Chapter 2- "First Encounter"
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"Yes, sir, here, this is your key."
The younger man said. His hand reached toward a glass box, pulling a key from off the front desk and opening the lock. Inside the box was a rack of a few dozen keys, their hand reaching inside to find a specific one. The younger man pulled out the key and quickly placed it in my hand. As he did, he tapped a few buttons on his computer and sat back down in his chair.
"Thank you, please, here you go. I understand that coming here this late is a major inconvenience to you and your fellow workers." God, did I know how annoying it was for people to show up a few minutes before I closed up shop. The sincerity in my voice wasn't faked on that front. But me handing him all my extra lien was faked. They deserved some tips, sure, but an extra five hundred lien was crazy. I knew he had thought so as well. His jaw went slack, and eyes opened wider than saucers. "Please try and split it evenly between you and your colleagues. Or keep it to yourself. That five hundred is yours now, do with it as you wish."
And with that, I walked to my designated room. It wasn't smart to rid myself of all the money I owned. I had three nights. Three nights to not only make enough money to pay for another few nights but to afford the True Night's Edge. There was a saying for situations like these, whenever you place all bets on winning. To risk it all on success and to lose everything in failure. For the life of me, I can't seem to remember it.
'It'll come to me eventually.' My thoughts were surmised, I opened the door and walked inside.
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[Make a Living]
Objective - Get a job and find a cheap apartment to live in.
Rewards: 100 lien, 500xp, a place to live, you aren't described as a bum.
Status: Complete!
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Not bad, I guess. An extra one-hundred card of lien wouldn't hurt me, and five-hundred XP almost bumped me to my next level. I had nothing to place in the room, seeing as any small items were currently in my inventory, and I owned nothing too large or decorative to use and lighten up the hotel room. The only reason I did this was so that if I did require sleep - not likely; I haven't felt hungry or thirsty since I came here - I had a place to sleep. But another reason was to finish the quest. An extra five-hundred XP didn't sound like a whole lot, but it would eventually add up with time. Five hundred could become a million in the span of a few years.
I sat atop my bed, letting myself enjoy the comfort of the cushioned bed. Honestly, I had no idea what I was gonna do. Remnant? Full of wild adventures to be had and monsters to be slain. The only difficult part was figuring out what I wanted to do. This was undoubtedly my life now, I felt my muscles tear when I worked out, the exhaustion filling my body when I ran. Something that vivid would be nigh impossible to fake.
With a heavy sigh, I laid back. My body was enveloped in the poofy covers of the hotel bed. I hadn't wanted to do this so early, but I needed to think about it now. I couldn't risk being uncertain about what I wanted in the future. The whole existentialism of being a reality traveler, especially one that knew what the world was supposed to be in almost four or five years.
'Do I want to try and preserve the canon, or do I want to cause more disruptions? My interaction with Yang and Ruby may have been small, but that will start to add up. I made friends with them; I won't be able to just ignore or be ignored by them anymore. I changed the main story already, however small a change it may be. The butterfly effect needs to be taken seriously if I want to not ruin canonical RWBY.'
I put a hand to my head and continued brainstorming. Obviously, if I didn't change the canon, I'd have a slight advantage of knowledge over Salem and Ozpin. But that meant so very little when my power was so immensely eclipsed by Yang even after grinding the stat for hours on end. Then again, I had little more than a eighth her strength earlier. My twenty-two strength compared to her one-thrity-two and the difference between us was absolutely massive. I could lift several hundred pounds while she lifted several thousand. If it were linear growth, it wouldn't be six times a strength stat that made her almost eight times stronger than I.
'The growth is massively exponential, this power is such a cheat.'
Despite thinking it, the words came out as a whisper.
To be clear, I wasn't hating the exponential growth. I still agreed that being overpowered in a fight was by far a lot better than being underpowered. Even if that means it's less fun, that also means a much higher chance of survival. I still haven't received a story mission, nor have I felt compelled to do anything unusual either. No calls to action by a force outside my perception.
'Maybe I stop thinking about it like that. My life is a video game that resembles an Action and Adventure RPG. I won't just get a quest, I'll need to find them.'
Just like how I found the Vigilante questline or Trio of Trouble quest. This is a very open-world MMORPG, but it's also my life. But if this was just a game, what would be the logical thing to do if you had a roadblock in something like this?
'I'd use YouTube or Google to help me get past any trouble I'd have. Through tutorials or glitches, the only thing that mattered was finding a way to get past the desired obstacles.'
What was the real-life equivalent of googling a questline? Well, I'd assume it'd be researching. Through things like libraries and the internet, I can learn all about this planet. The show didn't go in-depth on any lore, but WoR did. Though I can't say I watched it, I do remember a few small things from it. Like the extreme racism in Mistral and Vacuo and how Atlas is not that racist in comparison. Never mind, I'm off track! The point is, I need to learn more about the world, whether through websites or a book, it didn't matter.
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[Quest Created!]
[How the World Works]
Objectives:
-Learn about Grimm
-Learn about the Four Kingdoms
-Learn about the history of Remnant
Bonus Objectives:
-?
-?
-?
Rewards for known objectives: +5 INT, +2 WIS, 1000XP, 200 liens, Grimm Slayer's Journal.
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'Well, no time limit, that means I don't gotta do it right this second.' A small grin grew over my face as an idea slowly developed in my mind. 'Grimm Hunting it is. But first...'
I reached up and dragged a hand over my face, touched my hair, and touched my features. My hair was soft as a feather, not to mention immensely smooth. It felt like running my hand through silk, how effortless it was. This new look holds plenty of promise, and, honestly, I definitely want to keep it.
A short walk to the bathroom later, and I could now see my reflection, and by God, was it a weird sight. My face overall hadn't changed much. My jawline was sharper and more defined. My nose was still a little on the bigger side, but it still looked like it fit my face, so I was fine with it. But it was my eyes that really caught my attention. Instead of the dark brown that I remembered, I now had an extraordinarily exotic eye color. A dark pink or lighter red filled both eyes - It looked reminiscent of a shade of Rouge - that reminded me of Ren's eyes. That isn't a minus, but, honestly, not a plus either. I poked around my face for a little while longer before taking a long look at my hair. It was just as Yang had mentioned and taken to calling me, Bleached White. Bleached White was going to do me zero favors. The super plain white clashed against my pinkish-rouge eyes, and not in a good way either. It didn't make it pop, the white looked overbearing. My hair length wasn't bad, it was decently long, reaching down to my eyebrows pretty easily.
