Mention of treasure reminded Ronan that he'd received an item earlier, when he killed the lesser goblin warrior. He opened his inventory, seeing a pair of leather greaves in the second slot.
The first slot was occupied by three sets of lesser goblin ears. All he needed to do to get more detail about the greaves was focus his thoughts on them.
Unlike with the stats, the system was more forthcoming regarding items. Not impressively so, but enough that he knew what he'd earned.
Goblin Greaves Lv.4 (Common)
Standard equipment for lesser goblins, crudely hewn from the hides of their victims.
+1 Resistance
Ronan was glad he hadn't died to one of the goblins. Being turned into a shoddy pair of greaves was a grim fate.
He gave the soft leather a sniff. No scent. Either the goblins were far more hygienic than their gross teeth and vile bodies suggested or the system had cleaned them up when he looted them from the lesser goblin warrior.
After that he tied them onto his shins and made a noise of appreciation as they magically adjusted to fit. That's nifty.
Even though the greaves gave him an extra point of resistance he didn't feel any tougher. He'd need to get hit to test it.
A glance at Keith preceded a disappointed sigh. Ronan doubted the flabby man would be able to hit hard enough to give an accurate reading. He'd have to hope the system knew what it was talking about.
The extra points in agility had made an enormous difference to his speed and acceleration. He assumed the lower a stat was to begin with the more impact a single point would have, so the greaves were actually a lot more useful than their unimpressive aesthetics would have him believe.
With his first piece of gear adding much needed rogue-ish charm to Ronan's appearance—the torn suit and shredded tie were clinging to life at this point—he felt ready to receive more excellent equipment. His gaze landed on the new arrivals to his inventory.
The endless treasury tokens had a plain appearance. They both occupied a single slot, due to being identical consumables. A white rectangle with an icon of a chest carved on the front face.
In the corner of the inventory slot there was a little number 2, denoting the quantity. It was the same with the lesser goblins ears, except the number was 3 and he felt a lot less pleased to have multiples of that particular reward.
Endless Treasury Token (Common)
Unlock the endless treasury, claiming a single item of common quality from its infinite bounty
Ronan wasn't surprised at the lacklustre description. Then again, while the system's taciturn descriptions lacked flavour, they certainly cut down to the barebones.
Using the myriad skills tome had been self explanatory. What did you do with a book? You opened it to read.
However, when it came to these tokens, Ronan was stumped. In the end he went with the simplest solution. The inventory was controlled with his thoughts, so he simply imagined using the token.
Lo and behold, it exploded into a shower of golden light as he heard the jingling of coins from everywhere and nowhere at once. The jingling noise continued for a full five seconds before fading gently as the motes of light dissipated.
In its place, there was an image floating in the air and a system message below it. Whatever complaints he might have about this mysterious power that had turned his life upside down, he couldn't deny its penchant for theatrics was easy on the eye.
[Endless Treasury Token (Common)] has been consumed!
You have received [Lucky Banana (Common) x2]!
Lucky Banana (Common)
A banana of fortuitous origins, with golden skin and delightful flesh
+1 Luck
He'd been disappointed when he saw a floating image of a bunch of golden bananas, but the description of them cheered him right up. Fruits that could give him stat points? Ronan was already biting into the first one as he activated the second endless treasury token. Delightful was an understatement. The soft yet plump bananas almost melted on his tongue.
Not eating his fruits and vegetables was the cause of many fights with his grandmother. If they'd tasted this good she would've had to fight to keep him away from the fruit bowl!
[Endless Treasury Token (Common)] has been consumed!
You have received [Princess Petal's Flower Crown (Common)]!
Princess Petal's Flower Crown (Common)
A crown woven from garden flowers by the princess of a distant kingdom, infused with the magic of friendship
+1 Charisma, +1 Wisdom
Ronan stood in silence. He'd been gobsmacked when he saw the image of a flower crown appear in the air. Reading the description did little to help alleviate his astonishment.
