Chapter 10
Entering his room, Edward locked the door, and went into the bathroom, hoping that there wasn't any surveillance equipment there. But, just to make sure, he inspected the room for any hidden mics or cameras, just in case.
He really didn't want to get put into an interrogation room with Yu Han Sung. The F.U.G cover agent would beat him with nothing more than his pinky before shipping him off to the F.U.G.
And while the skills would be more than welcome, it would simply cause too big of a butterfly effect.
"[ID Create: Void]" he said, sighing in relief at not finding any surveillance equipment in the room. He disappeared from the world, shimmering away like a mirage.
[Outer Tower: Zahard's 5th Floating Castle...]
With her Opera, Jaina Repellista Zahard had seen numerous things. Nations being built for centuries, only to be destroyed in either a blink of an eye or in decades, tender moments of passion, the most epic bout of rock-paper-scissors between a child and an artist, atrocities committed by the 10 Families. Hell, if she wanted to, she could bring up information about the 10 strongest people in the Tower, bring up Ignition weapon schematics whenever she damn well pleased, and no Ranker, Family Head or Irregular could ever hope to trace it back to her!
Simply put, NOTHING could escape the all-seeing eyes of her Opera... Or, that should be the case.
And yet, here she was, pulling at her hair as her Opera's screen merely showing the inside of a bathroom, claiming that the Hammer-boy was there. And no matter which filter the image was viewed through, he still remained elusive. X-Ray? Nada. Heat tracking? Zilch. Shinsoo detection? Aside from the amount necessary to breath, nothing of the boy was found.
"WHAT THE HELL!" she screamed in frustration. Even if he was dead, her Opera should show his remains, no matter how minuscule they may be. And no invisibility technique could fool her Opera.
"Hmm... " she hummed angrily, racking her brain for an explanation. Maybe it's another part of that game power he has. 'Okay, what game function could make him disappear all of a sudden? Quick Travel?' A quick sweep with her Opera showed that wasn't the case. And she doubted it was anything like entering a title screen, as that would be broken as all hell, along with a Save function.
"Wow, so cool! He has access to Raid Dungeons, like the ones in Pockie Pirate!" Jaina squealed as she figured out the conundrum, looking at the displayed image with rapt attention, but pouted soon after, as she realized the implications.
"But that means that I'm missing out on something cool." Maybe next time one of her sisters came asking for info she'd ask them to bring him to her? But she also wanted a baby Zygaena...
[Edward's Void ID...]
"Okay, let's do this." Edward muses, looking around the ID, which was, despite being called a Void Instant Dungeon, more of a barren wasteland, with boulders littering the area. All in all, it was a perfect location to test out and create new skills with destructive results.
[ID Create has levelled up! The following Instant Dungeons are accessible:]
- Empty ID
- Void ID
- Zombie ID
- Ghost ID
- Baby Shinheuh ID
"Huh, interesting." he mused, scratching his chin in thought. So now he could start fighting infantile Shinheuh, and possibly harvest them for materials. Too bad he didn't have any skill in crafting. But at least he could sell any materials that dropped, and if he really wanted to learn crafting, he could go and visit the library and see if there was a Skill Book for that.
Who knows, maybe he'd eventually unlock a Zygaena dungeon. Definitely a good way to rake in some cash, although he might want to limit the amount of Zygaena flowers he sold, as to not cause their value to drop like a hammer.
=Oi, save your musings for later, weren't you here to make some skills or whatever?= Haensing piped up, noticing that his partner had gone into one of those thousand-yard stares.
"Ah, yeah, right. [Skills]." He looked at the list of his current skills, to confirm whether or not his explosions used MP or BP. If they used mana, then wonderful, he'd be able to use that to draw out his mana properly and start crafting some skills.
[Skills:]
Gamer's Mind |?|
Passive LV: MAX
Gamer's Body |?|
Passive LV: MAX
Observation |?|
Active/Passive LV: 7
EXP: 320/700
ID Create |?|
Active LV: 10
EXP: 0/1000
ID Escape |?|
Active LV: 9
EXP: 890/900
Physical Endurance: The body's durability increases, allowing for less damage taken.
Passive Skill Effect: {10.5% decrease in damage taken from Physical attacks}
Passive Skill LV: 20
EXP: 0/2000
Hammer proficiency(Adept): You are skilled at using a hammer in combat.
Passive Skill Effect: {12% Increase to attacks you perform with a hammer. 12% decrease in skill cost that use an[13] hammer}
Passive Skill LV: 6
EXP: 215/600
Sense danger: A natural survival instinct. It allows the user to detect when something bad might happen. The higher the skill level, the earlier it can sense danger
Passive Skill LV: 1
EXP: 40/100
Detect Bloodlust: A skill that detects any bloodlust directed at the user. It is an instinctive skill.
Passive Skill Effect: {Detects bloodlust within 30 meters from the user's location. It also alerts the user of its origin.}
Passive Skill LV: 1
EXP: 40/100
Explosion Manipulation |?|
Skill Tree LV: 4
EXP: 540/800
{Current Skills of this Skill Tree available}
Explosive Combat |The ability to combine physical combat with explosions.|
Passive LV: 4{Explosion damage: 55}
EXP:EXP: 235/400
Explosive Physiology |The users body can mimic and generate the properties of explosions|
Passive LV: 2{Explosion types available: Smoke, Regular}
EXP: 110/200
Explosion Immunity |Immunity to explosions, duh.|
Passive LV: 4{Damage taken from explosions -80%}
EXP: 345/400
Explosion Inducement |The user can cause an explosion of any scale, with varying effects ranging from stunning to total annihilation.|
Active LV: 4{Methods of inducement available: Touch, Energy. Area of effect: 23 feet radius from the point of inducement. MP Cost: 25}
EXP: 345/400
Bomb Dash: Using Explosive Inducement, the user can propel himself further with explosions
Active Skill Effect: {+60 AGI. MP Cost: 10 per minute/explosion}
Active Skill LV: 3
EXP: 225/300
"Okay, I can do something with this." he grinned, looking at the process his skills are going through. Activating his Inducement, he started gathering energy towards the palm of his hand, slowly but surely forming it into a spherical shape. He stopped when it reached the size of a baseball.
