[Stats]
{Vitality: 11}
{Strength: 12}
{Agility: 11}
{Endurance: 12}
{Mana: 10}
{Magic: 10}
These were Kaiden's current stats. He was a completely average man before he started his manic training regimen with Liam, so he was likely 10 in all stats a month ago. He couldn't tell for certain, though, because as a non-awakened, he had no access to his stat window.
The changes the mana apocalypse introduced into the world were quite game-like, but one thing was vastly different from video games—people didn't have HP bars. You died when you were killed, not when a magical HP number reached zero.
Vitality was paramount in making one more durable. It provided a flat resistance against all that was hostile. This stat made one's skin more durable, strengthened their bones, gave them more poison resistance the more Vitality they had, etc. To summarize, the higher one's Vitality was, the harder they were to kill.
Strength and Agility were self-explanatory. The former made you stronger, while the latter made you move and react faster.
Endurance boosted stamina. While it might seem to be the most useless stat of them all, it was one of the most important stats for melee awakened due to how big dungeon battles could become in higher-ranked dungeons and how much physical exertion it was on their bodies to fight against monsters with insane strength numbers.
Mana and Magic... The former allowed one to cast more spells, while the latter made their magic-oriented spells stronger and their casting easier. Kaiden's [Doom Strike], for example, wouldn't benefit from Magic even though it was a spell, as it was purely physical. The Strength stat made it hit harder, the Agility stat made it hit swifter.
Kaiden was a melee fighter for all intents and purposes—his sole fire spell was not enough of a guarantee for him to invest in his magical arsenal.
As such, he put two in each stat before giving his Agility and Strength the final two. Kaiden was simply too slow and weak in his fight against the Mauler. While Vitality would make him tankier, so would Agility in the sense that dodging was much better than tanking the hit and living to tell the tale.
Or so he thought.
[Stats]
{Vitality: 11 → 13}
{Strength: 12 → 15}
{Agility: 11 → 14}
{Endurance: 12 → 14}
{Mana: 10}
{Magic: 10}
The stats Kaiden gained were 'supernatural' bonuses. He didn't become more muscular as if he'd trained in the gym. His body was looking exactly as it did before leveling up. Only his basic stats—which could only be gained through painstaking effort—could influence his physical appearance.
This was why a high-level obese man could run faster than a bullet train, making for quite the comical scene. Even if he only had 3 basic Agility stats, his supernatural stats gained from leveling up would make him superhuman nonetheless.
"Are you girls also able to allocate your stats?"
"Yes, I put them in Mana and Magic. I was constantly running out of mana," Aria replied while not looking back at them even for a moment. She was diligently surveilling the surroundings as Nyx had asked her to.
"My Telekinesis spell isn't mana-hungry; it depends on my mental fortitude more so than my mana reserves, so I put all my eggs into the basket called Magic. It should help me not only with control but with having more telekinetic power. I will not neglect other stats in the future, but first, I want to become strong enough to make good use of my one and only spell."
"Good," Kaiden nodded, happy with their choices. He didn't want to instruct his Valkyries on how to spend their points, but he would be forced to step in if they invested foolishly.
"The stream is coming back right now. It's also time we resume our pursuit of the cunt," Kaiden decreed before standing from his seated position.
"Where the hell is the association?! It's been more than ten minutes easily!" Aria voiced her extreme dissatisfaction. A crazed lunatic assaulted them in the association's dungeon, they should have been more hurried to correct their mistake, in her opinion.
"All we can do is continue the pursuit. I'm worried Theodore will get Luna killed when he runs into a strong monster. He is done for, but I won't let Luna become a casualty of his psychotic episode or whatever this is."
"Are you sure he's done for certain?" Aria asked; she wasn't that well-versed in these matters.
Kaiden nodded. "If they can't find him, the association will send in a monster like my mother who could sniff his hidey-hole out in a few minutes upon entering the dungeon."
Before Aria could reply, a voice sounded.
"Sup."
It was feminine and came from behind, deeper in the forest.
They all snapped their heads at the sound and had to blink multiple times.
Luna walked out from behind the forest foliage with a big grin adorning her lips.
"Wait, this must be a mimic!" Nyx shouted and aimed her dagger at the newcomer.
"You damned cowkin bitch, you watch too much Scarlet footage. We are in an F-rank, newbie-friendly dungeon and haven't even ventured that far from the starting area. What mimics could be here? And before you say it, let me clarify that my goner of a brother is a swordsman; he can't do such sorceries either."
Kaiden also knew and understood Nyx's inhibitions, so he elected to make sure. As they say: better safe than sorry.
"What's your favorite gaming playstyle?"
"Wait, not you too! Come on… Assassin," she sighed before revealing her answer.
"What's my favorite meal?"
"You said you're not a picky eater, but in my opinion, you like sushi and chicken a lot."
"Where did we meet?"
"In the toy shop.
"When was the first time we did anal?"
Luna's eyes widened with bewilderment as she stomped her feet furiously on the ground. "We never did and never will! My poor butt would get obliterated by your...!!"
"Luna!" Kaiden shouted and parted his arms, knowing this was no mimic but his sassy Storm Valkyrie. Luna's answers were more than satisfactory to ascertain the truth in his mind.
The purple-haired beauty similarly grinned before jumping right into his embrace. "Kai! I was so scared you would get yourself killed because of me…"
"What about me and Aria?" Nyx's question was left unanswered.
Kaiden easily held her lithe frame in his arms. He didn't feel like letting her go, not at all. "How did you escape?"
Luna giggled before revealing with a proud smile, "I waited for Theodore to be ambushed by a strong monster, and when it finally happened, I chomped down on his ear. He might have too much Vitality for me to punch him senseless, but this weak part of his body wasn't resistant enough to withstand my bite force. I still have the fucker's ear, look." She brought the aforementioned body part out of her pocket. Luna scoffed while looking at it. "I'll feed it to the pigs when we get out of here."
"You're taking your brother's betrayal very well," Nyx voiced her observation with a surprised but joyous tone. A big weight had been lifted off their chests. Kaiden wasn't the only one who feared for Luna's safety.
"I lost my brother when he awakened, or more precisely, when he joined the Blood Pact. I'd been mourning him ever since. This was the final nail in the coffin which forced me to accept that he is no longer the person I once knew."
"I'm proud of you, Luna," Kaiden said while tightening his arms around her.
"Thanks!" she cheered before leaning in for a needy kiss.
They didn't part their lips until they reached the edge of the forest.
"Enemies! Get ready!" Aria shouted as she walked in the back of the group, with Nyx taking over the frontliner duties to let the two emotional lovebirds have their happy reunion.
Numerous wolves bared their fangs at them from behind. These beasts had pitch-black fur and were nearly as tall as Luna. The pack presented a terrifying sight—twenty hungry wolf-like monsters bared their sharp fangs at them.
<Dire Wolf - Level 4>
<Dire Wolf - Level 3>
<Dire Wolf - Level 5>
Kaiden could only curse himself for losing focus while inside the dungeon. He was way too worried about Luna, so when they reunited, he lost touch with reality for a moment.