It took a while for Cloud to realize these incredible circumstances they got themselves in. Though considering how rare it is to find just one attribute fruit, it would take anyone a while to realize what they could do when they found a whole barrel full of it.
After some time to discuss with Cloud, Zeke realized the implications behind his manic actions. So the two wielders of the Runecraft skill worked together to create a rune array built specifically to contain the powerful energy hidden inside the attribute fruit.
As the two drew their runes, everyone watched with rapt attention despite the boring process, forgoing their dungeon run at the moment as there wasn’t a better way to take advantage of this now.
Not to mention it had only been a few hours at best. So they took it upon themselves to ensure this idea would work.
Zeke created, with the use of Barrier Craft, a podium-like barrier with a cylindrical shape. They were currently drawing runes all across the surface, and once they were done, they placed a single fruit on top of the center of the circular surface of the podium.
Once everything was done, Zeke put his Class skills to work, using Phantasmal Runes and Runic Echoes to work into it. This way, the power of the runes would be increased ten-fold, especially with his incredibly high Spirit stat.
Now, with everything into place, Zeke followed Cloud’s instructions to the letter, based on the knowledge he gathered throughout his years of traveling. He activated the rune array, causing his mana to jumpstart the process of the runes, which were all concentrated entirely into one central point–right where the attribute fruit was.
In his eyes, thanks to his Recovery Skill, he saw it all. The vast amount of mana he poured in through the rune array, helpfully supplied with Cloud’s intrinsic design to include the ambient mana in the air as they all flowed seamlessly into the attribute fruit.
The energy within the fruit–not mana, but basically system energy–didn’t take the foreign mana lightly. The idea was to empower the fruit to the point that it could even affect the system energy while still contained within the vessel–in this case, the fruit–without ruining the product.
Due to the lack of genuine attribute fruits, the mages of the past developed several ways to empower an attribute fruit. One such case was the runists’ way they were doing now. Another way was, of course, involving people who had the Chef or any other type of cooking-based Class to re-create the fruit and empower it further. There was also the way enchanters do it, but they still needed expensive tools and materials to pull it off.
Runists, however, were the cheaters that used mana to pay for everything. And Zeke was the ultimate cheater, using his Barrier Craft skill to escape from using any expensive metal or material to create this phenomenon.
Eventually, the slow and painful procedure of processing foreign mana into the system energy of the fruit finally finished. After a few minutes, ensuring that the runes were stable throughout it all, the rune array finished glowing and the now newly-enhanced attribute fruit lay before him.
It didn’t look anything different from the outside, and that was the point. But through his eyes, Zeke saw that the energy contained within the fruit was bursting at the seams. He was worried that his mana would overwhelm the system energy within–almost watering down the energy rather than enhancing it–but thankfully that wasn’t the case.
With a steady hand, he lifted the apple up to show to everyone else. Despite not showing any differences, it felt like it was glowing slightly from the lights of the graziers surrounding them.
“So… it’s done,” Zeke said, more hesitant and nervous than he wished. “Who wants to try it out first?”
This time, nobody answered. Despite their eagerness to eat the fruits earlier just minutes ago, now they hesitated after seeing the newly created enhanced fruit. It didn’t look any different, but anyone with eyes can tell that a lot of magic was used, and he wondered whether that by itself couldn be considered unhealthy, like pouring in a bottle’s worth of chocolate sauce into a plate of veggies.
However, Val raised her hand. “I’ll try it out.”
Nobody said anything as she approached. It wasn’t like the Experts could deny her anyways. What’s more, the Journeymen knew that if anything should happen, then at least Zeke and Cloud could come in to heal her. What’s more, she was tough. Not Zacharia tough, but still tough.
Zeke handed the fruit over to Val, and after nodding in thanks, she hesitated for just a moment before opening her jaw and chomping it to the core.
A few seconds passed after eating it fully, and Val stayed still with her eyes closed. Everyone waited with trepidation as finally, Val’s eyes opened and darted left and right, seemingly reading something.
A high pitched scream escaped from her, making everyone nearly piss themselves in fright.
“What’s wrong?! Are you okay?!” Cloud asked as though the sky was falling.
“All…” Val seemed to be hyperventilating, yet the manic look in her eyes spoke not of despair, but of sheer elation. “All of my attributes increased by 5 points, across the board! I even regained the points I lost when I reached the cap of my stats on top of my caps increasing! What is this?! This is incredible!”