"Okay, now to see if this works...HIYAH!" he pointed the hand holding the energy bomb towards a boulder, trying to see if launching it was as easy as one would think. The attack leaves his hand...only to fall straight onto the ground, exploding in a giant burst of fire when it made contact with the ground.
"I ... guess it ... wasn't, blegh, that easy." Edward coughed waving his hand around to clear away the smoke. He probably should have tried throwing the bloody thing first, or made a thrusting motion with his arm to send it forward.
=Oh my, it seems you've gone off prematurely.= Haensing snickered, unaffected by the smoke. Edward blinked, recognizing the tone of voice the Ignition Weapon used.
"How do you even... never mind, take 2." He shook his head, forming another sphere, this time around his fist. 'Fly you son of a bitch!' He punched forward, causing the shell of explosive mana to fly towards the boulder, blowing it to small pebbles.
[Through a specific action, the Active Skill: Bomber Shot has been created.]
Bomber Shot: A skill where the user shoots a sphere of explosive mana from their hand.
Active Skill Effect: {Damage: 35 MP Cost: 20.}
Active Skill LV: 1
EXP: 0/100
[Through a specific action, a Passive Skill: Manapulation has been unlocked.]
Manapulation: A skill that allows the user to manipulate their mana to perform magic.
Passive Skill Effect: {Increases MP by 5%. Lessens the MP cost of skills by 5%.}
Passive Skill LV: 1
EXP: 0/100
Looking at the skill descriptions, Edward grinned glad that his fruits of labor had born fruit. Now he would be able to craft more complex and stronger skills, perhaps something akin to explosive rope that he could burrow under the surface, coiling it around an opponent when they entered the range.
"Actually, let's do that now, 'Manapulation'!" his mana flared up, a blue aura surrounding him. Carefully, he extended a portion of it as a thin strand, before forming another one, twisting them together, before repeating the process again and again, until he had a proper rope coming out of his hand.
=Oi, why did you make a rope? A chain would be way sturdier.= Haensing asks, coiling his handle to bounce up and down to pass the time. Even if this Mana Rope was sturdy enough to stand up to sharp, it wouldn't stand a chance against a high-quality blade, especially in the hands of one of those Arie pricks who tried overcompensating with their swords.
Not that those toothpicks could compensate for anything.
"Simply put, the strings and ropes have more potential when it comes to skills." Edward answered, swinging the rope at a nearby boulder the size of a Hummer, directing it to tie itself around it. Besides, a rope didn't have the problem of getting locked down something like a low-quality Needle, while a chain would get locked onto place if somebody nailed it down through one of the links.
Tugging the rope, Edward can see that with his meagerly 21 Strength stat, the boulder wasn't going anywhere.
[Through a specific action, the Active Skill: Mana Rope has been created.]
Mana Rope: A skill where the user creates a rope of mana that they can use in numerous ways.
Active Skill Effect: {Damage: 15. Foes with STR lower than the user's INT cannot break the rope. MP Cost: 10.}
Active Skill LV: 1
EXP: 0/100
"And now, observe!" Edward shouted in glee as the rope around the boulder turned orange, the resulting explosion causing the debris to rain down like hail. By replacing some of the mana strands in the rope with explosive mana, the rope could quite easily be used to capture someone for black mail or simply as a surprise attack.
=Okay then, comment withdrawn.= Haensing looked at the destruction in slight surprise, hoping that his partner wouldn't think of using him with that kind of rope. While yeah, he wouldn't be hurt by the explosion, but it still wouldn't be a fun experience, getting your bum set on fire.
[Through a specific action, the Active Skill: Wire Bomb has been created.]
Wire Bomb: A skill where the user creates a rope of mana with strands of explosive mana mixed in for extra damage.
Active Skill Effect: {Damage: 25. Foes with STR lower than the user's INT cannot break the rope. MP Cost: 20.}
Active Skill LV: 1
EXP: 0/100
"Wo~w, this should be useful." Edward grinned, before getting to work with creating the other skills he planned.
[Two hours later...]
"Okay then, this should be enough for no~w." Edward yawned, looking around the Instant Dungeon, now filled with craters and gashes along the ground, boulders now sporting holes.
"Okay, so Gamer's mind doesn't stop me from yawning." he noted. "[ID Escape]." The ID shattered like glass, placing him back in the bathroom. Finishing up his business, he heads to bed.
[Fisherman Classroom, the next day...]
"Good morning everyone!" Hax cheerily stated, her voice full of childish amusement that sounded just plain wrong coming out of a mature woman. The Regulars sat quietly, waiting for her to get to the actual lesson.
"Okay then, since you guys have all finished the contract, we'll be doing some spars, so follow me to the arena." the Ranker led her class to a gigantic hall filled with different kind of arenas, ranging from simple circles to small cubical see-through rooms with floating platforms.
'Huh, wasn't this the room a lot more barren the last time around?' Edward wondered, recognizing the room as the same one where him and Androssi had their 'spar'.
"We'll be using this basic arena for this day." she patted the side of an arena that was rather bland in design, just a platform that was protruding from the floor, colored a fine marble white.
"Okay the, first match, Anak Zahard VS Green Pill." Hax's announcement caused the unfortunate boy to gulp, acutely aware of the gap between himself and the Princess of Zahard.
The poor Regular didn't even last 2 minutes against Anak's ruthless attacks, their fight leaving Green Pill with multiple broken bones, and thus he was deemed unable to continue the exam.
"Geez Anak, you really don't know how to hold back do you?" Edward definitely didn't envy the poor bastard as he was peeled off from the wall.
"Whatever." Anak merely shrugged, plopping down next to him. She didn't feel like amusing the weakling by playing around with him, so she just ended the fight.
"Okay, second match: Chunhwa Hong VS Edward Smith" Edward shared a look with the knight-like Regular, remembering that the boy had an Ignition Weapon. He faintly remembered it being able to release a Getsuga Tenshou-esque attack when ignited.
'Let's see what you got under the hood.' Edward quietly mumbled [Observation] as they walked onto the arena.
