The Foolish Grappler chapter 2

(A/N: Sorry about the long time between chapters I have been really busy with uni so don't expect a high rate of chapters plus I am a slow as hell writer. Furthermore since I forgot to do this before I would like to thank the rest of the guys in the group for their support in this as I wouldn't be doing this without it. Lastly I want to apologize about my writing quality as my skill in writing leaves much to be desired so for those who favorite and follow my story thank you so much.

Now on to the story

Thanks,

Lolzman)

Changes Made:18/01/23

Minor spelling and grammar fixes.

Fixed the start to more fit what I now want The old man to sound like.

Minor changes to wording in the system.

"Hmmm, this hot cocoa is great old man, thank you", I said contently, sipping on this cup of cocoa, and I wasn't lying. This was one of the best cups of coco I ever had, nearly on par with mothers.

Looking around from where I was on a couch chair inside the old man's hovel with a blanket around me, trying to keep me warm after being wet for who knows how long. Though now that I am inside of it, the word hovel does it a considerable disservice. It's more a cabin, really one with an open floor plan. It has a nice bed with side drawers in one corner. The other corner, on the same side, had the kitchen/dining area with a wood stove and cabinets with a table that looks like a picnic table being used as a dining table.

Then along the wall with the kitchen but opposite the bed was where I currently sat in a small sitting area with two chairs and some bookshelves lining the two sides of this corner of the cabin stuffed with books. Clearly, he does a lot of reading. Can you really blame him with no tv or internet. He also has a nice small fireplace with a chimney, which is also helping me warm up.

At that moment, my attention was brought to the old man in front of me, who saved my life today. He was of a peculiar sort as he seemed to be like an ordinary frail old man who is relatively thin; this image is only boosted by the baggy clothes he was wearing. They reminded me of those old Chinese martial arts masters in the cheesy movies, yet more ragged showing great use with them. He wore a small cap on his head and a set of glasses that seemed heavily tinted, as I couldn't see his eyes. He sat with a comfortable slouched persona, seemingly feeling the weight of time; however, what was peculiar was this feeling coming from the depths of me saying I wasn't safe here, that I was locked in a cage with a tiger that was watching me, however, that feeling quickly left as he smiled and replied.

"I appreciate your thanks; I don't get to talk much these days, so when you have been by yourself, as long as I have, its nice to finally have company. Nearly all I do is fish these days and do the chores needed around the place. I don't live that exciting life here but I like that I was quite the wild firecracker when I was young; now I can relax in peace. But enough about me, why were you on the middle of the beach? Did your ship sink? Running from home? hiding from those who wish you harm?" He questioned in a way that I hadn't ever experienced before. It was both forceful and demanding, I answered, yet it also caused me to feel at home and safe. I replied after a quick movement of looking down at my cup, thinking deeply, quickly trying to make up a plausible reason.

"I don't remember much of anything, I ahhhh, I can only remember my name I had a goal but I can't remember what it was, I am guessing you may know more then me as I just woke up on this island I don't even know the name of. Before the ship crashed, leaving me alone here, where am I? What island am I on?" I tried to tell the most convincing story that would explain my complete lack of knowledge of this world. His reply to that was simply a raised eyebrow and "hmm" as he raised his cup for a sip "Ah thats good tea".

"Interesting, I assume you have no idea where to go from here then, if you can't remember how you got here, I see that could be a very daunting prospect for you," He said from behind the cup of tea.

"Well, you're on wolf island, for starters, named after its shape that resembles a wolf's head and the great number of wolfs as you saw earlier that are native to this island. It's not the biggest or the smallest in the north blue but is relatively peaceful by north blue standards." He said as he put down his cup and moved to stroke his chin in thought. Seeing where this was heading, I made myself comfortable.

