> Primary Physical Attributes are important stats to train. This is what they mean:

>

> Speed: increases movement speed.

>

> Agility: increases operational speed, dodging and sidestepping speed, and accuracy.

>

> Strength: increases physical strength and attack power.

>

> Stamina: increases health and fatigue resistance. Is wholly separate from Flair reserves.

>

> Endurance: increases armor, stamina regeneration, and wound recovery.

>

> The percentage buffs on these attributes will stack. For example, if your ring gives you a 8% Speed buff and your Boots give you another 2%, you'll gain 10% Speed in total.

Excerpt from "Battle Stats and How to Interpret Them"

Melodi Baggardo

"What do you mean 'secret levers'?" I ask Tamara, wide-eyed.

"Those levers release glacial hail, cooling the temperature of the cave and slowing the dragon down."

Eugene shakes his head. The tone of his voice shifts into a slightly higher pitch. "You ever seen a dragon, Miss Groundskeeper? Because I've read about them and none of the dragons I saw in books flew outside and be like, oh dang got some frozen pellets on me guess I'm dead now."

Tamara completely ignores Eugene and keeps talking to me. "The dragon will be slow enough so you don't take a hit every five seconds."

It's incredible how Tamara can keep calm next to this idiot. I could've lost the plot and gave him a ten-minute lecture on the properties and anti-properties of glacial hail.

"So you're telling me we have a chance." I turn to look at Eugene, a strained smile on my face. I would say I'm wearing a pleading smile, but I don't plead.

He rolls his eyes. "We gonna got to go again, ain't we?" Then picks up his sword anyway.

We spend five minutes discussing the general plan. Then, Tamara restarts the challenge, and the terrain forms again. Kleisow stares at me as I enter the cave; fire dances in its eyes, making me feel as if the dragon has already been waiting.

We waste no time.

As soon as Eugene and I cross the cave entrance, we rush up the walls in two different directions, climbing up piles of rocks to reach the levers. The dragon seems to have turned its attention to Eugene as I manage to get to my lever without resistance. I give it a pull, but it refuses to budge, instead gives out a metallic clanking noise. I turn to Eugene and sees him hiding behind an obsidian rock. Great. Now the dragon's attention is on me again.

I yank it. It doesn't move. I yank it again. It shifts downward a few inches. I need more. Much more.

Fire forms inside its mouth, and I'm the target.

"Arrghhh!" I put all my force into pulling the lever. And it moves. It rolls down into the ground.

I also roll to the side as soon as I succeed. When I stand, I'm unscathed, so it seems that the fireball has missed me by a hair.

When I look at the dragon again, the difference is imminent. The freezing hail drops from the ceiling, imparting rows after rows of pittering noises as they pluck on Kleisow's scales. The dragon curls up to shield itself from the hail. Its eyes twitch and it growls furiously, firing another fireball at me.

The fireball moves. . . slower. I run up the rocky slope and dodge it without much effort. I look to my right and see Eugene pulling his lever as well. After both levers are pulled, the effect will last for ten minutes, which is pretty much permanent.

The guy jerks until his face turns red, but the lever barely moves an inch. This isn't good. The dragon might shift its attention to him!

"Try using one of your skills!" I yell, then turn to Kleisow and growl with Savage Roar activated. "Look at me, you big scaly idiot!"

The dragon swerves it scales then stomps on the ground. The cave rumbles. It keeps shooting at me using its Fire Breath, but they're no longer an issue. Not from this range.

Eugene and I manage to close the distance and huddle together behind a big rock closer to the dragon. I can feel the fireballs smashing against the rock, but it will probably take a couple more tries for the dragon to break it.

At last, some breathing space.

The flickering light from Lek's status screen catches my attention.

Environment Glacial Hail Effect Fire-typed Speed Enhancement reduction by 35% Fire-typed Attack reduction by 20%

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

There are also effects on Water and Ice-typed creatures and buffs, but none of us have any such buffs for them to matter.

