'Seems like I can't immediately feel the difference.'
Opening and closing his palm, Damian wondered about the effect of the two points that he had just spent.
Considering this was his lowest stat, he thought that power-up would be apparent but that didn't seem to be the case. He only felt slightly more energized.
'It makes sense.'
Unlike Strength which specifically represented muscle strength, Constitution was a much more versatile Stat. Not only did it correlate to stamina and vitality, but it also represented some fringe abilities like endurance and resistance.
Unless Damian had actually been as tired as he was before passing out, feeling the effect of increased stamina was almost impossible, the same could be said even more about the other abilities.
The sturdiness of a character could only be measured by challenging it, and there was plenty of that to come in this unexpected Labyrinth…
'Only time can tell.'
Despite everything, Damian convinced himself of his choice the more he thought about it. Using limited Stat Points to raise the lowest Stat might have seemed like a waste, but that didn't apply to every character.
Just by looking at Iris' initial Status Window, one could see that her Constitution's growth was the worst. Lower Stats were only easier to raise when all Stats had the same growth rate!
Not to mention that Damian was in dire need of prolonged stamina, natural increase wasn't even a viable option. A low Constitution Stat was the first barrier that one needed to overcome before undergoing Stat Increase training.
This wasn't just how things worked in the game, even in the month when Damian went to the gym, he learned that he first needed to build up stamina and endurance before he could properly build his muscles.
Just like that revelation made Damian give up in reality, he wasn't going to corner himself for a month in this dangerous Labyrinth just to start training.
If this barrier could be overcome by just spending these 2 points, then it was more than worth it!
'This is pretty much necessary.'
Damian didn't think he would change this choice even with a few more retries.
While he had the opportunity to customize Stats for tens of characters in Fate's Guide, nothing could compare to living in the character's body.
Damian was basically aware of his biggest shortcoming by default! The choice not only suited his considerations for the future but also immediate practicality!
'Time for harvest.'
With his thoughts in order, Damian looked down at the Hobgoblin who had collapsed in a kneeling stance.
Since its head had already exploded, accessing the heart from above sounded easier to Damian.
'Not as big…'
About 5 minutes later, the Life Stone was already in Damian's hands. This time, however, it was only 1.5 times bigger than a Goblin's Life Stone.
In any case, Damian had no plans of using it on its own either. The only other loot that this surprise Hobgoblin had left behind was the Stone Club.
Although it was more handy compared to the Goblin Bat, Damian still couldn't comfortably wield it. A couple of extra points in Strength might have elected it as his main weapon, but it wasn't worth it in Damian's opinion.
'Let's keep going.'
Originally, Damian would have rested sometime soon in order to conserve his stamina as much as possible. However, since his stamina should have been boosted, he decided to continue his exploration.
Floating by his side, Iris remained silent despite this surprise encounter. She hadn't been able to warn Damian of the charging enemy because both of them saw it at the same time.
Nonetheless, Damian could see her still trying to see as far ahead as possible. It was obvious that she wanted to be as helpful as possible.
'It's understandable.'
Although almost everyone wanted to throw their problems to someone else, being separated as some kind of projection while watching everything happen wasn't that enjoyable either.
After being rescued from the despair of being a helpless person, being unable to properly contribute had to have made her feel powerless.
'The only thing we can do is get out of here as soon as possible.'
Regardless of the unforgiving reality that he had been hit with, Damian himself wasn't sure about leaving any time soon.
Living in a dark Labyrinth with a depressed ghost wasn't exactly ideal, but just like Damian could never abandon a character in Fate's Guide, he was already starting to feel attached…
{Is it another monster cave?}
Was that where the Hobgoblin had come running from? Not that far ahead, another lit-up entrance appeared in front of Damian and Iris.
"Only one way to find out."
Now armed with much more than just courage and determination, Damian confidently approached the new target.
"Gree?"
'...4 Goblins?'
With this technically being his fourth time attempting a quick entry like this, Damian's eyes quickly adapted to the chaos.
It was unknown if someone was also hiding this time, but right from the get-go, this Den's difficulty was a little lower in comparison.
'Just perfect.'
[ You have defeated a Goblin. FP +1 ]
Before any reaction could be made, Damian went for the obligatory severed head attack, courtesy of Iris' Aura.
He then took out a poisoned knife and stabbed it into the second Goblin's stomach before running to the other end of the Den.
Shik!
The neck was obviously a better option, but the few extra seconds required for that would have invalidated Damian's hit-and-run tactic.
Although a knife in the guts didn't incapacitate the Goblin, it slowed it down as the remaining two Goblins chased Damian.
Back to a 1v2 situation, Damian initiated his already-proven tackle attack and manually severed the third Goblin's head all while avoiding the fourth's attacks. In the end…
[ You have defeated… ]
The fourth Goblin earned Damian's second Aura slash.
[ You have defeated… ]
The slow second Goblin ended up catching up in the end, but all that got him was Damian's second tackle.
[ You have defeated a Goblin. FP +1 ]
Although there was one less Goblin, this was definitely a new Den-clearing record for Damian!
{No one is hiding!}
After receiving Iris' all-clear signal, Damian only took a quick glance around him to ascertain that there was no longer any danger. This time was really different!
Not only was he not completely out of breath, but he was also…
'Huh?'
Before Damian could reach the end of his delighted thought, he noticed something on the last Goblin that he had just dealt with.
'How?'
A broken wristwatch was somehow hanging around the dead monster's wrist.