Before Zeke could do much of anything after hearing the news, Val went over to him and gave him the strongest bear hug she could ever muster.
“Haaahaha, this is great! I love it! This is so great!”
“T-That’s… great… umm… please…”
Zeke’s face was turning blue as her embrace was clutching his entire body in ways that made him wheeze more. Each movement caused his insides to squeeze, and his skin turned blue and bruised despite his training over the weeks.
His vision was turning blurry before Cloud managed to stop her in time. She settled him down gently, getting caught by Mikella as he breathed long and hard. She then went ahead and hugged Cloud right after, still giggling like mad.
“Did you say that you not only gained extra points, but even regained points that you lost?” Zacharia asked, making sure that her words weren’t messed up from the exhilaration.
“Exactly!” Val nodded, then turned to Zeke. “Zeke, do you think you can do more?”
“Hah… yeah…” Zeke breathed as everyone turned to him, Mikella offering back rubs to ease his pain. They were completely expectant of his answer, to which he replied with a smile. “Let’s keep going.”
…..
> You have eaten a Spiritually Enhanced Attribute Fruit.
>
> The limits of all your attributes have been increased by 100.
>
> You have gained +5 STR from the enhanced fruit.
> You have gained +5 DEX from the enhanced fruit.
> You have gained +5 INT from the enhanced fruit.
> You have gained +5 SPI from the enhanced fruit.
> You have gained +5 VIT from the enhanced fruit.
> You have gained +5 END from the enhanced fruit.
…..
> Attribute Analysis complete. Displaying attribute growth limits.
>
> Strength: 850
> Dexterity: 900
> Intelligence: 950
> Spirit: 1250
> Vitality: 800
> Endurance: 850
With some modifications added into the rune now that Zeke knew more about the procedure, he made it so that every fruit can be enhanced by batches rather than one by one. A good time-saving process considering their current schedule. While Zeke can’t really believe that his Spirit stat would ever reach this high in the future, it was still better having it than none at all.
Though with the increase in his overall stats, he might have to rethink that possibility.
The Journeymen who had difficulty with their stat caps were gobbling them up as soon as they could. While Val regained her points that she lost when she capped out, she was ensuring that she would never reach that state again, and Cloud was no different. Even more, their stats increased for every fruit they consume. Even Zacharia took it upon himself to show humbleness by eating the enhanced fruits, closing in on the caps himself.
As for the Experts, while they didn’t go through the horrid process of capping and losing possible points, the extra stat points gained from eating the fruits caused them to eagerly eat more and more, all while trying to hold back their rising power.
But soon, as all good things do, it came to an end.
“Hey! I stopped getting stat points!” Mikella called out, a visible frown on her face.
“Me too,” Myra responded in turn, and turning to Piker got him to nod in agreement.
“Really? How many did you gain?” Val asked, getting Mikella to look through her notifications to count.
“I gained 30 points in each stat.”
“Huh… I’m still gaining points,” Val pointed out, getting more frowns from all the Experts around her. “What’s going on?”
“Most likely due to us being Journeymen,” Cloud pointed out, trying to look presentable despite all the crumbs of the fruits still covering the corners of his mouth. “If I have to take a shot in the dark–30 points for Experts who reached level 30, and 60 possible points for those who reached Journeymen?”
“Kinda on the nose there, isn’t it?” Val said, arching a brow, but then shrugged. “Eh, definitely easy to remember. Still, I can’t believe we can even gain points like this.”
“It’s like drinking a stat-boosting elixir,” Cloud said, staring at the fruits that were still enhanced yet still uneaten. Zeke did a lot of improvements. “And like an elixir, there’s only so much you can gain.”
“How much is one of those elixirs?” Mikella asked, and Zeke could already tell the numbers rising in his head.
“Not enough to reach an attribute fruit’s price, but still pretty hefty,” Val pointed out. “Even with elixirs, if you don’t increase your stats, that’s just money wasted.”
“So,” Piker spoke up this time. “If we advance to Journeymen, does that mean we can increase our stats by 30 more points? Or is that 60 extra points?”
Now that was a question Zeke wanted to consider. Still, if the system has any kind of balance, he feared that it would be the former. Otherwise, he can’t imagine just how sickeningly powerful the rich people would be if they had their hands on enhanced fruits like his.
