CHAPTER 2: SAVED!

Rena

No way.

No waaay.

NO WAAAAY!!

That was waaaay too close! I almost felt like my life was flashing before my eyes! Okay, maybe my life did flash before my eyes for a couple of seconds…

I’m shivering, convulsed from shock. It feels as if my spine’s been turned into an icicle, churned around, and then smashed into fragments. Only for those pieces to be collected, dumped in a cup, before slowly melting into water.

And no, it’s not the fear I’m referring to.

The other thing is the issue—the unaddressed problem.

Even though my spine feels like a psychrophile—cold and unmoving—my entire head actually feels hot. While the rest of my body is frozen in fear, my mind is actually boiling in delight.

I’m happy—no, ignore the understatement—overjoyed.

Oh man. This is actually crazy.

I’m not the type of person to easily get satisfied with things, but this is… a different story. I mean, whether I’d like to admit it or not, my old life was pretty pathetic. Laughable, even.

The more I distanced myself from the real world, and avoided reality, the more Skyl would occupy my thoughts. It had gotten past the point of no return.

I just wanted to do whatever made me feel better about my wasted, worthless life.

Which, in this scenario, meant holing up in my room, playing the number one RPG game with my VR headset, and over-the-top gaming setup. No lies—714 fps.

Naturally, that sort of secluded lifestyle would lead to me becoming introverted. Though, the only person I could really blame is probably myself and no one else.

I abandoned my real life and opted to go online instead, starting a new virtual life.

Apart from my mum, no one else even knew I existed—let alone, who I was. Even online, I made few friends and stuck to people I somewhat knew. Although most of the time, they just used me as a tool to help them grind.

So I was really just a solo adventurer.

Kinda sad how I was able to talk to people online but not even my own birth giver. Even if the communication was limited, I still chatted with total random strangers on the web. Hey! I wasn’t getting groomed or something okay? I just had to consult with the guild leader.

I vaguely remember there was this guy who tried to talk to me a few times a couple years ago in class. However, I just froze up, got all mentally constipated, and stared at him blankly, unable to answer.

I guess he felt embarrassed afterwards, since he eventually gave up on me, and would awkwardly waddle away after every failed interaction. Maybe he thought I was staring him down or something?

I mean, the mind can wonder a lot in one or two minutes.

I think… his name started with ‘R’? Sure, I feel a bit bad about that, but he shouldn’t have bothered consulting with me anyways!

Don’t you know you should leave the quiet kids alone?

Well, all and all aside, here I am. Put the chapter of my past life away in a dust-covered bookshelf. Dump it in the river, and let the fish eat the pages.

Because now?

This is a new chapter! Being able to make a new start in an entirely different world feels… almost refreshing. Like that feeling when you hold a piss for a long time, and finally get it out?

Uh, sorry, bad analogy.

But you get the gist, right?

…

Wahoo!

Oh yeah! Is this the best day ever?

Because from what I can tell, it totally is!

YESS!!! IT TOTALLY IS!!!

My spine, still frozen from shock, begins to heat up again, burning with an everlasting passion. Wait, no. That would be an understatement. My spine is currently blazing. Like an inferno. A wildfire, let loose.

I rest a palm on my forehead, and brush my fingertips on my smooth skin, catching beads of lukewarm sweat. Wiping my brow, I brush my pants and stand up. Renewed.

Hoo boy.

I might burst from pure excitement at this rate. I feel like a child after getting praised for taking a dump without support from their parents.

Oops. Another bad analogy. So sorry!

Huh?

Oh. Riiight, that.

What exactly happened after the faint, blue door appeared?

Well, it’s sorta hard to explain, but I think the door was actually more of a portal of some sorts. I mean, before, remember how I said that if you wanna warp from one place to another, you have to use an item?

Well, I’m pretty sure the door was a teleporting ‘item’. You know? Those overused, stereotypical portals.

So, I got sucked in.

I woke up in this damp cave feeling nauseous and drowsy.

Surveying my surroundings, I see some dangling threads of limestone. Yeah—I’m in a creepy, eerie cave with no idea whatsoever on how to leave.

This isn’t one of those dungeons, no?

If it is, do I have to clear the entire dungeon before I can depart? Or can I leave as long as I kill the dungeon boss or something?

