Chapter 1 - " New Game? "
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*drip... *drip... *drip...
'...'
My eyes opened tiredly. what is this? this feeling? How am I feeling? what are these senses?
'How did I end up here..?'
Truly, I can't remember anything right now. I know my name and how to talk, stuff like that, but my head just feels so foggy. My memories from before waking up are trying to circle back to me. Removing my hands from my eyes, I saw that I was somewhere in a field or barren plane. My back was leaning against a stone wall, rain - or morning dew - had collected on said wall and was giving the stone a glowering light, making it seem a lighter color than it was.
I turned my eyes down towards my body; my chest was covered by a simplistic black shirt with a dark red logo on the left of my chest. My legs seemed to be some type of joggers or sweatpants. A nice sleek grey, and none of those awkward dangle-y things at the waist.
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Welcome, [Gamer] !
Through sheer LCK, you have been brought to [Remnant] to fight against the forces that plague the land! To continue, complete the tutorial!
! (New Quest) !
Tutorial
Objective -
- to learn how to use the Gamer Interface -
Rewards:
10VIT, 10STR, 10DEX, 10AGI, 10CHA, 10 INT, 10 WIS, 20 free stat points, 2 Skill Books, 100000xp, 10000 Lien
[This quest is unskippable and must be completed to progress.]
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'What? What the hell is this?'
I took my eyes away from the screen, taking in the sunrise instead. I doubt this was in God's plan. Some random cosmic coincidence that brought me to Remnant. I'm in a web show. What the fuck.
How does that work? Who cares about other worlds, I was transported across realities and dimensions. This makes no sense. The glowing sun, the jaded and broken moon, the dusky sky. They all looked like something on earth. Hell, the wall I leaned on now looked like that could be on earth, just a relatively large wall with nothing special about it.
'If these are the cards I was dealt, it's not a terrible hand in all honesty.'
And I'm not lying. If this is Remnant, I could lead an exceedingly exciting life, fight the Grimm, and save people. Obviously, I'd need to figure out what year it was and where the main characters are so I can have a decent idea of the timeline. God, what a mind fuck this already was.
"System."
Welcome to The Gamer System!
Please say [Stats] to continue!
'Alright, simple enough.'
Actually, I think I remember something like this. When I was a kid, I really liked reading. I read a fuck ton of literature, including a few Manhwa. I think I remember one about The Gamer System. Han Jihan was the main character, I'm pretty sure. The power system was strong as hell and had pretty much uncapped potential in terms of raw power. Though skills could cap out, stats had no real limit, and if they did, the Max Level was probably high enough to contend with God's.
"Stats."
Stats
Name: Lautrec Griscern
Title: The Fool
Level: 13
Experience: 0/1300
Health: 900/900
Aura: [LOCKED]
Mana: 820/820
Class: Combat Mage
Race: ?
VIT: 18
STR: 19
DEX: 12
AGI: 13
CHA: 14 [+2.8]
INT: 12 [+1.2]
WIS: 10
LCK: 500(MAX)
Wild Points: 65
[Abilities]
'The Fool, seriously?'
I nearly rolled my eyes at the title. Surely I wasn't that bad. My class was kind of, how do I say it, poorly matched with me? I always preferred standard warrior classes in video games like this. If I wanted to be OP and break the game, sure, I'd use magic every now and again. But this was real life. would I want to be overpowered in real life?
'Better to be overpowered than underpowered, I'd imagine."
I clicked on the title to see if it would give me a sort of drop-down menu. Maybe explain why it had to come off as so passive-aggressive.
Title: The Fool
Titles have special properties that tie into the name. The Fool is representing you, the character. As you bumble your way through this new world, have a slightly higher chance of succeeding by a gifted 20% charisma increase and 10% intelligence increase.
'Oh, it's like the tarot card. That's pretty cool. It might give me a basis for how titles work overall then.'
As I looked further down the sheet, my stats seemed pretty average, I guess. At least, most of my stats were pretty good. My luck, on the other hand, was maxed! How could that be right!? My eyes nearly bulged from their sockets whenever I read that.
But before I could absolutely rave about my Luck stat, my mind began to calm a slight bit. Almost immediately after, a window popped up to inform me what had happened.
[Gamer's Mind- Passive Ability]
Gamer's Mind is a tool to make sure that the User does not lose themselves to their emotions. Many mental side effects will be dulled or negated, depending on the severity of said effect.
Mental Effect [Manic Excitement] has been negated.
'Huh, that's interesting. Majorly helpful in the long run, no doubt, kept me from acting like a doofus just then.'
Oh, right, Han Jihan. I should have Gamer's Body too, right?
[Due to you using past knowledge and current experiences to come to a correct conclusion, you have earned +1 INT.]
Sweet! I can earn stat points by just that? Does that mean every stat point is trained like that? Can I just start dancing and level up my agility? Could you imagine your enemy breakdancing for five minutes before getting up and fighting? Oh wait, isn't that just what Mercury does? I'll have to shelve that idea for now.
But if I have Gamer's Body and Gamer's Mind, while in my body, shouldn't my stats from before I was in Remnant be transferred over? I won't have to restart my cooking or boxing journey, will I?
[Cooking/Baking - level 41]
Experience - 2075/15000
The art of cooking is one of culinary expertise. A form of art older than the word art. To make a dish is to represent you and your discipline and skill. Depending on the grade of food, it can carry multiple benefits such as regeneration of health, rejuvenation of stamina, or restoration of Mana.
Did I really cook that much? Level forty-one is kind of crazy if I'm being honest. I did start cooking at thirteen, but even then, it was never huge entrees like the level would suggest. Maybe it was just my skill in cooking that made it level up faster? Probably, I was a great cook. I even picked up baking for a bit. Cookies, brownies, and small cakes were probably my favorite cheat meals.
Either way, I might have kept my cooking skill, but what about boxing? Did I not get to keep that? I can keep a skill that gives me temporary superpowers, but I can't keep something like striking and kicking?
[Striking - level 36]
Experience: 890/8000
Crit Chance: 3.6%
The art of hitting a surface with precision, is usually depicted by a hand. Striking carries over to elbow and knee attacks as well.
[Kicking - level 32]
Experience: 115/6500
Crit chance: 3.2%
Kicking is a relatively simple art that can be transformed to become a more complex circuit of movement.
Oh. Huh, I made a mistake. Boxing was too broad a term. Guess that makes sense. Striking and kicking were their own subsection of fighting. Would all subsections have their own little skill box? Well, if they do, that only leaves [Guarding].
[Guarding - level 24]
Experience: 300/1800
Guard = STR × DEX - 1/2DMG
When you are unable to dodge an attack, there are only two options; Tank the Attack and pray not to die, or block it and hold your guard to minimize the damage.
Alright, I kept my experience in fighting. That's good, means I won't have to spend too much time on that. Now that I think about it, do I have an [Inventory]?
Just like that, a large window appeared in front of me. Inside of the inventory held a knife, one-hundred lien, spare clothes, a scroll, a fake ID, and a skill book. I stared at the skill book, perplexed. I reached into the window and grabbed the Skill Book.
[A Guide to Aura: Beginner's Edition]
Skills contained: Aura, Meditation.
Learn: [Yes/No]
I nearly licked my lips in anticipation as I instantly clicked yes. A light shone off of my body while a comforting warmth consumed my entire figure. As my legs buckled under the feeling, my mind tried to comprehend what was happening. I didn't get the luxury of a new, Remnant-made body. My Earth body was just completely unable to handle something as unnatural as Aura. It may not have hurt me, but it was a beyond unnatural feeling.
