A gamer's fun
…I fucked up again my goal was to mess up Emilia's plans/ability to get her insignia back I think I got kinda caught up in the moment.
I mean up until Elsa happened it was pretty fun hanging out with Emilia even if she has been a bit cold and the city and its people are pretty interesting given their variety.
Now…now I have a weasel cat fairy thing floating in my face bugging me for my name.
Puck is trying his best to stare me down but it isn't exactly working too well given that I am not truly focused on him.
Could I kill her and get away before Puck loses his mind…no, no I don't think that would work out too well.
However, before I can think too much on the subject Reinhard is back he casually dusts himself off as he approaches us Elsa seemingly having slipped between his fingers.
A quick look back shows…nothing, I guess the fight took place farther back than I expected…this is troublesome I mean fuck this is happening too fast.
Reinhard finally speaks up "Emilia are you ok?" his question earns a nod from her.
"I am ok Reinhard, thank you for checking on me." replied Emilia politely dipping her head slightly.
Reinhard nodded slightly in reply before turning to me "And you?"
I take my first real look at Reinhard and immediately realize that Reinhard is fucking hot I am by no means a gay man-er, boy I guess, not even slightly bi-curious but the man is a looker if I have ever seen one.
Apparently, I have been silent too long because Reinhard and Emilia are staring at me with slight concern "...I am ok or at least I don't think that I am hurt in any way."
Reinhard seems unsure as to take my answer at face value or not so he turns to Emilia and she thankfully nods in confirmation to my words.
Reinhard smiles at me somewhat before talking again "Might I ask your name?"
Pausing slightly I can only sigh I had been hoping that he would ignore me...actually, that was stupid why would he ignore me when I arrived with the same group as Emilia.
"I am...Zack Ackerman." as I speak I notice Puck pouting at me, as he has floated just behind Reinhard's head.
Apparently, mister cat weasel doesn't like that I answered Reinhard instead of him.
Reinhard frowns slightly as he processes my name before he finally replies "I do not think I know of anyone with that last name."
"I would hope not as far as I am aware my family is the only ones with this name." my reply earned another odd stare from my companions.
Puck was the first to speak "You mentioned that you were an orphan earlier are you certain that you have no family here?"
I cast a scowl to the weasel cat and nod "I am certain my family has been hunted for generations for our ability and knowledge."
Now I have a set of completely different types of stares coming my way.
Emilia is looking at me in confusion while Puck and Reinhard with caution.
Puck speaks up again "Is that a part of what you did to that ominous woman back there, she bled from her shoulders, as if she were stabbed, she was also pushed back in the house but I felt no magic."
"Hmm...no that is something unique to me alone my family's ability is that we can subconsciously tap into the strength, and collective battle knowledge of our family, past and present." I say back.
Everyone looks at me with disbelieving eyes...suppose that it may be a bit unbelievable.
"Can you prove this?" asked Reinhard curiously causing both Emilia and puck to look at him in shock.
Reinhard ignored them and pulled his sheath and held it across his body in a defensive pose before speaking again "Come at me and give me your best shot, the power behind your strike should tell me if you're telling the truth."
Ok...this is moving quickly I honestly expected a different reaction but I guess I need to back my words now.
I instinctively assume a striking pose "Say when."
As Reinhard gives a nod I lunge and throw a punch, it clashes with his sheath it immediately I feel a sharp pain in my hand and I see his eyes widen and in a single motion, his foot slides back and his sheath shifts forward.
When I next open my eyes I am greeted with the inside of a cart...taking a moment to blink and clear my vision, and thoughts, I honestly can't recall what happened.
"Ah finally woke up huh?" for the umpteenth time I have a flying weasel cat talking to me while being directly in my face, only this time there is a smug note in his voice.
...I would really, really like to strangle him someday it's just something about his smugness that makes me want to, can't explain why.
However, before I can reply to the flying weasel something pops up in my vision.
