City of Fallen Souls: A LitRPG Adventure (UnderVerse Book 3) by Jez Cajiao (fb2 epub reader .txt) 📕

and choose well…” Jenae’s voice whispered to me in the silence of my mind, the sense of her presence passing through in a second, leaving me thoughtful.

If it had been ten points to put wherever I wanted, I’d have taken them in an instant, or one point per stat per level—of course, I’d be mad not to—but a one-off boost? Clearly, Jenae wanted me to choose now for a reason, and I couldn’t see how one point in each stat would be that big of a benefit.

“Fuck it, a man can take a hint…” I sighed, choosing ‘Seeker of Knowledge’.

You have gained the Ability ‘Seeker of Knowledge’

Once per 24 hours, you can choose to search the surrounding area for hidden knowledge.

I nodded to myself, looking around the room and wondering whether I should use it in this cavern. Was that what she was hinting at? Or did she want me to have the ability to use later in the day? I decided to save it, for now, but one thing I wouldn’t put off was assigning the damn points!

I pulled up my character sheet, pleased that I now had seven points to assign, and grinned. I read through them all carefully, considering the implications as I went. I instinctively wanted to boost my Wisdom or my Intelligence, so that I could be a more effective spell slinger, and so that Oracle would have more mana to work with. However, I knew that if I was going to protect them all, I needed to make a harder choice.

I’d also wanted to save my meridian point, maybe wait until I collected a cool Essence Core to really boost my abilities, but I couldn’t. I had to do what was best for my people. I brought up the meridian list and checked to make sure I was remembering it right.

PRIMARY

Brain: 1/10 Spell Cost Reduction: -5% (Primary Bonus: 1 spell slot per point)

Head: Primary Node: Additional points invested will reduce mana cost by 5%.

SECONDARY

Eyes: 1/10 Vision Improvement (Secondary Bonus: x10% chance to notice important visual details)

Eyes: Important details will glow to your vision. This will level with the relevant skill. 

Ears: 0/10 Hearing Improvement

Ears: Important sounds will become clearer with concentration. High levels will aid in translation.

Mouth: 0/10 Vocal Improvement

Mouth: Your voice will become 10% more likely to have a desired effect on a target, soothing, seducing, persuading as required.

Nose: 0/10 Tracking and Detection Improvement

Nose: Scents will be stronger, aiding in tracking.

Heart: 1/10 Health Increase

Heart: You will gain an additional ten points of Health for each point invested in your Constitution.

Lungs: 1/10 Stamina Increase

Lungs: You will gain an additional ten points of stamina for each point invested in your Endurance.

Stomach: 0/10 Sustenance Improvement

Stomach: You will gain the abilities to resist poisons by 5% and to gain sustenance from more sources.

Legs: 0/10 Speed Increase

Legs: You will gain a boost of 10% to your speed, as well as better stability over various terrain.

Arms: 0/10 Strength Increase

Arms: You will receive a boost of 25% to your carrying capacity and your damage output with melee weapons.

Hands: 0/10 Dexterity Increase    

Hands: You will develop crafting abilities at a 10% increased rate, along with a greater chance to succeed in crafting complicated items.

I took a deep breath, and assigned the meridian point to my Lungs, gaining an instant doubling of my stamina. The changes that wracked my body sent me to the floor as people panicked and gathered around.

I managed to groan out an explanation, then went back to gritting my teeth and trying not to shit myself in public as my body spasmed, changing in ways both huge and infinitesimal. By the end, I was gasping and blinking the stars away from my vision as I adjusted to doubling my stamina in one fell swoop.

“Might as well go for gold…” I muttered before speaking up to the anxious people clustered around me. “I’m assigning my points for leveling. Give me another minute or two.” I had seven points available, five from my standard levelling, and two that I’d gotten from Jenae’s Class upgrade. If it was a game, they would have been retroactive, and I’d have thirty points, I reflected. I immediately shuddered at the thought of assigning that many points in one go again.

I put four points into Intelligence, to help me out with basically everything. Then, although I hated doing it, I sank the other three into Charisma, figuring it was going to get a hell of a workout in the city. It always galled me that, where some of the others showed a one percent uptick for each point invested, Charisma got a ten percent increase, with no explanation. I guess having a hundred percent better chance at something, when it was only a low chance, was still only doubling it. Bugger it, I thought, and hit ‘accept.’ I grunted as the pain ripped through my brain, leaving me gasping and worn out once again as the changes finished.

I pulled up my character sheet at the end again, checking the changes reflected.

Name Jax

Titles: Strategos: 5% boost to damage resistance. Fortifier: 5% boost to defensive structure integrity. Champion of Jenae: One search for hidden knowledge every 24 hours.

Class: Spellsword > Justicar> Champion of Jenae

Renown: Unknown

Level: 15

Progress: 48,203/165,000

Patron: Jenae, Goddess of Fire and Exploration

Points to Distribute: 0

Meridian Points to Invest: 0

Stat

Current points

Description

Effect

Progress to next level

Agility

41

Governs dodge and movement.

Average speed + 310% (+10% increase in darkness, -20% in daylight)

87/100

Charisma

23

Governs likely success to charm, seduce, or threaten

Success chance +130%

31/100

Constitution

34

Governs health and health regeneration

HP+480, regen 26pts per 600s (+10% regen due to soul bond, -20hp, each point invested now worth 20hp)

17/100

Dexterity

25

Governs ability with weapons and crafting success

+ 15% chance to wield weapon successfully, + 15% chance of crafting success

97/100

Endurance

25

Governs stamina and stamina regeneration

STM +300, regen 15pts per 30s (Each point now worth 20STM)

99/100

Intelligence

30

Governs base mana and number of spells able to be learned

+170 mana, spell capacity: 15 spells (-20mp due to soul bond)

81/100

Luck

20

Governs overall chance of bonuses

+10% chance of success in areas luck affects

53/100

Perception

25

Governs ranged damage and chance to