Chapter 101 - - 101: The Calculations

Chapter 101: Chapter - 101: The Calculations

Already knowing the fastest route toward the boss room thanks to my Memory Backtrack, I do not have to waste any time figuring out which passage to take, and that gives me a considerable advantage because the dungeon is designed in a way that makes even familiar routes difficult to traverse quickly if someone does not already know which turns are worth taking and which ones lead into unnecessary dead ends.

I race through the passage while simultaneously checking my status through the System, although I am not merely looking at the numbers this time but trying to understand them.

More specifically, I am trying to understand the mathematics behind them, because the System Grimoire may have taken inspiration from the game, but its calculations are clearly not identical to the status system I remember from my previous life.

The first thing that catches my attention is my mana.

Mana: 156 + 312 (Two A Grade Attributes)

*So 156 should be the innate mana of my body without adding any attribute?*

That seems like the most reasonable interpretation. My current level is 52, and 156 is exactly three times that number. The calculation is almost suspiciously simple.

Then there is the additional 312 mana provided by my attributes.

I have two A Grade attributes, Wind and Water, so if the additional mana is divided equally between them, each attribute should be contributing 156 mana. That means each A Grade attribute is providing three times my current level.

*So the basic formula for an A Grade attribute might be three times the user’s level.*

It is not enough information to establish that as a universal rule, but at least it fits my current status perfectly.

My eyes then moved toward Aeris’s information. Her status had shown:

Mana: 180 + 123~ (B+ Grade Attribute)

*180.*

That immediately stands out because Aeris is at level 45, and it is already four times her level.

*Could it be because Spirit Beasts’ bodies are mostly made of mana?*

That is the most plausible explanation I can think of.

Unlike humans, Spirit Beasts have bodies that are much more closely connected to their magical nature, and Aeris is not merely a beast with a mana core. Her entire existence is connected to elemental mana.

That would explain why her innate mana is considerably higher relative to her level.

Then there is the other number ’123~’

The tilde bothers me.

It means the System itself is not giving me an exact value, which makes sense because the amount is probably affected by some variable that I have not yet figured out.

Still, I can use the displayed value to make a rough estimate. 123 is around 2.75 times her level.

*Maybe because it is not an A Grade attribute?*

Aeris’s Wind attribute is B+ Grade rather than A Grade, so perhaps the amount of additional mana provided by an attribute changes according to its grade.

If A Grade is three times the user’s level, perhaps B+ is around 2.75 times.

*Then is B Grade around 2.5 times?*

I narrow my eyes slightly as I continue running the math in my mind.

There are too many variables for me to confidently establish the formula yet, especially since I do not know whether attribute grade is the only factor involved.

There might be racial differences and innate traits involved.

The System Grimoire is clearly much more detailed than the game’s interface ever was. I need more data, preferably from several different people and beasts.

Unfortunately, I do not exactly have the luxury of stopping everyone in the middle of an academy examination and asking them to let me analyze their status.

*I will have to ask these details to the system itself later.*

I put the calculations aside for the moment and focus on the dungeon again and I choose the right time because I can feel a presence ahead.

My pace naturally slows.

Aeris, who unlike me has been keeping her entire attention focused on the route ahead, immediately reacts as the cyan wind surrounding her body begins to shine more intensely as she prepares herself for combat.

There is a left turn ahead and the presence is coming from there. In fact there are two presences. And one of them is quite familiar.

The moment I stepped around the corner, I saw the source of the disturbance.

A girl is standing several meters ahead with a magic staff in her hand, currently engaged in a duel against a creature that looks like someone had taken several enormous rocks and forced them into the rough shape of a humanoid.

The creature is around six feet tall, with a broad, rounded body and thick stone limbs, and as soon as I saw it, the System immediately provides its information.

[Cave Golem | Low 4th Tier]

Attributes: Earth (Grade B)

I am not particularly surprised because this monster is supposed to appear along this route. Neither am I surprised by the person fighting it.

[Hina Blessen | Human]

Level: 47 | Mage

Attributes: Light (Grade A)

*As I thought.*

She is stronger than her game counterpart.

In the original game, Hina should have been around level forty-three or forty-four at this point in the story, depending on how many optional quests the player completed before entering the dungeon.

Now she is already level forty-seven. That means the changes to the timeline are affecting her growth as well.

I suppose it would have been strange if she were the only major character whose strength remained exactly the same while everyone else continued developing beyond their original versions.

Hina notices me almost immediately, but she did not say anything.

She cannot exactly stop in the middle of a fight just to have a conversation with me, and there is also another reason she might be avoiding unnecessary words.

I took the hidden item that she was supposed to obtain.

In the game, this would have been her event. The player would have followed the intended route, defeated the monster, entered the chamber, and obtained the item.

But the game was the game and life is always different.

The fact that I know what is supposed to happen does not mean I am obligated to allow every event to proceed according to the original script. So I do not feel guilty about taking it.

I turned my attention back toward the Cave Golem, and could see that several parts of its rocky body have already been damaged.

There are cracks running across its shoulder and torso, and one of its arms has lost a considerable amount of stone from its surface.

Yet none of that seems to have any meaningful impact on its combat ability.

The creature swings its enormous arm toward Hina, forcing her to move backward before launching another spell.

She has probably been fighting it for several minutes and I can already tell why the battle has taken this long.

The Cave Golem has an unusually high resistance to energy-type magic and that makes Hina’s Light attribute a particularly poor match against it.

Even her Magic Core ability ’Dazzling Demise’ which is already affecting the golem, is not producing the kind of damage it normally would against another opponent.

She will defeat it eventually, probably within a few more attacks.

But there is no reason to waste that much time.

I take another step forward "Lady Hina, if you don’t mind, may I help?"

I expected her to reject the offer. After everything that happened, I would not have been surprised if she simply told me to stay out of her fight.

Instead, Hina immediately steps aside.

I blink once *That was easier than expected.*

I took it as permission and raised my magic staff, there is no need for anything complicated because against a creature made primarily from stone, I have a spell that is particularly suitable.

"Aqua Drill."

Mana gathers around my staff before rapidly condensing into a narrow stream of water, the water compressed to an extreme degree and then launched in the form of a high pressure stream towards the golem.

The basic principle is similar to the water jets used for cutting stone in my previous life, although this version is naturally powered by mana rather than machinery.

The stream strikes the Cave Golem directly in the chest making a surprisingly sharp noise. The compressed water tears through the rocky surface with almost no resistance.

I maintained the pressure for a moment before adjusting the spell slightly and the stream penetrates deeper, straight toward the center of the Cave Golem where its core resides.

The water tears through it, destroying its core and the magic holding the golem together collapsed along with it.

For a brief moment, the creature remains standing with a circular hole visible in the center of its chest, and then the enormous rocky body begins to lose its stability.

I lowered my magic staff and looked toward Hina.

"Let’s keep going. We should be able to meet the others at the central junction." I turn around and start walking before waiting for an answer.

Aeris follows beside me and after a brief pause, Hina also silently follows behind us.

The central junction is referred to the last major intersection before the boss room with several passages connecting with each other there.

That is where the player would normally reunite with the capture targets and several of the other important side characters before everyone proceeds toward the boss.

Of course, the situation is already a little different now because.....

I can literally beat the boss monster alone since it should be only at low 5th tier and equal to level 50, according to the game.