NOVEL NEXT Chapter 3: Uncontroled Grace
After being startled by the system notification, Ezra was eager to open the reward for completing the battle, but he held himself back due to the presence of a figure in front of him.
|[Uncontrolled Grace] Escanor| Lv.1(+???!??)
{Race: Human}
|Atk: 15 (+54,456)|Hp: 990(+1,789,010)| |Def: 10 (+78,234)|Hp Remaining: 1,790,000|
Combat Power: 239
{Skill: Slash, Uncontrolled Heat} {Ultimate: Undiscovered Power} {Unique: Unwanted Power}
"What are you staring at!!"
Escanor's words snapped Ezra out of his thoughts.
'Woah!! Those stats are insane. It's like a veteran RPG player in a beginner village.'
"Do I have to repeat myself twice!!!"
"Apologies, I'm just overjoyed to be saved from death."
"Indeed, you should be grateful to have been saved by me."
"Once again, thank you for saving me. If I may ask, what is your name, sir?"
"This lord's name is Escanor. Remember it and be thankful you were saved."
Without further ado, Escanor turned and started to leave. Ezra wanted to call out to him but was too late as Escanor had already vanished from sight.
"Wait, sir-"
"Huft, and so it is; his arrival was as swift as his departure. But this was an amazing experience, meeting your favorite character in person and not through a monitor."
"Now it's time to check the rewards from the battle earlier. I hope they're as good as the difficulty was."
|Victory|
[Underground Labyrinth Fragment] x75
{#error#}
[Britannia Fragment] x75
[Treasure Chest {R}] x1
[Labyrinth Points] x400
{#error#}
[Britannia Points] x400
|Rank 120|
|[Dungeon Raider] Gamer Shin| Lv.1>>>Lv.32
[OK]
|Unable to find the labyrinthine underground shop on the field|
{#error#}
|Added Underground Labyrinth Shop feature to the system|
[Underground Labyrinth Shop Unlocked]
{#error#}
[Britannia Fragment Shop Unlocked]
[Underground Labyrinth Season Shop Unlocked]
{#error#}
[Britannia Points Shop Unlocked]
The system notifications flooded Ezra's vision, making him slightly overwhelmed. The sense of power from leveling up brought Ezra back to reality.
"Is this how protagonists in martial arts novels feel when they grow stronger? Not bad."
"So, I have 75 fragments, 400 points, and my rank in the system notification shows that synchronization was achieved. But all the features were locked for sixteen years because the main story hadn't started yet."
"Useless system."
After reviewing all the rewards, Ezra pressed the OK button, and more system notifications appeared.
|REWARD| [Select an ally passive!] [Skill Use Increase] Increases the number of skill uses by 2 when the host has 3 or fewer Hero abilities in the party.
[Overcome Crisis] Removes the host's Debuff, fully heals the host's HP, and increases all stats by 15% when the host survives with 5% HP or less (once per battle).
[Basic Stats Increase] Increases all the host's stats by 30% if the host's Combat Class is 15,000 or higher at the start of the battle.
[Crit Rate Increase] Increases the host's Crit rate by 25%.
|Select to immediately acquire three of the rewards| [Reroll Passive List] [Receive]
"Wow, choosing three out of four rewards."
"Forget all the curses I muttered earlier; the system is the best."
"No hesitation; I already know what to choose."
[Skill Use Increase] [Overcome Crisis] [Basic Stats Increase] [Receive]
"An overall stat boost is better than just one stat. Even though my CC isn't enough to activate the passive yet, this is a long-term benefit."
After receiving all the rewards from the system, Ezra began exploring the items sold in the shop.
"Hehe, now it's time to see what the system's shop has to offer."
