Title: [First Synchronised Acceptor]

Acquisition Requirements:

-Be the first one to accept a Sync Quest

Acquisition Rewards:

+5 to Gravitas and Commitment 

Title Effects:

-Whenever a Sync Quest is completed, the number of points the Commitment Fixed Attribute will be increased by will double, and +5 will be added to all Free Attributes 

 

Title: [Quarry of The Free]

Acquisition Requirements:

-User must be a Freestyler

-User must be targeted by???

Acquisition Rewards:

-+5 to Comprehension 

Title Effects:

-???

(Note: The appropriate Title Effects will be granted based on ???’s conclusions)

 

Title: [Unlikely Disaster]

Acquisition Requirements:

-Suffer a complete freak accident despite having at least 20 AP in Agility, Dexterity and Causality whilst the user’s Level is under 10

Acquisition Rewards:

-+5 to Vitality 

Title Effects:

-When the user suffers a freak accident, both Defence Stats will gain +10

(Note: This Title Effect cannot activate if the user intentionally gets into an accident)

 

Title: [First Decade Achiever]

Acquisition Requirements:

-Become the first Player to acquire 10 Titles 

Acquisition Rewards:

-+5 to all Fixed Attributes 

Title Effects:

-For every 5 Titles acquired after the 10 Titles that resulted in the acquisition of this one, a random Attribute will gain +10, and Acclaim will be increased by 100

 

“…fuck me dead,”, Gab muttered as she looked upon these new Titles, as she simultaneously dusted herself off and wiped her dirt covered face with a wet rag given to her by a sympathetic NPC, “I feel like I’ll go blind if I keep seeing these pop up!”.

 

Shaking her head in disbelief, Gab returned the rag to the NPC with a word of thanks and started heading off again, now even more conscious of her walking speed, given that her Agility (along with all her other Free Attributes) has seen more than a 100% increase!

 

They do say that too much of a good thing can be bad.

Especially in such large quantities in so short a time!

 

As these thoughts ran through her head, Gab finally saw her destination; a modest-looking wooden store with two crossed swords over a shield placed over the doorway.

 

As she got closer, Gab noticed some sort of short questionnaire pinned to the door.

As she read it, Gab could only say one thing.

 

“I’d understand if this was one an entrance to a pub, but why’s this on the entrance to an adventurers store?!”, she said in disbelief, as she looked upon these questions:

 

<Before entering, please answer the following questions:

 

1: Do you suffer from Alcoholism or any other types of Substance Abuse? <Y/N>

 

2: Were you a victim of traumatic events that involved Alcohol or any other types of Substances? <Y/N>

 

3: Are you strictly against consuming Alcohol and other types of Substances? <Y/N>

 

4: Are you 18 years old and over? <Y/N>

 

5: Are you not allowed to drink Alcohol due to other reasons? <Y/N>>

 

“…”

 

Not knowing what to say to that, or even where to start, Gab just simply pressed <N> on all five questions in a dumbfounded manner, which was shortly followed by the sound of the door unlocking.

 

However, as soon as she cautiously opened the door, Gab’s olfactory sensors were hit hard with the reason why that questionnaire was deemed a necessary precaution by the store owner!

 

For inside the dimly lit storefront, where various types of equipment and paraphernalia that are essential for aspiring adventurers are neatly displayed on wooden shelves with various price tags, it absolutely reeked of a combination of strong alcohol and BO that is generated as a result of drinking large quantities of the stuff!

 

“Is, cough, anyone, hack, here, wheeze?!”, Gab managed to ask through a series of coughs and other appropriate noises one makes when dealing with this sort of smell, as her watery eyes took in the empty counter.

 

As soon as her broken voice rang out, she heard a series of noises from the outback, followed by a loud, male voice heartily bellowed out, “Be right there! ” before the suffering Freestyler witnessed the appearance of a mountain of a man.

 

If Gab were to come up with a visual comparison to describe the store owner, she would choose a combination of a tall, strapping lumberjack and an obese park ranger that spent time in the outback, given that he was at least seven foot tall and possessed quite substantial…no, more than substantial bodily proportions. Especially in regards to his stomach, which was prominently bulging out (although, thankfully, not to the point where his shirt couldn’t contain it).

