[Chapter:20][Experimenting(1).]
*sigh*
Echo sighed as he relaxed his body, lying on top of his bed, while looking at his Status.
. . . . . .
[[Status]]
Echo Howers
Level : 200 (00.00%)
Job : [Student(Lv-100/100)]
HP : 8,200/8,200 (820 per min)
MP : 187,120/187,120 (34,632 per min)
[[Stats]]
Strength : 67 —> 412 (453.2)
Endurance : 68 —> 413 (454.3)
Vitality :65 —> 410
Agility : 67 —> 412 (453.2)
Intelligence : 659 —> 2,339
Wisdom : 2,019 —> 2,649 —> 4,329
Senses : 65 —> 410
Charm : 73 —> 415
Stat Points : 0 —> 630 —> 0
[[Skills]]
[Summon : Bones(Lv-1)] (!)
[Scholar's Knowledge(Lv-73)] (!)
[Writing(Lv-43)] (!)
[Killing Intent(Lv-4)] (!)
[Bloodlust(Lv-4)] (!)
[Murderous Aura(Lv-4)] (!)
[Dismantling(Lv-3)] (!)
[Mad Enhancement(Lv-2)] (!)
[Cleaning(Lv-31)] (!)
[Cooking(Lv-44)] (!)
[Learning(Lv-Max)] (!)
[Strategic Combat(Lv-76)] (!)
[Head Pats(Lv-23)] (!)
[Breathing(Lv-42)] (!)
[Chess(Lv-53)] (!)
[Basic Archery(Lv-61)] (!)
[Bow Mastery(Lv-48)] (!)
[Aiming(Lv-34)] (!)
[Accuracy(Lv-39)] (!)
[Reload(Lv-26)] (!)
[Precision(Lv-18)] (!)
[1 Tomoe Sharingan(Lv-75)] (!)
[Stealth(Lv-75)] (!)
[[Perks]]
[Budding Warrior(100 STR)] (!)
[Tenacious One(100 END)] (!)
[Enhanced Life Force(100 VIT)] (!)
[Speed Runner(100 AGI)] (!)
[Parallel Thoughts(500 INT)] (!)
[Immense Mana Pool(1,000 INT)] (!)
[Reflexive Reaction(100 SEN)] (!)
[Opposites Attract(100 CHA)] (!)
. . . . . .
Sunday had come soon enough. Not the Sunday when he would be leaving to another world, but the one before that.
It had been five days since Leah had used the Lottery Tickets, and in those five days, Echo had gotten quite used to his schedule.
And his changed Status is the result of that hard work.
His stats had increased greatly, and though he didn't learn any new skills, he had certainly levelled quite a few of them up.
And he had also gained seven new Perks.
Speaking of Perks…
. . . . . .
[Budding Warrior]
Type : Perk / Stat
Description : Perk gained for reaching 100 Strength, increase Strength by 10%.
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
[Tenacious One]
Type : Perk / Stat
Description : Perk gained for reaching 100 Endurance, increase Endurance by 10%.
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
[Enhanced Life Force]
Type : Perk / Stat
Description : Perk gained for reaching 100 Vitality, increase HP and HP recovery by x2.
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
[Speed Runner]
Type : Perk / Stat
Description : Perk gained for reaching 100 Agility, increase Agility by 10%.
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
[Reflexive Reactions]
Type : Perk / Stat
Description : Perk gained for reaching 100 Senses, can now use skills on reflex.
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
[Opposites Attract]
Type : Perk / Stat
Description : Perk gained for reaching 100 Charm, increase effect of Charm on those of opposite gender by x2.
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
[Immense Mana Pool]
Type : Perk / Stat
Description : Perk gained for reaching 1,000 Intelligence, increase MP by x4.
. . . . . .
After glancing through it all, he activated the skills he could, using his four additional thoughts.
His eyes changed, his irises turning a bright crimson as a single black tomoe appeared within both of them, revolving around his pupil. At the same time, he regulated his breathing, taking a little less air with each successive breath. His presence, too, seemingly disappeared, along with his general aura, and most people wouldn't even notice him even if he were to stand right in front of them.
With his fifth thought, the first one being used to control his body and acting as the 'main thought process', he thought back to all the games of chess he played with Sona, all his crushing defeats and even the most recent one when he could barely force a lucky draw with his skill before losing three consecutive times, and analysed all his and her moves, slowly yet surely gathering EXP for both 'Chess' and 'Strategic Combat Mastery'.
"I'm almost done with my first goal."
Increasing all his stats to a minimum of 500. By the end of Monday, practising archery for just a little more time, he would be done.
"I maxed out my second Job."
He had also finished his very first Quest, the 'Model Student' one. But he didn't take the rewards yet since he wanted to save those six levels for the next Job he would now take.
"By next Sunday, I would be able to max out most of my skills…and maybe beat the President too."
Echo blinked at the latter though.
"Huh…well, what do you know? I'm actually interested in something other than those five now…"
The five he was referring to, were of course, his family, Aya, Leah, Rhianna, and the newest additions, Albion and Ddraig.
It was certainly a surprise to him to think he would consider his 'sessions' with Sona as anything more than a chance to better train his skills…
"Well, I guess I am changing a little…"
Just as he thought so, a prompt appeared in his vision.
((A new Quest has been generated.))
Raising a brow, Echo opened the Quest window.
. . . . . .
[Beating the unbeatable]
Type : Instance
Description : Sona Sitri prides herself in being unbeatable in chess, not losing to even the greatest of minds, Ajuka Beelzebub himself. Show her that no genius can compare to a [Gamer].
