I had been in a bad state ever since the funeral, my caretaker Nan who was the hardest woman known to mankind taken down by pneumonia. An insult of the highest order as far as she had been concerned. I was convinced up until my sixteenth birthday that she ate nails and mortar for breakfast, but this was disproved when my excited self came down early to find her eating a cheese danish.
That moment, when I found such a tough woman daintily eating something so sweet, was still more disconcerting than the current dilemma.
I hadn't had many friends in school, too focused on being useless, and I suddenly had no one to turn to. Most of the other children I had gone to school had been problem children, as most of the Citizens were problem people it made a certain amount of sense, and I found myself unable to connect with most of them. Though, it wasn't entirely my fault as my classmates made little to no attempt to connect or interact with me in any meaningful way. Other than the Fights, which were meaningful in a sense. Meaningful in the sense that win or lose, fighting made my problem worse. As did the numerous scars I earned in the process. And in the end, I had no one to take me in or even pity me.
Thankfully, the school counselor got me set up with the Mount Glenn Orphan Fund, but most of that went into my rent as it was.
I had known that the way I was going, suddenly fired from my job after it was ransacked by a bunch of rioters and their "oppressors" and they could no longer afford to keep the chain store open. Through the walls of the room I was renting from a nice if intimidating stranger named Tuco I could hear gunfire and sirens, and I was sure that I could find a few fires if I looked hard enough.
The world had decided to take a large dump upon the Colony of Mount Glenn. Apparently putting all of the undesirable citizens of both Vale and Atlas in the same location and then having them elect leaders from the pool of already shoddy citizens was a surefire formula to collapse a colony.
Within two years we had already been the target of more than half of Grimm attacks upon colonies in the world, a number that only grew, and had a pretty bad morale problem. We provided nearly a quarter of projected Hunter Students despite having a thriving Preparation Academy, because we couldn't afford to lose anyone with the ability to use a gun and man the walls.
And then a month ago, Grimm began to invade through the Sewer systems and had the entire city burning as the government tried to contain it and Citizens began to form tribes and gangs to try and overthrow them while they were distracted.
All in all, the situation was not in the Valean and Atlesian Governments Favor.
But neither was my situation in my favor.
Austin Whelp
Lvl 1: 5/100 exp to Next Level.
Hp: 70/70 (Hp = (Con*10)*Lvl, Dth = -(Hp/3))
Stm: 65/70 (Stm = Con*10)
Str: 7
Dex: 5
Con: 7
Agi: 5
Int: 5 (-1)
Wis: 5 (-1)
Cha: 1
Res: 5
Free Points; 15
Passives:
Iron Will; 50% decrease of Status effects applied to Austin. Ex. Cripple; 30% decrease to speed → 15% decrease in speed. Inherited from Nan.
?; +2 to Con and Str per level, -15 to Cha. +100% to experience gain to the ? Skill. Inherited from ?.
?; ?.
Relentless; Immune to Fatigue. 2*Str when Hp below 50%. Gained through ?.
At 0630 in the morning, easily the earliest I had woke up in a long time, I stared up from my place on my bed, convinced that I had finally snapped. The floating screen stayed front and center no matter where in my room I looked and it refused to go away and return with my sanity. I could feel the bed underneath me, I could feel the air being circulated by the fan I had bought two weeks ago with my stipend.
"I wonder if I have Food Poisoning…?" and then the screen changed in response.
Status Effects:
Hunger (Level 1); Stamina regeneration -100% until removed. 3 hours and 27 minutes until it progresses further.
Confused (Level 2); Intelligence and Wisdom halved until removed.
My stomach gurgled in response as I deadpanned at the screen. I knew that I was both hungry and confused, though why one was a different level than the other was probably the difference between a problem that can be dealt with and a mental illness. I glared at the screen that hadn't changed yet, almost demanding it go away with simply a look. Then I sighed and read the words again.
