After running for a few minutes, Xavier suddenly dashed into an empty alley, his heart beating so loudly that he could hear it.
He moved towards the edge of the wall and peeped at the street.
Marching down the road was an army of goblins. Their green eyes were gleaming with blood lust and their crooked swords painted crimson.
Their bellies were filled as well, they had most likely feasted on any dead person they had come by and were hungry for more.
Xavier pressed his back to the wall, calming his breathing as he waited for them to pass by.
'I should check my stats.'
If he wanted to survive, he needed to at least know what he was capable of in this world. If he got an ability remotely close to what the mc of the novel got then he would be unstoppable.
But if he got a trash talent then he would have to rely on the quickness of his feet to survive this night.
"System stats."
A blue screen suddenly appeared in front of him.
====
[Name: Xavier Cambridge]
Level: 12
Title: Fraudster
Affinity: Life
Paradox: Life Steal (X-Rank)
Ascension Rank: Touched
Constellation: Nil
Talents: Potion Master (I) Increases the Efficiency of potions and Drugs by 40%
Contracted Monsters: Nil
Inventory: Basic MedKit, flask of water, half-eaten beef jerky, crumpled note, clean cloth, booze, dead god's necklace, %$¥{>~*#.
Total Med Points: 0
HP: 2500
(Squishy)
Strength: 25
(Pathetic)
Intelligence (Aether): 50
(Manageable)
Agility: 15
(Disgusting)
Dexterity: 75
(A Surgeon's precision)
Constitution: 12
(Broom Stick)
Luck: –10
(Don't cross the street)
Quests: Nil
====
Xavier's mouth hung open. There was a lot to talk about, a lot of nonsense he had seen, but first…
He summoned the beef jerky and sunk his teeth into it, tearing off a piece, then he summoned the flask of water and drank to his heart's content.
Maybe it was the ritual or the running but he was terribly famished. After his snack, he glanced back at the screen.
Now he was curious!
What had he been doing with his life to have the title Fraudster?!
And that was not all, his stats were pitiful. Complete garbage even. Even as a beginner in the game, his stats had been far better.
Even if he reset the system, you could not reset muscle mass or speed gained from training, that just showed how lazy he had been.
Letting out an annoyed sigh, Xavier turned his attention to other things. A paradox was basically your ability, the unique skill you get when you enter the world.
But Xavier had never seen [Life Steal] as one of the options, and X-Rank was even stranger.
The game followed the traditional ranking system; F, D, C, B, A and S. There was certainly no X.
'Is it a hidden rank? Maybe it will be great then.'
"System, can I get a breakdown of my affinity and paradox?"
[Yeah, yeah. Gimme a second]
Xavier stared blankly at the open air. The system in the game was sentient and terribly annoying but after playing for so long he knew how not to get on its bad side.
—Affinity: Life
You have a strong connection to the living and a weak connection with death. Healing and restoration are your field of expertise.
—Paradox: Life Steal
You can take the life force of living things and make it your own. Life force can be used for either of the following:
• Self Healing
• Transferred to heal another
• Temporarily boost stats
• Energy Attacks
[Effects of this paradox can be stacked]
[Note: Healing effects on others is subject to the world's healing debuff. Self healing is not subject to this debuff]
The smile that crept onto Xavier's face was one that would make even the joker proud.
"This is actually broken…"
Not only did it complement his job as a doctor, it was arguably good enough to contend with the paradoxes of higher class warriors.
Although it was not the most broken paradox in this world—it could be insanely strong if used right, and was more than enough to give him a place in the world.
Stealing people's life force and using it as a weapon meant he had infinite ammunition—as long as he was fighting anything that was alive, he would always be armed.
You are breathing? Then he could use your own life against you. Even plants were not an exception.
Next, he glanced at his talent. Talents were like minor skills that could complement the main skill. You could gain new talents but not a new paradox.
"System, does that talent also work for drugs?" Increasing the effectiveness of potions was great, but potions were largely insufficient.
[Drugs are considered as potions in this world so yes]
Xavier was about to celebrate when he heard a crunch from somewhere outside the alley.
He quickly jogged farther into the alley and hid behind a staircase before peeking from the side.
What was left of the goblins from earlier were racing across the street, screaming frantically and waving their hands in the air in terror.
The earth began to tremble seconds later as a beast so tall that it dwarfed the buildings came into view.
Xavier swallowed. His heart was beating so fast that it pounded in his ears like drums.
The creature was like an amalgamation of wolf and man. Its large black fur was rippling with muscles and its crimson eyes glowed menacingly as it crushed one of the goblins to a pulp.
The others increased their pace and the beast followed them, its eyes staring straight ahead—at the heart of the city.
"I need to get out of this place…" Xavier managed to murmur as the monster faded from view.
With more urgency than earlier, he looked back at his stats.
"M-med points, what are they? Also, contracted monsters? Does that mean I'm a summoner as well?"
There was no such thing as med points when he played the game.
Xavier could already imagine the system rolling its non-existent eyes.
[Med points are obtained from monumental achievements or completing quests. They can be used for two purposes]
[1: They can be used to activate the beast gacha to summon beasts to your aid.
2: They can be used to purchase new talents at the talent store.]
"What the hell? This is actually great!"
Instead of working like others to learn new skills, all he had to do was purchase them with points he would get from quests!
But his mood suddenly dimmed when he stared at the bottom of the screen.
Luck: –10
(Don't cross the street)
And just as he read it, as though the world wanted to mock him, he heard a low growl from beside him.
When Xavier turned, he was face to face with a goblin, the stench of rot and sweat making his eyes water.
The monster raised its crooked staff and with a vicious snarl brought it down, right at his head.