'This is what Aura feels like? This warmth, I could definitely get used to this.'
[Skills learned!]
[Aura (Passive) - level 1]
Experience: 0/50
Aura is the manifestation of the soul, and a reflection of yourself. While you can keep it hidden within your body, this skill allows you to control the flow of Aura. Use it to empower your body and guard against attacks that you wouldn't be able to block otherwise.
[Meditation - level 1]
Experience: 0/50
Take a long look at yourself, and mend what is broken. Fix your soul, and keep yourself from falling apart in this sullied world. Meditation allows for 100% more MP regeneration.
These abilities don't feel like beginner-level skills. One hundred percent increase in MP regeneration is massive! Imagine the applications! If I could spam a bunch of MP attacks and then start using [meditation] to gain max MP and then repeat. The levels could grow at an exponential rate! I'll have to write this down for later.
[+1 WIS for coming up with a smart plan to maximize growth.]
[Quest update!]
! Tutorial !
New Objective - Complete a story mission to continue!
'Ah, that's not great. I was hoping to get this done and get a skill book.'
I nearly grimaced at the screen. The tutorial doesn't seem to want to give me anything other than what it said. No extra details, just to complete a story mission.
I took a step off the wall and looked around. Grass and grass and grass and a few buildings here and there. Truthfully, where the fuck was I? Am I in some distant land far away from what would be the main plot? After plenty of mental back and forth, a small epiphany occurred as I slapped my forehead.
'I have a scroll, I can just check whatever is the equivalent to Google maps.'
Pulling up my inventory, I grabbed the scroll and opened it up. It had very little in terms of data, just a digitized version of my ID and Drivers license. A few mandatory apps littered the next page, but I eventually found something called Bunjii Maps.
To my surprise, it wasn't anything like Google maps. Instead of a visual representation of the planet, it was a digitized version of a paper map. It estimated where I was based on the CCT signal, which was really bad where I was. From what the maps said, it showed I was on the outskirts of Patch, near a dock to Vale as well. With a sigh, I started to jog in the direction where I'd imagine the main city of Patch was.
'I really should've paid more attention to RWBY lore. I have no idea what the cities here are called.'
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[For continuous cardio for over an hour, you have been awarded +2 AGI, +2 STR]
I would definitely be sweating terribly right now if not for Gamer's Body. I still felt tired, though. I was panting like a dog and hunched over with my hands on my knees after that run. I found a small alley to get into before mid-day, I don't want to be seen like this in front of the whole island. One thing I do remember hearing about Patch is that it's an insanely peaceful island for the most part. With an abundance of Huntsmen and Huntresses and relatively weak Grimm like Beowulfs and Ursai, it made Patch a safe haven in a world of danger.
If Patch was half as peaceful as it was described, it would be pretty good for an early game grind session. Low-level enemies that were already forced away from bystanders and prying eyes would make this place a great way to start figuring out the extent of The Gamer powers. I'd do that at night, though. I should probably figure out how to get a job so I can get an apartment or something.
[Quest Created!]
[Make a Living]
Objective - Get a job and find a cheap apartment to live at.
Rewards: 100 lien, 500xp, a place to live, you aren't described as a bum.
Alright, it seems I have my work cut out for me. Getting a job shouldn't be too hard, hopefully. I should be able to pass as a teenager just trying to get a part-time job. But obviously, that isn't true, I'd need it to be full-time and half decent pay so I can seem not suspicious. After a minute, I sat up and checked my inventory for better clothes than just some super unprofessional joggers.
My inventory was still pretty barren in terms of stuff inside, but I did find some nice jeans I could wear.
[Jeans]
They are just jeans
Equip [Yes/No]
I equipped the jeans, and my joggers disappeared into my inventory. Looking down, my legs were now wrapped in a dark blue fabric with a nice sheen to it. Now that I looked somewhat decent, I walked out of the alley and down a street with a few shops here and there. None of them had a help wanted sign hanging in the front. It's kind of a bummer, especially when I passed such a cute coffee place. I'd like to have a job that suits me, I was an aspiring engineer student before coming here, stuff like welding is what my brother did, and he passed a few things onto me. I'd have liked working in anything that aligned with my previous work experience. Something like [Crafting] in a job would be perfect for me.
[Crafting - level 80]
Experience: 25000/150000
Crafting is a way of unnatural adaptations. To arm or augment yourself in order to gain the upper hand in life. Whether it be weapons, tools, or vehicles, crafting is necessary for your way of life.
God damn! I must've been a savant at it to get this high level. That or everything gave me ridiculous XP because I hardly built things until I was eleven! And if I was the same age as I could remember, I was barely scraping the age of seventeen.
'Seventeen....'
Beacon is probably a dream right now. As I am, I'd probably barely do better than Jaune. I'm gonna need to train a lot before I can go there. But before then, I'm gonna need to figure out a baseline, how strong I need to be before I qualify to be an academic student. Worst comes to worst, I'll need to train independently from Beacon if I don't make the cut.
'As if. Jaune may have made it under false pretenses, but he still stayed in Beacon even after getting tossed around in every fight he was in.'
After losing my train of thought for a while, I started mindlessly enjoying the scenery of downtown Patch. For the most part, it was beautiful. Plenty of people for a small little town. I was walking with a crowd of people, not really close enough to bump shoulders but close enough that it was a bit cramped. As I walked with the people, a man bumped my shoulder roughly before muttering an apology and hurrying away with an anxious stride polluting his steps.
[Item lost: Scroll!]
'What?'
I spun on my heel as I saw the man pushing through several people as he made a path away from me. I studied the man. He had dirty blonde hair, a scarred ear, a freckled neck, and a dark brown leather jacket with a puffy collar.
James Horris
The Theif
Age: 26
Level 21
[Chance encounter! Due to MAX Level LCK, you have encountered a side story! Defeat the man and take back your scroll to start New Storyline!]
Rewards for defeating James Horris, The Thief: 1000 Lien, 2100XP, Title: The Vigilante [Tier 1], you retrieve your scroll.
Oh my God, Han Jihan. [Observe] ! How did I not remember! Doesn't matter right now, though, I just unlocked a new storyline! How cool is that? I need to get my scroll back so I can start the storyline, however, so I have no time to waste! I began pushing my way towards the man. He must've felt me making my way to him because he sped up and started to run through people and to an alley way.
I followed closely behind as he ran towards a narrow alley, barely large enough to fit my broad stature. The man was clearly hyperventilating, I could see how wildly his chest was filling and emptying itself rapidly as I slowly closed the distance between us.
Whenever he realized that he couldn't lose me, his last move was ducking behind a corner. My eyebrows scrunched as I slowed my pace to a slow walk. Each step I took began to build up a very weak buzzing in my mind. When I got within a foot of the corner, my head exploded with sensations, and my body instinctually dodged backward.
Whenever my back foot landed, I stared at where I had just stood. A large metal bat had been slammed into the ground I had been. Several cracks had now indented the ground, forming a spider-web of damage. I turned my gaze upwards and saw Horris looking me in my eyes. His breath was uncontrolled, and his face was racked with anxiousness and apprehension. Horris took in a breath to calm himself before lifting his bat and charging at me to swing as to try and land a hit. Another loud blaring in my head forced me to move. Instinct took over once more as I ducked under the swing. When the metal bat flew over top of my head, I threw a test punch just to see how powerful it was.
