[ Kazuto Kirigaya - Lvl: 5 ]
That floating screen in the corner of his eye being the first thing he saw after waking up didn't do wonders for his mood, it was basically taunting him. Kazuto rubbed the sleep out his eyes and slowly got up from his bed, he let out a yawn as he stood up.
There was a small knock at his bedroom door, followed by a high voice. "Onii-chan, the bath is ready!"
"Thanks, Suguha!" Kazuto responded automatically as he stumbled over to where his school uniform was hanging. His body was slightly sore and his mind was foggy, a side effect from staying up most of the night gaming instead of sleeping. He relied on cold water to truly wake himself up for the day.
As he exited his room and entered the hallway, he was just in time to see a floating screen above the girl, the one he called Suguha, as she walked away.
[ Suguha Kirigaya - Lvl: 8 ]
The screen floated about an inch or two above her head and no matter where she was facing, the screen was always readable to Kazuto, but after she went down the stairs to the first floor and out of his line of sight, he could no longer see it.
The floating screens had just appeared on his birthday, three days ago, now it was the 10th of October and he still didn't know what to do about them. He wasn't a complete idiot, he knew it was a Status or something like that, his experience beta testing SAO taught him how it would look on a real person, but what exactly was it? And how did he interact with it? He couldn't even touch or feel it.
He didn't have a single clue about what was happening.
Kazuto went about his morning mechanically, he went to the bathroom and started undressing, afterwards he did the rest of his daily routine with the same amount of thought and effort, and then he walked to the dining room for breakfast. With questions about the screens plaguing his mind, he ate his breakfast on autopilot.
"Well, I'm off, Onii-chan." Suguha said after she had finished her breakfast, having started eating at just the same time as him, yet she couldn't match his slow pace, and then she stopped near where Kazuto was seated.
"Bye." He said absently as he ate, not looking in her direction or giving her a second thought.
Suguha walked away after another moment passed, leaving him alone. He almost wondered where her parents were, but his brain reminded him that today was a workday.
"They could just be hallucinations." Kazuto was close to giving up on answering the mystery of the screens. So far, they were just something he could see, and although it displayed names he hadn't thoroughly checked to see if it was accurate.
If he had the power to check the name and know their arbitrary levels, then where did his power come from? Did some God or a Cosmic Entity or some Abstract Concept give it to him? Or had a cybernetic chip linked to a supercomputer somehow get implanted into his brain?
"Whatever it is, I don't have time for it right now." He came to the conclusion as he noticed the time, he quickly washed his dishes, grabbed his bag and went off to school.
And he was bored at school as usual, he had wrongly assumed high school would be the place where he would struggle and need to put in effort to complete assignments, but he was wrong. In nearly all new lessons, the teacher would explain the subject, and Kazuto would get a better understanding of it, and then they wasted the entire class going over everything they had just said but with slightly with different words.
However, since it had been a total of four days with his new power, he was confident in his data set to make a few observations to serve as a distraction.
Lvl: 5 seemed to be the average amongst teenagers close to his age, some were Lvl: 3 or 4 and rare ones were Lvl: 6 or 7, but most seemed to be Lvl: 5. Young adults seemed to average Lvl: 15, while the older ones averaged Lvl: 20.
And although he wanted more data to prove his next observation, he was still confident with it. People who excelled in a certain field were the ones with higher levels. People who were ranked top of their classes, or athletes who've honed their bodies and skills, even people who bragged about their hobbies, those types of people all had above average levels.
Kazuto almost fell asleep during his final class, but kept himself awake long enough to get home. As soon as he walked through his front door, all his fatigue melted away. Once he reached his room, he quickly changed out of his school uniform, and went straight to his computer. For the next five hours, Kazuto played games and read game forums.
Around the five hour mark, his eyes got caught on his NerveGear, he missed beta testing SAO, right now he could only play some puzzle or education games on it.
"It was great." Kazuto reminisced, as he thought back to the friends and enemies he made, he would give the game all his attention, everyday he re-thought his approach, trying a bunch of things before settling. Kazuto stared at the helmet. "If only, if only I could still play. How much longer till the official release? I can't wait to put you back on and be transported back when I say 'Link Start.'"
[ Start Link? (O) / (X) ]
Without thinking, Kazuto instinctively clicked the symbol for acceptance, his finger not going past the box, but also not meeting any resistance when feeling the box.
