System Change

Derek smiled and sat, leaving his Void Storage open. Inside it were the over thirty Void Beasts he hunted, along with dozens of mana cores from the golems.

“So, this is what you were doing while you were gone?” Stella asked.

“More or less.” Derek answered.

“How many?” Alanah asked.

“There are thirty-five Void Beasts in total. They range from weak beasts to strong ones. I would say Silver Ranked to Onyx Ranked, with one being intelligent and three being small ones with the Vitality boosting quality.” He answered.

“So many…” Stella muttered.

Derek shrugged. “I had some free time, so I decided to go hunting.”

“What do you plan to do with them?” Alanah asked. “I’m not sure we have enough time to prepare all the Void Beasts for this auction, but I doubt you would want to do that, anyway.”

Derek nodded. “It would be best to space them out. We wouldn’t want to flood the market, even though demand will most probably not drop even if there is a lot because of what the meals offer. It’s best to keep the product scarce.”

Alanah agreed with Derek. “So, how would you like to play it?” she asked.

Derek smiled. “Well, I’ll give you the majority of them. Of course, you will strip the material from each one and provide Roman with what he needs for his potions. Then, it’s up to you to auction and sell them as you see fit. Of course, I would like to receive a good portion of the meals created.”

“That can be arranged.” Alanah said. “Is there anything in particular you would like us to trade for?”

Derek thought about the question. If all went well, he would be commissioning a high-quality glaive from one of the top Blacksmiths in the Kingdom after the auction. Other than that, he couldn’t think of anything that could directly benefit him. In actuality, the meals and potions that would provide him with extra stats would be worth more than just about anything else to him.

Then he thought about Brandi. Once she leveled enough, he would basically have the Kingdom’s best crafter in his corner. He also thought about the early payment Malorie said they received.

He looked at Stella. “I was told that you deposited a payment while I was gone. Wasn’t it a little too early for that?”

“That would be because of me.” Alanah said. “I felt the need to compensate you a small amount because of the changes made to the auctions. We were set to use one auction as an advertisement for the bigger, but because of the changes, there is a chance that not all members will be able to attend.”

“Ah… I see.” Derek said. “In that case, I need materials.” He looked deeply at Stella and Alanah. He had never openly explained the situation with Brandi to either of them, though he did give Alanah some details a while back. He did, however, trust both Alanah and Stella as business partners, but more importantly, he trusted their character.

“We can do materials. What kind do you need?” Stella answered.

If he was going to have them provide a stream of materials for Brandi, they would need to know about her. “What do you know about Brandi?”

“The crafter girl?” Alanah smiled. “The one who does Alchemy, Blacksmithing, Leatherworking, Tailoring, and I’m sure many other crafts? That girl?”

Derek’s jaw dropped slightly. “You knew?”

“Well, you already told me she was special. Then there was the kidnapping debacle, though I’m sure they didn’t know the extent of her crafts. Also, you’re wearing a fine shirt made by her, as well. She studies under Roman Pascal, yet her mother has bought a decent amount of materials for Blacksmithing. For someone close to you, it is not hard to figure out.” Alanah explained.

“Have you told anyone?” Derek asked.

Alanah shook her head. “Of course not. Only Stella, who came to the conclusion on her own, myself, and Avery, know about the girl.”

“I see…” Derek said. I guess I don’t need to tell them about Brandi after all… He thought. “In that case, I need a steady stream of materials for crafts level 25 and up. Plus, books on Runesmithing would be great, along with any other books on different crafts that you know of.”

“You are investing a lot in the girl.” Alanah said. “Is she worth it?”

Derek nodded. “Yes, one hundred percent. She has the work ethic and passion to be the greatest crafter in the Kingdom.”

“In that case, I will see to it that she gets all the material she needs. We will keep everything between myself, Stella, and Avery. If anything specific is needed, your manager, Malorie, can ask Stella any time.” Alanah said, and Stella nodded.

“That’s great!” Derek smiled. “Now, do you have space available to take these Void Beasts off my hands?”

“Of course.” Stella said.

Derek stood back up and walked over to his storage space. One by one, he pulled the Void Beasts out while Stella stored them in her own storage rings. He chose to keep a few beasts for Roman. “I’m going to keep these three beasts for Roman to work with. He’s never worked with a whole Void Beast, yet he was able to create such a good potion with just leftovers.” The beasts he kept were the most average Void Beasts he fought.

“Fair enough.” Alanah said.

“I’m going to go get started on these Void Beasts. The window is tight, but we should be able to prepare a few extra between now and the auction.” Once Stella was finished collecting the Void Beasts, she left the room to Derek and Alanah.

Derek closed his storage space and sat back down.

