3 2 - Preparations?
Currently, a day had passed since Miguel had 'awakened' his System. He had woken up and done the most basic things he needed, preparing for the day ahead.
During his preparations, the System had suddenly presented a kind of screen in front of him. It was a quest categorized as [Missions], which confused Miguel.
"Shouldn't you be a System incapable of doing many things on your own?" He questioned the System, puzzled.
[The User is correct. I am perfectly incapable of doing many things on my own, and among those things I am incapable of doing are missions.]
"So, how?" He asked, squinting at the box.
[...]
"A lack of response, huh?" He didn't like the direction this was going at all. "You-"
[Hello, hello? Everything alright there? Hey, nice to meet you, buddy.] The System's message appeared again for Miguel, but this time the message had golden cracks around it.
[I am the one who gave you this Mission. You can call me, in simpler terms, 'God'. It can be said that I am part of this System you have.] Arthur suddenly appeared, providing a brief explanation to Miguel.
[I know how shitty it can be to be part of situations like 'you're too weak to know', 'the right time will come', and all that bullshit. So let me do it for you and tell Fate to fuck off.] He casually disregarded some consequences that would come to him (Arthur) while revealing himself.
[It wouldn't be anything interesting to have to wait completely in the dark. So let me teach you a few things, what do you think?]
"..." Miguel remained silent for a few seconds as he tried to process what was happening, before snapping back to reality and nodding with some hesitation. "That was unexpected, but I won't deny the help. I appreciate it already."
[No problem, no problem. So let me start by explaining the part about Missions.] A new window appeared next to this statement, a creation window.
[I use this little window here to create Missions, within certain limitations. I can customize the missions or simply click on this square.] An empty square with the following phrase next to it: 'Generate randomly' lit up. [To generate a random mission based on your objectives or situation.]
[I saw that this System had that whole Death penalty thing, obligations, loss of power if you refuse, and other bullshit like that, and I ended up deleting it. I'll let you know right now that I don't regret anything.] Arthur declared shamelessly [I'm here to have fun, and it would be boring to see you rushing and dying out of nowhere or doing some basic and cliché job.]
[The reason the mission appeared there at that time was because I had just made it to test. I had an idea of what you wanted to do, so I created the mission based on that, you know how it is. I'm not as much of an asshole as expected~]
'This guy is at least strange. But I don't hate it.' Miguel thought as he read the messages, having a somewhat good impression of the person behind the messages. "I appreciate the explanation already, it was quite helpful. And I also appreciate you removing those ridiculous penalties."
[No problem, all in the name of progress! Or something like that. Oh! I almost forgot, there's this button here.] A golden button appeared. [You can call it a 'second chance'. If you happen to die at any time, something interesting will happen with this button because it will be activated automatically. But obviously, everything comes with a cost.] Since this time it was something that would bring more fun to Arthur, he would be the one coming out on top.
[Whenever you die, I will take control. But when that happens, you will lose a small part of your essence, no longer being yourself. It will be around 5%. You won't become weaker, quite the opposite. But in return, you'll stop being yourself more and more~] Arthur casually explained the special button he had created.
'This is concerning, but in a way, a relief. If I follow this logic, I would have around 20 chances until there's nothing left of me. If I win the battle after being possessed, then I'll have a full twenty chances to survive...' He thought about the positive side, ignoring the part about losing more of himself. He didn't care much about that part, as he didn't have an exact idea of how scary it should be. 'But it would be ideal to avoid dying as much as possible. There are many years ahead, and being careless just because I have guaranteed chances would be foolish.'
[...] Arthur avoided typing anything as he waited for Miguel to finish thinking, he simply observed the entire train of thought from the boy with a smile that threatened to tear his face apart.
"Thank you for the warning." Miguel lightly bowed to the screen. "In return for your request, is there anything you prefer me to do?" He asked curiously.
[Nah, just go with your own flow.] The response was quick. [But well, I recommend using the Reality Marble Generation for training. We don't want people noticing strange things until then, right?] Arthur joked with Miguel, having an idea that the boy preferred not to be seen doing strange things in the midst of the favela. [See you later, kid.] And thus, the golden cracks disappeared from the screen.
Miguel stood still, staring into the air for a while, not knowing exactly what to do now. He sat on the floor, leaning against the brick wall, to gather his thoughts, remaining in this position for long minutes.
"Alright, this would be the best way to start." He declared with a determined look before standing up.
"I'll need to go back to doing those jobs, and after that, search for materials to create a good training room." He declared aloud in his empty house, turning towards the door and leaving the same house.
He walked for a long time through the favela, enjoying the environment to which he had already grown accustomed over the years. It wasn't a beautiful and marvelous sight to behold, but it gave a sense of familiarity, which was more than enough to satisfy Miguel.
After a few more minutes of walking, he finally arrived at the place he wanted. It was a kind of construction site, still under construction, filled with masons and other workers.
One of them noticed Miguel standing and staring at them before opening a smile.
