Chapter 4: Skill Selection

"What's the matter?" Jean asked, her tone tinged with annoyance at the interruption.

"Well... umm, my luck got restricted, so I basically have zero luck." Ethan explained, his voice heavy with defeat.

"Yeah right, let me see." Jean requested, disbelief evident in her tone.

'I can't show here my awkward stats and skills, but I can't really say no after causing a scene.' Ethan hesitated before recalling, 'Ah, right, the Stat Illusion skill.'

[Status Illusion]: Rewrite your stats however you choose. Effective with anyone with a 40-level difference and below.

Ethan activated the skill, swiftly altering his stats to appear similar to everyone else's.

Jean glanced at his screen and confirmed, "Yep, that's bad, probably karma for trying Aurelia," her mischievous smile evident.

"Hey, no fair, you did too. Why am I getting punished?" Ethan retorted, already on the defensive.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Jean smirked, avoiding Ethan's gaze.

Ethan wasn't angry, but it did irk him that Jean was trying to make fun of him. 'Damn it.' he thought to himself, frustrated by the situation.

Aurelia had been watching for a while and couldn't contain the amusement he derived from Ethan's misfortune.

"This is interesting, it's the first time I'm seeing it happen, but alas, we don't have much time. Let's start." Aurelia announced, eager to proceed.

"Time my ass. You just want me to pick a skill before the duration is over," Ethan grumbled to himself in spite, his frustration simmering beneath the surface.

Ryota won the first draw and was sent to the space where he'd pick his skills.

While everyone waited, others who felt sorry for Ethan tried to encourage him.

"It'll be fine."

"Don't think about it too much."

"You'll never know, maybe there's a reason your luck got restricted." Meanwhile, some taunted and made fun of him.

"Serves him right."

"Maybe next time you'll keep your manners in check."

"Leave him alone. None of us even know what's real anymore," Dmitry defended him.

"Cedric? Oh Dmitry" Ethan was a bit surprised. None of this happened in the book. 'Well, it's good he's trying to man up sooner than later.' Ethan thought to himself, giving off a faint smile.

He looked at everyone and smiled. Although most of them were being mean, they had no bad intentions, and Ethan knew that. This realization made him laugh, and soon, most of them joined in.

"How can you be laughing at a time like this?" Jean asked, as if she were the one in trouble.

"I have no idea," Ethan replied with a shrug, his laughter still echoing in the hall.

*****

Ryota found himself in a bright, serene pond, devoid of anything except the shimmering water beneath his feet. Though walking on water would have surprised him in the past, he had seen enough by now that it felt like child's play.

Suddenly, thousands of glowing cards came flying from the skies, surrounding him and moving in a whirlwind formation. Aurelia appeared instantly as the cards stopped moving.

"So, how many points do you have?" Aurelia inquired casually, sipping a cup of tea he conjured out of nowhere.

"Status Open" Ryota checked, then replied, "900 points, sir."

Aurelia instantly choked on his tea. "900?" he repeated in disbelief.

"Yes, sir," Ryota confirmed, puzzled by Aurelia's reaction.

"Then your luck stat? What does it say?" Aurelia asked eagerly, his usual calm demeanor replaced by excitement.

"300. What's the matter?" Ryota asked, growing confused. He hadn't expected Aurelia to react so strongly.

"300?" Aurelia shouted in astonishment. "An average person gets about 50 to 90 luck stats, and you're telling me you got 300?"

Ryota felt a sense of pride swell within him, but he couldn't shake the thought of whether his companions would have similar luck. 'Would be great if they all did.'

"Alrighty, there are 7 ranks of skills available to choose from. Each needs a different amount of points based on the rank," Aurelia explained.

"S - 300

A - 200

B - 150

C - 100

D - 90

E - 70

F - 50"

"Take your time. It moves much slower here," Aurelia added with a smile.

"Whoa, amazing, just like in a video game," Ryota exclaimed, marveling at the array of skills before him.

