A Player?
The world around me suddenly turned grey. Then a lovely voice of a young woman rang in my ears followed by a panel appearing in front of me.
[ Would you like to become a Player?]
I was momentarily shocked and confused by the sudden development. I mean wasn't the Players selected a month ago? How the heck was I even chosen?
Are you blind or are you just playing a joke on me? I'm a good for nothing bedridden person for Christ sake. I could not even get out of this bed on my own. How am I supposed to help out or fight?
I weighed my options as I threw curses at my imaginary perpetrator. If I selected "NO" then I will fall unconscious like what my friends told me.
If I am unlucky I will just wake up again and resume my miserable life. And if I am a bit lucky I will fall asleep forever. Both are actually not that bad.
If I picked "YES" then somehow I will become a Player. If someone clear this Grey Zone then I will still be Player and maybe enjoy some benefits. When that happens I can repay my father's and elevate some of his problems.
The worst case scenario is being eaten alive by monsters helplessly. They might even torture me.
Speaking of which, did my father got caught in the Grey Zone too? I will give anything just to find out his whereabouts right now.
As if getting tired of waiting for my answer the voice repeated it's question.
[ Would you like to become a Player?]
I really dreaded being eaten alive but the benefits outweigh the risks. If I can somewhat be of help to my father the I'll take my chances.
"Yes" I loudly replied to boost my confidence.
[ Confirmation accepted. Saving players data. . . Data saved. Loading skill. . . updating player status. . . preparations complete.]
After a minute or so the process was done but I truly thought that it took longer as my heart was pounding fast the whole moment. It must be because of the fear and excitement I am currently experiencing.
[ Would you like to enter tutorial mode?]
"Yes" I loudly replied again as I was carried away by my emotions.
[ • To display Player Status say 'Status Mode'.
• To display Player Skills say 'Skill Mode'.
• To display the Store say 'Store Mode'.
• To display available missions say 'Mission Mode'.]
Different options appeared infront of me. Lets
go from top to bottom. "Status Mode"
[ Status Mode shows the Players current status in numerical value.]
The alluring voice said then a list with my name on top appeared.
Name: Kendi Tomas (M/20)
Level: 0 (0/100%)
Race: Human-
Status: Reconstructing (15 minutes remaining)
Health: 18/20
Stamina: 5/5
Mana: 10/10
Strength: 4
Sense: 4
Magic: 8
Defense (P): 11 {10+1}
Defense (M): 11 {10+1}
Skill Count: 5
Skill Point(s): 3
Stat Point(s): 0
Random numbers appeared and I don't know if its high or low base on the standard. I assume that the letter and number beside my name should be my gender and age accordingly.
My race as expected is human. Health should be my life points and it being slightly reduced must be because of my health issues. Stamina is obviously my physical energy and Mana, if I'm not mistaken, should be the main energy needed to use skills.
Strength represents my physical damage while magic affect my magical damage. Sense should be my body functions and sense.
Defense (P) is my damage reduction points against physical damage and Defense (M) is my damage reduction points against magical attacks.
If the standard maximum number of new Players status is 10 then my stamina, strength, and sense is on the reasonable range. For my somehow high magical stat I don't have a clue on what affected it. Hidden potential? Intelligence? I can only take a guess.
What utterly bewildered me is my defense stats. Both of them have been maxed out. I mean do this body look sturdy to you? Maybe you need to buy a couple of high grade glasses idiotic game master.
My only guess is it's an effort to balance my character and compensate my low stats. Well, as long as it helps me survive I will gladly accept it
Next is my skill count. It says that I have 5 skills and I am very excited to know what they are. "Skill Mode" I said not wasting any time.
[ Skill Mode shows the number, description, and rank of the Players Skills. Skill rank from lowest to highest are: Ordinary (white), Uncommon (blue), Rare (red), and Special (black). It also indicates the number of skills and skill ranks a person is limited to posses. Skill points can be used to upgrade skill. ]
Skill Count: 5
Skill Limit: Ordinary 2/2, Uncommon 0/0, Rare 2/2, Special 1/1
Skills:
⚪ Tough Meat 1/10 (Passive)
- Increase Defense (P) by 10%.