[Observation]
/Regular\
Chunhwa Hong LV12
/Speed\
|Fisherman Student|
HP: 120
MP: 80
BP: 113
STR: 15
INT: 20
VIT: 18
WIS: 20
DEX: 19{+30]
AGI: 21{+30]
Buffs/DeBuffs:
Expert Swordsman: {+30% EXP to sword-based skills. +30 DEX, +30 AGI, x2 Attack Speed when wielding a sword}
Medium Shinsoo Resistance LV1: the ability to resist Shinsoo.{-31% damage taken from BP attacks. Ignore AGI Debuffs in areas with Medium or lower amounts of Shinsoo.}
EXP Yield: 1160
'Well, that could be troublesome.' If he stuck to mere melee, that is.
"Well then, knight-boy, ready to brawl?" Edward cheekily asked, Haensing's shaft extending to a meter. But that was a mere distraction for his true attack as he charged up a Bomber Shot.
Chunhwa didn't respond, merely holding his sword in a ready stance, waiting for the Ranker to begin the fight, taking momentary glances at the ground to see if Edward was channeling his energy to use it as a bomb.
Chunhwa had seen how Edward fought against the Zahard Princess, noting how he seemed to favor surprising his opponent with explosions while they were distracted, either by him talking, or avoiding his hammer.
So, he'd just have to ignore whatever came from this cur's mouth, and focus on the battle at hand.
"Ah, so the little Scout girly not only has your balls, but your tongue as well." Since casual talking didn't get the Regular to open up, maybe some mockery would cause the boy to either get flustered, or get angry and distracted.
=You're playing a dangerous game, you know that right?= Haensing asked, unconcerned by their opponent. The little knight wannabe's low-grade toothpick wasn't anything to worry about. It couldn't cut him, and its special attack would be nothing more than a snack for him, so this fight would be decided by which one had the better partner.
The only visible tell of Edward's barb affecting the knight-like Regular was the furrowing of his brows and tightening his grip on the sword.
"Ready...START!" Hax announced, pushing the button on an air horn. Edward immediately ran at Chunhwa swinging Haensing at him, but the young knight dodged the attack to Edward's left, swinging his sword at him. The sword-wielding Regular didn't care whether or not his brash opponent would lose a limb from the attack, he merely aimed not to kill him.
"Useless! 'Bomber Shot!'" Edward taunted, letting the orb of explosive Mana to fly at Chunhwa, who barely managed to block with his sword, the blast causing him to back down a few steps. [-5 HP] While he was aware that Edward was capable of creating explosions, he didn't expect him to be able to launch them remotely.
Edward didn't let up on the assault, keeping Chunhwa at bay as he kept blasting him with Bomber Shots. He'd eventually either get hit, or try and Ignite Narumada, which wouldn't do anything against Haensing. In short, he couldn't lose this fight, as long as he could keep peppering the little knight.
"Hoy, Eddy-boy, while your skill with Shinsoo is commendable, this isn't the Wave Controller class, so stop bullying Chunhwy from a range, or I'll have to start deducting Points." Hax commented from the sidelines, both Edward and Chunhwa blanching at the nicknames the instructor came up with.
Now, Hax wasn't naive enough to think that the world worked on an honor system, with melee fighters fighting only other close-range specialists, or long-range fighter battling among themselves, but since this was the first combat class, she might as well try to make the fights fair.
[New Quest "Fisherman sparring" has been created!]
Due to your instructor wanting to make the fights fair, at least among the non-princesses, you have to defeat Chunhwa Hong justly, in melee combat.
Rewards:
-500 EXP
- 40 Test Points/Money
Winning Conditions:
-Defeat Chunhwa Hong, either by knockout or ring-out
-Use only close-range and mid-range skills
Losing Conditions:
-HP dropping to 0
-Using projectile Skills
-Leaving the Ring
'Melee combat it is then. Damn childish bitch.' Edward grimaced, channeling Mana over his body to form armour around himself, ignoring the prompt for creating a Skill called [Mana Cloak]. Using [Bomb Dash] to close the distance between himself and Chunhwa, surprising the Regular.
"Tally-HO!" Edward swung Haensing at Chunhwa, enlarging the hammer head to the size of an office chair.
'WOAH!' But Chunhwa's trained reflexes allowed the boy to jump back and avoid Edward's swing. While he had expected this kind of speed, the abrupt acceleration had caught him nearly off guard. He knew that he couldn't block his Ignition weapon, nor the resulting explosion.
"Extend" But Chunhwa had failed to account for Haesing's other feature, as the hammer rapidly extended, hitting him in the gut [-80 HP] while he was in the air, the impact sending him flying out of the ring.
[Quest Completed!]
Rewards:
- 500 EXP{X2]
- 40 Test Points/Money
"Well, that ended rather unceremoniously." Hax couldn't help but note with a rather nonchalant tone. 'Note to self: next time, get a bigger arena.' she couldn't properly grade her students if they kept pushing each other off the platform. Maybe she could use a cage...
The Regulars around Hax carefully and slowly inched away from the Ranker as she started giggling, her mind having wandered to the mature section of her brain.
"Hey, no hard feelings about the fight, right?" Edward asked as he offered a hand to Chunhwa. The wannabe knight would be quite useful as an ally, so what better moment to spark up a companionship.
"No hard feelings, just a few sore spots." Chunhwa answered lightheartedly, accepting the offered hand.
"Ah, sorry about that mate, but hey, at least you're still in shape to continue the exam." Edward pointed out as the two walked away from the arena. He needed Chunhwa to make it at least to the Hide and Seek test, beyond that, he wouldn't be necessary.
"Eddy's right y'know. Even a single nasty boo-boo could mean not passing this Floor." Hax agreed, standing in front of the two.
"See, you need a certain amount of points to pass the Position test, and you can't get points if you don't attend your lessons." she explained, making sure that everyone heard and understood, as she wasn't going to repeat herself.
'Heh, sucks to be them.' Edward thought to himself as he watched the Regulars' faces twist to worry and fear, no doubt afraid of injuring themselves to the point of being unable to continue the test. That would make fighting them much easier, as they would be afraid of taking chances. Honestly, he didn't need to worry about injuries, as long as his HP didn't hit 0, all he'd need to do is sleep it off.
Too bad he wasn't a Saiyan, 'cause that combined with his [Gamer's Body] would be so OP.
