"Phew."
After taking in the data before him, Morgan let out a long breath.
"That was no easy feat."
He had been in this world for two months.
He had also had this so-called Time Traveler System for two months.
He had gotten his first point of Soul Power by sheer chance.
He had strengthened the Archery this body possessed to LV2, which was how he had beaten the Dwarf Kili and successfully joined the expedition to the Lonely Mountain.
It was this LV2 Archery that had not only greatly increased Morgan's strength, but also helped him fit in seamlessly with the Company.
By contrast, Muay Thai, which he had brought with him from Earth and practiced for more than a decade, had hardly gotten a chance to shine.
Without that one point of Soul Power, which had allowed him to strengthen his Archery,
Gandalf might still have helped Morgan join the Company, but Morgan would never have performed as well as he did now, nor would he have earned his current standing among them.
Because if he didn't bring Muay Thai into the equation, then in swordsmanship alone, Morgan might not even measure up to Fili, the youngest Dwarf in the Company.
Ever since he had obtained his first point of Soul Power,
Morgan had known that this thing was the core of the system within him, and the only way he could survive and grow stronger in this world.
Ever since they had left Hobbiton in the Shire a month ago,
Morgan had been thinking about how to get more Soul Power. He had taken charge of the hunting every day, mainly for that reason.
Otherwise, after a full day on the road,
why would he spend an hour or two of his rest time hunting every day, when everyone else was relaxing at camp?
He wasn't an idiot.
Though hunting hadn't directly earned him all this Soul Power,
without the practical training he got from hunting every day,
Morgan would have had nothing but the Archery at LV2 that the system had bestowed upon him—and he certainly wouldn't have improved so quickly or become as formidable as he was now.
Naturally, he wouldn't have been able to claim so many kills when the Orcs attacked, either.
It had all worked together.
Now, at last, his hard work was paying off.
"Phew."
A flurry of thoughts flashed through his mind.
Morgan shook his head.
He roused himself and focused on the data panel representing his attributes.
Next, he was going to strengthen himself.
"Archery at LV2 is already this strong. What would LV3 be like?"
"I'm a little weak in close combat. My Muay Thai is decent, but the enemies I face now all wield various kinds of melee weapons. That puts me at a serious disadvantage."
"Archery is great, but my arrows are limited. If I run out, I'll have to charge in with my greatsword. I need to give White Crow Swordsmanship a proper boost this time, too."
"And the four main attributes. 'Strength' is easy enough to understand: it should correspond to my own physical strength."
"Stamina is probably like the health bar in a game. The more stamina you have, the more punishment you can take."
"Agility is just as easy to understand. It corresponds to your speed, attack speed, reflexes, and movement."
"As for Spirit, it might sound a little mysterious, but in this world it's anything but. In a world with supernatural powers, Spirit is an aspect that's often overlooked, yet also vulnerable to attack."
"Spirit probably corresponds to attributes like 'willpower.'"
"If your willpower is strong enough, you can resist mental spells like 'charm' and 'bewitchment.' You can fight back—or even be completely immune."
"Every one of the four attributes is useful to strengthen."
Morgan's gaze kept shifting between the virtual attribute and ability lists, as his thoughts raced.
Soon, his eyes settled on Archery in the ability list.
As he had just said, nine-tenths of Morgan's current strength came from Archery.
That was also why he had managed to earn a respectable standing in the Company, among the Dwarves led by the incredibly proud and stubborn Dwarf King Thorin Oakenshield.
He hadn't ended up like Bilbo, whom the Dwarves had looked down on from the moment he joined and still looked down on now.
When it came to close combat and swordsmanship, many people in the Company were stronger than Morgan.
That was because he had sparred with the Dwarves during their month-long journey.
The Dwarves might not have seemed like much in the story he remembered,
but in reality, they were a fearsome bunch.
Morgan's body had once belonged to a member of the Town Guard in Fero Town, and he had possessed LV1 White Crow Swordsmanship as well as Archery.
But if Morgan had given up his bow and relied on White Crow Swordsmanship alone, he would have nearly lost his spar with Fili if he hadn't used Muay Thai in the end.
Even then, he had only barely beaten Fili.
As for older Dwarves in the Company, like Gloin and Oin, Morgan reckoned he probably couldn't beat them in close combat.
And that was without even mentioning Dwalin and white-bearded Balin, who had taken part in the dragon Smaug's attack on the Lonely Mountain sixty years ago.
Thorin Oakenshield, the Dwarf King, went without saying.
Of course, if he could use his bow,
then aside from Gandalf, Morgan feared no one in the entire Company.
If he was at a disadvantage in close combat for the moment, he could simply play to his strengths.
With that thought, Morgan focused his mind and tapped the plus sign next to Archery.
A virtual prompt immediately appeared:
[Strengthening this time will consume 1 Soul Power. Strengthen?]
"Strengthen!"
A pale white glow flickered.
"Archery LV3."
Morgan immediately felt a warm current, just like the one from a month ago, flow into his body.
At the same time, a strange fragment of memory appeared out of nowhere in his mind.
After sensing it for a moment, the doubts he'd had about Archery immediately melted away.
"So that's how it works."
With only a brief moment of insight, Morgan could feel his Archery improving, and he couldn't help praising it inwardly.
But this wasn't the time to dwell on his newfound understanding.
Morgan's gaze returned to the data panel before him.
He continued strengthening. This time, without hesitation, he tapped Archery again.
[Strengthening this time will consume 3 Soul Power. Strengthen?]
"Wait."
Another virtual prompt appeared. Morgan froze, then his eyes widened.
"It takes 3 Soul Power for one upgrade?"
"What the hell, why don't you just rob me!"
Though he knew that strengthening Archery further might bring about even greater changes,
when he saw that he had only five points of Soul Power left,
Morgan decisively gave up on strengthening Archery again and shifted his attention to White Crow Swordsmanship.
"Archery at LV3 is enough for now."
"I need to improve in other areas too if I want to become stronger."
After only a moment's thought, Morgan tapped the plus sign next to White Crow Swordsmanship.
[Strengthening this time will consume 1 Soul Power. Strengthen?]
"Strengthen!"
"White Crow Swordsmanship LV2."
Feeling the unfamiliar fragment of memory that had appeared in his mind,
Morgan gave it a brief look, then stopped.
He would need to train for quite some time before he could fully master White Crow Swordsmanship at LV2.
Until then, further strengthening it wouldn't do much for him.
With that thought, Morgan shifted his gaze to the four main attributes.
"I have 4 Soul Power left."
"What should I strengthen first?"
Before you continue