"There might be something we can try," Jay said slowly.
"Huh?" Confused, Sylvi raised her head, wondering what he meant by that.
"It may sound hard to believe," Jay continued, "but we might be able to save you."
"Are you serious?" Sylvi asked, a glimmer of hope in her eyes.
"Yes. But first, do you have any free attribute points?" Jay asked.
He himself had received eighteen from his two level-up. But he had twenty-seven in total. That meant he already some points at level 1.
Normally, she should have some. He'd just asked to be sure. Who knew if there were some requirements to receive those points. Like killing or fighting a zombie.
"Yes, I do. I have seven. What are they for?" she asked.
'Seven not nine. That's unexpected." Jay was slightly caught off guard. He'd assumed that everyone received the same amount of attribute points upon awakening. He had gained nine points per level. Normally, it should be the same for Sylvi.
'Looks like the number of free points varies by person. Maybe something to do with potential.' He made a mental note to explore that mystery later.
'Anyway, we avoided the worst-case scenario. Those seven points should be enough for now.'
Then without wasting more time, he explained to her how to use the System interface and how to allocate her free points.
"So, you think I can survive as long as I increase my health points?" Sylvi asked, a little unsure. She was pretty clueless when it came to that kind of things. It also felt too easy. Could something so simple cure the fabled zombie bite?
"That's the idea. If I'm not wrong, your constitution should be the attribute linked to your health. As long as you have enough you should be able to resist that status effect."
"All right. Let's try it then. It's not like things could get any worse," Sylvi sighed.
She still had doubts about Jay's idea, but what did she have to lose? Even if it didn't work, it wouldn't change much. Her fate was already sealed anyway.
She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and began interacting with the System interface.
"So..." Jay said after waiting a few seconds. He was really curious as it was the first time someone was actually using the system to strengthen themselves. Everything happening was valuable insight.
"It is hard to explain. It felt refreshing and invigorating," Sylvi started, looking for the right words to express her feelings.
"After I added that point, a wave of energy washed through my body. And there was this weird tingling body all over my body. Something's different. I feel sturdier now," she explained, staring at her hands with wonder.
'Interesting. Jay tilted his head slightly. So, adding attribute points creates clear sensory feedback and physical changes…' Jay pondered as he took in that new knowledge.
In fact, there was nothing to be surprised about. But Jay hadn't really thought about it before. He expected the system to work like a video game. You just had to add some points whenever you wanted and it was over.
"All right. Go on."
Sylvi nodded and eagerly added another point. This feeling, getting stronger, it was just too exciting. Especially when it also meant getting a second shot at life.
As she did, the same wave of energy washed through her. She could feel it more deeply now. It was like a gentle stream wandering around her body, wrapping every fold of her body and making her stronger, tougher.
At the same time the tingling intensified and she felt a slight amount of pain.
However, she paid it no heed. Without even glancing at Jay, she added a third point.
This time though, the strengthening process was more intense. Caught off guard, she felt the world around her spin, and almost fell over.
"Whoa! Careful!" Jay reacted promptly and caught her in his arms.
"Hey, watch out!" Ian who was keeping an eye on the two shouted. "What the hell is he doing?!"
Jay ignored him completely and his focus remained on Sylvi.
'As expected, adding too many points at once can be a problem.' He had expected this situation as soon as Sylvi told him what she felt. The problem was how much was too much?
At the same time, Louisa almost rushed toward Jay and Sylvi. "Hey, what are you doing to Sylvi."
But before she could, Lexie stood in front of her and put a hand on her shoulder, "Calm down sweetie."
"Don't stop me," Louisa growled and was about to push Lexie away.
However, as she stared into Lexie icy blue eyes she shuddered and stopped dead in place. Something in Lexie's smile told her that she'd regret it forever if she didn't.
Helpless, she could only lower her head down and wait like everyone else.
"Are you fine?" Jay asked.
"It hurts," Sylvi hissed through gritted teeth. "It fe… feels like something… ha… is pulling my bones… …. apart and... scrapping them," she continued, her breathing ragged.
"Okay. Take a deep breath. It should be over soon," Jay said while patting her back and observing her. Her forehead was drenched in sweat and her body was trembling slightly.
'So, three at once is her limit.'
'It's not bad though. That's almost half of her base constitution. Would have taken year to increase it so much if she had to train. It's normal to pay some price to increase it so quickly.' Jay continued to think as he waited for Sylvi to recover.
