Statistic
"A statistic (singular) or sample statistic is a single measure of some attribute of a sample (e.g. its arithmetic mean value). It is calculated by applying a function (statistical algorithm) to the values of the items of the sample, which are known together as a set of data." (Wikipedia, March 2017).
Statistic is a word that carries a lot of value within its definition. A statistic, or stat to be shorter, is a way of giving a number to something tangible, giving it a new definition.
For instance, IQ tests use specially designed questions to see how intelligent and knowledgeable you are on the subjects the IQ test covers. After the test is taken, your intelligence is given a number that is supposed to express how intelligent you are.
Grades are another kind of statistic. You spend some time in school learning things or at least attempting to learn things, and then you are tested on what you know. You are then, like with IQ tests, given a number to show how much you know about the current subject.
Competitions are designed to give numbers to people, giving numbers closer to one for the faster, stronger, smarter, better people.
But this is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to statistics. Statistics can pull up numbers to whatever you want. You want to compare how much your house is worth compared to others? Use a statistic. You want to know what the racial percentage of people in prison is? Use a want to know how many people fall in love by the time they're twenty-five? Use a statistic.
You want to know how many kids die before the age of fifteen? Use a statistic.
… I'm part of the last statistic…
My name is Nick Neumann. I used to be alive. Now I'm dead.
Funny how things work out, right?
When I was alive, I was a pretty good kid. Not very fun to hang around, though. My parents, when raising me, thought it would be better to have a morally good child than to have one that was well socially adjusted. As a result, I was at the top of my class and was the nicest, or at least most well-intentioned kid at school. However, my social skills suffered dramatically as a result. I can see that now, looking back on everything.
My best attempts at conversation were weak at best, and I couldn't understand why people were willing to do things like go and skip class, or make fun of each other - it just didn't register to me why they would do that. And to be honest, I still don't understand why they do that to each other. Why don't they all just try to get along, instead of arguing and fighting?
I didn't really have all that much fun. I didn't watch any movies like other kids, I didn't play any games like other kids, I didn't watch TV like other kids, and I didn't really have fun like other kids. I usually spent my time at home studying religion or academics. I never got to play sports or anything like that. I spent my leisure time reading my parents' encyclopedias, which aside from the dictionaries and other reference books, were the only books we had.
Since I didn't have anything I could connect to my peers with, I didn't. I didn't really talk to anyone, and therefore I made no friends. I was smart, but not athletic or popular by any means. My parents coddled me throughout my short eleven years of life, not even allowing me to walk across the street. Because I had no street smarts, I was unprepared for the day they sent me to ride on the bus by myself.
Long story short, I got run over by a car.
My mom and dad finally decided that it was about time I see the world, and had me go to Ashburn Middle School by walking, instead of driving me there like they usually did.
I thought I knew the rules of pedestrianism - pedestrians walk on the stripey crosswalk and walk when the white person is on the traffic light. Simple rules.
Yet somehow I still got run over by a man driving weirdly across the street, as if he was half-asleep (I realize now that he was a drunk driver).
And now I'm here…
… in the middle of nowhere.
Purgatory (or Limbo) is a strange place. In literature, it tends to be described as an endless white plain or a black abyss. However, I can assure you it really isn't like that.
Purgatory is more like what I've heard acid is like - obscene and strange patterns and fractals flying everywhere, colors infusing everything in an unholy mess. Basically, a kaleidoscope that went overboard. However, it really doesn't hurt my head all that much. It's fascinating if anything. I could stay like this forever.
GAME START!
Wait, What?!
The streets of Namimori tended to be quiet before the sun rose up in the sky. Ryohei Sasagawa wasn't up yet, so there were no shouts of "EXTREME!". You could occasionally see a baseball player, such as Yamamoto Takeshi, get up early in the morning for some early baseball practice, but other than the early sports players, the buses, and the energetic housewife, Namimori was pretty silent.
(Yet another success for the Disciplinary Committee.)
On one particular morning, on September 7, 20XX, a person steps off a bus. One, based on this sentence alone, would think that there is nothing wrong with a person stepping off of a bus in the wee hours before dawn - it's perfectly logical and possible.
The action itself is very normal, but the person stepping off the bus is very strange indeed. The person who stepped off of the bus is not someone you would expect to ride on buses - or be able to ride anywhere for themselves, for that matter.
The person who stepped off of the bus is a strange little infant, one with beetle black eyes and extremely curly sideburns. The infant wore a strange little suit, one that you would find nowhere else in the world, because who on Earth would create a line of clothes of designer suits for babies and expect them to be more than a joke? Upon the infant's head was a wide-brimmed fedora hat, with a horizontal orange stripe across it. Perched on top of the hat itself was a long and thin chameleon with bulbous orange eyes. Laid on top of the infant's breast was a luminous yellow pacifier, which pulsed rhythmically occasionally.
This strange infant walked across the street of where the bus stop was to arrive at a plain-looking home in the midst of other plain-looking homes. When the baby reached the mailbox, the strange chameleon perched on top of his head jumped off. Then something wondrous occurred. The chameleon, who was relatively unremarkable when compared to the baby, began to glow a myriad of colors. Suddenly, the chameleon shifted and grew to form a green stepladder. The infant stepped onto the stepladder and placed a folded letter from the inside of one of his pockets inside the mailbox.
The infant stepped off the stool and stood still for a second. By a silent command, the shape-shifting chameleon turned back into his base state, and the infant crossed the street to wait for another bus - he still had a lot of work to do.
