Chapter 3: Level 2 – A New Quest

My hands were still shaking from the encounter with Neil. I took deep breaths, trying to cool down. 

So that means I must have completed the quest, right?

I only hoped that Neil wouldn't come after me after this encounter. 

Pushing those worrying thoughts away, I tried to focus on the screen in front of me.

While allocating the Stat points was important, I ignored it for now. I was more interested in the new skills I had available. It seemed like I had the option to choose only two of them for now. 

First, I looked at "Enchant". I tried to open the description, thinking this worked the same as with the previous skills. 

Enchant:

Allows you to enchant food. Enchanted items allow you to regain health, MP, or receive Stat boosts - depending on the food - upon consumption. (MAX 3)

Then I did the same with the other two.

Raku Buff:

Boosts defense of anyone or anything for 3 minutes.

Lightning Kick: 

A lightning-fast kick that only the swiftest can dodge. 

I studied the skills closely. Enchant could help in everyday life, but the other two seemed geared towards fighting. 

I thought again for a long time and finally chose the skills "Enchant" and "Raku Buff."

Enchant was kind of a no-brainer. An ability that buffs you or allows you to regain mp or health could be used in so many daily situations, even if it was slightly limited.

Raku Buff would allow me to get hit more often. If Neil or any of his friends wanted to beat me up again, I would be able to tank some hits at least.

And as I already had an offensive skill, I opted out of Lightning Kick for now. Even if it did sound powerful.

After choosing and confirming those two skills, the screen changed contents and allowed me to allocate my Stat points. I had 10 points to give.

Health got +10 and MP +5 per one point.

After a while, I decided to allocate the points as follows:

I focused most of my points on mp, strength, and agility. Dodging attacks didn't seem like a stupid idea. With Strength and MP, I could also use skills like "Knuckle Sandwich" more often and hit harder. It would give me a survival chance against Neil and the other. And putting points in defense now wouldn't make sense, as I had an ability that buffed me anyway. I did put a single point towards intelligence. I mean, there might be some exams coming up, so being a little bit smart could help, right?

I noticed that my MP and Health also were full again. It seems like a level up restores both of them to full.

Next, I opened up my skills screen, wanting to see the cost of the new abilities I had.

Knuckled Sandwich is level two now, huh.

If this worked, like any RPG, then that probably meant that the skill was now stronger, or it had some new effects. Opening up the description screen, it still displayed the exact same text. Which probably means that it was the former. Surprisingly, "Analytics" was still level 1. Which could mean that skills level either with usage or through other means.

Then I looked at my new abilities. Out of the two, I decided to first test "Enchant".

Unfortunately, "Enchant" didn't tell me what food gave me which kind of boost. Which meant only one thing, I had to find out through trial and error.

I opened up the fridge and began casting the skill.

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"I'm home!" I heard my sister call out as she opened the front door.

"You feeling hungry? I bought some delicious snacks for you."

"Please, no more food." I groaned while I lay flat on the sofa. 

Confused, she went to the fridge to put the groceries in.

Opening the fridge, she said, "Wow, someone must have been hungry. You ate almost our entire ration."

I kind of had to. The Max 3 limit on "Enchant" meant that I had to finish whatever I enchanted before I could cast it again.

After eating so much, my stomach was in absolute pain. I was barely able to move. At least I was able to note down what kind of food gives me which boost. Generally, healthy food restored health, and energy drinks or soda gave me back mp. Unfortunately, I didn't find anything that boosted my Stats. Seems like that was reserved only for particular food items.

"Oh, yeah!" My sister spoke up again, "I think I saw Al today."

With all of my strength, I stood up, "Really?"

"Yeah, I think he went to the arcade."

I thought for a moment. Maybe I should talk to him?

I already had my suspicion that Al had something to do with this RPG Menu. It can't be a coincidence that these strange events started just after I met him.

I picked myself up and went to the front door. 

"Oh, do you want to pay him a visit? Tell him I said hi." My sister said.

I nodded and went out the front door.

---

Luckily the arcade was only a five-minute walk from my house, so I could get there pretty quickly.

It was also not easily missed, as the big neon sign with the words "Allstar Arcade" would tell you.

Immediately as I went inside, I was hit with bright neon lights and the typical arcade sounds flying around me. Ahhh, this feels like home.

I looked around, trying to find any silver-haired person around here, which should have been an easy job, but after a few minutes, I could find no trace of Al. Did he go home already?

I looked at my watch and noticed that it was getting quite late, so the reasonable thing would have been to go home and rest.

I glanced at one of the freed-up arcade games. It was a game I always played here. The arcade was one of the few places I would go to, even if alone. Maybe it's the atmosphere or the nostalgic feeling, but playing one or two games here always helped me relax. And especially after today, I could use some relaxation. One game, and then I'll leave, I told myself.

---

...An hour. I was already playing for an hour. I mean, can you blame me? This was one of those games you could play for hours on end. I sighed, it was already getting too late, and I'll soon get yelled at by my sister for being out so long. I decided this would be my last game and was about to put in one last coin when I noticed someone staring behind me. Oh shit, is it Neil?

I turned around, and it was not someone I expected. "Ah, I'm sorry for disturbing you."

It was the redhead from today. After a few seconds, he also seemed to recognize me. "You are the person I bumped into today, aren't you?" 

"Oh, yeah! What a small world we are in, right?" I awkwardly laughed, "Sorry again for bumping into you."

"No, I should have also been watching where I was going."

Thinking this would be the end of the conversation, I looked back at the game.

