Two more chapters left to go today.
Also, this week, I'll stop doing Bonus chapters for Power Stones until we catch up with the original work.
The reason for this is due to how overwhelmed I am right now with work.
It also ties to why I stopped doing double chapters, if I had kept that, the average of chapters every week per day would be around 3...
It's a tad much, even with 2 per day.
That's why I'll only keep the Golde Tockets side chapters for now.
Even then, there are many chapters left to be posted...
I hope you all can understand it.
Thank you.
Peace!
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Wait! You can find the links to my Discord Server and other Novels in the Synopsis of this Novel.
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/Several hours later, deep in the night.../
Dale could be seen laying on his bed, thinking...
He remained there, conflicted, not moving in the slightest, because if he did, his Skill would be undone.
Feeling the Mana move around his body naturally, he breathed in and out as he related on the bed.
"It's quite the strange feeling..."
'But I wonder if this is going to work?... Or if it'll end in some undesirable consequences...'
'This Skill is a bit confusing.'
[Confluence 0-Star has been deactivated]
"What? Did I move too much?" Dale questioned out loud as he got up from bed
"Whatever, I don't have all day."
'I can test it again later.'
'But no matter what, I'll only postpone the inevitable if I stay here any longer...'
[Log Off?]
"Yes please, it's already quite late and my body needs some sleep."
'I should also prepare for the pain…' Dale thought to himself as his vision blackened…
…
/Back in the real world…/
[User has disconnected, initiating log-out procedures] The mechanical voice of the pod said as several lights lit up at the same time
It beeped a few more times before saying:
[Quick System Check: All systems nominal]
[Current body condition: Within expected parameters, slightly high blood pressure]
[It's safe to continue]
Like before, the blue liquid Dale was in started to get drained, and in less than half a minute, all of it went away, leaving Dale suspended by the black mechanical arm tied to his waist like a puppet.
/Beep!/
The machine beeped loudly, indicating that Dale had...
/Gasp!!/
Inside the translucent black helmet, Dale's eyes suddenly darted open as he drew in a quick breath.
"Huff... Huff..."
'The sudden jolt I have every time I log off… I still can't used to it.'
"Put me down." Dale ordered the Virtual intelligence of the Pod as he felt the numbness on the tip of his fingers
As it did so, it said:
[Welcome back Dale, breathe slowly and…]
But just like last time, Dale ignored the machine and closed his eyes, letting his body recover its functions slowly…
He pinched his legs, arms, and waist, quickly recovering his sense of touch.
[Your body has recovered all normal functions]
"Oh? That was faster than before…"
'Is it due to my increased Constitution? Or is it because this machine is simply too fucking good? Perhaps both...'
'In the first place, just how does my body change in the real…'
/Shua!/
The doors of the pod's chamber opened, making the air from outside rush inside, abruptly interrupting Dale's thought process.
[You are free to remove your helmet at any time Dale]
"Sigh... I guess some questions are meant to not be answered." Dale said out loud, disappointed
/Click!/
He removed his helmet and breathed in the 'fresh' air of the room.
"It smells of... Vanilla?"
[Your mother passed by exactly 7 minutes ago and lit up a Vanilla candle after exclaiming this room smelled of sweat] The House Virtual intelligence replied as Dale took a step out of the pod
"Mother?..."
"Who's home right now?" He asked as he moved around
[Your mother and father have just returned from work, it seems something happened with each of their workplaces, your brother, on the other hand, returned quite a while ago and is currently inside his Pod]
"Mom and Dad are home?... What time is it?"
'I logged out of the game when it was 00:12 Am, so it should be… Around 6 pm?'
[It's currently 6:04 pm]
"Hm… I got it right."
Stretching his body, Dale did a few light exercises as he thought about what to do now.
'Although it's rather late in the afternoon, perhaps I can finally have a decent meal in a more or less normal time instead of eating whatever I find on the fridge whenever I come out of the Pod…'
'Aside from this, taking a look at the development of the other players around the Continent would be a good idea.'
