Hana 5 : Vulka

Did you know that human evolution would probably be delayed by hundreds of thousands of years if we hadn’t discovered fire when we did? Well, we might also have gone extinct without fire, but shhhh. With the ability to create fire, cave dwellers were able to provide warmth to survive cold winters, cook food, and increase their activity time into the night. With all that new-found time on their hands, they began to think, make tools, and develop culture. Eventually, when the dinosaurs were killed off, humanity was able to expand its activity regions rapidly and began to modernize over several centuries.

All because of fire. Which I didn’t have.

I was beginning to think that this trip outside of the character creation area was taking a while before I realized something. It’s dark, cold, and damp. I can’t see anything in front of me. And it hadn’t felt like we were moving for quite some time.

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Scritch Scritch Scritch.

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I want to go home. Uwaaaaa. I got dumped somewhere underground and I can’t see anything! It’s seriously scary when you can’t even see your hand in front of your face! It’s just this pitch black darkness surrounding me on all sides. What’s even scarier is that I haven’t even bumped into a wall, I’m just aimlessly wandering around hoping to run into something. I can even hear all the small noises of things moving around me because of <<Perception>> which improved my hearing.

Terrifying. I’m certain that they’re somewhere close to me, but it’s impossible to tell where exactly. They’re moving out of my way, but that makes it even scarier to think whatever if making way for me is also following me. I’ve been trying to avoid the direction where I can hear them, but it’s like the skittering noises are everywhere I try to go. All I’m doing is listening for the noises and heading away from them.

<<Perception has advanced to Lv. 2.>>

Gee thanks. Just what I wanted. I don’t think anything even changed, because I certainly can’t tell. I’m scared!

<<Arachnophobia Lv. 1 has been acquired>>

Arachnophobia: Prolonged proximity/contact to creatures of the arachnid species will induce the status condition of Panic. Higher levels of this skill allow less time to be needed for Panic to be induced and may upgrade Panic to more debilitating statuses.

. . . Hey hey hey hey hey hey. What just happened. Arachnophobia? There’s no way those can be spiders. Seriously? Spiders stick to their webs, right? They don’t crawl all over the ground.

Suddenly, all the noises around me just stopped. You’d think I would be happy. Ya nai. This is like a bad horror flick.

<<Arachnophobia has advanced to Lv. 2.>>

<<Perception has advanced to Lv. 3.>>

<<Arachnophobia has advanced to Lv. 3.>>

<<Arachnophobia has advanced to Lv. 4.>>

The worst part is not being able to see. Being left in the dark robbed me of vital information on how I should make plans for survival. Should I learn a skill for night vision? Or maybe sonar? Or was there something else that would help me more? I only have 2 skill points left though. What am I supposed to do about the spiders? Stare them to death with night vision? I bet these spiders are humongous and there must be tons of them. Would they leap at me as soon as I can see them? Would a single bite kill me? I barely have any resistance to poison if they’re toxic. I don’t want to die!

<<Arachnophobia has advanced to Lv. 5.>>

<<Arachnophobia has advanced to Lv. 6>>

Can <<Arachnophobia>> stop levelling up?! Before I had even realized, the menu screen was already in front of me, glowing faintly in the dark. Not enough to see anything around me except my hand though.

<<Status: Panic has been applied.>>

Oh jeez. Oh jeez oh jeez oh jeez. It was as if everything was waiting for me to make a mistake. Should I just learn a shield skill to protect myself? But I have no way to fight back, I’ll just be battered till I die! Why is it so hard to think of things? Is this the effect of panic? Are you telling me the <<Panic>> status makes me panic?

That skill? Yes, that skill! I’ll take it!

<<Vulka Lv. 1 has been acquired.>>

Vulka: A fire-type magic that deals low fixed damage for a low mana cost. Summons a small will-o-wisp like flame that follows the caster. Unaffected by the INT stat.

ATK: 2 MP: 1

“Vulka!”

Agh! My eyes! Why didn’t I think this through? It’s so bright my eyes are tearing up. I groaned as I held my hands to my face and bent over in pain. I’m not going to go blind from this am I? It’s not like looking at the sun is it? Luckily, the things around me were just as vulnerable to the sudden light as I was and ran off screeching. If they hadn’t, I would’ve been a nearly perfect target since I had basically blinded myself. As soon as I recovered though, there was a much larger issue on hand than nearly going blind.

“W-wha..”

<<Arachnophobia has advanced to Lv. 7.>>

<<Arachnophobia has advanced to Lv. 8.>>

<<Arachnophobia has advanced to Lv. 9.>>

<<Arachnophobia has advanced to Lv. 10.>>

<<The Arachnophobia skill has been maxed.>>

<<Willpower decrease has been negated by Mental Fortitude.>>

<<Insanity has been negated by Mental Fortitude.>>

I couldn’t even make a move. I was too terrified to, because right in front of me was a gigantic white spider with shining red eyes. Although I wanted to stay still and not move an inch, not even to breathe, my legs gave out from underneath me. I could feel a warm feeling spreading in my lower body. Slowly backing away was no longer an option. My breathing rapidly quickened and my heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest.

