I Can See Your Stats Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The versatility of all magic varied tremendously depending on its proficiency level. Once new stat categories were unlocked, it would be easier to determine exactly what one’s ability was.

Two possibilities came to mind for abilities that would suit the stat window style. One was an ability that seemed quite useful for living life going forward, and the other was an ability so useful it bordered on cheating. Given the circumstances, the latter seemed more likely, but it was such an absurd ability that Ayra shook his head, trying to shake off his expectations.

His physical condition must have been quite poor, as he had been experiencing such severe dizziness that he felt he might faint at any moment. Rest was the most urgent priority for now.

"There's no time limit on the quest, right?"

Pebble, who seemed slightly sulky, nodded its body. When Ayra tried to playfully bite it once because it was cute, it twisted its body as if embarrassed. No matter how he looked at it, it had quite an odd personality. Well, as long as it was cute, that was fine.

He roughly ate the cold meal that had been left on the bedside table, then shivering, crawled into bed. His mind was hazy, and he fell into a sleep like unconsciousness as soon as his head hit the pillow.

However, perhaps due to his poor physical condition, his dreams were quite unpleasant.

In the dream, he was returning to the estate after hearing news of his brother's marriage. His family warmly welcomed him as he returned laden with all sorts of wonderful gifts he had created in the Labyrinth. His family members had aged considerably since he'd last seen them, making their faces difficult to recognize.

'Are these really my family?'

It had been so long since he'd seen their faces, he couldn't tell... Come to think of it, he couldn't remember any of his previous life's family members' faces either. Would he even remember his current life's family? As he hesitated, his father with the blurry face placed a hand on his shoulder, saying, "Ayra."

'Please protect the estate.'

Just as he was about to answer "Yes," Ayra jumped back in shock. The harmonious family scene had vanished, replaced by the wreckage of a crushed carriage. Blood was flowing, and an unidentifiable white hand stuck out. He stumbled backward without even being able to scream, nearly falling. When a rumbling sound made him turn around, he saw the high castle tower, symbol of the Solar estate, toppling over.

A powerful earthquake shook the entire estate mercilessly. As Ayra ran to escape the collapsing castle, he tripped over something and fell. It was a wooden sign that must have hung on someone's shop. As he brushed his hand over the carefully carved four-leaf clover design on the sign and looked around, he saw that all the estate residents' homes had collapsed and burned to ashes.

He alone had survived to witness this horrific scene, without a single building intact or person alive.

As he stood there in shock, flame-wreathed monsters with pitch-black mouths suddenly burst forth from the ground. These monsters, incomparable to mere demon beasts, howled as they charged forward. Though he knew he should run, his body absolutely wouldn't move. Just as one of the monsters' wide-open mouths was about to swallow him whole—

He woke up with a start.

"W-what was that."

He had broken out in such a cold sweat that his entire body was not just damp but chilled to the bone. Though he was extremely sleepy and cold, the dream bothered him so much that he had to crawl out of bed.

Solar estate's castle was situated on the highest ground, and among its rooms, the bedchambers of the lord and his family were located on the highest floor. Thanks to this, Ayra could look down upon all of the Solar estate through the window. Shivering, he spent a long time watching the estate below as it began its busy morning activities. The ashen ruins from his dream seemed to overlap with the estate before him, making him close his eyes tightly before opening them again.

'I suppose becoming a lord is putting quite a lot of pressure on me.'

Ayra sighed, gulped down a cup of water, then crawled back into bed. Sleep came instantly, but fortunately, he had no more nightmares after that.

❄

While enlightenment was a goal desired by all mages, it was also an object of fear. This was because enlightenment placed severe mental and physical strain on the person, causing them to fall ill for days in minor cases, or become disabled and go mad in severe cases. While there were mages who could undergo enlightenment more than ten times and still live long, healthy lives, they were a minority, and in rare cases, some mages couldn't survive even a single enlightenment due to the shock.

For this reason, Ayra spent several days bedridden. Fortunately, rather than being sick, he mainly experienced overwhelming drowsiness accompanied by dizziness. He would sleep soundly, wake up to the servant's presence to eat, then sleep again. He would wake up to use the bathroom, take the opportunity to wash with hot water, eat the cold food left by the servant, and sleep again. When the servant worriedly asked if he was ill and whether they should call a physician, he simply replied that he was just sleepy and fine. He would drink a cup of water and sleep again.

