Alpha Zero (Alpha LitRPG Book 1) by Arthur Stone (top 5 books to read TXT) 📕

even affluent commoners weren’t able to unlock for their children an alpha set of attributes from birth, as those items of prime necessity weren’t available for sale at any price, but had to be obtained on one’s own, and that wasn’t easily accomplished by any stretch.

I had collected seven of these rudimentary items for the Agility attribute, nine for Stamina, and two more for Strength. Plus one additional general attribute mark that could be used on any unlocked attribute, adding one point to it.

These belonged to the ordinary, commonplace variety of loot.

The Greater General Attribute Mark, on the other hand, was absolutely elite. It added fifty points to an already unlocked attribute, and if used on the first attribute unlocked at any given degree, it raised the chances of expanding the capacity of this and the next attribute. For instance, if, say, one Strength attribute required fifteen points to complete, it could expand the capacity by an unknown amount—up to the standard maximum of fifty.

And I had two of these. A trophy of this caliber was both rare and extraordinarily valuable. It was also transferable, meaning I could sell one or both in exchange for a small fortune.

Or I could end up on the bottom of Blackriver.

With a slit throat.

That was all theory, anyway. I was not going to sell even one, let alone both.

Additionally, I had two other items so precious, I felt almost reverential awe at the mere thought of looking at them. Now these would fetch a veritable mountain of gold—if only they were transferable. But they weren’t, so the point was moot.

Greater Personal Universal Attribute Embodiment: 2 units

With this, I could instantly become like an alpha noble, that is unlock all five attributes. The small change was enough for Agility, Stamina and Strength, and these two beauties would cover the two elite attributes—Perception and Spirit. The qualities of these items also matched the greater general attribute marks, which meant I could try and bang out the maximum fifty capacity points.

All in all, using all of these trophies should allow me to raise four attributes to one. And this was where the Order’s principal rule presented a problem: the levels of attributes on any given degree couldn’t be equal. Only the first one would be activated—the rest would remain as dead weight until I managed to bring them up to two, one at a time. And all the while, the remaining attributes wouldn’t be of any help, their status displaying zero. Besides, I wouldn’t have enough chi. Leveling up each attribute required one hundred points of chi. Even with yesterday’s haul, I would only be able to raise one attribute to the minimum threshold.

Still, what would be the point of carrying such treasures on my person? Better to put them into the safest possible vault. That is, into me.

So I did.

My primary attribute would be Stamina. Given my physical condition, Strength and Agility would be of dubious use, but having more energy to delay fatigue—that should be valuable.

I threw several lesser personal essences into Stamina, unlocking the attribute. Then I added two lesser essences and one standard mark. Finally, with bated breath and eyes screwed shut, I used the Greater Standard Attribute Mark on the already decently glowing star of the attribute.

The star blazed with light as the Order informed me of a new achievement.

You have unlocked a new attribute: Stamina. Attribute level: 1. Maximum capacity: 60 points. Current capacity: 50 points.

 

One-time incentive: +15 points to the Stamina attribute (inactive)

What? A whopping sixty points had resulted in only one bloody attribute level?!

But as I studied the result a little longer, I relaxed and even smiled. What a beautiful number. My single level of Stamina contained the blessed fifty points. The very maximum—right from the get-go. And that capacity would carry over from one degree to the next, assuming no other unforeseen developments. Which may be assuming too much given that unforeseen developments had been happening to me on a near daily basis.

Now I just needed to get the missing twenty-five points to bring my Stamina to the second level.

I fought back the urge to use the second greater mark. Those didn’t grow on trees—who knew how long it would be until I lucked into another one? By using it on Stamina, I’d lose the chance to expand the capacity of another attribute.

Next, I selected Agility. When the attribute opened with the same prized fifty-point capacity, I wasn’t too surprised. Perhaps the Order had decided to pay restitution for all of my years of empty suffering—or maybe it was my zero degree that pulled in such valuable prizes. Whatever the reason, I was being given an excellent head start.

A pity it was so belated...

My reserves weren’t enough to pump Strength to the max, but both Perception and Spirit, unlocked by the greater universal attributes, had predictably opened up at fifty.

With the attributes done, it was time to deal with the talents.

All in all, I had obtained five varieties of personal talent marks on the labor front, plus three more for my victories on the battlefield against the kote. These were simpler to use than attributes. Whether bound to my person or easily transferable, the marks could unlock a talent from zero, then raise it from the first degree to the second by accumulating ten points, then another ten points to the third, and so on until the highest possible tenth degree. From there you would need to choose a specialization to keep developing.

I had only one attribute to my name, so I could choose only one talent. As to the pool of choices at my disposal, they were as follows: Scent of Blood, Detect Poison, Detect Traps, Angler, Novice Jeweler (who could have thought that the Order would attribute the crafting of spoonbait to this profession?), Novice Healer,