Playing for keeps Chapter 3: Fallen Grace, a your lie in april/四月は君の嘘 fanfic

Kousei P.O.V

I glanced around me. Interesting. We now stood in the middle of several trees, with dense leafage, and there were some bits of light poking through between the leaves coming from the top.

"Welcome!-" Akiba exclaimed as he stood with his arms stretched out. "To the first floor of the instant dungeon!"

I looked around. "Not to be rude, but this looks kinda like a regular forest"

"Yeah man, are you sure you're not-" Watari was saying until Akiba shoved him to the ground. "Hey! What is the big idea-?"

A squirrel shot from the trees and it would have landed on Watari if Akiba didn't shove him out of the way.

A second look at the small critter told me it wasn't normal. It had long claws, and glowing red eyes, and it growled as it foamed at the mouth.

Akiba didn't waste a second swinging the staff around and slamming one end on top of the small creature.

It shattered in polygons as Akiba breathed heavily.

"You freaking idiots" He muttered as he yanked Watari to his feet. "Nothing here is safe. It's a video game dungeon!"

"Wow...thanks for the save" Watari muttered as he dusted himself off.

"Akiba...what exactly is this place?" Tsubaki asked as she looked around her.

He gave me a pointed look and I glanced around until I found it. A new box.

[Skill created!]

{ID create}[LV:MAX][PROG:N/A]

Thanks to the power of video games and stuff, you can now access a dungeon summoning power! As you beat more levels, you can reach stronger dungeons! Time varies here so try to keep track of time!

Floor 1: Forest Zone. Any mob you can find in the forest can be found here, levels 1-10. Beat the boss after learning how to summon it to unlock the next level!

Next, a box popped up.

[One Dungeon day= 1 minute in normal time]

"Woah!" I exclaimed as I read that. "One whole day here equals a minute in the real world!"

"That's...crazy" Tsubaki muttered. "If that's how long we can stay in here, then we have weeks before our next class"

"Let's not get hasty now, we are just going to see if we can get some weapons for you guys," Akiba said as he put his hands up in protest. "If we spend too much time in here, there is no telling the effect on our sanity."

"Understandable" Watari said with a nod. "So what like the best thing to do here?"

"Well, there are a few loot boxes" He explained. "In places of importance at least, and some have items that may give us something magical"

That's when I noticed another box.

[Congratualtions! You have defeated 1x{Crazed squirrel}]

[All members of the party earned 10 EXP]

Only ten? Why did we get EXP if we didn't do anything?

"It's automatically set to distribution mode, so all EXP is split evenly between us" Akiba explained as he checked his stats. "If you change it to fair play mode, then you get EXP based on how much work you put in. I'd rather do it this way so you guys don't have to risk anything until you have a weapon."

That's when I checked his status, to see how his stats were looking.

[Name: Akiba Gengyo

Class: N/A

Title: Companion Guide(If the summoner that summoned this companion becomes in danger, they enter a killer mode, where they are indestructible and their damage is quadrupled for 30 seconds to save their summoner)

Level: 10

EXP to Level Up: 10/100

HP: 100/100

MP: 1000/1000

STR: 8

STA: 8

DEX: 15

AGI: 10

INT: 20

WIS: 11

LUK: 8

Bonuses: N/A

Perks: N/A

Description: Akiba Gengyo is a protective party member summoned by Kousei Arima. He is set to do his duty and believes that he lacks any free will to make his own decisions, so he acts the way he does as a way of defiance to his programming. Though he has yet to realize he truly is alive the second he was formed, he lacks any choice in his job until his summoner cant be protected by him.

Attribute points: 50

Perk Points: 2]

I blinked a few times. 50?! Does he have all the attribute points I would have if I was level ten?! Well, he did say they would be unused.

He clicked a few buttons and his stats shifted.

[Name: Akiba Gengyo

Class: N/A

Level: 10

EXP to Level Up: 10/100

HP: 400/400

MP: 1000/1000

STR: 20

STA: 20

DEX: 20

AGI: 20

INT: 20

WIS: 20

LUK: 10

Bonuses: Protector, Clever Boy

Perks: Magic Born

Attribute points: 0

Perk Points: 0]

Wow...that's interesting.

His MP is the same even though his stats had increased, while his HP increased due to the change in his stats. Maybe his MP didn't change because if calculations had been used his MP would be lower.

