[Questline]

As the day passes no one really approaches me, for what reason I don't know, but it's fine. It's not because they're teenagers that I'm disinterested, I wasn't that much older than this before I died, but I just don't have time for friends right now.

My main priority at the moment is to get strong enough that I won't be accidentally popped like a balloon by that Sona girl. That might sound like an exaggeration but being 500x stronger than a regular person is much stronger than you'd imagine.

I did underestimate the difficulty of my schoolwork because I already graduated in my past life but the only class I'm really confident in is English and math. Math because I've always been good at math, and English because I already know that language.

That was a stupid assumption on my part. The last time I was in school was four years before I died at 22. Retaining all that information would've been hard even in my last life.

Other than that small roadblock, it was a relatively peaceful and quiet day. The only noticeable thing that happened was me gaining a few levels in Meditation in between classes.

I noticed that the skill seems to have a cooldown but no limit on how long I can meditate. When I mentally activate the skill and get into a zazen posture, the world seems to fade away. It's like that feeling of when you're sitting in class and you zone out completely, except I have to stay like that for extended periods of time.

All in all, it's a good way to pass the time since it feels like an arduous task, but it's only been a few minutes in reality. I ate my lunch quickly and spent 20 minutes straight meditating, boosting it to level 4. I still have no idea what it does yet but I'll keep grinding it.

On top of that happening, I realized that Appraise does a little more than show someone's strengths. I was staring at a calculus question in one of my textbooks when I thought 'What the fuck am I even looking at?' and this popped up.

[Mathematics Textbook]

<If you need a description of what this is, give up on math.>

It was a surprise for sure, but I'm not jump-scared so I didn't have a physical reaction. I tried looking at the descriptions for other things and they were all equally as sassy so I think it just defaults to being snarky when I already know what the item is.

The day over, I'm on my way home, another long and boring walk to complete. No one so far has been as ridiculously powerful as Sona, so it's easy to relax and walk while thinking she's an outlier.

Maybe she's the main heroine? Or even the main character herself? Either way, at least she confirmed one thing. Magic, or something similar, is real. Her unique ability was an Innate Water Manipulation so either this is like Charlotte where random people have powers or she has magic. The latter seems more plausible.

Wait a minute, why was this world the only one I have zero knowledge about? I read The Demonata, even if it would be a stupid place to choose.

<You have approximately the same amount of knowledge throughout all three choices.>

That's bullshit, The Demonata is like a ten-part series and I read every single one of them. I know way more stuff about it than this world. Also, you've been here the whole time?

<Wanna make a bet then? I'll give you a free skill if you win.>

<And no, I'm just near omniscient. I wouldn't normally care but you insulted the accuracy of my work.>

Well, what happens if I lose the bet?

<Then I take away and lock an important skill for the next year.>

Nope. I know I'm right, I don't need to take such a petty bet.

<Yeah? Since you know so much about The Demonata, what's the name of the main character?>

...

Moving on.

<That's what I thought.>

Wait, before you go. Is there a way I can earn some skills?

<N- Actually… sure. With this, you'll have even more incentive to get stronger.>

A few seconds pass of me just standing in the middle of the sidewalk before another blue screen pops up with a huge block of text.

«DING!»

[Main Quest Unlocked]

<Say 'Questline' to begin your main objective>

That's... interesting.

Hopefully, this won't give me 'penalties' if I fail to complete the quest. I can't stand when that happens in a story I'm reading.

"Questline," I mutter under my breath, putting my hand in front of my face to make doubly sure no one can hear me. I want no one to even think that I have a secret ability.

[Main Quest 1: Baby Steps]

Objective: Reach 10 Battle Power

Reward: [Skill: Unique Formula]

Bonus Objective: Achieve a supernatural feat before the Protagonist is killed.