Warning, an issue within the system has occurred and affection/reputation gains have not been awarded, issues with the leveling and jobs/classes have also been detected, you will experience a moment of pain before falling unconscious while we fix the issue, your rewards/progress will be awarded after the system updates thank you for your patients.
I can barely let out a whimper as my body suddenly convulses, and for a brief moment, I see Puck's eyes widen...I honestly take a small amount of pleasure in that before the pain sets in.
My nerves, every. single. one.
Each one of the little bastards feels like they had highly flammable acid poured on them before they were lit on fire and thrown into the world's rustiest blender.
Thankfully gamer's mind kicks in and instead of pain, I am back to the blackness of sleep.
Or not I can't help but think as despite my dreamless dark a textbox appears.
As the changes are implemented please enjoy the royalty-free music provided by the system.
As a slightly up-beat tone begins playing in the background, something I could easily ignore if I had anything else to focus on I feel irritation and mild fear.
"How long will it take?" I ask mentally begging for a reasonable amount of time.
It will take thirteen hours.
"Will this song be playing the whole time?" I ask again begging for it to not be.
It will.
"Ah...I don't suppose it could change after it over right?" I can't help but petition the system for a bit of mercy.
No, it will be this song the entire time.
Mmm, I think I am starting to dislike my system.
.
.
.
I fucking hate this so god damn much, If I ever have to listen to this elevator/waiting room bullshit ever again I am going to go ballistic.
Before my temper can peak again, possibly for the second time, my mind is brought to a calm state again allowing me to speak calmly "How much time is left?"
Twelve hours thirty-seven minutes remaining.
"...Oh fuck you and your buggy ass system." I snarl at the textbox as my anger flares again.
.
.
.
I feel like boredom is one of the worst ways to torture someone without physically hurting them...I mean just sitting here floating in a void of darkness with nothing to do.
On the upside, all this boredom has given me time to think and ponder some things such as the fact that I may or may not have a mommy fetish...granted Carla has been my only partner so far but the idea of a loving and kind older woman is just pleasing to me.
I think it is because my real mom was a bitch, abusive emotionally and physically, just like my dad.
If I were bi or gay I probably would have a daddy fetish as well...is there a term when one has both?
The softness and care Carla and Ai, though not in the same way in the latter case, gave me were just so different than what I was used to or honestly expecting given the level of development and lifestyle that the people of Paradise lived.
Congratulations, the system has completed its update you will awaken shortly.
"Oh, that is good..." I say releasing a sigh as I begin to stand, having sat down some time ago in my pondering.
"I don't suppose that you can or even will give me a recap of what happened while I was unconscious?" I ask the so far unmerciful system however I was surprised.
You were knocked unconscious by Reinhard, your strength startled him nothing he couldn't handle casually but you surprised him and he shifted his sheath with enough strength to send your fist back into your face knocking you out due to the force, Reinhard felt shame at his kneejerk reaction and after some talk, confirming your statements and apologies, he left while Emilia carried you to a carriage and began the track to Roswaal's mansion.
You woke temporarily in time to receive the system's message and were put under again, your brief bout of pain startled Emilia and Puck but after ensuring that you were well they continued to Roswaal's home.
You are now resting in a bed inside Roswaal's home.
"Huh...that was surprisingly detailed thank you system..." I said internally grateful for the recap especially so given said system's previous track record.
You will awaken in a few seconds and your rewards/progress will be granted as promised.
3
2
1
As I blink the world goes from darkness to a rather lavish room and instead of standing up in said darkness I am laying out on a bed...a rather soft bed at that.
Another blink seems to be the sign the system was waiting for as a textbox blinks into existence.
You have slept in a bed for several hours 100% of your health recovered
After the by now normal greeting the text changes.
+5 reputation with Rom (5/100)
+5 affection with Felt/Amalia Lugunica (5/100)
+20 affection with Emilia (20/100)
+5 reputation with Puck (5/100)
+10 reputation with Reinhard (10/100)
-30 reputation with Roswaal L Mather (-30/100)
...the fuck did I do to piss off Roswaal?