I ran. Left. Right. Left. Right. Even as I stumbled I kept on running. That’s the only thing that mattered right now. I should have been running so much sooner. Why didn’t I start running sooner?!

<<Procrastination has succeeded. Action speed increase by 500% with 1000% resource usage buff has been applied.>>

Anywhere but here was better.

Hana 4: Weaker than a NPC

Oh god. Oh no. Oh goooooood. Oh noooooooooooooo.

What the hell was wrong with this class card. There’s so many issues here that I can barely hold myself together right now as my hands run themselves frantically over my face and through my hair. The amount of problems with this wasn’t even on a barely usable level, it was downright nonfunctioning. First, why in the world is this class card called <<Demon Lord>>. The <<Demon Lord>> is supposed to be strong, right?!

Was the skill <<Divine Retribution>> supposed to be a joke? Is this you messing with me Focker? Even if the <<Mana Capacitator>> regenerates mana faster, it’s absolutely pointless if my mana pool isn’t even big enough to cast spells. The skill <<Procrastination>> is probably based off me, but why are its effects so excessive? 5x the action speed, but 10x the needed resources? That’s already a questionable thing to use, but then you add in a fixed failure rate of 50%? You don’t even have the resources to use this thing anyway because of <<Divine Retribution>>! It looks like <<Mental Fortitude>> was added to negate the Willpower points lost by <<Procrastination>>, which might have been a good combination if not for the other horrendous pick of skills. But did I mention <<Divine Retribution>>?!

There’s just a weird mismatch of synergy in this skillset and I have only a faint idea of what to do to remedy things. And it isn’t even going to fix the class, it’s just a band aid on top so I don’t get killed with my new grand total of 2 Health points. Can’t forget about <<Divine Retribution>>. I’ve been given 3 skill points like a normal Auo starting player, but in reality, it’s more like 1 to freely spend. The skill <<Perception>> is an absolute necessity inside of Auo, and I can only assume that the same must apply here, so 1 point is already decided upon. Another skill point must be kept in reserve in case there is ever a skill that I need to urgently pick up, and can mean the difference between life or death for me.

Well. I’m already teetering on the border of life and death, so normal precautions can be thrown to the wind if need be. Since 1 point is being used on <<Perception>> and the other as an emergency point, I have only 1 point to somehow cover up the glaring weaknesses of the <<Demon Lord>> class.

To be honest, I don’t know anything that fits the bill. The best option would be to just remove <<Divine Retribution>> and normalize my stats. It should be possible to learn a purification skill, but <<Divine Retribution>> itself is a skill, not a removable status. One of the few flaws in Auo was that there was no way to remove or reset skills. Not that there was usually a reason to, unless the skill was buggy. They never had a negative side effect unless in active use. Detrimental effect skills like this simply hadn’t existed when I played. Aside from removing it, there isn’t a skill that can completely negate it either. Well, if I had hundreds of points, I could have raised each individual stat booster.

However, when compared to a typical Auo character, I would basically be on the level of useless NPCs(non-player character). But since I didn’t have those stat boosters, I was below even a NPC.

*sob*

It wasn’t something that was going to be solved without a great amount of deliberation anyway. Might as well be more productive. Sudden change of thought, right? It might seem odd of me, but I couldn’t help but wonder what was going to happen next. The big white space around me hadn’t shown any sign of changing and the bed which I woke up on was in the exact same place.

So. . . what now? It had been quite some time since the system voice had spoken, and nothing had happened besides me moping around. There were too many questions and no answers given. I was still assured that Focker was the mastermind behind my situation, but why hadn’t he done anything? Besides totally ruining my class of course.

Confirm name. Check.

Confirm appearance. Skipped.

Confirm class card. Got bamboozled.

Learn first skill. . . oh.

If this is just a copy of the character creation sequence, as soon as I pick my first skill to learn, I would be summoned into the world. Probably unceremoniously dumped in the forest or countryside if I had to guess. On one hand, if I don’t learn a skill, I believe that I’ll just stay in this place. But I’ll probably starve and die if I do that. So the obvious answer is: Learn a skill!

<<Intent to use system functions detected. Materializing System: Structure: Menu>>

A menu screen then popped up. Wow. How cliché. And it would get annoying if that message was said every time I needed to use the menu.

<<System messages have been disabled for System: Structure: Menu>>

Uh huh. Okay then. My mind barely registered surprise at the sudden phenomenon. Apparently my mind had long given up trying to apply logic. I quickly sifted through the lightly glowing and floating transparent screens to access the skills list. Looking for.. P.. here we go.

