As he heard Jay's words, Alex quickly scanned the room and asked with some expectations, "Is it here?"
"Not here. We'll have to make do with whatever we can find first." Jay shook his head
"Oh!" Alex nodded, a little disappointed.
"I do have some nice stuff where we are going," Jay continued with a grin.
"Cool." Alex grinned back.
"Men and their toys." Lexie said, looking at them like they were fools.
"As if you were different," Jay retorted.
"I am," Lexie, flicking her hairs behind her ear and tilting her chin up. "Anyway, where are we even going if we leave here?"
"The Williams-Gardenia Library."
"The old library? Interesting choice." Lexie raised an eyebrow and glanced at Jay. She remembered his family had helped fund its renovation, but she hadn't expected it to be his first pick. It was one of the few older buildings left on campus. It also didn't seem like the kind of place you'd go looking for supplies.
"It's where I hid my weapons," Jay replied, instantly clearing up any confusion.
"Also, it's not that bad a choice," he added. "It's on the edge of campus. If we go through Waylon Park, we can avoid most of the high-traffic areas and bypass likely danger zones. And for obvious reasons, it shouldn't be too crowded."
"That's true. It's not exactly a hot spot," Lexie nodded thoughtfully. A location far from the main campus bustle and with safer, less-populated paths would give them a great advantage.
"Are we bringing everyone immediately?" Alex asked. Although their group was small, it could easily attract the attention of zombies. "One mistake, and everything could go wrong."
"No." Jay shook his head. "My idea is to go out and scout. Get a feel of our surroundings, plan our escape route, and make sure the new place is safe. If it can work, we will go ahead with the plan. If not… " He shrugged.
Then turning toward Lexie, he added, "Lexie…"
"NO!" Lexie interrupted him immediately.
"I didn't say anything yet," Jay complained at her reaction. She could at least listen to him first.
"No, I am not letting the two of you go out there without me," she stated, pulling her hand from his and glaring at him. She easily guessed where he was going when he mentioned scouting outside first. With his character he probably wanted her to stay behind while the two of them went out to explore the situation.
"But this is the best option," Alex intervened. He too knew what Jay was thinking, and this time he was with him one hundred percent.
"There is no but. I won't let you take that risk alone," Lexie replied firmly.
"Lexie, please. We need someone to look after things here," Jay continued in an effort to persuade her.
"Someone else can do that. Stop wasting your time. Nothing will make me change my mind."
"Sis," Alex whispered.
"I said you are wasting your time. Anyway, do you think you can stop me?" Lexie smiled as she stood up, crossing her arms and looking at the two of them as if daring them to try.
"Don't be so unreasonable. We just want to protect you." Angry, Alex stomped his foot on the ground and glared at her.
"I didn't ask you anything. Besides, do you think you are being reasonable? If we are talking ability-wise, it's obvious who between me and you should stay behind," Lexie retorted.
"We aren't going to pick a fight," Alex said helplessly. Yes, Lexie was stronger than him, there was no doubt about that. However, he believed it was best for her to stay behind as they wouldn't necessarily need to fight this time.
"It changes nothing. Who do you think will be harder to spot. You who look like a fridge or me?" Lexie asked as she pointed out to the bulky Alex.
"Don't be like that, nothing will go wrong. I promise," Alex said, as he tried to convince Lexie.
"Oh! Since you are so sure, why do you want me to stay behind?"
"It isn't like that..." Alex sighed and look at Jay for help. The latter just shrugged and looked at him with a small smile.
"It is nothing. Anyway, if something is going to happen, I'd rather we all deal with it together." Lexie said. "Anyway, if you have to die, I'd rather…"
"Oh! Oh! Calm down!" Jay hurriedly stood up and covered Lexie's mouth, less she ended up jinxing them. "Nothing is going to happen to none!" he exclaimed, glaring at the twins.
He had half-expected this outcome. Lexie was strong-minded and very capable. It would have been weirder if she accepted his proposal without any objections. To be fair, she was a better fighter than Alex. It made more sense for her to accompany Jay. Yet, she would still handle things better than Alex if she stayed back.
Anyway, he just wanted to be considerate. No matter what she chose in the end, they would find a way to make it work out.
"Jay," Alex whispered.
"It's useless. She won't give up and I don't have time to waste arguing on that kind of thing."
"Whatever," Alex groaned and leaned against the wall with his eyes closed.
"All right. With that out of the way, it's time to allocate the attribute points we have," Jay announced. "Since we don't know what is waiting for us out there, we should try to strengthen ourselves as much as possible to deal with every unexpected situation."
"You are right." Alex nodded. "I am level 2 and I have 16 AP."
"Only! I have 27," Lexie announced, looking gloatingly at Alex.
"Huh? How come you have so much?" Alex asked, then as if noticing something, he frowned. "The math doesn't add up right?"
"It does. It is just that everyone doesn't receive the same amount of AP. I already noticed when I was helping Sylvi," Jay explained.
"How much do you have?"
"The same as Lexie."
"Why am I the only one with less?"
"Talent, bro. This is what you call talent. But don't worry, big sis will protect you." Lexie chuckled as she looked at the distraught expression on Alex's face.
"Don't mess with him," Jay said, putting a stop to Lexie's teasing.
"Anyway, you can allocate your points however you want. I don't know how the attributes thing works exactly but I advise you to focus on what you are best at first. Besides, you saw what happened with Sylvi. So, I don't need to remind you the importance of constitution," Jay proposed.