[Britannia Fragment Shop] {Britannia Fragments: 75}
|Use Britannia Fragments to purchase desired items|
[Guardian Stone of Protection LV.1] 20
[Guardian Stone of Life LV.1] 20
[Guardian Stone of Wrath LV.1] 20
[Acquire/Switch Heroes] 30
[Heals 80% of Max HP] 10
[Hero Enhance Lv. +5] 10
[Revive 1 Dead Hero(es)] 10
[Ultimate Move LV. +1] 20
[Acquire New Passive] 40
[Awakening Tier +2] 20
[Leave Shop]
"The contents are exactly the same as the game, only renamed by the system."
"I thought they'd change the shop contents too; disappointing."
"I'm curious about the heroes available in the shop."
Ezra touched the icon with a knight's helmet, and an option appeared.
Main -[Dungeon Rider] Gamer Shin
-Empty
-Empty
[Sub]-Empty
>!Select hero to switch!<
[||] |Filter Race| [All Race] |Search Skill|
[Undead] Prisoner Ban
[Boar Hat Tavern] Hostess Elizabeth
[Roars of Dawn] Captain Slater
[Adventurer] Holy Knight Jericho
[|Set|]
"Trash. None of these heroes synergize strongly with Shin."
"Out of the four, Ban is the most useful because he focuses on defense. Plus, this is sixteen years before the main story starts. It's decided; let's choose Ban."
After selecting Ban to fill the second slot, pain began spreading throughout Ezra's body, causing him to writhe on the ground. After a while, the pain subsided, and Ezra stood up, dusting himself off.
"What was that pain? This is different from when Shin's synchronization happened earlier."
[The host's body needs to adapt to the magical power of this world. This sensation will only occur once and will not reappear in the future.]
"Oh, so that's what it was. I thought there would be side effects from this power."
Ezra surveyed the forest cautiously for any impending danger. However, due to the magical energy released by Escanor earlier, no forest creatures dared to approach, choosing instead to flee or hide.
"Hmm, the forest seems quiet. Maybe now is the perfect time for what every gamer wants when given power in reality."
"Hehehe, time for a DAMAGE SHOWCASE!!"
With an eager expression, Ezra began testing the abilities he had gained.
"Alright, let's start with Shin first."
"Drone!!"
Silence
"Did I say the skill name wrong? Maybe I should try the original skill name."
"Concentrate Fire!!!"
Silence
"Volley Fire!!!"
Silence
"Arghh, what's happening? Why aren't the skills activating? Maybe I should try Ban's skills."
"Eliminate Spirit!!!"
Silence
"Undead Physical!!!"
Silence
"Damn it! Why isn't anything working? Was that earlier just a fluke?"
Frustrated, Ezra began investigating why none of his skills were activating. Eventually, he found an answer and called up the system, searching through the settings option.
"Maybe this is why I can't use my skills."
[Account Settings]
{Exploration Mode}
This mode allows the host to use skills outside of combat and enables the use of props that are normally inaccessible during battles.
Would you like to activate this mode? (Y/N)
"Hehehe, without hesitation."
With a gleeful face, Ezra pressed the confirmation button. His vision shifted, displaying a card shuffling animation that left him both surprised and amazed.
"Woah!!! This is so cool, like playing 7ds in VR."
{Select 3 Skill(s)}
[Concentrate Fire*][Volley Fire*][Eliminate Spirit*][Undead Physical*][Eliminate Spirit*]
"Hehehe, time for some training."
Ezra started practicing his abilities. Initially, he activated skills with his hands, then by using his voice, and finally with just his thoughts. All his attempts succeeded.
"So, I can use skills in any situation except when unconscious."
By habit, Ezra looked at his wrist, intending to check the time. When he accidentally touched the device on his wrist, a holographic screen appeared.
"Wow, isn't this the holographic screen used when activating Shin's ultimate skill? Can I use my ultimate without filling the Ultimate Move Gauge?"
While searching for the satellite cannon attack, a system popup appeared.
[The Ultimate Move Gauge must be filled before using Ultimate Skills.]
"So, it's not possible, as expected."