But after a few seconds, I could still feel his presence behind me.  

"Uhm, did you need anything from me?" I turned around and looked at him.

"Ah, no. I'm waiting for someone here."

I was about to say something, but suddenly, my HUD popped up.

A Quest?

I looked up at the towering redhead again. "Uhm, hey. What was your name again?"

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"Alan Alfaro, why do you ask?" He responded.

At least I know who this quest is talking about.

I was deep in thought if I should help him or not. I don't know what helping him actually entails, but the rewards seemed enticing. Especially this hidden skill made me curious. Mulling it over, I decided to help. I could always use a new Item and some EXP, and if it was something dangerous, I could still say no.

"Say, Alan, do you need help with anything?" 

"Not really," He said in a flat tone.

Okay, this might be tougher than I thought. Socialising wasn't one of my strongest suits.

Before I could get another word in, someone suddenly wrapped their arms around Alan.

"Here you are, Alan. I was waiting for you!" It was a girl wearing an oversized hoodie. She seemed to be the same age as us.

He looked at her in annoyance, "can you let me go, Lillie?"

"Nooo!" She puffed her cheeks, "We didn't see each other for soo long?"

She then took a glance at me with a weird expression.

I looked at her, confused, "Sorry, did we meet before?"

"No, no, you just looked like someone I know." She turned her head towards Alan again, "So, are you ready?" 

He gave her a nod, and they were about to head out when I decided to interject. "Hey, are you guys going somewhere?"

"Oh, we are just going to resolve a small issue with some friends." Lillie responded.

That sounds safe enough. Maybe this won't be a dangerous quest after all.

"Hey, can I tag along? One more person to help out can't hurt, right?"

"Why?" Alan asked, suspicious of me.

I scratched the back of my head, "Ah, you know. It feels like you guys could use a helping hand, and I have some time, so why not?" I knew it was a flimsy reason, but I had nothing better to offer.

Before Alan could respond, Lillie spoke up, "Sure! The more, the merrier, right?"

Alan glared at her, but Lillie got close to his ear and whispered something. His eyes widened, and he looked at me.

"Alright, you can come with us."

I was surprised that he was that easily convinced. What did she tell him?

But it didn't matter. Knowing that this was a talk with some friends made me feel safer. I mean, what's the worst that could happen there?

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The first sign of something being wrong was that Lillie brought us to some dark alleyway. The second sign was that 3 thugs appeared behind us right after.

Maybe they are the friends?

One of the three spoke up, "Lillie, you fucking bitch. Do you think you can just call me here after stealing from us?"

Alright, that sounds bad, but it might still be solved diplomatically.

"Woow, are you going to cry like a little kid?" She mockingly laughed, "Just try me, dipshit, and see what happens!" She flipped him off.

... I'm fucked, aren't I?

One of the thugs turned toward me. "Who is that?"

"This guy?" Lillie pointed towards me, "Oh, he's the one who's going to beat you up. He told me all about how much of a wuss you are."

"Oh, did he now?" I could see almost a vein pop in his neck.

Lillie gave me a push, making me stumble a few steps forward towards the thug. I looked back in shock while she gave me a smile and a thumbs up.

I turned back and saw him lifting his leg to give me a swift kick. 

No backing out now!

I immediately used Raku Buff and put my arms forward, tanking the brunt of the hit.

It definitely still hurt, but the damage I took was significantly lower. 

I took a step closer and activated my punch skill. My fist flew almost like a magnet to his face and hit him. I activated it again, giving him another hit with my other hand. He tumbled a few steps back. But after collecting himself, he ran towards me and tried to punch back. Unfortunately, I couldn't dodge fast enough, and he hit me in my stomach. I could feel a searing pain. This would have hurt even more without my buff.

As he was extremely close now, I decided to grab him by his hair so that he couldn't move away. Then one final time, I activated "Knuckle Sandwich" and punched him while he couldn't dodge.

The thug finally dropped to the floor with a loud thud, and I breathed a sigh of relief. 

Realizing there were still two more, I prepared myself for another round. But I saw that Alan had already dealt with them. Both of them were lying on the pavement. One holding his stomach in pain and the other unconscious. 

He looked at me, "I see you are done too."

I activated my analysis skill because I wanted to see his strength. I mean, beating up two people at once must have been hard.

Looking at his Stats, I could see why he had a more easy time than me. 

He was even stronger than Neil!

Lillie suddenly appeared behind a dumpster can, where she hid. "Wohoo, we did it!"

What do you mean we?

I looked at her in anger. "Aww, come one. All's well that ends well, right?" She gave me a mischievous smile, "I didn't even really steal from them, and still they came charging."

My HUD popped up again, 

Quest complete! Please view new Skill in your Skills Menu

With the quest complete, I was about to head out. When Lillie suddenly pulled my hand. "Do you have a phone?"

"Uhh, yeah..." I took out my phone, which she swiftly took from my hand.

She opened my contacts app, typed something in, and handed me my phone back.

"It's my number." I looked back at her and then down to the phone in my hand. 

"I need some help with some stuff, and you seem like the right guy. Do you have time on Friday evening? " 

Did I hear right?

I slowly nodded my head in bewilderment

"Good! Then let's met up at 5 P.M, alright?" 

"Lillie, we have to go," Alan yelled while he was already walking.

She quickly ran over to him and waved me goodbye, "Don't be late!"

I just stood there in the Alleway with three beat-up people around, in complete confusion.

What happened? Did I just get a date?

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