Bonus Reward: [Innate Affinity], [Custom Spell]

A Unique Formula? I don't understand how that is a skill name. The fact that I don't understand means it's probably important in some way, just like my Sacred Gear. On another note, 'main quest 1' implies there will be more quests if I complete this one. That is a good enough incentive.

And I was planning on getting stronger either way so this is just a free boon.

Speaking of, what skills should I try and obtain soon? If magic can't be obtained that easily, I should focus on my body, right?

...Or maybe something else. I completely forgot about my Tony Stark idea the moment I arrived here but is it possible? Could I get a Crafting skill, or one related to Programming? What qualifies as a skill? If I'm not strong enough, could I get an acting skill and just bluff my enemies into thinking I'm an overlord god-king of the universe?

Probably not.

But... "Could they make me smarter so I could actually complete my homework?!" I blurt out in excitement. Some peasants with a battle power of zero look at me funny but I don't care what they think. The answer to this question is of much more importance.

I hadn't actually put much thought into how much potential my ability has. Like, I knew it had the potential to be powerful, but I never verbalized it.

Getting home I decide to get straight to work on the more important type of skills for now: The combat-related ones. If magic won't work, I have to rely on my body. I'm not giving up on magic, but I have no idea how to get it at the moment.

Putting my things down, I get to business. Or in this case, push-ups. They're noticeably easier than what I'm used to, so maybe I'm already pretty strong? My muscles definitely aren't defined but they exist.

«DING!»

[Skill Unlocked: Physical Conditioning]

<Increases the efficiency of getting stronger through exercise.>

I'll take it. If I'm reading that right, that means it'll make all of my push-ups perfect, right? Either that or it makes them worth more. Like how some anime characters get extremely strong from just a normal workout and a subpar diet.

And so, I spend the next half an hour or so working out. There aren't any weights in the house my parents left behind so it's mostly just calisthenics. Push-ups, Sit-ups, Pull-ups, a lot of going up. As the workout continues I get two levels in Physical Conditioning and can visibly tell that I'm doing the exercises better.

Many people don't notice, but most don't do push-ups correctly. Or at least, not efficiently. And this skill seems to fix that. Maybe it'll go beyond just 'fixing' my posture and stuff while doing it and will actually make it more effective than normal.

I did check my Battle Power again after the fact, but no increase. Though, it wouldn't make sense for it to increase after just a workout. And without any weights at that.

First of all, muscles only get stronger during the healing process, so for me to suddenly increase in strength right after a workout would mean my body very is odd.

Secondly, if doing a simple workout could increase battle power, every other human wouldn't be a zero. Technically, according to my ability, I'm one of the strongest humans alive. Probably. If anything, this is mostly just to see what the skill does and so I don't have noodle arms.

Sweaty and a bit tired after all that, I think I'll try and go for a different skill. I don't have Gamer's Body sadly so I can't just continuously workout after five minutes of rest.

But there is something else besides Gamer's Body that might be able to help me with that. And it all starts with a little grease...

«DING!»

[Skill Unlocked: Cooking]

<Increases the quality, taste, and benefits of a cooked dish.>

It's all coming together.

One part of that description is much more important than the other two parts. The 'benefits'. That single word has the potential to do so much more than one would think it does.

Invigorated, I continue cooking. Granted, I'm not much of a chef so I'm just making a simple grilled chicken, rice, and some vegetables. Nothing too crazy, plus I'm hungry and want to start eating already.

The Gluttony ability should be the one that lets the person get benefits from eating but the cooking skill has to do something, right?

And do something it does.

[Chicken Dish] (By: Katsuo Naoki)

<Mediocre in terms of taste and quality. Restores energy and endorses healing a normal amount.>

HA! I knew it! If I level up my cooking enough, that ending sentence should be better with time. I'll cook food so good I'll be able to make food that heals me within seconds and gives me enough stamina to stay up for weeks.

Maybe not that second part, that sounds hellish.

With that done, I've got quite a few more skills to try and get. Starting with Crafting...