 

Covering this man’s girth and stature was a standard set of villager clothes that looked to be (at least) XXXL in size, which included a white shirt made of some rough material that looked to be stretching at the seams (as well showing visible stains and splotches here and there) and dark-brown pants, which here held up by a thick leather belt with a buckle that resembled what looked like...an alcohol cask?!

 

But his villager attire was overshadowed by his large, brown leather overcoat that shown signs of scratches, burns and other sorts of damage that caused Gab to wonder it still managed to keep itself together, considering it looked like it went through a war or two. 

 

When Gab’s eyes roamed up from the large man’s body to his head, she saw his facial features included a lush head of grey-speckled, dark-brown hair and accompanying beard, tough and tanned skin that stretched over some prominently chubby and rosy cheeks and slightly glassy, mirth-filled blue eyes, which looked surprisingly sharp in spite of his Self apparent regular consumption of alcohol.   

 

Those sharp eyes then closed a second later, as he brought some sort of small, red porcelain dish (which looked even smaller in his massive hands) up to his mouth, which he wasted no time in drinking from.

 

As Gab focused her eyes on that strange red dish, in spite of her rapidly increasing urge to somehow throw up her IRL lunch in this IG store, she suddenly recognised what it was.

 

“Is that…an o-choko?!” Gab thought in disbelief, wondering why there was a Japanese drinking utensil in what should be a medieval setting. Much less in a Pocket Village that’s connected in the Oceania server of all places.

 

As Gab’s eyes followed the motion of the store owner placing the OOPArt down on the counter, she noticed yet another object of a similar nature being held in his other hand. 

Although, given the circumstances, it’s presence did make some sort of sense…

 

The object in question was a gourd, the type that’s typically used to contain all sorts of liquids, most prominently water and alcohol.

 

But as far as gourds go (not that she’s some sort of expert on them), it was undoubtedly the strangest one Gab has ever seen.      

 

It’s overall shape is that of a typical calabash-type gourd, with a line of leather wrapped around its middle between its two “bells” so that it could hang from one’s belt and a piece of twine imbedded near its “mouth” that’s connected to a cork stopper, hanging in wait before it’s used to close the container.

 

But that was where it’s similarities to a normal gourd came to an abrupt end.

 

Unlike normal gourds, which stereotypically have a smooth, tan colour exterior, this one’s was a deep, blood red colour with a veiny surface, giving Gab the impression that it was made out of exposed muscle as opposed to gourd plants.

 

Then there was the “mouth” of this strange gourd, which, very eerily, looked like an actual mouth! With sharp, jagged teeth covering the entirety of the rim that were splayed outwards, Gab thought it looked like it belonged to some sort of demonic lamprey.

 

However, discounting its overall appearance, what Gab thought to be its strangest aspect is the jagged and uneven indentations that circled around both of the “bells”, both top and bottom. 

 

She couldn’t count the exact number of indentations were on the strange gourd from both the distance and point of view she was looking at it from, but she was sure that there were at least over ten of them, and that a vast majority of them were empty.

 

The one that wasn’t empty, however, had a piece of some sort of jagged, blood-red rock slotted in, which seemed to be inscribed with a strange, bio-luminescent ink that seemed to shift colours every few seconds.

Instead of readable letters, the “ink” was used to create some type of “wave” pattern. Although, judging from the shivers that went down her spine just from glancing at that pattern, Gab got the distinct impression that those weren’t waves!

 

“Well well well, I‘ve got my second customer already, it seems.”, the large storeowner remarked, with a bemused expression on his hairy face, jousting Gab’s focus away from the hour and back into the store (as well as the BO), “My name is Baccistern, and I’m the owner of this humble establishment.”.

 

“It’s, cough, a, wheez, pleasure, hack, to, cough cough, make your, ack, acquaintance, ptuh ptuh, too!”, Gab squeezed out with immense difficulty, as being this close to the source of the stench permeating throughout the store caused her to worryingly wonder whether or not her IRL lungs will fail along with her digital ones!

