Chapter 196: New Threshold

The hobgoblins, with the help of the seven Goblin Champions, managed to widen the pit, doubling the width and digging it a little bit deeper. Meanwhile, Red was working on his wooden spike, adding more spikes on the bottom. Those spikes were not enough to kill the kobolds, but they would wound them and stop them from climbing back up.

They had three pits in total because the Chief helped out. The small holes were easier to create, but they still needed to patch them. Those holes needed to be covered, so it would catch the Elite Kobold Fighters off guard. Each of the holes was slightly above the ankle; only then would that be enough to make them fall or lose their balance at least.

Red was standing on the roof, overseeing the hobgoblins who patched the small holes inside the village. They ensured they put a sign so none from their side fell into their own trap. With everything patched, they were ready for another attack.

"It’s actually better if we have our own archer team..."

If they had their own archer team, the hobgoblin didn’t need to take the risk to finish off the Elite Kobold Fighter that fell into their trap. That would reduce their casualty.

"We don’t have archers because no one can teach them. Those goblins are too stupid to learn it themselves, but now we have you. Once this war is over, you will be in charge of training our archer team!"

Red looked down and realized that he said it out loud. He didn’t notice the Chief was actually sitting below him.

He almost refused to take the job. The Chief was right about the goblins. They were fools who lived to follow their desire. There was no such thing as a hard-working goblin, though sometimes a goblin like Tob would pop out.

Tob was a weakling and a coward, yet her survived the two attacks from the Dire Wolf as well as the kobolds. He knew that coward ran away when the Dire Wolf attacked, but he didn’t know how that weakling survived the kobolds.

What was even more mysterious was that this coward seemed to have an influence in the village. A lot of goblins seemed to listen to him well.

"I can’t promise you anything, but I will do my best..." He didn’t sound confident at all.

The day passed with no accident and no attack. There was still no news about the reinforcement as well. That night, Red did ten rounds of Heradin’s Mana Circulation and Body Forging. He shortened the time for one circulation further, and he managed to finish ten circulations within four hours.

[You have finished Mana Circulation. You converted mana into Essence Mana! You gained 36 Essence Mana]

[You have finished Mana Body Forging! You have gained 0.35 Strength, 0.35 Endurance, 0.35 Vitality, 0.35 Dexterity!]

Red checked the notification with a wide smile. But the smile didn’t last long because he discovered something odd. It was about his strength. His Strength was supposed to have reached the threshold already, yet he still gained strength.

"Status!"

Name: ???

Level: 27

Race: Heradin

Health: 3090 Stamina: 3090 Mana: 4600 Essence Mana: 923

[Tier 1 Might]

Strength: 311.95 (+3.5) Endurance: 309.05 (+3.5) Vitality: 309.05 (+3.5) Dexterity: 309.05 (+3.5)

[Tier 1 Magic]

Intelligence: 460 Wisdom: 460 Arcane Perception: 460 Mind: 460 [Threshold to level 28]

...

Red was confused because the threshold was supposed to be at 310, yet his Strength was 311.95. That already surpassed the threshold.

"Is it because I get my stats through body forging instead of cores?"

That was the only plausible explanation for what happened to his stat. If that was the case, he could exploit this discovery. He absorbed a few cores, making one or two stats higher than the others. Then he would fill the remaining stats with Heradin’s Mana Circulation and Body Forging. That way, he could have two stats above threshold all the time.

"Let’s get to level 28 first before attempting it..." He muttered before going to sleep.

Red honestly wanted to stay up all night, doing his Mana Circulation and Body Forging. But his body was not strong enough that he didn’t require sleep anymore. He needed the sleep, the rest, especially when he was in a war like this.

He woke up earlier than usual. The sun was not up yet when he checked outside. He would like to dive into his circulation right away, but he was being sensible. Even though it was still dark, he decided to go for a patrol. He needed to ensure there was no enemy creeping close to the village.

Once he confirmed the village was safe, he went back and continued his body forging. He just needed to finish body forging three times for all his Might Stats to reach the threshold. He thought of trying Heradin’s Essence Forging since he had more than 500 Essence Mana now.

But he put it aside for now. It was better to try Heradin’s Essence Forging when he reached level 28, when all his stats reset from the threshold. He finished three circulations and opened his eyes when he completed the third circulation. He expected a notification for his level, so he waited.

Red frowned at the delay. There was something wrong. Even if there was a delay, it was not supposed to be this long. He quickly realized that the level-up notification would not come by now. He frowned and opened his Status to check.

Name: ???

Level: 27

Race: Heradin

Health: 3101 Stamina: 3101 Mana: 4600 Essence Mana: 1031

[Tier 1 Might]

Strength: 313 (+1.05) Endurance: 310.1 (+1.05) Vitality: 310.1 (+1.05) Dexterity: 310.1 (+1.05)

[Tier 1 Magic]

Intelligence: 460 Wisdom: 460 Arcane Perception: 460 Mind: 460 [Threshold to level 28]

...

There was nothing wrong with the Status. The reason he didn’t get his level was that the threshold for leveling up was increased. It was no longer +10 for all stats; maybe +15 or even +20 for all stats to reach the threshold.

Red deduced it had something to do with his first awakening. The awakening raised the threshold, and suddenly the level calibration made sense. The new discovery didn’t upset him at all. The level didn’t really matter; what mattered was his stats. That was what made him stronger, not the level. At this point, he didn’t understand the purpose of this level.

"There might be something that I don’t know..."