Chapter 28: Honored to Serve Our Kingdom!

Several soldiers immediately turned toward him.

Zishan coughed awkwardly and pretended he had simply been impressed by the western defensive barricade. Fortunately, the Sergeant was too preoccupied with organizing his soldiers to investigate his latest outburst.

His current Mana had increased to 540, which was absolutely ridiculous considering that he had only been Level 20 a few moments earlier. Zishan couldn’t help grinning as he imagined how much magic he could unleash with such an enormous reserve.

’HAHAHAHA! FIVE HUNDRED AND FORTY MANA! I’M FUCKING RICH!’

[The System reminds the Dumb Host that Mana is not a currency.]

’SHUT UP! I’M RICH IN MANA! LET ME CELEBRATE!’

His excitement only increased when he remembered that Wildfire Requiem could already be activated with one hundred Mana. If he invested two hundred Mana, he could potentially ignite sixty Magic Beasts within a fifty-five-meter radius.

And he would still have 340 Mana remaining!

Zishan almost started laughing again. With that much Mana, he could unleash another powerful attack if the first one wasn’t enough.

He was practically salivating by the time they reached the western barricade, although his expression briefly became serious when he noticed the condition of the soldiers assigned there.

There were barely thirty people defending that section, and several of them were visibly injured. The Sergeant immediately distributed them across the barricades, ordering the archers to take their positions while the melee fighters prepared to intercept any beasts that managed to break through.

Zishan was initially assigned to assist the soldiers protecting the central opening, but he quickly realized that their position offered him an excellent view of the approaching horde.

Then, he remembered something else.

’WAIT! MY FUCKING STAT POINTS!’

He had been so preoccupied with the newly acquired rewards that he had completely forgotten about the fifty-seven distributable Stat Points he had accumulated.

Zishan immediately examined his current Stats.

[BASIC STATS]

STR: 51 (+5)

VIT: 41 (+5)

AGI: 32 (+5)

PER: 38

INT: 27 (+30)

WIL: 40

[Distributable Stat Points: 57]

He stared at the numbers.

Then, he began doing some calculations.

<anno data-annotation-id="e2b241b4-a6e5-e4ed-6a9f-96bf7d765b5d" data-title="An ordinary Level 20 human who started with approximately ten points in each of the six Stats would possess around 117 total Stat Points after accounting for the three distributable points earned per Level.">An ordinary Level 20 human who started with approximately ten points in each of the six Stats would possess around 117 total Stat Points after accounting for the three distributable points earned per Level.¹</anno>

Naturally, that figure varied depending on a person’s original attributes and any additional rewards they had obtained, but it was sufficient for a rough comparison.

Meanwhile, his own current Stats already amounted to 274 points! And that was before allocating his remaining fifty-seven points!

’Wait a minute. Doesn’t that mean I have more than twice the Stat Points of an ordinary Level 20 human?!’

Zishan quickly calculated what an ordinary person would need to achieve a comparable total.

<anno data-annotation-id="91bd041c-e759-550c-81eb-a32683be55c3" data-title="Ignoring the qualitative differences between Ascents, equipment, Skills, Bloodlines, and other special abilities, his current Stats were approximately equivalent to what an ordinary person might accumulate after reaching Level 72.">Ignoring the qualitative differences between Ascents, equipment, Skills, Bloodlines, and other special abilities, his current Stats were approximately equivalent to what an ordinary person might accumulate after reaching Level 72.¹</anno>

<anno data-annotation-id="4bea19c3-9bb5-0321-15e5-fa8a19721614" data-title="If he distributed his remaining points, the comparison would rise to somewhere around Level 91!">If he distributed his remaining points, the comparison would rise to somewhere around Level 91!¹</anno>

Zishan slowly raised his head.

He was only Level 20.

’HAHAHAHA! WHAT THE FUCK?! I’M ACTUALLY THIS BROKEN?!’

Of course, he wasn’t foolish enough to assume that he could automatically defeat an experienced Level 90 opponent simply because his total Stats were comparable. Commander Holtz had already demonstrated that Skill mastery, combat experience, and magical control could make an enormous difference.

Still, realizing that his raw attributes were so far beyond what someone of his Level should ordinarily possess was incredibly satisfying.

He considered allocating everything immediately, but ultimately decided against it.

What if he suddenly needed additional Agility to avoid an attack? What if something managed to injure him, and he desperately needed more Vitality? He could even invest in Intelligence if a particular situation required additional Mana capacity, although that wouldn’t replenish the Mana he had already spent.

Those points were practically an emergency supply that he could distribute according to whatever problems appeared during the battle.

’Hehe. I’ll save them for when I really need them.’

Unfortunately, he had barely finished congratulating himself on his excellent decision when the ground began trembling beneath his feet.

The approaching horde had finally come within sight of the western barricade.

