//------------------------------// // 2 - Finding my way // Story: The Chaotic Gamer // by Silver_Fang15 //------------------------------// I walked down the street, taking in the sight of the rural-style town around me. The atmosphere was quite homely, to say the least. In my childhood, I'd spent a couple years in the countryside before moving to the city, so the place felt familiar, in a way. People were walking all around me, some giving me a look, but none really seemed to care much about me. I also got some polite nods, and the odd smile from the friendlier people. As it could only be useful, I popped an Analysis on a random person. Name: Time Turner Age: 35 Species: Terran (+25% effect to plant and earth-related skills, +50% HP) LV: 27 HP: 2.400/2.400 MP: 1.760/1.760 STR: 23 VIT: 25 DEX: 38 INT: 41 WIS: 20 LUK: 10 CHA: 13 I furrowed my brow at the different species. What was up with that? I used Analysis a couple more times. Name: Vinyl Scratch Age: 29 Species: Magi (+25% effect to all magic-related skills, +50% MP) Name: Ditzy Doo Age: 34 Species: Avian (+25% effect to all weather-related and DEX-reliant skills) Those three species kept repeating, to the point where I theorized that I was in a settlement inhabited by only those three species. In my aimless wandering, I had reached what seemed to be the town's marketplace. There, I could see many people milling about. Straining my senses, I learned that the currency here was called 'bits', and that they had the aspect of metallic coins; I could see copper and silver being traded around, in fact. "I need to get me some money, some way. I'd rather not resort to stealing. The people here seem pretty nice," I thought, still walking around, occasionally giving a look to one stall or the other to blend in. A screen popped up. Currency added: Bits Bit counter added to Status Out of curiosity, I decided to open my Status and give it a look. Chaos points: 10 Bits: 20 Wait, so that's what the question mark meant! Well, at least it was there, and it was one less thing for me to worry about. And since I had gained some money from the quest, maybe I could buy myself some food. I gave a more careful look around, and came to a conclusion: bits had about the same value as an American dollar. Well, that was good for me: I just had to remember to say 'bits' and not 'bucks'. Heh. I'm hopeless. Nonetheless, I proceeded in buying as much food as I could, at least the ones that I could eat without cooking. So fruit, bread, cheese, and a small pie. A decently healthy meal, and I had enough to last me for the day. Maybe even tomorrow if I were to be careful. While I walked away from the market, I thought back to one interesting woman I'd met there. "Here's yer apples, sir. Five bits." Under the pretense to dig in my pocket, I pulled the coins out of thin air, and deposited them in the woman's hand. "Thank you, ma'am." I was about to leave, when something else caught my eye. "Actually, how much is it for that pie?" She looked down to where I was pointing. "Oh, the small one? Five bits too." I glanced at my counter: that would leave me with only one bit, but... I really needed something to clear my mind, and sweets tended to do it for me. Then again, I could need the money for something more important... "Is sumthin' the matter?" She asked me. I had been stuck deciding what to do for a bit now. "Oh, no. Not at all. Just deciding if I can allow myself to get it. Trying to cut a bit on the sweets, you see," I lied as naturally as I breathed. Or maybe not. "That's a lie if I ever heard one. Now," she leaned forward a bit "I can tell sumthin' 's eatin' at ya. You ain't got to tell me, it ain't my place to pry anyway. Still, try to not lie to my face, or anypony really, like that." I grimaced at being reprimanded like that. I felt like a little kid, for crying out loud! Although, one part of what she said surprised me. 'Somepony' ? What in the hell?! What happened to someone, everyone, the things that make sense?! Something was very wrong with my life. I was ready to put all that behind me, though. "You know what? I think I'll take the pie, after all." I placed the coins on the table and picked up the pie. "Thank you for everything." Thus, I left. I may have been a little rude at the end, but whatever. She had no right to say that kind of stuff to my face. "Try not to lie to my face! Yeah, sure. What's with her? I'll lie if I have to, she can't stop me." Bah, whatever. One reason less to think about her, and to concentrate on other stuff. First, I had finally eaten, so I was happy about that. Secondly, I had to find some new money, which would be a problem. I should find myself a job, but what could I do? I could swing a sword, but just barely. I could be quiet when walking, but that wouldn't help much. I was allegedly good with Chaos magic, but I had no idea where to even begin