To my lack of surprise, my fist struck true and did a whopping eighty-five damage. The man's torso folded on my fist while he tried to back away. I had no intentions of letting him recover. I threw a simple combo of strikes at the man's body and face, hitting all but two of my strikes. The combination damage of continuous hits and critical hits was a solid six hundred and forty-two damage.
I couldn't see how much health he had, but he clearly wasn't going to be getting up anytime soon. His face was already bruising while blood trickled from his mouth and nose. I didn't even get hit. It's pretty sad what desperation can do to a man, but I won't allow myself to linger on his circumstances. I would not take pity on someone doing something evil to another person simply because they felt the need to.
I rubbed my knuckles, feeling the lack of calluses was a suprise, but one I don't find bad. As I thought about my actions, the system popped a window in front of my eyes.
[Defeat James Horris, The Thief: Completed]
Rewards: 1000 Lien, 2100XP, Title: The Vigilante [Tier 1], Your Scroll.
Hidden Objective - Do not suffer any damage while recovering your scroll
Hidden Rewards: +1 AGI, +1 DEX, The Art of Thievery Skill Book
[Side Quest Storyline started!]
[Vigilantism in the City; Neighborhood Hero]
- Objectives -
Stop 10 acts of violence
Help 10 civilians
[You leveled up! +5 wild points!]
'I don't know what's worse, the fact that I get rewarded for beating on random criminals or the fact that I find the idea appealing.'
Like, it's totally wrong to be a violent criminal, but is it wrong to be violent to a violent criminal? Is that why it's considered a moral grey zone? Doesn't matter, I just got a new Quest, and it sounded badass! It's also super dangerous, though. I'll need to actually train if I want to minimize how much I'm going to get my ass kicked.
I had plenty to think about as I made my way back to the city street. I pulled up my scroll, I had an idea for a job that would be super helpful in the very near future. And as luck would have it, I found just the place I was looking for.
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The Weapon Rosary was a newly established smithing store that sold pre-made weapons and surplus materials while also taking commissions for weapons. There were three parts of the building it was in, the storage room where the parts and extra materials were. Then there was the workshop, a few workstations with a forge inside, which I felt was going to be my personal favorite room. Then, there was the actual store. Customers could walk in and buy materials or weapons or entire weapon augmentations.
Obviously, being a newly established store, it required skilled smiths to make all the items within the store. And wouldn't you know, I happen to fit the bill pretty fucking well. With a [Crafting] skill that was already advanced, I was a shoe into the hiring. At least I hope I am. I can remember that Ruby's weapon was heavily complex, and while I was fully capable of replicating such a creation, it's more the smaller details that worry me. Any bladed weapon is easy, but a mecha-shift weapon with multiple different forms is something even I would find extraordinarily difficult to make.
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My thoughts persisted negatively and positively as I entered The Weapon Rosary. The shop was pretty rustic looking, Armor stands, wooden floorboards, an open roof with dusty support beams. Despite the appearance of lack of care, it looked more aged and themed towards a more medieval look. When I had entered, a bell at the top of the door rang, which had signaled my arrival. The shifting of boxes and heavy footsteps coming from the back had indicated that the owner knew they now had company.
"One moment!"
A rather deep voice called out. It was hardly gravel-y, but it had a touch of lightness in it. It's almost like a mixture of both a deep and guttural sound with a hint of a lighter-than-air accent. It's an odd combination for sure, but it certainly doesn't come unwanted.
As the figure entered the front room, I took in their appearance. A giant of a woman walked in, and as she did, I started to understand why it was an open roof building. I may not have described the small building well enough. It looked more like a small cottage on the outside with an upwards triangular roof. The height of the roof would have stopped at nearly six feet and a handful of inches. The woman that now stood in front of me was much taller than a measly six foot. She easily surpassed seven feet tall. In comparison, I'm nearly six-foot five, and she practically dwarfed me.
Brigid Sprein
The Blacksmithing Giantess
Age: 39
Level 47
"Oh, hello there!"
Brigid said while wiping her face. Soot covered her clothesline, and sweat dripped from her face. Her jacket was ragged, obviously from years of exposure to fire, and ash was almost imbued into the material. Her welding hood looked aged, the paint bubbled, and torn from the many sparks that fly from molten metal.
"Hi, miss! I heard you started hiring recently? My name is Lautrec Griscern."
I bowed my head slightly in respect. I lifted my eyes to meet her amused gaze, a slight smirk on her lips.
Miss Brigid pulled off her gloves and set them on a nearby desk, talking long and slow struts towards me. Her smile looked sharp but also gentle as she took her place in front of me.
"Well, Lautrec, I'm Brigid Sprein. You may have heard that I recently set up shop here, and yes, I am looking for an apprentice or two. After all, being such an esteemed blacksmith, my skills need someone to be passed on to."
Brigid put her hand out to me, and I heartily grabbed her hand and shook it.
"Then when do we start working, Miss Brigid?"
My voice laced with confidence as I continued forward. Her smile grew a bit, as I spoke. She looked me up and down before opening her mouth to speak.
"Well, since you're so eager, we can get to work right now. I actually have I client who requested some very specific parts for some scythe she's making."
Miss Brigid took her welding hood off and laid it on a nearby table.
"No welding, no putting together parts, just matching the description of a few small parts. About five different nuts and bolts and ten of each type. She wants a good bit in surplus in case she breaks it in training."
My eyes fell to a piece of paper that Miss Brigid held. Each of the pieces I was making had a very detailed description, which also included an entire schematic for each and every single one of them. My mind slowly turned, and the cogs within my brain aligned at a snail's pace before I thought to use [Observe] on the paper.
Whenever I activated [Observe], a small text box appeared, stating I had learned a specific recipe for parts.
'Gods, if I can learn recipes for things just by looking at schematics...'
If only I could find schematics of Atlas robots and weapons, the stuff I could do with all of that nearly made me burst into devious giggling. I lightly shook my head, I still had a job to do.
"Alright, I got 'em down."
I turned away from the paper, choosing to look at Miss Brigid. I lightly motioned for her to lead me to the Forge.
"Oh, you got something of a photographic memory then, huh? That's useful for a job like this."
The giant of a woman grabbed my forearm and began leading me toward the back. Whenever we got to the door the quiet crackling of fire entered my ears. I turned in the direction of said fire, and the forge lay in front of me. It was a thing of beauty, the stone and metal were aged and weathered. Next to the blackened forge were several ingots of various metals.
It was very clear that this forge was used, and it was used often.
"You in awe already? You haven't even seen my work!"
Miss Brigid exclaimed, chuckling at my obvious awe. It wasn't my first time in a forge, but goddamn it was my first time in a forge with this type of rustic beauty. My eyes averted themselves from the tantalizing flames, choosing to refocus on the metal and wood works that Miss Brigid had on display. Most of the weapons or tools seemed either damaged or incomplete, but there was one that caught my eye. It looked shockingly reminiscent of the Nights' Edge from Terraria.
'Observe'
[Fractured Godly True Night's Edge]
Damage: 5200
Debuff: Due to Fracture, DMG reduced by 90%
'Holy shit! That's a fuck ton of damage!'
My mind was turned upside down. Even with the debuff, over three thousand damage for a True Night's Edge is ridiculous! If Terraria had busted items like this just lying around, I needed an ID Create!
.
.
....
Hello? ID Create? Sorry... Instant Dungeon Create!
.
.
...
"Hey, kid! Come on! We got work to do!"
Miss Brigid's fist thumped against my shoulder, knocking me out of my stupor.
