The Gamer and the Blind

As S1 collapsed, the sword in Virgil's hand vanished along with it.

'So, the default weapon of a summon sticks with them, huh? It disappears when they do. Interesting...' Dante mused, filing away this piece of information for future strategizing.

Dante paused, his thoughts wandering as he gazed around the cavern. Its dimly lit expanse, with shadows clinging to the uneven walls and the distant drip of water echoing softly, provided a contemplative backdrop. He mulled over the nuances of attack and defense in this realm, a world that blurred the lines between reality and fantasy.

'The rules of engagement here are murky, hard to pin down,' he thought. 'On one hand, this place feels like a realistic fantasy world, not just a game. Yet, I can't ignore the significance of stats.' He recalled the information given during the induction. 'Might encompasses physical fortitude, boosting defense and strength. And the force of an attack? It's about mass and velocity. So Finesse is key for striking power, while Might builds the attack's base.'

He glanced at the distant stalactites, considering another puzzle. 'And what of the role of race in all this? Would a goblin with a thousand points in Might match the strength and resilience of a dragon with the same stats? It seems unlikely. But that's a theory to test another day. For now, such an experiment is beyond my reach.'

'Well, one last thing to do before we keep going' He paused 'Time to set some conditional triggers.' 

'Virgil, from now on, if I perish for any reason, resurrect me in a safe spot. If a safe location is uncertain, summon me at the farthest point within your range, away from any enemies. And when I'm not around, direct S1 to...' Several minutes of meticulous planning later, Dante concluded, 'That should cover it for now.' With this, Dante established a complex array of event-based automatic commands, drawing upon his dual expertise as a casual gamer and knowledge of programming, while his stoic and silent partner, Virgil, stood by.

Once the cooldown elapsed and S1 was back, they resumed their journey. It wasn't long before they encountered their next challenge: this time, two skeletal warriors stood in their path.

Dante's gaze locked onto the skeletal warrior opposite him. 'Virgil, S1, focus on the one to your right. Aim for the joints, maybe try to disarm it,' he instructed. He turned his attention to his own opponent, the memory of the recent pain still vivid in his mind. Despite this, a bead of sweat forming on his forehead, he couldn't suppress a wry smile. 'Well, this could be my last fight. Let's see if I can take down this walking bag of bones with just my left.'

Virgil and S1 engaged their target, leaving Dante to face off against his own. The skeleton, brandishing its weapon in an almost comical fashion, mirrored Dante's movements. Dante lunged, aiming a left-handed punch, but his balance was off without his right arm. The skeleton sidestepped with a clumsy shuffle, and Dante's fist hit nothing but air.

'Great, now I'm shadowboxing,' he muttered under his breath, trying to regain his footing.

The skeleton, seizing its chance, swung its sword towards Dante in a graceless arc. Dante narrowly evaded the attack, feeling the breeze of the blade as it passed by. 'That was a bit too close,' he gasped, the adrenaline mixing with a sense of the absurd.

He tried for a jab, but his lack of balance made the attempt awkward and ineffective. The skeleton, in its own uncoordinated way, managed to parry the blow. Dante's momentum sent him sprawling to the ground.

As the skeleton awkwardly raised its sword for another clumsy strike, Virgil stepped in swiftly. He engaged the skeletal warrior, his movements solid and balanced in contrast to the amateurish flailing of Dante and his opponent. In a few moments, despite the skeleton's awkward but somehow effective defense, Virgil had dismantled it, turning it into a heap of bones that dissipated like the rest.

Dante let out a chuckle from his prone position. "Thanks for the save, Virgil. Guess I'm not quite the one-armed warrior I fancied myself to be.'' He slowly got to his feet, shaking his head with a wry smile. 'There's a lesson in humility for you – getting bested by what I thought were just bumbling buffoons. I guess one of my toxic traits is thinking I can beat a walking skeleton without my right arm," he laughed.

Just as the second skeleton vanished, Dante received a welcome notification:

Virgil leveled up

"Yes!" he exclaimed, his voice brimming with excitement. Though he couldn't level up himself, seeing his 'other half'—if that was the right term—progress was oddly gratifying. 'Leveling up, the ultimate gamer's high,' he chuckled to himself. 'Let's see what we've got.'

