[IC] The Gamers (A Videogame Themed RP) (Reboot)

[Renose]

"A basic knock back CC skill and a somewhat weaker energy projectile that's more like a bullet than a bolt. Not only that, but your skills say Energy... while mine says Mana...I wonder if there is any difference between the two..." Ren scratched the back of his white haired head for a few moments, thinking. "It appears that we get Skills not only through special actions, but just based upon how we are in general. And also maybe the way we go through performing various actions as well as we all executed the same action, but seemed to acquire different types of ranged 'energy' Skills". This did indeed provide some interesting insight into their power. "Like some sort of character class system type thing... its still unclear exactly how it works, but it doesn't seem like we will all be getting the exact same skills".

Then Ren first listened to Mike's excited rant, ignoring half of it, and then heard Sasha's offering of her contact info. "I don't need your phone number. We can just use the Friends List to contact one another. Its faster, doesn't require service or battery, and no one could potentially hear anything that they shouldn't hear". Ren looked at all of them, suddenly saying "Friends", to most likely open the friends list. After pressing a button he began to type on an imaginary keyboard, which was probably actually there for Ren. His fingers moved really fast on that Keyboard, the sign of someone who spends tremendous amounts of time in front of a computer.

Suddenly in front of Mike, Sasha, and Lucian windows would appear, the window reading as such, also having a button for accept and ignore, like Friend Requests do in all other games.

Window

Ren Hitori has sent you a Friend Request.

Whether or not they accepted or ignored the Friend Request wasn't Ren's problem as he suddenly looked to Mike. "Party Invite". After the young Gekkoukan student said this a window would appear before Mike now, saying the following and having a small timer counting down from 60 as well as two buttons that read accept and ignore.

Window

Ren Hitori has invited you to the party: "Bus Riding"

Whether or not he accepted the invite to join the party, again, was not Ren's problem. "We should keep the party up, this way we can always locate one another on our Minimaps". This was true, as to each of the Gamers who had their mini-maps up the three other Gamers there were green dots, a common indication of party members in most other games. After he said that he raised his hand into the air. "First Aid". A small, green glow appeared in Ren's upraised hand as he stood there for about six seconds before a green light seemed to wash over him and a green 19 appeared over his head.

Next he aimed he walked over to Sasha. "Excuse me for a moment". He said that same command again, standing there for six minutes with his somewhat slender hand on Sasha's shoulder. Suddenly that same green light would wash over her and he would step back, a green 20 appearing over her head. Instantly Sasha felt alot better as any pain from her wounds or wounds she actually had seemed to disappear for the most part her HP seemed to be mostly healed. She was still missing 7 HP, but she was clear out of the critical condition now that she was in at only the 10% of her HP she managed to recover during their practice session and relaxing as they all learned how to create Pseudospace. After he healed her Ren removed his hand from her shoulder, the skill most likely being a touch range only skill.

"Its a nice healing skill to have, but its combat use is abysmal since it takes six seconds to use, which is why its best to fight in areas where you can employ cover or have people to hide behind. You also have to touch them to use it for the entire time and you need to have bandages or other such first aid items to use it. This is why I recommend keeping some food in your inventory. Food heals HP and drinks like milk or water heal MP. Not a whole lot, but enough to get you by in a tight spot. I recommend hitting a convenience store or Septemberes to get some".

She then looked to Lucian. "So, what kind of skill did you learn?" Ren had seen how easily Lucian pulled up the Pseudospace in his second attempt and wondered if he got some kind of incredible skill from it.

[Card Captor]

Mike quickly pinched himself "Ow! Yep, still not dreaming" he said while smiling. When the two windows popped up, he quickly pressed yes on both of them. Then, something that Ren said hit him "...wait...there's a minimap too!? Minimap" he commanded. When nothing happened, he tried again "huh, odd. Maybe it's; Toggle Minimap" and sure enough, one appeared for him "okay, I've ruled out sleeping or coma, but now I'm starting to think I've finally died in my sleep and gone to heaven. I've never in my wildest dreams thought up something this wonderful. It's been a few days and it's still sinking in; I'm not living on borrowed time anymore, I have a future..." he said with tears leaking out of his eyes

[Omnial]

Albiet a bit frustrated after his first attempt to create the pseudospace failing on him, after focusing harder, it seemed that he nailed it, with this new knowledge, he looked at the skills that he learned after practising to dispel the pseudospaces. "It would appear that my skill is a closer ranged magic attack. I would compare it to a magic shotgun based on its description, It is called 'Mana Wave'" He opened his status window on command, then looked at his stats, "It would appear I can use it up to four times before I run out of mana" Impressed with how well he had managed to do,

Lucian was eager to try out his new skill, but before he could get the chance, he got a friend request. Instinctively he clicked on the accept button, he always accepted friend requests from higher level players, and this case was even more important. "Friends" As Ren had before, Lucian also sent a request to Sasha to be here friend, he thought of sending one to the others that had been with him before, but decided against it based on some unjust biased opinions of his.

Lucian looked at Mike who seemed to be getting all emotional for some reason or another, then shook his head, "Well should we meet up again after a quick shop break, or are we done grinding for the day?" Even if the group decided that they were done, Lucian knew he was going to train for a while longer. He now had a new skill to use, and he had some ideas in his head as well. If he had learned how to Make a Mana wave from simply creating a pseudospace, maybe with some luck, he would be able to control his mana and do other things with it as well? He was going to try some things tonight, and probably study some ideas out. He made a mental list of what he wanted, I need a Heal, Damage over time, and a buff. Three things, should be easy enough, right?

[BioHazard]

Silas was riding his bicycle towards the school, of which he already had forgotten the name, where the other 'Gamers' should be. Luckily he had found out that there was a map among the other many windows, of which he discovered he had. Because he was on his bike, it went faster than he expected. Maybe he actually was excited about this, meeting people who also have this ability. He never was like this, most of the time he would keep distance from everybody. The only ones who he considers as friends are his sport club and his girlfriend. However he soon arrived at the school, where he saw four people standing.

Silas knew he was very late, they probably all already met and he just joins them like it is no problem. Certainly not a good way to introduce yourself. But he didn't care, if they had no intention of helping him with these newly discovered powers then he would just leave and figure all of it out himself. He really didn't care. But nonetheless he approached the group of youngsters. They all had <Gamer> standing above their heads followed by their names underneath. "Hey." Silas began. "You can all probably see why I'm here. Found the forum on the internet, and yeah... here I am." he said, sounding very laid back to keep himself a bit calm.