I shook my head, of course, I wouldn't get ID Create. Every single other Gamer got ID Create but no~ not me. Still, no reason to sulk. I have a lot of other benefits, like skills, experience, wild points, and numerical stats. Pretty broken already, so I can tell why the gods wouldn't want me to become infinitely powerful overnight through ID Create.
"Coming, Miss Brigid."
I followed her to my station, before starting my work. The flames licked the sides of the forge, begging to be fueled even more. This was one of my favorite sights. "If I may ask, where did you get that sword over there?"
My attention returned to the True Night's Edge, Miss Brigid seemed to follow my gaze until she landed upon the same blade.
"Oh, that old thing? I found it a while back. It was embedded into some really hard rock. It was odd, had an ethereal glow to it back then. Now it looks worse than it did when I found it." While she was speaking, her hands reached up and picked up the damaged blade from the wall. "Yeah, I remember it like it was yesterday. This sword was a beauty, I couldn't figure out for the life of me how to recreate it. The metal is so odd, and every time I hold it now it feels... wrong."
Maybe it was wrong to her, but the Night's Edge called to me. Begging me to use it. To let it bite into monsters, to carve Grimm.
"Can I buy it off of you?" The words slipped from my tongue. I didn't think to say it, but my mouth moved faster than my mind. Whether it was just out of caution for her safety or from my obsession over the blade didn't matter anymore. It was her choice to let me buy it or not.
[Due to high LCK, Brigid Sprein is considering it!]
[For managing to convince Brigid Sprein to do something she is heavily against, Charisma has leveled up ×5]
"Tell you what, thirty thousand lien, and it's yours." Her eyes looked over to me, waiting for me to pull out the cards. Whenever I didn't she sighed lightly before continuing on.
"I'm feeling generous, so I'll give you a few days to pull together enough money for this sword. If you don't make it in that time, no broken mystery swords for you. Sound like a deal?"
[Due to high LCK, a hidden Side Quest has been found!]
[Hunt for the True Night's Edge]
- Objectives:
Create Light's Bane
Acquire a Muramasa
Acquire a Blade of Grass
Acquire a Fiery Greatsword
Combine all ingredients
Defeat All-Seeing Argus for 20 Souls of Sight
Defeat Golgerath the Skeleton Ogre for 20 Souls of Might
Defeat The Thing for 20 Souls of Fright
Combine ingredients for (Unknown Rank) True Night's Edge
OR
Repair Fractured Godly True Night's Edge
Rewards: True Night's Edge, +10 Sword Mastery, +10 Crafting, ?, ?, and ?
"That's a deal, Miss Brigid!"
I could feel excitement boil within me. Come nightfall, I'm gonna go farming. But for now, I need to get started on these little trinkets.
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It only took like two hours for me to finish up. The pieces weren't extravagant by any means. They needed very little metal as well. After I finished making the small pieces, I was pleasantly surprised that my luck made the pieces perfect, with zero imperfections. All in all, I'm getting the job.
Miss Brigid said she'd inspect the pieces, and give me a call back within a few days or a week. I gave her my information and stuff before heading out for the day. The sun was barely hitting mid-day now, maybe two or three P.M. at the latest. Which means I have a lot of free time to do absolutely nothing. I don't really feel like going to find an apartment right now, but I have seen that a thousand lien will have me settled for a month and a half at the best and two weeks at the worst.
With a small sigh, I walked around. If I was this bored back in my world, I'd either read, play video games, or go to the gym. And like light bulbs, my eyes lit up.
'THE GYM!'
If [Gamer's Body] worked how I thought it worked, I could just stay in the gym all day until I have a load of strength, agility, and dexterity. My hands fished in my pockets for my scroll, and I quickly pulled up Bunjii for directions to the nearest gym. It was a quick process, and the gym didn't look too shabby.
'Aura Gym, a gymnasium for all the hardest workers.'
I nearly laughed at the advertising. The images that had littered the page about them was all of the corniest things ever. "We go Gym" or "GrZZ Brah".
Truthfully, it didn't matter how corny it was. As long as it was a decent gym with good equipment, I wouldn't hate it too much. My jog there only took an hour, I gained another point to AGI and STR for continuous running again. And when I arrived it looked pretty packed. Cars took up every parking spot and when I peeked inside through a few windows, there weren't many free places. Maybe an empty bench or machine here or there but not a lot of empty free-weight stuff.
I had to inwardly sigh as I walked into the place. Getting through the doors of a gym was always the most difficult part of working out. It's always awkward walking into a new gym, is like walking into a friend's house for the first time. You don't want to fuck up their way of life by being there, but you also want to be there and do shit.
'Worst comes to worst, I'll just have to ask others if I can work in with them..'
I stepped towards the front desk where a woman looked up at me before smiling that fake customer service smile. I preemptively took out all of my liens and had them lay in my pocket.
"Hello, sir, is there anything I can do for you today?"
As she finished her sentence, I instantly became aware of all the stares people were sending me. I couldn't see anyone, but I definitely could feel their gazes on the back of my head. Was it the way I was dressed? I'd hope not, I switched to a larger shirt and the pair of joggers I wore earlier. That type of attire was pretty standard for the gym. With a slight nervousness now ingrained in my mind, I opened my mouth to speak.
"Yes ma'am. I wanted to sign up for a membership. How much will that cost?"
I felt like kicking myself in the face for not checking their prices beforehand. It's so simple to just check the prices and see how much I need instead of doing all this. I felt a few gazes intensify whenever I asked, this gym was by far the worst reception ever.
"Well, sir, it's about a hundred lien monthly. You can pay with either cash or scroll."
Oof. I could tell by her voice this place was price gouging, she sounded almost guilty. but the prospect of training was too good to pass up. Thing was, I just don't have enough money to pay for this monthly subscription for long. But at the same time though, I could farm some Grimm for lien. Let's be real, what other items are they gonna drop?
"I'll be paying with cash, ma'am, Here's the 100 lien."
As I placed the money on the counter, she nodded and handed me a key card to the gym, putting the money in a drawer with a small smile. Maybe they got tips for cash payments? Better tipsmaybe? I don't really get how financials work here yet.
Whenever I turned toward all the actual gym area, I made a small and astute observation. There were a lot of girls. And I mean a lot. Not a few more girls than guys, no, I mean that there was about two other guys in the gym other than me. I had a good few eyes staring at me, which made me avert my gaze away from the gym goers. The ratio of men to women was insane. Like one to six type insane.
You know what, it doesn't matter. It only matters if it affects me, and as far as I'm concerned, a few stares don't affect me. The second I start working out, It'll fade into the background. I made my way toward the weight rack and picked up a few of my regular dumbells before starting my workout. I won't say that I'm massive, but I was far from weak. I knew that I was in the top one percent of humanity in terms of athletics, but even then I knew where I stood in terms of lifting. I should not be lifting what I was lifting with no difficulty.
My sixty-five-pound curl shouldn't be going up that easy. So, I re-racked the weight and jumped up a few classes until I found a weight I was comfortable with. One-ten was what fell under comfortable for me.
'Did three strength really make that much of a difference!?'
The longer this day went on the more surprises it had in store.
It took a few minutes to get used to my new strength, everything I had done before went up by double pretty much. Each exercise had a massive boost. And since I can do full body every day, I'd imagine strength was gonna be falling in pretty fast. It was a long day, and my final exercise was squats. I had spent about five hours here, because I didn't actually get exhausted I could do as many sets as I wanted without any detriment to me or my body. So I ended up with ten sets of everything as heavy as I could go.
