Chapter 6 - Gaming Skills

After a hearty breakfast (which healed what little damage Micro still had after using his Life Drain skill, something wisely didn't mention to Spike) Sugar came down and had his. Spike's mom was both worried and happy about the situation.

"I'm so happy Spike finally has others he can tell his secret to. I just wish it didn't have to happen because of…" she trailed off.

"Don't worry Ms. Drago," Micro said. "If not for what happened, we wouldn't have discovered half the stuff we did about my strange new ability."

She nodded, having been told by Spike about the powers of the Gamer. She was shocked of course but after a brief demonstration she agree it was best he used it to his advantage now. Though she was hesitant to agree with Micro about not telling his mom about this.

"She will worry too much," Micro said. "If I tell her, she will police me and make sure I never do anything with it again. Not to mention she might reveal the truth about you in the belief that you and Spike had something to do with this."

"...Fine," Ms. Drago agreed. "But at least try to be careful."

Micro smiled and nodded before the three boys talked about what they were going to do today.

"Last day before school," Sugar said. "I vote video games and snacks."

"That sounds good to me to," Spike added. "After the insanity yesterday I think we could all use a break like that. What do you think Micro?"

Micro was a bit hesitant. On one hand he wanted to train, but on the other he didn't want to let that consume his life and he especially didn't want to alienate his friends. Besides, since he didn't have to sleep, he had a whole bunch of time open to him to spend progressing in his ability.

"Sure," he said smiling.

A few hours later

"Look out!" Spike shouted as Micro jumped over one of the flying demons. Sugar got hit and Mugman's spirit started floating away. There were too many things on screen to dodge so Micro couldn't reach him in time to parry. It was just Micro and Cuphead against the devil now.

The boys had been trying to beat the game all summer. They cleared normal mode and had finally made it to the devil on expert. Micro found himself doing a lot better at the game this time around since with Gamer's Mind he wasn't panicking and making stupid mistakes. His friends shouting on the other hand.

"Jump now!" Sugar cried. Micro did manage to jump and smoke bomb dodge out of the way of an attack right when a voice announced

KNOCKOUT!

The three best friends cheered loudly as they finally finished the game.

"Man that game really tests you," Sugar said.

"I'm just glad we finally got it done," Spike agreed. Micro just stared at the screen that popped up in front of him.

You have completed the game

Cuphead

Do you want to sacrifice your save file in order to gain a skill/weapon?

Yes/No

'Is this for real?' He thought. He could gain abilities just by completing video games. His finger hovered over the yes button when he looked up at his friends and realized something. If they saw him do this, then anytime he suggests doing something with them, they would think it was just to gain more power or skills. Would...would he lose his friends?

Micro sighed and pressed No. Even if they did understand he would still feel like he was using them. He refused to do that. Though he did have a collection of games to try this with when he got home.

He felt the buzz of a notification and pulled up that screen.

For thinking of others first, you gained 1 CHA.

"So," Micro said. "Looks like it's starting to get late."

"Yeah," Sugar said. "Why does time fly when you want it to just go slowly?" Spike and Micro laughed at that as they bid each other goodnight and started off on their ways home.

"Hey mom!" Micro called as he entered the house. "I'm back from Spike's!"

"Just in time for dinner!" His mom called and he went into the kitchen. He briefly looked up to see his mom's level and was somewhat surprised to see it decently high.

Software Spark

(Mother)

Lv34

It briefly made him wonder if his mom had any experiences he didn't know about that would increase her level, but then he just chalked it up to her having lived longer.

"So how was the game?" His mom asked. Micro remembered the bluff he told her about staying at Spike's to play a game.

"Definitely interesting. Though we still have a bit to figure out about it."

Skill Level Up!

Bluff (Lv2)

From half truths to outright lies, this is your ability to trick/deceive people. Whether for the greater good or personal gain is up to you.

Chance of Success Determined by: LV of Skill+CHA-Intensity of the Bluff

'Thanks for the reminder game,' he thought dryly.

"Well don't let yourself become too obsessed with it with classes coming up." She finished setting up the table and placed his food in front of him. A quick use of Observe to get a bit of experience in that skill and he dug in despite not feeling hungry at all. Another aspect of his ability he guessed. Thankfully it didn't prevent him from eating otherwise he couldn't enjoy such delicious food.