“Most likely just 30 points extra,” Cloud shook his head. “Otherwise, we would be gaining 90 points instead of 60. Then again–”
“Ooh!” Val suddenly shouted after she stared hard at a very obviously bitten apple in her hand. “I stopped gaining points!”
“Yep, looks like 60 is the limit for us,” Cloud smirked, just the idea of being proven right was enough to make him genuinely gleeful.
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
As Cloud expected, the Journeymen’s attributes also stopped increasing after reaching 60 points. Even though it stopped, the 60 points alone had made their auras practically visible to the Experts. Not that the young fighters didn’t feel overflowing with power themselves.
Zeke himself never imagined all of his attributes increasing a whopping 30 points. It only made his rune enhancements that much more powerful in return, with his Spirit stat, his main stat, becoming higher than ever before.
Which begs the question–was this normal?
“Cloud, can anyone gain points from the fruits if a Runist enhanced them?” Zeke pointed out, pointing at the barrel of the fully enhanced fruits. “Wouldn’t you know about this?”
“Honestly, I only heard about Runists capable of enhancing fruits,” Cloud shook his head. “Remember, attribute fruits are incredibly expensive. Advancing a stage can passively raise your caps, but the more you train, the closer you get to it. I’ve only ever eaten about three fruits before I met you two, and Val here only ever ate five. None of them have been enhanced since, well…”
“Runists like to overcharge others for crazy amounts of money,” Val spat out, looking to the side as she said it. Soon she realized her words and turned to Zeke. “Not that I think you’re like them, Zeke. Not at all.”
“Which explains why Cloud raised you as a Runist,” Zacharia pointed out, which honestly brought down the mood a little. Cloud frowned deeply at Zacharia, but he never bothered correcting him.
It didn’t feel like Zacharia was trying to be a downer. From his perspective, what Cloud did felt closer to grooming a young man into becoming a role he desperately needed for the town. In a way, it sounded like Cloud manipulated Zeke.
Zeke, however, nodded in return. “Then I’m even more thankful that Cloud told me to pick Runist. I never once regretted the choice.”
The words were genuine, at least to Zeke himself. He really was thankful as without it, he never would have advanced the way he did. He never would’ve been able to help others the way he did.
Hearing his words, bringing both Cloud and Val some peace of mind as they smiled, Zacharia crossed his arms.
“I see. That will only push you farther into your path. I expect to see more good things from you, Zeke.”
The praise was surprising, to say the least. Then again, Zeke did help Zacharia gain a crazy amount of power in just a few short minutes of eating fruits. That much was expected for Mikella as she nodded in approval.
As soon as everyone was done, the Journeymen picked up the excess fruits into their packs. Zeke and the other experts also put away the enhanced fruits into their own storage pack. They had enough fruits in case something happened to one another. The soldiers were definitely in dire need of them.
“We should get moving,” Cloud stated, raising himself up. “What about you three? How are you feeling?”
Myra, Piker, and Mikella stood up, wiping away the crumbs that started piling up around their laps. They looked a little embarrassed about it, but they faced the lords either way.
“We got no stat caps to worry about now!” Myra smiled. “And I feel so powerful! I need some exercise, especially after eating so much.”
“And since Mikella and Zeke already went all out before, it’s our turn,” Piker turned to Mikella. “Surely you’d give us at least that, right?”
Mikella winced, frowning at the man before slumping forward. “Alright, alright. I guess that’s fair.”
“Then let’s keep going,” Zeke continued. “I’ll keep watch. If anything attacks, I’ll defend and you guys can strike from behind.”
The two eagerly nodded as the group went ahead. Zeke also went ahead to check his own status, now that everyone had a chance to look at them themselves.
> Name: Zeke Parlow (Battle Mage)
> Race: Human
> Spiritual Runist: Level 45
> Attunement: The World (Tier 1)
> STR: 55
> DEX: 153
> INT: 205
> SPI: 246
> VIT: 85
> END: 91
> Free Points: 0
>
> General Skills:
> Mana Manipulation* (R) Level 6
> Kinetic Perception (U), Level 2
> Unarmed Mastery (C), Level 5
> Battle Runecraft* (E) Level 2
> Pain Resistance (R*) Level 1
> Steadfast Mind (U) Level 7
> Parallel Thought (U) Level 5
> Meditation (C) Level 7
>
> Acquired Skills:
> Barrier Craft (E*) Level 2
> Recovery (E*) Level 9
>
> Class Skills:
> Runic Library Level 4
> Inscription Proficiency Level 6
> Runic Spell Level 4
> Phantasmal Runes Level 3
> Runic Echoes Level 3
>
> Title Skill:
> Magic Might (T), Level 1 (Maxed)
It was an incredible jump in power, all in just a few minutes of eating fruits. Even now, his body didn’t feel like his own, and he felt every muscle and magical nerve in his body straining to contain his power just to avoid falling over on his ass.
