3 My Surroundings and a Short Tutorial(Edited)
When I looked out of the crystal clear window, I noticed— and thus verified— it was indeed early morning. The sky was still somewhat dim and the sun had yet to show itself. The pleasant cold breeze was reminiscent of what a morning feels like. The air felt a bit too pleasant here, in fact. Like, magical… but then again, that was literally the case in this world.
Below the greyish-blue clear sky, I saw a vast city. In my immediate vicinity was a large garden filled with patches of lively green grass. A clean stone pavement created a nice pathway across it with various flower patches and well-trimmed bushes marking its borders. There was a large fountain made up of, what I assumed to be, white marble or something similar, that poured clean water from the hands of the beautiful women's statues inside it.
Moving a bit further, after a safety wall, I noticed several mansion-type houses with gardens and fountains, and then another larger wall that seemed to divide the area that was inside from the outside, that had the fusion of medieval and industrial-era houses in fantasies, lying in close vicinities, forming a maze of sorts, but with a proper main road system.
The main road network was quite symmetrical. Forming various lines that converged towards what appeared to be this place, and joining this place to the outside where, after a bunch of fields, stood the largest and thickest wall I had ever seen and which wasn't one of the wonders of the world. It was the border of this vast and expansive city since the wall appeared to be at least a few dozen kilometers away and that was just my rough, random estimate.
Not quite a metropolitan city, but definitely not a simple fantasy town.
After that were vast lands filled with plains and some forests, and then finally, the horizon was covered with the mountains in the distance on one side and hints of other man-made structures on the other side.
The reason I could see so far so well was probably that my 'residence' was on an elevated height that gave me a good view of the entire city.
I did notice a few buildings that stood out in the outside section of the city, namely, the few towers, and some unusually large buildings.
I could also barely notice ant-like figures roaming inside the city, which were probably the denizens of this city going around their business early in the morning.
Overall, it was beautiful scenery that wasn't like anything I had ever got to see in the modern world. At least in real life.
I sat and gawked at the scenery for a while, taking in the beautiful place and calming my mind.
'This is my new home, huh? Can't say I dislike it… even if it's a bit too sudden.'
After a little while, I heard from the 'System' again. She had more to inform me.
[Now that the user has calmed down. It is advised that the user takes a small tutorial to understand some basic functionalities of the System. So that you can use it more efficiently and effectively.]
"Oh, right. Sure. Show me what you got, System."
The 'System' answered with a long message that it also read for me.
[The System has the following basic functions, followed by their brief descriptions. I have taken the liberty to skip the absolutely basic tutorial since it is comprised of things you already know and will likely take 75 hours of your life if you did it as was intended by the God of Creation—]
I stopped reading as I thought.
'Oh, hell no. I don't have that much time to spend on a tutorial. Thank you for a more concise tutorial. I'm fine with reading about stuff's summary.'
The message continued as such:
[Basic Functions:
1. Status: This allows the user to view his basic information, stats, and skills on a compact and precise 'page' that the user can access at any time.
2. Inventory: A sub-dimensional space that is linked to the user's soul and can be accessed to store and retrieve things at will. It can store anything as long as it is a quantifiable item and isn't a living person or monster. (Note: Dead bodies, however, can be stored inside.) The time inside the inventory is stopped for everything. The items stored appear on a grid-like Inventory page which the user can access by thinking of 'Inventory'.
3. Logs: A page that contains all the notifications that the System has provided to the user till the present.
4. Affection/Obedience/Reputation Sheet: A page that contains a list of names along with their affection, obedience, and reputation points. Note that, Affection points are usually associated with the user's preferred choice of gender (Selected: Female). Whereas, Obedience and Reputation are collected from all people: individuals or groups. (Note: New Function created due to the nature of this world's origin.)
5. Eroge Shop: A custom-made shop exclusive to the user that contains items and ingredients that aids the user in conquering the capture targets. Uses affection points as the only currency. (Note: New Function created due to the nature of this world's origin.)
Please select/call-out/ or think of one of these options to access them.]
I thought of 'Status' and a translucent blue window popped up.
[ —Status Page— ]
Name: Alexander K. Maximus(Alex Sanders)
Age: 13(22)
Gender: Male(Male)
Race: Human(Human: Non-Magical)
Class: Provisional Noble
Titles: N/A
---
Level: 1
HP: 50/50 (END*10)
MP: 150/150 (INT*10)
SP: 50/50 (DEX*10)
---
STR: 6 (Strength)
END: 5 (Endurance)
DEX: 5 (Dexterity)
INT: 15 (Intelligence)
CHA: 20 (Charm)
LUC: 10 (Luck)
---
Stat points available: 0
---
Active skills: N/A
Passive skills: ???? Lvl EX(Divine), Etiquette Lvl 1(Uncommon)
***
'Is this my Stat page? It's… different from the game.'