"Okay. So what now?" Eugene asks, wiping sweat off his forehead.

"We can't take the short route. The Dragon is slower, but is still rather fast for its size. I reckon the best way is stick to the sides of the cave and slowly close distance while we run in circles. But remember the AOEs. I think the perimeter is about five meters. Once we get there, you rush for the chalice immediately while I'll tank its fireball. As long as we can trick it to not use Combustion, we're safe."

"So lots of running. I like it."

We coordinate our sprinting in the same path, just different directions. It manages to confuse the dragon, judging from the random fireball it spits trying to shoot at me, then at Eugene, then back at me.

When we're at around the five-meter mark, I scream, "Now!"

I move in front of the dragon and swing my flail at it. The distance is too close to dodge its Fire Breath, so I promptly set up my barrier. The dragon shoots its fireball at me, breaking my barrier and pushing me back several steps. But I think I still have at least half my health bar.

Then I hear Eugene's pattering footsteps, and see that he's gotten the chalice. Just like last time, the dragon finds out and attempts a Tail Swipe. So I just scream at the tail. Really hard.

"Savage Roar!"

I'm not sure if my Savage Roar helped, but Eugene rolled away from the dragon tail and when it swipes across, he's already safe behind the rocks.

"Ha ha!" He cries out. "Bless my 1% Movement Speed boost. Wasn't sure I would've been able to sleaze out of that one." That 1% extra pace was from Speeding Bullet, more specifically from the ten extra levels he rapidly gained over the last month from doing barely anything.

Did you just think Eugene barely trains? He jogs and he sprints. Why are you being so mean, Melodi? Be happy for him. He's your partner, damn it.

"You're helping or what?" Pointing towards the entrance, he looks at me with doubtful eyes.

"Sorry! Was distracted."

Blinding light submerges the dragon's entire body, and I know I have to get out of there. My feet starts to catch fire as I get to the edge of its Combustion range. Eugene breaks away from the rock he's hiding and rushes to the entrance. Now the last problem is its ultimate move: Blazing Inferno. It cannot be deflected nor can it be dodged inside such a close space. If I can stretch the barrier wide enough so it acts like a shield, I can absorb its final move so Eugene can get out of here with some health left.

Then, Kleisow does something I haven't thought of. It moves.

It barges forward like a deranged mother bear going after her missing bear cub, completely ignoring my shield. I hurl myself at it, and it swipes me off my feet and landing on my butt with its tail. Even though it's not quick, its sheer size means it gets the neck to the center of the cave. Eugene is already climbing up to the entrance, but he won't make it.

Then, the dragon stomps. And the entire cave is blinded in white light.

My vision returns a little, and I see blue lights bleeping near the cave entrance. Fire bursts everywhere from the ground, looking like solid pillars. Eugene sits down on a burst of fire and says, "I think I'm on fire."

When the light dissipates, the cave has already disintegrated, and the words 'You Failed' runs across the dashboard. I punch the ground and stomp around as I get up. "How the hell are we supposed to dodge that?"

"We're just taken off-guard, dude. I can slither away from the pillars, and I'll take less damage next time," Eugene says with a calm smile. I'm not sure if he's calm or he just doesn't give a damn.

We tried three more times, but the result was the same. Failure.

I'm so mad I have to punch the ground until I'm not mad enough to do that anymore. "This level is impossible! What are we doing wrong? There must be something, something we can do."

"The best thing you can do is pray you're not gonna roll into that assessment." Eugene walks to a corner and takes his suit of.

"Wait! Where are you going?"

"It's late, and I'm hungry."

"You can't leave now! Not when we're so close to cracking this!"

"My muscles and my stomach are killing me."

"Then take this as an stamina training! Maybe you'll earn a point or two."