Name: Virgil

Class: Undead Summoner

Level: 2HP: 47/60

MP: 61/63

Might: 12

Finesse: 12

Mystique: 18

Essence: 21 

'Hmm, leveling up doesn't seem to replenish HP and MP completely,' Dante observed. 'Looks like Virgil gained the following stats with the level up:'

Might: 2 (Boosted: 3)

Finesse: 2 (Boosted: 3)

Mystique: 4 (Boosted: 6)

Essence: 5 (Boosted: 7.5)

'Not too fond of the decimals, but I can't complain about that 50% boost causing them,' Dante mused. 'Now, let's get to the best part—the skills.'

Available Skills (SP: 1)

Strength Infusion (R1 L1) (Cost: 1 SP): Adds 5 points to the Might attribute of a summon. Duration: 180 s, MP cost: 10, CD: 120 s.

Agility Infusion (R1 L1) (Cost: 1 SP): Adds 5 points to the Finesse attribute of a summon. Duration: 180 s, MP cost: 10, CD: 120 s.

Conjure Bone Weapon (R1 L1) (Cost: 1 SP): Summons a rank 1, level 1, 1-H bone mace. Duration: 300 s, MP cost: 5, CD: 180 s.

Conjure Bone Armor (R1 L1) (Cost: 1 SP): Summons a rank 1, level 1 bone armor. Duration: 300 s, MP cost: 5, CD: 180 s.

'It's a shame, the Summon skeleton Warrior skill didn't appear again, but we have some interesting choices' Dante pondered. 'The infusion skills would definitely be beneficial. But now, realizing that I don't need actual bones for the conjuration – I assume this, given that the skeletons dissipated upon defeat – I'll opt for that this time around.'

Conjure Bone Weapon (Rank 1, Level 1)

Summons a rank 1, level 1, 1-H bone mace. Duration: 300 s, MP cost: 5, CD: 180 s.

'Virgil, if you could do the honors.'

Virgil, ever the silent companion, summoned a plain-looking bone mace that materialized in his hand without fanfare.

'One of humanity's greatest assets from millions of years ago.'

Weapon: 1-H bone mace (Rank 1, Level 1)

Durability: 25/25

Weight: 2.1 kg

'That's one heavy bone. I wonder what creature had bones so dense,' Dante mused. 'But it's arguably much better than the old, rusty sword. The blunt force and increased mass will be invaluable against skeletons, especially in the hands of the now empowered Virgil.' 

Dante checked the inventory and saw he now had, as expected, 3 Tutorial coins. 'Let's keep the grinding going.'

 ***

In the rolling hills of Provence, France, 1486.

"Truly, Alice, can you do nothing right?" Her mother's voice cut through the air, sharp as the winter wind that whistled around the corners of their estate, her disdain for her daughter as thick as the frost on the windows.

Their home, grand to commoners yet a cage to Alice, was adorned with tapestries that mocked her with freedom and joy she could never grasp. In the background, a maid swept the hearth quietly, her presence a silent testament to the daily trials Alice faced.

Alice, fragile and unassuming, bore her family's contempt with a grace that seemed beyond her years. Blind since birth, she was viewed by her family as nothing more than a burden, her lack of sight deemed a flaw too great for any advantageous marital alliance. Yet beneath this meek exterior, her mind was a sharp instrument, its keen edge carefully hidden beneath a veil of supposed simplicity and innocence.

"Mother, I'm trying my best," Alice's voice was a soft whisper of compliance, the perfect picture of the docility her family mistook for her entire being. "I'll strive to do better."

With a dismissive scoff, her mother turned away, the conversation closing as swiftly as it had opened. Alice's demeanor remained gentle, a mask of meekness, but her thoughts were alive with strategies and knowledge that would astonish those who underestimated her.

Unbeknownst to her family, Alice had developed a rich network of allies among the servants and the local populace. Despite her blindness, she had amassed a wealth of knowledge about the estate and the local economy, her other senses sharpened to compensate for her lack of sight, allowing her to discern truths that others overlooked.

As Alice remained seated, her hands folded, the dimming light hiding the brilliance in her unseeing eyes, none could guess at the plans forming in her mind.