Maintenance Time
“Hoo……”
I sat cross-legged in the inn room and exhaled. After spending a day sorting out my body, I logged back into Asteria Online. Sensing the aura that felt so vividly distinct from reality, I pulled out the elixirs I'd obtained from the dungeon.
◈ Magic: +20P
◈ Agility: +15P
◈ All Stats: +5P
Three kinds of elixirs in total. By my standards, they weren't particularly precious. Of course, they weren't bad either.
If I sold them, I could probably get at least a few hundred million won. But I had no intention of selling them. It was just that my past standards were abnormal; normally, elixirs weren't something you could buy just because you had money.
At my current level, even these elixirs were something to be grateful for.
—Gulp.
I popped the elixirs into my mouth right away. Not all at once, of course, but one by one in sequence. Even I would get sick if I tried to digest elixirs of different properties all together.
—Shruk.
The Moonlight Essence was absorbed into my body first. The energy that would normally melt softly and nourish the soul was blocked by the seal on the Glorious Sword. But that wasn't the destination anyway. The newly incoming magic power followed my guidance to the Spirit Particle Organ.
The vessel for aura created by the 'System.' The existing aura stored in the Spirit Particle Organ welcomed the newcomer. The two energies met softly, blending together and slowly assimilating the elixir's properties into my existing aura.
It was impossible to absorb all the energy contained in an elixir. Though elixirs were refined condensations of energy made easy to absorb, that didn't mean you could accumulate it all in your body.
……That's how it usually was. There were always exceptions in the world, and I was rarely one to miss them. Especially when it came to swords, aura, or related fields.
—Woooong…!!
Transcendent Will
The resolve that had once reached the realm of the transcendent forcibly suppressed the energy in my body. It sealed the scattering energy, then converted the captured power into aura.
‘Hooouu…’
As I let out a long breath, a system message appeared.
Magic has increased by 28P!
A rise of 8P more than the number shown in the info window! That was equivalent to a whopping 2.8 levels in stat points. The number in the info window probably indicated the stats you'd gain from normal—ordinary—absorption.
The two elixirs I took afterward were the same.
Agility has increased by 21P!
All stats have increased by 7P!
The energy from the elixirs elevated my body to an even higher level. All of them resulted in greater stat increases than listed in the info window. I smiled with satisfaction.
‘Status window.’
The status window had undergone significant changes. I'd jumped from level 7 to 16 in one go from the experience of killing that red player, of course. Plus the titles, equipment effects, and stat boosts from absorbing the elixirs. Overall, my specs had risen across the board.
[Magic: 95 → 100]
I first invested 5P into Magic. From what I'd seen on the community forums, stats increased in rank every 100 points.
And at the same time—
—Whoooosh…!!
Magic power surges from the atmosphere, drawn into the body!
The magic in the air swirled into a vortex and was sucked into my body. The accumulated magic was steadily stored as aura. Even though I'd only invested a mere 5P in stats, my aura capacity had increased by at least 20% from before. I could understand what they meant by a rank-up.
However, from this point on, the required stat points doubled compared to before. 10 to 100: 1P per stat. 101 to 200: 2P per stat. 201 to 300: 3P per stat… Something like that. Of course, as the required points increased, so did the growth magnitude.
I invested the remaining stat points without missing any.
[Agility: 41 → 74]
[Strength: 28 → 50]
[Vitality: 20 → 50]
One might ask why not max out each stat to 100 individually, but the human body ultimately needs balance. For example, suppose you raise Strength first. But if your Vitality stat is lacking compared to Strength? You can't fully utilize your Strength potential. Your body simply can't endure it.
The same went for other cases. Even if you pour points into Agility, low Vitality means you can't properly leverage it, and you'll just become a quick but stamina-deficient lightweight. Raising only Vitality turns you into a meat shield that can't do anything.
Strength, Agility, and Vitality interact with each other, so distributing them evenly was best. Of course, some differentiation based on your combat style was necessary.
Aura's the same.
It was the balance of essence, energy, and spirit they often talked about. To achieve the Expert realm, the Three Flowers Converging at the Apex, all three elements needed to be in harmony.