'I should also give my grandparents a call, check out my Lore Archive, and see what I have on the origin and specifics of Mana.'
'And lastly, I wanted to upload something on the Web...'
'The picture of the Commander of the Corps and his Family.'
'I want to see if any player has seen them in the game.'
"It's not like there isn't a risk, but it's too small for me to consider right now, no one should know anything about them apart from me and a few other Villagers."
'Deeming how long it has been, they would likely be all old, but perhaps, someone could find a picture of them out there, and that could be a clue to where the descendants of the Commander could be.'
'If that doesn't work, I would have to seek them out based on the address on the Letters... If there is such a thing.'
'I don't know how the letters were sent in the past, most likely, carrier pigeons, if so, they don't need an address anyway.'
'But there might be a reference to his homeland in them, which would be the same.'
After thinking about what to do, Dale finished his stretches and raised his head to look at the ceiling.
"Phew… What a damn day this was…"
[Information transferring… Complete]
"!!"
'Shit, it took so long I almost forgot about it...'
"Okay... It's here." Dale said with a tense expression
'Every time I come back from the game… The so-called, "Readjustion" of the freaking parameters…'
'And I don't think it'll be any less painful as previous times… No, I'm sure of it, this is going to be as painful as when I stepped out of the Pod for the first time.'
'All because my Stats keep increasing so damn quickly!'
[Accessing… Readjusting configuration based on in-set parameters]
"Here it comes… Any moment now…"
[Biological Core has been processed]
/ZOLT!/
"FUCK!" Exclaimed Dale in pain as his body grew rigid
/Bam!/
Pain suddenly hit all parts of his body like a thunderbolt, making Dale fall onto his knees.
But this time, the pain did not disappear immediately… His entire body seemed to be burning!
His head, his arms, his legs, his lungs… And especially, his heart!
He felt as if someone had stabbed him multiple times at the same time! It was way worse than when that strange creature in the forest cut his shoulder…
/CUT!/
Dale gritted his teeth so damn hard blood started to fall because he bit the tip of his tongue…
This level of pain was greater than the pain he felt during his enlightenment, it was suffocating, and he couldn't even breathe...
The muscles beneath his skin moved, like maggots bellow the leaves, his eyes were red as he cried blood...
The seconds passed, and after 10 eternal seconds, the pain disappeared, leaving a weak and frail Dale behind…
"Haa… Haa…"
Dale had no words on his mind, he couldn't think of any, simply silence, his mind was blank and his eyes were teary…
[Dale? I have detected severe increases in your heart rate, do you need assistance?] The Virtual intelligence of his house asked in a worried tone as a small light twinkled in the ceiling
[Due to your own request, I have disabled my other sensing systems, if you do not reply within 5 seconds I'll reactivate them]
"Urg..."
"N-Haaa…No… J-Just… G…Give me… A moment to f… Fucking breathe…"
[From my analysis, you've been playing Azimuth for the past 24 hours, stopping in between to eat and shower]
[Your body didn't show any signs of abnormalities so far either… Only when you left the Pod]
[It isn't normal to feel severe exhaustion and high heart rates after logging out from Virtual Reality, I recommend you take a few days off before continuing, and if the symptoms persist, for you to visit a nearby doctor]
"Urg..."
Dale rolled his eyes, but even this action hurt...
"I'm okay… For now, just monitor my condition, and if something serious happens, you can contact emergency..." He said in between his breaths
'It isn't bad to have some level of precaution, it may come in handy when I most need it.'
'Still, if I keep up like this I may have a heart attack due to shock…'
'Nevertheless, I should avoid hospitals as much as possible and avoid being analyzed by them...'
'There was a time in the past when I needed to have my blood collected, I had just started training, but the doctor had trouble using the syringe on me.'
'At that time we just laughed it off as he got it not long after, but if they are to try now...'
'I'm scared of what they would even see through the microscope.'
