Chapter 8: Stats

<Perhaps you ought to clean this place up>Don’t feel like it. Maybe later. And besides, it’s not that bad.

<I must disagree, it is quite messy>

I mean, it’s perfectly clean, just untidy is all.

<Yes, but-...>

Give me a break, Ai, I just wanna chill and take it easy this week. Probably gonna be pretty busy after New Year’s, so I want to make the most of this idle time while I still can.

<...very well>

Today’s the 24th of December, 2167, Christmas Eve, and I’m a week away from the beginning of my course at the Hunters Academy.

Religions don’t really exist anymore, the appearance of the Monsters and the resulting deaths of billions kinda shattered most people’s beliefs, but Christmas, along with most other religion-based holidays, are still around.

There have been a lot of end-of-year sales with heavy discounts going on, so I ordered a bunch of new clothes and stuff online. My apartment was pretty bare when I first moved in, but it’s looking a lot better now.

<It is certainly a lot untidier, that is for absolute certain>

Don’t sass me.

<Also, I believe you wasted your money on all those new clothes>

<Firstly, everything you bought was black>

That’s not true, I got a few dark gray outfits too.

<Same difference>

Huh, not a phrase I’d have expected you to use.

<And secondly, you did not need to buy that many>

<In case you have forgotten, you can use your Treasury Skill to create unlimited copies of most items, so-...>

I know that, but I wanted some variety. Making copies of the same few outfits means I’ll just be wearing the same things over and over, and that’s no fun.

Also, what’s wrong with black? I’ve always preferred darker colors when it comes to outfits, I legitimately feel uncomfortable in lighter clothing.

And since my hair is black too, I think black clothes go well with it.

<Do you wish your eyes were black too?>

No, I think these purple eyes are pretty dope. And I mean, the whites of my eyes are, well, white, so are my teeth. Not to mention my nails-...no, wait, I guess they’re more of a light, dull pink.

<True, your skin is not dark either>

Woah, now, that felt kinda racist.

<That was not my intention>

Yeah, I know, I was just messing with you.

<I have to say, given your heritage, you are a bit unusually pale>

Yeah, people always assumed I’m white, which is understandable, given my complexion.

But I’m actually mixed, my piece of shit father was a white Australian, while my mother was a bit on the darker side, she was from Sri Lanka.

Never been there myself, though. Maybe I should go visit the place in this life...not that anything that existed back then would still be around, though.

<Yes, that would be quite unlikely>

<The island of Sri Lanka has been completely abandoned for nearly a century now>

<However, there are a number of people in the current era who are descended from Sri Lankans, particularly in Sanctuary Eta, located in what used to be India>

Cool, I wonder if there’s anyone alive who’s descended from someone who was related to me on my mother’s side?

I’m currently in Sanctuary Theta, which is located in Australia, where I was born and grew up in in my previous life.

Traveling to the other Sanctuaries is way too expensive for me, I’m not even close to being able to afford a trip like that.

That aside, it’s not like I have any pressing reasons to visit any of the other Sanctuaries at the moment, so yeah.

<Do you have no interest in looking for any descendants of relatives from your father’s side?>

Hell, no, fuck that guy.

By the way, do you know what happened to him after he sold me off? Please tell me he died a miserable death.

<I do not know, I do not possess any information about specific individuals, other than those with significant fame and influence>

Fair enough.

By the way, to backtrack a bit, you said my Treasury Skill can make unlimited copies of almost anything, right? About the ’almost’ part, what kind of stuff would I not be able to make copies of?

<Well, besides plants, you cannot make copies of living things, for starters>

<But, for that matter, you cannot store any living things in the Treasury Skill to begin with>

<As far as non-living items go, exceptions would include powerful Magic weapons and such>

Yeah, guess that makes sense. You know, I’ve really been itching for an opportunity to increase my stats lately.

Based on what you told me, I’ve pretty much maxed out how much stronger I can get through training alone at my current level, right?

And since I don’t have a healing factor or regenerative ability, I’d like to get stronger as soon as possible. It’d suck if I get badly injured while I’m still weak, like if I lose a limb or something.

<Oh, I forgot to mention, as your stats and Power Level grow, particularly your HP, your natural healing ability will grow stronger in proportion>

<I do not know for certain how significantly it will increase, but you could conceivably gain something resembling a regenerative healing factor once you exceed a certain Power Level>

<In fact, Hunters live longer lives than other humans, they age a lot slower as well, and they recover from injuries much faster>

<And the more powerful they are, the more significant those factors are>

<While it has not been proven yet, Aces are estimated to potentially have lifespans of around two hundred years>

<It may be the same for you if and when you reach, or even exceed, that level>

Seriously? Would’ve been nice to know that...

<Well, I did not think it was particularly relevant at present, since you are unlikely to get any opportunities to raise your stats anytime soon, let alone to that extent>

True, but still. Anything else I should know about my stats? Oh, like what’s the difference between Strength and Vitality?

<Strength primarily affects your muscles, while Vitality strengthens your bones, organs, flesh and skin>

<Strength does affect those parts of your body as well, but not as significantly as Vitality does>

<Additionally, Agility affects the elasticity and flexibility of your skin, joints and muscles, and to a certain extent, your bones as well>

<One more thing, Strength and Vitality restrict Agility, and vice versa>

<At a certain point, you will need to compromise>

What do you mean?

<For instance, since your fighting style and technique prioritize speed and agile movement over brute strength, once you reach that certain point, you will not be able to increase Strength and Vitality as much>

<And the stronger you become, the more those stats will restrict each other>

<At your current level, that is quite minimal, at around ninety-five percent>

<In other words, if your Agility stat is at 100, your Strength and Vitality cannot be higher than 95>

<That percentage gap increases by approximately two point five percent per every one hundred stat points>

<So, if and when your Agility reaches 200, your Strength and Vitality cannot be higher than ninety-two point five percent of that, so around 185>

Okay, I think I get it.

A two point five percent increase in the gap per every hundred points, which means...if my Agility stat gets to, say, a thousand, my Strength and Vitality would be, uh...

Let’s see, decrease by two point five percent eight more times, which would make it...seventy two point five percent.

Meaning, a max of 725 Strength and Vitality points if my Agility is at a 1000, right?

<Correct>

Cool, I’ll have to keep that in mind going forward.

<You are surprisingly good at math for someone who never finished high school>

Yeah, math was one of my stronger subjects in school, and I made it halfway through tenth grade before I had to drop out, so my foundation with education is far from non-existent, at least.

Anyway, is there anything else I need to know about my stats?

<No, I believe you now know everything there is to know about how your stats work>

Alright, then.

Just seven more days till I start at the Hunters Academy, I’ll finally take my first real step on this path to becoming a Hunter.

But, until then...I’m just going to laze about and take it easy for the rest of the year...