Meanwhile, a fairly unremarkable housewife stepped of her house. She opened her arms wide. What a beautiful day, she thought to herself as she stretched out her body to ready herself for the day. She walked over to the mailbox to see if anything was inside. To her surprise, there was a letter in the mailbox. She picked it up and read it.
Thus events were set in motion that would change the course of fate forever.
Not that that's special or anything. Everything changes the course of fate.
"Shichi-kun, wake up." Noooo… I want to keep sleeping… it's too early to get up for school.
"Shichi-kun, it's time to go to school. Wake up." Kaa-chan said, a little more sternly before. Of course, I was awake now, but I'm not getting up - my bed is way to comfortable for that.
Shichi, wake up!
'Oh…,' I yawned. 'Good morning'.
Good morning to you too, Shichi. Now get up - we don't want to be late for school today. Miyazaki-sensei is giving our math test today. We studied hard for it, too, and Mom will be happy if we bring a good grade this time. You remember how she looks for us to succeed, right?
'Yes, yes, I remember all right. Now pipe down. I have to change my clothes and get dressed.' I yawned again. I stayed up all night trying to study for my math test. I think I've done a good job - usually, I get average grades on my tests and quizzes, averaging somewhere around a 70 or a 71. This time, though, we studied extra hard, so I think we'll do pretty good this time around.
Yeah! That's the spirit, Shichi.
'Please be quiet - I need to get dressed.' I quickly throw on my school uniform, which was part of the laundry Kaa-chan had done the night before. I spend thirty seconds or so brushing my teeth, before running downstairs. I can hear Kaa-chan berate Aniki about his awful math grades in the next room, and my resolve to get a good grade on the math test grows.
I sit at the breakfast table, waiting for Kaa-chan to come down so I can eat breakfast (as I'm only nine years old, I have yet to learn how to actually cook.) As Kaa-chan and Aniki keep on arguing about a home tutor or something, I begin to feel drowsy again. I probably shouldn't have spent all of last night studying - a good night sleep would have more pleasant right about now.
Shichi, stay awake! You need to be at your smartest for the test today. But Dreamland had already laid claim to my mind. My head falls forward, hitting the table with a nasty crack as I fall asleep from exhaustion again.
Ding! -5 HP
And my head flies back upward because I thought I heard a chime, and a chime in this kitchen means food. Sleep comes after food, always.
You're awake!
Yet Kaa-chan hasn't made food yet - there aren't any good smells yet. In fact, looking around, all I see is her looking downwards at something in the hallway. I also hear a high-pitched tone that sounds strangely unnatural, but at this point, all I want is food and sleep.
And because I'm not going to be getting food any time soon, it's time to go back to LalaLand.
Shichi, no!
This time, I don't crack my head, and I go off to a nice, soft sleep
I slowly chew my organic and healthy lunch, which tastes slightly of cardboard as I read my computer science book. Wow, programming variables seem so useful!
"Hey, Nick, can you come over here for a second?"
Suddenly, I forget all about my food and variables and instantly run as fast as I can toward whoever was calling me - someone wanted me around them for a change!
I quickly run to the lunch table a couple of places away from my own in the cafeteria. Panting and wheezing, I ask the person who called what they wanted.
"Hey, can you do these last couple of English problems for me? I sort of forgot to do them, and class is after lunch. I'd really appreciate it - in fact, I'll let you sit next to us while you do it."
This sounded like one of my wildest dreams - someone was actually talking to me of their own volition, and they wanted me to sit next to them! This could possibly be the best day of my life!
"Mommy, what happens to us when we die?" I ask Mommy curiously.
Mommy looked over at me with a funny look on her face, like someone splashed really hot water on her face. She then put another weird look on her face, like she was eating a lemon. This was fun. Finally, Mommy's face turned normal again.
"Nick, dear, when people die they go somewhere very special," Mommy said to me. I frowned.
"But Mommy, we put them into the ground. How can they go anywhere if they're stuck in the ground?"
"Their body stays here with us, Nick. Their mind, though, goes somewhere special." She explained.
"Where does their mind go, Mommy?"
"Some people believe that nothing happens to the mind when they die. These people are Atheists. Other people believe that when we die our mind goes into a new person's body and we live again and again, over and over. We believe, Nick, that when we die we get judged for our faith and our niceness, and if we're good enough we go to a wonderful place called Heaven. If we are bad, though, we go to a place called Hell."
"What if we aren't good or bad?"
"Then we go to a place called Purgatory, where nothing happens to you."
"Nothing? No books or people or games?"
"There are no games in Purgatory, Nick."
I stepped on to the sidewalk. Now I'm only a couple of blocks away from school if the map Mom gave is true. A gargantuan smile grew on my face. I can't wait to tell Mom that I was able to walk to school all by myself for a change. She'll be so proud of me!
I walked across the asphalt, confident and prepared for what the future will bring.
Then there was a scream and a flash of light.
And everything disappeared.
Everything.
...Shichi!... Shichi, wake up!
Qu-quiet… my head hurts…
… Shichi, what did you just say?
O-ow…
Shichi, speak Japanese!
O-oh, right… Ow…
Shichi, you were thinking in a strange language right now! How did you learn it?
There was a pause from the both of us.
Never mind, I'll look in your head and find out.
Then the pain multiplied.
Sometimes having an autonomous voice in your head (that can apparently read your thoughts and memories) really, really sucks.
Shichi, some of these memories aren't yours! Over half of your memories belong to this guy called Nick Neumann. What happened?
I don't know! I felt sleepy, and I went to sleep, and then I regain a boatload of memories.
Regain? What do you mean, regain? Are you saying you are Nick Neumann?
I remember being Nick Neumann more than being Shichi, that's for sure.
