My Scumbag System - Chapter 310

Chapter 310: Level Up! (And Other Confusing Lies)
The door clicked shut behind Natalia, her footsteps fading down the sterile corridor as she went to hunt down something remotely edible. Hospital cuisine ranked somewhere between boiled shoe leather and wet cardboard on the culinary spectrum, and I’d genuinely rather gnaw on my regenerator brace than suffer through another bowl of whatever grey, gelatinous substance passed for soup in this place.

Finally alone.

I slumped back against the pillows, letting out a long, shuddering breath that sent fire racing through my cracked ribs. The hum of medical equipment provided a monotonous soundtrack to my thoughts—the steady beep of the heart monitor, the soft whir of the ventilation system, the distant murmur of nurses going about their rounds somewhere beyond these walls. My ribs ached with every shallow breath I dared to take. My shoulder felt like someone had disassembled the joint, filled the socket with broken glass, and then reassembled it with malicious incompetence. Every breath burned, a reminder of the punishment my body had endured in that nightmare dungeon.

But I was alive.

Against all odds, against the machinations of gods and monsters alike, against the Hydra-Lich and whatever cosmic entertainment the divine audience demanded—I was still breathing. Still plotting. Still dangerous.

The golden notification icon had been pulsing in the corner of my vision for what felt like hours now, insistent and demanding, like an impatient child tugging on my sleeve during a funeral. I’d been avoiding it, pushing it aside while I dealt with Sanctions Division’s interrogation, while I held Natalia close and pretended we weren’t both balanced on a knife’s edge of disaster. But with the government goons finally gone and no immediate threats to my life—at least none more pressing than the usual constellation of enemies circling my existence—I couldn’t put it off any longer.

Time to face the music. Time to see what the gods had decided my suffering was worth.

“Nel,” I called out to the empty room, my voice rough from disuse. “Clear the buffer. Show me the damage.”

The air shimmered like heat rising from summer asphalt, reality rippling in that distinctive way that announced the System’s presence. A familiar blue window materialized in front of me, hovering at the perfect reading distance with the kind of consideration that always felt vaguely mocking. Nel’s voice filled my mind, playful and teasing as always, carrying that edge of divine amusement that reminded me I was entertainment first and person second.

“About time, darling. I was beginning to think you’d forgotten about little old me. Here I was, practically bursting with good news, and you couldn’t spare a moment for your favourite cosmic companion.”

“Hard to forget something that lives rent-free in my head,” I muttered, wincing as I shifted position against the pillows. “Especially when it won’t shut up. Just show me.”

“So impatient. So demanding. I do so love that about you.”

The notifications began to cascade in an orderly fashion, each one appearing with a soft chime that resonated somewhere behind my eyes. Not the overwhelming flood from earlier that had nearly given me an aneurysm during the dungeon run—Nel had apparently learned some restraint, or at least recognized that drowning her investment in information might be counterproductive.

[Quest Complete: Trial by Slaughter] (+300 SP)

The first notification hung in the air, golden text glowing with satisfaction. Three hundred points for surviving that hellscape, for racing through corridors of animated corpses and waterlogged abominations. For reaching the boss chamber before the Argent Sentinels and proving that the Stray Dog wasn’t just a clever marketing angle.

[Bonus: Shock and Awe] (The Blitzkrieger Title Awarded)

I felt the title settle into my soul like a brand, a new facet of identity crystallizing in the space between heartbeats. Speed as a weapon. Momentum as a philosophy. The System recognized that I hadn’t just won—I’d dominated. I’d turned that race into a rout.

[Bonus: The Alpha’s Charity] (Rivalry evolved to Apex Predator’s Presence – Gold)

This one made me pause. The memory surfaced unbidden: Julian Valerius, bloodied and broken, about to be skewered by the Hydra-Lich’s skeletal claw. The split-second decision to intervene, to save the life of someone who’d happily watch me die. Not out of mercy—never mercy—but because saving him was the ultimate insult. The apex predator doesn’t kill the competition; it spares them, demonstrating that they weren’t even worth the effort.

[Bonus: Forging the Vanguard] (Kingmaker’s Aura Upgraded + Blessing of the Sovereign Ability Unlocked)

My squad. My people. Natalia’s frozen devastation, Emi’s desperate healing, Skylar’s ghostly misdirection, Soomin’s transformed fury. They’d earned their kills, and the System recognized that their growth reflected on me. A king was only as strong as his knights.

[Aphrodite’s Quest: A Kiss Before Midnight] (+250 SP – Retroactive notification)

Ah, yes. The kiss on the balcony, Skylar’s cynical defences crumbling under the weight of genuine connection. The goddess of love had been satisfied with my performance, apparently. Even divine beings appreciated a well-executed seduction.

I let out a low whistle as I did the mental math, fingers twitching against the hospital blanket. My previous balance of 135 SP, plus 300 from the Trial, plus 250 from Aphrodite’s quest, plus whatever daily passive income I’d generated while unconscious in this bed…

“Current SP: 1,215,” Nel confirmed, as if reading my thoughts—which she probably was.

“Holy shit,” I murmured, the words escaping before I could filter them. “I’m rich. Incredibly, dangerously rich.”

The sunset cast long shadows across the hospital room, painting the sterile white walls in shades of amber and gold. The light caught the dust motes floating in the air, transforming them into tiny golden sparks that danced in the dying illumination. Appropriate, given the fortune I now possessed in the currency of gods. A king’s ransom in divine favour, burning a hole in my metaphysical pocket.

“Rich enough to be interesting,” Nel purred. “Rich enough to be dangerous. The question is whether you’re wise enough to spend it well.”

Before I could respond, another notification lingered in front of me, pulsing with a different energy than the others. This one felt heavier, more fundamental, like the difference between a ripple and a tidal wave.

[LEVEL UP! You have reached Level 2!]

I tapped it open with a thought, eager to see the fruits of my suffering, only to frown in confusion as the status screen materialized.

Strength: F-0

Agility: F-0

Magic: F-0

Endurance: F-0

Dexterity: F-0

“What the hell?” I growled, sitting up straighter despite the protest from my battered body. Pain lanced through my ribs, but I barely noticed. “I maxed everything out. Every stat at X-rank before the level up, just like you said. Why am I back at zero?”

Nel’s laughter tinkled like breaking glass, melodic and sharp and infuriatingly smug. “Don’t panic, darling. Your paranoia is showing. Look closer.”

I focused, pushing past the immediate frustration, and felt something different. My body felt… denser somehow. More solid. More real, as if the atoms composing my flesh had been compressed and refined into something approaching divine material. I clenched my fist experimentally, and despite the injuries screaming at me to stop, power surged through my arm—a clean, pure force that made my previous strength feel like a child’s tantrum.

“Your previous stats were capped at Level 1,” Nel explained, her voice shifting into something approaching pedagogical patience. “The scale maxed at 1,500 points per attribute. Now you’re at Level 2, and the entire framework has expanded. An F-0 at Level 2 is approximately equivalent to a high B-Rank Hunter in raw output—and that’s your baseline, the floor from which you’ll grow.”

“So I’m stronger despite the reset?” I asked, flexing my fingers and watching the tendons move beneath bandaged skin.

“Much stronger. And because you maxed every attribute before leveling—because you showed the patience and discipline to squeeze every drop of power from Level 1 before ascending—you’ve earned a 2.5x hidden multiplier on all future growth. Your ceiling at Level 2 isn’t just higher than a normal person’s; it’s in an entirely different category.” A pause, laden with something that might have been genuine approval.

“You’re not starting from scratch, Satori. You’re starting from a new baseline that most people couldn’t reach in a lifetime.”