‘Nonsense.’

Toushiro finished reading the message and noticed that, as said, the piece of paper had disappeared.

‘No matter how I think about it, that paper was too small for this many words, there’s even a scroll bar on the side!... was it really another language?’

‘Also, I know the terms used in that message, they are from MMORPGs. But now, this system is starting to look like a mix of game genres.’

He looked around and, except for the text in front of him, there was nothing in the entire room for him to confirm if the terms were true.

‘I should’ve held onto something to deposit in here before using any voice commands, should I just le-’

Poke.

‘...? Did something touch my shoulder...!’

The feeling of his right shoulder being poked could be felt even when he covered it with his left hand.

‘Is Lara calling me? Okay, time to leave. Okay, system, I wanna leave inventory space... wait, can it even he-’

{...Leaving Inventory Space.}

Almost as if his body had been dropped into a soft cushion, Toushiro woke up with the usual ceiling in sight. And the pain of her nails pinching his arm as a bonus.

“Ouch.”

“Finally, u woke up. Were u that tired?”

“...Maybe?”

“I’m sorry, but u can’t forget to brush ur teeth before sleeping.”

“No, you’re right...”

‘I don’t feel like sleeping now though.’

He got up as sluggishly as possible and walked into the bathroom. Once he closed the door, he looked around the small room with a shower and a sink on opposite ends, curtains at the shower side and the toilet in the middle.

The mirror above the sink also doubled as a container for their toothpaste and toothbrushes. He took the black, with pink handle, toothbrush from there, along with a “Sorria” brand toothpaste.

‘...Doesn’t hurt to try.’

“Enter inventory.”

{Entering the Inventory Space...}

{...Welcome to the Inventory Space, user.}

In visual and entrance alone, it wasn’t any different from before. But the text screen pinned on the wall, like a portrait, was certainly something he didn’t expect to see, since it disappeared from sight the moment he left the inventory.

‘...Do I just drop it?’

{A [Toothpaste] has been acquired.}

{A [Toothbrush] has been acquired.}

A cube was formed beneath each just like before, the only difference was that one of the cubes was green instead of white.

‘Now, the details are?’

{[Toothpaste]

Class: Health Care Product. | Rating: Normal.

Description: The mass-produced toothpaste of a common brand. Using it with a toothbrush seems to help with several dental problems.

[Take] [Trash]}

‘It’s just the literal description of any toothpaste...?’

{[Toothbrush]

Class: Health Care Instrument. | Rating: Uncommon.

Description: The mass-produced toothbrush of a common brand. When used with toothpaste it’s even more effective against dental problems. Owned by Toushiro for months, has already gone past its expiration date.

[Take] [Trash]}

‘That’s an even more detailed description... wait, why is it uncommon rated?’

‘Ha haha, no way that using the same toothbrush for a long time would make it go up a rating... it must’ve been special from the beginning, surely.’

He covered his eyes, while laughing, and then pressed the [Trash] button of the toothbrush.

The item description disappeared immediately, the cube caused the toothbrush to sink into it, and after some movements, the cube dissolved into the floor without leaving anything behind.

‘...Not the best way to go, but I had to try it. Next...’

When he pressed the [Take] button of the toothpaste, the item, its description, and the cube beneath, it all disappeared, and it reappeared in his left hand as if he was always holding onto it.

‘It’s not that useful if I can only take items while inside the inventory... let me try it.’

He threw it back to the floor and left the inventory space after the item details appeared in front of him again.

“Oh, it does follow me out of it.”

The details remained unchanged as his conscience fell back into his body. Furthermore, he could now touch it without causing it to disappear and then hold it like a paper sheet.

“I wanna try carrying more than one next time...”

It was only because he heard the bed, on Lara’s room, squeak that he gave up on any more probing for now and picked a new toothbrush from the cabinet before quickly pressing [Take] from the screen and-

Knock. Knock.

“Luis, are u okay in there?”

“Mhm, was just thinking if I should throw the old toothbrush away or not. I already did.”

“I see, there’s more under the sink.”

“Got it, thanks.”

The sound of her steps seemed to go back to the bed as it squeaked again.

‘I wouldn’t feel so rushed if it wasn’t for the quest.’

{Alert: Six hours have gone by since the start of the quest. There are Six hours remaining.}

“That’s not enough time for a proper sleep...”

After thinking about it, he turned to the sink and brushed his teeth while looking at the mirror. The screen floating behind him wasn’t reflected on it, as if to reaffirm that only him could see them.

‘I wouldn’t believe it if someone told me about this.’

Psht.

He washed his face and looked into his reflection’s eyes.

“The most used words in a MMORPG are... create party.”

{Please decide upon a party name:___. (Max of 13 characters.)}

‘I wish this ends just fine.’

“Tutorial ends.”

{Have you decided on, “Tutorial Ends”, as your party name?}

“Yes.”

{The party, “Tutorial Ends”, has been created.}

“It reminds me of an old game.”

{[Tutorial Ends]

Leader: Toushiro | Level 0.

[Invite] [Kick] [Leave] [Settings]}

The party screen was smaller than any other that had appeared until now. The background was blue like the personal information screen and the white outlines were as plain as the notification messages without adornments.

{[Toushiro Ends]}

“So pressing the party name makes it minimize and maximize again.”

