Ch 6: Rewards

Valerius decided to check what these two rewards were on the spot.

First off, he said, "status screen," in his mind.

He had read many system novels and Korean webcomics in his past life, so he knew how to open the status screen.

As he uttered the two words, a semi-transparent screen materialized before his eyes, hovering in mid-air. It didn't obstruct his sight too much as it was semi-transparent and occupied only a small portion of his vision.

He glanced at the screen.

It contained a detailed assessment of his abilities:

[Name: Valerius J. Khaleji

Race: Human

Age: 16

Stage: Unawakened wizard

Special Physique: Gamer Physique]

As his gaze reached that part and focused on the two words Gamer Physique and he wondered what it does, another notification popped up in his vision.

"So, it's like the cheat code of the main characters of novels," Valerius thought to himself.

He remembered reading about something called 'spiritual physique' in the 'Great Conquer.' These physiques granted their owners special powers, some defying logic, others incomprehensibly strong. Valerius found his Gamer Physique similar to these spiritual physiques of this world.

The power his special physique granted him was passive and most likely permanent. It had transformed his body into something akin to a character in a video game.

'Which is quite cool, I have to say.'

He continued going through the status screen. His brows creased in confusion as he looked at the next thing mentioned on it. 

Bloodline: None 

'How could that be possible?!'

Valerius's confusion wasn't unwarranted.

This was indeed puzzling.

To know why that was the case, we must talk about the parents of his body.

His father was the younger brother of the current family head of the Khaleji family. Twenty-something-odd years ago, he was amongst the top five most talented and powerful wizards under the age of 20 in Serphendale. He was able to achieve this feat as not only was he hardworking and consistent about training but he also had a very pure Khaleji bloodline. 

His mother, on the other hand, was a child who had been adopted into one of the many households under the leadership of the Khaleji family under mysterious circumstances. Although she was an unawakened wizard and had to take the risky route to gain access to her arcane heart and become a full-fledged wizard, she was born with a special bloodline that made her stand out among her peers and the special blood coursing through her veins granted her impressive self-regeneration ability, so it wasn't too hard for her.

Not to mention, she was also one of the top beauties of her era. So she was a like peacock amongst a crowd of toads in her era. 

One day, 20 years ago, the tale of her beauty spread far and wide in Serph. His father didn't believe that a woman could be as beautiful as the Moon Goddess of the Lunar Tribe.

He went to the household that had adopted her and when he saw her, his jaw dropped so low it broke the laws of space and escaped to another dimension. 

He was dumbstruck by her beauty and fell in love with her at first sight, causing him to pester, spoil, and love her with all his heart until she gave in to his antics and became his wife.

As a result, a few years later, Valerius J. Khaleji was born.

Four years following his birth the Great War started, and both his parents perished. Before they died, they had both achieved an esteemed status in Serphendale.

Anyways, as their son, he should have inherited a little bit of their special Khaleji bloodline, right? 

'I am born to two great wizards with special bloodlines. Why don't I have it?!' he sighed.

He didn't have any sort of special bloodline that a Khaleji should possess, at least it wasn't mentioned on his status screen!

What did that mean? 

Either the status screen was faulty and couldn't fully list out everything about him, or he was unbelievably unlucky as he hadn't inherited even a hint of his biological parents' special bloodlines.

Such cases were extremely rare but they weren't non-existent.

He could only curse his luck since he fell under such a category.

He then continued going through the status screen. The next section of the status screen mentioned his stats, which were as follows:

HP: 2

STR: 3

AGT: 3

STA: 3

Stat Points: 0

While they appeared self-explanatory, Valerius looked at each stat listed on the status screen for more than a few seconds to gain their description. 

HP represented his life force; if he ran out of it, he would die.

STR signified his strength, detailing how much force he could muster in one attack and determining the damage it dealt.

AGT stood for agility and represented his speed, nimbleness, and reflexes.

STA, or stamina, indicated how long he could maintain physical exertion; reaching zero would mean he would collapse and lose consciousness.

As for the stat points, they were points he could utilize to enhance the stats mentioned in his status screen.

Currently, he had none, so he had no way of determining the amount of improvement 1 stat point would offer him.

He did this because he wanted to ensure that his interpretation and understanding of these stats and features were accurate. This careful examination was crucial for him to effectively utilize and leverage these attributes in his new reality, 

On the screen, it was also mentioned that the average stat for a Serphian was around 5 for each category.

A heavy sigh escaped Valerius' lips.

He, despite being a Khaleji, was weaker than the average Serphian. No wonder he was looked down upon and considered the shame of the Khaleji family. 

In a vast world where strength defined one's standing, those lacking in power, like Valerius, were bound to be shunned and sidelined by society.

Valerius felt a desperate urge to increase his strength as only then would he get to live with his head held high.

One of the two rewards he got from completing the quest was the opening of the mysterious space's treasury. Maybe there might be something inside it that could increase his strength. It was worth a look!

He closed his eyes and focused on the starlight in his mind. The next moment, he found himself standing amidst the vast expanse of the mysterious space 

His gaze moved to the shed to his right. 

This time there were no chains locking it.

He rushed over to it, easily pushed open its entrance, and strode inside.

Inside the shed, shelves could be seen along the walls. On these shelves, there was nothing except for a few blue orbs.

After picking up an orb from the shelves, Valerius scrutinized it and saw on its back the words +2 SP were written. 

He put it down and inspected the other two orbs, and found out they had the same lettering.

Valerius was able to tell that SP meant stat points. He was also able to determine that each orb could grant him 2 stat points, but he didn't know how to use them.

'Maybe that would work.'

Valerius then proceeded to put the other two orbs into the screen. 

As a result, he was left with a total of 6 six stat points!

Valerius didn't hastily allocate the newly acquired stat points to enhance his strength right away, choosing instead to reserve them for the Spirit Veins Awakening Ceremony.

During the ceremony, he believed he would find out which stat could increase his chances of successfully awakening his spirit veins. 

That was when he would spend his stat points to change his fate!

Basically, he wasn't being stingy or overly cautious. 

He was simply being thoughtful!

Valerius left the mansion.

He was heading towards the secondary entrance of the House of Khaleji where a grand carriage was waiting for him.

The carriage was intricately designed with silver embellishments depicting the proud heritage of the Khaleji family.

It was drawn by majestic steeds that were extremely eye-catching as they had two fiery red tails and a fine red mane that seemed to shimmer under the sun like a bright fire.

The steeds of this carriage were known as Fire-Tailed Steeds. 

In the novel, it was mentioned that not only they could run for hundreds of miles without getting exhausted, but they could also cover distances ten times faster than the average horse back on Earth.

It was also mentioned in the novel that fire-tailed steeds were wild and aggressive in nature, but as they were in the presence of a dragon, they behaved docilely, silently grazing on grass like cows and sheep.

Once Valerius reached his destination and saw this scene, he thought that the Khalejis were allowing him to ride it to the ceremony as they didn't want the public to think they treated him badly. There was no other reason behind this gesture. 

He drew closer to the carriage waiting for him, and Armand, who was standing next to the carriage, promptly opened the door and said, "Please."

Valerius nodded his thanks and stepped inside the carriage as Armand closed the door behind him.

"Let's set out for the site of the awakening ceremony," Valerius spoke once he was comfortably seated. His voice rang out from inside the carriage and reached Armand.

"Yes, young master," Armand replied before taking his position in the driver's seat.

He picked up the reins, gave a firm flick, and the Fire-Tailed Steeds began to move, setting the carriage in motion towards their destination.