Chapter 2: Status

Conquest! : Special Kill Confirmed.

Calculating bonuses…………...

“.....*yawn*”

It was taking an exceedingly long time for the calculations to calculate.

I sat there, dumbly, on the blood soaked bathroom floor, waiting, half expecting something to happen. I had calmed down considerably, and now I was back to my normal state of mind. I fully realized this situation was pretty insane.

Not only did this floating panel symbolize that I might be half crazy, the constant corpse of the goblin that lay a mere centimeters from me reminded me that I was very much sane and that I had quite a frightening brush with death quite recently. It reminded me of how close I was to getting killed and eaten, and how likely that thing would have enjoyed eating me… but I pushed such depressing thoughts away, and looked from a new perspective.

Going by what had happened recently, it was clear that these floating blue screens were important.

They acted as information boxes, like the type I’m familiar with in mmorpgs and the like. They displayed various bits of information, ranging in quality, and quantity.

But the most important part was that it wasn’t normal. Like the goblin that attacked me, the existence of such a novel like mechanism was out of the ordinary, and were grounds for worry and concern.

While I contemplated such things, my train of thought was interrupted by another ding.

ding!

Calculations Confirmed!

Now displaying reward bonuses:

Despite the obvious oddity of the situation, I couldn’t help but fester a bit of anticipation.

I mean, after all, the goblin did just try to kill me, and it took quite a great deal of effort on my part to subdue it! I think I have the right to some form of compensation.

“Now, Let’s see…” I spoke earnestly as I waited with bated breath.

Congratulations! You have defeated [Goblin Scout] Lv. 6

ding!

Level Up!

ding!

Achievement: You are the first person to slay a monster!

Reward(s):

Unique Skill: [Equip]

*Unique Skills: One of a kind skills obtainable by completing varying tasks or quests.*

ding!

New title earned!

Pioneer

You are the first person to experience the new change that has yet to come, may you pave a path for others to follow.

Effects:

+10 all stats

New stat created: Leadership

I silently read the boxes of information as they popped up in front of me.

I confirmed a few things while doing so;

One, the status screen that had floated above the goblin’s head previously was definitely lacking information.

Unlike this current pop up, it hadn’t displayed it’s level, and only gave a vague description as [goblin], and not [goblin scout].

Now, I didn’t know whether this discrepancy in information was on purpose, or whether there were means of increasing the amount of info I could see, but I at least believed in the simple equation that, more information = good.

Also, there was another thing I confirmed, this whole situation was exceedingly similar to a game.

From the fantasy like monster, to the pop up telling me I leveled up… there’s even a thing here about skills.

It really was a bit overwhelming.

Speaking of skills…

I leaned in closer to stare at the most recent panel in front of me.

[Unique skills…]

Reading the little tidbit about Unique skills, I had the impression that they were...amazing. If I weren’t so goddamn confused, and if this was an actual video game instead of reality, I’d be whooping for joy right now.

Unfortunately, this was reality, and I did just kill an UMA (unidentified mysterious animal), so I was a bit apprehensive to the whole situation.

But still... the unique skill caught my interest.

“Equip, huh...?” I unconsciously stated the name, while thinking of the newly acquired skill out loud to myself.

ding!

Suddenly, as if reacting to my voice, another blue panel popped up.

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:EquipUniqueBeginner Level 10.00%Effects:

Enables user to equip items.

(???)

(???)

Available Sub-skills:

(???)

Demerits:

You cannot use mana.

“Does it react through my voice..?” I muttered as I read through the new panel.

It was supposed to display information regarding my new ability, but, like before, the information was severely lacking. Question marks dominated the spots where relevant info was supposed to be at.

I sighed dejectedly. The effects section was very vague too, so I was lost as to what exactly it all meant.

“What does it mean by equipping items?”

As I continued to scan through the panel, my eyes focused in on the last line under demerits.

“‘You cannot use mana?’” I read it aloud as if in a daze.

[Mana? As in magic? That type of mana?]

It wasn’t hard to believe magic might exist, especially after seeing a real goblin in action.

But if it did mean mana existed, didn’t that also mean I couldn’t use it?

This realization only caused my shoulders to droop lower in disappointment. I was in a rut, but the section on mana did give me slight hope.

Usually, if something has that major of a demerit, it means the rewards would be even greater. Maybe this [Equip] skill was better than I first thought?

Lost in thought as to the possibilities of my new skill, I stared absentmindedly at the glowing blue panel in front of me. It reminded me of the status screens found in almost every rpg. The type which displayed a player’s information like their stats, levels, etc.

“Wait a minute….” I muttered to myself.

[If this whole situation is just like a game, then maybe it’s like that too….]

With haste, and a bit of excitement mixed within my hoarse throat, I excitedly yelled,

“Status!”

My voice resonated within the room, reminding me just how good the acoustics in this restroom really was.

… Actually, it makes me wonder how my previous screams haven’t attracted any attention so far.

Not a second later, just like I had assumed another blue panel appeared in front of me.

Status WindowNameHide MayoAge17RaceHumanLevel2GenderMaleTitlesPioneerHealth67/110(10)Health Regen.0.005 / SecMana

(unavailable)110(10)Mana Regen.0.01 / SecStamina100(10)Stamina Regen.0.05 / Sec-Strength8(10)Agility12(10)Vitality7(10)Dexterity10(10)Intelligence11(10)Wisdom11(10)Leadership0(10)Luck0(10)-SkillsEquip (Active)Current Status Effect(s)BleedingBleeding

Stops health regeneration while active. Eventual decline of health, until wound is remedied.

