Chapter 3 3 – First Skill

“Errrr…. Why am I suddenly wearing armor and carrying a sword, sir?” Elise, who looked confused, continued to look at her outfit.

“Because your duty is to be a warrior.” Since this is a new game for me and not a typical RPG, I decided to use a profession that has become my specialty.

Elise stared at me for a moment. “B-but I haven’t learned to fight with a sword, sir.”

I widen a smile, opening Elise’s skills tab. “Do you really not know how to swing a sword?”

“Of course…” Elise choked. Her mouth opened and closed. A sign that she was at a loss for words.

“I gave you the basic abilities of a warrior.” I’m actually just making up words. Just now, there was an explanation that the prospective protagonist would know the basics of using weapons. “If you don’t believe me, just try using your sword.”

Elise blinked her eyes, then took a few steps back, drew the longsword from the sheath on her back, and started swinging it. Sure enough, her two hands can use that weapon. Her movement is clearly not amateurish, although it is far from polished.

I choose the first skill that Elise will learn. I only have one skill point, so I can only choose skills at the first level. In the second tier, I need two points. And so on in the following levels.

A thin maroon skill book appeared in my hand, bearing the name of the skill I chose: Charging Thrust.

“Elise!” I called out to my protagonist and held out the book. “Learn this.”

The young lady stopped swinging her sword and approached me. She raised an eyebrow as she received the skill book and opened it. “Okay…. I’ll try to learn this.”.

“It will be useful in your task.”

Elise grimaced stiffly. “Do I really have to use this sword?”

“What do you think?” I grin widely. “Well, you can return to Earth’s afterlife. Even I don’t know what will happen to you there. And, of course, you won’t be able to know where your family is.”

“O-okay, I’ll do it right away.” Elise became even more nervous. She stepped away from me again and started practicing the skill. The young woman ran a few steps, then thrust her sword forward.

The timing of her first move was messed up. She thrust her sword forward when her steps had stopped entirely. It made her attack look powerless.

I checked Elise’s skill tab again. A bar appears below the Charging Thrust icon. The bar continued to fill every time Elise practiced the moves of the skill.

[Effectiveness of attacks and skills is affected by stats]

It’s no use watching her train. I was about to use the fast-forward feature, but the friend icon in the game UI flashes and rings. A friend of mine called.

After I pressed the icon, part of the fog approached me, then a figure came out from there. He wore a dark blue robe with silver trims.

“So, you play this game too?” I spoke to that man.

“I only tried it for a while, Ray. I wanted to switch games, but I can’t seem to get away from the previous one.” The man with tan skin and long black hair answered.

Elise stopped what she was doing and looked at the two of us.

“Just carry on with your training. He’s just a god of lewdness. His existence doesn’t matter for you.” After saying that, I used the fast forward feature. Elise continued her training with a much more rapid movement.

“Damn it, you make me look bad in that beautiful lady’s eyes.” My friend chuckled. “You’re even more perverted than me.”

“What’s the name of the game you’re playing?” I asked him. “The one about the colony, right? I heard the developer is the same as this game?”

He nodded. “Well, I can’t leave that cursed game, even though you could say I rarely have fun playing it.”

My brow furrowed. “Why? Because it’s too difficult?”

“Ah, it would be difficult to explain to you.” My friend sighed. “I came here just to give you some advice. Don’t get too attached to the characters in this game. After trying it for a while, I can say that the artificial intelligence in this game is similar to the games I played. They are too real and very similar to living things.”

A small laugh escaped my mouth. “Well, they’re just a collection of human-made codes. I wouldn’t fall for them.”

“You do not understand.” He grinned, then started walking away. “I just wanted to check on your condition. Luckily you still look fine. Bye, then.”

“Don’t tell me you got too attached to the characters in your game? Then, something bad happened?”

He just waved and disappeared into the fog. I just shrugged, trying to ignore what he said. Attached to something virtual? Seriously?

***

Elise’s training is over. She was lying on the floor, out of breath and covered in sweat. I waited a while longer, still using the fast-forward feature until Elise finally fell asleep.

“Hey, you awake, Elise?” I went to the young woman, who was now getting up while rubbing her eyes. “I hope you’re ready.”

Elise gulped. “Errr…. Actually, I’m not sure yet….”

“Unfortunately, we can’t wait any longer.” I turned and gestured for her to follow me. “Don’t worry, I’ll guide you.”

We stopped near the pond. The three tabs of quests are already floating there. In each tab, I can see a picture that shows a location. Maybe that’s where the mission will be carried out.

[An old woman lives alone in a badly damaged house. She is seriously ill]

Credit points: 500

Skill points: 1

[Residents of a village encounter a group of giant rats destroying their fields]

Credit points: 1000

Skill points: 2

[A group of adventurers is trapped in a house in an abandoned village. They are running away from the goblins]

Credit points: 1500

Skill points: 3

Is the amount of credit and skill points related to the quests’ difficulty? Maybe so. Since I like challenges, I chose the third one.

[Before continuing with the mission, select a skill to use as a god]

The skill tab reappeared in front of me, but what was displayed was different. Most are still grayed out of the many skills available and cannot be selected. Without thinking too much, I chose Lightning Bolt. I do prefer skills to attack.

Elise looked confused again as I moved my finger across the user interface. Her expression made me chuckle.

And then, a portion of the fog emitted a white light.

[Ask your protagonist to enter the glowing fog]

“Come on, Elise. I will take you to a new world for adventure.” I started walking to the glowing fog. At first, the woman froze but eventually followed me anyway.

“But, sir….” The young woman sounded even more nervous. “This seems like a bad idea. I don’t know what to do there… Well, what exactly should I do there?”

I stopped a few meters from the glowing fog. Elise stopped beside me with a pale face, and I slapped her butt hard.

“Kyaa!” Elise took a few steps forward while covering her asset. Her pale face turned red.

“I told you, I will guide you. Please, trust me.” I put on a smile again. “Get into that fog, or I’ll smack your *ss with 100 times more force. For a god, that’s an easy feat, you know.”

I purposely didn’t tell her about the goblins. This woman can become more frightened before entering the portal. That would be troublesome for me. I had to persuade her even harder.

Elise gulped, then closed her eyes and took a deep breath. With stiff steps, she began to enter the dense fog.

My eyes fell on the hand I used to hit Elise’s butt. It felt pretty nice.