3 Chapter 2: Monster Hunting (1)
Ten years have passed since his reincarnation. In those years, there had been barely any reforms in the Aquinas Kingdom. The women still treated men like a pile of dog shit. The men, without the support of their families or a wife, starved in the long winters.
He was lucky that he was a part of the royal family. While he was unofficially exiled from the palace for being a man, he was given a comfortable private home inside the deeper area of the palace and a yearly allowance of two hundred gold coins.
He had grown accustomed to his daily routine. He started his day with push-ups, pull-ups, and shadowboxing.
As he brought his body up for the 64th rep, he saw a notification.
『Your strength has from C rank to C+ rank』
He opened the 『Profile』 menu using the button labeled with an icon of a person. The button floated in his bottom-right periphery.
『Profile』
Name: Thomas Aquinas (Yuuto Nanashi)
MP: 0/0
FP: 300/300
DP: 1000/1000
Class: N/A
Race: Human
Strength: C+ / Σ
Dexterity: D / Α-
Agility: Β- / Σ
Wisdom: C / Α
Intellect: C / Α
Temperament: Voice of Reason and Violence
Personality: Goal-Driven Psychopath, Compulsive Murderer
Alignment: Darkness, Neutral Evil
Stats Legend:
Ω (Omega) - SSS Φ (Phi) - SS
Σ (Sigma) - S
『Skills』
[Demon Core]
The heart of a demon never wavers, even in the brightest of lights or the darkest of the abyss.
- Trait-Type
- Access the power of curses. Do not forget, your actions have consequences.
- Divine-Type damage can cause twice the effect on you, but you are partially immune to Demonic-Type damage. You cannot use Divine-Type artifacts, but in return, you can use Demonic-Type artifacts. You cannot use magic, but in return, you can use ■■■■■■.
[All-Seeing Eye]
The eyes of god perceive all.
- Action-Type
- The four directions of human perception
Effect #1 (Left): See everything in a 10m diameter in all directions without obstacles.
Effect #2 (Right): Slow down one's perception of time.
Effect #3 (Top): Locked.
Effect #4 (Bottom): Locked.
- Uses 1 FP per second. Focus Points consumption increases per every active effect.
[Master of Unarmed Combat]
- With bare fists and a relentless desire to kill, bring forth the power of the martial arts you have practiced all your life to anyone foolish enough to fight you.
- Trait-Type
Punching: Passively increases punching speed.
Elbow: Passively increases output force and final damage.
Knee: Passively increases input force and final damage.
Kick: Passively increases penetration.
Foot Thrust: Passively increases knockback.
Headbutt: Passively increases stun chance.
Bite: Passively increases biting power.
Western Boxer Stance: Actively increases evasion speed and reaction time, but usage of kicks and knees are disabled.
『Curses』
[Misfortune Rivalling Heaven]
Invite calamity upon oneself, make the heavens weep with pity.
- Trait-Type
- A tiny hope exists even in the darkest pits of despair.
- Tremendously increases bad luck and a tiny increase in good luck.
[Unquenchable Devourer]
Hungry? Eat a sneaker.
- Trait-Type
- Anything can be ingested and converted into nutrients.
-Provides Poison Ingestion Immunity, Dental Damage Immunity, Choking Immunity, Pathogen Ingestion Immunity, and Increased Biting Power in exchange for eating 10x more than expected.
[Proof of Isolation]
The best thing about betrayal is that it never comes from an enemy.
- Trait-Type
- Trust no one.
- Creates a barrier that blocks any attack from any direction. The barrier is destroyed after contact but regenerates every 10s. The barrier will stop working if a humanoid ally is nearby.
[Curse Upon A Star]
No money? Feeling unproductive? Overweight? No girlfriend? Well, congrats! Now you can complain to the stars.
- Action-Type
- 50 DP
- The effects are unknown.
He had mostly seen the same information before, and just as he is now, he still only understood a portion of it. All he knew was that the Demon Core and the curses were most likely from the alien monsters he had seen before. His All-Seeing Eye was an ability from his past life, which he used on Earth to fight criminals. He could react to anything thrown at him as long as they weren't fast enough like a bullet.
He had also seen the effects of Unquenchable Devourer, which causes extreme hunger and the desire to eat more and more food. But he had not seen how Proof of Isolation works as he had never fought a monster outside or another human being in the city. As for Misfortune Rivalling Heaven, he hadn't had any unfortunate experience just yet, if you remove the fact that he was born on the worst part of the continent as a man.
As for his stats, he knew that the left side was the Current Value, and the right was the Potential Value or the Max Value. He had seen his strength through workouts and training, but as for the rest, he didn't know how to 'train' them, only that all his stats grew over time.
After closing the profile window, Yuuto quickly exited his home and walked towards the city. Now that his strength was around C+, he was confident enough to hunt down monsters.
But before he could do that, he needed an identity card from the Mercenaries' Tavern. The Mercenaries' Tavern was a government-funded military organization for civilians who needed protective services and for fighters who did not wish to be bound to the kingdom.
Upon entering the Mercenaries' Tavern, Yuuto noticed it was packed with women. Most of them had tall and rugged builds, with fierce expressions etched on their faces, their bodies adorned with weapons and armor.
They were either a mercenary whose job was to guard a convoy or territory or a bounty hunter whose tasks were to hunt down specific monsters, fugitives, and criminals.
Yuuto approached the counter and spoke to the bartender, a middle-aged woman with a gruff voice.
"I need an identity card," he said, his voice steady and confident.
The bartender looked him up and down, sizing him up before shaking her head. "Are you blind or incapable of reading?" she said, pointing to a sign above the counter that read, "No dogs and men allowed."
Yuuto frowned, feeling irritated at the bartender's dismissive attitude.
"I know the rules, but I need to register for a job," he said firmly. "I can handle myself in a fight."
The bartender raised an eyebrow, "You? Have you ever seen your reflection in the river?" she said sarcastically.
Taking a deep breath, Yuuto calmed himself down, reminding himself that losing his temper wouldn't help his situation.
"I'll be back."
With that, Yuuto turned around and exited the Mercenaries' Tavern. He knew that he needed a different approach if he wanted to get his identity card.
As he did so, he thought about hunting down monsters and bringing the loot to the tavern, "If they don't acknowledge me because of my gender, I'll make them acknowledge me through feats. After all, if the theory doesn't match the reality, wouldn't you be forced to confront the truth right in front of your eyes?"
A smile crept on Yuuto's face, "By that point if they still won't acknowledge it, I'll have to use some 'drastic measures.'"
His eyes shifted to the Item Shop icon, and he pressed it.
『Are you sure you want to buy [Sig Sauer P226] and [A metal box filled with 9mm parabellum] for 250 gold? (Yes/No)』