It wasn’t long before Myra spotted some lizards running at them again. Piker and Myra went forward, forgoing any kind of strategy and just ready to plow them.
Compared to before, the lizards were nothing but sandbags for the Experts to wail on. It was a brutal fight, so much so that Zeke and Mikella returned to discussing their potential future while the two fought on, a sort of manic glee escaping from the two of them.
Zeke also discussed with the lords on what to do with this technique to enhance their available attribute fruits, including the increased attribute points. With their current haul, they could basically raise a lot of funds for the town. However, they all agreed that it was preferable to avoid selling the fruits and only keep it with the kingdom, as they were the ones in charge of the current town’s upkeep. Not to mention the potential threats that the town would have if people found out that this out of the way hubble managed to get their hands on such valuable fruits.
He returned back to the scene ahead after watching Myra face a lizard. Piker was currently facing four down on his own, using his sword to defend against attacks while keeping them all in a icey field. Their legs covered in frost, Piker dealt with them easily, his Metal Slash skill making dividends already as he sliced them all apart with his sword.
Myra, on the other hand, kept away from Piker, flames surrounding her. Her fast jabs and heavy slashes burned away the lizards with ease.
There was a smile on her, as though she was released from confinement. Piker didn’t show that kind of look, but his posture was loose. Despite the lack of tension in his shoulders, he never showed any openings, something that Mikella pointed out herself.
“They got so powerful now,” Mikella explained, mostly muttering to Zeke. “Honestly, it’s giving me a bit of a scare.”
“Seriously?” Zeke raised a brow. “You?”
“Yeah,” Mikella nodded in agreement, though Zeke was intending that to be humorous. He was actually surprised at her response. “I don’t think it’s just the stats improving. I wonder if all this time, everyone was holding back on improving to avoid getting stat bonuses…”
“That’s…” Zeke paused, letting that sink in. “Wow, I didn’t even think about that.”
“It’s no wonder,” Cloud said, interrupting them. “You two never had to bother worrying about your stats. But we were all raised to ensure that we don’t go too far, or else we’ll get stuck unless we find a stat fruit or two. You have no idea just how much of a burden it is to avoid hitting a stat block.”
“What happens when you do?” Mikella asked.
“It’s like hitting a wall,” Val explained. “Like your lungs getting caught and strangled. It was uncomfortable, and the system energy can’t enter it without you feeling a lot of pain.”
“Ouch, really?” Mikella winced. “I thought the worst part was losing points.”
“Obviously, that’s a given,” Val nodded. “But there’s a lot of dangers that come with that. Sometimes, people get desperate when they reach a block, the pain being too much to bear, and they often cross a line when they do.”
“So it’s not just a numbers thing, it’s a literal physical issue,” Zeke said. “Wow, being under the system is a pain in the ass…”
“Tell me about it.”
Zacharia said, which caught everyone off guard and stared at him.
Cloud shook his head, ignoring the strangely casual Zacharia for now. “Anyways, you said something like a mini boss, right?”
Zeke took Cloud’s need to change the subject and rode on it. “Yeah. We’re not sure how far yet, but we actually had to go through a special room before reaching there. In there, that’s where we found dozens and dozens of coins, but we couldn’t even touch them.”
Mikella grumbled about it after that, and Zeke could still feel the sting of realizing that none of those coins were available to keep. As though it was just taunting them like a backdrop to a bad video game boss room. Just before they could continue, Myra ran over to them with an excited look.
“Hey! A skill book dropped from one of the monsters I killed!”
That got everyone’s attention as Piker followed up behind her. He looked a little sore that she was the one that got the rare drop, and Zeke couldn't help but grin at the sight.
“What is it?” Mikella asked, staring at the book.
Zeke also stared at the book and saw the notification.
> Skill Book: Athletics (Rare)
“Athletics?” Zeke asked, prompting Val to widen her eyes.
“Are you serious?” Val said, her tone implying sheer disbelief, if that was even possible right after the stat improvements. “That skill is just like Acrobatics! It’s a passive increase to your physical stats, except instead of focusing on Dexterity, it’s on Strength instead.”
