Chapter 83: Declan’s Power Comparison

[ SYSTEM INTERFACE ]

[▸ Name: Declan Ezra]

[▸ Race: Human]

[▸ Age: 19]

[▸ Level: 42]

Over his three months at the academy, Declan had leveled up a total of twenty times, bringing his level from 22 all the way to 42.

[▸ Current Energy: Core]

[▸ Cultivation Stage: Anomalous Seedian Corer]

[▸ Core to Body Sync: 55%]

[▸ Energy State: Stable]

[▸ Core Energy Points: 155]

[IMPORTANT NOTE: At 55% Core to Body Sync, activating the Core will lead to a boost of +55 on all stat points except Charisma and Intelligence.]

"My Core integration really increased from 35% to 55%. Amazing."

Declan couldn’t help but marvel at the increase.

[▸ EXP: 30,000 / 65,000]

[▸ Level Up Cards: 10]

[▸ Does Host wish to use all Level Up Cards?]

"Yes,"

[-1 Level Up Card!]

[Congratulations, Host has leveled up to Level 43.]

[+20 Attribute Points Obtained.]

[-1 Level Up Card!]

[Congratulations, Host has leveled up to Level 44.]

[+20 Attribute Points Obtained.]

[-1 Level Up Card!]

[Congratulations, Host has leveled up to Level 45.]

[+20 Attribute Points Obtained.]

[-1 Level Up Card!]

[Congratulations, Host has leveled up to Level 46.]

[+20 Attribute Points Obtained.]

[-1 Level Up Card!]

[Congratulations, Host has leveled up to Level 47.]

[+20 Attribute Points Obtained.]

[-1 Level Up Card!]

[Congratulations, Host has leveled up to Level 48.]

[+20 Attribute Points Obtained.]

[-1 Level Up Card!]

[Congratulations, Host has leveled up to Level 49.]

[+20 Attribute Points Obtained.]

[-1 Level Up Card!]

[Congratulations, Host has leveled up to Level 50.]

[+20 Attribute Points Obtained.]

=================

[LEVEL-UP BONUS UNLOCKED!]

[Attribute Points per Level ↑ to 30]

=================

[-1 Level Up Card!]

[Congratulations, Host has leveled up to Level 51.]

[+30 Attribute Points Obtained.]

[-1 Level Up Card!]

[Congratulations, Host has leveled up to Level 52.]

[+30 Attribute Points Obtained.]

[Attribute Points: 220]

"My attribute points increased again."

Declan could still remember the last time he reached Level 10, when the number of attribute points he gained from every level-up had increased to 20.

Now, the same thing had happened again.

At Level 50, the attribute points gained from each level-up had increased from 20 to 30.

════════STATS════════

[Strength: 180]

[Agility: 180]

[Endurance: 180]

[Intelligence: 180]

[Charisma: 180]

[Attribute Points: 260]

Over the three months he had spent at the academy, Declan had gained 20 levels, receiving 20 attribute points from each of them, while the 40 attribute points he had previously saved remained unallocated, as he had been waiting until he accumulated enough Level Up Cards to make use of them.

His previous attributes from the twenty Level Up Cards amounted to 400 points, and when combined with the 40 attribute points he had saved earlier, that gave him a total of 440 points to distribute.

Declan divided those points evenly among his five stats, adding 80 points to each one and raising them from 100 to 180.

That consumed exactly 400 points, leaving him with 40 unallocated points.

When those 40 points were added to the 220 newly obtained from his Level Up Cards, his total attribute points reached 260.

"How does Host wish to distribute attribute points?" the system asked.

Declan responded without hesitation.

"Add 70 points to Strength, 70 to Agility, 40 to Endurance, 40 to Intelligence, and 40 to Charisma."

[Attribute Distribution Confirmed.]

[Processing...]

[Allocation Complete.]

════════UPDATED STATS════════

[Strength: 250]

[Agility: 250]

[Endurance: 220]

[Intelligence: 220]

[Charisma: 220]

[Attribute Points: 0]

[Does Host wish to see his strength compared to a base human and Nexian?]

The panel suddenly flashed again.

"Yes."

════════SYSTEM POWER ANALYSIS════════

[INITIATING STAT COMPARISON TO HUMAN...]

[Using Base Human Strength Reference: 20 per stat]

[Strength: 250 → 12.5× Human Average]

[Agility: 250 → 12.5× Human Average]

[Endurance: 220 → 11× Human Average]

[Intelligence: 220 → 11× Human Average]

[Charisma: 220 → 11× Human Average]

[INITIATING STAT COMPARISON TO CORER...]

Nexian Stat Benchmarks (per stat at full integration):

Seedian Nexian: 100

Heartian Nexian : 200

Physique Nexian: 300

Host Ranking:

HOST HAS FULLY SURPASSED a Heartian Nexian, and is comparable to a Physique Nexian’s Corer’s level of power!