Dungeons exist now. If so, this world should also have a bunch of other game-like features, right? Like a levelling system or magic.

Or maybe quests? And a status menu?

… Status menu sounds pretty important. How can I check my stats though?

“Stats!”

Nope, nothing. Now might be a good time to insert a crow cawing sound effect. What if I try more stuff? It's unlikely I’ll master this system on my first attempt, right?

Welp, here goes nothing.

“Statistics!” “Status!” “Menu!”

No?

Not even one squeak?

Argh, screw it! I’ll just hurl every single game-related word in my arsenal, and hope for the best!

Come on! Fingers crossed, please work!

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Levels!”

…

“Details!”

…

“Properties!”

…

Urrgghh! Why? Tell me why nothing works! Tell meee!! Sigh.

If only there was some way for me to see my own abilities…

Hold up. Abilities?

So… skills and stuff, right?

And… wasn’t there a specific skill made just for this?

Almost comically, a light bulb goes ding! on top of my head, and my eyes roll back, showing the whites—only for them to be replaced with even more flashing bulbs.

Okay, not literally.

I open my mouth to speak, and my tongue hangs on every syllable, quivering and shaking in anticipation.

PLEASE WORK!

“A-Ap… Appraise?”

To my surprise, something actually happens.

I jump up, giving myself a fist-bump and a proud chest thump. That worked! Yes, please!

Come on, show stats! Appraisal, do your thing!

Name: Rena Shinohara

Level: 1 Rank: F Class: None>

Erm… Isn’t F the lowest tier?

Why am I so weak?

Wh-what happened to insanely overpowered isekai MC boosts? Shouldn’t I be level nine trillion and be ranked SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS+++ or something?

“Great. This day just gets better and better,” I mumble in a low tone with a hint of angst, tossing a rock away in distress.

Even if this isn’t an action-packed reincarnation, I could at least be a royal princess or aristocrat or whatever!

Besides, what does it mean by ‘Unique Demon’ with ‘Base: Human’ in brackets? Does that mean I’m a demon, but… not human? So… human is, like my original species and I got reincarnated into a demon? Or is demon a subrace of human?

But, I look like a normal human.

But my main species is demon?!

…Wait. I’m guessing that demons and humans look identical, then.

How confusing…

Or is it totally something else and I’m seriously misinterpreting it? You can’t always rely on wild guesses, huh?

Eh. Really, there’s no point tossing and turning and crying over spilt milk. It isn’t like I really care anyway. Though… I do wonder if I can appraise—no, [Appraise] some other stuff.

…

Wait, wait, wait…

Hold up one moment. What just happened?

I was going to say [Ap]- rghh… A- a... appraise, but for some reason it became [Appraise]?

Wait, what?! I can’t say [Appraise] anymore?

Dammit, it got censored again!

Okay.

Basically, just then, I tried to say the skill [Appraise] without the capitalisation and brackets—just the normal word itself, but then it automatically became [Appraise] again. Saying it the way the system says it just feels more normal. I dunno why, but it just comes to me naturally. And saying it the other way around feels… wrong.

Am I feeling the aftermath of a system integration or something?

Don’t quote me though. I’m just making bold assumptions based on the plot and lore of Skyl.

I mean, calling me a crippled gamer wouldn’t be far off, but the only game I actually ever played is just Skyl. I’m loyal, you see?

Though, useless contemplating aside, I do wonder if I can [Appraise] others. Say, I use [Appraisal] on this cave. Will it give me a bulk of information, or can I only [Appraise] living things? Or is it only limited to myself?

Based on my knowledge, it should apply to everything, but it’ll be better safe than sorry. Only one way to find out…

[Appraise] cave?

Oh? So, activating [Appraisal] on abiotic factors works well enough. I shouldn’t get too worked up though. Sure, I can activate it, but who knows if it’ll actually initiate or not?

Like, I can plug a charger in a port, but whether the phone charges or not isn’t solely based on that. Well, sure. Activate [Appraisal], I guess.

[Appraise]!

Alright… So, this is a dungeon like I originally guessed. But—what does it mean by spontaneous? I mean, if this is a Spontaneous Dungeon, then there should also be something along the lines of Permanent Dungeon, right?

