Chapter 14

In a battle against multiple enemies, the most important thing is to have a perfect grasp of the battlefield situation. No matter how well you deal with the enemy in front of you, if you get stabbed from the side, the battle will immediately end. A wide field of view encompassing the entire battlefield, combat intelligence that can simulate all situations, and sufficient power to control the battlefield—all these are prerequisites for fighting against multiple opponents; otherwise, it remains nothing more than a dream.

I recalled my fights against juvenile delinquents when I was young. They were all combat-type abilities users. It was obvious—given the prevalence of superpowered individuals even in casual bar scuffles, one couldn’t possibly make a living through violence without possessing significant strength themselves in District 34.

Thus, before engaging in any fight, I had to thoroughly analyze my adversaries.

Their physique, martial arts style, main techniques used, habits, etc… Furthermore, I needed to know about the battlefield. The exact width of the alleyway where I had to fight, the strength of the walls, the environment beyond the wall, the location of steel bars rolling on the ground, the types of garbage in the trash cans, and the blind spots when standing at certain positions. Victory in this battle was thrilling, despite everyone telling me it was impossible and not to act rashly. The result was so shocking that not only the gangsters but also the companies supporting them withdrew their hands from our school. Afterwards, the disbelieving youngsters continued to challenge me but I never lost until getting involved in a large-scale violent incident and meeting ‘the police’.

‘Well anyway, what is important now…’

Compared to that time, the difficulty of this current battle was ridiculously low.

“Haha.”

[Parring successful!] [Critical Hit!]

“Hahahaha!”

[Parring successful!] [Critical Hit!]

I parried flying axes. I penetrated and struck at their necks. This time, it required much less force since I avoided cutting through the neck bones. Of course, there was a risk that the tough orcs might retaliate if they didn’t die instantly, but Stonestone behind me used his shield to knock them over, preventing any final struggles.

Stonestone didn’t step forward to crush enemies, but just standing firm had immense strategic value. He prevented me from being completely surrounded and wasting time finishing off opponents.

How long can Stonestone hold out for?

I was worried but decided to trust him. After all, Imperial Knights possessed the Unyielding attribute, didn’t they?

Clang! Slash!

Attacking, penetrating, cutting off necks and tearing open bellies. I kicked their legs out from under them, stomped on their heads, and leaped up to snap their necks.

My agility stat had skyrocketed so high that my reflexes surpassed human limits. With Parrying stacked ten times, increasing my attack speed by 100%, I could now strike five times per second.

I wonder if the attack speed buff accelerates upper body movements through cognitive ability adjustments.

The advantage of this insane attack speed was that it put a strain on my upper body muscles. I hadn’t fought for more than 30 minutes yet, but my forearm felt like it would snap and my palms, trained over 20 years, were painful. In normal circumstances, my physical strength and bodily abilities would’ve deteriorated, allowing enemy attacks to overwhelm me, eventually leading to my demise at some point.

But that’s only under normal circumstances.

“Log out.”

Pop!

The orcs assaulting me disappeared, revealing the desolate atmosphere of my one-room apartment with its bed, desk, and refrigerator.

“Ugh… Ah!”

Groaning, I lay down on the bed. Thankfully, the blood covering my body didn’t follow me back to Earth, so there was no need to discard the bedding.

“Puuk… Puuk…”

[For unknown reasons, your stamina has increased by one point!]

“Nevertheless… Huhk huhk. It was worth enduring to the limit rather than running away earlier.”

There was no training system in Revenge. After all, why would there be such a thing in an automatic hunting game? However, this place was reality…and the body grew when it was trained. The system couldn’t recognize this fact and only detected that the stats had risen.

“But it is hard…”

The battle required extreme concentration, consuming enormous amounts of stamina. Even someone with steel-like endurance outside the ring might not last three rounds inside due to exhaustion. I engaged in life-or-death combat without allocating any points to stamina.

“Sigh…sigh…”

After a short rest, my rough breathing started to settle down. With my trembling body, I grabbed the end of the bed and stood up.

[Level Up!]

The level-up effect appeared around ‘KilliansThree’ on the monitor. Like other characters, he was hunting wild boars at Windbreak Highland.

“I need to make the fourth clone soon.”

Originally, beginners couldn’t use the Blessing of the Goddess. The Blessing of the Goddess consumed proportionally based on the amount of experience points accumulated by the character. For low-level users who hadn’t played for long, it was difficult to even consume the naturally recovering blessings, let alone those given as feed.

However, it was different for high-level users. They obtained huge amounts of experience points every time they killed a monster, quickly consuming much divine grace. Once their grace ran out, the drop rate and experience point acquisition rate plummeted! Struggling with insufficient grace, they eventually bought either boxes containing holy items (randomly generating holy water/chalice/holy item upon use) or the Goddess’s Grace Package that ensured grace wouldn’t fall below level two regardless of experience points gained.

In essence, the higher one’s level, the more money needed to be spent on Goddess’s Grace—it operated on a revenue-sharing model based on income!

“Truly, these bastards are innovative.”

I was still low level so I had to blow my favour (maximum of 1,000) on supplies but the characters were hunting for 24 hours and sending all the supplies to Ardenia.

