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﴾ Strength: 10 ➟ 11 ⧼10 + 1⧽ ﴿
﴾ Agility: 16 ➟ 17 ⧼16 + 1⧽ ﴿
﴾ Endurance: 12 ➟ 13 ⧼12 + 1⧽ ﴿
﴾ Stamina: 32/60 ➟ 37/65 ﴿
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Having already experienced the aftereffects of stat allocation, Noel didn't dare put too many points in at once. He feared it might leave him vulnerable against the monsters.
The pain and discomfort from adding one point each to Strength, Agility, and Endurance was there but manageable, and he stayed aware of his surroundings.
He had already tested Agility and Endurance, but this was his first time putting a point into Strength. His muscles burned as if set on fire, though the sensation faded within two seconds.
The improvement wasn't drastic, but he could feel the raw power flowing through him. His base damage went up, which meant his Liability talent's final damage output also improved.
Noel was tempted to add more to Strength, but he held back. He needed the remaining points to manage his stamina whenever necessary.
With that done, he looked back at the others. Zach and Aiko also seemed to be distributing their stats to prolong the fight. The bulky man on the ground, however, had it the hardest.
He was forced to take on every monster head-on. Injuries piled up, and the flow of battle was clearly against them.
If they couldn't hold out, Noel knew he would fall with them. And he didn't want that.
Leaon, his son had told him that failing the First Instance meant starting over. That meant surviving another 12 hours or killing another 100 monsters from the beginning.
Many players took days before clearing it, but Noel didn't want to waste that time. He wanted to reach the safe zones quickly, meet his son, and play alongside him to rebuild their bond.
With that thought, Noel said, "Hold them for a while. Once I finish the monsters in the crevice, I'll join you."
Zach and Aiko exchanged a quick glance. This time, they didn't dismiss him as they had before. They simply nodded.
They didn't know what talent he had, but they had seen him hold his ground against Tier-1 Mid-Phase monsters. With no better options, they could only hope the newbie could help, though they didn't expect much.
Unaware of their thoughts, Noel dropped back into the crevice. This time, he didn't play safe.
Noel lashed the Chain Reavers without restraint as he moved along the crevice walls, cutting into the Sand Stalkers one after another.
He avoided dropping to the bottom where he could be surrounded, instead targeting the ones already wounded.
With the extra point in Agility, his movements were sharper. He handled the Chain Reavers with better control, striking faster and cleaner.
One after another, the monsters fell to his relentless assault. Before long, three more went down, though not without cost. Noel picked up a few injuries, but none were critical.
The kills pushed him to Level 3. Another five undistributed stats appeared in his window.
He didn't spend them all. Counting the two he still had left, Noel now held seven. He placed one point in Endurance to ease his draining stamina, and one in Vitality to improve his Health points.
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﴾ Endurance: 13 ➟ 14 ⧼13 + 1⧽ ﴿
﴾ Stamina: 17/65 ➟ 22/70 ﴿
﴾ Vitaity: 10 ➟ 11 ⧼10 + 1⧽ ﴿
﴾ Health: 31/50 ➟ 36/55 ﴿
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Along with the strengthening of his bones, skin, ligaments, and tendons from Endurance, Noel felt a surge of rejuvenation like never before.
His body felt younger, though the sensation was difficult to put into words. He understood it came from the boost in Vitality.
The injuries on his body began to close slightly, leaving him in better shape than a moment earlier.
Unlike the other attributes, this one caused no pain at all; only pure relief.
Since it didn't hinder his movements, Noel quickly allocated three more points to Vitality in succession, spacing them out by a few seconds while keeping the Sand Stalkers at bay.
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﴾ Vitaity: 11 ➟ 14 ⧼11 + 3⧽ ﴿
﴾ Health: 36/55 ➟ 51/70 ﴿
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All of Noel's injuries closed up as if they had never been inflicted. His Health regeneration rate also improved, giving him the confidence to press harder against the Sand Stalkers.
He fought more aggressively, even trading shallow wounds for their lives. One by one, the monsters fell until only three remained.
Among them, one suddenly grew larger and stronger than the rest. Noel couldn't understand why but guessed it had reached Level 6 or 7.
He stayed cautious, avoiding risky moves. Instead, he kited it around while focusing his attacks on the other two.
When the fight dragged on, the higher-leveled Sand Stalker let out a piercing screech. The two wounded ones responded immediately and followed its lead as all three burrowed into the ground.
Noel froze for a moment, surprised at the intelligence it showed by retreating. He wanted to kill at least one of the two before they escaped to gain more experience, but that was only wishful thinking.
The monsters leapt into the sand and vanished from sight.
Reluctantly, Noel climbed back to the top of the crevice. There, he opened his Status window to check his Level and Life Energy.
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Level: 3 Tier: 1 ⧼Low-Phase⧽
Life Energy: 950/1000
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Noel was just a single monster away from reaching Level 4. He felt a pang of regret but didn't dwell on it. There would be more chances ahead.
As he reached the top of the crevice, he caught Zach grumbling to Aiko. "Urgh… as much as I love this game, I hate it when level scaling kicks in. A few of them already leveled up."
Aiko's face darkened. "It's worse than I thought. They'll reach Tier-1 High-Phase soon. We need to escape before that happens," she said in a grim tone.
Zach gave a heavy nod. Both of them had faced this before; one member stayed behind to hold the monsters while the others escaped. They had each taken their turn in the past. Now, it was Omar's.
Omar understood without needing to be told.
"Leave! I'll make a way for you!" he shouted.
As they were about to leave, both Zach and Aiko noticed Noel climbing up. His Chain Reaver blades dripped with black blood.
The spike in his level didn't go unnoticed, he was now Level 3. What left them stunned was how he had done it. A Level 1 Drifter had managed to take down multiple Level 4 monsters on his own.
They had struggled to level up twice, and it had taken them a long time. But this newcomer had done it in a short span.
Even so, in the current fight, he wasn't strong enough to turn things around.
"Come with us. Let's escape while we still can," Zach said quickly.
Noel didn't fully understand what was going on, but he guessed it had to do with the monsters leveling up from something the others called level scaling. If even the experienced players wanted to retreat, he had no reason to stay.
He nodded and followed them down the crevice. Omar conjured two earthen walls, shaping a path for their escape.
Some monsters noticed and gave chase, but Omar raised rocky spikes from the ground, blocking their advance.
The Archer and the Mage ran without looking back, and Noel did the same. But after hearing the scream, he slowed down and turned back.
The sight he saw wasn't something he would forget anytime soon.
Omar was torn apart alive, his limbs ripped off by the Sand Stalkers as blood poured from his body.
His screams followed them as they ran, fading little by little until there was nothing left.
Noel tried to remind himself it was just a game. But the pain in Omar's voice made that hard to digest. It hadn't even been an hour, yet he felt like he had already gone through a lot.
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Author Note:
ALTER REALITY: Online is the 1st Side Story of EARTH's ALPHA PRIME, a LitRPG System Survival novel that has completed 3 volumes so far.
The revamped version of EAP Volume 1, 2 &3 are now live on Kindle. You can find them on Amazon by simply searching the book title or go through the link provided here.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DR53YMV2
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Exclusive artwork for every free chapter is now available on my PATRE0N page! You can find the link in my Discord server.
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Discord Link for 'Earth's Alpha Prime' :
https://discord.gg/P6cWGg2G
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