[For thinking and coming up with a logical solution, your WIS stat gained +1]

Ok, that made sense.

He twirled the ruby staff one good time. "Now it feels right. Let's go"

I resisted the urge to scream as I dodged, which thanks to my finger speed, I now had the precision I used over the keys of a piano over my whole body.

A furry white missile shot past my ear, as I narrowly dodged.

An Alpha Crazed Wolf, at level 10. Akiba was busy with the rest of the pack, leaving just this one to us.

I grunted as I felt claws sink into my back, maybe it wasn't the best idea to turn my back on it without running at maximum speed.

[Hit taken! Bleeding status effect acquired! Lost 10 HP from {Wolf Claws} and you will now lose 3 HP every second while you are wounded!]

Thankfully I hadn't gotten any notifications during the fight, only when I land hits or have taken damage.

The wolf tried to lunge for me once again, but then Tsubaki came to my rescue.

Mid-air as the wolf tried to rip my throat out, Tsubaki kicked it straight in the maw.

"Are you ok?!" She asked as she panicked.

"Y-yeah" I stuttered as I tried to press on my wound. I let out a breath of relief when I got a notification saying that I was no longer bleeding.

Before the wolf could get up, Watari came to our rescue and stomped it to death.

As he breathed heavily he gave us a look. "Y-you guys good?"

I nodded.

Akiba shot back over to us. "Where is that damn wolf?!"

"I/Watari killed it," We all said at the same time.

His staff dropped a little. "I am so sorry I couldn't be there, there were fucking 15 of them, not to mention some of the rabbits that liked to pop by"

"It's all good, we managed," Tsubaki said, thankfully not looking too bad.

[Congratualtions! You have killed {21} Mobs! 15x{Crazed Wolfs} 1x{Alpha Crazed Wolf} and 5x{Crazed Rabbits}]

[250 EXP given to every member of your party!]

[Skill created!]

{Physical Endurance}[LV:1][PROG:1/10]

Because you can't dodge for shit, you now have a resistance to damage! For every level, you can lower more and more of the damage you would normally take from physical attacks.

Your current cut off from damage is 1%

I checked my level, and we(Read: Akiba) had killed a few mobs before this that gave us ten each.

[Name: Kousei Arima

Class: The Gamer

Title: The Human Metronome(Boosts all Music related things by 50%)

Level: 5

EXP to Level Up: 10/100

HP: 64/64

MP: 220/220

STR: 8

STA: 8

DEX: 15

AGI: 10

INT: 20

WIS: 12

LUK: 8

Bonuses: Prodigy, Talent For Music

Perks: Musical Talent

Description: Kousei Arima was forced to learn the piano by his mother from a young age, and he did so happily because when he won prizes his mother was happy. However, she wanted him to complete her failed dream as she was sick. When she succumbed to her sickness Kousei was unable to hear the music he made anymore and became more drawn in, and stopped playing the piano as much. However, Kaori Miyazono fixed that, also dying after Kousei began to play his music once more.

Attribute points: 25

Perk Points: 1]

I blinked a few times. Should I get started on distributing these? Well, a general trend on the Gamer fics I read was they always invested in their STR and AGI/DEX stats to overpower everything that got in their way. It worked for them so maybe-

"Oh score!" Akiba exclaimed as he held up a small coin. "We got a randomizer item!"

It resembled a gold wrapper-covered chocolate coin, but was purple, and had a music note on the top.

"It randomly picked out a title from our current list and it picked our leader," Akiba said as he threw it to me. "Snap it in half and it will give you a musical item you can base your stats on"

I gulped and gripped the coin from both ends. I easily snapped it and a small box materialized in front of my face.

[Rare Item generating...Piano of Magic]

The what?

I opened my inventory and pulled it out. And a literal piano, one you'd see online, with a little stand and everything formed in front of me.

"I...piano of magic?" Akiba muttered.

"Uh...according to the item description it seems tailor-made for you" Watari muttered as he looked it up and down.

"Observe" I muttered.

[Piano of Magic

Item rarity: Rare

Description: A literal Piano of magic, some nerd liked music enough so he made several magical music weapons, along with songs of power, this is the knock-off version.

