Let’s see… it’s still kinda hard for me to believe it, but…
I survived the first of the many stupid things Carlotta and Fisalia are totally pnning to make me suffer through!
Just thinking about it gives me this super uncomfortable chill down my spine.
What’s waiting for me in the future?
Only God… and that stupid system know.
I sighed, leaning my back against the soft sheets of my bed. The pale marble ceiling reflected the afternoon light, and the distant murmur of the students filled the air with normalcy. Everything felt calm, like I hadn’t been on the edge of disaster just a few hours ago.
For now, I decided to focus on something else. Something where, at least, I actually had a say.
Choosing the magic css I’d attend this semester.
Before making a decision, I needed to check one thing.
"Stupid Trash," I called out to the system, crossing my arms.
The dialogue window appeared in front of me with a clean glow.
"Seriously, you have no idea how much I love being able to call you that."
It was a small, totally insignificant revenge… but, like, necessary for my mental health.
[User, what do you wish to inquire about on this day?]
"Oh? So now you talk?" I raised an eyebrow. "Before getting into everything I wanna know, tell me something. Why don’t you talk like this when you make me go through ridiculous missions?"
The system took a second longer than it should have to respond.
[This is due to #7273#+ Syntax Error. Which caused ￥€π￡# Τ@α δικαι?μ#ατα δι8αχειρισ##τ? απο=πρρ?φθη6καν. A lock for ***** a ??? in the r&a/id@d.]
... Lock?
Yeah, I kinda saw that coming, that maybe it was something like that… but I definitely read a “Syntax Error,” and that does not sound good.
"Ok, yeah, I get that," I lied. "But what the hell was that whole mess of letters?"
[User does not possess access to that information.]
"...Uh-huh. So basically, you just don’t wanna answer me."
[User, do you wish to access the progression branch?]
"Fine," I gave in. "But answer one st thing. You said I don’t have access to that info… when will I?"
[The user may obtain access upon reaching LV 5 in Non-Elemental Magic.]
Great. Another far-off goal.
Let’s see, could I freak myself out over what I just witnessed? Yeah.
Would that be healthy for my mind? Nope.
So I’ll just leave it for now and worry about that syntax error some other time.
Future Julia, good luck!
"Alright, let’s get to the important stuff."
The system opened up in front of me.
Protagonist Points: 70
My Protagonist Points appeared floating with unnecessary cruelty.
…They weren’t many.
That offended me deeply.
"Seriously? Just that?" I put a hand to my chest. "After everything you put me through, I was at least expecting double."
Whatever. I took a deep breath.
"Let’s see what I can unlock."
[Avaible Upgrades:]
Body Upgrades: Evolution Branches avaible.Mind Upgrades: Evolution Branches avaible.Aura Upgrades: Evolution Branches avaible. Physical Magic: Vitality: LOCKED, Attack: LOCKED, Perception: LOCKED, Defense: Evolution Branches avaible. Non-Elemental Magic: Pending attributes. (Can read the description of each before confirming...)
"Locked?" I asked, totally incredulous when I saw those words. "What’s that even supposed to mean?"
[Physical Magic Traits that are not considered Defensive have been locked. The user has lost the ability to learn other types of Sorcery.]
"WAIT. WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN I CAN’T LEARN ANYTHING ELSE?!"
The system responded without a shred of guilt.
[Quoting direct orders from the user:]
"EVERYTHING TO DEFENSE! DEFENSE! I DON’T NEED TO READ TO KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS! DEFENSE, DEFENSE, DEFENSE! HA, HA, HA! ALL PROTAGONIST POINTS GO TO DEFENSE!"
…
Yeah.
Those were my exact words.
"...I totally screwed myself over."
I covered my face with both hands.
"No way. How can I be this stupid?"
I even vaguely remember how this stupid trash tried to warn me… but of course, I didn’t listen.
I mean, yeah. Defense sounded good. I still think it does, it’s just that… I wouldn’t mind having a couple attacks up my sleeve, you know?
Just in case I have to protect my neck from one of those crazies.
"Seriously, I hate you with every fiber of my being," I muttered. "Alright… Defensive Sorcery, let me see what I’ve got. What are my skills? Because so far you haven’t told me how to use spells!"
[Progression Branch:]
Protagonist Points: 70
Body Upgrades: Vitality (120) P.P Cost: 150Strength (20) P.P Cost: 34Agility (15) P.P Cost: 34Mind Upgrades: Comprehension (Idiot) P.P Cost: 60 Analysis (Infant) P.P Cost: 30 Neural Connections (Human) P.P Cost: 250Aura Upgrades: Max Aura (15) P.P Cost: 60Efficiency (Wasteful) P.P Cost: 86Physical Magic: Defense: Evolution Branches avaible.Defensive Level 1:Spell: Solidity (Locked) P.P Cost: 50 Spell: Hardness (Locked) P.P Cost: 50Spell: Simple Barrier (Locked) P.P Cost: 50 (P.P Cost to Access Level 2 of Defensive Sorcery: 160)
Non-Elemental Magic: Pending attributes. "I see…" I murmured, crossing my legs and resting a finger on my chin. "I don’t understand a thing…"
The f*ck is all that? Those sections weren’t in the original game’s progression system!