I lost myself in my own little world, a lifting trance that I usually found myself in on hard days. All in all, I was tranquil only letting out a few grunts of strain on the heavier stuff. No one had approached me, I hadn't needed to ask anyone to work out with them.
Quick and easy day.
.
.
.
.
.
At least it was, until I got tapped on the shoulder by some random. As my trance broke, I looked to who tapped me, lo and behold, it was a character of the main story.
Yang Xiao-Long
The Young Dragon
Age: 15
[Level: 31]
Well, this was a surprise. Pleasant or unpleasant hasn't been decided just yet.
"Yes?"
My voice carried the same confidence it had before, with no imperfections. Now that I think about it, my voice was really soothing. A mixture of deep and soft. And Yang, let me tell you, Yang was beautiful as the morning sun. Her hair looked so incredibly well taken care of, light seemed to surround and radiate from its flawlessness.
"I saw you going around lifting the bigger weights, so I was just wondering if you could, maybe, spot me?" Everything about how she spoke sounded uncertain, like she hadn't even built up the courage to talk to me before standing before me. "You know, I just thought 'If anyone could spot me, it'd be you'."
Her words remained unconfident, but I won't lie and say her demeanor wasn't appealing. It was so adorable how she played with her hair to calm her nerves.
"Of course, I'll spot you. But after that you gotta tell me what brands you use on your hair. Your hair looks really good."
I stopped my squat session and re-racked the bar before putting up the weight as fast as I could. I could see Yang go to the other side of the bar and pull off the weight there, maybe taking her mind of the hair comment.
'Fuck was that creepy? I really fucking hope not.'
Maybe I came off a little weird. With that though I really hope not.
"What are you hitting today?" A very safe and simple question to ask a gym goer. It was the safest way to break the ice, as everyone who goes to the gym eventually falls into a routine.
"Oh, uh, I'm not working anything in particular today. Just hitting a new PR on bench. I haven't PR'd in a long time so I decided today that I would PR. I might do a bit more chest later, but I'm not a hundred percent sure yet." Yang spoke with newfound confidence. She was undoubtedly more comfortable speaking on topics she understood, me being an unknown made her naturally uncertain.
'God damn, when did I become Sherlock Holmes? Acting like a detective and shit.'
I allowed myself to laugh at my weirdly accurate detective skills. My brain felt unnaturally sharp. Maybe it was my intelligence stat making me consistently more intelligent, or maybe my wisdom making me more open to understanding. Hell, it could just be my small charisma boost from earlier and the title.
"Would it be fine if I PR'd with you? I haven't PR'd in quite some time either. Maybe we can even make a competition out of it." Maybe it was that we were around the same age, but I felt like I could try and sound suave and cool with what I said. I really was praying the extra five charisma from earlier would help me not embarrass myself.
Her face gained a small smirk, her strength was definitely what she took the most amount of pride in. Maybe just a little less than her hair.
"Sounds fine to me, but just know that when I beat you, I'm not gonna feel sorry at all. Hot or not mister."
Yang puffed out her chest - as if it wasn't big enough am I right? - and flexed her impressive arms and shoulders.
"And when I win, you're gonna give me your scroll number, you got that?"
Now, I'm not usually a super prideful person, so whenever I felt a wave of pride I had to quickly block it out with more competitiveness.
"Sure, blondie. But just know that when you lose, you owe me a kiss on the cheek."
"You couldn't handle a kiss from me, bleached hair."
"Oh, I can handle a lot more than just a kiss, Blondie. Do you want me to prove it?" My own clapback had me shocked. When did I get that bold?! Something like that would never have come out of my super unconfident dumbass mouth!
'Oh god, she's blushing. Why did that work in my favor!? That line was so weird and cringe!'
[For being incredibly bold and getting a positive reception for such a bold statement Charisma has leveled up!]
'Oh my fucking God game, NOT. THE. TIME! EMBARRASS ME LATER PLEASE!'
"We going to bench first? The faster we get this done, the faster we can see who wins our wager." My voice held a serene confidence that I mentally lacked right now. Gamer's Mind or not, I felt embarrassed for both myself and her. I knew a few people looked our way when I said that, I could feel their gazes reach us, and I couldn't help but pity the embarrassment Yang probably felt.
Yang turned her gaze to meet mine, her lilac eyes were truly something else, if there was one thing I was going to appreciate in Remnant, it was going to be the unique eye colors everyone had. As I looked to her, i couldn't help but admire her fully, weird as that was. Her form fit the hourglass ideal that had been popularized, and her hair made for a bright backdrop to contrast her black sports bra and black sports shorts. Very cool looking.
"Y-yeah, bench works fine for me. My chest does need some stimulation, I can feel my muscles getting softer by the day!" Yang must've realized what she said a bit too late, her attempt to change the awkward mood failed pretty spectacularly. My hand reached up and covered my mouth, I had to get my need to laugh under control. It would serve neither of us any to embarrass her further.
"That was terrible phrasing my god!" I tried to say before busting out in laughter. She must've understood just how ridiculous she sounded because Yang herself joined in. Her heavy chuckles combined with my hearty laughter made me feel like there actually could be a bond between the two of us.
"Oh whatever, like you're any better! 'I can handle more than a kiss, want me to prove it'." Her poor imitation of my voice served to make us chuckle even more. It didn't take a scholar to see how stupid we both sounded. "It couldn't have sounded worse! I'm fifteen you know? Everyone else does, they'd probably beat you up if you tried anything, bleached hair."
I had to stop myself from smirking, I must've looked pretty good to pass for an adult. Bleached hair didn't sound great, but next time I get a mirror I'm gonna have to check how I look. A mix of luck, charisma, and good looks have carried me pretty far throughout today.
"Wow, really? We're decently close in age then. I'm sixteen, and my name is Lautrec. Lautrec Griscern." I stuck my hand outward with a smile. Meeting Yang has been a pretty good experience so far. Yang, perhaps rightfully so, looked dumbfounded. She took my hand slowly before shaking it heartily.
"That's so weird! I assumed you were, like, early twenties! Your face is so, I dunno, defined? And you looked super mature. Not to mention the build, muscles like that will make people think you're on roids!" Yang playfully swatted my shoulder while chuckling to herself. Too bad we had approached the bench, now we actually had to lift, which was almost a shame.
"Oh please, flatter me later, alright? What weight do you want to push, we gotta work our way up to that before I overtake you." I flashed a taunting smile, I doubted it actually do anything other than fuel her competitive drive. And by God was I right, it was like a fire lit behind her eyes.
"Let's start at three-fifteen, we'll go up from there." I had to manually stop my eyes from widening, starting with three-fifteen was insane to me! At least it was until I remembered the weight I was pushing earlier. My bench before coming to Remnant was about three-ninety-five. Now I could bench over seven hundred pounds if math held up.
A cocky grin graced my lips, I felt way too confident for my own good, but by God's did it feel justified. Seven hundred pounds was almost world record weight, two hundred pounds off of it if remember correctly. If that wasn't worthy of justification, I didn't know what was.
"Alright then, blondie, prepare to get smoked!"
_____________________________
_____________________________
I won't say I got competitive, but seeing Yang not only beat my records but completely shatter them? That made me a little peeved. She could move tons of weight, literally.
"This felt rigged. The bar purposefully went against me." I'm not usually a sore loser, but I was just so confident before this. My ego was at an all-time high. I felt pretty much unstoppable. But then Yang decided to defy any and all logic I had applied to human biology by pushing weight that no human should be able to push.
