Third and last chapter I will be posting today. In the next one she will actually start her adventure in the world of Kuroshitsuji.
Disclaimer: I don't own Black Butler. Ask Yana Toboso.
The Gamer: Fun and Games
'Steak. A fulfilling meal based on meat. Bland. Heals 10 Hp.'
'Steak. A fulfilling meal based on meat. Slightly flavored. Heals 12 Hp.'
'Steak. A fulfilling meal based on meat. Slightly seasoned. Heals 20 Hp.'
'Your [Cooking] has leveled up by one.'
'Your [Cooking] has leveled up by one.'
Hmm... I guess that should be enough for an emergency meal, right? I didn't want to make too much and let it spoil in my Inventory.
"Mhhm... this is delicious!"
Of course the better ones Kim and I ate for supper.
"I almost don't mind you used all of our meat to make this."
"I will go buy more... tomorrow."
I might have managed to wash the slobber out of my hair and skin, but the clothes were going directly to the washing machine.
Unfortunately, we had taken so long that Kala was too tired to go out one last time before going to sleep.
Sadly, that meant that I now needed to get up early to make sure she wasn't going to do her business inside the house.
Rolling out of bed wasn't my favorite activity before 10 AM.
In fact, my whole life was closely arranged so I wouldn't be forced to. I went to University in the afternoons, I ate breakfast when everyone was eating lunch, when it was around time for normal people to have a snack I was eating lunch, I skipped on snack and ate supper at the right time.
All of this so I wouldn't have to get up at seven or eight in the morning to eat breakfast.
So, to say that I was happy to get up at seven in the morning to walk my dog was an understatement. Especially when I had spent the night away reading to improve my wisdom.
'After sleeping in your bed you wake up with your HP and MP completely restored, all negative buffs removed'
I zombied my way into the first clean clothes I found, took Kala's leash and walked out the door.
Of course then I had to walk right back in because I had forgotten the dog.
Kala was looking at me with big pleading eyes.
"Yes... you're coming with me..."
That was apparently all she needed as she got out of the house faster than my mind could process.
As we were walking I made sure I hadn't forgotten anything vital. Tofu? In the tool belt. Dog bags? In there too. Leash? In my hand.
I blinked, in my hand?
I looked at my hand and sure enough, there it was.
I looked at Kala, sniffing a tree next to me.
I was missing something.
Oh, the leash was supposed to be attached to her.
My bad. I wasn't a morning person.
In fact I tended to screw up badly when awoken before ten.
Which was sad.
Now with Kala truly in a leash, I could keep going towards the park.
It wasn't like she would escape or something, she wouldn't, but people tended to get scared when they saw a dog bigger than a cat without a leash.
Kala stopped and looked around, I did the same, I don't know what she was looking for, but I didn't find it.
Seeing this I attempted to keep going, only for all the sounds around us to disappear.
I immediately felt myself wake up more.
'You have been pulled into an empty instant dungeon'
No.
No.
Nonono.
Now I knew why Kala had stopped, this was the place where she had played with her buddy 'the freaking demon horse dog'.
Kala you devil-
The dog was already here.
Unlike the last time, the demon was already where we were, and looked far less inclined to ignore us than before.
Had it purposefully pulled us in?
Kala all but begged to be let go to play with the thing.
I let her, I wasn't the one who would prevent her from bonding with the most likely cause of her death.
Actually, I was sort of hoping the Demon had pulled us in because it wanted to play, and once I offered Kala as a playing sacrifice, it would let us go. Preferably before another four hours passed.
Just hope it's not annoyed we're back.
Luckily it seemed far less apathetic. This time it actually chased Kala around (it didn't have to run much to catch up to her), and used its paws to push Kala around in a non-murder-y manner.
I sat and practiced Observe. That's the only thing I could practice without actually tearing my eyes away from the imminent danger upon my dog.
Who knew what kinds of horrible things could happen if I stopped looking for even a second.
They ran around and played like surprisingly normal dogs.
After a while playing, the thing turned up to me and started walking.
Towards me.
It was sniffing.
It was sniffing me.
Was it seeing if I smelled good enough to eat? Or...
"Inventory"
It started salivating, which made me worry. A lot. I hope it doesn't find me snack worthy.
I got out one of the steaks and prayed I wasn't about to dig my own grave.
Surprisingly the steak seemed to have been recently done, it was still warm and everything. Just like when I put it in the Inventory.
"Sit". Don't kill me, don't kill me, don't kill me. Please don't kill me.
Kala came running and sat, her eyes on the prize. The demon was trying to get to the steak by pushing me away.
I cut the steak in half (with my teeth, because I didn't have anything else) and gave one half to Kala. It was harder than it seemed, as I had a giant dog face in front of my very own face.
I looked at Biscuit.