"It says Until Removed, which implies there are ways to get rid of them, but it doesn't tell me how," I thought before I shook my head, "It's a psychosis, not an interface if I ignore-"
Status Effects:
Hunger (Level 1); Stamina regeneration (-100%) -50% until removed. 3 hours and 27 minutes until it progresses further.
-Remove by eating food, smartass.
Confused (Level 2); Intelligence and Wisdom (-50%) -25% until removed. Attempting to Access information above your Wisdom will progress this further.
-Remove by figuring this out.
"Well at least it has my sense of humor," I thought morbidly, "I'm… I'm just going to ignore it." Honestly, it couldn't be much worse than playing with an imaginary screen.
Quest Started: The Little Things.
Remove your negative Status Effects.
Rewards: 10 exp and Self-Respect.
I shook my head and waved it away from my face, thankfully it moved like a browser window and stayed where I put it. I stretched my hands above my head and cracked my fingers as I stumbled towards my mini fridge to pull out my dinner from last night, as well as my breakfast this morning. Once I had settled myself into the chair by my computer, the only real piece of furniture in the room beside my bed and the desk, I pulled the window back into focus and made a big procession of eating the piece of pizza.
Status Effects:
Confused (Level 2); Intelligence and Wisdom (-50%) -25% until removed. Attempting to Access information requiring twice your Wisdom to decipher will progress this further.
-Remove by figuring this out.
The window seemed to have taken a single bite of pizza as the act of eating, which I found funny before I went to take another bite, only to find my breakfast gone. Including the crusts, which I made a point not to eat. Pouting into my lap I looked back up at the screen to glare at it, "Maybe I wanted to eat like a normal person instead of a RPG character," I said pointedly.
Quest Started: The Little Things.
Remove your negative Status Effects.
-Removed Hunger by eating and insulting the quest.
Rewards: 10 exp and Self-Respect.
"Oh, shut up," I growled at it, knowing full well that talking to myself was unhealthy but finding myself unable to care. I turned to my closet and pulled out my clothes, ignoring the chimes of the maddening screen for now, and put them on. I slipped my pocket knife, the last gift from Nan I hadn't sold or had stolen, into the pocket of my hoodie. Then I stooped down and tied the steel toed boots I regularly wore as tight as I could, still lose from being two sizes too large for me.
After that gearing up process I was finally ready to go on a grocery run. The peeling wallpaper on my walls waved mockingly at me in the breeze of the fan, and I pointedly ignored the screen actually mocking me about equipping my clothes. As I stepped out of my room I didn't bother locking the door behind me, it was held together with scotch tape as it was, a single poke would have that thing crashing down and no single tumbler lock would stop it.
And as I turned away from my door I was greeted to a disheartening sight, as Tuco and his remarkably pretty Roommate/Girlfriend Maria.
Now seeing them wasn't disheartening, the words floating above their heads were though.
Taylor "Tuco" Diaz
Lvl 2 Super
Surprisingly Honest
These were the words that floated above his head, like a sign that I was extra crazy, and Maria's had even less.
Maria Talitez
Lvl 1 Gossip-Hound
The descriptor that Tuco had wasn't anywhere to be found with Maria, though her class made me laugh. Many a time I had stomped up the stairs of the complex to hear her through the walls, on the phone with someone sharing juicy secrets.
Unfortunately, me staring in their direction didn't go unnoticed.
"Yo, Austin," Tuco called, and I sighed before I walked over, knowing what was going to happen already even as I walked over. "You headin' out, Man?" he asked curiously, if not suspiciously. When I nodded he sighed, "I thought you went shopping yesterday, things aren't looking good right now," at that I quirked an eyebrow and he began scratching the back of his shaved head sheepishly, "Like, worse than usual man. Some new group popped up, and their kinda raising hell."
"A new gang jumps up every week, Tuco," I said matter-of factly, "What makes this one any different?"