[After the class...]
'Now let's test this out.' Edward thought to himself as he approached the library's door, noticing that Hoh was walking away from the hall. While he had tested out his Empty ID in his own room, he wanted to make sure that only he was dragged into the Illusion Barrier, and no-one else.
"[ID Create: Empty]" he softly whispered, grinning as Hoh disappeared from the view. With a wicked grin, he opened the library's door, noticing it devoid of life, even the library's caretaker was nowhere to be seen, and he didn't hear anything that indicated somebody else being there.
[For figuring out a method to avoid being spotted while you absorb Skill Books, you gain 4{X2] points in INT and WIS]
"Oh, this too perfect!" Edward cackled as he walked over to one of the bookcases he knew had a skill book. With his Empty ID, he wouldn't have to worry about getting caught absorbing a book, unless the book also disappeared outside his Illusion Barrier.
"Let's see..." he trailed his finger over the spines of the books, until he found the one he was looking for, a book detailing sewing and other methods of making clothing. A Skill Book that would no doubt be useful when he managed to obtain some crafting materials from ID monsters.
[Skill Book: The art of making clothes]
This book will help you in becoming at least competent in making clothing from basic materials, and doing minor fixes.
Stat Requirements: 20+ INT, 10+ WIS, 15+ DEX
[You are unable to learn this Skill]
Edward quickly added 3 of his Stat points to Dexterity and proceeded to watch as the book was enveloped in circuits, the book breaking apart into fragments that flowed into his head.
[New Skill: Crafting(Clothing) has been learned]
Passive Skill Effect: Obtain the Skill Books [Jewellery] and [Metalwork] to fully unlock [Crafting].
Passive Skill LV: 1
EXP: Complete [Crafting] in order to level up this Skill
"Well, I guess it makes sense." Edward sighed in disappointment, starting his search for the other parts of the Skill. And with [Bomb Dash], it didn't take long before he found the other two books, [Jewellery] requiring 25 in Intelligence and in 15 in both Wisdom and Dexterity, while [Metalwork] required 20 in Strength, 15 in Intelligence, Vitality and Dexterity.
[The "Crafting" Skill has been fully unlocked!]
Passive Effect: +2% chance of success when crafting an item.
Passive Skill LV: 1
EXP: 0/100
"Okay, not exactly what I was expecting." Edward had honestly expected for the skill to have different levels for each branch of crafting, or for the skill to require 300 EXP to level up, but he wasn't going to argue, not when he had more important skills to acquire.
But, he shouldn't get too greedy before making sure that the books didn't disappear outside the ID, since if too many books disappeared, even if they were such low-grade books, there would be more of a tightened security around the library, and that could lead to each Regular being monitored.
So, with that in mind, Edward quickly made his way out of the library, and entered the boy's bathroom. Oh sure, he could go to his room before dispelling the ID, but nobody seeing him enter the room would be way too suspicious.
"[ID Escape]" he clenched his fist, the Illusion Barrier shattering, revealing that he wasn't alone in the bathroom.
"WOAH, WHAT THE FUCK!" Ship screamed with a shocked and frightened expression on his face, while Hatsu had a relatively calmer expression, but still more shocked than what Edward had ever seen of the swordsman in the story.
'Maybe I should've just went straight to my room.'
Entering his room, Edward locked the door, and went into the bathroom, hoping that there wasn't any surveillance equipment there. But, just to make sure, he inspected the room for any hidden mics or cameras, just in case.
He really didn't want to get put into an interrogation room with Yu Han Sung. The F.U.G cover agent would beat him with nothing more than his pinky before shipping him off to the F.U.G.
And while the skills would be more than welcome, it would simply cause too big of a butterfly effect.
"[ID Create: Void]" he said, sighing in relief at not finding any surveillance equipment in the room. He disappeared from the world, shimmering away like a mirage.
[Outer Tower: Zahard's 5th Floating Castle...]
With her Opera, Jaina Repellista Zahard had seen numerous things. Nations being built for centuries, only to be destroyed in either a blink of an eye or in decades, tender moments of passion, the most epic bout of rock-paper-scissors between a child and an artist, atrocities committed by the 10 Families. Hell, if she wanted to, she could bring up information about the 10 strongest people in the Tower, bring up Ignition weapon schematics whenever she damn well pleased, and no Ranker, Family Head or Irregular could ever hope to trace it back to her!
Simply put, NOTHING could escape the all-seeing eyes of her Opera... Or, that should be the case.
And yet, here she was, pulling at her hair as her Opera's screen merely showing the inside of a bathroom, claiming that the Hammer-boy was there. And no matter which filter the image was viewed through, he still remained elusive. X-Ray? Nada. Heat tracking? Zilch. Shinsoo detection? Aside from the amount necessary to breath, nothing of the boy was found.
"WHAT THE HELL!" she screamed in frustration. Even if he was dead, her Opera should show his remains, no matter how minuscule they may be. And no invisibility technique could fool her Opera.
"Hmm... " she hummed angrily, racking her brain for an explanation. Maybe it's another part of that game power he has. 'Okay, what game function could make him disappear all of a sudden? Quick Travel?' A quick sweep with her Opera showed that wasn't the case. And she doubted it was anything like entering a title screen, as that would be broken as all hell, along with a Save function.
"Wow, so cool! He has access to Raid Dungeons, like the ones in Pockie Pirate!" Jaina squealed as she figured out the conundrum, looking at the displayed image with rapt attention, but pouted soon after, as she realized the implications.
"But that means that I'm missing out on something cool." Maybe next time one of her sisters came asking for info she'd ask them to bring him to her? But she also wanted a baby Zygaena...
[Edward's Void ID...]
"Okay, let's do this." Edward muses, looking around the ID, which was, despite being called a Void Instant Dungeon, more of a barren wasteland, with boulders littering the area. All in all, it was a perfect location to test out and create new skills with destructive results.
[ID Create has levelled up! The following Instant Dungeons are accessible:]
- Empty ID
- Void ID
- Zombie ID
- Ghost ID
- Baby Shinheuh ID
"Huh, interesting." he mused, scratching his chin in thought. So now he could start fighting infantile Shinheuh, and possibly harvest them for materials. Too bad he didn't have any skill in crafting. But at least he could sell any materials that dropped, and if he really wanted to learn crafting, he could go and visit the library and see if there was a Skill Book for that.