Biscuit looked at Kala.
And sat.
I gave him the Steak.
Biscuit wagged its tail.
Now that it wasn't about to eat me whole... it was kind of cute.
Its fur was very black and its eyes were very blue. A clear sky blue. I liked its eyes.
And its fur.
And... well, everything, really.
I petted both canines. Kala was appreciative, but seemed more interested in looking if the hand that was petting her had any meat in it.
Biscuit seemed to be having a great time.
"Ah, I need to go back, cutie, do you think you can let me go? I can come back to play tomorrow if you want." Yes, I baby talk to dogs.
I just hope it understands what I'm saying and lets me go.
Biscuit was wagging its tail. It didn't seem to really be able to understand anything beyond my tone of voice that implied it had done well.
It may be a demon or devil or monster, but it was a dog after all. Dogs don't talk. Or at least these don't.
Biscuit tried to pounce at me to play.
"No!" I don't want to play with a thing bigger than a car that could swing me around like a ragdoll.
The big dog immediately stopped, its eyes narrowed and the only thing I managed to do was get another steak and shout "Sit!"
Thankfully, It did and I gave it the steak. I petted it again.
Kala was meddling. She had wanted the steak too, and was getting jealous of all the attention her new buddy was getting.
I needed to escape.
"Escape ID"
'Failed to escape'
I felt like crying. This was so unfair, I was terrified.
Biscuit seemed pretty happy with its reward. In fact it was so happy that he decided I deserved a reward myself.
And no, that reward wasn't letting me go.
It was licking me. Again.
Once again covered in dog saliva, Biscuit looked me up and down.
If I had to bet I would bet on it looking to see if I had more food.
Or considering if I was food myself.
Most likely the former, seeing as it gave me a bit of space afterwards. Or maybe it thought I wasn't that tasty.
Suddenly it turned around and licked Kala too.
I prayed that meant it was a goodbye, and it would let us go.
The world around us cracked and broke, and the world was full of sound once again.
Biscuit was gone.
Just like I did yesterday I wasn't about to look a gifted horse in the mouth.
I just hope it will not see me as a constant food source. I was starting to suspect it was already too late for that.
Seeing Kala all tired and panting I decided that our walk for today had been exciting enough and we could go back home.
Kala didn't seem to mind. She already did her business anyways.
I definitely didn't mind.
'Saving data.'
-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
"Hey, you're here early. And awake."
"Yeah, Kala played... with another… dog she met yesterday. Now they seem like best buddies."
"That's good. You ate breakfast yet?"
No. But I was about to. Might as well eat like a normal person for today.
Going to the kitchen I fixed myself a bowl of milk and started pouring cereal.
"You know, I'm not gonna call you alien. At this point, after all that box thingy and ability stuff you're probably an actual baby alien stranded in our planet. Calling you out would be more of a praise than an insult."
Sigh.
Right then someone called at the house's phone. Lately that had been happening an awfully lot.
I picked up the phone, just like the other times, the line was silent. This time I wasn't going to take it.
"Do. Not. Dare. Hang. Up."
'Though performing an action, a new skill had been created [Intimidation]'
The line was silent for a few more seconds.
Then someone started talking about selling me something.
I hanged up.
I felt awful. I had been so rude to someone I didn't even know. There was no way the other didn't hear, the new [Intimidation] Skill was proof enough that I scared witless some innocent woman that was only doing her job.
"I'm a monster."
Kim eyed me eating my breakfast. "Yes, yes you are."
At least I think no-one was going to keep calling to annoy us.
After washing the dishes I decided the best I could do was learn how to do that ID thing.
For starters I tried to do more or less the same as when destroying dungeons, but instead of saying "Escape ID" I said "Create ID".
To discover [Escape ID] had been surprisingly easy, I had merely imagined 'power' going through my hand to destroy the barrier around me.
Creating was like doing the opposite. It was creating a barrier of sorts around me.
Sadly I didn't have enough MP.
'A new skill has been created through performing an action [Create ID]'
'You do not have enough Mp to use [Create ID]'
Great.
Thanks destiny, I really love it when you mess with me.
Not really.
How could I gain more Mp? Maybe by increasing my Wis and Int? It would be the obvious answer. One thing was sure: I wouldn't get more magic by leveling up Strength.
And how to do that? So far by reading books, thinking hard, making wise decisions... and probably leveling up.
To level up I needed to complete quests. Just like that grocery quest.
Conclusion: I needed more quests.
"Kim. Give me something to do."
"Eh? Don't you have a lot to do now? With that new power you have or whatever."
"Just give me something to do, a request, challenge..."
She smiled.
A Cheshire Cat smile.
Of course it wouldn't be a nice one.
"I challenge and request you to watch black butler with me!"
...
"No"
"Come on it was a request! Just like you asked!"