with that. I hanged my head in desperation. All I could think of were four possibilities: find someone, or 'somepony' kind enough to take me in while I look for a job, steal money, go kill things in the forest to get stronger and apply as a guard or something (I had seen some, and they seemed rather medieval in their armaments), or try to find Zecora, and hope she would take pity on me. Stealing and going to Zecora were two things I really didn't want to do, for two reasons: I was too prideful to crawl back, and stealing would bring with itself a whole load of trouble, more than a few bits was worth. Killing stuff... I thought back to earlier that day, and grimaced. I didn't enjoy that prospect. Sure, we had been attacked, so I was forced; I would rather not go looking for targets. My only workable choice was to beg, huh? It left a bad taste in my mouth, but... needs must. I was currently sitting on the railing of a bridge, watching the river's water flow by, when I heard the sound of a cart coming from the town. I turned around, hoping to see Zecora, but was left disappointed. It was the apple girl. It actually sounded quite rude to call her that, I should probably ask for her name. First, though... "Er, hello again," I started. "I wanted to apologize for how I acted earlier. I'm not really used to people worrying about me, so I took it the wrong way. I'm really sorry." My pride was making a racket, but I had to suck it up and act like I meant it. She looked at me for a bit, proably trying to remember where she'd seen me. Then, her eyes lit up in recognition. "No, no, don't ya worry. I get where yer comin' from. As ah said, it ain't my place to pry. We both messed up, so let's just forget it, aye?" I was glad to do so. "Sure thing. I'm Nicholas," I said, as I stretched my hand out to her. She shook it with enough power to make me worry if she dislocated it. "Name's Applejack. Nice to meet'cha. Now, if ya don't mind, I need to get the cart home." With that, she continued to pull the cart. I tool the chance to commit her looks to memory, if only because I tend to forget people after a short while. Golden locks under a stetson hat, vibrant green eyes, some freckles on tanned skin, a good amount of muscle, just enough to be attractive, flannel shirt, mid-tight jeans shorts, and some worn boots. I already had and idea of what I'd see if I Analyzed her. Name: Applejack Age: 22 Species: Terran (+25% effect to physical and earth-related skills, +50% HP) LV: 47 HP: 4.275/4.275 MP: 2.600/2.600 STR: 65 VIT: 50 DEX: 45 INT: 25 WIS: 40 LUK: 15 CHA: 30 "Welp, let's not get the Apple pissed at me, ok?" She didn't seem to object when I decided to walk alongside her, so I decided to strike up a conversation. "You have to lug this cart around everyday? Must be exhausting." Real smooth there, Nick. She chortled a bit, probably amused at my pitiful attempt. "Not as much as ya'd think, it ain't that heavy to me. And even then, me and mah bro take turns at this. "But that ain't what ya wanna talk about, innit?" I grimaced. I really didn't think this trough, did I? Should I tell her? My shoulders sagged. Yeah, might as well. I had nothing to lose at that point. "You're right. But for that, I need to go back to yesterday. You see, I'm not from anywhere near here." "Guessed as much, with the name and whatnot." "...Ok. Anyway, I'm not sure what happened, but I randomly woke up in the middle of the forest over there. 'Everfree', I think it's called?" "Wait, ya were there for a whole day? How are ya still in one piece?" She exclaimed. I shrugged. "Luck, mainly. I had some help. Still, I wandered for a whole day, as you said, and run into one 'Zecora' pony." I shuddered inwardly. It felt very weird to say that. "She helped me get out, but we had to part ways. Still, I don't know how I got there, or even where we are right now-" I hurried to finish before I was interrupted "-in relation to my home. I didn't live anywhere near a forest, I've never even heard of the Everfree before!" Applejack's brow furrowed, processing what I told her. "So, you're lost, without a place to stay, and nothin' on ya?" I nodded my head sullenly. "Yeah, pretty much. Had some money, at least. It's all gone now, though." I felt Applejack's hand on my shoulder, and I rose my head a bit to look at her. Wasn't too difficult, as I was taller than her. "Hey now, at least ya got some food in ya, right?" I nodded. "Good. Now, I think I can help ya fer a while. We've got an extra room at the farm, jus' lemme talk a bit with mah folks." I was moved by her selflessness. Or was it kindness? Or maybe she was generous? No matter, she was being useful. I might just have to forgive her for before. Might. I was sitting outside Applejack and her family's house, on the porch. I could hear some voices from the inside, but couldn't make anything out. Probably for the