Who knows, maybe he'd eventually unlock a Zygaena dungeon. Definitely a good way to rake in some cash, although he might want to limit the amount of Zygaena flowers he sold, as to not cause their value to drop like a hammer.
=Oi, save your musings for later, weren't you here to make some skills or whatever?= Haensing piped up, noticing that his partner had gone into one of those thousand-yard stares.
"Ah, yeah, right. [Skills]." He looked at the list of his current skills, to confirm whether or not his explosions used MP or BP. If they used mana, then wonderful, he'd be able to use that to draw out his mana properly and start crafting some skills.
[Skills:]
Gamer's Mind |?|
Passive LV: MAX
Gamer's Body |?|
Passive LV: MAX
Observation |?|
Active/Passive LV: 7
EXP: 320/700
ID Create |?|
Active LV: 10
EXP: 0/1000
ID Escape |?|
Active LV: 9
EXP: 890/900
Physical Endurance: The body's durability increases, allowing for less damage taken.
Passive Skill Effect: {10.5% decrease in damage taken from Physical attacks}
Passive Skill LV: 20
EXP: 0/2000
Hammer proficiency(Adept): You are skilled at using a hammer in combat.
Passive Skill Effect: {12% Increase to attacks you perform with a hammer. 12% decrease in skill cost that use an[13] hammer}
Passive Skill LV: 6
EXP: 215/600
Sense danger: A natural survival instinct. It allows the user to detect when something bad might happen. The higher the skill level, the earlier it can sense danger
Passive Skill LV: 1
EXP: 40/100
Detect Bloodlust: A skill that detects any bloodlust directed at the user. It is an instinctive skill.
Passive Skill Effect: {Detects bloodlust within 30 meters from the user's location. It also alerts the user of its origin.}
Passive Skill LV: 1
EXP: 40/100
Explosion Manipulation |?|
Skill Tree LV: 4
EXP: 540/800
{Current Skills of this Skill Tree available}
Explosive Combat |The ability to combine physical combat with explosions.|
Passive LV: 4{Explosion damage: 55}
EXP:EXP: 235/400
Explosive Physiology |The users body can mimic and generate the properties of explosions|
Passive LV: 2{Explosion types available: Smoke, Regular}
EXP: 110/200
Explosion Immunity |Immunity to explosions, duh.|
Passive LV: 4{Damage taken from explosions -80%}
EXP: 345/400
Explosion Inducement |The user can cause an explosion of any scale, with varying effects ranging from stunning to total annihilation.|
Active LV: 4{Methods of inducement available: Touch, Energy. Area of effect: 23 feet radius from the point of inducement. MP Cost: 25}
EXP: 345/400
Bomb Dash: Using Explosive Inducement, the user can propel himself further with explosions
Active Skill Effect: {+60 AGI. MP Cost: 10 per minute/explosion}
Active Skill LV: 3
EXP: 225/300
"Okay, I can do something with this." he grinned, looking at the process his skills are going through. Activating his Inducement, he started gathering energy towards the palm of his hand, slowly but surely forming it into a spherical shape. He stopped when it reached the size of a baseball.
"Okay, now to see if this works...HIYAH!" he pointed the hand holding the energy bomb towards a boulder, trying to see if launching it was as easy as one would think. The attack leaves his hand...only to fall straight onto the ground, exploding in a giant burst of fire when it made contact with the ground.
"I ... guess it ... wasn't, blegh, that easy." Edward coughed waving his hand around to clear away the smoke. He probably should have tried throwing the bloody thing first, or made a thrusting motion with his arm to send it forward.
=Oh my, it seems you've gone off prematurely.= Haensing snickered, unaffected by the smoke. Edward blinked, recognizing the tone of voice the Ignition Weapon used.
"How do you even... never mind, take 2." He shook his head, forming another sphere, this time around his fist. 'Fly you son of a bitch!' He punched forward, causing the shell of explosive mana to fly towards the boulder, blowing it to small pebbles.
[Through a specific action, the Active Skill: Bomber Shot has been created.]
Bomber Shot: A skill where the user shoots a sphere of explosive mana from their hand.
Active Skill Effect: {Damage: 35 MP Cost: 20.}
Active Skill LV: 1
EXP: 0/100
[Through a specific action, a Passive Skill: Manapulation has been unlocked.]
Manapulation: A skill that allows the user to manipulate their mana to perform magic.
Passive Skill Effect: {Increases MP by 5%. Lessens the MP cost of skills by 5%.}
Passive Skill LV: 1
EXP: 0/100
Looking at the skill descriptions, Edward grinned glad that his fruits of labor had born fruit. Now he would be able to craft more complex and stronger skills, perhaps something akin to explosive rope that he could burrow under the surface, coiling it around an opponent when they entered the range.
"Actually, let's do that now, 'Manapulation'!" his mana flared up, a blue aura surrounding him. Carefully, he extended a portion of it as a thin strand, before forming another one, twisting them together, before repeating the process again and again, until he had a proper rope coming out of his hand.
=Oi, why did you make a rope? A chain would be way sturdier.= Haensing asks, coiling his handle to bounce up and down to pass the time. Even if this Mana Rope was sturdy enough to stand up to sharp, it wouldn't stand a chance against a high-quality blade, especially in the hands of one of those Arie pricks who tried overcompensating with their swords.
Not that those toothpicks could compensate for anything.
"Simply put, the strings and ropes have more potential when it comes to skills." Edward answered, swinging the rope at a nearby boulder the size of a Hummer, directing it to tie itself around it. Besides, a rope didn't have the problem of getting locked down something like a low-quality Needle, while a chain would get locked onto place if somebody nailed it down through one of the links.
Tugging the rope, Edward can see that with his meagerly 21 Strength stat, the boulder wasn't going anywhere.
[Through a specific action, the Active Skill: Mana Rope has been created.]
Mana Rope: A skill where the user creates a rope of mana that they can use in numerous ways.
