Eri looked at his stats, allocating the Attribute Points he had earned accordingly.
Eventually, he settled for a more diverse arrangement.
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Eri White
Lvl 60/60 Pyrefang Saboteur
Str: 132
Dex: 229
End: 116
Wis: 181
Cha: 27
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Level 60. I’m a max-levelled Bronze already, Eri thought with some unease. Can’t upgrade my Core yet; it’s way too soon. It was Copper a mere month ago. If my Core upgrades again without at least a few years passing, people are going to start asking questions. The Church will get involved…
Well, with this many Attribute Points, I probably won’t need to prioritise getting a stronger Core for quite some time.
Going from Level 45 to 60, combined with his rewards from the Port, had given him nearly 300 extra Attribute Points to spend. It was an absurd amount.
The Level-Ups had given me 120 points, with 8 points for each level. The rest came from my kills. Not to mention the bonus objective rewards I received from saving Joarris’s party. It awarded 20 points per attribute, totalling 100 points for a simple bonus objective…
Well, not that there was anything ‘simple’ about it. They all could have very easily died.
Usually, the majority of my Attribute Points come from Level-Ups. Demons at a lower or equal level to me barely give me any points at all; maybe 1 or 2 per hundred kills if I’m lucky. But this time, all those absurdly high-ranking demons I’ve killed had just flooded me with nearly twice that amount.
I doubt something like this will happen again. But at the same time, perhaps it might be worth looking into building a bigger bomb, in case I came across a large demon nest sitting atop a flammable fuel reservoir again…
Another project to add to the list. For the moment, he was looking into his Stat Allocation.
Previously, he had focused the majority of his points on Dexterity, raising his speed and ‘Critical Hit’ damage.
Eri didn’t understand how the System interpreted what a ‘Critical Hit’ was, but what the boy did find out was that whenever he tried to land a fatal blow on his opponents, there was an invisible, almost supernatural force guiding his blade to the best possible spot. His slashes and stabs upon the enemies’ heads, spines, or organs were more powerful, even when he landed them with relatively little force.
In other words, the ‘lethality’ of his strikes rose with every point in Dexterity, even if his raw strength was not increased. Combined with the speed increase, it seemed the best Attribute to invest in to maximise his affinity with his smaller size and dagger-focused combat skills.
However, that mindset had to be adapted as his arsenal expanded. Eri now used explosives and Unarmed Artes with his daggers. Somehow, the Wisdom Attribute increased the intensity of ‘Area-of-Effect Damage’. Eri didn’t really understand how that worked, but he did notice that his bombs became more effective the more Wisdom Points he added. Perhaps it inadvertently allowed him to craft better explosives or use his bombs more effectively.
As for his Unarmed Skill, it scaled off his Strength Attribute, so more points within it were necessary. It helped with his Dagger Skill as well, even if not by much, and in any case, having more physical power in combat was always helpful.
Lastly, Endurance. Eri had relied on his speed and smaller size to keep him safe — investing in a ‘dodge-first’ mindset over enduring hits — but the battle at the port already taught him he couldn’t just rely on agility forever. Eventually, someone was going to get a lucky swing at him, or an unexpected event was going to blindside him. It was an issue of ‘when’, not ‘if’, he would get hurt.
Besides, Eri wasn’t going to be small forever; he was growing up. Once he was taller and broader, his size would increase his odds of getting hit, so it was better to take preemptive measures first.
(Or at least, he’d better be getting taller. That ‘puberty’ thing Elen mentioned had better start happening soon, because Eri would not accept being below five feet tall for the rest of his life.)
Aside from that, the Endurance Attribute bolstered the stamina built upon the Athletics Skill. Having more staying power on hand was useful, so Eri made sure to allocate more points into it.
As more Charisma, well… Having more powerful ‘buffs’ and ‘teammates’ sounds nice, but Eri was still far too used to fighting alone. He couldn’t see how the benefits of Charisma would improve his current progress.
There’s probably something I’m missing. All the Attributes except Charisma were described by the System to have excellent benefits. What does Charisma have that incentivises investment?
Maybe that Bond Level thing I have with Dulcina?
Speaking of the Bond Level… “System, bring up the Companion Bond UI.”
[Understood. Loading Companion UI]
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[Companion Bond Level]
Dulcina Elathion (Bond Level 3; Bond Point: 800)
Elen Ravelyn* (Bond Level 0; Bond Point: 42700)
Joarris Drevaine (Bond Level 0; Bond Point: 150)
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The Bond Level and Bond Point framework was yet another facet of the System that showed up without explaining itself recently. Eri hadn’t really gotten around to figuring out what it did, save for a few glances at the UI whenever it notified him of a Bond Level increase.
