Deciding not to purchase anything in a hurry, Aiden clicked onto the Arts in the shop window.
[~~~~~Arts~~~~~]
[Shop can't offer Arts at this tier as they are something you need to learn and refine by yourself.]
[Upgrade Otherworldly System: Char to its ultimate potential to have arts available in the Shop.]
'...Of course, it is like that. I might have a special system that no one else has, but it's still an annoyingly useless one.'
[I really can't do anything about it, host. Arts are something that the system just records, not provides. Unlike skills, which other than [Art Skills], systems like me have some control over, so I can provide them. But maybe on my ultimate potential, I might be able to help in the Arts too.]
'And when will you achieve your ultimate potential?'
[When all of your stats break into the SSS category.]
Aiden's eyebrow twitched at the response.
If he somehow became that strong, why would he even need it then?
His father was an S-Rank individual, and he saw him fighting, which was awe-inspiring for him.
In the history tales, even Hero Alfred's stats were told to be around the Highest limit of SS, not even a single stat being in the SSS at all.
The only record of having a Stat in SSS was of the Demon King, Algaroth, whose Vitality was in SSS.
Just that. A single stat in SSS.
And to defeat him, the mortal realm required 7 heroes, all with SS stats, with mythical creatures like Zephy accompanying them.
Yet, Char had the audacity to tell him that Arts would be in the shop when that would happen, when all of his stats reached SSS.
All of them.
Aiden doubted that even Mortivis would have all of his stats on SSS, not that he had any proof to back it up, but still!
"Whew..."
Taking a deep breath while pinching between his eyebrows, Aiden calmed down.
[True Royalty] really came in handy in times like these, where he can still control his emotions somewhat and not have an outright Breakdown.
With another deep breath, Aiden clicked on the Attribute Points.
[~~~~~Attribute Points~~~~~]
[ Increase STR by 1 point -> 20 SP.]
[ Increase AGI by 1 point -> 20 SP.]
[ Increase VIT by 1 point -> 20 SP.]
[ Increase MAGIC by 1 point -> 20 SP.]
[ Increase INT by 1 point -> 500 SP.]
[ Increase CHARM by 1 point -> 1000 SP.]
[Upgrade Otherworldly System: Char to its ultimate potential to have titles available in the Shop.]
Aiden pondered with his chin resting on his hand, staring at the attribute tab in the shop section.
He realized by a look that the higher his stats would be, the more expensive it would be to increase them.
But even if he didn't upgrade his INT and CHARM, He can get at least two points right now to add into one of his four stats.
...That doesn't sound too bad.
I can be a little bit stronger by doing just that.
Aiden shook his head, dismissing the line of thought before it made him too hopeful.
It was Char's Shop. There's no way it can be helpful much.
Maybe he can only buy just one point at each tier?
'...I can buy only one point at this tier, right, Char?'
Aiden telepathed his thoughts to Char, determined to have every doubt in his mind resolved before making any decision.
[Yes, you can only have one point per tier of only one stat; that is, if you bought a point for STR, then the Shop gets locked, and you can't purchase anything else for that tier.]
...Makes perfect sense. That's Char's shop after all.
Yup, makes absolute perfect sense.
[However, I don't recommend purchasing an attribute point, Host. You should buy a skill if you are gonna do it, cause if you bought an attribute point, the entire Shop gets locked till next tier.]
...
...
[True Royalty], yet again, had Aiden's back in controlling his emotions cause that statement had made him incredibly annoyed and frustrated.
At least, he was glad he had clarified his thoughts beforehand.
'What are these tiers? And don't tell me if I bought a skill, the System Upgrades would get locked too, which I assume would help me upgrade to the next tier of yours with SP?'
[Tiers are essentially steps for me to reach my Ultimate Potential. I am currently at the 3rd tier out of 10 tiers in total.]
[And as for the second question, yes, your intuition is absolutely correct. It would be locked too, as it is part of the Shop as well, and then you can only progress my tiers when you yourself progress into the next rank.]
And at that, Aiden force-quit the Shop tab, not wanting to bother with it for the time being.
It was too limiting to be called 'Shop'. Shops are supposed to sell as much as the buyer can pay until they run out of things to sell, not just sell one thing then lock the buyer out for a year!!
[Not buying anything, Host?]
'I'll think about it. Besides, I am sleepy now. Don't disturb me anymore.'
Saying that to Char in his mind, Aiden effectively muted Char, treating her words as nothing more than a slight buzz.
