Shinji Ikari opened his eyes, his hands feeling around before grabbing the soft blanket around his form. Sleep still clung to his mind until he registered the words floating above/before him in a holographic purple screen.
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You have slept in a bed! All injuries and ailments have been cured!
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'Huh?' Shinji blinked in confusion, only to flinch as the screen disappeared and replaced itself.
-:|:-
Initializing data...
Initializing complete!
Welcome to the EVA System, Player 3!
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Shinji froze up. 'Wh-What is this?! Nobody told me about this! Is this from the robot? What do I do?!'
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Would you like to begin Tutorial?(ACCEPT/DECLINE)
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Having nothing better to do, Shinji reluctantly chose ACCEPT.
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As you have noticed, the presence of the prompt screens have stopped time and will continue to do so until the tutorial is completed. Afterwards, the same effect will still happen if the prompt screens are brought up.
As stated earlier, you have been chosen as Player 3 to continue through your life in the form of a Game. To continue the tutorial, please think the word 'Menu'.
-:|:-
"Oh, er..." Shinji's head swam with all of the new information he was getting dumped with. But as strange at it was, it was something familiar to the lonely boy, and still, a tutorial for something like this was a lot more than what he'd been given for the Evangelion. 'Oh. So that I don't look crazy while doing it in public, huh? [Menu].'
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Status
Titles
Inventory
Skills
Perks
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Finding this much more familiar, Shinji let the EVA System start from the highest option.
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This is your {Status}, aka your Character Stats. Each stat or attribute refers to a developmental aspect of yourself and can be increased accordingly by exercising certain actions related to them, having them as a reward or allocating SP to them. 0-99(Average: D), 100-199(Advanced: C), 200-299(Superhuman: B), 300-399(Transcendent: A), 400-499(Almighty: S)
Name: Shinji Ikari (This indicates your name.)
Level: 12 (This tells you your level which when raised allows access to new skills, weapons, magic and more. It can also be used to determine how much you're outclassed or how much you outclass an enemy in terms of prowess and experience.)
Title: Player 3 (Titles are as they sound. When equipped, titles you gain can give boons or debuffs affecting your stats, EXP gain, Skills, etc..)
EXP: 40/1,299 (This stands for Experience Points and are the measure by which your progress to the next level is determined by.)
HP: 12,000/12,000 (This stands for Health Points and shows the general healthiness of your body in a numerical value, showing how much damage you can take before die at 0HP. It's regeneration rate depends on your level, currently being 12HP per second.)
MP: 1,200/1,200 (This stands for Mana Points and shows how much magical energy your body has the capacity for.)
STR: 120(C) (Strength is the first of three factors that determines your physical prowess. It determines how much physical strength you have, how much damage you can cause with just straight physical combat, and one of the two attributes that determine how much damage blocking can reduce damage by.)
VIT: 170(C) (Vitality is the second of three factors that determines your physical prowess. It determines your health, how fast you can recover, your overall fitness(stamina and resistance against physical damage, poison, heat, cold, radiation, etc.), and is the second of two factors that determines how much blocking can reduce damage by.)
AGI: 115(C) (Agility is the final of three factors that determines your physical prowess. It affects your overall movement speed and dexterity. It also plays a large part in how accurate your attacks are, along with your ability to get critical hits. This stat also plays a large part in pick-pocketing, stealth, and the handling/use of weaponry.)
INT: 17(D) (Intelligence affects your ability to learn, memorize information, ability to react and adapt quickly to unforeseen circumstances. It is the Quantity to Wisdom's Quality.)
WIS: 11(D) (Wisdom affects how well you can use your knowledge to formulate strategies, common sense, your ability to understand concepts and learn techniques, and how in tune with the World. Wisdom also affects your ability to retain information and resist mental afflictions. It is the Quality to Intelligence's Quantity.)
CHA: 106(C) (Charisma is your ability to charm and persuade others, while being able to resist the same from others. It affects your success in persuading others in dialogue and prices when you barter. It also affects your reputation and can sometimes stop battles before they even start.)
LUK: 2(D) (Luck affects many things such as critical hits, reward drops, gambling, 50/50 chances in your favor, encounters, and attaining unique Items. It also affects your chances to "defy fate.")
SP: 72 (Stat Points are special points given upon level up which can be allocated to specific stats to give an immediate boost in that area.)
Money: ¥4,500 (Money is the visual account of all of the money you possess at hand. Note: It doesn't represent the money in your bank account.)
