[Amemura Ryoshu] (Human)

* Status Bar *

[Mana: (Null)]

-Main Stats

[Strength 12.25 (F-)

Endurance 11 (F-)

Agility 11.5 (F-)

Perception 15.3 (F)]

-Secondary Stats

[Charisma 10 (Unranked)

Regeneration 10.15 (F-)

Intelligence 18.8 (F+)]

Sigh.

Looking at the numerical stats, I saw how pathetic my character is.

Other than the average [Perception] and [Intelligence] stats, the other stats are close to that of a normal adult.

The [Charisma] stat can be said to be quite high compared to that of an average person.

Because this is the stat that shows the beauty that is almost the highest in the era before there was a war against the monsters behind the gates of the Temple.

Temple Invasion - also known as World War III by most of the people in this world.

In summary, Elves and Dwarves assisted humans in learning to use supernatural powers to suppress all the monsters and bring peace to the world.

And afterward, there was a period of modern technology with the newfound resources - Mana.

Now Mana has surrounded our entire Earth, making it a great place to cultivate.

An easy rule to remember how stats work is:

Except for 0, which is (Null), only applies to [Mana]. So don't take that 0 because it will rarely appear again in the future.

All the other stats will range from 1 to 100.

Starting from Unranked, varying from 1 to 10.

Every 10 units increase will improve by 1 rank:

[11 → 20 is rank F,

21 → 30 is rank E,

...,

81 → 90 is rank SS,

91 → 100 is rank SSS.]

You don't have to remember all of this, though.

Since you just need to know your rank, you can always check it with your watch or go to the nearest Adventure Guild to check.

The stats detectors also provide something more than just their rank.

It will have the additional minus sign (-), plus sign (+), or nothing at all. It is used to determine what stage of the rank you are: early, mid, or peak rank.

Below 4 is early, above 7 is the peak, and between those milestones is... yeah mid.

For example, if my [Strength] stat is 12.25, it can be immediately understood that it is at rank F-, similar to other stats like [Perception] or [Intelligence] which are rank F (15.3) and rank F+ (18.8), respectively.

The [Charisma] stat is 10, which is average in modern society.

From rank F to D, there is a potential to be a model.

From C to B are the average idols like before the war.

And from rank A to S are among the movie stars of this world.

But from S and above is an indescribable beauty, and it is extremely rare.

Only legendary monsters in history can have such a high stat.

A bit more about the [Charisma] stat in Spiral Academy, every single student is 20 or above.

'But 20 is the lowest level in the academy, only 30 or above is the standard.'

And the highest is 69 (no intention though), which includes nobles or princesses like some of the main characters.

For example, my old crush in this game, Katia, already has a very high stat at 60 when she is just a first-year cadet.

But I should ignore the status problem now since almost any stat can be improved in one or multiple ways.

Now I'll look at [Status Bar]

[* Trait *

* Technique *

* Potential *

[Swordsmanship] (F-)

-Stab (Lv.1)

* Talent *]

So it's true that this character of mine is a real swordsman as he has the potential [Swordsmanship].

Even though his rank is so low that he only has one skill - [Stab].

----Potential----

[Swordsmanship] (F-)

Description: You are a beginner in using swords.

-Stab (Lv.1)

When active, the first close-range hit consumes "Stamina" and increases the "Critical Rate" by 5%.

----------

[Stab] - A fairly basic skill for beginners too...

But an increase in [Critical Rate] is still too good to skip.

Since a [Critical Hit] can multiply that damage by at least two folds.

All right, let's see what I've collected at that old man's place.

----Equipments----

[Hidden Mask] (D+)

Description: Crafted by a Legendary Blacksmith!

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

-Gorgeous

Increases the "Charisma" stat by 5 units when equipped.

-Hidden

When you infuse Mana into the mask, the User erases a portion of your existence.

-??

-??

--------

Just like the old man Atsuta said, the mask on my hand can help me hide when infused with Mana...

But yeah, I don't have Mana yet so this function is temporarily useless.

'Oh, but other than that, I can become more beautiful when I put on a mask, a pretty good function, and... not one but two hidden functions?'

Can't the System analyze it?

"Appraisal."

[The level of Authority "System" is too low to fully appraise this item!]

'Wait? Do I have an [Authority]?'

'That's new.'

"System, what is my Authority?"

----Authority----

[System] (Lv.1)

Description: given by ▯▮▮▮▯▯

-Status Bar (Lv.1)

▮▯▮▯▮▯▯▮

-Appraisal (Lv.1)

▮▯▯▮▯▮▮▮

----------

"It cannot even appraise itself."