"There's a couple of small villages around the edge of the island; they are relativity small to the two main cities. Here there's the trade port called Wolf's jaw that's full of just industry and little else; its where most of the exports of the island leave from. It's located right between the two sides of the there's the capital where everyone with a log up their ass is by far is its the most pouplais place on the island holding the far marjory either in its walls or around it. Its north of Wolfs jaw with an man made channel to it allowing ships to dock at the city. Its surrounded by the flattest area on the island thats the most fertial soil for the many farms. Its located on the artificial lake moat which is called lake eye, which acts as a moat to the bloated flea-ridden city." He spoke the last part with barely hidden contentment, but I didn't want to bother him during exposition time.

After some more grumbling about the negatives of the island and a lot of helpful tips like any stereotypical old man can ramble on, he finally changed the topic to something more pressing.

"Anyway, enough of my old rambles; it's not often you see a drifter that somehow made it to shore alive with any memories from before. I suppose we should talk about what you should do", Stated the old man, whose I don't even know his name. All of this has been a fustercluck from walking up on a beach learning your living as a gamer in a new world, then being faced with a pathetic death only to be saved by an old man, and that was where my mind got to before a roll of newspaper slapped me on top of my head.

"Ahhh, Why the hell did you do that, old man" I exclaimed, agitated at being hit.

"YOU WERENT LISTENING brat when I am trying to help you decide what to do given your on an island without your memories, Oh and stop with the old man stick I ain't that old you can call me Qiao Hui or just Hui I understand my name can be hard for those not use to it," He said as he put down the deadly newspaper and picked up to metal balls which he kept circling in his hand. I saw them once on a video about Chinese medication. As I was going to ask what they were, there was an interruption that was about to happen.

"Well, I guess I really didn't tell you my name either, so it's (KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK)" I was about to give him my name; however, there was a large knock at the door stopping me from giving my name.

"Don't worry, I will get it: KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK: I AM COMMING KEEP YOUR PANTS ON. People these days have no respect for their elders", He grumbled the last part before he opened the door to a slightly smaller-than-average shout man with a full beard and very slight greying on the top, which was relatively short. He was wearing regular brown dress pants with red suspenders over the top of a plain white dress shirt over which he had a long coat on.

He seemed to be a mix of a jolly Santa that was working a middle management desk job nine to five, five days a week. However, he spoke with great concern and urgency, having little time for nonsense like a friendly greeting.

"Hui, a chief's meeting has been called by the king's consoul in regards to the tribute and the other villages troubles we've been having. I was wondering if I could have a word with you" He then glanced in my direction, finally realising they weren't alone as I could listen to all of it and then spoke to us both, "Could it be alone, not to be rude? It's just these matters are quite important and best be not known by others."

"I see, Boy I am going to be a few minutes don't burn my home down ok?" After a moment of thought, he said to me as he moved to grab his coat and head outside.

"Sure, Hui", I simply replied underneath my cosy blanket. This really is the life sitting with a blanket next to a warm fire; it can't get much better than this. As I was thinking, it started to rain, as I could hear it on the roof and it hitting the windows; I thought they would come in, given they likely didn't want to stand in the rain. But I was mistaken as they continued to talk out there. I suppose this is now the perfect time to deal with this blinking screen which has been bugging me for a while. In the corner of my sight, it was pitch black like those special paints. I think they were called venta black or something that stopped reflecting light with pure white words and a basic border.

*** *ATTENTION* ***

Do you wish to begin the Short Start Guide of the SYSTEM V 1 made by (REDACTED). The SYSTEM is used in cases of (redacted) that the (redacted) has decided deserved another chance and hence needs a mechanism to adapt to the world around them.

NOTE: (REDACTED) highly advises you to pick yes.

VVV

YES / NO

Is that even an option… I wonder what happens if I just pick NO, as nothing comes for free, and I don't want to be holden to this choice later down the track. As I was thinking that the note popped up, I guess it really wasn't a free choice, so I tapped yes, but when I did, the first thing I realised was the sound. The sound of the rain stopped instantly. When I finally looked away from the screen, I found that everything but me and the screen had become grey-scaled, which understandably freaked me out.

START GUIDE STARTED

During the start, guide time for the user will be stopped to allow all the time needed to make the best and most informed choices. This start guide is to run you through the basics of navigating the system and its features, along with getting you ready to go out into the big world.

