Chapter 128: Shocking Discovery (1)

’If every day were like this, life would be wonderful...’ he sighed. He couldn’t ask for more from life.

Too bad his Level 20, compared to Zayn’s... was laughable.

’But this is just the beginning,’ he told himself as he looked at his stats.

[Stats Window]

| Strength: 205

| Agility: 155

| Vitality: 165

| Intelligence: 171

[]

He couldn’t help but get excited.

He wasn’t quite at Rank D yet, but his overall basic strength was already above Level 31 Rank C. Although, considering that reaching that level requires killing many beasts, he was surely far behind the average Rank C.

’Unless I add up all my stat points,’ he thought.

At that moment, he froze. His mind performed a quick and precise calculation that left him stunned.

How many stat points would he have, and how strong would he be—based solely on the average—if he added all his ME to his attributes?

The question fascinated him, and he began to work on it.

To do that, he needed to calculate exactly how much strength a person had in Ranks D, C, and B.

Naturally, he first determined the minimum amount someone in those ranks could have.

Considering that each level-up grants 5 Stat Points to each attribute and that advancing in Rank from Rank F to Rank B grants 10 Stat Points to each attribute, a Level 10 Rank F character would have approximately 50 Stat Points across their attributes—which is the minimum.

That’s not counting the points they were born with or those obtained through ME. That brings the total to 60 Stat Points in each attribute at Rank E, Level 11.

A Level 21 Rank D character has a minimum of 115 in all stats.

A Level 31 C-Rank character has a minimum of 170.

A Level 41 B-Rank character has a minimum of 225.

He stopped at B-Rank because a Level 50 B-Rank character has an average of 270 stat points in each attribute, and even at the peak of his rank, his total would still be lower than that if he added them all up.

’If I add up all my current stats and distribute the 520 points more evenly, I could end up with 304 points in each one, practically. Not quite at the A-rank level, but somewhere between B-rank and A-rank,’ he thought.

His heart raced; this marked a drastic change in his current state of mind. If he was already that strong, he didn’t need to hide so much, did he?

He was tempted to add them all... he’d be at the peak of his rank.

However, suddenly something clicked in his head.

Something strange.

It was a feeling of strangeness, mystery, and confusion that made him shake his head.

His mind didn’t stop to do even the most minimal—or rather, "basic"—calculations of the number of stat points that come with leveling up and advancing in rank. It continued its work and conducted a thorough analysis of the true strength of these F, E, D, C, B ranks...

And he reached a conclusion far stranger than the word itself.

Was something wrong?

He paused to think carefully.

In order for a person to level up—and thus advance in rank—they must kill beasts that grant Primordial Essence, also known as "PE." However, the amount of PE a person obtains does not depend on the level of the beast they kill, but rather on the rank of their awakened Soul Talent.

In other words, if someone has a Rank C Soul Talent, it doesn’t matter whether they kill a Rank F or a Rank B beast—they will always gain 10 Primordial Essence Points, or "PE."

At Rank F, that person will need to kill 200 beasts to advance through the entire rank.

At Rank E, that person will need to kill 600 beasts to complete the entire rank.

At Rank D, they’ll need 1,000 beasts.

At Rank C, 1,500 beasts.

At Rank B, 2,500...

The number increases absurdly with each higher rank.

Meanwhile, Monster Essence (ME) is earned based on the beast’s rank.

If you’re Rank F, have a Rank C Talent, and kill a Rank C beast, you’ll earn 1,000 ME.

This is the foundation of the world Zaid has come to know.

It’s interesting how you can draw two ways to grow stronger from the same beast.

However, what happens when a person with an A-Rank Talent enters the equation?

Zaid did the math in his head...

An F-Rank with an A-Rank Soul Talent gains 40 points of Primordial Essence for every beast slain, regardless of its rank.

He would need to kill just 50 beasts to clear all of Rank F and reach Rank E. But if ME depends on the beast’s rank and not on its talent, how much ME would he get in total by the end of his leveling run?

500!

Only 500!

’That doesn’t make sense... If my calculation is correct, a Rank F with a Rank C talent would get about 2,000 ME...’ Zaid did the math again.

This time, in full view of everyone, he pulled out a blank piece of paper.

"What are you going to do?" John asked, curious.

Erick looked over, too. "Why do we need a piece of paper?"

"I’ll take care of it—just ignore me," Zaid replied.

Erick and John were taken by surprise. Had Zaid’s voice trembled? What the hell was going on?

They both watched as he pulled out a small table as well. They wondered if this guy had any idea they were still in the dungeon...

They exchanged glances, but then turned their attention back to what Zaid was doing.

Zaid knew they were watching him and that he was in a dungeon, but given what he had just discovered, that was the least of his concerns.

He began carefully working out the calculations on paper, marking each important point.

He was so meticulous that he decided to start from the bottom... He began with someone with an F-Rank Talent.