But how? Right now, you are Shichi, not Nick!
Something about the voice's logic seemed rather strange to me, but I decided to let it go.
Hey!
Say, what are you, anyway. I know that normal people don't have voices in their head, and if they do they tend to have schizophrenia. I didn't have you in my head when I was Nick. I never questioned what you are, either.
What's schizo… There was a bit of rustling in my mind, and the pain temporarily increased a little bit. I'm not a mental disease, Shichi!
Then what are you?
I don't know. There's nothing in your memories about what I am, other than a voice in your head, and my own personal memories only start when I first met you.
When was that? I remember you always being with me as Shichi.
When you were around two or something, it's a little fuzzy what happened back then.
"Shichi-kun, what are you doing here? You're late, you should be at school already!" Kaa-chan mentioned, coming into the room.
But I didn't notice her, because something strange suddenly popped up.
Request! [Get to School!]
[Nana Sawada] requests you to [Get to School]
Timed
Objectives:
Finish getting ready
Walk to school
Sit in your seat before the bell rings
Success: None
Failure: -7 REP with [Shota Miyazaki]
Scolding from [Shota Miyazaki]
What…?
Shichi, what is this?
A translucent black panel with white text appeared in front of my eyes.
That has never happened before, neither as Shichi nor as Nick.
… Yup, I'm crazy. Voices in my head, and now I'm hallucinating. (Granted, I've never hallucinated before, but still).
You're not crazy, Shichi. I'm real, this… panel is real, and you should be glad that you've never hallucinated, either. The voice complained.
I can hear you think, you know.
Yeah, yeah. I then noticed a digital clock with green numbers counting down from 00:25:00 in the corner of my eye.
'Wait… looking at this panel, it says that I have to get to school before I'm late, which is in… 25 minutes!' I noticed, looking at the clock in the kitchen. It and the strange new digital clock were eerily synchronized.
That new clock is probably a timer for how long the Request will last - it did say that it was timed after all.
Right, Right… Wait, I'm going to be late!
Not even sparing a glance at Kaa-chan, I grabbed my food which was next to me, scarfed it down as fast as I dared, took my book bag, then quickly ran out the door.
Only to be stopped by another translucent panel.
Objective 1 - Cleared!
Objective 2 - Walk to school
I stopped short. This… thing… reacted to my actions.
Objective 1 was to get ready, Shichi. Once you completed it, it went on to the next objective.
That seems to be the case… But then who built this? What kind of a creep is tracking all of my movements and making me hallucinate these strange panels? What is happening?
I don't know, but let's play along, for now, to find out more. I'll figure it out as we go along.
All right, all right… So now we have to get to school, right?
Right.
I then quickly resumed my walk to school, with 00:21:42 on the clock. I can make it to school by then - we live somewhat close to Namimori Primary School, so I can get there by walking. I've done it before, after all.
The walks were nice, too. The air is so crisp and clean… I like this new vocabulary we have, Shichi.
Me too.
Nothing of note occurred for the first five minutes, just me running as fast as I can, because while I do live close to Namimori Primary, it is still a considerable distance away, and I'm only a nine year old, after all.
Then, at roughly 00:14:12, I truly encountered the first person since I woke up from cracking my head on the desk.
The man, by himself, was normal, because he didn't have anything strange or weird on his face or anything. He was just watering some flowers in the late summer morning. But…
Why are there blue words on top of his head?
Lv 18
Gardener
Akio Watanabe
PW - 6
Okay, I'm getting tired of being shocked. Too many weird things have been happening this morning. I'll think about it later after I've taken my test. Okay, back to running!
Yeah, Let's Go! The voice cheered. He apparently agreed with me. We need to do the test right now. Let's figure this out later.
So I kept running.
Unfortunately, we were stopped again, at 00:11:42, ten minutes after I had started running
Skill Re-obtained!
Sprinting Lv(2/10) - 12.6%
The ability to run as fast as you can go
Cost: N/A
Cooldown: N/A
AB: +(Lv)P to AGI
PB: +(Lv/2)P to AGI
I spared ten seconds to read all of it, so the voice would be able to memorize it for later.
… okay, I've memorized it.
Then we were off again.
A little under nine minutes afterward, we had finally reached the school.
And I am way too out of breath for this. I don't think I've ever run this long in my life, which is pathetic.
You've run through the pain: +1 END
Objective 2 - Cleared!
Objective 3 - Sit in your seat before the bell rings
Shichi, wait a second so I can memorize this one as well
I've already stopped - go ahead. Just… let me catch my breath
A couple of seconds later, the voice confirmed its memorization. The voice's perfect memory was one of its boons, thankfully.
Just one of my many talents, Shichi
… although, it talks too much.
Ignoring the Voice's protests, I quickly ran through the gates of the school, two and a half minutes on the clock. With ten flashing red seconds left on the digital clock, I managed to get in the nearly full classroom and took my seat, amid snickers.
Objective 3 - Cleared!
Request Complete! [Get to School!]
[Nana Sawada] requests you to [Get to School]
Timed
Objectives:
Finish getting ready - ✔
Walk to school - ✔
Sit in your seat before the bell rings - ✔
SUCCESS
At this point, I no longer cared - give me the test already!
After our class meeting, Miyazaki-sensei came in, looking as bored as he usually does. Everybody can tell he doesn't really put his heart into teaching - you would have to be an idiot not to notice it. Half-lidded stare, bags under his eyes, the works.
He really needs to get some sleep…
Above Miyazaki-sensei's head was another batch of words, similar to the words on the gardener's head. These words, however, were in a rose-red rather than the blue on the gardener's head.