Can [System] be considered as an [Authority]? Perhaps it was because I am an NPC?

Hmm, screw those useless thoughts.

Now let's check my weapons.

----Weapons----

* [Formless Bow] (E-)

Description: a fine bow crafted by a friend of the legendary blacksmith.

-Retractable

Can be retracted by infusing Mana.

-Guard Break

Super flexible bowstring makes every shot increase 5% "Attack Power" and 10% "Critical Rate".

And if it is a "Critical Hit", it ignores 90% of the opponents' "Defense".

* [Iron Dart Rope] (F)

Description: a string dart made of iron, crafted by the legendary blacksmith at a young age.

--------

Even though I couldn't retract the bow yet, I could at least use the second function [Guard Break].

So in case something wrong happened, I would still have a method to fight against it.

Fortunately, I had asked for a few more arrows to shoot before I teleported.

----Items----

[Wooden Arrow] x15 [F-]

Description: made from cheap materials and has super weak destructive power.

--------

Atsuta said that if he gave away too many items, he would lose a lot of money.

So he just gave me about a dozen low-quality arrows.

"Well, beggars can't be choosers."

I looked at the last 2 items that have been upgraded just now.

----Items----

* [Memory Orb] [Good Memory] (F-) → [Super Memory] (B-)

(Potential → Talent)

Description: Increase memorization → Memorize almost anything.

-Nearly Cannot Forget (New!)

Can remember almost everything the User has heard and seen.

* [Memory Orb] [Fast Reflexes] (F-) → [Lightning Reflexes] (C)

(Potential → Talent)

Description: Accelerate reflexes → Reflexes develop beyond normal humans.

-Sense Enhancement (New!)

All 5 senses are beyond the human realm.

-Death Sense (New!)

The User can sense sudden death before it strikes, increasing the "Perception" stat by 20 points in 1.5 seconds.

--------

As expected, the first time using the bug will be the biggest upgrade.

Since I'm currently in an A+ rank Hidden Temple, the energy released from the gate is very condensed and powerful.

This bug will ‌make the energy from the skill book or the memory orb upgrade via the energy coming from the gate.

Now I'll use the bug again to upgrade the two skills to the highest possible rank, A+.

But I've been rubbing the two orbs against the gate for over 5 minutes now and it still doesn't show any signs of upgrading at all.

Wait a second.

Perhaps!?

Did it say that the bug was fixed‌?

"Damnit! Damnit!"

So... all bugs can only be used once?!

At first, I was going to use bugs or glitches, but then I would become stronger, much much faster.

And even most bosses would be nothing if I could use a bug continuously.

But that [System] could fix bugs immediately ruined my entire strategy.

'If I had known this sooner, I would have gone to an SSS+ rank Temple in the first place...'

Sigh.

"Whatever needs to be done has been done. I couldn't undo it anyways."

"Those two skills will speed up my training process and [Lightning Reflexes] will also be very useful in any battle."

Plus, I could upgrade all abilities in this game in several ways and with a lot of bugs. So that's not the end of the world.

'I will take note to save some of the most important bugs and will make full use of them in the future.'

But right now, I will absorb these two memory orbs and prepare to finish this Temple's trial.

'Looks like they have to be swallowed, right?'

Those two orbs looked disgusting.

'Jesus, hopefully, it has no taste at all.'

Gulp.

[Host has acquired 2 new talents "Super Memory" and "Lightning Reflexes".]

Suddenly, all of my senses were boosted to the highest level. The surroundings suddenly became decelerated. My sensation was constantly being tickled, which slowly became a freaking pain.

I knelt down and then lay pathetically.

I tried moving my arm out in front of me and wiggling it back and forth.

A strange feeling, as if I had just turned on rewind mode.

'This must be the aftereffect of [Lightning Reflexes].'

And not only my senses but also my brain is working at full capacity. The old memories that were buried deep in my subconscious suddenly came back on the surface, as if I had just rewatched all of my experiences at once.

I should have consumed each one every time, but now because of my naivety, both of them hurt me like hell.

After "resting" for a while, my senses returned to normal. I think so.

I breathed deeply to regain my consciousness and keep myself sane.

Afterward, I went to the grass near the gate; I groped for a while to find something very important.

I found some mushrooms with herbs that are quite useful for later.

[Poisonous Mushroom], [Forgotten Grass], [Echidna Flower]...

Weird, I remember those items showing up kinda clearly in the game, right?