What it does: When you play music, different types of songs have different effects. Some songs inflict debuffs on your opponent, while others deal damage with direct magical attacks, elemental or otherwise depending on how much Mana you want to use. And if you are on the more skilled end of the spectrum, you can heal or buff your allies]

"This...is going to be fun" I whispered as a small smile grew on my face.

I touched one key and pressed down on it lightly, hearing the note ring out.

[Skill created!]

{Piano}[LV:99][PROG:1/100]

Piano playing is your life, and thanks to that(and your numerous things proving your piano/music-centered existence) this skill has no max level, normally it would cap at fifty but you don't seem to care about magical rules now do you?

Level: 50: Since you no longer have a Level Cap, once you hit level 50, you now can take and master any musical piece you touch and alter it. Once you bring life to the notes in your way as a certain blonde taught you, you can create new effects with your music!

Level 99? Not to sound pretentious, but I expected it to be way higher than that.

I placed my hands on the keys as I stood more confidently.

So if this is mana dependent, and magic, I should invest in my mental stats while boosting my physical stats every once in a while so I don't die.

[Name: Kousei Arima

Class: The Gamer

Title: The Human Metronome(Boosts all Music related things by 50%)

Level: 5

EXP to Level Up: 10/100

HP: 64/64

MP: 220/220

STR: 8

STA: 8

DEX: 15

AGI: 10

INT: 20

WIS: 12

LUK: 8

Bonuses: Prodigy, Talent For Music

Perks: Musical Talent

Attribute points: 25

Perk Points: 1]

I scanned the info page a little. Put 8 points into WIS and 2 into LUK

That stats changed on my command, and that left me with 15 points. Put 2 points in STR and STA.

That boosted my health a little and I have 11 points left. Put five in both DEX and AGI, and save the last one for another time.

That left perk points.

I could get a cheap one or likely save for a more expensive one.

Uh, show me perks.

[Goblin Growth]

Build your body like a goblin, and you gain higher physical growth in your stats, but during puberty, this could have some...side effects

Nope. Happening if I plan to be in the back and use ranged magical attacks. Physical things aren't too needed for me, or not at all if you don't count the health need.

[Magic Prodigy]

Every time you level up, you have a chance to increase your INT and WIS Stat.

Chance varies depending on your level. For your current level, you have a 10% chance of gaining 1 point in each stat.

Ok...that sounds amazing... But I should check my other options, as I have 3 more.

[Lunar Boost]

During the night, all your stats get a 20% boost, along with your EXP required for your leveling is cut in half. But, no night vision.

Also...sounds like it could be broken. If used correctly, I could become a force of nature, especially if there are night spells.

[Memory Manic ]

Perfect photographic memory. Could be used to boost your INT stat and increase your survival odds, not to mention you'll ace every test and never forget your kid's birthdays!

It's...not as...interesting as the other, but it is the first set, so I shouldn't expect much. It might be useful in the future, but as it stands I don't need it. Onto the last one.

[Refill me!]

You gain a regen rate of 50% every minute, both your HP, STA, AND your MP

Holy fuck- [Magic prodigy] might have to wait.

Akiba glanced at me and looked as if he was reading, the others were taking the time to check their stats as well, and assign some points.

"Damn, you might have to go back for some of those" He muttered.

"Wait" I held up my hands. "What do we need this stuff for if we are the only ones here? Like if we just stay in dungeons weaker than us, we don't have to waste our good stuff so we have them for bosses"

"I-"Akiba pursed his lips. "Someone should have mentioned this to you, but there is always a chance for there to be another gamer. As small as it is, it doesn't hurt to be ready"

I spent my single perk point on [Refill me!]. My friends closed their menus and gave me a nod.

Akiba glanced up. "Watari, your next, I think I know where to go"

He headed off to the left while I hastily shoved my piano into my inventory.

I guess Akiba put some more points in, as he began to two-shot everything with a few swings of his staff.

Well, it made sense, he had gained 3 more levels just like we did, and by the end of this we all should end up gaining 3 more levels.

He ended up finding a witch hunt, which I expected in some type of swamp. He killed the level ten witch after slashing through the spells she shot at him. He came out with a set of red metal knee guards and a book.

[Thanks to your comrade's work, you all have leveled up once again!]

"I found a skill book, and a set of knee guards," Akiba said as he threw the guards at Watari. "Put those on, not only do you allow you to kick these shits, but you can kick fireballs if you put some mana into your kicks"

Watari grinned as he equipped them from his inventory. "Oh yeah"

They reminded me of some knight's armor, but only on his legs. Which was weird but not too funny looking.