"Pick something else"
Sigh "Alright..." she thought hard for a while. "Can you do the laundry for me?"
I narrowed my eyes.
'Minor Quest alert! [Spring cleaning]
Quest requisites:
-Wash the dishes
-Wash the laundry
-Clean the floor
Optional:
-Clean the windows
-Dust the furniture
-Put order to your bookshelf.
Quest Rewards:
-250 Exp
+20 Respect with Kim
Optional Quest Rewards:
+300 Exp
+50 Respect with Kim.
Y/N'
...
Sigh
"All right..."
'Quest Accepted!'
"For real?!" She was way more excited than she should.
I was doing this only for the experience.
With a little luck, that experience will be enough to make me level up.
Just in case I would go the extra mile and do the optional quest.
Just in case
"You know, you're quite impressive when you get into 'working mode'"
I looked up from the book I had in my hands, about anatomy, I had been organizing from the bookshelf.
The bookshelf inside Kim's room.
I had saved it for last, as I had been considering reading it to see if I could level up my [First Aid] with this.
"Can I borrow this?"
"Sure, go ahead"
I heard a ring from the washing machine.
"The clothes are ready"
"Really? I didn't hear."
I turned around to see if she was being sarcastic and ultimately decided she wasn't.
Leaving the book in my inventory I picked up the dry clothes and put them on the table in the dining room.
I started ironing the clothes.
Kim was fascinated by the last chapter of Fairy Tail or Fairy Trail or whatever its name was.
'Minor Quest Completed!
Rewards:
-500 Exp
Optional Rewards:
-500 Exp'
'Major Quest Update! Complete 2 Minor Quests'
'Congratulations! You have leveled up by one!'
'Congratulations! You have leveled up by one!'
Yes! Finally, my first level! Well, my first two levels. Maybe this wasn't as hard as I thought.
Now I needed to have a look at my stats.
[Name]: Dalia
[Title]: None
[Race]: Human
Lvl 5
Exp: 21%
Hp: 21 Hp
Mp: 4 Mp
Strength: 1
Vitality: 22 (2+20)
Dexterity: 2 (2+0)
Intelligence: 4
Wisdom: 16
Luck: 1
Points: 10
Huh. I'm very excited, finally I leveled up.
16 wisdom? When did that happen? I know I stayed up late reading but... wao.
Where should I spend all these points I earned with the sweat of my brow?
Literally won with the sweat of my brow. Cleaning wasn't easy.
Intelligence. I was having lots of problems with my low Mp. Seeing as I leveled wisdom a lot by reading, but the Mp barely changed, I probably need to level up Int to see any changes.
And becoming smarter was always a good thing. Except when it wasn't.
And... There they go... all my points... to Int. And hopefully Mp.
I should have put only one point into intelligence, see if my Mp changed and then decide if I wanted to put the rest of those points in another stat.
'Major Quest Update! Assign at least one point to any stat -Complete-'
Wao, now I only needed to defeat 5 monsters to complete this major quest.
Except that those monsters could eat me easily as a snack. Like Biscuit.
They needed to be nerfed.
Let's see now...
[Name]: Dalia
[Title]: None
[Race]: Human
Lvl 5
Exp: 21%
Hp: 21 Hp
Mp: 17Mp
Strength: 1
Vitality: 22 (2+20)
Dexterity: 2 (2+0)
Intelligence: 14
Wisdom: 16
Luck: 1
Points: 0
17Mp! This was way better than before! I need to level up again!
Maybe it would be enough to create the dungeon?
"Create ID!"
'[Create ID] failed, not enough Mp'
I definitely needed to level up again.
Kim seemed busy.
Could I give myself a quest?
Oh, now that I remember! I needed to buy more meat, as I used all of it when I cooked yesterday.
I could cook something else to replenish my stash of healing items. Afterwards I could go and buy everything I needed. Maybe even look around if there's anything worth purchasing that would restore Hp and/or Mp.
'Observe has leveled up by one'
'Observe had leveled up by one'
I had found quite a few interesting things.
Like that lemonade that restored 15Mp all the way. Or an apple that enhanced my Health Regeneration.
I had cooked some meals and stored them in my inventory.
As I returned home I saw the dreaded alert.
'You have encountered a Zombie Instant Dungeon. Do you want to enter?
Y/N'
I was going to have nightmares with this, I swear.
But... this was different. I remember the other dungeon clearly saying "Empty Instant Dungeon", this one said "Zombie Instant Dungeon".
Don't tell me... the "empty" and "Zombie" are a type of dungeon, not the state of it. That meant that an empty dungeon doesn't have to be empty.
I felt stupid.
I wasn't going to enter.
I wasn't stupid. Even if I felt like it.
I was weaponless. I was a pathetic wimp with almost zero chances of actually escaping if I entered.