Active Skill Effect: {Damage: 15. Foes with STR lower than the user's INT cannot break the rope. MP Cost: 10.}
Active Skill LV: 1
EXP: 0/100
"And now, observe!" Edward shouted in glee as the rope around the boulder turned orange, the resulting explosion causing the debris to rain down like hail. By replacing some of the mana strands in the rope with explosive mana, the rope could quite easily be used to capture someone for black mail or simply as a surprise attack.
=Okay then, comment withdrawn.= Haensing looked at the destruction in slight surprise, hoping that his partner wouldn't think of using him with that kind of rope. While yeah, he wouldn't be hurt by the explosion, but it still wouldn't be a fun experience, getting your bum set on fire.
[Through a specific action, the Active Skill: Wire Bomb has been created.]
Wire Bomb: A skill where the user creates a rope of mana with strands of explosive mana mixed in for extra damage.
Active Skill Effect: {Damage: 25. Foes with STR lower than the user's INT cannot break the rope. MP Cost: 20.}
Active Skill LV: 1
EXP: 0/100
"Wo~w, this should be useful." Edward grinned, before getting to work with creating the other skills he planned.
[Two hours later...]
"Okay then, this should be enough for no~w." Edward yawned, looking around the Instant Dungeon, now filled with craters and gashes along the ground, boulders now sporting holes.
"Okay, so Gamer's mind doesn't stop me from yawning." he noted. "[ID Escape]." The ID shattered like glass, placing him back in the bathroom. Finishing up his business, he heads to bed.
[Fisherman Classroom, the next day...]
"Good morning everyone!" Hax cheerily stated, her voice full of childish amusement that sounded just plain wrong coming out of a mature woman. The Regulars sat quietly, waiting for her to get to the actual lesson.
"Okay then, since you guys have all finished the contract, we'll be doing some spars, so follow me to the arena." the Ranker led her class to a gigantic hall filled with different kind of arenas, ranging from simple circles to small cubical see-through rooms with floating platforms.
'Huh, wasn't this the room a lot more barren the last time around?' Edward wondered, recognizing the room as the same one where him and Androssi had their 'spar'.
"We'll be using this basic arena for this day." she patted the side of an arena that was rather bland in design, just a platform that was protruding from the floor, colored a fine marble white.
"Okay the, first match, Anak Zahard VS Green Pill." Hax's announcement caused the unfortunate boy to gulp, acutely aware of the gap between himself and the Princess of Zahard.
The poor Regular didn't even last 2 minutes against Anak's ruthless attacks, their fight leaving Green Pill with multiple broken bones, and thus he was deemed unable to continue the exam.
"Geez Anak, you really don't know how to hold back do you?" Edward definitely didn't envy the poor bastard as he was peeled off from the wall.
"Whatever." Anak merely shrugged, plopping down next to him. She didn't feel like amusing the weakling by playing around with him, so she just ended the fight.
"Okay, second match: Chunhwa Hong VS Edward Smith" Edward shared a look with the knight-like Regular, remembering that the boy had an Ignition Weapon. He faintly remembered it being able to release a Getsuga Tenshou-esque attack when ignited.
'Let's see what you got under the hood.' Edward quietly mumbled [Observation] as they walked onto the arena.
[Observation]
/Regular\
Chunhwa Hong LV12
/Speed\
|Fisherman Student|
HP: 120
MP: 80
BP: 113
STR: 15
INT: 20
VIT: 18
WIS: 20
DEX: 19{+30]
AGI: 21{+30]
Buffs/DeBuffs:
Expert Swordsman: {+30% EXP to sword-based skills. +30 DEX, +30 AGI, x2 Attack Speed when wielding a sword}
Medium Shinsoo Resistance LV1: the ability to resist Shinsoo.{-31% damage taken from BP attacks. Ignore AGI Debuffs in areas with Medium or lower amounts of Shinsoo.}
EXP Yield: 1160
'Well, that could be troublesome.' If he stuck to mere melee, that is.
"Well then, knight-boy, ready to brawl?" Edward cheekily asked, Haensing's shaft extending to a meter. But that was a mere distraction for his true attack as he charged up a Bomber Shot.
Chunhwa didn't respond, merely holding his sword in a ready stance, waiting for the Ranker to begin the fight, taking momentary glances at the ground to see if Edward was channeling his energy to use it as a bomb.
Chunhwa had seen how Edward fought against the Zahard Princess, noting how he seemed to favor surprising his opponent with explosions while they were distracted, either by him talking, or avoiding his hammer.
So, he'd just have to ignore whatever came from this cur's mouth, and focus on the battle at hand.
"Ah, so the little Scout girly not only has your balls, but your tongue as well." Since casual talking didn't get the Regular to open up, maybe some mockery would cause the boy to either get flustered, or get angry and distracted.
=You're playing a dangerous game, you know that right?= Haensing asked, unconcerned by their opponent. The little knight wannabe's low-grade toothpick wasn't anything to worry about. It couldn't cut him, and its special attack would be nothing more than a snack for him, so this fight would be decided by which one had the better partner.
The only visible tell of Edward's barb affecting the knight-like Regular was the furrowing of his brows and tightening his grip on the sword.
"Ready...START!" Hax announced, pushing the button on an air horn. Edward immediately ran at Chunhwa swinging Haensing at him, but the young knight dodged the attack to Edward's left, swinging his sword at him. The sword-wielding Regular didn't care whether or not his brash opponent would lose a limb from the attack, he merely aimed not to kill him.
"Useless! 'Bomber Shot!'" Edward taunted, letting the orb of explosive Mana to fly at Chunhwa, who barely managed to block with his sword, the blast causing him to back down a few steps. [-5 HP] While he was aware that Edward was capable of creating explosions, he didn't expect him to be able to launch them remotely.
Edward didn't let up on the assault, keeping Chunhwa at bay as he kept blasting him with Bomber Shots. He'd eventually either get hit, or try and Ignite Narumada, which wouldn't do anything against Haensing. In short, he couldn't lose this fight, as long as he could keep peppering the little knight.
"Hoy, Eddy-boy, while your skill with Shinsoo is commendable, this isn't the Wave Controller class, so stop bullying Chunhwy from a range, or I'll have to start deducting Points." Hax commented from the sidelines, both Edward and Chunhwa blanching at the nicknames the instructor came up with.
