"Let me start. I believe we have all been transported to another world and are currently in a dungeon. I've read a lot of novels with this type of storyline." David said, accurately assessing the situation.
'So he's a fantasy novel reader like me.'
I thought while listening to his recounting. Like all of us, David woke up in the dark cave. However, he was lucky enough to start with his backpack still on him and he was also in a room with a treasure chest. Inside was the shortsword he was now using and some more magic crystals. He used the sword to kill any cockroaches he encountered and soon found Fran. She led him to where I was nearly killed but didn't find me so they started following the markings I left on the ground until they reached Danae.
Fran started off with Renz and met with the mud monster resulting in Renz's death. Only Jeff didn't know about this so he was quite shocked to hear the news.
"After Fran left me to die…" I said while glaring at her. "I did my best to crawl away from the thing and accidently found a hidden passage with a treasure chest inside. I got a book from the chest and knowledge suddenly entered my head. Since then…"
I created a mud spear while l told the others my made-up story.
"I was able to use earth type magic. I used this to defeat the mud monster and then I continued killing until I reached this place where Danae and Jeff were."
"Hmm. That book must have been a Skill Book which let you learn a skill." David said what I hoped he would. A lie becomes much more believable when more people say the same thing.
"But when did your hair and eyes turn red?" Danae asked.
'What?!'
Seeing the confusion on my face, David quickly took a picture of me and showed it to me.
'Oh my god! I'm a ginger now! NOOOOOOOO! And I look so edgy with the red eyes. Ughhhhh. My life is over…'
I was freaking out in my head but I didn't show it to the others.
"I have no idea. I haven't really had the time to check my appearance." I replied while crying on the inside.
"Also when I hugged you earlier there was more pressure on my chest than before. I couldn't wrap my arms around you like in school…"
'Damn how come Danae is so perceptive! I can't exactly say that I gave myself a little… Okay a decent upgrade.'
"Must be your imagination." I denied everything.
"Okay then…" Danae started to speak next.
...
"No! There's no way he could die just like that!" Jeff had a huge reaction when he heard about Jaimar's death.
"It's all my fault!" Danae said while tearing up. "If only… If only I went back for him and ran with him he wouldn't have… *sob*"
She started crying again. I glared at Jeff for making her cry.
"He… He probably stayed behind on purpose…" Jeff mumbled to himself. No one else heard him, but with my Sensing skill I was able to.
'Did Jaimar have a thing for Danae? And so does Jeff? Is that why they were always fighting? Ooohhh. An actual high school love triangle straight out of those dramas. And now one of the rivals died leaving a scar on the heroine. How will the remaining guy deal with this situation in order to get the girl?'
My eyes started to gleam as I realized what had been going on. I didn't expect to see such a dramatic plot in real life. I'm anticipating what happens next. I looked over to Jeff to see what he was going to do.
"Listen Danae. Jaimar's death is not your fault. It's the fault of whoever brought us to this place. We have to find a way back in order to let his family and Renz's family know. We owe that much to them as the survivors…"
'Oh my god. A hero! This guy is a real hero! He is straight up protagonist material! Despite losing a leg he still has the drive and motivation to push forward! Gaaaah I am fan-girling so hard right now!'
Fran started crying on the side after hearing what Jeff said.
'Don't ruin this Fran! Don't give me more reasons to hate you!' I thought inwardly.
"He's right. Right now we have to focus on our survival while looking for a way back to our world." David said.
'Well that sort of killed the mood. Damn.'
"Yeah. *Sniff* You guys are right. Now's not the time to be crying. Let's work together to find a way home." Danae said filled with new-found motivation. Fran stopped crying as well after hearing this.
'Oh well. There's always a next time. Will Jeff be able to heal the scars Jaimar left behind? Maybe future events will lead Danae to fall for David? How will Fran react to two classmates getting lovey-dovey when her boyfriend just died? I can't wait for the next episode hehehehe.'
*Grrrrrr*
Suddenly, a grumbling noise was heard coming from Danae. She turned red as a tomato soon after.
"I… I haven't eaten in a long time, okay?" She said.
"Here, I have some snacks still in my bag." Said David while handing Danae a bag of chips. He was the type of guy who looks like he would constantly get high grades and was a top student in the whole school. But in reality, his grades were average, similar to me and Flaire. He barely paid attention during class and he constantly ate snacks while the teacher's back was turned.
*Grrrrrr*
Seeing the bag of chips, Jeff's stomach started to growl as well.
"I guess we can share." Danae said while giggling.