On the other hand...
Maybe Lady Luck would be generous and let me find an easy Dungeon with easy enemies I could get experience from.
Except for the small detail that Lady Luck hated my bones with a burning passion.
I looked around. I didn't see any store where I could buy a weapon. Even if said weapon was a bat.
Maybe in the supermarket...
But there's mostly food there.
If I'm lucky enough I will find a watermelon to open their heads up with.
I entered anyway.
Looking around I did see various objects I could use to bash my enemies' faces in.
Like a rolling pin.
Or a frying pan. Why didn't I think of it?
"Observe"
'Frying Pan. Last model, prevents the food from sticking into it. Very resilient. Can give a good hit.
+10% to Cooking.
Damage: 12 Damage.
Gives Status [Was that a frying pan?] to surrounding enemies which leaves them astonished and unable to attack. Reduced effect when used in a row'
This was probably better than the pin, as it seemed to give a status effect.
I could even use it to cook.
If it survived my possibly suicidal adventure, of course.
I'm going to regret this. I'm already regretting this.
This is a bad idea.
I don't want to do it.
I need to do it.
'You have encountered a Zombie Instant Dungeon. Do you want to enter?
Y/N'
Not really, but 'Yes'.
If the empty Dungeon could be described as 'silent' then the Zombie Dungeon could be best described as 'Dark'.
It was still the city, but it had suddenly become nightime, the moon was bright and red and I felt like fainting or dying. Or both.
Whatever relieved me from my own idiocy.
Why did I even need to level up anyway? I wasn't in any hurry. I could gain experience in other ways.
The Major Quest could go and die for all I cared, to kill 5 monsters, this was ridiculous.
I couldn't do it.
A moan.
The Zombie dungeon hadn't been named for its flowers after all.
It looked human... or at least it closely resembled something humanoid. Its flesh was decaying and intdidn't smell or look very good.
It was covered in blood, and I really didn't want to find out why.
"Observe"
'Name: Bloody Zombie
Level: 2
Health: 1Hp
Mana: 0Mp
Str: 4
Vit: 2
Dex: 1
Int: 1
Wis: 1
Luck: 1
Blood covered zom-'
I don't want to know where the blood comes from, thank you.
Alright, alright, I can do this.
This is far better than the Demon Dog.
I actually had a chance with this one.
I grabbed the frying pan like one would grab a baseball bat.
I let it come closer and, as the thing approached I took a swing.
'A new passive skill has been created [Mastery of Blunt Weapons]'
Dead
'You have gained 150 Exp Points'
'Major Quest Update! Defeat 1/5 monsters [any].'
...
I don't even know what happened.
Alright let's put things in order: I let it approach, I hit it, and it disappeared like dust.
I looked at my frying pan with reverence.
All hail the frying pan.
This was... surprisingly easy...
It couldn't be that easy, right?
That had to be a fluke.
I walked around until I saw another Zombie.
"Observe"
'Name: Crippled Zombie
Level: 2
Health: 1 Hp
Mana: 0Mp
Str: 2
Vit: 2
Dex: 1
Int: 1
Wis: 1
Luck: 1
A zombie that had its arm teared away. Probably by another zombie.
Slow and not very strong, its rotten flesh seems to be about to fall apart.'
1Hp?! Oh, well, this explains everything. For a moment there I thought I had become all powerful without knowing.
I feel almost bad for them. They seemed be having the same problem with Health I was having with my MP.
The zombie saw me, groaned and came... not running, but at a slightly faster pace.
I felt somewhat bad for them. Poor things.
Growl.
Hit.
'You have gained 150 Exp Points'
'Major Quest Update! Defeat 2/5 monsters [any].'
Well, maybe not, they were trying to kill me, after all.
I was far more confident now that I knew I could kill them with one hit.
I could get nice experience.
It gave less experience per monster than doing a minor Quest, but it also took far less time and effort than going through all the trouble of getting a quest and completing it.
I think it was way more productive to defeat zombies than to do Minor Quests.
"Graaaaah" another one.
It was somewhat hard to see them in this dark environment. Luckily, they weren't very smart, and made lots of noise.
'Name: BrainDead Zombie
Level: 4
Health: 1 Hp
Mana: 0Mp
Str: 4
Vit: 1
Dex: 2
Int: 1
Wis: 1
Luck: 1
This Zombie doesn't look like the smartest in the bunch. It only wants a hug.'
Aww... it only wants some love...
Not mine, though.
They can hug each other.
Hit.
Miss.
"Eep!"
Hit.
'You have gained 250 Exp Points'
'Congratulations! You have leveled up by one!'
I tried to hit it a little too soon, luckily I could sneak another attack before the zombie reacted.
'Major Quest Update! Defeat 3/5 monsters [any].'
