[Notifications: 1]
You have received a new skill: Masochist. Tap here for more information
[End of Notifications]
...
I tapped on my new skill. 'Hah! A skill named Masochist does suit me! This God loves me way too much' I thought, my vision clearing up to reveal the panel from before right in front of me. The bull's crushing wait seemed like nothing now. After all, I had a new toy to play with.
[Skill: Masochist]
In order to gain this skill, one must willingly injure themselves or come into a near-death experience willingly and thoroughly enjoy it.
[Skill Application]:
Depending on the amount of damage you do to yourself, all stats will increase by that presentage.
[Current damage level]: 75%
All stats have been increased by 75%
[End of skill information]
'Woah! I couldn't have asked for a better skill!' I thought. I immediately activated it. I could feel my blood begin to boil. I pushed off the bull as easily as if it were a cat. The bull stumbled backward, surprised at my sudden increase in strength. I took this chance to kill it with one punch to the eye.
(Days later)
A loud sigh escaped from my lips as my bloody body sat atop a mountain made out of the boar-like creature's dead remains. "Seriously, are there any other creatures living here? There has to be some sort of boss level, right? I've gotten bored of these things..." I muttered to myself.
I hopped off my tower, my fractured leg bone screaming for help. Ignoring it, I left to go seek out my next toy. Indeed, I am a thrill-seaker through and through. After hours of searching without any real destination in mind, I finally found a giant door. 'Well, this seems promising' I thought.
[Damage: 95% Do you wish to activate Skill: Masochist?]
...
My blood seemed to catch on fire as my skill activated. The only reason I had activated this skill was because I was near death. I liked the feeling of pain and the sense of accomplishment that followed when you defeated a foe using nothing but your fists.
Pushing the door open using the insane strength I had just gained, I walked into the room. 'Wish I could've learned how to cast spells before my first major battle, but hey, why don't I play with this one a little before I tackle something that'll be that boring?' I thought.
A gush of wind came from the door as some sort of seal had been broken. Dark red eyes stared at me through the darkness. Torches began to light up all around me, revealing an arena-like place. Though there were no spectators, I could tell it had been used recently.
Once the torches had completely lit up the area, I could see the girl standing before me clearly. "Welcome, challenger" she said. "Oh! You're intelligent! Are you an actual human or...?" I asked. "I can assure you, I am a real human who has lived a full life prior to our interaction" she said.
"Your voice is so computer-like. Are you sure you're a human?" I asked. She gave me a smile. "Why don't you find out?" Titlting her head to the side, she drew her sword. I smiled back at her, raising my fists as I dropped into a fighting stance. "Are you sure you don't require a weapon?" She asked.
"Eh, if you got a spare on ya, that'd be nice" I said. She chuckled, then threw me a spare sword. "Will this suit your fighting preference?" Asked the girl. "I don't suppose you have a couple of daggers?" I said. "Indeed" she said, then through me a pair of daggers. "Thanks!" I said.
"My name is Izuka" said Izuka, who gave me a slight bow. "Rein" I said, bowing. "Let the fight commence!" She said. My battered body definitely wasn't up to the task of fighting such a strong opponent, but my skill [Masochist] kept me standing... at least, for the most part.
As long as I enjoyed the pain I was feeling, the skill would remain active. I smiled. 'It's not going to deactivate any time soon' I thought as Izuka went in for a head-on attack. Her sword sliced through the air, drawing closer and closer to the top of my head.
I blocked it with an X shape from my daggers, then deflected her blade. "You aren't that bad, huh?" I asked. "Indeed, you're also a strong opponent" said Izuka. "Glad the feeling's mutual" I said, then went in for an attack of my own. She quickly blocked it.
The force of the attack made her move backward, giving me an opening. 'If she can handle me at 95% damage, I don't know what I'd do if she fought me without this skill!' I thought as I struck with my right blade. Once she blocked, I swung with my left dagger.
She dodged that attack, deflecting my right blade with her sword as she did so. I twisted my body to face her, then unleashed an onslaught of attacks. She backed up, narrowly avoiding each attack. She was now backed up against one of the walls of the arena.
She swung her sword, which met both my blades. "This fight is over" I muttered. I kicked her feet from underneath her and pointed one of my daggers to her throat. "You have won the fight. End me if you wish" she said, then dropped her sword. I let out a laugh.
"You think I'd dispose of a toy I find so entertaining? Nah, you're coming with me" I said, then helped her get up. "What do you mean?" She asked. "I assume you can handle your own in a dungeon, so I'll let you make this place your home" I said, which surprised her, to say the least.
"I'll come down here every so often. We can fight, play games, talk, or whatever else you wanna do" I said. This left Izuka completely dumbfounded. "W-wha...?" Before she could finish her sentence, I picked up her sword and touched it to her throat, drawing blood.
