Rewind: A Grimdark LitRPG Series (Pyresouls Apocalypse, Book 1) by James Callum (reading tree .txt) 📕

And with his [Ring of Blameless Guilt] he wasn’t going to need to waste as much on Temper, or the other stats he foolishly raised without an idea as to how they worked.

Jacob shook his head, remembering that he raised both Faith and Intelligence at once, trying to raise both magic stats and in effect almost entirely canceling each other out.

It was an odd system that the vast majority of players had underestimated or misunderstood in much the same way. Armed with better knowledge, Jacob spent all of his available Souls.

He reserved 2,000 Souls for the [Repair Kit] which could be used with a scant amount of Souls at a Pyre to restore the durability of his equipment. It was a relatively high upfront cost, but having a merchant repair it was far costlier.

Not to mention, finding a merchant wasn’t always easy. To find a Pyre, all he had to do was die. True, he wouldn’t have any Souls, but a few kills would likely be enough to fully repair at least one piece of equipment.

After buying the [Repair Kit] and increasing 9 parameters – 3 into DEX and 6 into STR – Jacob still had 1,511 Souls left. He could have pushed himself to Level 14 but he decided against it. Better to have some Souls for upgrades and repairs.

[Status]

Jacob Windsor

Covenant: None

Race: Kemora - Fae-touched (Human/Fairy)

Level: 13

Health: 124

Stamina: 86

Anima: 0

Souls: 1,511

Required Souls: 1,238

 Parameters

VIT: 3

AGI: 6

END: 3

TMP: 9

STR: 10

DEX: 10

INT: 8

FTH: 3

Curse: Fractured Sight

Curse Level: 2

Spell Gem: No Spell Inscribed

It really struck home how important raising his VIT and END was. No matter how much he raised his level, his Health and Stamina would never move unless he reinforced those parameters. For now, he was more than strong enough.

No matter how much he pumped his VIT, his Health would never hit the monstrous levels seen in other games. Having 1,000 Health was a pipe dream, even 500 Health would be a massive achievement.

He would need to do something about his curse level soon though. He did have 3 [Anima] from farming those creatures but it was such a rare and precious commodity that he didn’t feel it was worth using just yet.

Jacob had high expectations that he would die - a lot - in the Asylum of Silent Sorrows. Saving the [Anima] for when it hit level 3 or 4 seemed most prudent.

Besides, he didn’t notice any negative side effects yet. And if he started to see things, there was a real chance he might find a passage that could make his passage through the next area easier.

Most important were the 2 [Dull Sparks] and 2 [Bright Sparks] he had in his possession. With them, and a payment of Souls, the Fire Oppa would reinforce his equipment.

And upgrading his equipment was of paramount concern.

There was nothing more effective than improving one’s equipment. The only downside is that he had no equipment he wanted to be reinforced at the moment.

Which meant he would need to hold his Souls on him until he found the knight’s body, retrieved the armor set, and found another Pyre. With so much time to make up, he couldn’t waste it backtracking to this same Pyre.

It was a risk worth taking.

Already weary and tired, after increasing so many parameters, Jacob was beat. While you didn’t need to eat or drink while in Pyresouls Online, sleep was still a necessity if and only if you reached a new level past level 5.

It probably had something to do with the added strain on the body. But Jacob couldn’t be sure, and he realized theorizing about it wasn’t a terribly useful expenditure of his limited time.

As much as he wanted to press on, he needed to rest. He took some solace that for 9 parameter increases, he only needed to sleep once. While others would need to rest every parameter increase until a few of the players caught on.

Just another example of the way Pyresouls played the risk versus reward game. Holding so many Souls at once was a huge risk, not only would it attract more invading players but every death risked losing it all.

Spending them as soon as he had enough to increase one parameter was safer, but then he would have to rest more.

Jacob let the weariness wash over him and shut his eyes. Sitting at the Pyre, Jacob’s chin touched his chest as his head nodded forward. When he awoke, it wasn’t with a start or thick with fatigue but energized and ready for what lay ahead.

August 31st, 2035 – 13 days remain before the Collapse.

Refreshed, Jacob took out his newly acquired [Repair Kit]. It was a simple enough tool. All he had to do was place a piece of equipment within the confines of the wooden box and shut the lid. Even if he had a greataxe bigger than the box, it would fit in what could only be considered game logic.

Though, now that Jacob was fairly sure Pyresouls wasn’t just a game, he wondered about the magic behind it. The [Repair Kits] would have been invaluable back on Earth and he had never seen one. Not that they would have been much use.

A [Repair Kit] would have been worthless without a Pyre anyway.

Once the item was in the box, all he had to do was place it in the Pyre. The Fire Oppa looked at him, then at the [Repair Kit]. Rising to his paws, the Fire Oppa walked into the box as if the wood was no barrier at all.

At that point, Jacob needed to supply it with the requested amount of Souls. For his [Bladed Whip] it only took 70 Souls to fully repair its durability back to 200.

After a few seconds, a faint light flashed out between the seam of the lid and the body of the box. The Fire Oppa leaped out, signaling that the item was repaired. Jacob pulled the [Bladed Whip] out, careful not to get cut and dismissed it into ash