The next ten days passed quickly.
Elias continued delving into the newbie zone of the dungeon, steadily leveling his attributes. He stuck to the relaxed pace he’d set for himself, gathering just enough experience during each delve to level a single attribute.
As a result, his Strength and Vitality soon caught up to his Agility—each reaching level 8.
 
Congratulations! Your Vitality is now level 7.
 
Congratulations! Your Vitality is now level 8.
 
Congratulations! Your Strength is now level 7.
 
Congratulations! Your Strength is now level 8.
 
With all of his physical attributes now at more respectable levels, Elias decided it was time to level one of his mental attributes during his latest dungeon delve. He briefly considered Charisma, but ultimately decided against it. Despite being his lowest attribute at a pitiable level 5, Charisma was one of the hardest and most annoying to train, right alongside Spirit.
Training the Spirit attribute involved a lot of meditation or other exercises designed to strengthen it, all of which were difficult, time-consuming, or just plain boring. Fortunately, Elias' training in Spirit Dancing served as an excellent substitute, since it required him to use his Spirit to sense the mana around him.
As a result, Spirit was the only one of his attributes whose effective level had already reached 10, having been trained over the years to the pinnacle of what was humanly possible.
Training the Charisma attribute, on the other hand, required a lot of reflection and introspection. It was more akin to a journey of self-discovery, and much like training Spirit, it was usually a boring and time-consuming process.
Supposedly, it was all worth it in the end. But still… Elias really hoped his Charisma training would involve potions, not digging through his past to “learn more about himself.”
The reason Elias wanted to level one of his non-physical attributes was simple: he was curious about what it would feel like. Both his Intelligence and Wisdom were already at an effective level of 7, so he knew he’d be able to sense a slight shift the moment he leveled one.
After thinking it over for a while, he eventually chose to level his Wisdom first, though he couldn’t come up with a solid reason to pick it over Intelligence.
 
Congratulations! Your Wisdom is now level 8.
 
As soon as he leveled the attribute, Elias felt a powerful tingling in his forehead, centered on the spot between his eyebrows. With it came the strange sensation of his perception narrowing into focus and expanding outward at the same time.
His senses sharpened, allowing him to register more detail in the world around him. He could even feel his own body more clearly, as if he were more in control of himself. Everything felt more vivid, and he was simply more aware.
Smiling in quiet satisfaction, Elias opened his Status to review the progress he’d made over the past several days.
Name: Elias Oliveira
Exp: 5.240Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
Rank: N/A
Spirit: 10
Skill: None
(21.000 exp to level)
Wisdom: 8
Skill: None
(17.000 exp to level)
Intelligence: 7
Skill: None
(15.000 exp to level)
Charisma: 5
Skill: None
(11.000 exp to level)
Agility: 8
Skill: None
(17.000 exp to level)
Strength: 8
Skill: None
(17.000 exp to level)
Vitality: 8
Skill: None
(17.000 exp to level)
While he leveled his attributes in the dungeon, Elias continued his foundation training with Vivian. That, combined with his generous consumption of recovery potions, had caused his body to undergo a noticeable transformation over the past several days.
His once stick-thin frame had begun to fill out with muscle, his complexion looked healthier, and even his skin had taken on a fuller, more vibrant tone. For the first time in his life, he was starting to feel genuinely satisfied with his own body.
These changes finally allowed Elias to understand just how much of a disadvantage he’d been at due to his previously frail physique. Now, he could move faster, with greater ease, exert more strength, and simply felt more solid than he ever had before.
He also stopped getting the occasional stare of revulsion when he went out. At one point, a girl even shot him a flirtatious look, something that had never happened to him before. He had been absolutely lost as to how to react.
Lastly, Elias continued meeting up with his friends to train in the dungeon’s clearing before heading into the jungle to level up. Their friendship grew stronger with each session, and he felt more certain with every meeting that the three of them would eventually form a delving party. Just thinking about it made him giddy with excitement.
He couldn’t wait to start dungeon delving with actual friends. As much as he loved being an adventurer, walking through the dungeon alone could get a little boring sometimes.
“So… I only need a few thousand more experience to raise my Intelligence to level 10. I’m definitely going to hit that today,” Marco said one afternoon as they ate lunch together after sparring.
The news made Elias freeze for a split second, his breath catching in his throat. He’d been expecting this ever since Marco mentioned that all his other attributes were already at level 10—but hearing it out loud still made his anxiety spike.
After today, Marco would have all of his attributes at the level cap, just like Rebecca. More importantly, with his father’s help perfecting his foundation, he’d be reaching the Beginner rank soon.
The thought brought a renewed sense of urgency crashing down on Elias.
“Already? Damn... how long do you think it’ll take for you to perfect your foundations?” Elias asked, his shoulders slumping slightly.
He wanted to sound happy for his friend—he really did—but he just wasn’t feeling it. The news was sobering. He needed to reach level 10 faster.
Rebecca nodded along, clearly interested in the answer as well. Her brows had drawn into a frown.
It seemed Elias wasn’t the only one feeling the pressure.
“I’m not sure exactly when, but my dad said he’s taking me somewhere to perfect my foundations the day after tomorrow. It should take about a week or two, I guess,” Marco said, unable to keep the excitement out of his voice. “He actually didn’t tell me where we’re going.”
“Wow, that’s… that’s really quick,” Rebecca said, her eyes widening slightly in alarm.
“Yeah, it is. But I’m not bringing this up just to show off,” Marco added with a grin. “I was thinking—why don’t we all delve together today?”
“Even if we end up sharing the experience, you’ll probably still gain it at a similar rate if we head into the core area of the zone,” Marco said, looking at Elias.
Then he turned to Rebecca. “And you wouldn’t be taking any of our experience anyway, since you’re already at the level cap. This would just be a test run to see how well we work together in the dungeon. What do you say?”
“I think it’s a good idea, but I can’t, unfortunately,” Rebecca said, disappointment clearly marring her features. “I already have a group slotted in for power-leveling this afternoon. I can’t just cancel on them last minute.”
“I’m in!” Elias said.
His heart pounded with excitement, and his grin chased away the gloom that had been weighing on him. The shift in his mood was so sudden it even earned a light chuckle from both Marco and Rebecca.
“Alright, let’s go then!” Marco said, matching Elias' energy.