[Valeric]

"Oh right!" Sasha exclaimed, tapping her head. It wasn't easy remembering everything in such a short amount of time. She accept the friend request, and in turn, sent requests to everyone in the party. It wasn't difficult since she could readily read all their names.

"We should keep the party up, this way we can always locate one another on our Minimaps" Ren said. He then raised his hand abruptly, saying, "First Aid." A few moments later a green grow washed over him, along with a number to indicate the healed amount. Nifty. Next, he performed the same spell on Sasha, filling up her health bar nicely. She was no longer at risk of dropping dead from a scratch. Sasha flexed her arms, feeling slightly refreshed.

"Thanks a lot!" she said with a smile. Ren was surprisingly kind, contrary to first impressions. "Food and drinks actually heal our health huh? That's freaking weird, but it makes sense."

Remembering her new skill, she decided to test it out. She raised her right arm outwards, index finger pointed outwards to mimic a handgun. Aiming at a shrub, she muttered, "Energy shot!."

Hopefully this try would be more fruitful than her last.

[Renose]

According to Lucian he got something pretty amazing. It appeared that they really all did get different skills. Well that was good, because this meant if they ever fought something intelligent that intelligent enemy couldn't predict their every movement and technique then from studying just one of them.

"After a quick trip to the stores to get some food and other basic healing items and allow some time for our my MP to recover, which shouldn't take too long for me, then we can get back to grinding again. I want you all to at least hit Level 4 today, hopefully Level 5 even". Ren would have put up another Pseudospace so that they could all talk in peace without any students seeing them, the Pseudospace covering the entire school. As Silas would enter the school grounds he would notice that all the students in the school grounds seemed to have strangely vanished and there were no lights on. It was as if the lights all disappeared.

Of course the moment he approached the others a window appeared before him.

Window

The Quest: 'Others Like Me' has been completed.

Reward: 4 XP, possibly more information on The Gamer power.

When the newcomer suddenly approached the group though Ren turned to him. No surprise showed on his face as yet another new Gamer showed up. "Observe" Ren looked right up at him, before seeming to look at something else in front of him, a window most likely. "A melee type huh..." Ren nodded, glad that they didn't have just another caster on their hands. Ren held out his hand, a wooden Bokken appearing in it before he tossed it to the older gamer. "Take this. Anyway, you all stay here a moment. I will go to the school shop on the first floor and get you all a couple of Breads so you have some form of healing items. Make sure you stay right here so that you don't get caught by any students or teachers".

Luckily Sasha tested out her new skill before Ren destroyed the Pseudospace. The moment she said the command and pointed her finger towards the bush a small bullet of blue energy would shoot out of it. It moved pretty quickly. Not as quick as an actual bullet, but it would be pretty hard to dodge. It didn't seem all that powerful, but its MP cost was pretty low so it could be used alot.

With that he raised his hand towards the sky. "ID Escape!" Just like before with the Pseudospace the sky above them seemed to crack for a few moments before shattering quite quickly, returning them back to the normal school grounds, the lights back on at the school and the sounds of kids practicing at the nearby sports fields can be heard. Currently the Gamers were located behind the equipment storage shed, so if they just stayed there then they probably wouldn't be caught, since none of them were actually students.

It took about 10 minutes, everyone recovering at least a couple of HP if they lost any, before Ren returned. He handed everyone two Yakisoba Breads, regardless of whether or not they actually wanted them. "According to my Observe Skill these heal about 10 HP each, so don't waste them. Also you all owe me 500 ¥ for all of these as each of them cost me 250 ¥". He then looked to Silas. "Before we start though lets teach you how to create Pseudospace. Hopefully you will get something interesting from it as well". Ren destroyed his own Pseudospace using ID Escape, allowing Silas to create his own.

If Silas was interested Ren went over the basic step in how to create a Pseudospace. "To create a Psuedospace you have to close your eyes and focus. Raise your hand to the sky and connect your will and the energy of your being to the energy of the world. Focus that will into a thought of creating a Psuedospace. Do this and you should get the ID Create Skill. Hopefully you get another energy based skill as well".

---

Silas Pseudospace Creation: 8 - 3 Focus = 5

Silas Pseudospace Escape: 27 - 3 Focus = 24

---

It seemed to come a bit easy to Silas, the concept of the Pseudospace creation and destruction. After he managed to create his first Pseudospace a few windows would appear in front of him.

Window 1

A Skill has been created through a special action. The ability to focus energy into your strikes, Energy Strike, has been created.

Energy Strike

Energy Strike (Level 1: 0/100 EXP) (Active: 3 MP): You focus energy into your attack, allowing it to deal more damage. Your attack deals an additional amount of damage equal to 25% of your total Focus Score. To Level Up: Use Energy Strike, get a Critical with Energy Strike.

Window 2

A Skill has been created through a special action. The ability to create Pseudospace, ID Create, has been created.

ID Create

ID Create (Lv 1: 0/100 EXP) (Active): Create a Pseudospace. Current Types Possible: Empty ID, Imp ID. To Level Up: Create an ID, Unknown Training Method, Unknown Training Method.

Ren allowed him to escape his own Pseudospace instead this time, Silas being able to pull off the escape pretty easily. Right after he did another two windows appeared before him.

Window

A Skill has been created through a special action. The ability to break a Pseudospace and escape it, ID Escape, has been created.

ID Escape

ID Escape (Level 1: 0/100 EXP) (Active): Destroys the ID you currently are in, allowing you to escape. May not work in some cases. Higher levels may allow you to escape in certain other situations or allow you to break more powerful Pseudospaces. To Level Up: Escape an ID you created, Escape an ID someone else created.

After that bit of practicing Ren sent Silas not only a party invitation, but a Friend Request as well. He figured that it was only right to have all of the Gamers in a party so that they could all get EXP from the next batch of enemies they were about to fight. Whether or not Silas accepted them both, again, was not Ren's problem. If he didn't then he wouldn't be getting a wouldn't be getting a whole lot of EXP since that was the point of the party, so that everyone shared EXP.

"Alright then, if everyone is ready..." With that Ren raised his hand towards the sky. "Imp ID Create" Like the many times before the Pseudospace wrapped over the entire school area, lights from the building and students all vanishing. Not too far away from them, about twenty yards, was a group of about 10 Imps. They were all stronger now, so certainly they could take these Imps on.