Or has the game changed its spawn location?

"Oh!"

"Here it is."

"Appraisal."

----Items----

* [Four-leaf Clover] (A)

Description: Legend says that whoever finds it will be granted a wish.

* [Seven-Year Ginseng] (A+)

Description: Super rare, can make medicine or absorb directly.

-Enhance

When consumed, increase "Main Stats" by about 1 to 5 points.

-Limit Break

Removing impurities and increasing the ability of the consumer to "Absorb" Mana to rank A+.

--------

"Alright!"

"Let's go to my first dungeon in this world!"

I spread my arms and opened the gate.

A cave hidden deep in the ground was opened, the atmosphere around this place was very dark. On the wall hung torches to help adventurers see better.

I've been to this place more than a hundred times in the game, but looking at it directly still gives me a fresh feeling.

The challenge of this Temple is simply solving puzzles and avoiding traps but luckily I remember all the shortcuts and pitfalls.

What I'm aiming for is the [Reward Chest] at the end of the challenge.

Alright, I'll get out of this dungeon soon, so I'll take the time to explain some concepts from earlier.

Maybe many people don't know, but each character has a different power limit.

And that thing humans call [Potential Limit], or according to the System, it is [Mana].

So why do each of us have different limits?

"Oh my god, I nearly forgot that sh-!"

A sharp arrow shot abruptly from the wall, almost hitting him in the face.

He took a dart with poison on the tip.

'This will be quite helpful.'

All right, next.

[Potential Limit] is directly based on the [Mana] stat to judge a person's potential.

[Mana] is the percentage of Mana in the air that we can [Absorb] and [Store] them into our body.

For example, let's just symbolize that our body is like a cup of water.

[Absorb] will depend on the size of the mouth of the cup.

[Store] will be the amount of water that the cup can hold.

And at the moment, I don't even have a cup.

Mana Core is necessary for humans to store Mana because they cannot do it directly like other races or monsters.

I clicked on a hidden button on the wall and a door suddenly appeared.

This is the shortcut to complete the whole freaking trial. Now I just need to walk for a few more minutes, and then I'm done.

I know it's pretty lame, but shouldn't we take advantage of everything?

So next, what is the effect of the Ginseng root I found earlier?

That's the rest of the equation [Potential Limit] - [Absorb].

Each person is born with a different Mana [Absorb] ability, some people are favored by Mana over others. And of course, it's possible to improve [Absorb] by other means.

Eating Ginseng will remove most of the impurities in the body to increase the efficiency of [Absorb] Mana more.

So if I absorb this ginseng root, my "cup" will have a funnel attached to it.

So despite having ZERO [Store] ability right now, I still can use Mana at lower efficiency.

Even though both are very important, it is not possible to [Store] if you cannot [Absorb] Mana into the body.

[Mana Core] not only stores Mana but also amplifies and transforms it, so don't underestimate the [Store] ability.

However, I am not in a hurry.

Now I will consume ginseng root after using the next glitch at the end of this path.

* *

After a few dozen minutes of walking, I arrived at the end of the trial.

If it was in the game, I would use the bug to increase the speed infinitely.

However, it can only be used once, so I should save it for another sticky situation.

When completing the trial, a gate will appear at the exit.

And along with that, of course, there's a [Reward Chest].

I opened it, and a bunch of items appeared in front of my eyes.

----Reward Chest----

[Gold Bar x5], [Protection Necklace (A+)], and [Extra Stat: Alteration].

--------

[Alteration: 1 (Unranked).]

I went to stand in front of a statue near the end of the room.

It has the shape of a huge creepy-looking eye.

According to the game, this is the symbol of the God of fear - Phobos.

I could have found another dungeon, but I have little choice, especially when I'm weak like this.

Plus, I can do this bug on any statue.

"Sigh. I hope I won't regret what will happen next."

I took the four-leaf clover I just picked up and began praying with a spell:

"QWTYUIOPLKJHGFDSAZXCVNM."

And then I tore that four-leaf clover and dropped exactly 3 leaves on top of the statue.

[A new effect has occurred.]

[All stat points are now temporarily stacked into a stat in only 1 minute.]

I pressed on my newly added stat [Alteration].

[Adding 89 stat points to the Extra Stat 'Alteration'!]

[All other stats will temporarily change to 1 to keep the Host alive.]

[Alteration: 1 → 90 (SS+).]

Right after that, I took the remaining leaf and swallowed it.

[Conditions have been fulfilled.]

[Another additional effect has occurred!!]