Chapter 4
The Car Chapter
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Through a unique action, a new skill has been obtained.
Fucking finally.
I quickly used observe on the 'new skill' of the page, opening up said new skill and not wasting my time with going through my menu and skill… tab?
Balance (passive) - level 1
Your body has become more accustomed to situations where weight must be shifted in order to survive or look cool. Every level gains +5 Agility and +5% Dexterity per level. 1/4 skills required to use martial arts efficiently.
Yeah. There's no way I'm using this horse anymore. It took almost five hours to just get the skill. Now it's almost night, and what does it mean 'One of four'?!
I opened up my statistics menu after making sure I was alone. I'm sure it could be explained off, but I'm still a tad worried of anything I can't see coming yet.
Name: N/A
Age: 1
Level: 3
XP: 20/40
HP: 12/13 +1 every 3 hours
SP: 10/20.6 +10 a minute
MP: 20/25 +5 an hour
AP: N/A
HNG: 43/70
THR: 22/50
STR: 6 + 0.9 = 6.9
END: 9 + 1.3 = 10.3
CON: 7 + 1 = 8
CHR: 20 + 15 = 35
AGI: 23 + 3.4 + 5 = 19.4
DEX: 12 + 1.8 + 0.3 = 16.7
INT: 250 + 3.5 = 253
WIS: 75
LCK: 30
Why is my—? Ah right. I walked into a wall like an idiot.
Cherven had left to do whatever activity with his friends— I watched him leave from the second floor window. Well, I say friends but I've seen him talk to one from near the corner of the orphanage. They're gang members— not the spiders, thank God, just a bee insignia across a leather jacket. I don't remember them at all. I used observe, and they were a good bit stronger than the average street thug, if those two bastards were anything near average. Though given that my stat compared to their highest was far over a hundred difference, I won't be fighting anybody anytime soon. I mean seriously, what kind of street thug has over four-hundred dexterity?
I kept looking out the window, observing, and hoping that it would level up eventually. I mean, it's only level twenty one right now, how long is it going to take—?
Car
1000/1000
Remnant's most advanced four wheel drive yet. Coloured white on the outside, it's design and engine allow it to move near 30Mph. Weighing 700-1400 KG, ramming something with this at maximum speed would do 910-1820 damage.
Cost: 150,000-500,000 Lien
A car?! Well, if it can really be called that. Looks pretty historic yet still of the ford design. Was it like this in the show? No, I can't imagine an ancient soul parasite driving around in a 1973 type ford. But still, it's not a horse. It's a good two or three feet off the ground; definitely no lamborghini but to these people? A crowd formed in seconds of him stopping. Must have been some kind of marketing stunt because I could hear him advertising— and though I could make out no words I could tell it probably busted by the way the crowd dispersed. There's a damage stat too? And an easy thousand damage for this relic of a car. Oh I can imagine it now; ramming through an army of grimm with some bullshit skill I'll probably pick up after a few seconds of driving. I'd just have to get my licence first.
Actually— do they have licences here? I suppose not, though by the time I'm old enough to drive there probably will be. Though I might need another skill or two to live my fantasy properly. Last car crash I was in hurt, and I was only going 20!
Other than that quick observation, I was bored. I just wasn't tall enough to do anything– even opening doors was a struggle sometimes. I yawned and checked my stats. I usually did just to see what had changed.
Hm, yeah. Looks like my strength is the lowest stat out of them all. Damn it, I need to complete Cherven's quest. Double strength increase for life would make it so much better, and add on the twenty five percent increase from that other quest I could get stronger way faster.
But on levelling up… Looks like the best way would be through combat and quests; things unavailable because of my currency infancy. Now that I think back to that event, I got experience just from biting him, right?
It means I won't have to kill anybody, just defeat them. But what does that mean exactly? I imagine something about knocking them out or changing their minds might count. What else would charisma be for if it weren't? I can imagine it's also used for smooth talking with could be useful against the average Joe, but against somebody like, say, Ozpin? I can't imagine him as anything less than silver tongued.
Though that poses the question; do I get involved with the plot? I mean— on one hand I suppose it would be cool to meet all these so-called fictional characters, but on the other it could place my second life in peril, but I suppose that wouldn't be such an issue.
Though thinking back to that event, I remember something. When I bit that asshole, I got a… what was it again? I bit him, then it went like… 'A foundation to a fighting style was unlocked' or something?
Let's see… Ah! There it is. How did I miss this? It's right next to skills.
[RUSH] Core
Requires: 50 DEX, 75 AGI
Cost: 1500 Lien
Bonus: +15 DEX +30 AGI
Potential Unlocks: Dirty Boxing Style, Thug's Style, Assassin Style.