Lv 17
Primary School Teacher
Shota Miyazaki
PW - 6
These things are everywhere!
Miyazaki-sensei coughed a couple of times. "Sorry, class. I've had a cold for the past couple days, so I'm not up to my usual standards". Well, that was saying something. "Get out your materials. I hope you've studied for your test." He waited for most of us to get ready. I just need my pencil - it's nothing too hard. Once the clattering ended and everyone got our respective writing utensils (what's wrong with me, I didn't even know what "writing utensil" meant until this morning), Miyazaki-sensei cleared his throat one more time.
"Begin!"
As if on cue, another panel appeared.
Request! [Take the Test!]
[Shota Miyazaki] requests you to [Take the Test!]
Timed
Objectives:
1.)Sign Name on Test
2.)Take Test
3.)Turn in Test
4.)Get at least 70% of Question right on Test
Bonus Objectives:
1.)Get at least 90% of Questions right on Test
Success: None
Bonus Objective Success: +10 REP with [ Shota Miyazaki]
+20 REP with [Nana Sawada]
Failure: -7 REP with [Shota Miyazaki]
-50 REP with [Nana Sawada]
Then another digital clock appeared, this time counting from
You know, I'm getting really tired of seeing these Requests. They're large, annoying, and hard to read. No to mention confusing.
Shichi, it's not that bad. It has a penchant for stating the obvious, but it is still somewhat useful. You never knew Watanabe-san's name before now. It can tell you people's names, and that's really helpful.
You memorize people's names for me, Voice. Anyway, it's time to use what I've learned on this test.
I could almost feel the Voice nodding. Good luck. I then felt the Voice temporarily retreat from my mind. Alright, time to test! I quickly signed my name on the test, only to be annoyed when another panel comes in.
Objective 1 - Cleared!
Objective 2 - Take Test
My patience is beginning to run out with these panels.
I began my test. However, once I began, I realized that something was a bit off. I shrugged off the feeling as nervousness and continued. However, the more I worked, the more the weird feeling grew. My hand moved faster and faster across the prob- wait, that's it, HOW AM I DOING THIS SO FAST?!
The questions which I had nearly torn my luxurious hair out last night were suddenly ten times easier as if I had done them a million times before. I've always had trouble with multiple digit multiplication, the steps in-between always eluding me, but now it comes to me naturally.
HOW? I… wait…
The memories! The memories of Nick Neumann! Nick has done these kinds of problems a million times before. His experience has probably transferred to me.
Feeling incredibly giddy, I breeze through the rest of the test, finishing my test with a flourish.
You've pushed your brains to the max: +1 INT
Objective 2 - Cleared!
Objective 3 - Turn in Test
Skill Re-obtained!
Penmanship Lv(3/10) - 28.7%
The ability to write down words purposefully and skillfully
Cost: N/A
Cooldown: N/A
AB: +(Lv) DEX in Hand, +(Lv) Rep with those that read the written word
PB: +(Lv/4) DEX
At this point, I could care less about these annoying panels. I probably aced a test for the first time in my life, and without anyone's help, too (Nick Neumann doesn't count). Let's turn this thing in.
Hold your horses, Shichi. We still haven't got your grade back - we haven't given it at all, for starters. Let's check our work and then turn it in.
Ugh. Fiiiiinnnneeee. I quickly look over my work and satisfied that I haven't done anything wrong, walked over to where the other people have placed their papers and place it in the pile.
Well, I try, at least. My hand, won't let go of the paper, for some reason. I panic because this is unnatural.
Would you like to Submit the Test?
(Y/N)
At this point, I've had enough of these panels. I press Yes because it's clear that the idiotic panels won't let me turn in my test otherwise.
Test Submitted!
My hand lets go on its own, and my test flutters down neatly to land perfectly on the pile. Ugh… these panels are so annoying. I've wished life was more like video games before, because who hasn't, but it really gets in the way more than it deserves to.
Objective 3 - Cleared!
Objective 4 - Cleared!
Bonus Objective - Cleared!
Request Complete! [Take the Test!]
[Shota Miyazaki] requests you to [Take the Test]
Timed
Objectives:
1.)Sign Name on Test - ✔
2.)Take Test - ✔
3.)Turn in Test - ✔
4.)Get at least 70% of Question right on Test - ✔
Bonus Objectives:
1.)Get at least 90% of Questions right on Test - ✔
SUCCESS
Like I said, when you can't even turn in a test, you know it butts in more than its supposed to.
Shichi, I'm sure the Panels will be useful eventually. Despite that, the Voice sounded unsure. I'm not unsure! It has its uses - while you were taking the test, I was figuring out how this thing works.
Before I could respond, though, another panel came up. When I read this panel, though, I became much happier.
Test Score: 100%
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!
Owww… you don't have to be so loud, Shichi.
One hundred percent! ONE HUNDRED PERCENT! I finally did it. Yes! I finally got a perfect score on a test!
That's great, Shichi. But now you have to get back to your seat - people are staring again.
It was true - my classmates were staring at me again. I've gotten used to it by now, but I'm still a spectacle to them. Either way, the Voice was right. It was time to get back into my seat. I quickly walked back to my seat, suppressing the skip in my step, and enthusiastically sat back down.
Now that you're calm, Shichi, I want to tell you some of the things I've figured out about these panels.
Oh, don't go ruining my mood. I was so happy right now.
Shichi, in case you're forgetting, the panels told you your grade. I think you should be thankful enough for that.
Yeah… well, I suppose I can be grateful for that.
No one is supposed to tell you whether you should be grateful or not, Shichi. You're supposed to figure that out on your own. But anyway, let me tell you what I've learned. I'll go over what we learned one by one.
