I stared at the choices in the Super Starter Set, carefully weighing my options...
The benefits were obviously immense... In fact, they were so immense that I would be a fool to not agree to the deal.
With skills and magic able to be levelled up to the highest point, even a seemingly useless skill or magic could suddenly become a god tier ability if I worked hard to train and evolve it.
As for the other two...
"What is the difference between perks and traits?" I decided to ask.
The two are infinitely similar, though slightly different. Simply put, a Trait is innate- something within the DNA itself. A perk is not.
In other words, I was born with a Trait, but a Perk was something I earned or obtained through other means... That was good to know, at the very least.
Still though... Four extra passive abilities, how the fuck could I ever say no to that?
There was just one problem.
The massive demerit. A demerit so bad that even the system was warning me that it would take me a long time before I would be able to resolve it.
That was the only source of my hesitation, especially since I had no clue what the demerit I would get could possibly be... Only that it would be so bad that even the System was warning me.
So, did I agree, or did I refuse?
You have agreed to the deal of a Super Starter Set!
Beginning to distribute randomized rewards…
I chose to agree.
At the end of the day, even if my skills or magic ended up being useless, I was guaranteed two helpful traits and a Super Coin that would guarantee me at least something Rare. And even if the skills or magic were useless, they could be ranked up to the point of actually having some use. Plus, with the perks on top of that...
It was just too good of a deal to refuse.
You have obtained the Skill – Charisma (E)!
You have obtained the Skill – Shapeshift (E)!
You have obtained the Skill – Mana Burst (E)!
My eyes lit up with joy at what I was seeing.
Those three skills alone already made my agreement worth it.
Charisma synergised perfectly with my Merchant Job and my Summoner Class. The more sway I held over people I was trading with and also my summons, the better. There was no way such a skill could be considered bad for me.
Shapeshift was also very useful. While low-ranked at the moment, in the future I would be able to use the skill to completely hide my appearance and pretend to be someone else. It was an excellent hiding skill, especially if I happened to end up in a more dangerous world.
Mana Burst was always good no matter what. While it was a more physical based skill, it was still very useful to me since I didn't have any physical abilities to speak of. Having an option if enemies got up close was always nice to have if you were a Mage. You never wanted to be caught off guard.
You have obtained the Magic – Runecraft (E)!
I stopped reading and sucked in air through my teeth, eyes widening with delight.
Runes were always powerful regardless of the world you went to. And since 'Craft' was a word meaning to build or create something, there was a very good chance that this Magic would allow me to develop my own Runic Language in the future, or even use multiple runic languages like Elder Farthuuk...
Broken, totally broken and useful.
You have obtained the Magic - Dream Magic (E)!
I raised an eye at this one... This one was interesting... Reading the description showed me that it was similar to a Succubi's ability to dive into dreams and control them...
It made me wonder, it was already fairly powerful at E Rank... At the highest Rank, would it become a skill closer to manifesting dreams in reality? Would it bring me closer to the power of Gods such as Morpheus? Maybe even Great Red?
It was hard to say, but I would be very careful with this magic.
You have obtained the Magic - Thread-Make (E)!
I sighed heavily... Alas, they couldn't all be winners.
This magic would take a lot of work to be useful at higher ranks... Maybe something like making threads as strong as steel, and using them like spider webs? I knew people could use steel wires in fights; this magic could likely be used in a similar way- but it would take a lot of work on my part. At E-Rank, I wasn't even sure if I'd be able to make a shirt.
Still, I'd put some work into it. At the very least, at higher ranks, I could use Thread-Make to create clothing and then enchant them with Runecraft. If I picked up the Enchanter job too, it would increase my abilities in that regard.
You have obtained the Perk - Dragon Heart (E)!
My eyes widened and I quickly opened up the description.
Perk – Dragon Heart (E) (0.00%)
A perk denoting the Dragon Heart beating within one's chest. It does not refer to a literal Dragon's Heart but instead refers to the Mana Core within one's body. It is like a factory, producing powerful Magic. Doubles Mana Growth. Doubles growth of Magic-Based Abilities. Increases Mana Regeneration.
This skill was perfect for me!
With my primary class being Mage, and how useful all my magics were, Dragon Heart was an essential skill for me! Not only increasing the growth of my magic based skills but also doubling my mana growth and regeneration!
Plus, the Perk had a Rank. That meant that Perks could get stronger over time, which just meant that my magical abilities would only grow even more in the future.
With this, any worries about not having enough mana would be a thing of the past once I got stronger.
You have obtained the Perk - Iron Will (E)!
I raised an eye... Iron Will? That was an interesting perk... I opened it up to read it.
Perk – Iron Will (E) (0.00%)
A perk denoting the user's Unshakable Will. Prevents user's emotions from being manipulated and allows the user to remain firm in their decisions.