 

To Gab’s quiet amazement, the man responsible for her current condition actually took notice of her laborious breathing, which showed when he started scratching his cheek in a embarrassed manner.

 

“Ah, I’m sorry about my…enhanced natural fragrance.”, he said apologetically, “I didn’t think anyone would be coming to my store anytime soon, so I haven’t thought to use anything to mask it before you came here.”

 

“…didn’t you, chack, say that, ptuh, I’m your, wheeze, second customer?!”, Gab pointed out with no shortage of difficulty.

 

“Well, my first customer, I think her name was “Emu”, was unable to drink alcohol due to other reasons, so she couldn’t come into the store. Instead, she just selected a single item from the inventory screen that became available to her.” The store owner explained, causing Gab to nod in both understanding and nausea.

 

“However,”, he started, as he poured a teensy, tiny amount of the obviously diabolical alcohol from his strange gourd into an unused o-choko before placing both of them on the counter, “if you want to not have to smell anything for a while, you can have a taste of the hair of the dog that’s biting your nose, and…WAIT, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?! STOP!!!”.

 

In response to the offering, Gab disregarded the o-choko and took a hearty swig from the strange gourd instead, not caring if she is was either unwittingly swallowing Baccistern’s backwash in the process or about to stab her mouth with the the teeth on its rim! Although, thankfully, as if it were sensing her intentions, they splayed out further on their own enough to stop that second, particularly nasty scenario from occurring (but Gab was too blinded by her need to dull one of her five senses to notice such a detail).

 

Even though the liquid that caused the massive store owner to emit such a rank stench was undoubtedly strong, there was no way in hell that the tiny drop he offered would be enough to completely override her sense of smell. Right?

 

…if Gab’s future self was there with her present self in that moment, the former wouldn’t have hesitated to knuckle punch both of the latter’s tits and her clit for making such a hideous misjudgment!

 

<Congratulations! You have acquired the Title, [Taster of the Ripping Tongue Hell]>

 

<The effect of the Title, [Taster of the Ripping Tongue Hell], has been activated>

 

<+1 to Strength>

 

<The effect of the Title, [First Achiever], has been activated>

 

<+1 to all Free and Fixed Attributes>

 

<Congratulations! You have acquired the Title, [Overseas Sampler]> 

 

<The effect of [Overseas Sampler] has been activated>

 

<+1 to Vitality and Intelligence>

 

<The effect of the Title, [First Achiever], has been activated>

 

<+1 to all Free and Fixed Attributes>

 

<Congratulations! You have acquired the Title, [Abnormal Multi-Faceted One]>

 

<The effect of the Title, [First Achiever], has been activated>

 

<+1 to all Free and Fixed Attributes>

 

<Australia-wide Announcement: At 01:04am AEDT, Player “Wanderer” has become the first Player to acquire 5 additional Fixed Attributes. For this achievement that has never been done, nor can ever be done again, Player “Wanderer” will be awarded as follows:

-One <Wood> Grade Accessory

-300 Gold

-1+ to all Free Attributes 

-6 AP

-100 Acclaim>

 

<Oceania-wide Announcement: At 01:04am AEDT, Player “Wanderer” has become the first Player to acquire 5 additional Fixed Attributes. For this achievement that has never been done, nor can ever be done again, Player “Wanderer” will be awarded as follows:

-One <Mineral> Grade Accessory 

-600 Gold

-2+ to all Free Attributes 

-12 AP

-200 Acclaim>

 

<International-wide Announcement: At 01:04am AEDT, Player “Wanderer” has become the first Player to acquire5 additional Fixed Attributes. For this achievement that has never been done, nor can ever be done again, Player “Wanderer” will be awarded as follows:

-One <Metal> Grade Accessory

-900 Gold

-3+ to all Free Attributes 

-18 AP

-400 Acclaim>

 

<All three effects of the Title, [World Shaker from the In-Between], has been activated>

 

<+1 to all Free Attributes, +1 to all Fixed Attributes and +10 to all Stats>

 

<Congratulations! You have acquired the Title, [Novice Draconic Hoarder (Freestyler)]>