A knife suddenly appeared in Ren's hand without Ren having to say anything, a pretty sharp looking survival knife. "Lets be swift and quick. If you get hurt get hurt and are low on HP get back and eat your Yakisoba bread". With that one bit of advice Ren charged forward. For someone so lithe and not physically fit at all, or so he appeared, Ren was quite agile on his feet. When he was about five yards away from a couple of the Imps he aimed his hand towards two of the Imps.

"Mana Bolt!" With that two blue spheres of energy launched from his hands and straight towards two of the Imps, the Imps seeming surprised by Ren's sudden onslaught as he was quick and stealthy when he approached them, all of the Imps seeming surprised actually since they couldn't see the Gamers behind the storage shed 20 yards away.

---

Ren Mana Bolt 1: 72 - 25 (Close Range) - 26 (Projectile Weaponry) = 21

Imp Dodge: 67

Hit: Auto Max Damage

Damage Dealt: 18

Ren Mana Bolt 2: 17 - 25 (Close Range) - 26 (Projectile Weaponry) = -34

Imp Dodge: 28

Hit: Lucky Strike!

Damage Dealt: 25

---

The first one seemed to hit one of the creatures square on, blasting it and making the level 4 Imp screech out in pain, but it still seemed to be standing. The second one somehow managed to hit a weak point on the creature most likely as it fell backwards with a screech and vanished into thin air, the attack being a 'Lucky' strike judging from the Lucky that appeared over its head next to the 25 that indicated how much damage the attack did. The moment the Imp fell to the ground a window would appear in front of both Sasha and Lucian, reading as thus as the number indicating their level above their heads went up by 1, which would also increase their max HP and MP for now as well.

Window

Your Level has increased by 1.

Still there was no time to apply stat or talent boosts as currently it was time for a battle with these creatures, which may not look too deadly from a gaming standpoint, but in actuality they were as unfortunately the Imps seemed to quickly shake out of their surprised state, ready for the other Gamers now as right now the 9 Imps had their sights set on Ren.

[Card Captor]

Running after Ren, Mike was able to catch up only when she stopped. Panting, the first thing he did was spam Observe on all of them, to grind EXP for it. Next, he put himself between Ren and the imps, hoping to make himself the target 'my only offensive move is a close range knockback. Despite how much I want to, just running up and using it on a imp doesn't seem too smart. What I need to do is wait for them to attack me, then I can use it. Hell, if I'm really lucky, one of them will leap at me so I can knock it back in the air. That would be awesome' he thought to himself

[Valeric]

"Here goes," Sasha said, following Ren's lead. She moved in behind him, a few meters to his right, and raised both of her arms. She took aim at the general vicinity of the Imps. "This should work, right? Energy shot!"

Then, as fast as she could repeat the word, Sasha continued to fire the spell with both her hands into the group of Imps. "Hahahahahah!"

[Renose]

Mike would only need to use Observe once, and only had enough time for one during his running towards Ren since he wasn't as quick as Ren. Upon using it he would see a window appear before him, giving the following information on the Imp, the one he used it on luckily being the one that Ren had hit.

Imp

Creature Species: Demon
Creature Sub-Species: Imp

One of the weakest forms of demons, these creatures are mischievous and tricky, but don't let their small stature fool you. These creatures can bring some pain with their razor sharp claws. They are quick to anger and a bit cowardly, but in numbers they are dangerous.

HP: 7/25

Upon using it on that single Imp another window would appear in front of him, stating the following.

Window

Your Observe Skill's Level has increased by 1.

After that he would be in front of Ren, the young boy, who was actually Mike's age, wondering why he, a weak level 1 character, was trying to shield a level 9 character. "What are you doing?!"

Sasha, in the meantime as this was going on, would charge forward. Using a bit of ingenuity she would aim both of her fingers in the general direction of the Imps, using Energy Shot with both fingers and managing to actually get off four shots at the Imps with it by using the Skill twice.

---

Energy Shot 1: 52 - 12 Projectile = 40
Energy Shot 2: 52 - 12 Projectile = 40
Energy Shot 3: 48 - 12 Projectile = 36
Energy Shot 4: 48 - 12 Projectile = 36

Damage Dealt-- Target 1 (0 Damage) Target 2 (0 Damage) Target 3 (0 Damage) Target 4 (0 Damage)

---

The attack seemed to hit successfully, but the small energy bullet was too weak and the Imp's hide too thick for it to actually register or do any form of damage. It was a valiant effort, but it didn't seem to actually do anything. Suddenly though a window did appear in front of her, followed by another one after the first one disappeared then one more window.

Window 1

Energy Shot's Level has gone up by 1

Window

A Skill has been created through a Special Action. The ability to use energy bullets more effectively, Energy Revolver, has been created.

Energy Revolver

Energy Revolver (Lv 1: 0/100 EXP) (Active: 1 - 3 MP): +1 Projectile Weaponry. Like a revolver you can fire multiple Energy Shots at once at a single target to deal more damage with Energy Shot, a normally weak skill. You can fire up to three Energy Shots at once from your finger, each shot costing 1 MP. If you fire multiple shots at a single enemy the damage stacks to pierce the target's resistance. Each shot deals 5% more Damage then the last. To Level Up: Hit a single target with multiple shots from Energy Revolver. Use Energy Revolver to target and hit multiple foes. Get a Critical with Energy Revolver. Get a Lucky Strike with Energy Revolver.

Unfortunately there wouldn't be enough time to get off a chance to test out the brand new skill, but this certainly did increase the effectiveness of Energy Shot drastically.

[Card Captor]

"My only offensive skill is a mostly defensive one. If any imps come at us, I can knock them back. It's much safer then trying to run up to one and attack it myself" Mike explained, still panting a little. "Unlike everyone else, I don't seem to be a very offensive speced person. That means that I'm stuck on defense." he explained

[BioHazard]

Silas was surprised it all happened so natural, he liked that very much. He wasn't really in the mood for people shouting: "OMG you're a Gamer too!? That's so awesome!" not that he was ever in the mood to hear that kind of hyperactive talk. It was nice that he had completed a quest, but he was still level 1, and all the others here were a few levels higher than him. That made it a bit uncomfortable. However he got a wooden Bokken, getting something like that is always nice. Though he also had his Racket Skill which would do more damage, he guessed. And it was easier to deflect with. For now he put the Bokken back into his inventory. "Thanks." Silas only replied to Ren, not having said something else to the others after his arrival.