"They're not a gang man, it's every single gang that's been stomped already," he said with a look to Maria, who nodded, "We got family moving out of the Southside to come live with us here," he said sadly. The decision made sense, as the Southside of Glenn was where the largest residential area and the Military outpost were both located, and would probably be where the heavy fighting happened.
I shrugged my shoulders, "Still gotta eat," and with that I turned to make my way towards the stairs.
"Wait!" Maria stopped me and I turned back from where I had my hand on the rail, "If you are going out, please pick up as much food as you can."
I squinted at her, at the nervous set of Tuco's shoulders, and replied "I've only got twenty bucks, I can't afford all that much."
The couple shared a look, before Tuco lowered his head in my direction, "Neither can we, but if you just took it…" He sighed and raised his eyes, full of desperation, to meet mine and finished, "Who would know?"
I huffed a sigh and made to reply, before a chime and the screen marked their reappearance.
Quest Received: Errand Boy.
Gather as much food as you can.
Rewards: 100 exp and 5 Renown points per 5 lbs of food, 5 free stat points.
Y/N?
I blinked at the rewards, but I had already decided before the quest came up. "I'll do what I can, Maria." The screen chimed and minimized itself at my acceptance, while both Tuco and Maria looked like a weight had been removed from their shoulders.
And then I moved down the stairs, with determined steps to accomplish this task because if Tuco asked for help it was dire indeed.
As I stepped outside the building, I noticed that there were only a handful of people in sight, all with similar levels and classes as Tuco and Maria above their heads. I decided at this point I'd play along with whatever this hallucination happened to be until it wore off, and thought about all the characters I played in a RPG. Usually I preferred to be a frontline Tank character, a wall between the enemies and the rest of my party that could consistently take damage. A secondary role was usually Minor DPS or Heals, but usually only to make me a better tank.
With that in mind I thought about the stats I had been shown upon waking up.
Austin Whelp
Lvl 1: Prologue/Childhood 15/100 exp to Next Level.
Hp: 70/70
Stm = 70/70
Str: 7
Dex: 5
Con: 7
Agi: 5
Int: 5
Wis: 5
Cha: 1
Res: 5
Free Points; 15
Passives:
Iron Will; 50% decrease of Status effects applied to Austin. Ex. Cripple; 30% decrease to speed → 15% decrease in speed. Inherited from Nan.
?; +2 to Con and Str per level, -15 to Cha. +100% to experience gain to the ? Skill. Inherited from ?.
?; ?.
Relentless; Immune to Fatigue. 2*Str when Hp below 50%. Gained through ?.
Self-Respect; How can the World respect you if even you don't respect You? Gained Through The Little Things.
The screen appeared in front of my face again, but this time I had questions and I knew it liked to give me (sarcastic) answers.
Free Points: 15
Free points are rewards for quests and level ups, and are the only way to increase your stats.
5 Free Points per Level up, Quest Dependent.
I nodded in response before quickly pulling up more explanations.
Str(ength): 7
A numerical representation of how much force you can generate with your body.
Current Max Carry Weight: (Str*2.5 + 50lbs) = 67.5
Dex(terity): 5
A numerical representation of how much control over your movements you have.
?
Con(Stitution): 7
A numerical representation of how healthy and sturdy you are.
Hp: 70/70 (Hp = (Con*10)*Lvl, Dth = -(Hp/3))
Stm: 70/70 (Stm = Con*10)
Agi(lity): 5
A numerical representation of how well you can move, as in pure speed.
Current base movement speed: (Agi*.05 + 2mph) = 2.25 mph.
Int(illegence): 5
A numerical representation of your ability to store knowledge.
?
Wis(dom): 5
A numerical representation of your ability to utilize information.
?
Cha(risma): 1
A numerical representation of your appeal to others.
?
Res(ilience): 5
A numerical representation of your ability to overcome hardships.
?
