NOVEL NEXT Chapter 69: Status Points Added
Kael stood in the middle of the Training Room, eyes closed as he breathed slowly—calm and steady.
The Status Band on his left wrist let out a few beeping sounds.
At first, it was slow, but by the sixth beep, it suddenly picked up pace until the sound became so loud and high-pitched that the whole room was filled with a piercing tone.
Kael, who had been standing like a statue, began trembling—slow at first, then violently. Like he was having a seizure, his eyes snapped open, revealing nothing but the whites. Saliva dripped from the corner of his mouth, and his chest heaved up and down as if it were about to burst.
This lasted for almost a minute before Kael went still again—returning to his statue-like stance in the middle of the 'endless' white space.
But this wasn't the end.
In the next moment, a white substance began seeping from his body—his pores, his eyes, his nose, his mouth, even his ears. It oozed out as though alive. The substance resembled spider silk—thick and sticky—as it started circling around Kael's entire body.
His face, torso, legs, down to his feet—everything was soon covered until he looked like a butterfly cocoon. Once the cocoon had fully formed, the high-pitched noise from the Status Band ceased, replaced by a deep, eerie silence. A silence so heavy, it made the Training Room feel like a vacuum in space.
Time passed...
But in this white void, time became nonexistent. No one was watching. No one was experiencing its flow. And only when someone looked at a clock would they find themselves face-to-face with the god of time.
Suddenly, the white cocoon twitched. At first, it was a faint movement—then it began to shake rapidly. Without warning, it exploded, showering the area in web-like strands of the white substance.
The pieces floated in the air as the person inside the cocoon dropped to his knees.
"Ha…" Kael gasped, inhaling as much oxygen as he could. His vision blurred and spun. He shook his head, trying to steady himself and get used to the feeling.
After a few blinks, his vision cleared, and his breathing gradually returned to normal.
Kael remained in that position, trying to piece together what had just happened.
It's like my mind suddenly stopped working... my body stopped listening to me… Kael thought, recalling what had happened after he pressed the plus signs beside his Stats.
At first, nothing. He didn't feel any change. But just as he was about to check his Status Band, an intense electric shock surged through him, blanking his mind and paralyzing his body.
And then the cocoon formed.
Inside, there was nothing but darkness—besides the sharp, frequent bursts of pain that made him want to scream. But the cocoon suppressed even that. It didn't just restrain his body—it suffocated his thoughts. He couldn't do anything but endure the torment as the pain coursed through him.
The memory of that pain was still vivid in his mind—too real, as if he were still experiencing it.
But why was it so painful? Kael frowned. According to what he'd read on the UniNet and from other Primers, adding Stat Points wasn't supposed to hurt. It was supposed to feel… good. Like a satisfying rush of power.
But for him, it felt like torture—so much so that he'd almost lost his mind.
"Is it because I added all the Stat Points at once?" Kael muttered as he slowly stood from his kneeling position. He looked down at his body, brushing off the sticky white residue. "Maybe that's the reason."
He looked around the room for a moment, then opened his Progress Scanner to check his current Physical Stats.
Physical Stats:
Strength: 14
Agility: 13
Vitality: 12
Reflex: 7
Kael added five Status Points to Strength and Agility each, with the rest going to Vitality.
Staring at his Physical Stats, Kael felt even more confident—though he was already confident enough.
"Are these Stats good?" Kael mumbled, placing a hand under his chin.
The average human had 10 points in all Physical Stats, though it varied depending on how much they trained their body. But as they aged and stopped doing physical activities, their Stats would decrease over time due to old age.
Kael could confidently say—he wasn't an average human anymore.
He clenched his fists, wanting to feel his new strength. He could sense it immediately—he was at least twice as strong as before. It felt like switching to a new car that was far faster than the last.
He didn't become overwhelmingly powerful since he had distributed the Status Points across different physical attributes. Still, being twice as strong as before was already a huge upgrade. Plus, by putting five points into Agility, his speed had also increased significantly.
He could've chosen to focus on just one Stat, which would've brought more noticeable changes. But Kael preferred balance. That gave him more options, more ways to move, attack, and adapt.
Kael glanced at his arms and noticed they looked healthier—he could even see some muscle definition.
