, recovery rate, or potency.
So what then?
'A healer's second priority after healing? Survival.'
Stay alive and keep the party patched up.
Job done.
Past Saintess stacked Magic Power, ended up with trash stamina—panting after a stroll, always piggybacked by party members...
'Saw other healers do it, blindly copied without thinking.'
But I knew the full context, so I stated it clear.
"Half Stamina, half Agility. Or all-in Stamina this round."
"Got it."
Trusting me, she wiggled her fingers in the air. Shin Seo-yeon—who'd been eavesdropping—gasped in shock.
"Hey, a healer pumping Agility? On top of Stamina? You never played a game."
"Better than you. Shut it."
"Hah?!"
"And you—not all Magic Power. Half Stamina, half Magic Power."
Seo-yeon had sky-high base Magic Power and a stellar unique ability—her skill output and efficiency were already overwhelming.
No point stacking more.
One-shot kills either way.
Even if she DoT'd steady instead of bursting, it'd be 1 second versus 1.2—no real difference.
"Pass. All Magic Power for me."
I snorted.
"Fine, suit yourself."
She'd regret it later when low stamina screwed her over.
"So what're you doing?"
"Decided."
"Hurry up. You're not assigning, so my stats ain't rising."
Oh, right—with , she's copying 20% of my stats.
Vice versa, I'm copying 50% of hers.
Name: Kang Min-jun
Level: 0
Magic Power's skyrocketed without me touching it. Seo-yeon must've dumped it all in.
'Tough call. What to pick...'
Even allocation like the Saintess is stable, but for middling uniques, it turns you into a jack-of-all-trades, master of none.
Specializing's better.
'My unique is Binding.'
I pictured our future crew.
They'd boost me via Binding.
'Just Saintess and Seo-yeon—no need for Magic Power.'
Stamina helps Seo-yeon, so skip for now.
Strength it is?
All Strength?
'Not bad.'
Strength pumps muscle mass, core to attack power.
Agility boosts attack too, but focuses attack speed and nimbleness—Strength gives a smidge of speed too.
'Balance both for synergy and steady growth, or lean one way—no big issues.'
But first round, I went heavy Agility... and in the Destruction Dragon Trial, I did jack squat.
Survived, sure... but yeah.
Mooks were easy, but boss fights? No real impact. All-in Agility's limit.
"All Strength sounds good. Let's go."
If I need other stats situationally, I can copy from Saintess or Seo-yeon.
"Wait, Strength?"
"Yeah."
"Turning tank?"
"Nah."
"Then what's all Strength for?!"
She flipped out over the "wasted" stats, but whatever—my gain, my rules.
[First bonus stat allocation achieved.]
[Resident privilege: You can redistribute stats anytime in the Rest Area. Visit the tattooist.]
'Whoa, stat respecs too?'
Resident perks hand out so much now, nothing surprises me.
Makes planning a breeze.