I looked over the descriptions, frowning at the hidden words momentarily, before I decided to set myself up nicely for my usual role.
Austin Whelp
Lvl 1: 15/100 exp to Next Level.
Hp: 170/170
Stm: 170/170
Str: 12
Dex: 5
Con: 17
Agi: 5
Int: 5
Wis: 5
Cha: 1
Res: 5
Free Points; 0
I didn't believe in the strategy of saving stat altering points until the last second, when they are necessary to get out of a tough spot, because I believe the tough spot probably could have been avoided by upping my stats first. At that point I took out the pocket knife from my jacket and looked at it mournfully, wondering just how good of a weapon it was. Because I honestly had no way of knowing how tanky I was until I knew how much damage common weapons did.
Then an idea came to me and I looked back at my Health.
Hp: 170/170 (510 health regenerated per Hour)
With a smile I sliced my leg with the knife, suddenly aware that I still felt it and that I wasn't not in fact in a video game. With a yell I pulled it out, a motion that hurt worse than the stabbing.
-16
-16
Floating numbers appeared from the wound and floated up until they faded above my head. I furiously rubbed the cut, which even before my eyes was slowly closing up.
I frowned at the stupidity of what I had just done caught up in the moment before taking off down the street at a healthy clip, noticing that it was immensely easier than before to breathe while running.
Skill Learned: Running! Level 1; 2% to next level.
Run Bitch Run, Dey gonna get you!
Move at 150% of your base movement speed.
Costs 2 Stm/second.
Current top speed when running; 3.75mph.
The screen popping up nearly caused me to run straight into a telephone pole, but I managed to avoid it at the last second. I furiously swiped the screen away and continued my Run towards the closest Market.
By the time I made it to the Supermarket my new skill had levelled up three times, increasing the speed buff by 10% each time. At this rate I'd be moving Fast enough to not put points into Agility, ever. I had had to stop and walk four times along the way to recover stamina, but all in all I had turned a 30 minute trip into a 20 minute trip, so it was an improvement.
And all of my health had regenerated over the course of the run, which was great.
When I ran up on the Building, I noticed that the entire place had been smashed up. It looked as though it had been looted pretty recently, but the next place that had food was over an hour walk away so I decided to head into the place anyway.
The glass door had been shattered and the shards crunched sharply beneath my boots as I stepped over the threshold and headed for the snack aisle, which since most snack foods they took so long to expire made them a pretty good emergency ration to store. Then I heard the sound of footsteps coming from the back before the door to the Deli was nearly thrown from it's hinges.
The distinctive sound of rowdy people made its way towards the front of the store, until a group of 6 young men, wearing absurd facepaint and dirty clothes turned the corner about fifty feet from me.
They stopped, as though they had expected the store to be empty, even though food was a pretty important supply to gather so it shouldn't have surprised them that much, and the few seconds it took them to recover was enough for me to recognize one of the Hooligans, their actual class in this case, as one of my old classmates.
Thomas "Tom-Tom" Herder
Level 2 Hooligan
Loud and Proud
A particularly annoying classmate, as it were.
"This place is ours now," called one of the more antagonistic Hooligans, pointing at me with his piece of rebar, "So get the fuck out of here!" A few others voiced their agreement and moved towards me brandishing other makeshift weapons.
I mostly ignored them except to slide my feet further apart and try to keep them in sight, instead opting to call out to Thomas, "Yo, Thomas," Admittedly a poor start, but could now blame my horrible Charisma, "Is there any reason I can't just grab some food and be on my way?"
Thomas started at being addressed by his name, it was pretty obvious he was trying to conceal his identity with facepaint, but he set his eyes and responded harshly, "The Fuck makes you think you can just walk in here and take our Shit?" He pointed the Aluminium Baseball Bat towards the interior of the store, "We took it for a reason, so yeah there's a reason you can't just grab it and run. It's ours!" the rest of the goons began to laugh and jeer, and the one to my left decided he wanted to kick things off himself.
