Early in the morning, Neuman was checking his gains from the previous day's battle. He thought to check his status window after dinner the night before, but he unknowingly fell asleep. It wasn't until he woke up and started having breakfast that he suddenly thought of it.
Without delay, he checked the status window eagerly.
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Neuman Wisch
Level: 20
Exp: 1125/2000
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Strength: 30
Agility: 29
Vitality: 29
Dexterity: 29
Magic: 30
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Stat Points: 90
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Defence: 35
Perception: 30
Speed: 32
Accuracy: 33
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[Skills]
Spear Technique (Advanced)
Basic Dagger Technique (Basic)
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[Special Skills]
Flame Control
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Skill Points: 16
Skill Upgrade Points: 3
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[Production]
[Taming] [Blacksmith] [Alchemy] [Market] [Abilities]
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Neuman smiled seeing his stats. He had already felt his growing strength while fighting, so he was not surprised. He even had 90 stat points, which can further enhance his ability. He had become more efficient in using the Flame Control skill in combat.
Noticing the skill points and skill upgrade points, he decided to enhance his Flame Control skill. However, when he attempted to do so, a message appeared:
[Unable to use skill points]
This message surprised him. He then realized that he couldn't use skill points on special skills and had to familiarize himself and become efficient in the skill himself.
He then turned his attention to his dagger technique. Using two skill points, he upgraded it to the limit.
Previously he had used one skill upgrade point while he was in the battle to upgrade his basic Spear Technique to the advanced level. He didn't upgrade the dagger technique because he thought that the spear technique was more useful and it was better not to unnecessarily use the skill upgrade points.
He then opened the market section and checked the new items that were now available in it.
[Spells]
Earth Shield Spell - 50 soul points
Water Shield Spell - 50 soul points
Fire Arrow Spell - 50 soul points
Light Ball Spell - 50 soul points
[Special Skills]
Flame Control (purchased)
- Advanced Flame Control - 950 soul points
Water Control -100 soul points
Ice Control - 250 soul points
Earth Control - 100 soul points
Wind Control - 250 soul points
[Techniques]
Basic Combat - 50 soul Points
Basic Tracking - 50 soul Points
.
.
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Neuman was taken aback by the sheer number of options available in the market. Among them there were many spells. As he checked them, he realized that these were the very spells he had encountered during the battle. He came to the conclusion that the [Market] displayed the spells he had come across.
He even saw the upgraded version of Flame Control—[Advanced Flame Control], but it was expensive. Until now he had only saved around 300 soul points, but there was no need to buy the advanced version for now, as the Flame Control was enough for now, and there was no need to buy other element control skills either.
Under that he saw many skills—combat, tracking, sword, blade, and many other techniques. He was surprised to find planting and assassination skills among them. There were many more skills and items but most of them were still not available.
He can now even buy healing and magic recovery potions from the market and they cost 10 soul points. But he thought it might be better to make them in the alchemy section after he had collected the medical points.
There were even many weapons and armors there but he didn't need any now so he left them at that and checked other things.
The thing that Neuman got from the battle was not only the experience and soul points. Now he had a basic understanding of the combat power here in the camp, which can be used to compare his strength with others accordingly.
He now knew that when he was around level 10, his combat power was around the level of the soldiers, and now, after reaching level 20, his combat power has reached that of the commander. But he would still be more powerful because of his skills. From the looks of it, the commander and the captains could only use magic skills to strengthen their weapons and armor.
As he was contemplating these things, someone from outside came and told him that there would be a meeting held in ten minutes and he had to be present there. When he asked what kind of meeting it was, he was told that other captains along with the nobles would be talking and noting the participation of each person.
Neuman nodded and thanked the messenger. He quickly finished his breakfast, a meal of bread and some meat. He then went outside and made his way to the meeting hall. He still had some time, so he decided to organize his thoughts.
'So, a meeting with the nobles and other captains, huh?' he mused. 'This could be interesting, or a complete waste of time.' He hoped it would be the former. He was curious to see what the nobles were like. He had heard about them from the soldiers and there were only bad talks about them. He also wanted to gauge the strength of the other captains. He had a rough idea based on the commander, but it would be better to see them in person.
As he walked, he idly wondered if he should spend some of his stat points. He had 90, which was a lot. He could distribute them evenly or focus on a particular stat. 'Maybe I should increase my strength,' he thought. 'More strength means more damage, and I can never have too much damage.' But then again, agility was also important. 'More agility means I will become much faster.'
Thinking about this, he sighed, as it was a difficult decision. He decided to hold off on spending the points for now. He wanted to see what the meeting was about before making any decisions.
He arrived at the meeting hall and saw a few other captains already there. He recognized a couple of them from the battlefield. They gave him nods of acknowledgement. He nodded back and took a seat in the corner of the room. He waited patiently for the nobles to arrive.
A few minutes later, the doors to the hall opened, and a group of nobles entered. They were dressed in fine clothes, and they had an air of arrogance about them.
Their appearance was contrasting the hall's battered state. The smoke-stained wall and crumbling walls spoke of the battle. It was repaired hurriedly to make it presentable enough for the gathering.
Neuman observed them carefully, trying to assess them. One of the nobles, a tall, slender man with a neatly trimmed beard, stepped forward. "Greetings, captains," he said in a booming voice. "I am Elmsworth and it is nice meeting you all."
He gestured to the other nobles. "These are my esteemed colleagues, Lord Ashworth and Lady Beatrice."
After all of the nobles were introduced, they began to take their respective seats. Previously, he thought that there were only nobles' children in the battle, as he didn't see any grown-ups among them.
But now, as the conversation was going on, he came to know that they had a camp outside the city that was looking over the beast from the wilderness, like the wolves.