better, intruding could ruin my chances. In the meantime, I was admiring the setting sun over the orchad. It would definitely make for a nice picture. Maybe I could draw it? I'd rather avoid letting my skills rust. I never really talked about my past, have I? Well, there ain't much to say about my childhood, it was pretty generic. The important stuff was that I was about to graduate from Uni, planning to become an artist. I also had a little brother, who was about to start Uni himself; wanted to become a physicist, that little bugger. While I was stuck in the past, I failed to notice the door opening, but I did notice when someone sat next to me. I turned to the person in question. She looked like a mini-Applejack, except for the red hair. "Hi" she begun. "Hello." "Why are you sitting here?" she asked, voice flat as her stare. "I'm waiting for Applejack. You?" "They started arguing. I didn't wanna listen to them." She shrugged, and looked away. "Hm. I see. Who are you, anyway?" "Applebloom. Applejack's little sister." "Nice to meet you, I guess. I'm Nicholas. Some poor shmuck that your sister decided to help." We both sat in silence for a while, when the sounds coming from inside settled down. "It seems like they stopped," I piped up. "Yup." "Do you think I should leave before the mountain of muscle inside comes out and punts me away?" "Nah. Mac's not that violent. He'd probably just tell you to go." "I see. Any chance they'll let me stay?" "I dunno. Mac seemed on the winning side when I left." I sighed. My hopes took a big hit from that. Soon, the door opened, and I heard steps from behind me. "So, I've got good news and bad news." I recognized Applejack's voice. "Good news is that ya can stay. Bad news, is that Mac wants to have words with ya." I huffed, and stood up. "Let's not make him wait, then." We went inside. There, sitting at the table, was the man in question. I know I said he was a mountain of muscle, but I wasn't joking: he was about 6 ft 8, and was twice as wide as me! I felt puny just being in the same room, and I was the one standing! He gave a look to the girls, and they went outside, Applejack giving me an apologetic look. Mac gestured for me to take a chair, and I did so, sitting right in front of him. "I dunno exactly what ya told mah sister, but I don't trust ya in the slightest," He began "so I'll make it clear now: mess with my sisters, or grandma, and I'm punting you outta here faster than ya can say 'buck'." "Called it," I muttered. "I understand, and to be honest, I can't blame you for it. I'll do my best to not waste this chance." "You better," he said, and went upstairs. I remained sitting, pondering just what were the chances of both of us saying the same thing. While I was doing that, Applejack and Applebloom came back in. "So, what'd he say?" Applejack asked me. "He said that if I were to mess with any of you, I'd get punted out of here." I turned to look at Applebloom "Called it.." She gave a chocked laugh, to my amusement. The next morning, I was woken up by someone knocking on my temporary room's door. "C'mon Nicholas! Up and at 'em! Just 'cause yer a guest it doesn't mean ya can slack off!" I grumbled some sort of half-assed response, and rolled out of bed. Opening the door, I saw Applejack looking ready for the day. "Go clean yerself up, breakfast is almost ready. An' after that, we've got work to do!" She left on that note, prompting a new screen to pop up in my vision. New daily quest - An apple a day... Objective: Help around the farm. Reward: +10 XP, +5 Bits Well... that was a way to get money and XP without going out to steal and/or kill. It was a low pay, but appreciated. Actually, could I increase my physical stats trough training? I understood that my levels would add points to my stats on their own, but could I influence them on my own? Things to add on my mental list. I went to clean myself up as I was told, then joined everyone downstairs. There, I met someone new. She was an old lady, with her gray hair kept in a bun, and with a spark in her eyes which showed the youth in her. I assumed that that was the 'granny' Mac warned me about. "Oh, an' who 're ya?" She asked, getting a look at me. She immediately turned to Applejack. "AJ, ya didn't tell me that ya had yer coltfriend over! Ah didn't know ya even had one!" Applejack started stuttering, trying to force out words at a speed her mouth wasn't meant to, ending up to sound hilarious. Applebloom cackled at her sister's embarrassment, while Mac didn't seem too impressed and proceeded to place his plate in the sink, leaving presumably to get to work. I couldn't help but let out a couple snickers myself, while sitting down and grabbing a plate. "I'm sorry to say that we aren't a couple, ma'am. Your granddaughter just let me spend the night here," I informed the older woman, after which I stated eating. "Apple fritter! This