 

<The effect of the Title, [First Achiever], has been activated>

 

<+1 to all Free and Fixed Attributes>

 

<You now have 15 Titles. The effect of the Title, [First Decade Achiever], has been activated>

 

<+10 to Vitality and +100 Acclaim>

<Australia-wide Announcement: At 01:04am AEDT, Player “Wanderer” has become the first Player to acquire over 10 000 Gold in Funds without using Currency Exchange. For this achievement that has never been done, nor can ever be done again, Player “Wanderer” will be awarded as follows:

-One [Bank Membership]

-300 Gold

-1+ to all Fixed Attributes 

-6 AP

-100 Acclaim>

 

<Oceania-wide Announcement: At 01:04am AEDT, Player “Wanderer” has become the first Player to acquire over 10 000 Gold in Funds without using Currency Exchange. For this achievement that has never been done, nor can ever be done again, Player “Wanderer” will be awarded as follows:

-One [Safety Deposit Box] 

-600 Gold

-2+ to all Fixed Attributes 

-12 AP

-200 Acclaim>

 

<International-wide Announcement: At 01:04am AEDT, Player “Wanderer” has become the first Player to acquire over 10 000 Gold in Funds without using Currency Exchange. For this achievement that has never been done, nor can ever be done again, Player “Wanderer” will be awarded as follows:

-One [Personal Banker Token] 

-900 Gold

-3+ to all Fixed Attributes 

-18 AP

-400 Acclaim>

 

<All three effects of the Title, [World Shaker from the In-Between], has been activated>

 

<+1 to all Free Attributes, +1 to all Fixed Attributes and +10 to all Stats>

 

<The effect of the Title, [Novice Draconic Hoarder (Freestyler)], has been activated>

 

<+100 to HP and MP>

 

“HUH?!!! What‘s with these…”, Gab started, shocked enough to not pay attention to the state of both her taste buds and throat, as she was stunned by the sheer amount of notices she was getting just from taking a fucking swig of…whatever the hell this stuff was. 

 

Sure, being considered worthy of taking the first kiss of the Oceania Battle Zone’s Facilitator was a feat worthy enough to gain both several Titles and Player announcements from that single act.

 

But Gab can’t fathom how this act precipitated in this cascade of rewards?!

 

Especially when she saw the disturbing name of that first new Title!

 

However, she was stopped short when yet another series of notices came up. Notices she didn’t even remotely expect nor want to see:  

 

<You have unknowingly consumed a certain quantity of a dangerous substance without being aware of the side effects>   

 

<The effect of the Title, [Unlikely Disaster], has been activated>

 

<+10 to both of your Defence Stats>

 

“…huh?”, Gab thought for practically less than a second after one her more recently acquired Titles kicked in, before she received a terrifying missive:

 

<WARNING: YOU HAVE CONSUMED A QUANTITY OF A UNIQUELY DANGEROUS SUBSTANCE THAT IS FAR TOO MUCH FOR A PLAYER OF YOUR LEVEL. 

THIS SUBSTANCE WILL CAUSE YOU “HELLISH” LEVELS OF PAIN. HOWEVER, YOUR PAIN REDUCTION SETTINGS ARE STILL IN PLACE.

BRACE FOR IMPACT!!!>

 

“Brace fo….!”

 

“…”

 

“……!!!”

 

”……AAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHH!!!”.

 

Needless to say, Gab didn’t brace herself as quickly as she should’ve, before she felt one of the worst moments of physical pain she has ever felt in her life!

 

Usually, when one consumes a shot of a particularly alcoholic spirit, the most obvious areas of the body that are affected upon consumption are the throat and the brain, the latter in turn causes the eyes to sting and the ears to ring.

 

However, with this shot, she felt pain everywhere! 

 

From the crown of her head, to the tips of her toes, she felt waves of pain that were thick as magma and were just as hot and excruciating as the aforementioned substance. It was so bad that it was taking all her fraying willpower to keep herself from doing something that would make her regret not wearing brown pants when she first scanned herself!