[Understood, however, if such a pattern repeats, I'll have to inform Maddam of your condition]
"Oh God, for everything that is sacred, don't tell mom…" Dale said with a helpless smile as he got up from the ground
'That is the last fucking thing it can do, if she sees me like this, she'll stop me from playing the game for an entire week…'
'No, she'll ban me from even entering the Pod for who knows how long.'
'That would put me at a massive setback… I would lose literally all of my advantages, including the ongoing event…'
'Worse, my character could die from starvation, dehydration, piss his pants, and worse...'
'If my mother does prohibit me from doing so, I may very well consider moving to another house… Even if it takes a toll on my relationship with my parents.'
Dale thought for a moment and arrived at a solution.
'There's only one way to prevent this, and it's logging off more frequently so that the pressure from the readjustion spreads out instead of concentrating on a single moment…'
'Right now, I can't confirm if that'll work, but at least, it should have some effect based on simple deduction.'
'So for now, I can only hope that'll work, at least until I think of another solution.'
'Also, if I understood what this was in the first place, then perhaps, I could devise some plans to minimize its effects… But I'll have to leave that for another time.'
'Each moment here is equal to 3 inside the game, I can't waste my time thinking here.'
"Alright, time to eat…" Dale mumbled with a nod as he walked to the door
'But first… The Green box, I want to see what changed.'
'The Green box is the base of my existence... Although, now that the game launched, if I were to train in real life, would my in-game body change?...'
'Fuck it! I'm asking too many questions...'
Dale opened his other Status as he cleared his head.
...
[Dale Houston (19-year-old)
Body condition: Healthy-9; Tired-1; Sore-5; Satisfied-7; Energetic-5
Lineology: Mixed race -> North America, South America, European.
Physical Data
-Body: 104(129)
-Cognitive: 79(94)
-Mana: 104(238)
Meaningful Abilities: Spear Technique 3.5-Star; Maintain Emotions 3-Star; Willpower 3-Star; Close quarters Combat 3-Star; Exercise 2-Star; Gaming 1.5-Star; Knife Technique 1.5-Star; Analysis 1-Star; Study 1-Star; Spacial Awareness 1-Star
Overall comprehensive Analysis: 1.8 out of 10, nothing much changed, there is still a lot to do if he wishes to be recognized.
Big numbers, but no consistency, a body whose potential has reached a satisfactory level… Yet thankfully, it seems his mind is set on the right track to make use of it.
Passable Spearmanship and basic Combat sense after recent enlightenment, paired with a will to improve and learn, given enough time, perhaps something decent will be born.
It seems he's finally learning about how incapable he is and is actively trying to make up for it, good luck.
]
...
As he read his updated Status, Dale's expression was black…
Especially towards the end.
"Urg…"
'Every damn time, this comprehensive analysis…'
'At least, it became somewhat positive, it isn't insulting me completely like last time, it even wished me good luck... But the score is extremely low.'
'Who is writing this?... Oh God, more questions... I just can't stop making them, I should make a list at this point.'
He smiled slightly with a dejected look.
'A desire to improve?... Can't help but say this has hit the spot.'
'But those stats and Skills… They're now working under the Star grading system, which says a lot.'
'They changed in accordance with my Status in the game… With the exception of one…'
'Knife Technique went from 0-Star to 1.5-Star…'
'Despite how irrelevant it is in the grand scheme of things, it does prove me one thing… The fact that my other Skills can and will be affected by the game...'
'I don't need to have in-game corresponding Skills for them to grow in real life, all of my experience in there is already being accounted for.'
'Previously, I was conflicted.'
'During the last year, I trained a lot inside virtual reality, inside other games as well, and that did alter my Skills, even creating new ones.'
'But this isn't a normal game, I wasn't sure if the Green Box would work properly, especially in the face of everything that has happened with the changes on my body and Status.'
'However, that isn't the case anymore, at least I have an indication it's still working as normal.'
Dale shook his head.
"This doesn't clear all of my questions though..."
"They just keep increasing..."
/Creak.../
He opened the door outside and made his way to the shower.
…
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Notes
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