I leveled up again! Monster killing was definitely the best way to level up.
I was a feeling a little bad for the zombies.
Before I could have a look at my Stats another two Zombies came at me.
Uh oh.
To fight two opponents was harder than a single one, as expected. Even if I could kill them in a single hit while I was distracted hitting one of them the other one didn't just wait patiently its turn, and decided to snack me.
It literally bit me. I didn't have time to even use Observe on them.
It took 2 Hp from me. And it did leave some ugly bite marks, but it was more of a nibble than anything. After some moments, the pain receded and I was feeling quite fine. It was vaguely uncomfortable, but not crippling.
Even if I still lacked a bit of health.
They looked like little girls and came up to my chest. Even if I had the higher ground these things were like little devils, sneaking in attacks when I was about to hit them.
More importantly, I already hit them twice to the one on my right and once to the other one, and they were still alive.
That meant that they had more health.
Which implied that they could very likely kick my ass.
I tried to keep my distance to use Observe.
'Name: Twin Zombiettes
Level: 3 & 3
Health: 2/4 & 3/4 Hp
Mana: 0 & 0 MP
Str: 1 & 1
Vit: 6 & 6
Dex: 3 & 2
Int: 1 & 1
Wis: 1 & 1
Luck: 3 & 4
Two sisters that always go together. If one of them is killed the other one will go into a frenzy and attack anything in its sights until it dies or finds another single Twin Zombiette.'
Great, they did have more than 1 Hp.
And apparently my frying pan only made 1 of damage.
And when I used Observe on one of them it immediately showed the information of both.
Does that mean that they are considered a single entity? But they have separated health bars. Will it give me twice the experience or just the amount for one of them?
And the Quest? Will it count it as one, or two?
I shouldn't distract myself so much during battle, as one of the sisters, the one on the left, decided it had gotten tired of waiting for me to make the next move.
That just meant I could hit her once more and jump away before the other sister got close enough to take advantage of that moment.
It seemed that its intelligence was really low, because when I once again failed to immediately attack again, the sister on the left tried to charge at me again.
Hit.
Jump away.
This really was rough on the legs.
Charge. This time from the right.
Hit.
Run.
The sisters looked barely human anymore. Chunks of their flesh flew with every hit I placed.
The sister on the right ran towards me.
The pan splattered against her head and, thankfully I was spared the rest of the gory vision as she became dust and disappeared, leaving some papers behind.
Was that money?
'You have gained 200 Exp Points'
'Major Quest Update! Defeat 4/5 monsters [any].'
Well, I guess they do give me separate experience.
The other sister roared and turned red, it grew sharp claws and started charging me, faster than ever before.
I didn't try my chances and simply kept my distance.
I didn't want to get closer.
Unlike the small cut I got from one of the sisters on my leg and the bite on my arm, any attack from her now will probably hurt very much.
I looked at the frying pan. I had been able to hit them when they were charging me before, as the frying pan gave me more reach than the sisters' bare hands.
But now, I didn't want to get close to the remaining sister. I wasn't sure how much Hp was she supposed to have, but I didn't want to miscalculate and get possibly wrecked.
I threw the flying pan.
'You have created a skill, [Throwing] through a continuous action.'
The pan fell at the sister's feet.
At least, the zombie didn't even stop to consider grabbing it and getting an advantage over me, which was lucky on my side.
I went around the straight line that was the charge of the sister, to get to the position she had previously occupied and picked up my fallen weapon.
I threw the frying pan.
The pan fell at the sister's feet.
This was going to take a while.
As soon as I got home I felt my blood run cold.
"We need to talk"
I was in trouble. I didn't know why, but I was clearly in trouble.
"What about?" To say I was trembling was an understatement.
It wasn't rational. Kim had never given me reasons to make me afraid to talk to her, but the words she uttered, they were a promise that we were both going to hate this conversation.
'We have to talk'. It's not 'I want to talk to you', as in make small banter to starve off loneliness. It's not an 'I need to have a word with you' which would mean she had made an observation she wanted to share, and would imply that she would be doing all or most of the talking.
I wasn't even a 'we have to talk' as in, having a genuine imperious necessity to share an important piece of information which cannot be evaded, least we risk something important, be it a mission or a friendship.
'We need to talk' was like grabbing the worst of every other example and making a mish-mash of dread and tears.
It meant that while she would be doing most of the talking, because she had done something or reached a decision I probably wouldn't like, it was expected of me to somehow make an opinion of said decision in under ten minutes (the acceptable time to consider something before the other party jumped to conclusions) and express it in a calm and peaceful manner, least the conversation escalates into a full blown fight.
It was nerve wracking.
She took a deep breath. Unconsciously, I mimicked the action.
"You can sit"
Another red flag.
I did.