I ducked beneath the swing of his bike chain before I caught him by the throat with my left hand, his wrist with my right, and slammed the crown of my head into his nose. Suddenly every fight I had been party to in my years at the Northside Glenn Juvenile Detention Center rushed into me and I felt myself become centered in the knowledge.
Skill learned: Brawling!
Prior experience before unlocking provides additional experience: Level 13; 59% to next level.
I fight like I eat, aggressively.
A sloppy Hand to Hand style focused on raw physicality over finesse.
Skill gives access to all Techniques used and observed by the Skill.
+65% to all damage done with this Skill.
Costs 2 Stm/second
Current unarmed Atk; 21
He slumped down the side of the checkout machine holding his bleeding nose, usually a pitiful sight to see but I knew better than to leave anyone with barely an injury.
His eyes widened as my heel came crashing into his face as I stomped his head into the tiles below, cracking both participants in the process. His hands went slack and I yanked the Bike chain off of his arm and calmly wrapped the length up my arm and my right hand as I turned to face the rest of my attackers. They seemed taken aback by the suddenness of the fight, but recovered fairly quickly and they all ran at me at once.
'One down' I thought blandly, eyes darting between my enemies, the remaining four much more cautious for Hooligans.
I backed up through the narrow checkout aisle as Rebar came swinging towards my face and the rest tried to get at me. I blocked the rebar with my arm covered in chain
-6 successful Block
before I grabbed his wrist and pulled him into my knee. Then I slammed my left hand into his chin and he dropped his weapon, just in time for a bike lock hit me in the side of the head
-34 CRITICAL HIT
And send me stumbling back into the counter. As my attacker stepped forward to swing once more I pushed off of the counter with my left leg and launched my head into his stomach. We were both sent sprawling as we tumbled through the candy rack, but he had obviously taken the worst of it and I capitalized upon it by raining blows down upon him.
I ignored the sounds of screens being updated or replaced as I hammered down upon my attacker, the distraction falling to the back of my head as I was in my element, having spent a good portion of my early life in some sort of fight or another.
Suddenly I had to roll out of the way of a shank stabbing through the area my kidney had just occupied. I ended my roll by jumping away from the remaining attackers, panting slightly as I resumed my loose stance, watching the three Hooligans stare nervously back at me.
Then I grabbed the piece of Rebar at my feet and charged, swinging the piece of construction material like a sword in front of me as they scattered before me. I threw the Rebar at the Retreating back on my left, smiling ferally at the sound he made as he went down, before stalking towards the other two, Thomas looking as though he was thoroughly panicked. The other one was slightly more composed, trying to rush me with his 2x4 with rusty nails sticking out of it. I ducked under his wild swing and slammed my mailed fist into his exposed gut and put every bit of Stamina I could muster for the action into it.
There was a triumphant ding as he slid away from me and his weapon clattered to the ground. I then returned my gaze to Thomas, as though daring him to repeat his cohorts mistake. He wisely dropped his Bat and raised his hands above his head in surrender.
I continued to step towards the visibly nervous young man before I clapped a hand onto his shoulder and gave him my best smile, it actually irked me a little that it made him sweat worse when i did that. "Thomas, I would like your help with something," I started confidently, his eyes darting between the groaning people littering the floor.
"W-what do you want?" he asked quickly, hands still held up.
"First off, I'm taking the food I came here for," only continuing when he nodded vigorously at that, "And you are going to help me carry it."
"W-whatever you say, man," He answered.
I frowned at him as I turned to walk away, "And next time man, just try and be civil and stuff like this won't happen."
