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With a groan, he pushed himself to sit upright on the bed. He still had a bruise on his chest where he had been punched, and he still felt sore all over, but otherwise, he did seem to be in a pretty good condition compared to the day before. It was a good idea he had gone straight home with the help of Owen after leaving the Colosseum and, after getting inside, flopped down on the bed.

Gotta change the bedsheets tonight, Jake sighed as he looked at the messy linen. He hadn’t felt like cleaning himself the day before, which could definitely be seen on the bedsheets that had been white once upon a time.

Forcing himself to stand, Jake knew lying in bed wouldn’t help much anymore. The soreness would go away with time, and actually moving about should help get some of the stiffness out. Still feeling pretty dirty from the day before, he headed straight into the bathroom with a big basin of water to clean himself. Jake would have preferred a proper shower, but sometimes you just had to take what you could get.

Before putting on some of the new clothes that Polly had helped get him, he began doing some stretches in the living room to get some of his mobility back. After that, he sat down and meditated, focusing on healing but also trying to grasp the opportunity to feel the effects of the odd recovery potion he had consumed. This was his first time drinking one of those, and not taking every opportunity would be a waste of time.

Besides, what better things could he do? It was the middle of the night, and the Colosseum had yet to open. Plus, he had agreed that Owen would stop by the next morning before he headed to the Colosseum to check if Jake had died in his sleep. At least that was how the spearman-that-totally-wasn’t-some-lightning mage-prodigy phrased it.

Hours passed, and soon enough, there was a knock at his door. After putting on some pants, Jake opened the door to see both Owen and Polly standing there. Polly stared for a moment before turning her head away while Owen sighed.

”Could you put on a shirt?”

”You guys watched me fight shirtless yesterday and even carried my shirtless ass back here afterward,” Jake very accurately pointed out.

”Yeah, but this is different, so put one on,” Owen shook his head.

Jake didn’t get it but went and put on a shirt. Pulling it over his head did kind of hurt, but it wasn’t as bad as it was even when he woke up. He still hoped to do a match that day, as he could do his very first Veteran Gladiator match right off the bat. Chances are that would be fine, though he would have to wait until later in the day before signing up.

Which was fine as his first plans of the day weren’t to get into any fights.

Because it was shopping time.

After breakfast, of course. A healthy meal was a vital part of the healing process, after all.

Walking to the Colosseum after eating, Owen really couldn’t hold himself back as he teased Jake.

”So, you’re actually determined to get some proper equipment this time around?” Owen asked with a bit of a cheeky smile. ”I guess it just took some old monk giving you a few good punches to knock some sense into you. And before you say anything, Polly, I can make fun of Jake now because he can at least walk straight now, while I would have felt bad if I did it yesterday.”

”Still a bit mean…” Polly muttered.

”Yeah, Owen. Stop being such a bully,” Jake agreed wholeheartedly.

”Apologies, I didn’t realize I hurt your fragile feelings,” Owen kept teasing.

”It’s fine. I guess I was just a little shocked that you, of all people, would do that. It came like a lightning bolt from a clear sky, but I guess the experience was just too electrifying to pass for you,” Jake said in a tone that may or may not be interpreted as threatening based on who heard it.

Owen threw him a glance as he slowed down walking, Jake feeling pretty pleased with himself. He still didn’t know why the guy was being so secretive about it all. Polly was also confused, as she didn’t seem to get it… until it looked like she did.

”Why did you say it like that?” Polly questioned. ”Does Owen or someone he knows have the lightning affinity or something?”

Jake froze momentarily, Owen now glaring daggers.

”Eh, it’s just a very common saying where I come from; it has nothing to do with Owen,” Jake tried to explain it away.

It clearly didn’t work… but Polly seemed to understand it was a touchy subject and didn’t ask more. Luckily, things didn’t have more time to get awkward, as they soon reached the Colosseum that had just opened for the day. As always, it was buzzing with activity, though the number of people that came and went seriously didn’t correspond to the number of people in the audience. Not even close.

Making it to the shopping district, Jake didn’t hesitate as he went straight to where one could spend their points.

During the morning, Jake had considered a lot about what he wanted to buy, and in the end, he had settled on… everything.

It was time to stop fucking around and to get some proper equipment. Even if that meant Jake would end every fight within a minute, all that would mean was that he had more time to practice, and if he did happen to meet another outlier, he would at least be ready.

Jake ended up spending more than an hour putting together a list of purchases while sticking to his budget, all with the help of Polly. When they were done, Jake nodded with satisfaction as he began the shopping spree. First on the list were his melee weapons.

[Aersteel Katar (Epic)] – This katar is made of a metal called Aersteel, making it incredibly light yet equally durable. The design of the weapon is simple and, due to the material used, has exemplary mana conductivity. Potent wind affinity energy is infused into the steel, making the weapon not suffer any wind resistance while increasing penetrative power. Enchantments: Insured.

Requirements: Soulbound. Veteran Gladiator Colosseum Rank.

Cost: 5000 Colosseum Points.

