"Shut... huff... shut your trap... damn you...!"
The debt collector barked back, despite his shaky breaths, pointing his katana back at Jack's smiling visage with trembling hands.
"Oh? Now I'm not allowed to talk? Very demanding one too."
Jack took a step forward... calm and casual.
"...!"
Yet, unconsciously, the debt collector instead began stepping back, fearing Jack's advance. This though only served to further amuse the latter.
Jack then raised his black M-Card into view, the faint glow returning like a ghostly flame.
"Let's continue where we left off, shall we?"
The M-Card then shimmered with an eerie light, causing the debt collector to tense up in dreadful anticipation...!
"Now that we know what high Strength can do... how about we invest in another stat~?"
The debt collector furrowed his brows, confused.
"W-what...? W-what the hell are you even blabbering about...?"
However, Jack wasn't listening anymore. He was already in his own little world.
The transparent window had reappeared before him, showing his status screen.
His finger quickly moved over to the main stats, and there it was... his Strength stat, glowing with its earlier upgrades.
------------------
[PURCHASE STATS]
STR: 43
DEX: 5
VIT: 5
INT: 5
PER: 5
Allocated stat point(s): 38
Tier 4 | Cost of Upgrade per stat: 50 C-Points
------------------
The very same high STR stats that let him punch through concrete like it was paper.
But... the plus sign buttons that used to accompany each stat were all missing, meaning that he couldn't further upgrade any of his stats anymore...
At least, not without the proper fund for it.
"Hmm, they say stat upgrades in the M-System are permanent... well, almost," Jack mused aloud, eyes still fixed on the window. "You can get a stat reset from the Holy Monastery—but they're not exactly running a charity. I've heard it's damn expensive."
He glanced back at the bloodied man before him, a small smirk on his lips.
"Well, aren't they, right? Especially how they only refund, like, half of the C-Points you had spent and all. What a scam, I tell you."
"H-huh....? T-the hell are you talking about—"
"Well—!" Jack snapped his fingers, voice gleeful in excitement. "Good thing that I can just do it myself~!"
[DING!]
[The passive skill 'Investment Manipulation' has been activated!]
The voice inside of him informing another one of his newfound powers—
------------------
STR: [-] 43
------------------
And now, the 'minus' sign had appeared beside the upgraded STR stat, which he immediately began to click away—
------------------
40...
35...
27...
15...
5...!
------------------
STR: 5 [+]
DEX: 5 [+]
VIT: 5 [+]
INT: 5 [+]
PER: 5 [+]
Allocated stat point(s): 0
Tier 1 | Cost of Upgrade per stat: 10 C-Points
Divestment has been proposed. Confirm?
[YES] / [NO]
------------------
And as soon as he touched the [YES] option—
[Divestment complete!]
[DING!]
[+1000 C-Points Acquired!]
"Whoah...! Ugh... that's a weird feeling..."
Jack staggered slightly as soon as he finished.
The strength that once surged through his body vanished in an instant. It was as if the heavy, invisible power had just slipped right off him.
He shook his limbs out a bit, as if resetting his body for what would come next—!
"Alright... and now—let's put it all into Dexterity~!"
Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap!
With each click of the plus sign beside DEX, the stat number climbed higher and higher—! And so did the money counter, draining the black M-Card's balance in steady chunks!
Soon... the stats stopped increasing.
------------------
STR: 5
DEX: [-] 43 [+]
VIT: 5
INT: 5
PER: 5
Allocated Stat Points: 38
Tier Upgrade: 1 --> 4
Total Cost: 1000 C-Points
Confirm Upgrade?
[YES] / [NO]
------------------
"'Confirm'? Hell yeah!"
Jack pressed the [YES] with a wide grin—
The surge came instantly!
His body shook slightly—goosebumps ran through him as if every nerve in his body was suddenly supercharged...!
But this time... it wasn't about raw strength.
This time...
Jack felt light—
Lighter than a feather...!
"Whoaaah~! This is something else entirely, ahaha~!"
He jumped on the spot, testing his upgraded stats, and his body felt like it had no weight...!
Of course, gravity still did its job—his feet touched the floor again—but that moment in mid-air... it felt like he could float endlessly...!
Another chuckle escaped from him... before he then turned his gaze back to the debt collector.
His former tormentor flinched at the attention—! Then raised his katana again, dreadfully bracing himself...!
Jack cracked his neck to both sides, kneeling low into a runner starting position.
Then—
"Ready or not... here I come~!"
Jack dashed forward like a bullet!
"W-what—?!"
The debt collector's eyes widened, shocked and surprised by Jack's mad dash toward him!
He quickly raised his sword to the air, trying to intercept Jack's advance toward him—
But Jack's figure suddenly blurred out! And then—
He vanished—!
"W-what—?!"
The debt collector spun around in a panic, searching left, right, above, and even behind him—
But there was no one there.
"Where is he...?!
It was as if Jack had just disappeared into thin air... as if he'd left the abandoned facility.
"...Did... d-did he leave?"
"Of course not, silly."
"—!!!"
The debt collector froze—Jack's voice came from right behind him!
And when he turned around—
Jack stood there, smiling like a devil.
His short katana was already raised high, aimed straight at the trembling man before him. The debt collector quickly unsheathed his katana—!
CLANG—!!
A metallic screech echoed through the abandoned facility as steel met steel, sending out a burst of sparks as the two katanas clashed—!
"Try to keep up~!"
Jack sent out a torrent of slashes—!
CLANG—!!
CLANG—!!
CLANG—!!
—And they were blocked, one by one, by the debt collector's blade, his teeth gritted in pain from the unrelenting speed of the strikes...!
But then—
Jack made a blunder.
He went in for a full-force clash against his former tormentor's blade—
"Oh wait... damn, I forgot my Strength stat is lower now—"
"Ughh... AARRGH—!!"
The debt collector roared and pushed back, overwhelming Jack with his own high-STR brute force—!
"Whoa—!"
Jack stumbled back in surprise, wobbling slightly—!
But that was enough of an opportunity for the debt collector to strike—! He took a giant swing with his katana—aiming straight for Jack's neck—!
"YOU'RE DEAD!!!"
But Jack... just smiled.
"Nah... I'll live~."
[Stats Conversion complete!]
[DEX has been converted to VIT!]
CLANG—!!
The katana struck Jack's neck—!
But—
It was stopped completely!