3 Chapter 2: Depriving Others
"You can't possibly be serious! You're telling these children to go fight in a war!? That's absolutely unacceptable! As a teacher, I cannot allow it! Send us back right this instant! These kids all have families back home who must be worried sick! You can't just kidnap them like this!"
A loud protest was spoken by Aiko Hatayama, interrupting me from draining the stat of my third target.
I turn at the source and see Aiko's childish face contorting in vehemence.
Aiko Hatayama, the mid-twenties social studies teacher, stands only 140 centimeters tall, with a baby face and her hair kept in a neat bob cut. She is the daughter of a couple of farmers, but she chose a profession as a teacher.
I forget about her aspiration behind her choice, and I don't care. In the end, she is still a stranger despite she looks adorable as a puppy.
Seeing her I use [Observe] on her and saw her [Farmer] Job. And though her Job seems common, she actually has high Magic stats and many farming related cheat skills. Of course, I cannot see her stats and her skills at [Observe] current skill level, but I can recall about this little details hazily.
I shift my sight towards the students' reaction and see their teasing and compassionate facial expressions. They really don't have any respect for this legal loli teacher…
(It seems like the 'plot progression' has reached this state, in which Ishtar has completed his speech and asked the otherworlders to fight into the war against Devils.) I mused silently and kept inspecting everyone reaction.
"I understand your feelings, however... I am unable to return you to your world at present," Ishtar said, responding to Aiko's protest with his fake facial expression that displayed apology and sense of helplessness.
At once, I catch the fast change in everyone's facial expression. They all look at Ishtar blankly as if they are unable to properly process what he had just said.
Silence fills the room. I feel the oppressive atmosphere, but my facial expression didn't even twitch, maintaining its poker face state.
"Wh-What do you mean... you're unable!? If you called us here, you should be able to send us back, shouldn't you!?" Aiko screamed loudly.
"As I stated earlier, it is Lord Ehit who summoned you here. The only reason we were in that room at all was to greet you heroes, and to offer up our prayers to Lord Ehit. We humans do not possess the power to interfere with other worlds, so whether or not you can return also depends on His will," Ishtar replied.
"N-No way..."
Aiko slumps back into her chair, all the strength drained out of her. The other students all start yelling as the truth of Ishtar's words sank in.
"You've gotta be kidding me? What do you mean we can't go back!?" "You can't do this! Please, just send us back somehow!" "A war!? You can't be serious! Take us the fuck back right now!" "This can't be happening, this can't be happening, this can't be happening..."
The entire class fell into a panic. And while this is happening, I keep my calm facial expression. Inwardly, I feel a sense of resignation.
I already know about this, but the exchange between Aiko and Ishtar has affirmed my belief. It stimulates my desire and motivation to get stronger as soon as possible, so I can keep my freedom and will not become a helpless and hopeless piece in Ehit's scheme.
Subtly inspecting everyone in the room, I see Ishtar who says nothing and silently watches on as all of the students panic. Though Ishtar is silent, I can see contempt hidden within the depths of the old man's eyes.
At this moment, Kouki Amanogawa suddenly stands up amidst the hysterical group of students and slams his fist down onto the table with a loud bang. That managed to get the attention of most of the kids. Once he has confirmed that everyone's eyes, even mine, are on him, Kouki begins speaking.
"Everyone, there's no point in complaining to Ishtar. There's nothing he can do about it now. And... And I, at least, have decided to stand and fight. These people are about to be annihilated. Knowing that, how can I possibly leave them to such a tragic fate? And besides, if we've been summoned here to save humanity, it's possible we'll be allowed to go back once we've saved them... Well, Ishtar-san? Do you think that's possible?"
"It is as you say. Lord Ehit is not so unkind that he would ignore a request from his chosen heroes."
"And we've all gained some amazing powers, right? Ever since I arrived here, it's felt like I've somehow grown way stronger."
"Yes, that is correct. It would be safe to assume that each of you has the equivalent strength of anywhere from a few to a few dozen regular men."
"Alright, then we should be fine. I'm going to fight. If we save everyone, then we can go home. So just you watch! I'm going to save everyone, including us!" Kouki clenches his fists tightly as he proclaimed his noble intentions, flashing an almost sickeningly dazzling smile at the end.
(Moron,) I mocked the hero wannabe silently.
At the same time, Kouki's overwhelming charisma is taking effect. Students who were despairing mere moments ago began to regain their sense of composure. They all look at Kouki with wonder, as if they are staring at the incarnation of hope itself. Most of the female students have adoration mixed into their gaze as well.
(Morons, the lots of them.) I snorted mentally, feeling utter contempt towards these sheep.
"Heh, knew you'd say that. Still, I'd be worried about letting you go off on your own... Which is why I'm coming with you."
Said a Japanese youth with a burly body and a vibe that just screams "muscle head." His name is—
"Ryutarou..." called Kouki with a touched tone.
Ryutarou Sakagami. Kouki Amanogawa's best friend.
"Looks like that's the only choice we have right now. It pisses me off that we don't get any real say in the matter, but... I'll help too."
