Novel Boss
Chapter 17: Levelling Up Once More
[Well, well, well. Guess I was a little wrong about you, huh. I owe you an apology this time...] The system said as a grin curved up Nolan's bloody lips.
"Then go on with it already..." he said with a cocky tone.
[That was the apology,] it replied shamelessly, causing Nolan to roll his eyes.
"Well, apology accepted," he replied before standing up.
But instead of turning back and leaving, Nolan actually walked forward towards the fifth glass door.
[Hey, what the hell are you doing? You'll get flattened into a bloody pulp if you dare...]
The system warned profusely, but quieted down when it watched Nolan gently push open the door and enter the fifth area.
Less than a minute later, he arrived before the fourth one and also pushed it open casually.
With shock and surprise, the system watched as Nolan pushed open all the doors until he finally arrived before the statue itself.
[You?!... How... How did you do that? How were you able to ignore the pressure?] the system said in disbelief as Nolan looked up at the statue of the man before sitting down cross-legged.
"I gained his recognition during the trial. Now that I have his pantheon mark, his pressure is no longer effective on me.
I've been recognized by him," Nolan responded calmly.
It was something he could immediately sense once he received the notification of being awarded his own pantheon mark.
Instead of feeling a strange pressure, he felt an odd familiarity in the area.
That's how he reasoned the pressure would no longer affect him, and true to his feelings, it really didn't.
Still, sitting down before the statue and surrounded by the pressure, Nolan could feel his own Pantheon Will strengthening, making his resolve and conviction more solid.
"Activate System Interface," he ordered, and instantly the panel flickered to life once more.
---
[System Interface]
[Name: Nolan Gottschald]
[Age: 16]
[Level: 3]
[Class: ??]
[EXP: 200/200]
Does Host wish to level up?
"Yes!" Nolan stated calmly.
[Congratulations, Host has leveled up to Level 4]
[+10 Attribute Points have been obtained]
[Level Up cards: 2]
[Does Host wish to use Level Up card?]
"Yes!"
[Congratulations, Host has successfully leveled up to Level 5!]
[+10 Attribute Points have been obtained!]
[Level Up card remaining: 1]
[Congratulations, Host has successfully leveled up to Level 6!]
[+10 Attribute Points have been obtained!]
[Level Up card remaining: 0]
[Total Attribute Points: +30]
---
"Activate Attribute Panel," Nolan ordered after that, and quickly the information changed.
[Wow, you're getting quite good at this,] the system teased him as Nolan chuckled.
---
[Attributes]
[Strength: 20]
[Agility: 12]
[Perception: 6]
[Charm: 4]
[Intelligence: 12]
[Attribute Points: 30]
[How does Host wish to allocate attribute points?]
"Add 8 points to Intelligence."
"Add 8 points to Agility."
"Add 14 points to Perception."
Nolan ordered after carefully thinking about it, and in the next instant, an intense discomfort appeared once more as his brain suddenly froze, his teeth clenched hard from the strange mana flowing through his body, but still, Nolan struggled to remain in his cross-legged position.
One of the reasons he had gotten here was to adapt his body to the growth of strength in case he had to level up at any particular time in the future.
He couldn't afford to be in the middle of a fight and level up, only to collapse and remain unmoving on the floor.
That would be disadvantageous, and one way to prevent that was to ensure he could struggle to keep it under control without sprawling onto the ground.
Not three minutes passed before the pain faded away, followed by a cool moisture flowing through his system. Nolan's eyes opened once more, welcoming the change in the panel.
---
*Congratulations, Attribute Points have been successfully added.
[Attributes]
[Strength: 20]
[Agility: 20]
[Perception: 20]
[Intelligence: 20]
[Charm: 4]
[Attribute Points: 0]
---
"Finally. All my stats are perfectly balanced..." Nolan mused as he not only felt the gravity pressing down on him lighten a bit, but could also see the world around him twice as clearly as before, making him perceive his environment even more sharply.
And even though the sudden increase was far greater than what he was used to, his brain could properly process everything, and he felt no strangeness at all from the sudden growth.
[You could have further increased your strength to the point where you could even become one of the strongest among the students.]
[But you chose not to, instead opting for balance among all your stats?] the system asked curiously, and Nolan nodded seriously.
"I could have put all of my points into Strength and become one of the strongest, but then there would be a mismatch.
I'd truly be much stronger than the average Celestial Heir, but too slow to catch an ordinary mortal, too weak to sense a normal mortal's attack, and with too low intelligence compared to the average Celestial Heir.
Then what's the point?
Even a weaker Celestial Heir would only need to keep their distance and quickly overpower me if they had long-range abilities.
But with all my stats balanced, I'll be just as fast as the average Celestial Heir, as strong, as smart, and with senses that rival the average Celestial Heir.
At least, there's growth—from weaker than a mortal to the average Celestial Heir. In my next level up, I'll officially join the ranks of the elite Celestial Heirs.
It's a step at a time..." Nolan explained at length, more to himself than to the system.
Of course, he also wanted to be stronger than everyone else, but he reasoned that might be disadvantageous to his progress and therefore chose a path that showed fewer immediate results but held the greatest potential.
It took a lot of willpower and self-convincing to pull that off.
GRUUUUUUM!
The sound of a muffled roar suddenly rang out as Nolan looked down at his stomach, which was protesting.
"I guess it's time to go to the cafeteria. Hopefully, everything goes well..."