Aurelius stared intently at the notification screen in front of him, carefully absorbing its information and contemplating the implications it held.
Augustus had previously informed, or perhaps cautioned, Aurelius about the omniscient nature of the entity controlling the Chosen system. He had also mentioned that Aurelius could acquire essence in unusual ways. However, never did Aurelius think that he could gain essence through dueling.
How did that even work? What were its limitations? Could he, for instance, orchestrate a mock duel with someone like Valen, intentionally allowing Aurelius to emerge victorious, and subsequently gain experience from it?
This newfound revelation seemed like an exploitable loophole to Aurelius in some respects. Were there also other ways of gaining essence that he had simply not discovered yet? Could he potentially gain essence by performing mundane actions such as walking? The multitude of questions swirling in Aurelius' mind nearly gave him a headache. He wanted to demand that Augustus sit down and address his questions directly.
Aurelius surmised that this revelation was tied to an earlier realization he had made: the nature of the chosen system coerced Chosen into becoming fighting machines if they aspired to progress and grow in power. This was another means by which the system pushed Aurelius to engage in combat scenarios for the sake of personal growth. And Aurelius was certain it would be effective.
Without a shred of doubt, Aurelius knew that, due to his ability to gain experience from victorious duels, he would now actively participate in the Tournament of Elites. It was akin to a drug that the system had intentionally hooked him with.
It made Aurelius wonder though, were there similar increases in experience based on the caliber of Aurelius’ opponent? Just as he gained more experience by defeating stronger creatures in the mountain range, would triumphing over a Silver tier combatant grant him more experience than defeating a Bronze tier opponent? How did the system differentiate the strength of Aurelius' adversaries? Was it based on the existing tier system or did the chosen system itself directly gauge the strength of Aurelius’ opponents and provide rewards accordingly?
While Aurelius’ mind continued to race with the new information, he decided to allocate his new unassigned essence and attribute points in order to distract himself.
Because winning the duel had granted Aurelius 500 essence, a substantial amount, he now possessed a total of 1135 unassigned essence. Being at the academy, he realized it was the perfect opportunity to finally advance his neglected Arcane Artificer class.
He had decided to level up the class twice, which would likely leave him with enough essence to advance either his blade dancer class or chronomage class. Firm in his resolution, he first invested his essence in leveling up his Arcane Artificer class twice.
Are you absolutely certain?
(Warning: This decision is final).
(Yes/No)
Opting for "Yes," he allocated 230 of his unassigned essence to enhance his Arcane Artificer class, increasing it to level 2. With this choice, he still had 905 unassigned essence remaining, sufficient to advance either his blade dancer or chronomage class. Given that he anticipated he would rarely use his chronomage class in the foreseeable future, due to the presence of numerous people at the academy, the blade dancer class seemed like the more prudent option to level up.
Without hesitation, he dedicated an additional 730 unassigned essence to his blade dancer class, bringing it to level 7 and leaving him with a remaining essence of 175. Unfortunately, he fell short of 15 unassigned essence needed to level up his Arcane Artificer class to level 3. Nonetheless, he felt content with his decisions and the progress he had achieved.
Aurelius pondered over the allocation of his remaining attribute points, the last task on his list. With just two points left, he carefully considered his options. Among his stats, charisma stood at a modest 13, the lowest of them all. Yet, he found himself uncertain about the specific effects of increasing his charisma or the exact threshold he needed to reach to notice the benefits. Would he become more attractive? Could he persuade people more easily? Aurelius remained unsure but considered the stat inconsequential for the time being.
Aurelius also dismissed Intelligence and Wisdom since mana wasn't a top priority right now, considering he wasn’t using his chronomage class at the academy. That left him with Strength, Agility, Perception, and Luck. Among the four, luck and perception were the lowest. Aurelius wasn't sure how much luck had influenced his experiences so far at the academy. It might have played a significant role, or it might not have played a role at all. Perhaps luck had contributed to his victory in the dueling arena, but Aurelius couldn't be certain. To add a touch of good luck, no pun intended, he decided to invest one point into luck. He also raised his perception stat by one to balance it out. Satisfied, he reviewed his decisions.
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==========Stat Screen==========
Name:Aurelius LusamRace:High ElfAge:18Health:150/150
==========Level==========
Overall Level:7Overall Essence:4,435Attribute Points:0Unassigned Essence:175Next Level Progress:Essence (445/1530)
==========Classes==========
Chronomage
Level:6Progress:0/730Description:Harness the power of time and spaceAbility:At level 6, you can teleport yourself 17 feet away for 20 manaAttributes:Each level grants +1 to Intelligence and +1 to Wisdom
Arcane Artificer
Level:2Progress:0/190Description:Carve mystic symbols into objects, granting the objects enhanced abilities and elemental effects.Ability:At level 2, you can expertly carve and empower common-level runes onto objects.Attributes:Each level grants +1 to Constitution and +1 to Perception.
Blade Dancer
Level:7Progress:0/940Description:Develop an innate aptitude for wielding bladed weapons and gain the Blade Dancer’s Intuition, allowing for precise strikes and heightened combat proficiency.Ability:At level 7, bladed weapon strikes possess a 12% chance of landing critical hits, inflicting double damage.Attributes:Each level grants +1 Strength and +1 Agility.
==========Attributes==========
Strength:17Constitution:15Intelligence:17Wisdom:16Agility:18Perception:16Luck:16Charisma:13
==========Mana==========
Mana:170/170Mana Regen:1.6/sec
==========Skills==========
None
"Huh," Aurelius thought, examining the changes on his status screen. The most notable surprise came from his Arcane Artificer class. Unlike his other two classes, which consistently improved with each level up, the Arcane Artificer class remained unchanged.
This once again triggered Aurelius' concerns. He had always harbored doubts about choosing the Arcane Artificer class, questioning whether it had been the right decision. He still had the option to reset his class, and Aurelius knew it would be wiser to do so sooner rather than later, before the class reached a high level and used a lot of essence.
The sole reason Aurelius hesitated to employ the class reset was due to Augustus's remarks, hinting at the class's potential once it reached higher levels. It presented a dilemma where Aurelius was reluctant to reset it prior to witnessing its full capabilities. However, if the class achieved its maximum potential or surpassed higher levels, it might prove too late to reset.
Despite a part of him protesting against his decision, Aurelius opted to once again place his trust in Augustus, at least for the time being. He would raise its level a few more times and assess if the benefits improved, but if he persisted and found it to be fruitless, he was prepared to initiate a reset.
Just as Aurelius reached a decision, a sudden pounding shook the bathroom door, startling him.
"Hey, Aurelius! Everything alright in there? You've been in for quite a while," Valen's voice echoed from the other side.
Aurelius closed his status screen, realizing the time. "Yeah, I'm fine!" he called back, feigning busyness.
A few seconds later, Aurelius opened the door to find Valen standing before him, slightly shorter in stature.
"You didn't sound like you were taking a bath, so I wanted to make sure you're okay. Not feeling sick or anything. I've heard intense dueling can take a toll," Valen said, concerned.
"No, no, I'm good. Just... um, using the bathroom. I've been holding it since lunch," Aurelius stammered, struggling to fabricate a lie.
Valen raised an eyebrow, clearly skeptical of Aurelius' explanation. "Alright, if you say so," he replied, a hint of amusement in his voice. "I’m actually going to head to the library, do you want to come with me?”
"Sure, the library sounds like a good idea," Aurelius replied, relieved to have a reason to step away from the uncomfortable conversation. He quickly grabbed his bag and followed Valen down the hallway and out of the dormitory.