"Hey Miguel! Finally decided to come back to work here, you little rascal?!" He shouted this while letting out a hearty laugh, remembering how the boy acted when it came to carrying weight.
"Well... basically that." Miguel awkwardly replied, as he remembered he had said he would never work in this way again. "Can I come back still?" He asked with a fearful look.
The man stared at Miguel for a while before getting closer and placing the four bags of cement he was carrying on his shoulders on the ground. "Hey kid, are you alright? Do you need my help? If someone is bothering you, just let me know." He asked with a more serious face, having a good idea that Miguel wouldn't return to this place unless it was for some urgent situation.
Miguel's eyes widened at his question before he desperately denied, "No, no! I just needed the money, I don't think it would be a good idea to try stealing, you know how things are around here..." He scratched his neck as he explained.
"Hm..." The man narrowed his eyes. "Alright then. It's the same routine as before, with the same people. Let's go. Help me carry those cement bags over there." He sighed as he accepted Miguel's return, pointing to some cement bags while he himself picked up the four he had dropped on the ground.
Miguel nodded with a happier mood as he quickly went to grab the bags. "Thanks, Gabe!" He thanked the man, Gabriel, using the nickname that everyone who knew him used.
The man, now revealed as Gabe, just let out another sigh as he waved with a smile, returning to work.
"Great, job acquired. I just need to give my maximum effort...!" He thought as he started to pick up one of the cement bags with both arms, straining to carry it. "I need to gather as much as possible to fulfill this mission, and if I'm lucky: this kind of work can be considered good training."
That was Miguel's current thought as he stared at the mission that had appeared earlier.
[Name: Getting Prepared]
[Description: Prepare yourself before entering your First Instant Dungeon.]
[Duration: 30 Days]
[Rewards: Dependent on Performance Level]
[Penalty: None]
With a more determined face, Miguel focused 100% on his work for the rest of the day.
Days went by and things started to change. The body of a Game Character provided extreme assistance to Miguel during his work, allowing him to recover quickly after a few minutes of rest.
His performance was several times better than when he worked here in the past, impressing Gabe and the others. They all felt relatively happy about the growth of the Boy who was now dedicating himself more to work, instead of disliking heavy labor to earn some money.
Miguel's attributes evolved at an extremely fast pace as the days went by. Carrying cement bags while going up and down stairs, moving carts filled with a large amount of cement, assisting in brick construction, and various other tasks were considered extremely heavy exercises.
Especially considering the intensity with which Daniel did it. Always pushing himself to his limits and maintaining that until his attributes increased, so he could carry and do more things.
With his performance improving every week, Gabe even gave him some extras that made Miguel extremely happy. Thanks to this, he earned enough money to buy some extra things, and by the middle of the third week, he managed to build his training field at home.
It was created in a Reality Marble the size of the interior of his house, but it was more than enough for him. With this, Miguel started doing the heavy work in person and then, when he got home, he would train to exhaustion before finally sleeping when the time came.
At first, this kind of routine seemed like hell to him, but as time passed, he got more and more accustomed to it. He even dares to say that somehow his ability to lay bricks has improved significantly... don't ask him how he thinks that happened.
During this training time, Miguel ended up gaining some basic understanding of how to use his martial style and execute the moves somewhat correctly, focusing on improving it in one way or another.
He even managed to unleash a single stance alongside three strikes.
They were extremely simple moves but had some utility, which made Miguel relatively happy.
Currently, there was only one day left before he had to go to the Dungeon. Miguel reserved this day to check his current attributes and abilities, to have a good idea of the "arsenal" he had.
He sat in the same spot as always in his house: against the brick wall, leaning against it, while staring into space.
"Status," he said aloud, causing the screen to appear.
[Status]
[Name: Miguel Alves]
[Level 1] (Grants 5 Status Points per Level)
[HP: 1,350] (HP is calculated by VITx50)
[MP: 3,300] (MP is calculated by INTx100)
[Race: Human]
[Class: Martial Artist]
[Strength: 32] (E)
[Vitality: 27] (E)
[Agility: 26] (E)
[Intelligence: 33] (E)
[Senses: 30] (E)
[Available Status Points: 0]
[Abilities: Kyotōryū (S), Stance Zero: Fig Tree (B), Botan (E), Bara (E), Patrinia (E)]
[Passives: Kyotōryū (S), Body Control (D), Perception (D)]
Miguel's stats were quite balanced to his liking. He was pleased with these advancements but at the same time knew how far he was from truly becoming strong.
During these days, he asked the System about the exact Status levels required to reach each Rank, and the System's response surprised Miguel quite a bit.
Rank E: 0 - 100
Rank D: 101 - 300
Rank C: 301 - 500
Rank B: 501 - 700
Rank A: 701 - 1,000
Rank S: 1,001 - 2,000
National Rank: 2,001 - 5,000
The news of how far he still had to go gave him a reality check, as he was becoming overly confident in his growth rate. There was still a long way to go before he reached a definitive level among the strongest guys out there.
Not to mention the "World Rank" that the System didn't mention but made it clear that it started from 5,001. The thought of reaching that level one day got Miguel excited, more excited than usual.