[This is a custom-made Status page solely for the user.]
'I see. I guess it's unsurprising that you can read my mind, given you are literally inside me… wait, that sounds weird.'
[Yes, indeed. Also, please do not make it sound so weird. I'm not physically inside you. Only ethereally. My connection to you is on a much higher or deeper level.]
'Right.'
Looking at the status, I noticed my name was showing the name of the body I am currently possessing. Something to be noticed is that the name is similar to my old one.
'I wonder if it's a coincidence.'
[The name isn't purely a coincidence. It was selected for the user's convenience. Suddenly getting a new and different name can be troublesome.]
"Oh."
'That's quite thoughtful. Thanks, God, I guess.'
Moving below, my age was 13, but it seemed to have my original age in the brackets still.
'System?'
[Yes, User.]
"Why is my age written twice?"
[One of them is the age of your current body and the other, in brackets, is the age of your soul.]
'I know that… I mean, does it have any relevance?'
[Not really.]
'Huh.'
Moving on from that, I saw that my Race and Gender are the same. Thank god again for no gender-bending or race-changing crap.
The next thing to catch my interest was the 'Class' section.
'Is the 'Class' the same as the Classes from the game?'
[Yes, more or less. But unlike the game, the amount of possible classes has been extended to properly match the varied professions and jobs of the people of this world.]
'Ah, I see. So, I'm a Noble, since I'm part of a noble family.
That's quite nice. I'll have access to more resources than commoners. Wonder what rank my family is. If I remember correctly, the world follows the standard system of King/Emperor > Prince > Duke > Marquis > Count > Viscount > Baron. There are also Honorary titles and Knighthood titles, I suppose. Hopefully, the family I'm a part of is Count rank or above.'
Surprisingly, the 'System' didn't answer that doubt of mine.
"Why am I a Provisional Noble though?"
[The user is currently underage. The age of adulthood of Humans in the world is 15. Proper classes are acquired after reaching adulthood. Note that the user can change or upgrade Classes on his own by acquiring the right for the said Classes.]
"Ah, got it. Just like in the games or most system novels."
Moving on, I didn't have any 'Titles'. I did wonder if the 'Nobleman' title should be given to me.
But the 'System' said that's not how it worked. There were various requirements to earn a 'Title'. It didn't tell me what, though. But I was told there's indeed a title called 'Nobleman'. Something I could aim to acquire in the future, perhaps?
The rest below were the generic stats.
'My level is a staggering 1. I know! I am OP as fuck, amirite?! ... Sigh. I better be able to increase the levels and stats somehow.'
Speaking of, my stats— except maybe INT and CHA— were pretty meh. I also had no available stat points, which I assumed you gain by leveling up, probably.
The 'System' confirmed that when I enquired but added that I can gain additional stats using the Quest rewards.
'There are quests too? Oh, dear. I didn't want those. Wait, but before that. Do all people in this world have stats? Doesn't the Criotopia game follow a different, tier-based system with no leveling? You grew as you gained experience and enlightenment. There was no concept of 'leveling up.''
There were means to measure it and most experienced people could even sense it with a natural or developed instinct. I knew all that from the game.
[Indeed. Only you can "level up." Everyone else here has the same Tier-based system of power measurement as in the Criotopia game.]
"Ooh, nice. That's kinda OP. And while we're on the topic, what's my tier? Do I even have one?"
[While the user has the Stat-based system, he also has the Tier system in place. It has been overwritten to allow for a better, smoother system which is the stat-based system.
As for the tier of the user, the user has Tier 0 since his foundation has not been developed yet.]
"Ah, right. That was a thing. Can you also show that on the status page? I like the stat system, but I would like to know my tier as well."
[Understood.]
The Status page was refreshed and now it had a 'Tier: 0' added to it below the 'Title: N/A' line and above the Level and HP/MP/SP section.
"Nice."
And finally, the skills. I had no active skills and two passive skills: Etiquette Lvl 1(Uncommon) and ???? Lvl EX(Divine)
"What's this '????' skill with 'EX' level? And also, can I see the description of these skills?"