 

But as she was experiencing this unwanted sensation, Gab remembered something that made this insane level of pain even more terrifying in the right context (or worst context, depending on how you look at it)!

Because, before the pain the started, the warning she got clearly stated that the Player Pain Reduction setting was still in effect!

 

She knew that she didn’t feel absolutely no pain even before this nasty event started. Otherwise, how else would she have felt the pain she felt from both stubbing her toe in the street and subsequently landing face first into the dirt?

 

If it were set up so that she could only feel, say, 10% of the pain she should’ve felt normally…then doesn’t that mean these violent sensations she’s feeling could potentially be ten times greater than what she’s feeling right now?!

 

On an aside note, the strangest thing about this all-encompassing pain was that the organ that was creating the most abundant pain signals was not her stomach or even her brain. 

That rather dubious honour was instead held by her tongue!

 

How did Gab know this in spite of massive levels of pain her entire body was being racked with? 

Well, whilst the rest of her body felt like it was burning up from the inside, from her bone marrow to her skin, her tongue felt like it had several rusty and jagged pliers clamped onto it, trying to rip it out in multiple directions.

It was so visceral an image that she could’ve sworn that her tongue was bleeding.

 

“No, scratch that,”, Gab thought in shock as she tasted something viscous and metallic in her mouth, “I am bleeding! From my tongue!!”.

 

As she came to that shocking discovery, Gab opened her now heavily tear-coated eyes, just in time to see a horrifying, red-coloured number flash before her eyes, along with two red-coloured notifications with a symbol atop each of them, which were subsequently followed by a third one that had the two previous symbols with the addition of a wavy line between them. A number and set of symbols that Baccistern, the unwitting cause of this event, saw flash above her head. And this number and set of symbols shocked both of these people for more reasons than one.

 

-734

 

<You have taken damage for the first time. From now on, your HP will be displayed as current HP/maximum HP>

 

HP: 135/980

 

<Warning: You have been afflicted with the [Bleed] Status Ailment.

For 90 seconds, you will be inflicted with [Bleed] damage every 30 seconds equal to [Max HP*0.15+50] rounded down (-197 damage per 30 seconds)

 

<Warning: You have been afflicted with the [Intoxication] Status Ailment.

For 60 seconds, your Dexterity, Intelligence and Agility will be reduced by 1/4, and your motor functions will be negatively affected>

 

<Warning: Due to the means in which the [Bleed] and Intoxication] Status Ailments were inflicted on you, they have entered a Synergised State.

Your Status Ailments will undergo the following changes:

-[Bleed] will now last for 180 seconds, and will inflict [Bleed] damage every 15 seconds equal to [Max HP*0.30+100] rounded down (-394 damage per 15 seconds)

-[Intoxication] will now last for 120 seconds, your Dexterity, Intelligence and Agility will be reduced by 1/2, and your motor functions will be severely affected>

 

<You have unfortunately been afflicted with Synergised Status Ailments during your first experience with Status Ailments>

 

<The effect of the Title, [Unlikely Disaster], has been activated>

 

<+10 to both of your Defence Stats>

 

“FUCK!! By the Deities above!”, Baccistern shouted whilst at the same time started rummaging for something behind the counter.

 

As a former Adventurer with an Advanced Class that is related to alcohol, and having experienced something similar to what Gab is going through (albeit, he was at a higher Level than her), he knew that once the subsequent [Bleed] damage hits, there would be no conceivable way for her to survive!

 

That being said, he was also shocked that this strangely dressed traveller, who’s only been in this world for little over an hour, and was under Level 10, somehow managed to survive the immediate damage caused by the liquid in his very special gourd! Not to mention the amount she managed to reduce the maximum amount that would’ve normally be inflicted upon her, allowing her to hang on by a thread.

 

“No,”, Baccistern corrected himself, in spite of his disbelief, “even she hadn’t managed to mitigate the damage, I get the feeling that she would’ve still managed to survive it. But how?!”

 

As Baccistern was frantically rummaging around in confusion and disbelief, Gab was writhing on the hard wooden floor in both obscene agony and crazed anger!

