Chapter 4: Escaping the Bad end(1)

After briefly cutting his hair, Jun styled it as similarly as he did before transmigration. Hoping that it would give a more mature look to Vadgai's childlike features.

Searching for spare clothes, Jun wore a clean black turtleneck long sleeve he found in one of the researcher's lockers

Jun, who was in Vadgai's body, felt a great repulsion in wearing the cloth

Goosebumps rose at the back of his hand because of the stiff cheap feeling of commoner clothes. However he managed to suppress the repulsion by thinking that this was a better option than wearing dirty clothes.

Although unsure, Jun has a rough hypothesis, remembering how his heart ached when facing Azra, and his current repulsion to cheap fabrics.

Vadgai's ingame characteristics and traits were influencing Jun

Which didn't sit well with Jun. He didn't want to be the game's puppet and be Vadgai.

That's why despite acknowledging he had become him, Jun never referred to himself as Vadgai. He didn't forget that he was Jun.

Adjusting his collar, Jun sighed. But to survive he would compromise. Refusing to die a dog's death, he will live with an identity of neither jun or Vadjai but rather a mix of both.

For that to happen he needed to know more about himself and the system. Determined, Jun spoke,

"Status Window"

On command, a string of words showed up on a light blue window

[Name: Vadgai Tash (Jun)

Full Aristocratic name: Vadgailles Tashcun

Age: 16

Status: Slightly uncomfortable

Overall class: E

Overall potential: D

Magic Power: 9 900/9 900

Magic affinity: Manipulation (E) and Offensive magic (C)

Mental Strength- E —› S

Overall physical stats- E

(Tap here to see the breakdown)

Skills: (Description will be hidden after the first read. A 'read more' option however will be provided)

"Abuse of Power (F —› E)"

-Authority is meant to be abused. I'm rich, got a problem with that? Kneel bitch-

-Exudes a noble pressure on the opponent. Restricts movement and imposes fear on people with a lower overall class than the skill holder. Skill class drops 1 level when the opponent is nonhuman.

-Crowd control and Growth type. After completing certain conditions the skill class will increase the more the skill is used in the future.

-Vadgai's character unique skill

-Mana cost upon activation: 2000 mp, with 200 mp deducted every hour (The greater the skill class will rise the less the mp will be deducted to maintain the skill).

"Poison Resistance (A)"

-Poison doesn't affect me but so does alcohol so life is pretty shitty-

-Skill made from Player Jun's innate talent. Remember events even when intoxicated. Intoxication is only possible for extremely strong poisons.

-Detoxifies all poisons and removes intoxication status.

-Intoxication status imposed by poisons which are higher class than the skill will detoxify 5 minutes after the status is acquired.

-Passive skill

"Cold Blooded (S)"

-You should smile more, otherwise you might lose your humanity-

-Combination of 3 skills, Vadgai's "Noble Conquering (D)", Jun's innate talent for tenacity, and "Calculative Self Preservation (???)".

-Upon activation, all emotional distractions are removed. Calculation speed and thought processing is doubled. Actions taken will be the path that preserves the self best while conquering the goal.

-Combined Skill. Scales with Mental Strength.

-Mana cost upon activation: 4000 mp, with every 3000 mp is deducted for every hour the skill is in effect.

System Inventory:

(001/200 slots used)]

'So it also incorporates my traits and characteristics as Jun but as skills'

Jun thought as he fiddled with the window. He didn't mull over it as he looked through the breakdown of his stats and functions of his magic.

Unbeknownst to him that the incorporation of past and current traits shouldn't be possible

'This body is pretty shit'

Seeing his physical stats broken down to speed, agility, strength, endurance, luck, and charm. Jun adjusted his collar, everything except for his goddamn luck and charm-which were E and D-was in F class.

'The skills aren't bad but my mp is too low to keep up with the mana cost'

'Cold blooded' felt like a glove to Jun. Perhaps it was because a part of it was extracted from his original conscience(Jun) it felt like 2nd nature to him.

But with his low mp the most he can keep it on was an hour

'If I have it on, it would just be disadvantageous for me if the fight longers on'

Zurge relies on their large number. Vadgai, who doesn't have an explosive AOE skill would die in a swarm.