'Is the next episode airing already?!' Seeing the mood between them reignite, I watched them while trying to not let them notice.
"Hey Ruby. You said that you were able to meet Danae and Jeff right? What happened to the thing that got Jaimar?"
David started talking to me but I wanted to keep watching Danae and Jeff.
"I killed it." I replied quickly while trying to show that I didn't want to talk to him. Unfortunately, everyone heard what I said so they started paying attention to me.
'Nooo! I can't believe I interrupted the show!' With no other choice, I told them about my fight with the cockroach army. Heavily edited and toned down of course.
"I simply stayed far away from them while I threw earth spears until they all died. It used up a lot of mana so I got really tired afterwards."
"Then that means that you were probably the one who caused the announcement earlier." David said and I saw Fran nodding. But the rest of us had no clue what he was talking about.
Noticing us, David asked in confusion.
"Didn't you guys hear a voice in your head saying: Dungeon Boss was terminated. Next respawn in 6 hours."
'What?! The Cockroach Queen was a dungeon boss? It will respawn? There was an announcement?! Why didn't I hear anything after I killed it then?'
A bunch of questions appeared in my mind.
"I think I heard that but I was asleep at the time. Actually, that voice woke me up. That's why I called out and Ruby found me." Danae said. Jeff was unconscious so he probably didn't hear it.
"You guys should say 'Status' out loud. You will be able to see your details in this world." David said.
Everyone started trying it out including me even though I already tried before. I even tried saying it with mana this time but nothing happened. Everyone else seemed to have been able to see something. They then started to discuss with each other about what they saw and what stats they had. I couldn't relate at all to them so I felt kind of let down and out of place. It seemed that they got a normal game-like system when they entered this world while I didn't. A typical status that they saw was like this:
Name: Danae Gabio
Age: 17
Race: Human
Job: Commoner Lv. 1
HP: 100/100
MP: 0/10
Attack: 1
Defense: 1
Magic Attack: 1
Magic Defense: 1
Stats: -omitted-
Skills: -omitted-
'I'm starting to feel a bit jealous. How come they all have the same type of system while mine is almost practically self-made. The only thing that I didn't make were the skill names and my race.'
I didn't mention my different status to them. A common thing I noticed was that they all currently had zero MP, had one skill, and had the Commoner job. David had a higher level than everyone else since he had killed some cockroaches already.
"My skill is called Metal Magic. It allows me to manipulate any metal that I can see or touch. But since I don't have any MP, I can't use it." David said.
'Oh come on! They can even see descriptions! What is up with the unfair treatment of this world?!'
"Mine is Wind Magic. It's like yours except with wind. I can also use it for long range attacks." Jeff said.
"I have Space Magic. I can manipulate the space around me and create a separate space to store objects and items." Danae said.
"My skill is Water Magic. It's the water version of your guy's skills." Fran said.
I'm starting to see a pattern here. I decided to copy their style of skills in order to not expose myself.
"Mine is Earth Magic as you have already seen. I also have another skill called Mana Vision which lets me sense stuff with mana. My job has also become Earth Magician and I'm level 15."
I made up my status to make all the things I've shown more believable. Everyone nodded after I spoke not doubting anything I said.
"I think that the skill you got from the skill book was Mana Vision. We all got a type of element magic when we were transferred here but only Ruby can use hers because of the skill she got. Do you still have the book on you?"
David started making deductions like a true video game expert. Sadly, I was lying most of the time when I was telling my story.
"It disappeared when I got the skill. I'm sorry."
"Ah. Don't worry. It's a typical game feature for skill books to be single use." David replied. I also knew that but I didn't speak up.
"Why don't we look for more of those books then? Or try leveling up and changing jobs like Ruby?" Fran suggested.
"Good idea."
"Let's go with that."
"Ruby please make me something with your earth magic to help with my leg."
Everyone started to get excited now that they had a reachable goal…
"… Or you guys can try sensing the mana that's all around you and absorbing it."
Hearing what I said they all started to look at me with a bit of contempt.
'Sorry for ruining your enthusiasm.'
CHAPTER END.
Name: Ruby Sen
Age: 17
Race: Half-Human?
HP: 10 [25%]
MP: 15 [95%]
STR: 10 (+5)
DEF: 10 (+25)
INT: 17
WILL: 15
SPD: 8
<
Assimilate
Mana Manipulation
Physical Resistance
Weaponized Limbs
Foresight
Shapeshift
<
Dissolve
Body Enhancement
Mind Enhancement
Mana Release
Sensing
Analysis
Camouflage
Sculpting
Detonate
Spawn
<
Tongue Enhancement