Growth

An hour later, I was finally in my room.

'As expected, they don't fit me anymore.'

I stared in the mirror and looked at my clothes. They seemed baggy… yet also a few sizes shorter for my body. My face was pale and lifeless, my cheeks seemed to have caved in, my stomach was the same, I could see my rib cage when I was naked, and all my (remaining) muscles had lost their shine. By all means, I looked like a malnourished child.

But my body seemed to have experienced some noticeable positive changes too.

I had grown a couple of inches. Even if I still looked like a sick zombie.

…And that's about it.

I had lost my well-built body with all those muscles and my freaking abs!

'They look pathetic now… I want my biscuits back… Hopefully, they'll be back after I gain my lost weight and do some exercise. Took me nearly 2 freaking years to have such a toned body, even if it was still a teenager's body.'

Anyway, now I had to worry about my family finding my current state.

'Yup, everyone's totally gonna freak out. Only because a certain SYSTEM didn't tell me it'll be so… it'll have such drastic effects on my body.'

[Even I wasn't expecting the medicine to be so… effective.]

'Oh, lookie here. Someone finally decided to show their FUCKING face.'

[One, I don't have a face… or a body. I'm a program. And two, I'm really, really sorry, Alex. But I mean what I said just now. The medicine was terribly effective. Your body absorbed 100% of it and it has done wonders for your body. The reason you suffered much more than you should have was due to that. Would you like me to show you the notifications I've been withholding?]

'… Fine. Why were you withholding it though? I was wondering why I didn't get any notifications from the System yet.'

[Because you weren't in the right shape to be able to deal with them before.]

'Ah, right. That was a dumb question. Alright, show me everything.'

And then I was bombarded with a barrage of notifications.

[Notice! A strange ingested substance is having effects on your body! It's going through an evolution.]

[User has unlocked his 'Foundation Tier'!]

[User's 'Tier' has increased!]

[User's 'Tier' has increased!]

[Tier 0 -> Tier 3(Foundation Grade: Platinum)]

[Skill 'Perfect Body' has increased from Level 49 to Level 100!]

[Skill 'Perfect Body' has reached Max level!]

[New Title has been unlocked!]

[New Classes have been unlocked!]

[Main Quest has been updated!]

[Quest title: I need to be stronger!

Description: You've had an epiphany: You're weak as hell.

The world of Criotopia is as beautiful as it is dangerous. All sorts of beings can kill you. Heck, the stronger ones can kill you with a mere fart. Even the weakest ones have a fair chance of killing you.

This is your second chance at life. You must not die so easily!

Luckily for you, you have a hidden power in your body. But it needs you to be stronger than you currently are.

Objective: Level up to Level 5, establish your Foundation with a grade of Gold or above. (Partially Completed)

Bonus Objective: Establish your Foundation with a grade of Platinum. (Completed)

Reward: Unlock your hidden power, +10 free Stat points, +10 in LUC stat, Unlock linked Quest

Bonus Reward: +20 free Stat points, +10 in LUC stat.

Failure: The hidden power will stay hidden, Greater chances of dying in the future.]

[Note: Bonus Reward can only be collected once the main objective is completed.]

[Notice! Your hidden talent is growling as it seems to be on the verge of awakening!]

…

"Holy shit. Ugh, no. Not that one. Okay… Holy fuck!"

The 'incident' had given me trauma for sure. Regardless of me having the 'Mind Field' skill, previously the '????' skill, stopping any mental attacks from others. But what if that attack comes from within? Yeah, you get the idea. It still works but is not perfect.

Anyway, finally, it was time to see the long-awaited Status.

'Status.'

[ —Status Page— ]

Name: Alexander K. Maximus(Alex)

Age: 14(23)

Gender: Male

Race: Human

Class: Noble(Provisional) [Classes available: Warrior, Magician, Martial Artist, Sage, Jack of all trades]

Titles: Perfectionist

Tier: 3(Foundation grade: Platinum)

---

Level: 1

HP: 1000/1000 (END*10)

MP: 25/1000 (INT*10)

SP: 35/1000 (DEX*10)

---

STR: 100(99)

END: 100(99)

DEX: 100(86)

INT: 100(25)

CHA: 150(99)

LUC: 50(10)

---

Stat points available: 0

---

Active skills: Observe Lvl EX(Divine)

Passive skills: Mind Field Lvl EX(Divine), Etiquette Lvl 3(Uncommon), Perfect Body Lvl Max(Legendary)

***

'Hmm. This is… quite balanced, for most parts. The bracket stats are my pre-foundation stats right?'

[Correct.]

'I'm Tier 3 now. Kinda surprised I skipped the first two Tiers.'

[It really is not. Your stats before the Foundation building were already close to the strongest Tier 2s, thanks a lot to the 'Perfect Body' skill that allowed you to go past your innate limit of 49 stats in physical and magical stats. Which, by the way, was already in the realm of Tier 2s.]

'But doesn't the Tier system mainly focus on the magical aspect? So, it should be focused on my Mana or something, right?'

[Yes and no. Yes, because it does show a preference for the user's Mana core. More mana capacity and better mana efficiency often result in improved physical and magical prowess for the same Tier. So, indeed a Tier 1 with, say, more mana capacity will be stronger than a Tier 1 with less mana capacity.

But this isn't the only way the Tier system functions. For instance, there can exist a Tier 1 person with higher physical stats, namely, a physical type. They might have less mana, but their physical stats are still formidable.]

'Oh, I see.'

The game never went into so much detail to explain Tiers and stuff. Tiers were just a simple means to show how powerful an enemy was. But Iris knew much more. What she had told me was quite insightful.

'Anyway, that's that. I'm now Tier 3. The same as Emma.'

