Chapter 38

Rex, in first person, aaaaaaaaah!!

I’m going to push through, aaaaaaaaah!!

“...haaaa. I’m tired.”

The dungeon run with Rad and the others was successfully completed.

It went mostly as expected, but there were some surprises, like the veterans showing up before that.

To be honest, I think we handled it well.

After the battle, the veterans, for some reason, started apologizing and even became witnesses to our successful quest. In the end, everything turned out great.

But still.

There’s one thing I want to say.

(---There’s no way we could win against three of them!!)

The sheer number of opponents is a threat.

Rex’s stats are only slightly better than the veterans, and if they all attack at once, we’re bound to lose.

By switching the enchanted rings for each opponent and putting on a strong character act, I managed to get through it, but I never want to do that again.

I buried my face in the open notebook and groaned, “ah,” when the door opened and a voice, tinged with exasperation, came down.

“You’re being so lazy. If you’re going to sleep, at least go to the bed properly.”

The one who said this while grabbing my arm is my sister, Risia, who appeared out of nowhere.

“Are you my mom or something?”

“I’m your sister.”

She said this calmly and tried to grab my arm again, but I waved her off, saying, “I get it, I get it.”

“I’m not going to sleep yet, so it’s fine. By the way, how are Rad and the others doing?”

“What do you mean by ‘fine’?”

Risia tilted her head, and I hesitated a bit before answering.

“Ah, well. They couldn’t defeat the boss on their own, right? I thought they might be feeling down.”

Having Risia around in case of emergencies and the fact that Rad and the others couldn’t defeat the boss were all part of the plan.

However, people aren’t that easy to just brush off.

I was a bit worried that they might be feeling down...

“No, they were more fired up. ‘This adventure showed me what I lack! I’ll master the path of the warrior and catch up to Rex someday!’ They were breathing heavily, saying that.”

“Huh? What are they talking about?”

They were even more positive than I imagined and still overestimate me.

At this rate, I’ll be surpassed by Rad in major stats around level 20, and with another ten levels, he’ll probably surpass me in total stats as well.

To begin with...

“I never intended to become a warrior...”

“Is that so?”

Risia picked up on my muttered words.

I thought, “Crap,” but once said, words can’t be taken back.

Reluctantly, I decided to explain the situation to Risia to some extent.

“You might get mad, but my, or rather, ‘Rex’s’ stat distribution is terrible.”

“...I see.”

“You noticed!?”

I was taken aback by her unexpected response.

I didn’t want to admit that I might be weaker in stats, so I tried to hide it.

“Brother, you show it on your face. Also, today’s battle. While Rad and the others were impressed, I thought that with your skills and that equipment, you should be much stronger.”

“S-so, you noticed...”

It seems I was pretty transparent.

At least, it seems Rad and the others haven’t noticed, which is a small comfort.

“To be honest, I was a bit sulking about it.”

I don’t have the stability of Rad, the hidden strengths of Mana, or the specialized power of Prana.

Almost all of my stats are at the minimum, and even my relatively high magic power is inferior to Nuke and Mana.

But I changed my perspective.

I have that much more potential than others...

“---That’s right, I have ‘nothing’ to lose!”

Risia looked at my face intently and said,

“Is that the only reason you wanted to say that?”

“N-no, it’s not!”

I flailed my hands and thrust the notebook I was holding at Risia.

“This is a summary of the game knowledge I compiled as a memo. I’ve added explanations so that even someone who doesn’t know anything can understand. If something happens to me, Risia, you should—”

“I’ll get mad, even if it’s a joke.”

I was serious, but Risia’s anger hit me mid-sentence, and I shut up.

Risia might be sensitive to death due to her circumstances.

I think she understood the importance of the notebook, so I’ll leave it at that.

“Anyway, as I summarized here, there’s one way to ‘reset’ your stats.”

This is my potential.

With Rex’s average stats, I can adapt to any stat distribution through a “reset.”

Whether it’s a swordsman, thief, mage, or priest, I can do whatever I want.

However, to make the most of Rex’s potential...

“---I intend to completely change the way ‘Rex’ fights. If I can reset, I’ll go for a magic-focused combat style, known as the ‘pure magic style.’”

At my declaration, Risia’s eyes widened quietly.

“So, in terms of fighting style, I’ll be more like Nuke’s senior, or rather, junior.”

I said this jokingly, but its meaning is probably heavy for Risia.