"Aww, poor baby! Are you sad that a girl is stronger than you? Do you want me to go get you your bottle and bwankie?" Yang taunted me all throughout our session. It started when I was beginning to struggle on six-thirty-five. She hadn't even started to sweat yet. What a debacle I was in, I became drastically aware how weak I was compared to her whenever [Observe] leveled up.
Name: Yang Xiao-Long
Title: The Infant Dragon
Age: 15
Level: 31
Health: 1150/1150
Aura: 3800/3800
Mana: 0/0
Race: Human
Relationship: Friend
VIT: 46
STR: 132
DEX: 73
AGI: 52
CHA: 21
INT: 46
WIS: 18
LCK: 19
She wasn't a monster - that was reserved for people beyond the hundreds - but her stats were a good bit above mine in pretty much all regards. The only stat that I was near her in was Charisma, and that was because my title gave me a twenty percent boost! With my wild points, I could overtake her in stats, but it'd take all my wild points.
"Ah, be quiet Yang. Give me time and I'll overtake you!" Not an exaggerated ask either. If I made an effort to push Gamer's Body to its limit, I'd undoubtedly surpass her in strength.
"Puh-lease! If you manage to surpass me at all, maybe I'll grant you that kiss you wanted before, hmm?" The teasing refused to cease.
"Oh, I'll be sure to show you just how much room I have to grow then. But, until that time, I'm heading to go do some bag work. See you later, Yang!" I walked a way pretty fast. I did waste another hour and a half just lifting with Yang. As fun as it was, it wasn't a good, or efficient, use of my time.
[For working out non-stop and pushing your body to its limit continuously for six and a half hours, STR has leveled up× 12! DEX has leveled up ×4]
[For speaking to an incredibly beautiful girl for over an hour flawlessly, Charisma has leveled up ×3]
'Ho~ly shit. Stats.'
I needed to see that increase. The fact that I grew so much in just a day? Nearly double my strength, within a day?!
Name: Lautrec Griscern
Title: The Fool
Age: 16
Level: 14
Experience: 700/2600
Health: 900/900
Aura: 300/300
Mana: 820/820
Class: Combat Mage
Race: Human
VIT: 18
STR: 34
DEX: 17
AGI: 17
CHA: 19 [+3.8]
INT: 13 [+1.3]
WIS: 11
LCK: 500(MAX)
Wild Points: 70
[Abilities]
My amazement stayed with me for the entire walk to the punching bag. I just couldn't wrap my head around just how fast I grew in strength. If twenty-two strength had me lifting strongman-level weight, was thirty-four classified as superhuman?
'If this isn't motivation to train more, I have no clue what is!'
My thoughts danced through my head giddily. I had reached the bottom of a flight of stairs and stood in front of a smaller door. As I opened the door, the sounds of a treadmill filled my ears. Shoes slamming onto the rubber floor of the treadmill were something that quickly became synonymous with the room itself. I naturally trailed my eyes toward the sound, and to my shock, there I saw one Ruby Rose.
Name: Ruby Rose
Title: Lone Flower
Age: 13
Level: 29
Health: 855/865
Aura: 3000/3000
Mana: 0/0
Race: Human
VIT: 22
STR: 27
DEX: 83
AGI: 98
CHA: 6
INT: 72
WIS: 11
LCK: 12
Wow! Her stats were insanely skewered. The focus on dexterity and agility was so apparent it was ridiculous! Her intelligence is also stupidly high, but I guess it would need to be, huh? Making Cresent Rose as highly complicated, if insanely inefficient, as she did must've been a real mind fuck. I still can't imagine making something as complicated as that. But that's not the point! I shook my head lightly, any attempts to find my trance was needed. Cardio was a brutal one, something like boxing and kickboxing were especially grueling. I could run for a long ass time, but put me on the bag and I'll be steady for all of twenty minutes before collapsing.
'This is for the agility, think of the agility! Don't forget, gamer's body won't just allow me to keel over in exhaustion, no excuses this time!'
I gave myself a few slaps on the face before beginning my short warm-up.
Jab, Jab.
Jab, Jab, Cross.
Jab, Jab, Cross, Hook.
Jab, Jab, Cross, Hook, Dodge.
Jab, Jab, Cross, Hook, Dodge, Jab
Jab, Jab, Cross, Hook, Dodge, Jab, Elbow
Lead Hook, Block.
Lead Hook, Block, Jab.
Lead Hook, Block, Jab, Dodge.
Lead Hook, Block, Jab, Dodge, Knee.
Lead Hook, Block, Jab, Dodge, Knee, Elbow.
Lead Hook, Block, Jab, Dodge, Knee, Elbow, Low-Kick.
I made sure to memorize every single move that I had thrown. Keep a pace, as fast as you possibly can for as long as possible. When it came to Cardio, your greatest enemy isn't your body, it's your mind. It will beg you to quit and would reward you with a hit of dopamine to get you to stop before you were truly done. My breath was controlled, completely based on instinct now. I did not need to forcibly concentrate on such a trivial task now.
.
.
.
..
...
....
Grunts, huffs, and ragged breaths were coming from my mouth. I had no idea how long I've been going. My brain had been conquered with the use of Gamer's mind. I felt no need to quit out, but I knew it was under two hours. My breath was still somewhat controlled, but my body was collapsing. My speed was diminished, only my form remained. With a huff, I slowly pushed myself to move faster. A difficult process, but I managed to kick my muscles into a fourth gear. My body's complaints fell into the background and the burning within my body faded. My concentration began to double, as speed was slowly gained.
'I won't leave this bag standing! By the time I'm done, it'll be reduced to a torn, sandy mesh on the floor!' My teeth grit in pure determination, and a grin forced itself on my mouth. I was an unstoppable force, and this bag just so happened to be an obstacle in my way.
At least, that was the goal. My concentration was rapidly diminished by the sound of a door slamming open behind me.
"Ruby! You ready to go?" A tired voice spoke out. I recognized it immediately.
'God dammit, Yang.!'
My concentration was thoroughly destroyed, so with a huff, I turned away from the bag and wiped my perfectly non-sweaty forehead.
"Oh! What's up, Lautrec!" Just like that, her voice turned slightly higher pitch and upbeat. It isn't like her voice was annoying, but by the Gods, does she make it hard to enjoy when I'm trying to rest.
"Hi, Yang! Yeah, I'm ready to go!" Ruby called out. She had picked up an unseen bag and threw her headphones into the said bag along with her bottle of water.
'She sounds way too chipper for just having run at least a few dozen miles...'
"Yang, how the hel- heck isn't she tired? She's been fully sprinting since before I came down here!" I was a little bitter, the fact that she managed to stay completely unaffected from that much running WITHOUT Gamer's Body was ridiculous. Even I felt exhausted after all of that. Sure I recovered insanely fast, but I still felt tired!
"Oh, my name's Ruby!" She raised a hand and awkwardly waved toward me. I sent her a small smile and waved back, if only to be polite. "My semblance requires me to have a buttload of stamina! What good is super-speed if you can't hold it for any longer than a minute or two, amiright?"
The look on her face was equal parts adorable and awkward. She was trying way too hard to look cool right now, but she failed to actually find false bravado. Her eyes would flick over to Yang every other moment during her talking.
"Super-speed, hm? Does that mean you have super-reaction time? Or is it only when you are in your super speed?" My eyes met Ruby's gaze, and in my peripheral vision, I saw Yang look at me approvingly. Seems like I hit a good topic. Ruby probably didn't like bragging about herself, but she'd also like talking about fighting I'd imagine. So talking about her type of fighting would not only make her comfortable but also open up about herself.