[ Welcome, Kazuto Kirigaya, to the Game! To get started just call out 'Main Menu' with your voice or mentally. ]
He ignored the questions his mind started forming. 'Main Menu.' He mentally commanded. And the screen welcoming him was erased, and a new screen took its place in front of him.
[ Status. - Inventory. - Skills. ]
Before he could send another mental command, a small screen popped up, overlapping with the 'Main Menu.'
[ Do you require the Tutorial? (O) / (X) ]
Right as Kazuto raised a finger to click decline, a thought came to him. Instead of physically clicking instead he did it mentally, and watched the screen disappear.
[ Updated: All interactions with the Game Screen's will be done mentally. Is that okay? ]
He didn't see a problem with that, after clearing that up, he pulled up his status.
[ Kazuto Kirigaya - Lvl: 5 (EXP: 22/500) - HP: 532/532 - Str: 12 - Vit: 11 - Dex: 27 - Agi: 14 - Int: 45 - Wis: 9 - Cha: 10 - Luk: 23 ]
The numbers didn't really hold a lot of significance to him, since he didn't know the standard amount, so he moved on to his 'Inventory.'
[ Search. - Equipped. - Items. - Deposit. ]
'Search' brought up an empty search bar with a question mark at the end, it was probably so he didn't have to look for an 'Item' manually.
'Equipped' brought up more options to choose from, he could check every limb and appendage, luckily there was also an 'All Equipped' option.
[ Dark Grey Long Sleeved Shirt (Basic): Plus 2 in Basic Torso Protection. Plus 1 in both Basic Arm Protections. ]
[ Light Grey Zipper Hoodie (Basic): Plus 3 Basic Torso Protection. Plus 2 in both Basic Arm Protections. Plus 1 in Basic Head Protection. Grants Basic Cold Resistance. ]
[ Black Boxer Briefs (Basic): Plus 1 in both Basic Hip Protections. Plus 1 in Basic Groin Protection. ]
[ Dark Grey Sweatpants (Basic): Plus 3 in both Basic Leg Protections. Grants Basic Cold Resistance. ]
[ White Wool Socks (Basic): Plus 1 in both Basic Foot Protections. Grants Minor Cold Resistance. Grants Sliding or Slipping. ]
There was also an 'Equipment Effects' and 'Set Effects' options that he checked out.
[ Plus 15 Basic Body Protection. Grants Basic Cold Resistance (Lvl: 2). ]
[ Dark Blend: Stealth is twice as effective. ]
Now that he was done with 'Equipped', he went to 'Items.' It brought up a blank screen, he didn't have anything, he switched to 'Deposit' but the blank screen remained. He took a pen off his desk and called up 'Deposit' again, the pen disappeared from his hand and reappeared on the screen.
He figured 'Deposit' was more like a Skill, but it was probably only for his inventory and couldn't be Leveled Up. When he mentally clicked on the pen, it reappeared in his hand, he put the pen back in his 'Inventory' and moved on to 'Skills'.
[ Passive Skills. - Active Skills. - Mixed Skills. ]
He checked his 'Passive Skills' first.
[ Gamer's Mind (Lvl: 4): Grants you the ability to calmly analyze a situation and act or react accordingly.
Gamer's Body (Lvl: 1): Reduces Human needs by 2%.
Gamer's Soul (Lvl: Null): Grants you the ability to play the Game.
Basic Mind Protection (Lvl: 1): Reduces Mental Damage taken, by the Level of this Skill(1) multiplied by your Level(5). Currently at 5 points.
Basic Body Protection (Lvl: 1): Reduces Physical Damage taken, by the Level of this Skill(1) multiplied by your Level(5). Currently at 20* points.
Basic Cold Resistance (Lvl: 2): 20% more resistance to Cold Damage.
Basic Stealth (Lvl: 4): 40% effectiveness increase when Sneaking or Hiding.
Basic Kendo Proficiency (Lvl: 3): 30% effectiveness increase in Active Kendo Skills.
Basic Shinai Proficiency (Lvl: 3): 30% effectiveness increase when using a Shinai to perform a compatible Sword Skill, or a 30% increase to Damage made with a shinai without a Sword Skill.
Mislead (Lvl: 5): 50% effectiveness increase to all Deception related Skills. ]
He was getting tired of reading, even if it was interesting, he just found out he had powers and he wanted to play, but he continued. 'Active Skills' were empty, and luckily there was only one Skill in 'Mixed Skills.'
