An increased lifespan, huh…? That was a pretty good deal; mantises don’t normally have exceptionally long lifespans. And that trait…! Robin’s eyes gleamed. Maybe I should have named her ‘Scyther’ instead…

Opal stared at him. She didn’t look any different… Maybe it would only kick in when she evolved. She was not yet in her final, adult form, so Robin hoped she would be able to go through a few evolutions. After all, the more evolutions, the more power, right? It worked that way in Pokémon, anyway. Speaking of more power, Robin recalled that the new title had given him 2 SP. He opened his menu box.

STR

10

0

+

AGI

12

0

+

CON

10

0

+

BODY

10

0

+

INT

16

0

+

WILL

10

0

+

AURA

11

0

+

LOOKS

10

0

+

PHYSDEF

2

0

+

MENTDEF

0

0

+

ENERDDEF

1

0

+

SPEED

3

0

+

RECOV

5

0

+

REGEN

1

0

+

PHYSTAM

40

0

+

MENSTAM

52

0

+

MANA

5

0

+

RUN

6

0

+

SWIM

2

0

+

LEAP

2

0

+

Robin hesitated. There were so many options… He had gotten a spell from his experimenting with mana, but he only had a small amount of it. Maybe he should increase it? More mana definitely worked well in video games, and Robin was self-aware enough to admit that he was enthralled with the idea of becoming a wizard, flying, flinging fireballs, turning people into newts… He could get behind that. But Robin also knew … He was a bit of a wimp. He was not as tough as most other boys his age seemed to be, and he was definitely not as strong, or as fast. Would those things matter here? ...probably, he thought glumly.

With a sigh, Robin pressed the “+” beside “SPEED” with his concentrated willpower. Surprisingly, Robin immediately received a text notification.

Not enough SP! Additional required SP: 8

Robin stared at the notification. 10 SP!? How was he supposed to get that amount!?

You have to fight, a grim part of his mind spat out. You have to go get close to those mantises, and you have to defeat them if you want to get strong enough to survive.

Robin considered for a few more moments, and then decided that because he already had a few points over the seeming baseline in AGI, he might as well increase that. Hopefully, it would help him dodge a little bit faster. Robin had no delusions about being fast enough to hope to dodge a gigantic mantis claw in his current state. He clicked AGI twice, adding his 2 SP. Maybe one day he would be able to afford speed, but Robin didn’t think he could afford to save up the points right now.

Robin jumped up and down a little bit, feeling how the points affected him. He felt a little bit faster, a little bit lighter on his feet, but he wasn’t sure that he was not imagining it. The mantis tightened her grip on Robin’s shoulder, but Robin ignored it. It wasn’t penetrating his skin this time, so despite the pinching, it still felt better than before.

“Okay, Opal, we can’t stay in here forever”, Robin said in a conversational tone. He pulled the Deverran Broom from his satchel, the object seeming to be directly on top of the pack as he reached in. He hefted it a few times, holding it by the bristle end. This should work as a club, at least…

Robin looked around the room nervously, wondering if there was anything else that might be of use to him. He had stripped everything out of the cabinets, and the basin didn’t have anything aside from water… Robin’s eye widened slightly as he had an idea. He turned to the toilet seat and set down his broom. If it was anything like a normal toilet…

Yes! The seat was held on by a flimsy screw, though it looked like it was made out of ceramic rather than the usual plastic. Robin reached into his pack for the Anytool, slightly shocked when the tool seemed to be directly on top of the satchel. Does the satchel give me what I’m looking for…? That would be handy.

Robin looked at the anytool with keen interest and mild suspicion. How does this work… Robin figured it was probably similar to the menus; it just took focus. Robin stared at the tool and tried to beam his thoughts directly at it, focusing on it changing into a flathead screwdriver. Robin was both smug and startled as the metal of the multitool started to ripple and flow towards one end of the tool. He held it up to his face, watching the transformation. The flathead screw driver was clearly growing on one side of the anytool. It seemed like it was getting warmer, as well.

The anytool seemed to be reaching a halfway point in the transformation when the heat it was emitting spiked upwards. Robin yelped, dropping the tool and shaking his hand. It was red-hot before it hit the ground. Robin checked his menu, and saw that it had done 1 point of BODY.

Can’t say I wasn’t warned...but still!

After a moment, as the ripplings in the metal ceased, the color of the tool faded. Robin hesitantly reached down and held his hand over the tool. It wasn’t radiating heat… Robin hesitantly tapped it, and upon receiving no burns, hesitantly picked the anytool up. It was warm, but not hot. The screwdriver side of it seemed normal, although the metal was lighter in color than the gunmetal grey tools to which Robin was accustomed.

Robin used the anytool and disconnected the toilet seat. The ceramic screws were far stronger than Robin initially suspected, and actually had a sharp point. Robin disconnected both toilet seats and slid them into his satchel, curving them in one end at a time, like the satchel was slurping a noodle. Robin decided he would keep the ceramic screws, too. No reason not to keep them, he might be able to use them later. Robin dropped them into his satchel and then blinked at a new notification.

Dismantle The user gains an intuitive understanding for how to dismantle structures, objects, and artifices. The effect increases with skill level.

