I had a lot of free time these past couple days, so I managed to finish this chapter early. On a less amazing note, I lied; my next story did not come out before the next chapter of this. I'm sorry, to anyone who really cared.
I'll just get straight to the review responses, now. Or response, really.
Perfect Lionheart: I was trying to convey the idea that an already mentally-unstable person who's reborn as a baby, talks to no one but himself for over a decade, and hides large parts of himself from his first and best friend suddenly discovers he is a video game character. He thinks his life has always been a videogame and he's understandably lost most of his worldview. So he's… off. He hasn't really given himself a chance to relax and recover his former cool.
Also, he doesn't know that performing certain actions gives bonus stats. He can't even guess that, since he hasn't seen Sun-Il's stats and noticed they're much higher than they should be or his LVL. I also thought I'd addressed the [Physical Endurance] skill, but I guess I didn't. He's not getting it, since my Jee-Han and canon Jee-Han are different. Same thing with [Dish Washing].
Hopefully, your questions and concerns will be answered in the chapter.
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Dialog Cheat Sheet
Emphasis
Game Text if centered
[Activating game ability]
SHOUTING
Cutting someone o- short
*sound effect*
Written word if centered
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Ooh, boy. What the fuck is that thing?
"[Observe]."
Legion Zombie LVL: 34
HP: 15200 (15200) MP: 1750 (1750)
An assembly of zombies filled with resentment. When a large amount of zombies feel threatened from mass hunting, they merge into a Legion Zombie. It has no magic and is very slow, but possesses immense strength and toughness.
Ah… I'm screwed. Unless…
"[Energy Bolt]. [Observe]."
Legion Zombie LVL: 34
HP: 15200 (15147) MP: 1750 (1750)
An assembly of zombies filled with resentment. When a large amount of zombies feel threatened from mass hunting, they merge into a Legion Zombie. It has no magic and is very slow, but possesses immense strength and toughness.
It's not weak to magic at all! Screw this, I'm outta here!
"[ID Escape]!"
You cannot exit this area.
… Damn. Alright, what's it doing?
The Legion Zombie was pulling itself to its feet with shaky, uncertain movements. When fully erect, it examined its hands in wonderment before turning its gaze on me.
Run, run like hell!
I sprinted for an opening between two buildings before stopping just after the sidewalk ended. What is the Legion Zombie's response?
Just fiddling with the- Holy shit!
It pulled up the freaking tarmac! Is it going to use that as a weapon!
The Legion Zombie wound up and tossed the large slab of pavement in the general direction of my hiding place. I quickly ducked into the alley before impact, narrowly avoiding the chunks of debris flying everywhere.
Damn, what do I do!? I can't fight it, I'll run out of MP before that thing dies again! Heh.
Now's not the time! Come on, fracturing psyche, hold together for another hour.
Can I kill it? Does the pope shit in the woods if nobody's around? No, no he doesn't. So no, there's no way in hell I can take on that thing and win.
Right. Maybe if I run away long enough, it'll fall apart? If the zombies don't feel threatened any more, they'll go back to being the easily-killed deadheads I know and love to grind on. Right?!
Right.
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It's been a really long time, too long; I don't know exactly how long since I didn't bring my watch. Thankfully, the Legion Zombie's too slow to catch up to me and the asphalt throw move is easy to dodge. Anyway, all this simple movement has given me time to think.
And I have to say, WHAT THE FUCK WAS I THINKING!
Simplistic, beginner's mistakes! No defensive skills, no armor, no real healing items, no knowledge of anything! I'm worse at this game than Havel-Mage backstab-fishers in Dark Souls! At least they bothered to research the game's mechanics and decide what to build for!
Ah, I always known I wasn't the most… mentally sound of people, but to think such a major revelation would throw me so off kilter.
I have a plan: first, I'm going to escape the boss mob. Second, I'm going to stay the hell away from all thoughts of this game for the rest of today. Third, tomorrow, I'm coming up with a checklist of what I need and want in terms of skills and items. Yeah, seems good.
Even if this is a game, I can't approach it as one. I need to treat this like the highly dangerous situation it is and play cautiously. So no testing out skills on random zombies and no spawning another Legion Zombie to fruitlessly attempt to kill it.
Now to accomplish part one.
