CHAPTER 2
If you want to read up to 30 chapters ahead go to https://www.patreón.com/cornbringer
This is the start of a mass release to get the novel approved for search and stuff, now webnovel has a policy where you need to have around 5k words to appear on the search, so I decided to get to the 15k words to from once appear on the rankings, so here it is, the mass release.
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The ride to New York was bumpy and the seats were very uncomfortable but the cool night air at least made the trip bearable.
The road to the city cut across several farmlands and fields that colored the trip with a bit of entertainment, not that I didn't have plenty to think about. If nothing else, the long trip gave me plenty of time to ponder over my situation as a whole, discovering and accepting a few things of it all.
First, I came to accept this was no dream or hallucination, that much had become clear after a while and that scared me a bit. The implications of not being in my own world, and now being in one I always thought to be fictional was also a bit shocking.
Second, my gaming system or power clearly operated off of MMO rules, I suppose is to be expected with the thematic and all. Least I wasn't left out to dry in this new world without some kind of perk.
Last but not least, I had no idea what I was going to do now that I was here. Believe me, I know this is a situation many fantasize about, hell the Japanese have an entire anime genre based around the idea, but I never exactly expected it to actually happen.
Still like my grandpa used to say, fuck the doubts and fears in the ass without lubrication, for there is no point of stagnanting because of them.
Laughing at his old saying, I changed my focus from those suffocating thoughts to now focusing on the bright side of my situation. I was in the Marvel Universe, again the jury's still out on which version, and I had a power that was awesome. More importantly, I had options to grow, I mean, it could've certainly been worse, I could've been a human with no powers in here. And a guy with no powers in any Marvel verse, unless I was planning to rob some tech genius or try my luck with some form of radiation or mutagene, didn't have many options in the power department.
Speaking of my gamer power, like I said before it operated like a video game, in its entirety.
"Menu," I thought as I yawned, leaning my head against the cold window of the truck, waiting to arrive where I would get off.
Oh, on another note, I discovered the power worked with mental commands, meaning I didn't have to look like a crazy person talking out loud. Speaking of which.
[Interface]
[Character]
[Quest System]
[Inventory]
[Map]
[Skill List]
Some of these options were currently useless to me, like inventory since I literally had nothing but the still filthy clothes on my back., Skill List, also nothing, Quest System, since the last quest nothing else showed up… but out of all of them, Interface was the best one, it had the option to put music in the background.
What can I say, if I ever get into a fight, I would love to hear a good song while I kick some ass.
"We're almost there," the truck driver reminded me, which again, brought about another problem.
In a few minutes I would be in New York without papers, without money, and without a fucking idea how to get any of them. Maybe working on construction was…those places always seem to hire people without legal documentation. Eh, one thing at a time.
"Thanks," I smiled, my eyes going back to the menu.
Opening the map, I chuckled as I noticed something, like a video game map the bulk of the area obscured and marked as undiscovered. The only unveiled portion was the small section I had absorbed from the newspaper and what I had 'discovered' on my trip to New York. Using mental commands I zoomed into the discovered area, seeing that the map worked better than I imagined, having icons and such giving me a general idea of what is what and where is where, for example, the coffee shops had a coffee mug as an icon.
With a smile, I zoomed out, seeing where I was going. According to the map, I was close to Queens, ha, Spidey here I go… wait is Spider-Man a thing yet?
And again I'm reminded of how I have no clear clue on what Marvel universe I'm in and just how many insane possibilities there could be. Still, no need to panic just yet, for all you know, this world is the Marvel cinematic universe, or another less dangerous iteration. Maybe one of the 90s cartoons, no ever dies in those.
"We're here," the driver said, tapping me in the shoulder, again breaking me from my inner monologue.
Looking around I noticed we were in the middle of the street, not in the last truckers stop, "Here?" I asked and he nodded.
"I can't let my supervisor know I let people ride with me," he chuckled, though at least looked somewhat guilty for just dumping me. "So here is as far as I can take you."
Oh that made sense, any supervisor would be mad at this clear breach of security, I mean, for all he knows I could be a serial killer or something.
"Understandable, appreciate the help regardless," I thanked with as much sincerity as I could.
"Here," Reaching for his wallet, he pulled a few bucks and handed them to me, "You look like you need a headstart, and I know what that is… so, consider this my blessing to you."
[You have received 200$]
Impressed with this unexpected gesture, I took the money and smiled, "I don't know what to say."