"Yoooo! Can I be a legit magic knight? Fire might be dope" Watari said as he poured some of his mana into the guards, making them glow a bright red.

"I mean, you can. But I don't think you'd be too good with a sword" Akiba said with a shrug. "You don't have to use one but it fits the image you are looking for"

"I'm willing to compromise," He said as he juggled a fireball like it was a soccer ball.

"Whatever, and Kousei, you may want this" I caught the book he threw me and a new popup appeared in front of my eyes.

[Book of Mana Manipulation]

[Do you wish to learn this skill?

Y/N]

I blinked a few times. "Wouldnt you want this considering you have the highest MP between us?"

"I can find another one," He said with a shrug. "Besides you have a weapon that takes time to pull out and get ready, you should at least get that"

I clicked the yes button and the book flashed out of existence in front of my eyes.

Suddenly how to change my mana into a shield, how to form basic broad weapons, and boost my physical abilities flowed into my mind.

Woah, that's trippy.

{Defensive Mana Manipulation}[LV:1][PROG:0/10]

Mana Manipulation isn't a skill you can learn naturally, so the book taught you the basics, as you advance in the levels you will be able to learn how to master your mana and maximize its use without using too much.

I blinked a few times and pulled some mana into my hand, forming a small sphere.

"That is cool" Tsubaki muttered.

"Very," Watari said. "So should we look for books like those?"

"I don't think you guys need them since you guys are on the physical side of things" Akiba explained. "However, I want one to mix magic with my staff"

"Can we do that?" Tsubaki asked motioning to my hands, where the book once was.

"Yeah, you basically have all the same things Kousei has" Akiba explained. "Hell, you can even learn skills without him having them. You are Gamers, there are only a select few things you cant do. Which is to summon a companion guide like me, make your a party, leave this party, teleportation to other people that aren't in your party, and invite people into this party"

"This...is so dope" Watari exclaimed.

Oh, I'm only a few away from leveling up again.

"Maybe we should only assign attribute points while we are out of the dungeon" I offered. "Just in case, so we don't get caught off guard."

"Yeah, that's probably best" Akiba agreed.

"Smart idea"

"Nice job bro! Leader keeping us safe"

So Akiba and Watari began to team up and kill everything, which made things twice as fast now that Watari was fighting, the second-highest leveled one of us.

We found a tree grove and they easily handled the swarm of bees. I noticed a honey tree while they were collecting loot.

I reached for it, and suddenly Akiba yelled out for me to not touch it.

"Don't you fucking touch that!"

I yelped away and accidentally knocked it over, and it hit the ground with a loud resonating thud.

"NONONO!" Akiba yelled. "Use Observe, all of you!"

I followed my instructions and felt my blood freeze.

[Warning, do not touch or collect!

Item name: Honey summoner

Rarity: Only a single one on this floor at a time

Description: A crap ton of honey

What it does: If you take it, it summons a level 11 Hungry Bear Boss and if you knock it down, you summon a Level 14 Angry Bear Spirit: Guardian of the honey Combs Boss]

I paled after I read that.

"Get us out of here!" Akiba yelled at me.

"Uh! ID Escape!" I yelled and then the world began to wrap around me.

[Skill created!]

{ID Escape}[LV:MAX][PROG:N/A]

Assuming there isn't a special circumstance preventing you, any dungeon you willingly enter, you can escape instantaneously!

The world stopped spinning as that box formed in front of me and I nodded to the others.

We quickly messed with our Stats and closed our status pages when I couldn't help but feel like someone was watching me...and it felt...malicious.

[Skill created!]

{Spy decetion}[LV:1][PROG:1/10]

You always feel like someone watching you~ And someone is! Now you can tell if someone is unless they have a skill that counters this.

Level: 1: For now, you just get the heepie jeepies, but soon you will be able to tell who, what and where someone is spying on you from.

[Skill created!]

{Dectect Blood lust}[LV:1][PROG:1/10]

Whether you didn't clean your room and pissed off your mom, or you murdered someone's entire family, people are bound to hate you and want you to get hurt...or die. Now you can tell when!

Level: 1: You just know if someone wants your blood spilled to water their grass as they sit on a lawn chair and poke your corpse with a stick, you might be able to tell who, where, and why they want you dead.