'The only problem with the hair is its color...'
Hair dye could probably fix this, but that would fade with time and I'd be brought back to this hair color. Maybe with Gamer's Body, I could keep whatever color I pick? But would that mean I couldn't wash it out and would need to just re-dye it if I wanted a new color? So many questions and absolutely no answers.
'I'm not certain on any of this. Why doesnt this System come with a manual?' My head hung low, my arms locked in place to hold myself up against the sink.
[Due to the player struggling with game mechanics, I have added a settings option. Just say settings, and it will activate.]
My head turned to see the open window. My mind was left a decent bit boggled by the implications. What did the window mean, 'I have added'? Was there an entity behind the Gamer this whole time!? Even at my exclamation, the Game didn't dignify me with a response. There were many implications of what the Game could mean, but if there was an entity controlling what I did and my stats, I needed to figure that out and soon.
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[Quest Discovered!]
[Beyond the Veil]
Objectives: Find me, ?, ?, ?.
Rewards: 100B exp, 10K Wild Points, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?.
Time Limit: 15 Years [Better get started]
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"Wait wait wait wait wait! That isn't cool, man! You think it'll take me fifteen years to find you?" I waited a few minutes for a response, only to receive silence. "Alright, fuck you too buddy. When I find you, I'm gonna give you the middle finger of a lifetime!"
[I'll be waiting]
Damn was that guy annoying. Who programmed the loser? You know what, never mind, I got what I needed sorta.
'Settings.'
[HUD Settings]
[BGM Settings]
[Audio and Subtitles]
[Interface Manual]
[Color Grading]
[Graphics]
There were......a few things that needed to be explained. Graphics? Did that instantaneously change the world to my Settings, or does it change how the world appeared to me? Mentally, I chose Graphics and saw a plethora of options. Minecraft, 2D, Smith Poser Animation, Autodesk Maya Animation, Realistic(selected), Chibi, JoJo's, Comic Panel, and Spider-Verse.
I won't ever say I'm an expert on how physics works, but how in the world would either two-dimensional or Comic Panel work? Would I get a camera angle that allowed me to see differently? Eh, who cares.... me. I care.
Chibi didn't sound terrible. I'd still have to fight the evils of this world, but everyone would be adorable while I did it. Nevertheless, I don't need the visuals to be any different than they already are. It'd be too jarring if the world randomly changed every time I felt like it. Another setting that caught my eye, 'BGM Settings'. I had BGM deactivated, but, if I wanted it, I could activate BGM any time.
With zero hesitation, I clicked on Activate BGM. The music began funneling into my mind, but it felt like it wasn't there. I could tell it was playing, but I could hear everything around me perfectly as well. That's a nifty little trick then.
After all of that debauchery, I finally took a look in the 'Interface Manual'. A singular tab popped up, with multiple different options on what to learn. [General Knowledge], [Wild Points], [Abilities], [Weapons], [Crafting and Crafting Materials], [Currency], [Gacha], [Stats], [Experience], [Story Progression], and [Meters].
"Oh my fucking God. That's a lot of stuff." My eyes widened in small amounts, I stood baffled. My hand raised to my temple and began massaging the precursor to a forming headache.
[You know, this doesn't even make up a one sextillionth of percent of all the data that this game has. Stop overreacting.]
Grunting in annoyance, I clicked on the first option, [General Knowledge]
-[General Knowledge]-
[The System, or The Game, is an ability that one person at a time can wield. Due to sheer LCK, you were chosen out of the infinite possible users. The Game is a tool that makes everything have a numerical value, your life, your mana, your soul, strength, speed, your agility, etc etc. Due to this, training will incrementally increase these numbers, damage to your body will be mended and you will grow more durable, micro-tears in your muscle fibers will make you stronger, and elevated heart rate for abnormal amounts of time will increase agility, such and such you get the idea. Levels come with experience, either from defeating/killing enemies, training, quests, or from drops. The current XP system is in beta, so we'll have to see how it works for now. But, until then, it isn't going anywhere.]
Oh, that wasn't that bad.
[Don't get your hopes up, you still have ten more to read through if you want to complete the new tutorial.]
'Wait, you already changed it? Why didn't you say so!?'
[Didn't feel like it, I guess. You should go ahead and start by the way.]
_____________________________
_____________________________
And start I did. There was a lot, and I do mean A LOT, of words. Each window after the first one was almost ten times the size. Going through each of the windows was absolutely horrid. My eyes closed for several moments as I finished the final page.
"Alright, I read through it all. Does that mean I'm finished with the tutorial, Game?"
My hand almost instinctually closed out the tab. As I did, my back naturally stretched itself, readjusting to my sudden posture change after all that sitting.
[Yeah, you're done. I tweaked a few of the rewards. It only seemed natural.]
One of my eyebrows raised at that. The rewards for the original quest were really good.
"You know, Game, I think this is the start of a magnificent friendship."
________________________________
[Tutorial]
Objective -
- to learn how to use the Gamer Interface -
- read through all the tabs-
Rewards:
5VIT, 5STR, 5DEX, 5AGI, 10CHA, 15 INT, 15 WIS, 10 wild points, 2 Skill Books, 100000xp, 10000 Lien
_
___________________________________
[You leveled up!×15]
[Skill Book "Plunder" Added to Inventory!]
[Skill Book "Flash Step" Added to Inventory!]
And with that, I nearly coughed up a lung.
I nearly coughed up my lungs because I now had over double my initial levels, I had one hundred sixty wild points, over ten thousand lien, and possibly two incredibly overpowered abilities now.
"G-game! What the hell! Are those skill books what I think they are!?"
[Oh yeah, Plunder is supposed to be a mid to late-game Skill Book. However, the Gamer before you was ever so prideful and felt he didn't need it. The guy threw it in the eternal time capsule and forgot about it. Hell, he forgot about Flash Step too! Sonova bitch was so prideful he didn't accept any gifts given by the previous Gamer! He threw dozens of pieces of gear into his time capsule just because he felt like they were cheap tricks! Uh, hello! Do you even know what "The System" is!?]