 

“FUCK! I don’t have enough HP to withstand one round of [Bleed], much less six!”, Gab thought furiously, knowing that not only would she undoubtedly suffer a Player Death Penalty, but she would also incur the more horrific Quest Failure Penalties as a result meeting one of the Quest Failure Conditions, which in this case is dying.

 

And all because she took a shot of fucking alcohol!!

 

As if her situation wasn’t bad enough, the additional notifications that just appeared before her eyes after the previous ones did absolutely fuck all to improve her mood at that moment!

 

<Congratulations! You have acquired the Title, [First Blooded].>

 

<The effect of the Title, [First Bloodied], has been activated>

 

<+10 to HP>

 

<The effect of the Title, [First Achiever], has been activated>

 

<+1 to all Free and Fixed Attributes>

 

<Congratulations! You have acquired the Title, [First at the Pub].>

 

<The effect of the Title, [First at the Pub] has been activated>

 

<+10 to MP>

 

<The effect of the Title, [First Achiever], has been activated>

 

<+1 to all Free and Fixed Attributes>

 

<Congratulations! You have acquired the Title, [First Double Whammied].>

 

<The effect of the Title, [First Double Whammied], has been activated>

 

<+10 to Vitality and Intelligence>

 

<The effect of the Title, [First Achiever], has been activated>

 

<+1 to all Free and Fixed Attributes>

 

On their own, these notifications (and the rewards that follow them) could be considered either a godsend or an unexpected boon for anyone experiencing something similar to what Gab is going through.

 

So you may be asking yourself, “Then why the fuck is  this ungrateful bastard born with a digital golden spoon in her mouth not pleased at all?!”.

 

Well…that was because these new notifications caused a slight change in what was already a dangerous situation:  

 

<Warning: Due to increase in Max HP, Synergised [Bleed] damage will now be (-466 damage)>

 

“…!!!!”

 

“…I’m absolutely fucked, aren’t I?”, Gab thought bitterly, feeling so disappointed in herself for making such a stupid mistake that she almost could’ve sworn that the pain she was feeling didn’t seem to be affecting her as badly as it was a few seconds ago.

 

But that didn’t matter right now, as there were only a few seconds left until her sudden rise to fame (infamy) was about to take a sharp and steep plummet to Hell…

 

“AHA, I GOT IT!”, Baccistern yelled out in relief, as held was looked like a handheld alembic still that looked to be made out iron as opposed to copper. The Mars symbol inscribed with black ink on the face of it confirms it, as it also serves as the alchemical symbol for that particular periodic element.

 

Knowing that the (hours long) suffering Freestyler on his floor only has a few seconds at most before she temporarily dies, Baccistern wastes no time, choosing to vault over the shop counter with one hand with use of speed, agility and grace that one wouldn’t normally associate with a man of his stature and supposed inebriation, as opposed to simply running around it!

 

Sliding onto his knees in front of her, he inferred that she wasn’t in any condition to accept the alembic in his hand and drink its contents herself, the store owner elected to instead uncork the alembic himself and take drastic measures in order to ensure Gab’s survival.

 

In this case, “drastic measures” involved pinching her nostrils close hard to force her to take an instinctive deep breath and, with as much speed and precision as he could muster in such an intense situation, shoved the alembic into her mouth, pouring its contents directly down her throat!

 

“Don’t fight it!”, Baccistern shouted, as he heard Gab sputtering and coughing, “This [Elixir] will help you get through this. Just let it happen.”

 

Although it was easier said than done, what with all the pain she was still going through and the fact that a big guy like him was literally forcing something down her throat, Gab did somehow managed to follow his instructions and relaxed her throat muscles enough to let the second foreign liquid she has consumed in Arbitrium to flow directly to her stomach.

 

As she tasted this new liquid that was glugging from its container down her gullet, Gab desperately held back an urge to spit-take right then and there!

 

“Seriously?! MORE ALCOHOL?!!”, she internally screamed.

 

However, after a second or so, she realised that unlike the harsh, temporarily unidentified spirit with an astronomically diabolic aftertaste, this liquid tasted more like a fine brandy with a slight iron tang that wasn’t offensive to the tastebuds in the slightest.

