When he finally fell asleep, Tanuki found himself in the void of his offline brain. As if it were a black sea, he swam in nothingness, bright fishes of letters swimming before him to form a question.
[ Access Gaia Core ? ]
[ Yes ] – [ No ]
Above the question shone the silhouette of the Staffbearer Monk card. Due to its effect, Tanuki could view the Gaia Core even in another realm. He accepted the offer and viewed the menu.
The Gaia Core’s interface appeared before him with all unlocked menus accessible. An interesting benefit of the card’s ability revealed itself when a notification appeared.
[ You have levelled up ! ]
[ Lvl 1.] - > [ Lvl 2. ]
His Swordbearer class levelled up from killing two of the Pretenders. He would not have gotten the benefits of this had he not had access to the Gaia Core, but with the monk card, he could gain its benefits while asleep.
With the second level of the class, he gained access to a new type of stat, called [Stamina]. It worked the same as mana, but instead of casting spells, it was used to empower his next physical move. For example, had he wished to dash faster than his legs would allow, he could have spent his [Stamina] to increase his speed beyond what his body was capable of, even if only a little.
The Swordbearer class’s benefits looked as follows:
[ Level 1 - (+1 Max STR), (+2 Max HP) ]
[ Level 2 - Unlock ‘Maneuvers’, (+5 Stamina) ]
[ Level 3 - ??? ]
This would make his stats be this:
[ Name: Hachiro Tanuki ]
[ Race: Human ]
[ Class: Swordbearer ]
[ Level: 2 ]
[ Modifiers: Staffbearer Sett ]
[ --- Stats --- ]
[ HP: 7/7 ]
[ MP: 5/5 ]
[ ST: 5/5 ]
[ Strength: 6 ]
[ Agility: 4 ]
[ Intelligence: 11 ]
Considering where he came from and what kind of stats he had, he felt proud of how far he had gotten. He had also unlocked ‘Maneuvers’, a new mechanic closely attached to his research.
While still in the Gaia Core, he chose to check the [Research] tab. He had the Deadweight Husk broken down, and although he did not have the time to see what it had unlocked, he set the two other Soulless Husk corpses to be researched. The latter seemed to work towards some kind of achievement, but he would need two more of them be researched to unlock the next milestone. The former, however, the monstrous husk unlocked something that could be found in the [Maneuvers] menu in his inventory.
It was another list of items, much like the Spellbook he had lost. Maneuvers behaved differently from spells, as they were not cast but performed by their user, like special moves. The one unlocked by the Deadweight Husk required he use a blunt weapon, like a hammer or a club in a very specific manner.
[ Trembling Tremor ]
[ Quality: F ]
[ Type: Attack ]
[ Method: Using a blunt weapon to strike the earth, the user focuses all their might to send a ripple of force through the ground, possibly disorienting and causing enemies to fall. ]
The description did not mention how the attack’s destructive power was calculated, but he concluded it must be a multiplication of his total strength and stamina, with some extra details he was unaware of.
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Still, even if this was an attack that lacked the power to cause serious harm, it was the kind of utility his kit lacked. With the skills he had at the moment, he would be considered a glass cannon, a type of fighter who possesses incredible power when it comes to dealing damage but otherwise lacks the skills to survive a focused attack. Such folks are usually paired with a frontline tank that can soak up incoming attacks and defend their partner while it erases the opponents. He had no such pair, even if Hundredth was willing to die for him, he would not exploit her kindness nor would he pretend she possessed the constitution to withstand a stronger opponent. Not because she lacked the willingness to stand up after the first blow, rather she had not the skill nor abilities to defend herself or her partner.
With this ability, Tanuki had at least some kind of answer to opponents who got too close to his location. He could use the Trembling Tremor maneuver to stun them while he obliterates them with spells or flees for his life. It was of great value, even if seeming otherwise at first.