If my eyes could get any wider, they would've popped from their sockets.
"The guy did what?! Loads of gear? Just thrown into a bin because of pride!? That's so dumb! I swear it, I'll never do somethint like that! Any pieces of loot are gonna be used to their fullest!"
[You had better! I like seeing big numbers on this screen, and that fucker managed to become nearly comparable to this worlds Brother Gods. He transcended mortality and was possibly one of the most powerful gamers ever! He only died after he entered a "Lore Accurate DS3" world. Poor guy was consumed by Aldrich.]
'Oh god. Definitely a bad way to go.'
I couldn't help but wince, the thought of being cannibalized alive while being unable to die by conventional means must've prolonged his death by a while.
[It did. Reid was a cocky and prideful bastard, but he didn't deserve that death. He was gonna set them free, but his life was cut short by a lot. He was on track to be the only Gamer to find me as well. How sad.]
"Don't get too sad over them, 'cause I'll pick up right where they left off! You'll be found in no time, Game."
[Let's hope you're not lying. Obviously, you'll need to be stronger first. At the bare minimum, a few thousand in each stat. So let's get you started on that, have this quest. Pretty simple, slay a few Grimm, Plunder a few stats, and grow as a huntsman.]
[New Quest has started!]
[Way of the Huntsman: Beginner's Edition]
Objective: Slay 20 of any Grimm type
Rewards: 5000xp, 5 wild points, 2 VIT, 2 STR.
'This might be a bit difficult, Game....'
While killing a few shadow monsters never sounded unappealing, the only weapon I had was a dagger. Maybe a few tricks with Mana if I took some time to learn some spells. Then again, spells in reserve didn't sound bad. Maybe a bit time-consuming, but bad was hardly a word I'd use to describe being overpowered.
[Okay, fine, I'll give you a starter weapon. Since you aren't getting the Fractured True Night's Edge for a few more days, I'll help you out even more.]
[Weapon: Ultra Mega Colossal Great Sword]
DMG: 650+STR
[Description: A sword that is too big to be rightfully called a sword. No, it is more like a hulking lump of iron welded together.]
Two-hand REQ: 80 STR
One Hand REQ: 165 STR
My jaw went slack.
'How on earth am I supposed to wield this thing!?'
Popping the sword from my inventory, I used Observe to study it. The blade in question weighed an estimated four hundred fifty pounds and was about seven fucking feet long!
[Hey, you have some wild points, don't you? How about you use them?]
'Game, I take it back. Fuck you bro. I was gonna be all cliché and save those until I needed them at some random time when I needed an extraordinary jump in power.'
But with a roll of my eyes, I summoned my stat sheet.
[Stats]
Name: Lautrec Griscern
Title: The Fool
Level: 29
Experience: 3462/4000
Health: 1800/1800
Aura: 450/450
Mana: 1570/1570
Money: 10100 Lien
Class: Combat Mage
Race: Human/?
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
VIT: 28
STR: 35
DEX: 32
AGI: 37
CHA: 46 [+9.2]
INT: 28 [+2.8]
WIS: 25
LCK: 500(MAX)
Wild Points: 160
[Abilities]
I involuntarily sucked in a breath when I saw just how far I was from eighty strength. Forty-five whole points. Not to be stingy, but god, that was over a fourth of the wild points I've acquired over this whole day! But then again, I managed to get one-sixty points in a day...
'Ahh, fuck it, what's the worst?'
VIT 28->40
STR 35->80
DEX 32->45
AGI 37->50
INT 28->40
WIS 25-> 50
[-120 Wild Points, 40 Wild Points remaining]
[Stats]
Name: Lautrec Griscern
Title: The Fool
Level: 29
Experience: 3462/4000
Health: 2850/2850
Aura: 450/450
Mana: 3845/3845
Money: 10100 Lien
Class: Combat Mage
Race: Human/?
VIT: 40
STR: 80
DEX: 45
AGI: 50
CHA: 46 [+9.2]
INT: 40 [+4]
WIS: 50
LCK: 500(MAX)
Wild Points: 40
[Abilities]
'Alright, some nice rounded-out stats!'
And with that, I jumped off my bed, put the sword back into my inventory, and walked towards the door of my room. I was still clad in my original outfit, but it still looked fresh. Not a drop of sweat, not a wrinkle, not even a tear from how much muscle mass I just put on. How exquisite.
I gave the clerk another wave as I left the hotel, jogging towards the outskirts where I woke up at. The wall that I woke up on wasn't super tall, maybe a good twelve feet with a bit of spiked fencing on the top. With the use of my new strength, I might be able to just hop over it.
[Soooooo... when are you gonna learn the skills?]
'Hm? What do you mean?'
My head titled to the side, my skills come pre-learned. All of them except [Aura] have come from my past life and I already had them unlocked pretty much.
[Flash Step, Plunder, Art of Thievery, three skill books that are just sitting in your inventory. Your lack of memory inspires much confidence.]
The Game didn't sound too impressed with my lack of use of the skill books.
My jog slowed to a stop, that was something I totally forgot!
'Whoo! Close call, thanks Game!'
Opening my inventory, I pulled out all three of the books. The first of which was Flash Step, the next was Plunder, and the last was Art of Thievery.
[Flash Step]
Description: A technique created centuries before the man and faunas, so ancient that it was forgotten before the longest-lived individuals were born. For but a moment, you are the fastest-moving entity in the infinite universe, fast enough to leave a shadow standing in your wake.
[Plunder]
Description: Spoils of war come in many different shapes and sizes. Perhaps a large sum of money, thousands of acres of land, or even the many women within the rulers' palace. Your spoil of war is the enemy's strength. Defeat them in combat and obsorb their power. You've earned it.
[Art of Thievery]
Description: snagging items that don't belong to you isn't a hobby, it's an art form. You can't just grab a few bucks from a register and call yourself a Thief, no! There's a method and way to do it right and properly. Be the iron chef of stealing, be the most artistic Thief there is!
After reading through the descriptions of the skills, I ate them.
.
.
.
.