As more of it was consumed, Gab belatedly realised that the monstrous pain she was feeling has begun recede almost as quickly as it came, causing Gab to start inhaling the liquid of her own volition.

 

“There there, that’s it,”, Baccistern cooed, thinking that the manner in which Gab started sucking on the alembic looked similar to a baby during breastfeeding, “drink up so you can continue to get stronger and healthier in this world.”.

 

Despite her singleminded focused on consuming the offered fortified wine(?), Gab seemed to have subconsciously guessed what the store owner was thinking, given that she instinctively flipped him the bird, causing Baccistern to let out a relieved chuckle.

 

As soon as she she finished off this undoubtedly expensive Consumable, the pain that had been viciously racking her body completely disappeared, causing her to slump on the big store owner’s body in both exhaustion and sheer relief.

This relief was fully actualised when she saw a new, more positive notification pop up:

 

<You have consumed [Ferrum Aqua Vitae]. Any and all pain and Status Ailments that you have been afflicted with will be removed from your Status, and your HP will be completely restored after 50 seconds.>

 

<The [Bleed] Synergised Status Ailment has been purged from your Status>

 <You have survived a Status Ailment, +1 to Constitution>

<You have survived a Synergised Status Ailment, +2 to Constitution>

<The [Intoxication] Synergised Status Ailment has been purged from your Status>

 <You have survived a Status Ailment, +1 to Constitution>

<You have survived a Synergised Status Ailment, +2 to Constitution>

“Haaaah! Thank. Fucking. God.”, Gab sighed as she continued to rest on Baccistern’s chest, “You know, if it weren’t for the fact that saved both my life and my future prospects in this world, I probably would make some sort of cringy joke right about now.”.

 

“Ho?”, Baccistern said with a raised eyebrow, “If, hypothetically, I didn’t do just that, what would you have said?”

 

“…was what you did to me to get me to drink that stuff you just used how you make all of your partners “swallow”?”.

 

After blinking for a few moments as the implications of what Gab just said settled in, Baccistern started roaring with laughter, causing the Freestyler to join in due to the ridiculousness of this whole situation.

 

“Haaah,” Baccistern sighed as the laughter ended, before turning his attention back to Gab, “so, now that you have drank directly from my gourd, do you smell anything right now?”.

 

At his question, Gab started to experimentally sniff the air, finding that she, thankfully, could no longer smell the man’s revolting BO.

 

“…next time, where some strong deodorant. And maybe light up a few sticks of scented candles and incense.”, Gab remarked in a deadpan voice.

 

“Duly noted.”, Baccistern nodded, not wanting a repeat of what just occurred a few moments ago, “By the by, you should be getting certain rewards for your reckless actions right about now.”.

 

Gab frowned in confusion.

“What do you…”

 

<You have survived consuming a standard shot of [Bá Shé Dìyù Baijiu] with Pain Reduction set at 10%>

 

<+1 to all Fixed Attributes>

 

“…”

 

She…suffered such all-encompassing excruciating pain and near-death…as a result of drinking a shot of rice spirit?!!

 

But the “fun” didn’t end there, as yet another set of notifications appeared, respectively blowing Gab’s mind and enrage every other Player, as they wished that she would just stop!!!

 

<Congratulations! You have acquired the Title, [Survivor of the Ripped Tongue Hell]>

 

<The effect of the Title, [First Achiever], has been activated>

 

<+1 to all Free and Fixed Attributes>

 

<Congratulations! You have acquired the Title, [Abnormal Five-Fold Resistor]>

 

<The effect of the Title, [First Achiever], has been activated>

 

<+1 to all Free and Fixed Attributes>

 

<Australia-wide Announcement: At 01:06am AEDT, Player “Wanderer” has become the first Player to acquire five Resistances before reaching Level 10. For this achievement that has never been done, nor can ever be done again, Player “Wanderer” will be awarded as follows:

-One piece of <Wood> Equipment relevant to one of Player “Wanderer”’s Resistances

-300 Gold

-1+ to all Free Attributes 

-6 AP

-100 Acclaim>

 