"ARCHERS! PREPARE YOUR ARROWS AND SPELLS!" the Sergeant shouted while drawing his sword. "EVERYONE ELSE, HOLD YOUR POSITIONS! DON’T LET THOSE BASTARDS GET ANYWHERE NEAR THE MEDICAL TENTS!"

Zishan immediately turned his attention toward the approaching Magic Beasts.

The first creatures to emerge through the smoke were enormous hounds covered in coarse, dark fur. Their shoulders stood almost as high as an adult man’s chest, and their long jaws were lined with sharp teeth capable of tearing through sturdy armor.

These creatures charged toward the barricade in such a tightly packed mass that Zishan could barely tell how many there were.

He quickly activated his Appraisal Skill on the closest creature.

[RIDGEFANG HOUND]

[Level: 40]

[Classification: Ordinary Magic Beast]

Zishan’s eyes widened. ’Level 40?!’

He immediately appraised another creature, followed by several more, and discovered that the entire leading pack consisted of beasts around that Level.

They were twice his Level!

A normal Level 20 soldier probably would have been terrified at the prospect of fighting so many creatures that individually possessed a significant advantage over him. Not to mention, they were Magic Beasts! Their physical Stats were probably higher than those of an ordinary human at the same Level!

Zishan, on the other hand, was already calculating how much EXP they would provide.

<anno data-annotation-id="38b8a978-e3f8-bce3-266a-ede8d845f464" data-title="’A Level 40 beast gives four hundred Base EXP! Every Level above mine adds another ten percent of that amount, but the bonus stops increasing once the difference reaches ten Levels!’">’A Level 40 beast gives four hundred Base EXP! Every Level above mine adds another ten percent of that amount, but the bonus stops increasing once the difference reaches ten Levels!’¹</anno>

<anno data-annotation-id="3d64c84b-31f1-5bcd-2327-3da6aba325f3" data-title="’HAHAHAHA! THESE BASTARDS ARE TWENTY LEVELS ABOVE ME! FOUR HUNDRED BASE EXP PLUS ANOTHER FOUR HUNDRED FROM THE LEVEL DIFFERENCE! EIGHT HUNDRED EXP EACH!’">’HAHAHAHA! THESE BASTARDS ARE TWENTY LEVELS ABOVE ME! FOUR HUNDRED BASE EXP PLUS ANOTHER FOUR HUNDRED FROM THE LEVEL DIFFERENCE! EIGHT HUNDRED EXP EACH!’¹</anno>

His smile widened so much that the soldier standing beside him visibly recoiled.

The Sergeant noticed the expression and immediately felt a terrible sense of foreboding. He had seen experienced soldiers smile before dangerous battles, but there was something particularly disturbing about how excited this young man appeared to be.

"Soldier Walker! What are you smiling about?!"

Zishan immediately straightened his posture. "Nothing, Sergeant! I’m just thinking about how honored I am to serve our wonderful Kingdom!"

The Sergeant briefly considered assigning somebody to watch him, but the horde was already approaching their position.

There was no time to deal with this idiot.

"EVERYONE, GET READY!"

<annotations style="display: none;">An ordinary human starts with approximately 10 points in each of the six Stats, giving them 60 initial Stat Points (10 × 6). Since they earn 3 additional distributable Stat Points per Level, reaching Level 20 grants another 57 points from 19 Level increases (19 × 3). Therefore, an ordinary Level 20 human would possess approximately 117 total Stat Points (60 + 57), assuming all earned points have been allocated.An ordinary human starts with approximately 60 total Stat Points and gains 3 additional points per Level. To reach 274 Stat Points, they would need another 214 points (274 − 60), equivalent to approximately 71 Level increases (214 ÷ 3). Since they begin at Level 1, Zishan’s current 274 Stat Points are roughly equivalent to those of an ordinary Level 72 human, who would possess 273 total Stat Points.If Zishan allocated his remaining 57 distributable Stat Points, his total would increase from 274 to 331 (274 + 57). An ordinary human starts with approximately 60 Stat Points, so reaching 331 would require another 271 points (331 − 60), equivalent to approximately 90 Level increases (271 ÷ 3). Since humans begin at Level 1, Zishan’s fully allocated Stats would be roughly equivalent to those of an ordinary Level 91 human, who would possess 330 total Stat Points.See Story Description/Synopsis for Link for Calculator (Reader Guide).The Level 40 Ridgefang Hound provides 400 Base EXP (40 × 10). Since Zishan is Level 20, the beast is 20 Levels higher than him. Each Level difference grants an additional 10% of Base EXP, or 40 EXP per Level (400 × 10%). However, the bonus is capped at 100%, reached at a 10-Level difference. Therefore, Zishan receives the maximum bonus of 400 EXP (40 × 10), bringing his total reward to 800 EXP per solo kill (400 + 400).</annotations>