Reinhard checked his runes to read [Titan's Corpus] attribute description.
He had a specific doubt. Since he received this attribute to compensate for his lack of physical strength, it would obviously increase it. But how it increased his strength was the important part.
There were two possibilities.
The first was that it might increase his strength by a fixed amount. That could either be extremely overpowered early on or almost useless later.
For example, if his current power level was around 100 points, and the normal range for a Sleeper was about 100–200, then gaining a flat +100 would be great at this stage. But once he grew stronger—say his base strength reached 1000 points—the natural range would probably become something like 700–2000, depending on specialization. A sorcerer would have lower base strength, while a frontline fighter would have much higher.
At that point, a flat +100 wouldn't mean much at all.
The second possibility was that the attribute increased his strength by a percentage.
For example, a 100% increase. If he had 100 points, it would become 200. If he had 1000, it would become 2000.
Scaling growth would always stay relevant, no matter how high he climbed.
He cared about this because he could only equip one attribute at a time, and in future battles, he might need to swap attributes mid-fight. That meant he needed to familiarize himself with as many attributes as possible, so he always had a wide pool to choose from and understood them well.
With that thought finished, Reinhard focused on the rune interface and began reading the description.
[Titan's Corpus] Attribute Description: "A fragment of titan strength rests within you. Your body grows tougher, stronger, and more enduring than it has any right to be."
'That didn't tell me shit!'
All that genius-level analysis, wasted, because the spell was once again being more cryptic than it had any right to be.
'Though… it does use the word "grows." Does that mean it isn't a constant amount? Questions, questions, and yet no answers.' He sighed internally.
The method he used last time wouldn't work either. Previously, he had created an attribute that increased his ability to understand his own runes. That was what had let him fully figure out his flaw, even though the description said almost nothing.
But this time, he couldn't do that. Titan's Corpus would disappear the moment he swapped it out for another attribute, so the trick was useless now.
He lifted his head and looked toward the thing that was currently holding every Sleeper's attention.
In front of the metal plate stood Nephis.
Unlike the other Sleepers, she delivered her blow immediately—a clean, powerful strike.
Reinhard could tell she was incredibly experienced.
'She probably trained from a young age to be that good.' he thought.
After a pause, the machine flashed the result:
Sixteen.
'Hmm. Not bad, I guess.' Reinhard didn't think much of it. He wasn't even sure whether she had used her Aspect or not. If she had, the result was a little disappointing. If she hadn't—either to hide it or because it wasn't directly combat-oriented—then it was a solid score. For all he knew, she might even have an attribute similar to Titan's Corpus.
There were too many "maybe's" to draw conclusions, so he dropped the thought.
If anything, he was even more eager to see his own score.
The next person stepped up.
Caster.
He struck the plate, and the display lit up with:
21.
A collective gasp rippled through the room. Admiring looks were thrown at Caster, who simply bowed and stepped aside.
Then those looks shifted—to Reinhard. The next one in line.
Their eyes were filled with anticipation and excitement. They wanted to see how high someone with a True Name and first place ranking would score.
Reinhard would be lying if he claimed he wasn't a bit nervous. But he ignored it and took his position in front of the machine.
Without hesitation, he drove his fist forward with everything he had. Thanks to his attributes, his form was perfect. The force behind it was comparable to Caster's—though not quite equal.
To his slight disappointment, the number appeared:
20.
___
Thanks for reading the chapter.
See you next time.