Two weapons, 10000 Colosseum Points spent. Jake had thought about just getting some rare katars for a third of the price but had ultimately gone with the expensive solution. He wanted to use these weapons for a long time, and they truly fit what he wanted. Plus, he had more ideas for them later on… and if those ideas didn’t pan out, he could always return them and get half back.

Next up was a pair of gloves.

[Gloves of Hardening (Rare)] – Durable leather gloves created to allow the user to block some blows directly with their hands. If one infuses mana into these gloves, they harden and become far more durable, but does so the user cannot move their fingers. Enchantments: Insured. Hardening. Requirements: Soulbound. Gladiator Colosseum Rank.

Cost: 1000 Colosseum Points.

Nothing really exciting here; they just reminded him a bit of the gloves he used in C-grade. Jake liked the ability to make his gloves far more durable when blocking blows, even if this effect was a bit subpar, especially if one compared it to his old legendary gloves.

Now it was on to items that gave stats. Potentially the most important part of this whole gear acquisition trip.

Jake had a total of 152 stats combined after he had been reduced to level 0. The rule for stats from equipment was that you could only get a 20% increase in any individual stat, with the total combined bonus from all items not surpassing more than 15% of your total stats.

This meant Jake could only get 22 extra stats from more equipment. However… things weren’t all that simple. Because with the rule that one could only gain 20% to each individual stat and the fact that the system didn’t do fractions while always rounding down, there was a bit of math to be done. Looking at his stats – without counting in the +1 Agility from his boots - this became pretty clear.

Stats

Strength: 16

Agility: 18

Endurance: 16

Vitality: 17

Toughness: 16

Wisdom: 17

Intelligence: 16

Perception: 20

Willpower: 16

With at least 15 in every stat, Jake could get a total of 3 extra in each, with the one outlier being his Perception, where he could get 4. That added up to a total of 28 potential stats Jake could get from equipment. With only 22 to actually get, there was thus 6 stats to filter out.

Jake quickly decided where he wanted to cut and where he wanted the stats. Getting +3 to Agility and Strength was a given. Next on his list of priorities were Intelligence, Wisdom, and Endurance. All of those were essential, too, especially when he was at such a low level. Longevity in fights was usually very limited, especially for someone like Jake, who could drag out far more energy than a normal G or F-grade.

No, the places chose to cut the 6 stats were somewhere unexpected. Jake had made the very controversial decision he would only get +2 to Perception and only +1 for Toughness and Vitality. He had considered just not getting anything in Toughness and Vitality but still decided on +1 for each.

Perception was still the best stat, and it would still be his highest even if he didn’t get equipment for it… but he also recognized that he didn’t have most of the things that made the stat so good. He didn’t get the scaling from his skills, and the concepts behind said scaling was at a level far above what Jake could replicate himself.

Moreover, most of the regular effects of Perception were lost on Jake. Perception allowed one to better sense energy and such, and the better you could sense anything, the better you could control it. Jake was not bottlenecked by his senses but by his stats and limited resources.

When it came to combat, Perception was what allowed you to see attacks coming and react in time. And, well, Jake still had his Bloodline that was working as if he had more than 40,000 Perception despite being nerfed to only 20. This was probably the system’s way of not instantly killing people with Bloodlines like him, as if the system hadn’t done this, Jake could have potentially appeared in the Challenge Dungeon with his sphere several hundred meters in diameter, resulting in a swift death from a not-so-pleasant brain aneurysm caused by pure overload.

It was a difficult decision to skip out on more Perception, but sadly the most logical one in the moment. Ah, but if there had been elixirs giving Perception, Jake may have totally taken them, as he could at least have justified that by saying he had the biggest percentage bonus to Perception out of all his stats. Alas, elixirs were not a thing in the Colosseum… not that Jake thought they would have even worked on someone level 0.

So he would have to settle for stats from equipment… and an excellent foundation to get him to the stat cap was quite an interesting ring.

[The 1 Ring (Epic)] - A ring rumored to be of elven origin. Enchantments: Insured. +1 to all stats.

Requirements: Soulbound. Veteran Gladiator Colosseum Rank.

Cost: 8000 Colosseum Points.

The name of the ring was a bit on the nose. He did also wonder why it even needed to be insured. The ring would merge with his body when he put it on, and even if it didn’t, it looked pretty damn durable, to the level where he doubted anything could destroy it, save for throwing it into a volcano or something.

Anyway, having this ring gave 9 stats total, and with his boots, he only needed 12 more overall. Something his next two pieces of equipment helped nicely with.

[Exceptional Leather Vestment (Rare)] – A high-quality leather vestment made by a skilled craftsman. This armor is very durable and especially resistant to slashing attacks. Due to the innate power of the beast that supplied the leather, the wearer becomes more agile and has enhanced Endurance. Enchantments: Insured. +1 Agility, +1 Endurance.

Requirements: Soulbound. Gladiator Colosseum Rank.

Cost: 2000 Colosseum Points.

[Exceptional Leather Pants (Rare)] - A high-quality pair of leather pants made by a skilled craftsman. This armor is very durable and especially resistant to slashing attacks. Due to the innate power of the beast that supplied the leather, the wearer has enhanced Endurance and Strength. Enchantments: Insured. +1 Endurance, +1 Strength.