Now, Hax wasn't naive enough to think that the world worked on an honor system, with melee fighters fighting only other close-range specialists, or long-range fighter battling among themselves, but since this was the first combat class, she might as well try to make the fights fair.
[New Quest "Fisherman sparring" has been created!]
Due to your instructor wanting to make the fights fair, at least among the non-princesses, you have to defeat Chunhwa Hong justly, in melee combat.
Rewards:
-500 EXP
- 40 Test Points/Money
Winning Conditions:
-Defeat Chunhwa Hong, either by knockout or ring-out
-Use only close-range and mid-range skills
Losing Conditions:
-HP dropping to 0
-Using projectile Skills
-Leaving the Ring
'Melee combat it is then. Damn childish bitch.' Edward grimaced, channeling Mana over his body to form armour around himself, ignoring the prompt for creating a Skill called [Mana Cloak]. Using [Bomb Dash] to close the distance between himself and Chunhwa, surprising the Regular.
"Tally-HO!" Edward swung Haensing at Chunhwa, enlarging the hammer head to the size of an office chair.
'WOAH!' But Chunhwa's trained reflexes allowed the boy to jump back and avoid Edward's swing. While he had expected this kind of speed, the abrupt acceleration had caught him nearly off guard. He knew that he couldn't block his Ignition weapon, nor the resulting explosion.
"Extend" But Chunhwa had failed to account for Haesing's other feature, as the hammer rapidly extended, hitting him in the gut [-80 HP] while he was in the air, the impact sending him flying out of the ring.
[Quest Completed!]
Rewards:
- 500 EXP{X2]
- 40 Test Points/Money
"Well, that ended rather unceremoniously." Hax couldn't help but note with a rather nonchalant tone. 'Note to self: next time, get a bigger arena.' she couldn't properly grade her students if they kept pushing each other off the platform. Maybe she could use a cage...
The Regulars around Hax carefully and slowly inched away from the Ranker as she started giggling, her mind having wandered to the mature section of her brain.
"Hey, no hard feelings about the fight, right?" Edward asked as he offered a hand to Chunhwa. The wannabe knight would be quite useful as an ally, so what better moment to spark up a companionship.
"No hard feelings, just a few sore spots." Chunhwa answered lightheartedly, accepting the offered hand.
"Ah, sorry about that mate, but hey, at least you're still in shape to continue the exam." Edward pointed out as the two walked away from the arena. He needed Chunhwa to make it at least to the Hide and Seek test, beyond that, he wouldn't be necessary.
"Eddy's right y'know. Even a single nasty boo-boo could mean not passing this Floor." Hax agreed, standing in front of the two.
"See, you need a certain amount of points to pass the Position test, and you can't get points if you don't attend your lessons." she explained, making sure that everyone heard and understood, as she wasn't going to repeat herself.
'Heh, sucks to be them.' Edward thought to himself as he watched the Regulars' faces twist to worry and fear, no doubt afraid of injuring themselves to the point of being unable to continue the test. That would make fighting them much easier, as they would be afraid of taking chances. Honestly, he didn't need to worry about injuries, as long as his HP didn't hit 0, all he'd need to do is sleep it off.
Too bad he wasn't a Saiyan, 'cause that combined with his [Gamer's Body] would be so OP.
[After the class...]
'Now let's test this out.' Edward thought to himself as he approached the library's door, noticing that Hoh was walking away from the hall. While he had tested out his Empty ID in his own room, he wanted to make sure that only he was dragged into the Illusion Barrier, and no-one else.
"[ID Create: Empty]" he softly whispered, grinning as Hoh disappeared from the view. With a wicked grin, he opened the library's door, noticing it devoid of life, even the library's caretaker was nowhere to be seen, and he didn't hear anything that indicated somebody else being there.
[For figuring out a method to avoid being spotted while you absorb Skill Books, you gain 4{X2] points in INT and WIS]
"Oh, this too perfect!" Edward cackled as he walked over to one of the bookcases he knew had a skill book. With his Empty ID, he wouldn't have to worry about getting caught absorbing a book, unless the book also disappeared outside his Illusion Barrier.
"Let's see..." he trailed his finger over the spines of the books, until he found the one he was looking for, a book detailing sewing and other methods of making clothing. A Skill Book that would no doubt be useful when he managed to obtain some crafting materials from ID monsters.
[Skill Book: The art of making clothes]
This book will help you in becoming at least competent in making clothing from basic materials, and doing minor fixes.
Stat Requirements: 20+ INT, 10+ WIS, 15+ DEX
[You are unable to learn this Skill]
Edward quickly added 3 of his Stat points to Dexterity and proceeded to watch as the book was enveloped in circuits, the book breaking apart into fragments that flowed into his head.
[New Skill: Crafting(Clothing) has been learned]
Passive Skill Effect: Obtain the Skill Books [Jewellery] and [Metalwork] to fully unlock [Crafting].
Passive Skill LV: 1
EXP: Complete [Crafting] in order to level up this Skill
"Well, I guess it makes sense." Edward sighed in disappointment, starting his search for the other parts of the Skill. And with [Bomb Dash], it didn't take long before he found the other two books, [Jewellery] requiring 25 in Intelligence and in 15 in both Wisdom and Dexterity, while [Metalwork] required 20 in Strength, 15 in Intelligence, Vitality and Dexterity.
[The "Crafting" Skill has been fully unlocked!]
Passive Effect: +2% chance of success when crafting an item.
Passive Skill LV: 1
EXP: 0/100
"Okay, not exactly what I was expecting." Edward had honestly expected for the skill to have different levels for each branch of crafting, or for the skill to require 300 EXP to level up, but he wasn't going to argue, not when he had more important skills to acquire.
But, he shouldn't get too greedy before making sure that the books didn't disappear outside the ID, since if too many books disappeared, even if they were such low-grade books, there would be more of a tightened security around the library, and that could lead to each Regular being monitored.
So, with that in mind, Edward quickly made his way out of the library, and entered the boy's bathroom. Oh sure, he could go to his room before dispelling the ID, but nobody seeing him enter the room would be way too suspicious.
"[ID Escape]" he clenched his fist, the Illusion Barrier shattering, revealing that he wasn't alone in the bathroom.
