NOVEL NEXT Chapter 3: My Gifts
My status appeared before me as a typical RPG skills sheet.
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[At Soul Rank 0, you will have access to the following Innate Skills from Thrillmaker] (Innate Skills) //Architect of the Abstract (C) - The 3D printer from your dreams except it works on your stamina/energy. Unlock your inner creator and start turning your wildest imaginations into reality. From a simple lego to an intricate railgun, if you can think it, you can make it! The required stamina/energy scales with the complexity of the object.// //Soul Inventory (D) - You can stash your loot in a pocket dimension that’s stored in the relic within your own soul. You’ll never misplace your stuff again and never will you hear the jingles of sword and axes coming from your backpack.// |
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(Thrillmaker Perks) //High Adaptation (S) - You will comprehend everything at a faster rate. New language? You’re fluent in a couple of hours. Complex magic spells? You’ll be casting them in an afternoon. Intricate sword technique? You’ll master it by dinnertime. This is your ticket to becoming a jack-of-all-trades and the master of... well, pretty much everything. //Extreme Growth (A) - The recreation of your physical body through the Thrillmaker provides you with rapid gains. The rapid gains that will make gods envy. In layman’s terms, you get ripped fast, and not just aesthetically. We’re talking speed, strength, agility—the whole superhuman package.// |
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(Acquired Talents) //Conversation Specialist (B) - Whether it’s a political debate or a chat with the woman of your dreams, you’ll keep the conversation flowing smoothly. You’ll never let a conversation feel dull. Each rank adds +1 to your Charisma attribute.// //Strategist (C) - Your ability to focus during any strategic deliberation is enhanced, like a grandmaster of Chess. Each rank adds +1 to your Wisdom attribute.// //Creator’s Endurance (A) - Creator’s Endurance lets you pull all-nighters working on your creations and still feel like a morning person. Reduces fatigue when engaged in high mental strenuous activities. Each rank adds +1 to your Stamina attribute.// //Iron Stomach (B) - No matter how terrible the taste, you can chug it down without so much as a grimace. Each rank adds +1 to your Toughness attribute.// //Gamer (C) - You can observe people's statuses as if they’re video game characters, allowing you to prepare countermeasures for their attributes and skills. Each rank adds +1 to your Intelligence attributes.// |
The quirky descriptions left me speechless. They matched well with my sense of humor — bad sense of humor. The list of abilities looked rather overpowered, especially the first skill. The power of creation was right up my alley. The Innate Skill even evolved with my Soul Rank.
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[Apart from these skills, you’ll be given a physical body in your peak condition, enhanced by the bonus stats from your talents.] |
To fully leverage these perks, I needed years or perhaps more depending on the Soul XP required for Soul Ranks. Only then could I stand a chance of surviving Esdeath and potentially romancing her. If I approached her as a weakling, she’d chew me up and spit me out like an old piece of gum.
Still, I had potential, and that’s what mattered the most. After all, I was very familiar with ‘grinding my way to the top’ thing.
“Highschool of the Dead it is.”
A perfect playground to farm Soul XP while working on my relationship with Saeko and slowly converting her into a Yandere. Saeko would be a perfect companion for killing zombies and helping me with my training. A pretty great woman to give me experience in handling crazy girls.
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[Please choose your starting point: -Transfer student at Fujimi Academy -A new teacher at Fujimi Academy -A civilian in Tokonosu City (Specify job) -A random choice -A character’s relative (Only accessible to Soul Rank 1)] |
“I’ll just take the transfer student start.”
The familiar thrill of first-day jitters and the untold promise of new friendships/crushes were now but mere wisps of nostalgia, phantoms from a time when things were much simpler. The good ol’ days of highschool some would say. May as well relive my youth since I have the opportunity. A student identity was also perfect for approaching Saeko.
“At what time will I arrive in the world? The day of the outbreak?”
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[The day the virus started spreading. Early morning to be precise.] |
There goes my hope of reliving my youth. Oh well, what can a normal man do against an Almighty System?
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[You can rewrite certain aspects of the world at Access Rank 1 and above, such as modifying timeline and merging worlds.] |
Reasonable. Starting early in the morning gave me some nice time to make preparations to face endless hordes of zombies. I’ll have to adapt on the fly for everything else. A thrilling situation was about to unfold.
“Let’s fucking go.”
I couldn’t wait to hunt for the best yandere wives across the multiverse.