(A/N: It's a long way to go. But these Ranks are not necessarily accurate. These attributes are specifically for the System's measurement method and not for the sphere that measures the overall Power of hunters, as it is never completely precise. There can be Rank S hunters who are actually Rank A according to the System level.)
After checking his Status, Miguel moved on to the Abilities he had been using in these past few days.
[Stance Zero: Fig Tree (Level 1) - No specific stance. The intention is to predict the enemy's next move based on their stance. Due to this stance, your opponent cannot determine your next move, and you gain maximum versatility.]
[Botan (Level 1) - A powerful kick with the right leg. It has twice the power of the User's strength.]
[Bara (Level 1) - A powerful flying kick with the right leg. It has twice the power of the User's strength and a 30% chance to stun the target.]
[Patrinia (Level 1) - Disarmament technique that adapts according to the situation. It has a 50% chance of disarming the opponent.]
All four of these Abilities were extremely useful, which surprised Miguel. He genuinely thought it would take a while for him to acquire anything useful from the Fighting Style.
But apparently, it was quite the opposite. Just with these Abilities, he was already confident enough to fight and defeat one to three adults barehanded.
Could he be too arrogant? Yes. But that's what he currently thought, having an idea of others' strength.
That is, not to mention the fact that Abilities had levels. He knew that levels would strengthen the Abilities, so they would probably increase the percentages and have chances to add new effects.
Thus, he would become even stronger over time, even if he didn't receive many new things.
"Wait..." Snapping out of his thoughts, Miguel looked at the Body Control passive. "This Ability leveled up." He clicked to show the description.
[Body Control (D): Allows the User to control their body in a way similar to what they want, although it still has many flaws. At least now, the User should easily be able to win a Gold medal in any kind of gymnastics competition.]
"In a way, I could start a career with this Ability..." he said, pondering the possibilities. "But if I become a hunter, that career will be ruined, so it's better to dismiss the idea. Still, it's a great ability." With a satisfied nod, Miguel got up and prepared to sleep.
"With my new attributes and physical capabilities, I should be able to at least survive against a low-level Monster. That Rank E instant Dungeon should make me stronger until I reach the Boss, so I don't need to be excessively nervous." This was his final comforting thought before falling asleep.
It was a new day, and now Miguel found himself walking towards the Dungeon. He wasn't carrying anything with him as he had used the [Inventory] option to store some food and drink.
He had never entered a Dungeon before, so he put on some extra ragged clothes in case he needed to change. Other than that, he didn't bring anything else to the Dungeon apart from what was already inside his Inventory.
"It's inside an alley." That was Miguel's thought when he arrived at the location of the instant Dungeon, entering the curious alley. He saw that the alley was perfectly empty, which he found beneficial for him.
Arriving at the spot where the instant Dungeon was, he saw a faint blue light, almost camouflaged in the darkness. Stopping in front of it, a window appeared.
[Mission successfully completed.]
[Reward: 2x Experience during the Dungeon, Stone Gauntlets (E)]
[A New Mission has been Generated]
[Name: Complete the Dungeon]
[Description: Complete your first instant Dungeon, show that you have started to evolve.]
[Rewards: A new Kyotōryū Ability, ???]
[Penalty: Not receiving the Ability, Chances of dying to the Boss (penalty of natural occurrence, not generated by the System)]
"A new mission after completing others. Death, huh?" He read the simple mission description before making the window disappear, focusing on the rewards. "Twice the experience should help me level up a lot in this dungeon, considering my low level. As for the weapon..."
[Stone Gauntlets (E) - A pair of gauntlets made of stone, but strangely usable and sharp. The entire gauntlet seems to have been properly polished to focus on sharp palm strikes instead of punches, sharp enough to cut through other types of stone.]
'These gauntlets were basically made for me. It must be the work of that 'guy'...' Miguel thought with a grateful smile. 'With these, I'll be stronger than I am now. My Kyotōryū can't even cut through a part of a tree yet, let alone stones.' Miguel quickly equipped the gauntlet and activated its visibility option since he wasn't accustomed to the weapon.
'Heavy.' That was his thought as the weapons appeared already equipped. 'But not excessively, it should only slightly slow down my movements in exchange for a great amount of damage. It's a fair trade.' He nodded in satisfaction, considering it a good 'training' in a way.
"Now... time to go before any problems arise." He approached the light.
[Do you wish to enter the instant Rank E Dungeon?]
"Yes," he confirmed mentally.
[Entry confirmed.]
[The System wishes the User good luck.]
And so, Miguel's vision was engulfed by a bluish light, causing him to vanish from the alley.
***
"Welcome to the Rank E Dungeon - Kobold Camp."
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I've been having difficulties writing this chapter. I'm completely inexperienced in writing, and this chapter has proven to be more challenging than expected.
I didn't know how to continue from the previous chapter and introduce new things, so I had to rewrite this chapter twice from scratch. It's only now that I've finished, and I'm starving T^T...