After that Silas was taught how to create and escape a pseudospace. "Cool, doesn't draw too much attention." he said after quickly managing to do this. He also got an awesome new ability: Energy Strike. Along with his Deflecting Strike he now had a good offense and defense attack. Shortly after that a few windows would show up for a party and friend request of Ren. He clicked on accept for both of them. "Guess we're friends now." he said. He also quickly send a friend request to the others in the party. He didn't know why he did that, it just seemed natural in a game world to befriend people in your party. Afterwards Ren summoned a pseudospace featuring weird creatures.

"What are those things?" he sharpened his eyes and looked at them. "They kinda resemble enemies like a goblin, or no an Imp." Silas said to himself before he was planning to attack the creatures. Instead of the new Bokken, he grabbed his racket. With that he rushed towards the Imps and decided to test his new ability. He concentrated to build up the energy in his strike, and performed the Energy Strike on the Imps. He would afterwards do another combo, if he could manage to pull off his first attack successfully. Otherwise he would take a safe distance from the creatures.

[Renose]

Silas' speed and agility as a racket ball player would allow him to cover the distance from behind the storage shed to where the Imps are quickly enough to where he could get in and perform his attack on an Imp. There was one other Imp that was near the one Ren blasted, this one being the only one Silas would have enough time to make it over to. The moment he said the command 'Energy Strike', as Ren during their practice for creating Pseudospaces mentioned that the only way to use Skills quickly and efficiently was to say their commands, his racket would glow lightly with a blueish energy that he would pour into it, giving the attack a bit of extra force.

---

Silas Energy Strike: 2 (Critical!)

Imp Dodge: 97 (Fumble)

Damage Dealt: 38

---

The Imp was probably still a bit surprised from the sudden attack of all of the humans to where Silas would have the easiest time delivering a very deadly blow to the Imp with his Energy Strike using the racket, the Imp letting out a cry of pain as it was knocked down by the attack, the creature dispatched instantly by the powerful strike that let out a loud bang of wood and metal racket against tough Imp head. Luckily the other Imp that was close by was the one that Ren targeted. Silas strike was so quick thanks to the Imp practically just sitting there that he would have enough time to lunge forward for one more strike, granted that it would probably be a bit less accurate, but still another chance for a good clean strike nonetheless, his racket still somehow glowing with energy as perhaps his swell execution of the attack allowed him to keep the energy flowing without expending anymore for a well placed second attack.

---

Silas Energy Strike: 37 + 25 ('Free' Strike) - 11 Melee Weaponry - 7 Skill Bonus = 44

Imp Dodge: 85

Max Damage Hit

Damage Dealt: 16

---

The strike hit dead on, knocking the creature down with its force and it also vanishing in thin air the moment it hit the ground after being hit by the well executed strike. After his two hit attack was over several windows would appear in front of Silas as if his excellent combat attack was being rewarded somehow by essentially increasing his own abilities. Of course, one of the first windows that appeared after the first Imp was dispatched was one that appeared for both Mike and Silas, mentioning that their Levels had gone up by 1 as the 1 above both Mike's and SIlas' head now turned into a 2.

Window 1

A well executed attack has increased your melee combat prowess, +1 to Melee Weaponry

Window 2

Energy Strike's level has gone up by 2

Window 3

Racket Mastery's level has gone up by 2

Window 4

A Skill has been created through a Special Action. The ability to hit an enemy's weak point with deadly accuracy to deal even more damage, Critical Strike, has been created.

Critical Strike

Critical Strike (Passive) (Lv 1: 0/100 EXP): Deal 105% more damage whenever you perform a Critical Strike. To Level Up either perform a Critical Strike or get hit by a Critical Strike.

Window 5

A Skill has been created through a Special Action. The ability to quickly chain attacks together, Chain Attack, has been created.

Chain Attack

Chain Attack (Lv 1: 0/100 EXP) (Active - 1 MP/Extra Attack): You can perform up to two attacks in a deadly chain as long as the first attack was successful. Note that any other Attack Skill you use with the first attack will have its affect carry over to each of the other attacks. Note though that each additional attack suffers a -25% to the Roll. Each additional attack deals 5% more damage then the last. Note though if an enemy manages to parry or dodge the extra attack(s) you can be potentially opened to a counterattack. To Level Up: Perform a successful Chain Attack, get a Critical with a Chain Attack, kill an enemy then attack another enemy (if that enemy is in point blank range) with a Chain Attack.

[Omnial]

Lucian placed the bread he was given into his inventory, he wouldn't need to eat them right now, and he was pretty sure he wouldn't need them for a while either, he wasn't exactly planning on taking damage, only dishing it out with his new spell.

The familiar feeling of looking down at the ugly little imps again, Lucian was certain they would easily crush them this time, and that they wouldn't have to worry about Sasha nearly dying on them, though incase things did go sour, he did try to keep her in his peripheral vision at all times. Lucian pulled his Bo from the inventory window to his left hand and charged at the nearest imp, "Mana Wave." He didn't shout it out, but said it calmly, as he aimed his palm at the poor little imp.

[Renose]

As Lucian shouted this it wasn't a shotgun like blast that erupted from his palm. No instead it was a comet-like sphere of mana, or energy as the difference was still unclear to all of them, blasted from Lucian's hand. Despite it looking like an upgraded version of Ren's Mana Bolt it looked like it could pack quite the punch as it headed straight for the Imp.

---

Lucian Mana Wave: 21 - 5 Projectile Weaponry - 25 (Close Range) = -9 (Lucky)

Imp Dodge: 34

Max Damage Hit (Lucky)

Damage Dealt: 16 Damage

---

The blast hit straight on, dealing a good amount of damage, part of that being hitting the Imp's weak point by chance with the blast. Unfortunately it didn't deal enough to kill the creature, but it was pretty angry now though. On a plus side though a window appeared stating that 'Lucky Strike's Level has increased by 1'.

It and the other Imps were pretty angry at the humans now as they appeared to be on the counter-offensive now. One of the Imps, the one who just got blasted, headed straight for Lucian, claws raised and looking quite pissed off as it aimed to slash right at Lucian. Luckily the short distance between the two of them would help him have some time to see the blow and parry it.

