Chapter 9: Adding Stat Points

[The following rewards are available.]

Reward 1. Three additional Stat points

Reward 2. One random box

[Would you like to collect them all?]

‘Yes!’

Jacob looked at his stats.

[Status Window]

[Stat]

Strength: 11

Stamina: 10

Agility: 10

Intelligence: 10

Perception: 10

(Available points to distribute: 5)

He wanted to get a clear idea of the increase in his strength so he tried to lift the hospital bed. He went to one corner and got in a horse stance. His muscles contracted as he gripped the metallic support. Jacob began lifting it. He grit his teeth and managed to do the impossible.

‘Before the full recovery, this would have been impossible!’

Jacob felt shocked at the difference. He was well aware of what a weakling he had been. The recent memory of how he failed to land a single cut with his dagger on the Demonic Cow still haunted him. It only technique that allowed him to get his first kill.

Jacob sat back on his bed. “But now even using a dagger will let me damage it!” He smiled, then looked at his inventory. “Of course, I’m going to use this sword. Let’s show them who’s the demonic hunter!”

‘Add 5 points to Strength.’

Jacob’s muscles felt warmer. The feeling lasted for more time. This time, he had a clear criteria for comparison and immediately tried to life his bed.

“S-so easy!” He was shocked. His hypothesis had come true. His 16 points of strength were nearly 50% higher than 11. He immediately felt the difference.

Jacob left the bed in a daze, then apologized to the nurse who had come over after hearing the commotion. His heart began beating fast, like he was high on drugs. In fact, it was even paining.

Badump! Badump! Badump!

His daily quest would award him 3 stat points after completing it. In a week, he would get 21 stat points to add to double his strength. In a month, he would get 90 stat points to add to sextuple his strength!

Jacob gulped. Of course, he would not make his stats imbalanced. His years of gaming experience at least allowed him to know that. Jacob knew he had hit the jackpot, but… there were still things to explore.

‘Does this mean I have awakened? What’s up with levels? Can I get even stronger? And what about Quests in the tags? Does that mean I’ll get quests other than my daily quests? And is there a limit to the skills I can learn? What about my unknown skill?’

There were too many questions and not enough answers. But he had a direction to start.

“But first, let open the next random box.”

Jacob opened his inventory once again and found the same bronze box beside his Bronze Sword. He clicked it and saw the ‘Open’ option once again. Jacob clicked on it.

‘Will I get another sword? Should I try a dual sword technique? What if I get another sword in the next random box? Will I have to learn the 3 sword style and hold my sword in my mouth?’ Jacob was lost in thoughts.

The random box opened slowly and disappeared with a flash. In its place, he found a…

“Band aid?” Jacob’s mouth formed an O. He quickly check the item description.

You are reading story I Also Level Up at novel35.com

[Item: Band Aid]

A common band aid to patch up small wounds.

Jacob didn’t know what to say. “Looks like I got lucky the first time. This really is a ‘random’ box.”

He returned home the next day and ran to his room. His father’s words got stuck in his throat as he noticed Jacob’s physical change. His sister remained oblivious.

“The boy looks and feels different,” he murmured.

“Did you say something, pa?” Ruby asked. Peter shook his head and didn’t pay much attention to Jacob’s change. He kept thinking about how he could help Jacob survive the upcoming Graduation Exam. He didn’t want to lose his son after losing his wife. But as he looked at his missing leg, a feeling of helplessness welled up inside him.

***

“Yes! Let’s find some answers!” Jacob cracked his knuckles while sitting on his gaming chair. His 24” monitor displayed many hunter forms and websites where he tried to look for answers. But 15 minutes later, Jacob gave up.

“There’s nothing like this anywhere! No system, no skills that can be learnt, nothing! So am I still considered a normal human or an awakened hunter?” Jacob felt worried. He didn’t know if the Hunter Association would recognize his stats. After all, his case was unique.

He was the most unique hunter under the heavens!

“Never mind!” Jacob got up. He wore his backpack and left his house without a word. He rushed to his school 15 minutes away and barely had some sweat on his forehead. His lips spread wide enough to form a crescent moon. The newfound physical freedom amazed him. He was no longer the weakling that could be bullied by anyone! He was now the Player Jacob Maxwell!

***

“As you have experienced this time, dungeon diving is not for everybody. But…”

Jacob’s knock interrupted Mr. Adam. He looked at the door to find Jacob’s face and said, “Come in.” He took a closer look at Jacob as he went to his seat on the last bench. Mr. Adam had to mask his feeling of amazement at Jacob’s physical growth. Nobody noticed Kevin’s shock when Jacob arrived.

“As I was saying, dungeon diving is not for everybody. But your batch is lucky. Until now it was compulsory for you to go through the Graduation Exam. This is the Dungeon Dive after which you will clear your high school and enter the Hunter world. But this year onwards, the Blue Hunter Association has changed the rules. You can now also write a Graduation Written Test to pass this year!”

As Mr. Adam finished speaking, the class broke into murmurs. Many students had looks of relief and smiled as if they knew the future was secure and there was no risk of dying. But Mr. Adam was not done yet. He had to burst their happy bubble.

“But I’m not done yet. If you write the written test, there are some disadvantages. You will not get your E-Rank Hunter license that allows you to dive into E-Rank dungeons like ‘Four Sides of Death’. You can only do administrative work in the Hunter Association, Guilds or Organizations.

“If you want your hunter license in the future, you will still have to do a dungeon dive and come out alive. But it’ll be harder because you will be on your own. If you want to form a team, you will need to find people in a similar situation like you. So it’s your choice. You can go through the normal Graduation Exam. This will get you a hunter’s license and you can get started as a licensed hunter or you can choose the other option.”

Mr. Adam gave everyone time to think. He was unsure about the Association’s intentions for changing the rule this time. But knew it would have a massive impact.

“Sir!”

Mr. Adam looked up and saw Sumei’s raised hand. He nodded at his favorite student.

“Can we know why the rules have changed this time? And why was the original rule set in the first place?”

The teacher looked at the other students. They wore looks of anticipation and curiosity.

“Fine. Since the rules are different now, it doesn’t hurt to tell you some secrets.” His eyes turned sharp as he continued.

“The public only knows of the Hunter Association. It is a government controlled organization to manage and help the hunters. There are also Guilds formed by high ranked hunters and Organizations from by rich conglomerates. These groups are present in the light and where there’s light, there’s also darkness.

“The Blue Federation defeated the invading demons after a 5 year battle. It left the Asian Continent as the only habitable space in 2035. Dungeons have also appeared in the world.”

The students nodded, as this was common knowledge.

“But the influence of these demons has not vanished. There are Dark Guilds which do all kinds of illegal activities and are a cancer to society. Dark Guilds and Organizations work on destroying the human society as we know it.

“In the initial years, many Awakened Hunters were taken by the Dark forces. They have caused countless casualties. They made the rule to avoid letting the new generation join the Dark side. Everyone who took the Graduation Exam had to clear an E-Rank Dungeon to live or they would die trying.”

Mr. Adam stayed quiet while the students digested his words. They were not sure about many things, but this was new information for them.

“Take this month as your chance to get stronger. Next month, I want to see all 24 of you coming out of the dungeon alive!” He left after saying these words.

You can find story with these keywords: I Also Level Up, Read I Also Level Up, I Also Level Up novel, I Also Level Up book, I Also Level Up story, I Also Level Up full, I Also Level Up Latest Chapter