SIAW Vol. 1 Chapter 2 (PROLOGUE)
Chapter 2 – Training : Day 1
First of all, I checked my status again.
Name: Tenma
Species: Human
Level: 1
Gender: Male
Age: 14
HP : 50/50
MP : 50/50
STA: 50/50
INT: 50
STR: 50
SPD: 50
SKL: 50
LCK: 50
Title(s):
Skill(s): Language comprehension – LV 2, Lifestyle Magic, Appraisal, Item Box
Maybe it didn’t mean much, but the “Species Level” parameter in the initial status was now shortened to just “Level”.
Anyway, the first thing I had to do was to decide the orientation of my training. Raising the species level would automatically raise all stats: what I had to confirm was whether it was also possible to raise the stats directly, independently from the level.
Whether the increase in stats was fixed or based on a percentage would then influence the contents of my training.
For example, if my MP increased by a fixed amount of 10 points per level up, I should go ahead and level up first.
If the level-up increase was 10%, however, it would definitely be better to raise each parameter as much as possible before leveling up.
The question was, was it possible to raise each parameter independently from the level? If so, how?
It was time for some trial & error.
In some games and light novels, using up all of one’s MP would raise the total amount. I was still a bit apprehensive about getting my HP too low for the moment, so I would try that later — but in regards to STA, STR, and the rest, doing actual training might lead to results.
I decided I would see if the other parameters could be raised via training.
For starters, in order to use MP, I thought of using the Lifestyle Magic skill.
Not because I was very curious about using magic, of course…
I tried concentrating on the status window’s Lifestyle Magic skill, and its details were displayed.
Lifestyle Magic: a skill that makes one’s lifestyle easier. Magic spells contained within this skill are called Lifestyle spells.
Time
Water, Fire
Hole, Blow
Sleep, Light
Clear
It was pretty confusing, but apparently, the skill was called “Lifestyle Magic”, while each spell was a “Lifestyle Spell”.
Furthermore, the first spell on the list — “Time” was displayed normally, while the rest were all written in red for some reason. What could that mean?
I then tried chanting “Time”, and “10 o’clock” was displayed.
I checked my status and saw that I had 5 less MP.
“This will take ages!!”
I then tried chanting “Water”, and enough water to fill a glass came out of my hand. 10 less MP.
With “Fire”, a candle flame-sized light burned for about 1 minute. 5 less MP.
“Hole” produced a 10 cm wide, 10 cm deep hole. 10 less MP.
“Blow” created a weak breeze. 5 less MP. My body felt a bit heavier.
I chanted “Sleep” and became terribly sleepy. 10 less MP. I suddenly felt the urge to vomit, and my body became even more sluggish.
“Light” produced a globe of light slightly bigger than the flame of the average candle. 5 less MP.
After I chanted “Light”, I almost lost my senses due to how heavy my body felt.
When the light produced by the spell vanished, however, my body returned to normal. My MP also had gone from 0 back to 10: I suppose they recovered by 10 per minute, more or less.
Using too much MP influenced the body and senses. Using them all up was too much of a burden, I realized.
Unfortunately, my total amount of MP had not changed.
I doubted that using them all up just once would increase my max MP amount, but I must have hoped it would: I could not deny that I was a little disappointed.
As I could retry the process once per hour, I decided to continue the experiment. Even if my max MP did not increase, I could still increase the proficiency level of “Lifestyle Magic”!
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
I stood up from the table and took a walk in the surroundings.
I found a pebble on the way, so I tried putting it in the Item Box. Fortunately, it looked like using the Item Box did not consume MP.
The Item Box was apparently capable of storing targets within 1 meter of distance.
I stored the pebble 1 meter away from me, then took it out on my hand. I then tried taking it out in its original position, one meter up in the air, etcetera.
I did not know what the proficiency level of the Item Box was based on — if it was the weight of the item stored, how many times it was used, or what else, so I just continued using it over and over.
～
I thus kept walking and practicing with the Item Box, and before I realized it, I had reached the riverbank.
There were lots of pebbles on the riverbed, so I tried storing them all together with some larger rocks. It seemed that the Item Box still had plenty of capacity left, though.
I took a pebble out of the Item Box and threw it at a rock about ten meters away. Hoping that it might let me acquire a “Throw” skill or something, I continued throwing pebbles for a while. Eventually, my right hand got tired, so I used my left.
When both my arms became too tired, I checked my status: my STA had decreased by 10.
My MP had fully recovered, so I tried chanting the Lifestyle magic spell “Clear”: all the sweat and dirt on my body was wiped clean.
I felt as refreshed as if I was right out of the bath, but to my surprise, the spell consumed 30 whole MP.
I tried using Appraisal on a pebble, and 10 MP were consumed. The displayed window read “Pebble” and showed its components and other details, but they were all written in red.
I imagined that the red font indicated information not included in the training bonuses.
I sat down on a rock and chanted the “Time” and “Light” spells: the symptoms of low MP started appearing.
When the light disappeared again, I felt normal once more. My STA had recovered by just 2 points: it took about 5 minutes to recover 1 point.
～
Next, I tried running a bit. Maybe because I was younger, or maybe because of the effect of the stats, but my body felt lighter than ever.
Excited, I kept on running, and eventually, I noticed a kind of thin, semi-transparent film in front of me.
I stopped running and approached it with caution, but I could not figure out what it was. I tried touching it as carefully as I could, but my fingers just went through it.
I then had a hunch: I looked beyond the film and saw a rabbit with horns.
The light film probably signaled the limits of the safe area.
