Chapter 6: New Status
[11:00 AM; Saturday, 29th of April, 2023]
"Haa…"
Surrounded by protective walls, and an abundance of als at my disposal, I sat on my bed and awaited the 'Announcent' that marked the beginning of it all.
>DING!<
Exactly as it played out in my dream, a System Window manifested before , revealing the familiar sight I had seen multiple tis already.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
{The realm of the gods, Paradise, will be revealed to the chosen humans. Overco the 99 Floors and get to the Final Realm.}
{Your mission is to survive the Tutorial so you can be qualified to enter Paradise. Ti Left until the end of the Tutorial: 168 hrs: 00 mins: 00 secs}
'And just like that, it had begun.' I swallowed hard, feeling a shiver ripple through . But when the announcent disappeared, sothing even more surprising happened.
"Huh? My headache's gone?" The sa change seed to happen to my trembling body.
For so reason, I felt completely normal, like everything was just right. My head cleared up, and I felt lighter, as if a weight had lifted. My heart, which had been racing, slowed down, and even the fear seed to fade away.
It felt amazing.
"Maybe this is a Skill?" I wondered aloud.
Back in my old dreams, the ones I used to have, there were things like Status Windows and Skills. This reality I was in now felt a lot like those dreams. They had to be connected.
"So, I should have a [Status Window], right?" I said.
And just like that, a screen appeared in front of , showing things that should have blown my mind. But strangely, it was like I already knew how to make sense of it.
It almost felt like muscle mory.
"Weird," I said quietly, looking at the screen without getting too worked up.
[STATUS WINDOW]
- Na: Mikey Rael
- Race: Human
- Level: 1
- Life Force: 3/3
- Energy Level: 1/1
- Combat Ability: 2/2
- Stat Points: 0
- Currency: 100
- Role:
- Authority:
- Titles: , ,
- Skills (Exclusive):
- Skills (Non-Exclusive):
- Items Equipped:
- Alignnt: Neutral Good
[Additional Information]
You can experience the events of the world through the 'other plane'. It is a coveted power worthy of desire, but a scary one to possess.
[End Of Information]
"Well, I suppose this is to be expected." My Stats were all abysmally low, and I found myself stuck at Level 1. It seed that this was the starting point for everyone, after all.
I looked at so parts of the info that seed really important.
"So, my Life Force is like my HP, and Energy Level is my MP. Combat Ability must be stuff like Strength, Dexterity, and Agility."
Even if the System didn't spell it out, it had to be what Combat Ability ant.
This world truly seed to operate like a ga, much like the ones I encountered in my dreams. The concept mirrored those role-playing gas where a player's prowess was distilled into quantifiable information and numbers.
Speaking of numbers, though…
"I've got Zero Stat Points. Maybe I get more when I Level Up. That makes sense." I haven't played many gas, but I know leveling up ans getting stronger.
I also saw sothing called 'Currency.' "That's like coins. It's pretty obvious."
But everything after that, I had no clue.
"Role? Authority? That's gotta be related to my Exclusive Skill, right?"
All of those three had sothing to do with dreams. I guess it was safe to conclude that this was sothing similar to a Class or Job, right? But did that an there were other 'Drears' like ?
'No, I think I'm the only one. One of my Titles is . I guess that has to do with that last nightmare I had. Is that… the end of the world?'
That thought gave the chills. Thinking about it was already scary enough.
"No, no. Let's focus on the present. I need to find out more about my skills and abilities and how I can survive."
My fighting skills were undeniably weak, and the rest of my Stats weren't much to brag about either. With three Titles to my na and just one solitary Skill in my arsenal, I found myself in desperate need of a deeper comprehension of these abilities. Without this understanding, my chances of success in any encounter appeared to be incredibly bleak, and failure seed inevitable.
"Elaborate On My Titles." I spoke, guided by instinct.
[Titles]
: The user is calm and level-headed in situations that would otherwise cause severe ntal distress. This composure isn't absolute, though. Severe ntal attacks and traumas can still cause the user to break his composure.
: As soone who has reached the end, dreams and fragnted mories can sotis be imparted. Instinctive reactions such as muscle mory and a few other symptoms may be experienced.
: Just like everyone who didn't get turned into monsters, The user has this title because he's a candidate who can enter the Tower Of Trials in order to get to Paradise.
[End Of Information]
"I see. I see."
As each piece of the puzzle fell into place, I couldn't help but marvel at the clarity slowly dawning on . It was no wonder that an unexpected calmness washed over my senses, and even the strange dreams I'd been having started becoming clearer to . What truly surprised , though, was the absence of overwhelming confusion in the face of these peculiar occurrences, even though it would have been perfectly reasonable to feel utterly confused.
'Well, this has its own kind of silver lining, I guess.'
As for the last Title, , it was the reason I was still human. This ant that all those monsters out there were once people like . I had suspected as much, but it didn't make the reality any less chilling.
I was curious, though. 'How many humans beca monsters, and how many of us were chosen to stay human?'
I didn't have the answers to those questions, so there was no point in asking. My ti was best spent focusing on things I had direct control over.
Then, what about my Skills? I only had one, but…
"Elaborate On Skills."
[Skills]
(Exclusive)
: Allows the user to experience future events in the form of a dream. These future events are basically the user's experience. Trauma could be experienced as a result of this Skill. {Note: User may not take his own life or intentionally try to use this Skill. It will not activate.}
(Non-Exclusive)
'Wow, it's pretty straightforward.'
I'd already pieced together most of this information, but having it spelled out was sothing else entirely.
"So, every ti I dream, it's actually a version of dying? That's brutal."
Did that an that ti was being reversed, and I was still the '' that died? Or had I beco soone else ?
'I still have the mories of the version of myself that died in my dream. I can surmise that it's . Yes, they're all .'
Thinking any deeper about it hurt my brain.
'I also can't reset reality intentionally. That's a hardcore limitation. Looks like if I have to die, it'll have to be unintentional.'
Moving on, from what I could understand about 'Exclusive', it seed I was the only one who had access to this Skill. Well, it could also an that it was Exclusive to the 'Role' and 'Authority' I had, and it was possible that I wasn't the only one with them.
'But why do I have a feeling that it's the forr? Well, I'll just go with that.'
It seed I could obtain Skills that weren't related to dreaming, thanks to the Non-Exclusive section of my Skills. That was a relief, considering , or pretty much any Skill I could derive from a Role wasn't really going to aid in combat.
"Looks like I could eventually get Items. I haven't seen a Shop yet, but there has to be a way to spend the 'Currency' I had. I guess all of that will co in due ti."
Finally, there was one thing that worried the most.
"The [Additional Information] and what it says."
Apparently, my power was coveted, but also scary. If my power allowed to see beyond this world's events, did that an I could also glimpse the past? Would I see even more as ti went on?
I had a lot of questions, but I suppose they would have to wait.
"For now, I'll just relax. Maybe eat sothing."
The lights in my room were turned off, so it was kind of dark, but not unbearably so. I made sure everywhere was locked tight and secure, so it didn't seem like I would be disturbed.
'I just have to—'
~H-heeellppp…~ A whisper suddenly echoed in my head.
'H-huh?'
~P-please… H-help e…!!~ The voice beca louder and more desperate.
Suddenly, I heard a soft knock on my front door. It sounded hollow, yet urgent. I felt a sensation course through that resembled fear, but it was quickly suppressed.
The knock continued, relentless and desperate.
~I'm right in front of you. P-please… help!~
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[A/N]
Another survivor enters into the picture… or is it sothing else entirely?
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