Reincarnated as a step-dad in a fantasy world

Chapter 21 : Problem and solution

[Name: Alex Eswald

Age: 60

Strength: 10

Agility: 20

Stamina: 15

Defense: 10

Mana Points: 5

Harem: Lilia Eswald

Abilities: Soul Linkage

Soul Points: 10]

'Hmm, how many points should I allocate to my strength?' Alex wondered. He didn't want to use them all, but he also wasn't sure if he would notice a change by just increasing his strength by a few points.

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"What do you think, Scarlett?" he eventually asked to get her input.

"Use just 2 points," she advised. "Since we'll be testing enhancements in other areas, it wouldn't be wise to deplete all your current points on strength."

"You're right," Alex agreed.

'Okay, the system told me to notify it when I want to enhance an ability, right?' Alex thought.

"I'm going to start the enhancement," he informed Scarlett.

"Okay," she replied.

'Alright, I wish to increase my strength,' he thought, addressing the system.

[How many points?]

'Just 2.'

[Okay]

Alex stared at the floating system screen with excitement. However, after just a few seconds, instead of seeing his strength increase by two, he saw a message appear before him.

[An issue preventing the enhancement has been detected.]

"Huh... what are you talking about?" Alex asked, a bit scared. He had just realized that his life was about to change course with the system, and minutes later, he learned that there was an issue preventing the enhancement. His feelings of disappointment and frustration were understandable.

Without caring about Alex's emotions, the system displayed:

[After a complete body scan, it appears that your body is at the limit of what it can handle. Increasing your strength or any other ability would do more harm than good to your body.]

Hearing this, Alex's heart sank. It wasn't the same wording, but this sentence reminded him of the day when his talent was assessed, and he was told that he wouldn't be able to exceed level 1, even if he trained his whole life.

He had sacrificed the little talent he had to enhance his physical abilities, but in doing so, he couldn't level up; he didn't even have a level.

The sacrifice ensured that he would have physical aptitude comparable to a level 2, but in reality, he wasn't even considered a level 1.

And now, the system he had placed all his hopes on had just let him down, making it clear that his body couldn't handle any more enhancements.

He began to think that believing the system would change anything about his shitty talent was the biggest joke of the century.

However, just as despair began to take hold of him, a message of hope was delivered by the system.

[To remedy this issue, your body needs to be reconstructed.]

'Reconstruct my body? Is that possible?'

[Yes, it is possible, but you will lose all your current physical abilities.]

'Will I be able to enhance my abilities afterward?'

[Yes]

Hearing the confirmation that he could increase his strength later, Alex didn't hesitate for a second to make his decision. It would be foolish to refuse. Just as he was preparing to explain the new situation to Scarlett, another message from the system appeared.

[I should clarify that reconstructing your body will be extremely painful.]

'How painful?'

[To rebuild your body, I will have to destroy it down to the cellular level before recreating it, so it will be very painful.]

Alex was sure he felt a viciousness coming from the system when it said the last part, but he decided to ignore that and instead ask:

'If you destroy my body, won't it kill me?'

[As long as you don't lose consciousness during the process, you will live.]

'And what if I do lose consciousness?'

[You will die.]

Upon hearing this, Alex realized the potential danger of what he was about to undertake. However, this did not discourage him; he was motivated to change the course of his life. What was a bit of pain compared to that?

Shortly after, he explained to Scarlett the new direction things were taking. He expected her to encourage him to go ahead with it, given her thirst for knowledge and the discovery of new things. But to his surprise, her response was quite different.

"Hmm... isn't this a bit too dangerous? I think you should try to see if there's another method. After all, if you could find that artifact, there must be another way," she said.

Alex found her concern endearing. He grinned confidently and reassured her, saying, "Don't worry; something like this won't get the better of me."

Scarlett remained unconvinced, but she replied, "Okay," while raising another point, "Are you not going to inform the others before doing this?"

"No need. As I said, I don't plan on dying, so

 there's no need to worry them for no reason."

"Okay."

"Now that everything's settled, let's begin."