1 My opportunity comes?
Van felt the metallic taste of blood fill his mouth. He clutched his bleeding abdomen as he limped through towards the end of the alley. Tsk. How can this be fair. At 21 he was led to a miserable end, stabbed due to not being able to pay his debts by degenerates, he fell to their schemes.
At 16 his parents died leaving behind a small business, a small chocolate making shop, which being the last inheritance his parents left him. A legacy he fought tooth and nail to keep.
It was not to be so, without his parent's expertise in management the business started to plummet. He started loaning to keep it afloat, which led him to his current predicament.
It was only less savory characters that would loan to a minor such as Van at the time. They kept amending the contract that was initially signed and started putting more ridiculous terms, eventually Van was forced to give up the shop.
Van put up a fight, but these people were veteran gangsters. He couldn't win against all of them. Clutching his wound on one hand and his last family heirloom on the other, he desperately hobbled towards the end of the alley looking for anyone for help.
As he fell towards the other end of the alley, before losing consciousness he heard something odd.
"Initiating..." a mechanical yet melodic voice seemingly sounded to his ears, "Transference System Activated."
The debt collectors did not find the body.
#_#_#_#_#
1%
He found himself being surrounded by light, a faint hum was ringing by his ear. He floated around for some time in peace.
8%
Was this the afterlife? This was nice, peaceful. Where was his parents?
26%
What's supposed to happen now? Was this heaven?
40%
Was this hell?
65%
Countless thoughts swirled eventually to his head as the silence now felt deafening to him instead.
80%
He became aware of the number infront of him, going up like a counter.
He remembered hearing something about transference before being transported to this place.
99%
_System initialized
_input Skill Request for Next Life
"What do you mean?" Van pondered as he looked to the written words as if they were alien text.
Was this the famous Isekai?
What should he have? As he thought into this Van remembered his life and the bitterness of not being able to have money.
It was all about numbers, it was the rich that held the world. He wanted to be the master of such a world... The world of numbers. Then again what if there were monsters and magic, he would have to fight... As he tried to figure out what to request, the text started to change.
Request approved.
What! No! Wait!
World chosen.
Van cursed in panic as he felt a familiar pressure enveloping him.
Looking for suitable location for your travel. Found. World: Valorous
This damn system.
Good luck World Traveler. Thank you for using the Transference System.
#_#_#_#_#
Van stared blankly at the words in front of him, trying to make sense of the experiences that led him to this.
A notification rang! Ding! Skill gained!
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Sciens numeros mundi: due to a twist of fate you have been transported to a different world and when the opportunity for a boon was provided you chose to be the master of the world of numbers. Thus the skillet of Sciens numeros mundi has become available to you and will increase in potency as you grow stronger. Provides Stat bonuses in wisdom and in intelligence.
----
Looking at this game like window, Van as any avid reader would have knew what to do next.
"Stat window." he murmured.
Another gamelike window came out and it read.
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Van Lvl 1
Level 1
Title: World Traveler
Stats
HP:83+(15) base health + 'vit x 5'
Mana: 95 'wisdom x 10' + 'int x 5'
Str:4
Agility:4
Wisdom:3+(2)
Intelligence:4+(5)
Charisma: 4
Vitality:3
Stat points:5
Calculation speed: 138%
Skills
Sciens numeros mundi Lvl 1
"Understanding the world through numbers" Int + 5 Wis + 2 As calculation speed increases, the ability to comprehend scales.
Subskill
Sage of Numbers Lvl 1 (Ex)
"The one who understands mathematics"
Increases Calculation Speed by 25% + (intelligence + wisdom/2) (passive)
Analyze information Lvl 1 (Active)
Get information about the target, uses 3 mana per use.
Able to analyze skills for learning as well, limited by comprehension and learning capacity. Current slots for Analyzing skills 1 slot.
Life is learning (Ex) Lvl. Max
"Joy is having a life where we never cease to learn"
Learning speed = Calculation Speed (Passive)
Learning capacity increased. (Passive)
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Van felt conflicted as he read the information provided. There was nothing that spoke about being able to fight in this Stat window.
He had a system though so it was not at all too bad.
He took a quick check of his surroundings, he was in a forest, it was early in the morning and it seemed like a safe environment to be with.
Van sighed in relief it seemed like that system still had a conscience, dropping him off to a newbie friendly environment. He found that he wore some linen clothes and he was no longer wounded.
He shook his head, and clenched his fist. This was nothing even if it was a might and magic world, every world had an economy, he was going to be a great merchant and avoid fights. Yes, Van decided. This was the way to go. The way of the merchant. He was going to abuse his ability with numbers.
He explored the forest for a small while and found a path to follow. Walking for a bit he found an odd thing bouncing around near the edge of the path.
It made Boing, Boeing sounds as it minded its own business. Van did a double take, this was the infamous Slime of the magic world.
He cautiously approached it and tried to use his only active skill, Analyze.
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Root Slime Lvl 3
A basic creature born from ambient Nature mana, often found in foresty areas. Quite timid and often found alone, will often cast ensnare and run away if threatened.
Health: 32
Mana: 15
Skills
Bark Armor (F-)
Provides a non reducable damage reduction of 1 damage from any attack
Ensnare(Root Slime) (E-)
Unique skill "A boon given to perhaps the weakest creature in the land, the root Slime can trap even a bear should it be able to cast it's ensnare skill successfully." Have a 15% chance to ensnare enemy with roots for 5 seconds. Uses 5 mana to cast.
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1 slot for Analyze skill learning available. Use Yes/No.
Came up, given the situation Van figured it would be safer to atleast have a skill to use than have nothing at all. He used the yes button and a confirmation messaged popped up.
Ding!
Analyzing Entangle(Root Slime)...
Error...
Unique skill...
Converting...
Entangle(Van) is being researched and analyzed...
A countdown timer began to show. 2:00:00
----
1:59:58
----
Van tapped on the skill Entangle(Van) and it started providing the details.
Entangle(Van): a unique skill, using the forces of nature to entangle an enemy. Ensnare target for 5 seconds. Cool down 1 hour.
Van shook his head, a cool down of 1 hour for something that traps things for 5 seconds. That really prevented spammability.
Should he fight the Slime though? He eyed the Slime going Boing, Boeing peacefully.
No, he wasn't. The way of the merchant... He was going to be a merchant. He told himself as he circled around the Slime and moved on.