{Party Settings:

Set experience distribution to:

( ) Individual | (X) Equal

Set loot distribution to:

( ) Individual | (X) Equal | ( ) Sequential

Set looting rights to:

(X) Party | ( ) Player

Allowed to host:

(X) Leader | ( ) Anyone

[Save Changes] [Close]}

“Except for the last option it really is similar to that game. Save.”

{Now Touch or Declare someone else to send an invitation.}

‘Anyone is fine?’

“Larissa.”

{There’s no Player with that username near.}

“It’s only for players, after all... is that why the quest wasn’t declared as completed yet?”

He had to reopen the quest information to make sure of it.

“Still marked as X. But the quest says that it’s a ‘Solo’ quest, no?”

‘Let me try the touch method...’

He turned off the lights and closed the bathroom door. Lara was already on the bed and probably asleep as he approached it. Without letting much of a squeak out he laid down and pressed the [Invite] button before poking her.

{Would you like to send, “Larissa”, an invitation?}

‘This is even more risky than I expected but,’ “sure.”

{Party invitation has been sent.}

{Larissa has joined the party.}

It was almost instantaneous for the response to arrive, and it also confirmed his suspicions...

‘So that’s your view on non-users.’

Member: Larissa | Non-Player.

Was what appeared on the party screen.

‘And I wonder if the pun was intended.’

{The quest, “Qualification of The One who Plays”, has been cleared.}

{The main reward of the quest, “Grimoire of the Altar”, has been received.}

{Please choose one of the following rewards:

[1x Stats Reorganization Privilege] [1x Ten Stats Points Scroll] [1x Full Restore Potion] [2x Lucky Box(Small)]}

“Don’t shove the choice on me like that...”

“Hmm?”

At the first sign of movement from Lara, he shut his mouth and acted as if he was sleeping.

‘Can’t be noisy. Better get into the inventory.’

“Enter inventory.”

{Entering the Inventory Space...}

{...Entry denied.}

‘You’re not helping, system.’

After looking at the selection message for a while he just chose one to get done with this first and then thinking later.

‘Well, the most curious one is this.’

{You have chosen, [Lucky Box(Small)] as your quest reward.}

{The qualifications of a starting Player have been successfully proven.}

{The system welcomes Toushiro, and now your existence, as a real player.}

{Your personal information has been updated.}

“Enter Inventory.”

{Entering the Inventory Space...}

{...Welcome to the Inventory Space, user.}

‘Phew, now I can take it easy. But that’s quite the difference, huh.’

The previously empty room was now emerging with cubes that held different things and had different colors. Each slot was called near him as he spread his arms towards them, two of them had numbers with a ‘x’ at one side.

‘So that’s the stack, it’s literally what the term implies. First of all, the box I chose might be this one.’

It was a cubic, hand-sized, box with black coloration. The white cube beneath it became green only after he was done reading the details of the item.

{[Rookie Player Kit (F)]

Class: Starter Pack. | Rating: Uncommon.

Description: Provides anyone with a selected assortment of utensils for the first step in whatever path they choose to take. The grading of the kit depends entirely on their contents, so expect the worst from lower grades.

Choosable content: [Strength Pack] [Mana Pack] [Agility Pack]

[Use] [Take] [Trash]}

‘Wrong one? Wait, the box design changed.’

Now a cardboard box with the colors of a military camouflage was above the green slot that had the small black box.

‘Let me try this one then.’

{[All-Stats Buff Scroll]

Class: Magic Scroll. | Rating: Rare.

Description: A scroll created by imbuing a mixture of several creatures’ by-products with a certain type of mana. It was made with the purpose to increase the abilities of its consumer for a small period. The abilities needed to keep its quality from lowering on a long-term are unknown to most.

Effect: Increases all-stats by 15% for ten minutes.

[Use] [Take] [Trash]}

This time, a plain and white page was turned into a sort of parchment with several drawings that resembled buildings made of different colors. He even pressed [Take] for a moment to see the entire painting but it only went as far as a city without any residents visible.

‘So they have silhouettes until I read their details, somewhat like an appraisal?’

‘Then let me appraise them all before I try using any.’

And in a dozen minutes he had already read the information of each item, causing them all to change appearances, before returning to the player kit so he could choose one of the packs.

‘I did think there would be a preview, but it’s fine like this.’

When tapping the squared names didn’t show any description like with the quest, Toushiro just moved on and gave it a second thought before nodding to himself.

‘It’s the only choice that fits me anyway, mana pack. Use.’

{Rookie Player Kit (F) has been consumed.}

{The contents of [Mana Pack] were acquired.}

{A [Secret of Mana] has been acquired.}

{A [Clean White Mask] has been acquired.}

{A [Multi-Flask] has been acquired.}

The three new additions were all visible around him, and without any form of silhouettes like the quest rewards were.

By order of notification arrival, they were respectively: A large book with blue, and purplish lines, cover. A mask, just as its name described, without any gaps for the nose or the mouth, just the eyes. And, lastly, a bunch of flasks locked together by a flat surface that was extremely similar to a palette in shape.

‘Yawn~ The excitement died out after reading that lot, I guess I can confirm the rest tomorrow. Leave inventory space.’

{Leaving the Inventory Space...}

Back onto his body, he could now see the notifications from earlier floating in front of him so he pushed them away. After yawning once more, he just let his body relax and his consciousness drift away...

...bzzt- bzzt- bzzt- Tut-

“Alo?”

“...No, I already said I was gonna rest-”

“... When?”

“I will be there in an hour at most.”

...Tuu-

Chapter 5 - Rewarding Silhouettes