Another student has spoken, and this time, it was a girl with a tall yet well-proportioned body, ponytail, and well-featured face framed by her black hair. She has a reliable aura and seems levelheaded, giving the "reliable elder sister" vibe.
This girl is—
"Shizuku..."
—Yaegashi. Kouki's childhood friend.
"I-If Shizuku-chan's going to fight, then I will too!"
This one was uttered by a pretty girl with gloss black hair, soft and well-featured face, and well-developed feminine figure.
She is—
"Kaori..."
—Shirasaki. Kouki's other childhood friend, though their relation began with Kaori's status as Shizuku's best friend first.
Furthermore, this girl was the reason as to why the owner of my current body experienced many hardships in his high school life.
Kaori fell in love with Hajime Nagumo when they were still in a middle school. Her affection for the boy started after she saw Hajime pitifully kneeling and begging at a group of thugs to stop them from extorting an old lady and her grandchild after an accident the child had caused.
She wants to get closer to the target of her affection, but she seemed to be oblivious to the unintentional harms she had caused for Hajime. Due to her beauty and kindness, she was well known in their school and was acknowledged as a Goddess-like existence. The girl is the object of affections of almost all male students in their school. And because of that, the majority of the male students hold animosity and envy towards Hajime who always received Kaori's attention and affection.
(This girl is beautiful, but she is trouble. She isn't worth the hassle.) I mused silently as the super popular group did their shtick, which made me want to vomit sugar.
Suddenly, Kaori shifts her eyes. Our gazes meet. And she throws a beautiful smile in my direction.
I quickly avert my eyes, breaking our eyes' contact. I did it not because I felt embarrassed or flustered due to her beauty. My reason is to keep troubles away from me.
(What's more, that girl is a real creep.) I added silently while resisting the urge to flinch and shudder from her look.
I had sensed her gaze focusing on me after I woke up in this body. It continued until everyone was guided to this place. When those pretty maids brought the meals for us and I was enjoying the soothing sight, her gaze became glacial and made me feel danger for my 'something' I couldn't pinpoint precisely. It made me feel uncomfortable.
Normally, I would feel flattered if I got undivided attention and unadulterated affection from an attractive girl like her. But the feeling I got when Kaori did it was freakishly intrusive and dangerous.
I already know that Kaori's character was all over the place when it was something related to Hajime Nagumo, but I finally realized how bad it was after experiencing it firsthand. I now feel pity for the real Hajime Nagumo due to the suffering he experienced because of the creature called Kaori Shirasaki.
Reading Hajime plight due to Kaori's bizarre personality and actions was amusing, but being subjected to that was a very unpleasant experience.
All that aside, back to draining my current victim's stat.
So far, I have plundered the skills and status belonged to Kentarou Nomura. I plundered 90 Magic from him. When I did that, I got a better understanding of how my [Plunder] works.
Putting aside plundering other's skill, when I plunder other's stats, the points stolen was equal to my base Magic. The first time I plundered Kentarou's Magic, I obtained 10 Magic. The second time, I got 20. Then, 40 at the third try. At the fourth time, I plundered the rest and left behind 10 Magic for him.
With my 100 Magic, I passively recover 10 Magic every 10 seconds. And the higher Magic, more points it will recover. Therefore, I can continue stealing skills and stats without a problem.
After stealing Kentarou Nomura's skills and stat points, I moved to my next target—Jugo Nagayama.
So far, I have acquired a non-magic related skill, [Armor Proficiency]. Also, I got [Heavy Knight] Job. Now, I'm almost draining up his Defense.
(Finally, it finished. Now, he only has the average Defense. My next target is…)
I fix my focus on the boy with very thin presence, he is sitting on the chair between Kentarou and Jugo. If I didn't focus my attention on him for a split second, I would miss his existence. That is how thin his presence is.
You may have guessed his identity. Indeed, he is no other than Kousuke Endo, also known as Abyssgate E. Kousuke or Abyssgate Lord.
At first, I hesitated because I quite liked Kousuke as a character in the story, but I forced myself to steal his delicious skills and appetizing stats. I kept insisting in my mind that I have done that for my own good. I need every power I can plunder from others for my survival.
Finally, the discussion comes to the end and we are led to somewhere by Ishtar. I haven't completed draining Kousuke's Agility at this point in time. After a few moments, I finish it and we have arrived at the platform that will send us to the Heiligh Kingdom.
While Ishtar activates the 'magical gondola', I continue on. My next target is Daisuke Hayama and his gangs, consisting of Reichi Kondo, Shinji Nakano & Yoshiki Saito.
I use my freshly stolen [Stealth] to keep my presence from being detected by the quartets. My first target is Daisuke's [Fire Magic Affinity], and I acquire [Pyromancer] Job. Then, I continue on, plundering his Magic.
Finished with Daisuke, I target Reichi Kondo next. Due to his [Dragoon] Job, I obtain [Lance Proficiency] and 90 from his 100 Agility.
When I completed stealing what I need from Reichi, we are still on the magical gondola. And as I am doing this, I can feel the intense yet curious stare at my back.
I remind myself to not look back at the owner of this look. I already know who is that. The creep. The Stalker Queen. Kaori Shirasaki.