'Goodness gracious, man! I really am a conversationalist Sherlock Holmes. I caught myself doing this twice already!'
"Oh, I actually don't have super-reaction time at all! It's more like a danger sense, like Arachnid-Boy!" She said happily. My face slightly shifted, for one her voice was surprisingly not annoyingly high pitch, but was pretty fucking adorable. For two, Arachnid-Boy? Really? That was the worst possible nickname for Spider-Man. Next she's gonna say his name is Willy Driver instead of Peter Parker.
"Do you not know who Arachnid-Boy is?" Her tone lightly shifted to confused anxiousness.
"I can't say I know, but the name is slightly familiar." I had finally caught up to the two girls, we had started our walk out. Well, they had. I was just following to talk. I had no real idea if I was leaving or not. I wanted at least twelve more agility and a bit more dexterity if I could. And, while it may seem scummy, talking to Yang and Ruby was currently a way to level up my Charisma. I'd need it eventually if I wanted Ozpin to trust my word against Cinder's. Though she probably had killer charism, I trust that Ozpin would see past any lie she could tell if I could counter it with just as much charisma. "If you want, you can tell me about it. I'd be happy to learn."
Ruby's eyes lit up, as she began to talk to me in-depth about the lore of Arachnid-Boy. How his name was Dick Turner and he was bitten by a Spider Grimm, transforming his body into a Grimman or Humimm whatever. Using his new abilities to fight off hordes of Grimm and save the innocent civilians in the big city of Vale.
Her passion for all things comic's made me ask a few questions about the character, like if he had any teammates or any super-powered enemies. She listed a few before stopping, we had reached the entrance and exit doors.
"Thanks for the recommendations, Ruby. I'll be sure to check out the actual comics whenever I have the time." I smiled at her and gave her a quick fist bump to send her off. But before Ruby could walk away, Yang pulled her back over by the hem of Ruby's sweaty tee.
"Oh no no no, we aren't leaving just yet! We gotta get a group picture! I mean, we just met the third coolest person in the gym. And Ruby made her first friend out of Signal, that's something worth celebrating."
Yang whipped out her scroll while pulling Ruby, Herself, and I close enough to one another to get a nicer picture.
"Oh, Yang! Who cares about me making friends, I have plenty of friends!" Ruby proclaimed loudly. There was a good deal of embarrassment covering her face, and she also refused to meet my eyes.
"No, I think I know what this is. She doesn't care about a group photo, Yang just wants my number~, oooo~" I mockingly dragged out the last word of my sentence before, faux-swooning. Yang's face grew a light blush as she turned away ever so slightly.
"Pshh, as if! I'm doing this so Ruby has a memento of her first guy friend ever!" Okay, light embarrassment from her but also nothing but a simple deflection.
"Oh really? Since you don't want my number, we dont have to exchange them. If it really is that much a bother for you, that is." Something super small, if she wanted my number, then she'll ask for it directly. Kind of scummy, again, but also a small power play. She'll either begrudgingly ask for my number, or she'd walk away which she won't do.
But I made a miscalculation, Yang is nothing if not confident, she wouldn't back down that easily.
[Charisma Check failed! Yang Xiao-Long is not swayed!]
[Luck Check Failed! Critical Failure! Yang Xiao-Long is too confident in herself to be swayed so easily!]
"Yeah, it would take up some more time, and we gotta get home soon. Sucks that we don't have time to trade numbers. See you, Lautrec!" Yang began her slow walk away, probably waiting for me to call out to her or walk away aswell. Question was, do I fold and call out to her? I bit the inside of my cheek, seems luck wouldn't get me through all the embarrassment I ever faced.
With a breath, I went to speak.
"Ya-"
But I didn't get to finish.
"I'll give you my number..."
I tell you now, what I just heard Ruby mumble actually short-circuited my brain. Like a forceful pit stop for my mind to recover. My gaze switched back and fourth between Yang and Ruby, and Yang must've heard Ruby's words as well, seeing as her feet were now planted, with her face peeking over her shoulder. I did not like the way she looked at me.
"I- um- well- uh..."
I won't lie, I'm stammering and stuttering like it was going out of fashion.
Ruby caught on to this pretty hard, her own embarrassment showing.
"Uh, here!"
Ruby quickly wrote down her number on a piece of paper before pushing it into my hand. After her action, she bolted to Yang, grabbed her hand, and dragged both herself and Yang away at full speed. All the while I was left dumbstruck.
[For thoroughly and harshly training speed, endurance, combat skill, and difficult movements for two hours, Vitality has leveled up ×5! Agility has leveled up ×15! Dexterity has leveled up ×10! Striking has leveled ×8! Kicking has leveled ×9! Gaurding has leveled up ×4]
[Hidden Quest: The Trio of Trouble]
Objective: Befriend Yang Xiao-Long and Ruby Rose before you leave they leave the gym!
Rewards: +5 CHA, New Title: Conversationalist, Reputation Increase with Yang Xiao-Long, Reputation Increase with Ruby Rose.
Hidden Objective A: Make Yang Xiao-Long a potential romantic partner
Rewards: +8 CHA, +5 STR, +5 Wild Points, Large Reputation Increase with Yang Xiao-Long, Reputation Increase with Ruby Rose, Reputation Decrease with Qrow Branwen, large Reputation Decrease with Taiyang Xiao-Long.
Hidden Objective B: Failed
Hidden Objectives C: Failed
Hidden Objective D: Failed
Today.... Today was definitely a long day....
_____________________________________________
WORD COUNT: 10,322 WORDS
CHAPTER 1 "NEW GAME"
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Omake: Yang Vs Lautrec
'I won't leave this bag standing! By the time I'm done, it'll be reduced to a torn, sandy mesh on the floor!' My teeth grit in pure determination, and a grin forced itself on my mouth. I was an unstoppable force, and this bag just so happened to be an obstacle in my way.
My hands continually hit the bag, pushing it harder and harder, my hits we slowly getting so loud I couldn't even hear the door to the room open, and I was so focused I couldn't tell that I now had an audience of two people. However, I did notice their gazes whenever I was taking a quick breather from the bag.
"Oh, what's up, Yang?"
I greet her again, taking slightly heavier breaths.
"Dude! I didn't know you boxed, and you're good too!"
Yang was quick to compliment my skills, which actually had yet to catch up to what I once was.
I did smile a bit at her words though. It was hardly uncommon for me to be complemented on my skills, but they still always made my heart warm up. Of course it could also be that it was the Yang Xiao-Long that said it, but I'd never admit it if it was.
"Ah, thanks, Yang, but it was more kickboxing than boxing. I'm sure you could tell I favor kicks over hands."
To be honest, it was something I've done since I started kickboxing. My legs have always been long, so it only made sense to kick instead of getting in close with my hands.
"Well, maybe you just haven't had enough experience with your hands! It's so much more fun to get reeeeeally close and let them know you are the one beating them!"
There was a fire behind Yangs' eyes, a fire I definitely did not appreciate.
"Yaaaang, can we go?"
The smaller girl in black and red asked.
"Hold on, Rubes, big sis has to do something."
Yang smirked slyly, turning away from the pouting Ruby.
"Lautrec Griscern! I challenge you to a spar!"
Yang yelled out to me, her voice echoing in the room as she pointed at me. The look she was giving me was viscious, and it promised one he'll of a fight if I picked it.
That said.... could I really say no? I HAD to test my mettle.
"Alright Yang, I accept your duel! I hope you are ready to fight to the death!"