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Shinji stared at his Status sheet, completely dumbfounded at his physical stats. While his STR and AGI were expected to be his strongest attributes, he'd never really worked out enough to earn that much! Unless...
"I Levelled Up from the Angel." Shinji realized.
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For realizing an important piece of information related to your exploits, your INT has gone up by 1!
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Shinji blinked at the new notifications. 'Right, right. Um, [Titles].'
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Player 3: By some reason, whether it's the Blessing of Gaia, or the whims of a few Deities or Great Spirits, or even a totally random chance, you have become the third to be granted access to the EVA System. From now onward, it will cause you to experience your life as if it was a Game in this World! (+30% EXP boost to all Events.)
Third Child Pilot of NERV's Evangelion Unit-01(EVA-01 TEST TYPE): As the pilot of Evangelion Unit-01, you pilot the giant biodroid to combat enemies of humanity. (+400% to all stats except INT, WIS & LUK. Note: Only equipable when piloting Unit-01!)
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'Well, that's a lot more than I'd expected to get from piloting that thing...' Despite' the frozen time, Shinji shuddered a bit before continuing on. '[Inventory].'
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This is your {Inventory}. Within it, you can store items or rewards for later use, each added one being frozen in time until they are taken out or equipped. For now, your {Inventory} is empty.
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Shinji frowned. 'Yeah, I guess that makes sense. I'll fill it up later. [Skills].'
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Your {Skills} refer to all of the various skills you've trained up in your lifetime. As you perform more unique actions, your Skills shall be increased, updated and allocated. If three or more Skills are related in a particular field, they will be combined into a single Grand Skill with them becoming Sub-Skills. Note that Skill levels function differently compared to your {Status} level. At the moment, there are currently no recorded Skills.
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Shinji wilted at the sight. 'Then... [Perks], please.'
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Differing from Skills, Perks refer to distinguishing characteristics or traits of your mindset, physiology or desires which are deemed special or unique. They are also categorized by the fact that they do not operate on levels or EXP. At the moment, you possess no Perks.
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'I guess... that's all...?'
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Event Completed!
Achievement: Baby Steps!
Objective: Complete the tutorial needed to get a starting handle on your new powers.(FULFILLED)
Rewards: +50EXP
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Event Completed!
Achievement: No Warning? No Training? No Problem?!
Objective: Defeat the Covering of Adam: Sachiel.(FULFILLED)
Bonus Objective: Defeat the Covering of Adam: Sachiel without taking a single injury.(FAILED)
Bonus Objective: Find a way to 'accidentally' injure Gendo Ikari during the battle.(FAILED)
Rewards: +30SP, +1,000EXP, +¥1,000,000, +New Title, +New Skill(s), +New Perk(s)
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Alert: You have acquired new Skill(s)!
Evangelion Piloting Expertise(Lv. 1/400): Your active capability to pilot an Evangelion from within a cockpit or a remote distance.
Self Regeneration(Lv. 1/100): Your passive capability to heal and get restored to your optimal state at an extremely fast rate.
Brawling Proficiency(Lv. 1/100): Your active capability to fight in a manner that doesn't involve any conventional form of unarmed combat.
AT-Field Manipulation(Lv. 1/100): Your passive and active capability to generate and manipulate an AT Field which allows you to block or impede approaching objects and nullifying attacks, including physical and energy based ones.
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By raising your STR from D-rank to C-rank, you have gained a new Perk!
Heartbeat Impact: Your heart pulses explosively in time with the impact of their physical attacks, enabling them to hit much harder than the maximum force your body would normally exert. However, this Perk cannot affect those immune to physical strikes or those too high-levelled for you to inflict damage.
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By raising VIT from D-rank to C-rank, you have gained a new Perk!
Tolerant: This Perk reduces all taken damage by 50% if your HP ever drops below 20%
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By raising AGI from D-rank to C-rank, you have gained a new Perk!
Evasive Maneuver: Your body is capable of automatically avoiding physical attacks, quickly positioning away from the danger and into an ideal stance for retaliation.
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By raising CHA from D-rank to C-rank, you have gained a new Perk!
Clout: You're capable of swaying the social opinions of others, regardless in the matters of popularity or skill.
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Well, the moment Shinji felt time move again, he let loose a muffled scream. Should he be happy? Worried? Excited?
He didn't know. This was... just too much.