Though I do wonder why I was so concerned about lumps I my spine earlier this morning.
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I was sipping a Glass of Milk when it happened. Hearing a curious groaning, I peeked out of one of the few remaining alleys at the Legion Zombie falling to its feet as if in pain. Aren't zombies incapable of feeling pain, though?
Oh yeah, not movie zombie, game zombie.
Anyway, the thing collapsed in the street, clutching its stomach in what appeared to be exquisite, well-deserved agony.
… What? The fucker tried to kill me!
Well, the Legion Zombie started writhing in pain before swelling up? Pretty soon, the Legion Zombie looked like a parade balloon filled with heavier-than-air gas. It was actually kind of funny. Then it exploded, throwing viscera and entrails everywhere.
Thankfully, none of it hit me, or I would be forced to have a breakdown.
"Is it over?"
The component zombies didn't appear, but neither did any drops. Did I get EXP? I mean, evading the Legion Zombie took some effort.
Name: Han Jee-Han
Title: Apprentice Undead Hunter
Class: The Gamer
LVL: 7
XP: 1350/7000
HP: 160/160
MP: 260/260
STR: 7
DEX: 10
VIT: 6
INT: 25
WIS: 12
LUK: 5
Points: 0
Money: 0W
… Yeah, I think so. Wasn't my EXP at the triple digits earlier? Still not enough to LVL UP anytime soon. Damn.
And so ends a partially-unsuccessful zombie hunting venture.
"[ID Escape]."
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Hah, that was eye-opening. And disappointing.
I flipped through a shitty science textbook, rereading the chapters about electricity and magnetism. Hey, I like those subjects and I don't have anything else to read; I haven't been book shopping recently.
Anyway, avoiding thoughts about that-which-shall-not-be-named is a hell of a lot harder than I thought it would be. Every time my thought police lighten up on their search patterns, *BAM*, another undesirable thought comes in. Like metaphorical whack-a-mole, only without… almost everything integral to the game. Like moles. And mallets. And a gaming area. And some gum stuck to the underside of the machine.
Aagh, my brain's fried. I need sleep. Well, I am on a bed.
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I sat in school, for once not even close to being late. I feel like a fog's been partially lifted from my eyes; things are a lot clearer than they were before. I mean, before I was spending all class time fantasizing about killing zombies, but now I'm actually paying attention to the classes. Well, except for science. We're going over electricity right now and I don't need to be told how to find the average resistance of a series of light bulbs in parallel, even if I'm only given the battery's voltage and the current requirements of each bulb.
So… what do I need skill-wise?
I furtively eyed my classmates before slipping out a piece of note paper to write on.
Skill Requirements
Yeah, seems good. Now, what do I normally focus on?
Sneak
Lockpicking
Some kind of ranged talent
Usually, when I play an RPG, unless the design is heavily unfavorable for thief-type builds, I become a kleptomaniac who headshots legendary enemies with sneak attacks. [Stealth] would facilitate that, while [Lockpicking] would let me access restricted areas and hidden loot. The ranged talent is covered by magic, but I need to find something more powerful than [Energy Bolt]. I need something like a pistol, something that I can use to kill with at range but can also hinder targets before melee combat.
I can easily get those two skills by hiding from someone and sticking a bent paperclip into a lock. I hope. 'Cuz I'm rather stumped as how to acquire them if that proves not to be the case.
Now, what else? Hmmm…
Support magic (invisibility, elemental resistances, "aura armor", illusions, etc.)
While not normally my style, the lack of Save/Load, or at least an unwillingness to test it, means I need abilities to improve my direct survivability and debilitate enemies. Invisibility would help with low [Sneak] LVLs, the next two would make me more 'tanky', and the illusions would be a big help against that Legion Zombie. Physical hindrances like traps would probably be easily overcome by the biggun's presumably equally large STR and VIT scores. On the other hand, less mundane bindings would take it a while to undo, since its WIS and INT are probably crap.
No real idea of how to get any of these, though. Maybe I can get some sort of armor by flooding the area around my body with mana? Or would that just make me emit light? Eh, I'll put it off until I get a better idea as to how to control mana.
What else, what else…
Elemental magic
That probably ties back into Some kind of ranged talent. Adding fire to my [Energy Bolt] would probably make it much more powerful. Not to mention badass; I mean, a swirling orb of fire hovering in my palm would be sweet!