Current health decline rate:

0.01 per second.Unallocated Points5

By looking at the panel in front of me, I discovered my current level was level 2. And, from my experience with rpg’s, Aside from the title bonus, I had what you’d call an average stat distribution for a starting player, albeit with a good boost in agility, but a demerit in vitality and strength.

Also, there was a label below the mana column which only confirmed the information I found on [Equip]. While I still had the points, it seems like I wouldn’t be able to properly use them.

Brushing aside this disheartening fact, I quickly scanned through the rest of the panel.

“I’m guessing I got these extra points from leveling up just now…”

I came across the near bottom section of the panel, and quick to realize the connection between my gaming experience with the reality in front of me, I came to this logical conclusion.

As a casual gamer, I would have liked to distribute the unallocated points, but there was the issue of how.

Rather, could I even interact with the blue panels?

I tried touching the panel with my free hand, but unsurprisingly, my hand passed through the air, completely ignoring the panels.

“hmm… 2 points to agility!” I called out, hoping that, just like earlier, the thing would comply with my voice.

Unfortunately, it didn’t do anything, and I was left looking at an unchanging panel which displayed my “stats’.

“....”

I crossed my arms, and thought for a moment.

[If it wasn’t activated by voice...then maybe…]

“...”

[2 points to agility!]

I thought outloud in my mind. Pleasantly, the information on screen complied with my request, and quickly, the displayed information showed my agility at 14, while my unallocated points at 3.

Satisfied with my little experiment, I quickly distributed the rest of the points to agility, and attempted to close the panel with my mind.

[Close!]

ding!

The status screen closed just like I expected, and I was left to look at the previous blue panel which I had almost forgotten about.

New title earned!

Pioneer

You are the first person to experience the new change that has yet to come, may you pave a path for others to follow.

Effects:

+10 all stats

New stat created: Leadership

It glowed menacingly, lighting up the dimly lit bathroom floor.

“...”

The title sounded innocent enough, but the information it gave...it had a foreboding ring to it. I couldn’t help but get cold shivers after rereading the whole panel.

[New change...it’s definitely talking about these panels… or…]

Rather, than the panels, maybe it meant the goblins? Maybe there were other monsters besides goblins? If were, talking about monsters, there’s a bunch, like trolls, slimes, ogres, dragons…

I shuddered thinking a dragon might really exist. Unlike a tiny goblin, my death was more than guaranteed.

Also, wasn’t the goblin I killed labeled as a scout? If it’s a scout, that implies there’s more of them, more than one of those abominations….

I shook away those thoughts, thinking about things that I couldn’t do anything about wouldn’t do me any good, rather, it would just cause me more problems.

To get rid of this worry, I forcibly closed the remaining boxes with a thought.

ding!

With a ring, the blue panel blinked out of existence, and I was left alone, in the blood soaked bathroom floor once more with nothing but the corpse of a dead goblin scout to keep me company.

“....”

With nothing else to do in here, I absentmindedly looked at the corpse for a while before deciding to finally get up.

I brushed myself up, and as I prepared to leave, I saw the disheveled appearance that stared back at me from an unbroken mirror.

My hair was relatively the same, but the rest of me wasn’t. I was caked in blood, mostly congregated on my still bleeding hand, as well as on my thigh.

Now that I recall, the status did say something about a bleeding effect.

I looked down at my leg and was finally fully aware of the rhythmic thump thump, that I felt from the wound. I grimaced as I pulled up my shorts to view the open injury in all its glory.

While it was too early for the thing to start getting infected, which was good, the wound itself looked pretty gruesome… although that may have just been due to the abnormally large blood flowing out of it. In actuality it didn’t hurt as much as I first thought.

“...According to my status, I’ll eventually lose hp if I keep this untreated thanks to that bleeding effect...what happens when I lose all my hp?” I thought out loud before I reflexively shuddered at the unknown possibility.

I didn’t want to test the limits as to how game like this situation was, whether I simply respawned or died for good… I sincerely hoped such a time never comes.

Fueled by such a sense of foreboding, I quickly brought my injured leg onto the sink, and allowed the natural flow of water to wash away much of the blood. After enduring through the stinging pain, I ripped up a bit of my sleeve, and did a quick, impromptu bandage onto the open wound.

I’d get the injury checked out at the infirmary after I figure out what to do about my appearance.

Right now, I was currently a disheveled mess, with blood all over myself, and frantic eyes that occupied my face. If I didn’t know any better, I’d assume I was a serial killer. I can’t have people thinking I’m a serial killer.

As I was thinking such thoughts, another panel popped up in front of me, giving me quite a fright.

I assumed this panel was a bit special, considering unlike before, the panel wasn’t blue, but an ominous black with white letters texted onto it.

And while the wording was a bit happy go lucky, for someone like, who’s already experienced some of what the message had to offer, well, it was more than just worrisome.

Welcome!

The fun is upon us! Rejoice, as your normal lives comes to a crumble! Don’t despair though, because what replaces such a boring thing will be a game filled with excitement, and more excitement!

Are you ready?

...

Smile, cause it doesn’t matter if you aren't. Countdown until something extremely fun happens: 005:46 minutes.