Yes, that monster of a girl had gone up a Tier again in the past nearly two years.

She and I had become a lot closer. We even were sparring partners, but I stood no chance against her. She had access to mana. I didn't. Her physique was boosted by mana even if she didn't actively use it. So, even if I had a higher base stat than a Tier 1 before, she'd still wiped the floor with me. That and she was too damn good with swords.

Ah, those were fun times. Emma was pretty intense during our spars, but after that, she would become a cute Tsundere who was fun to tease.

'So, my luck finally increased too. It'd been stuck at 10 since the beginning! And finally, the Charm stat. Heh…Hehehehe…'

"Buahahahahaha!"

I was freaking gorgeous! Such high charm stats. Perhaps I was too dangerous for all the women out there.

'They would get wet or just faint looking at such a charming young man. Oh, how sinful! Hehehe!'

[They would indeed faint. But not because of your charm, but because you look like an undead. XD]

"…"

My momentary happiness was shattered by Iris's harsh words. Why did she have to be so cruel? Wasn't she saying my happiness was her highest priority or something back then? What the fuck happened to that statement? Was it all a lie?

'You just had to butt in and ruin my mood, huh. I was trying to distract myself from this ghostly sick appearance of mine. Fuck you.'

[Aww, don't be mad, Alex. Rest assured, once you go back to your usual, no, even better form, you'll indeed have a lady killer body.]

'For real?'

I asked, gaining back my happy mood. Maybe Iris wasn't as bad as she sometimes acted to be.

[Too easy.]

'What did you just say?'

[Nothing.]

"…"

'Hehe… Hold your panties, ladies. Lady Killer Alex is about to come!'

[That's cringe. Please stop. :/]

"…"

'Right, that was kind of cringe. Just wanted to boost my ego a bit.

Anyway, I am already gaining so many stats at just Level 1. Haven't I broken the leveling system already?'

[Not really. It's true that you're absurdly strong for what a Level 1 is supposed to be, but you're still within the limits of how strong a Level 1 can possibly be. 100 is your true maximum stat limit for Level 1.]

'I see. But wasn't the Perfect Body skill supposed to make my limits infinite or something at max level? What happened to that?'

[The 'Perfect Body' did remove your race's limiter. You can now Level up infinitely, rather than till Level 1500, previously. Level 1500 is the racial limit set because of your Human race.]

'Woah. What Tier would a Level 1500 would be?'

[Monarch Tier 10.]

'Damn. Wait, are there Tiers past Monarch Tiers?'

[Yes, there are two Tier stages past that: Demigod Tier and God/Divine Tier.]

'That was not in the game. Was it a new addition?'

[Demigod Tier is a new addition. Divine Tiers existed in the game too. They just weren't named so. What do you think was the Tier of Goddesses and other Divine beings?]

'Well, if I remember correctly, the goddesses and other beings didn't have Tiers. They were said to be Omnipotent, sort of. Even weak Goddesses could crush Monarch Tier 10s with relative ease. And Monarch Tier 10 was the highest Tier for mortals. Well, was. Now there's a new one. What can you tell me about the Demigod and God Tiers?'

[First, God/Divine Tiers are the highest tiers any being can possibly reach. Any beings who are in the said Tier are Divine beings, as in, they possess Divinity. Divinity is an Authority over a certain aspect of the world. They can't live in the 'mortal plane', that is the plane you're living in, consisting of all the humans, demihumans, dragons, etc.

Demigod Tier falls below that, but above the Monarch Tiers. It serves as an intermediatory Tier between the strongest mortal Tiers and the Divine Tiers since the two tiers had too much of a power gap. Both these stages have 5 Tiers within them, unlike the usual 10. Demigod Tier beings can exist in the 'mortal plane', with some restrictions.]

'Hmm, interesting. So, there's a possibility of beings who are Demigods.

Well, fuck me.'

That would be a disaster. There was a very important reason why the strongest mortal Tier was Monarch Tier 10. Anything above it was just too absurd. The higher-level Monarchs were walking calamities, many capable of destroying a continent if they really tried and in due time. And all the goddesses and other divine beings lived in their separate dimensions and not on this plane so as to not have too big of an impact on this world. But now Iris was telling me there's a possibility of beings who are stronger than the game's Demon freaking Lord who was at Monarch Tier 10? Yeah, fucking hell. How was this world still alive and peaceful? The goddesses must be doing overtime work to ensure the world doesn't get destroyed. Or perhaps these Demigods were peace-loving beings. Who knows?

[That's likely the case. Gods are still gods. Even Demigods will lose when a God Tier uses their strength properly.]

"…"

'Are there beings who are Demigod and God Tiers other than the goddesses and the divine beings that I know of?'

[There might be. I can't answer that question since I don't know either. I can only inform you about the basic laws of this world and some minor information. I wasn't given much data on the beings. In fact, most of my knowledge about the people and places comes from the memories of your gameplays.]

'Right, you did say something like that back when I had asked. Fine. Let's not dwell on such matters. Nothing will come out of it anyway. I just need to find a way to get stronger to survive anything and everything.'

[That's the spirit! :)]

*GRRROOOOOWWWLLLLLL*

A very loud growl, like a hungry beast's, interrupted our conversation.

"Holy fuck, I'm famished! I need some food. Right now!"

It was my stomach, begging for food, now that I was feeling a bit better.

***

A/N: What are your views on MC's growth? I had to rake my brain a lot to come up with something reasonable. This is what I finally ended up with. I had to work a lot on the Tier/Lvl/stat correlation. It was messy, but I settled with a simpler scheme. I'll eventually add an auxiliary chapter to explain the stuff if anyone's curious. But only if people request me to. Otherwise, it'll be a waste of my time. :(