========================

The system’s words left Declan exhaling slowly.

He had grown stronger, far stronger than he had been before.

His fellow Newcomers were all at the Seedian Nexian level, while even the second years were only at the Heartian Corer level, meaning he had already surpassed every single one of them in terms of raw power.

The only people who could truly stand toe-to-toe with him now were the third-years and perhaps the instructors themselves.

What was truly insane, however, was that he had accomplished all of this in just three months.

’The growth rate is insane... but that’s mainly because of the system’s quests and the attribute points.’

Just as he had expected, leveling up was already helping with his current condition, as he could feel some control returning to his muscles.

And one thing had become even clearer to Declan now:

He was ready to face Mechnoheart Organization itself.

’I will drag them all down to the deepest depths of hell...’

’Soon. Very soon...’

Once Declan finished dealing with his level-ups, something else caught his attention, specifically one of the rewards he had received for defeating Norald.

A special artifact.

He willed for it to appear, and in the next moment, a brilliant flash of light erupted before something shot forward and struck him directly on the forehead.

"Ow?"

Declan cried out, rubbing the spot where the object had hit him, but when he looked down, his eyes immediately widened.

"Isn’t this... the earring!?"

It was the ruby-red earring that Penelope had taken, the very same artifact Norald had been protecting.

The earring had rolled away during the battle and had quickly been forgotten amid the chaos, yet who could have imagined that the system would somehow acquire it as a reward?

And now, it was lying right before him.

"Just what does it even do?" Declan mused, staring at the earring.

There was nothing ordinary about it.

The fact that such a powerful creature as Norald had been its protector was already enough proof of that, while the ruby-red gemstone and the strange effect it had on the surrounding light made it obvious that this was some kind of Arcane Artifact.

Looking at its sharp needle-like tip, Declan had a pretty good idea of how it was meant to be activated.

By wearing it in his ear.

However, he ultimately decided against trying it.

The earring disappeared from his palm and was returned to the system.

He had no idea what an Arcane Artifact would do to someone like him, a person who couldn’t use Arcana, and he certainly wasn’t interested in turning himself into an experiment.

At least not while he was still lying crippled on a bed, unable to properly feel his own waist.

Perhaps later, after he gained a deeper understanding of Arcane tools and could confirm that wearing it wouldn’t cause any harmful side effects, he would try it. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

After storing away the Arcane earring, his attention shifted toward the other rewards they had been told he would receive.

He unconsciously reached for his device, only to realize that it wasn’t with him, which made sense considering they hadn’t taken their devices or entrance cards with them during the expedition.

All of those items had been handed over to Sir Lycathrope on the jet.

He would have to retrieve them once he returned.

"Just a nap, and hopefully I’ll be back on my feet when I wake up," he mused, his eyes slowly drifting shut.

Before long, he had fallen completely asleep.

___________________

HOOOOOOWWWWL!

HOOOOOOWWWWL!

The howling wind was the first thing that reached his ears.

FLICKERRR!

A ray of blue light pierced through the darkness as a pair of icy-blue eyes opened.

The next moment,

BOOOM!

The ground shook as Declan slid backward on both feet, landing in a fighting stance.

His eyes darted cautiously around the surroundings, but after a moment, he froze, blinking twice as disbelief slowly crossed his face.

"It’s this place."

The gnawing breeze, the mechanical-looking mountains towering into the gloomy sky, and the wasteland filled with enormous mechanical bodies jutting high into the air all looked exactly as he remembered, along with the dusty, sooty atmosphere that hung over the distant landscape.

This was the nightmare he had experienced around three months ago, the very place that had nearly killed him the last time he came here.

Although he had obviously grown much stronger since then, the cold air brushing against his skin still sent a chill straight through him.

’Hey, system.’

He tried to speak to it, but there was no reply.

’Initiate MDS Protocol.’

He issued the command again, only to be met with the same silence.

Just like last time, the system had stopped responding to him.

At least on the previous occasion, it had given him a quest before disappearing.

This time, there was nothing.

Declan turned around and looked toward the graveyard behind him before making his choice.

’I will continue forward.’

There was no way he was going back into that place.

With that decision made, Declan continued onward, walking deeper and deeper through the mountains.

The skies above were gloomy and dark, with the dim illumination resembling something between evening and night, while the towering metallic mountains stretched endlessly into the distance.

As he approached one of them, Declan reached out and touched its surface.

It was exactly as it appeared.

Metallic.

’This isn’t an ordinary mountain. None of these are...’

He mused, staring at the endless mountain range before him.

Then, suddenly...

STEP!

"Huh?"

He turned toward the distance, focusing on the direction from which the sound had come.

For some reason, a strange storm of air surrounded that area.

Curiosity overcoming his caution, Declan stepped forward and entered the storm.