Next Level: +2%
Skill Point: 1
⚪ Strong Ego 1/10 (Passive)
- Increase Defense (M) by 10%.
Next Level: +2%
Skill Point: 1
🔴 Harden 1/50 (Active) [2 Mana]
- Strengthen a small portion of the body increasing it's Defense (P) by 10% and Defense (M) by 5% for 5 seconds. Gain 30% of total defense as attack damage when used in attacking.
Current Damage: 7.095 Cool down: None
Next Level: Defense (P) +5%, Defense (M) +3%, Damage +0.5%
Skill Point: 5
🔴 Hidden 1/50 (Active) [1 Mana/ 7 seconds]
- Completely mask the presence of one(1) of the following: Smell, Aura, Physical Body, Skill. Cannot stack. Not effective against detection of Special rank skills.
Next Level: 1 Mana/15 seconds
Skill Point: 5
⚫ Lucky Roulette 1/5 (Passive)
- Every 5th level up, gain a chance to add a random ranked skill slot.
- A random skill will be given every 20th level up.
Next Level: -1 to all requirements
Skill Point: 50
Woah. That was all I could say. The skill I got was just too awesome it made me speechless. Specifically my Special ranked skill. I have a special skill. Hahaha
It is a super overpowered skill on top ofbthat. It allowed me to gain access to an unlimited amount of skill. As long as I can gain levels a skill slot is guaranteed. Heck I can even gain a free skill. How awesome is that.
Though I want to eagerly level up this skill, as much as I want to, 50 skill points is way out of reach. For now that is.
My two ordinary skill is also valuable in securing my safety. This skill must be the reason why I saw an extra point added on both of my defense. It may not be that big but an extra point is still an extra increase.
I also have 2 rare ranked skills. One is for concealing. Hidden's duration might be short but used in the perfect moment it will be very useful. Coupled with my second rare skill, Harden, then it's ambush potential is bottomless. Harden can also be used defensively which is a life saver.
Now then, what do I do? I have 3 available points and I can upgrade my Ordinary skills. Or I can save it for later use.
For now let's go with upgrading my Ordinary skills. Though I want to upgrade my higher ranked skills my priority for now is to survive.
With that in mind I put 2 points in Tough Meat and the remaining point on Strong Ego. Man this naming sense though.
Tough Meat increases by 4% making a total of 14% increase in my physical defense. Strong Ego also increased to 12%.
The point requirement didn't go up which I very pleasant.
Hooo. Deep breath. Deep breath.
Okay, onto the next menu. What was that again? Oh yeah, "Store Mode".
[ Store Mode shows you the available skills and items that you can buy using Void points. Void points can be earned by killing enemies or by completing certain missions. Players level determines the amount and rarity of the items being sold.]
A list of items and skills appeared before me. All of them are Ordinary items and skills. There are 3 panels in the Store.
First is the Item section For now it consisted of ordinary items such as dagger, sword, shield, axe, and some clothes. It's stats ranges from 2-8 and cost 20 to 50 Void points.
The second is the Skill section. All the available skills are white. Their price ranges from 50 to 100 Void points. I can see body strengthening skills, weapon enhancing skills, and some passive skills which enhances defense or regeneration rates. Though with a meager amount. Nothing special catches my attention so I moved on the next section.
The last section is called Limited section. When I opened it I was greeted by this orange glowing treasure chest with a bold NEWBIE PACK written beside it.
It cost 300 Void points and a countdown timer is beeping beside it which says ( 6days, 23hrs, 50min. remaining). It looks to be an expiration date.
When I looked at it's description a list of Uncommon items appeared. When worn together it will have a certain item set bonus. An uncommon skill is also included in the package called Natura Flow. It increases regeneration of health, stamina, and Mana. A 3in1 skill, awesome.
Honestly, this offer is very tempting and if I will ever have a chance to earn Void points I will save them for this. But for now I'll put it on the furthest back of my mind.