Robin frowned with concentration. He had an idea he wanted to try. “Hang on, Opal…”, he muttered, awkwardly pulling one of the toilet seats and 2 screws from his satchel. He went back to one of the lidless toilets and used the anytool, still in the shape of a screwdriver, to replace the lid, screwing the screws until they were firm. Robin grinned as he received a notification. It worked!

“We did it, Opal! I got a new skill!” The orchid mantis stared at him, unblinking, unmoving. Robin smiled at it anyway.

Repair The user gains an intuitive understanding for how to repair structures, objects, and artifices. The effect increases with skill level.

That seemed pretty useful. Robin dismantled the toilet seat again, but paused before he put it in his satchel. If he had some control over what skills he got from the nature of his actions, maybe it would be a good idea to try and consciously choose some skills now. Robin didn’t want to end up with the skill-equivalent of “Splash” from Pokémon. Robin set down the toilet seat and took the anytool from his pocket. He focused on a machete and then set it down, backing away so quickly that Opal adjusted her grip on his shoulder.

The Anytool transformed in a burst of heat. Robin thought it looked hotter than when it had changed before, but he wasn’t about to get close enough to test that. Robin picked up the machete and hefted it carefully, trying to feel how it felt in his hand. It was both balanced and unfamiliar… Robin had held machetes before, but this one felt a bit more natural.

For once, Robin was thankful for his small frame, as he could easily fit both hands on the machete. He held it out in front of him in what he thought was a cool pose, and swung the blade a few times. After feeling like he had done it enough that he wasn’t going to chop his own foot off, Robin moved to the cabinet and took a sturdy stance in front of it.

Robin gritted his teeth. He took a deep breath, tensed his body, and yelled “Shirubā no katto!”, swinging the machete at the cabinet as hard as he could. The machete thunked into the wood, with no other effect. Robin waited, but no box appeared. He tugged the machete out, finding that he had to put more weight to remove it from the wood than he thought. Robin gritted his teeth and tried again, using the english version of the Solar Savior Silver attack. “Cut of Silver!”

Thunk

Robin pulled it out and tried again. Thunk

Robin yanked the blade out of the cabinet and begin hitting it over and over, shouting “Cut of Silver! Cut of Silver! Cut of Silver!”

thunk thunk thunk

Robin was starting to get angry. It had been so easy before! He swung the blade again, this time shouting every move he could think of from the show. “Shainingusuwaipu! Shining Swipe! Sutāsutansu! Star Stance! Gin gōkin separētā! Silver Alloy Separator! Ājentoshīrudo! Argent Shield!” Robin tried to swing again, but found he couldn’t lift his arms.

Robin was feeling tired in a way he had never experienced. His body wasn’t responding the way it should. Robin pulled up his menu sluggishly and saw that his PHYSTAM was at a 2/40. Robin felt his thoughts wiggling through his brain, struggling to be felt. How much PHYSTAM did swinging the machete take? That would be good info to have, he thought, noticing and disregarding that his MENSTAM also seemed unusually low. I should find out.

Robin focused himself on swinging the machete just one more time. This would be invaluable information, he thought, noticing the PHYSTAM had gained back a point. MENSTAM seemed to have dropped, though. Odd… Oh well. Robin swung the blade rather feebly at the cabinet, yelling “Shining Swipe!” as he did. The blade didn’t even stick in the cabinet. Robin stared at the nick in the cabinet from the floor. The darn text notification made it hard to see how much damage he had done. Oh, right, my PHYSTAM… oh, cool, it’s at 0…good to know…

Robin wasn’t sure when he had laid down, or if he had actually fallen down. Opal was slowly and methodically climbing the cabinet. It was hard to see her, though. The room was so dark. Robin wished there was more light.

Robin looked at the box as he lost consciousness fully. He only made it as far as the title before his eyes glazed completely over and his head rocked to the side. He completely missed the second and third notifications. Having reached the top of the cabinet and continued to the ceiling, Opal settled in, sitting on the ceiling like an old woman sitting on a small stool. Her skin was slightly pale and washed-out, almost pastel, though still a vivid pink. She stared at Robin sleeping on the ground. Her football-shaped pink eyes did not waver.

She was good at staring.

Silver Sword Arts An artset inspired by a solemn hero of a past era, the Silver Sword Artset is a style focused on powerful, decisive blows imbued with mana. The hero who created it had a uniquely powerful metallic form, and as such, the form is dangerous to those with a weaker body. The Silver Sword Artset has 7 available spaces. Silver Sword Art: Shining Swipe Invented as a counter to the unstoppable force of a charging quasarbeast, the Shining Swipe leaves behind a shimmering blade of silver. The blade hangs in the air, resisting force with equivalent STR to x2 of the user. Cost: 5 Mana Martial Artist You have created an artset and proven yourself to have the heart of a warrior. You may challenge (or be challenged by) another Martial Artist to a duel. Upon victory, one of the bonuses received will be increased by 1. Upon a defeat, the bonus will decrease by 1. If a challenge is refused, all bonuses are lost until the challenge is accepted and the challenged defeated. (The SP bonus is not affected by a refusal.) +2 AURA, +2 AGI, +2 STR, +1 BODY, +1 RUN/LEAP, +1 PHYSDEF, +2 SP