"If it were, I'd be spamming ultimate attacks all over Britannia."
"Just thinking about it makes me drool."
"So, what can this device do?"
After fiddling with the operator on his wrist, Ezra began understanding its functions.
"Alright, this device is very practical. It has a clock function, which is very useful in this medieval era where accuracy is lacking. There's a geographical mapping option and a drone surveillance option, so this will be very useful in the future."
"Maybe I'll postpone testing Ban's skills until I find an opponent since Ban is a defense-type hero."
"It's getting late. Time to find a way out of this cursed forest."
"Coincidentally, I'll use the drone to map this area and locate the nearest village."
After deploying several drones, Ezra watched the videos they transmitted. To his surprise, he saw a familiar figure standing beneath a mountain that looked like it had been gnawed away, resembling a bitten apple. Without hesitation, Ezra ran towards where Escanor was.
"This is my chance to talk to Escanor. It's already evening, and I'm sure his temperament will have calmed compared to noon earlier."
After running for a while, Ezra approached the mountain—or what was once a mountain—and saw Escanor sitting hunched amid the rubble. Ezra approached Escanor cautiously but was still detected by him.
"Please don't come any closer; you'll get hurt!!!"
"What do you mean? I came here out of curiosity about this strangely-shaped mountain."
"Regardless of your reason, please leave quickly, or something bad will happen to you."
"Wait a minute, you look like the person who saved me earlier today. Are you his brother?"
"Umm, actually, that was me. I'm cursed when exposed to sunlight, so what happened earlier today was indeed me, but also not me."
"Hmm, is that so? Cool!!! Are you sure it's a curse and not a blessing-"
"Don't joke around!!! This is a curse. You can't imagine what I've been through because of this curse."
"I lost everything. Every time I got close to someone, they died because of this curse!!!!"
"Sorry, I didn't know."
"I'm sorry too. I got carried away earlier."
"I should have said this earlier, but you left so quickly I didn't have the chance to say it."
"Thank you for saving me in the forest earlier. Without your help, I would've died. So, thank you very much."
Escanor's eyes widened in surprise at Ezra's words.
"You're not afraid of my curse?"
"Why should I be afraid? You're my savior; why would I fear you?"
"I am deeply moved by your words, but please leave before sunrise tomorrow, or you will be in danger!"
"I don't think you're the type of person to do such a thing-"
"You don't understand anything. I'm saying this for your own good."
"Yesterday, I met a group of people who were very kind to me, helped me, and accepted me, but I ended up killing two of them."
Hearing this, Ezra sat down beside Escanor, listening to his story. After a while, Escanor finished his tale.
'Has Escanor already met the Sins?'
'Even so, I have to take the risk to survive in this cursed world.'
"Hmm, so you defeated the Great Holy Knight and a group of Holy Knights alone, huh? So that's how it is."
"That's why you must-"
"Master, please take me as your student."
"WHAT?! Were you even listening-"
"Not only smashing a mountain to vent your anger but also picking up a disciple while on a stroll. I just can't stop being amazed by you, Escanor."
Ezra and Escanor immediately turned toward the voice and saw a woman with hair as black as obsidian and mesmerizing golden eyes.
"La- Lady Merlin, how did you find me?"
"Heh, if you want to hide, you should try disappearing into another dimension, not staying here."
"But why are you still looking for me, Lady Merlin? I've already killed two of your comrades."
"Who did you kill?"
Escanor turned toward the voice's source and screamed in shock, clutching Merlin's leg.
"Waaaargh!!!!"
"Yo."
A blonde-haired boy accompanied by a tall man with long, messy hair, a giant girl, a flying chubby man, and a two-meter-tall purple armor joined the scene. Meanwhile, Ezra, sitting beside Escanor, silently listened to the entire conversation.
'This is going to be a long day,' thought the reincarnated soul on his first day in another world.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Countdown to the Main Story: 140,148 Hours]