Chapter 14 (1/2)

Chapter 14

Once I finished my 280th piece of firewood, my hunger became worse and I started to become dizzy. However, I didn’t stop.

‘I wouldn’t be me if I gave up at this point.’

Since childhood, I had never been good at anything. I wasn’t smart, wasn’t handsome, and my personality wasn’t good. I wasn’t even good at sports or exercising. I didn’t have a special talent in a single field.

I had no abilities, felt severe jealousy towards others, and made excuses…

I couldn’t deny that I was a bad representation of the human race. However, the reason I was able to build amicable relationships in high school was through my persistence.

I wasn’t very smart. I needed to study several times more than others just to maintain a normal grade. My personality was bad. I often put on a charade that was just as good as the politicians. I wasn’t good at exercising. During PE, I was able to play soccer with others because I tried diligently.

I knew this about myself, so I tried. I did my best to not give up. Thanks to my persistence, I was able to go to university and make it safely through the army. I might be debt-ridden because of Satisfy, but I barely managed to maintain an ordinary life.

Anyway, persistence was my strong point.

“Level… money…”

I was caught by this obsession and didn’t stop moving my axe. I had just chopped the 460th piece of firewood when suddenly, a notification window popped up.

[Persistence stat has been opened.]

“Eh?”

Surprisingly, it was a new stat. I immediately checked the stat.

[Persistence]

You never give up, even in the face of a difficult task. You won’t get tired easily. The possessions weight limit has increased. The feeling of satiation will last for a long time.

* The higher the number, the higher the effect.

* Stat points can’t be distributed to this stat.

* Every time 10 points are gained in this stat, the ‘Indomitable’ stat will increase by 1 point.

“Wow!”

I wouldn’t tire easily, my weight limit would increase, and satiety would last for a long time! It was truly fantastic.Furthermore, my indomitable stat would go up by one with every 10 points in persistence?

‘I have to be persistent to raise this stat?’

I felt some doubt as I returned to chopping the firewood.

‘I showed a lot more persistence when completing Ashur’s quest… why wasn’t the persistence stat created until now?’

I could only think of it as the difference between a normal rank class and a legendary rank class.

‘It might be the same actions and same effort, but the stat growth rate of a legendary class is higher than a normal class.’

Once I discovered the new benefits of the legendary class, I forgot all of my fatigue and started to chop the firewood with more determination.

Ttaak! Ttaak!

As the number of firewood increased, I developed the knack of hitting the firewood.

Despite hitting along the grain, the durability of the axe decreased by one point every 200 pieces of firewood. However, at a certain point, it no longer decreased and the speed of my chopping accelerated.

By the time I finished 1,000 pieces of firewood, I had four points in the persistence stat.

[You haven’t consumed food in a long time, so all stats have dropped by half. It is easier to become affected by an abnormal state. If you continue to starve, your health will gradually decline.]

It was a close call. I was lying breathless on the ground.

“Pant pant…”

My knees were weak and my arms were heavy. My whole body was screaming in pain, making it hard to move. Despite the compensation from the persistence stat, my -3 level stamina was still poor.

I had chopped firewood for only six hours, but I was exhausted. I ate the bread and water that I took out of my inventory and looked towards the east where the Grey Forest was located.

‘The raid party should’ve arrived at the Guardian of the Forest by now. It is good that I didn’t join the party… I would’ve been disgraced if I joined.’

With my -3 level stamina, I wouldn’t even have been able to follow the movement speed of the other party members. How embarrassing would it have been if I died from exhaustion, not by a monster? I shook my head as I recalled my premature attempt to join the party.

‘When I think about it, I don’t even know the drop rate of blue orichalcum. My thinking was too simple when I tried to join the party. I should think and act more carefully.’

It felt like I had a small amount of mental growth.

After a while, I barely recovered and returned to Smith’s smithy.

“I finished chopping the firewood. I did as much as possible and managed to obtain 1,000 pieces.”

“What?” Smith burst out, “Puhahahahat! A newbie like you chopped 1,000 pieces of firewood in six hours? You aren’t just a newbie, but a liar as well! Are you trying to deceive me?”

He laughed like it was funny and glared at me.

‘Is this person bipolar?’

I pointed towards Smith’s backyard. “Isn’t it too much to lie that I chopped 1,000 firewood in six hours? If you don’t believe me, why don’t you go and check it directly?”

“You don’t have to tell me that. If you cheat me, I’ll kick you out of here straight away.”

I followed Smith towards the backyard. After a few moments… Smith’s mouth dropped open as he saw the 1,000 firewood piled up on one side.