Gah, need to worry more about function over fashion. Though a blue orb of spiraling flame floating in my hand would be booth awe-inspiring and effective. Blue fire has much higher energy than red fire because blue light is a much higher wavelength than red light, and fire is nothing more than a chemical reaction that gives off energy in the form of heat and light. You know, I wonder if I can recreate the Rasengan of Naruto fame. I mean, I can already create a ball of energy in my palm, I just need to… rotate… it…
I'm an idiot. I let my face crash delicately into the desk before me; wouldn't want to alert the teacher, now would we?
RASENGAN (or the local equivalent)
I underlined it for good measure. If I can make this, my combat potential will go waay up.
Now, items. I'm pretty sure my brain's tapped out about skills
Item Requirements
What would I want to acquire… Oh, I know.
ARMOR
No underline, but capitalized for slightly less emphasis. I've been running around in my metaphorical underwear for far too long. I mean, in D&D, even mages wear armor. It's just robes with armor enchantments and accessories that grant armor, but still. What can I buy, though…
Leather. Biker chaps, biker boots, biker leathers, biker gloves, etc. Though I would prefer another kind of jacket, biker jackets don't really appeal to my aesthetic sensibilities. I will take one if I have to. How will I acquire these, though? High-end jackets cost over 100 American dollars. And, if I remember correctly, I have 0 Won. Using the latest conversion ratios, rounding up in the case of decimals, this translates into… 0 dollars.
And where would I find a store that sells these? I'm assuming I'll just steal what I need from the store, but I don't think Korea has a thriving biker population. Hmm, maybe if I look in the phonebook. I mean, don't they normally include address and phone number? If the address turns out to be wrong, I can call and ask where they're located, neh? Sounds like a plan.
What else would I like to have…
One billion dollars.
Hah, no. Well, yes, but I have no idea as to how to go about acquiring these funds outside of grand theft, inside trading, and blackmail. And I haven't the faintest idea as to how to go about any of that.
Non-edible healing items
Yeah, that would be nice. But I have no idea where to find those. Paramedic bags, maybe? Painkillers would probably give me temporary health, anti-venoms would cure weak poisons, etc. Hunting supply store? Or maybe a medical outlet store? Eh, what do I know?
NEW WEAPON
Underlined, again for emphasis. I'm kind of tired of punching things to death, especially since I'm planning on using a weapon if I'm forced into close combat. Still, I suppose this is an opportunity to acquire a weapon more suited to my tastes. Something like a knife or a sword. A polearm, maybe? I admit, bashing hostile mobs to death with a bo staff holds a certain appeal, and a spear is easily used in confined spaces.
Plus, I could probably cobble a rudimentary yet effective polearm out of a long wooden dowel, or some sort of metal pole. Though a large machete would probably classify as a sword and be only slightly harder to obtain. Hmm, decisions, decisions.
Ooh, lunch! I've been missing Sun-Il the way you miss a bratty cousin; you hate them when they're there, and can't help but remember the few good times you had together when they're gone.
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"Lunch?"
Sun-Il froze before turning to me with his ever-present grin.
"This is a surprise. You-"
"Yeah, yeah, 'You usually wait for me to ask.' Well, I realize I've been neglecting you recently and I'm trying to hold off the waterworks. So, how about it?"
His grin fell off his face as he almost glared at me over his nose. God, he's going to be falsely-pretentious, isn't he?
"I suppose I could grace you with my lordly presence. If you provided me a reason why."
I was close. He's extorting me.
"I'll buy you a soda from the vending machine, your highness."
His act faltered for a minute.
"Hah? F-Fine, I accept your tribute."
Spoken like a true greenhead.
Wait, don't I have no money? Yet my wallet has about 20000 Won. Ow, I just realized my double negative; way to mangle Korean, Jee-Han.
What was my previous point? Eh, whatever.
I let Sun-Il jabber on about some accomplishment he's done over the weekend. Out of curiosity, I let myself peek at his identifier. And I have to say, what the fuck?
Chunbumoon's Heir
LVL: 27
Shin Sun-Il
How did his LVL go up by that much?! It was only LVL 22 a few days ago. I regarded the blissfully unaware Sun-Il with suspicion. This quote unquote 'Special Training' is almost definitely the cause. And it's one more strike against Sun-Il's innocence regarding the Abyss, whatever it is.
