The Mob Character Who Woke Up!-Chapter 60: Choosing the right stat! (1)

Three Faces of Mastery.

That phrase rang inside Kaizen’s mind like a persistent tutorial pop-up that refused to be dismissed as he walked toward the Central Cafeteria with a singular destination in mind, which was obviously Helga and her questionable but free food.

Sure, the food was basically grey nutrient slop that got ladled out of a massive cauldron that looked like it had been used for witchcraft in a previous life. But it was completely free. And as any broke college student throughout history knows, the secret ingredient to making any meal absolutely delicious is Zero Cost.

’So all I have to do is somehow reach Rank D to unlock a Unique Ability that’s exclusive to me, huh?’

Kaizen sighed deeply while kicking a pebble down the path.

’Sounds simple when you say it like that. Just reach Rank D. Easy, right?’

Wrong. It was a joke. A cruel, developer-sanctioned joke designed to crush dreams.

Kaizen was currently sitting at Rank F-minus, which was basically rock bottom. To get all the way up to Rank D, he had to climb through this absolutely brutal ladder of sub-ranks consisting of F-minus to F to F-plus to E-minus to E to E-plus to D-minus and finally D.

That was an eight sub-rank jump.

It was the equivalent of asking a level one Slime to evolve into a Demon Lord by next Tuesday and expecting it to actually work.

Kaizen looked up at the noon sun, which glared down at him judgmentally like it knew about his terrible life choices. The academy campus was buzzing with energy. Students were chatting excitedly, laughing about their first day, and comparing their magical affinities like trading cards. It was the first official day of real classes after the selection ceremony, and the chattering was almost overwhelming.

’At least I managed to walk across campus without running into a single Main Character. No Leo. No Klaus. No angry Dwarf and no racist Elf princess.’

He suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, squeezed his eyes shut, and prayed desperately to whatever god might be listening above.

’I did not just say that out loud. Nope. Delete thought. Erase from existence.’

He knew the rules of narrative causality. Mentioning main characters was exactly like summoning Beetlejuice through repetition.

If he thought about them too hard or said their names too many times, Leo would inevitably burst out of a nearby bush screaming about the power of friendship, or Klaus would manifest dramatically from a shadow to ask for a blood sample for research purposes.

Just focus on the grind. Focus on the numbers and statistics.

"System, Status Open."

Kaizen whispered the command.

Ding.

The blue interface window flickered into existence, hovering over the pavement in front of him.

[Name: Kaizen Renji Asahina]

[Class: NPC]

[Rank: F-]

[STATS]

[Strength: 3 (Toddler with a gym membership)]

[Agility: 4 (Duck on ice)]

[Vitality: 3 (Paper mache)]

[Intelligence: 12 (Gifted Kid burnout)]

[Mana: 2 (Double-A battery)]

[Luck: -5 (Cursed by god)]

[Available Attribute Points: 10]

Kaizen rubbed his chin thoughtfully while staring at the golden number at the bottom and smartly avoided looking at the snarky text descriptions next to his stats because who wanted that kind of negativity anyway.

Ten Points.

This was the precious loot from defeating Sir Cassiel and the hidden dungeon. In this world’s progression system, ten points was genuinely massive. It was enough raw attribute potential to push a normal human into the realm of the Awakened.

If he raised any single stat to ten, he would officially rank up to Rank F without the minus sign. No more being in the negatives. He would be a whole person with actual value.

’But where do I actually put them?’

He analyzed his build carefully like a professional gamer staring at a complicated skill tree.

Strength was strength, sure, but Kaizen already had his Pan of Doom. That glorious, dented, overworked kitchen utensil had carried him through situations that absolutely should have ended in funeral arrangements, so raw strength was not his immediate concern.

Agility, on the other hand, was tempting.

The ability to move faster, to dodge at the last second, to twist his wrist just enough so the pan connected at the perfect angle instead of his face doing the connecting. That kind of precision would be useful. Very useful.

He could already imagine it. Sliding under an attack, pivoting mid-step, adjusting the momentum just enough to redirect the impact into the pan and let the multiplier stack like a greedy investor.

It sounded good.

It felt good.

But that was exactly why he chose Axiomancy.

He did not want to rely purely on physical movement.

He wanted the same outcome, but enhanced through magic. Not just dodging by instinct, but nudging the trajectory. Not just twisting his arm, but subtly altering the vector. Not just reacting, but interfering with momentum itself.

Agility sharpened the body.

Axiomancy sharpened reality.

Besides, if he kept pouring everything into agility, he would slowly turn into some kind of assassin build. Fast, slippery, constantly circling around opponents and waiting for the perfect moment to strike with hidden blades and poison.

That was fine for someone who specialized in shadows.

It was not fine for someone who had to stand in front of monsters twice his rank and block their attacks head-on with cookware.

He was not built to stab and run.

He was built to survive being stared at by bosses who wanted him erased from existence.

And no matter how nimble he became, agility would not save him if he got hit directly. If the blade connected cleanly, if the spell landed properly, if the timing was off by even a fraction, then speed alone would mean nothing.

He did not want to just move faster.

He wanted control.

’Now, Intelligence and Mana are both solid options.’

Kaizen thought seriously, rubbing his chin as if he were a veteran strategist and not a barely-surviving first-year.

’And sooner or later, I absolutely need to upgrade Mana if I want to use magic properly without fainting like a Victorian lady.’

That much was obvious to him.

However, right now he had practically zero usable magic output, which meant pouring points into Mana at this stage would be like installing a massive water tank in a house that did not even have plumbing yet.

It sounded smart on paper, but in reality it would accomplish absolutely nothing except make him feel productive while still being useless in a fight.