Even as he took it from his inventory and held it in his hands, staring at the hanging wreath of colourful flowers, he wasn't sure what to make of it. A grown man wearing a flower crown would be ridiculous.
Free stats aren't ridiculous, he sighed to himself. Although I'm not sure how helpful charisma and wisdom will be against hangry goblins.
Nonetheless, he perched it delicately on his scruffy mop of chestnut curls. As the greaves had done, it widened a little to accommodate his fat cranium.
This time, he felt the improvement to his stats in a far more physical way. Which was strange given the two stats it increased.
For the briefest of moments, Ronan became aware of an endless network of pathways running through his body. He felt them swell ever so slightly. He felt the same way after taking a bite of a burger that was a little too much to handle.
In all honesty, he wasn't sure how to feel about the outcome of using the two Endless Treasury Tokens. Four extra stat points for no effort was definitely a boon, but they weren't stats that would help him maul the next load of goblins the system threw at him.
Maybe those 2 points in luck would save his ass. He chuckled. On the topic of stat points, he had a free point left over after his last level up.
Despite being introduced to the wonders of stats other than agility or strength, he still felt as though his original plan was working wonders. Hit harder, hit faster.
There was no need to overcomplicate the simple matter of savage deathmatches. His strikes had still been devastating against the last two lesser goblins, so he opted once again to up his agility.
Ronan realised it was strange for a man who'd been an average—well, exceptional—office drone less than half a day ago to adapt to this brutal reality so fast. However, he couldn't help but feel right at home in the mud and blood—quite literally, given that he was covered in the stuff.
After accepting his choice of stat allocation, he admired his rapid progress in such a short time.
[Status]
Name: Ronan Steele
Race: Human (G)
Heritage: @#^?
Level: 3
Class: N/A
Fortune: 47 Copper Credits
[Stats]
Health: 90/90
Stamina: 120/120
Mana: 60/60
Vitality: 9
Endurance: 12
Wisdom: 5 (+1)
Regeneration: 3
Resistance: 6 (+1)
Strength: 6
Agility: 8
Intelligence: 8
Dexterity: 5
Acuity: 7
Tenacity: 12
Luck: 4
Charisma: 4 (+1)
Available Points: 0
[Traits]
[Skills]
Unified Language Adaptation (Universal)
Relentless Training (Common)
[Mastery]
Pugilist 8/100
[Cultivation]
Mind: None
Body: None
Energy: None
Soul: None
His wealth was increasing steadily. Ronan wasn't sure what he'd ever be able to spend the copper credits on, but he'd surely purchase plenty of it.
Despite his gains across the board, tenacity remained one of his highest stats. Only endurance now matched it, since it gained a point each time he levelled up.
Every level made him a tad harder to kill and a touch better at killing. He'd almost died against the first lesser goblin. He'd come even closer to death against the last.
Ronan was determined to wipe the floor with the next, before it knew what had hit it. He threw his gaze upwards and then back down, chuckling to himself.
Yeah, I'm fucking terrifying. Bloke in a ripped suit wearing a daisy chain on his head. That'll scare the crap out of the little green shits.
He heard a shrill giggle from his side, turning to see Keith pointing at his new headpiece and clutching his ribs. "What the hell is that? Is that what you got from those tokens? Man, this thing must hate you," Keith gasped while laughing.
"Well, what did you get? You seem quite pleased with yourself, you useless oaf," Ronan retorted.
Keith pulled a shiny metal helmet with a feather plume out of nowhere. It looked like it should be decorating a roman centurion's head, but instead it found a home on the sweaty bald crown of a man who resembled a tub of jelly.
"I got this beauty," he grunted, straining to push the helmet past his ears and thick neck. "And this lemon," he added, waving a blue lemon in Ronan's face. "It gives me an extra point of resistance. It's damn sour though."
"Well, since you've got the armour and the stats, you can go in front this time," Ronan chuckled, slapping Keith on the back and making him stumble forwards.
"Wha-"
0…
Good luck, challenger!