might actually be a good day." "Oh, I thought it was sumthin' of the sort, sonny. Ah jus' couldn't not take the chance to mess with lil' AJ here." "Call it a gut feeling, but I believe we'll get along quite well, ma'am." "Oh, none of that formal stuff! Call me Granny Smith! E'ryone does!" The rest of the morning was relatively peaceful: tending to crops, feeding animals, tilling the fields for the next crops. It was relaxing, in a mind-numbing way. Sure, the sun started grating on my nerves after a while, but I pulled trough. All the hard work helped, though. You see, my theory was correct. I could, in fact, increase my stats with training. I sat on a barrel, panting hard. My arms were burning, and fingers were shaking. I rested for about ten minutes, doing my best to bring my breathing under control again. Apparently my HP regeneration affected also my fatigue, as slowly but surely I was feeling much better. After another five minutes, I felt as good as new. A small screen popped up in the lower left corner of my vision. Working your muscles until they collapsed increased your STR by 1! Expending all of your stamina increased your VIT by 1! I grinned. If getting gains was so easy now, I could go on indefinitely, getting stronger with every break! Of course, if I had no skills, then it would be a problem in the long run. Call it a hunch, but for what I knew of games, I wouldn't have much until the true shitstorm began. "Alright, back to work." With all the grueling farm work, my STR went up by three in total, and VIT increased by two. Quest complete - An apple a day… Rewards: +10 XP, +5 Bits I grinned a bit, and finished lunch. The Apple family was a very nice bunch… except for one, but I could see where he was coming from. Still, it didn't feel right to leech off of them for too long. Also, I needed the XP. Quests and fighting, to my knowledge, were my only ways of increasing my power in a substantial way. It irritated me, but I hadn't much of a choice: I would have to return to the Everfree later on. Possibly at night. For the half-day I had, instead, I wanted to try to learn magic. It may be wasted effort, but let's put it this way: I learned stealth without having a rouge class. Who said I couldn't learn magic without a mage class? The written language had become a non-issue, as in my room I'd found some books that I could, in fact, read. At first it was the usual jumbled mess, but a moment after everything seemed to snap into place, and I could read perfectly. A message popped up in front of me, telling me that something called a "translation matrix" was back online, and apologizing for the inconvenience. I excused myself from the table, and directed myself into town, looking for a public library. Not too long after, I was standing in front of a gigantic tree, with a door and windows on it. I could see even a balcony with a telescope poking out, so I assumed someone lived there, probably on the higher floors. From what I was told, the library should have been open at that hour, so I knocked and let myself in. "Hello? May I come in?" I asked, as I stepped inside. One could never be too safe. The walls were chock-full of books, and in the middle was a round table with some chairs around it. Someone popped their head out from a door on the side of the room. It was a kid, about 14/15 years old, with wild green hair and purple eyes. "Can I help you?" He asked back. I shrugged. "Well, I suppose so. I was looking for some books on magic." The kid gave me a deadpan stare. "About a quarter of the library is about magic. I'll need you to elaborate." I shuffled awkwardly. "Look, it's a long story. Just get me something about the basics and I'll be out of here." He quirked a eyebrow at my request, but otherwise showed no outward reaction. He went to a shelf on the back, picked up a book and handed it over to me. "Bring it back within two weeks, or drop by to let us know that you need more time, mr. Basics." He said after I signed my name on some book I assumed was used as a register. I wanted to be offended, but he hadn't really done anything wrong, so I replied with: "I'll be sure to do that. Goodbye." I slipped away, but took the chance to Analyze him at the last moment. Name: Spike Age: 15 Species: Drake (+25% effect to fire-based skills, +100% HP & MP) LV: 12 HP: 1.460/1.460 MP: 1.580/1.580 STR: 11 VIT: 13 DEX: 15 INT: 19 WIS: 22 LUK: 5 CHA: 10 Sheesh. Kid had some low luck on his side. Well, it's not like I could do anything about that, could I? I was currently sitting under the shade of a tree deep in the orchad, so that no one would disturb me. The title of the book I was given, 'Magic for dummies', had left me quite miffed, but I was surprised that the 'for dummies' series existed even here. I wasn't exactly complaining about that fact, though. The descriptions were detailed enough to let a magical