White, white, and white? It's all white.
I looked around me, and instead of just seeing black, everything that stretches into the horizon is all but white to the purest form there is of the combination of all colors.
Why am I...here? Wait...wait!
Did I die!? Again?! But I defeated, no, we defeated that hydra so why am I here?
Is this the afterlife? The post-credits? Is it game over once again?
Haaaaaaaaaahh.....haiiiiyaaaaaah
[You should stop sighing though] (??) Na?! Who?!
I looked around in search of the voice, and when I made a 360* turn, I saw an old man who was sitting on a mat in a room where the floor was made of tatami mats.
Isn't this an isekai cliche?
[Come sit down for a moment young man, I have a lot to discuss with you about, also have some tea to recover your mental health] (??) In the end, I cannot help but accept his offer, for I feel that it was and would be really rude to reject the polite offer of having tea and biscuits.
[I know you have a lot of questions to be asked, but the first one would be who I am. The answer for that is not important, for I feel like you already knew who I would be based on your memories] (??) He knew...well. As expected of god.
[As for why your soul got pulled here, the same also happened to you during your reincarnation process, except this time you haven't died] (??) Oh????
When he said that, he flicks his finger, and a 50-inch flat-screen TV then appeared out of thin air and a video then starts to play...wait a minute...I am familiar with what this is!!!
[As you can see it is the game your abilities were based upon. I actually rushed the system behind your abilities so I apologize for that, however, to find more clues about what you wanted to be, I decided to have a go at this game...which is now dead, to begin with] (??) I can't deny that.
I looked at the number of players still playing it...dropped to only 2000...yikes. The numbers have decreased drastically over the course of years, and the said players have transferred to playing Apex Legends instead. News of a 3rd titanfall game was quite hot, but comments are getting pessimistic over the news and said it will be like the 2nd game which will just die later on.
[As you can see, it is quite frustrating seeing your favorite game die, but that is how the industry works especially for games. Games that are good stay and the developer adds more update to make them more interesting, games that have no more potential just stops at some certain point, and then the players get bored and the game just dies. It's the ugly reality, the cruel truth that games will really go up and down. Anyway, enough of that matter, what I really wanted to discuss is if there are inconveniences in the abilities you have got] (??) Hmm?? Inconveniences? For now, there aren't, but if I were to comment on something...is this world something akin to dark fantasy?
[It may seem to be something out of a dark fantasy novel or story, however, dangers are common in this world] (??) God replied and smiled.
I see...
[Are there any more questions lingering in your mind that need enlightenment?] (??)
None. I am satisfied with what I heard.
[Is that so? Ahahahaha! Even if you end the conversation there, we will meet more in the future anyway] (??)
Huh?
Wai--
AND I HOPE YOU WILL LIVE A GOOD LIFE IN THIS WORLD
...
...
...
[Huh?]
With that, the white plain that I saw immediately becomes the view of the blue sky, clouds, birds, and the stretched rectangular reticle visual sensor of Ronin staring at me.
[Welcome back, pilot] (Ronin)
[Jack!?] (Nene)
[Big brother woke up!!!] (Tanya)
[Phew~ I thought he was done for, I am glad it was not the worst-case scenario] (Rikka) The heck?!
[You guys...where?] I looked at the tactical map and saw that we were still near the lakeside, the aftermath of the battle is still here as evidenced by the burnt trees and decayed matter as well as the body of the hydra being still there, unmoving.
I sat upright and then stood, still my head feels like I got the worst hangover. It hurts, but it was now bearable and probably okay. The girls sighed in relief, I guess I really made everyone worried...I felt bad for making them worry.
[I guess we have more reason to rush our travels to the nearby city, let's get moving] I still feel like shit, but I feel like I dreamed of something before waking up...what was it though? Was it important? I guess...not?
[Are you sure you're fine? You look pale earlier, so I think we should just stay here for a bit before continuing] (Nene)
[Uhn, big brother does not look good even right now] (Tanya) Ehhhhh??????
[You have a pale complexion, pilot. Resting is recommended to aid the exhaustion of both the mind and body] (Ronin)
[Haaah. Fine] I laid back on the ground and closed my eyes...I guess taking a rest after strenuous activity is good as well.
That means the continuation of the trip will be postponed until tomorrow.
Dear god, I'm (35) 20 but my back hurts, right, Tanya was hugging me in my neck the whole time during the fight with the hydra so that was probably the reason. I see, so this will just dissipate after some time and rest.
[Please protect these girls, I will just take a comfortable nap in this place] Since it is not good to lie down on the ground, especially near the lakeside where monsters might just pop out of nowhere.
[Affirmative] (Ronin) Along with its affirmation, I also let the plasma drone from earlier come back to its dispenser and then stored it back in the INVENTORY.
Though after I woke up, it is now harder for me to sleep back. In the end, I just looked at my character status screen and Ronin.
================================================================================
TITAN: RONIN
GAUGE: 75%
LEVEL: 1/10 [1,000/100,000]
HP: 7,500/7,500
ENERGY: 500/500
ATK: 150
DEF: 180
END: 250
SKILLS:
ORDNANCE: ARC WAVE LV1
DEFENSIVE ABILITY: SWORD BLOCK---
+ARC FIELD LV1
TACTICAL ABILITY:
PHASE DASH LV1
CORE ABILITY:
SWORD CORE LV1
TITAN KIT I: PHASE REFLEX LV1
U. TITAN KIT: ASSAULT CHIP LV1
TITAN DEPLOYMENT: TITANFALL | WARPFALL
================================================================================
[Hmmmmm...] Damn, that needs over 99,000 more EXP to level up to 2 huh.....Fuuuaaaaah...I guess leveling up Ronin is quite a long road than mine.
