"We have a lot of things to plan," he declared with a smooth voice. It was an interesting change. His voice and tone were the same, but there was a timbre in his tone that had been missing earlier. It wasn't exactly confidence, as that was not something he had been lacking even at his worst.

Maybe it was the sensation of looking forward to life once more. If so, I understood where he was coming from. There had been times I had experienced the sensation of dark clouds being dispelled.

"It seems that way," I said. "Of course, it's all your fault."

He chuckled as he played along . "How so?"

"You're the one that decided to cook so good that I decided to make your hiring a priority," I said, laughing, and he joined. Sometimes, it was hard to think that we had met just a few weeks ago; but, ultimately, it wasn't too surprising.

Fighting and scheming together against what was supposed to be impossible odds was a pretty good way of building a friendship.

"I knew my talented hands would be my curse," he responded as he sat down, enjoying the drink I had poured for him, but after a sip, he paused, and a blue glow covered the glass. It was an intense glow that used a lot of mana. It was certainly a decadent move. Wasteful, even.

The next sip, he took with far too much pleasure.

I pushed my glass toward him, and he repeated the trick. When I took the next sip, I changed my mind. Decadent, certainly, but certainly not wasteful, as it turned into the most delicious drink I had ever tasted.

Interestingly, it still had the exact same aromas as earlier, earthy tones with a hint of cherry, layered with a sharp smoky tone that reminded me of a good scotch. What changed was the sequence of the aromas. Earlier, all those aromas hit at once, a gastronomical cacophony. Now, the aromas hit in sequence, each lingering at certain times before the next aroma joined the mixture, their intensity flickering, transforming into a symphony.

"Holy hell, that's delicious," I said.

Zolast gave a proud smile. "Too bad it requires an absolutely intense control of my mana, and it's impossible to store it like this."

"Such pleasures need to stay rare to be appreciated," I said with a shrug, and he nodded in approval. We said nothing as we finished our drinks, in celebration.

And in preparation.

Only after we both finished and put our glasses away, Zolast finally spoke. "O' great hero, what are our next steps," Zolast said.

"Sarcasm? Really? You know it's the lowest form of wit."

"Oh, I'm sorry to stain the ears of our hero with such disgrace," he answered, with just the smallest bite to show he wasn't entirely happy I had kept that fact hidden. I just nodded subtly, a silent acknowledgment of my extended silence. Not an apology, but something close. "But enough idle chatter. We have a lot of things to plan."

"That we do, but first, our abilities," I said.

"Yes, let's start with Stats," he said. "My class is High Priest, and while it's not exactly a Champion tier class, it's close. I receive five fixed stats and one free point with each level up. Fixed stats are split between Vitality, Attunement, Perception, Wisdom, and Intelligence; with Attunement receiving double points with each level, while Intelligence and Wisdom receiving a point with every two level-up. And, my free point is split between Charisma and Wisdom, about equally."

"Sounds impressive, though, I still don't have the exact context to understand their implications."

"Are the stories true? The summoned heroes come from worlds with no System," he asked.

"Yes, and no magic either." Then, I paused, considering all the stories of the world. "Let me correct that, no magic as far as I know. It's suspicious that we have a lot of stories about the same gods. So, either my world had magic at some point, or still has and it's being hidden."

Back on Earth, I didn't believe in the existence of magic, but it was impressive how being summoned into another world, being empowered supernaturally, and actually gaining the ability to cast magic could change one's perspective.

"Interesting. We need to talk about how a world without magic could function."

"Sure, once we're not facing the risk of annihilation due to a political crisis or a divine temper tantrum," I answered. "How about your other abilities?"

"I also managed a natural awakening in Attunement, which makes me a very successful mage. Unfortunately, I had lost my life elevation due to my curse, so no stat multiplier. Worse, I don't have any skills other than a bunch of second-rate stuff I managed to collect after the curse. But, with my Wisdom recovered, I have access to my magical knowledge once more, and it should help significantly."

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"Promising. What exactly can you do with magic?"

"Too many to count," he answered. "Anything specific?"

"How about some kind of security system? We're split between the casino, the headquarters, and the outpost. I don't want someone to target them while we're not there."

"It should be possible," he said, before giving me a very detailed breakdown of possibilities, which launched a long discussion about various security measures that could be implemented. Unfortunately, magical solutions turned out to be less magical than I expected. No magical field that would only let in trustworthy people, no impenetrable areas — but then, maybe I shouldn't complain, as if those things were easy to implement, I could have never escaped after my summoning, and would have been turned into a slave.

We have discussed a lot of possibilities, and ultimately, came up with a reasonable breakdown. "That is a plan that we can implement in quick order," Zolast agreed. "But, we need to delay the security for the outpost. The headquarters and casino, we can argue we have purchased the mana stones from the other cities, but the amount the outpost would require is too much."