She braced herself, I did the same.
"I'm sorry for not believing you."
Eh? "Eh?"
"At first, I didn't believe you. I know you are not the type to pull pranks, but... I don't know I just... couldn't really believe it. So I might have made a bit of fun of you, but you didn't get it and, I know you can be a little bit dense, but you don't usually lie so I made you do that skill thing and I was like 'whaaat' and I..."
"Wait, wait, what?! You're talking too fast."
I didn't get half of what she said, after saying she made fun of me, she had started talking faster and faster, without breathing, almost. Scary.
She took another breath, calming herself down.
"I know you didn't notice, but sorry for making fun of you. And for not even giving you the benefit of the doubt, even though you're my friend, and I should have known better."
She had made fun of me? When?
"I... understand if you didn't believe about this power thing. I wouldn't have believed myself either... and... You made fun of me? I didn't notice, so it's alright."
"I know you didn't. All of that stuff about flying? You may not have noticed, but I that was sarcastic. That's why I was crying yesterday. And just because you're oblivious doesen't make it alright!"
It was? She hadn't looked sarcastic, more like excited or expectant. I was a horrible expression reader.
So that's what it was about. I feel horrible for making her cry.
"I'm sorry, I have been a pretty crappy friend."
"If you had wanted proof you could have just asked. I would have tried something like this." And I proceeded to open the Inventory and take out the frying pan.
She looked like a fish. Maybe she hadn't expected that? Or she had wanted me to reassure her that she wasn't a crappy friend! And she was surprised at how bad of a friend I was for not reassuring her.
"And you're not a crappy friend. You're the best one I have."
"Pff, I'm the only one you have"
True.
With Kaito dead, she was truly my only friend left.
Kaito.
He was dead.
Maybe we had lost contact a while ago, but we had been friends for so long, that I couldn't just stop considering him a friend.
Suddenly, Kim hugged me. For a moment I feared that she had somehow read my mind and knew what I was thinking.
"Thank you for not getting angry. You're a wonderful friend." Oh.
No I wasn't. I was a horrible friend.
I awkwardly returned the embrace, even if it was uncomfortable, and patted her in the back.
"Thank you."
"I'm sorry." I wasn't sure what I was sorry about, but I was. Truly.
Maybe for being thinking about a dead friend when my living one needed my reassurance. Or for not knowing how to reassure her at all. Or for not being a good friend. or for making her cry. I had a lot of options to pick from.
Finally she released me. After another thanks, she got up and went to the kitchen. I heard her open the tea cabinet. Yes, I knew which cabinet she opened just by the sound it made when being opened.
I fiddled with my dirty shirt and finally took it out. I started to carefully fold it.
Kim returned with a cup of tea an unspecified amount of time later. I wasn't keeping track. "Alright, what else is in your mind that has you so depressed?"
"I'm fine." that was as good as admitting guilt, when it came to me. "What makes you think I'm not?"
"You're folding dirty clothes."
Yes, yes I was.
"And?"
"You only do that when you are so desperate for a distraction that you consider folding dirty clothes, that will go to the washing machine if not the trash can, an acceptable activity. And you do it like they were your baby or something."
I looked at the shirt. It was neatly folded, compacted into a rectangular shape. A few more folds than I usually bothered with.
"I just recently learned that someone I..." appreciated? Was friends with? Was very close to? "...used to play with when I was little, died."
"Oh, I'm sorry. My condolences."
I sighed.
Kaito had been the only one I could rely on, when I was little. I knew he didn't have any family, and he had a lot of problems. I knew that not all were fairies and roses in his life, but...
I had been avoiding thinking of this for so long that I felt stupid to be sad about this now, years later.
It was simple, really. I was a little friendless girl, he was a poor boy whose only friends were street dogs. We became friends, we played, we had fun, and then he left.
He disappeared, just like that.
I took out Tofu, looking at it. I brought him closer to my chest.
Was I crying? I think I was.
Tofu had been a gift. The last one he gave me.
I didn't want to remember that.
Kim hugged me in an attempt to comfort me, but it wasn't working. If anything, it made me cry more.
I pulled away.
I looked at Kim, she didn't know what to do.
"Hey... I completed a major quest"
She blinked. Then her eyes softened and humored me.
"Yeah? What was it?" She had recognized my poor attempt to change the conversation and graciously accepted it.
She offered me the tea in her hands. I declined.
"Something about learning the game mechanics or something. I had to defeat five monsters."
Kim blinked "monsters?" I nodded. Her eyebrows elevated up to her hairline.
"For real?" I nodded.
"There were Zombies and I defeated five of them. The hardest ones were two sisters. But, I got money from them, so it wasn't that bad."
The eyebrows had disappeared from sight. She was about to open her mouth, but instead closed it, and nodded.
