"First dibs. I claim this."
"Why…did a chest appear?" Toru said softly then walked over to peek inside. Harumi's healing wave of warmth and relief spread to the party as they awed at the piled of cash and trinkets inside the chest.
Clyde stashed the book and the secret wad of cash he swiped, into his inventory. He'd check out the magic book later—an amazing find! He found something else and added to his inventory. Someone would appreciate it greatly.
"Clyde, what was that power?" Harumi said, placing a hand on his arm. "I've never seen anything like it."
He shrugged. "No idea. Long story and I'm tired. Let's call it a night."
"But—"
"I'll explain in due time," he interrupted the pink-haired anime girl.
"You've got to," Kitome said as she left the chest. "Or else, I'll have to make you in the name of love and justice."
"Love and justice these n—" he paused. "Yeah, yeah. Let's just—"
"Here, take this," Kitome loudly blabbed. "Found it in that weird chest. Suits you."
She handed him over a silver necklace with a crystal-like charm.
[Your relationship with Kitome has changed from neutral to friendly.]
[Your relationship with Toru has changed for neutral to friendly—slight respect.]
[You received Necklace of Strength. Item rarity: uncommon.]
"Thanks for saving our lives," Kitome said. "Can't believe we ran into something so nasty."
"The demon lord's lackeys are more impressive than I thought. We'd better remember that," Toru said.
Clyde put on the necklace, feeling the tiny trickle of strength enter him. He nodded in approval.
"Thank you, Kitome," he said.
The blue-haired girl smiled.
"Is it the nicest thing someone has done for you?" her eyes twinkled with mischief.
He sighed.
"The second."
Kitome gave him a blank stare.
"Then what's the first?"
"Harumi's hospitality when I moved to this city," he said, seeming to catch everyone off guard with the declaration. "Now let's get home. I'm beat."
"I'll get cabs for everyone," Toru said then added. "Just this once."
[Toru and Kitome have left the party.]
[Quest completed. Reward: $50 and 150 EXP.]
"Need a healing sleep?" Harumi teased as she unlocked her door.
Clyde pulled out the item that he snatched from the chest. Sure, Kitome would probably love to do her stupid magical girl cosplay with it, but Clyde needed a better party. And since Harumi was his companion, the choice stood.
"And a hot shower," he answered her question then presented her with a pink wand, embedded with glowing gems and gold flowerily designs.
[You have presented Harumi with the Wand of Roses. Item class: Rare. This is ideal for a healer]
Harumi's eyes widened.
"This should help with any ranged healing," Clyde said. "It probably has other abilities, but that's for you to figure out. Take it. It's a gift from a friend."
He winked and gave her a bright white smile.
[Your relationship with Harumi has increased from friend to friend-closer level 1. Warning, advancing further will mean effort, but could also, trigger jealousy while other women are around.]
Clyde shrugged that off. It was just level one. He figured something like level fifteen or twenty would actually be worrisome, not that he knew the max levels with relationships yet. What if it was something like five. Another thought for later.
After Harumi briefly inspected the magnificent wand, she threw her arms around Clyde in a warm hug. Except …everything hurt. He groaned.
"Sorry," she said, pulling away. "This is amazing. I'm really looking forward to seeing what else you could make happen."
Clyde shrugged.
"Who knows? Anyway, eh, good night Harumi. To the shower, I go."
He thought he heard her mutter an innuendo as he unlocked his door. Soon after his shower, he cooked himself a burger. Nothing like a simple dinner after fighting for his life against deadly monsters.
That night, he smiled at his stat increases. And best of all, he could finally buy the damn magical printer. That would enable him to check out new areas without getting utterly lost.
His thoughts fell back to that mysterious candy-eating girl…who was she? She was too cute to be a lackey of the demon lord. Clyde knew better. It's anime. That girl felt no threat from his group whatsoever. If that Meta-pumko housed immense strength, there was no telling how much the girl had. Ah well. Another bridge to cross when he arrived. He could…try befriending her. Maybe without telling the others.
[Quest: guess what?]
"Oh fuck, please don't, you evil system. You can't do this to me."
[This quest is mandatory and cannot be refused,]
Clyde's stat sheet. You may skip to the next chapter.
Name: Clyde.
Level: 13
Type: Main character/ Stone.
HP: 100%
MP: 100%
Attack: 28 (+6)
Defense: 26 (+1)
Speed: 30
Luck: 25
Will: 28
Intellect: 31
Form: 0
Special: ???
Special Abilities: none.
Hidden stats revealed:
Special Defense: 21
Paranoia:
Charisma: 19
Composure: 16
Evasion: 11
Free points: 6.
Skills:
- Athlete: 10% bonus to speed and Will. [Passive].
-Hostile Detection 3: detects hostiles within a certain range of you. Detects enemy information. [Passive].
-Heart Protection 2: you're 28% less affected by unwanted mental magic or skills from enemies. You gain a 13% bonus to your ability to convince others to do anything that would protect their hearts. [Passive]. 5% chance to break from any magic or charismatic hold.
- Secret sword and martial arts combination. Random unknown increases to speed, defense, and will during battle. Chance to critical increases by 2%. [Passive].
- Crafting 1: enables you to craft items using everyday objects. [Passive].
Unarmed attacks:
-Roundhouse kick. [Attack] – does physical damage. Change of knockdown at 5%.
Sword attacks:
-Precise Slash 2. [Attack] – does physical damage. Chance of critical at 5%
-Deep Slash 1. [Attack]- does physical damage. Chance to cause bleeding at 6%. Chance to stun at 2%.
Combat level:
basic. Combat style: basic.
Magic:
-Energy Ball. Type: spiritual. Class: mysterious.
-Scatter Shot. Type: spiritual. Class: mysterious. Description: Shoot a flurry of energy balls at multiple enemies. 1% chance to stun an enemy.
Talent:
Main character stuff.
Bonus:
10% boost to relationship stats with Harumi and her friends.
+5% damage for a physical attack.
Inventory:
$ 783
-Map of Lot City, Satovia.
-Smartphone.
-Key.
-Reminder for practice- note.
- Mysterious book.
Equipment:
-Beginner's sword- +5 to attack.
-School uniform or casual clothes.
-School shoes or casual shoes.
-Necklace of strength. (Uncommon)- +1 attack +1 defense.
-no rings.
Classes: (year1).
-Satovia History 1.
-Romance Literature 1.
-Sciences 1.
-Crafting 1.
Phone numbers:
-Chika.
-Harumi.
-Naomi
Quest log:
-Find a printer. Optional step: raise money(completed).