"WOAH, WHAT THE FUCK!" Ship screamed with a shocked and frightened expression on his face, while Hatsu had a relatively calmer expression, but still more shocked than what Edward had ever seen of the swordsman in the story.
'Maybe I should've just went straight to my room.'
AN: That's all folks! I hope you liked the chapter. I'm sorry it took this long to make, but RL kept getting in the way (Fun little trivia about me: According to a Psychology test our class had to take in Psychology, I have a ISTJ-type personality), and I was kinda bummed out that only 3 of you guys reviewed United we Stand, since I was really hoping for at the very least 10 reviews, but I guess I should've published it before RWBY Volume 4 came out, but I wanted to publish it right when Volume 4 started.
It's really frustrating when over 300 people look at the story, and only less than 10 leave a review, it really makes me depressed about writing when most of the readers weren't invested enough to leave even a simple "Nice job, I hope to see more". But, I guess people were busy fangasming over Volume 4, so I can't really blame them.
Current Stats for Edward.
/Irregular\
Edward Smith LV: 19
/Power\
Exp: 1350/1900
HP: 450
Mana/MP: 140
BP: 167
STR: 29{+210}
INT: 37
VIT: 24{+160}
WIS: 38
DEX: 23
AGI: 16{+30}
Points: 39
Perks/Buffs/Debuffs:
High Shinsoo Resistance LV1: the ability to resist Shinsoo.{-62.3% damage taken from BP attacks. Ignore AGI Debuffs in areas with High or lower amounts of Shinsoo.}
And here's my current roster of active stories:
Tower of Gamer{Evident by this chapter]
Enduring Soul{I'll be updating this one next, I just have bit of a problem with the Spirit Ring Skill and Beasts]
United we Stand: Open the Game!{And this one will be updated after that]
Now, some of you might be understandably angry at me for not including my Akame ga Kill/DDS fanfic on here, but I have decided to wait until the manga is finished so that I'll be able to plan it all out in more detail.
And as for why D.D.D: Rising Goetia isn't on the roster, well let's just say that I need to wait for certain things to happen before I'll continue it, but please be patient.
Guest reviews answered:
Guest(5th of August, 2016): Thanks, I hope you'll like the future ones as well. Also, any interactions you'd specifically like to see?
Mr Koon(25th of July): Thanks for the compliments, I pride myself in the ability to implement the Gamer stuff, but I guess that's good since I'm studying at Animation and Game-Developing.
Moonflower(17th of July): Well, your wishes have been answered, and you got two left, so use them wisely ;)
TheOne(14th of July): Glad to see that you're liking T.O.G-Edward's character.
And here's the Question of the chapter, well, it's not really a Question, more of a Request:
I'm having a bit of trouble designing Spirit Beasts for Enduring Soul, Spirit Beasts that Shen would be facing, so I'm asking you, my dear viewers to try and come up with at least 1 Spirit Beast for Shen to hunt and acquire a Spirit Ring Skill from.
Now, I'm not expecting much, considering the nature of my request, but I will say that I will be updating Enduring Soul regardless of whether or not you guys make up a Spirit Beast. All I ask is that you guys try and make it fit with the theme of death, so I don't know, maybe some reptiles, hyenas or mosquitoes would probably be a good place to start from.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AN: That's all folks! I hope you liked the chapter. I'm sorry it took this long to make, but RL kept getting in the way (Fun little trivia about me: According to a Psychology test our class had to take in Psychology, I have a ISTJ-type personality), and I was kinda bummed out that only 3 of you guys reviewed United we Stand, since I was really hoping for at the very least 10 reviews, but I guess I should've published it before RWBY Volume 4 came out, but I wanted to publish it right when Volume 4 started.
It's really frustrating when over 300 people look at the story, and only less than 10 leave a review, it really makes me depressed about writing when most of the readers weren't invested enough to leave even a simple "Nice job, I hope to see more". But, I guess people were busy fangasming over Volume 4, so I can't really blame them.
Current Stats for Edward.
/Irregular\
Edward Smith LV: 19
/Power\
Exp: 1350/1900
HP: 450
Mana/MP: 140
BP: 167
STR: 29{+210}
INT: 37
VIT: 24{+160}
WIS: 38
DEX: 23
AGI: 16{+30}
Points: 39
Perks/Buffs/Debuffs:
High Shinsoo Resistance LV1: the ability to resist Shinsoo.{-62.3% damage taken from BP attacks. Ignore AGI Debuffs in areas with High or lower amounts of Shinsoo.}
And here's my current roster of active stories:
Tower of Gamer{Evident by this chapter]
Enduring Soul{I'll be updating this one next, I just have bit of a problem with the Spirit Ring Skill and Beasts]
United we Stand: Open the Game!{And this one will be updated after that]
Now, some of you might be understandably angry at me for not including my Akame ga Kill/DDS fanfic on here, but I have decided to wait until the manga is finished so that I'll be able to plan it all out in more detail.
And as for why D.D.D: Rising Goetia isn't on the roster, well let's just say that I need to wait for certain things to happen before I'll continue it, but please be patient.
Guest reviews answered:
Guest(5th of August, 2016): Thanks, I hope you'll like the future ones as well. Also, any interactions you'd specifically like to see?
Mr Koon(25th of July): Thanks for the compliments, I pride myself in the ability to implement the Gamer stuff, but I guess that's good since I'm studying at Animation and Game-Developing.
Moonflower(17th of July): Well, your wishes have been answered, and you got two left, so use them wisely ;)
TheOne(14th of July): Glad to see that you're liking T.O.G-Edward's character.
And here's the Question of the chapter, well, it's not really a Question, more of a Request:
I'm having a bit of trouble designing Spirit Beasts for Enduring Soul, Spirit Beasts that Shen would be facing, so I'm asking you, my dear viewers to try and come up with at least 1 Spirit Beast for Shen to hunt and acquire a Spirit Ring Skill from.
Now, I'm not expecting much, considering the nature of my request, but I will say that I will be updating Enduring Soul regardless of whether or not you guys make up a Spirit Beast. All I ask is that you guys try and make it fit with the theme of death, so I don't know, maybe some reptiles, hyenas or mosquitoes would probably be a good place to start from.
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