Once again, it looked like the system had given Gary ample incentive to concentrate on levelling up. Seeing how much he had benefited from becoming a Warrior Class Werewolf, a Class Promotion, which should allow him to choose a higher-tier version of that Class, would surely make him even more powerful.
‘I wonder how strong I can get?’ Gary thought. ‘So far, each of the Grades have corresponded with chess pieces, so the Queen or King should probably be the highest I can reach. If each new Grade allows me to go up a Class, just how many Class Promotions will I need to reach or even surpass someone like Jayden?’
Thinking about this, the teenager’s excitement quickly faded. From what he had seen from the White Tiger Altered, Gary had a hard time imagining himself beating Xin’s brother, even if he became twice as strong as he currently was. The Werewolf had already had a hard time against Kirk, and he was sure that Jayden had yet to show everything he was capable of.
‘The real question is how do I even Level Up to that point? The 50 Exp per day from the Bond Marks are nice and all, but it would simply take a lifetime, especially since the Exp requirement increases with each level. The only other way I have gained Exp so far is from starting fights, or running into tough situations.’
Thinking about this, Gary didn't think he would be doing any of those things soon. After the Underdogs and Grey Elephants were dealt with, Slough would be a pretty safe place for his family. He had already solved the money issue, and this would solve it even more after successfully taking over both of the big gangs. Of course, there was still the issue of how exactly he would explain the whole thing to sister, as well as his mother once she woke up.
‘Wait, there is still the matter of whom this Werewolf System actually belongs to. If we take over the Underdogs, then whoever the owner should have been, might come to us. … I’ll just have to be strong enough to protect everyone when the time comes, and there might be these smaller gangs that chose to move in and make their move. Like those that were at the meeting with Ben Clove.’
With this said, Gary decided that it was best to use his extra Pawn Points. At the moment, he only had two more left. This wasn’t enough to allow Olivia to reach the Bishop Grade, much less for himself to reach his next Grade. Since it was so far away, and he believed that more fighting would be coming his way soon, he decided to use them on himself.
[Would you like to convert 1 Pawn Point into Stat Point(s)?]
[Yes]
[3 Stat Points have been obtained]
Gary was happy to see that the conversion granted him more than one Stat Point. However, now that he seemed to have figured out the importance of his Grade, he understood how precious those Pawn Points were, making him question why he got relatively few of them. What’s more, the last time he had converted a Pawn Point, he had received three Skill Points, which he would have assumed to be more than Stat Points.
Alas, as the saying went, beggars can’t be choosers, so he proceeded to convert his last remaining Pawn Point as well.
[Would you like to convert 1 Pawn Point into Stat Point(s)?]
[Yes]
[2 Stat Points have been obtained]
The teenager was slightly surprised that he ended up receiving less of them this time. Either each Pawn Point wasn’t worth the same amount, or more likely, the conversion might not be fixed but have a random element to it. He would have to further test it to find out, yet Pawn Points weren’t exactly a resource he could freely acquire.
Nevertheless, he had a plan, what he wished to do with his five Stat Points.
[5 stat points have been allocated to Health]
[Your base Health has increased to 160]
Just like the one Stat Point he had received for reaching Level 18, he had put all the others into Health. So far he had yet to find a reliable way to increase his Energy or Health, whereas the other stats could be obtained organically or through eating Beasts and apparently Altered as well.
Now with everything done with his system, apart from selecting a new skill which he postponed to another time, the high schooler was at the strongest he had ever been. Standing up, he headed to the kitchen, which had the most open space.
He jumped up and down on his toes, just like a certain someone used to do before they started their Altered matches. Once Gary had warmed up enough for his body to feel loose, he threw a couple of punches as fast as possible.
He continued this in succession one after another, and eventually stopped with his fist out. The sound of the air could be heard cutting through cleanly, and he hadn’t even used Controlled Transformation on himself.
‘This body is amazing… If I were to use my full strength at school, everyone would definitely assume me to be an Altered. I better start holding back during rugby practice and PE lessons.’
Continuing his little exercise, Gary started to do more, swinging his legs and doing a routine drill that he would often do when training with Innu. Once again he was surprised at what his body could do now.
His speed had drastically improved, but with speed it also gave more power to his punches and hits. The fight against Kirk had opened his eyes to the importance of speed, and how frustrating it could be to be unable to touch your opponent.
However, thinking about it, he realised why he was able to do such things in the first place. His Dexterity had improved leaps and bounds, and it was all because he had eaten his idol, the reality hit him once again.
‘That's right, the bones!’ Gary remembered.