He sighed and lowered his hands, "Austin, I came here because I needed some food for my family, My dad is driving people around like a Taxi just to get enough to feed four people, and I thought that if we took one Store it would be enough for our street for at least a month," He wrung his hands together as he looked towards his feet, his bravado clearly draining from him as he told me this, "Do you think I could take some food?" At my look he immediately back-pedalled, "N-nevermind, it's all yours-"
"I can't carry the entire store, man," I called over my shoulder as I grabbed a shopping cart to carry food, "I just needed to get bread and water, you know, the emergency essentials. Take whatever you want."
Thomas and I gathered up a sizable portion of groceries, Thomas having awoken his accomplices to gather for themselves.
While they still shot me dirty looks, they were well aware of the origins of the bruises they now sported as well, and steered clear of me. I also refused to return the bike chain still wrapped around my arm just on principle, I mean I understand wanting to get as much food as you can but trying to kill someone for it was unacceptable.
In fact, if I hadn't spent my points as I had, I probably would have been done in by the Bike Lock to the head. I rubbed the back of my head as I pushed my shopping cart back towards the Apartment complex, starting to accept my new reality as I felt no blood, wound, or even bruise where I was hit. Along the way Thomas demonstrated why Loud and Proud were floating above his head, regaling me with stories of people being beaten in the street, the Military fighting Grimm, and even stories of his family as we walked the mostly empty streets. His facepaint scared off those that had braved the streets, leaving us to walk under the smoky sky, now adorned by the shattered moon.
I half-listened as I swiped through the screens that had popped during the fight.
Skill Learned: Blocking. Level 1;
"Did you tell her about your Herpes?"
The Art of Blocking an attempt.
(Active) Costs (Dmg-Con) Stm/Block.
Blocks 50% of damage on a succesful Block.
Skill Learned: Chain Mastery. Level 2;
The Weapon of Goons world-wide, learn to be the ultimate goon.
(Passive) +10% Atk while a Chain is equipped.
It seemed that simply beating people with a chain on my hand counted as mastering the weapon, which I found interesting, and it had already levelled up form the fight. Among the pop ups were two that stated my Brawling! Had levelled up twice from winning a fight against five opponents with it, awarding me a more interesting Screen.
Achievement Earned: Thermopylae;
Stood strong against a force five times greater than your own!
Reward; Renown + 5, + 1 Free Point.
The Free Point was useful, but I was more interested in the other implications of the Screen. Achievements had never been mentioned before, but they seemed to be hidden quests for specific events with similarly hidden rewards. Renown had been one of the rewards for the quest I was just finishing up, but I had assumed it was just something pertaining to Tuco or the Apartment complex. Now it implied that others would end up hearing of my deeds, and I found myself less than enthused. I enjoyed my privacy more than others my age and the thought of people recognizing me was not an enjoyable one.
Renown Level; 0/100 Anonymous.
Your actions continue to remain under the radar, even the most adept at hounding information would find it hard to find you.
I nodded at the description, but I thought that the mechanic would make it hard for those that wished to remain under the radar for long periods, or wished to not be known for their bad actions.
Feature Unlocked: Renown Modifier;
Cha(risma): 1
A numerical representation of your appeal to others.
Renown Modifier; (Cha*5)% of Renown gained from Achievements and Quests.
And suddenly I was thankful for having such a stat, meaning that I would have to put in a large amount of points to get more than ten percent of Renown points, positive or negative. Once again the System had proved to be balanced, which pleased me as I had no desire to become known.
Skill Learned: Power Attack; Level 1.
Effort is pain, in this case it's someone else's.
Expend Sta to increase damage on a basic attack.
For Every point of Stamina, add .5% of damage to Atk.
I smiled as I closed the screen and pulled over the next, another piece of good news.
Level Up! + 1
I nearly laughed out loud at how well the entire the day had gone, but refrained from it as I pushed the cart home.
Quest Completed: Errand Boy.
Rewards: 100 exp, 50 Renown Points, and 5 Free points.
