Easter comes early
[Time skip - 1 hour 35 minutes later]
"He should be here soon, if I'm not wrong about the time." I say as I look at the kitty cat bracelet on the table.
"He is here, just a few blocks away actually." Nex says, resigned to the things that are going to happen next.
"Yeah, but if anything happens it should be fine since my stats are so high now. Plus my perks are just awesome!" I say, checking my stats one more time.
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Name: Issac Wolfe
Title: Crook Cleaner
Class: The Hair of Wick
Sub-Class: Arcane Mage
Main Class Level: 54
Sub-Class Level: 21
First Class Level EXP: 9,000/350,000 until next level up
Sub-Class Level EXP: 9,000/38,000 until next level up
HP: 7,525/7,525
SP: 5,250/5,250
MP: 2,500/ 2,500
Strength: 525
Dexterity: 1,005
Endurance: 525
Intelligence: 375
Wisdom: 309
Charisma: 375
Luck: 368
Kill pool: 0/1,000
Skill points remaining - 0
Intensive Training - 0
Class ability: Kill Count - Allows the user to convert their kills into stat points equel to 1 level up per kill
-NEW PERKS-
Unstoppable Force
- x4 normal damage through enemy blocks.
Adamantium Skeleton
- While you can't be permanently harmed by anything, this perk makes it even harder to break your bones! (WARNING!!! DOES NOT TURN YOUR BONES INTO ADAMANTIUM!")
Weapon Handling
- Makes it easier to handle heavy weapons.
Professional Assassin
- Your Sneak Attacks all inflict an additional 20% damage.
Fine Motor Control
- Let's you bend and twist in ways that would make circus performers cringe, and keeps your body steady for more delicate tasks.
Soul Cannibal
- Allows you to consume a soul from the
Long Haul
- Allows you to expend the same amount of SP after reaching 0. (Causes you to fall unconscious if all SP is used once more.)
Life Giver
- Health is now effected by
Fit
- All stamina costs are reduced by half.
Broad Daylight
- Any small light sorce on your body is ignored while sneaking. (From a small LED to a phone being on.)
Jury Riggin!
- This perk let's you slap together things that sort of look similar to the thing you want and have them work just as good. (e.g. weapons, equipment, and even magic!) (WARNING!!! FAILURE MAY CAUSE ACCIDENTS/MISHAPS TO OCCUR!!!)
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"You know what? Fuck it! Gotcha key roll for good luck!" I shout, pulling one of the ten keys I have out of my inventory and tossing it.
"HELL YEAH! It's something I know about too!" I shout in joy. As I pick up the book a prompt comes up.
"OH YES I DO!" I shout in even more joy.
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- Finger Pistol: 1,000 STR required (LOCKED)
- Tempest Kick: 1,000 DEX / 1,000 STR required (LOCKED)
- Iron Body: 1,000 END required (LOCKED)
- Paper Drawing: 1,000 DEX required (UNLOCKED)
- Moon Walk: 1,500 DEX required (LOCKED)
- Shave: 2,000 DEX required (LOCKED)
- ?????: ALL TECHNIQUES MUST BE UNLOCKED TO MAKE THE LAST ONE!!!
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"...wait...no...it can't be...NOOOOOOOO!!!!!" I yell as I fall to my knees and slam the floor with my fists in despair.
"Come on, it can't be that bad-" Nex tries to question but I cut her off.
"OF COURSE IT'S BAD! I'M WORSE THAN THAT FUCKING NO NAME GUY THAT DIED FOR SUCKING SO BAD!!!" I yell as I hit the ground a few more times.
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[One Piece world - Inside one of the Sea Train cars]
*SNEEZE!*
"Ugh, is someone talking about me? They're probably talking about how cool I look!" Says a weasel like man, looking notably not cool.
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"...ok yeah that bad..." Nex relents, making me slump to the floor entirely. "Hey, don't you want to get ready? He'll be here any minute now."
"I am ready." I stated getting up and dropping into a chair with some guns in front of it in the center of the warehouse.
"This is still stupid." Nex says with some sas in her tone.
"And I said that I know it's stupid." I said, with even more sas. "Now let's get this over with." I say, straightening myself in the chair and crossing my arms.
*...step step step... BAM! click BANG!*
"WHERE'S THE KITTY CAT BRACELET!!!-" He yells, after bursting down the door and firing his revolver before stopping at the sight of me. "Who the Hell are you?" He questions, pointing the gun at me and pulling the hammer back.