There was one thing that really bothered him, though.
“How in the world am I still ‘Bond Level 0’ with Elen?” Eri demanded. “She’s literally the most important person to me. Dulcina’s at Bond Level 3, and I don’t even know if I like her!”
[The prerequisites for unlocking Bond Level 1 with Companion ‘Elen’ have not been met yet.]
“What prerequisites?” Eri asked, baffled. “I barely even knew Dulcina for a day before you gave me Bond Level 1 with her. Meanwhile, I’ve already known Elen for six years! We practically see each other almost every day, barring when she goes on expeditions. How is my ‘bond’ with Elen not developed enough yet?”
[You do not even know her actual name yet.]
Eri stared at the blue screen. “Did… Did you just sass at me?”
Silence. Eri waited for a few more moments, but no other reply came.
He sighed. “Fine, whatever. What are Bond Levels anyway? You haven’t told me how they work yet.”
[Bond Levels represent your relationship between you and various other important companions in your life. All NPCs start with a negative bond to you, and only progress to ‘Bond Level 0’ if sufficient trust and affinity are found between both parties.]
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
[Upon meeting specific prerequisites unique to each character, Bond Level may be increased, unlocking certain benefits to the character in various scenarios. This may come in the form of stat bonuses in combat, the option to hand over Skill Checks to companions instead, Perk Unlocks, or even the options of manually activating relationship options beyond mere platonic feelings.]
“W-what does that last part mean? Are you talking about courtship? And what is that part about manually activating?!”
[It is one of the available options. It is also locked to you at the moment. Romance Routes are not available until the player character reaches above a set age.]
Eri didn’t know how to feel about that. “Not that I’m interested in that, but I would like to point out I’m more than a thousand years old. Technically.”
[...]
Silence. Eri exhaled. “Fine, forget it. I’ll just… never touch that, I guess.”
He absolutely did not like the implications behind the ‘relationship’ options.
“What are these benefits that you talk about? The one with Dulcina? H-her Bond Level, I mean, not… Nevermind. Tell me about Bond Level bonuses.”
[Displaying Companion Dulcina Elathion’s Bond Level Boons…]
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Dulcina Elathion
Bond Level 0: The Temperance
Gain access to Companion’s Stat UI page.
Bond Level 1: Young Prodigy
When in the player’s party, gain +25% Bonus to Quest XP Rewards and +1 Attribute Point for each Side Quest completed (Maximum of 3 Points per month).
Bond Level 2: Elathion Excellence
When in the player’s party and in combat, the player gains Dexterity +4 per Bond Level. After reaching Bond Level 5, the Bonus is increased to +8.
Bond Level 3: Power Of Friendship
Gain access to the Bond Point Shop for Companion.
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Eri carefully read the Bond Level Bonuses for a moment.
“Those are pretty good perks, actually,” he conceded. “And I’ll get more as I improve my bond with Dulcina? What about this ‘Bond Point Shop’? What do Bond Points do?”
[Bond Points are accumulated passively by spending time with the character, fulfilling specific objectives/quests for them, or by gaining their approval.]
[The Bond Point Shop is automatically unlocked at Bond Level 3 for any Companion. You may use the Bond Points accumulated for that specific character to purchase temporary or permanent enhancements for them, similar to how the System Shop functions with Heroism or Villainy Points.
That would explain how his Bond Points with Elen were so high, then. They had known each other for years.
“It says here that even with Bond Level 0, I can ‘view’ my companion’s stats? Can you show me Dulcina’s?”
[Loading Dulcina Elathion’s Attribute Stat Page]
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Dulcina Elathion
Lvl 38/40 Rookie Prodigy
Str: 34
Dex: 68
End: 17
Wis: 32
Cha: 40
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Those were not bad numbers at all — Not as good as he was when he was her level, but then again, Dulcina didn’t have the benefits of the System to work with.
She was rather fragile, though. That was worrying.
“I didn’t realise the System could calculate Attributes for others,” Eri mused. “Given how the grade of the Goddess Core functions as only a rough estimate of a Chosen’s strength, having a numerical sheet is useful.”
However, unlike him, Dulcina did not have the System and thus had no control over the exact allocation of her Attribute Points. Her current Attributes were more of a muddy reflection of her training style and combat preference, rather than choice.
“Show me the Bond Point Shop,” Eri commanded. “I want to see what options I have available.”