---

Imp Claw Attack: 26

Lucian Parry: 86 - 8 Melee Weaponry - 9 Skill Bonus = 69

Max Damage Hit

Damage Dealt: 15

---

Unfortunately Lucian's staff skills weren't good enough here to deflect this blow. The Imp seemed to easily slip past his guard and get a somewhat nasty blow in on Lucian. That extra VIT boost seemed to be doing some good though as the attack didn't seem to do as much damage as it should have plus Lucian also was in much better shape than he would have been before the large boost he put in his VIT. Suddenly though, maybe in a twist of ironic fate, a window appeared before him.

Window

A Skill has been created through a Special Action. The ability to endure physical wounds and pain, Physical Endurance, has been created.

Physical Endurance

Physical Endurance (Passive) (Lv 1: 0/100 EXP): +1 Resilience, +5% HP. To Level Up: Successfully endure a physical attack. Successfully endure a Critical Strike from a physical attack. Successfully survive a fatal strike.

After receiving this new skill Lucian would feel a slight bit tougher and feel like he had more endurance, but the only question was how did one level up this new Skill safely, a question that would have to be answered outside of the battle.

And speaking of battle, a few Imps had their sights set on Ren, but Mike was in the way of a couple of them, so instead one went after Mike. The young, recently recovered ex-cripple was ready for this though. The moment the Imp rushed towards him he would say the command for Energy Pulse and a sort of cloud like sphere of bluish energy shot from his palm, heading straight for the onrushing Imp.

---

Mike Energy Pulse: 6 - 2 Projectile Weaponry = 4 (Lucky)

Imp Dodge: 61

Max Damage Hit

Damage Dealt: 3 Damage

---

The weak blast normally shouldn't have did any damage, but perhaps it was how hard the Imp was knocked back onto the ground that did some damage the moment the blast hit it, this luckily interrupting the Imp's attack and rush towards him.

Unfortunately though Mike was only shielding Ren in one direction as that one Imp rushed Mike went around him, aiming to flank Ren on a different side as they weren't as dumb as they looked. Luckily the extra distance it took to get past Mike and get to behind Ren, the Imp being quite agile on its feet thanks to both its small size and just general swiftness, Ren was able to quickly say "MP Armor!". A familiar blue glow appeared over his body, a thin barrier of blue energy on him like a second skin appearing, acting as an armor of sorts as the Imp quickly now pounced at him, claws raised.

---

Imp Claw Attack: -3

Ren Dodge: 70 - 25 Dodge = 45

Hit! (Lucky)

Damage Dealt: 11

---

The Imp's attack was very quick and looked like it managed to, by pure chance, get at a weaker spot on Ren with its sharp claws, the young boy cringing and gritting his teeth through the pain. Luckily the strange, glowing mana 'armor' seemed to block a good bit of force of the strong attack. It still got him, but not as much as it should have.

Another Imp, seeing the better built racket player with his deadly racket charged at him, its feet quick and claws sharp as it snarled at Silas, aiming to rip him a new one as it lunged towards him, claws now aimed for his neck as it snarled angrily.

---

Imp Claw Attack: 11

Silas Parry: 86 - 12 Melee Weaponry - 8 Skill Bonus = 66

Max Damage Hit

Damage Dealt: 15

---

Unfortunately, despite how good Silas' racquetball skills were, the Imp seemed to slip its claws past his guard, its claws raking in deep and dealing quite the nasty blow. There was no bleeding though for some reason. It felt like he should have bled, but for some reason he didn't. Perhaps this was one of the powers of the Gamer's Body Skill since game characters never seem to actually bleed unless an attack specifically inflicted bleeding damage or a bleeding affect of sort. Still the attack hurt like all else regardless and dealt quite a nasty blow on Silas' HP.

Luckily, or maybe unluckily, a window would appear as well, then another window explaining a strange new Skill.

Window

A Skill has been created through a special action. The ability to endure physical wounds and pain, Physical Endurance, has been created.

Physical Endurance

Physical Endurance (Passive) (Lv 1: 0/100 EXP): +1 Resilience, +5% HP. To Level Up: Successfully endure a physical attack. Successfully endure a Critical Strike from a physical attack. Successfully survive a fatal strike.

One other Imp had followed its other comrade to Ren's other side as well, charging with its claws raised as well as it attempted to slash at him, the Imp snarling angrily as it attempted another powerful claw attack towards Ren just as its first comrade did.

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Imp Claw Attack: 77

Ren Dodge: 50 - 25 Dodge = 25

Missed

---

Ren luckily saw this attack coming and managed to deftly dodge just in time. Not only did he dodge though, but instead he shouted "Riposte!" rather quickly the moment he dodged, his blade glowing a small bit as his body moved quickly, the Gamer power probably helping him execute this very instant counterattack, as Ren aimed to slash the Imp with his survival knife.

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Ren Riposte: 2 (Critical!)

Imp Dodge: 17

Critical Hit!

Damage Dealt: 40

---

The blade sliced deep and true as Ren's counterattack seemed to strike and slash deep in the Imp's neck, and straight through it, with alarming precision and accuracy. The Imp didn't even have time to screech or scream in pain, let alone react at all, as right after that slash it fell over, vanishing into thin air the moment it fell to the ground.

One other Imp seemed to charge after Sasha. Luckily she was a bit further away from it, giving Sasha plenty of time to quickly get ready to dodge or parry its attack, which parrying it with the baseball bat would be easier, but for now dodging it since she had yet to figure out how to quickly draw or withdraw a weapon at will like Ren seemed to be able to do.

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Imp Claw Attack: 39

Sasha Dodge: 1 (Critical)

Miss

---

Sasha was easily able to dodge the Imp's attack no problem. It was so easy and quick to dodge the attack that she could even step back and get off a quick Energy Revolver as a counterattack, having to say Energy Revolver to use it, but she could mentally decide how many shots to use, the most useful amount being 3 since right now Energy Shot was a bit too weak to use on its own. Being able to use it with both hands, which both of her hands were free, allowed her to fire a total of six Energy Shots all at once for a measly 6 MP.

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Energy Revolver 1: 50 - 13 Projectile Weaponry = 37
Energy Revolver 2: 48 - 13 Projectile Weaponry = 35

Imp Dodge: 43

Damage Dealt: 10

---

The Imp definitely felt the barrage of energy bullets this time. Normally one wouldn't have done the trick, but when all six were fired at once the total damage was all added up, walloping it pretty good as they all hit a single point on the creature's body to intensify the damage. In fact after her artful dodging and skilled usage of Energy Revolver, a couple of windows appeared in front of her.

