Attributes and Magic Power Soaring Again

Watching Abigail leave, Xiahou sat on the bed and slowly let out a sigh.

Then he checked his attribute panel:

Strength: 48

Agility: 42

Intelligence: 35

Magic power: 1250 (10 times the combined value)

Assets: 350 energy points

Existing bloodlines: Basic Enhancement Serum (Note: can only be used once per level), Heart of the Dragon Slayer (special-type bloodline)

Looking at his attributes, which had soared again, Xiahou recalled that the description said it would gradually strengthen his physical attributes. They had already increased this much right away! And it was still taking effect gradually. He had no idea how much more he would improve in the end. He had also gained a magic power attribute, and Xiahou remembered who Siegfried was.

He was a character from "Fate/Grand Order" (titled "Fate: Grand Order" on the Chinese server) and had also appeared in the anime "Fate/Apocrypha." He was an absolute saint, and could also be called a human-shaped wish-granting machine. (If you haven't seen it and are interested, go take a look. Though it's all tragedy there too, and there's someone who keeps making biased calls.)

Now that he had magic power, could he use Blue Rose's charging ability? He could try it later. And since his strength had increased so much, he should be able to use Red Queen freely too, right?

At the thought, Xiahou took Red Queen out. He gripped it in one hand and swung it a few times without feeling the least bit strained.

"Looks like I really have gotten stronger! Rest assured, Siegfried, I'll live a good life in your place, in this game world! I won't let other people hold me hostage under all sorts of pretexts again, either! I'll only do what I want, even if they issue me a quest! Unless they pay extra!"

Looking at the 350 energy points he had left, Xiahou hesitated over whether to try another draw. After all, he felt like his luck had returned. (Salted Fish: You're overthinking it. I just thought you were too weak, so I forcibly gave you a cheat, that's all. (╬▔皿▔)凸)

But then he remembered what had happened after he drew Red Queen and Blue Rose. No! I can't think about it! I was cursed!

Xiahou chose to follow his heart. He definitely wasn't scared! But leaving money sitting there unused always bothered him!

"No! I've got to buy something, even if it's useless!" As he spoke, he noticed the starter outfit he was still wearing.

Then he thought of the others. They all wore either professional combat gear or some kind of uniform. He didn't want to wear a skintight suit, but he had to get himself a trench coat at least! Whether it was useful didn't matter, as long as it looked cool.

He acted on the thought and immediately began searching the shop. But anything with special effects cost at least several thousand energy points, so he could only afford something without any special functions.

Considering he already had two of Nero's exclusive items, he naturally had to complete the set. So Xiahou went ahead and bought Dante's Son of Sparda outfit. Don't ask why-the reason was that Dante's looked cooler!

After changing into all his new clothes, he looked like a completely different person. He was overwhelmingly handsome!

The coat also came with a sword sheath on the back, so he could slip his weapon straight into it, and there was a holster at his waist for his gun. After putting on both Red Queen and Blue Rose, Xiahou ran straight to the bathroom mirror and began admiring his new look.

In the mirror, he had black hair and black eyes. Though his features weren't particularly striking, his eyes were bright and spirited, radiating confidence and vitality. The hilt of a massive sword rose behind his red leather trench coat. Underneath was a black shirt that highlighted muscles that weren't particularly bulky but were well defined. He wore black leather pants, with a massive revolver tucked into the holster at his waist, along with a pair of leather combat boots. Altogether, he gave off a rebellious, unruly air!

But when he saw that his balance had instantly dropped to 30, he clicked his tongue inwardly. These clothes were really expensive. The full outfit had cost him 320 energy points, but he could just earn more later.

After admiring himself for a while longer, Xiahou prepared to go out and show off. He would also test just how strong he had become. After all, in Marvel, super strength was everywhere, and people could exert forces ranging from several tons to hundreds of tons.

Without a proper test, he had no concrete benchmark.

When he returned to the hall, only Hannibal and Blade, who had just returned, were sitting there. The two were discussing what had happened when Blade went after Drake.

When Hannibal saw Xiahou's new look, he let out an exclamation of surprise. He wondered whether Xiahou had been replaced. How had changing clothes transformed his whole bearing? He seemed much more attractive, and there was even a hint of a different kind of presence about him.

Blade, a master at acting cool and striking poses, quietly considered changing into a red outfit himself next time.

"Whoa! Xiahou, where did you get those clothes? How do they look so cool? Weren't you struggling just to hold Red Queen before? How come you're carrying it on your back now? But that's way too cool! No! I've got to get an outfit like that for myself! It'll definitely attract girls!" As Hannibal spoke, he circled Xiahou and scrutinized him, planning to have a similar outfit custom-made for himself.

Hearing the praise and seeing the envy in both men's eyes, Xiahou instantly felt that the three hundred-plus energy points had been worth every bit!

Sure enough, acting cool felt great for a moment! Acting cool all the time felt great all the time!

At the same time, he showed off. "Right? Cool, isn't it? I think so too. And I got another enhancement earlier! I was just going to ask, do you have a device here for testing strength? I want to test how strong I am now."

Hearing Xiahou say he had grown stronger again, Hannibal said in surprise and envy, "What? You've gotten stronger again? We've only known each other for a little over two days, right? And you've already gotten stronger twice! You really are a monster! Or are all players this ridiculous?"

Blade looked at Xiahou with amazement too, but said nothing.

"After I came back, I entered another draw and got the heart of a dragon-slaying hero. After I used it, I got stronger! But I still don't know exactly how much stronger I've gotten! So I want to test it. Do you have somewhere I can do that?" Xiahou explained, then asked again.

"Yes, yes, I'll take you there. But the heart of a dragon-slaying hero? Is that why you had two heartbeats when we examined you earlier? So you have two hearts now? That's so cool!" As Hannibal led Xiahou to the testing area, he didn't forget to ask for more details.

Hearing they were going to run a test, Blade silently chose to follow them, ready to keep watching the show.