"This isn't a declinable offer. Your life is in my hands, so I'll do as I please" I said. She placed her hand on the tip of the blade, pushing it down. "I won't try to resist. No matter what you may do to me, I'll accept it willingly. Though I have one request" she said.
"Let's hear it" I said. "Please, don't do anything... perv-" Before she could finish, I laughed. "Hah! I'm not that kinda crazy. Though your life may end at my hand, I don't want our time to be so dull that when I look back on it, all I can say is that you were a disappointment" I said.
Her eyes grew dull. "As you wish, m-master..." she said. "None of that!" I said with a dismissive wave of my hand. She was once again confused. "T-then, how can I serve you?" She asked. My gaze darkened, and a wide grin spread across my face. "Entertain me. It's as simple as that" I said.
She nodded before handing me a golden key with a red ruby at the center of it. "This is the key to the outside. My defeating me, you have earned the right to exit the dungeon" she said. "Does that mean you really were the final boss? I thought that'd take a lot more time" I said.
She shook her head. "There are more than a hundred floors to this place. I'm just the beginning" she said with a lifeless look in her eyes, as if she were remembering some tragedy. "I get it" I said, placing my hand on Izuka's shoulder before taking the key from her hand.
[Notifications: 1]
An item has been added to your inventory. Click here to open [Inventory]
[End of Notifications]
...
[Inventory]
Dungeon key: 1
Food rations: 10
Wolf's dagger: 2
Samurai's blade: 1
Fanriuck skin: 30
Fanriuck horn: 60
[End of inventory]
...
"So, what does this 'dungeon key' go to? I don't see a lock anywhere around here" I said. "Just hold it up and act like you're unlocking something" said Izuka. I held the key up and twisted in in the air. A large door appeared out of nowhere, slowly opening as the key was turned.
"Thanks!" I said before entering through the door. The door led me to the room I had woken up in when I was first reincarnated into this world. The young maid who had greeted me that day walked inside, then looked at me with horror. "Master! Y-you're injured!" She said.
Fractures riddled my body along with several deep wounds, scratches, and a few burns. For some reason, I didn't have any bruises, but that was it. The maid quickly raced out of the room before returning with a wet cloth. She carefully cleaned each of my serious wounds with the rag.
She then bandaged them up neatly before racing off to find a doctor who could deal with fractures. "They're just as kind as they were in my previous life. Just give it a day or two, they'll get bored of me soon enough" I muttered under my breath, my fractured rib screaming for help.
I was in the body of a 12 year old, who conveniently has the same name as me. Though that's where the similarities end. He was trusting, kind, and most of all, a scaredy-cat. He has white hair that turns to blue while I had black hair and dyed the tips orange. Seriously, we couldn't be more different.
The doctor soon arrived, along with a bunch of medical equipment. Soon, I was hooked up to countless medical machines as the doctor ran countless tests. "How did you get so beat up?" Asked the doctor. My gaze darkened. "I fell out of bed" I said. "Please, tell me the truth" she said.
"I fell out of bed" I said agian. "You can trust me, Rein" she said. A gloomy aura exusted from me. 'Yeah, right. I hate it when people pretend to care about me. I know you're just doing your job. You don't care if I die as long as you get paid. I'm not going to make it easy on you' I thought.
"I fell out of bed" I said again, this time in a more forceful manner. She took a couple of steps back. "Rein, if there's something that's hurting you, please let us know. We can try our best to remove whatever's hurting you" she said. 'Then you'll have to remove me' I thought.
"I fell out of bed" I said agian. 'This is why I like the dungeon. No one there pretends to care about me. They all show how they truly feel without making me feel any sense of pity. The humans of this world, as well as my previous one, can learn a thing or two from them' I thought.
The doctor let out a sigh before continuing her work. Soon, she left the room. She seemed somewhat disappointed that I wouldn't give her an answer she was satisfied with. Maybe next time, I'll tell her I did it to myself and see how she reacts. I bet she'll stop asking after a while.
My lifeless expression soon brightened once I knew she was out of the room. I laid down on my back, staring at the ceiling before checking my stats. 'I wonder if I ranked up. With all those monsters, I bet I'm at least rank 2. Do you get any sort of item from a rank-up?' I thought.
[Status window]
Name: Rein
Race: human
Class: None
Rank: 2 (98.2%)
Active skills: Masochist
Active potions/fruits: Healing potion level 3
Blessing: None
[End of status window]
With my questions satisfied, all of the exhaustion that had been piling up since coming to this world flowed through me. My vision backed out as I fell asleep. Giving me a chance to heal, the rest of the maids and doctors left me alone for the entire rest of the night.
[A/N: The academy part of this book is coming up, but it won't be in the next chap]