"Interesting," Kael muttered, eyeing his body from head to toe. "That Gene Enhancer-looking vial came out of my body… it seems like they were stored in my bloodstream."
He'd been wondering how his body would grow stronger after using Status Points, and now he finally had the answer. The white liquid inside the Level Up Pod was actually the same as the Gene Enhancer Vials that he and the other Exo-Primevals had ignored back at HQ—since it was useless to them.
But now Kael realized the truth.
The white Gene Enhancer behaved the same, but this one was permanent. The version inside that first-generation Level Up Pod had been too diluted, too weak. That's why the Pod had stored the substance in Kael's bloodstream—to allow it to adapt and be more effective over time.
It only activated after he used his Status Points on his Physical Stats.
Once activated, the strengthened Gene Enhancer flowed out from Kael's body, beginning the enhancement process based on the Stats he had chosen.
Considering the technologies on this planet, Kael admired their creativity. They knew the white liquid was weak and wouldn't be compatible with most Primers, so they developed tech that allowed the substance to be stored inside a Primer's bloodstream. That way, it could adapt and mature, ready to respond when the Primer decided to use their Status Points.
Kael thought about how they'd managed to pull this off for a minute or two. Then he smiled—he had a theory.
Shaking his head, he walked toward the table where the floating holographic panel hovered. He tapped the screen, and the web-like white strands floating in the air vanished instantly.
Kael also glanced at the clock and noticed he had already used 20 minutes out of his one hour.
"Hmm… ten minutes should be enough to get used to my new body," Kael muttered, summoning training dummies through the holographic screen.
Five circular spots on the floor hissed open, revealing the platforms beneath. With another hiss, five dummies rose from them. The sound echoed as their full forms emerged.
The dummies were gray from head to toe, as if covered in skin-tight gray socks. They stood motionless, yet an intimidating presence radiated from them. Though in front of the White Prime, their presence was nothing more than that of toys waiting to be played with.
Kael smirked before walking to the center of the room. His eyes glinted with excitement. He glanced at each of the dummies with a burning fighting spirit—he couldn't wait to test out his new strength.
These gray dummies around him had the same durability and strength as the Behemechs found in the Grey Fissures. Kael could've chosen the First Grade Behemech strength, but instead, he selected the Second Grade for more of a challenge.
These Training Dummies didn't have any special abilities besides their tough, powerful bodies. But they were excellent fighters and could give Primers a hard time—especially when there were five of them. Most Primers only fought one or two at a time. Unless they were asking for a beating, no one would willingly go against five at once.
It would be great if they had some sort of abilities though, Kael thought, briefly glancing toward the table in the corner.
"Let's begin," Kael said. The moment his words fell, the dummies let out a loud mechanical sound, their eyes glowing faintly white—before disappearing from sight.
Kael looked up and saw a floating number hovering above them:
5…
4…
3…
2…
1…
Fight!
Like arrows fired from fully drawn bows, the five Training Dummies shot toward Kael. In just a second or two, they completely surrounded him.
The smirk on his face didn't fade—in fact, it widened. Time seemed to slow. The dummies moved inch by inch toward him. But in this slowed-down world, Kael's mind operated at lightning speed, immediately calculating a way to defeat all five dummies.
When time resumed, Kael's body moved in an odd way. He didn't punch or kick. Instead, he redirected the dummies' momentum, pushing them aside. But he moved so quickly and efficiently that the dummies crashed into one another mid-attack.
Kael stepped out from the chaotic pile-up of tangled limbs and metal. The five dummies had collapsed into a mound, some of their limbs twisted and broken from the impact—rendering a few immobile.
Watching them struggle to get up, Kael couldn't help but smile. He hadn't used any flashy technique. It was just simple Tai Chi—something he'd learned back on his home planet. But paired with his advanced reflexes and enhanced Physical Stats, he'd turned it into something devastating.
"So this is what it feels like… for the weak to gain strength," Kael whispered, satisfaction clear on his face.
He walked to the panel and reset everything. Then he summoned the dummies again. This time, he decided to go head-on.
After stepping back into the center of the room, he turned toward the panel.
"Let's start," Kael ordered, and once again, the countdown appeared.