As they are he idly used Observe on different objects around the kitchen. It was ridiculously hard to level up Observe. He used it so many times already and it only went up twice, and neither of those gave any bonuses to what he learned from Observe. He thought for a second and used it on his mom.

Software Spark

(Mother)

Lv 34

Stats: (not high enough level in Observe)

Software Spark is the single mother of Micro Chip. After she lost her husband she dedicated herself to making their son into someone they would both be proud of.

Micro had to look away as his eyes began to water. He briefly thought about how useful this part of Observe could be.

"So," his mom started. "You ready for tomorrow?"

"Of course!" Micro said. "I can't wait to start."

"Well make sure you get your rest. Remember, just because you moved your room to your lab downstairs doesn't mean you get to stay up all night working on your projects or playing games."

Micro chuckled, though he felt a bit guilty at the fact he pretty much was planning to do just that.

After eating and wishing his mom goodnight, Micro went down into his lab when suddenly two screens popped up.

You have entered your lab! You will receive the following bonuses while in here.

-Double growth rate of crafting skills

-Double success rate of experiments and crafting of higher level items

-Increase growth rate of INT stat

By entering a familiar area, you remembered a skill!

Crafting (Lv 56)

You like making things don't you? This is your ability to create different items.

-Success rate for items of higher level than skill= Lv of skill+Knowledge of the type of item-complexity of item

"Well….that's convenient." He went over to his tv and game cases before booting up his PS4. "Let's see what abilities I can get."

It was then he discovered both an annoyance, and a cheat in the system.

The annoyance. The ability to get skills from games only seemed to apply to games he beat while having the gamer ability. This was very annoying because he had wanted to get an ability from Mortal Kombat X, but a screen popped up.

You have not completed this game since unlocking this feature.

The cheat on the other hand, it didn't seem to matter if he had already played most of the game before. It only mattered if he beat the game. Case and point, he was playing the last few moments of Until Dawn. He wasn't expecting anything major from it, it was just the one he knew he was only a few minutes from the end.

"Yes! Got everyone out."

As the credits rolled, he briefly looked up some skills on the Chaos Auction. He was considering looking into weapons, but if he was correct, he could probably make his own with a high crafting skill once he got the materials. There was also a servant section but he was avoiding that for the simple fact that he didn't want a servant.

At first he was extremely concerned about the fact people could buy servants, but he was shocked to find an FAQ on the sight. One of the first questions people asked was "How could you possibly allow this?! This is slavery!" The answer was very surprising.

We at the Chaos Auction know the fact that slavery is a terrible thing. That is why have set many rules in place meant to prevent this. Those you see listed are willing servants who have chosen to offer their services. We also have strict rules in place for what orders a servant is required to follow. If a servant signs up to be a maid, they are only required to do those duties. They wouldn't have to perform any...other orders and any boss who tries to force the issue will be targeted by our enforcers.

Despite this, that was not something he wanted to involve himself in. He did find one however…

Skill Book

Kage Bushin No Jutsu

Realm of Origin: Naruto Universe

Price: $2500

If it worked how he thought it did, that could help him a lot when it came to both stat, skill, and game grinding. Though he would need to get a bit more money first.

You have completed the game

Until Dawn

Do you want to sacrifice your save file in order to gain a skill/weapon?

Yes/No

He immediately hit yes. Data began flowing from the tv screen into his body.

Skill Learned!

Fear (Lv1)

Active (MP Cost: 1 per second)

Cause your target to have increased anxiety and be fearful when you are nearby

Not the best but definitely could be useful. He had other games that could help, but all of them had a while to go before the end and he also wanted to get more money for the Kage Bushin.

"Well…" He thought. "The Kage Bushin would help me a lot in speeding things up. And considering the ease I can get things done in the Zombie Dungeon, I should be fine for a bit with my basic skills. So I guess it's time to grind some money!"

With that he disappeared into an instant dungeon for the rest of the night.

{Written by Twistedphoenix1}

{Edited by SpedaHooves/KenKanekiTheCat/Me}