The pop up appeared in front of my eyes as I wheeled the Cart into the Lobby, swatting it away from my eyes I wished a quick trip home to Thomas and quickly climbed the steps. I raised my fist to knock upon Tuco's Door when it was pulled open and I was greeted by Maria's visage. I grunted and nodded when she asked if I had gathered food for the Complex, to which she squealed and hugged me before returning to her apartment to tell Tuco. I turned and hefted the small bag of food over my shoulder as I moved back towards my room.
Upon entering my room and stuffing the goods in my fridge I sat down in my chair and pulled up my Status screen to contemplate what I would do from here.
Austin
Class: Whelp
Title:/
Lvl 2: 5/200 exp to Next Level.
Hp: 380/380 (Hp = (Con*10)*Lvl, Dth = -(Hp/3))
Stm: 190/190 (Stm = Con*10)
Str: 14
Dex: 5
Con: 19
Agi: 5
Int: 5
Wis: 5
Cha: 1
Res: 5
Free Points; 6
Atk: 33 = (12 Str + 6 Bike Chain) + (75% from Brawling! + 10% from Chain Mastery)
Attributes:
Iron Will; 50% decrease of Status effects applied to Austin. Ex. Cripple; 30% decrease to speed → 15% decrease in speed. Inherited from Nan.
?; +2 to Con and Str per level, -15 to Cha. +100% to experience gain to the ? Skill. Inherited from ?.
?; ?.
Relentless; Immune to Fatigue. 2*Str when Hp below 50%. Gained through ?.
Self-Respect; How can the World respect you if even you don't respect You? Gained Through The Little Things.
Skills:
-Running! Level 5;
Run Bitch Run, Dey gonna get you!
Move at 190% of your base movement speed.
Costs 2 Stm/second.
-Brawling! Level 15; 59% to next level.
I fight like I eat; Aggressively.
A sloppy Hand to Hand style focused on raw physicality over finesse.
Skill gives access to all Techniques used and observed by the Skill.
+75% to all damage done with this Skill.
-Chain Mastery. Level 2; 12.9%
The Weapon of Goons world-wide, learn to be the ultimate goon.
+10% Atk while a Chain is equipped.
-Power Attack; Level 1.
Effort is pain, in this case it's someone else's.
Expend Sta to increase damage on a basic attack.
For Every point of Stamina, add .5% of damage to Atk.
I stared intently at the numerous question marks on under my Attributes, but there was a buzz of denial and the screen shook, telling me that there was no more information to be found. I narrowed my eyes at it, deciding that figuring out what made me who I was would be my focus. I also didn't quite understand what it meant by Inherited as I wasn't related to Nan, but I still had inherited an attribute from her.
I sighed and moved on, fairly certain that I wouldn't be finding out this night. I read my Status over once more, focusing on another unexplained aspect.
Class: Whelp.
Your class is the most important Role you fill in your Head, the Role that you have assigned yourself.
Available Classes:
-Whelp: Starting Class.
"So help me Whelp, if you get me called to the school again this week I'll kill you myself." -Nan.
Effects: +100% Experience Gain until level 5.
I blinked at the mechanic and the very potent effect, thinking that while helpful it was more nostalgic. I briefly wondered what the potential benefits of being a hooligan were, but quickly found myself unable to even guess. Instead I decided to assign my Free Points before going to sleep to sleep off the day.
Austin
Class: Whelp
Lvl 2: 5/200 exp to Next Level.
Hp: 380/380 (Hp = (Con*10)*Lvl, Dth = -(Hp/3))
Stm: 190/190 (Stm = Con*10)
Str: 14
Dex: 5
Con: 19
Agi: 5
Int: 5
Wis: 5
Cha: 1
Res: 5
Free Points; 6
Unable to find a problem with how I had distributed the points from before. I almost put them all into Strength and Constitution before remembering the many Unknown mechanics associated with each status, quickly checking again to see if anything had been revealed without me noticing.
Str(ength): 14
A numerical representation of how much force you can generate with your body.