Requests are things we have to do. They have to be asked by others - they only pop up when someone else asks or orders us to do something. The Requests popped up only when Kaa-chan or Miyazaki-sensei asked us to do things.
It tells us if it's timed or not, and then it tells us what we have to do, in the form of Objectives. If we need to do the Objective to fulfill the Quest, it's under Objectives, while if it's not absolutely necessary it's under Bonus Objectives.
If we do everything the Request tells us to do, we get what's next to Success. If we don't manage to do what the Request tells us to do, we get what's next to Failure instead.
… can you repeat that, but shorter this time?
… Shichi… Fine. When we have to do something, a request comes up. We can't pick the Requests ourselves. We have to do Objectives, we don't have to do Bonus Objectives. If we do the Objectives, we get some good stuff, but if we don't we get bad stuff. Is that clear enough for you?
Oh, okay then. But then what is REP?
I don't know. The Voice sounded annoyed. I am annoyed. You should listen to what I say - it could come in handy. Oh, and don't think in capital letters, it hurts my ears
Okay, okay, full attention on you… Wait, you have ears?
Glad to hear it, and yes, I have ears, I think. Anyway, those words above people's heads tell us more stuff about them. Like with Watanabe-san and Miyazaki-san, it tells us what they are - a Gardener in Watanabe-san's case, a Primary School Teacher in Miyazaki-sensei's case. It also tells us their names, which can be helpful as I said earlier.
Oh. Well, that's nice.
I looked around at the rest of my classmates. Sure enough, they had words above their head as well. Their Lvs were somewhere in the range of 3 to 5, while their PWs were all 3. They all had the words Primary School Student, while their names differed between each person.
What are Lv and PW, and what does the color of the words mean?
I don't know that either. I'm only telling you what I've figured out from what I've seen, Shichi.
Gotcha. And what about Skills?
I still don't know what they do. There are more abbreviations than I can deal with, Shichi. I haven't managed to figure out what END, AGI, and DEX mean either.
Well, that sucks.
I know, Shichi. It's been difficult.
Nothing happened for the rest of the test. It was mostly other students just taking their tests and turning them into Miyazaki-sensei. Soon enough, the period ended, and the Japanese teacher, Fujimoto-sensei, came walking in. Fujimoto-sensei was looking a little pale today as well - that cold must really be getting around, huh. It's not flu season yet, too.
Shichi, look at the words above Fujimoto-sensei's head!
Sure enough, there were words above Fujimoto-sensei's head as well, this time in indigo.
Lv 18
Pregnant Woman
Hanako Fujimoto
PW - 5
Looked normal enough, what are you…
.
.
.
.
.
"PREGNANT?!" I shouted incredulously.
As the Voice facepalmed in my mind (or its equivalent, it's a Voice you know), I realized that shouting that out was probably not the smartest thing to in the middle of the class.
Nooooo, shouting about how your teacher is pregnant in the middle of class is the absolute smartest thing you can do, Shichi. The sarcasm was thick with this bite. And it needs to be thicker before it settles into your head to think before you act.
Everybody turned their heads toward me and stared. I shrunk back, mortified. Oh no, oh no, oh no…
Fujimoto-sensei coughed, thankfully breaking everyone's stares. "Sawada-san, I'm sick, not pregnant."
I bowed my head down. "I apologize, Fujimoto-sensei. I don't know what just came over me."
Fujimoto-sensei gazed at me with a penetrating stare for a couple seconds. I got the feeling she was trying to read me like one of her favored books.
You called her pregnant, what did you think was going to happen, Shichi?
She turned to her version of our textbook. "Class, open to page 31 of your textbook." There was a clattering of movement as everyone rushed to get their textbooks. "Since Sawada-san is so eager to speak today, we'll have him start us off. Begin."
I began reading our textbook. It was simple enough - reading is one of my stronger areas, after all. The small stutter I had in the beginning soon gave way, and I ended the reading off less embarrassed than before, thank Kami.
Skills Re-Obtained!
Reading Lv(2/10) - 54%
The ability to read written text
Cost: N/A
Cooldown: N/A
AB: (Lv)X to Reading Speed, (Lv)X to Reading Comprehension
PB: +(Lv/2)P to INT
Speaking Lv(4/10) - 72.4%
The ability to speak out loud
Cost: N/A
Cooldown: N/A
AB: (Lv)X to Speaking Speed, (Lv)X to Speaking Fluency
PB: +(Lv/2)P to CHA
Of course, when I do anything the panels pop up.
Now there are even more acronyms. I wonder what INT and CHA are?
I don't really care. This thing has done nothing but cause trouble for me so far.
You are really quick to forget that it told you the grade of the test.
It also told me that Fujimoto-sensei was pregnant, which I didn't need to know. It got me into trouble because of it, too.
You got yourself into trouble. You didn't need to shout out her pregnancy for the world to hear, Shichi.
Hmph…
The rest of the period was uneventful, with everyone reading a passage of the textbook. Once we had gotten a little farther into the textbook, Fujimoto-sensei assigned us a small two-paragraph essay, and then we were sent on our way for recess.
Request! [Write an Essay!]
[Hanako Fujimoto] requests you to [Write an Essay!]
Timed
Objectives:
1.)Write Essay
Success: + 1 REP with [Hanako Fujimoto]
Failure: - 1 REP with [Hanako Fujimoto]
Ugh… another of these Requests.
Chin up, Shichi, it's not that bad. They disappear on their own. There was a pause, as I stewed over these damned panels. Say, Shichi, why do you think we didn't get a Request for reading the textbook?
I don't know, and I don't care.
