“So this is my cheat ability…”
Zelier scratched his head.
Attributes were divided into basic, advanced, and ultimate, and there were even considerate notes appended afterward.
If measured by the standard of 60 points for a normal person, then his basic attributes were actually quite solid.
As a mage, the most important ones—Spirit and Intelligence—hadn’t dragged him down. They were even a little above average, which was good news.
As for the advanced attributes, each increase cost 2 points, so the average should be halved accordingly, becoming 30 points, right?
A Perception of 30 was perfectly ordinary, but a Charisma of 45 was something else.
Was it because the original owner’s character model was pretty good?
And then there was Luck.
That mystical thing called Luck was actually an ultimate attribute, and each increase cost 4 points.
Calculated by weight, the average Luck should be around 15, yet his panel had reached an astonishing 41 points, even surpassing Perception.
That was a little exaggerated… Could it be that he was the chosen one?
Then Zelier moved his gaze to the talent skill column at the very bottom of the panel.
The mage’s talent skill would unlock after leveling up.
Choose one of two.
First: Spell Surge.
Based on a percentage of the Spirit attribute, increase maximum mana storage, increase mana recovery speed, and increase mana intensity, making your mage foundation as solid as bedrock.
“Firepower! Is justice!”
Second: Heavenly Formula Derivation.
Able to analyze the structure of any magical formula you see, then reproduce it and turn it to your own use.
However, analysis speed is tied to Intelligence. The higher the Intelligence, the faster the analysis. The complexity of the formula structure will also affect progress.
“Your magic is quite good, but in the next second, it will be mine.”
Zelier rubbed his chin and thought for a moment.
Compared like this, one seemed like a stat monster, and the other like a mechanics monster…
If he chose Spell Surge, then his mana endurance and even spell power would be improved to a certain extent. Those were all core attributes for a mage.
But Heavenly Formula Derivation…
Just from the description, anyone could tell that Heavenly Formula Derivation was absolutely a precious skill.
In this other world, if one wanted to learn magic, they could only spend a fortune buying magic scrolls. Some rare types of magic were even priceless, impossible to find no matter how much one paid.
If he chose Heavenly Formula Derivation, then he would only need to witness someone else casting a spell to analyze its formula structure. It could be called a divine skill.
But the analysis speed was tied to Intelligence…
Then his stat allocation would have to lean toward Intelligence. According to the panel, Intelligence was also strongly bound to Charisma, with every four points of Intelligence raising Charisma by one point.
Was he supposed to take the route of a charming mage?
Zelier shook his head hard.
Forget it. It was still too early to think about that.
Talent skills required leveling up before they could be unlocked. He still had to find a way to get more experience points.
To be fair, although mage was a noble profession, it required a massive pile of resources to pave the way.
A self-taught, lowborn mage like Zelier was truly hard to put to any meaningful use before he developed properly.
He couldn’t beat swordsmen in a fight, couldn’t take hits as well as a vanguard, couldn’t flee as quickly as an assassin, and before learning high-damage spells, his ranged output couldn’t compare to a ranger’s either.
Over these five days, the squad had killed a total of twenty-two wild wolves. Marcus killed nine, while Gray and Wallace each killed six.
As for Zelier, he had killed one.
At this point, it had nothing to do with being an adventurer anymore. Zelier seemed more like a middle schooler who had come along on a field trip.
He felt his cloth pouch. Aside from dry rations, there was only a dagger inside.
If he’d brought so much as a hand crossbow, he wouldn’t have ended up with just one kill credit… How stupid. Zelier couldn’t help roasting the original owner inwardly.
The night wind brushed past, bringing with it a refreshing chill, as well as a strange smell.
The rank stench of wild wolves!
Zelier, who had been deep in thought, suddenly perked up. He immediately shouted at the top of his lungs on instinct.
“Alert!!!”
The snores and teeth-grinding inside the tents came to an abrupt stop. Along with a few muffled rustles, the flaps were violently lifted.
Gray was the first to rush out with his sword, followed by Marcus and Wallace.
In those few seconds, dots of dim green light slowly emerged within the dark bushes, flickering nonstop.
Zelier clenched his fists. He knew those weren’t ghost fires, but wolves’ eyes.
They had come.
Judging from the positions of their eyes, the wild wolves had already surrounded the squad’s rear flank in a semicircle.
Zelier couldn’t help growing nervous.
In his previous life, the most he had ever done was kill a chicken. Facing these ferocious wolves in the pitch-black night, he inevitably felt somewhat uncertain.
“Don’t panic, kid. They’re just beasts.”
Gray’s gaze locked tightly onto the bushes as he casually flourished his sword.
“It’s good that they came to us on their own. Saves us from searching all over the mountains.”
Marcus and Wallace were also ready. One stood at the very front with his shield raised, while the other had drawn his bowstring to the limit, ready to loose.
The battle erupted in an instant. The wolves’ howls and charge broke out at the same time!
Wallace’s eyes sharpened. His arrow aimed at the wolf charging at the very front, and with a whoosh, it struck true!
The feathered arrow pierced straight through the eye socket, sinking almost halfway in. Blood gushed out with a splatter. The wolf’s corpse rushed forward two more steps on inertia before crashing headfirst to the ground.
At the same time, Gray and Marcus also began to move.
“Ha!”
With a furious roar, Marcus took two steps forward, drawing the wolves’ attention first.
His tall build gave him an advantage. It wasn’t so easy for the wolves to bite his neck.
On top of that, Marcus swung his round shield in an airtight defense. Any wolf that tried to pounce would be met with a vicious smash.
Beast bones simply couldn’t withstand such powerful impact. They would often fracture with a crack, after which Marcus’s battle saber would follow up and finish them off in a single strike. His burly back looked almost like that of a war god amid the wolf pack.
Gray covered Marcus’s flank from the side. His swordsmanship was fierce, more than enough to deal with wild wolves. A swift slash could cleave a wolf clean in half at the waist.
Miserable wolf howls rang out without end, startling the forest birds into scattering in every direction. Thick, bloody fluid sprayed out, splattering across the grass, mixed with plenty of shattered organs.
Marcus and Gray blocked the wolves’ offensive at the very front, and with Wallace’s arrow support added in, the team’s formation had completely stabilized.
Their fighting style also began to change, from attacks centered on chopping and hacking to precise thrusts—after all, the most valuable thing on a wild wolf was its pelt. If they could earn a little more, then they would.
Marcus, Gray, and Wallace were killing to their hearts’ content. By comparison, Zelier looked especially out of place.
He gripped that dagger, several times eager to step forward, but in the end, he pessimistically discovered that there was simply no place for him to intervene.
“Sigh…”
Zelier let out a sigh, feeling rather melancholy inside.
There was no helping it. This was just how mages were in the early stages.