"..." I don't say anything and raise my hands. While I do I pull the bracelet out of my inventory from underneath my arm and palm it. As I raise my hand I open it, letting the bracelet dangle from my thumb and say, "How bout a trade?-"
"NOT happening!" He shouted, cutting me off as he speed walks towards me, looking in between each container as he did. That doesn't stop me from talking though.
"The bracelet for an answer to a few questions?" I ask, making him stop a few meters away and eye me suspiciously. I smirked, "This isn't about the bracelet, is it?" I question, making his eyes widen slightly.
"IT-!" He tries, but I cut him off.
"It's about the rush that you miss. The feeling of being useless in everything you do. Being a disappointment to yourself, your family...your son. It's eating away at you." I say, making his eyes widen even more. I relax, crossing my legs and putting my shoulders on the arm rests. I look at the bracelet as I twirl it on my index finger and continue.
"No...No, it's not the bracelet, you just want to hurt someone because you don't know what to feel. That if what you're feeling is that long dead part of you, that might not be so dead. Or if it's frustration from all the things that keep happening to you." I say as I swap the bracelet to my other hand, eyes never leaving it.
"Anyways!" I say cheerfully, snapping my head back to him and making him jump. "You're a busy man, got things to do, places to be!~" I sing as I toss the bracelet back to the other hand, then towards him. "Have a safe trip home, I hear there are big bad gangsters out in this part of town! So don't stay out to late, ya hear?" I say, the joy in my tone reaching happy mother levels.
"..." He just looks at me, then the bracelet in his hands, then me again before turning and walking towards the still open door. Looking deep in thought.
*Step Step Step step step tap tap, SKREE CLICK!*
I wait about a minute just sitting there, staring at the door with a massive grim on my face before-
""PFFT HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"" Me and Nex start laughing. Me for how awesome it feels to make a trained killer that could probably kill me in a heart beat stand frozen with just my words. And for Nex, she was just laughing at how unlikely that outcome was supposed to be, yet still happened.
"SEE?! I told you that would work!" I say through the laughter.
"OK, OK, I'll admit, I was wrong. But I still stand by the fact that it was stupid." Nex said, trying to not sound impressed and failing.
I lean my head back and close my eyes to come down from the rush of adrenaline and dopamine, making me miss another pop up.
<+25 affection with Nex for being impressive>
The screen brightens and blinks out of existence as I opened my eyes.
"Anyways." I say with a deep sigh. "Is there any way for me to increase my stats without actually leveling up?" I question, looking at my hands and clenching them.
"Y-Yes! There is!" Nex stammers out, making me quark an eyebrow. "H-Here you go! Training manuals for GAMERS!" Nex says, as a set of small paperback books for training all the stats fall out of my inventory.
"Cool! Thanks a bunch Nex!" I cheerfully state as I pick up the ones for DEXTERITY and STRENGTH first, placing the rest in the top of my inventory. "OK, time for some gains!-" I try to say with hope but am stopped by the first exercise I see. "OH shit..."
[Time skip - 1 day later]
As I went through the workouts, I also realized that unlocking the moves are just the start.
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Paper Drawing 1/5
1st level: Allows for 1 use of Paper Drawing - costs 100 SP
2nd level: Allows for 5 uses of Paper Drawing - costs 250 SP
3rd level: Allows for 10 uses of Paper Drawing - costs 500 SP
4th level: Allows full use of Paper Drawing - costs 1,000 SP
5th level: Allows full use of Paper Drawing- costs 0 SP
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'Ya know, it's kinda disheartening to know that weasel is stronger than me...' I think in the middle of my rep.
"4,996...4,997...4,998...4,999..." I struggle out as I try and finish the last rep of hand stand push ups, a few plates of weight I found in the gangs party on my feet. As I move down to make the last rep, Nex interrupts it by shouting and making me drop all of the weights.
"ISSAC! 'NOBODY' is right outside!" She shouts, and on top of making me drop the weights-
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"SIDE QUEST: Push it to the limit! (STRENGTH) - FAILED"
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"Damn it..." I mutter as I lay on the ground. I was debating whether to be pissed at Nex or 'NOBODY' before I decided that it doesn't matter right now as-
*BANGBANGBANGBANG!!!*
Came the banging of his fist on my door. I sit up and sigh before shouting, "IT'S OPEN!!!"