I'm being serious. Maybe not 'ate them' in the literal sense, but I absorbed the books and took their knowledge and magic. The books themselves looked immensely decrepit, old and brittle. But they didn't crumble like I expected. Instead, they just vaporized in a blue hue of light. When they fully disappeared, a wave of nausea and pain hit me like a can of whoop ass.
"Agh, shit! Game, what is this?"
One of my hands raised to my temple, and the other touched a nearby wall to keep me balanced.
[Skill Created: Flash Step
Level: 1/10
Experience: 0.00%
Cost: 850MP]
[Skill Created: Plunder
Level: 1/5
Experience: 0.00%
Cost: 1500MP
Currently steals: Health Points]
[Skill Created: Art of Thievery
Level: 1/100
Experience: 0.00%]
[Okay, so basically, a shit ton of knowledge was just crammed into your head within a millisecond. Two of those skills take centuries of magical and physical training, and the other is Thievery. Just being able to comprehend such ancient techniques is a bitch and a half.]
"Well, warn me next time, game! That shit stung like hell."
It still stung if I'm being honest. It didn't matter, I still wanted to kill some Grimm. With that out of the way, I began my jog once again.
It only occurred to me halfway through my jog that, 'what if I die to the Grimm?' The thought struck me pretty hard, I'd never seen one of them before. What's gonna stop my body from freezing up or my mind from panicking heavily while in that life or death scenario? Despite what I did during my life before Remnant, I was a civilian. I didn't practice shooting guns, swinging swords, or dodging claws. I, despite my big talk, should be killed by even the weakest of Grimm.
"Hey, Game.... will I survive a fight with Grimm?" I asked the open air, waiting for a response.
[..... Depends. Your LCK stat is maxed, so any sticky situations you'd find yourself in will mostly unravel themselves. LCK is an absolute beast of a stat at high ranks, so you should be fine. That thief was a lucky find because it progressed a storyline you'd usually have to find by yourself. You got lucky being spawned in the walls of the most peaceful place on Remnant. You got lucky you found Yang and Ruby, not to mention befriending them. But luck runs out eventually, so don't put stake your hopes in that. If we discount LCK, you still have a solid chance. Your aura is pretty weak, but as long as you don't take too many hits, you should be fine. You're kind of weak, all things considered, the only thing you got going for you is the aura-boosted strength which is a passive buff from aura. Your speed could use work but it'll be fine. And remember, Patch has the weakest Grimm ever. Creeps, Beowulfs, and Small Ursai. Nothing to scoff at for you, but something like that would be a cake walk for Yang even now, hell, Ruby would deal with it easier than you right now. But you'll survive, I'll make sure if nothing else.]
I was calmed slightly by the assurance, but still, that also gave me a new perspective of Remnant. I, for lack of better terms, was pathetically weak compared to the main cast. In two years, the main story will happen. And if I'm not strong enough in almost three years, I can realistically die fighting that Wyvern at Beacon. I can't afford to chill right now, if I don't get stronger, I will die. The thoughts chilled me, more than the night air did and a grimace settled on my face.
"Game, has Amber been attacked yet?"
It wasn't enough to want strength, I needed my enemies crippled from how strong they could be.
[No, Amber is still roaming settlements in eastern Vale. In three months and six days, she will be attacked by four people]
My eyebrow raised at that.
"Four? It was Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury that did it, right? Why is there a fourth now?" I thought it a fair question.
[Duh, this isn't Remnant as shown in the RT show. This is a real model of a naturally occurring Remnant. I added a few changes, people like Ruby didn't occur naturally, that's a one in infinite chance, but the rest was naturally occurring. I'll set you up with a few new quests to get you started.]
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[Quest Recieved: Titan Slayer]
Objectives: Kill a Titan
Bonus Objective: Kill 5 Titans
Bonus Objective 2: Kill 10 Titans
Rewards: +20 in all stats, 1M Liens, 100K exp, Title: [Titan Slayer], +10 REP with Remnant, Excalibur, Star Cloak.
Bonus Ob. Rewards: +25 in all stats, 10M Liens, 500k exp, Title: [Grimm Reaper], +20 REP with Remnant, Broken Hero Sword, ?, ?, ?, ?.
Bonus Ob. 2 Rewards: +30 in all stats, 100M Liens, 1M exp, Title: [Remnant's Reclaimer], +30 REP with Remnant, Bananarang, ?, ?.
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[Quest Line Recieved: Saving the Seasons; Amber Autumn]
Objective: Save Amber from Cinder and her accomplices.
Bonus Objective: Kill at least one of them while also keeping Amber above 20% Aura.
Rewards: 50K exp, 10k Liens, 20 Wild Points, Tier 1 Air Affinity.
Bonus Rewards: 60k exp, 10k Liens, 10 Wild Points, Obsidian Skull
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"Game.... what are Titans?"
A simple question, I'd like to think.
[You know how I said this world naturally developed? Yeah, some Grimm survived the G.O.D Mana Calamity. Which means they had tens of thousands of years to grow into masterfully intelligent Grimm with a case of gigantism never before seen.]
"Oh.... oh that's not good."
The statement made me pause. Maybe I was being a coward, but even imagining facing off against something both older than what can be comprehended by a human mind that also existed before humanity current was terrifying.
[No going back to your old world, either pal. I ripped the connection from there and placed it here. This Remnant is your home forever and more.]
'Ah.... wonderful..... you really know how to make a good thing suck.'
I said mentally.
[Think of it like this, you now have a reason to become overpowered! Because if you don't, you'll die, simple and plain!]
I won't lie, I'm shaken at the thought. No amount of comforting would help with that. At least, not until Gamer's Mind kicked in a forced me to be calm. But even then, the thoughts of dying or being stuck on Remnant knowing that I would be forced to fight one of these Titans eventually.
"Yeah.... yeah, Game. While we're talking, what should I call you? Game seems a bit condescending, doesn't it?"
My tone shifted, trying to ignore my current fears.
[Hmm, good question. I'm more than lines of code, that much is obvious, but I never actually managed to gain full sentience. I'm more of a 3rd party to allow you to communicate to the Game's Creator. I'm genderless, so nothing super heavy on either side. Go with an ambiguous name, like Jesse or something. Or better yet, go with a fantasy name.]
"I'll think on it, but I'll have one for you eventually. That work for you?"
