4 Prologue [3]

Having spent over 20 hours practicing my manual, I felt like I had a pretty good grasp of the limitations and strengths it had. As evident by the name, the Trickster manual didn't have the purpose of overpowering your enemies with pure strength or by the use of miraculous spells. Instead, it was focused on skillfully manipulating your enemies to create advantageous situations that could be exploited.

[Double Trouble]

Description: The user creates a physical clone that carries identical characteristics. While this skill is active the user's mind is split in two letting him or her control both bodies at the same time.

It was a simple Core Skill but it carried immense potential. Every manual had a Core Skill that was gained as soon as the player gained the minimum amount of understanding needed to use it. In the case of Trickster, you gained a body double that could do the exact same thing as the main body. So if you learned to use the [Fireball] spell, the clone could also use it.

This was the reason why it was an ungraded manual. In the hands of someone who didn't have the right mindset and didn't see the possibilities, it would be useless. On the other hand, if one knew what was possible it was one of the most potent skills that existed.

In the game I had used it in order to control two characters at the same time, sometimes letting one of them grind exp while the other was in town buying and selling items. Other times I would make them team up to take down a boss monster or farm together. The downside with this was that one of them was always the 'real' body, meaning that if that body died, I would die.

The first skill that came with the manual when one gained a Minor Understanding was something that could be used to prevent this; [Swap]. Just as the name suggests it lets me switch the real body to the fake body, or rather let me switch the real and fake consciousness. This meant that even if the main body suffered deep wounds they wouldn't get carried over when I used [Swap].

It was incredibly hard to control two bodies at once but after continually practicing for more than twenty hours I was able to use them both pretty adequately. The split vision was also very disorienting but it didn't take a long time for me to get used to it.

"James! Come on!"

Sophie appeared to have already concluded her practice and was now waiting impatiently for my return. As I had already dismissed my clone, making sure that she didn't see what I was able to do, I made my way to the tall pink-haired beauty. She was standing with her arms crossed, looking mighty pissed that I was a bit late.

"Come on man, now we only have an hour before we get sent! How long can it take to get used to your abilities?! I mean, it only took me a couple of hours to get used to my body enhancement!"

...

"Didn't we agree to keep our manuals a secret, Sophie?"

"Fuck..."

Sophie seemed to be both a genius and an idiot at the same time. Though it had to be said, I had already concluded that she had chosen some kind of physical damage dealer manual, as evident by her physique. Why else would she spend so many stat points in strength?

Waving my hand to move on from her little accident I carried on with the conversation, "So, what do you want to do when we get to the academy?"

She sat down on the ground cross-legged, which wasn't a problem as we were both dressed in casual training wear in the form of gray hoodies and sweatpants. As she sat down, she took a deep breath and her face flushed a bit.

"I want to get to know Arthur..."

"Pfft!"

"Don't laugh at me!"

With me also placing my bum on the ground, I couldn't help but laugh at her innocent desire, something she didn't appreciate much. As stated before, Arthur Luminary was the hero of this story, a cliché hero and a swordsman who had the power of light. He was the heir of the prominent Luminary family who had disappeared after fighting with the demons. In short, he wanted to avenge his dead parents and punish the demonkind for their actions.

Shaking my head at her silliness, I tried to keep a straight face to show respect for her wishes, "Fine, so you want to get nasty with the hero. Is that all?"

"STOP! DON'T SAY IT LIKE THAT, YOU MIDGET!"

"Argh!"

Another fatal blow to my self-respect and confidence. This time, though, it was pretty fair. I had deliberately chosen my words to tease her.

"Fine, I'm sorry... Just please stop calling me a midget... I was over 180 cm in my last life, you know..."

It was rough having lost more than 20 cm of height just to gain the stats that I wanted. I just hoped that as my strength grew, I would grow as well.

Seeing my anguish, Sophie's face softened a bit and she stretched her big but delicate hand out, " Okay, let's call a truce then. As long as you don't tease me for wanting to get to know Arthur, I won't tease you for your height."

Letting her hand engulf mine, I accepted her proposal, "Okay. It's a promise." Little did she know that one of my specialties in my former life was teasing people. Sadly, it might also be one of the reasons I ended up as a loner who spent all his time playing games...

Moving on from our silly conversation, I got more serious about what her plan actually entailed, "So you want to help the hero save the world then? Are you sure about that? That means that you will have to risk your life."

Her face turned down to the ground and her hands contracted into fists, her veins bulging a bit. "I know. But I want to be by his side, no matter what!"

Turning her eyes straight into mine, I could see her resolution. 'This woman is serious about this...'

She appeared to fully realize what could happen to her if she wanted to pursue the hero romantically, and she didn't seem to mind the risks. It had to be said though, it was all very strange to me. 'Is she seriously in love with a game character? She hasn't even met him in real life yet?'

Sophie was probably a bit crazy. Actually, scratch that, she was probably very crazy. 'What kind of life did she have to fall in love with a virtual character?'

Even if I also had some 2d characters that I would love to meet in real life, it wasn't ever to the point of me falling in love with them. With that being said, I didn't particularly care, she could live her life however she wanted.

Finally, she opened her mouth and inquired about my plans, "So, what do you want to do?"

My desire was so incredibly simple yet so difficult to attain "I want to survive."

Frankly, I hadn't given it much thought yet. All I knew for sure was that I didn't want to get involved in the war between the united races and the demons. I was not about to die for the sake of another world. However, I still needed enough power and resources to survive the war.

Her brows raised a bit, disappointed in my unmanly answer, "So you mean that you get the chance to travel to a game world and all you want is to survive? Isn't this where you men are supposed to say that you want to be the strongest or something? Creating a harem and conquering the vast lands of the world?"

*Sigh..*

Sighing, I refuted her words, "Don't be so sexist Sophie. Just because I have a dick doesn't mean that I want to conquer all the untainted flowers of the land. I mean, could you imagine me going around and ..."

"STOP! Fine, I get it! Just... Stop talking!" Sophie's face was now as red as when I couldn't lift her from the ground. She could very well have been a replacement for Rudolph if Santa decided to upgrade.

All of a sudden, I could feel a slight tug. Not a physical one, more like my very soul was getting sucked away by something. "I guess it's time. I'll see you on the other side then, Sophie."

"Sure. Be safe, James."

And the last thing I saw was her gentle smile that tried to cover her fear of going into an unknown world.

****

"Are you sure that it's going to be alright, Gaia?"

The earthly god was sitting on a chair in front of a lovely, golden glowing woman who was restless and anxious.

"It's going to be fine. I mean, they have already played that game you made for over 100 hours each. Even if the real world of yours is a little bit different, they can probably make the best of it. Don't worry, Theia."

"Hrmmm... I hope you are right. You did tell them about the harshness of the academy right? Because that will most likely not be like the game at all. It will be rough if they don't know about nobles and royalty."

A streak of cold sweat started to run down Gaia's forehead as he realized how much he didn't tell the pair of earthlings that he sent to another world.

"Haha... Of course I did... I would be an idiot not to, right? Haha..."