That faint blue door from before—was that a gateway to this dungeon? Like a dungeon ‘gate’?

Well, since the spontaneous dungeon just popped out of nowhere, I think I can safely assume that a permanent dungeon won’t randomly pop out. Maybe they have a set point or something along those lines?

Mhmmm…

If so, that means I actually ended up getting super lucky, right?

By some stroke of luck, a dungeon gate just so happened to open right in front of me. Furthermore, I just so happened to force myself into it—albeit unintendedly—and just so managed to save myself from utter annihilation and demise?

Oh.

Whew, talk about a one-in-a-million chance!

Heh. As expected, my gamer luck came in clutch at the last second. Classic Rena. Well, I guess I saved myself back then, so I only have myself to thank. Thank you, me! Thank you so much!

Who needs a blonde prince in shining armour with stupidly wavy hair whipping everywhere like a… whip when you have me?

Now that I’m out of apparent danger. I’m in a dungeon. What should I do? Oops. I didn’t think this far ahead.

My shoulders slump downwards, as I heave a melancholic sigh. Glancing around the mystical dungeon, my thoughts begin to wonder again.

It’s too quiet. I’m getting bad vibes right now. Sort of like how those foreshadower dudes do it?

A dungeon means more monsters, after all. So, although I managed to escape the ghastly grips of Death, I might’ve just found myself in an even worse precedent. Do I have to clear the dungeon to proceed? Or can I leave whenever I want?

Imma try out the latter. Never know what’s gonna hit you, so I might as well do it, even if the chance of success is point one.

Straining my muscles, I urge really hard.

Nothing.

The only thing that happened was a silent, gasless fart. And my body curled up for some reason.

Figures.

Mentally thinking about leaving the dungeon won’t do squat.

Clearing the dungeon is my only other option then, right?

Whenever I think really hard, I can safely activate [Appraisal], so maybe I can also use other skills, items or stuff? I’ll try it out, I guess.

“Inventory!”

…

Nope. Well, what about this?

“Skills!”

…

Yeaah, I think I lack familiarity with this… world. I wasn’t even aware of [Appraisal’s] existence until I unintentionally activated it through dumb luck. In fact, ‘[Appraise]’ was a pretty specific command. Maybe I have to use a keyword to activate an ability or skill?

What are some stupidly cliché and overused skills?

I can’t exactly think of anything in particular, but when my mind begins to wonder about spells and such, I think of one in particular. To be specific, fireball. I mean, come one!

Name one game without good ol’ fire magic!

Or… would it be…[Fire Magic]?

Who knows…

…

“FIREBALL!”

…

Huh.

Nope, I guess not.

Well, a fireball should be linked to a skill, right?

And I’m pretty sure that I don’t conveniently have a fire-based spell to boot.

Maybe I should try some skills that should be intrinsic?

Hmm…

“Show inventory?”

“Reveal inventory?”

“…Access inventory? Please?”

Alright, this is going nowhere at all. Should I think more basic? Think, Rena, think! What is some super simple synonym for ‘open’?

…

Ah. I’m stupid, aren’t I?

I swear, if this works, I’ll get mocked for the rest of my life!

“Open inventory!”

Heroic Broadsword [Rank S]

Heroic Chestplate [Rank S]

Heroic Cloak [Rank S]

Heroic Boots [Rank S]>

Wait. Rewind. Um. WHAT…?!

This is the insanely overpowered loot I’m talking about!

Yes, gimme! Give me all of it!

Kahahaha!!!!

…

Erm. How do I equip my loot?

Ah.

Awkward.

Maybe I tap on the little icon representing the item?

Tap

Heroic Broadsword [Rank S] has become Stick [Rank F].

Heroic Chestplate [Rank S] has become Rags [Rank F].

Heroic Cloak [Rank S] has become Cloth [Rank F].

Heroic Boots [Rank S] has become Sandals [Rank F]>

Well, my triumph came to an abrupt stop.

Okay, okay. WHAT THE HECK?

W-whadayya mean ‘transmission failed’?!

Did I just lose all my god items?

What the hell?

So these godly Rank S items became some shoddy Rank F rip-offs?

Seriously, what on Earth?!

Dammit!! Gimme my loot back!!!

This is a sham!

Daylight robbery!

NOOOOOOOOO!!!!