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

had spent my time with the treasurer trembling with fear that someone would find it, hidden under the raft platform.

I needed to boost Perception and Spirit by two levels each. However, that would run in violation of the awkward law of no equal numbers. No two attributes were allowed to hold the same value. Nor could I raise one to level 2 and the other to level 3—my Strength was at level 3. And bumping up my Strength would cause it to conflict with Agility, which was level 4.

All in all, I would have to increase the levels of three other attributes first, before turning my eye on Perception and Spirit: Strength, Agility, and Stamina. Once I handled all five, I would finally be able to learn my Artificer talent. There was another obstacle. My current attribute level limit was 13. I already had 12 levels active.

What I wanted to do was simply impossible.

So, I would first boost my Equilibrium. I used all of the standard universal states in my possession to this purpose. I had 20, and each one gave me 0.2. So, a total of 2.4. This raised my limit by two, as partial numbers did not count until completed. Thus, I could now have 15 attribute levels.

That was enough for what I wanted to do tonight.

I spent one minute using attribute marks, and then I had 15.

For twenty minutes I waited, paying attention to how I felt. My stomach had been fed well and supplied with various spices and grumbled softly, but there was no sign of any trouble. But I was hesitant to continue my work with states and attributes.

I moved to chi symbols. Burning twenty-one of these gave me a boost of 252 units.

I decided to risk boosting Fishing Instinct and Trolling with Spinning Rod. That took 600 chi and a bunch of talent marks. I had plenty of those. What I didn’t have lots of were universal states. These were awarded for deeds more impressive than, well, fishing. That was the only item I had trouble obtaining.

Now, I had obtained Fishing Connoisseur and Spinning Rod Master. The first talent allowed me to clearly see species of fish already known to me—not just blurred silhouettes. In addition, it significantly reduced my chances of frightening my quarry with my actions. The second talent simply improved my use of my spinning rod in general: allowing me to cast further and more accurately, reducing the chance of my line breaking, and reducing the resistance it incurred when rubbing against objects in the water, scales and fins, and parts of the rod and spinner. My bonuses from the level 1 and 2 talents still remained. In fact, they all changed for the better.

240 lesser talent marks which I had earned from the fish caught were swapped into lesser chi symbols and sent to my reservoir. More chi would cause more leakage, but I would manage somehow. My increase in Shadow would be very useful, as searching for the garpikes consumed a good deal.

I felt no convulsions, and indeed no other negative feelings, but I declined to continue. Already I had boosted one state by 2 levels, increased 3 attributes, and brought two level 2 talents up to level 3, maxing them out there.

Tomorrow, I would see how I felt.

Chapter 32 The Spoils

Degrees of Enlightenment: 0 (426/888)

Shadow: 426

Attributes:

Stamina: level 6, 300 points

Strength: level 4, 200 points

Agility: level 5, 250 points

Perception: NA, 50 points

Spirit: NA, 50 points

Talents:

Fishing Connoisseur (tier 3): 10/10

Cure Wounds (tier 2): 10/10

Free Talents:

Spinning Rod Master (tier 3): 10/10

States:

Equilibrium (9.46): level 9

Enhanced Enlightenment (0.50): level 0

Shadow of Chi (0.50): level 0

Measure of Order (3.00): level 3

I felt great. Less than two minutes at breakfast, and I was staring at an empty bowl. I was famished.

A beastly appetite was a sign of good health.

Improving my mood even more was the excellent weather. No one enjoyed spending all day on a raft under a cold rain or beset by piercing winds.

The ever-unpleasant merchant failed to spoil my disposition. He even improved it. The man had suddenly become friendly. Ash’s words about credit had opened some magical door for me into the grumpy fat man’s heart—or at least his good graces, for now.

Today, I was going to undertake a shopping trip of unprecedented magnitude. Starting with the clothes Beko had wanted for so long.

Guppy had plenty of ready to wear garments, but most of them were in adult sizes. Thankfully, the trading post had a good number of experienced tailors who could stitch the apparel down to teenager size. Shoes were harder to so modify, and I couldn’t find anything of suitable size. So the merchant sent Beko off to a cobbler. The man took the ghoul’s measurements and assured him that some light summer footwear would be ready the next day.

I let them measure my feet, too. My clothes were richer in origin than most people’s, but my active lifestyle and wretched home had worn them down to threads. And I had nothing suitable for inclement weather. Once I had chosen all of the desired items, they went off to tailoring.

Next, I wanted some kitchenware. Bowls, spoons, and mugs—and at last a handy pot with a lid. Now we could make a hot lunch right on our raft, and even brew some herbal tea, mixing in spices to potently recharge our strength A large waterproof tarpaulin took its place in the basket storage area. We could use it to take cover during cloudbursts.

I also acquired two pricey hunting knives crafted of exquisite steel, one for myself and one for Beko. The sight of the valuable blade nearly drove him mad. Two axes were purchased, too. I gave a craftsman designs for a