"WHAAAAAAAAAAT?!"
The jungle echoed with his voice, birds scattering, and beasts howling in the distance.
Xenos clutched his head, about to tear his hair off, still staring at the message.
"Sixty-nine monkeys for… "
He couldn't believe this.
"WHAT?!"
At all.
"WHO DESIGNED THIS BULLSHIT SYSTEM?!"
His screaming turned into wild laughter, which was only made worse by his shaking head.
Anyone seeing him right now would no doubt call him an utter lunatic, but he didn't care, staying there a long while, absolutely gobsmacked.
It was obvious why he was reacting this way.
"Only five damned levels?"
His eye twitched.
"...How?"
Xenos plopped down right where he was, leaning against a tree trunk.
Sweat stuck his shirt to his skin, but unlike usual, he barely cared, his brain chewing on one thing:
'Why so little EXP?'
Only to then quickly realize that he had accidentally reached the answer not too long ago.
'Wait, is this the main reason why Runebearers are generally weaker here?'
His thoughts flowed...
'So it's not only because of the danger, but because of 'experience'...'
Flowed to a guess he didn't accept.
'Because 'experience' is randomly given out?'
His lip curled.
"Definitely not..."
He shook his head; yeah, no.
"No way it's random."
The system wasn't sloppy, far from it; everything so far had been clean and structured.
Yes, everything was methodical; it all came from somewhere, and with it was a reason.
There had to be another reason, so he used his math brain and thought.
Numbers spun in his head, formulas that could explain this... "bullshit."
Again, it didn't take long for something to click, or maybe this time the system nudged him along; he wasn't sure, but either way, he saw the pattern.
Every three kills.
The first three gave full value.
The second three gave ten percent less.
The third three gave another ten percent less.
By the time he hit the eighth set of three, it bottomed out.
Thirty percent was the base, no lower.
"So it's like eating the same food over and over..."
Xenos rubbed his face and groaned.
"The first bite is amazing, but by the eighth plate, my body's screaming for something else."
Unfortunately for him, that made sense, because, well, again, this wasn't experience; it was Soul remnants, and taking Soul remnants from the same creatures would cease to be beneficial for the Soul after a while, requiring something else to nourish it.
It truly was like a diet, with the human body requiring different nutrients.
"…Annoying."
And just like that, nearly all of his power-leveling strategies turned into garbage.
In the game, he could grind monkeys until he ascended to Sainthood, but not here; it was the prison stunt all over again, forcing him to be clever and think sideways.
"Guess that's the one good thing about it..."
He chuckled despite himself.
"It keeps me smart."
With a sigh, he pulled the system back up.
—
╔═══════════════╗
║{Game System Online}║
╚═══════════════╝
{Level: 6}
[• EXP: 3 / 18 •]
{Health Points}
[• HP: 40/40 → 102/102 •]
{Divinity}
[• D: 45/45 → 134/134 •]
{Statistics}
[Strength] 5 → 6 (F) (World Avg: E)
[Intelligence] 16 (E) (World Avg: F)
[Willpower] 19 (E) (World Avg: F)
[Speed] 5 → 9 (F) (World Avg: E)
[Endurance] 5 → 15 (F → E) (World Avg: E)
[Appearance] 70 (B+) (World Avg: C)
[Personality] -1 (G) (World Avg: D)
[Luck] 60 (B) (World Avg: C)
—
"Oh…"
He found this interesting since it seemed like the 'stat points' had been applied on their own.
They went straight into Endurance and Speed, exactly what he leaned on in the fight.
His Strength barely budged, meaning that if he didn't change his fighting style, though all would gradually increase, a few stats would dominate over others.
"So it's…"
Xenos scratched his chin.
"Seeing me. I'm seeing myself."
This, too, made sense, for this system wasn't something entirely otherworldly.
It was bound to the Laws of this world, and this Law was his Soul Glyph, Beholding Eyes.
'They' weren't lying when 'They' said that.
He glanced again at [Personality: -1 (G)] and snorted.
'Guess that's how I see myself... funny.'
Still, a question stuck in his mind.
If EXP was different here, were the stats different as well?
'System. Show me the definitions.'
—
[Strength]: Affects melee damage, carry capacity, and knockback.
[Intelligence]: Increases Divinity reserves and Rune efficiency.
[Willpower]: Divinity regeneration and resistance to mental effects.
[Speed]: Movement speed, initiative, evasion, fatigue, and attack speed.
[Endurance]: Base Health (HP), HP growth at level-up, and resistances to bleed/poison.
[Appearance]: Social presence, people's reactions, and charm checks (Beauty, presence, intimidation).
[Personality]: Speechcraft, bartering, and faction disposition (Charm, persuasion, manipulation).
[Luck]: Small multiplier to all chance-based rolls (critical, loot quality).
—
Xenos tilted his head.
"Same as before... good."
But he wasn't done yet.
'Letter grades.'
—
F = 0–9
E = 10–19
D = 20–39
C = 40–59
B = 60–74
A = 75–89
S = 90–100
—
"Also similar."
He exhaled, relief flooding out.
At least not everything was trying to screw him over; only the EXP curve had shifted, or rather… returned to its 'true' form.
That thought made his grin twitch.
He leaned back further, letting himself rest.
But right then, a voice purred through his head:
'Your… system, is quite a sight to behold.'
It was Eris, of course.
"Hm..."
Xenos smirked.
'You think?'
'Yes. I haven't seen anything like it.'
That was somewhat surprising.
'Really? Never heard of anything similar?'
He felt the faint shake of her head in his mind.
'No. And if there were, I'm certain they were hunted down before word spread. Most of my kind… would've been very interested in someone like you.'
Xenos let out a loud laugh.
'One of the people hunting me is a Saint, the other two aren't too much weaker. I can definitely see how they pulled it off, but still, why the hostility?'
'That's easy.'
She chuckled.
'You are an irregular, Seeker Xenos. A problem and a threat to their order. If allowed free rein, you could topple it, and they know it. They'd never allow you to walk freely, not even if the realm flipped upside down.'
He mulled it over with a nod.
Honestly? He agreed. If he were them, he'd already have sent a hit squad; no way he'd let someone like him run loose. Especially not someone who openly wanted to break the whole realm apart.
'Yeah... surprised they haven't sent anyone yet.'
Ignoring the planted red flag, Eris asked:
'By now, you know that even we have rules we have to follow, correct?'
Before he could reply, she continued:
'They too are shackled, but don't worry...
She warned softly.
'They'll come.'
Xenos's grin spread.
'Oh, I'm not worrying.'
He pushed himself up with a groan, brushing leaves and dried blood from his clothes.
His stomach growled loud enough to scare a bird from a branch, but he didn't react, seemingly used to hunger.
"Now then…"
He licked his dry lips.
"…it's about time I feed on more than Soul."
With that, he slung the sword over his shoulder and marched off toward the scent of meat.