"Reasonable, but we still need to build those detection and communication features we discussed. An early warning would be all I need with my Speed."

"Yes, your Speed," he said with a frown. "I understand why you did it, but it's a pity you have picked such a useless stat. A waste of points in the long term."

It was my turn to be surprised. "What do you mean? Speed is extremely useful in a fight, especially on a complicated battlefield. The tactical implications are incredible."

"Yes, but how much damage can you really do without Strength and Agility?"

"I don't understand. Why can't I use them?" I asked. "Is there some kind of problem while combining them?" I asked.

"Of course not. You just can't …" he started, but then his expression flipped, his shock even more intense than the time I had revealed my identity as a hero. "You're asking that, because you can use them together, right?"

"Naturally," I answered with a nod. "Though, from your reaction, I'm guessing it's not common." I could see that somehow, it turned out to be a big secret, but at this point, I could just discuss it honestly without bothering to resolve it.

Zolast chuckled, though I could sense a hint of hysteria in his tone. Then, he sighed. "I guess I should get used to it while dealing with a mad old man like you," he admitted. "Combining stats is rare enough to be assumed impossible with the exception of a few common combinations. Skills and Abilities are the keys… or at least, supposed to be the key. Combining Agility and Strength is pretty common for most combat skills, though with varying efficiency depending on the style and the quality. And, there are some rarer skills like Charge, which combine Speed and Strength, but their restrictions make them pretty useless except in some rare situations."

"I can see that," I answered. "But someone using them like me is rare. Can it be about this natural awakening?"

"Maybe," he said. "Though, that means you have awakened both Speed and Strength naturally, which is pretty rare."

"Really? It's not that hard to awaken them once I discover the trick behind them," I said. "I awakened all of them naturally, after all." Then, I paused for a moment, thinking about it. "Actually, all except Vitality. That kind of appeared the moment I received the System."

Just like that, Zolast was frozen. "You…" he muttered a while later, then fell silent again. "How many Stats do you have?"

"Well, you already know Resilience, which sounds like a big deal," I said, and he nodded with the attitude someone would have if I mentioned the Sun was a big deal. "There's the physical stuff, Strength, Agility, and Speed," I said, which he nodded, but looked rather calm. "Then, there's what I think of as the mental ones, Perception, Memory, Charisma, and Attunement."

"T-that's just it?" he said, trying to sound casual, but his stutter ruining it. Clearly, the number of stats i have was even more shocking than I initially assumed.

"Oh, I forgot Concealment," I said, glad that he was a healer, and would be able to cure a heart attack easily.

For that, Zolast sighed. "This time, I know you're teasing me. Ironically, it's impossible to conceal the Concealment stat—" he declared, but his words disappeared halfway as I loosened my control over it, and my presence started to fade into the background.

"Oh, come on, one impossibility at a time," he said as he stood up, and started walking around the table angrily, murmuring curses. "And you awakened all of them naturally."

I just nodded and stayed silent, letting him process the latest revelations.

"You're lucky that you're telling me after the curse, so my Vitality is strong enough to handle those shocks. Or I might have keeled over," he complained a bit more before he sat down. Yet, as his shock slowly disappeared, I could feel his excitement growing.

He sat down after a while. "You have given me a lot to think about," he said. "Including whether it's being a hero that makes awakening easy."

"Maybe," I said. "But it was pretty easy once I discovered the trick behind it. I just need to think about the concept of power, and how exactly that particular stat would help me to get stronger."

"No, it can't be that," Zolast said. "Awakening a stat is an intensely personal journey, one that usually takes personal tragedies, a deep understanding, and a deep alignment with your divine patron…" he said, then stopped. "Which you don't have which is probably making it easier,," he finished.

"Maybe that's the difference, or at least, it makes it easier," I said, then paused. The other parts of his explanation weren't too unreasonable. "Though, I'm not going to discount the personal understanding aspect. I didn't have anything to my name growing up, and the only way I could live true to myself in a way someone couldn't take everything away easily was power. I fought, I ran away, I cheated … All to make sure I could have a say in my own life. For me, only through power could I live my life freely, under my own terms…"

"And, aligning with that personal tenet, and without any interference from a divine patron to muddle your self-perception, you awakened your stats easily." He paused, and closed his eyes.

I poured myself another drink, waiting while he concentrated, but nothing happened for a while. He sighed and opened his eyes. "I guess it's not as easy."

"Do you want me to try and help you?" I said. "I have some ideas."

Zolast stopped, considering before he sighed. "Maybe later," admitted. "We have a lot of time to experiment. Let's focus on our tactics. Tell me more about how you're using your Stats."