Every Expert around them marveled at the book now, even Zeke despite knowing that there was no way he would get it for himself. Sure, he has an Unarmed Mastery skill, but he would be pretty pissed himself if a support mage decided to take a clearly valuable skill for physical fighters for himself.
Then, in a surprising turn of events, Myra closed her eyes, a look of pure grief on her face, and handed it over to Mikella. “You get it.”
“What?” Mikella took an actual step back in surprise. “What are you–”
“You need this more than I do. You got that time-limit, right? It’s better that you get super strong, super fast. And since you got that cheating special status, it’s possible.”
Mikella looked at Myra as though a new light was shown. It was obvious just how cool Myra was as a person, but despite it all, giving away a clearly valuable skill that would help her out just as well to Mikella was something they still didn’t expect.
But just when Mikella considered taking the book, Val suddenly jumped in.
“Wait! She can’t!” Val shouted.
“Huh? Why?” Myra asked in disbelief, looking at the captain with widened eyes.
“Skills like Athletics is part of a ‘body type’ series of Acquired skills, and Acrobatics is a part of that,” Val explained, pointing at herself then at Mikella. “Even if it is possible to learn the two, both skills would be in conflict with one another. It’s just not synergistic enough to handle the increase in power. If anything, it would practically make Mikella crippled if she learned it.”
“What?!”
Now the book was treated like it was poison, and Myra instantly pulled the book away from Mikella. It was a bit funny to see, but Zeke’s heart warmed at just how much Myra cared for Mikella’s upbringing.
“Aww, seriously?” Mikella said in pure distaste. “So I can’t get super powerful by combining these passive skills together?”
“People tried to and they ended up regretting it. Trust me on this,” Val said, her tone turning extremely serious. “On that note, even if you don’t have a skill that’s part of the body series, it’s important to figure out which skill you want to implement into your build. This is another way to solidify your path, but as you might expect–this sort of body series skill is extremely, extremely expensive.”
“I get it…” Zeke nodded in understanding. “So if there are more skills, does that mean there’s a skill that increases the Spirit stat? Wait, is that even a skill for the body series?”
“It definitely is,” Cloud nodded. “I have one myself, but it increases my Intelligence. It’s called ‘Knowledge’.”
“The same for me,” Zacharia pointed out. “I have a skill called ‘Perseverance’. It increases my Endurance.”
“Then,” Piker said. “That’s the skill I intend to learn. So I won’t be needing Athletics for myself.”
Despite his clear interest before, now that the knowledge of the body series came to be, Piker intends to put it aside for a better skill fitting his build. And since Cloud said that even mental stats get a skill like that, Zeke fully plans on finding a skill book for raising Spirit himself.
And since that’s pretty much everyone, including Mikella and Valorie having their own Acrobatics for themselves, the Athletics skill was left entirely in Myra’s hands.
She looked at the skill book now, her shoulders heaving as if she couldn't’ believe it.
“Y-You’re serious?” Myra said, her breath almost caught in her throat. “Even though I already got a skill like Incendiary Grasp? I don’t think–”
“Myra, just take the skill,” Mikella smiled, cutting off Myra’s clear hesitation. “Get stronger. I have a feeling that with you by my side, it makes reaching Journeymen a lot easier.”
Mikella turned to Zeke, and as expected, he nodded in return. With that out of the way, Myra looked ready to cry before shaking it off and learning the skill.
For a moment, Zeke worried that the stat requirements for the skill would ruin the mood, but he should’ve expected that thanks to the enhanced fruits, Myra had enough to learn it.
Another extremely valuable thing to learn–if you eat enough attribute fruits and raise your caps, it’s possible to decrease the amount of stat points necessary to learn a skill book. That much was the case when despite Mikella’s Acrobatics skill requiring her Dexterity to be at 500, for Myra, she managed to learn it at her Strength stat being over 200.
The process was, just like before, terrible to go through. There was no way to decrease the pain from learning a new skill being burned into your brain, but her training got her to handle it well.
And because she was cool like that, she showed the notification to everyone around her.
> Acquired Skill learned: Athletics.
…..
> Athletics (Rare), Level 1
> You can overcome your body’s limits. All physical attributes (Strength, Dexterity, Vitality, Endurance) receive 1% increase each level. Stamina consumption decreases and overall balance increases.