Jacob pressed the button on his fan, watching as the blades began spinning in a rapid blur. The rush of cool air swept across the room, instantly easing the stagnant heat that clung to his small apartment. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting himself savor the quiet comfort of home. Even though he'd only been gone for a day and a half, it felt like forever.
"That's more like it," Jacob muttered to himself, a faint smile tugging at his lips as he stretched out on the couch. His gaze shifted to the translucent system panel still hovering in front of him.
---
[Name: Jacob Fox
Title(s): Shitstormer (effects apply)
Achievement(s): N/A
LVL: 2 (250/300)
AP: -142 (-100 + -58)]
[STATS (5 PTS)]
Strength (STR): 16
Physical power; affects melee damage and lifting capacity.
Dexterity (DEX): 8
Speed, agility, and reflexes; critical for evasion and precision.
Intelligence (INT): 25
Knowledge and analytical ability; boosts tech skills and problem-solving.
Endurance (END): 14
Stamina and physical resistance; extends combat survivability.
---
"Not bad," Jacob mumbled, narrowing his eyes at the bold 5 PTS displayed beside the stats. Those seemed to be his unassigned points—usable for boosting any of his attributes. After a moment's pause, he made his decision.
"Add 2 points to Dexterity and 3 to Intelligence."
It wasn't a random choice. He'd already thought this through. From his earlier newbie mission, it was clear that Intelligence played a key role in completing tasks. Meanwhile, Dexterity was embarrassingly low, which made it a clear weak point that needed fixing.
As soon as the words left his mouth, the panel flickered and updated itself:
---
[STATS (0 PTS)]
Strength (STR): 16
Physical power; affects melee damage and lifting capacity.
Dexterity (DEX): 10 (+2)
Speed, agility, and reflexes; critical for evasion and precision.
Intelligence (INT): 28 (+3)
Knowledge and analytical ability; boosts tech skills and problem-solving.
Endurance (END): 14
Stamina and physical resistance; extends combat survivability.
---
"Perfect," Jacob said with a satisfied nod. It felt oddly rewarding, watching those numbers go up. He leaned back for a moment before remembering something important—the third reward he'd received earlier. After unlocking the secret route of his newbie mission, the system had granted him access to a new feature: the Shop.
If that was true, then the system must have some kind of built-in store.
"Shop," Jacob called out experimentally.
In response, the panel dissolved briefly before reforming into a new interface. Sure enough, the shop screen appeared before him, showcasing a handful of items:
---
[SHOP]
[Potion of Temporary Invulnerability]
Cost: 120 AP
Description: Grants the user temporary invulnerability for 5 seconds. Any attacks, regardless of type, will have no effect during this time.
[Regeneration Elixir]
Cost: 50 AP
Description: Boosts the user's natural regeneration speed by 100%. (Note: This is different from instant and gradual healing.)
[AP to STAT PTS Conversion (0/10 daily cap, 0/100 monthly cap)]
Cost: 5 AP
Description: Converts the user's AP into SP (STAT PTS) at a ratio of 5:1.
---
Jacob's eyes lit up with interest as he studied the shop menu. The items available were undeniably useful, each offering distinct advantages that could be lifesaving in the right situation.
Take the Potion of Temporary Invulnerability, for example. If he ever found himself in a fistfight, those five seconds of complete immunity would be a game-changer. Sure, it wasn't a long time, but in an intense brawl, five seconds could mean landing enough decisive blows to turn the tide completely in his favor.
Then there was the Regeneration Elixir. While not a true healing potion, it could still significantly speed up his body's natural healing process. For instance, if he got a cut that would normally take four days to heal, this elixir would reduce that time to just two days. Of course, the effectiveness would vary depending on the wound and the person's natural recovery rate. A deep cut that might take a week to heal could instead take 3.5 days—but even that wasn't a guarantee. That was the downside. It wasn't instant healing, nor was it reliable in life-or-death emergencies. Still, it was better than nothing.
However, what caught Jacob's attention the most was the third and final item: AP to SP Conversion.
The concept was simple but incredibly tempting. He could convert his AP (Aura Points) into SP (Stat Points), letting him boost his stats without needing to grind or wait for level-ups. It was like being a whale in a pay-to-win mobile game—throwing money at the problem to get overpowered stats in no time. But, naturally, there were restrictions. He could only convert a maximum of 10 SP per day, which would cost him 50 AP. On top of that, there was a monthly cap of 100 SP. Clearly, the system wasn't going to let him power up too quickly.
"Doesn't matter," Jacob muttered with a chuckle. "Not like I have any AP to spend right now."
He glanced at his AP balance, and the red numbers mocked him:
[AP: -142 (-100 + -58)]
"Guess I'll have to dig myself out of the negatives first," Jacob sighed, shaking his head. It was frustrating to see such enticing options in the shop while knowing he couldn't afford a single one of them. For now, he was completely stagnant. His only option was to wait for the system to assign him another mission so he could start earning AP and climb out of this hole.
But then, a thought crossed his mind. How exactly did the system determine missions? Was it entirely random? Or did it follow some kind of pattern or rule? Maybe there were specific conditions he needed to fulfill to trigger one. He had no way of knowing yet, and the uncertainty bothered him.
"Hopefully, it won't be anything too crazy," Jacob murmured. With his current stats and lack of resources, his abilities were still far too limited to handle anything big. For now, he could only hope that whatever the system threw at him next would be something he could manage.