## Chapter 219 – Stat Monster
‘Why!’
Bang! Bang!
A deafening roar echoed, and dirt scattered.
A whirlwind raged. Every time she swung her fist, the world shook.
‘Why isn’t it working! Why!’
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The man was taking all of Nora’s attacks head-on. But he wasn’t getting a single scratch.
-Nora, your ability is truly special. I’ve never seen anything like it.
‘I definitely trained so hard!’
-If you keep at it, no one will be able to stand against you. So keep training hard. Protect your big sis when you make it big, okay?
-Okay, Scarlet!
‘This power is what I got from training to death! This is the path I walked for you!’
But why isn’t it working?
But why is he the one you’re choosing, not me!
-Are you really giving all this to me? Why me, and not someone else?
-Because you’re my precious little sister?
Kwa kwa kwa kwang!
Even with an all-out strike, the man was unscathed.
He brushed the dirt off his shoulder and faced her with a calm expression.
***
‘Well, is that all?’
I cracked my neck from side to side.
Honestly, I was curious. Just how powerful was the Numbering ability [Brute Strength]?
+
[Brute Strength]
Rank: Transcendental
Description: Strength stat increases by 30%. With each physical training session, there is an extremely low chance that Strength increases by 0.1 or Stamina increases by 0.05 permanently.
Increased Strength: 1,033
Increased Stamina: 471
-〉 (Special Option) Ignore Defense: 1% of damage ignores physical resistance.
+
A growth-type ability that permanently increased Strength and Stamina.
Nora’s stats had already gone beyond human limits.
〈Status Window〉
Name: Nora
Strength: 1,366.3
Agility: 15
Stamina: 488
Physical Resistance: 166%
A Strength stat about 195 times that of an adult woman was awe-inspiring.
Moreover, the eerie phrase that damage would ignore physical resistance, a special effect gained by completing all enhancements, sent a chill down my spine, no matter who I was.
Especially when the following notification popped up.
[You are currently immune to other players’ abilities.]
[Failed to resist the opponent’s 〈Brute Strength〉.]
Immunity to other player abilities obtained through objects. The message said that it had failed.
[Transcendental abilities with Numbering have a certain chance to ignore the effects of ‘Mystic Grapevine’.]
In short, it meant that it lived up to its name of ‘Transcendental.’
It meant that it could unleash power that transcended a world.
‘But that’s it.’
The conclusion I reached after taking a hit through my clone was that it was surprisingly bearable.
Maybe not for ordinary Awakened, but my stats had already far surpassed the human category.
〈Status Window〉
Name: Jung Woojin
Strength: 46.2
Agility: 23.8
Stamina: 7,768.1
Physical Resistance: 2,593%
A Stamina stat that had exceeded 7,700.
Physical resistance that had exceeded 2,500%.
That staggering figure offset Nora’s fearsome destructive power.
‘Maybe even the person who created this system never imagined that a stat monster like me would be born.’
Of course, even with high physical resistance, Nora’s [Brute Strength] ignored resistance and forcibly crammed damage into the body of the person being hit.
That was why Nora was so confident in battle.
‘But even that doesn’t work on me.’
As soon as that destructive power penetrated my body and tore it to shreds, my Stamina stat of over 7,700 immediately kicked in to recover.
I felt a stinging sensation from being punched, but not a single drop of blood flowed from my body.
[Your recovery power far exceeds the opponent’s destructive power. The probability of the opponent inflicting meaningful damage on you is 0.00000000….]
So no matter how much Nora punched me, it didn’t work.
‘Well, there’s no need to take any more hits.’
I stared straight at Nora. Nora was faltering, stepping back in embarrassment.
“Wh-what the hell are you! What are you!”
Perhaps because she had never experienced anything like this in hundreds of years, she was visibly flustered.
“I’m the master who will tame you.”
“!!”
“So, are you done? Have you shown all your tricks? Can I move now?”
At my confident attitude, Nora rolled her eyes and turned sharply to one side.
The muscles in her legs bulged.
‘Ha, cheap trick.’
I immediately used a [Space Movement Scroll].
Then I moved next to Scarlet, snatched her up, and leaped to the side.
Bang!
At that moment, Nora passed us like a cannonball.
“Trying to run away with just the merchandise?”
“Tch. For a guy, you’re a little perceptive? But how long can you keep dodging! With that slow-ass movement!”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Nora flew fiercely, trying to snatch Scarlet away several times.
It was a fierce movement, with almost only afterimages visible.
‘This won’t do.’
I avoided Nora, who was flying around, creating gusts of wind, and quickly took out five potions from the shop window and swallowed them.
The elixirs I had been receiving every day as a [Sales Achievement Bonus] went down my throat.
[All stats increase by 100%.]
[All stats increase by 100%.]
[All stats increase by 100%.]
…….
〈Status Window〉
Name: Jung Woojin
Strength: 277.2 (+231)
Agility: 142.8 (+119)
Stamina: 46,608.6 (+38,840.5)
Physical Resistance: 15,540% (+12,947%)
Bang!
Nora rushed in again to snatch Scarlet away.
Her strength was still overwhelmingly higher than mine.
‘But movement doesn’t get faster just because strength is high.’