Hmm… I think I'll [Observe] him when he gets invested in his lunch.
"Oi, don't you owe me a drink?"
"Uwah!"
Oh, we're in our favorite lunch spot underneath the large oak in the munch area. Don't ask me how it got here, I have no fucking idea.
… A wizard did it?
"You need to stop spacing out. You could get really hurt if this keeps up."
Wait, did I 'uwah' earlier? I'm not an anime love interest, nor do I want to be one. Oh yeah, Sun-Il's drink. I made my way towards the vending machine, pulling out my wallet. I'm lucky I didn't react badly when the indicator popped up.
You have obtained 20000 W.
So it only counts if I actually touch the money? Huh…
I picked up Sun-Il's favorite flavor, grape, and returned to our table, watching Sun-Il gorge himself on his lunchbox's contents. As if by magic, he held out his hand for the drink. I gave it to him.
"[Observe]."
Name: Shin Sun-Il | LVL: 27
Title: One Who Endeavors
Class: Chunbumoon's Heir | Job: High School Freshman
Race: Human | Age: 16
STR: 39
DEX: 52
VIT: 82
INT: 20
WIS: 14
LUK: 25
… Wow. Why does he get so much more information that I do? Also, those are some damn good stats for his LVL. How did he get them so high? Can I do that? Can I actually train my stats to ungodly high numbers and stay low LVL?
Though, why would I want to do that? It's much faster to grind, I assume, and I have no idea as to what content is locked until you reach certain LVLs. So it's more certain to just get my stats up by 'traditional methods', rather than studying and working out. Though, staying low LVL would probably give me less dangerous random encounters, assuming there are random encounters.
Wow, Sun-Il goes through food really fucking fast. He's like those people who eat over 50 hotdogs in a minute.
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After receiving Sun-Il's excuse of 'clan business', I decided to pick up some reading material. Well, non-erotic reading material, anyway. I was feeling something Sci-Fi with a sprinkle of Drama and Romance, today.
After browsing through the local mega-mall's three bookstores, I headed home with about 10 different novels, and even a few manhwa. Call me a sucker, but Tower of God called to me!
Ahem.
So, yeah, heading home. Very quiet tonight, except for… nothing? The city's usually so alive that there's never complete silence, even on the quietest nights. You know, unless you're in an Illusion Barrier.
Ah, damn. It's one of Agent K's barriers, isn't it? I'd better get out of here.
"[ID Escape]."
You cannot exit this area.
Son of a bitch. Oh man, I hope there's no Legion Zombie wandering around.
As soon as I thought that, a loud groan echoed through the pocket of reality. I hate it when I'm disappointed. Right, so time to hide like a scared little bitch until the scary monster goes away.
This is a good opportunity to flip through my new purchases, at least.
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Ah, no, Hiro-chan! Don't go with that bitch, she just wants your heart crystal! Milfia will treat you right, even if she seems cold and unfriendly on the outside. Underneath the layers of cynicism and apathy beats the heart of a pure maiden in love!
Ah, I admit, maybe I got a little caught up in this love triangle. The writer manages to make an absurd circumstance the height of romantic tension. That takes skill, props to the author.
Oh wait, I'm doing something, aren't I?
I peeked out over my roof ledge to see…
Wow, that's a much larger Legion Zombie.
"[Observe]."
Legion Zombie LVL: 42
HP: 23100 (23100) MP: 1950 (1950)
An assembly of zombies filled with resentment. When a large amount of zombies feel threatened from mass hunting, they merge into a Legion Zombie. It has no magic and is very slow, but possesses immense strength and toughness.
Oh boy, I really don't want to fight that. Wait, what's that?
A black speck was zipping from the rooftops far away from mine. As it grew closer, the speck reconciled into… something. Like a ball of black fire with something attached to the side.
Holy shit, it's Agent K! Is he gonna lay the smack down on this motherfucka?
… I tried to sound gangster and failed. Why'd I even do that? I call shenanigans; I don't normally act like that.
So, anyway, Ag- FUCK!
I threw myself down behind the roof's lip as a chunks of decaying zombie flesh rained down over the greater part of 5 blocks.
