Chapter 427: The Beauty of Stats

Chapter 427 -349: The Beauty of Stats

Zelir finally allowed himself to relax once he saw the Rock Dragon Snake was completely dead.

With that release of tension, the physical exhaustion he had been forcibly suppressing rushed forth all at once.

The side effects of the Overclocking Potion, combined with the strain of overdrawing his Magic Power, left Zelir feeling dazed.

Waves of uncontrollable dizziness washed over him.

His body swayed, but a firm arm immediately steadied him.

Zelir lifted his gaze slightly and met Redia’s eyes.

“Zelir…”

She gave Zelir a smile full of admiration.

“You’re even more amazing than I could have possibly imagined.”

Marcus, who had been about to go and support Zelir, froze when he saw this.

‘Hey… *I’m* his teammate.’

‘Why are you being so forward?’

[You have successfully killed a juvenile Nine-headed Dragon Snake!]

A notification popped up on his data panel.

Immediately after, his level-up progress bar surged like a rising tide!

Eliminating the juvenile Nine-headed Dragon Snake had awarded Zelir a direct 5430 Experience Points!

Level 43 (587/1025) -> Level 48 (642/1150).

He jumped five levels!

Aside from the unconditional level-up from the battle in the Underground Tomb, this was by far Zelir’s most profitable fight.

His Talent, [Seizing Tyranny], also activated.

[Unique Demon “Nine-headed Dragon Snake” killed. Seizing effect triggered.]

[Attribute Point reward gained: Power +14, Agility +15, Constitution +12, Spirit +21, Intelligence +15.]

That was a total of 77 attribute points, equivalent to gaining twelve levels!

A very generous first-kill bonus!

And it wasn’t just attribute points; a Trait from its Talent Skills was also extracted.

[Trait Seized: Elemental Protection (Fragmented)]

Zelir was a little surprised when he saw this notification.

‘Elemental Protection… and it’s fragmented?’

‘Is it incomplete?’

Focusing his mind, he inspected the Trait.

[Elemental Protection (Fragmented):

You have seized an affinity for multiple elements from the ancient bloodline of the Nine-headed Dragon Snake.

The power of your cast Flame, Frost, Rock, and Shadow Attribute Magic is increased by 10%.]

‘Oh…’

Zelir understood.

‘It’s probably because I killed the special snake heads, the ones that contained four different attributes, that I was able to seize this Trait.’

‘A 10% boost to the corresponding attributes…’

‘Hmm, it’s not a huge amount, but it’s not insignificant either.’

‘Still, it’s a precious multiplicative bonus.’

‘It’ll make my Elemental Magic more powerful in the future. Pretty nice.’

‘And since it’s fragmented, that must mean I can complete it later.’

‘For instance, if I kill a Fire Attribute Demon, the Trait might get an upgrade.’

‘It could boost the power of my Fire Attribute Magic from 10% to, say, 15%.’

‘And if I kill a water-attribute demon, I could add a power boost for water-attribute magic to Elemental Protection.’

‘It’s kind of like filling out a bestiary.’

‘I can piece it together bit by bit, collecting all the elements until I have the complete Elemental Protection!’

Zelir nodded in satisfaction.

Then, he began to allocate the trove of attribute points he’d gained from his five new levels.

A full thirty points!

He put them all into Spirit.

Only in real combat could he discover his weaknesses.

The biggest lesson Zelir learned from this battle was a simple one—he didn’t have enough mana.

Whether it was Flame Thunder Spear, Magic Harmony, or Gravity Singularity, none of them seemed like Magic a newly promoted Middle Level Mage should be able to use.

Although Technique Celestial Calculation allowed Zelir to learn and master Magic at an incredible pace, the cost was equally obvious.

He was always short on mana.

The attribute points from the unique Demon, the points from leveling up, the synergistic effect of his Magic Contract, and the additional specific attribute points granted by the Magic Contract…

In short, after Zelir finished applying all the miscellaneous bonuses, he saw his stats panel display an all-around improvement.

Power: 138 -> 152 -> 160

Agility: 147 -> 162 -> 170 -> 185

Constitution: 139 -> 151 -> 159

Spirit: 247 -> 268 -> 298

Intelligence: 240 -> 255

Perception: 38

Charm: 76

Luck: 66

‘There’s a certain beauty to the numbers.’

‘But are my stats too bloated?’

‘It makes it seem like I don’t have a single, exceptionally high stat…’

Zelir’s stats had increased by over 100 points in one go!

A pure, strengthening warmth began to surge through his entire body.

His previous level-up enhancements had been relatively gentle.

But this time, the power rampaged through his veins like an out-of-control carriage.

As the power washed through him, Zelir could clearly feel every muscle, every cell in his body, being activated and enhanced.

His body grew more supple, his bone density increased, and his reflexes and flexibility improved dramatically.

The Spring Seed within his sea of consciousness glowed with renewed brilliance.

The dual increase in his Spirit and Intelligence significantly lessened the stinging pain from having overdrawn his Magic Power earlier.

In addition to the huge amount of Experience Points and the Elemental Protection Trait, Zelir also added several valuable Magic to his analysis queue.

The Level Five Magic: Light Arrow, Shield of Radiance, Chaotic Flow Dance, and Water Curtain.

The Level Six Magic: Waterfall.

And the Four-Level Multi-layered Spell Structure Magic: Coronal Waymark and Water Prison.

He had once again greatly expanded his skill list!

‘Just think of how many Gold Coins this will save me on buying Scrolls…’

This battle had been incredibly fruitful!

As Zelir was lost in thought, he became aware of a growing heat around his body.

Zelir snapped back to reality and found the fiery Redia still hugging him tightly, her posture overwhelmingly protective.

Her face was getting closer and closer!

“Redia…?”

Zelir shifted his shoulder slightly. “You don’t have to hold on so tight.”

“It’s fine. You just cast such a powerful spell. You must be feeling very weak, right?”