As we looked out across the school, we saw lots of different students. Some were older than me, some were younger, but while everyone had different names, they all mostly had the words of Primary School Student above their name, in various colors including red, yellow, green blue, and indigo. I also saw one orange one and two violet ones standing off by themselves.
Say, Shichi, what is above our name?
… good question. I crane my neck up, trying to catch a glimpse of my title. Unfortunately, while I can see it I can't decipher what it says - looking at letters from below is a lot harder than you think.
Shichi, use a bathroom and look at yourself in the mirror.
Good idea. I quickly run to the bathroom and stand in front of the sink. There, on top of my head, were my green words.
Lv 7
Gamer
Shichi Sawada
PW - 3
Gamer… well, what was expecting, Supremely Awesome Mega-Lord?
I can tell you really wanted that name, Shichi. That and Robot Godzilla.
A boy can dream, can't he? Anyway, my level is as high as my senpai's - even higher than some of them. Any thoughts?
No idea, Shichi. Well, maybe the memories from Nick Neumann that gave you an edge during the test, but I really don't know.
During the next two periods (Social Studies and Phys Ed) the Game (as I had decided to call it) didn't appear as much. I didn't receive any requests during this time, probably because I didn't have any homework or tests or anything like that.
During Phys Ed, though, a couple of interesting things occurred. When we began to warm-up for the day by running around the track, the Voice began to notice something interesting.
Hey… Shichi…
*huff* Yeah?
Why is your form getting… better?
Huh?
Then something strange occurred.
Skill Level Up!
Sprinting - 2 → 3
...WHAT?!
Suddenly, I realized that my back was straighter and my legs covered more ground as I ran (bigger stride, my Neumann memories told me). With a start, I realized that yes, I'm running better than I did before.
… that's incredible, Shichi.
If you're confused as to why we were so amazed, think about it this way. If you do a thing over and over again over a long period of time continuously, you would eventually get exhausted and your performance would start to slip. And while my performance could still slip a little bit due to exhaustion, my overall Sprinting ability was growing just by running a little bit.
Before, in our class's little racing competition, I was competing for dead last with a couple of other kids. Now, I'm smack dab in the middle of the pack and everybody around me is staring at me like 'What are YOU doing here?!'.
At this point, I was asking the same question.
After our warm-up ended shortly afterward, we began a game of soccer. Once I kicked the ball for the first time, another panel popped up.
You've pushed your speed to the max: +1 AGI
Skill Re-Obtained!
Sports Lv(2/10) - 19.7%
The ability to play a large variety of sports
Cost: N/A
Cooldown: N/A
AB: +(Lv)P to AGI, STR, DEX, END
PB: +(Lv/2)P to AGI, STR, DEX, END
… You know, I think I'm starting to become desensitized to these panels. This isn't as annoying as I thought it would be.
Glad to see you're being more tolerant now, Shichi
Sure, sure… Hey, do you think I could get really good at sports really fast with the Game?
If it works for Sprinting, I don't see why it won't work for Sports.
Alright, athletic success - here I come!
Thirty minutes later, I realized that not all skills grew at the same rate.
To be frank, I still sucked at soccer.
Darn.
Nobody said it was going to be easy, Shichi
The Game is supposed to make it easy, Voice. I'm already used to things taking a long time, but I thought the game was going to make it faster - it made it faster for Sprinting, that's for sure.
…
The Voice was silent for the time being, and I knew that I had won that round. That rarely happens, you know.
That's because I'm the smarter of us two.
Hey! Don't change the subject!
Anyway, it's time for lunch, and you're hungry, Shichi. You love Kaa-chan's bentos, so go for it.
Lovely.
After gorging myself on Kaa-chan's luxurious bentos in the classroom and a relatively boring recess, we cleaned the hallways and classrooms, which was also really boring, and then waited for the next period, which was Japanese again. Fujimoto-sensei took mercy on us and decided to let us use the time to work on our essay, which I was grateful for - more time to play video games, after all.
Shichi...
Halfway through the essay, another panel opened in front of my eyes. I didn't react as much as before, though - I'm getting used to it.
You've gained fine motor control: +1 DEX
Skill Level Up!
Penmanship - 3 → 4
So Penmanship was another skill that grew fast, then. Great to hear. Just to be sure, though, I looked at the overall quality of my writing across my essay.
Yeah, Shichi, it looks like over time your writing abilities grew. Your handwriting looks better already.
I used my new Skill in Penmanship to quickly finish the essay. Then, with roughly a minute left on the clock until the new period, I turned in the essay to Fujimoto-sensei with a flourish.
Objective 1 - Cleared!
Request Complete! [Write an Essay!]
[Hanako Fujimoto] requests you to [Write an Essay]
Timed
Objectives:
1.)Write Essay - ✔
SUCCESS
Fujimoto-sensei turned to me, her eyebrow raised. Usually, when she gave us these periods to work on these essays, only the smart students managed to finish the work before the period ended. I was never one of the smart students…
...UNTIL NOW! MUAHAHAHA
Shichi, stop.
NEVER!
...Ugh.
The next period we had music - and thankfully, no panels popped open during the class, which was good - I was getting tired of seeing the Game pop up every time I wanted to blow my nose. After Music, though, I got another panel.
Skill Re-Obtained!
Music (Instruments) Lv(1/10) - 43.8%
The ability to play a large variety of musical instruments
Cost: N/A
Cooldown: N/A
AB: +(Lv)P to DEX
PB: +(Lv/2)P to DEX
… You know, my hate for the game is turning into apathy - as long as it doesn't pop up that often, I can tolerate it.
