Chapter 2: Penalty Quest
The races in this world could be categorized into four different categories: Humans, Demi-Humans, Spirits, and Monsters.
There are different types of power ranking systems in this world, but the most used one is the one created by the Free Guild System.
It classifies monsters and other hostiles by considering various variables such as Magicule Count, Physical Strength, Defensive Capabilities, Speed, Skills, and Intelligence.
Then they are given a rank between F Rank to Special-S Rank:
F Rank: A ranking assigned to those with little to no combat capabilities.
E Rank: A ranking assigned to those who possess power equivalent to the average Human adult.
D Rank: A ranking assigned to those with power equivalent to a soldier, requiring a group of at least 3 or 4 average humans to defeat.
C Rank: A ranking assigned to those with power equivalent to or above an experienced soldier with professional training.
B Rank: A ranking assigned to threats that have the potential to wipe out an entire village singlehandedly.
A Rank: A ranking assigned to threats that have the potential to severely damage an entire town, requiring the deployment of several high-ranking adventurers or a nation's knights to be taken care of.
Special-A Rank: A ranking assigned to threats that have the potential to destroy a small-sized nation, requiring the deployment of a nation's army or a Champion-class individual to defeat.
S Rank: A ranking assigned to Demon Lords and those of equivalent power, requiring a large nation's entire military and the deployment of their Champions to defeat.
Special-S Rank: A ranking assigned to threats that no singular nation could hope to stand up against, such as True Demon Lords and True Dragons.
But there was also the Tempest System. It was a modified version of the Free Guild System that used EP to rank individuals.
EP is a numerical measurement of Existence Value called Existence Points that measures someone's Magicule amount:
E Class: A ranking given to those with an EP below 1,000.
D Class: A ranking given to those with an EP between 1,000 and 3,000.
C Class: A ranking given to those with an EP between 3,000 and 6,000.
B Class: A ranking given to those with an EP between 6,000 and 8,000.
B+ Class: A ranking given to those with an EP between 8,000 and 9,000.
A- Class: A ranking given to those with an EP between 9,000 and 10,000.
A Class: A ranking given to those with an EP between 10,000 and 100,000. It is also equivalent to Hazard-class.
Special-A Class: A ranking given to those with an EP between 100,000 and 400,000. It is equivalent to Calamity-class.
S Class: A ranking given to those with an EP between 400,000 and 800,000. It is equivalent to Disaster-class.
Special-S Class: A ranking given to those with an EP between 800,000 and 1,000,000.
Million Class: A ranking given to those with an EP over 1,000,000.
Catastrophe Class: The sole ranking used by Tempest that relies on Combat Power instead of Existence Points, reserved only for those with transcendent power that begins to approach the domain of True Dragons.
For reference, a Holy Knight Captain would have an EP value of around 300,000, while an Awakened Demon Lord would have an EP value of at least 800,000.
I sighed. Why couldn't I finish reading the novel before reincarnating here...
Then I remembered the status screen before me when I woke up. How do I bring it up? In most novels with Systems, the user just needs to say...
'Status,' I thought, and the same blue screen appeared.
_____
Name: Cale #/%^&*&^>
Titles: Slave, Adopted Prince
Level: 1 (0/100 EXP)
Magicules: 1,000
[Stats]
Strength: 10 - 20% = 8
Vitality: 10 - 20% = 8
Agility: 10 - 20% = 8
Intelligence: 10
Perception: 10
Remaining Points: 0
_____
But how exactly do the different stats work? Does the Intelligence stat make me smarter? I don't feel smarter or dumber from my previous life, so what do ten points in Intelligence mean?
[Intelligence (Increases learning speed and memory)]
I raised my eyebrow when the text window appeared.
Well, that's interesting. The system showed me what I was thinking about.
Testing how this works, I started thinking about wanting to know what Perception does.
It didn't take long before another text screen appeared.
[Perception (Increases ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses)]
So the system knows what I'm thinking... Not creepy at all.
I also remembered the voice I heard before waking up. It should have been the Voice of the World but didn't it also say I got another skill?
Then as if it was something inscribed into my soul, I knew what skills I had and what they did.
Unique Skill: [Shadow Lord], It's the ability to raise the dead in the form of shadows and it has other sub-skills such as Thought Acceleration and Chant Annulment.
Then the second skill I got was the Common Skill: [Self-Regeneration], a Skill that restores the user's damaged body over time. It can even restore lost limbs as long as one is not in a situation where they are continuously chopped off or crushed.
And the last one, Resist Skill: [Cold Resistance]. It reduces all 'cold' damage.
But what about my titles? I mentally asked the system.
[Title (Slave): -20% To all physical stats until freed.]
Of course, a debuff right of the gate. At least it will disappear when I escape.
What about the Fake Prince title?
[Title (Adopted Prince): Due to being adopted by ******** *********, the race ******* won't be aggressive towards you.]
Me a Prince? But who adopted me? There could be a few, but judging by the race won't be aggressive towards me part of the title. So It's likely a non-human race.
Then why I'm I here? Shouldn't someone be watching over me so I don't end up as a slave?
Sighing, there wasn't anything to do, so I tried to fall asleep.
It felt like hours had passed, and I stared at the wooden ceiling, unable to fall asleep until a new screen popped up.
[You have not completed the daily quest. You are now heading towards the 'PENALTY ZONE' for a certain period of time.]
Wait, what DAILY QUEST? I never got any information about it!
Suddenly instead of being in a locked room, I was in a desert in the middle of nowhere.
Wait, why does this feel familiar?
[Penalty Quest: Survive
Goal: Survive until time runs out.
Time Left: 4 Hours 0 Minutes 0 Seconds]
"Shit!" I cursed and remembered where I'd seen this before.
"Screeeeeeee!" I suddenly heard a loud screech behind me. Turning around, I saw a giant centipede lunging itself at me.
I didn't have time to think as I ran with all I could to survive.
"WHY COULDN'T I GET A NORMAL SYSTEM!" I yelled, mentally asking if I angered some god to be punished like this.
As I ran for my life, more centipedes started emerging from the sand, and I tried to apologize to every god I knew for anything wrong I did to deserve this.
Living in the cold basement was much better than this!
I ran and ran, avoiding all the centipedes.
I felt like I would fall due to exhaustion, and another centipede emerged right before me.
It lunged at me, and I could dodge. Then, as I was about to become the centipede's dinner, I suddenly appeared in the locked room again.
[You have completed the Penalty Quest.]
[Your reward for completing the Penalty Quest has arrived.
Would you like to accept?
Accept / Refuse]
I looked around the room. Everyone was asleep, and there I stood, drenched in sweat and out of breath. I didn't have the chance even to accept the reward as I passed out due to exhaustion.
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Authors Note:
Thank you for reading this chapter.
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