A menu? Really… A leveling system, and a menu. Those things weren’t in the larp. We just had character sheets.

An image goes through Clyde’s head of Ai, sitting in front of a computer watching anime while eating chips and soda. He cringes at his thought.

He pauses in the road, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Uughh… Open Menu,” he says with a begrudging sigh. The menu opens before him.

At the top of the menu, a message scrolls by slowly: “I was thinking how it could be hard to manage 10 classes, their equipment, levels, and abilities. So, I made you this menu as part of my blessing- consider it a gift! Make sure you choose your abilities wisely, as you’ll have to pay XP to reset your ability lists. It’s 2XP the first time in each class, but doubles after each use.

Also, You have a new ability: Analyze. For locking just 1 mana, you can see everyone’s status. Though, when it’s active, you can’t restore Mana. Just say the incantation [Activate Analyze] and [Deactivate Analyze], to turn it on and off. Enjoy!”

Analyze. That might be useful! Clyde looks around, making sure no one is around.

“Activate Analyze,” he says aloud, looking all around the area. No change.

“There was that one isekai anime I watched where it would show the rarity of everything. I wonder…” He picks up a leaf and holds it close, squinting his eyes to observe any possible notes that might appear. Nothing happens.

“Analyze!” he yells, yet still, absolutely nothing happens.

“Well, that’s a disappointment.” he huffs, flicking the leaf to the bank of the road and refocusing on the menu before him.

Now that I'm looking at this, this will make it a whole lot easier to manage. It even shows active changes: the MP went from 7 to 6 for Analyze. That locked mana box is handy as well.

Clyde's eyes peer over to the classes. What happens if I touch the Warrior box? Clyde hovers his hand and pushes the box marked as Warrior. Another tab opens.

I guess I should pick an ability in level 1. Taunt forces someone to only attack you for 30 seconds. Lay-on-hands restores 1 HP to any ally, but you can only use it on them. Repair allows you to repair a weapon, armor point, or a shield durability point.

Clyde stops walking and gets lost in thought, going back and forth between the abilities pros and cons.

“Ugh, I choose Taunt!” he blurts out after a long while of internal argument. “ I want to protect everyone, and holding aggro is how I'll do it!” He moves his finger over the selection and hits it.

A box prompts him: Are you sure?

“Absolutely not!” Clyde yells as he selects yes with his finger.

The ability is then highlighted, and the others listed in the same tier grey out.

Uhuh, so the loadout is for storing the equipment then. I’ll need to get some armor. In retrospect, maybe I should be leveling mage first- they don’t have to worry much about armor. Warrior is a super weak class without equipment. I should ask Aithne for some armor.

He tries to select the dimly-lit Mage option, but a pop-up message appears: Please level this class to 1 before attempting to access this tab.

Clyde’s disappointment shows on his face. It might be a while before I have everything unlocked…

“Why are you such a slowpoke? You left ages ago!” Clyde hears someone yell at him. He turns to see Mia, along with a man with ears similar to hers.

“Sorry, I got lost in thoughts,” Clyde replies with a soft chuckle. That must be her father, he assumes, as there were no other feline demi-humans in town.

What a sec… Mia and the man have status boxes above their heads. Clyde looks to the man’s, and examines it closely.

Spoiler :

It has all the useful battle info!

“Are you okay? You look like you’re lost in thought; what are you thinking about?” Mia asks.

“Nothing much, really. Just Direbears and which abilities would be the best to use on them,” Clyde replies as he cracks a smile.

The man’s smile disappears at the mention of the beast, and Clyde immediately feels a sense of guilt. “Are you okay, sir?” he asks softly.

“Oh, yes. I’m fine,” he answers, putting his smile back on for his answer. He does a short and quick bow, as he changes his demeanor for an introduction.

“I’m Mia’s father, Leonidas Tanner. Thank you for taking such good care of my daughter!” he expressed warmly, before dropping his voice. “But please, do try to refrain from mentioning the Direbear in front of Garson.”