Window 1

Quick and fast dodging movements beyond your average capabilities have made you more athletic, +1 Acrobatics.

Window 2

Energy Revolver's Level has increased by 1

Window 3

Energy Shot's Level has increased by 1

One more Imp, seeing two surrounding Ren, also quickly charged at him, going around Mike as well and going behind him, Ren now having, once again, two Imps to contend with as the Imp attempted to lunge at him with its mighty claws.

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Imp Claw Attack: 38

Ren Dodge: 57 - 25 Dodge = 32

Miss

---

Once again Ren called out "Riposte!", using that Skill once again to perform another very fast counterattack towards the Imp, teeth clenched as he aimed to put this creature down as well with this counterattack.

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Ren Riposte: 62 + 22 (Riposte penalty) - 22 (Melee Weaponry) - 10 Skill Bonus = 52

Imp Dodge: 67

Damage Dealt: 10

---

The blade slashed right across the beasts chest, making it growl and screech angrily in pain. It wasn't down or out, but it certainly was in pain and certainly was angry. It also didn't seem to bleed as well when cut, but there was no time to waste in contemplating such things. As if following the cue of its other Imps one more seemed to also go after Ren, Ren having to dodge another set of sharp, deadly claws, which was hard when right next to two other Imps that wanted to kill him. They really wanted to kill Ren right now.

---

Imp Claw Attack: 41

Ren Dodge: 7 - 25 = -18

Miss

---

Ren dodged the attack so easily it seemed like it was second nature to him, the attack almost looking as if it missed on purpose. Of course adding to the second nature of Ren's dodging was Ren using Riposte as if it was some kind of conditioned response, aiming for another lightning speed counterattack towards the Imp.

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Ren Riposte: 2 Critical!

Imp Dodge: 76

Critical Hit!

Damage Dealt: 44

---

Once again the blade went right for one of the weakest, most vital points on any body. The throat. The blade sunk deep, cutting and rending right through the creature's throat in one clean slash. Like the last one that went down this way it didn't even get a chance to properly react nor to even let out any sounds of pain, it falling over as well and vanishing just like the others the moment it hit the ground. There were only six Imps left now. Two flanking Ren on both sides, one that Mike knocked down, another that Sasha had just shot a couple of times, one that just clawed Lucian and the last one was the one that just clawed Silas.

Unfortunately Ren knew that he didn't have much breathing room with two Imps right next to him and jumping back wasn't no option. "Now's a good time as any to try that theory of mine". If gathering Mana with his ability to control it, thanks to Mana Focus, allowed him to create a shield by flattening it and condensing it around him, armor by wrapping it around his body, and bolts by gathering it into a sphere then throwing it, then maybe gathering it around him in the same style that he did to create MP Armor, but instead of wrapping it around him using his hands to repulse it from him and anything standing next to him would work as well in a focused, willful burst.

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Focus: 35 - 23 Focus = 12

---

Ren quickly concentrated as fast as he could, knowing that this 'experiment' would take away a good chunk of his MP. Still, it would be worth it if he succeeded as he quickly seemed to gather Mana around him, it looking like a slightly glowing, blue mist. It gathered around him quickly, then he thrust his palms outward to his sides, the Mana gathered around him quickly bursting outward in a sort of outward, small ring like fashion.

---

Imp 1 Strength: -1 (Not a critical)

Damage Dealt: 2

Imp 2 Strength: 96 (Fumble)

Damage Dealt: 16

---

The first Imp didn't seem to be knocked back by it, the creature managing to plant its feet at the last moment and take the blast head on, gritting its teeth and only taking a rather small amount of damage from the shockwave of mana. The second one, however, was not so luckily. It was easily blasted back several yards as it lost its footing nearly immediately, it seeming to take quite the wallop from the shockwave more than it should have, the rough falling to the ground certainly not helping its case, especially since it landed in a way that people shouldn't land, hitting its head hard on the ground. The Imp vanished moments after it was flung off.

In fact, the moment it vanished Mike and Silas would see a window appear in front of them now as the Level indicator above their heads went up from 2 to 3. The window read as thus.

Window

Your Level has gone up by 1.

The Imp that managed to boldly keep its ground, however, was not like its other friend as it quickly aimed to throw its claws at Ren as it literally had tried to claw at Ren when he was focusing and thrusting his hands out, had its attack only delayed for a moment, but was able to beat the sudden blast of mana with its strength to where it was able to continue its attack right when the blast concluded.

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Imp Free Strike: 59

Ren Dodge: 48 - 25 Dodge = 23

---

Ren was a bit too tired at the current moment from focusing all of that mana at once to improvise a way to get the Imps off of his back, the blast luckily not being big enough to hit Mike as well who was only a few yards away, to use Riposte, so he just took for dodging the bloody creature for now. It seems like with only 5 Imps left, all of them sporting some wounds, that this battle would be over soon enough.

[Card Captor]

"Alright!" Mike cheered as he watched the imp get pushed away. He then thought to himself 'that is totally awesome......but my range is pretty lacking. I do like having my knockback skill...it's just that I think I need something that doesn't have to be used close up. Maybe...' first checking the HP of all the imps with Observe, he decided it was safe enough to experiment a little. Drawing energy to his hands like when he learned ID Create, Mike recalled the feeling of Energy Pulse, trying to condense it into a smaller form, one that didn't expand from his body, but shot out from his hands. His concentration was almost broken when a window popped up informing him of his level up, however, he quickly closed it and pushed his new level to the back of his mind, so that he could focus on the task at hand. When he felt ready, he tried to force the energy out of his hands 'A great big magical push' he thought to himself as he released it

[Renose]

Fortunately for Mike, as there wouldn't be enough time to say Observe five times and look at five different windows, now that he could see HP with Observe and already Observed the Imps once before he could now see how much HP they had total and left over their heads in a Current/Max fashion, saving alot of time for his experiment of trying to create an Energy Pulse with a slightly bigger impact. The Energy Pulse he knew was, more or less, like Ren's Mana Bolt, but instead of a sphere it was more of a misty, cloudy sphere that was longer and thinner by a small bit, like a small, rounded crescent, only cloudier and not as clear of a shape. It was this shape though that focused the mana or energy in the blast to push back the enemy rather than explode and deal damage with a burst. Sort of like a shield rush, it might deal a little bit of damage but its main goal is to knock someone back.

