My Isekai Life in Hard Mode

Uncovering the Enigma

"I must be losing it..." Ryoshu muttered as he glanced at his wristwatch. 

Status Update:

- Name: Amemura Ryoshu

- Race: Human

- Level: Unranked

- Stats

  + Mana: Non-existent

  + Primary Stats:

    - Strength: 12.25 (F-)

    - Endurance: 11 (F-)

    - Agility: 11.5 (F-)

    - Intuition: 15.3 (F)

  + Secondary Stats:

    - Charisma: 10 (Unranked)

    - Recovery: 10.15 (F-)

    - Intelligence: 18.8 (F+)

From now on, Ryoshu reckoned, he wouldn't even need the darned wristwatch. It was invisible to others anyway, so he could use it whenever he pleased.

"But... I still need it to check the time and for school notifications and social media," Ryoshu pondered. After a moment's reflection, he decided to hold onto it. Those features might come in handy at Spiral Academy.

"Yeah, I'll hold onto this watch a bit longer. I'll upgrade to a better one," he resolved.

Looking back at his stats, Ryoshu couldn't help but sigh. "Unranked... Figures."

Aside from his average Intuition and Intelligence, his stats were as dismal as a regular Joe's.

"These stats are even worse than the character I started with in the game," he lamented.

Yet, Ryoshu found himself taken aback by his unusually high Charisma. It seemed almost surreal compared to an ordinary person's. This stat represented beauty, nearing its zenith before the monstrous war broke out behind the Shrine. It was as good as it got for someone who had just woken up.

But compared to his favorite character in the game, Katia, he paled in comparison. She boasted stats at level 60, a solid B+, and she was just a freshman. It was like comparing a mere mortal to a deity.

The reason for such a gaping disparity was Mana.

Now that Mana had engulfed the entire Earth, people could harness it to bolster their strength. It also reshaped their physique, enhancing their attractiveness.

An easy-to-follow rule governed the operation of these stats: except 0, which signified Non-existent and applied only to the Mana stat, all other stats ranged from 0 to 100, with 100 being the pinnacle.

- From 0 to 10: Unranked

- From 10 to 20: F rank

- From 20 to 30: E rank

- And so forth...

However, Players needn't worry about committing this to memory. They could consult their wristwatches or swing by the nearest Adventurer's Guild for assessment tools.

The tool for assessing status provided more details beyond just rankings. It featured symbols like minus (-), plus (+), or none at all, which were used to determine Avatar's ranking stage.

"So, the VR version doesn't change much. Still under three is low-tier, over seven is top-tier, and in between is... mid-tier."

Looking at Ryoshu's stats, his Endurance at 10.15 meant it was F- tier, while his Intelligence at 18.8 was F+ tier.

But getting more robust and better looking was simple: leveling up. Ryoshu planned to craft a Mana Core to rank up once he got home.

Putting stats aside, what Ryoshu craved were his character's skills.

"Skill board."

- Skills

+ Art

+ Traits

+ Potential

1. Swordsmanship (F-)

   Thrust (Level I)

+ Innate

He stared at the Swordsmanship line on the screen. Despite being relieved he wouldn't have to deal with the Adventurer's Guild anymore, it wasn't exactly thrilling.

"My character's a swordsman, but his Swordsmanship level is so low, he can only unlock the Thrust skill... Trash is still trash," Ryoshu muttered.

He tapped the Swordsmanship line, revealing another sub-board.

Swordsmanship (F-)

Description: This is your first time touching a sword. But everything starts from zero!

- Thrust (Level I)

The first attack consumes "Stamina" and boosts "Critical Hit Chance" by 5%.

Thrust is an essential skill for beginners... Boosting Critical Hit Chance early in the game is good, as it can double damage. But 5% is too low to rely on, draining a lot of Stamina, which Ryoshu needs to improve.

"Alright, let's see what I got from that old man. Let's start with the mask... since I bought it first, even if not from that grumpy blacksmith."

Concealment Mask (D)

Description: Crafted by a legendary blacksmith! Unbelievable someone would steal such a magnificent but awkward masterpiece!

- Magnificent!

Increases "Charisma" stat by 5 points when equipped.

- Concealment

Infusing Mana into the mask partially erases the wearer.

-?

"This System's teasing me, huh? But as Atsuta said, this mask can help me conceal when Mana's infused... But I don't have Mana yet, so it's useless."

