Chapter 24 - STAT POINTS

LUO YAN slashed at the last Mandragora Seed that was surrounding him.  After his attack, the Mandragora Seed slowly disappeared.  Then he heard a familiar bell tone, followed by the appearance of a small virtual screen in front of him.  On it was the word 'Level 5'.

He smiled and jumped away from the area where the Mandragora Seeds were congested.  He landed on the branch of one of the trees around.  Then he opened his Status Window and clicked on his Stats Tab.  On the bottom left corner were the words; Stat Points: 4.  He didn't hesitate to distribute it to his Basic Stats.  When he's done, his Basic Stats looked like this;

STR: 2

AGI: 1

VIT: 0

INT: 0

DEX: 1

In Arcadia, there were two paths that an Assassin class could walk on.  One was the power type and the other was the speed type.  Power types focused on building the attack power hence the stat points were mostly distributed on STR.  While the speed type focused on the attack speed, so the stat points were mostly distributed on AGI followed by DEX.  

When Luo Yan played the game before, he was a power type Assassin.  Players who chose the Assassin class didn't usually go to the power type route.  Most chose the speed type.  Probably because they had the preconceived notion that assassins should be fast, the fastest even.  And they were right in a way.  In Arcadia, when a player successfuly passed the Assassin test and became an Assassin, their speed would automatically be higher in comparison to their other Derived Stats.  That's why it's much easier for players to just continuously build their speed.  Because the foundation was already there.

Luo Yan didn't want to go the easy route.  Assassins had an inherently weaker attack power compared to other classes.  In a melee battle or even a PvP battle, Assassins needed to attack their opponent a number of times before they could completely defeat them.  Especially if the opponent was in the same level.  It's almost unusual to see an Assassin that could kill their opponent with just a single attack.  But their speed could make up for that.  

He didn't want his speed to make up for his lack of attack power.  He wanted the two to be equal.  So when he played the PC version, he didn't hesitate to build his STR instead of his AGI.  Which turned out to be a very, very good decision.  Because that decision pushed him to the very top.  So he planned to do the same in this VR version.

He would focus on STR, followed by AGI, then DEX, after that was VIT, then the least focus would be on INT.   INT directly affected a player's MP which was the one being consumed when a player used a skill.  An Assassin's skills didn't really cost that much MP.  Unlike Mages or Priests.  So, increasing INT when you're an Assassin wouldn't really do much good.  You're just going to waste the stat points you acc.u.mulated.

After he was done, he closed his Stats Tab.  Luo Yan looked at the time at the upper right corner of his Status Window and noticed that he had been playing for more than two hours already.  According to the game manual he read, players who used the VR helmet for the first time needed to minimize their playing time to at least three hours.  Any more than that and it might caused shock to the brain.  After that, players could gradually increase their playing time.  Currently, players could stay inside the game for at most six hours without any worry of having a negative effect on the body.

Since he was already at level 5, he decided to log out.  He went to the System Tab and pressed the 'Log Out' button.  

Suddenly, he felt like he was being sucked inside a vacuum.  Everything turned black.  His senses was slowly deprived until he couldn't feel anything.  When he opened his eyes, he saw the lens of the VR helmet and knew that he was already out of the game.  He turned off the power button from the back and took off the helmet.

Luo Yan looked around the familiar room and he couldn't stop the smile that spread on his lips.  This VR experience was even greater than he imagined.  Like being transported to a new world.  Everything was so real.  Now he couldn't wait to explore the game more.  

His admiration for Moonlight Media just increased after having this experience.  If he didn't die, he would have probably taken part in the development of the VR version.  Even now, he could have probably been a top member of the game developer team. 

He shook his head.  There's no use thinking about that now.  He was already very lucky to be born again in this life and in this family.  Dying was not really the end but just a beginning.  At least for him.  So in this new beginning, he would make sure that he wouldn't have any regrets.  He would live according to his wants and not according to his needs.  

He would be happy.    

Luo Yan stood up and carefully put the VR helmet on his study table.  Then he walked out of his room.  Just as he did, he saw his older brother sitting on the living room.  He happily walked towards Luo Ren and sat beside him.  

"Brother, you don't have overtime?" he asked, hugging Luo Ren's arm.

Luo Ren smiled down at his brother.  "No.  I finished all my work early so I could have dinner with you and Xiao Jin."

Luo Yan stared at his brother's smile.  He was now totally different from the first ice cold impression he gave.  His smile now was more natural compared to before.  Which only showed the positive effect of Luo Yan waking up from coma had on him.  

"You shouldn't work too hard, Brother.  I'm sure Dad wouldn't blame you if you take it easy from time to time."

Luo Ren stroked his younger brother's soft hair.  "I'm sure he wouldn't.  But I want to show to everyone that I have the ability to be Dad's heir.  That I'm not just a decoration in the company."

Luo Yan frowned.  "You don't have to prove anything to anyone.  Because Brother is certainly the best."

Luo Ren laughed then pinched Luo Yan's cheek.  "But for me, Yan Yan is the best."

They heard foorsteps and saw Luo Jin coming down the stairs.  From his scowl, anyone could see that he was in a bad mood.  

"Ah Jin, how was the game?" Luo Yan asked.

"I don't want to talk about that trashy game," Luo Jin answered and then continued to stomp  towards the kitchen.

Yup.  Definitely in bad mood.