12 Attributes

Kai felt the touch of wool on his skin.

Desmond had given him a fresh change of clothes, but not before making Kai wash himself with a quick dip in the hot-water bucket. 'You stink of blood, vomit, rot, and more,' he hadn't named all.

Kai flexed his arms, legs, a twist of the waist, making sure the clothes wouldn't act against him.

Shae looked at him from the side, her face painted with fear. Kai noticed Arlen watching them from the corner of his eyes, and a hidden grin appeared on his mouth. He neared the sole newbie, making her flinch.

"I am sorry," Kai apologized, nearing again, almost blanking her from Arlen's sight. "You know, right? I didn't have a choice. I hope you didn't think of me unbecoming when I was on your back."

Kai was taller than her, making him look down into her dark eyes. She was beautiful. Thin leafy lips, full breasts, and a small waist, Kai sent his eyes down to her toes. "You didn't feel it on your back, I hope," Kai said apologetically, reminding her if she had forgotten about it. "I will appreciate it if you won't tell anyone."

Shae blushed, her cheeks gaining the color of pink roses. Kai knew he had her then. 'She will come in handy if things were to go sour,' Kai thought and moved out of the way, letting Arlen take the sight of her blushing in full.

"OK, you two, we have little time," Desmond came roaring, brimming with enthusiasm. "First, fish out your Mission Credits. Sonia will join us, we will distribute the Mission Credits among ourselves."

"Mmm… But how?" Shae asked, struggling with her emotions.

"It's simple," Sonia said, taking a seat by Desmond's side. "Desmond will send a payment request to you two through the System. You just have to accept the request to transfer the credits."

The notification appeared as Sonia finished speaking.

[

Contestant Desmond is requesting a payment of 25 Mission Credits.

Do you accept the transfer?

]

Kai nodded in his mind and saw his precious Mission Credits sloping down by half.

Desmond smiled broadly. It pained Kai's heart, not knowing what he could have done using those 25 Mission Credits. But he knew stats had more priority than anything else, so he gritted his teeth and put the pain at the back of his mind.

"We will start with Active Attributes," Desmond said, taking a seat for himself. "Strength, Agility, and Stamina. They make one group and almost affect each other. Strength affects how much power you can exert through your body. Pushing, pulling, weight lifting, and there is fighting. All have a basic origin in Strength."

"Agility dictates your response time, flexibility, and how fast you are," Sonia said, picking up where Desmond had left. "Combined with Strength, it affects the overall control one has over one's body. Stamina seems pure endurance, but it is known as the most important of the three."

Desmond nodded in agreement. "Stamina affects your Defense, your HP, and your HP regeneration rate. Lower the Stamina, the quicker the tiredness. And worse, your control over Abilities will be thrown off, costing you life, yours and of others with you."

Kai doubted nothing that both veterans had told him by now. Even from the names, Kai had guessed their general use already. Shae, on the other hand, was listening attentively as if she was attending a class, showing her clear lack of any fighting experience.

"The remaining three are a group in themselves," Desmond said, scratching the stubble on his chin. "Perception reflects all your senses. It allows you to sense others' presence, their intentions, and dangers. The higher the danger, the quicker Perception will pick it up."

Kai remembered that odd feeling of certain death, seeing the wand in the old innkeeper's hand. 'So it was Perception,' Kai finally got to know. 'Interesting!'

"But it's also a double-edged sword," Sonia chimed in. "The higher the gap between you and the other Contestant, the higher will be the chances for Perception to fail. If your attacker has an overwhelming advantage over you in Perception, he, or she, can easily trick you."

"Excuse me," Shae asked timidly, lifting her hand. "How would I know which Attribute to raise after the mission?"

"I can tell," Desmond said. "Just pay me more."

That shut up Shae immediately. 'She will die soon like this,' Kai thought, wondering what had made her worthy.

"Intelligence is a measure of Mana within you," Sonia said. "MP is consumed for Skills, using certain Items, and it's also a requirement for certain missions to be triggered. It's simple to understand. Breath, unlike Intelligence, is more complicated."

"Yeah, you don't say," Desmond snickered. "Breath is related to Spiritual Energy, but it's also related to one's soul. And that's it. Not much is known about it, other than that it is used to do some mental attacks and damage to the soul."

Kai found Desmond and Sonia giving him a meaningful look. 'That was a mental attack!' Kai narrowed his eyes, finding the origin of that nauseating feeling. It was more dangerous in Kai's eyes than the physical attacks. He didn't even know when the attack had come, or what he could have done to defend against it.

"Charisma tells how well you stand a chance of interacting with characters in a random world. It is USELESS against other contestants." A chilly voice came from Kai's behind. Arlen towered over him, his eyes looking at him like a hawk. "Luck affects mission rewards, random encounters, and triggering of missions," Arlen said. "It's the Worth that makes one stand out."

"Passive Attributes can't be controlled," Desmond took over. "Worth, of all, is very devious. It suddenly increases and decreases. Some call it The Tower's Judgment, some System's Wrath. If your Worth is high after the Resurrection, then you can even have Elementary Abilities from the start."

'Is that so?' Kai wondered. 'What are these Abilities then?' He was about to ask when Arlen commanded them all.

"That's enough," he said, addressing Desmond and Sonia. "Tell them more while doing the Side Mission. It's time."

"Time?" Shae asked, puzzled over the sudden Side Mission when they were yet to finish with the current one.

"Haha!" Desmond laughed. "Time to get us some brooms."

*****

AN: We will deal with Abilities and Skills after this short bloody adventure.