Firstly let's start with your profile.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Name: Adorno Landor

Occupation: None(NEET)

Bloodline: (BLANK) Tap here to pick one

Level 1

EXP 0/64

Hp 70/70

MP 200/200

Brawn 2

Vitality 2

Dexterity 2

Intelligence 14

Wisdom 6

Charm 1

First are the stats: Brawn, Vitality, Dexterity, Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma. They demonstrate how strong you are, how fast you can react either physically or mentally, How well you can multitask and much more. How you increase them can vary widely from rewards to quests, level-ups, and achievements; as with a lot with the system, nothing should be taken as absolute because this is just the system scanning your abilities. Here is a more explained list of your stats

Brawn: This is self-explanatory; it feeds from metrics such as muscle mass, efficacy and max output. While simple, this is incredibly important to most fighters because more strength is hardly wrong.

Vitality: Again, this is self-explanatory; it leads into things such as your HP, which should be necessary as when that hits 0, you are dead. This also represents your body's ability to fight poison, disease, and other such things; it also means your body's ability to take damage. This is Vital to everyone who wishes to live …. Get it vital.

Dexterity: This one is much more nuanced compared to the first two as while in most also improved RPGs, this would determine outride how fast you were, this is different; while it does play a significant role in your speed, it's not the one-stop shop it is in other games. It also affects your flexibility and control of your body which is more important than most think. Finally, it affects the accuracy of range weapons due to including hand-eye coordination; as long as they require any form of fine motor function to aim or reload, they likely are based on Dexterity. Do I even need to tell you who this would be useful for?

Now time for the harder-to-quantify stats; the first is…

Intelligence: If your mind was a pc, this is the speed of a CPU; with more speed, more tasks can be handled. It's the raw processing power that handles your ability to think and react quickly. As stated before, this stat isn't linked to your real 'intelligence'. It just depicts the ability of your brain to process information. This stat is of great importance to most magic casters as it determines your Mana regen rate and the speed at which you can control it.

Wisdom: If your intelligence is how fast you process information, then wisdom is everything else. It displays your ability to store information and clearly recall that memory; it boosts your ability to absorb the information you learn. Its most important role is that it determines your total Mana capacity, which is critical to all magic users; also, it doesn't only boost how much you can hold but how much you can use and control at any time; hence this is the most important stat to magic users.

Charisma: Last but by no means least is charisma; the stat displays influence your social skills, how you look to others, your ability to communicate efficiently, and influence and understand others from a social point of view. It's greatly important to those who wish to lead and those who wish not to be virgins funny that people who have high charisma never have to worry, I am sure with a high score of …. Oh, ah, it's not That important…

These numbers likely mean not much to you, which is understandable; you don't know what's good or what's average; sadly, life isn't as easy as that. Due to stats having multiple inputs, it's not possible to make an apples-to-apples comparison of stats between two people. Take Dexterity, for example; two people may have the same number in Dexterity; however, that represents two different aspects as one of the two is a proficient marksman with expert hand-eye coordination while the other is a martial artist that specialises in flexibility. Sadly this is a limitation of the V1 of the SYSTEM, so it's advised that not too much weight is put onto numbers.

As was brought up before OCCUPATION, you may notice yours is classed as None(NEET); this is a nearly completely subjective objectification by the system to classify individuals for greater ease to the user. This isn't fully reliable, so the user also shouldn't put too much faith in this process either.

The Level and exp system will be skipped due to your high knowledge of this game's mechanics; simply, you can gain more exp to level up, and with each Level come bonuses and gifts that I am sure you will like.

Now the last thing to do in the Short Start Guide is for you to pick your bloodline. A bloodline is a system of abilities that can be either created by the system or taken from another universe. Note that you can only have one bloodline, and it will greatly impact how you adapt to the world you are in. An example would be the Sharingan is one such bloodline as it provides all the potential the Sharingan has along with changes of mood that are caused by the Sharingan along with a shift of personality towards the Uchiha. You will pick your bloodline by spending SYSTEM BITS, or SB for short, which may, on occasion, pop up as a reward. Anyway, in this case, you gained SB based on how you performed in your past life, decided by {REDACTED}. Now pick one from the list before the timer ends; time left 19:54 minutes left.

