Fantasy Realm [One Piece] [Harry Potter] [Naruto] - [Progression] [LitRPG]

Chapter 179: Concerning Stats

"You had some free stat points left? I thought you were stuck at 22 or 23?" Alex asks, surprised.

"These are my current stats! Always keep a few points in reserve—you never know when they'll come in handy," Rishi replies with a small shrug. "Also, didn't you wonder why my SPR stat is so low after getting all those S ranks? Anyway... the system is confirming what Roja said. I didn't want to experiment without proper information, but if it's just about choosing a primary stat, then I have no choice. I can only choose SPR."

"What are these bonuses? Tell me!" Tereza demands, leaning forward with eager curiosity.

"Looks like I can choose three different bonuses," Rishi explains. "I can pick one grand improvement, one major improvement, and one minor improvement for my SPR stat. This is quite interesting. It also confirms the rest of Roja's information. My secondary stat will probably let me pick one major and one minor improvement, while my third and fourth stats that reach 30 will only give me a single minor improvement each."

"What's the major trap Roja mentioned?" Alex asks, clearly intrigued. He continues, "As far as I know, it's best to focus on a single or two stats. Even the side stats, after your primary and secondary, cost two points to level, huh? Is it really useful to level them? Seriously, just level all your key stats to 30 and then focus on a primary stat—that's the way to go! It's friggin obvious, isn't it? You picked them because they're the most useful stats for your build. Why would you spend twice as many stat points to improve a stat you value less than your primary? Or, worse, another stat for three times the cost?

"Still, this seems a bit silly. This way, everyone will become either an all-rounder with one or two outliers, or a monster who only focuses on one or two stats and sucks at everything else," Alex concludes, sounding almost annoyed.

"Heh... the trap Roja mentioned is quite simple, Alex," Rishi says, smirking. "Your plan sounds logical, and that's probably how many people would approach it... too bad there's a small limitation that makes it impossible."

"What limitation is that, huh?" Tereza asks, her interest piqued.

"Basic skills," Rishi says with a sly grin. "You can't increase a stat above 20 without having a Basic skill at level 1. Each rank up, starting at level 1 of that Basic skill, allows you to increase that stat by 5 more.

"My system just informed me that it wasn't allowed to mention this limitation before unlocking your first primary stat. You know, suddenly those puny, 'pathetic' Basic skills we were forced to choose just to unlock stronger skills seem awfully important, don't they? For example, without Basic Eloquence, you'll never be able to raise your CHA above 20. Beginning at level 1, Basic skills increase your max stat limit by 5."

"This... that means your primary stat will be capped at 70 as well," Alex muses, his brow furrowed. "Also, we still don't know how to upgrade skills past level 4. It'll probably be more expensive... so in reality, the stat limit is effectively capped at... 40?"

"Alex, by now it's obvious there are always ways around it. For example, I can choose three improvements that increase the limit you just mentioned even further. Still, I would have to forego other useful boosts just to increase my stat cap. It's a hard decision, and I won't pick my three bonuses just yet.