Despite what one might think, it seemed that his village was not normal.
Déon was very interested in the complexity of what he was reading. According to the books, not all humans had the same status windows. By accomplishing very specific achievements, humans could unlock other stats that might not exist in others.
"Hmmm, so the system rewards effort," he thought, pleased. If talent and power in this world were only tied to genetics, he would have hated it.
As for skills,
He had also found information related to them. From what he read, after awakening, each human received an initial skill according to their profession and attribute. Then, as they advanced in rank, they unlocked other skills that were more or less related to the initial skill.
It was recommended to fully master one's initial skill before seeking to advance in rank in order to gain a second one. Only the initial skill could evolve and increase in rank.
The advantage was that the higher your initial skill's rank, the greater the chance that other skills you would unlock in the future by increasing your rank would also be superior.
For example, if a rank F human, when advancing to the next rank, had their initial skill stagnating at rank E, the chances that their next skill would surpass or even match rank E were almost zero.
At the same time, another rank F human would have a better chance of unlocking a rank A or S skill when advancing to rank E, if their initial skill was rank S.
"I really have my work cut out for me," he said as he began to get up.
"Hmmm, done for today?" asked Madam Jeanne upon seeing him stand.
"Yes, madam," said Déon, putting away the books he had taken. Whether yesterday or today, he had searched for books that spoke in more detail about statistics, but he hadn't found them.
"What if I asked her," he muttered, a complicated look on his face.
Madam Jeanne, seeing Déon murmuring to himself, took the initiative to question him.
"Déon, are you alright? Do you have any concerns?" she asked, adjusting her golden monocle.
"Yes, madam. I'd like to know if you know a way to increase stats. I have a few theories about it, but I'd like to know more," replied Déon frankly.
"Hmmm, he has theories?! Is this really a twelve-year-old speaking? Kids these days are frightening… but it's clear he has some potential. Should I persuade him to become a scholar since he's not very skilled at magic?" she thought, studying Déon's face.
Jeanne pushed away all the thoughts she had just had, remembering Nox and Tilda. "Mad lunatics," she murmured, recalling a memory with an amused look on her face.
"Where to begin? First, you need to understand that there are two types of statistics. Stats related to the physical (Strength, Agility, Endurance) and stats related to magic (Mana, Intelligence, Luck)," she began explaining.
"To my knowledge, there are only three ways to increase a human's stats.
The first is training. Stats can be increased by working hard, especially those related to the physical. I suppose you already noticed that?" Madam Jeanne asked Déon, trying to gauge his knowledge.
"Yes, I noticed it while training this morning," said Déon.
"Hmm… I see. As for the other stats like Mana, Intelligence, and Luck, you can increase them too, but only by doing specific actions.
Mana can be increased by absorbing ambient mana, but that remains very difficult, since there are different types of mana (fire, ice…) that are interwoven in the environment.
Intelligence, on the other hand, is increased by accumulating knowledge or making unprecedented discoveries. But it's also very difficult to increase this stat in that way.
Finally, Luck — it's almost impossible to increase," explained Jeanne as she pulled open a drawer in her desk to take out a book…
"The second method to increase stats is to kill monsters. After each rank increase, or in rare cases by killing monsters, stat points can be granted by the system. It's then up to the awakened one to distribute them as they see fit.
The third method is relatively simple. It just involves equipping magical equipment. By equipping certain artifacts, stats can increase randomly," she said, concluding her explanation.
"So, are you satisfied with the explanations?" she asked Déon, adjusting her monocle.
"Yes, thank you very much for your explanations," replied Déon, lowering his head slightly.
"Here, this book goes into greater depth on the subject of skills and statistics. I'll lend it to you," said Madam Jeanne, handing the book to Nox.
After thanking her, Déon left the library and took the path leading to his home without delay. He had learned a lot today.
"Déon, huh… Hm, it's nice to talk with someone from time to time, isn't it?" said Jeanne, looking at a silhouette lurking in the shadows in a corner of the library.
"You're right, madam," replied the shadow before disappearing.
Once back home, the sun was already at its zenith. It wasn't the ideal time to start training, but Déon was curious to see what the techniques in the manuals his father had given him looked like.
After retrieving them from his room, he took the first one and began to leaf through it. It was a swordsmanship book. The first pages taught the basics — different exercises to have good posture and footwork. Then, at the end of the book, was the actual sword technique.
"Forgotten Truth," murmured Déon, rather surprised by the name of the sword technique, which he found unoriginal. After glancing further down to see what the sword movements and their explanations looked like, Déon didn't know what to think. He had expected anything but this.
The Forgotten Truth technique was not based on a defined style. It could shift from a style relying on speed and precision, to a powerful style focused on strength, then return to a style combining finesse and strategy. This technique seemed perfect, focusing entirely on efficiency.
However, unlike most techniques, it had no set movements but rather states that seemed to be abstract concepts.
First state: Formless Sword
Second state: Obliteration
Third state: Truth
After reading the explanations for each state, Déon didn't understand them. But one thing was certain — the Forgotten Truth technique was very powerful.
Tired of racking his brain to understand the Forgotten Truth technique, he took the second book — the Falling Stars technique. It was an archery technique composed of two movements.
First movement: Without Shadow
Second movement: Kamikaze
This time, after reading the explanations for the two movements, he more or less understood the prerequisites for executing them. Putting the sword technique aside for now, Déon didn't wait any longer before starting to train in this one.
Ding!
[Your Endurance has increased by +1]
[Your Strength has increased by +1]
After hours of training, he began to receive system notifications indicating his stats had gone up.
Training with the bow wasn't easy — he had to stabilize his posture, cultivate patience… His whole body ached, especially his arms, but giving up was out of the question. He finally stopped in the evening, just before his mother returned.
Tilda, Déon's mother, had left the village hospital earlier than usual. Upon returning home, sensing a presence in the backyard, she took a look and saw her son.
"Looks like you just finished," she said, seeing the arrows and a bow on the ground.
"Yes. Too bad you came a bit later, otherwise you would have seen me training," replied Déon with a smile.
"Are you mocking your mother? Go take a bath. You're sweating a bit too much," she said, laughing in turn.
Obeying his mother's instruction, Déon put away his training equipment before heading to the shower. Curious to see what his stats looked like after a day of hard work, he opened his status window.
[Name:] Déon
[Species:] Human
[Rank:] F
[Experience Value:] 0 / 100
[Strength:] 5 + 1
[Agility:] 4
[Mana:] 10
[Endurance:] 5 + 1
[State:] Normal
[Intelligence:] 30
[Luck:] 10
[Attributes:] Neutral (None)
[Skill Tree: Innate Skill]
1 - [Enhanced Senses (19.5%):] E
[Title:]
[Profession / Class:] Mage
Not much had changed, but he was glad to see the slight improvement in his stats. After cleaning himself up, Déon went to the kitchen to help his mother prepare dinner.
Outside the village, deep in the forest, a group of guardians had just completed the raid of a rank A portal. Together they talked and laughed as if they had just taken a casual stroll, when the magical device of the one who seemed to be the leader lit up.
"Damn, guys, it's not time to go home yet. That old branch just sent me the coordinates of a new rank B portal that just opened in the mountainous area," he announced reluctantly.
"Aaah, damn," complained one of the men in the group before the rest of the team started running toward their new destination.
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