I wasn’t someone who cursed often, but the system was really bringing out the worst in me. At one point, I muttered bitterly that I didn’t even know how much HP I had—

  And just like that, another message popped up.

  The cursing started again as I lamented the fact that I was apparently going to be forced to walk around naked.

  I felt pretty stupid when I finally remembered the Basic Clothing Package sitting in my inventory.

  The box looked the same as the Health box but had a blue scarf on it. It dissolved and left a pair of pants with a draw string, a t-shirt and boxers along with some shoes in my hands. The clothes were cream coloured and looked like they were made from linen.

  So, I ditched my comfy, modern clothes in favor of something that screamed either martial arts dropout or newest cult recruit.

  I climbed the stairs up to my apartment slowly. In my one hand I held my old clothes while the other again guided me up safely. It felt wrong just leaving my clothes there in the lobby on the floor.

  It was then that I remembered the baseball bat. I was just about to turn around to retrieve it when I realised that I would not be needing it.

  I am a wizard, and I have a staff. I don’t need a bat anymore.

  Deep in thought I opened my apartment door and went inside. Even if I did not know the exact time, it must already be mid-morning, and I could feel my tummy rumbling.

  Only then I noticed the changes in my kitchen. The appliances were all gone. Not one remained behind.

  This pause made me realise that if wearing clothes not sanctioned caused a debuff than eating unsanctioned food could be fatal much faster.

  I called up the food package from my inventory. The package appeared in my hand the same as the others, but this had a picture of a can of baked beans on it.

  Please don’t just give me a can of baked beans. Please, please.

  Instead of food a list appeared in front of me. I read it over and I was honestly impressed. It was by no means luxurious, but it was solid food fit for survival.

  I chose all the items under the breakfast tab. They appeared in my hand and the package disappeared. I checked my inventory and sure enough, it had returned.

  I sank down onto a chair, while chewing on the protein bar.

  I jumped up, huffing in annoyance.

  This is ridiculous.

  I sank down onto the floor, my back pressed against the wall. A few things quickly became clear. Sleep would have to happen right here—on the hard floor, without even a blanket or a cushion. And then there was the issue of the toilet.

  I chewed on an apple slice, trying to figure out how to proceed.

  In the back of my mind, I couldn’t stop worrying about my family and friends. They had to be going through the same thing I was—dealing with all of this. It only made sense; if it was happening here in New York, then it had to be happening everywhere.

  I felt my mind beginning to spiral into panic—but I couldn’t let that happen. A single distraction could get me killed in an instant. I forced the thoughts back, clinging to one clear goal: survive this, and see my loved ones again.

  I took a deep breath and forced myself to think clearly about my predicament.

  I have a Home Base Token in my inventory.

  Yes.

  A metal token appeared in my hand. I had a picture of a house on it. In front of me an outline of my apartment appeared. By manipulating the token, a green area moved around the blueprint.

  I couldn’t claim the entire apartment, but I figured out that by excluding the area just to the right of the front door, I could still include my bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen.

  Set.

  The token slowly dissolved into light that reached to all the area I chose and after a few seconds dissipated.

  So now I can sit in my chair, maybe.

  I sank down into the chair but as soon as my ass touched the seat the debuff message popped up again.

  Son of a bitch.

  It was around that time it became clear to me that my only real option—perhaps by design—was to keep fighting the Kobolds.

  I was not eager to go out into the world and fight them again. My first skirmish was still fresh on my mind. However, the thought of sleeping on the floor and mostly the toilet situation motivated me to man up.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  I also remembered that I was a wizard and had a staff and a spell I could use. The staff appeared in my hand. It was bigger than I thought it would be, and a lot sturdier. It had a rugged LOTR vibe with beautiful gems at the top.

  I wasn’t sure how to use the staff or the spell, so I kept experimenting—first by sweeping the staff and calling out the spell, then by simply focusing on the spell itself.

  I was very disappointed that nothing happened.

  As a last resort, I opened the Stat Sheet and focussed on the spell. Floating in front of me was a single coin.

  I snatched the coin out of the air, not feeling amused at all.

  The moment my skin made contact with the coin it began dissolving into my skin and my brain filled with knowledge.

  I learned that casting the spell required a sweeping motion and full concentration. It couldn’t fix my aim, though—that part was on me, and only practice would improve it.

  I swept the staff and tried very hard to concentrate on the spell, and eventually it worked. A little too well, because I killed my lamp and left a deep gash in my brick wall.

  Nice.

  I was as ready as I was going to be, so I left the apartment, dragging my feet just a little. Facing the kobolds again wasn’t something I looked forward to—but it had to be done.

  The lobby was just as empty as it had been the day before. With every step, my hope of finding someone else alive slipped further away.

  Outside, I turned right and slowly made my way down the street. The same oppressing silence pushed down on me. I missed the sound of birds, people and even the noise of the cars.

  After a few minutes of walking, I saw two Kobolds coming out of a store. I doubted that I would be able to handle both.

  As they reached the corner, they split up—one turned it and vanished from view, while the other crossed the street, doubling back toward me

  I decided to follow it. First, I needed to make sure it was far enough from the other kobold—just in case it made a sound. I still wasn’t sure what sounds kobolds made, but I didn’t want to risk drawing the other one’s attention. Second, I needed to find the perfect spot to strike, somewhere that would give me the best chance of success.

  I crossed the street and followed it covertly. Luckily it never seemed to look around, or I was sure he would have seen me. It was one of the reasons I did not choose Rogue.

  The Kobold wondered into a store again and I decided to ambush it when it came out again. I positioned myself to the side, so it would not notice me the moment it stepped out.