Akiba's eyes narrowed. He felt it too.

He instantly shot over to the window and jumped, pulling out his bo staff and slamming it down on empty air...or so I thought.

Halfway through his swing, he seemed to class with something and there was a large burst of wind that shattered the windows.

It was a fairly average-sized person, that I couldn't tell anything about due to their elaborate black armor.

I recalled my Observe had leveled up, so I quickly used it on the person and felt my mouth dry out.

Name: Osaki Riku

Class: Gamer

Title: [The Fallen Grace]

[LV: ?]

[HP: 9994/10000]

[MP: 3333/4000]

A glance at Akiba's health bar told me he had lost half of his health because of the block by the clear mana shield formed in the air between Akiba's staff and the helmet of 'The Fallen Grace'.

It was worrying that I couldn't see their level, which meant they had to be at least 20 levels higher than me, according to my research.

But the main problem is that they were also a gamer and clearly not friendly.

I felt a chill roll down my spine as I recalled Akiba's words.

"I-"Akiba pursed his lips. "Someone should have mentioned this to you, but there is always a chance for there to be another gamer. As small as it is, it doesn't hurt to be ready."

Akiba grunted as he pushed, but he couldn't budge the shield.

"As far as first impressions go," The other gamer said. I couldn't tell if the voice was male or female, and just like the name, it was gender-neutral. "I really wish to kill you all."

*Insert mad scientist cackle* Chapter done for now!

Stat pages for each member of the party, from Kousei's P.O.V

[Name: Kousei Arima

Class: The Gamer

Title: The Human Metronome(Boosts all Music related things by 50%)

Level: 7

EXP to Level Up: 25/100

HP: 100/100

MP: 625/625

STR: 10

STA: 10

DEX: 20

AGI: 15

INT: 25

WIS: 25

LUK: 10

Bonuses: Prodigy, Talent For Music

Perks: Musical Talent, Refill me!

Attribute points: 1

Perk Points: 0]

[Name: Tsubaki Sawabe

Class: N/A

Title: Star Softball Player(Boosts DEX, STR, and AGI stat by 5% when doing something related to sports)

Level: 10

EXP to Level Up: 25/100

HP: 400/400

MP: 200/200

STR: 20(+5%)

STA: 20

DEX: 10(+5%)

AGI: 20(+5%)

INT: 20

WIS: 10

LUK: 15

Bonuses: Athletic, determined.

Perks: School Star

Description: Tsubaki Sawabe is a girl that met and supported her friend Kousei Arima when they were young. While Kousei lacks the physical requirements to be much, Tsubaki has always been athletic and constantly took care of him while they were little. More recently she has learned some things about herself as she pushed herself to pass tests to stay near her friend who might be heading to a distant country for school.

Attribute points: 6

Perk Points: 0]

[Name: Watari Ryota

Class: N/A

Title: Star Soccer Player(Boosts STR, and AGI stat by 10% when doing something related to sports)

Level: 11

EXP to Level Up: 25/100

HP: 725/725

MP: 200/200

STR: 25(+10%)

STA: 29

DEX: 29

AGI: 20(+10%)

INT: 14

WIS: 10

LUK: 20

Bonuses: Athletic, Lady Killer.

Perks: School Star

Description: Watari Ryota is another friend in the main friend group, who had also been around since the beginning. Although he may be a hotshot around his school, in the musical industry several girls are throwing themselves at his friend, Kousei Arima, and he is happy for his friend. However since a certain girl pretended to like him to get closer to Kousei, his ego is a bit frayed.

Attribute points: 0

Perk Points: 0]

[Name: Akiba Gengyo

Class: N/A

Level: 15

EXP to Level Up: 25/200

HP: 625/625

MP: 1000/1000

STR: 25

STA: 25

DEX: 20

AGI: 25

INT: 23

WIS: 25

LUK: 12

Bonuses: Protector, Clever Boy

Perks: Magic Born

Description: Akiba Gengyo is a protective party member summoned by Kousei Arima. He is set to do his duty and believes that he lacks any free will to make his own decisions, so he acts the way he does as a way of defiance to his programming. Though he has yet to realize he truly is alive, from the second he was formed. He lacks any choice in his job until his summoner cannot be protected by him.

Attribute points: 0

Perk Points: 1]