*click CHREEEECK click.*
"I need some guns and a hand." He said, rage lacing his tone. Not caring that I'm half naked with weights around me.
"Sure, whatcha want?" I ask, standing. "I don't have a lot of variety, but I make up with quantity." As I finish that sentence, I turn and see his bewildered face.
"Why-" He tries but I finish his question with one word.
"Entertainment!" As my answer comes he blinks a few times then starts to laugh, and I join in with loud chuckles.
"I think we're gonna get along real well!" He says, wiping a tear from laughing so much. I take a deep breath and refocus on him and ask,
"So where you take your family too?" I ask, and as I try to continue my question he answers and makes my eyes widen.
"Here." As his answer fades the door opens again and a woman around the man's age walks in, guiding a little girl that's basically attracted to her leg. A teenage boy/young adult walking behind both, as if he's trying to protect both of them from dangers from behind.
"Oooook~...didn't think I'd get your trust that fast, but cool. Soooo~ keep them safe or get them somewhere else? Cause I can do one, and the others gonna be a bit harder to do." I question, walking into the back and away from the rest of his family and start grabbing some guns off my gun rack and a few ammo crates.
"Keep them safe, and no, I don't trust you. I just...feel like you won't do anything to them." He said, an unreadable expression on his face at the last part.
"You're right, I'm trying to...prove something...and the gangs are in the way of that." I say mysteriously. The
"And you're fine with me being the one that takes them out?" He askes, cautiousness in his tone.
"OH! Yes, actually. All I need to do is make sure they don't come back. So go wild man!" I say cheerfully, making him sigh in relief. As we finish talking, my gun grabbing ends and are all shoved into a duffle bag that he grabs along with the ammo cases.
"By the way, don't worry about bringing them back!" I continue, making his look back with a questioning gaze. "They're not mine. But I did mod them to not be traced anymore. Along with the ammo, since it's a special mix. So watch the kick, OK!" I say, sounding motherly again.
"Heh, thanks!" He chuckles, waving over his shoulder, kisses his wife, his daughter on the forehead, and the gives his son the, 'keep them safe' look...the look I remember well...shaking off the thought I see that he already left and the family are just staring at me warily.
"...sorry, I was just thinking about...something..." I say, still a bit shaken by the memories. As I refocus I see a pop up in the corner of my eye and motion the family to follow. Once I turn to go into the deepest room in the warehouse I read its contents.
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As I finish reading we reach the room that me and NOBODY just came from and I sit on a chair with the DTA Scout Rifle resting on its side. I grab it, pull the scope off and start fiddling with a red dot sight that was next to it.
"There's food in the fridge, since you didn't get to finish dinner." I say to the still standing trio, making them jump.
"How-" The son tries to question but I cut him off.
"How did I know that? I know a lot of things." I say, looking up from my work and winking.
"Thank you-" The wife tries but I stop her with a finger.
"Don't thank me yet, he still has to come back, after all." I say, making their eyes widen and the daughters eyes start to water. "Hey, little one." I say, directing my attention to the daughter. "Don't worry, your daddies really strong. So trust me when I say your daddies gonna be OK. Ok?" I say, raising my brow at the last part.
"Sniffle sniffle...ok..." She crooks out after wiping here eyes. Once she pulls herself back together I put the DTR aside, stand up and walk to the mini-fridge and open it. When I come back I have a peppermint patty in my hand, kneel in front of her, and offer it saying,
"This is my favorite, but I'll let you have it, ok."
"Why?" She asked, making me blink my eyes for a second.
"Why? Well...I just think you'd look a lot better if you smiled!" I said, as I placed my fingers on the edges of my lips and push my mouth into a dazzling smile. "Plus, the strongest people are always smiling, and if your daddies strong," I say, turning my head to the side and tilting it in her direction. Like a parent talking to a child thats about to realize something and continue saying, "you are to, right?" I ask, making her let go of her mother's leg and strike a certain strong man's pose.
"Yeah, I'm really strong!" She says with a big beaming smile on her face that just melts my heart.
"Oh, but if you're strong enough to smile without the snack, then does that mean I can have it?-" I try to tease but am cut off as the girl snatches the patty out of my hand faster than I could react to. Making me look at her, then my hand, then back at her as I watch her stick her tongue out at me while trying and failing to open the bag.