<<Perception>>: The ability to become aware of your surroundings through the five senses. A mental impression and judgement of the things around you.

It seems like a pretty dull skill right? But it’s definitely the foundation for any kind of battling in Auo! As some wise old man once said, information is half the battle. If you can’t tell how strong it is when you fight it, you’re doomed to die! Only pick battles with things that you can take down!

. . . I’m not sure if I can pick a battle with anything though.

<<Perception Lv. 1 has been learned. 1 skill point has been consumed.>>

<<Forced expulsion from System: Structure: ???>>

Hey, who turned off the lights?

Hana 3: I’m (Not) Okay

Ah… ah… ahh..

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

How cruel. How unbelievably cruel. How terrifyingly cruel. Thousands of possibilities gone in an instant. Millions of possible futures obliterated. Why did I believe that this would be a miraculous story of the adventurer with a cheat ability? That’s not how life works. What made me so blind to my situation? Was I reborn just to be played with? Was I just the passing fancy of some powerful god?

I barely had any control over my life, and now I must submit to the whims of something I don’t even know? It was incredibly foolish to think that reality could become so fantastical. Yes, that’s right. I’m a fool! I’m just a stupid fool! Just put me back where I should have gone!

I can’t stand it. I can’t stand it. I can’t stand it.

What right do you have to bring me back to life in another world?

“Unforgiveable,” whispered a voice to my left.

I won’t be just a simple pawn.

“Unforgiveable,” whispered a voice to my right.

I won’t act like you want me to.

“Unforgiveable.” I whispered to myself.

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But it’s not like I have any real power here as the subtle realization dawned on me. I needed to calm down and understand fully what was going on. Clearly, this “being” wanted me to play a mockery of Auo. I still don’t know why I was picked, but I can’t imagine it was for a good reason. It wasn’t like I was an extraordinary player so it’s hard to believe I was selected unless it was as a joke. What a joke of a god. I have decided to call this being Focker. So I’ll play along for now. And when you grow lazy and complacent…

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Ya nai. I’m not that violent! Believe me! I don’t know what I’ll do when I finally meet Focker, but it won’t come down to a life or death battle. Probably. To sum up what has happened so far, I was killed in a car accident, but was then resurrected by Focker in a world that appears to follow the rules of Auo. Then he burnt all the class cards.

Well, not all of them.

Looking around myself in the encirclement of what were previously hundreds of class cards were three cards that had survived. Apparently, the only ones that meet “specifications” and weren’t eliminated. I couldn’t even mask my disgust when I discovered the identity of the last class cards. Swordsman and Mage were decent enough, even if they were the basic starter cards. A strong foundation is important. Not that I had used either before. Is Archer not here just to spite me? Terrible.

However, the final card was the custom class card. How excited and happy I would have been to use this a few minutes ago. It was this very thing that made me regret dying.  Something that should have filled me with hope only caused me needless caution. Isn’t this just another trap by Focker? Won’t I be tricked into an absolutely trash class?

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But Focker most likely would have realized that I would reach this selfsame conclusion. To further increase my despair, this class card was most likely the very embodiment of everything in a class that I wanted. Something that would put my dream of the Archer and Mana Creationalist combination to shame. By choosing one of the other cards and then showing me this one, I would become wracked with regret and behave nonsensically, which I can only imagine makes the sick god happy. And then the card would be snatched away.

The obvious conclusion to this should be to choose the Swordsman or Mage class card.

But I refuse.

I choose the custom class card!

<<The class card: “Demon Lord” has been selected.>>

<<The skills: “Mana Capacitator; Divine Retribution; Mental Fortitude; Procrastination;” have been learned.>>

<<Status values have been adjusted.>>

 

Demon Lord: Hana Lv. 1

Health Points(HP):       2/2(20)

Mana Points(MP):        2/2(20)

Stamina Points(SP):     2/2(20)

Willpower Points(WP): 2/2(20)

Strength:                    1/1(10)

Intelligence:                1/1(10)

Agility:                        1/1(10)

Resistance:                  10%(100%)

Skill Points: 3

Mana Capacitator: An unnatural affinity with mana has been established. Mana channels within the body have been expanded. Natural MP regeneration is increased by 500%.

Divine Retribution: Punishment inflicted by a god. All statuses are reduced by 90%.

Mental Fortitude: Mental strength that has been obtained from arduous trials and is not easily corroded. WP decreases are negated.

Procrastination: Allows the execution of actions at 500% of the original speed, but consumes 1000% of needed resources with a 50% success rate. Consumes n% WP at a constant rate.

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I curled up into a fetal position on the floor.

Hana 2: The Ultimate Combo. . . Ruined

Hi again! I’m still alive!

