Yamamoto sat on the edge of his bed, his breath steady as the chaos outside his window continued. At such a moment, his calm didn't waver much as he expected, and even his mind and the confused thoughts had waned. It was strange indeed. Perhaps the game made provisions knowing he would face such problems? He couldn't say.
With a thought, he pulled up his status window.
…
[Status]
Character: Yamamoto Odinson
Race: Human
Title: Hired Assassin
Class: Swordsman
Level: 4
HP: 200/200
MP: 150/150
Strength: 5
Agility: 7
Endurance: 2
Intelligence: 1
Vitality: 1
Free Stat Points: 21
[Weapon Mastery]
One-Handed Sword Mastery: Apprentice Rank – 5%
Two-Handed Sword Mastery: Apprentice Rank – 5%
Free Mastery Points: 5
…
Yamamoto stared at the numbers, his mind racing through the calculations.
Level 4.
He'd jumped from level 0 to level 4 in a single quest. The experience reward alone had pushed him through multiple levels, and each level-up granted 4 free stat points. So that was 16 points from leveling, plus the 5 bonus points from the quest reward, twenty-one free stat points total.
That was… that was insane. Most players grinding normally would need days to accumulate that many points.
His HP and MP had increased significantly too. Each level gave a base of 25 HP and 25 MP, and every point in Endurance increased HP by 50, and every point in Intelligence increased MP by 50.
Nevertheless, the real treasures were the mastery points.
In Lost World Online, mastery points were incredibly rare. You could grind weapon mastery by using weapons repeatedly—thousands of swings to inch your percentage up slowly. But free mastery points that you could allocate directly? Those came from special quests, achievements, and rare events—Five points was a windfall.
Yamamoto checked out the new title next, something that hadn't been part of the quest reward in the game.
He selected it, and a description appeared:
…
[Title: Hired Assassin]
You have accepted payment to end a life. The underworld recognizes your willingness to do what others cannot.
Effect: Increases the likelihood of receiving assassination contracts. NPCs seeking violent solutions to their problems will be more inclined to approach you.
…
Yamamoto read it twice, unsure of what to feel by it. The title essentially marked him as someone willing to kill for money… It would make certain types of quests easier to access—the morally gray ones, the ones that paid well but came with blood on your hands… That was if Lost World Online had such mechanisms… it didn't…
Not wanting to dwell on it, he just let it be for the time being. The weight of what he'd done was still on his mind, since it felt so physically real and tangible. It had gone, but the thought of it brought back the tension.
Just when the pressure was starting to build and he could even feel it tightening his chest, the pressure suddenly eased, and gradually, disappeared? Almost.
Yamamoto blinked, startled by the abrupt shift. The guilt was still there, but it had… diminished… like something had reached into his mind and turned down the volume on it.
That certainly could not have been him, so he confirmed that it was the system, probably some kind of mental protection to keep players from breaking down?
He couldn't be sure, and part of him was grateful he didn't have to feel the full weight of it… but another part—a smaller, quieter part—was terrified by how easily his guilt had been managed, as if encouraging him.
'Then again, This world is kill or be killed,' he told himself firmly, trying to convince himself. 'These people might seem real, but this is still a game world.'
But what choice did he have? Out there, beyond the safety of towns and cities, monsters roamed, and humanity was at odds with all other races. That was excluding bandits, human bosses, dungeons… Compassion would just get him killed.
'I'm sure the system's calming me down…' He thought to himself. The thought brought him to another reality, something else he couldn't ignore, and that was the fact that he had no idea if he could respawn.
In the game, death meant a small penalty and a trip back to respawn points. If the whole realism thing was to be taken serious and all across the board, it meant that now, death might be permanent.
The thought chilled him more than anything else.
Well, if he needed any resolve to calm his mind, it was the fact that he couldn't afford to be weak.
Yamamoto took a deep breath, feeling his resolve harden. He'd crossed a line tonight, and there was no going back. All he could do now was move forward. He had no plans to become some serial murderer, there were a lot of ways to get stronger after all.
Well, after some time, he was able to push it towards the back of his mind a bit so he could check the rewards and all.
He pulled up his inventory and selected the Mysterious Leather Bundle, and with a thought, he unwrapped it.
There was no dramatic light show like he expected, instead it just felt like unwrapping any other thing.
The item that materialized in his hands was exactly what he'd expected: a belt, worn and weathered, made of dark leather with intricate patterns etched into its surface. It didn't look particularly impressive—no glowing runes, no obvious magical energy, but that was just a trade for something even better.
…
[Belt of Grace] (Legendary)
A belt crafted by a forgotten artisan, imbued with the subtle magic of fortune. Those who wear it find that luck favors them in unexpected ways.
Durability: 200/200
Effect: Increases Luck by a certain margin.