He lay down again, his eyes closed, but his mind reviewing everything.
He thought again of the items in the Shop and what he could purchase.
If he could only have one commodity out of all of them, it had to be one of the skills.
That seemed like the only logical thought to him.
But which skill?
If he wanted one right that instant, He could only afford [Passive Skill: Calm mind], which initially seemed perfect for him.
He couldn't exactly give his all if the tragedy started playing in front of him, whenever he had nothing on his mind.
However, experiencing how perfect memory, a skill that ought to be a blessing until he actually felt its effect, he was skeptical of the downside of each skill more than he liked to admit.
Retracing the explanation of Calm Mind in his memory, Aiden felt that there could be some catch with the skill that he might regret later.
First of all, its effects somewhat collided with [True Royalty].
He didn't need it to control his emotions as long as they didn't completely overtake his rationality. He could already do that; he had enough training regarding it.
And as for his nightmares, his daydreams, and everything else... it seemed tempting, but he didn't want to adapt to them cause of some skill he bought for a few points.
He wanted to come to a conclusion with them on his own.
It involved extremely personal matters to his heart and him.
He didn't want to run away from them or solve them instantly.
He felt like he ...wouldn't be able to see himself cause of shame if he did that.
He needed to give them the time they demanded.
Besides, the description of the skill had a phrase 'reduce the ability to feel fear' which his intuition told him would prove to be a curse in the disguise of a blessing, and he would come to regret it someday.
Exactly like [Perfect Memory].
That left two options to contemplate.
[Extra Skill: Virtuoso of the Grit] and [Passive Skill: Comfy Cozy Rest], one requiring double the amount of SP required of the other.
[Extra Skill: Virtuoso of the Grit] — Its description screamed extreme potential as the battle stretched.
The more injuries he piled up, the more pain he felt, the more his attacks would become deadlier and sharper.
And it also won't let any mental attack affect him as long as he refuses to lose.
He won't fall unconscious, unless something outright kills him.
If he had seen that skill even a day before, he would have picked it.
But Zephy's words from earlier...
'If you're in a bad spot and have the chance to retreat and live, you do it. Doesn't matter if you think you can win.'
'If you bleed out afterward, what's the point? Always prioritize your well-being and survival.'
Those words came into his mind, making him hesitate.
It undoubtedly felt like a really good skill, but... what if, a very BIG if, his will did crumble to continue battling?
Even if not that, what if he fought till he defeated the enemy due to sheer willpower, but ended up in a state afterwards where he can't recover?
Won't he simply die? And if he died, then how would he fulfill his promise?
To fulfill his promise, he needed to live through till he completed the mission.
Till he killed the Emperor Norbury, and forced Mortivis to revive Elsie and His father.
With that line of thought, he considered the last skill.
[Passive Skill: Comfy Cozy Rest].
It felt as it said. Comfy and Cozy.
He didn't mind much sleeping on any kind of floor in his past life because he had no other choice.
But the last six years living with Grandma, and then a decade in the Castle, he knew how it felt to sleep on a mattress.
The difference between the two kinds of sleep was almost as high as the peak of Zephyrix Crest from the ocean floor.
If the situation demanded that he sleep on stones and dirt, he would gladly take that rest without any complaint; however, if he had the chance to get even a fraction of the sleep that his bed provided in the Castle, there was not a shred of doubt in his mind, he would take that chance without thinking.
Even right now, he felt himself rolling and adjusting his position extremely often cause of the surface he was lying on.
And the [Instant Resurgence] effect, on top of promising that sleep on any surface, can be extremely potent.
He had the intuition, even some visual imagination how it could help out in situations where he desperately needed rest but couldn't afford to even blink.
It seemed perfect.
Yet... that was the first skill he saw that had a defect written within its description.
[Dreamless Void].
...I can no longer dream, if I buy it, huh.
Aiden opened his eyes slightly as he pondered the defect.
The fire was almost reduced to cinders, yet those cinders burned intensely.
Providing a little light in the almost pitch-dark surroundings, before they had to die out.
The last bit of smoke trails out of the holes in between logs and stone.
Seeing the smoke slowly thinning and thinning, Aiden's eyelids felt heavy, and he found it harder to control them from shutting anymore.
He was sleepy, and his ability to think was diminishing.
'I think that defect...'
Yawn~
'...might prove to be a blessing in disguise.'
With that as the last coherent thought of the tired boy, sleep successfully enveloped Aiden in its embrace.
**********