Chereads / Changing the Rules / Chapter 2 - Level 1

Chapter 2 - Level 1

Congratulations, you have successfully reached level 1!

It had been a short battle. No more than a few minutes. Still, swarmed by about a dozen Kuris, Simon did not escape unscathed. 

Simon now stood panting with his clothes torn in various places and covered in small but numerous injuries. The cheap pot he used as a makeshift weapon had long since broken, and his apartment was a mess.

Only now that the battle was over could Simon direct his attention to the blinking, purple screen in the corner of his vision. His attention caused it to move in front of his face. 

Limping over to his knocked over couch, Simon flipped it back up and took a seat. Curious about what he was supposed to do, he tried tapping on the screen. When he did, it was replaced by another one. 

For successfully reaching level 1, you have officially become a player [4]. You have gained access to experience log, skill shop, status screen, and player chat. 

You have leveled up and gained two skill tokens. 

Once he finished reading them, Simon tapped on the screen again to see if something else would pop up. Instead, the screen vanished and in its place dropped two gold, coin-like disks. 

"Ugh," Simon sighed. "Yeah, this W1K3D guy is definitely an asshole. Either he likes watching people struggle with minimal or no instruction, or he just doesn't care to tell people how to do anything."

Although Simon wanted to get up and try washing off the traces of blood - both his own and the Kuris' - he felt too tired to move. "Let's see. I've read enough stories like this. Typically, to do anything you either think o say it aloud. Experience Log?"

After saying the words, another screen appeared before him.

Welcome to the experience log. Here, you will find a log breaking down how experience (XP) can be gained and a record of your experience gain over the last week. Once your XP gauge - visible in your status - is full, you will receive a notification to level up. Any experience gained without completing a level up will be lost so be sure to remember to hit that notification before gaining any more XP.

1XP per day.

3XP for attending school, working out, or committing a crime (assault, arson, rape, or theft).

5XP for going to work or participating in sports or politics.

8XP for winning an organized competition, committing murder, or being a policeman, fireman, or doctor/nurse.

10XP for saving a life or killing a Kuri. 

Experience Log (Last 7 Days)

You have killed Kuri 10XP (unable to gain XP)

You have killed Kuri 10XP (unable to gain XP)

You have killed Kuri 10XP (unable to gain XP)

You have killed Kuri 10XP (unable to gain XP)

You have killed Kuri 10XP

Rereading the screen, Simon did some math in his head. "Huh. So, really, if we just live our lives, we'll get XP…If I lived my usual day-to-day life, I'd have gotten 134 XP. Close but not enough to have leveled up in the one month…Status?"

The experience log screen then vanished and was replaced by another.

Simon Lake [4] Lv1

XP: 0/300

Condition (strength, speed, stamina, durability, etc.):  17

Mind (intelligence, wisdom, etc.): 23

Spirit: 20

Luck: 14

Skills: - 

"Not much to go on there. What about, Player Chat?"

Welcome to the chat room. This is a place for players to talk, share information, etc. Please impute username.

Simon blinked at the screen. Underneath the introductory words was a space with the number [4] in it and below that was a touchscreen keyboard. 

Trying to interact with it, Simon found he could use it just fine. Although he could not remove the number [4] from the username line, he decided to just ignore it and type in his usual username. He then hit enter.

Greetings, [4] Nevermore. Enjoy speaking with your fellow players.

After that, the screen blinked out for a moment before reappearing with lines of text scrolling through.

[3] Frozen Grave: Anybody there?

Feeling it would be rude to not say anything after seeing the message, Simon proceeded to type his own in.

[4] Nevermore: Hello.

[3] Frozen Grave: Finally! I've been waiting for someone to respond. 

[4] Nevermore: How do you know there was anyone else to respond?

[3] Frozen Grave: Figured these numbers attached to us represent what number player we are. If I'm three, then that means there should be at least two other people.

[4] Nevermore: They might just not have checked the chat?

[3] Frozen Grave: Maybe, but according to the experience breakdown, it's impossible for anyone to have become a player by now except from killing a couple of those furry fucks. So, what else could they be doing if not checking the options?

