Rosaria
"Wow." I marveled, staring at the expanded space. No matter how many times I've seen it. mother's tent was always a surprise to see. On the outside, it was relatively small, standing at about a metre and a fourth in height and a few feet in length. What it lacked on the outside, it more than made up for on the inside.
It held a full gallery of paintings from the time humans still dominated the earth, a couple of trophies that she collected over the course of lifetimes, wine cabinets full of the delicious liquid. Even a portal connected to all the other lakes in the forest.
But best of all was her vast collection of swords, both original and gifts from those gunning for her favor. Admiring her weaponry from afar, she suddenly called out for me in my stupor.
"Rosaria? Rosaria, dear? I know they may be impressive, sometimes otherworldly, but you might cut yourself just by staring at them. Please restrain yourself. Although it may be hard to admit, you are no longer a child whose only job it is to be coddled by their elders." Mother admitted, bringing the locket over to her main work table.
Right, and I was also responsible for my actions now, all of them… Mary… No. I have to stop thinking about the past, that will only lead to more self-hatred.
"It appears this insect is biologically a demon, I can tell that much from a surface level scan. No personal defenses, notably weak even by our race's convention. Has a very high affinity for melee combat, with force coming in at second, and darkness lagging behind last." She diagnosed, writing down her findings with one hand while her other was hovering above the little critter.
"No obvious damage and the subject seems to be unconscious. However, the subject holds the rare ability of Enduring Soul. A high-class skill which has been said to quote 'bring those at the brink of death back to life'. Further testing required before a full confirmation."
Rummaging through a nearby drawer, she pulled out an inexpensive telescope, only to find it fail upon activation.
"Correction: subject has a clear resistance to low-quality information gathering-type items. Now testing tier two spyglass." She revised, writing down a new line on top of her research.
It was a very weird spectacle in all honesty. It was like watching a dissection happen right before your eyes, but, nothing was being performed, magic was used instead of cutting the patient open, and the operator got progressively more irritated with each new observation turning out as a failure.
In the end, she finally quit. After about an hour of trial and error, she stopped her work, affixing her gaze towards me and beckoning for my presence on her bed. I would ask why, but I was also far too tired to speak out or complain. Beats sleeping alone in a cold tent while the incessant pattering of the rain troubled my otherwise horrifying sleep.
…
Skye
Alright, what the fuck?
Hey, game! Did you really expect me to sit here for the next two fucking hours, idly wasting my time?
[Initially, yes.]
Dick!
[Pfft. It was amusing at first, but now, it feels stale.]
[Take this time to check out your menus that I have graciously prepared in advance.]
[Which you ignored in your haste for adventure.]
Ah, of course, another step in my calculated plan. I just have to open them first… Uhhh.
"Status?" Not really. A new window did pop up, but it was the wrong one.
"Link start?" Wrong anime, but it did give me a secret minigame, a mix between Megami Tensei 2 and Pokemon.
"Settings?" A sea of options jumped out from the woodworks, blinding my eyes with their abundance. I would definitely love to explore it a bit more, but it still wasn't what I was looking for.
"Men-nu?"
[Ding, ding, ding!]
[Honestly hilarious seeing you fiddle around like a buffoon.]
[Status]
[Skills]
[Quest*]
[Settings]
[Mini Games]
[I'm sure you know which one to choose, right?]
Of course, it's the big red button. Duh. Interestingly enough, there hasn't been a quest pop-up. So, unless they silently appear and are forced onto me, then I don't know where they're coming.
[Quest Accomplished]
[Tutorial Mission: Build a Character]
Objective: Complete character creation.
Reward: Random T2 Item, Upgradeable T1 Skill
Failure: Can you really fail if you're being railroaded by the system?
[Call to Adventure]
Objective 1: Save the damsel.
Objective 2: Defeat the big bad monster.
Reward: [Minor Power Crystal], Skill: [Unseen Hand]
Failure: Potential Death, Lost Heroine.
Wow, he wasn't shitting me. Maybe I should thank the system one day… if he wasn't so much of a prick.
[I take offense to that!]
Nobody asked!
*record scratch*, just give me the rewards already. This practically feels like a ransom with how much you hold it over my head just barely out of reach.
[Fine, fine. I'll stay out of your hair for a while.]
[If you need anything, just call me up.]
Finally, some peace and quiet. Though, that does beg the question of who runs the system? A thought for another time I suppose.
[Item has been Received]
[Ring of Mediocre Physique]
A silver ring encrusted with various pieces of jewelry. Forged by a dwarf and enchanted by an elf, this ring will enhance all physical attributes at no cost.
+1 Tier
[Minor Power Crystal]
Harvested from the deepest, dankest corners of the multiverse. These crystals will slightly power up anyone that crushes it.