"Chuckle...alright then, little one, you can have it." I say with a gentle smile on my face. As I stand back up I eye the mother and son, then motion for them to follow me too the gun rack. As we reach the rack I notice the mother is going to say something, but I cut her off. "Don't, I just don't like seeing kids cry, that's why I gave her the peppermint patty."
"Now, on to why I wanted to talk to you..." I say, stopping for a second to think, making the two of them a bit nervous. "Not that you'll have to use them, but do either of you know how to use a gun?" I question, making the son widen his eyes and the mother to gain a look of realization.
"Yes, I do." Says the mother, making her son look at her, looking even more shocked now.
"Come on kid, who do you think patched up your old mans more serious injuries when he came home half beaten the other day?" I question, looking at the ever increasing shock on his face. "So~, I'll talked that as a no~?" I question again, making him snap out of his shocke.
"OH, erm, I uh, kinda..." He stammers out.
All I could do was chuckle. "Don't worry if you don't, I'll teach you the basics, since I think your pops'll want to take the honor of teaching you now that all this happened." I say, trying to reassure him, but he pales at the part of learning the basics. Possibly at the thought of having to kill someone. And so I move to break that notion.
"Kid! Don't worry. You won't be shooting anyone. So long as I'm here, not even an army could get to you guys. This is just insurance. " I say, showing him a deathly serious face. That calms him down, and he nods with a resolution expression.
"Good, now..." I say, looking at the rack and motioning for them to take a pistol. "And kid..." I prompt, making him look back at me. "Don't take something you can't handle just because you want to feel safe for having it, got it."
He nods in understanding and continues looking. As he does, the mother comes back with the Glock 17 I used to kill the gang boss and I grab a holster for it along with a few mags for it. She smiles at me and looks to her son while saying, "I never wanted them to go through anything like this, but it seems it can't be helped...can it?" She says, looking into my eyes as she trys to keep from crying. I sigh.
"Well, would you rather your husband left that girl on the bus to be harassed and possibly taken by those wannabe gangsters, or would you rather have him do something about it?" I question, making her eyes widen.
"You really do know a lot...how? If you don't mind my asking?" She questioned, making me avert my eyes in an attempt to think of a good lie. But she stops me by saying, "ah, never mind, that's a secret, isn't it?" She said, leaving the question open for me to answer or not. All I could do was offer a wry smile in answer.
'...oh shit...'
*vrooooOOOOOOOOooooom!!! SCREECH!*
The sound of various cars and trucks could be heard coming to a stop outside. I grab a silencer for the DTA and shove a box of smoke grenades into my inventory after seeing that they weren't looking.
"Those friends of yours?" The son questioned.
"Nope" I state simply. Turning back to where the daughter was I rush over to grab the DTA and finish putting the cannibalized long range/red dot sight together and put it on the gun. "Hey little one, you wanna play a game?" I ask excitedly, infecting her with it as she jumps up and down and shouts,
"What is it, what is it? Will I get more snacks if I win?!" She asks. I smile even wider as I explain.
"Well, it's a game called Babayaga's Barrel Dance. Whoever has the craziest dance by the end of the song is the winner, and you wanna know a secret?" I ask as I look around, like it's super important no one else hears. "You'll be the only one playing, so you'll get all snacks when it's over!" I yell at the end, raising my hands over my head after clipping the DTA onto my chest.
"Yay!" She shouts in joy, starting to jump in anticipation.
"Nex, something loud and appropriate, if you wouldn't mind" I ask mentally as I grab a few more things
"Of course, how about...this." She says as the extened remix version of Hit the Road Jack queues up to play.
"That's perfect actually, thanks again, Nex!" I say, finishing the mental conversation. As that happens I finish grabbing the things I needed to make them not question a few things that might come up. As I move towards the center of the room I grab a chair and stand on it. Right below an emergency hatch.
"I'll be right back with the snacks, ok?" I whisper to the daughter. She nods as she keeps bouncing. "Aaaaand~! Start!" I say, clapping my hands and having Nex start the music.
As it starts I open the hatch and climb out, put on some gloves, a mask, and start crouch running. As I reach the end I leap and reach the top of the stacked containers. When I reach that one I have to leap one more time before I get the lay of everything. As I reach the top my heart sinks.
"That's not even fair..." I whisper out as I see who the leading person walking into the warehouse is from
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Name: Brixton Lore