...still, the fact that one of the bonus objectives was to injure his father reassured Shinji a bit that this new strange ability didn't like Gendo Ikari either. Clearly, the thing responsible for this, if sentient, was a rather reasonable person.'
The door made a sound, causing Shinji to gasp at the sight of the blue-haired girl his father would've cruelly forced to pilot in his place.
Except...
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Rei Ayanami II, Lv. 3: Player 1
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Shinji's jaw slacked. The naming was weird. But what followed was worse. "P-Player 1?! You're part of all this?!"
Ayanami blinked unperturbed. "You should be resting, Pilot Ikari. Also, do not refer to the EVA System out loud in public settings or to NERV officials. It does not permit that."
Shinji startled when a new prompt appeared before him.
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Alert: Knowledge of the EVA System cannot be passed to others beyond the Players!
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Once more, the air and atmosphere had frozen around Shinji to grant him this information. And even when time had resumed, he didn't stop staring until another prompt appeared.
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Alert: You have acquired new Skill(s)!
Scan(Lv. 1/100): Your active capability to appraise objects, situations, and people with the intention of gathering information. The higher the Skill level rises, the greater the data obtained.
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Shinji blinked and used it immediately. '[Scan].'
-:|:-
Rei Ayanami II, Lv. 3: Player 1
Rei Ayanami II is an Evangelion Pilot as well as being an artificially created lifeform made as an experimental being to serve Gendo Ikari's purposes.'
Title: Player 1
HP: 3,000/3,000
MP: 3,000,000/3,000,000
STR: 90(D)(-40%) = 54(D)
VIT: 120(C)(-40%) = 72(D)
AGI: 200(B)(-10%) = 180(C)
INT: 385(A)
WIS: 23(D)
CHA: 1(D)
LUK: 1(D)
Status: Due to Rei's injuries from her last sortie in her Evangelion, she's currently afflicted with a debuff of -40% to STR and VIT, along with a -10% to AGI
-:|:-
J-Just what had Shinji's father been doing since he'd abandoned him?!
Rei Ayanami was unsure of why she had kept at Pilot Ikari's side until he separated from her and had left with Captain Katsuragi.
Was it because he was a fellow Player like her? Did his designation imply that the '2' between his '3' and her '1' was indeed the German pilot abroad?
While it was unfortunate that he knew even less than her regarding the EVA System, it had been somewhat of a pleasant surprise to have the company of a caring peer. Especially more after he had helped her when she'd fallen from her gurney during Sachiel's attack. Was it because he was her biological agemate or his fellow status as a Player? None at the school had prompted similar behavior from her.
Probably because he was Commander Ikari's son, then. Because even the gentle kindness he'd granted her due to her injuries had been the same and was rather purer(?) in nature, even if a lot more hesitant and timid compared to others.
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You have remembered old Skill(s)!
Housekeeping Mastery (Lv. 40/100): To keep the house is to ensure that it's continued functions and comforts stay at excellent levels, along with making it your domain. (Sub-Skills: Cleaning Proficiency, Cooking Proficiency, Massaging Proficiency, Sewing Proficiency)
Balance(Lv. 13/100): Your passive capability to keep a solid footing and achieve a state of perfect equilibrium in almost any position imaginable.
Lie Proficiency(Lv. 2/100): Your active capability to deceive others through the creative use of mistruth and misdirection.
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'Well, I'm glad that my old habits can still get recognized by the EVA System if I get a chance to repeat them, but still...' Now undressed in his new guardian's bathroom, Shinji blushed at the awkward sight of Misato's underwear hanging carelessly in sight. 'This is part of living with another person other than myself. ...I mustn't run away.'
He moved to pull open the curtains to the bath and-
Something small and wet violently shook itself before him.
"WHOAHHHHHHHHAA!"
Misato Katsuragi calmly enjoyed the beer can she had originally planned to give to Shinji before (wisely) deciding against it. Peaceful and bubbly alcohol streamed down her throat, slowly numbing her senses away. She closed both her eyes for a moment to enjoy the serenity.
"WHOAHHHHHHHHAA!"
Barely shifting place to face the source of the shout, Misato calmly regarded Shinji as he flew out from behind the door of the bathroom with zero clothing. "M-M-M-Misato-san!"
She took a moment to look over the boy's physique. Rather slender, but more toned than she'd expected. Probably did a sport out of hobby to keep fit. Then her eyes lowered down- 'Wow. He doesn't seem that bad in the size department, for someone his age at least. He's seventeen, right?' "What's up?"
