Alek Aundra
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CH 173 - The Three Favors (Part 2)
🕑 Added 2024-06-22 18:59:18 +0000 UTCA knock sounded from outside my bedroom.
Ah, damn it.
I stared at my new ceiling, which had intricate all-white molding. In the center hung a copper chandelier, whose light stones were in various shades of white, yellow, and orange. The light stones were currently inactive, but sunlight peeking through the curtains still caught their glassy surface and reflected their colors around the room.
To think I'd get killed by that lunatic again. And why did he advise not to outlive Grandov…?
I sighed and tossed the bed sheets off myself.
At least I used up a decent amount of Duex coins at the end and tossed more goods into the Game Store for sale before Chase forced a restart for me.
"Denise, please come back in ten minutes!" I called out and received her affirmation that she would return.
[ Welcome to Round 9, Luca. ]
The familiar blue screen appeared.
[ I have several reminders your previous Round's version requested I relay to you. ]
"Before that, System, open the Game Store," I commanded.
I was eager to see how business was faring between Rounds and whether I had sufficient Nexus coins to purchase something of value this early on in the Round.
[ Unfortunately, as you have restarted the Game, your Game settings returned to their original default setup. ]
"So, I'll just have to adjust permissions again?" I crossed my arms.
[ Indeed. You'll need to inform me how you'd like to allocate your access in order to provide sufficient permission to access the Game Store. ]
"Just make it the sa—" I halted my command.
Why the rush? I should see all the stat screens first. I made considerable progress this past Round.
Besides, what if I suddenly get killed again? Whatever I buy will be forever lost, and all that effort from the previous Round will go down the drain, so I'll have to be cautious.
I motioned my hand, and the first of the basic screens, the character description, appeared.
[ Player: Luca Frey
Age: 19
Title: Observant Ex-NPC, Conjurer of Unreal Realities
Round: 9)
Level: 15 ]
"That's new," I muttered, noting the new title. "How did I get the 'Conjurer of Unreal Realities' title, and what benefit does having it provide?"
[ The title of 'Conjurer of Unreal Realities' indicates that you have amassed a certain level of mastery over Illusion Magic. ]
[ As for benefits, the title offers a certain level of prestige. ]
"Who cares about prestige? Are there any actual tangible benefits of it?"
I walked over to the water basin and washed up my face.
[ As for more tangible benefits, there are none. However, Players typically share it with other Players as proof of their proficiency and aptitude. ]
I furrowed my brows.
"Why in the world would I want to do that?" I asked.
[ Should you ever want to team up with other Players, the titles you have earned are one component that goes into helping you and others determine whom you wish to form a team with to clear a Game. ]
I scoffed.
That's useless for me. I'm the only Player in this Game. Not that I'd care much to interact with any of these so-called Players either—they seem quite the unpleasant bunch.
The examples that Azgralos recounted to me in Round 8 were distasteful. I had some hope that perhaps they were merely the lies of an evil dragon. However, the System proved that hope to be for naught.
As Micah had suggested, I had the System walk me through the playthroughs of preceding Players before me, and hearing the stories of their meddling in my world made me realize that Azgralos may have spared the worst examples in his recounts.
I felt my head pound with a familiar ache.
Damn it, did I perhaps forget some of the playthroughs because of how Chase Daylan killed me? Just what did I forget this time in general?
I massaged my temples and walked over to my wardrobe to get dressed.
Ah, no matter, I can always have the System walk me through them again. And it said that it had a few reminders for me, as I had requested, so I should be reasonably well covered if I forgot anything particularly crucial.
I flicked my index finger and pulled up the second of the basic screens.
[ Strength: 4
Dexterity: 44
Perception: 76
Intelligence: 94
Charisma: 27
Mana: 2
Sanity: -1 ]
I frowned.
"I thought they'd be higher," I muttered.
I was hardly surprised about Dexterity and Charisma as I hadn't put much effort into improving them, and I knew that Strength would drop to oblivion upon the restart.
Perception increased considerably, likely because of my attunement to producing and identifying illusions. However, Intelligence was a bit disappointing, as I had hoped it would have increased considerably more given the amount of time and effort I had put into my studies of the continent's history, magic, and learning about previous Game playthroughs.
My eyes narrowed on the Sanity stat, whose disguised characters were removed, confirming its identity as I had long suspected.
Did the error clear on its own? Or did my attunement to Illusions help clear away the error?
My Sanity was in better shape than the last I had seen it, which unfortunately indicated that I had a drop, or perhaps even several drops, to my Intelligence stat.
However, the most disappointing part of all was my Mana stat. Despite all the magical training and improvements in creating illusions, this thing didn't budge even a single point.
"Hey, System, why is my Mana stat the same as before? From what I've read, Illusion Magic is something that toddlers practice to help train their ability to control their mana and help nurture it to grow and expand."
I flung off my pajamas and scoured the depths of my closet for something decent to wear.
[ Unfortunately, one's mana core is not unlike one's muscles. And at this point in time, you are weak in both Strength and Mana. ]
[ Also, improvement isn't limited to training each of them. The input matters as well. ]
"What do you mean, 'input matters'?"
I pulled a silk yellow shirt over my head and grabbed a pair of white trousers to put on immediately afterward.
[ With Strength, certain foods can impact your health and therby improve your physique. For example, eating a diet rich in high-protein food can help improve your muscle growth. ]
I smiled, remembering the similar advice the System gave me the last time I asked it how to improve my Strength stat.