n00b like me understand what we were talking about. The book talked about what magic was, how to harness it, and how to give it a shape. Such a way to cast, as the book said, was very inefficient, but the high energy cost would help foals (I still narrowed my eyes at reading that, for multiple reasons) increase their control and magical capacity due to the strain; along with lowering the possible damage. As I could do barely anything with magic, it was best for me to learn step-by-step, like a child. Or foal. Whatever. The first step was to locate your magical core. That was easier said than done for me, as I had no idea how to go about it. Then, I had an idea spark in my mind: in many media, a low reserve of magic can be felt to some degree. Thus, if I were to deplete all my mana, or MP, I should've been able to feel some sort of emptiness inside. Devising a good strategy increased your WIS by 1! Even the game agreed. Thus, I brought out my sword, and readied myself to use for the first time a combat skill. Fortunately, just thinking the skill's name was enough to activate it; having to yell it would've been… counterproductive. Anyway, I could feel my legs and arms filling with energy, propelling me forward extremely fast, at the same time swinging my sword extremely hard. It was over in less then a second, and I was left almost falling down at the sudden deceleration. Using so many MP in one sitting wasn't something I was used to, and as such I could feel some sort of empty feeling somewhere in my chest. I couldn't exactly pinpoint where, but I knew that I was getting close to my goal. Another use of Blade Rush and the emptiness gave way to pain. It wasn't incapacitating, but definitely annoying. I feared using the skill once more, but I needed to see what would happen if my MP got very low. I crashed down to the ground as soon as the skill cut off, grasping at my chest, slightly above my heart. "I regret everything…" I groaned, while bursts of agonizing pain stretched out from that particular spot. After several minutes, the pain lessened enough that I could sit up. With some mental math I came to a conclusion: "If I go lower that 70-75%, I feel empty. If I go lower than 50%, it hurts. If it's less than 20%, it becomes agonizing. At this point, if it gets to 10%, I might black out. I don't know what would happen even less than that, but I definitely don't want to try." With my assessment done, I went back to resting to refill my MP, putting away the sword. Once I felt ready, I tried to feel out my mana core. It took some tries, but I could feel a light warmth spreading from above my heart to all of my body. The core didn't seem bigger than a peach seed, but then again I knew I had very low MP reserves. The book detailed that to bring the mana out of one's body, they needed to coax it out, making it follow the body's natural paths. I tried doing just that, grabbing a small part, but all I succeeded in was moving it a bit, before it slipped out of my 'grip'. I tried again and again, trying different methods until I got it just right. I brought the mana to my hand, and observed what I had done. My hand was shimmering in a very slight grey tint, almost white. My MP was ticking down slowly, so I went on to follow the book's next step: telekinesis exercises. I located a pebble, about fifteen grams all in all, and tried to coat it in my magic. I managed to do so. Now came the moment of truth: could I lift it? I could! Well, for a couple seconds, then I had to set it down. I was ecstatic: I had managed to cast a magic spell on my own! After a lot of pain, sure, but still! I opened the book again to see what else it would say, but I had apparently finished it without noticing. Since you learned multiple new things, your INT increased by 3! New skill learned: Mana affinity (minimal) - passive - no cost * You can use some mana, if you concentrate a lot. * +5% spell damage * +1 INT With ever-growing glee, I returned to practicing with my telekinesis, testing my limits and trying to improve my efficiency. About one and a half hours in, I made a breakthrough: I didn't need to coat the objects fully in mana to make them move! It was enough to coat the underside, like a bowl, and to put some extra mana in the direction I wanted the item to move. That increased my efficiency a lot! My current limit for lifting was one item, no heavier than one kilogram. I even gained a skill with that! Telekinesis (minimal) - active - 50 MP/item/minute * Move things without touching them! Spooky! * Maximum weight: 1 Kg * Maximum items: 1 I couldn't keep it up for too long, as even ten minutes was enough to push me to less than half of my reserves. It would still be a great asset, if used correctly! It could be a diversion, or I could fling something in an opponent's face to disorient them! It was an all-around great skill to have.