"You could say thank you," The trucker laughed, again seeming totally cool he just handed two hundred bucks off to a stranger. "It's okay kid, we all need help sometimes, and I am glad I got to help you. Now, go find a job and pay taxes!"
"Haha, thanks." I laughed, getting off the truck.
"See ya around!" And with that, he left. What a nice guy, giving a complete stranger money, this shit only happens in movies and ga… games, huh. Wonder if this will become a thing.
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It didn't take me long to find a place to stay. Yeah, forgot that while $200 wasn't much in 2021, in 1992 where everything is a lot cheaper, you can do quite a bit.t. I didn't find a fancy place, but found a room I would have to share with someone for 150$ a month, no background check, no security deposit, which while not ideal was doable for the time.
Only downside was my roommate, who looked like he was on some kind of illegal substance...probably because he actually was.
[ Aaron Leman / Drug Addict = LV 3
HP = 23% / 100%
MP = NULL]
Sharing a room with a drug addict obviously would put most people on edge but I had nothing for him to steal. the money was in my inventory, and so would be all my future shit, at least while I lived here. So long as he did try selling my blood or organs I think I should be safe.
In the meantime things seemed to look up as my menu finally showed a new quest.
[New Quest = **Read some books**
Read a few books and learn a few helpful skills to help you in your day to day life!
Objective = Learn at least five skills 0/5
Reward = 175$, 300 exp, Tutorial Book]
And here I was thinking there would be no other quests.
"Time to find a library!" I declared, forgetting there was literally someone right in the room with me.
"Library huh. I know where it is… I can tell you for… some cash," Aaron smiled a toothless smile, thanks to all the crack he had consumed in his life. Granted he still had a few teeth, though they were yellow and looked about ready to fall out.
"Yeah, sorry Aaron I don't have any money if I had… I wouldn't be here…" I reminded him for the fourth time since I got here
"Well… fuck you!" And like the other three times, he stormed out of the room, oh no, whatever shall I do.
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Finding the library was easy enough, I just walked up to a cop, asked him, and he took me to the library. Why did I approach a cop without legal documentation, risking my possible stay in the states? Well, if there is something I have learned about not having documents is… to not be suspicious, the more relaxed and calmed you look, the less deportable you look. Also helps that I wasn't doing somewhere where documentation was required.
Once I was at the library, my hunt for skills began. Some books had requirements I had yet to meet, but others had none, like the world map I consumed like a hungry hippo, take that Google Maps!
I also learned some martial arts, Marksmanship, survival skills, and others, finishing the quest with ease, effectively leveling up to level three. Of course I didn't stop there, I mean, finishing the quest was my primary objective, but why leave when I could learn shit instantly.
So I stayed, and continued to consume the books without anyone noticing. Though when I say consume I don't mean that literally as that would obviously draw a lot of unwanted attention. Really, I would just tap them, and boom, knowledge is instantly downloaded into my brain.
In short, I continued doing this book consumption thing for hours to no end, until….
"The library is closing." The Librarian approached me, tapping me on the shoulder.
[Mary Wolowitz - LV 4
Librarian
HP: 100% / 100%
MP: NULL]
"Oh, I'm sorry, I got carried away." I chuckled, apologizing to the lady, "I'll be out of your hair."
"It's okay, come back soon!" She waved at me as I left the library.
Such a nice lady makes me really sad that libraries will basically become obsolete in about a decade.
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[STATS
Name = Alex Walker
Occupation = The Gamer
Level = 3
EXP = 0/450
HP = 240/240
MP = 100/100
STR = 12
VIT = 15
DEF = 12
DEX= 12
INT = 12
CHA = 12
WIS = 12
WILL = 12
PER = 12
LUK = 7
STAT POINTS = 20
]
[SKILL LIST
Cooking LV8 - Passive = A skill that allows the player to cook delicious meals. 8% increase in cooking efficiency.
Swimming LV 5 - Passive/Active = Passively increases movement speed when swimming by 5% = 2.2 miles per hour.
Running LV 12 - Passive - Active = Passively increases movement speed when running by 12% = 10 miles per hour.
Martial Arts LV 1 - Passive/Active = Passively increases hand to hand combat damage, when used actively it allows for total concentration in combat. Damage buff 1%.
Marksmanship LV 1 - Passive/Active = Passively increases accuracy and attack damage with long range weapons by 1%
]
The skills that are high level are because he knew how to use them prior to learning the skill in this life, so that transfers to here.