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Focus: 23 - 13 = 10

---

The Energy pulse would fire from his hand now, as it did before, only this time it seemed to be a bit more like energy then misty energy, the pulse looking a bit brighter and clearer as it headed straight for the Imp that was still on the ground, the pulse looking more tangible rather than ethereal as it was before.

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Mike Improved(?) Energy Pulse: 39 - 2 Projectile Weaponry = 37

Imp Dodge: 65

Hit!

Damage Dealt: 5 Damage

---

The blast seemed to slam into the creature onto the ground, packing a pretty nice punch. Didn't really throw it back, but it didn't really need to since the creature was already knocked down on the ground in the first place. This, at this point, was just kicking the poor thing while it was down. Still the experimentation seemed to work as suddenly a window appeared before Mike. A few windows actually.

Window 1

Energy Pulse's Level has gone up by 1 [hider]

[hider=Window 2]
A Skill has been created through a special Action. A more forceful, compacted Energy Pulse, Force Pulse, has been created.

Force Pulse

Force Pulse (Lv 1: 0/100 EXP) (Active: 8 MP): While it is still ethereal in a sense, the energy of the crescent shaped small pulse of energy appears tangible, but it is not the energy that is more tangible though. You launch a pulse of energy and force at an opponent, dealing damage and having a better chance of not only knocking them back or down, but also you may even have a chance to stun the opponent. Does an amount of damage equal to 1d6 + 20% of Focus Score. To Level Up: Hit with Force Pulse, knock back with Force Pulse, knock down with Force Pulse, Stun with Force Pulse, deal a Critical, deal a Lucky.

[Renose]

The rest of the battle went fairly well. The Imps put up a pretty decent fight, but Ren, using mainly his survival knife, helped to end it quickly. Of course the others would have done some damage to the last of them as well, some wounds being dealt to members of both sides. Once it was all said and done though Sasha and Lucian had gone up another Level, the two of them now Level 5. Ren was still at Level 9 though, apparently Imps not really giving him much EXP. Ren sighed, glad that was over. "Alright, lets go back to the storage shed and see what we gained..."

Right when everyone was just heading over there, suddenly in a flash of blackish, reddish light something appeared not too far away from the group's more consolidated position, Ren quickly turning around to look at it, eyes widened and fist tightly clenched around the handle of his survival knife which he summoned to hand. "So...you decided to appear again huh?" Ren smirked a little, taking a few steps forward towards it. What had appeared was something else. Something well... big. In a literal sense of the word actually.

The creature looked like an Imp. Only it was twice the size and more muscular, sort of about Silas' height really except a couple inches shorter. It had a much more intimidating appearance and face, but also didn't seem as feral in expression. It still looked like a beast though. Above its head was, in dark red text, Lv 10 Big Boss Imp. The text of regular enemies was light red, this dark red text must have meant something else. Especially since on the minimaps, for those who had their's out, the dot for this enemy was dark red and slightly bigger than normal enemy dots.

"I fought this guy before. Its a mob boss. I had to hide though until it got bored and left because I wasn't strong enough to fight it. Don't try using ID Escape, this creature prevents it somehow. Also you guys stay back... this thing is too strong for all of you. Its at least twice as powerful as those Imps and has 4 times the HP. If you're gonna assist me then do it from a distance". Ren quickly chugged a carton of milk and ate a bread roll from his Inventory, a blue 10 and a green 5 appearing over his head as he ate and drank his food and milk. He downed one more after the bread, another blue 10 appearing above his head, most likely indicating mana restoration. He was quite the quick drinker. Plus the milks were pretty small.

"MP Armor!" It had run out, so Ren used it one more time. Ren quickly charged forward, stopping just fifteen yards away from the beast, as they were currently thirty away from it. "Ill end this in one shot!" He had no choice. The Big Imp was very strong and incredibly fast, plus it could call other Imps as well. Ren nearly got killed by this thing and he was there level when he fought it. In theory it worked, in practice Ren had trouble. Gathering more and more mana for a sort of charged bolt. Usually someone would use that as a finishing attack, but not Ren. Ren wanted to end this in one shot before the beast could have a chance to tear its claws into any of them.

Suddenly what was a Mana Bolt formed in Ren's outstretched palms that were aiming towards the Imp. Ren had to do this quickly before the Big Imp charged them. Even if this wouldn't finish it off, at least it could catch the beast off guard for the others to wail on it and take it down before it could act.

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Focus: 40 - 23 Focus = 17

---

It worked! Albeit barley. It looked like it was draining Ren of everything he had as large amounts of Mana began to quickly gather and pour from Ren and into the bolt, it growing bigger and bigger. Ren's body looked like it was about to give out from the strain as the sphere grew larger, his body shaking a small bit. This had to be done though. If this thing was allowed just a single moment of movement who knows who it could kill with those long, very sharp looking claws. Plus if it was allowed to call more Imps to aid it then there would be trouble.

All of Ren's mana was in it now, every last drop, all gathered within just a few seconds, sweat dripping from Ren's brow as he looked like he could drop any second from the sheer exertion. Well, not all of it. There was just a small bit left. "Spin!" Ren focused more into the large sphere quickly. Ren knew that if it just hit the beast its power might be diminished by its thick skin, but then Gurren Lagann came to mind. A drill has the best spinning and piercing power, and while he couldn't make the giant, Ren's torso sized bolt into a drill, he could make it spin quickly like one.

---

Focus: 26 - 23 Focus = 3

---

"Alright" Ren breathed out, panting heavily as with the last surge of Ren's willpower and mana the bolt began to spin around quickly, faster than Ren had anticipated. It was good enough as he brought his hands, and the giant, spinning bolt, back to his side a little. "Choke on this!" With that one shout he launched the large, spinning sphere right towards the Big Imp, it ripping through the air quickly towards it, the very fast spinning giving it even more power as it headed right for the beast. Unfortunately Ren couldn't really aim it all that well as he fired thanks to its sheer size and the stress of holding it, so the short, for a ranged projectile anyway, would have to, hopefully, help him hit the beast.