[4] Nevermore: Point.

[3] Frozen Grave: Have you checked the skill shop yet?

[4] Nevermore: No?

[3] Frozen Grave: You should do that? TTYL

Simon raised an eyebrow at this. It could not have been even half-an-hour since W1K3D first appeared. Frozen Grave could not be that well versed in things to give him advice. Still, Simon shrugged. "Can't hurt. Besides, I was going to do that anyway. Skill Shop."

The chat vanished and was replaced by a new screen. 

Welcome to the Skill Shop. Every level, you will gain a certain number of skill tokens. These tokens can be used to purchase skills from the shop to strengthen yourself. You may also exchange tokens with other players. 

Simon's face immediately twisted after reading the screen. "Yeah, that won't end terribly," he said. Images of stronger players extorting weaker ones to gain more tokens to get more power flew through his mind.

"I bet these tokens being exchangeable is intentional. I mean, it's a wicked god? Why wouldn't he set up such a seemingly helpful thing only for it to be an obvious trap? Matter-of-fact, that's probably why these tokens are physical objects instead of something like the stat screen. This way, they can be traded, given, taken, or stolen."

Running a hand down his face, Simon added, "I'll give it to the guy, if he"s out to cause chaos, he's doing a good job."

Simon then tapped on the screen and - as he expected - it was replaced by another.

Skill Shop

Physical >

Mental >

Spiritual >

Magic >

Tapping on each of the drop down options, Simon looked at the various skills offered to him.

Skill Shop

Physical ^

-Strong: x2 Strength (1 Token) (+5 Condition)

-Swift: x2 Dexterity (1 Token) (+3 Condition)

Mental ^

-Smart: x2 Mind (1 Token) (+23 Mind)

-Psychic: gain psychic powers (1 Token) 

Spiritual ^

-Chi: gain chi energy (1 Token)

-Spirit: gain power over the soul (1 Token) (+10 Spirit)

Magic ^

-Ignite: gain magic power and spell [Ignite] (2 Token)

-Blow: gain magic power and spell [Blow] (2 Token)

-Splash: gain magic power and spell [Splash] (2 Token)

-Cut: gain magic power and spell [Cut] (2 Token)

After looking over the options, Simon spoke aloud to try and organize his thoughts, "As much as I like the idea of magic powers, I'll ignore those for now. These spells seem really basic - except [Cut] - and I don't trust W1K3D not to give us useless skills to start with. Plus, Kuris aren't that tough, so I don't really need them." He then tapped on the drop down option for magic skills. 

"Spiritual seems good, but again, I don't need them now and I'd like more confidence in myself before trying something I've never done before. Besides, I don't like risking letting this wicked god do anything to me just yet." Another list of skills was closed. 

"On the same basis, Psychic is out. That leaves Strong, Swift, and Smart. I'd like to go with Smart. If I'm smarter I can make better decisions. On the other hand, I already don't want a wicked god messing with me by giving me powers I don't know anything about; I don't want him anywhere near my brain."

"That leaves Strong and Swift. And, if we're talking about what would be useful here…"

Simon proceeded to tap on the skill Strong. When he did, a popup appeared asking for confirmation to spend one token on the skill. He pressed to confirm and one of the two tokens sitting on his table suddenly turned to light and shot into his body. This caused him to jolt upright in surprise and check himself for any harm. Once it seemed nothing was wrong, he breathed a sigh of relief. 

However, Simon started breathing heavily. Putting a hand to his chest, he felt his heart pounding. His body began to sweat and he pulled off his shirt to try and feel less restricted. Growing hotter, his whole body began to perspire and his skin started to turn red. He tried to get up to do something but collapsed. 

On the ground, sweat slightly pooling around him, Simon wondered if he was going to die. However, after a moment, his body began to cool; his skin returned to its normal, pale tone; his heart slowed down; the sweat stopped; and he was able to calm his breathing. 