Overemphasizing Magic stats alone would just hit a wall. Though this applied to warriors; sorcerers or priests would be different.
—Step.
After finishing maintenance, I left the inn and headed to the Adventurer's Guild. I needed to collect rewards for the quests I'd cleared yesterday—or three days ago in Asteria Online time.
As I walked, I recalled yesterday's gains. The dungeon's treasures. The original purpose of heading to Sikat Mountain. Though the harvest was far less than expected.
I was thinking of sharing some with Philip…
The income from the dungeon was too meager compared to expectations, which was troubling. A significant number of artifacts and treasures had been lost or damaged in the landslide. The rest I'd left to the goblin. I'd consumed the elixirs. All that remained was gold, and even that was pocket change. A Sword Tower swordsman wouldn't lack for money anyway. Or maybe teach him the Flash Sword? It wasn't an amazing technique, but like with the goblin, I could modify it suitably…
—Creak!
Lost in thought, I'd arrived at the Adventurer's Guild. I flung open the wooden door.
“Ah, there you are. Did the request go well?”
As I entered, Branch Chief Garen called out to me. He was sitting at a table, chugging beer in broad daylight.
“All taken care of.”
I shrugged and sat across from him. Then I raised a hand and ordered the most expensive item on the menu. The Adventurer's Guild handled quest commissions but also operated as a restaurant.
“……All of them?”
Garen asked skeptically. Though he'd assigned a Silver Badge quest, he clearly hadn't expected success.
—Swish.
I pulled the [Goblin's Left Ear] from my inventory and held it out. It was the ear the goblin had cut off and given me himself.
“Heh, you actually subjugated it?”
“Yeah. It was definitely mid-level aura user material. If left alone, it might've grown into a named monster.”
“Indeed, the magic feels denser than a normal goblin's……”
The man rolled the goblin ear in his palm once before asking.
“Is this all the byproducts you brought?”
“Yes. I cremated the body cleanly. Goblin corpses aren't useful anyway, right? One ear's plenty for proof.”
I brazenly lied. The goblin had already left for the Raman lands, so no chance of being spotted again. No worry of the lie being exposed.
“……So that's why Philip vouched for you. Your presence has changed a lot in just a few days.”
Garen muttered, shaking his head. Well, yeah—my stats had gone up, so my presence would feel different. Garen said no more and pocketed the goblin ear, acknowledging the quest completion.
But that wasn't the end.
—Thud. Thud. Thud.
I approached the receptionist and laid out all the herbs required for the gathering quests one by one.
“Y-You completed all these……?”
“Yeah. Picked 'em up on the way.”
“Even pro herbalists struggle to find this much in one go……”
The receptionist sorted the piled-up herbs with a dazed expression. Confirming I'd filled every quota, she murmured blankly.
“And in perfect condition…… Have you worked as a herbalist before? Some herbs have specific harvesting methods and are finicky……”
“Eh, about ten years or so?”
After my terminal illness diagnosis, I'd occasionally gathered herbs while holed up in the mountains. Whether that counted as herbalist work, I wasn't sure.
Quest 'Herb Gathering - Azure Spirit Grass' cleared!
Quest 'Herb Gathering - Moon Dew Flower' cleared!
Quest 'Herb Gathering - Stardust Grass' cleared!
……
Anyway, the receptionist stamped the quest forms vigorously.
Quest 'Hunt - Goblin Swordsman' cleared!
And finally, the Silver Badge quest too.
……
Just like that, I reached level 21, and my assets gained 1 gold and 20 silver.
Hm.
That brought my total assets to 15 gold. In real money terms, about 15 million won. Considering I'd only started Asteria Online two days ago, it was an enormous haul.
But it's still a bit short.
For my primary goal of securing retirement funds, that is. The gold from the dungeon had been far less than expected, which was the issue.
I checked my current holdings.
……Should be enough for a decent sum.
I had a plan to grow my wealth. Chewing on the mutton steak the guild had served, I thought.
—Casino.
Time to multiply the money.