[The '????' skill is an unnamed skill created specifically for the user since he's a special entity in this world. His existence and knowledge alone can unbalance the world and spread chaos if it were known that this world is made from an "Eroge game." To prevent that, this skill was created and bestowed on the user. The description might help the user understand its uses.]
And another tab with the skill descriptions followed.
[Skill: Etiquette Lvl 1
Type: Passive
Rarity: Uncommon
Effect: Allows the user to have a certain elegance and mannerism in various aspects of life. At higher levels, the elegance and mannerisms are more refined.
---
Skill: ???? Lvl EX(Rename? Y/N)
Type: Passive
Rarity: Divine
Effect: Locks the user's memories and thoughts inside his mind. No outside entity or power can access or affect the user's mind or spirit, not even God-level beings.
Additional effect: Provides a passive max level status effect resistance against all mental and spiritual attacks, effects, and probes.]
"Woah, this '???' seems like a neat skill."
I muttered with wide eyes.
"It even provides a passive resistance against mental and spiritual attacks. Kinda like 'Gamer's mind'. But this doesn't control my emotions."
[The skill is solely for protecting the user's memories from being read. The additional effect is more of a bonus due to how the skill works. The skill doesn't change or affect the user's feelings or personality.]
"That's nice."
It was a useful skill, considering the kind of creatures and people that lived here. Mind control and Mental probing were actual issues in the game too. So it was likely a thing in this world too.
After that, I checked the other features of the 'System'.
The 'Inventory' was just your usual game inventory. I tried storing some items I could find. Pillow, blanket, etc. It was surprisingly intuitive and easy to do so. I could store and take out items with a simple mental command. No misfires or anything either. It seemed to understand the difference between my wanting to do it and my simply mentioning of doing it.
The 'Logs' page contained the notifications I had received till now. Quite convenient.
The Affection/Obedience/Reputation page was empty, curiously. I had seen something similar in the game too. So, I had an idea of what it was all about.
Lastly, the second thing that reaffirmed that I was, in fact, in an Eroge world— the first being the Affection/Obedience/Reputation system— The Eroge shop.
I did open the shop and scrolled through the items inside the grid-like lists and… let's just say whoever(God?) made it was cultured AF! Some of the items were from the game itself, like Affection and Reputation Increase items, Obedience Rings, Slave collars, etc. While some were completely original. And it was among these original items that I found things I didn't even know existed.
I never considered myself an innocent man. I wasn't. But some of these things made me feel like I was very innocent and naïve. And I quickly reached the conclusion that it was probably for the better that I didn't know things like 'that' existed.
"Gosh, a dildo that is extendible, a living and cumming fleshlight, and all these pleasure-torture devices. I feel like I just lost whatever bit of innocence I had remaining. Damn."
'No way I'm gonna ever gonna buy these things. Na-uh.'
…I would certainly end up buying 'some' of those things in the future, contrary to my denial.
The Eroge Shop used the Affection points as a currency. The points I had were shown in the top right corner. I currently had 0 points.
To buy the cheapest item, a literal condom, I needed at least 100 points. The price range in the shop went from 100 AP to upwards of 10 Billion AP, which was the highest I could find in my scrolling and searching. The 10+ Billion item was well worth the amount though since it was supposedly a Divine rarity item. They were only a mere handful in this whole world.
'Hey System, are the item and skill rarities the same?'
[The rarity of Skills and Items are indeed the same. It goes from: Common > Uncommon > Rare > Unique > Legendary > Divine. Common being the lowest rarity and Divine being the highest possible rarity.]
"I see. Thanks."
[You're welcome, User. :)]
'Did the system just use an emoticon? Huh.'
I closed the shop and took a deep breath.
'I need to save points for some of this stuff.'
The Quest page after that was empty.
"What's up with the Quests? Will I have to do quests from the game or something?"
I asked, with slight dread and a frown.
[The Quest is a simple function that creates 'Quests' based on the user's needs or if the user is asked to do something by others. There are no inherent quests given by the System. But the System can provide custom Quests if the user demands.]
"So, it's a memo of sorts, basically."
[Basically, yes.]
"Is there anything more to learn in the tutorial?"
[No. You've learned about all the basic functionalities of the System. Further doubts and queries can be asked individually later whenever the user requires.]
"I see. Thanks for the short tutorial. It was helpful."
[No problem. :)]
'Emoticon again.'
Was my System more human-like than I initially expected? Or was it growing to show more emotions for some reason?
I wasn't sure. I hoped it was a good thing.
***