Requirements: Soulbound. Gladiator Colosseum Rank.

Cost: 2000 Colosseum Points.

These two were pretty much a set and matched one another. Buying them even meant the shop threw in a free belt that didn’t give any stats or even counted as real equipment. The designs of the two pieces of armor were simple and straightforward, with no decorations or anything. The leather did look like what he thought was called boiled leather, but Jake was no expert, and wasn’t it all magical anyway?

Either way, this was 4 more stats. 8 to go, 2 of which came from the next thing he had bought.

[Bracers of Counter-Deflection (Rare)] – Durable leather bracers created to better allow the wearer to deflect attacks and counter. Enhances the user’s Perception to allow them to better see the incoming attacks and the power of their physical counterattacks. Enchantments: Insured. +1 Strength, +1 Perception

Requirements: Soulbound. Gladiator Colosseum Rank.

Cost: 1000 Colosseum Points.

The bracers were pretty simple and had a name Jake didn’t think had overly much to do with the fact that they gave Perception and Strength. Then again, it could also be because of the design, as both bracers were created to deflect blades rather than block them. Who knows.

Now, Jake had wanted to go all-out with what he bought, which didn’t really seem to match him buying so many rare pieces of equipment. The reason he hadn’t bought better was pretty simple… he couldn’t afford to due to the next two items.

[Necklace of the Hopeful Enlightenment (Epic)] – A well-made necklace once worn by a monk who sought enlightenment. The material of the necklace itself is unknown. Grants inspiration from the monk’s attempt at receiving enlightenment to the user, allowing them to better analyze the movements of their own internal energies. Enchantments: Insured. Hopeful Enlightenment. +2 Wisdom, +2 Intelligence, +2 Willpower.

Requirements: Soulbound. Veteran Gladiator Colosseum Rank.

Cost: 5000 Colosseum Points.

This necklace made up the last stats Jake had to gain from equipment, effectively capping him. In addition to that, it also provided him with that weird Enlightenment effect, which Jake barely noticed, but hey, any bonus was a good bonus.

Finally was an item Jake had looked for far and wide for the last time he had been at the store. Finally, he was getting it.

[Ring of Deft Hands (Epic)] – A ring created by someone once known as a powerful thief who often had a need to switch tools in the middle of a job. Allows the wearer to store up to five items within the ring that can be retrieved to the hands of the wearer. All items must be pre-registered.

Requirements: Soulbound. Veteran Gladiator Colosseum Rank.

Cost: 4500 Colosseum Points.

Was this a spatial ring? Well, kind of, but not really. It did store an item inside a small space, but it didn’t have a storage space per-se; it was more like it could absorb up to five items at once that all had been pre-marked by it. It was, by all means, one of the shittiest versions of spatial treasures available, but it should get the job done. At least this would help Jake with his combat style, where he liked to switch weapons, which he also assumed was why it was even sold. Some people would simply be too fucked without the ability to switch weapons in the middle of combat. A bit suspicious one had to be Veteran Gladiator to unlock it... but then again, if you couldn’t even make it to Veteran Gladiator, you probably weren’t going that far anyway.

Now, an astute observer, such as Owen, did notice the lack of a certain item he had expected Jake to buy:

A bow.

But… its absence was very much a purposeful decision. Jake was practically out of points after buying everything else, and he knew that should he get a bow, he wanted a good one. Moreover, he still had the basic bow that could do an acceptable job… if he even wanted to use it.

Katars were more than sufficient for now. Jake would get a bow at some point, of that he didn’t doubt. He also had a helmet or mask to gain, along with maybe a cloak or something. Considering he didn’t need more stats, he could get special equipment there with special abilities.

For now, he was pretty damn settled, though.

Looking at his updated status after everything was equipped, there was indeed quite a difference.

Stats

Strength: 19

Agility: 21

Endurance: 19

Vitality: 18

Toughness: 17

Wisdom: 20

Intelligence: 19

Perception: 22

Willpower: 19

But, these stats had come at a cost. Quite literally. It had nearly bankrupted Jake of Colosseum Points.

Colosseum Points: 1840

Jake had spent more than ninety percent of the points he had saved up for the last nearly quarter of a year. 33500 points.

He didn’t regret it, though. He knew that some of the equipment, like the rings and necklace, could be used for the rest of the Challenge Dungeons, with the katars likely also the same if his plans panned out. Everything else could be sold back to get him half the points returned, so even if he had spent over thirty-three thousand, one could say he had only actually spent around seventeen thousand, with another seventeen thousand owed.

Also, even if it had taken him a long time to get these points, he was confident in earning them back and more. Shit, he had a feeling that winning a single match toward the end of the Challenge Dungeon would give him more points than he had spent on all his equipment. At least if the 10000 he had gained from ”beating” the Benevolent Monk were anything to go by.

Jake was ultimately still in the earlier stages of the Challenge Dungeon, time-wise.

Jake was overall happy with what he had bought. Because, standing there with the improved equipment and a katar in each hand, Jake didn’t feel any trepidations for the future, but only confident about one thing:

If he met the Benevolent Monk again, the outcome would be far different.