He didn't have to wait too long. Soon, she was able to get ahold of herself and stepped away from him.
"Louisa, I'm fine. Don't worry," she said.
Then turning towards Jay she asked, "Do you think I can add another point?"
She needed to add at least two more points if she wanted to be out of danger. But after what just happened, she wasn't sure her body could handle it.
"Sorry, I don't know," Jay admitted. There were still many questions he couldn't give an answer to.
'Is her current limit one attribute's limit or an overall limit? And how long before she can continue to add more safely.'
"No, you did more than enough," Sylvi said. She was a little disappointed, but she still forced a smile.
"I did nothing. And you are not even out of trouble yet." Jay shook his head.
"That's not true." Sylvi's voice was firm.
"I know you find all those things you do to be a matter of course. But if it was someone else in your place, they would've thrown me out without a second thought."
She looked at him, then turned briefly toward Ian. The latter could only lower his head unable to meet her eyes.
"Thanks to you, I at least have a chance. I wouldn't have figured this System stuff out on my own. I am not too savvy with…. those stuffs."
She took a breath and added with a faint, self-deprecating smile, "And, if it really comes down to it… I can always gamble at the last minute."
"Well, I guess that's one way to look at it," Jay said, glancing at Sylvi with a faint smile.
If before he'd only helped her out of convenience, he now was really considering putting in some efforts to help her.
"Hey, is there really nothing we can do?" Alex couldn't help but ask. He felt it would be a pity to give up when they were so close to the goal.
"We can try to help her level up. Each level directly increases your health points. By the way how many HP do you have?"
"Level 2. Twelve points in Constitution, and 160 health," Alex reported.
"Hmm. How many did you get when you leveled up?"
"Ten."
Confused, Jay turned to Lexie. "What about you?"
"Level 3. Nine in Constitution. 120 HP. I also gained 10 HP per level."
"Well, that's complicated," Jay sighed. "But it looks like 10 HP per level is the standard. She should be fine with two level up."
"Will there be enough time?" Alex asked, skeptical. He had killed more than a dozen zombies during their escape and only reached level 2 with a few extra experience points.
Sylvi wouldn't be doing the killing herself, which meant her experience gain would be lower. They'd also need to protect her the entire time. A single misstep could get her killed. It would be hard to be fast enough with so many constraints.
"We will make it work. Somehow." Jay admitted that it was a complicated task.
'Experience is probably split... and since we're higher level, she might get even less XP per kill. The best way should be to take down something that's stronger. Problem is… we have no way to check enemy levels yet.'
'Or should we try improving another attribute to see. Vitality maybe. Would it increase her resistance to the taint status effect more directly?'
'Damn, those mechanics are too annoying to get. Would've been nice if the system came with a guide instead.'
"Ehh..." As Jay was thinking, Sylvi let out a small cry of surprise.
"What's up?" he asked, his eyebrows raised.
"I think I'm out of trouble," Sylvi replied, a big smile lighting up her face.
"What?" Jay blinked. "How?"
"I didn't do anything," she said quickly. "I just checked my event log. The status timer went down. The tainted condition will only last for 25 minutes now. I still have 49 HP, and there's only 10 minutes left. I'll be fine, right?"
"I see. Should have thought of that." Jay exhaled.
He had been so focused on boosting her HP that he completely overlooked the wider effects of an increase in Constitution. Now that he thought more about it, it made sense for it to increase her overall resilience. That would explain the shortened duration of the effect.
'I really need to explore the System more carefully,' Jay thought already planning how to test its mechanics later.
He leaned toward Lexie and whispered a few words.
Lexie nodded, then without talking, she grabbed Louisa's hand and gestured to Sylvi.
"Come on, girls. Let's head somewhere quieter."
"Huh?"
"Shh. Don't worry. Sylvi needs some rest," Lexie said and dragged the two girls away under the watchful eyes of the others survivors.
"Well, that's one thing taken care of. Next," Jay muttered and stretched lightly.
While this ordeal had cost them some time, Jay was relieved it had happened now. They had learned a lot more about how the system worked. And probably avoided many detours.
"Jay, can you tell us what's going on here," Damian asked.
A lot of things that happened since the weird voice talked to them left him confused. He couldn't continue to suppress his curiosity.
"Oh! Why would you think I know more than you?" Jay tilted his head.
"You're joking, right? You're way too calm about all this. There's no way you don't have some idea about what is going on," Damian retorted.