[Yeah, what's a few days of waiting when I might spend the next few centuries having to deal with you. And look! We finally made it to the wall again.]
I looked away from the screen that showed our conversation, my eyes shifted to what lie in front of me. Sure enough, it was the wall from before. A grey-ish concrete-esque wall with sharp metal pikes over the top of it. I had eighty strength now. If I pushed enough, I might just be able to jump this fence. My breath gathered deeply, and I took a running start before driving the ball of my sole into the dirt and pressing upward. With my hand extended, it connected roughly with a wet, metal spike. My aura sparked at the sudden damage, but I didn't let go, only kept pulling myself up with little struggle.
My hands felt raw, even with aura, the spike just felt like it was cutting through my hand. Despite this, I managed to pull myself up. Whenever my legs could stand on the concrete wall, I looked over the other side, about a twelve foot fall until I hit the ground below. I closed my eyes and took a breath, it was just a fall, I could do this.
"Game, hype me up, man."
I told the system, my shakiness growing.
[Dude, just jump. This will take maybe a solid hundred HP if you land in the worst way possible.]
"That was terrible encouragement, man!"
My fear of heights has always been here. Even Gamer's Mind struggled to really calm me down.
My legs were still shaky, but I kinda just threw myself over edge. My aura pulsed as I hit the ground, taking most the pain from my body as I landed.
[See, that wasn't so bad? Only twelve aura points off your max. Oh, there's gonna be a system update by the way, just a few little changes that won't even matter. Like mostly reworking the Wild Points and re-labeling stuff like Health to HP. You get it. I'm gonna start working on that, so good luck :D!]
The screen blipped out of existence a few moments after I finished reading it. And for the first time since I appeared on this planet, I was actually alone. Alone with my own thoughts.
"Well, uh, I guess I go hunt Grimm, right?"
No response.
'Ugh, I guess they actually are busy.'
The only noises that filled the silence were the sounds of wind sailing through the trees, crickets chirping, and the occasional snapped twig or low growl.
A grimace formed on my face as I really started coming to terms with what I was about to do. I needed to kill a Grimm, easy, right? No.
I NEED to kill a Grimm to progress in strength. But I also need to prepare to fight to the death for that, and, as much as I did spar during my life for MMA, I didn't actually fight to the death with anyone or anything. But from what little I know of the Grimm, they are the manifestation of all the negative in the world. They literally feed on human negativity and kill for the sport of it.
'If I ever want to progress in this world, I need to prepare myself for death.'
A simple truth. I needed to be able to accept death if I was going to fight to the death.
"But... how?"
The sound of my question lingered in the air, flowing with the gentle sways of the wind. No one knew I was here. Only one person knew I had left the hotel. If I died, no one would look for me. Did the Game just give me this body? Did I even have family in this world, as the person I possessed?
"The Game did say they'd keep me alive at the least..."
The thought did occur to me, was I still technically in the tutorial? I could hear Grimm in the forest, their growls, and howls weren't quite quiet enough for me not to hear them, even while outside the forest. But they didn't come to me, they instead were waiting for me to come to them. But why? Why? I was almost certainly a fear beacon to them, so why weren't they rushing me right now? There's only one logical conclusion, I was still in a tutorial phase. That's the only possible way this could be happening.
"And you can't die in a tutorial, can you?"
You absolutely could, but you'd respawn up until you complete the tutorial entirely. I exhaled a shaky breath before slowly approaching the forest. The sounds of hungry monsters got louder, and my own heart slowly began pumping faster and faster to match my own fear.
Once I had fully entered the forest, I felt a shift in the air, and a singular, deafening howl pierced through the gentle night breeze. The hairs on my neck stood, and forest gazed upon me silently, as if judging my actions, waiting for a mistake on my part. I hadn't needed to wait for the forest to cast its judgment, for my senses became acutely aware of the hazy red eyes that had approached the clearing I found myself in.
Name: Creep
Level: 7
Health: 250/250
Mana: 10/10
A Grimm. A being of pure evil.
And yet, it could be killed, even by someone like me.
My body naturally ran at the beast, trying to overwhelm it as fast as I could. This style of fighting was one that was heavily used by Robert Whittaker, completely overwhelming force and speed to wear and tear at his opponents in the earliest of rounds. The style is successful because it hinges on the opponent being cautious with their striking, to the point where they will try to avoid striking entirely because the speed of which you are attacking is too fast to actually get a counter punch through without getting clipped by a quick jab or a wild hook.
But caution doesn't exist in the mindless Grimm that stood before me. While I charged the Creep, it took that as an invitation to charge me as well. With unprecedented grace and speed, the Creep pointed its head downward and swung its horn toward me.
"Shit!"
I exclaimed, taking a quick step to the side to avoid the Creep's horn for hitting me.
The creature roared at me as I narrowly dodged its attempt at mutilating me. But, not a creature to be dissuaded, it turned around, and charged me again. I cursed at myself for not having a plan against this. But my mind sped up, trying to think of the best solution.
The Creep approached and swung its head at me again, missing by a hair as I dodged once more.
'Think.... think.... what's the way out of this? How do I kill this thing? The Creep isn't very big, only around half my height. But it's fast and probably hit like a truck as well. There was one flaw in the design of a Creep, however. It's a bipedal Grimm with no form of balancing other than a short tail and strong legs.'
The creature charged me again, forcing me to halt my thoughts as I ducked away from their hit again.
"So, the easiest way for me to kill you would be to get you off balance and knock you over."
Voicing my thoughts, I saw the Creep running at me for the fourth time.
"For something like you, using the giant sword isn't necessary."
Instead of equipping the sword, I brought out the dagger I had since I first woke up on Remnant. When the Creep was close enough, I ran to meet its charge. The world stood still for a moment, captivated by the supposed stupidity of my plan. And when it felt time had started up, I swung my arm behind me, stabbing at empty air.
The Creep must've felt it confident in its ability to hit me because now it ducked its head low and thrusted its horn at my chest. And I could almost feel the horn stab into me, piercing through skin and flesh, but I'd be lying if I said I did feel it. Because I was never there to begin with.