Wow, I didn't even see whatever the hell Agent K DID! My opinion of him is transforming into more and more hero worship every day. Did the Legion Zombie drop anything, perchance?
I hopped down to the street, absorbing the minor HP drain like a champ. Ooh, what's this?
A skill has been created through a special action.
Nice. Though I honestly don't know what I did. Fall, maybe?
The ability to maneuver in the air, [Acrobatics], has been created.
Hah, Elder Scrolls reference. Why didn't I get this when I fell, like, 10 meters several days ago? I guess I actually have to land for it to count, rather than redecorate the pavement with my lumbar.
[Acrobatics] (PASSIVE)
LVL: 1
Used to control the user's descent and perform midair maneuvers. Also increases jump height and reduces fall damage.
+10% Jump Height
-5% Fall Damage
Sweet. Not very useful at the moment, but sweet. By LVL 10, I'll be breaking world records in jumping. Double my normal jumping height is, like, 2 meters-ish.
Anyway, the corpse remnants are over there.
Ugh. As soon as I passed the 5 meter marker, the smell overwhelmed me. It was like a mixture of rotten eggs and cat breath, with an overlay of old dumpster in July and a hint of raw sewage. So, all in all, pretty fucking rank.
Still, thanks to [A Gamer's Body], I was able to overcome the stench and examine the corpse that was surprisingly still there. Maybe, since I didn't kill or summon it, it acts like a regular corpse. But… if this is a game, it shouldn't matter who killed it.
Ahahaha…
Oh, I know! It's like this so I can take something from the corpse! Yeah, that's it! That's totally, totally it! It has to be!
Ahahaha…
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After about an hour of searching, losing 1.4 liters of vomit, and gaining a new appreciation for sewer maintenance workers, I found… something.
It was a fist-sized chunk of purple crystal that started glowing in time with my heartbeat as soon as I touched it. Is this the next step up from Soul Stone Shards?
"[Observe]."
Soul Stone Gem (MISC)
Crystallized essence of the soul. Useful in many alchemical and mystical practices. This is a gem, possessing prodigious power and value.
As soon as I pulled the gem out of a small crevice near the heart, the corpse disappeared, also making the smell disappear. Nice, so my theory was correct. And I'm not insane.
Still, this is an amazing find. I think; I don't know alchemy nor do I know ritual magic. I should look into those. Anyway, time to GTFO.
Eh, wait. What's this?
[Observe]'s LVL has gone up by 1.
Oh, nice. Wait, there's more?
[Observe] now acquires more information about unknown items and characters.
Sooo what does this reveal about my gem?
"[Observe]."
Soul Stone Gem (MISC)
Crystallized essence of the soul. This gem is formed when a powerful soul dies or a large collection of souls die at the same time. It is used to empower a variety of magics, fuel specially-made machinery, and improve the quality of various alchemical creations. Or sold for large sums of money, depending on the skill of the holder.
Oh. So that's where these things come from. That's, uh, nice. Very, very nice. Also, creepy.
I probably should have known about this from the 'crystallized essence of the soul' thing, but I just assumed that was… I really have no excuse. Filler text, maybe? Or, like old monster souls.
"[ID Escape]."
Brr, I'm going to enjoy a long, hot bath when I get home.
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Before anyone bitches at me about the copout from the Legion Zombie fight, ask yourselves this: how the hell would Jee-Han kill it? In the manhwa, he only managed it because of Sun-Il taking it down to roughly half health and his own ridiculous INT. My Jee-Han has none of that.
Also, he hasn't accomplished anything on his list yet for two reasons. First, he was planning on discovering the skills the next day. Second, he didn't work on it while waiting for the Legion Zombie to self-destruct because he didn't want to draw attention to himself.
Also, I wish the site's system allowed me to put in Word symbols and strikethrough. It looks better on Word, since those things are removed from the final product.
Anyway, R&R! I metaphorically feed on reviews. Don't ask me how and I won't scar you for life.
Name: Han Jee-Han
Title: Apprentice Undead Hunter
Class: The Gamer
LVL: 7
XP: 2350/7000
HP: 140/160
MP: 260/260
STR: 7
DEX: 10
VIT: 6
INT: 25
WIS: 12
LUK: 5
Points: 0
Money: 15000 W