Chapter 3

As he couldn't -and wouldn't- press the 'N' button, he pressed 'Y' instead. Then he turned his attention back to his stats. The Special Statuses were all fairly straightforward. He had the [Boosted Gear], so he was the Sekiryūtei, simple as that, thus he had his enemy, the White Dragon Emperor. Just as obviously, as he had Gaia's [Gamer's Gear]; his enemy was the one who wielded Tartarus' [Gamer's Gear].

What was really intriguing him was the [Perks] and [Flaws] section.

[Gaia's Blessing] (Passive)

The Titan Goddess of the Earth, Gaia, favours you, granting you the [Gamer's Gear]. You also have a marked affinity for the earth, leading to a 15% power increase when using Earth Magic.

This Perk cannot be lost.

[Presence of the Red Dragon Emperor] (Passive)

As the host of Ddraig, the Welsh Dragon, you can occasionally call upon his presence, usually after you become stronger or the [Boosted Gear] evolves. Allows you to communicate with the Red Dragon Emperor in your dreams. Also grants you a 50% EXP boost to any [Draconic] Skill.

This Perk cannot be lost.

[Lesser Resilience] (Passive)

Having been beaten on a regular basis, you have developed a resistance to it. You reduce any damage from a physical impact made by a blunt weapon wielded with less than STR 30 by half.

This perk can be lost by not getting struck for seven days in a row.

Issei was duly impressed with the three, although he felt phantom aches when he read [Lesser Resilience]. Oh, those kendo girls could seriously swing some mean bokken.

The [Flaws] were…illuminating.

[Open Desires: Lust] (Passive)

Your lust is unrestricted and runs rampant. 60% chance of acting lewd around a female, regardless of whether they and you are in public or not.

This Flaw can be lost by gaining control over your carnal desires.

[Oppai Baka] (Passive)

You have a breast Fetish of massive proportions, well known to everyone who knows you. Saddles you with the title [Oppai Baka].

This Flaw can be lost by restraining your desires.

Yes, he was indeed a creature who acted on his desires. Hopefully, he could get rid of these flaws soon. Gathering a Harem required some sacrifices.

"Issei!" his mother called from the kitchen.

"Coming!" he called back. Dismissing the [Gamer's Gear], he padded down to the kitchen where his mother was working on lunch.

"Ah, Issei!" she said with a smile, "Do you think you could go to the store and pick up a few things for dinner?"

[Quest Alert!]

Gofer Shopping: Your mother has requested that you go and pick up some items at the local shop.

Quest Reward: +50 EXP, ¥1000, +100 Reputation with your mother.

Quest Failure: 10 XP

Accept?

Y/N

'This looks like a reasonably easy quest to perform.' Issei considered, 'Easy enough to 'get my feet wet' so to speak.'

He hit the 'Y' key as he replied, "OK, Kaa-san. Do you have a list?"

After being handed a list and some money for his wallet, he headed out to do some shopping.

As he walked, he ruefully rubbed the bandage over the cut on his cheek. He had been told rather apologetically that it would leave a slight scar, but he didn't mind. He thought that a scar would look pretty badass on his face anyway.

As he walked, he decided to have a look at his skills. He had looked at [Boost!] yesterday, and he already knew what [Gamer's Mind] and [Gamer's Body] did, so that just left [Lesser Draconic Charisma].

[Lesser Draconic Charisma] (Passive) [LV1, 00.00)

Dragons are massive creatures, able to do a great many things, one of them being transformation into other beings. But regardless of what form they take, all dragons have a natural air of charisma about them that draws people to them. As someone who bears a Dragon-type Sacred Gear, you have inherited a small portion of this charisma.

- Grants you the Charisma stat once this entry has been read.

- Automatically adds 5 Charisma each level.

- As one who bears the [Boosted Gear], you gain a 50% EXP boost with this skill as this is a [Draconic] skill.

Issei wasn't impressed with his Charisma stat…it was a 1. Seriously…how could someone have a CHA rating of one?! What was he, a caterpillar or something?!

Sighing, he went into the store and set about gathering everything his mother wanted. Urgh…miso soup is on the menu again…

After paying for the food, Issei headed back home, but was concerned when he saw a police car outside his house. Entering again, he was suddenly engulfed by his worried mother.

"Issei! Oh, thank Kami that you're OK?" she said.

"Err…okaaaaay…what's going on?" he asked in confusion.

"I am Inspector Fujiwara." a man in a trench coat said as he followed Issei's mother into the hallway and flashed his badge, "I am here to inform you that the man who assaulted you was found dead in his cell shortly after noon today. Murder is suspected."

"Well it wasn't me." Issei said shortly, calming his mother down after a moment.

"We know, Hyōdō-kun." the man said with a nod, "I am here to urge you to be careful, however. Whoever killed him removed his hands, feet, teeth and eyes. We are conducting a DNA test to determine who he is, but that might take sometime. You may be a target of whoever silenced him."

"Well, hell." was all Issei could say.

"Let's go!" - Regular Speech

'Oppai!' - Thoughts

[BOOST!] - Sacred Gear/Ddraig Speech

After discovering that his erstwhile assailant had been murdered rather brutally, the shopping he had been sent out to get had fallen to the wayside until the inspector left, but Issei handed the bag of food over to his mother just after that, and sure enough…

[Quest Complete!]

Gofer Shopping: You have successfully completed your mother's shopping!

Quest Reward: +50 EXP, ¥1000, +100 reputation with your mother.

It was rather odd to suddenly look inside his wallet and see that he had an extra thousand yen note. Compared to the weirdness that had been inhabiting his life since the previous day, however, Issei was easily able to roll with it.

The question was, what should he do about the attempted murderer getting murdered? Issei could easily imagine whoever had ordered the other man killed ordering Issei's death as well, which wasn't a pleasant thing to imagine.

Just as he was thinking that, another blue screen popped up.

[Quest Alert!]

Defence for the Defenceless: Dungeoneering for Life!: You are concerned that you are going to be attacked by whoever silenced your attacker from yesterday. Go conquer a dungeon to become stronger!

Quest Reward: +400 EXP, ¥3000, Random Reward.

Quest Failure: +200 EXP

Accept?

Y/N

Issei just stared at the screen for a moment. Seriously? He's worried about his life being at risk, so the stupid system tells him to go and risk his life. Paradox much?

With a sigh, he hit 'Y'. There wasn't anything else he could do and you never know, he might actually survive if he did this. He'd better leave right now.

"Issei! Lunch is ready."

Correction: He'd leave as soon as he'd had lunch.

Later

Streets, Kuō Town

The instant he set foot outside his house, a blue path appeared on the ground, leading away who knows where. Judging by the lack of a panic, Issei guessed that he was the only one who could see it.