"Then I was about to see if the first Zombies I defeated dropped something but I found a Zombie that was way out of my league. Luckily, I could escape without having to fight it."
In the end I had ran towards home as fast as I landed my eyes on that monster. I didn't even need to use Observe to know that thing was higher leveled than me.
I already noticed this, but it was very awkward to go around saying "Stats" every time I wanted to see my stats.
But I had already tried to think the command and it didn't work, when I tried to use Obser... no wait I hadn't. I tried to use Observe without seeing. Could I just think 'Stats' and have them appear?
'[Name]: Dalia
[Title]: None
[Race]: Human
Lvl 6
Exp: 93% (556 Exp)
Hp: 21 Hp
Mp: 17Mp
Strength: 1
Vitality: 22 (2+20)
Dexterity: 2 (2+0)
Intelligence: 14
Wisdom: 16
Luck: 1
Points: 5'
Yes! I feel quite stupid, I should have tried this a long time ago, I just had thought I already tried, when I hadn't.
I should assign those points. I still couldn't create my own ID, but I also needed a bit in strength to kill those monsters, if I wanted to level up.
Doing one damage wasn't very reliable. And my weapon was supposed to do 12 in Damage or something like that, so obviously, the wrong thing here was me.
On the other hand, I could potentially create Dungeons with new monsters to kill if I managed to use the damn Skill.
And my luck... I swear half the fault of taking so long in hitting that last sister was my bad luck.
I will assign 4 points to strength, to be able to gain experience faster, and the last one I will put on luck.
On my next few levels I get, I will assign one on luck by every level and the rest on intelligence, until I have enough Mp to use the [ID create] skill.
Unless something unexpected happens. But hardly ever anything unexpected happens to me.
Except lately.
Lately everything unexpected happens to me.
Which would mean I just jinxed myself.
"Here, have this."
Eh?
She was offering me a shirt. Not only any shirt, but a clean shirt.
And not any clean shirt, but a special, black furisode with lotus patterns all over it.
I looked at her like she had grown a second head.
"I know you like it, I noticed how much you eyed it when I bought it, and I can't really be bothered to learn how to tie it. So you can keep it."
I stared.
And stared.
"And now you say: Thank you Kim! I love it. And I love you so much. And I will totally accept this gift you're giving me in an attempt to feel less guilty.
And then I'll say: Why Thank you Dalia, I know I'm incredible, you don't have to sweet talk me. But please do keep going.
And you: Oh, Kim! But it's true! You're an amazing friend and a beacon of hope and faith for everyone to see. You are the paragon of humility and selflessness.
Now Me: Thank you, Thank you. I know I'm quite amazing."
Eh? Kim had started to fill in for my role in this conversation. I wasn't complaining, it was amusing how she fished praises from herself.
I put the furisode on.
It was supposed to be a dress, as it came up to my mid thighs, but there's no way I'm showing so much skin, so I kept my black pants underneath. It was very pretty.
I would be lying if I said I didn't like the cloth. It was breezy, but it could keep me warm enough even when the temperature started lowering. And it was very comfortable.
I particularly liked its long sleeves. I could hide things in them and it was hardly noticeable.
I moved Tofu to its new hiding place.
I wasn't about to refuse this. Even if I felt slightly ashamed of liking this so much.
"Just remember to clean this on hand.
Don't even think about putting it in the washing machine.
And now that it's yours, now it's your problem."
Kim didn't like washing very much, if it wasn't obvious. One of the reasons why this piece had fallen out of grace in Kim's eyes.
I could never understand how she could have things this pretty in her wardrobe, and never wear them.
The furisode was black, with lotus flowers all over it. It was tied with a red Obi.
It wasn't that hard to figure out.
Kim was just being lazy.
"Thanks Kim." I hugged her.
She gasped. "You initiated physical contact with me... the world must be ending, are you sick?"
Stupid.
I assigned the points to luck and strength, and with my new furisode on, I looked into the Quest menu.
'[Learning the ropes] -Completed-
Quest requisites:
-Open the Main Menu and learn everything you can. -Completed-
-Assign at least one point to any Stat. -Completed-
-Defeat 5 monsters [any] -Completed-
-Learn 3 new skills [any] -Completed-
-Level up a Skill at least once [any] -Completed-
-Complete 2 minor Quests [any] -Completed-
Quest Rewards:
-Exit the tutorial
-1000$
-1000 Exp points
-Armor [Common]'
Oh? There was a collect button.
With the other, minor Quests, the Rewards has been given immediately upon completion of the Quest.
It seemed that Major Quests worked a bit differently.
I pressed collect.
'Congratulations! You have leveled up by one'
'Congratulations! You have leveled up by one.'
'You received [Rib armor] (Common)'
'You have gained 1000$'
'You have Completed the tutorial, do you want to exit the tutorial?
