Osric woke up the next morning with a giant headache and unfamiliar surroundings.
A blinding light flashed through the window next to his bed.
'Ugh. Where am I?'
The smell of herbs and medicine hit his nose.
As he looked around, he realized that he was in an infirmary. His body was covered in bandages.
'How did I get here?'
Despite suffering so much damage yesterday night, Osric could surprisingly manage his pain.
He sat up and put his feet on the cold wooden floor.
'It's not as bad as I thought.'
"Ding!"
"Ding!"
"Ding!"
The sound that he had missed so much, wasn't very pleasant to hear in the back of his head while having a headache.
'Right. I completed the trial of becoming a champion.'
He didn't wait and immediately called up the system.
{ New Achievement }
Host has earned a total of 1 gold crown.
Reward:
+1 Free Stat Point.
'What's this?'
Osric didn't expect this at all.
'I didn't know such a thing could be rewarded by the system. And to think I managed to earn so much money in that short time frame.'
'Later I should check how much I currently have exactly.'
He clicked the next message.
{ Trial Complete }
Reward:
+2 Free Stat Points.
Close Combat (E) —> (D).
Combat Instinct (D) —> (C).
Extra Reward:
Pain Resistance (E) —> (D).
Composure (E) —> (D).
'Incredible.'
These rewards were enough to make Osric believe the near death experience yesterday was worth it.
'I don't feel a difference yet, but I know it will be big once I put myself to work.'
Osric was most excited to see what his improved Combat Instinct was capable of.
'C-Rank. I wonder just how high these ranks can go and what their capabilities are.'
'This system is beyond any understanding I could have. All I know is that it can help me go even further beyond my limits as a normal human.'
Osric called out his stats this time. He now had 3 stat points he could allocate freely.
'What should I invest in?'
What Osric had to consider now, was what his next step would be.
'I don't plan to fight in the arena again anytime soon. I have achieved what I wanted there.'
'My next priority is my adventurer party and our work. What will help me most right now with that?'
Vitality: 12 ~ 13
Osric decided this should come first.
'It's been my lowest stat for a while now and I tend to get injured a lot. But since I don't plan on working alone anymore, that won't happen as much. That's why just an increase of one point is enough.'
Strength: 13 ~ 14
'Strength was my second lowest stat. I prioritised other stats for survival before, but I need strength for killing monsters.'
Osric was no longer just surviving.
'The last one is difficult to decide.'
He could now bring any of his stats up to 15, except for vitality.
'Should I put it into strength again?'
'No. I should consider what my position in my party is.'
'Garrick uses a spear, so he creates distance. Jayson is still an amateur but he is focusing on just the sword—
William and I use shields, but he uses a rather short axe while I use the sword.'
'I don't think I need more stamina right now since I can rely on my subordinates. I don't need more agility since I won't move as much as Garrick and Jayson.'
'That leaves strength and endurance. What is more important?'
Osric looked at his injured body and exasperated.
'Right. Endurance is the clear choice considering both my role in the party and the fact that I don't want to end up like this again.'
Endurance: 14 ~ 15
He was happy with his choice.
His overall status looked much better than when he first awakened the system.
Status:
Name: Osric
Potential: D
Strength: 14
Agility: 14
Stamina: 14
Endurance: 15
Vitality: 13
Mana: 0
Free points: 0
Skills:
Pain Resistance (D), Combat Instinct (C), Heightened Senses (E), Poison Tolerance (E), Swordsmanship (E), Composure (D), Shield Mastery (E), Close Combat (D)
Osric smiled as he thought back to when he first awakened it after almost dying.
'I have grown a lot. How did I even manage to kill that Dire Wolf with such low stats and no skills?'
This would be impossible for anyone, but Osric had already understood long ago that the Dire Wolf was an old and injured straggler.
'To think it was still so strong despite all that.'
His smiled faded away slowly as he thought about how he almost died before that because of Ruben.
'I put up with their bullying because I believed it was pointless to fight, but I just made it more difficult on myself by not grovelling nor fighting.'
'They did all kinds of unimaginable things just to get the reactions they wanted out of me, but I wouldn't give in.'
Osric frowned.
'I should've just fought back. Why was I so stupid?'
He sighed. 'Doesn't matter now. I'll get my revenge on them soon enough.'
Osric wasn't sure if he could beat Ruben now with all his growth and skills.
Ruben was a trained apprentice knight with limited access to mana. But even if he could win, the consequences of killing an apprentice knight of House Greydell would be catastrophic.
'I need to further grow my power beyond combat strength.'
'My adventurer party is just the start of that.'
After calming down his thoughts, Osric looked around and realized that his clothes were gone.
'Shit. Where's my money from yesterday?'
"Creak."
The door to the small infirmary room opened slowly.
"Oh. Awake already?" Garrick asked.