I matched her energy ten fold, and I was fully willing to go the distance with Yang here.
"Rubes! Throw me my gloves!"
The blonde bombshell called out while dropping into the ring with me. Yang reached up, and tied her hair into a ponytail before extending her arms back just in time to catch both gloves on her hands.
'How is that even possible? those gloves cannot be open enough to have perfrctly slid onto her hands.'
Nevertheless, I readied myself as well. Tightening my own gloves and stretching my legs and arms out.
"Are we doing kickboxing or what?"
"Everything goes, just nothing like eye pokes or groin shots or biting. Though you'd probably like that, huh?"
Yang said, teasing me.
"Yeah right, just fight me already. Aura or no aura?"
With a roll of my eyes, I respond.
"No aura, so that'd way you'll actually have a chance."
The look on Yangs' face was all too smug. But she was definitely correct in her assessment. I'd lose and lose hard if I fought her with aura, even with my supposed Mana which had yet to have a use. She'd pummel me fast, ridiculously fast and with stupid amounts of ease.
"Okay, got it."
I nodded.
'Game, can you deactivate my aura?'
[Aura Supression(Temporary)- 30:00]
"Alright, Yang, you ready?"
Glancing over to Yang, I saw her stretching in preparation for our spar.
"Yeah, yeah, let me get my aura down."
With a flash of yellow, her aura vanished.
Name: Yang Xiao-Long
Title: The Infant Dragon
Age: 15
Level: 31
Health: 1150/1150
Aura[SUPRESSED]: 3800/3800
Mana: 0/0
Race: Human
Relationship: Friend
VIT: 46
STR: 35
DEX: 32
AGI: 24
CHA: 21
INT: 46
WIS: 18
LCK: 19
'Okay, that's much more reasonable. Stats are definitely still skewered against me, by... a lot. But who knows? Maybe I can actually get this done.'
I could feel my hands tighten, she had double my dexterity, one more strength, seven more agility, and twenty-eight more vitality. While I was still not fully sure how any of the stats fully worked, I could take reasonable guesses as to how they worked. Dexterity was obvious, that's just finesse and flexibility. Agility.... was speed? I think anyway. Strength was, again obvious, physical strength. Vitality was the confusing one. Yang has nearly triple my vitality with only two hundred fifty more hit points. So clearly that wasn't what vitality covered. Maybe it covered regen rates? Hers was probably naturally boosted thanks to Aura, like mine was as well, but I couldn't see the boosts for myself weirdly enough.
Name: Lautrec Griscern
Title: The Fool
VIT: 18
STR: 34
DEX: 17
AGI: 17
CHA: 19 [+3.8]
INT: 13 [+1.3]
WIS: 11
LCK: 500(MAX)
'Huff... luck don't fail me now!'
Without any more waiting, I set my feet a bit wider than shoulder width, my lead led extended out. My chin was pulled down, my right hand brought against my cheek and my left extended outward toward Yang. My stance was the standard stance of a mixed-martial artists kickboxer, a stance I picked up from watching Adesanya and Volkanovski. Yang's stance was much more closed off, and to my surprise was actually extremely close to the Peek-A-Boo style.
My lips quirked upward, this could end up being a walk in the park if I land a question mark kick out the gate or just an up kick. But there's no way she doesn't expect that, right? She's so open to kicks...
My eyes narrowed, I examined her closer.
'No, this is a trick. She knows I'm a kickboxer, she knows that I'm thinking about this, this is apart of her mind games. Smart of you, Yang, but I'm not so easily fooled. I didn't become seven-to-one in amateur fights by being a can of a fighter.'
"Knockout or what?"
I asked, Yang nodded, being fine with knockout. Perhaps CTE wasn't a problem with aura existing?
---- 3rd Person ----
Yang set her feet and looked to Lautrec. He looked good, his eyes no longer looking friendly and goofy as he examined her. From Yangs perspective, she saw someone very capable of fighting her one on one without aura. She wasn't lying earlier, he had moves. The bag he was hitting was made to handle aura-infused hits and he was swinging it with just regular aura strength.
Though her confidence wasn't entirely false, she wasn't one of the best in her class in Signal for nothing. Though, no one in her class was a kickboxer... It wasn't a very popular style, mainly because an aura punch was about as strong as an aura kick.
Yang let out a breath, before rushing towards Lautrec, her gaurd remained tight as she pushed forward fast. Her style was made for this!
To her surprise, Lautrec met her in the middle, a jab slammed into her gaurd as he did. Her arm instinctually shot out to counter, but hit nothing but air as Lautrec leaned out of the way, stepping backwards to avoid her strike.
Swing and a miss, that's fine. This was just probing, figure out what worked and what didn't. That's the point of this. It's okay.
She brought her gaurd back up and started walking Lautrec down again. He was a longer fighter, she'd need to close the distance and knock the head off his shoulders before he could escape. Yangs eyes remained solely on the upper body of Lautrec, watching for the quick hand movement of a jab or a cross. What Yang did not expect, was to hear a loud smack and feel a sudden searing pain coming from her lead legs calf.
"W-what the?!"
Her leg felt weak, her calf was giving out and her shin felt injured! But from what!? Lautrec, ever the annoyance, smirked! Smirked I say!
Yang growled lightly, switching her stance to southpaw. If orthodox stance didn't work, a southpaw peek-a-boo would have to. With her last remaining leg, I shot forward, Yangs left hand finding connection against the side of Lautrecs' torso. His arm naturally dropped slightly to cover the area, his obliques clenching down onto the area to ease whatever pain Yang caused. She seized the opportunity and began shooting combinations at Lautrec, jabs, crosses, and hooks attempted to find their mark, but no hit seems to land on his head, her only success remained on body shots.
Four hits to the body out of an attempted seven shots to head and body in just under a second. It was her turn to smirk, she now knew the difference in speed between the two of them. It was in her favor by a landslide and Lautrec seemed to recognize that as well. Her opponent grimaced, but didn't acknowledge the blows otherwise, the strikes hurt, but not nearly enough to make him react.
That's one thing in fighting people tended to get wrong. Getting hit was noiseless other than skin on skin contact, a small grunt maybe if the hits really hurt, but you never did make loud noises in response to pain.
Lautrec's gaurd was now held tighter as he watched Yang approach him once more. She still had the same opening, her chin ducked low in her gaurd with her arms leaving a spot down the middle open for an up kick. He began thinking, she hadn't caught the leg kick, so clearly she didn't know what kickboxing could do.
Why not show her?
Yang approached fast, her confidence having skyrocketed after her successfully landed combo. With a hop forward she..
...
....
.....
......
....... Woke up on the floor?
Oh. Oh. She.. got knocked out.
"You were out for a solid few seconds, you know. Gave us a bit of a scare."
A male voice said, Lautrec said rather. Her new friend.... knocked her out. This was certainly a development, one she didn't hate but definitely didn't like.
"How did you do it? I didn't even see it coming! Or at least I don't remember it coming at me! What had me?"
Yang asked, more than a little confused. It was as she said, no punch was thrown at her, no elbow nor knee.
"I kicked you really hard in the jaw and you went out. I was actually kinda worried your aura wouldn't reactivate but thank God it did! I was really worried!"
He spoke. A kick huh? A whole leg managed to break past her gaurd and knock her out? No way. No fucking way.
"I call for a rematch immediately!"
Finish Date: April 2nd, 2024. 2:55 A.M.
Revisions needed.
Please tell me how to get better at writing, I'm so bad at this currently.
NEXT CHAPTER: "First Encounter"