Y/N'
Wao, that was a lot of alerts.
I leveled up twice, I should put the points before I forget. After I read the rest of the alerts.
Rib armor? What is that? It sounds stupid. I hope its creator didn't break a brain cell trying to come up with a name.
At least it sounds like it will protect my ribs.
I gained a fair amount of money, although it was harder than expected. I think I deserved every dollar I got.
Eh?
EH?
Tutorial? Exit?
Does that mean I have been in a 'tutorial' of sorts?
But... nothing changed since I got the ability, I don't get it.
How can I exit something I have never entered?
Is this a bug? Did the game break or something?
What would happen if I said I wanted to leave? Would reality break like the Dungeons did, and find an exact copy of my actual world?
But then... how was Kim in here?
Was this even my friend?
...
For how long have we been living together? I couldn't remember.
Why were we living together?
I was getting scared. Very, very scared. No, this was stupid, Kim wasn't acting strange at all, she was the same as always, I was the one who's world had turned upside down.
...
Then why did all of Kim's things smell of new?
I looked at Kim sideways.
I was becoming paranoid, stop, this is unreasonable.
I breathed in.
I kept looking at Kim.
I looked at Kala.
Kala! And her? Was she even Kala-Kala? My Kala?
Was everything a copy of the world I knew? Had I been living in an Instant Dungeon for the last few days?!
Suddenly I became calm.
The gamer's mind.
I didn't know if this is really an Instant Dungeon.
For all I know the 'tutorial' was actually not a place. Or maybe it was, and it meant this was saying I should go somewhere else.
Maybe it was a series of Quests and I was understanding this wrong.
Maybe it was offering me to start a series of Quests?
No. It very clearly asked if I wanted 'to exit the tutorial'
Maybe I was currently being aided by this 'tutorial' in a way I didn't know, yet. And was asking if I was confident enough in my knowledge of the game to retire that help.
But then why use the word 'exit' instead of 'finish'?
I was going to give myself brain damage before I found out.
The only way to know for sure would be by accepting to exit the tutorial.
I looked at Kim.
I still was slightly suspicious. Things were not adding up.
"I'm sorry."
Kim had been apologizing not even thirty minutes ago for not believing me.
Now I was suspicious of her.
Irony at its finest.
"Mmh?"
What should I do?
Now everything I knew was suspicious of being an illusion.
Could I say 'No', and keep living like this?
Without ever knowing if I was living a lie?
Could I say 'yes', and possibly lose everything I have ever known?
I didn't know.
But there was a way to find out.
I would exit the tutorial, and depending of what happened, I would either come back here, or stay there.
Of course, the only option that would allow me to stay there was if all of this was a Dungeon, and I had been living a lie.
Any other outcome and I would be back here faster than I can blink.
I needed to prepare myself.
This would not take much time, but I wanted to be prepared.
I always felt safer when I was prepared.
I didn't even know if anything I took from this possibly-illusion would carry over to the "Outside of the tutorial", but this was more to calm me down than anything else.
I put some food in my inventory.
What else?
My newest pajama set. It was very warm. And it had cute little sheep.
I wasn't planning on staying overnight but it could still prove useful. Somehow.
Anything else? Tofu was already with me... I went to my room to see if there was anything else I should take.
A toothbrush, Hairbrush, and womanly necessities.
Should I take the phone? Obviously.
If I ended up who-knows-where, the phone would be a reliable way to call Kim to assure her I hadn't been kidnaped.
I don't think I was forgetting anything. Was I?
I should totally warn Kim.
I should.
If this turned out to be an illusion it wouldn't matter if I told her. If I was transported to the Antarctica or something, it would be nice to have someone that knew.
It was a win-win situation to be sincere and tell her.
Of course I wouldn't tell her my suspicions that she was fake, but at least give her the bare bones.
"Kim."
She made a sound of acknowledgment, and kept sipping her tea.
I took a long breath.
How was I supposed to explain this?
"I got an alert telling me I can exit a tutorial of sorts."
"Yeah? That's nice. I guess you aren't as bad a player as you made yourself to be."
That's it? I mean, that's all the information I truly know that is reliable.
I guess that is it.
I didn't like to lie, but this wasn't lying.
But she wasn't getting the possible implications of this.
And I was taking advantage of that.
Was I overthinking this?
Sometimes I tended to overthink things.
I guess it's good that I didn't bother Kim with farfetched possible outcomes.
"I guess"
Things wouldn't change.
Then I would keep silent about my stupid fears, and I would feel good, because not only I hadn't gone anywhere, but I also avoided unnecessarily worrying my friend.
I pressed 'Yes'.
The world went black.
Remember that time when I said that nothing unexpected ever happened to me?
I think I really did jinx myself.