That's good to hear, Shichi
As the second class meeting of the day went on, I mused about the Game and its intricacies. Maybe the voice is right, and I've been too judgmental with this Game. I like video games - in fact, I spend most of my free time playing them.
Oh, by the way, you shouldn't be playing games that much, either.
Shush. Now, where was I - oh, yeah. The Game is different from normal video games, though. You have to actually do stuff, instead of pressing buttons so the game does the work for you. It's painful and annoying…
...yet I'm getting used to it, for some reason.
Shichi, the class meeting is over…
Yeah, I can get used to this. Even the Game is the most annoying thing in the world and should go die in a hole, I can get used to it.
Shichi, look in front of you!
What…?
M.A.D.
A large red panel appeared in front of my face, obscuring my view of the blackboard. The panel, for some reason, had the English letters M, A, and D on it (thank you Neumann memories).
Shichi, what is this?
If you can look in my head, you know that I don't know!
Oh, right…
The M.A.D. panel remained fixed in place, not dismissing itself like the others did. I wondered if the Game was broken - I hope not, though. That would be REALLY BAD.
Then another panel appeared.
M.A.D.
Another one?
Then a third,
M.A.D.
And a fourth,
M.A.D.
And a fifth.
M.A.D.
Then a sixth… and a seventh… an eighth.
Soon, the M.A.D. panels began swarming everything. They locked to each other, edge-to-edge, blocking my view of… well, everything. I twisted my head to look behind, and they were there as well.
Thanks to my Neumann memories, I know what M, A, and D spell in English.
Mad.
Shichi… apologize… NOW!
Game, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'M SORRY!
The panels kept on propagating, their numbers ever increasing in size.
Then it stopped…
And began to reverse.
Yes, Shichi! We're safe! The voice's tone became much, much sterner. NEVER DO THAT AGAIN!
Right - don't insult something that has complete control over you.
The panels were dismissing themselves, one by one. Soon enough, they had all disappeared, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
For all of two seconds.
Then I realized that something was wrong - the classroom was tinted in a strange green color. It looked nice, I will admit, but it looked incredibly strange. But that wasn't it, though - not all of it, at least. The air was thick with a strange heaviness, as if I was in a cloud of fog I couldn't see.
The Game did something… but what?
Shichi, look out the window!
Obediently, I turned around to see what the Voice had seen outside. I then recoiled in surprise.
The sky outside wasn't a shade of blue, black, or grey like it usually is - instead, it was a fluorescent green. I felt like I was on an alien planet.
Shichi, what are we supposed to do? The Game did this, not me or you. How do we fix this?
Uh… let's ask?
… worth a shot.
*Cough**Cough* Uh, hey, Game. Can you make everything back to normal again, please?
A panel appeared in front of me.
The warp is currently at the: School Gate
Well, that was unsurprisingly unhelpful, What did I expect from the Ga-
Shichi, NO! Don't insult the Game again - that's what got us into this mess in the first place.
Right, right… I still think that the Game is a stu-
NO, Shichi! Just focus on getting to the School Gate
Fine. I'm going to swear off video games forever because of this, you know.
That's a lie, Shichi - we both know that.
… worth a shot.
That's my line!
I quickly ran out of the empty classroom door, stepping over the threshold door. I intend to get this over with as soon as possible - I'm too tired to do any more than just get home.
Then I heard a loud gong.
SHOWTIME!
The classroom door slammed shut behind me, and with a start, I realized that I might not be safe just yet.
"EAGHHHH!"
Covering my ears, I recoiled. What made that awful sound? I quickly turned my head to the direction where the sound had come from. Once I did, though, I wish I didn't.
Shambling from the hallway to my left was a strange thing. At first, it looked sort of like a human. It walked on two legs like a human, and it had some of its features. However, looking at it more closely, I realized that you would have to be blind to consider this a human(Shichi...). While, from a distance, this thing would look normal, the monster (because there is no other word to describe it) had pale and shiny skin, eyes shut tight(Shichi...). It walked forward toward me with a hunched back, its feet looking like they were moving of their own accord. Looking at them a little closer, you could see that the "pale and shiny skin" I had described earlier was actually a collection of spikes that decorated the body - the monster had no point where it was not covered by spikes(SHICHI...). Above its head rested the following words in grey.
ENEMY COMBATANT
Somnhari
Unnamed
PW - 5
Shichi, RUN!
I then realized how close the monster was to me - it, through its shambling had approached me, and now had its arms stretched out wide as if to hug me (more likely to stop me from escaping).
"Hug me", really, Shichi? RUN!
So, naturally, I ran the other way, screaming at the top of my lungs. I am a 9-year old, thank you very much, not a warrior.
I ran through the hallways until I couldn't breathe anymore. I stopped to catch my breath because running so much was exhausting. Judging from the maneuvers I made, I'm around a minute away from the School Gate. As long as I can get there, I'm home safe. I don't want to encounter that thing again.
I'm pretty sure that thing was called a Somnhari, Shichi, judging by the words above its head.
I'm never going to see it again, so I don't care.
Of course, I just had to be proven wrong, and in the worst way possible too. The Somnhari from before had finally caught up with me - and it now had friends.
Run, Shichi!
So I ran away again, this time making sure I was heading to the School Gate - if there's two, there might be three or four or five of these things. I need to get out of here as fast as possible.
However, it couldn't be easy - it couldn't ever be easy for me, you know.
Just because things have been gone off the rails doesn't mean everything has to be hard, Shichi
More of the Somnharis came running after me, flooding out of the doors more and more the closer I got to the School Gate - soon enough, I had a veritable mob coming after me. I now know what the survivors in Zombie movies feel like…
Wait, "Somnhari"... "Zombie"
You have got to be kidding me… You're thinking about this NOW!? RUN!