[Loading Dulcina Elathion’s Bond Point Shop]
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[Dulcina Elathion Bond Shop]
Bond Point available: 800
Lesser Restoration (5 points)
Provide the Companion with minor healing and cure lesser afflictions. Cannot heal crippling wounds.
Fatigue Removal (5 points)
Removes all fatigue instantly from the Companion, both physical and mental. It can only be used 3 times a day.
Experience Boost (5 points)
Increase Companion’s XP and Skill Proficiency gains by 50% for the next 24 hours. Bonus is increased to 200% if the Companion is more than 20 Heroic Levels below the player, with another 200% for every subsequent 10 Heroic Levels below that.
Lesser Combat Boost (5 points)
All Attributes increase by +10 for the Companion for the next 5 minutes. Cannot stack.
Companion Perk Unlock: Prodigy of the North (300 Points)
Permanently unlock the Perk for Dulcina. Grant the following effects:
Increase all XP gain by 50%. Increases all Attribute Points gained on Level Up by +1. Critical Damage increases by +50% at full health. Dexterity increases by +25 when below half health.
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Those… Those are some really good bonuses.
Eri studied the screen. He was almost tempted to buy some of them and test out their effects, but there was a sense of unease plaguing him.
“It feels wrong to just… modify her Core without her consent,” Eri complained. “Also, how can the System affect other people to this degree? I thought the System’s magic is confined solely to myself. Are you saying you will have access to the growth and body of everyone who becomes close to me in the future?”
Once again, the System did not bother to give him a reply. Eri sighed.
He wanted to just ignore the Bond Point Shop, but the bonuses were too valuable to just abandon without a second thought. Even with a glance, Eri could see how the use of ‘Fatigue Removal’ and ‘Experience Boosts’ combined could drastically improve Dulcina’s growth.
Dulcina’s strongly driven to become stronger. If I explain the System Bond Shop to her, and the effects prove as good as advertised, she will likely consent to the System’s power meddling with her Core and body, uncomfortable as the thought may be.
But that would mean revealing more secrets to her. I’m still on the fence on how long I’m staying with House Elathion, exactly. If I’m leaving the castle by the end of the month, then it’s probably wise not to tell Dulcina more about the System.
Lord Draevan will finish collecting my gold soon. He’ll be expecting an answer on the adoption offer. I know Elen still wants me to reject. Heck, she’s probably regretting bringing me to Kaldreach in the first place…
Decisions, decisions. There was little time left. Eri sighed.
Speaking of Elen, however… “Hey, I have Bond Level 0 with Elen, right? That means I can see her Attribute Page.”
For some reason, the System was slow to reply this time.
[... Correct.]
“Well, show it to me, then. Maybe it will give me a clue on how I can improve her Bond Level…”
[Understood. Loading… Loading…]
Out of everyone, Elen was undoubtedly the ‘Companion’ Eri wanted the highest Bond Level with. No matter what the future held, Eri could not see a scenario where he would willingly leave her side and vice versa. She was a far more ‘permanent’ companion than Dulcina or Joarris, in that sense, and thus unlocking Bond Level Boons with her held greater importance.
It’s weird how I somehow got Joarris’s Bond Level to 0. When did that happen? Eri mused. Out of my three possible ‘Companions’, how did Joarris become one of them? I don’t dislike him, however. Maybe the Bond will come in handy if we ever go on an expedition together, or something.
… Also, this UI is taking a long time to load. What’s going on—
[Load Complete. Displaying /ERROR/ Elen Ravelyn* Attribute Stat Page]
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Elen Ravelyn*
Lvl 99/220* Shield Maiden
Str: 174
Dex: 127
End: 1298*
Wis: 120
Cha: 149
Point Distribution Anomaly Detected. Readings may be inaccurate.
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Eri stared.
“What?” he blurted out. “There’s no way this is right. Her other attributes are somewhat in the right ballpark for a Gold Core, but an Endurance stat of over a thousand?! She’s nowhere near that durable! F-for example, she lost a hand on her expedition, and at the port, she was badly wounded fighting off other Gold-Core Demons!”
The System remained annoyingly silent.
Maybe it’s broken? Eri thought, unsure. Or maybe… Maybe something else. For some reason, her max level limit is 220, instead of 100. That could mean… But, then why in the world would she let me…
He had a suspicion, but he was not sure how to feel about it.
The boy stood there for some time, pondering over the implications.
Eventually, he came to the only possible conclusion… and decided it didn’t matter.
It’s Elen, Eri vehemently told himself. If there’s one person we can trust above anyone else, it’s her. Not even the System is above that. So no matter what her motives are for letting me stay by her side, I will trust her.
Even if she is secretly a reincarnated Saint.
