THE CURSED GAMER

Chapter 7

Title: Quirk (2)

....

[Luck plays a role! You've encountered something lucky!]

[System has been updated]

Waking up in the morning, the strange system message wasn't the first thing I thought I would see.

It's been more than a year since Nejire had unlocked her quirk, and I have become 4-years old for a few months now. I was expecting my quirk to awaken soon too, well, if I even had one. Other than that, I have levelled up only once, again proving how hard it is to level up in this system. As a reward, I got a free point in all my stats and 5 stat points for use.

'Anyway, I should see what this update is about.' As the thought crossed my mind, I chanted, 'Status.'

Soon a blue hologram window appeared in my retina.

[ <1/3> ]

[Status:

Name: Neji Hado

Age: 4

Class: The Gamer

Title: Fearless

Level: 7

Race: [Human]

HP: 160/160

SP: 110/110

MP: #/#

DEX: 11

STR: 11

END: 16

INT: 21

WIS: 21

CHA: 13

LUC: 21

Health Regen = END x 5

Stamina Regen = DEX x 5

Stat Points: 12]

'?' I was confused, surprised, even hopeful all of a sudden.

Other than the luck stat where I dumped 4 more points after levelling up, the most visible change is the new SP Stat and the appearance of a 3rd page.

'Could it be...?' I could already imagine what happened, so I was a bit excited and nervous. I didn't waste my time anymore and clicked two times on the '>' button as the pages changed themselves and I found myself on a page completely new to me.

[ <3/3> ]

[Quirk(s): In this world, Quirks are genetic changes in a living being's body, they grant abilities that are unattainable by any normal means. This page shows each Quirk the host possesses.

•<Unnamed>; LVL 1: This Quirk grants Host the ability to convert their own vitality into energy and release it in the form of exceptionally powerful spiral shockwaves.]

'So this is all about... as I suspected, system updated because of the appearance of my fucking quirk!'

A Quirk! I wasn't quirkless! I don't need to study science (fuck science), yay.

...Anyway, an unnamed quirk? (Of course, nobody named it.) But from the description, it's not hard to identify, it's the same quirk as Nejire. In this hero society, siblings having the same quirks aren't that rare, but they aren't common either.

Another notification appeared in front of me.

[Would you like to name your Quirk?]

[Y/N]

'Of course, I can change it, what kind of broken game would it be if I couldn't.' I clicked yes, then a rename pad appeared in front of my face.

[Please enter your desired name: "_____"]

Seeing this I was lost for a bit. 'Hmm.... Nejire's quirk is called Surge in this world, so should I have mine as Wave Motion? Or should I keep it the same as her, like a match?'

Keeping it as a match seems interesting. I didn't have a sibling in my past life, and if I am being frank, I quite enjoy her presence. From the time I jumped forward to protect her, it's pretty clear I like her as a sibling too. And even though her personality is a... tad bit annoying, I do see her as my sister, more than I see my new parents as my parents.

Anyway— then it's decided. I would keep the Quirk's name as "Surge", matching it to my cute sister. It would be interesting to see her reaction to it...

«...★...»

Neji was childishly happy. He might have lived 19 (15+4) years mentally, but he is still a 15-year-old teenager in his mind. Until he lived past that age in this life, his mentality won't change. 'Or maybe it's a feature of the Gamer's Mind?' Neji didn't have any way to know.

Being just a teenager, his wariness up until now is admirable, while to some it may be scoff-able. It depends on the perspective. Neji liked his new family not only because they treated him nicely, but also because he could treat them the same way without faking it.

After naming the Quirk as "Surge", the first thing Neji did was to find and run towards his mother and jump in her embrace.

"Mommy, I just unlocked my quirk!" He said excitedly. The older woman didn't seem to catch on to it instantly, and even assumed he might have mistaken something.

But as Neji pointed his hands, his palms, towards the open window, two spiral waves left his hands, rushing towards the sky – the older woman finally understood, he wasn't bluffing.

More so, it was the same as his sister's quirk! How interesting is that?!

Gara Hado felt a blissful feeling surging through her body at that moment. She crouched down and hugged her son tightly. Tears of happiness forming in the corner of her royal blue eyes.

«...★...»

'My HP is 10x my END, while my SP is 10x my DEX.' It was a little different from the Original Gamer, Han Ji Han, but Neji cared little about it. 'Now... I wonder since I have an SP stat, will my physical skills use SP instead of MP?'

Standing in the front yard of the Hado Mansion, the Hado family's little prince, Neji, was staring at the Status screen in the air.

Meanwhile, "Young Master, you are staring at the air again... Nya." A feminine voice caused Neji to frown as he looked back.

It was a maid, his maid, looking at him with worry-filled eyes. Light-brown hair, an attractive face that would put any Model to shame, with two whisker-like tattoos on both sides, and a body that was easily identified as well built even with the maid-attire on. But the most luring part about her was – her fluffy, soft, and spiky, cat-like ears.

She was a mutant type. A real cat-girl.

[Image Here]

'She's the always gloomy maid, Kimi Sugihara, Kimi being her first name.' The 'first' and 'last' names have stopped being confusing to Neji already. He was also getting used to the use of honorifics, so his days were fun.

He then turned towards Kimi and asked, "Hey, Kimi Nee-san, you are strong right?"