Ryota surfed through all the skills, taking his time to read each one's pros and cons before making his pick.

[Heaven's Blessing: S] - 300

[Divine Defence: A] - 200

[Inferno: A] - 200

[Regeneration: A] - 200

"Are you satisfied with your choice? Y/N," the prompt appeared before him.

"Yes," Ryota confirmed.

[Status updated]

[New Skills Acquired]

[Excess points will vanish immediately]

"Too bad I can't add those to my luck," Ryota remarked with a faint laugh as he looked at his stats:

=====

Current Name: Ryota Sato

Level: Null

HP: 5

MP: 5

Strength: 5

Agility: 4

Intelligence: 1

Perception: 1

Luck: 300

Skills:

- [Heaven's Blessing: S]

- [Divine Defence: A]

- [Inferno: A]

- [Regeneration: A]

=====

"That will be all, you can leave now," Aurelia snapped his fingers, and the door he used to enter appeared once more for Ryota to leave.

Exiting the space, Ryota found almost everyone laughing upon his return.

"Yo, hope I wasn't gone for too long," Ryota greeted, unaware of the situation.

"It's only been 10 minutes, and I know that because I have a freaking time in front of me," one of the others replied.

"Okay, sure," Ryota responded, not fully understanding until someone explained it to him. "Oh. Oh no, that's bad."

Ryota started to panic. "What do we do?" he asked, flustered and concerned.

"You don't need to worry about m..." Ethan began, but Aurelia interrupted him abruptly.

"Move along now. We don't have all day," Aurelia interjected with a devious smirk.

"I see what you did there. 'We don't have all day'? Really?" Ethan forced a smile, but underneath, he was seething with anger.

"Did you say something?" Aurelia's expression shifted as he snapped his fingers.

"Nothing." Ethan muttered, looking away, knowing he had lost this round.

"That's what I thought. Let's continue." Aurelia declared, bringing out the straws and the cup. He shook it, and everyone except Ryota picked.

This time, it was Jean who won and stepped into the space.

And the selection continued like this, with Dmitry being the sixth to go. As the others used the time to start conversations and get to know each other better, Ethan grew increasingly anxious. He had read every book from the WAR BOUND series, played every offline RPG and MMORPG, and watched all the movies and anime adaptations until he knew them like the back of his hand.

As the talks continued, Ethan realized that everyone was accounted for except one person.

'Well, here I was thinking it was going to be smooth sailing.' Ethan sighed, his expression shifting from bright to fearful. 'Everyone's name is the same as those from the franchise, and therefore their lives are already set. I'm pretty sure I'm suffering this penalty from the system so I don't change their destinies.'

A sense of defeat washed over him, and he let out a bitter laugh. 'But if that's the case, then there's only one character remaining. A trash kid who doesn't even survive till 16. Even Jean lives to see twenty. Tch...'

Ethan felt defeated and out of breath, the weight of his realization pressing down on him heavily.

"And here I was thinking it was going to be smooth sailing," Ethan sighed, his expression shifting from bright to fearful. "Everyone's name is the same as those from the franchise, and therefore their lives are already set. I'm pretty sure I got this penalty from the system so I don't change their destinies."

Ethan's smile turned mischievous. "But if that's the case, then there's only one character remaining. A trash kid who doesn't even survive till 17. Even Jean lives to see 20. Tch..."

He pondered for a moment, the implications sinking in.

"I'll worry about that later. With my ability and knowledge, I'm sure I can divert that fate." Ethan assured himself quietly. "What's more important now is..." His thoughts trailed off as he watched Dmitry emerge from the selection space.

Activate [Gluttony]' Ethan whispered to himself, triggering his unique skill.

[Gluttony]: User can scan and copy any desired skill.

Scan Duration: 10 seconds

Coold down: 30 minutes

Individual Cool down: 1 week

"Let's see what you've got for me, Dmitry," Ethan muttered with a barely concealed smile.

*

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[A/N]

He's finally going to use it.

That's a relief.

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