"I think it's time for a break, Melodi," Lek speaks with his diplomatic voice. "It's generally a better idea to relax, eat lots, and sleep well before the exam instead of working yourself out. Ask Eugene how he passed his Solo and Teamwork."

What slackers they are! The last time we took our Teamwork exam, we were still able to choose Tier 2 Officers like Tamara or Leviathan to carry us. It's understandable why they think it's not a big deal.

"But—"

"Let the boy go home." Tamara walks up to me. "It's indeed late."

"Okay."

Before Eugene and Lek leaves, I ask Lek to show my attribute points along with Eugene's. They're shown in a separate menu, since they're different from Flair stats. Tamara told me that in a world where people rely on Flairs way more than they should, personal attributes come in as afterthoughts.

Name Melodi Baggardo Name Eugene De Lavet Health 25,888 Health 18,475 Attack 1,665 (+12.5%) [1,873.13] Attack 1,336 (+9%) [1,456.24] Armor 526 Armor 433 Primary Attributes [Collapse] Speed LV 53 Speed LV 113 (+8%) [122.04] Agility LV 46 (+1.5%) [46.69] Agility LV 96 (+5%) [100.8] Strength LV 66 Strength LV 47 (+5%) [49.35] Stamina LV 65 (+20%) [78] Stamina LV 52 Endurance LV 66 (+15%) [75.9] Endurance LV 43 Secondary Attributes [Expand]

I was right. Eugene never trains his Stamina and Endurance, so he's lacking behind by a distance, even if I don't have the buffs from my legendary ring. His weapon Bloodweep has a much bigger base attack (835 compared to my 470) but will lag behind in the long run because of the lower percentage buff.

I'm better than him. I just need to keep training and get used to his speed.

Secondary attributes are mostly debuff resistances, accuracy buffs, critical buffs, and range buffs for range weapons and such, which are unimportant right now. I've once asked Alleria why stats like Intelligence and Charisma aren't shown on the menu, and she said things like those are so unique to individuals that they're impossible to quantify.

After the pair walks away, there's only me and Tamara left. For some reason, Tamara looks at me, shakes her head and says, "You need to put less pressure on yourself."

"B-but. . . the test is tomorrow! I've practiced for weeks, and I'm still—"

"Not just with this test, Mel. With everything." She puts a hand on my shoulder. "I saw the look you gave Eugene when he failed to outrun the dragon's ball of fire. I also saw you stomping around like a hog when your barrier breaks. Being this mad whenever something doesn't go your way is not a healthy trait to have."

"My father said I need to be the best version of yourself."

"And the General is not always right. You're still young; you don't need that kind of pressure. You're not expected to know all the components of the test, Mel. Heck, when I went through the same test, I just crammed the five tests I think were most frequently generated. This test is not a blame game, and how you do in a single test is never the true reflection of your talent. When you're around my age, you'll learn that exams are the least of your problems."

I don't say anything back, because I don't want another argument with a person I look up to. I know Tamara has had a hard life. When Father met her years ago, she was kicked off her orphanage for stealing bread from a noble. Tamara told me if Father wasn't impressed by her ability to outrun his dozens of guards inside a sewer, she would probably still be living on the streets of Socen, begging for spare changes by now.

But she isn't the daughter of a General. She isn't the one cramming for an exam right now. How can she understand?

"You can go home." Tamara says, "I'll turn off the machines for you."

"Thanks, Tammy. I don't know how grateful I am that you're always looking out for me. You're the best."

"Don't sweat it. You're the closest I have to a sister. Getting you out of trouble makes me feel almost as if I was never a street crawling orphan." She gives me a slight smile, one so affectionate it warms my cheeks. "You know, I really want you to pass, just so you stop fretting about it. Get a good night's sleep, okay? Don't pull an all-nighter again."

"I'll try."

I bid her goodbye. I know I've promised her that I'd try to sleep, but before I know it, the sun is already up. And I'm still thinking of ways to outsmart that damn dragon.