I opened my status menu with a thought, checking the "Skills" tab to see why I wasn't freaking out.
[Gamer's Mind (Passive) - Lv MAX]
Description: Allows the user to calmly and logically think things through. Grants immunity to psychological status effects.
[Gamer's Body (Passive) - Lv MAX]
Description: Grants a body that allows the user to live the real world like a game.
That explained the unnatural calm. I was literally programmed not to lose my mind. It wasn't exactly comforting, but it was useful.
"Okay," I said, tapping my fingers on the table. "I need a plan. If this is a game world, specifically High School DxD, judging by the anime figure on that alarm clock, there are going to be devils, fallen angels, and things that want to kill me. I need to be able to fight."
I stood up. "Passive skills are great for survival, but I have zero offense. If something broke through that door right now..."
Ding.
A semi-transparent blue box popped into existence right in front of my face.
[Quest Generated]
[Objective: Find a fighting skill book and start leveling up.]
[Reward: 500 EXP]
[Rule: You cannot leave the house to find the skill book.]
[Time Limit: 48:00:00]
The numbers immediately started ticking down.
"Well," I grinned, feeling a spark of actual excitement. "At least I have a goal."
I quickly washed the dishes, habit, mostly, and headed for the bookshelves in the bedroom.
I remembered reading The Gamer webtoon in my old life. The protagonist, Han Jee-Han, gained stats just by learning things. I pulled down the High School Mathematics textbook and started reading.
I didn't just read it; I devoured it. The text seemed to blur and restructure itself in my brain.
Ding.
[INT has increased by 1.]
I kept going. Accounting, History, General Science. I spent hours tearing through the pages, feeling my memory sharpen, the fog of the new body clearing away.
Ding.
[INT has increased by 1.]
Ding.
[INT has increased by 1.]
Eventually, I hit the last page of the last academic book. I tossed it onto the pile on the floor. My Intelligence was up, which was great, but none of these were fighting skills. I couldn't throw a math equation at a Stray Devil.
"It has to be here," I muttered, looking at the empty shelves. "The quest said inside the house."
I started searching properly. I checked under the bed, behind the dresser, inside the closet. Nothing.
I went back to the bookshelf and ran my hand along the bottom panel. It felt loose. I pried at the wood, and it popped open, revealing a hollow compartment.
Inside, gathering dust in the darkness, was a single, old book. But unlike the others, this one seemed to hum with a faint energy.
"Gotcha," I whispered.
I reached in and pulled out the skill book.
I looked down at the book in my hands, waiting for the surge of power, the secret martial arts technique, the hidden magic.
[Skill Book: Basic Cooking and Recipes (Passive) Lvl 1]
[Description: Thanks to this skill, you will never burn your food ever again. You will know basic recipes off the top of your head.]
I let out a short, dry laugh. "Of course."
I shouldn't have been ungrateful. In my old life, I could barely boil water without setting off the smoke alarm. This was useful. It just wasn't going to stop a Fallen Angel from putting a light spear through my chest.
I tapped the book. It dissolved into particles of light and absorbed into my chest. A faint knowledge of knife skills and temperature control settled in the back of my mind.
"Great," I muttered, tossing the empty air where the book used to be. "I can make a killer omelet while I'm being murdered."
I spent the next hour and a half tearing the apartment apart.
I tried everything. I threw punches at the air hoping to trigger Unarmed Mastery. I sprinted down the hallway for Running. Nothing happened. Apparently, you needed to actually do something significant or find a teacher to unlock those.
I slumped onto the couch in the living room, defeated. I'd been spamming [Observe] on everything in sight just to feel productive. The skill had ticked up to Level 3, giving me slightly more detailed descriptions of the furniture, but that was it.
"Think, Shiro," I stared at the TV screen. "There has to be another way."
My eyes drifted from the cartoon playing on the screen to the floor beneath the TV stand.
There was a console there. A PlayStation 3.
I slid off the couch and sat cross-legged on the floor. Beside the black console was a messy stack of game cases. I tilted my head, reading the spines. Call of Duty: Black Ops, Fable 2, Infamous, Red Dead Redemption.
"Whoever lived here before had good taste," I murmured.
I thumbed through the stack. They were all classics, games I'd played to death in my previous life. But I was looking for something specific. If I was looking for a skill book, and this world operated on RPG logic, maybe the answer wasn't in a literal book.
Then I saw the case at the bottom. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
"Hello, old friend," I grinned.
I grabbed the case and popped it open. Empty.
I frowned for a split second, then looked at the console. A faint red light was on. The previous owner, or the system that created this room, must have left it in the tray.
Ding.
[WIS has increased by 1.]
"Smart," I whispered.
I pressed the eject button. The machine whirred, and the disc slid out.
As soon as my fingers touched the printed surface of the disc, the world seemed to pause. The disc didn't just look like plastic; it glowed with a faint, ethereal blue hue.
[Skill Book Available: "SKYRIM"]
[Do you wish to learn?]
[Yes/No]
My eyes widened. It actually worked. Media counted as skill books.
"This is broken," I chuckled, a wave of relief washing over me. "This is completely broken."
I didn't hesitate. "Yes."