  All I could do was wait—patiently, or as patiently as someone who's naturally impatient could manage. About five minutes later, it emerged, and I was ready.

  I swept my staff through the air, focusing hard on the spell. Energy surged—and I released it. The blast struck the Kobold, tearing off its arm, but not killing it. Instead, it howled in rage.

  Before I could react, it ran and jumped up against me, slashing with its remaining claw. I didn’t have time to cast again—I was already struggling to keep up. I stepped back, moving to avoid each furious swipe to my legs, and used my staff to knock its strikes aside.

  It pressed me backward until I saw an opening. I focused, swung hard, and struck its head. The Kobold stumbled—not dead, but down.

  I brought the staff down again. Its skull cracked, and blood pooled beneath it as the creature finally went still.

  I knew then that I never wanted to get used to killing. It was necessary but I did not want to become so with death that it became easy.

  I held my hand out said ‘Loot’ inside my mind.

  Nice.

  I assumed the upgrade shards were what I needed to have a bed and toilet. I was not sure how many would be needed so I knew I had to hunt more Kobolds.

  My mouth was dry, and I was a bit winded. I focused on the Basic Water Package, and it appeared. Like Magic…

  This package had a blue water bottle on it but looked basically the same as all the other packages.

  Although the Water Rehydration Gel looked very good, and I hoped the sarcasm was clear, I decided to go with the Water Bottle.

  The bottle was cool in my hand and the water tasted like you expect cold water would taste when you are tired and thirsty. After closing the bottle with a cork stopper, it just popped back into my inventory.

  I moved out again, because apparently, hunting Kobolds was my new normal.

  A block later, I found them. They were going in and out of stores, one after another. That’s when I started wondering what they were looking for… Humans to kill? Food? Or maybe humans to kill and eat.

  I crept closer and only observed at first. I knew that I had to kill both but still did not feel ready to take on two Kobolds at once. After considering all my options and that included looking for single Kobolds, I decided to try and lure one Kobold away.

  I could then have time to kill one before having to deal with the second.

  I waited until the first Kobold entered the store, then hurled a rock at the body of a nearby car. The clang was painfully loud in the surrounding silence. For a moment, I feared the noise would draw the other Kobold out.

  Thankfully, it just kept moving inside while the other turned to investigate the noise. I watched it creep toward the car, and when it was close enough, I unleashed Mana Slash.

  By some miracle, the spell hit it square in the chest. It dropped instantly—but not before letting out a high-pitched howl that scraped down my spine.

  I swiped a notification away. I couldn’t focus on that now. That sound definitely would have alerted the second Kobold.

  Sure enough, I spotted it charging at me, its twisted face contorted with rage.

  Mana Slash.

  Nothing happened.

  Nothing.

  The Kobold kept coming, and I was out of magic.

  I swung my staff like a bat and managed to smack it across the shoulder—I think. One of its arms hung limp, but it still had the other.

  Its claws raked across my leg, and—fuck—it burned like fire.

  I swung again, wildly, and felt the impact somewhere solid. But the creature lunged, sinking its fangs into my other leg and shaking violently.

  I was bigger, but that didn’t matter—it almost brought me down more than once.

  Locked in that awful grapple, I could only reach the back of its head and spine, so I gave it everything I had. I pounded the staff down again and again. I even hit my own leg at one point, but I couldn’t stop. If I stopped, this overgrown gecko was going to kill me—maybe eat me too.

  Somewhere in the chaos, the Kobold let go of my leg. I didn’t notice at first. I just kept hitting. It took a few more seconds for my brain to catch up and tell my arms to stop.

  I slumped down, and the message I dismissed earlier finally came through.

  The first message was closely followed by a second.

  Brilliant, just fucking brilliant.

  I knew priority had to be given to my health. The Kobold got me good. I accessed my Inventory, and the health package appeared in my hands.

  The tin of salve was much bigger than the previous one, so I had more than enough to salve for both wounds. It still amazed me that my wounds just disappeared. I inspected the area on my arm where the wound was, and found no scar, only healthy skin.

  Unfortunately, healing salve did not fix my pants. They were in tatters where the Kobald bit down on my leg. There were no more clothing packages in my inventory, and I did not know if I would receive any more.

  I decided to loot first and then try and figure out why my Mana Slash did not work.

  Nice.

  Being out in the open was not smart so I moved to a stoop of a nearby building, hiding as best I could.

  Stat Sheet

  So, eight is the maximum amount of mana I can hold. So, if I use Mana for a spell, it logically must regenerate.

  Let me focus on the spell. Maybe it will give me more information.

  So, my Mana Pool is eight and I used a spell that cost 5, therefore I had no Mama for my second spell, even when the cool down period allows it.

  Wisdom. I think Wisdom allows for Mana regeneration.

  The problem is my Mana Pool. If I had ten mana available to spend, I would have been able to use both spells, but the time to recharge the two Mana I needed was just under four seconds.

  Shit. I am a fucking idiot. I have two unallocated points. If I allocated them before meeting the two Kobolds, I would have been able to use the second Mana Slash and …

  With a thought I allocated the points. I just needed to remember that I would need almost fifteen second to regenerate if I wanted to use two more Mana Slashes.

  I spend the rest of the day finding and killing three more Kobolds. I choose to wait for them to be alone and used both of my Mana Slashes to kill each of them.

  I accumulated a total of seventy upgrade shards and hoped that would be enough to get my bed and toilet sanctioned. I also received a repair token, and I hoped it would fix my clothes.

  Hey everyone! ??

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  first Royal Road chapter of each pair. The second one won’t have pictures. If you want to see all the art together (or earlier), it’s on Patreon with the combined chapters!