Objective : Beat Sona in a game of chess
Reward : 300% EXP | One random skill
Optional Objectives : 1) Defeat her fair and square
2) Defeat her within a week
3) Give her a crushing defeat
Rewards : 1) 100% EXP | 1 Lottery Ticket
2) 100% EXP | 1 Lottery Ticket
3) 100% EXP | 1 Lottery Ticket
. . . . . .
Echo blinked at the sudden appearance of the Quest, but then again, he was used to the [Game] reading his desires and giving quests in accordance to them before he himself could act on said desires.
"Huh…I seem to recall something about her being beaten in chess…"
Thinking about it, although his 'Eidetic Memory' would let him recall it in an instant, Echo shook his head.
"It's probably nothing important."
It was a rather strange thought, as he normally wouldn't ignore anything as 'unimportant', but one could only blame the mysterious power known as 'Plot Armour' making him ignore it.
Shaking his head with another sigh escaping his lips, Echo got up.
"No time to waste."
If there was one thing in life Echo disliked, it was wasting time. Life was short, finite, and thus, precious. Even for an otherwise eternal being, life and time are both precious commodities. Why waste them?
In his opinion, spending time with his family was a much better usage of time in his life than simply wasting it away sleeping or pondering on philosophy all alone.
Opening the door, Echo stepped out of his room.
. . . . . .
"So…why are we in the middle of the desert again?"
Rhianna, feeling the cold, freezing wind of a desert night, shivered lightly.
"We're here to experiment with E-kun's skill."
She blinked her eyes in confusion at her big sister's answer.
"Which skill? Onii-chan has a lot of skills. Ah, the summoning skill?"
Aya, to her daughter's question, shook her head as she continued casting spell after spell, turning an empty space in the desert into a fortress of invisible spells and enchantments.
"No, we're going to experiment with the 'Strategic Combat Mastery' skill."
"Ah! You mean the skill Ddraig and Albion called a real cheat?"
((Yes, that one.))
[Indeed.]
Albion's and Ddraig's voices, the latter now possessing a custom made red dragon keychain, echoed in the desert night.
As for Echo, he was standing a few feet away, enjoying the freezing cold as it reminded him of a few…past memories. Ones he once thought as nothing more than a living nightmare, yet now, so long after, made him want to chuckle.
"E-kun? Are you alright?"
Leah, noticing her little brother's strange silence, not that him staying quiet is anything new, asked in slight concern. While her little brother didn't like talking, her intuition told her the reason for his current silence wasn't just that.
As expected of a woman's instinct.
"I'm fine."
Echo turned back, the strange smile which would have both surprised yet also slightly frightened the five women disappearing as his expression turned monotonous once more.
Aya, having finished creating a literal building made of spells and enchantments alone, inspected her handiwork and nodded in satisfaction.
"This should be enough to stop even pesky peepers like Heimdall from perceiving what happens here."
Clapping her hands as a grin appeared on her face, she activated the enchantments all at once, causing a pulse of power to emanate for several miles around them before it slowly faded away.
"And done."
Then, she walked towards the core of the spells and enchantments, and stomped her foot on the sandy ground. The very next moment, hundreds of runes and archaic letters, each glowing a different colour, brightened the cold night as a rainbow of power swirled around her figure, slowly turning into chains that shackled her body.
"With brute force alone, even Thor, considered one of the strongest Gods, wouldn't be able to break these off for at least an hour. And I actually confirmed that when I went to meet my old friend Brynhilde and decided to play a prank of those Norse Gods for imprisoning her. Haha, you should have seen Odin's face when he found himself shackled to his own bed and unable to break himself free for almost a day."
Aya chuckled as she recalled the memory with evident fondness.
"Seriously?"
"Wow! You imprisoned Odin? And Thor!?"
Leah looked at her mother speechlessly, while Rhianna's eyes shone.
"But of course!"
Aya smiled with pride as she saw her youngest daughter's admiring eyes fall on her.
"There's a reason almost all the Pantheons except the Hindu one fear me despite me only being Ultimate Class in pure strength you know?"
"Eh? Why not the Hindu Pantheon?"
"Well…"
Leah answered her question.
"That's because of all the Pantheons, the Hindu Pantheon is considered the most powerful. Even the weaker Gods are fairly strong, while the four strongest, Indra, Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva, are just broken. They are like bugged characters in a video game."
"Yes.", Aya nodded in agreement, "Even when the old man was around, he had to respect those four. Well, not Indra as much since he was still a 'junior' at that time, but even if he was technically stronger than the four of them, he told me many times that should Heaven, at its strongest when Lucifer hadn't rebelled yet, were to fight with the Hindu Pantheon, we would lose and be utterly annihilated in mere days."
"But that's enough of history class.", she clapped her hands, "For now, Echo, if you would."
Echo looked at his mother, having totally ignored their previous conversation, and opened his mouth to give her an order,
"Exist."
It was the order he decided on. Considering his first 'Summon' is a skeleton, he couldn't exactly order it to 'live', nor could he order it to 'breathe'. On the other hand, he would also need a long-term order which would work on it for as long as it exists.
Hence, 'Exist'.
"…"
For a moment, nothing happened.
"!"
Yet the very next,
*BOOM!*
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
That day, almost a third of the Thar Desert was wiped off from the face of the planet in a terrifying explosion, one which mortified both the ordinary as well as the supernatural factions.
Though, strangely, after just preliminary investigation, almost all factions backed off as if discovering something frightening. Or as if being scared off by someone frightening.