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Ren's Desperation Attack: 57 - 26(50%) Projectile - 25 (Medium Distance) = 19

Big Imp Dodge: 43

Max Damage Hit

Damage Dealt: 100

---

The creature couldn't dodge the giant, spinning bolt heading towards it in time, the bolt slamming into it, spinning rapidly as it did so. It seemed to be actually trying to push the large projectile away as it span and drilled into it, it growling and gnashing its teeth in anger and pain. Unfortunately the spinning made it harder to push back, that adding a large bit of power to the attack. It was that spin that seemed to pierce its tough hide and add extra power that really took the cake. The beast's arms, as it tried to push it back, were soon obliterated as it roared out in pain before the bolt followed through the rest of the way, piercing the creature through completely and leaving a large hole in its chest. It stood there for just a few moments before falling backwards, vanishing into thin air in after flashing a few times with a dark red light.

Ren panted heavily after that, looking positively exhausted as he fell to his hands and knees, looking like he was about to pass out. It appeared that there was a small, brown treasure chest where the beast once stood, but perhaps checking on Ren would be more proper etiquette instead of going straight for whatever the beast left behind. In the meantime though it appeared that everyone, including Ren, gained a Level, windows appearing for all of them mentioning that their Levels had increased by 1.

[Card Captor]

While Ren was busy reading his attack, Mike used Observe on the mob boss. However, before he could read any of it, Ren killed it in one attack "that was awesome!" Mike cheered as he closed the window, no longer needing the information on the boss. He then quickly noticed Ren on the floor, clearly exhausted "Hey, are you okay?" Mike asked as he ran over to help him up

[Omnial]

"Well that was entertaining, I also learned a skill for being hit, seems like Gaia has a sense of humour." Rubbing the spot which took the blow from the imp, Lucian couldn't help but feel an echo of the pain, but notice that his flesh itself was not torn, nor his clothes even. Such a strange power... It seemed to be easier for him to accept and understand the idea of magic, and all the other madness, then the fact that his clothes didn't rip and he wasn't bleeding.

He took out one of his breads and started eating it as he walked over towards Ren, He noticed the hyper active kid got there first, no surprise really, but then something else caught his eye. A treasure drop? Curiosity got the better of him, and Ren had Mike, he would be fine so long as he didn't try to force feed him to recover his health or mana. Justifying his actions, Lucian knelt down and touched the chest.

[Renose]

"I-Im...fine..." Ren was breathing heavily, considering raising his VIT stat up a bit more since his stamina was abysmal and using that much Mana was absolutely exhausting. If he had messed up any he probably would have passed out if his mind hadn't been strong enough. "This is why... VIT is the most important Stat..." He noticed that he gained a Level as well. That was nice, more Stat points to spend. A couple of them would be going into VIT that was for sure. Then Ren seemed to be looking at a Window that appeared before him. "I get to name my own Skill huh?" Ren thought this, of course, instead of saying out loud as he didn't want Gaia accidentally assuming that his own basic thoughts was going to be the name of his new finishing attack Skill.

"Giga Spiral Bolt..." It fit, plus it reminded him of Gurren Lagann. So he pressed the accept button after saying what he wanted his new Skill to be named. Then he noticed Lucian, a green 10 appearing above his head as 10 HP of his were healed and the pain he felt from some of his wounds was gone now almost instantly, although it would have honestly been better to just wait an hour or so for it to fully heal since there wouldn't be anymore training for a while today, if at all. Then Ren finally saw the treasure chest drop. It was small, about the size of a younger person's head. The moment Lucian bent down to touch it a window would appear before him.

Window

This does not belong to you.

It was a bit strange. Perhaps it was a loot distribution system, to where only the person who did the most damage got the Items. Ren never actually checked loot settings, because he really didn't care for the claws and horns of Imps as he didn't know how to use them yet, which if the Gamers took a look around they would notice that there were a few Imp Claws and Imp Horns laying around the area. About three claws and four horns to be exact. He would let the others have them if they wanted them, but if no one picked them up then he would take them.

Ren slowly managed to regain enough strength to stand up, with Mike's help of course. After a few more moments he walked over to Lucian, looking down at the chest. "Let me see this..." Ren bent down and touched it, noticing a small window appear before him as the box vanished in a small blink of light after he pressed a button on a window. Now there were three things on the ground. A small stack of yen notes, three small, yet somewhat fat, glass bottles of red liquid, and a book. The cover on the book appeared to have a picture of a ominous looking glove hand holding a somewhat dark looking dark greenish-reddish flame.

"If this is like a game then..." Ren first picked up the money, putting it into his Inventory. The moment he did everyone else's Inventories would open and they would see that the amount of money they received just went up by 9,000 ¥, which was a pretty hefty sum of money. "Yep, loot distribution. It appears it splits it, by what factors it bases its splitting by I don't know. It gave me 19,000 ¥ out of that, probably because I killed the boss...". Then Ren looked to the three bottles. Surely they couldn't be... "Observe" Ren's eyes widened as if he had just discovered a lost treasure of old. "Recovery... Potions..." There were only three of them.

"These are low rank potions, apparently they only heal 75 HP a piece. Drink em in 3 doses you have 25 HP per dose...my Crafting Skill is pretty high, ill take these and see if I can't find out how to make them. Maybe that's what Imp Claws and Horns are for. If not then maybe we can find a different way...but for now we should keep them for safe keeping and stick with using food for recovery until we can get more". Ren put those away in his inventory as well, regardless of whatever qualms anyone else had. If there were more then next time he would split them with the others, but for now he would hang onto them.

Last but not least the book. Ren used the Observe Skill once again on the book. "Just as I suspected, a Skill Book. Our system apparently also allows us to learn Skills from books. I already experienced this myself when I learned a Skill from a book at a book store. In turn though the moment you learn the skill it destroys the book, luckily I already purchased it though. If you ever go out shopping I recommend going to any book store and looking for useful books that can teach Skills".

Ren picked it up. "It teaches a skill called Eldritch Flame. Apparently its a basic power possessed by most demons, probably something that Big Imp knew...". It was a demon skill and it seemed interesting to learn... but what would that do to a human? Did it matter not thanks to them being gamers? "It might be too dangerous to learn something like this for now. Ill hang onto it". Again Ren put it into his inventory regardless of what anyone else had to say. After that he opened up his Talent and Stat windows, thinking of how to allocate his stats.

"So, I take it you all leveled up a good amount from that. I recommend putting points into VIT as that stat will make sure you stay alive". After everyone applied their new Stat Points and Talent Points Ren checked the time using his PFP, apparently it being about 3:00 PM now before everyone's stamina was fully restored.

"So what do you all want to do now? Train some more after we rest a bit more to fully recover our HP, MP, and stamina? Experiment with our skills and abilities? Or perhaps go shopping?"