[ Observe (Lvl: 7): Passive: Tells you what or who you're looking at. - Active: (Cost: ?): ? ]
As he pondered on what the Active version could be, he tried to mentally use it, he didn't care about the cost, and he slipped out of his chair as air left his lungs and his body went limp.
[ Observe (Lvl: 8): Passive: Tells you what or who you're looking at. - Active: {Cost: 530HP}: Gives an in-depth look into an object, tangible and intangible, or a better explanation. ]
'530HP!?' He freaked out and called up his Status Screen.
[ Kazuto Kirigaya - Lvl: 5 - HP: 2/532 - Status Effects: Exhausted - Critical Condition ]
He was so close to death, but he could feel his heart beating, and this was a good opportunity, he tried to convince himself. He watched his health, when it went up to 3 he started counting. It took 20 seconds for 1 point of health to be regenerated, he was on the floor for half an hour before his health went up to one hundred, and after that 'Exhausted' went away, allowing him to move again. Critical Condition had went away after his HP reached 53.
As Kazuto sat up and stretched. "I'm never doing that again." He swore to himself. Then a bunch of small screens appeared in front of him, too many for him to count, and way too many to suddenly to rearm so he just skimmed over it.
[ Due to your decision to do something foolish, Minus 1 Wis. ] - [ Due to Activating Observe, Analyze has been Unlocked and Added to the Inventory Screen. ] - [ Titles Unlocked and Added to the Main Menu Screen. ] - [ Due to losing more than 99% of your Health to a mistake but accomplishing what you wanted, you have gained the Title 'Suicidal Success.' ] - [ Achievements Unlocked and Added to the Main Menu Screen. ] - [ Achievement 'A Colossal Mistake' Accomplished, Plus 1 Level. ] - [ Due to Unlocking Titles and Achievements, The Handbook has been Unlocked and Added to the Main Menu Screen. Titles and Achievements have been moved to The Handbook. ] - [ Due to Unlocking The Handbook and Activating Observe, The Encyclopedia has been Unlocked and Added to The Handbook. ] - [ Due to having Analyze and The Handbook Unlocked, Notebooks has been Unlocked and Added to The Handbook. ] - [ Due to Unlocking Titles, Achievements, The Encyclopedia and Notebooks, The Quest Log has been Unlocked and Added to The Handbook. ] - [ Due to Unlocking The Quest Log before you were given a Quest, Cheats have been Unlocked and Added to the Handbook. ] - [ You've Earned a Cheat: Quest Skip(1). ] - [ Due to Unlocking Cheats, you've gained the Title 'Cheater.' ] - [ Achievement 'The Complete Handbook' Accomplished, Plus 1 Level. ]
'Main Menu. Status.'
[ Status. - Inventory. - Skills. - The Handbook. ]
[ Kazuto Kirigaya - Lvl: 7 (EXP: 22/700) - HP: 109/732 - Str: 12 - Vit: 11 - Dex: 27 - Agi: 14 - Int: 45 - Wis: 8 - Cha: 10 - Luk: 23 - SP: 10 ]
It was true, he had gained 2 levels and he lost 1 point of Wis. Also he noticed that Max HP had gone up by 200 and he had 10 SP, he assumed that meant Spare Points, now he guessed that he got 100 Max HP and 5 SP for every level.
'Inventory. The Handbook.'
[ Search. - Equipped. - Items. - Analyze. - Deposit. ]
[ Titles. - Achievements. - The Encyclopedia. - Notebooks. - The Quest Log. - Cheats. ]
Before he could open some more screens, a light knock came from his door, followed by. "Onii-chan? Dinner is ready."
He was about to call out and tell Suguha he would eat later, something he said every night her parents weren't home and he wasn't required to be present, when a screen popped up.
[ Quest: Family Dinner! - Objective: Eat Dinner With Your Family. - Upon Success: Plus 30 EXP, Suguha Kirigaya will be happy, Suguha Kirigaya's Entry will be added to The Encyclopedia. - Upon Failure: Suguha Kirigaya will be disappointed in herself. ]
"I'll be there in a minute, Suguha!" He called out as he stood up, his body still felt a little fuzzy, but it was no more severe than what he normally experienced in the mornings after gaming.