The RUSH styles are focused on speed and devastating attacks. Each style can graduate into further styles, and cost both stats and money to further evolve. Dirty Boxing Style focuses on sleight of hand movements. The Thug Style focuses on the use of small sized weapons, counters, and increased money gain. Assassin Style focuses on power attacks to vital areas, stealth, and hidden weaponry.
So this is the sort of 'rogue' skill tree, is it? Dirty boxing doesn't really seem like something that would be on there then… perhaps it's more of a street fighting skill tree? But in that case— why would I need to end a life? It doesn't seem to branch out any further, but that might just be because I haven't unlocked anything else/. But it costs money? Seriously? Where does it even go— and why? Why is capitalism part of my supposed omniscient help system? Will I just end up eating the economy or something?
Exciting the menu with a trippy zoom out to where I really was, and snapped my head out of the trance I had been set in. It didn't look like any time had passed. Speaking of time, they should have clocks here. Maybe I'll get a watch and actually wear it this time.
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So as it turns out, the meditation skill is either hard to get, or I'm not doing it right. I just sat still for like, an hour, and nothing happened. Maybe it was because of the noise? But I can't think of a single place in the orphanage where it's actually quiet. There's always a group of people talking or the TV—sorry, I meant CT, on some channel. Maybe I should try the garden?
Sliding open the glass door with both of my hands, I found it quieter in the garden. Not perfectly quiet, but reaches better than any other place I could think of.
It was peaceful here, though. The grass blew and the leaves gently rustled in the wind and the sun. There was a generic tire swing on the thicket branch of the single tree. Couldn't be bigger than five five metres, but the perimeter fence was sturdy. I'd say there's metal on the other side. There was the sound of shouting, a faint smell of alcohol, but above all else, this was like nothing I had ever experienced before. It was like the countryside.
I had never gone out to the country— never outside a school tour or family vacation. I was always cooped up in the city, or rather my little town near the Atlantic.
The tire swing was, of course, too high to sit in. I simply took a seat next on the largest root – three or four times my body width– and closed my eyes.
I focused on my magic; specifically the feeling of the push I had used not so long ago, except this time I didn't push it. I spread it around like hot butter on toast— No, not the time. I shook the thought from my head. I had to focus.
…
…
…
I think I fell asleep.
Everything is dark. Not pitch black, just night. How long have I been out here?
Through a unique action, a new skill has been obtained!
Oh! Great! Maybe it's meditation?
Calm - level 0
Put your mind at ease in any situation by recomposing yourself.
45 MP required to use. 1/4 skills required for using martial arts efficiently.
Halfway there already! Great, that means I only need two more skills to start my martial artistic path. Only issue, I have NO idea what those skills could possibly be. Now that I look at my menu, I realise just how many things are locked behind age barriers. So many of them are years away though. Five, ten, seventeen. Guess I can't wait to grow up?
Now, what to do?
Actually… Why haven't I tried reading a book? If watching a T.V show gave me a quest maybe a book will too— or even a skill! That's right, I remember characters in this setting getting skills or abilities by reading books, though it would often destroy the books in the process. Do we have any books around here? Maybe I should check some of the drawers and go into everybody's personal or private stuff they may or may not be reading. Hm. Maybe I should hold off on that for a while. I really can't do anything as a baby.
God, why don't I just try smashing my head into a wall? Fun and repetitive.
Wait…
My eyes flicked to the statistics menu I had just pulled up, and scanning through it –After proudly smirking at my intelligence, two-hundred and fifty-three– I saw my two second lowest statistics, and I felt like a genius. Maybe it was that two-hundred-fifty intelligence stat.
END: 9 + 1.3 = 10.3
CON: 7 + 1 = 8
Could it be? Could the holy grail of not dying in my first fight have been so clear all along? It must be! I'm a fucking genius! My endurance is a reduction to damage taken, and constitution increases my health; and as the saying goes 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger'! Yes, my genius is simply astounding.
Walking up to a nearby wall with renewed vigour, I breathed in. Smashing my head against a wooden wall had seemed like such a grand idea moments ago— so stop being a bitch and just do it! Alright, fine, how about a little encouragement. I'll just blast my leathery clothes into the wall instead; It'll be over in an instant, and my stats will, hopefully, go up. My mana should be— yup, it is.
I closed my eyes, and hoping for the best, I turned around as to not hit my head. Here we go. Three. Two. One.
Actually this is probably a bad idea—
-14 HP
Ow! Shit!
You are at critical HP
You have one health point remaining.
You have no stamina remaining.
Due to lack of stamina you will be rendered unconscious for 25 minutes.
A major skill has levelled up.
Yeahh, that—
Everything's goin' black again.
I'll check if it went up later…
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I've decided to make this more consistent for as long as I can, and I'll try to upload at least every two weeks.