The status box over Leonidas’ head changes: where it once said Demi-human, it is replaced with his full name.

Clyde does an awkward, small bow in return. “Of course!” Clyde looks at Mia in mid-bow. “She is an absolute pleasure to be around,” he says, eyes shimmering with sarcasm. “But, why can’t I mention it to Garson?” Clyde asks, standing back up straight.

“No particular reason. I was wondering, do you have any plans tonight? I’d love to hear your story over a good meal at home.”

“Oh, I can’t. I have to study with Meri tonight. I’m learning how to read,” he says, scratching his cheek with his finger.

“Oh, that’s excellent. Is it going well? How far have you gotten?” Leonidas nods with curiosity.

“I’m confident with 10 letters as of now…” Clyde says sheepishly. “I can’t believe there are 44! There’s so many, but from what Meri told me, at least the alphabet doesn’t have combinations of sounds with those letters. It’s nice that the letters just represent their own sound. I also like how the letters themselves are named after their sound. So, it makes sense and has been fairly simple to learn so far. I just have to memorize more,” Clyde explains with a laugh.

Leonidas smiles wide and looks at Mia. “You know, little one, you could learn a thing from him! Perhaps Meri can give you lessons, too.”

“I don’t wanna,” Mia pouts.

“Mia, reading is important. It's crucial for you to learn how to read,” Leonidas wags his finger at her, as if trying to prove his point more clearly before continuing on. “It may just be the most important skill you'll ever learn!”

Mia hangs her head and shifts her weight to one foot, bracing herself for what’s to come.

“Reading helps to expand not only your vocabulary, but also your mind. Put simply, it's not just about learning new words; it's about learning new ideas, improved ways of thinking, and conveying your thoughts and feelings to others. Plus, reading is a great way to relax and unwind after a long day.”

Mia nods like a bobble head as her fathers words go in one fluffy ear and out the other.

“And those who only think it’s for school are mistaken. It's not just about getting good grades in academics, but more about becoming a well-rounded and knowledgeable person. When you can read, you can explore new ideas, and open your mind to an entire new world - the written world. That world can include anything you want- is that not truly exciting?! It's not all informational texts that matter, mind you. No, fiction is important, too. It allows you to escape from reality and experience different perspectives and worlds. Plus, reading has been proven to have numerous benefits for mental health and stress reduction. Goodness me, when I was your age, I loved reading. My father couldn't keep a book out of my hands! I want you to experience all the joy and benefits that come from reading, too. Who knows, maybe you'll discover a new passion or career through reading,” Leonidas lectures, nodding in agreement with himself.

“Well, no time to waste- let’s get going!” Mia says quickly, using her father’s brief pause to end his rambling. “We don’t want to keep Clyde any longer than he’s already kept himself!” She gets behind her father and starts pushing him along the road. “Besides, Mia just wants a boomstick!”

“Perhaps we can continue this conversation at a later date,” Leonidas says happily despite being hurried along. “It was nice meeting you, young man.”

Leonidas waves to Clyde while slightly resisting his daughter pushing him.

Clyde waves back to them, laughing to himself at how different they are. “It was nice meeting you, too!”

Now, how do I close this menu? I’m sure I’m the only one that can see it, since they didn’t mention it. If [open menu] is the command to bring it up, surely it's just [close menu].

Clyde looks at his menu one last time, focusing on stats. The stats are Vigor, Spirit, and Soul. I was expecting some DnD-level nonsense with strength, dexterity, and intelligence... But, I honestly don’t know what these are. Clyde tries pushing on them to see if another box pops up, but nothing happens.

Vigor probably has something to do with HP, and Spirit perhaps influences my mana, like in World of Warcraft. But, what is Soul?... Well, whatever. I’ll figure it out later.

“Close menu,” Clyde says quietly out loud, watching the menu disappear from his view.

“Well, I guess it’s time to go back.”