"Fine by me. I will focus on agility mainly," Lexie acquiesced.
"I think I will increase my strength first. For the rest I will see."
"Good then." Jay nodded. Since the twins already understood his intentions, he stopped talking and called up the system panel.
Jay summoned his attribute panel. Since his stats were relatively balanced, he planned to focus on Constitution, Strength, and Agility first. He would then allocate some points to his perception, vitality and maybe dexterity.
However, to better understand their effects, he first added a point to each of those attributes.
He started with constitution. As the point was added he felt the cool sensation washing over his body. Then came a feeling of toughness as if his body could whistand more. Along with it was some newfound energy displayed on the panel by an increase in stamina. However, at the same time his body felt a little heavier and sluggish.
'So constitution boost my durability and stamina. However, the tradeoff seems to be a loss of speed and flexibility. Not unexpected.'
He then continued with strength. This time, the changes seem to mainly affect his muscles. They tightened and shifted, surging with newfound strength.. Flexing his hands, he could clearly feel the difference. It should be easier to crush the satellite phone now.
'This time it's an increase in raw power. And there seems to be no obvious side effects.'
Moving on, he added a point to agility. A sense of lightness washed over him, as if his center of gravity had subtly shifted and his body was more balanced. He could also feel that his control over his body increased and he could react faster.
'Not just pure speed but coordination and reaction speed.'
Jay nodded to himself. So far, the physical attributes delivered what he expected. While there where some tradeoffs, it was nothing he couldn't deal with.
At the same time, he became more cautious. He already added as many attributes as Sylvi did and he started watching out for a backlash.
As his vitality went from eight to nine, a warm current bloomed in his core and washed over his body. All his cells cheered and he could feel his body come alive. With every breath his chest seems to expand more and his body was filled with more energy. On his panel the upper limit of his stamina increased and he recovered some stamina and health point.
'So, this one is about recovery and affect stamina too. Look like I can't neglect it too much.' While hard power was important, it was useless if it couldn't be used for a long time.
'And I still don't feel like I've hit a limit.'
He turned his attention to perception. It gave the most intense reaction. As he added the point it felt like a layer of fog was wiped from his eyes. Every color felt more vivid. The faint breathing of Lexie besides him became clearer. The smell of blood on his body was harder to ignore. Each of his senses was heightened and he could feel the world more deeply. And beside that, he could once again feel his control over his body growing. More precise and delicate.
'Fuck,' he cursed and clutched his head, overwhelmed by the sudden influx of information.
"Hey! What's wrong with you?" Lexie asked, looking at him with worry.
"Nothing, just testing a few things," Jay replied, trying to steady his breathing.
'This is weird. The changes from that single point in perception are stronger than anything I felt before,' he thought, wincing.
'Could it be…' he mumbled, eyeing his dexterity.
"You sure you're okay?" Lexie asked again.
"Yeah, give me a minute," he said, teeth clenched. With a deep breath, he added a point into dexterity.
The effect was immediate. His entire body relaxed so much that he felt like he was melting.
"Shit," he muttered, fighting to keep his balance.
"Whoa! Careful!" Lexie exclaimed, stepping in quickly to catch his arm and steady him.
"What are you even doing?" Alex asked, watching Jay with a baffled expression.
"Hold on," Jay said through gritted teeth, still adjusting to the sudden changes.
He wiggled his fingers, then performed a few basic movements. Everything felt cleaner and smoother. Like he had turn into a well-oiled machine.
'Another one that affects control. But i can feel my hands benefitted the most.'
"So," Alex said, crossing his arms. "Are you going to tell us what the hell that was?"
"Yeah," Jay nodded and quickly summarized everything he had experienced.
"So, hitting ten in any attribute triggers a fundamental change," Alex concluded, comparing Jay's explanation to his own experience. Since the attributes he increased already crossed that line, he didn't feel anything of that sort .
"Yes," Jay agreed. "That's probably why the changes felt so intense. And maybe Sylvi's reaction was worse because she's still much weaker than us. It should also be her first attribute crossing that threshold."
"I see," Lexie nodded thoughtfully. "And if there's a limit or adaptation threshold, it probably applies separately to each stat."
She'd already added three points to Agility, three to Perception, and two to strength, without hitting any limit. So, it was most likely that each attribute had an independent limit.
"You're probably right," Jay said, nodding. "Let's keep going."
He began allocating his points across different attributes. Unlike before, there were no incidents. But once he had spent over twenty points in total, he felt a subtle discomfort creeping in.
'Okay. Better stop here. No point pushing it.'
He glanced at his updated panel. His stats were significantly improved now, and it didn't hurt to hold a few points in reserve.
[Status]
Name: Jay Williams (21)
Affiliation: Terra (Ω2 Realm)
Race: Human-Type I {Awakened} - Level: 3/100 (32%)
Class: N/A | Profession: N/A
Title: N/A
Status: Tired
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HP: 188/190 | Stamina: 135/155 | MP: 20/20
Attributes:
Constitution: 16 [+5]
Vitality: 9 [+1]
Strength: 16 [+5]
Agility: 14 [+4]
Dexterity: 11 [+2]
Perception: 12 [+3]
Mystery: 4
Willpower: 8
Wisdom: 5
Free Attribute Points: 27 -> 7
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Talent: N/A
Traits: Rational, Attentive
Skills: Close-combat Mastery, Athlete, Cold-blooded
Affinity: Spirit
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