I started running again. I checked my status periodically to see at what pace my STA decreased and MP recovered,
When I arrived back at the building, my MP had just fully recovered.
～
The first thing I did upon my return was cast the Lifestyle spell “Clear” one more time and “Time” and “Light” two times each to fully deplete my MP again.
As before, the symptoms were rough. Unfortunately, nothing changed in my status.
When I could move again, I went inside the building and ate lunch.
I ordered an extra large beef bowl from a certain famous chain, then picked a plum from the “Resources” menu for dessert, as it was a fruit I could eat easily.
I then bought several energy bars from the “Meals” menu and put them in the Item Box, together with some fruits.
～
After the meal, I went outside again and started working out.
It was something I never did spontaneously in my past life, but thinking that it was for the sake of my new life, I could find the motivation to do push-ups, sit-ups, back extensions, squats, and more.
Eventually, my MP recovered, so I chanted “Clear” to use them up again.
It felt nice and refreshing to use this spell, as it cleaned up my whole body, but it used too much MP.
It couldn’t be efficient to raise its proficiency level this way. I decided to stop using “Clear” for the time being and instead increase the proficiency level with “Time”.
I chanted “Time” nine times, then used “Light” to use up all of my MP. Resisting the usual symptoms, I checked my status, and the long-awaited moment finally came.
My max MP had increased by 1 and was now 51!
“Y-Yeaaah…!”
I could not rejoice as much as I wished because of the nausea and fatigue, but I would have danced on the spot by how happy I was.
My assumption turned out to be right.
The joy of seeing the fruits of my effort was something I never experienced in my past life.
When the low MP symptoms went away, I tried making some calculations. For a gamer, it was something that had to be examined thoroughly.
Using up my MP four times resulted in my max MP increasing by 1. There were two possible meanings behind this phenomenon:
Number one: every time one’s MP was fully depleted, the total amount increased by 0.25 points. In other words (or numbers), 0.25 + 0.25 + 0.25 + 0.25 = 1.
Number two: every time one’s MP was fully depleted, the max MP amount increased to 1.005% of the original amount. Multiplying my original amount of 50 by 1.005 four times would eventually lead to 51.
Hmm, this formula was pretty complicated…
If the second possibility turned out to be correct, however…the increase would be small at first, but the more it was repeated, it might lead to amazing numbers down the line!?
If the increase were fixed, depleting my MP 1000 times would lead to an increase of 300 points, but in the second case, the same 1000 times would result in 50 MP being multiplied by 146…an increase of about 7300 MP.
Having more MP would make it harder to use them up, but it was worth experimenting on!
Brimming with motivation again, I repeated the running, workout, MP depletion, and so on process until I reached my limits.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
When it turned dark outside, I went back inside my base. Both my MP and STA were pretty low, so I decided to go to the library to read.
After my STA recovered a bit, I went to the indoor training room to do some more workouts. At the same time, I practiced with the Item Box using pebbles. Naturally, I also continued the MP depleting process too.
At around 11 PM, I sat at the work desk. I checked the monitor, which read 23:18.
A day was about 24 hours, like in my old world.
While taking pebbles in and out of the Item Box, I started a new experiment.
I took the potions from the “Resources” menu and transferred them to the Item Box.
At midnight, the contents of the “Resources” menu were supposed to be reset: I wanted to see if it also happened in the case I took the menu’s contents but did not actually use them.
The regular potions were available in three-digit quantities, but there was only one Elixir.
The Elixir not only fully healed HP, MP, and STA but also healed all status ailments and even missing body parts — it was a dream-like item, through and through.
When the training ended and I was truly reborn, all of my items, equipment, and item box contents would be reset: I would be left with only my initial equipment and items. So even if I put stuff in the Item Box now, I would not be able to keep it later, but an Elixir would definitely be helpful if I incurred grave damage or loss of limbs during training. If I had multiples, I could use them as trump cards in case I needed them.
I also wanted to experiment with something related to the “Meals” menu. I bought energy bars, rice balls, and bread until I had only about 30 Yen left. I wanted to see if the balance left would be brought to the next day or if it just went back to exactly 3,000 Yen.
If the balance was carried over, there was no need to use it all, but if it went back to 3,000, it was obviously better to use as much money as possible every day.
After completing such preparations, I used up all of my MP again for the last time that day. When the symptoms disappeared, I checked my status again.
Name: Tenma
Species: Human
Level: 1
Gender: Male
Age: 14
HP : 50/50
MP : 11/53 (UP!!)
STA: 50/50
INT: 50
STR: 50
SPD: 50
SKL: 50
LCK: 50
Title(s):
Skill(s): Language comprehension – LV 2, Lifestyle Magic, Appraisal, Item Box
The only increase was in my max MP. After depleting them 13 times, they increased by 3 points.
Nothing else increased, but like MP, there might be some small increments not registered yet. I had to continue some more before making any conclusions.
My skills did not level up either, but I could only trust that my proficiency was increasing and keep it up.
Only 12 hours passed since I actually started training, after all.
I was going to continue the same training for 10 days and then see how my stats increased.
Time was precious, so I was going to limit my sleep as much as possible in order to devote as much time as I could to training.
～
A little while later, the clock reached midnight. I checked the “Resources” menu: the items I had moved to the Item Box were replenished. The ones I had in the Item Box were present as well.
For the time being, I would transfer the higher-grade potions and Elixir into the Item Box every day.
The “Meals” balance was back to exactly 3,000 Yen: there was no carryover, so I decided to use it all every day.