[User, what you are observing is the most internal form of how progression functions in living beings.]
"Huh? Please, could you expin it in a simpler way for my teenage brain that hasn’t even finished school?"
[Initiating basic expnation sequence Syntax Error# @&__]
Another Syntax Error popped up… I seriously feel like something really bad is going on…
The window disappeared for a second and came back without the letters. Just a bck screen.
This looks like when…
Before I could finish my thought, some lines formed and… Jon appeared again!
[Initiate.]
White letters gave Jon the command.
[Body is the way a creature becomes physically stronger. The higher the number, the more advantages. However, this does not mean that a high number implies a high physical condition.]
Then Jon cloned himself into two more. Next to Jon A, the variables vitality, strength, and agility appeared, all at 20.
For Jon B, the variables were set to 50. Jon looked normal.
Jon C had them set to 5, but… damn! Jon got buff!
"...Wait, so that means those things don’t affect how muscur you are? Like, you could be a stick and still have all those stats maxed out?"
The Jons jumped around happily, hugging each other, celebrating that I got it right. And I think the buff one actually felt pain when Jon B hugged him.
[Even so, having an excellent physique can provide improvements to base attributes, which are multiplied by Rank. Note: Statistics may vary, resulting in variation in the final value after the character Rank bonus is added to developed attributes.]
…I think I got it…
So, in this game, having a trained body is beneficial, but not an absolute requirement.
[Moving on to the expnation of Mind. This section is the basis for Mastery and progressing in Levels. As previously expined in the first baby session, Levels represent mastery of magical discipline. This mastery increases through repetition engraved into the soul, and is also enhanced by understanding the phenomena involved.]
The Jons lined up, one behind the other. Jon A fell to the invisible floor, Jon B helped him up and patted his head. They’re so adorable! No, idiot, focus!
The little ones started casting spells. Above each of their heads was a Lv 1.
"I wanna cast a fireball that burns because fire burns!"
Jon A cast a fireball. His Lv didn’t change.
"I wanna cast a fireball. It burns due to energy transfer between bodies of different temperatures."
Jon B also cast a fireball. His Lv changed to 2.
"I need to cast a fireball. To do that, I must form a perfect sphere with the exact amount of Aura. This will prevent dispersion while it’s in the air, and likewise prevent heat loss. For efficient energy transfer, it should be at around 1000 °C."
And his Lv jumped to 5.
As shown, it is not only necessary to repeat spells; the better the understanding of how they function, the greater the Mastery obtained.
Ugh… my head hurts… Come on, Julia, you can do this, think like Mom forced you to learn multiplication tables! This is nothing!
I took a deep breath.
"Correct me if I’m wrong. My Protagonist Points represent my mastery, right?"
[Affirmative, user.]
"And that mastery is necessary to unlock spells?"
[Affirmative.]
"Then… why don’t I have everything unlocked?"
[Error. The user has misunderstood the system. By investing P.P., the next learning level is enabled, but spells are not automatically unlocked. This only allows advancement in spell learning. Each spell requires its own amount of mastery. A logical failure was detected: the user did not wish to listen to deeper expnations at the time…]
"...Shit."
That means improving is way more expensive than I thought.
Oh God.
This is gonna get ugly.
I clenched my fists.
But I won’t give up.
The image of my father, my mother, my sister appeared in my mind like an anchor. I can’t let this new life go to waste because of my stupidity.
I swear it. I’ll be more careful from now on!
…Maybe.
[Aura is the energy of this world and of living beings. It is the fuel that powers magic.]
The Jons changed formation again, now standing side by side, forming a triangle.
They pointed at the sky and started sending out air waves.
Jon C stopped first. He looked on the verge of colpse, wiping invisible sweat drops. I wanted to hug him… poor thing.
A few seconds ter, Jon B also stopped, but he looked less exhausted.
Finally, Jon A stopped, but not from exhaustion—it looked more like sheer will.
It should be noted that Jon A was the one who produced the greatest number of waves.
[In this example, Max Aura was shown to allow the application of more Aura, thus empowering spells. Efficiency was also shown: the greater the efficiency, the lower the Aura cost to output full power. User, has each section of the Progression Branches been made clear?]
"...Well… yeah, actually, that was pretty easy to understand."
Max Aura is the power you can apply, while Aura is the total amount. Efficiency… yeah, no genius needed there.
For now, I’ll keep digging a bit more and then think about what to do.
…I feel like my brain is bleeding…
Ouro