However, Ryoshu also noticed a function that made him more handsome, along with another hidden feature.

"It'll be useful sooner rather than later... But what's this hidden feature?"

"Assessment."

"The 'System' doesn't have enough Authority to evaluate this feature!"

"The system can't analyze it? Wait, when do I get Authority?! Ah... it did mention it earlier..."

Ryoshu's curiosity led him to check the status board. Authority was rare; if Innate was hard to achieve, Authority was almost impossible for a regular person.

"System, what's my authority?"

System (Level I)

Description: ▯▮▮▮▯▯ bestowed upon entity Amemura Ryoshu for his curiosity.

- Status Display (Level I)

You can view status bars ▮▯▮▯▮▯▯▮

- Assessment (Level I)

It can be used for assessment ▮▯▯▮▯▮▮▮

"A skill like Assessment can't even assess itself?! Ridiculous. Haha."

Ryoshu chuckled at his joke. If anyone saw him now, they'd think he's a nervous wreck. Thankfully, he was in a secluded spot in the forest, so nobody was around.

"Can the System be considered an Authority? Maybe because I'm an NPC? The more I delve into it, the more questions arise than answers."

But would this skill change much? Probably not. It may assist with minor tasks, but it saves some money and time. Besides, Assessment will come in handy when camping in the Shrine.

However, it wouldn't directly make him as overwhelmingly powerful as the main characters in the game.

Next, he checked the Void Space Ring's upgraded items.

Void Space Bow (E-)

Description: A finely crafted shapeless bow by the skilled hands of the legendary blacksmith's only close friend. This weapon is the blacksmith's legacy.

- Compact

It can be compacted by infusing Mana into the bow.

- Armor Breaker

With each shot, the super flexible bowstring increases "Attack Power" by 5% and "Critical Hit Chance" by 10%.

And if it's a "Critical Hit," it reduces the opponent's "Defense" by 50% for 2 minutes.

Though Ryoshu couldn't compact the bow due to the lack of Mana, he could still use the second function, Armor Breaker. So, in case of any trouble, he had a way to fight, albeit limited, but at least it wasn't as hopeless as before.

"Reducing opponent's defense by half for two minutes... not too bad. But against mid-game bosses, this function won't have much impact..."

Ryoshu remembered reducing their defense entirely, yet it didn't significantly increase the damage dealt.

However, he remained calm as the mid-game was still far off. So Ryoshu had plenty of time to find new weapons.

Additionally, Ryoshu had bought some extra arrows to use with the bow. He took out exactly twelve arrows from the ring.

"A batch of arrows like this costs me 75 RC... Well, it should be enough... can't demand too much for too little.

Then, he inspected the two upgraded items via the game's glitch. The spheres, once hazy, were now surrounded by a bright glow.

"They look fancier than the cheap clothes I'm wearing..." Ryoshu thought as he compared the two. Then, he quickly assessed the sphere on his dominant hand.

Memory Sphere: Good Memory (F-) → Super Memory (C-)

Description: Absorbing it will unlock the potential "Good Memory" → Innate "Super Memory."

-Near Photographic Memory (New!)

I can remember almost everything I've ever seen.

"The skill description seems... unbalanced for the game... Truly a skill impossible to attain without exploiting the game's glitch..."

However, when Ryoshu assessed the remaining skill, he couldn't believe it even more as it came with two additional skills. He was eager to absorb both but restrained himself as they could still be further upgraded.

Memory Sphere: Quick Reflexes (F-) → Lightning Reflexes (D+)

Description: Absorbing it will unlock the potential "Quick Reflexes" → Innate "Lightning Reflexes."

-Enhanced Senses (New!)

All five senses exceed those of an average human by multiple times.

-Premonition of Death (New!)

Can sense imminent death, boosting "Intuition" by 20 units for 1.5 seconds.

"As predicted, the first time using this glitch will result in the most upgrades."

Since Ryoshu was currently in the A+ Ranked Shrine, the energy emanating from the portal was dense and powerful. This glitch would help upgrade skill items by absorbing strong Mana streams from the portal. He would continuously use this glitch until both skills reached an A+ rank.

But strangely, Ryoshu had been soaking the spheres in the portal for over 5 minutes, and there was no sign of any upgrades.

"Wait a minute. Could it be!? Could it be saying the glitch's been fixed?" Ryoshu remembered the urgent red alerts from earlier.