Oh, Right.
Finally, I reached the school's entrance, a large mob of Somnharis hot on my tail. I had done it - just ten meters or so more, and then I can escape.
I opened the door to the school in triumph - and then doom crashed upon me like a tidal wave.
There were Somnharis outside as well. A solid line of them stretched the span of the walkway. Past them, I could see what looked like a glowing blue portal in the direct middle of the School Gate.
Oh no…
At this point, everything caught up with me. The stress, the sleeplessness, the pain, the anger everything. It all caught up to me in a single blow, and I found myself paralyzed.
Then the mob caught up to me and dragged me back inside the school. I could no longer resist - I had used up all of my energy trying to run today, to run and run and run and run and run and run and run and run. Running toward something, and running away from something. All I did was run. I can't do that anymore. I'm just… too tired.
The mob's spikes dug into me
Ding! -4 HP
Ding! -4 HP
Ding! -4 HP
Every second I felt myself getting weaker, as the wounds I was attaining from simply being handled by the Somnharis compounded.
Shichi… help… the Voice's speech became fainter and fainter in my mind.
I'm sorry. I can't help you anymore.
The Voice's presence was fading from my mind, which felt wrong to me - after all of these years of being together, the Voice disappearing felt unnatural.
I gave out one last sigh, my HP draining from me by the second as the spiked Somnharis held me tight, as I accepted death. I'm sorry, Kaa-chan, Aniki…
...help…
I can't.
I can't
Ican'tIcan'tIcan'tIcan'tIcan'tICAN'TICAN'TICAN'TICAN'TICAN'T!
I… I'm sorry.
I can't do anything.
I'm about to die…
And then a voice, from deep within me, spoke. It wasn't the Voice, for I could barely feel their presence now. Instead, it was something different.
Shichi… you have Power within you… bring it out… with your Dying Will!
And then something broke inside me, as some strange power grew inside my veins, burning my insides. At the same time, I felt a dam of mental energy I didn't know I had broken in my mind.
The Voice's power returned full force, and then grew stronger and stronger and stronger and stronger than it had ever been before, until…
SYMPATHY!
Everything exploded.
Crackling green fire exploded from my every pore as a wave of force pushed the Somnharis far, far away from me. I felt my stomach bubbling and roiling, though paid it no heed as I directed the strange force I had power over to ram itself into the mob that had previously been on the verge of killing me.
The spikes imploded, driving themselves deep into the Somnharis as the green fire that had exploded from me ran around, consuming everything in its path.
Soon, the Somnharis were nothing but a pile of smoking ash.
"Shichi...I'm… on the outside?" Was that the Voice? It sounded like the Voice, but it came from my ears, not my head like it usually does.
"Shichi, look at your belly" I acquie- WHAT?
Poking out of my torn uniform was a strange cat-lookalike of a creature. On its head was a green jewel with what looked like a magnifying glass on it. It had large indigo eyes and a small green triangular nose, with three green whisker-like things on the side of its head and a Z-shaped ponytail… antenna… thing.
"Shichi, I can still read your thoughts, by the way. Your descriptive skills need work."
Are you the Voice?
"Yes, Shichi." The Voice sounded faintly amused
...all right, all right. Are you okay?
"I'm fine Shichi. I feel better than ever actually."
Well, that's great to hear. I looked over at the carnage I had wreaked. Wow… I did this… cool.
"Shichi, now you can escape!" The Voice- who was no longer just a voice- reminded me.
Right.
I walked toward the School Gate. The Somnharis that were previously blocking my way had been blown away by the wave of force I had exerted.
I slowly walked over to the School Gate and stepped into the portal.
M.A.D. - Complete!
The sky returned back to its natural blue state, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
Skills Obtained!
Observe Lv(1/50) - 0%
The ability to see look at things and see the underlying truth
Cost: N/A
Cooldown: N/A
AB: Description of Object Observed
PB: +(Lv)P to PER,
Synaptic Resonance Lv(1/10) - 0%
The ability to link minds with a Monitalien and perform powerful combination attacks
Cost: 10% of Current MP
Cooldown: 1 hour
AB: Ability Fusion
PB: +(Lv)P to SYM
Synaptic Bond Lv(8/10) - 42%
The ability to have a link with a Monitalien and to strengthen Synaptic Resonance
Cost: N/A
Cooldown: N/A
AB: Synaptic Resonance's power increases by (Lv)X
PB: Represents REP, +100 REP for every Lv
Flame Expulsion Lv(1/10) - 13.6%
The ability to release Flames from various parts of your body
Cost: FP Variable on the amount of flame expelled (MAX: 100)
Cooldown: N/A
AB: Ability to summon flames
PB: +(Lv/2)P to EFF
Mental Energy Manipulation Lv(1/10) - 10.7%
The ability to manipulate the energy of the mind
Cost: Depends on use
Cooldown: N/A
AB: Ability to use mental energy (MP), Progress Multiplier with [Mental] Skills: (Lv)X
PB: +(Lv/2)P to INT, WIS
Psychokinesis Lv(1/10) - 23.6%
The ability to manipulate objects with your mind
Cost: (Newtons of force exerted/(Lv))*2
Cooldown: N/A
AB: Ability move things around with your mind
PB: +(Lv/2)P to INT, WIS
I felt no annoyance, just exhaustion.
"Shichi, you should get home." The head that seemed to belong to the Voice then disappeared back into thin air.
I'll be with you the whole way.
I smiled, and then, with slow and heavy steps, walked home.