Groaning, Simon pulled himself back up. Using the couch and table for support, he rose back to his feet and looked his body over. He would not say he was overweight but he was definitely not in any sort of shape. But now, that had changed. The flabbiness and jiggliness of his body was gone. It had been replaced by a toned figure lacking any excess fat and actually seemed to have the slightest bit of actual muscle. 

Simon's gaze shifted over to the screen hovering in his peripheral vision - bringing it back into focus. A new popup appeared. 

You have spent 1 Token to acquire the Strong skill. 

Strong: Your strength is doubled. However, those new muscles need energy. To provide that energy, your food intake is doubled. For you…eat your fill three times a day. As you sleep, every meal missed will cost one point from condition. If condition reaches zero, you die. 

"I'm not even surprised." Simon looked at the screen unamused. "Of course the skills from a wicked god have secret drawbacks he doesn't reveal before hand. At least these drawbacks are understandable." 

Tapping on the popup to make it disappear, Simon saw the skill shop screen had changed.

Physical ^

-Strong

—Strength: x2 Strength (1 Token) (+5 Condition)

—Tough: x2 Durability (1 Token) (+5 Condition)

-Swift: x2 Dexterity (1 Token) (+5 Condition)

Mental ^

-Smart: x2 Mind (1 Token) (+24 Mind)

-Psychic: gain psychic powers (1 Token) 

Humming thoughtfully, Simon pulled up his status page and saw that in addition to now having twenty-two condition, he had somehow also gained one stat to mind. 

Looking back to the Skill Shop, Simon sat down on his couch and began to muse, "Okay, so skills operate on something of a skill tree-type deal. Get the skill, unlock the next skill or set of skills." 

"Question is, what do I do now. I had planned to choose Swift, but I'm willing to bet it will compound with Strong to make food an even bigger issue for me. It wouldn't be such a problem if I had the money for it. Last I checked, nothing about this is going to help my wallet. Strength will be just as bad if not worse. That leaves: Tough and Smart."

"Let's see, maybe I can predict the side effects. Tough is good for defense but…realistically, the 'tougher' you are, the denser you are; so the side effect might involve making me really heavy. Smart…I don't know. Smart characters in fiction are always amoral assholes; maybe that's the catch."

"I can deal with either option if I'm right, but I still don't want a wicked god messing with my head. So…"

Simon promptly selected Tough. 

After confirming the remaining token turned to light and beamed into Simon's body. What fallowed was almost a repeat of before but this time, he thought it was not as bad or maybe he just found it more tolerable. Either way, after a moment, the changes in his body ceased. 

Punching himself, Simon observed, "Kinda feels like leather. Definitely harder than ordinary skin." He then directed his attention to the popup screen. 

You have spent 1 Token to acquire the Tough skill. 

Tough: Your durability is doubled. However, a tough body is a dense body. Your increased density means you are now 50% heavier than before. Be careful of deep water. 

"Huh, I was right." Simon then tapped the screen away to see if there were any new skills.

Physical ^

-Strong

—Strength: x2 Strength (2 Token) (+7 Condition)

—Tough

—-Durable: x2 Durability (2 Token) (+7 Condition)

—-Recovery: x2 recovery (2 Token) (+7 Condition)

-Swift: x2 Dexterity (1 Token) (+6 Condition)

"So the increase to my stats is dynamic and not a set amount. So far each skill seems to give me a twenty-five-percent boost. However, the cost changed. Why? Is it a beginner thing or is it because of my already selected skills?"

Simon tapped on the screen to make it disappear. However, as soon as he did another one popped up. However, this screen was accompanied by the emotionless, robotic voice he had heard just a little while ago.

Congratulations, [4] Nevermore upon completing the tutorial and becoming one of the first ten players. You have been gifted 'Special Skill Voucher' to obtain a special skill. Tear voucher and Special Skill Selection Screen will appear. 

The screen began glowing before turning into a gold and purple slip of paper that Simon watched drift to the table. Before he could think much on this, another screen appeared in his face. 

Attention, [4] Nevermore, as you are one of the first five players, admin W1K3D has a special message for you. Please wait…