[ Improving Mana has a similar method. To increase your mana core, you must eat mana-rich and complex food that will help serve as building blocks. ]
[ Of course, everyone is different, and certain limitations are present from birth. However, I am confident in your ability to persevere despite your many innate setbacks. ]
I suppose I ought to have taken the System's advice more seriously back then.
"I can improve my diet, but I don't think it was that poor to begin with," I said, brushing my black hair and inspecting my reflection in the mirror. "And wasn't I downing mana potion after mana potion in the last Round? I'm almost certain that my Mana stat didn't improve back then either."
At the very least, I didn't feel a growth in my mana core.
[ Mana potions will help replenish depleted mana, but they do not help in mana growth. ]
[ To provide an example, you can eat all the fruit in the world to satisfy your hunger, but the impact from doing so will be limited at best in terms of growth of muscle mass. ]
"So I need mana-rich and complex food?" I grabbed a couple of sheets of paper and a pen and sat down at my desk.
[ Indeed. ]
"How can I figure out what food is high in mana?" I asked.
[ That is a skill some possess, but unfortunately, you do not. You must either train to obtain such an ability or find someone to perform the necessary inspection. ]
Shame. I was hoping it'd identify mana-rich food for me, but perhaps that was too much to ask for.
I twirled my pen and opened up the last of the primary screens.
[ Abilities: Update in progress ]
"Hey, System, how long—"
However, I didn't finish talking before a second blue screen appeared.
[ Abilities: Update complete. ]
[ Congratulations! Multiple skills have been upgraded. ]
An overwhelming number of blue screens appeared, each indicating the individual changes and improvements. Some were outdated, as each prior level increase was reported all at once.
I pushed them away in favor of the singular screen, which had a summarized view of all my skills listed in order of their new level.
The first and highest one was of little surprise.
[ Illusion Magic: Level 48 ]
The System had been sneaking in the progress on this stat despite the limitations in place, so I already expected this.
I pulled forward the additional screens in relation to this skill, suggesting improvements beyond merely the size of the illusions I could produce. The quality and type of illusions had also improved.
I flicked away the notifications regarding Illusion Magic and reviewed the rest of the skills.
[ Passage Finder: Level 6
Random Character Checker: Level 4
Poison Identifier: Level 2
Hindsight Reflex: Level 1
A Fool's Escape: Level 1 ]
Sadly, there aren't any new ones, but at least the ones I already possessed improved.
I pulled forward the notification screens for the skill updates.
[ Congratulations! Achievement unlocked for continuously living under a new type of poison for an extended period of time. ]
[ You are now able to withstand mild-level poisons by 30%. ]
I closed these and went on through the next set of notifications.
[ Congratulations! Skill upgraded! ]
[ Random Character Checker: Level 3 ]
[ You can now use one of your two daily checks to run a random character checker on a character of your choice once per day. Warning: there's an 80% chance of getting a Null result. ]
[ Congratulations! Skill upgraded! ]
[ Random Character Checker: Level 4 ]
[ You can now use one of your two daily checks to run a random character checker on a character of your choice once per day. Warning: there's a 60% chance of getting a Null result. ]
Oho.
60% failure rate wasn't ideal, but it beat getting random information on random passersby on the street.
And perhaps it'll drop to 40% on the next upgrade?
I pulled forward the last of the updates and scanned through the various messages about my Passage Finder skill improving from a mere Level 2 to a Level 6.
My grin widened as I processed the update to my skill.
Passage Finder was a useful skill even as a Level 2, but now it was entirely something else.
It's as if I now possess an innate dowsing rod.
"System, what were some of the urgent reminders?" I asked, in case they were different from what I remembered.
[ Do not drink the tea Denise has brewed. It is poisoned. She is being blackmailed. Her brother is currently held hostage by the Spider Syndicate–you'll need to get Micah's help to save him. ]
I nodded, recalling that much.
[ Micah is in danger. Kaiden will kill him. You must take the throwing dagger under the pillow and use it to kill Kaiden before he enters the dining room. ]
A blue countdown appeared, indicating how much time I had remaining to get downstairs and intercept Kaiden.
I smiled. I remembered giving these instructions as well, but the timer was a convenient detail.
Knock. Knock.
"Young master Luca?" Denise's voice sounded from outside. "Can I enter now?"
I guess ten minutes have passed.
I stared down at the blank piece of paper before me, without anything written yet.
Screw it. I'll tell—or rather show—Micah what I know instead of noting everything down for him.
Even though I didn't have Jarvis's mana lollipop yet, my level of Illusion Magic will suffice in projecting the information needed over to Micah.
Besides, he'd be able to write it all down faster than me anyhow, and I don't have any time to waste.
I grabbed the dagger from under my pillow and walked out of my room, much to the surprise of Denise and Henry.
"Young master Luca? Is anything the matter?" Denise inquired, staggering back. In her hands was a silver platter with the teapot and cup.
"Everything is perfectly alright," I replied with a smile and walked down the hallway.
Or rather, it will be once I throw this thing at Kaiden.
I tossed the dagger up, letting it twirl in the air, before catching the handle with my right hand.
Comments
Alek Aundra
Welcome Gopard! :D Thanks for the support, and it's been a blast reading all your comments. Easily my highlight of this past week.
Gopard
Thanks for the chapter! Lol would be funny if Henry actually intercepts him this time because he didn't go through the motions even a little this morning...
