Chapter Four: Attributes

All afternoon, he had already envisioned countless scenarios of how to distribute his attributes. Unlike the average player, who was utterly bewildered at this stage, he could determine his stats according to his chosen class.

Back when he first entered the game, lost and inexperienced, his classmate had recommended the Warrior class to help him get started quickly—low entry difficulty and minimal training time. Spellcasters, such as Mages and Clerics, often got stuck at the very beginning, unable to complete their spell-learning process, so much so that by the time a Warrior reached level 2, many Mages still hadn’t finished their apprentice training, effectively trapping them in the novice stage.

It was only after being transported to the real world of Arthur that Zhao Xu gradually realized that in this era, true power lay in the ability to wield magic. Only those whose spellcasting reached the legendary ninth tier had a real say, their words carrying true weight. In the late stages, Warriors, compared to the Lords of Magic or the High Clerics, were hardly more effective than common soldiers.

Thus, Zhao Xu was resolute in his decision to become a Mage, even if it meant abandoning all the experience he had accumulated as a Warrior in his previous life. If his account truly allowed for a dual elite class, then his second class would only ever be Cleric. He was determined to pursue the path of magic to its very end.

Through his later adventures, he had witnessed time and again that magic was the ultimate truth.

The key attribute for a Mage’s spellcasting was Intelligence, while for a Cleric it was Wisdom. The Arthur system calculated everything based on attribute modifiers—the value of an attribute minus ten, divided by two. For example, a Strength of ten meant a modifier of zero; a Strength of twelve gave a modifier of one. Decimals were dropped without rounding.

This meant that odd-numbered attributes were a bit of a loss in the early stages, but leveling up could make up the difference, turning them even.

Zhao Xu distributed his stats according to his plan. He left Strength at the base value of eight, to be dealt with later. He spent five talent points to raise Dexterity to thirteen, since this affected initiative, defense, and reflex saves—worth the investment. He spent six points to increase Constitution to fourteen, a solid score. For Intelligence, the most crucial stat for a Mage, Zhao Xu spent ten points to bring it up to sixteen. While not high among today’s savvy Mages, it was still respectable among the masses.

For Wisdom, he hesitated before spending six points to reach fourteen. Curiously, he spent five points to bring Charisma up to thirteen, a stat often overlooked.

His final attributes were as follows:

Strength: 8 (-1)
Dexterity: 13 (+1)
Constitution: 14 (+2)
Intelligence: 16 (+3)
Wisdom: 14 (+2)
Charisma: 13 (+1)

Gazing at his finalized attribute panel, especially the modifiers in parentheses, Zhao Xu fell silent for a moment before confirming his choices.

While it was true that, after his transmigration, Charisma would affect his appearance, demeanor, and how others perceived him, such concerns were trivial for someone fighting for survival. Even if he had to disfigure himself to stay alive, Zhao Xu would not hesitate, let alone care for mere looks.

What truly compelled him to divert points from Wisdom to Charisma was a vague recollection of a renowned expert once saying that, for Clerics, Charisma held a unique significance. Clueless about spellcasters in his previous life, he didn’t know what that significance entailed, but in the end, he chose to trust that advice in his stat allocation.

“Dong, dong, dong…”

The silent Hall of Creation suddenly echoed with melodious chimes as soon as he finished distributing his attributes, reverberating across the entire area.

“Player, please ascend the Celestial Staircase and prepare for class selection.”