Master Wang has a character in the game…

“Don’t play that guy. He has weird abilities and is too self-punishing for the level of power he outputs.” (Jerry)

“I just want to see what's different compared to the other characters.” (Me)

“Alright, I’ll play Brick Breaker then.” {Jerry)

My character looks like a slightly younger version of Master Wang. His idle animation is him standing there with his arms behind his back. Jerry’s character is a hulking man that is double the size of my character. His humongous hands are constantly ready to crush anything in front of him.

Jerry is better at playing this game. It’s no surprise since this is the first time I’ve plated it. Utilizing combos never used before takes a bit of button mashing, but I started getting the hang of it.

I kept selecting Unyielding Wang as my fighter and kept losing until a sudden realization hit me. The combo moves he does are the same as the ones in the book. Not all of them, but most of them. The weird descriptions line up with this video game character’s movement.

A blood vessel almost pops from my head. Master Wang is such a shit teacher that a video game using his likeness teaches me more than his handwritten notes. I start taking notes in my [Lexicon] as I play the game. We leave the arcade after a while and just hang out. After a few hours of hanging out with Jerry, I head home.

But first, I head back to the arcade and try to buy the game that has Master Wang in it. I haggled down with the guy and bought it for 2,000 dollars and a sandwich.

Apparently, the machine is old and has a few problems with the software. They wanted to offload the game and bring in a new one. It’s not that heavy with my stats, so I carry it on my back as I head home.

~

Hmmm, I’m out of money. What should I do…

I have a job technically, but I am on ‘leave’ for ‘mental health’ since losing a limb is apparently traumatizing. Tomorrow is Saturday, but I am not going anywhere. The last time I went somewhere, I had to storm a casino. Wait. That reminds me…

I Don’t have Captain Doyle’s phone number, but I can get it from Nelson.

*ring ring*

*click*

“Hey, Nelson.

“It’s good to hear from you. How are you recovering since the fracture.”

“Pretty good. Can you give me Captain Doyle’s phone number?”

“Haha, why? Are you going to another casino tomorrow?”

“Not if I can help it, but seriously. Can you give it?”

“Sure, sure. I sent it over in a text.”

“Thank you.”

I hang up and call Doyle.

*ring ring*

*click*

“Hello, who is calling me. If it's another scam caller, I’ll trace the phone line and arrest you myself!”

“I’m not a scammer. This is Ellis. I helped with the casino the other day. I am asking if there was a bounty or cash prize for my heroics that can be turned in?”

“Ah, it’s you. A few men skipped bail previously and did have a bounty out on their arrest. However, the pencil pushers might say that you didn’t technically bring them down. You didn’t arrest them, so you don’t get the bounty. Or something like that.”

“...”

“I’ll call you if there is any prize. How about that?”

“Thank you, just text me instead.”

I hung up the phone and continued “studying” this game.

~

I spent all Saturday and Sunday reading and playing video games. I’d also complete a few sets of deconstruction and reconstruction of my body, the foundational techniques. It brought my force resistance up quite a bit. I stopped once I stopped gaining resistance.

[Resistance: Force 4 > 89]

I think I am ready to learn one of the techniques in the manual. [Broken Blood]

[Path of the Broken Body C lv1

The user has stepped on a dangerous path of self-harm without preservation. Tread cautiously.

Unarmed Damage: +10%

Maximum Health: +10%

-Broken Blood

You may convert Health to Mana. It may cause fatigue and heart failure if used excessively.

Cooldown: 1-hour

Conversion: 1 - 1]

~

That extra damage and health look really good. Especially since I already have an added 100% due to my trait. I haven't checked my [Status] in a while.

~

Name: Ellis Vincere. Race: Human

Nickname: The Last Winner.

Level: 35 32/100,000

Class: Master (Rank C)

Titles: Proud Owner of a Rock, Butcher A, On the Edge B, Prey on the Weak B, etc.

~

Health Points: 756/756 (+110% bonus)

Mana Points: 190/360

Armor Points: 0

~

Might: 67 + 5

Agility: 57 + 15

Vigor: 57 +15

Mind: 72

Spirit: 80 + 10

Perception: 20

Charisma: 5 +15

Luck: 2

Unused: 40

~

Exactly how when perception unlocked, I got more free attributes after gaining charisma from that scammer goddess. At least that was something I got from that fucking deal.

