My Isekai Life in Hard Mode

The Awakening of Potential

Initially, Ryoshu felt the same as usual. But before long, the pain surged, intensifying almost tenfold with his heightened senses.

Clenching his teeth, he used his blood to etch strange symbols onto the statue's surface.

"QWYUOPLKJHGFDZXCVM."

Quickly, he tore the four-leaf clover into shreds, placing three pieces atop the statue.

"A new temporary effect activated!

All your current attribute points will merge into one specific attribute of your choice for a minute.

You've opted for Adaptation as your secondary attribute.

Warning: All other attributes will temporarily drop to 1 for survival."

Suddenly, Ryoshu felt a strange weakening in his body. The already dark cave seemed more ominous, adding to his unease as his legs nearly buckled, forcing him to his knees.

At that moment, Ryoshu struggled to even hold onto anything. The sense of helplessness now felt worse than his breakup with his girlfriend. The memory of her with her new partner on that fateful night made him shudder.

We are adding 89 points to the Adaptation attribute!

"I guessed pretty accurately."

As the system notification popped up, Ryoshu began to adapt to the loss of strength, the adjustment feeling oddly unnatural.

"This is truly strange... Adaptation feels more monstrous than any creature," he noted, clenching his fists. Even his once overwhelming senses now felt integrated into his body.

Adaptation: 1 (Unranked) → 90 (SS+)

Next, Ryoshu put the remaining leaf into his mouth, chewing cautiously, hoping the effect would dissipate. But his expression betrayed his disgust as if he had tasted something utterly revolting.

"Condition met: Secret revealed!

You've gained an additional effect!

Temporary attributes will now become permanent.

The 'Recovery' attribute, influenced by 'Adaptation' (SS+), has increased by 40 points!"

== New Bug Detected! ==

== Potential Impact: Significant disruption to the Grand System! ==

== Bug-fixing process initiated immediately! ==

== Bug completely resolved! ==

"So it eradicates all the bugs it finds...?"

Despite knowing this, albeit unsuccessfully, Ryoshu still pondered ways to outsmart the system.

While contemplating his plan, he retrieved the Seven-Year-Old Ginseng Root he had received earlier, along with the Adaptation attribute, from the reward chest.

"This reward would've been perfect earlier in the game."

Seven-Year-Old Ginseng Root (A+)

Description: A rare and high-quality ginseng root found only in areas rich in Mana concentration. It can be consumed directly or used in medicine.

-Enhancements:

Consumption eliminates all bodily impurities and boosts the 'Main Attribute' by 1 to 5 points, depending on the consumer.

-Barrier Breaker:

Enhances the 'Absorption' ability to grade D+, creating 0 to 12 Mana Circuit connections depending on the consumer.

"Since arriving in this world, I've consumed so many peculiar things, yet I can't quite get used to this sensation."

In his mind, Ryoshu thought of the two enigmatic spheres and the mutated four-leaf clover he had recently used, feeling a slight regret that his first taste wasn't more palatable.

What does it taste like?

Trembling slightly, Ryoshu inserted the ginseng root into his mouth and began to chew. After a moment, his face turned pale with a hint of purplish hue. Perhaps it was too bitter for him to endure. Unable to swallow, he had to chew slowly to break it down.

"Should've cooked it first," Ryoshu muttered as tears welled up and streamed down his face. "Next time, I swear I'll cook properly..."

Feeling nauseous almost to the point of vomiting, Ryoshu reconsidered; wasting it would be too much. After chewing for a while, he managed to swallow it down. But the bitter taste of the ginseng root lingered on his tongue, making his skin crawl at the thought of it.

Despite the horror, Ryoshu felt his body growing more robust. Once feeble muscles now seemed significantly stronger. Usually, such power would take a while to stabilize, but Ryoshu was no longer a regular human with an SS+ ranked Adaptation attribute.

"Just having a rank SS attribute is almost god-like. And now I have SS+," Ryoshu shivered at the thought of attaining such power. Though not religious, disrespecting deities was a taboo he avoided. Pushing aside those thoughts, he focused on something else.

Suddenly, a stream of Mana appeared in Ryoshu's body, flowing gently in and out as if he hadn't sealed a water pipe. It made him feel significantly healthier, but he lost that sense of empowerment when it left.

The Mana felt liquid-like and gaseous, flowing over his body while drifting and blowing onto his face.

"This sensation is something else! The system, show me the Mana stats."

Mana: 12 (F-) (!)

His Mana stat didn't reach the D+ grade described in the Barrier Breaker because Mana wasn't solely dependent on each Mana Circuit.

"The exclamation mark looks like in a computer version...it's used to mark changes," he noted, clicking on the displayed text to see more details.

Mana: 0 (Non-existent) + 0 (Non-existent) + 12 (D+) (!)

Pressing it again, he confirmed his information.

Mana: 3x "Storage" + 2x "Processing" + "Absorption"

Mana also went by another name used only by humans—Potential Limit. It evaluated a person's potential based on the Mana stat, assessing the percentage of Mana in the air they could absorb, process, and store inside their body.

This was the primary criterion for distinguishing ordinary people from Awakened beings, determining their highest level and growth speed. Even though Ryoshu was in the Unranked category, he still had some stats ranked F.

Now, he could use Mana, a miracle for a garbage character like him. From now on, he could use functions that required Mana, such as Concealment and the Condensing function of the Concealment Mask and Indefinite Bow.

F- was nothing compared to the Potential Limits of the main or supporting characters. Most had Mana stats ranked B or higher; even the central and female leads were at S rank. Their current level was only about E-. All main characters were born near the finish line, some as princesses and princes. In the main cast, there were even two princesses.

But what he possessed now was his only valuable resource, which was more precious than all those things—information.

Ryoshu knew all the main storyline events, essential plot details, influential characters, and, most importantly, the items, rewards, and game bugs. If he used it wisely, he would become a character with more influence on the world than the main characters.

Ryoshu envisioned a bright future after he had cleared the game.

I'll be able to return home after completing it. He suddenly felt a bit uneasy thinking about that.