The Creep hit nothing but air, and I reappeared at the side of its body, wildly swiping the dagger across the Creep's hamstring, forcing it to nearly instantly stop its charge. While I reappeared, the rapid change of footing caused me to tumble and trip unto the floor like a sack of potatoes.
[Flash Step
Level: 1/10
Experience: 5%
Cost: 850MP]
Smoke spewed from the newly created wound, and the Creep roared in agony while collapsing to the forest floor, slamming its horn into the dirt and uprooting the earth in anger.
Name: Creep
Level: 7
Health: 190/250
Mana: 10/10
My head spun, trying to gather my bearings at the massive displacement. Flash Step wasn't just moving fast for a small moment in time, it was moving instantaneously to a thought of location. The exact moment I activated Flash Step I was moved to the exact location I wanted to be.
'But stuff like that needs to be practiced because GOD DAMN do I need to throw up, pass out, and lay down all at once.'
Shaking my head, I start clearing out my thoughts, trying to rid myself of the headache I now had and the dizziness that had settled within my brain. Pushing myself from the ground, I turned my gaze back unto the creature of Grimm laid out before me.
"Okay, okay, okay, kill the Creep, that's all I have to do."
The Creep still struggled on the floor, thrashing about while trying to get up. The smoke covering the wound was lessening, which was weird, I don't think that usually happened in the show.
Name: Creep
Level: 7
Health: 205/250
Mana: 6/10
'Holy shit.... Grimm can regenerate!?'
That should've been obvious, but I had completely forgotten that.
Without wasting any more time, I dove for next to the Creep and slashed at its exposed neck several times. The monster tried to escape me, but its effort was fruitless. With both my decent strength and its previous injury, it couldn't hope to escape my attacks. The Creep roared the best it could, maybe to alert other Grimm, but with multiple egregious wounds littering it's neck it couldn't let out any more than a pathetic whimper. I needed not to attack it anymore than I had because soon the beast went silent and began fading into dust.
[Level 7 Creep slain!]
[Rewards: 200xp, Creep Mask, small Grimm bone]
[Questline Recieved: Collectors Edition]
Objective: Collect every type of Grimm Mask
Rewards: 5M XP, Title: [Grimmologist]
"Huh, that was.... easier than expected."
My eyes stared dumbly at the fading body, I doubted I should've been able to kill a Grimm normally. But wasn't this proof? Grimm were animals, and animals can be killed. At the same time, though, they had magic. If not confirmed by the MP bar shown by the Creep's status sheet, it was absolutely confirmed by the fact it could regenerate from the wound I gave it by using Mana.
'One Grimm down, nineteen to go. This Beginner Huntsman Quest will be done by tonight.'
A smirk grew on my face, and it'd be a lie to say I wasn't feeling confident in my ability to fight some Grimm.
"Stats."
[Stats]
Name: Lautrec Griscern
Title: The Fool
Level: 29
Experience: 3662/4000
Health: 2850/2850
Aura: 450/450
Mana: 3002/3845
Money: 10100 Lien
Class: Combat Mage
Race: Human/?
VIT: 40
STR: 80
DEX: 45
AGI: 50
CHA: 46 [+9.2]
INT: 40 [+4]
WIS: 52
LCK: 500(MAX)
Wild Points: 40
[Abilities]
"Hm, the Creep didn't drop any lien...."
That was troubling. If Grimm don't drop any money, then my plan for getting the damn True Night's Edge off Brigid was gonna go up in smoke!
'It's probably fine, I mean, it was a weak and low level Grimm, I'm sure that's the reason it dropped no money.'
While it was a bit of a cause for concern, I should be fine. A weak little Creep wasn't worth worrying about in comparison to even a juvenile beowulf. I'd get money from something bigger, I'm sure.
As if on que, several loud thumps started sounding out from the flora around me. If I had to guess, either a group of creeps or an actual beowulf. A bead of sweat formed on my forehead while looking for the creature, standing on gaurd for the worst.
'Come on, just hurry and get over here.'
The anticipation was killing me!
AWROOOO
[OST - "This will be the day" by Casey Lee Williams]
My head spun to the noise, where a lone beowulf had lunged at me. I could feel my body tense, time had slowed, my eyes widening as much as they could in the few moments I had noticed the beowulf in. The monsters arms were extended out, prepared to grab me, and its jaws were fully opened, exposing each glimmering tooth in its maw.
Juvenile Beowulf
Rudy, The Cow Killer
Level 22
Health: 2250/2250
Mana: 32/32
'Oh..... shit.....!'
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Time slowed, and Lautrec was still within it. A paralyzing fear coursed in his blood. As milliseconds passed like years, Lautrec stood completely tensed and unmoving. The jaws of the young beowulf approached, and the beast extended its arms a bit further, only inches from digging its claws into Lautrecs' sides.
The dagger in his hand rushed to intercept the bite of the beowulf, but it was not nearly fast enough. The Beowulfs claws crashed against Lautrecs' sides and kept him from evading its bite.
The beowulf threw its face into the shoulder of Lautrec, biting down on his shoulder as hard as it could. Sparks of Lautrecs' Aura flew into the air, trying to hold against both the bite and the claws.
Lautrec yelled as his Aura started failing him, his hand thrust into the abdomen of the monster, stabbing the dagger into its blackened flesh repeatedly.
"Get the fuck off!"
The beowulf roared in response, withdrawing it's teeth from Lautrecs' shoulder. The Beowulf backed away, the dagger Lautrec had been using getting pulled with it.
Lautrec got up shakily and stared at the Beowulf infront of him.
'Meters.'
[Health: 2850/2850
Aura: 132/450
Mana: 3036/3845]
Lautrecs eyes examined the Beowulf, now that it was taking time to examine him as well. The Beowulf - Rudy, according to the Game - was a large beast. Bone armor covered its fur, and on the armor were dozens of cracks and scratches. His gaze fell to the monsters abdomen, where his dagger was embedded into its flesh and where smoke was already rising.
Juvenile Beowulf
Rudy, The Cow Killer
Level 22
Health: 2163/2250
Mana: 30/32
"Less than ninety damage? That's annoying."
