After his victory over the Greater Shadow Wolf and his level-up, Arion stared at his new status screen. He now had 5 attribute points to allocate.
[Available Attribute Points: 5]
Strength: Increases physical attack power and carrying capacity.
Intelligence: Increases the power of magic skills and total mana.
Agility: Boosts movement speed, reaction time, and dodge rate.
Defense: Increases resistance to physical and magical damage.
"Intelligence…" Arion muttered. "I have no idea what it actually does. Will it boost my fire spark's power? Or will it just make me cast more ridiculous spells?" Arion hated gambling on something so vague—especially in this filthy, merciless world. He was used to clear logic in his games, where every stat point had a predictable result.
"I need physical strength to defend myself… and agility to move faster and dodge attacks. Defense is important too, but not my top priority right now."
After a short pause, Arion decided. "I'll put two points in Strength, two in Agility. That'll make me stronger in close combat and harder to hit."
Ding~
[Points successfully allocated!]
Strength: 5 (+2)
Agility: 2 (+2)
[Strength: 5 (-2 due to severe fatigue)]
[Agility: 4]
"One point left…" Arion thought. He eyed Intelligence, hesitating. "Maybe it won't hurt to test one point. If it boosts my mana, that's great for my fire skills. If not… well, at least I won't lose much."
Arion placed the final point in Intelligence.
Ding~
[Points successfully allocated!]
[Intelligence: 9 (+1)]
[HP: 200 / 200]
[Mana: 100 / 100]
[Strength: 5 (-2 due to severe fatigue)]
[Agility: 4]
[Intelligence: 9]
"Hmmm. The max mana didn't change." Arion growled. "You stingy piece of junk system! What the hell does Intelligence even do? Make you speak more eloquently with monsters? Damn it!" He felt a twinge of regret but quickly shrugged it off. "Whatever. I'll figure it out later. For now—time to make money!"
---
The Sale at the Adventurers' Guild: Arion's Doubt
After finishing the dissection of the Greater Shadow Wolf, Arion couldn't carry all the meat at once. He placed 10 kg of wolf meat in the full storage slot, leaving the remaining 5 kg behind for now. Just as he was about to leave, something struck him.
"Oh hell, the old trap!" Arion muttered. He had set that trap days ago—who knew what had fallen into it?
Arion hurried back to the site of his first trap, feeling a bit tense. When he arrived, he found it packed with small creatures: another horned rabbit, another giant forest hedgehog, and even a quick lizard he'd never seen before. They'd all fallen in and died.
"What luck!" Arion shouted in sheer delight. "This is my golden trap!"
He activated his dissection skill and quickly harvested the new resources: more horned rabbit meat, hides, and antlers; hedgehog meat and spines; plus the lizard's hide and claws. These were a precious addition to his stockpile.
Arion stored everything in his inventory—the meat, hides, fangs, spines, claws—even his old ornate sword, which he no longer needed.
"No time to go home," Arion decided. "I'll head straight to the city. Time is money—and those kids need food."
He marched toward the city, ignoring the path leading back to the village. He knew every minute wasted meant less chance to earn coin. As he pushed on, he felt exhaustion gnaw at him.
[Strength: 5 (-2 due to severe fatigue)]
[HP: 180 / 200]
"Damn! This fatigue still won't let go. I need somewhere to rest!" Arion muttered.
Before he reached the city gates, Arion felt a faint prickle at the back of his neck. His danger sense didn't scream—it was just a gentle nudge, a reminder that something unusual was ahead.
When he reached the outskirts, he spotted a small procession heading for the main gate. A fancy carriage drawn by white horses, surrounded by a handful of knights in gleaming armor.
"What the hell is this?" Arion muttered. "A royal wedding parade?"
Then he caught sight of a familiar face peeking from the carriage window. Pale skin, brown hair, blue eyes—a smug, triumphant smile plastered on it.
"Malakai…" Arion growled under his breath. "That bastard! What's he doing here?"
Prince Malakai was headed for the city, likely to meet his new fiancée—just as Arion had heard. Rage welled up in Arion's chest again. But he did nothing. "Not now, you mutt." he thought. "I'll plan. You don't strike your enemy when he's surrounded by guards."
The procession passed slowly, Malakai's smug smile like a dagger in Arion's heart.
"It's fine… you'll see, Malakai. You'll see what the so-called 'Lord of Kingdoms' will do to you!"