Oh, right his little black book thing said that Subaru and Emilia should meet today and my name is not Subaru, actually was the book that descriptive, I can't remember if it was specific with names and the like...or if names were included at all.
If that is not the case then I must have done something while I was 'asleep' to piss him off, but what could I have done that would drop him straight to negative thirty?!
Did I piss my pants or something?
That thought sends a spike of fear through me, as I did kinda get my shit kicked in by accident, causing me to sit up and throw the blankets off me...only to that my clothing has been changed to a robe and pants.
Oh, shit did I actually piss myself...wait no when Subaru woke up here wasn't he in similar garb, fingers crossed that they just decided that my clothes just needed a wash.
However, before I can ponder on this development further the textbox pops up again.
Major changes to the system
-You will no longer receive stat crystal from missions or gacha
-You can only gain EXP when it is in correlation with one of your jobs or classes, so to gain EXP currently you must do actions such as training and killing while equipped with 3d maneuvering gear and once a job is selected EXAMPLE: baker one must process and prepare food
-Training: reading, flirting, working out, playing strategy games, gymnastics well raise individual stats independent of level
-Your level has been reset to one along with your class but your stats are starting at 20 even, except for LUK
-Skills are now classed by mastery, starting at novice 1-20, beginner 21-40, competent 41-60, Proficient 61-80, Expert 81-100 your skills have not been reset
- certain skills that are gamer specific, reliant on race, or can't be learned naturally have been changed to abilities
-Observe's level has been removed and like Ghost Generation it can be upgraded
Ok, fuck that is just bad game design you can't just strip levels from me!
Gamer's mind snuffs out my anger immediately and I simply take a moment to stew in my not quite anger before I finally gather mind enough to think properly and check my stats.
Name: Zack Ackerman
Title(s): The Gamer, Ackerman
Class: Armed Forces of Eldia(AFE)LV 1
Job: N/A
LEVEL: 1 0/100
HP: 2000/2000 HP Regen: 100.15 per minute
MP: Locked MP Regen: Locked
STR: 20
VIT: 20
DEX: 20
INT: 20
WIS: 20
LUK: 5
Hmm...While it is a given that I still hate this and the fact that a couple of my stats have been lowered back to twenty I guess this is a general improvement if it is forcing me to start over.
The system also said that the skills and 'abilities' had changed "Skills."
Skills
Novice
Escapology LV 1
Basic first aid LV 7
Acting LV 7
Ax Mastery LV 1
Meditation LV 10
Hand-to-hand Mastery LV 3
Twin sword Mastery LV 7
Running LV 17
Skinning LV 5
Chores LV 12
Knife Mastery LV 6
Beginner
Competent
Proficient
Expert
"And Abilities?" I asked the system
Abilities
Ghost Generation
Observe
Ah...that is...good?
With a deep sigh, I decided to push it aside for now and start exploring the mansion.
I wonder...when I leave this room what are the odds that I will run into the drill-haired loli cause I have no intention of actively looking for her at the moment.
Welp might as well start roaming, with a small grunt I pull myself from the bed and look around the room, it is rather big and empty.
As I reach the door and pull it open I stick my head out looking down both ends of the hall, both are clear of sentient life by the looks of it so just to be sure.
"HHHEEELLLOOO?" my near shout echos down the hall but after a few seconds no one comes, so I make my way into the halls and begin knocking and checking in the accompanying rooms.
After a few minutes, I feel that I should mention that I have gone around several corners now, that opening one door after another leaves me rather bored so I decided to try calling out again "Anyone here?"
...again I am met with silence leaving me to continue with my knock-knock check-in approach and thankfully after another three tries I find something new a library.
Betty is sitting there is a book in hand and a tea set to her side however unlike in the anime she has a rather broken look on her face tears are visibly streaming down her face in little tracks.
Ah, I think I can confirm that I fucked up the black books if how she is acting is any indication...fuck.