-A Call From Little Sister-
Two days later, in his room, Kenshin was walking around his ward with a smile on his face. Every now and then he would stretch his body, doing various strenuous poses before smiling again. He had made a complete recovery in just two days, making him extra happy.
Today’s the day he was going to be discharged from the hospital and freed from this confinement. He always hated hospitals, not only they prob and prod every day, but also the food was awful. Not to mention the bills were not something one could afford easily.
He was very thankful for his luck. Not only did he survived a deadly encounter, but he also gained a great reward out of it.
The interface itself might be the result of all the accumulated karma of his family for many years. Kenshin was sure, if he hadn’t gained the interface at the last moment, perhaps he would have died inside that dungeon. Just thinking about it made his skin crawl and hairs stand on end. He would involuntarily shudder as sweat oozed from his pores. He shook his head, getting rid of those grim thoughts.
The doctor was kind enough to provide him with a set of clothes without charging him any fees. His previous ones were bloody and shredded to the point that not even beggars would wear it. He also didn’t have to pay the bills as Aoi had already done it on his behalf. Kenshin noted to thank her for the nth time since his admittance to the hospital.
Now coming to his system, during his days as an idle patient, he would often fiddle with it. Always trying to discover something new in it. During one of such experiments, he found a somewhat-familiar-but-useful function. It was actually one of the default functions of the system. As long as he concentrates on someone or something, he can see their name and status.
For example, looking at the doctor, he would see the following.
[Hokama Ichiyo][Human]
[Level 1]
Same way, with the glass he was holding earlier;
[Normal glass] -He saw this.
The details that were shown relied heavily on his overall level. Another function he discovered was the ‘unassigned points’ function that listed just below his attributes.
Now, every RPG player worth their salt knows about those points and what they do. Hence without delaying, he assigned all his unassigned points accordingly.
[ATK: 25; DEF: 19; AGI: 31; PHY: 15; LUK: 9]
He noticed, among all stats, his agility was the highest while physique was at the lowest. Hence he invested two points to his physique. With the increase in physique, his max HP also increased and now fixed at 170 points. Max HP was ten times his physique. accordingly, his health regen, otherwise known as natural recovery power also increased several-folds, staying at 1 HP/hour.
Luck couldn’t be increased through attribute points; therefore he invested the remaining two points to DEF. With stronger DEF, he could take more hits without affecting his HP.
Now his stats become like this;
[Muto Kenhin][Human]
[Level 5][1900 Exps for next level up]
[HP 170/170(Regen: 1 HP/hour)][MP 19/19]
[ATK: 25; DEF: 21; AGI: 31; PHY: 17; LUK: 9]
[Unassigned points: 0]
[Lives: 0]
[Skills]
1. Replication Lv 1[1000 Exp to next level up]
- Allows replicating any skill that the user once observed or experienced. Currently, the skill is level 1, the user can only replicate one skill that is or below level 1.
2. Passive Regeneration Lv 5[5640 Exp to next level up]
- allows the user to regen all lost bodily resources overtime at a slightly faster speed, including MP and HP.
Kenshin felt waves of excitement in his heart, as he saw his new stats. He felt like jumping and celebrating, disregarding everything. Now, he couldn’t wait to test his newfound powers inside a dungeon. Besides, he still had to accumulate five thousand golds for his sister’s equipment.
“Thanks for the care, Doctor.” with another and final bow to the one who helped him all this while, Kenshin came out of the hospital’s main door. He didn't forget to thank the nurse who had helped him a lot during his stay there also.
XXX
Kenshin briskly walked back to his house, which was located to the east of this hospital. As he had no money, his only option was to walk. It would take at least one hour to reach his home on foot. As he was in a jolly mood, he didn’t mind the distance. Thinking about his system and it’s miraculous properties, he temporarily forgot about his problems regarding his sister’s equipment.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“Kenshin!? Oh, it's indeed Kenshin... long-time no see man. How are you?” as he was sauntering to his home, someone called out his name loudly. Curious, he looked around to see who called him in this relatively unknown, to him, part of the town.
“Iwato? Is that you? haven't seen you.. like in a year.” It was one of his school friends whom he had not seen since last year. Although he dropped out of school, he still kept in touch with some of his friends. Iwato was his deskmate during those days and his best buddy. Unlike him, he wasn’t a Hunter. He works as a senior official in Hunter’s Tax Department controlled by the government.
“Where are you going? Are you taking a break from your hunting?” Iwato, too, was surprised to see him in this part of town. With a smile, he asked not seeing any equipment on his body.
“You can say that. What about you, why are you all the way here?” Kenshin asked. No matter what, meeting a friend after escaping the clutches of death felt very refreshing and to him.
“On a job. I was sent here to assist a hunter on counting his loot.” Iwato joked. As a senior official, his task was to keep an eye on the hunters assigned to him and inspect if they were paying their taxes or not. That includes keeping track of their loots and personal properties.