================================================================================
CHARACTER STATUS
NAME: JACK COOPER
AGE: 20 YEARS OLD
RACE: HUMAN
OCCUPATION: [MILITIA] TITAN PILOT LV5 [15/1100]
TITAN: RONIN LV1 [1,000/100,000]
HP: 100/100
ENERGY: 100/100
STR: 15
VIT: 10
DEF: 15
STAMINA: 15
LUCK: 13
STATUS POINTS: +5
SKILLS:
CLOAK LV1
STIM LV1
GRAPPLE LV1
A-WALL LV1
PHASE SHIFT LV1
PULSE BLADE LV1
HOLOGRAPHIC PILOT LV1
SKILL POINTS: +5
PILOT KIT I: FAST REGENERATION LV1
PILOT KIT II: LOW PROFILE LV1
TITLE:
DAVID & GOLIATH
================================================================================
[Hooooooooooo...5 points for the status and skill points respectively] Are these points for distribution?
{STATUS POINTS WILL INCREASE THE VALUE OF A SELECTED STATUS PARAMETER}
{POINTS NEEDED TO INCREASE THE VALUE IN ALL STATUS PARAMETERS ARE EQUAL, BUT IT FOLLOWS A [1=1, 2=2, 3=3, 4=4] MANNER}
Ahhhh....so it is just like to level up to my current level of 5, I had to earn a total EXP of 1,000EXP. Which in turn is a series like 100=>200==>300==>400. Now that makes more sense when I think of it.
The status points are different from skill points, for the latter is to increase the skill level for better efficiency. Status points increase depending on how much one invests in their status points. For example, if I want to increase my health by 100, I need to invest 10 Status points into my VIT stat.
[I guess the STAMINA aspect is a much more appreciated choice for now]
{YOU HAVE ASSIGNED 5 STATUS POINTS TO STAMINA!}
{HEALTH HAS INCREASED BY 50 POINTS!}
[Neat, this system surely is very convenient] I don't want to just depend on my status for my entire safety. As they say "complacency results in many ways, and all were bad things as a result".
Next should be...
{TO INCREASE THE SKILL LEVEL FROM 1==>2, YOU NEED TO ALLOCATE 2 SKILL POINTS, TO INCREASE THE LEVEL FROM 2==>3, YOU NEED 3 POINTS}
[So it's almost basically identical to the status points allocation huh, I guess that is convenient] Now then, what skill should I increase first?
{SKILL LEVEL UP RESULTS IF SKILL POINTS ARE SPENT}
CLOAK LV1==> LV2
-Increases the skill's up-time by +5 seconds, and decreases skill cooldown by .10 seconds per level up.
STIM LV1==> LV2
-Increases the recovery speed and time by +5 seconds each level increase
-Can now give STIM to other individuals
GRAPPLE LV1==> LV2
-Increases the grappling distance of any target by +5 meters
A-WALL LV1==> LV2
-Increases the up-time for +5 seconds, and decreases the skill cooldown by .10 seconds each level up
-Increases the shield and amplification area by 5% per level up
PHASE SHIFT LV1==> LV2
-Increases the phase shift time by +5 seconds, and decreases skill cooldown by .10 seconds each level up
PULSE BLADE LV1==> LV2
-Increases the detection area by +5 meter radius, and decreases skill cooldown by .10 seconds each level up
HOLOGRAPHIC PILOT LV1==> LV2
-Increases the holo-pilot's up-time by +5 seconds, and increases skill cooldown by +10 seconds per each level up
-Can now deploy 2 holo-pilots
Urgh.....5 points to allocate, and 1 skill point per level up is just what is hard about this system. But! I will just work hard so that everything will be improved, although the road is quite far...if I would persist then good things will happen.
Now then...which should be leveled up first.
As a shooter/titan pilot, if I were to pick one, then it should be PHASE SHIFT and CLOAK that should be increased first.
{SKILLS NEED 2 SKILL POINTS TO LEVEL UP FROM 1==>2}
{SPEND 2 SKILL POINTS FOR PHASE SHIFT LV1? YES|NO}
Yes
{PHASE SHIFT LEVELED UP! 1==>2!}
{SPEND 2 SKILL POINTS FOR CLOAK LV1? YES|NO}
Yes, yes, please
{CLOAK LEVELED UP! 1==>2!}
[Uhuh...that feels good] When I gave the answer for it, the light immediately somehow enters me. But...looking at how the girls and Ronin were not aware of what is happening, made me realize that perhaps this is only something I can see.
I stretched my arms and legs one last time before closing my eyes for a quick doze.
CHARACTER STATUS
NAME: JACK COOPER
AGE: 20 YEARS OLD
RACE: HUMAN
OCCUPATION: [MILITIA] TITAN PILOT LV5 [15/1100]
TITAN: RONIN LV1 [1,000/100,000]
HP: 150/150
ENERGY: 100/100
STR: 15
VIT: 15
DEF: 15
STAMINA: 15
LUCK: 13
STATUS POINTS: 0
SKILLS:
CLOAK LV2
STIM LV1
GRAPPLE LV1
A-WALL LV1
PHASE SHIFT LV2
PULSE BLADE LV1
HOLOGRAPHIC PILOT LV1
SKILL POINTS: +1
PILOT KIT I: FAST REGENERATION LV1
PILOT KIT II: LOW PROFILE LV1
TITLE:
DAVID & GOLIATH