Choosing the most distant path from the “all-rounder swordsman” and breaking the image of her brother, I’m not without hesitation.

However, I can’t compromise on “myself.”

Risia remained silent for a moment, then closed her eyes.

When she opened them, she smiled softly.

“---I think it’s very much like you, brother.”

Her words made me feel a bit relieved, as if I had been forgiven.

But still...

“However, it’s not easy.”

I talked as if it were a done deal, but there are numerous obstacles to this “reset.”

“This reset is done through an event called the ‘Soul’s Trial,’ but the opportunity only comes once at a specific time. Moreover, it’s extremely difficult.”

“Extremely difficult, huh.”

“Yeah.”

I nodded without hesitation.

This “Soul’s Trial” event is not necessary to progress the story.

It involves helping the ‘Prince of Light’ who is trapped, but even if left alone, he will break free on his own.

Since it’s not necessary to clear and not particularly important to the story, the difficulty can be as high as they want.

“Specifically, you can only bring one other person, and in a severely weakened state, you have to defeat a level 50 boss.”

“Level 50...”

Of course, this is a real strong enemy, far beyond the boss of the ‘Seven-Colored Lava Cave.’

Probably even stronger than the Doom Demon, who was held back to fit the event with Rex.

“Frankly, I don’t think I’ll be much of a help in that event. ...That’s why I need a strong companion who can face this powerful enemy with their life on the line.”

It’s a high expectation.

First, the required strength is extremely high.

Even if someone has that strength, without game knowledge, my words will sound absurd to the people of this world.

---That’s why I started training Rad and the others.

I’ve been honing their strength and binding them with my actions to prepare them for the trial together.

It’s selfish and one-sided.

I’m still thinking in game terms, seeing people as game data, and I can’t blame anyone for criticizing me.

But Risia chuckled at my words.

“I think you should tell Rad and the others about this.”

“Huh...?”

She said the exact opposite of what I expected and gently turned away.

“I’ll take my leave for today. I feel like swinging my sword.”

Even though it was almost dusk, Risia said this and opened the room door.

Then,

“By the way, when you sleep, make sure to use the bed.”

She nagged me one last time before leaving the room.

I waited for her footsteps to fade away downstairs.

“...haa”

I finally breathed a sigh of relief once I couldn’t sense her presence anymore.

I know Rad and the others are good people, and I’m aware that I’ve developed feelings for them.

But...

“---That’s why I hesitate and can’t talk to them.”

I whispered this quietly.

What I told Risia wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t everything.

What’s reasonable and optimal for someone isn’t necessarily the best for everyone.

If she knew the details, Risia would try to stop me, and there’s a high chance Rad and the others would refuse.

“Well, who should I choose? Or should I give up?”

I muttered this and looked down at the notebook.

The open page had scribbled notes about a certain technique.

【Stat Reset Technique through Soul’s Trial】

A technique to achieve a pseudo “stat reset” by utilizing the “Soul’s Trial” event, which follows the “Prince of Light’s Disappearance” event that occurs after a certain time from the start of the game.

The biggest advantage is the ability to correct a poorly developed character, but by gathering the necessary equipment and planning, it can significantly increase total stats, even if the character was optimally developed from the start.

This can only be done once in the game, and due to the complexity of the process, it is practically a player-only enhancement event.

However, the difficulty is high compared to the effect.

The “Soul’s Trial” event itself is very difficult to clear, requiring only two party members, both in a weakened state, to defeat a level 50 boss.

Achieving this under normal development conditions is difficult, so if you aim for it, you should start planning from the beginning of the game, focusing on your own enhancement as well as the selection and development of the participating character.

However, the most important point is to choose a companion for the trial who you do not intend to make a main character.

Ideally, a character who is strong enough to barely clear the trial but has no further growth potential is desirable.

This is because this technique is a method to adjust character stats, and if you use it to increase your own stats, the stats of the companion will be severely reduced.

---Considering the difficulty of the trial, how well you can select the optimal “sacrifice” is the key.

This is the most crucial point of the trial.

---

And with a refreshing aftertaste, this marks the end of Part 2.

I have plans for Part 3, so I’d like to take a break for two weeks before resuming updates... but if I take a break now, I’ll probably be gone for months, so I think I’ll keep pushing a bit more.

Moreover, today marks exactly one month since the start of the serial.

I’m amazed that I’ve managed to update every day, but to be honest, there have been a few questionable days recently, so it would be great if I could get some support.