The maid flinched hearing the childish question of the little boy. She just scratched the back of her head, giving an awkward vibe. "W-well, I worked as a hero, so I am fairly strong... I think."

Her tone was filled with hesitation, her words were gibberish, it didn't take Neji to be smart to know – she was not believing her own words.

Neji looked at her, as she lowered her head, he could tell he wasn't the reason for such a reaction. 'Apparently, she was a hero who failed to protect her own sidekick along with a schoolgirl, against a villain. She barely survived, and quit heroism after that. She now has Hemophobia (fear of blood), but my family still hired her as my and Nejire's personal maid, or bodyguard (in reality) since she was one of the rare people with a strong quirk, but still willing to work on jobs other than being a Pro Hero.'

Initially, Neji wondered, what would she do in a serious situation, won't she just crumble down in front of blood? So isn't she basically useless then? Well, when Neji once asked her the exact question, she had a deep scowl on her face, looking as if her pride was hurt. She showed him why that message was floating above her head.

<Kimi Sugihara; Tier 4 – Cat-Human>

Tier 4, the first tier-4 he met. From what he knew, Kimi was ranked 13th Hero before retiring at the age of 20, now she is 22. So Neji assumed most heroes around the top 10 were Tier-4.

Of course, he might be wrong as Kimi has a physical type quirk, "Super Cat", which might have boosted her above others. After all, against a guy who shoots out grapes from his head, a person with a physical type quirk would stand out more, even if they share a similar rank.

Using her Quirk, Kimi can move very fast. So fast that a single drop of blood won't be splattered before she finishes her job, or so she claims.

Neji looked at her with his eyes, focusing on the passive <Observe>. As a new page appeared in front of him.

[Kimi Sugihara, Tier 4, Cat-Human.

Quirk: "Super Cat". Her quirk grants her the ability to do what a cat can do. She can fall from a sky-high building but still land on her legs! Besides that, she also has super hearing, super reflexes, super speed - and many more! During her <Transformation>, all these base stats get boosted.]

This is the only information the <Observe> showed, despite being Level 13.

Whenever Neji commanded the system to show someone's stats, it replied with: [Only the Host can live his life like a game character, others' bodies aren't the same, so they can't be graded with stats, the main reason why everyone else other than the host has "Tier System"]

It was an annoying restriction, but it made sense. He was the only "Gamer" while others were normal people, so it's no wonder they couldn't be divided into stats like a game character.

"Nee-san," Neji suddenly called out innocently, as Kimi raised her head, Neji continued while feigning ignorance. "Did I... say something wrong?"

Kimi, with a panicked expression, shook her head excessively. "No, no, of course not! I was... just thinking of the... past..."

Neji then continued with his act, "Hey, then can I hit you?"

"E-eh...? Neji... why do you want to hit me?" she asked back, somewhat confused.

"Training purposes,"

Kimi was baffled, but she felt she should listen to remove this awkward silence. 'He probably won't even notice, he is a kid after all.' Kimi then thought of his offer. Unlike Nejire, Neji's spiral wave is pretty weak, it won't hurt her-

"I won't use my quirk, rather, I wanna test my strength." Neji interrupted her thoughts, as Kimi scratched her head.

"Alright, but go easy. You might hurt yourself- ah, I mean I might get hurt!" Kimi corrected herself, to keep the young master maintain his dignity.

Neji just sighed and shook his head internally. This woman tried too much. He then walked closer to her and balled up his fist, he was trying to use... something. he then suddenly punched forward!

Whoosh! Thud!

His hands moved as he punched Kimi's stomach, to add spice, Kimi fell on her butt and curled up her body. "Ah, so much pain~"

She was trying her hardest to satisfy the kid, to make him laugh, but what he did next, irritated her. He just sighed and again looked at the air.

-

'Sigh...' It didn't work.

Just now, Neji had tried using a skill he got recently from constantly punching his toys and the wall to get some stats, <Strong Punch>. Although he didn't get the stats, he did get this new skill. Unfortunately, it was an active skill, meaning he needed mana so he could have never used it.

Well, not until he got his quirk at least!... or so he presumed.

He reckoned his quirk would allow him to use the energy he makes to replace mana, but it didn't work (yet). He then suspected, his new SP bar would allow him to use the active skills that required mana before, since you know, physical skills = stamina cost.

'But NO!' It didn't work! The SP bar was only consumed when he used his Quirk, and also when he exhausted himself. 'Why the-'

In the end, he just sighed. What was the meaning of getting agitated, wouldn't it just rather suck his SP dry?

He then looked back at Kimi with a slightly frustrated expression, "Nee-san, it's time to bring Nejire from school, isn't it? Why don't you go? I am eager to show her my quirk!"

As Neji said this, the maid with bad acting got up and walked away after a curtsy once.

She is both of their personal bodyguards, so she needs to go there to pick Nejire up.

Neji then sighed again, looking at the sky where the sun was shining brightly. "My home Schooling starts from next week... fuck."

His parents proposed he should attend a normal Pre-school, but he refused. He could bear Nejire's childishness because he liked her, but if he is with other kids, he doesn't know how long his "Good boy" act will last, as he will most likely snap.

Other than that, Neji felt irritated with the thought of studying again but considering his future occupation most likely being Heroism, he should prepare himself so he would rather choose homeschool.

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