Current Max Carry Weight: (Str*2.5 + 50lbs) = 85.0
Dex(terity): 5
A numerical representation of how much control over your movements you have.
Critical Hit Modifier: Deal 100 + (Dex*2.5) % to Damage done by a Critical Hit; +112.5%.
Critical Area Modifier: Dex*2% Larger Critical Area; 10% Larger Critical Area.
Con(Stitution): 19
A numerical representation of how healthy and sturdy you are.
Hp: 380/380 (Hp = (Con*10)*Lvl, Dth = -(Hp/3))
Stm: 190/190 (Stm = Con*10)
Agi(lity): 5
A numerical representation of how well you can move, as in pure speed.
Current Base movement speed: (Agi*.05 + 2mph) = 2.25 mph.
Int(illegence): 5
A numerical representation of your ability to store knowledge.
?
Wis(dom): 5
A numerical representation of your ability to utilize information.
?
Cha(risma): 1
A numerical representation of your appeal to others.
Renown Modifier; (Cha*5)% of Renown gained from Achievements and Quests; 5%.
A numerical representation of your appeal to others.
Res(ilience): 5
A numerical representation of your ability to overcome hardships.
Reduction to Critical Hits: Take Res*2.5% less damage from incoming Critical Hits; -12.5%.
Personal Critical Area Modifier: Your Critical Area is Res*2% smaller; 10% smaller.
?
I had apparently unlocked the Critical Modifiers during my fight in the Supermarket, probably when I took the Critical hit myself, making one of my stats suddenly more important than the others, and I immediately placed all six points into it.
Res(ilience): 11
A numerical representation of your ability to overcome hardships.
Reduction to Critical Hits: Take Res*2.5% less damage from incoming Critical Hits; -27.5%.
Personal Critical Area Modifier: Your Critical Area is Res*2% smaller; 22% smaller.
?
Satisfied with the protection from Attacks aimed at Vital parts of my body I stood and stretched, feeling the slight change in my body as I more than doubled my Resilience, but I ignored it and flopped onto my bed. I had barely hit the covers before I fell asleep. Dreams evaded me that night.
Austin
Class: Whelp
Lvl 2: 105/200 exp to Next Level.
Hp: 380/380 (Hp = (Con*10)*Lvl, Dth = -(Hp/3))
Stm: 190/190 (Stm = Con*10)
Str: 14
Dex: 5
Con: 19
Agi: 5
Int: 5
Wis: 5
Cha: 1
Res: 11
Free Points; 0
Atk: 37 = (14 Str + 6 Bike Chain) + (75% from Brawling! + 10% from Chain Mastery)
Attributes:
Iron Will; 50% decrease of Status effects applied to Austin. Ex. Cripple; 30% decrease to speed → 15% decrease in speed. Inherited from Nan.
?; +2 to Con and Str per level, -15 to Cha. +100% to experience gain to the ? Skill. Inherited from ?.
?; ?.
Relentless; Immune to Fatigue. 2*Str when Hp below 50%. Gained through ?.
Self-Respect; How can the World respect you if even you don't respect You? Gained Through The Little Things.
Skills:
-Running! Level 5; 2% to next level.
Run Bitch Run, Dey gonna get you!
Move at 190% of your base movement speed.
Costs 2 Stm/second.
-Brawling! Level 15; 59% to next level.
I fight like I eat; Aggressively.
A sloppy Hand to Hand style focused on raw physicality over finesse.
Skill gives access to all Techniques used and observed by the Skill.
+75% to all damage done with this Skill.
Costs 2 Stm/second
-Chain Mastery. Level 2; 12.9%
The Weapon of Goons world-wide, learn to be the ultimate goon.
+10% Atk while a Chain is equipped.
-Power Attack; Level 1.
Effort is pain, in this case it's someone else's.
Expend Stm to increase damage on a basic attack.
For Every point of Stamina, add .5% of damage to Atk.
End of Chapter 1.