Typography
What's Up With My Status Window? - 1
“Hiyaaahhhhhh!”
Snap!
“...Why are these swords so flimsy? I don’t wanna do this anymore. I have to grab a new sword every 5 swings.”
<Shut up and swing that sword 78 more times straight downward and then you’ll be done brat! Don’t make me repeat myself!>
“How do you expect me to do that when it breaks from goddamn air resistance! It’s worse than a twig for f*cksake!”
There was a boy—Gunther—no older than 7 in the field, his coarse language something unbecoming of someone his age, he was swinging a sword, although calling it a sword would be very generous to the sword and a grave insult to any self-respecting blacksmith.
He appeared to be talking to himself but in reality he was talking to his Status Window.
Although, this Status Window was a 38 year old man who reincarnated into his favourite game not as a prince, not a commoner, not even a slave but as a spirit that could communicate with only one unlucky child… Gunther.
Gunther was in bed earlier that morning about to live that same way he normally would in a modern fantasy world full of swords, magic and adventure.
That of course would be playing with fellow kids his age in the local park.
“Mom! They finally finished renovating the playground across the street. Please let me go!”
“Yes honey, just give me a bit. I need to finish prepping the food it’ll only be 5 minutes.”
“Okay mom!”
His mother, a tired middle aged woman and a single mother at that, couldn't refuse the boy's enthusiasm to go outside and play. After all, it's a mothers duty to ensure her kid is happy.
A ghost had been observing this situation and recognised the woman in front of him, it was the spitting image of his own mother when he was younger, the boy as well was someone familiar to him.
That would be because it was himself from the past. Well maybe not the past he knew after all he had already confirmed this was a game world and while he hadn’t been able to confirm it as Green World he did confirm the existence of magic and the supernatural in this world.
‘Hmm, seeing as I haven’t been able to interact with anybody yet, I might as well do something I should have done a long time ago.’
The ghost approached his(?) mother and gave a hug, well an attempted hug as he phased right through her.
“Eeek! Hooo… that felt weird like I drank McDonald’s sprite but through my whole body. Gunther did you use your magic on me?”
The ghost was surprised as this was the closest thing he had to a reaction to his own movements so far in this world. Although he had only been exploring around for a few hours.
But there was someone even more surprised and that was the boy Gunther.
“NOOOOOO! Don’t eat my mom you creepy old man!”
Gunther ran to his mother in an attempt to save her from the horrifying fate of her mother being taken over by some old man, he ran the fastest he could with his small 7 year old frame and just before he was about to grab his mother out of the clutches of the ghost.
Thud!
His body collided with the ghost itself and he fell to the ground and he laid on the hardwood floor of the kitchen in a slight daze after knocking his head.
“Oh dear there’s no old man here…”
His mother had further moved into the kitchen as she felt less of her son’s power there, she pretended to shrivel into a corner and then realised what her next lines were.
“Oh wait, is this from that show you watch? Oh nooo, helppppp the old man is looking at me funny. If only a handsome knight could come save me who specifically has the power of Static and is also named Gunther… oh nooo!”
While Rotten Tomatoes would have given this acting a pitiful 1/10 it was enough to ignite a fire in the heart of the young Gunther eager to protect his mother from a lecherous old man.
“Don’t worry young lady, I Gunther the future Sword Saint and user of Static shall protect you.”
The ghost who had been dazed after actually feeling bodily touch for the first time in this world got back to attention at the appearance of a blue screen in front of him.
[Congratulations! You have discovered the protagonist of this world! Become the overseer and guide the protagonist to the true ending.]
[Status Window……]
[Quests……]
After reading through his Status Window the ghost found his new name; Statty.
He also found out how to improve his situation in this new reality and he was not very happy.
And after a long time of convincing the protagonist through very diplomatic means—threatening to eat his mother—he managed to get the boy to do some training.
<There’s a sword to your right just grab it and keep swinging.>
“Hiyaaahhhhhh!”
Snap!
“...Why are these swords so flimsy? I don’t wanna do this anymore. I have to grab a new sword every 5 swings.”
<Shut up and swing that sword 78 more times straight downward and then you’ll be done brat! Don’t make me repeat myself!>
Gunther was sweating to such an excessive degree that if a random bystander saw him they’d most likely call an ambulance due to his condition.
Statty, having taken this into account had politely suggested Gunther go to an abandoned dojo nearby.
“Ughhh… It hurts, what did I do to deserve this… this is child abuse…”
<I said swing the sword 78 more times, chop chop, I shouldn’t have to remind you what happens if you don’t right? Also this ain’t child abuse I can show you what real child abuse is like if you really want to see it though heheheh.>
“Agggghhh…”
Creak!
While the sounds Gunther had made would have been expected from an 80 year old it was very surprising to hear such sounds from a 7 year old.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
Eventually Gunther managed to complete all of his swings.
[Trait Lost Swordsman and skill Swordsmanship acquired!]
Thud! Creak!
He then immediately collapsed onto the hardwood floor below him and his body cracked part of the flooring as he did so.
‘Is this what death feels like… I can see the light it’s closing in. I might already be dead.’
Gunther’s ability Static and the skill he was about to gain Lost Swordsman were changing his body and in the process also the surrounding environment, leading to the overhead lights voltage being extracted and channeling into his body leading to a temporary brightening.
<The best Swordsmanship trait Lost Swordsman is now yours brat, with just this trait alone you could enter the academy, although barely.>
Gunther, too immersed in his first encounter with death, was ignorant of the possible hint given to him about his future.
Zzztt.
After about 20 seconds of flickering lights they all returned to normal and with it so did Gunther’s mental state.
His muscles were too sore from the workout and he seemed to be stuck on the floor.
<Brat I’ll hold down your acupoints just breathe in and concentrate your Electrokinesis or whatever you call it in your throat and suck in all the mana particles.>
Gunther tried to nod but failed miserably with it only causing more pain to his body.
Inhale
Exhale
Inhale
Exhale
Inhale
Exhale
‘Ahhh, I feel it… the mana particles.’
Statty saw the look of relief on Gunther’s face and assumed he had gotten the hang of it and started applying more pressure to the acupoints.
What both of them failed to recognise though was that Gunther's earlier fall which cracked the floorboards had broken parts of the already decaying wood into fine fragments.
Statty failed to realise that the only people capable of feeling mana particles were playable characters with maxed out Magic potential, Gunther was the exact opposite of that with his Magic potential being on the lowest end of any character Statty would have ever played.
In addition, although Gunther’s ability might have looked like Electrokinesis to Statty it was actually a supernatural power.
To Gunther , unaware of the near impossibility of sensing mana particles with his talent, was inhaling decaying wood fragments along with mana particles, with the assistance of what was supposed to be a secret mana cultivation technique.
While neither of them were aware of this, it was actually beneficial for the blood stream to be torn apart in mana cultivation; similar to how meth dealers will lace their product with fine glass shards to open the blood vessels in the throat to enhance the efficacy of their product.
In the same way, allowing mana to soak directly into the blood when acquiring a new trait would improve or even change the trait itself.
Inhale
Exhale
Inhale
Exhale
…
[Trait Breath of Sylvara acquired.]
After another 10 minutes of inhaling and exhaling Gunther’s mana cultivation trait was acquired, along with a feeling of new life accompanied by sudden drowsiness.
But there was a certain ghost—Statty—left very confused though.
‘Why doesn’t the brat have the new acupoints for Emperor’s Lost Breath? Did I hold the wrong acupoints or is this protagonist just pathetically weak?’
Statty was left without answers as Gunther blissfully went to sleep.
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