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Is what I’d like to say, but this place feels suspiciously like the afterlife! My own apartment was a mess, with fast food boxes scattered all over the place, and clothes strewn everywhere. Dirty dishes I never washed piled up in the sink. Instant cup noodles, Chinese takeout, and pizza boxes were shoved into random corners. But when I woke up, everything was just so clean and pristine. Snow white walls surrounded me on all sides and the scent of coffee was in the air.

Even the bed was totally superior to my own! Not that I was really picky about where I slept, but my old bed had been pretty nice. It’s just that the bed I’m in right now is so much nicer. All in all, I think I would give the afterlife a 8/10.

Huh? This isn’t the afterlife? I was clearly run over by a car you know. I didn’t really even have that many regrets. My pc will be disposed of by my friend and no one will ever know the contents of my hard disk. I didn’t have much money in my bank account, so there’s no problem with fights over inheritance.

Oh no. The custom class card. Why did I have to die before using that? Oh well, it’s not like I can do anything about it. I’ll just go back to sleep.

Thump.

            Ow. I was unceremoniously pushed out of the bed and onto the floor, but when I looked behind me, there was nothing there. …Weird. Rather, what is this transparent menu in front of me. Could it be that fantasy-like development where I’ve been reincarnated in another world and have a ton of cheat like abilities? Unlike the characters in those novels though, I have absolutely no qualms about abusing my power to do whatever I want.

Hmm, hmm. As expected of such a convenient thing, it works exactly the same as Auo. Unfortunately, none of the things I had earned while alive had been carried over. That made me a little depressed. Everything would have to be built up again all the way from the beginning.

When you first started Auo, you customized your character, gave yourself a name, etc miscellaneous details. Then, you chose your class cards, and a skillset after that. It’s actually possible to have an infinite number of class cards on, but having more than 2 active class cards applied a severe class penalty.

I previously had gone with a pure archery class build though, since I wanted to take more skills from the archer class.

<<What is your name?>>

            Ah, this prompt brings back memories. There hadn’t been that many players when Auo first launched, but I still rushed to get the name that I wanted. It would make more sense to make it my real name now, wouldn’t it though? Ya nai. Yeah no. I feel like using that name would just constantly remind me of how I died.

<<Is “Hana” correct?”>>

            Mhm, yes. The legend of Hana shall be reborn once more into this world! Usually there would be an introduction video introducing you to Auo at this point and then character customization, but the prompt just skipped straight to class card selection. I kind of wanted to change my appearance through the system, so that made my heart ache a little on the inside.

<<Physical initialization of Structure: Class: Cards has been started. Please wait.>>

            Hmmmmmmm? What’s this? Soon after the strange announcement, cards began to start materializing around me in an all-encompassing circle, until the last cards ended up a few meters away from me. There are seriously a ton of classes in Auo, and all I wanted to pick was Archer and one other.

It’s obvious that I should pick Archer because it’s what I’ve played for all of my time in Auo. But the other class that I wanted to pick up, Mana Creationalist, is what would truly make this an amazing combination. Back in the game, it was possible for classes to synergize well, but you couldn’t just merge their skills together. For example, if I had Swordsman and Axeman as my class cards, I wouldn’t be able to use the skill <<Axe Throw>> when I had a sword in hand.

But right now, this isn’t Auo. I was betting on the faint possibility that instead of being restricted by the game rules, it would be possible for me to pull off something like throwing a sword when using <<Axe Throw>>.

What does that have to do with my class combination though? Well see here, the basic skill of Archer is <<Shoot>>, which allows you to hit something with whatever is in your hand. I could even throw an axe or sword ironically, but the damage is based off the weapon versus the skill in that case. There’s almost no reason to use anything besides a bow and arrow because the bow gets the skill modifiers. At max level, it was possible to launch multiple projectiles through the air by using <<Shoot>>.

But wait! Mana Creationalist is a support class that creates items using magic and mana. How could that possibly be useful to a dps class like Archer? Normally, it would be truly a horrible idea to put these together, An absolutely terrible choice. However, because this is a world where I can move my own hands and feet, and not just my character through a computer, there was an entire realm of possibilities open to me.

Such as creating purely damage focused, low durability mana swords, and then using the skill <<Shoot>> to launch them! Ahahahah. It’s just like the Gates of *lyon. Nothing will be able to stop my rain of destruction!

<<Class card usage has been restricted. Removing card from Structure: Class: Cards..”>>

            Hot hot hot hot ow ow ow why are my beautiful cards burning up. NO. In an instant, the two cards I had painstakingly searched for in the hundreds around me were now on the ground, burning to ash, until even the ash was gone.

<<Further usage of Structure: Class: Cards has been restricted.>>

<<Removing non-specificants..>>

            Cards began to light up all around me like me like candles for an unholy, satanic ritual to summon the damned.