Lorren stood rooted to the ground, mouth slightly open. Norah and Ryan seemed to find it a bit weird, so they asked him in a slightly concerned tone.
"Are you okay?"
Quickly closing his mouth, Lorren realized that these were the main characters! That was... quick.
"Y-yea, sorry. I'm Lorren. I thought your names sounded familiar for a second, but it's a different person."
The reason he was so surprised was because earlier, he was both too far away and too caught up with the recording to have a clear look at their faces. Now that he looked at them more closely, they did resemble the main characters. However, they seemed much worse for wear, with their spear and sword standing out due to their cleanliness and fanciness compared to their clothes.
"Anyways, we've gotta get back home. We'll see you later?"
Norah asked. Lorren responded quite quickly.
"Yea, of course. Anyway, let's keep in touch. Do you go to Jenora Public School too?"
This time, Ryan responded.
"Y-yes, actually. I think I've seen you around a few times, too."
Both parties then began to leave.
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Three months later, this school year is over. The students will have three months of break. Lorren was walking outside with Norah and Ryan.
"Hey Lorren, do you... do you consider us friends?"
Ryan asked, seemingly thinking of me as a friend but under the impression I wouldn't reciprocate.
"Well duh, what kind of question is that?"
Lorren responded. At this point, he wasn't thinking of the system much, besides checking the quests every once in a while. However, at that moment, the system reappeared.
[Ding! Host has completed Act 0 Mission: Befriend Main Characters. Act 0 Reward being calculated.]
[Ding! Mission Rating: A. Rewards: 1x Attribute Addition Card, 1x Ability Card, 1,000 VP]
[Ding! Act 0 Finished, Act 1 quest and mission activating.]
Dazed by all the messages, Lorren spaces out for a bit. Concerned, Ryan asks him what the problem is. Coming back to his senses, Lorren makes up an excuse before going back to the orphanage.
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Inside his room at the orphanage, Lorren reads each part of the System's messages with rising joy. Quickly moving to his Menu, he finds all four options. Status showed him his relationships with people, his current health, including if he's poisoned, starving, etc., and his current mana capacity. Ability showed him all the details of his ability. Quest/Storyline showed him the current progression of the story and the current Act and missions to be completed. It was also currently showing a blinking red dot. And finally, the Shop. He had checked it out before, but everything there cost VP. However, now... he had the ability to get something with his thousand VP. It wasn't much, but he could get something.
Checking out the Quests Tab, he found that the red light was there to inform him of the new Act and its missions. Act 1 had many missions, more than just "befriend the MCs" like was in Act 0. The three quests were:
[Q1: Find the other MCs to create the team required for Q2.]
[Q2: Complete the "First Mission" Arc.]
[Q3: Rank within the Top 20 of the Ability Assessment.]
'Unfortunately, it seems like the time required for this one would be several years. For one, my knowledge only extends to around the end of the "First Mission" Arc. That would make it slower to do many things. Second, I'd have to train for a while because if I miss the first Ability Assessment I would have to wait for the next. Right now, it would be weird if I didn't just collapse at the Assessment from the backlash of my abilities, much less make the top 20. And finally, meeting the other characters before the arc shouldn't be too hard as it will happen naturally. However, adding myself to that mix might unbalance the team should I be unable to fight well or at least do my job.'
'However, why get caught up in all that when I have new juicy coupons and VP to play with. Hehe.'
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A few minutes later, he's finished with his new ability. This is how it looks.
[Enhanced Body:
Modifiers: Low-Grade Ability
Attributes:
-Enhanced Memory: You will be able to recall your memories with higher clarity than before. Things you sense, whether that is the text in a book or the sound of a specific bird, you will remember.
-Enhanced Perception: You can perceive things with extreme clarity. Your enhanced senses allow you to "feel" mana and mana flow. You can also enhance your eyesight further to "see" mana and mana flow, requires a constant flow of mana to do so.
Restrictions: Using any of Enhanced Body's active attributes will strain those parts affected.]
Clicking done, Lorren waits but finds a special message instead of his new ability.
[Ding! New ability has been found to be worth less than 9,999 VP. Due to use of coupon, attributes Enhanced Memory and Enhanced Perception have been upgraded.]
[Enhanced Body:
Modifiers: Low-Grade Ability
Attributes:
-Eidetic Memory: Your memory is so fine tuned that you can remember and recall things as you wish. No matter if it's a random insect calling to its mate or a single word inside a book, you will remember.
-Advanced Perception: You are able to, at all times, "sense" mana, as well as "see" mana. By fortifying any part of the body used for perception with mana, you will be able to enhance it to another level.
Restrictions: When using Enhanced Body's active attributes, strain will be placed on that part of the body. Strain ultimately depends on body's natural strength and length of use.]
"Wow."
That was all Lorren could mutter. This was much better than what he was hoping for, but it was quite simple after all, and there were only two abilities as well. Now done with that, he was about to move one when a sharp pain hit his entire body, and especially places like his hears and eyes. Only after a few minutes did the pain subside. However, things felt different. It felt... crisper. Easier to hear things, to see things. And when he focused on certain objects long enough, he could see small nodes connected by lines, make patterns around the object.
"Is this my Advanced Perception attribute?"
Realizing that it was, he focused on himself and found that he could see the flow of mana.
'This is gonna be really useful...'
Lorren thought to himself. Then, recollecting himself, he went into the shop. However, the results were slightly disappointing.
'What? Mana pills for 100 VP each?! What the- demonic sword for 1,000,000 VP?! Why is everything so expensive?! System, can you filter this for me? After all, I cant buy anything that's worth more than 1,000 VP.'
[Ding! Of course, Host. Just ask for what filter the System should set.]
'Hmmm... I want things under 1,000, and try to make it useful for both my current level and my abilities.'
After filtering, things were still expensive but nothing really caught my eye. Right before I went with the mana pills to get stronger, I found it.
[Mechanic's Kit
-Contains everything you need for modification and enhancement. Complete with tools, materials, and 2x Basic Equipment Blueprints (Random).
Price: 1,000 VP]
'Wow. This could be used for so many things. Wait, if I modify something, does it become my own creation? If so, then...'
Thinking of a certain idea, Lorren grabbed the kit. Even if the idea doesn't work, the kit will still be useful for creating his own tools.
[Ding! Shop item "Mechanic's Kit" has been bought. Would you like to materialize now? Y/N]
'Yes.'
[Ding! Materializing.]
In front of him, something which could only be called magical happened. Whit dots appeared, at first only a few, but they grew every second. Gradually, they coalesced into a form exactly like that of the toolbox, only that it's made of white light. A bright flash, and there it was. The thing that could allow me to finish my first creation. The Mechanic's Kit.