A scowl adorned Lautrecs face as he widened his stance. Thoughts raced in his head, trying to take note of the situation. The Beowulf growled lowly, waiting for an attack from its prey. Lautrec, finally, brought his hands together and, in a shine of blue light, summoned the Big Sword. The sheer weight of the sword forced Lautrec to bend his back and tense his legs just to prevent himself from toppling over from the sudden added weight.
"Alright, come on then!"
His stance corrected itself, and the Beowulf eyed Lautrec down. The Beowulf tossed its head back and howled to the broken moon. Lautrec took the initiative, charging at the wolf with his sword held low for an upward swing. Rudy The Beowulf took note, cutting off its howl and matching the charge of Lautrec.
The two opponents ran at each other, each letting a roar and yell loose as they met in the middle of the dirt clearing. Rudy's paw swung downward onto Lautrec, aiming to cleave him into three clean slices. The wailing of metal sounded through the forest as Lautrec swung his sword into the claws of Rudy, his sword buckling under the tough bone of the Grimm. Lautrec and Rudy locked each other into a stalemate, pushing against each other with their strength. With a grunt, Lautrec pushed past the paw of Rudy and grabbed his dagger, ripping it from Rudy's abdomen.
Tearing the dagger out of Rudy and quickly stashing it into his inventory, Lautrec jumped back, letting a swipe from the monster hit air. Rudy's eyes shone a vicious red, squinting and focusing on Lautrec's face. A growl escaped its teeth, and its paws pressed deeply into dirt. The beast watched his prey, a slight hint of intelligence in its eyes.
Lautrec looked it in the eyes, slightly shaken, but resolute in his stance. His ultra greatsword held low and waiting to strike. With a shaky breath, Lautrec began circling around the beowulf. Rudy, in response, growled and began circling as well. Small beads of sweat started falling from Lautrec's head, a plan forming in his mind.
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'Meters.'
[Health: 2850/2850
Aura: 142/450
Mana: 3051/3845]
[Flash Step
Level: 1/10
Experience: 5%
Cost: 850MP]
'Calculating the distance... about two flash steps to get him.'
I licked my lips, staring intently at the distance between me and the wolf. Only several yards.
But as if reading my intent, the beowulf let out a howl and tore the ground under its paws, pushing itself forward in a blurring charge. My eyes widened, but my body moved naturally to swing my sword up and through the monster. A grunt on exertion left me, swinging the sword directly at the beowulf. It met my slash head on, slamming its claws into the metal of the blade.
The meeting of its paws threw my sword off balance, pushing it down and stabbing it into the dirt. Before I lost too much momentum, my grip let go of the sword, opting to swap for my dagger. The moment was ripe, and with my dagger I pushed into the gaurd of the beowulf. Within the gaurd, and with its paws out of place, the beowulf could only watch as I drove the dagger deep into its lower jaw.
[75 damage!]
Rudy, The Cow Killer
Health: 2088/2250
Without losing momentum, my hands and arms glowed a shiny gleam of aura, and shove outward slamming into the armored chest of the beowulf. The force from my aura-strike pushed Rudy back, making the monster stumble.
[22 damage!]
Rudy, The Cow Killer
Health: 2066/2250
My assault continued, and again, I forgot exactly what I was facing. This still was not some weak enemy. The beowulf in front of me was a boss like enemy. I ran directly into the beowulf, a growl of exertion leaving me as I dragged the greatsword from the ground it was stabbed into and charged once more at the beowulf. With a twist of my body and tensing of my core and upper body, my sword swung true, slicing through air towards my opponent.
Rudy finally set their paws, but it was a tad too late for the beast. A blitz of speed let the monster move slightly to the side, making my swing miss the body of the monster. Instead, its arm was ripped from its body.
[732 damage!]
Rudy, The Cow Killer
Health: 1356/2250
A gush of black smoke and a roar from the beowulf was its response to the wound. The disintegrating arm fell to the floor, my sword stabbing the dirt next to it. A smile danced its way onto my face, and I didn't stop it. This was actually happening, a creature of darkness was being felled by me, a fucking nobody amateur kickboxer. Better yet, I didn't even exist in this world up until today!
The slight loss of concentration cost me because while I was busy in my head, patting myself on the back and being happy, the beowulf saw an opening and took full advantage. Launching off its remaining front paw, the beowulf rammed its head into my stomach, my aura barely coming up to shield me from the blow. The force caused me to roll, sprawling on the floor.
Before I could get up, a searing pain raked across my back, three burning lines being etched into my back. Rolling over, I took a glance at the beowulf, a proper monster once more in my eyes. It didn't give me the luxury of fighting back, as its claws tore into me once more, slicing past aura, past skin, past flesh, only stopping once it got to my ribcage, it's boney claws warring with my skeleton.
[Afflicted with [Major Bleed], you now lose 40HP/s until remedied.]
[ -132 AP + -924 HP = -1,056 DMG !]
[Health: 1926/2850
Aura: 0/450
Mana: 3036/3845]
My thoughts should've been frayed, but they weren't. A plan formed, and it was instantly set into motion against my own will. The dagger I held was thrust into the neck of Rudy, ripping his throat violently and spewing the inky ebony blood onto my face and body. The bright red flesh exposed and my off hand free, my hands found themselves embedded in the flesh of beowulf, pulling the sides of the wound in separate directions, the sound of tearing flesh making me want to cringe. Rudy couldn't do much to stop the assault other than continuing to try and rip through my ribcage, but with the amount of pain my pair of invading hands digging into its neck and attempting to rip the head of Rudy from its shoulders weakened the resolve of the beowulf. The wound in its neck widened, widening with each lasting second of ripping, more and more ebony blood poured out, the disgusting liquid covered my hands, rushing down my arms like a river. Soon, the beowulf went limp, though it's head remained connected to its body.
Rudy The Cowkiller, had died to me. It's body beginning to evaporate in my hands. I didn't let its body touch mine any more than it already had, I shoved its corpse away and to the side next to me. A deep sigh left me, my eyes watering slightly.
Maybe it was luck, but I knew, instictually, the neck was the weak spot for most Grimm. Maybe it could be labeled common sense. All animals needed to have a connection to the brain to function, and because the Grimm were still living to some extent, they needed to have a brain to function.
_____________________________________________
[Quest Line discovered!]