Hm... Interesting. It was sort of similar to Gamer's mind, but severely nerfed. Instead, it just prevented my own emotions from being manipulated by external sources. I could definitely still be tricked and manipulated with words, but it seemed like supernatural abilities wouldn't be able to shake me.
Allowing me to remain firm in my decisions was a bit vaguer, but I assumed that meant it was harder to sway me once I'd made my choice.
Iron Will... Hm, maybe I could also use this perk and develop Haki from One Piece in the future? Something to keep in mind.
You have obtained the Trait – Prodigy!
My eyes lit up... Prodigy, you say?
Trait – Prodigy
A trait bestowed upon a natural born genius. Increases all skill and magic gains by 100%.
That was absolutely fantastic!
With Dragon Heart, my Magic already got a massive growth boost. With Prodigy, that growth was further increased- and my skills also now had an increased growth.
If before my Magic Growth was at 2x, then now it had just increased to 4x.
And my skills would grow at a rate of 2x, which wasn't as much but was still an incredible boon, and one I was very grateful for. The skill was perfect, no question about it.
I did notice, however, that Prodigy did not have a rank attached to it. This implied that traits were fixed in place. This tied into Perks being something obtained while Traits were Innate, something that could be passed down.
You have obtained the Trait - Moon Blessed!
Trait – Moon Blessed
A trait bestowed upon one who was born on the night of a Full Moon. Increases all stats by 25% during the night, 50% on the night of a full moon.
I hummed softly... This Trait was so and so. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't amazing. It was conditional and useful, but not something that was as jaw droppingly good as Prodigy or Dragon Heart.
You have obtained 1 Super Coin! You may use this Coin once you have completed the Tutorial!
Fair enough, I wasn't in any hurry to use the coin at the moment. I would just keep it in the back of my mind for now and use it later.
Now... The Demerit...
I braced myself.
Generating massive demerit…
You have obtained the Demerit – Crippled.
My eyes widened in shock before I screamed in pain, falling down to my knees. I felt a stabbing, violent pain that was so intense I couldn't even pinpoint where it came from. My mind could only register the sheer agony I was going through, and all I could do was scream.
Finally, the pain faded away and I panted heavily. My face was now covered in sweat.
I moved my right arm to my chest to try and steady my heart... Only to quickly realise just what it meant to be crippled...
I didn't have a right arm.
My eye widened in shock as I looked down, only to confirm what I already realised... From the elbow down, my right arm was just... Gone. There was no blood, and it looked as though it had already healed over. I helplessly moved my arm about, the phantom sensation of trying to flex my fingers surging through me- only for nothing to be there.
I quickly lifted my left arm, and let out a small sigh of relief... At the very least, I had one arm- even if it wasn't my dominant arm. I was going to need to figure out how to use my left arm to do everything now... That was going to be an incredible pain in the ass...
I sighed and looked back up at the screen... Only to immediately feel like something was wrong.
Why did the screen look a bit more... To the left than before...?
I gulped and hesitated before I lifted my left arm and slowly moved it in front of my left eye...
Nothing.
I couldn't see out of my left eye at all... Even though my eye was open, I wasn't seeing anything.
I gulped slowly as I lifted my head to the screen and read the information about my new Demerit.
Demerit - Crippled
A negative trait the player has obtained due to accepting the Super Starter Set. In recompense for this, the player's dominant arm and one of their eyes shall be taken. The arm and eye cannot be replaced with fully functioning replacements below Legendary Grade, and the user cannot regenerate their arm or eye with any items below God Grade.
... Shit.
Shit, shit, shit, shit.
This was really bad.
Not only was my vision now fucked, but any magic casting abilities that required both hands were now crippled. Thread-Make had gone from almost useless to completely useless because Maker Magic worked best when using both hands. I now only had one, meaning my magic was inherently flawed and harder to work on.
On top of that, I now had a glaring weakness on my right side, and a massive blind spot on my left.
I suddenly found myself eternally grateful that I had chosen the Summoner Class. Now that I was crippled, having summons wasn't just a helpful boon now- it was a necessity in order to help me get stronger.
I let out a tired sigh and moved to rub my eye with my right arm, only to stop and lift my left arm instead.
Shit, all my instincts were to use my right arm for things instead of my left... I was going to have to go against my basic instincts and habits, which just added another layer of difficulty to everything.
I sighed heavily and focused on the screen once again.
You may now choose your Primary World Connection.
Primary World Connection...?
The Primary World Connection will be the first world that your shop is connected to. You will be able to enter that world as you please. Any other worlds connecting to your shop will be random and will happen randomly without you realising a new world has been connected until someone from that world enters your shop.
I took a deep breath... The final choice for the tutorial had finally arrived.