+0.2 Tier
Still no context as to what that means. I know what the skills mean but never the tiers. I know that skill potential will help me form my abilities with practice and time, but never how they scale alongside the power system… Strange.
[Skill has been Unlocked]
[Underhanded Tactics^] (Style)
Fight dirty, using every trick in the book. Win at all costs. Take every advantage, and strike behind your opponent's back. Who cares about honor when you're the last person standing.
[Unseen Hand] (Active Skill)
Spooky~. From playing pranks, to grabbing a sword and chopping people's heads off. Though it may be simple, its potential for common everyday use and combat is innumerable and immense.
Current limit: 1 Hand
That's quite a few hand-related items… Is the system perhaps a fan of explosion man Kira? Jojo references aside, these two are extremely useful. Not only can I grip things once more, but the former meshed wonderfully with my class.
Perhaps the quests weren't all that bad after all. Well, until I have to face the Demi-Fiend. There was no way in shit was going to defeat that man, Nahobino or not. But, I can plan around this to dodge any incoming curveballs that may block my path. I just have to fuck around long enough to waste the rest of two hours in here.
Right, the rest of my skills. Haven't fully explored them as of yet, unless the flavor text of the CYOA sheet counts.
[One-handed Weapon Mastery] (Thief) {Novice}
Quick, stealthy, and straight to the point. You can't use both sets of hands when you've got loot in one of them.
Move slightly faster, hit slightly harder for each weapon held.
Well, this turned from hyper useless garbage to top-tier grade A time sinker. Based on the hints left out from the skill above, I wouldn't be surprised to suddenly move at the speed of light in due time.
This was just the beginning of the power fantasy, however. While things like [Lockpicking], [Pickpocketing], and [Silent Foot] were useful in their own right, they weren't exactly perks that proved very useful at the moment. In the end, they only made those that were more special in my eyes.
[Networking]
Connections, connections. It doesn't matter where you are on earth, whether it be in the high peak of Valhalla, or the cold trenches of Lucifer's lair, you will find like-minded people with who you can negotiate with.
Glorious! Fellow magical fuck you cockroaches exist here as well! I was not the only unlucky bastard! Hold on for a minute. Why do I get the feeling someone is laughing behind my back?
Whatever, how cares about that when you can just blast them with magic-er, slice them with physical attacks. From what I was able to gather through reading the bits and pieces of window text, [Skill Potential] performs similarly to how it plays out in the games. More efficiency, more moves, most importantly, resistances and weaknesses.
In layman's terms, anything +5 and above gave me full immunity to the attack type, while +3 or +4 would only half the receiving damage. And if it were an elemental affinity, then the opposite spell would become your Achilles heel. An example of this would be light and dark.
Easy run down on why I'm invincible to physical damage, with a potential for drain or reflect if the future allowed it.
Then came the sole skill brought to me by my species, and the only thing I find good about it.
[Enduring Soul] (Merged)
Tales on the immortal cockroach have been regaled by generation after generation. If legends hold true, then it was this that dictated the outcome of most of his battles. Though it may be a weakened version, it is not to be trifled with as it can restore you back to health once per battle.
Cooldown: 3 days.
Top SSSS tier ability. Broken beyond belief. Cheat. This was going to keep me alive for the rest of my time here. Granted, it had its flaws, but frankly, as long as I'm powerful enough, nothing will be able to stop me.
In the future at least. Delusions of grandeur can sit in the backburner for now, getting stronger and being the strongest will take priority for now. In the meanwhile, I can continue binding time until I can get strong enough.
And that starts with the use of the items left to me by the system. Strangely enough, I was left in my human form in this space, perhaps it had something to do with the psyche or soul, but that was too taxing to perform experiments on.
Fishing both the crystal and ring out of my pocket space, I stared at both pieces before forcing my fingers shut on the mineral. It didn't pan out the way I wanted it.
An ear-piercing screech vibrated out of my vocal cords as I fell down to the ground. Was this why no sane person would try to crush pointy objects? The multitude of needles jutting into my palm most certainly made the answer clear.
Steeling my nerves again, I instead threw it to the ground with a large crash, sending shards ricocheting off into the abyss, never to be found.
I took in a deep breath in an attempt to lower my rising heart rate, gradually calming myself as I gazed into the ring on my other hand. Fuck, alright, what's your deal?
It looked rather plain all things considered, the main body was silver in color, while a small diamond was housed in the center. My opinion of it changed once I slipped it on.
A burst of pure unfiltered power flowed through my veins like a never-ending river. While I couldn't feel my actual body, the mana core/reserve hidden within, exploded with energy, expanding by half.
The sizable increase was euphoric and so was the window that came after it.