Shinji helplessly babbled as Pen-Pen walked right past him out of the bathroom.
"Oh, him?" Misato smiled in understanding as Pen-Pen reached his fridge. "He's a hot spring penguin. It's a type of bird."
Well, Pen-Pen was artificially created, but it wasn't like that had to be explained since it had been done before Misato had ever even met him. After all, normal penguins didn't give boys disgruntled one-overs before intelligently entering into their fridge-nests.
Shinji had the most disbelieving face ever as he turned back to Misato. "That's a penguin?!"
"His name's Pen-Pen. He's your other roommate." Misato stated, grabbing another beer. "So now that introductions are over with, are you going to keep giving me a free show?"
Shinji looked down and gasped at his still naked form. His head and shoulders turned an adorable red as he shuffled back out of sight, hiding his already well-seen crotch with his hands.
'Maybe I laid it on too thick.' Misato chastised her behavior as she took a sip. Were the boy less timid, he'd no doubt be a lot more unsettled by her complete change of attitude as if she'd shed it as easily as one shed their clothes. 'If he's seen through me, he's probably already made up his mind.'
Even her later phone call with Ritsuko in the bath hadn't done much to assure her. "Yeah, I don't know. He went through a lot of stuff. I don't think he'll want to pilot the Evangelion again."
"Remember, it's your job to maintain him." Ritsuko replied in a 'I-told-you-so' voice. "You chose to become his guardian, after all."
"Well, yeah, but I've never had to look after a kid." Misato huffed as she sunk into the hot water. "I don't know how to deal with him."
"Complaining already? But it was your idea to take him in, you know?" Ritsuko teased.
"Oh, shut up!" Ending the call and pushing the phone away, Misato curled into herself, idly tracing the scar on her abdomen. 'In the end, I was just thinking of Shinji-kun as a tool. The boy came here hoping to see his estranged father and got hospitalized for his troubles. It doesn't help matters that Commander Ikari didn't even say anything to him afterwards.'
Misato leaned back and sagged her shoulders. 'We beat the Angel... but this really doesn't feel like a happy victory...'
Due to him having a hard time to fall asleep in another unfamiliar room, Shinji decided that this was probably the best time to allocate all of the gathered up SP while listening to Tchaikovsky's Slavic March from his SDAT.
-:|:-
Name: Shinji Ikari
Level: 12
Title: Player 3
EXP: 340/1,299
HP: 12,000/12,000
MP: 1,200/1,200
STR: 120(C)
VIT: 170(C)
AGI: 115(C) → 127(C)
INT: 17(D) → 44(D)
WIS: 11(D) → 47(D)
CHA: 106(C)
LUK: 2(D) → 41(D)
SP: 0
Money: ¥1,004,500
-:|:-
"Even as I did all that, I didn't feel any change..." Shinji sighed as he dismissed the screen, feeling time resume as he laid still in his new room.
Shinji then heard a knock on his door.
"Shinji-kun, excuse me."
Shinji looked at the wall opposite of the door as he lay in bed, seeing the light from the hallway creep in as Misato opened it.
"I forgot to tell you something." Misato said softly, "People will thank and praise you for your work today. You should be proud. Good night, Shinji-kun."
She stared for a short while longer but finally closed the door and left without another word.
'Even if you say that... Nobody at NERV has thanked me so far. Maybe you, but not Doctor Akagi. Not those guys in suits... And especially not Father.'
Name: Shinji Ikari
Level: 12
Title: Player 3
EXP: 340/1,299
HP: 12,000/12,000
MP: 1,200/1,200
STR: 120(C)
VIT: 170(C)
AGI: 127(C)
INT: 44(D)
WIS: 47(D)
CHA: 106(C)
LUK: 41(D)
SP: 0
Money: ¥1,004,500
-:|:-
Titles[Player 3, Third Child Pilot of NERV's Evangelion Unit-01(EVA-01 TEST TYPE)]
Skills[AT-Field Manipulation, Balance, Brawling Proficiency, Evangelion Piloting Expertise, Housekeeping Mastery(Sub-Skills: Cleaning Proficiency, Cooking Proficiency, Massaging Proficiency, Sewing Proficiency), Lie Proficiency, Scan, Self Regeneration]
Perks[STR(Heartbeat Impact), VIT(Tolerant), AGI(Evasive Maneuver), CHA(Clout)]
KingVessel: Let's see how far this goes.