"That's a lot to take in, like a lot a lot I have so many questions and so few answers…. Did it really have to do me dirty with giving me one in charm. I understand that I ain't winning any awards given the obvious lack of girlfriends and I am by no means a talker but really one not even just two as I would be happy with two. I guess I ain't going to be a suave swashbuckler picking up women left and right being able to make even Hancock feel weak at the knees then make her my waifu … then again that's not really my style that's more for the annoying harem protag style." I ranted to myself from my cozy spot under the blankets and finished by putting my empty mug on the table to free up my hands.

"Though I do have another complaint, it's about the puns. Can you do without the puns because that was just sad; you would think an interdimensional system would have access to higher quality puns" I continued to point out real and glaring flaws that are lowering my experience of this. Oh lord, I am beginning to sound like a game reviewer oh lord.

Oh, so this system has magic which brings up a lot of questions about how it can bring magic into a world that is seemingly without it; then again not completely true if you count Devil fruits as magic, then I guess that makes sense, I don't really know how magic works its all magic to me…. See, that's how you do a good pun." I smugly smirked at the system panel, hoping for a response, yet I got none back.

"Also, who the hell is this (Readacted) are they the ones who sent me to this world if so I got to thank them, now I can finally live out my dream of being a badass anime character who gets all the women and have all the men fear him MUWAH AH AH AH" (evil laughs).

***** An Unreasonable Time later *******

"Wait, wasn't there a timer to the selection process … 15:19 ….. HOLY SHIT, I better hurry and pick one, or with my luck, I will be stuck with the worst one".I started in a frantic rush to go over the list provided it was a simple panel of black and white like before, seemly going from most costly to cheapest that just didn't end with some filtering settings next to it on the left with the time remaining on the right and under that a total of my SB which was 232.

"WHAT THE WHY DID I ONLY GET 232? I DIED SAVING SOMEONE," I loudly exclaimed; however, I was shocked when a screen popped up.

While you indeed saved One innocent, which is why you have been rewarded 200 points for that heroic act.

…. The less said about that, the better I should focus on picking a bloodline that was best suited to me and had potential, as I didn't want to back myself into a corner with a hank-jerked choice now, which could lead to my death.

In the list, there were many there, a few of which were available to me and many more that weren't; if I needed to know more about one, I could click on it, and a description of it would pop up. Here are some of them, which were lists for more ones inside them.

192,210,022 SB SUNSHINE

190,102,240 SB FATE MANIPULATION

180,000,000 SB ALL FICTION

163,992,004 SB INFINITY

150,000,245 SB BOOSTED GEAR

145,000,000 SB TIME MULTIPLICATION

….

1,568,696 SB HEIR TO ALUCARD

1,367,592 SB ALL FOR ONE

1,367,591SB ONE FOR ALL

123,000 SB 8 GATES

112,000 SB STAND

102,000 SB TITANIFCATION

….

As you can see, there is a lot of way overpower picks available sadly, they were way above my budget, so I quickly filtered for the max cost of 232 and still, there was seemingly an endless amount of options; however, one stood out from the others probably due to me finally finishing its manga yesterday.

230 SB: HANMA BLOODLINE

Effects

Disables MP

Allows the increasing of stats with training, hard work and strain where otherwise, these would have no effect on stats.

Perks and skills Can be gained through training.

Provides all of which is inherent to an Hanma

Along with some adjustments to the user and system

"Well, if I picked this, I guess there goes my ability to use magic which sucks however it's not like there really any worthwhile magic bloodlines this far down," I thought out loud as I had a quick flick through the most expensive magic bloodline which I could afford.

Honesty, I am surprised by this option for how good value it provides at the low cost relative to the ones around. Plus, while I have never been a fan of training, I am sure that will allow me to snowball, and all I have to do is train easy. So I click accept then my whole world goes black.