Chapter 35: 4G VR adaptor (1) Of course, there was no substantial weakness because only the drop in the remaining stat points, not the invested ones, changed to minus, so normally nothing should also be enhanced in this case. And the situation would go on until it returns to the original level.
But I have become stronger even though I went down 50 levels.
If others were in the same situation as me, I would have to level up to 100 without any gains, but I have them. One example was 500 more remaining stat points for a total of 50 levels, which would change to 1,250.
I could not help but laugh in this situation. So, I laughed, but as furtively as possible because of the people around me.
‘Not bad!"
Therefore, I had an overall review of the current situation.
Obviously the right to use Enhancement 1 was not that useful to me — I still liked the 200 remaining stat points and the t.i.tle, ‘Have you enhanced as much as me?"
I had stumbled upon something tremendous, just like Columbus" discovery of the new continent.
Of course, if I died, I wouldn"t be able to do it as fast as I wished because of a 24-hour access ban.
But I still liked it because it was tremendous that I could gain stat points affecting direct enhancement with methods other than the limited items, skills, and t.i.tles.
And then a message rang very unexpectedly.
[You have achieved a t.i.tle.]
“?”
I did nothing. I just had a soft drink on the sofa. So, I was baffled by the message that I had earned a t.i.tle all of a sudden.
But another message rang, regardless of my embarra.s.sment.
[You have earned the t.i.tle, ‘The man who doesn"t drop."]
“Check the t.i.tle.”
I didn"t know exactly what didn"t drop, but there was something suspicious.
It was the only thing that had seen me dropping these days. And I was thinking of dropping it even a little while ago.
[Name: The man who doesn"t drop.
-Limited t.i.tle is awarded to lumen.
: Health increased by 10,000.
: Mana increased by 10,000.
: Level is not allowed to drop in any case. (Even if the man levels up and dies at 00.00% EXP, he cannot delevel.)]
“….”
It was an obvious penalty which was disguised as the t.i.tle that would make me boast and show it off because it"s so precious.
At that moment I felt really annoyed, but I didn"t express it or hold it for long because I was not foolish enough not to know that this kind of phenomenon caused by my deleveling was not normal.
I didn"t obey the rule blatantly; I abused it instead. I know sanctions could be imposed on me right away. For example, they could revoke my t.i.tles. However, I know that there is no strict enforcement of rules in Revival Legend, so much so that it allegedly doesn"t even have a host.
Pinning my hope on such a lax discipline, I thought to myself, ‘Did I enjoy the benefits of a total 53 levels by combining 50 levels now and 3 levels a moment ago?"
Although I received the t.i.tle, there was no additional message about what to do, even though I waited for 10 minutes nervously. In other words, the only sanction against me was the awarding of the t.i.tle. That was it. And I don"t intend to get deeply involved in it. It would be a lie if I said I had no regrets, but I certainly received benefits. And I felt it was uncomfortable to get more greedy at this point.
I stood up from my seat because there was no way for me to make the best use of the Mutual Growth trait although I was in denial deep down. And my goal was the ant caves in the desert.
I already had a lot of gains there. Even though I fell to Level 50, I was confident of hunting more easily because I became stronger. For example, I could hunt not just 100 monsters, but more than 200 with a power hunt.
However, I stopped on the spot after taking a few steps because I forgot I had something to do, namely, the investment of 200 remaining stat points I received from the Level 100-only Enhancement Quest. I immediately invested all 200 stats in Intellectual Power.
So, I moved again after confirming the new Intellectual Power which was changed to 1,350 at Level 50.
One day and seven hours have pa.s.sed since then.
“Ice Field!”
Although it was not tangible, its scope was definitely bigger than before, along with the increased damage. For this reason, more than 150 ants that had been chasing me eagerly changed directions instantly and started to struggle to escape the Ice Field. However, since I did not intend to tolerate them, I used the skills that I enjoyed a lot these days.
“Ice Blast!"
Puk! Puk! Puk!
“Kiheck!”
Ice cracked and shattered instantly, and then scattered everywhere.
A message rang at that moment.
[You have levelled up.]
“Whew! Finally I"ve recovered.”
Level 100, which was my original maximum level. I wanted to recover it by all means.
“Check the time.”
[Current time is 16:00.]
It"s four o"clock in the afternoon.
“Ugh.”
As soon as I checked the time, I moaned and immediately moved out of the desert ant caves because today was the day I went home once a week. However, unlike me who was moving urgently, the ants that were regenerated stood in my way.
“Ice Field.”
Firing Ice Field at the ants, I moved quickly.
I arrived at my house in Chongdamdong south of the Han River in Seoul.
“Son!”
“Mom!”
It"d only been a week since my mother last saw me, but the way she welcomed me made it seem like she hadn"t seen me for several months, so I responded accordingly, unlike last week.
In fact, last week I felt frustrated because I was forbidden from leveling up, so I felt a bit guilty about not going back home for the shallow reason of busying myself with games. Of course, my gloominess and frustration went away this time.
“I wished you had come earlier to spend time chatting with me.”
“Sorry. Mom.”
I came just in time for dinner, and hurriedly at that.
“Where is Dad, Brother, and Sister?”
“Of course they"re all here.”
While my mother led me into the house, I asked her about this and that.
“By the way, are they still busy these days?”
“Yeah. Aside from your father, I can"t even remember the last time I had a long conversation with Kiyoung or Suyoung.”
She told me about small details like that. Honestly, there was something I wanted to ask her.
I wanted to know if she was really playing the game too. But I felt that it was uncomfortable and awkward to ask her about it. As if the mother who had raised me for more than 20 years had read my mind, she first said, “Son, I hear you are playing games too. Right?”
“Yeah. Did you hear it from Sis?”
“Yeah. Suyoung told me.”
“But are you really playing games, Mom?”
“Suyoung insisted I should. These days she even forces me to spend some time playing games.”
“Oh my…”
I felt she could do so, given her strong personality.
“Son, I"m a proud good healer. If you encounter danger, let me know. I"ll come running to you immediately.”
“…”
She spoke as if she was proud of it. I never thought I"d have this kind of conversation with her ever in my life. So, I couldn"t respond at that moment. While chatting with her, I had already stepped into the house.
“Welcome, son,” said my elder brother.
“Hey, my younger brother, welcome!” said my sister.
My father just nodded his head while sitting on the sofa in the living room, and my brother welcomed me calmly. But unlike them, my sister welcomed me back, waving her hands violently.
She always did that to me, so I nodded back to her, returning her welcome.
“Okay everybody, go and wash your hands.”
While I was exchanging greetings with them, my mother spoke before going to the kitchen to prepare the food. My father, brother, and sister all stood up.
Everybody was quiet at the dining table from the beginning.