Lydia Flower

Being a <Beginner > didn't mean they couldn't defeat a superior enemy.

As long as they had the skills, mechanics, and understanding of their opponents, winning against a stronger enemy was possible. Of course, they should consider the difficulty.

If the 'superior' was <Disadvantaged > or even <Hopeless > rated, no matter how good someone was, it would only result in death.

At the very least, they should be happy if they could single-handedly defeat an <Equal > rated.

Although Anarchy didn't have a profound knowledge of the monsters in the Monster Territory besides a few species like goblins and skeletons, which were abundant in that forest, he was still able to defeat a superior opponent.

It was so easy that it felt like he cheated.

Whenever Anarchy spotted a stronger but killable monster, he would use his <Stealth > to approach them without getting noticed, then utilize the Thief Skill <Backstab >, killing it in one shot.

There were a few monsters rated as <Equal > difficulty by the system, and Anarchy killed them with <Stealth > and <Backstab > tactics, though not every attempt was successful.

When that happened, he had to survive for a few minutes until his skill's cooldown finished.

In the end, he only got two. But that had already given him more XP.

Unlike <Backstab >, which is more like a passive skill, <Stealth > has a cooldown period that begins its countdown after the current use is canceled. It also consumes MP every minute.

Although Pandemonium had no HP Indicator, it still retained MP's. However, without Mage Skill <Mana Sense>, players could only feel but couldn't know the exact amount of their MP.

Fortunately, it was easy to guess when your MP was low; your body would feel heavy and burdened. But it was tricky if you had low MP while being exhausted after exerting some moves.

'The question is, how to unlock the Mage Skill Tree.'

The straight answer would be reading tomes and magic books, but was that enough?

Putting the problem that could be solved later aside, Anarchy inspected his character status.

After some path hunting (Only killing those he encountered on his path toward the potential location of Lydia Flower), he earned 350 XP from two <Equal > monsters and 84 XP from goblins and skeletons.

With that, he had accumulated 936 XP. Just a few more, and he would get a <Rookie > rating.

Anarchy used some to increase his stats.

===

[Anarchy]

Race: Changeling (Shapeshifting: Human)

Traits: [Abomination], [Impostor], [Shapeshifter]

<Beginner >

XP: 296

XP spent: 640

STR 4 -> 8

CON 2 -> 5

DEX 6 -> 20

INT 5 -> 10

WIS 4 -> 8

CHA 10 -> 20

===

The stats mechanism was a bit strange.

While it was true that each attribute played a role in contributing to a player's fighting abilities, some stats felt like it didn't do the player justice.

STR or strength enhances a player's attack power and, of course, strength.

CON or constitution increases their recovery and regeneration ability.

DEX or dexterity affects their reflex and overall agility. The support guide recommended this attribute for players with high mechanical skills regardless of their character's build.

Having high INT or intelligence points doesn't mean a player will magically become smarter. Because their actual intelligence isn't tied to stats. It only reinforces their magic and everything related to it.

WIS or wisdom heightens their senses and mental fortitude to defend themselves from peculiar magic spells like mind control.

CHA or charisma affects their communication skills and characters. Talking through NPC while possessing high points on this attribute will increase your chance of success.

But since there was no telling how much it affected them, the player would feel like they had been scammed; in actuality, it did boost their power once reaching its threshold, albeit insignificant.

Just like Anarchy.

After raising his DEX and CHA to 20 points, Anarchy could feel his body slightly free. But to know whether his CHA affected his character, he would have to talk to NPCs.

"Rather than giving extra powers like other games, it's more like unlocking potential..." Anarchy mused. "... precisely to the player itself, not the characters."

That said, now that Anarchy had 20 points of DEX and CHA, the cost had been increased to 20 XP for one point.

"Will it increase again when I reach 40 points? If so, how much?"

Only one way to find out.

Anarchy shook his head and checked his surroundings; thin, azure-leafed trees towered into the sky, resembling a bamboo forest but more magical.

Looking ahead, Anarchy found himself staring at a quiet stream surrounded by a field of blooming flowers. On the perfectly arranged stone boulder resembling a staircase perched a giant red panda chewing on bamboo.

Never did Anarchy witness a beautiful and magical forest like this, not even in the other games.

That view was picturesque. Enough to make any artist desperate if they heard about this but couldn't pour it into their canvas.

Talking about artists, Anarchy knows someone who is passionate about art.

'...'

He shook his head as he began thinking about that person. Instead, he shifted his attention toward the flowers.

Just what was written in the support guide, their colors were variative; Anarchy saw red, yellow, purple, white, and blue. Their shapes resembled a Chrysanthemum.

Were those the flowers he searched for? No.

While all of them fit with the description written in the support guide, it didn't mean they were the same.

The Lydia Flower Anarchy searched for was only one. And that was the blue-colored flower that grew around the boulder where the giant red panda was.

Anarchy's breathing became heavy, and so did his body. It seemed like he was about to run out of MP.

'I should finish this soon.'

Taking a deep breath, Anarchy looked at the giant red panda before he walked silently.

'I don't know what that creature is, but it looks like a monster that will give you a ton of XP,' Anarchy thought.

Recalling the support guide's slogan, Anarchy scoffed internally. 'You have everything we need, my ass.'

Anarchy stared at the giant red panda again, noticing that it didn't have difficulty rating above its head.

That would only mean one...

'It's an NPC?'