And so it went, eating and sleeping, eating and sleeping...

Even after the enlightenment's after-effects had subsided and his drowsiness had completely disappeared, Ayra remained in bed. He didn't want to leave the bed because of the cold, and he also wanted to delay facing his future, which he couldn't predict at all.

'I'm completely a Labyrinth country bumpkin. How am I supposed to govern an estate?'

Having to manage an estate overnight left him feeling completely lost. As he sighed and fiddled with Pebble, the governor, who could no longer wait, finally came to visit his bedchamber again.

"Ayra-nim, are you awake?"

"Yes..."

As soon as he heard the response, the governor burst through the door. While Ayra remembered this young governor's somewhat cold and strict face, he couldn't recall his name. If last time he had forgotten the name due to the funeral, this time it was because he had slept for so long. Just as he wondered about it, his magic power was drawn out and a stat window appeared.

======================================================================

<Ginas>

HP: ???

MP: ???

Physical Attack: ???

Magic Attack: ???

Affection: ???♡

======================================================================

Ah, right. His name was Ginas. Ayra couldn't remember his family name, but it seemed the system didn't display family names yet. He also checked the quest window he hadn't been able to update while sleeping these past few days.

======================================================================

<Quest!>

[Let's level up this cute Pebble.]

*Check stats of 10 people (1/10)

*Introduce cute Pebble to 10 people (0/10)

Reward: New stat category unlocked

======================================================================

Fortunately, checking someone's stat window again still counted toward the quest even if he had seen it before. While thinking that he could complete one quest just by checking Ginas's stat window ten times, though that would be inefficient, the governor spoke in a polite but slightly thorny voice.

"Are you still unwell? Shall I call for a physician?"

"No, I'm all better..."

Under Ginas's cold gaze, Ayra's conscience pricked him so much that he could no longer be lazy, and he slowly got up.

"I was worried as you seemed to be ill for an excessively long time, but I'm glad you're better. Then, how about having breakfast with the castle's retainers this morning?"

Somehow, the emphasis on "excessively long" seemed apparent. Feeling guilty, Ayra docilely nodded.

"Mm, alright. Let's do that."

"Very well. Then I shall have the banquet hall prepared. Please take your time coming down."

The governor spoke with an attitude so excessively polite it felt like there was the Great Wall of China’s worth of distance between them, then closed the door and left. Ayra belatedly thought that he should have introduced "cute Pebble" to Ginas. Fortunately, the next person came in right away.

"Lord Ayra, greetings. I am grand chamberlain Botello Delora. I took care of you during your childhood, do you perhaps remember me?"

The grand chamberlain greeted politely before Ayra could even call up his stat window. His experienced face seemed somehow familiar, and as Ayra searched his memories, it felt both familiar and unfamiliar.

"Back then... you made me honey tea with dried flower petals, and caught snow butterflies for me..."

"Ah, I'm grateful that you remember me."

The grand chamberlain was deeply moved that Ayra remembered him after such a long time. Ayra pretended not to notice as the man briefly turned away to wipe his tears.

"If it's alright with you, I shall attend to you from now on."

"Please do."

Botello attended to Ayra with great courtesy, but occasional deep sorrow for the Solar family he had served flickered across his aged face. He was someone who had likely been closer to the family than Ayra, who had only lived there for a few years in childhood before leaving for the Labyrinth. Seeing Botelo's eyes growing moist, Ayra felt awkward and deliberately tried to change the atmosphere by showing him Pebble, who had been in the blankets. He didn't forget to call up the stat window either.

"What do you think? It's a cute spirit I created. Its name is Pebble, and it'll be with me from now on."

The effect was too strong—Botello's eyes not only dried instantly but widened in shock.

While commonplace in the Labyrinth, outside it, mages were beings that ordinary people rarely saw in their lifetime and were generally associated with terrifying rumors. It left a bitter taste in his mouth that he couldn't deny most of those rumors were true. Even Ayra had to admit that about half of all mages were madmen impossible to deal with.

Of course, he belonged to the other half, but still.