His cc skill 'abuse of power' might be of help but the fact it lowers a level when faced with non humans made Jun's left eye twitch.

These skills were better suited fighting humans than the zurge…

If he wanted to use 'abuse of power' effectively, he needed to 'grow' that skill. But since Prince Liam whom Jun played in the game never had such a skill, Jun doesn't know what conditions need to be met.

'I might need to investigate my(Vadgai) family and background, there might exist a hint on clearing it'

Hmm? Noticing the last line, Jun opened the system inventory.

[Key(???)

-A key only acquirable when a being has reached all ends and the true end

-2 Functions unlocked

"Seeing" and "originality"]

Jun did remember before his death how the game talked about how he acquired a key.

He wasn't sure about the function of originality but… Closing his eyes Jun still remembers the sight he saw after he was notified of a death flag. Everything was nothing but outlines and like an x-ray he saw the zurge parasitizing the doctor nestling itself in his head a blue line connecting itself towards somewhere far away.

Jun guessed that it connected to Zurge queen.

That sight didn't last long though, it came and went away in a second, no half a second. Maybe had he seen it for longer he could have aimed more accurately. But it was too late to regret.

Like the way he felt like shit when he found out that even with 4 days of work he still hadn't completed the game.

It didn't matter now

What matters now is staying alive. But with Vadgai's shitty stats and low mana it'll be hard to achieve. Especially since this world revolves around magic and technology.

"I need to buy a lot of items in the star store"

The amount of mana a person has in theory is unchangeable. However there are items in the star store that bypass this theory.

Jun never bought it when he played the game since Prince Liam was a cheat character with boundless mana.

'Oh the perks of the royal bloodline'

But before he could do that he needed to complete the main quest in chapter 1 while escaping the first bad end.

"The Massacre of Hope" was a 'dead end' ending

It's an ending that cuts off all other routes, including the true ending

Even if Prince Liam were to die and regress, once 'The Massacre of Hope' was achieved, it could be considered as 'game over'.

That was because the Zurge Queen who regressed with Prince Liam remembers the events that'll transpire

The Zurge Queen chose to attack Paglaum Academy during the opening ceremony in this regression.

An attack that didn't happen in the tutorial.

Jun, who didn't know the Zurge Queen could remember everything before the regression was taken aback and lost miserably in his first playthrough. The Zurge succeeded and the major story characters pivotal for the true ending, died.

He can't let that happen

The only way for Jun to live comfortably as an identity that mixes both Jun and Vadgai would only be through the true ending. Where his chances of survival are much higher.

'I can run a small business and live a good life. Maybe marry good wife and play around with my grandkids before dying painlessly of old age in my sleep'

Nodding his head, Jun who didn't like the pain of dying thought to himself

'Yes let's aim for that'

Making his way to a large table, he placed all his items with him on the tabletop.

A key with 2 functions that he wasn't quite sure about

A mana gun out of bullets

An electric taser with less than 5% of its original battery.

And 3 containers of red, blue and green pills he smuggled from the laboratory.

'It's not much'

"System, give me the time"

Appearing in front of him a game window showed the time and countdown.

[It is currently 1: 47 pm.

00:43:07 minutes until the opening ceremony.]

'So I have 43 minutes to prepare'

He wanted to learn more about this mysterious key he acquired, but with the time constraint…

Looking back at the weapons he had on hand, Jun clicked his tongue. He can learn on the way.

Placing the Key back to the system inventory, he placed the pills inside as well keeping a few in his pocket in case he couldn't easily access the system inventory during a scuffle.

He was also reluctant about being seen pulling out items from the system. By experience with how his fian– Azra and the doctor couldn't see the system window, it would just bring unnecessary attention if others see him take out items 'out of thin air' despite not having a storage ring.

Which disappointed Jun who expected Vadgai to have at least 2 with how rich their family are.

If a shitty body and a shittier equipment were to meet, wouldn't that just be a death sentence?

If in a pinch where you can't change the body, then there's only one way to survive…

'I might need to make a short trip to the armory'

You overgear yourself with OP items~