#8: The Preparations Begin (2) — Battlefield of the Gods

I blinked awake to find my surroundings dark, with something sticky pooled where I had collapsed.

Having started in the morning, it seems I was unconscious for half a day.

Something clinging to my body felt very unpleasant, but I couldn’t afford to worry about such things.

“Ugh… What on earth is this…? Status.”

1. Name: Kim Han

2. True Name: Gamer

3. Affiliation: ―

4. Physical

[Strength] 20 → 45

[Agility] 18 → 40

[Stamina] 30 → 60

[Intellect] 9 → 39

[Luck] 60 → 99

Free Stat Points: 10

5. Divine Power

[Force] 4 → 25

[Divinity] 0 → 24

[Spirit] 0 → 10

[Mana] 0 → 20

[Undiscovered] 0 → [Chaos] 10

Free Divine Power Points: 20

6. Talents

―Adaptation―Mod

―Genius

―Thousand Talents

―Harmony

“Ha… I don’t even know anymore.”

A sigh naturally escaped, followed by a lament.

I’m not whining out of abundance. It would be insane to complain after becoming stronger, especially in the ‘Battlefield of the Gods’ teeming with monsters.

“The problem is whether these are legitimate results and whether rumors will spread because of this…”

There is something I’ve always kept in mind and constantly reminded myself of since starting this life.

Those with talent, walk on tiptoe.

Would the former ‘me’ have dared to call myself ‘talented’?

Though uncertain if I truly have talent, I possess knowledge of events unknown to others, or those yet to occur.

Reflecting on my past life, I knew my personality could easily lead to complacency and laziness, so I was always wary of that. But then…

“I mean… this is just unbelievable…”

I checked the newly revealed talents and the Chaos stat.

[Genius]

A talent bestowed by the heavens. The learning speed of someone with this talent is incomparable. If it's a skill they already know, sometimes they can acquire another's skill just by watching. With sufficient effort, they can reach a flawless level.

[Harmony]

The ability to use forces with different origins. Although these forces usually repel each other due to differing properties, someone with this talent can sense divine powers of different natures and store and use them without conflict. At a high level, they can unify four forces into one.

[Chaos]

The divine power that was the origin of the world before it was divided into Force, Holy Power, Spirit, and Mana by the will of the primordial.

I’ve spent a staggering 31 years rolling around in the ‘Battlefield of the Gods.’ In those 31 years, I’ve seen the talent called ‘Genius’ only once.

It belonged to a Demon Star, one of the seven powerful beings known by the cringe-worthy name ‘Seven Stars,’ ranked second among them.

Even then, it was a presence I couldn’t see with my usual command, but this crazy woman suddenly came to me, curious about her objective stats, and asked me to check them.

“Back then, her stats were truly broken. She hadn’t been at it for long, yet everything was over 110 except for strength. Isn’t this too strong? Is this even allowed?”

As mentioned earlier, the years spent on the Battlefield of the Gods are not just a few.

The primary foundation that allowed survival with less power than other agents during that long time was the intense training to increase stats and the reference and utilization of numerous agents’ and continentals’ stats.

Nevertheless, the undiscovered divine power was always ‘undiscovered.’ But that has been broken. The divine power, unknown to anyone, revealed itself under the name of chaos and unveiled its veil.

Undiscovered divine power stat, the blooming of Chaos.
Suddenly skyrocketed physical stats.
Including the newly emerged talents, a total of four talents.

“Even with this… is it okay?”

―Yes, it is.

“Title…?”

―It’s not a problem at all. It’s already done with His arrangement and permission. But be careful. You have received high potential to become stronger, but that’s all. More than half of the agents are stronger than ‘you now.’

“Ludicer? Of course… she would be stronger than I am now.”

[Title: The Advancer]

Through relentless effort and toil, you have overcome the first wall you faced. This experience affects other skills as well.

Skill experience gain increased by 20%.

[Title: The Overcomer]

Through relentless effort and toil, you have overcome the second wall. This great experience affects other skills as well.

Skill experience gain increased by 30%, skill efficiency increased by 5%.

[Title: The One Who Reached the Peak]

Through relentless effort and hardship, you have reached an unprecedented level. From a high vantage point, you realize that although the paths may differ, the destination is the same. All streams return to the source. The process of mastering all skills becomes easier.

Skill experience increased by 50%, skill efficiency increased by 25%, and required skill points reduced by 20%.

Many creatures inhabit the ‘Battlefield of the Gods.’

These residents are not weak beings that die like game NPCs with a single sword strike. Among them, there are entities capable of killing agents with just one swing.

I have no idea how Ludicer’s unique title system is perceived by them. In my previous life, I only received six titles in total.

Even so,

“Skill experience increased by 100%, skill efficiency increased by 30%, plus a 20% reduction in skill points…”

This is practically a boost.

As Ludicer said, I am not strong right now. In terms of sheer ‘strength,’ I wouldn’t even rank in the top 100 from the bottom.

However, there’s a catch in the statement that the same power must be granted before entering the ‘Battlefield of the Gods.’

Most agents are already strong before receiving their powers. The enhancement of abilities along with the powers is considered a matter of personal aptitude.

In that sense, my aptitude and potential are almost abnormal. Suppressing the arrogance that subtly rose, I turned my attention back to the list of powers.

Skill

1. Skill Assimilation

You can combine skills to create a new skill. However, this special technique is different from creation. Therefore, a completely new skill that is entirely different from the combined materials does not emerge. Skills used in the combination disappear.

Lv 0. (Number of skills that can be combined 2), (Success rate 10×(1+Luck÷100)%

2. Skill Book Creation

Though different in class from creation, you can make your skills into books for storage and distribution or acquire skills by thoroughly reading a book that describes them.

Lv 0. Success rate of creating your skill into a book is 20%. Probability of acquiring skill from the book 1%

“Use 120 skill points on [Skill Combination]. Then use 40 free skill points after that.”

『Would you like to pre-use 120 skill points on [Skill Combination] and then apply 40 free skill points?』

“Yes.”

Skill Assimilation

Lv 100. Number of skills that can be combined: 12. Success rate 60×(1+Luck÷100)

First Limit Level Breakthrough: Skills that fail to combine have a 50% chance of not disappearing.

Second Limit Level Breakthrough: Skills that fail to combine do not disappear.

『Congratulations. The skill [Skill Assimilation] has surpassed the first limit level (50). As it is a significant achievement but not the first, the reward is halved. You gain 20 skill points.』

『Congratulations. The skill [Skill Assimilation] has surpassed the second limit level (100). As it is a great achievement but not the first, the reward is halved. You gain 10 free skill points.』

『The title [Perfect Guy] is awarded.』

“Great! Huh?”

[Title: Perfect Guy]

I commend you for achieving a skill combination success rate of over 100%. You gain 10 additional body points dedicated to luck.

“Is this why they say the rich get richer and the poor get poorer…? Using 120 skill points for [Skill Book Creation]. Then using 40 free skill points.”

『Would you like to apply 120 skill points to [Skill Book Creation] and then use 40 free skill points?』

“Yeah.”

Skill Book Creation

Lv 100. When creating a skill book from your own skills, success rate is 70%, and the probability of acquiring skills from non-technical books is 51%.

『Congratulations. The skill [Skill Book Creation] has surpassed the first limit level (50). Since it's a significant achievement but not the first, the reward is halved. You gain 20 skill points.』

『Congratulations. The skill [Skill Book Creation] has surpassed the second limit level (100). Since it's a great achievement but not the first, the reward is halved. You gain 10 free skill points.』

“All set.”

Remaining Skill Points [440]

Free Skill Points [110]