—x—X—x—
I awoke in what appeared to be my bedroom. The outside was eerily quiet except for the occasional bark and chirps. A glance at the clock told me it was 5 AM. Hypothetically, if the virus breakout happened around 9, I had a little over four hours to test my abilities and create a few items. Enough to get the new body jitters out of my way.
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[As a transfer student, you have to report to the Teacher’s Room before 8 AM.] |
Three hours seemed more than enough to mess around and create some useful items.
First, I approached the mirror while taking off my shirt. The same face and form I had meticulously crafted with a bunch of sliders. I couldn’t be happier that my hard work paid off.
“Ego, we have skills, talents, and ranks. I suppose I also have a status screen.”
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//Status Screen// Name: Genji Takamura Titles: The Architect, The CEO, The Last Scion of Takamura, The One with Golden Talent, Yandere Lover, Heartbreaker, Night Owl, The RPG Enthusiast, The Modder, The Chaotic Route Maniac Current Soul Rank: Rank 0 - Transient Soul (0/9999 Soul XP) HP: 48/48 (Healthy) Stamina: 36/36 Energy: 15/15 (Base Attributes) Strength: 12 Stamina: 12 Dexterity: 12 Toughness: 16 (Special Attributes) Charisma: 20 Intelligence: 25 Wisdom: 22 Energy: 5 (Innate Skills) … |
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(Thrillmaker Perks) … |
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Acquired Talents … |
The stats had a distinct RPG vibe. Taking away the bonus from Talents, my base attributes started at 12, likely the result of my new body crafted by the Thrillmaker. My special attributes spanned nicely, except for my energy stat, which stuck out like a sore thumb. Why was my most important attribute glaringly low at just 5? Also, are those titles just for show or do they add anything?
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[Energy attribute is the amount of energy; it is directly connected to the space in your soul. As you know the first Thrillmaker’s Fragment and the Inventory function took a majority of your soul. Moving forward, your energy will rapidly grow with your soul.] |
Hold up, doesn’t that mean my energy will go back to five points when I upgrade my Soul Rank?
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[It won't.] |
Thank goodness. Now I just had to farm Soul XP before unlocking the next Access Rank, which was Access Rank 1.
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[As for your titles, they are merely there as a way to showcase your achievements. Do you want me to remove them?] |
“No, keep them. They are great memories,” I said with a sigh. “Ego, show me the details of each attribute.”
Every RPG game used the same attribute differently. Misunderstanding an attribute was the last thing I wanted during a crucial moment.
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[Strength represents your physical strength and the power behind your attack. Stamina represents your capacity to perform strenuous physical tasks and your fatigue recovery rate. Dexterity represents your explosiveness, flexibility, and reflexes. Toughness represents your resilience and overall vitality. Charisma represents your personal magnetism, charm, and ability to influence others. Intelligence represents your knowledge, sensitivity to natural elements, and your recovery rate of energy. Wisdom represents your perception and intuition. Energy represents the size of your energy pool.] |
Nothing out of norm here. Since the intelligence stat revealed natural elements, I wonder if I can learn magic in this world.
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[As the world is your creation, you can exert the universal laws upon it. Natural elements such as fire, water, wind, and earth are a part of the Universal Laws. Learning the Universal Laws was the original purpose of Thrillmaker.] |
How do I use those natural elements?
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[You will need to awaken the elements naturally by comprehending their mechanism.] |
"Can the natives of this world use the elements?"
The world would go through a massive change if Ego said yes. Even if the chance was one in a million, people would learn the Universal Laws.
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[No. Only those who interact with you, the Creator of this World, can break the shackles of their predetermined destiny. They will have a chance to access the Universal Laws according to their soul affinity.] |
That sounded way too complicated than it had any right to be. In simple terms, anyone who comes close to me can break out of their destiny — their determined plot and learn some dope abilities. You know what, that was better than having ability users running around the world.
“What type of Universal Laws are there?”
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[In simple terms, the Universal Laws are simply a collection of manipulation powers, such as water manipulation, light manipulation, and darkness manipulation. Every phenomenon in this universe falls under this category.] |
Overpowered as heck. I’m curious what type of ability Saeko would awaken with my interference in her life. Considering her sadism, it’d have something to do with pain. Something like Extreme Pain Affliction.
These Universal Laws were kind of useless when my energy hadn’t crossed a single digit. I’m more excited to test my main ability, the bread and butter of my powers — the Power of Creation.
Alright, time to make some useful stuff!