Unlike commoners, Hunters do not have too many rules restricting them. But the government was very strict about their taxes. Even Kenshin had to pay taxes, even though he was just a low-level hunter.
“Really? It must have been very hard on you.” Kenshin wondered. He knew how hunters treat ordinary people, and it wasn’t pretty. Especially since he was from the Tax Department, his treatment might be worse than commoners. No one likes to pay taxes and hunters are no different.
“Nah! I have learned when to keep my head down.” Iwato preached sagely.
“...”
“Yeah... Hey, let me drop you at your home” seeing that Kenshin was walking and he has a bike, Iwato offered.
“Sure, why not?” Kenshin agreed instantly. It was a good thing to not pass up on free transport.
While moving, they continued with their chat.
“How is your wife?” Iwato was a married man for a year now. He was even invited to the party, unfortunately, he could only go the day after as he was in a dungeon that night.
“She’s fine. By the way, we are expecting a child.”
“What, Really!? Congrats man. Seems like it won't be long before I will be addressed as an uncle... I am already feeling like an old man.” Kenshin joked, smiling merrily and relishing in the casual talk between friends.
“Haha, well, among our group I will be the first one to be a dad... I have already started to run, you guys should catch up as soon as possible. otherwise, it will be awkward for our children, haha. Anyway, leaving that aside, tell me about your life. What about your little sister? Is everything okay with her?” Iwato asked. He knew about Kenshin’s sister and even interacted with her a few times. She was a cute one, if not being a little too calm for someone of her age. It was sometimes very scary to hold a conversation with her.
“Yeah, she’s fine. She had scored highest in her class in last month’s test.” With his chest puffed, Kenshin boasted.
“Haha! Good good. So unlike us, not having the confidence to even pass the test.” Iwato laughed at his reply.
Like this, their conversation continued till they reached the eastern wing of Mito(Ibaraki Prefecture), the place where Kenshin lives. Iwato stopped his bike near a street allowing Kenshin to get down.
“That’s it, I will go that way. Let us friends gather for a drink or two one day.” Iwato said while looking at Kenshin. He was somewhat aware of Kenshin’s condition. Although he was a hunter, his financial situation wasn’t any better than theirs.
“Hmmm!! Good idea but I don’t have enough time in my hand currently. I will call you if I am free in the future.”
“Okay, then call me when you are free.” Waving his hand one last time, Iwato started his bike and went on his way while Kenshin was looking at his back with sadness. A few seconds later, he also made his way to his home. After his parent's death, Kenshin had to sell their own house for their living expenses. Now he was living in a rented apartment while his sister stays in her school dormitory.
It took him fifteen minutes to reach his apartment from the place where Iwato dropped him off. Opening the door, he entered and then locked it behind him. It was 11 a.m., as he had yet to eat breakfast, he was pretty much starving like a hungry ghost. Opening his kitchen’s cupboard, he pulled out a cup ramen packet and started to prepare it. Hey, he was a man living alone in an apartment, don't judge him just because he was eating cup-ramen for lunch.
As he was just about to start his luxurious meal, his phone rang loudly. Seeing the caller ID, a smile appeared on his face. It was from his darling sister.
“Hello, my little star, How are you?” Kenshin asked happily, calling her sister with some sweet nickname that he came up on the spot. Talking with her always made him feel relax and calm his nerves. He would forget about all his frustration of the day and feel motivated for the next when he hears her sweet voice.
“Big Brother, How are you? Is everything alright?” she sounded anxious and distressed.
“Yeah! Everything’s alright. Nothing to worry about, but what happened? You sound distressed, everything’s okay on your side?” Kenshin consoled his distressed sister while being amazed at her instincts.
“Really? Are you telling the truth? Nothing really happened to you, right?”
“Yeah I am telling truth, I am as healthy as a horse right now.”
“Thank goodness! I was feeling restless since last night, I tried to call you, but it said your phone was switched off.” her voice calmed down audibly.
“Yeah, well I was in the dungeon, so the phone has to be switched off. Don’t worry, okay? I am fine, and always will be. Anyway, tell me, how are your studies going on?” Kenshin changed the subject.
“It’s alright. I have topped my exams again and selected to attend a campaign next month. It was going to happen on a dungeon in our town. I guess I can come home at that time.”
“Wow! Congratulations. Good job. Good job. Keep up the good work, sis.”
“Thank you, brother. I am hanging up, okay? I have classes after this. Take care!” she hung up her phone after that.
“This little sister of mine, her instincts are sharp as always.”
After talking with his sister, Kenshin felt a little more determined. Having enough rest to last a few days, he immediately equipped his extra gear, consisting of a long sword and a chest plate and ran off to the nearest level 2 dungeon. He would refrain from going to a level 3 dungeon for the time being.
He was itching to test out his newfound powers.