“What were those round objects inside your storage space? I believe the void was interfering with my Identify skill and would not allow me to get a read on them.” Alanah asked.

“Ah, those? Those are mana cores.” He didn’t explain how or where he got them from, because it would be like him admitting his low level.

Alanah shrugged and didn’t ask anything else about them.

“Now, I have a very important question for you.” Derek said.

“Oh? What might that be?”

“What do you know about the cap on stat points, and the question marks that appear when you add more to the stat?” Derek asked.

Alanah’s eyes widened. “So, you have actually hit 1,500 points in one of your stats? That is impressive.”

Derek saw the genuine surprise in her eyes. “Is it really that surprising?”

“It is. I’m sure you received the notification that very few achieve that feat.” She waited for Derek to nod. “It is not an exaggeration.”

“So, do you know about the question marks?”

“I am among the few who do.” Alanah smiled. “Through the Great System, one can only boost a stat to 1,500 points. Of course, this is extremely difficult because in order to get a stat to 1,500 by max level, most will have to neglect their other stats, which can be deadly.”

Derek nodded for her to continue.

“Unless someone is extremely lucky and obtains a mythic class early on, it is impossible to get each stat to 1,500…” she started, but Derek cut in.

“Mythic class?” He asked. He had his suspicions that legendary wasn’t the highest class rarity, and now Alanah had confirmed it.

“Yes, it is the highest class rarity ever recorded.” She explained. “Now, theoretically, someone who receives a mythic class at level 50 could max out every stat, depending on how many stat points he received for his beginning levels. Though, nothing of that sort has been recorded. At least nothing that I’ve heard of.”

“I guess that makes sense.” Derek said.

“Now, you must understand that most people who obtain max level have epic classes toward the end, usually obtaining them at level 200, or in some lucky cases, level 100. Which is why those who can attend the Academy are so special. An early rare class is highly sought after, and an early epic class… well, there are few.”

Derek nodded along with her explanation.

“Now, take King Edwin, for example. He has a good mixture of stats, which is needed, but it also leaves him looking for extra Endurance and Vitality stats to increase his lifespan. That’s where the meals, and now, Roman’s potion, come in.” She explained.

“That still doesn’t tell me anything about the question marks beside my stat.” Derek said.

“Patience… I’m almost there.” Alanah said. “The meals and that potion come from a Void Beast, which is a creature not made or enhanced by the Great System. So, the stat increases are from outside the Great System, as well. The Great System will show the stat increases up to 1,500 points because that is the max that can be obtained through the Great System. Anything extra will have question marks, because it can no longer be calculated by the Great System.”

“I was able to put five stat points into my stat after it reached 1,500, shouldn’t the system have stopped me?” Derek asked.

Alanah shook her head. “I assume the five points came from the potion you tested from Roman?” She asked and got a confirmation. “Then, no. You can consider those five points as filler for stat points given by the Great System. They work the same, and even work with breakthroughs and thresholds, but the stats are still power granted by something other than the Great System.”

“So, if I had 300 stat points in say, Vitality, just from consuming products made from those small Void Beasts, and my Vitality was at 1,500, I could still put 300 system given stat points into Vitality, essentially giving me 1,800 points?” Derek asked.

“Essentially, yes. But those extra stats may not work the same after 1,500.” Alanah said.

“What do you mean?”

“There isn’t much research done on the subject. Very few people hit the stat cap, and even fewer find a way to increase their stats outside of the Great System.”

“What about you?” Derek asked.

Alanah covered her mouth in faux shock. “Now you wouldn’t be asking a lady about her stats, would you? That could be considered very rude.” She waved the comment to the side. “The best way to understand would be for you to experience it yourself, which you have already begun. Plus, you seem to have no problem finding non-system material… how frightening.”

Derek shrugged. Everyone had their secrets-he was no different.

“Just know that every entity of the Great System can be strengthened by the Great System up to the strength displayed by 1,500 stat points. That’s ANY entity-whether it is beast, human, elf, modified entity… any entity. So, if you have max stats with some points not given by the Great System and you use given stats to increase your stats, the Great System will essentially replace those stats, leaving you with extra, incalculable stats.

“Think of the extra stats as placeholders until the Great System stats arrive.” Alanah explained. “You would think that once the Great System replaces the non-system stats, the non-system stats would disappear, but for some reason, the Great System allows, and maybe even helps, you absorb the non-system stats.”

Derek shook his head. “I feel like my brain’s going to explode.”

“Basically, I don’t even think of the extra points in terms of stats. I think of them as extra strength. It’s easier to wrap your head around it that way.” Alanah explained.

“So you do have some max stats.” Derek smiled.

She smiled back. “I never said I didn’t.”