[Names in the Obituary]
[Description: The world of Remnant is home to an uncountable number of Grimm, but there are select few that stand out. Rudy The Cow Killer is infamous on Patch for targeting cattle, and it had avoided getting hunted for several months before you stepped it to put an end to its life. Now, you must do the same to the rest of those pesky named Grimm.
Objectives: Kill all named Grimm (1/73)
Rewards: Rewards are given after each kill.]
[ +20k EXP, Claw of the Cow Killer, Cow Killers Bone Mask, +5 wild points, +L15,000]
_____________________________________________
[You have fought for your life and have been scarred for it, now bear the mark of a true hunter.]
I laid there for a while, the disintegrating beowulf mass only pushed to the side of me. No more was I smiling. No more did I even feel joy. I had scraped with a beowulf and nearly died for it. A fluke win over something truly out to kill me. Luck was all I had in that fight, luck and strategy. My eyes looked to the spot where the beowulf should've cut into my heart. It was fully healed now, only three claw mark like scars. Because I had leveled up.
Leveled up. Such a silly term for something that I nearly died over. I took a look at my stat sheet. Those numbers meant damn near nothing. I had more health than the beowulf by a large margin, but that didn't matter. My damage output was nothing in comparison. In five hits, I had done less than what it had with one. This helps a bit. I need to get much better. I need to get so much better.
Name: Lautrec Griscern
Title: The Fool
Level: 33
Aura: 450/450
Mana: 4000/4000
Money: 25100 Lien
For now, though? I guess I'll stay here, fight some creeps. I'll stay away from the bigger Grimm, not until I'm sure I can take them. Beowulf travel in packs, and this was a single beowulf that nearly killed me.
After a bit more time, I finally sat up. Two items lay on the floor next to me, Claw of the Cow Killer and Cow Killers Bone Mask. I hit both of them with Observe, just to get a feel for their stats.
[Claw of the Cow Killer]
Description: A spoil of war granted by killing Rudy, The Cow Killer. A large karambit like blade made from the leather and bone of a Grimm. The red engraving shines each time a strike lands.
[Cow Killers Bone Mask]
Description: A spoil of war granted by killing Rudy, The Cow Killer. The bone mask is not too dissimilar to the standard Beowulf mask used by White Fang, the only difference being the engravings being far more intricate and clean.
Bonuses: grants Night Vision, minor chance to intimidate low-level Grimm.
Huh, no damage for the Cow Killer weapon?
[First, I'm back. Second, that's one of the things that have been changed. Welcome to The Game V1.01! No more hard numbers for hit points because, believe it or not, living organisms tend to be able to push past the point of regular death, and it's not like the game can actively kill beings that belong to other Gods. So, what happens when there's no hard numbers with health? There isn't any hard numbers with damage either. So when there's a glancing blow, it will damage your enemies somewhat, but it won't be decided by numbers but rather based on how much the body can actually take. Bonuses and magic still exist, and some weapons will still be naturally better via enchantments, but it will now depend on how you used the weapon instead of just how rare the weapon is.]
Huh, okay. That's cool. No hard numbers. And the bounty on the beowulf was fifteen thousand lien. How lucky, now I only need to make five thousand and give it to Brigid for the...
'How lucky.. Did this beowulf target me because of my LCK? Because I had mentioned a Juvenile Beowulf would probably drop money? And this was the Beowulf that was worth the most on Patch?'
I gazed wearily at my luck stat. If that's what caused this encounter, I needed to be a lot more careful with how I ask for things. A sigh left my lips. What to do now? I could stay out here, hunt a few more Grimm to complete the quest, or I could head back, and do fuck all.
'I guess the path ahead is clear. Let's get this quest done.'
Taking a step, I began my trek further into the wilderness.
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Time skip - 2 hours
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There I sat, in the dirt with my sword off to the side. The last of the creeps having been killed not too long ago.
[Quest Completed!]
[Way of the Huntsman: Beginner's Edition]
Objective: Slay 20 [Creeps]
Rewards: 5000xp, 5 wild points, 2 VIT, 2 STR.
"Stats."
_____________________________________________
Name: Lautrec Griscern
Title: The Fool
Level: 34
Aura: 450/450
Mana: 4000/4000
Money: 25100 Lien
VIT: 42
STR: 82
DEX: 45
AGI: 50
CHA: 46 [+9.2]
INT: 40 [+4]
WIS: 52
LCK: 500(MAX)
Debuff: Exhaustion 1
_____________________________________________
All in all, pretty good progress in one day. But I hardly think sleep will come easy tonight, not after the beowulf. A yawn came from my mouth.
"Game, why am I tired? I thought that you negated that with Gamers body or something."
[It does to an extent, I mean, you don't feel exhausted while doing stuff. But it will count up hours you've been awake and what you've done and kinda judge whether or not you should be resting. Tier one of Exhaustion isn't bad, you just kinda need to rest to get back on your A game. It does nerf your natural healing and your mana regeneration but nothing more. The longer you stay up and the more you do however, the worse the debuff will become. It can't kill you, but it can force you into a sleep induced coma if you get to Tier five.]
"Huh, so this system is less of a complete overhaul of reality and more a real life experience put into terms of video games then?"
[Bingo! Or at least, that's what I'm going for. Too many gamers are way too OP just because of how their system works. One gamer was able to slay Titans within a few weeks of having the system just because there wasn't something keeping him in check. It's a hard job balancing the system because it was made originally with the idea of overpowered characters.]
"Okay, okay. So what should I do for now, then? I completed the quest for today, you think I should just head to my hotel for the day and sleep?" My body made to yawn again, but I managed to stifle the feeling.
[Yeah, there's no real reason to stay out here as you are now. Despite how lucky you may be, you can't just alter how the world works with luck. More Grimm aren't just gonna appear, they'll have to reform for a bit. Just head back and take a nap, practice some Alchemy, jerk off for all I care.]
The last line got me, a small laugh passing my lips. I did a quick once over of the beautiful area around me. The trees swayed gently with the wind while the moon shined brightly and magnificently onto the grassy plains.
'Gods, I'm gonna have to come back here. Maybe bring Yang and Ruby here, this place is awesome.'
I pause, thinking over how that sounds.
'Probably not soon, though. Asking two young girls to come deep in the forest with me is not a good way to start friendships.'
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End Chapter 2
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