Sharing is Caring

The Wargoyle was now a pile of dust that rested upon the dropped items. A small gale passed by Evan and blew the dust away, revealing four Soulstones of similar sizes and a large sack of coins!

While Mille was recovering from her {Immobilized} state due to {Claimed by Aerth}, Evan looted the drops into the shared party inventory so they could distribute the loot evenly later.

"That went better than I thought it would." Said a still dazed Facebasher that let out a fresh breath of relief. He gave Evan a fist bump as they both grinned. "This reminds me of when we were younger. You remember that asswipe Firion and his gang that used to act almighty and stuff?"

"Yeah, his sorry face kinda has Gargoyly features."

Facebasher snickered. "Well, guess what. His pampered ass got his dad to buy him the Jade label Vizor. He's telling everyone in class that he's gonna win the New Braves Regionals."

"You know if he's from the Edin region as well?"

"Yup."

"What class and level is he?"

"He's been playing as a Sylvan Rogue with the Thief class if I remember correctly. Oh, and he was at level 13 last time I heard him bragging, so he's pretty far up in the rankings as well."

"When was that?"

"Hum, maybe three days ago. We don't share a lot of the same classes anymore. Thankfully."

"Well, Jade label or not, if I ever meet him in the regionals, I'll be more than happy to whoop his pampered ass for all the crap he puts everyone through daily."

"Yeah, he's been acting more brazenly lately. Without you around, I don't stand a chance against his band of troglodytes. It's kinda frustrating."

Several system notifications flashed and everyone's ranking evaluations finally popped up on their status windows.

—

[Anomaly evaluation:

Level Disparity: A+

Clear Time: A

Party Size: B

Support: A

Battle Ingenuity: A+

Overall rank: A]

[Anomaly ranking evaluation has been sent to Edin Kingdom officials!]

—

Evan's evaluation was once again ranked {A}. He had scored a whole rank higher on {Support}, but this time {Party size} was scored a rank lower. Overall he had performed better than last time.

He had also asked a summoned Raphael about each aspect of the ranking system on an earlier occasion. Most of the aspects were self-explanatory, but he'd always been curious about how {Battle Ingenuity} was calculated. The answer he received didn't sit well with him.

Raphael had given him four words for him to puzzle out: "Fluidity, efficiency, application, cunning."

In hindsight, fluidity probably had something to do with motions, dodging, or acrobatics. Evasion and stability in his movement were most likely key.

Efficiency felt more tangible and probably meant efficient use of weapons and items. Not wasting consumables or missing targets with his weapons were the main conditions.

Application seemed more abstract. It could however be attributed to his decision-making in combat situations or how he chose to perform an action. At least, that's what Evan believed.

Lastly, cunning was surely determined by daredevil stunts and courageous tactics. 'For instance, sacrificing oneself to protect a party member?' Evan pondered.

—

[Congratulations!]

[You've finally grasped the essence of Battle Ingenuity!]

[You've learned Battle Ingenuity mastery (E-rank) as a specialization proficiency!]

—

"Huh?" Evan hurriedly searched his status window, found his proficiencies, and narrowed it down to his newest specialization proficiency.

—

[Specialization proficiencies]

...

[Battle Ingenuity mastery (E-rank)

Your cleverness and understanding of combat lets you earn +5% more EXP. All combat stats permanently increases by 2.]

—

Evan was stupefied. 'This is huge!'

—

——Combat Stats——

[STR: 12] [INT: 4] [SPC: 20]

[DEF:11] [WIS: 6] [AGI: 14]

[Unspent points: 3]

—

While hovering over his combat stats, he did some quick maths, and concluded that he'd just received four levels worth of stats! Moreover, he would most likely be receiving additional free stats once his new mastery ranked up!

'Free stuff, me like.'

Sadly, they hadn't conquered a Dungeon like last time. Otherwise, they'd all be receiving proficiency rank-ups based on their performances and otherwise the Dungeon's rank.

Mille was getting eager to sort out the loot and called for everyone's attention.

She'd scored an {A} on the ranking just like Evan once again. Sightseer and Facebasher, although performing highly significant roles in the battle against the Anomaly, had both scored {B+}. Their lower damage output had limited their overall score compared to Evan and Mille.

"You're right, my {Support} and {Battle Ingenuity} were both {B}." Facebasher confirmed.

"Mine was similar." Sightseer chimed in.

Evan told them about how he had unlocked the {Battle Ingenuity mastery} and explained the aspects of fluidity, efficiency, application, and cunning. Somehow, none of them seemed to be able to acquire the same mastery no matter how many details they collaborated.

Sightseer had a theory. "I think one needs to acquire an {A+ rank} in {Battle Ingenuity} or higher before it's possible to learn this mastery."

"Hmm, I think Sightseer is right. I got the same overall score as Midnight, but my {Battle Ingenuity} was just {A} with no plus attached to it." Mille said. "But enough of that! Let's check out the drops!"

Sightseer had been chosen as the party leader since Evan had become more lecherous toward the acquisition of coins as of late.

At any mention of in-game currencies, Evan would turn into a hoarding goblin that Mille had perfectly depicted him as, and thus he'd lost the party's trust when it came to the party's financials and loot distributions.

Even Facebasher, supposedly his damn friend, had become cautious of Evan whenever money or items were involved.

A party loot window was revealed by Sightseer.

—

[D-rank {DEF} Soulstone of Augment Physique (NT)]

[E-rank {AGI} Soulstone of Detection (NT)]

[E-rank {STR} Soulstone of Detection (NT)]

[E-rank {WIS} Soulstone of Intuition (NT)]

[3800 Aerth coins]

—

"A D-rank stone! That's a mid-grade Soulstone!" Mille excitedly said.

Everyone's mouths were agape.

"I thought every Soulstone we collected was of the same rank. They're similar in size after all." Facebasher expressed.

"No, if you look closely, the D-rank one is more polished and has a different shine to it." Sightseer informed.

"She's right." Evan said. "Although they're all yellow and glossy, that one certainly has a higher quality. Let's look at its description."

—

[D-rank [DEF] Soulstone of Augment Physique (NT):

A D-rank Soulstone that can be absorbed by its user as a consumable for permanent effects.

+9 DEF

+2 ranks to Augment Physique proficiency

Restrictions: Level 15]

—

"That stone's perfect for Facebasher." Mille said. "He's already got {Augment Physique}." She turned toward Facebasher.

"Yeah, my {Augment Physique} is already at D-rank. Consuming that stone will turn my proficiency into a B-rank."

The party settled the score. Facebasher got the most valued Soulstone in exchange for fewer Aerth coins. Mille grabbed the {WIS} Soulstone and simultaneously learned the {Intuition} combat proficiency.

What remained were the {AGI} and {STR} Soulstones.

"Both of them have {Detection}. Do you want the strength or agility one?" Sightseer asked Evan.

Evan mulled over her question. {Detection} would indeed come in handy if he wasn't in a party with Sightseer. He also had no obvious preferences between strength and agility.

In retrospect, it was probably time for Evan to decide whether we wanted to focus on a strength build or an agility build.

A strength build would allow Evan to deal more physical damage with his equipped weapons and offer additional resistance against physical ailments. On the other hand, he could rely on high agility to maneuver around faster and evade more attacks.

"Say, Sightseer. What's your current agility at?"

"It's at 16. Why do you ask?"

"Let's have a race. My agility is at 14. I want to see how much faster you are in an unbuffed state."

"Interesting." She replied.