Finally, before he exited the Gaia Core interface, he set the Giant Fly to be researched next. It was another one of those monsters that required almost half a day to finish, he hoped by the time it was done, he would have arrived home.
He closed the interface and let the solitude of a sleeping mind retake him.
The first rays of sunlight shone into his face, pestering him to wake up. It took a while, but after a familiar clattering went by his head, his eyes shot open. One of the tiny nestmen that escaped the spawn crawled by his hand. Wasting no time, he squashed it beneath his fist, pulling away as the creature made a high-pitched shriek before its death.
It has been days since he showered, brushed his teeth, or combed his hair. Thankfully the plantfolk did not seem to feel his stench, but he still yearned for a bath in bubbling hot water and some deodorant made with mint.
“At least it seems like my teeth are holding well,” he observed, feeling as though he had it cleaned every night, “Probably some quirk of my mana regen or this realm.”
The rest of the morning passed quickly. The bartender already took his station when he left his room, and to his surprise, invited Tanuki for a talk. Apparently, he was unique amongst the people of Yosh because he had the ability to give quests. He had prepared one rather simple.
[ Quest: New Brews ]
[ Difficulty: 0 ]
[ Objective: Gather wheat for the shopkeeper to help him prepare a new brew! ]
[ Requirements : ]
{ 5x Stacks of Wheat }
[ Rewards : ]
{ 1x Yoshimura Token }
{ 1x Mystery Brew }
Most kinds of video games feature fetch quests that require the player gather a certain number of materials to offer them to the quest-giver. Tanuki disliked these for their repetitive manner, as developers of MMORPGs liked to advertise their games as worlds full of life and adventure when most were filled with these boring, monotonous quests. Having remembered that upon reading the requirements, he found it interesting how this felt completely different. When given this kind of quest not in a video game, he found more joy in travelling from one point to another, working towards a set goal.
Hoping for a better drink than the piss wine, he accepted the quest.
“Is Hundredth still asleep?” he asked leaning over the counter.
“Quite the opposite! The Princess left early at dawn.”
Tanuki’s eyes widened in surprise upon hearing that.
“Where did she go?”
“To the mossy steppes, home to the gruesome Bryon! He’s been rumoured to be the strongest amongst the Pretenders despite his passive attitude. Ever since I bloomed as a little boy, he has only ever once attacked the village of Yosh. ‘Twas quite the spectacle. Has the Great Hero ever seen a walking shrub of moss? Now, has the Great Hero ever seen the demon that wears it as cape? I’ll never forget that thing, its black-as-night skin and glowing white eyes. The thing commands its cape to fight. Its cape! Incredible thing, especially how it could stand even on this side of the cube.”
Tanuki’s heart filled with worry. He wanted to be there for every Pretender because he knew the plantfolk were not strong enough to defeat them alone.
He remembered that fear he felt when he lost sight of Hundredth in the deer attack. To feel it again was the worst way his day could have started, but his worries grew more when he realised that Pretender, Bryon would focus all its attacks on Hundredth as she was the only one unique amongst the soldiers.
“How many men did she take with herself?”
“Oh, her Highness went alone!”
“What?!” Tanuki slammed his hands onto the counter.
The bartender watched him first with some confusion, then sighed peacefully.
“Do not worry, Great Hero. The Princess was sure of herself. She asked me not to wake you because she wanted to prove it to you.”
“Prove what?”
The bartender fell silent as he looked up from cleaning the mugs. His gaze wandered over to the window, then the door as it opened. Tanuki turned too, just in time to see as the rising sun shone behind her back, illuminating only her silhouette and the decapitated head of the Pretender under her shoulder.
Her mask stood proud with bruises; black tar painted her chest piece with proof. She raised the head of the dead Pretender, then threw it onto a nearby table. She stretched her shoulder with a circling motion, then adjusted the warm blade on her side.
Tanuki could only stare at her grandness while the bartender finished.
“That she is worthy.”