Players had a bizarre stat called Agility, which allowed them to move faster, defying the laws of physics as we knew them.
Nora’s Agility was 15.
My Agility was 142.
‘Slow.’
Her movements, which I could barely see if I concentrated a moment ago, began to be seen in detail.
I could see where her eyes were looking, how her muscles were twisting, and where her strength was being focused.
As I gained余裕, the [Encyclopedia] joined in.
It showed me the patterns of action she could take ahead of Nora as light blue afterimages.
As Nora got closer, those various possibilities disappeared one by one and converged into one, and I could predict her actions before she even moved.
Tsupat!
I was able to pull Scarlet out and counterattack.
Puck!
My fist slammed into Nora’s abdomen.
“!!”
An unbelievable look.
While she was flustered, I forcefully uppercutted her face.
Puck.
Nora’s chin was jerked back, and she flew dozens of meters into the air before crashing to the ground.
“H-how? How did you suddenly get faster?”
“…….”
“Is it the effect of that potion-like thing you ate earlier?!”
“That’s right.”
I dusted off my hands and nodded in affirmation.
Nora shook her head and raised her upper body.
“Tch, relying on drugs. How long do you think you can last with that?”
“Don’t worry. I’m confident I can last longer than you.”
“You’re wasting your time. You can’t beat me. Your punches don’t hurt me at all.”
She was right.
I definitely hit her square on, and the damage would have been multiplied because it was a surprise counter.
But Nora, who had taken my two hits, didn’t even wince, let alone get a scratch.
My Strength stat was definitely comparable to a superhuman, and I had clearly swung my fist with all my might, but that was all.
‘Nora’s physical resistance has already exceeded 100%.’
I had no way to inflict effective damage on Nora without the ability to penetrate physical resistance.
‘Normal attacks don’t work. It’s not easy to subdue her with ordinary methods. And even after subduing her, there’s a problem….’
There was nowhere to keep that monster.
It would be difficult to even manage her unless she admitted defeat, sincerely bowed her head, and came in willingly.
‘Hmm?’
Then, after confirming that her gaze kept going to Scarlet, I released my battle stance and said.
“Then, how about we make a bet?”
“What? A bet?”
[Nora’s curiosity has increased.]
She had been alone for a long time. She had lived in a tunnel for 400 years. That’s why she was likely to be very interested in doing something with someone else.
After confirming that a positive reaction had returned, I continued.
“The rules are simple. You stand still, and if I subdue you within an hour in that state, you become my slave.”
“Ha, I’d never accept such a proposal….”
“But if you win, I’ll give you Scarlet.”
“!!”
Scarlet and Nora’s eyes flashed.
“M-Master!”
Scarlet shook my shoulder wildly as if asking what that meant, and Nora looked back and forth between me and Scarlet with an expression that asked if what she had heard was true.
“…You’ll hand over Scarlet if I win?”
“Yes. If I can’t subdue you within an hour, you can have Scarlet. But if I subdue you, you become my slave.”
Then Nora crossed her arms and snorted.
“Hmph. Why should I accept such a proposal? I can just wait for a chance and run away with Scarlet.”
“That’s right, Master. Why are you making such a proposal? My heart isn’t good. Please refrain from joking.”
I ignored Scarlet and focused on Nora, who was reflexively rejecting me once.
“Can you protect Scarlet from me 24 hours a day, 365 days a year without sleeping? If you’re not confident, say ‘Thank you’ and accept it when I propose it. If you reject me one more time, the bet is off.”
Then Nora narrowed her brows and made a sulky expression.
She didn’t say she wouldn’t do it. Instead, she asked something else.
“How can I believe that you’ll keep your promise?”
“Of course, I know you’re full of distrust for people. But there’s nothing for you to lose, right? Since you’ve already confirmed that my attacks don’t work, weren’t you just going to take the hits from now on?”
From the moment she was knocked down by my counterattack until now, Nora, who had been sitting there leisurely without even thinking of getting up, lowered her eyes.
“Well, that’s true… but it feels uneasy.”
An expression that she didn’t really like.
But I didn’t get impatient and quietly waited for an answer.
There was no need to rush. Even at this moment, Nora’s eyes were still fixed on Scarlet.
For some reason, Nora had strong feelings for Scarlet.
As far as I could tell, that was….
[Ambivalence.]
Yes. An emotion that held both love and hate at the same time.
I didn’t know why she had such feelings for Scarlet, but Nora didn’t want to let go of the Scarlet bait.
Sure enough, Nora got up from her seat.
“Okay, I accept your proposal. One hour.”
“Yes, one hour.”
I bought a huge clock from the shop window and handed it to Scarlet.
Scarlet, who had inadvertently received a clock bigger than her body, soon passed between us like a round girl.
“3, 2, 1…! Then I’ll start! Master, do your best! You absolutely can’t lose!”
“Sis, aren’t you going to cheer me on?”
“Wh-why would I?”
“…….”
Nora clenched her fist tightly.
Her eyes were full of fire.
Those eyes stared at me, and then Nora spread her arms wide. As if to say, come on in and try your best.
‘Normal attacks don’t work. With that much Stamina, even bombs probably won’t be very effective.’
But based on my experience with 7,700 Stamina, there was definitely one thing that would work.
