Kiernan entered his room and flicked the light switch. The room was suddenly enveloped by the warm and inviting light of the overhead lamp.
Thud. He dropped the backpack to the floor and turned on the fan to help cool down the stuffy room. It was still quite warm, even though summer had already passed.
"Mhm…" Kiernan stretched his limbs and then opened the window to let in fresh air.
He then picked up his backpack and placed it on his bed. After unzipping it, he saw the jersey inside. It was a beautiful white jersey with black flower patterns and the number three on the back.
It was Karuza High's team jersey. It only belonged to the members of the team, and now Kiernan was in possession of one.
He took it out and saw that there was one nail on the wall. He hung the jersey from its hood and stepped back to admire it.
"Right, I was so occupied with the team things that I forgot something important…"
Kiernan plopped down on his bed and opened up his system interface.
He had leveled up. There were ten stat points that he needed to allocate.
'Strength, Agility, Stamina, Vitality, and Charm.' Kiernan interlocked his fingers with a thoughtful look. 'I wonder how this works. I just assign points to one of them, and it will automatically increase my abilities?'
'It sounds like a cheat, but I am not going to complain.'
Kiernan had to think this through. Ten stat points weren't a lot. He also needed more experience points to level up from now on.
[XP: 0/250]
It would keep increasing per level, so he needed to think about where to assign his stat points wisely.
'Strength is, of course, always needed, but my strength increases with every stage.' Kiernan thought. 'After reaching Middle Stage, my strength, agility, and vitality had already increased. My stamina and charm didn't.'
After receiving his system, his strength was at three, his agility at four, and his vitality at ten. Now, strength was at five, agility at seven, and vitality at twelve.
'My strength increased by two stat points, but the effects are already huge. If I put all ten stat points on strength, would I be three times as strong? A terrifying thought.'
It was a very tempting thought. However, he knew that it would just make his body very unbalanced. He decided to distribute the points more evenly among his other stats.
'Agility increases my speed, jumping speed, and dexterity.' Kiernan nodded thoughtfully. 'Stamina is quite low. Only at three points. It hadn't increased at all. But I feel like this is something I can increase by myself.
'I'll just start going on morning jogs.'
Kiernan lowered his gaze at the two last stats.
'Vitality would increase my endurance, health, and durability. It is something I desperately need to use my Iron Style. So far, the biggest hurdle is to increase my durability.
'Iron Style also needs dexterity and strength to control different types of attacks. Without a proper balance of all of them, Iron Style would be a mess, so I can't just focus on my durability.
'However, I definitely will put some points on that.
'Then, lastly, Charm. It seems like the most worthless one out of the bunch. I guess it increases my appeal to others somehow, but who cares about that in a fight?
'It is surprisingly high, though. Already at six points, and it hadn't increased even a bit. I am not too sure if that's good or not, but I guess I am decently appealing?'
Kiernan tapped his finger against his lip. He thought about it for around five minutes. In the end, he decided to focus on his weakness for now.
He again opened the system interface and quickly assigned the stat points.
[Strength: 5 → 6]
[Agility: 7 → 10]
[Stamina: 3 → 5]
[Vitality: 12 → 15]
[Charm: 6 → 7]
"Ahh~" Kiernan let out an ecstatic sigh. It felt like he was floating on a warm hot spring that had great healing capabilities, and he could feel his body being rejuvenated at every pore.
It felt like his body had just undergone an even greater transformation than ever before.
'This is truly a cheat.' Kiernan let out a relieved sigh. 'I'll get stronger with each rank up, but then with these stat points, I can increase my strength even further.
'It's like I can increase my strength twice over, while others only once with their rank up.'
At that moment, something interesting happened deep within him, in the core of his very being.
The brilliant golden soul started shaking. A layer started peeling off, revealing a dazzling new form underneath. This new soul was bigger and stronger than before, pulsating with energy and power.
"Ah…" Kiernan opened his eyes. His gray eyes were golden for a brief moment before they dimmed down back to gray.
[High Stage Martial Recruit Achieved!]
[30 XP Acquired!]
Kiernan had officially entered the peak of Martial Recruit. He was only one step away from reaching the Martial Soldier rank!
"Whoo…" Kiernan breathed in and out. "This strength feels explosive. I'll need to unleash it somewhere."
He stepped off the bed and gazed out of the window towards the backyard. He quickly left his room, ran downstairs, and entered the backyard.
There, the tree with two fist marks stood still strongly, with its roots firmly planted in the ground.
Kiernan formed a fist and struck the tree with all his might. The tree shook heavily, and the ground cracked slightly underneath. It created a sound that echoed throughout the neighborhood.
He released a long sigh. The excessive energy poured out of his mouth. If he had kept it inside him, he could've exploded due to the overwhelming pressure building up.
'I am advancing at such a rapid rate that even my body can't keep up.' Kiernan thought.
He then took a quick glance at his stats. This advancement increased his stats even further.
[Strength: 6 → 8]
[Agility: 10 → 11]
[Stamina: 5]
[Vitality: 15 → 17]
[Charm: 7 → 8]
'Even my charm increased?' Kiernan's eyebrow was raised in question. 'I wonder why.'
Without him being aware yet, it was because of the slight transformation in his flesh. While his flesh was slowly turning stronger and more durable, it was also becoming smoother and fairer.
Knock, knock.
Kiernan almost jumped out of surprise. He turned around and saw his father standing on the doorway with a plastic bag in hand containing various fish that he had caught earlier today.
"I am making some fish; are you hungry?" Karma asked with a smile on his face.
"Yeah…" Kiernan chuckled and nodded. "I am starving."
Karma nodded with a smile and looked over to the tree. This time, there was a third fist mark. It was somehow smoking.
"Heh." Karma chuckled and shook his head. "How's the school?"
As Kiernan entered the house with his father, he shrugged his shoulders. "A casual one. I met some new people."
"I heard that you're going to participate in the representation match." Karma said in a response. "Are you nervous?"
"A little bit." Kiernan said, but his shaking hand didn't fool his father.
He was so nervous that it would definitely keep him awake all night.
Karma chuckled and placed the fish on the kitchen counter. He acted casual about his son participating in the representation match, but he was very proud.
Together, they started cutting up the fish and preparing it for dinner. On today's menu, they would be having grilled fish with a side of roasted vegetables.