“Rather than that…the battle is taking too long. Fortunately, thanks to the ‘Unyielding’ attribute, we can hold out well but we need to decide before Stonestone dies.”

I opened the status window:

ID: Han Jaeyeon

Class: Duelist (Hero)

Title: Novice Adventurer (General)

Level: 33

Strength: 46 (+100)

Stamina: 49 (+102)

Health: 36 (+59)

Agility: 52 (+180)

Mana: 1 (+70)

Magic Power: 1 (+25)

Magic Resistance: 1 (+15)

Recovery: 51 (+15)

Mana Recovery: 21 (+11)

Luck: 10

Free Stats: 129

Condition: Normal

“Current level is 33, and free stats are 129 points.”

I killed hundreds of orcs while escaping from the territory and leading the villagers. As the battle continued, I started to think deeply about my stats.

“My mana and magic power… they are useless.”

Despite always wishing for transcendent power, I had to admit it.

[Poor Mana Aptitude]

The state officially recognized that no matter what spiritual ability I learned, I would never surpass the entry-level. It was a cursed shackle that couldn’t be escaped unless I consumed dozens of high-grade elixirs like those elders who participated in ancient stages or underwent organ transplantation with transcendental spiritual organs like dragon hearts.

“No matter how much mana is created by stats… Ultimately, it’s still me using that mana.”

[Pneumonia Mana Aptitude] not only affected the maximum value and growth speed of Spiritual Energy but also had a significant impact on control and detection abilities.

In other words, with my low spiritual perception, even if I possessed dozens of years’ worth of Inner Force, I would be unable to utilize it properly. Essentially, I was akin to a spiritually handicapped individual.

“And Stamina.”

For someone engaging in close combat, Stamina is arguably the most crucial ability, as it directly supports physical capabilities. Without sufficient Stamina, even great Strength or lightning-fast Agility becomes virtually useless. However…

“Pass on Stamina.”

If I could rest anytime, or more precisely, if it was possible to log in and out of this country, I could invest more aggressively.

“Pass on Agility.”

Even when I was an ordinary person, I faced several ability users who could dodge bullets. With talents like [Superhuman Motor Nerves], [Superhuman Mental Power], [Incomprehensible Combat Divination], and [Incomprehensible Body Control], even with low agility, my combat power would be sufficient.

“In the end, the answer is Strength.”

I unhesitatingly started pouring free stats into strength.

10, 20, 30, 40, 50…

Crunch!

At exactly 54 points invested into strength, there was a deep sound akin to a massive rope twisting beneath my skin.

My spine straightened and my muscles tightened firmly. In an instant, I felt that my body had fundamentally changed.

“The stats…”

I checked the strength stat, which showed 100 (+100) points. It was uncertain whether this transformation occurred because the pure stat exceeded 100 or if it was due to reaching a total of 200 points, but one thing was clear: my physical capabilities had significantly advanced to a higher level.

“Having 100 points… is roughly equivalent to the strength of three robust adult males combined.”

Considering that 10 points equate to a frail individual, 20 points to an average adult woman, and 30 points to an average adult man, possessing 100 points grants me extraordinary Herculean strength, capable of lifting approximately 1,000 kilograms with ease.

I was well aware of this information since the stats system applied not just to Revenge but also reality.

“Come to think of it, there is said to be a significant difference every 100 points.”

Thus, having 200 strength merely equates to ten times that of an adult woman’s power. However, even among psychics, possessing 200 strength without exceptional training or luck is quite rare. Humans’ strengths lie more in high intelligence and outstanding psychic potential rather than physical prowess.

“Let’s see…”

I gathered various items from recycling bins: a brick, a tin can, and a 5-kilogram dumbbell, placing them on the floor. First, I picked up the brick.

Crack!

The brick shattered effortlessly, despite me barely exerting any force. It felt incredibly fragile, akin to holding sand between my fingers.

”…I like it.”

Crunch!

The sturdy metal can was crushed as easily as if it were made of paper. When I applied more strength with my hand, the metal can leaked between my fingers like jelly. Finally, there was the dumbbell.

Crack!

Unlike the previous two items, the dumbbell wasn’t easily damaged. It was obvious. Unlike the brick or hollow metal can, the dumbbell was solid metal cast through moulding. However, when I concentrated and used all the muscles in my right arm, the dumbbell gradually started to crumple.

Krik-kyeek!

As I admired the sound of struggling metal, I marveled inwardly. Was this really possible using just pure physical strength without mana? The power to crush alloyed metals simply by clenching one’s fist!

However, at that moment…

Puk! Puk!

Three fingernails on my right hand holding the dumbbell burst out. Naturally, blood spurted and intense pain shook my brain.

“Ugh. What is this? Why did my nails…?”

In confusion, I cleaned up the fallen nails and applied ointment to the tips of my fingers. In my excitement, I hadn’t noticed but now saw that my entire right arm was turning red and gradually becoming bruised.

“My nails burst from exerting strength? And my arm is bruised?”

It seemed like the muscles in my right arm were torn since it was difficult to move. This situation was absurd, but…I quickly grasped the problem.

“The durability of my body couldn’t withstand the strength…”