I stopped myself from auto distributing my stats equally. I really like this sense of balance my body has but is this fucking me over in the future? I obviously have massive potential with the extra health, but it’s still based on the original value. I wouldn’t have finally beaten Flash Gordon in the health department without the boosts.

Should I go all-in with Vigor, becoming a human tank that can shrug off any blow? I already have the means of occurring massive resistance and [Bolster Resistance] that gives additional supplements to that ability.

If I am already tanky enough, should I focus on the weaknesses that traditional tanks have? Not being able to hit anything and not being able to kill your foe are massive weak points for beings that only invest in Vigor.

No matter what, I am not falling into the trap of a glass cannon or becoming someone without any firepower.

Should I invest in my Mind stat instead? The extra mana is excellent, but the only thing I have that chugs away my mana is my [Heal Anything]. Maybe if I get magic in the future… I don’t think I have good enough affinities in anything to truly walk down the path of a wizard.

My other stats are out of the question, Spirit is bloated anyways, and the other stats are not worth investing in right now. If only I could invest in luck…

I think I will figure out the correct way to become stronger in time. I am a tamer, the controller of tamed beasts. I should not worry too heavily about individual strength and instead make sure my companions are strong enough to fight for me. Unless they somehow surpass my spirit, I will be leveling only my tamed beasts until they are strong enough.

~

Monday morning, the third week of school.

It was announced in class that the beginning of next month will be the first round of tests to show what grade the institute will give us. There will also be a friendly tournament for the new year to show off their growth in the one month the institute taught them. I am not excited, but it’s the perfect opportunity to show off and force the hand of the Dean to grade me an S, so I can graduate at the end of the year.

The institute likes to walk the new year slow during the first year here. The average graduating rate is level 50. If you haven’t been expelled for under-achieving but don’t want to continue with the following year, you can drop out of the institute and get a job. That is not an option for me. Becoming a dropout is worse than joining the military, in my eyes.

I start thinking of ways that can get my beasts stronger. Right now seems that they all have some affinity to magic or something. Excluding Flash Gordon, but who needs magic anyways. The best thing to do is to start training in that aspect.

Let's start with Rob. Right now, his [Bone Magic] is pretty garbage. He doesn’t have enough mana to facilitate using such a mediocre spell [Bone Shot]. Especially when he has the [Skeleton Gloves] that make him able to use a more potent version anyway. Maybe a new spell is an answer.

If he can combine his [Bone Magic] with [Create Tool], maybe he can make a more powerful version of a shovel.

Let's look into his strange anatomy first, however. If he does not have the bones to reassemble himself, he can make new ones with mana. But the bones made with mana are the same as his previous bones. When Rob got struck by lightning, the only bones he had left were charred and speckled with metal, so his new bones were the exact same.

I start experimenting with chicken bones, but it doesn’t work. Maybe I should try a bone from a humanoid. The subsequent fracture I want to head to should have humanoid monsters like undead or feral races.

I tell Rob to use his magic to form bones of different shapes, then to create bones that are harder than usual.

Duchess is both easy and difficult. She needs to fly around more and stop perching on my shoulders. She is particularly diligent in creating spells on her own and practicing, so there is nothing to worry about there. Her new [Brilliant Feathers] skill said that Duchess has more affinities now. At the same place where I got my awakened system, they have a tester to see what elemental affinities you have. It costs quite a bit, but maybe I can get the school to sponsor me.

Khan is the most difficult. Khan isn’t smart enough to actually know what I am saying. He just knows my bare intent, thanks to my class. None of his abilities can be leveled up, only ranked up. That is way more difficult. Usually reserved for evolutions or surpassing a bottleneck. He has a skill that explicitly states that he has a high affinity.

[Cloud Affinity].

Is cloud actually an element? It doesn't matter. What matters is that I have to somehow teach magic to a fish. The only experience I have is watching Rob the prodigy practice. Duchess’ magic is too covert for me to be able to study it. Maybe Khan has to evolve first. He is only an eighth-level F-rank fish, after all.