My next target is Yoshiki Saito. Due to his [Aeromancer] Job, I obtain [Wind Magic Affinity] and other 90 Magic.
After Yoshiki, I target Shinji Nakano, another Pyromancer like Daisuke. I get some experience for my [Fire Magic Affinity], increasing its experience to 50%. Also, there is other 90 Magic.
Then, I target Eri Nakamura next. I remember how this girl was a traitor and a psycho. Strictly speaking, she is Yandere for Kouki Amanogawa due to Kouki's naïve outlook and flawed belief of justice.
From Eri, I got [Black Magic Affinity], 90 points for Magic and Magic Defense respectively, and [Necromancer] Job. After that, I stopped for a few moments because we have arrived in the royal castle of Heiligh Kingdom.
I continue stealing others skills and stats as we are guided by Ishtar to meet the Royal Family. When the meeting happens, I don't focus on what happens, and I only concentrate on depriving others of their skills and boosted stats.
After we greeted the Royal Family, we are guided to another banquet hall. It isn't as grand as the one in the Church. At this moment, I split my focus between eating and stealing others' skills and stats. After the dinner with the Royal Family finished, we are guided to our respective room. The maids guide us, one for every student plus a single legal loli teacher. We are given a luxurious room for each person.
Before I left, I was greeted by Kaori but I didn't focus on her. Because of that, I got reprimanding from Kouki, the righteous motherf*cker! Honestly, at that time, was absentminded due to my stolen stats and skills. I had surpassed Kouki's stats and had many skills listed in Skill Index.
For reference, my current Status Page is like this:
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True Name: Ryan Schmitz
Character's Name: Hajime Nagumo
Race: Human (Transcended)
Sex: Male
Age: 17 years old (Physical)
Job: Synergist
Hidden Job: Gamer
Title: Apostle of God
Level: 1
Next Level: 0/1000
Vitality: 100 (Recovery: 10% every 10 seconds)
Magic: 460 (Recovery: 10% every 10 seconds)
Strength: 190
Defense: 190
Agility: 190
Magic Defense: 280
Stat Points: 5
Funds: 0
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Those high stats are due to 15 students I have deprived of their boosted stats. Next, you can see my Skill Index and my new skills below!
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[Gamer Mind - Transcended (Max)]: Allows the user to calmly and logically think things through. Allows a peaceful state of mind. Immunity to psychological mass effect.
[Gamer Body - Transcended (Max)]: Grants a body that allows for the user to live the real world like a game. Sleeping in a bed restores Vitality, Magic and all abnormal status effects.
[Assimilation - Transcended (Max)]: Allows the user to assimilate skills or stats of the eaten object. Cost: 0
[Plunder - Transcended (Max)]: Allows the user to steal skills or stats of the user's target within 5 meters range. Ineffective against the skill target at a higher level than the user's level. Cost: 5 Magic
[Pillage - Transcended (Max)]: Allows the user to steal skills or stats of the dead target within 5 meters range. Cost: 5 Magic
[Observe - Medium (21%)]: Allows the user to see the object's information. At the current proficiency, the user can see the skill target's Name, Race, Sex, Age, Job, Level, and Stats. Cost: 1 Magic
[Transmute - Low (0%)]: Allows the user to control a mineral or transform it. Cost: ~
[Earth Magic Affinity - Low (0%)]: Allows the user to cast earth magic. Cost: ~
[Fire Magic Affinity - Low (50%)]: Allows the user to cast fire magic. Cost: ~
[Wind Magic Affinity - Low (0%)]: Allows the user to cast wind magic. Cost: ~
[Water Magic Affinity - Low (50%)]: Allows the user to cast water magic. Cost: ~
[Black Magic Affinity - Low (0%)]: Allows the user to cast black magic. Cost: ~
[Barrier Magic Affinity - Low (0%)]: Allows the user to cast barrier. Cost: ~
[Stealth - Medium (18%)]: Allows the user to conceal the user's presence better.
[Unarmed Proficiency - Low (50%)]: Increases the user's proficiency when fighting without weapons.
[Armor Proficiency - Low (50%)]: Increases the user's proficiency when equipping shield type armament.
[Lance Proficiency - Low (0%)]: Increases the user's proficiency when equipping lance type armament.
[Whip Proficiency - Low (0%)]: Increases the user's proficiency when equipping whip type armament.
[Language Comprehension - Transcended (Max)]: Allows the user to comprehend new languages.
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Finally, I arrive in my private room. It is a lavish room, but I am not in the mood to appreciate it. My whole attention is focused on my new power. I can feel it inside my body.
"Kufuh! Kuahahahahahaha!"
I can't restrain my urge to cackle after entering my room and being sure there won't be bugs to monitor me. Since I'm currently alone in my private room, I laugh gleefully, enjoying the sublime feeling as if I can take the whole world with my current power.
I know that I'm still weak. I can't even become a threat to one of the countless mass produced Noint, the fake angel. Heck, some knight in this place is significantly more powerful than me. But I want to relish this amazing feeling for the time being.
After a few moments, I stop my deranged, cliché villainous laugh and begins my preparation for my next plan.
