Chapter 25 The Courage To Love Once More
Backing by a few minutes, after Max punched Hiro numerous system messages appeared in his eyes.
- Warning: [Over the limit] ending. Prepare for the rebound from stat deprivation. –
- Alert: STR decreased, stat decreased 2500 -> 10 -
- Alert: AGI decreased, stat decreased 2500 -> 10 -
- Alert: INT decreased, stat decreased 2500 -> 10 -
As a simple guide, STR makes your muscles get stronger, it has two by-products one is to increase the durability of your bones and skin. The other is to strengthen the tissue of your organs to allow the body to endure punishment.
AGI increases the ability to move faster, and also has two by-products. Due to the blood in the body flowing faster, AGI increases metabolism and electrical charges between cells. This translates to faster reaction times and a faster nervous system.
INT on the other hand increases the capabilities of the brain by a very wide margin. By-products include a significant upgrade to memory, enhanced analytical capabilities, and more powerful brain processing. Just by increasing the three base stats the difference between a normal human and one supported by the system could not be denied.
Hiro who now suddenly lost such capabilities felt his body suddenly chained. His brain and body started moving slower. The coverage of his senses suddenly shrunk to the size of a few tens of meters, and his memory suddenly started to go foggy. On top of he felt his skin suddenly becoming thin like tissue paper, and his bones becoming brittle like toothpicks.
- Alert: Toughness [D] Lvl 3 has leveled up to Lvl 5 -
- Alert: Masochism [C] Lvl 1 has suppressed the shock response of the host's autonomic nervous system -
- Alert: Masochism [C] Lvl 1 has leveled up to Lvl 2 -
- Alert: Insanity [E] Lvl 1 has suppressed the hysteria response of the host's autonomic nervous system -
- Alert: Masochism [C] Lvl 1 has suppressed the convulsion response of the host's autonomic nervous system -
- Alert: Insanity [E] Lvl 1 has suppressed the panic response of the host's autonomic nervous system -
- Alert: [Wrath of the Vengeful] forcefully ended due to failure to win against the target -
- Alert: [Legacy of Vengeance] deactivated, no rewards given due to battle outcome -
- Alert: Sword Adept [C] Lvl 1 has leveled up to Lvl 2 -
The stat deprivation started the moment Max slammed his fist into Hiro's face. His body could handle the blow but while flowing into the air the effect of [Over the limit] disappeared. Thus the sudden loss of his strength made him unable to do anything else aside from smashing into the wall.
- Alert: Host now in status [Shackled] -
- Alert: Time before the host dies from blood loss: 4 minutes and 20 seconds. -
As he struggled to stand, his bones started breaking from the damage; the shards pierced his skin turning him into a bloody painting. Blood came out in buckets as he started to bleed from all seven orifices.
His brain protested as it felt like he ate bottles of depressants making him extremely drowsy and sad. The blood in his veins after suddenly slowing down felt like ice. Hiro's pathetic state could be seen as the payment of having the high that is [Over the limit].
The transmigrator looked on as Max approached him armed with a comically oversized war hammer. Hiro knew Max didn't intend to swap stories with him. Hiro's body started to shiver as his brain begged him to close his eyes and rest. But when all hope seemed lost he then saw the backs of three women as they confronted the giant of a red-haired man.
"No… run away, he is too powerful. Raylene, Vanessa, Jade….. Please… I'm not worth it…." As Hiro mumbled in defeat, a figure arrived beside him. A white-haired old man with a giant halberd on his shoulder. "Oy! boy those women are going to get killed if you don't get up. You okay letting it end like this?"
- Alert: Sight Beyond Vision activated, Spirit vision mutation acquired. -
Hiro suddenly found his vision tied to an astral spirit separated from his physical body.
'WOAH! I became a ghost! How? Nevermind…Who the fuck would be okay with this ojisan? But what the hell can I do? I'm dying if you hadn't noticed.'
Krayto Alabarda continued talking to the trash swordsman's body as life slowly left him. "I'm not sure how you managed to do it, but did you know that all three of those girls came to be the same day saying how kind you were and all that?"
Hiro surprised at what he heard crossed his arms and replied. 'Hmm, I did meet them all on the same day, but what kindness? I just helped Vanessa who fell, gave some medicine to Raylene, and caught Jade when she got blown out the window. My actions followed circumstance, not kindness.'
The muscular old man continued not knowing Hiro conversed with him despite his body not moving.
"You see, those girls all have one thing in common. They were all targets of bullying for years. Their very existence ended up being denied by everyone around them. As I similarly don't give a shit about anyone, those three suddenly started hanging out around me in their spare time.
"Raylene is said to be cursed because of her appearance, Vanessa is ostracized due to some dumb law by a dead god for missing limbs, while they burned Jade alive due to having rose pink colored hair."
'What? What the hell is wrong with everyone? Why would they blame the girls for those traits?! It's not like they chose to get them! Just how stupid can people be?' Hiro fumed and got angry at the injustice and the absurdity of some people.
Krayto sat beside Hiroyuki's body as he pulled out a vial of white-colored liquid. "I know right? Them people are stupid as fuck. Anyway, despite the bullying they three encountered, none of them ever chose to fight back. They just thought it was how things were supposed to be."
'Oy, ojisan, I won't be able to continue talking to you soon you know? I'm bleeding to death, look at my body, my lips are turning blue for crying out loud! Give me a potion of whatever it is on your hand.'
Not hearing rebuttals from Hiro, Krayto joyfully continued his discussions with the soon-to-be corpse.
"But then this bastard from another world arrives, weak and alone. The bastard suffered hardship after hardship, yet like a wild animal refused to stay down. This bastard then does the impossible and fights back despite being powerless."
*SHIIIIIINGGGGGGGGG* hearing the distant deafening sound of a sonic grenade, Krayto turned around and quickly continued.
"Ah, the battle already started, anyway, long story short, these girls saw their salvation at the back of the said bastard. Despite being called the trash swordsman and eggplant man, they all eagerly watch his every move. Truthfully they believed the man had mental issues."
Krayto then opened the vial in his hand and dumped it on Hiro's head. The transmigrator who could see everything clearly in the third person saw the fluid seep into his scalp and skin.