[Overall Strength: T5.4]
A smile enveloped my lips at the sight. I was slowly growing. Slow, yes, but there was still progress. It would only be a matter of time before I show the world my status as an isekai hero, then, they will all praise me for my greatness.
…
I wouldn't say I'm not surprised.
My surroundings were different, that's for certain. The air around me smelt of fresh spring water, and my senses alerted me of something particularly sweet some five meters south.
Taking what I needed to see, I carefully crawled on the floor, venturing both vertically and horizontally towards where I needed to go. Nothing too hard, of course. Just a little stroll until I reached a shelf of sorts.
Analyzing its shape by molding the wind around it, a quick guess would tell me its purpose, a wine cabinet, filled from head to toe with bottle upon bottle of fermented goodness. My mouth watered at the scent it emitted, I could no longer help myself at that moment, as wisps of blue smoke clumped together to form a hand, pulling the cork out through sheer force whereas the air kept it steady.
Without a second thought, I dove straight in, setting the bottle on the floor, as I climbed in through the opening. Taking a single sip from the greater liquid mass, my mind immediately buzzed with great joy.
Then all hell broke loose. Gulping down mouthful after mouthful, the bottle's contents slowly but surely drained away. And bwin a mwite's time, I-uhck- drank -huck- everything. This place feels awfully comfortable, I'm going to sleep here~….
…
Morning(?) came, so did the worst headache in my damn life. Teaches you not to drink something that weighs at least five times more than you. Holy shit! No, fuck this.
My brain spun around as if it were in a blender, my "vision" slightly blurry from the lack of focus, but relatively fine. It was only when I stopped to recover that it finally hit me. I was no longer in the container. Far from it. There I was, back on the table, various tools haphazardly laid about possibly ready to dissect me.
This was not the place I expected myself to be in early in the morning. Thankfully, it would seem as though my instincts have calmed themselves ever so slightly, having eaten enough to last me a day.
Letting my body relax, I let some magic flow through the air, manifesting as a hand. I observed my surroundings once more, a certain resonance churned a feeling from deep within me only a few meters away. Connection? A lay line perhaps? It was a possibility, but to have it here of all places was impossibly convenient.
Carrying myself towards it, my sight relayed something slightly worrying. It was in the middle of a large body of water, spanning about a third of the room's total area(about the size of a hot tub). However, this wasn't the worrying part, that was merely the tip of the glacier.
What startled me was its depth. Of course, it had to have some space-altering magic to keep it like this, but damn. Staring off into the dark seabed beneath me, I felt as if, a million death traps just sprouted under my feet, one wrong move, and I could fall down, never to see the light of day ever again.
Assessing the situation before me, I took a deep breath before continuing onward and upward. Using a mix of [Phantom Hand] and wind magic to hover just barely off the water, this method would serve me well, until, from right out of the corner of my eye entered a humanoid figure.
Its existence was different from that of a fairy, though very similar. Not only that, but it was also strong, even stronger than even the angel that I ate through hours ago.
This was bad. My previous victory was nothing but a fluke achieved by saddling off the rightful winner's prize. How in the Kentucky fried fuck am I supposed to win this?
Urgently speeding up my travels the invisible hand hastened its pace, swishing through the water… Until a set of digits forcefully wrapped around my body, trapping me in the enclosed space.
Drats! I was this close to escaping and you just had to ruin it for me, didn't you? Prick! I swear, once I find out who this is, nothing will stop me from irreparably ruining your pitiful life!
Looking for any route out of this, my body wriggled and squired under her tight grip. A small piece of my mind would have fallen to despair if the objective wasn't so near. "Just a little bit more" I continuously chanted.
Allowing my mana to flow to concentrate at the tip of my maw, I clamped them down tightly around the hand, making it drop me out of surprise. The air around her mouth exploded outward, clueing me in somewhat to the situation.
Capitalizing on this prime opportunity, I used the momentum from the fall to flutter my ill-used wings which were aided by wind magic so as to not fall straight into the void below.
Upon reaching my destination, I inwardly cheered, all until I realized my lack of knowledge on how to access the gateway. It looked to be a rippling blue platform; whose surface was surprisingly easy to stand on despite appearances.
With that being said, the stars seemed to align perfectly. As, with a pulse of energy, the floor formed a dome ceiling overhead, trapping within its confines and caving in once all was said and done.
Did I…? Did I just get vored by a portal?
[A/N: The only reason for there not being a chapter title is because I couldn't think of one. Truly, my genius knows no bounds. Anyways, this chapter was mostly dedicated to getting stronger. MC/Skye still isn't any stronger, just more arrogant. He'll get a vibe check from both law and chaos eventually.
Anyways, join discord, I dump all my ideas there discord .gg/ YmVfsUVuNX]