The four resonances of Heart Rhythm
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At the boundary of Tokyo, Saitama, and Yamanashi Prefectures on the island of Honshu, Japan stood Mount Kumotori, covered in thick snow and thicker cold.
Trees seemed to have turned into defiant wooden pikes, and chilly gusts of wind slithered up and down the mountain, licking damp wood. Down the slope, the trees weren't as sparse as at the mountain's peak. Despite the dense snow and wind, many of the trees had won the battle in the winter, keeping a dark green shade about them.
Suddenly, an eerie wind danced its way through the leaves of these crowded trees, reaching toward heaven like a tornado.
When the wind settled, a figure could be seen standing where it had sprung up.
Underneath an untied black Haori patterned with blood drops at the edges, this figure was wearing a black Kimono with a black belt over a thin white shirt. For pants, it was wearing black, baggy tobi trousers ending in white tabi socks and wooden Japanese Sandals with black straps.
Yet, if one were to ignore the long tail at its back, then the most striking thing about this figure was its skin.
Blue. The color of a cloudless sky on a summer's day. This blue flowed like water over the figure, as though it would ripple if touched. On the figure's forehead, a thumb-sized red jewel glistened like the thickest blood drop, and if one were to observe it from up close, then one would have noticed that this jewel was pulsing from within. Moreover, the rhythms of these pulses, though scarcely noticeable, were increasing with every passing moment.
A stray gust of mountain wind flew up, and the long white hair of the figure looked like millions of white hands reaching towards the unseen peak.
This figure was none other than Kai Stormborn.
Kai's eyes snapped open, two hazel pupils floating over a serene, milky ocean. Even before he could make sense of his surroundings, the Systems greeted him with a notification, as predicted by him.
[[
Candidate Kai Stormborn, you are given an allowance of 30 minutes.
You can familiarize yourself with the package, Items, and consult the data again if you wish during this period. For the next 30 minutes, your presence has been cut off from the world, but you can not go beyond a radius of 50 meters, either.
Once the 30 minutes are over, the live feed to your Sponsors and the Mission Time Limit's countdown will begin.
Your privilege to ask questions from the Systems will not work in this Random World. All such questions will be directed to the Sponsors instead.
Good Luck.
]]
Kai nodded to himself. But where was the package?
Kai looked around and found nothing but snow and silence. It was at this moment he heard a thud behind him. Kai's hands gripped the hilts of his swords instinctively. He spun around and raised an eyebrow, finding the freshly arrived object.
It was a wooden box studded with iron plates and reaching up to the height of his knees. On one side, it had a handle, and opposite this door, on the backside, there were two white straps to carry the box on one's back.
Kai narrowed his eyes on it. He approached the box and crouched, bringing his nose near the handle. Out of the blue, the entire box shuddered. The grip on swords' hilts tightened.
'There's something alive in the box,' Kai reflected. 'A creature? Hmm, so this is the package. Well, the Systems said nothing about not opening the box to look inside. Or do the box and the living creature inside both constitute the word "Package"? I will find out later. For now, there are more important things to do.'
Kai stood up and then brought his attention to his odd clothing. He had seen it in the archaic records in his previous life, but never wore it himself. The clothes were warm, spacious, and had ample pockets to store his Items. Kai could feel the Book, the case of capsules, and the rock cake inside his black shirt. He looked over his shoulder and saw his tail. The Systems seemed to have tailored the garments, taking his monstrosity into account.
Kai felt quite flattered and chuckled.
The only things that didn't suit him were the socks. His feet were webbed, and it felt cramped with the strap over his feet, pressing into a web between his toes. Yet, it wasn't something that needed immediate attention. Kai ran around here and there, climbing trees, jumping down, and then practicing with his swords, familiarizing himself with the clothes and the environment.
Once he was done, Kai repeated all the movements with the box over his back. It was lighter than he had thought, but not something he could casually ignore, either.
At last, he massaged his temples, easing the physical pain brought by the spiritual one. Inside him, over his heart, was Selene, sending slow bursts of Soul Chill.
This pain was the reason for Kai to come here in his Golduck form.
With the time of mind-jewel maturation approaching, Kai knew he would have to assume this form in this Random World, anyway. If he were to do it midway through Mission's Time Limit out of nowhere, then it would definitely cause some concern in the eyes of the observers. Kai could not afford the slightest chance, though. Not now, with Contestants from the 18th floor watching him.
And as far as the overall change was concerned, Kai could put the weight of this mystery on the rewards of the 1st Stage. No one knew what rewards an individual received at the end of the last stage. With him being at the top, he could've gotten more personalized rewards as well.
'Heh! Let them bang their heads over it,' Kai thought, scoffing. 'Now, I must deal with the newly received rewards first.'
With the newest horde of 5 Attribute Points, Kai now had 9 unassigned Attribute Points in total. He let them stay unassigned for now, grinning ear to ear as he thought of the unlucky bastard who would be the first to fall to the sudden boost in his Attributes.
The world unlucky made him remember the Title Status Points, then. With no further thought, Kai put one point into the Title, Novice Collector.
[
Congratulations Contestant Kai Stormborn…
You have achieved a Title
Title: Novice Collector
Specification: Collect 10 different Artifacts from any random world and timeline.
Status: (10/10)
Effect: Luck +3, Intelligence +3, Breath +3
Note: Only 1 Title can be equipped at a time
Conditions to upgrade this Title…
Title: Proficient Collector
Specification: Collect 50 different Artifacts from any random world and timeline.
Status: (10/50)
Effect: Luck +15
]
Kai's mouth hung open as he noticed the Effect of the upgraded Title, Proficient Collector. Oh, how dearly his heart longed for this Title? There weren't words to describe the tumultuous feelings coursing through his veins at this moment.
Kai hurriedly exchanged his Coin Master Title with the Novice Collector and felt the boost it brought to his MP and SP simultaneously. This Title was better than the previous one, as it added points to his Active Attributes along with his Luck.
Now came the time to assign the rest of the 4 Title Status Points. Here too Kai didn't brood over which Title to select. He had already decided long ago.
The moment he assigned those points, another notification came up.
[
Congratulations Contestant Kai Stormborn…
You have achieved a Title
Title: Adulterer
Specification: Have consensual sex with 5 married women (legendary characters) from any random worlds
Status: (5/5)
Effect:
1. Stamina +5
2. Skill: Heart Rhythm
Skill: Heart Rhythm
Grade: D+
Specification: Cause resonance between two hearts
Requirement: Charisma 25
Attributes:
1. Only work on opposite sex
2. Proximity Limit: 500 meters
3. The Contestant must maintain the Proximity Limit until the end of all the resonances
4. The Contestant must specify the target for the commencement of the Skill
5. Once the specified target leaves the Proximity Limit, the Skill will not work on the same target again
Effect:
1. Heart Rhythm forces the Contestant and the target's hearts to resonate with each other upon prolonged interactions
2. Such resonance is noted by a distinct skipping of the heartbeat
3. The said resonance has three parts: Resonance of Appearance, Resonance of Respect, and Resonance of Sacrifice. The Contestant must cause these three resonances by himself by any means possible
4. After the successful completion of the three resonances, having sex with the target causes the final resonance: Resonance of Love
5. All such sexual activities will come under Consensual Sex and the said target will become the Contestant's unconditional follower
Warning: The Contestant may fall to the effects of the Skill
Note: Only 1 Title can be equipped at a time
Conditions to upgrade this Title…
Title: Heart Breaker
Specification: Have consensual sex with 5 women who love you
Status: (0/5)
Effect: Eternal Remembrance
]
"What the…"
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Mount Kumotori - Where main character's family lived in the anime