Chapter 123 (1/2)

But that wasn’t the end of it. Randidly still had 170 PP remaining, and two very viable paths remaining open to him.

Between the two of them, Fighting Proficiency had a slight edge because Randidly suspected that it would provide another active skill. Meanwhile, he suspected Advanced Physical Fitness would provide a passive skill, but it would also likely be more generally useful.

In his mind, these two draws weighed rather evenly against each other, making it difficult for Randidly to decide which he would rather use. Plus, they both were related to physical stats, so he probably would get similar stats or stamina rewards from going through the path…

Sighing, Randidly got up and walked to the side of the room, to a small water basin. The wood planks underneath his bare feet swayed slowly, keeping him on his toes, but his high stats and Grace skill were enough to keep him firmly planted on the ground. He picked up the basin and took a long drink, considering.

Well, when there wasn’t an obvious option, go with your gut.

So Randidly picked Advanced Phys Fitness Path, because it included the word Advanced in the title, and this world placed a great emphasis on labels and tiers, and also because it cost more PP, which made him think that the rewards might be just a little higher than the other. All and all, he received 10 Endurance for this one, one every 10 levels, as well as the completion bonus.

Congratulations! You have completed the Advanced Phys Fitness Path! This path is rocky and varied, and the climb is steep, but as you stand at the summit, you feel the rich air filtering down through your lungs, changing you. But the path leads ever onward, and this is only the beginning. Vitality and Perception +5. You have gained the skill Second Wind Lvl 1.

Second Wind: When under 50% stamina, you gain an extra stamina per minute per skill level.

Chuckling Randidly dismissed the notification. If he continued to stack regeneration passives, he certainly was going to have a monstrous amount of staying power in fights. The extra points in Vitality and Perception were a nice bonus. But, like he had suspected he had received a passive skill that was extremely useful. It made him pleased that he had predicted the outcome.

His final 70 PP he put into Fighting Proficiency I, which brought it up to 70/80. Every 20 points he got 1 Str and 1 Agi, giving him 3 each by the end.

Slowly but surely, Randidly began to sort through his gains. Both Battle Intent and Second Wind were skills he couldn’t wait to raise in level to useful territory. Plantomancy intrigued him, but of all the skills, it was the upgraded Root Control that Randidly was most interested in.

Mostly due to its affinity with how he had been planning to create his skill based on the old turtles strange movements. It was clear that these movements were designed to vastly strengthen the legs and core, and the further you progressed the more that debilitating strain spread, rendering your limbs trembling and weak.

But as your body progressed, your legs and core grew increasingly powerful, and only that strange movement could provide the difficulty you needed to push it further. Simultaneously, in order to create the skill, what was necessary was an image. With his new skill, he had that image: powerful, ancient, implacable roots, holding him up. Roots so strong they could hold the entire world, bringing life to the tree above them.

In this case, Randidly.

With the aid of this new skill, Randidly expected his ability to focus on this image to grow. Hopefully, the boost he got from spending the PP now, as well as this forthcoming skill, would be enough in order to stand a chance in this upcoming regional tournament.

All in all, Randidly earned +125 Stamina, +90 Health, +165 Mana, +6 to all regenerations, +10 Endurance, +17 Vitality, +5 Perception, +8 Strength, +8 Agility, +10 Wisdom, +28 Control, and +15 Focus. In addition, Randidly had 22 free stats to distribute as he wished. But before he made a decision on what he should do with those stats, another notification caught his attention.

Congratulations! You have reached 100 in the Stat “Control”. Due to this, you have the option of starting down the Path of Control. Would you like to do so?

Randidly considered this. If it triggered whenever you reached 100, it would seem that it wasn’t something that was easy to reach, but it also wasn’t too difficult. The reference to a path made it seem like something he would need to spend PP on, but he couldn’t help but worry that he be taken off his current path.

In addition, he supposed he had a choice about whether or not to take the path. If he didn’t, would there be other triggers in the future, asking if he wanted to take that path? For the other stats? If there were, what would be the one that he would want…?

His focus was towards Control magic, after all. Other than that, he would likely choose either Intelligence or Agility, either for raw power or for speed. But this was without any knowledge of what he would gain by making this choice. Now that it was in front of him…

Ultimately, Control was likely his path, Randidly decided. Through his Spear Phantom’s Footwork, through his roots, controlling the opponent until he could finish them off with either his powerful fire magic or his spear skills. All the rest was just durability and staying power, which would allow him to hold out until his control took over.

Randidly clicked yes.

Congratulations! You have chosen the Path of Control. +1 Control per level. In addition, you have gained access to the Path of Control I 0/200. Do not fear this path, because this is the path you have chosen. But do not tarry, for others race forth around you, seeking their own path.

Randidly grimaced. A path worth 200 PP, huh…? That was certainly a heavy burden. But the text that went along with it certainly made it seem like an attractive option to finish. A path that long was bound to have a powerful effect.

What was more interesting was that it included a level bonus. The one thing that Randidly couldn’t figure out though was whether it would be useful to Classers. After all, if they relied on leveling as their primary source of stats, they would have already risen in levels, and been unable to effectively utilize the bonus.

Then Randidly remembered the feature that had gotten him into this dumb situation in the first place. He opened up his friends list and sent a message to Daniel, saying that he was alright, but that he would need to be away for some time. Then he explained the path access you received when your stats reached 100, and how it included a point per level bonus.

Satisfied, Randidly looked at his status screen.

Randidly Ghosthound

Class: ---

Level: N/A