He activated║LOOT║, his gaze fixed on the five lifeless Grey Wolves sprawled across the bloodstained ground.
The familiar stream of notifications greeted him, indicating the successful extraction process. Rather than manually selecting, he let his Innate Talent handle the choices automatically.
╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮
﴾ 51 Stats Looted ﴿
﴾ Grade-2║Wind Innate Talent║Looted ﴿
﴾ Lv.4║Minor Wind Mastery║⧼Stage-1⧽ Looted﴿
﴾ Lv.9║Auditory Sense║⧼Common⧽ Looted ﴿
﴾ Lv.8║Olfactory Sense║ ⧼Common⧽ Looted﴿
﴾ Lv.9║Night Vision║⧼Common⧽ Looted ﴿
﴾ Looted Stats: 139✯ ➟ 190✯ ﴿
﴾ Congratulations! You have awakened your 2nd Innate Exclusive Skill as your Looted Stats have surpassed more than twice your overall Stats ﴿
║INVERSE║
All Looted Stats are fully unlocked and available for custom Stat Allocation within the║LOOTED STATUS║Inverts the Status Window from 'Secondary' to 'Primary', allowing the user to experience Attributes from║LOOTED STATUS║without any backlash.
Duration: 6 Minutes ⧼No. of minutes will depend on user's Level⧽
Cooldown: 60 Minutes ⧼10 times the user's Level⧽
╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯
Without further hesitation, he activated║INVERSE║, and instantly, the familiar ║LOOTED STATUS║tab appeared before him. The label 'Secondary' shifted to 'Primary,' granting him access to a window that had previously been out of reach.
In the next moment, a powerful surge coursed through his body as his Attributes in║LOOTED STATUS║spiked by 38✯ Stats each. But with that overwhelming surge of power came a wave of excruciating pain, far beyond anything he had ever experienced.
╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮
﴾║LOOT║grants invulnerability to all changes caused by Looted Stats, preventing the body from imploding due to the sudden influx of stats at once. However, the resulting pain remains unavoidable ﴿
╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯
The warning flashed in his mind, but it did nothing to prepare him for the agony that followed. The sudden flood of power wreaked havoc on his senses—his muscles expanded rapidly, his bones creaked under the strain, and his entire body felt as though it was on the verge of tearing itself apart.
His mind blanked out, overwhelmed by the sheer intensity of the pain. There was nothing but searing torment, every nerve in his body screaming in protest.
And yet, even through the blinding agony, notifications continued to flood his vision:
╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮
﴾ Lv.24 ║Physical Pain Resistance║➟ Lv.25║Physical Pain Resistance║﴿
﴾ Lv.25 ║Physical Pain Resistance║➟ Lv.26║Physical Pain Resistance║﴿
﴾ Lv.48 ║Physical Pain Resistance║➟ Lv.49║Physical Pain Resistance║﴿
﴾ Lv.49║Physical Pain Resistance║➟ Lv.50║Physical Pain Resistance║﴿
╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯
The skill upgrades came rapidly, a direct response to the overwhelming stress his body was enduring. His║Physical Pain Resistance║eveled up repeatedly until it capped at Lv.50. As soon as it did, the pain, which had been tearing through his every fiber, gradually lessened until it finally vanished altogether, leaving him breathless but intact.
As he recovered, the first thing he noticed was his body—it was completely healed. The wounds and bruises from his previous battles were gone, and even the burn mark on his right shoulder, a lasting scar from his encounter with the Spider Matriarch, had disappeared as if it never existed.
The second change was even more striking—his once dark hair had transformed into a vibrant shade of silver, shimmering faintly under the light.
The third thing he noticed was the steam rising from his skin, a byproduct of the sudden enhancement in his physical attributes. His body, overflowed with power, was adapting to the surge of stats with every breath.
But something else caught his attention as he checked his primary status screen. He realized that additional Stats, such as 3✦ in Strength, 5✦ in Agility, and 5⚜︎ in Endurance from Spirit Items and Achievement Titles, weren't reflected there and remained privy to the║STATUS║, which temporarily became the secondary status screen.
As he processed all those changes, a series of transparent congratulatory notifications floated into view, confirming the massive boost in power and the successful application of║INVERSE║. Each notification highlighted the staggering growth he had undergone.
╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮
﴾ Congratulations! You are the 895th Tier-1 Existence in the entire Universe to stay alive after adding over 100 Stats at once ﴿
﴾ For accomplishing a Universe-Level Achievement, you will receive a random-grade reward that is most beneficial to you at this moment. The grade of the reward will be determined by your Luck Attribute ﴿
﴾ Congratulations! You have received a Support type Skill,║Harmony║﴿
║Harmony║⧼Rare Grade⧽
As long as the 5 main Attributes remain in equilibrium, the user can instantly adapt to any sudden increase in Stats at the cost of suppressing all emotions while the skill is active. The skill becomes less effective when the target's total stat count surpasses 1000.
╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯
All the information from the notifications flooded his brain in an instant, each detail absorbed effortlessly as if the data had been imprinted directly onto his mind.
Without his Innate Talent granting him invulnerability to the changes caused by Looted Stats, he knew the sudden influx of power would have torn him apart multiple times over.
A new transparent notification blinked in the top-right corner of his vision.
﴾║INVERSE║Duration ➟ 00:05:59 ⧼hr:min:sec⧽ ﴿
Given that his level was 6, the duration for maintaining║INVERSE║mode was limited to 6 minutes—6 precious minutes to make the most of his temporarily enhanced stats.
Jay surveyed the area, and it didn't take long to notice that every wolf, save for the Dire Wind Wolf, had cautiously retreated. Their previously aggressive stance turned to one of wary hesitation. They could sense the drastic change in his presence, and the fear of confronting something far stronger had taken root.
The Dire Wind Wolf, however, wasn't deterred. Its sharp instincts urged it to test the waters. A transparent wind blade shot from its maw, slicing through the air toward him.
But what would have been a lethal strike now seemed sluggish, almost as if time itself had slowed. He sidestepped effortlessly, but the sheer force of his enhanced movement sent him crashing into a tree 10 meters away. The impact was devastating—the tree's trunk cracked, chunks of bark splintering as the force reverberated through the surrounding area.
Stunned, he quickly realized that while his strength and speed had increased dramatically, so too had the difficulty of controlling them. His movements were unstable, his body still adjusting to the surge of power within him. Recognizing the danger of losing control, he wasted no time activating his first Rare Grade Skill—║Harmony║.
As soon as the skill took effect, a strange sense of tranquility settled over him. The control over his enhanced Attributes in║LOOTED STATUS║sharpened to perfection, allowing him to harness the power with precision and balance.
With the newfound calm, he finally understood the full extent of his transformation. His Spirit Attribute had increased to the point where all five of his senses—sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch—were enhanced by 3.8 times.
His memory retention sharpened, and his thought processing accelerated to a nearly inhuman level. Most notably, his perception of time had stretched; for every second that passed, he experienced 3.8 seconds, giving him an almost unnatural edge in combat. The world seemed to move in slow motion, but it was his mind and body that were operating at hyper-speed.
As his awareness deepened, he felt his body brimming with vitality and raw strength. His gaze shifted toward the Dire Wind Wolf, and a cold smile tugged at his lips. The memory of being relentlessly hunted by the creature surfaced, stirring a cold resolve within him. "Since you nearly drove me to death, it's only fair I return the favor."
In that moment, he knew that with his current stats and the flawless control provided by║Harmony║, he could take down the Tier-2 Wolf, even without relying on his weapon.
But winning wasn't enough—he didn't want just a victory; he wanted to obliterate it completely. Charging in directly wouldn't satisfy him, and it carried unnecessary risks. He devised a better plan: eliminate the weaker Tier-1 Wolves surrounding the Dire Wind Wolf, then use║LOOT║to further increase his stats before delivering the final blow.
His eyes zeroed in on the nearest Grey Wolf. It was one of the pack that had hounded him earlier, and now, it stood defenseless, unaware of the fate rushing toward it.
The hunt had begun, and he was no longer the prey.
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Author Note:
I'm thrilled to share that I'm taking a big leap forward! Alongside Earth's Alpha Prime, I've launched the first sub-book for EAP.
ALTER REALITY: Online (Full-Dive VR LITRPG)
The book is now published on Royal Road with just the first chapter available, and I'll be releasing new chapters at a rate of 3 per week (Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday). Do check it out!
Chapter Release Rate: 3 Chs/Week.
<<<< Tue, Thu, Sun >>>>
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