<Oceania-wide Announcement: At 01:06am AEDT, Player “Wanderer” has become the first Player to acquire five Resistances before reaching Level 10. For this achievement that has never been done, nor can ever be done again, Player “Wanderer” will be awarded as follows:

-One piece of <Mineral> Equipment relevant to one of Player “Wanderer”’s Resistances

-600 Gold

-2+ to all Free Attributes 

-12 AP

-200 Acclaim>

 

<International-wide Announcement: At 01:06am AEDT, Player “Wanderer” has become the first Player to acquire five Resistances before reaching Level 10. For this achievement that has never been done, nor can ever be done again, Player “Wanderer” will be awarded as follows:

-One piece of <Metal> Equipment relevant to one of Player “Wanderer”’s Resistances

-900 Gold

-3+ to all Free Attributes 

-18 AP

-400 Acclaim>

 

<All three effects of the Title, [World Shaker from the In-Between], has been activated>

 

<+1 to all Free Attributes, +1 to all Fixed Attributes and +10 to all Stats>

 

<The effect of the Title, [Novice Draconic Hoarder (Freestyler)], has been activated twice>

 

<+200 to HP and MP>

 

“…five?”, Gab managed to quietly choke out, before the HP recovery property of the [Elixir] she just consumed finally kicked in, causing a bright, green number to appear before the two people in the store.

 

And, needless to say, they were both shocked at the value that it displayed.

 

+1475

 

HP: 1610/1610

 

As Baccistern’s eyes bulged out to the point where it looked like they were going to fall out of their sockets, Gab merely gave a heavy sigh and opened up her [Menu] to get a better look at her more recent acquisitions.

 

If any other Player were to see what she got just from consuming that ghastly rice spirit, she didn’t doubt that they would scratch the shit out of her face, hellish experience be damned:

 

Title: [Taster of the Ripping Tongue Hell]

Acquisition Requirements: 

-Consume at least a standard shot’s worth of [Bá Shé Dìyù Baijiu]

Acquisition Rewards:

-Generation of the Constitution and Endurance Fixed Attributes 

-+5 to Constitution and Endurance 

Title Effects:

-Whenever the user consumes a shot’s worth of [Bá Shé Dìyù Baijiu], gain +1 to a random Free Attribute

 

*Fixed Attribute: Constitution 

In the face of Status Ailments inflicted on the user, the Constitution Fixed Attribute indicates the user’s ability to either mitigate the effects, resist them or be outright immune to them.

For every Status Ailment that is inflicted on the user and is survived, this Fixed Attribute will gain +1.

If the Status Ailments in question are also in a Synergised State, it will gain an additional +2.

(Note: These increases don’t apply to Status Ailments knowingly inflicted on one’s self.)

 

*Fixed Attribute: Endurance 

Indicative of your ability to endure situations that wouldn’t be considered as “pleasant” by even the most battle-hardened Frontline Class user, the Endurance Fixed Attribute allows one to take the pain that’s caused by either physical, mental or spiritual attacks head-on with a clear mind as opposed to regressing back to an infantile state in order to escape it.

(Note: This Fixed Attribute does not represent an immunity to pain. Instead, this is more representative of your ability to handle pain and push through it in order to achieve your goals.)

In order to increase this Fixed Attribute’s value by +1 normally, you have to endure pain that may be higher than that which can be ignored by your innate pain threshold, by this only applies to situations that occur outside of the user’s expectations, as opposed to the type that is caused intentionally to one’s self.

 

Title: [Overseas Sampler]

Acquisition Requirements: 

-Consume a consumable food or drink Item that didn’t originate from your original continent

Acquisition Rewards:

-Generation of the Metabolism Fixed Attribute

-+5 to Metabolism and Intelligence 

Title Effects:

-Whenever you consume a consumable food or drink Item that didn’t originate from your original continent, gain +1 to both Vitality and Intelligence

 

*Fixed Attribute: Metabolism

If the user is interested in consuming food and drink, the Metabolism Fixed Attribute will help in improving the user’s rate of consumption.

This Fixed Attribute will gain +1 for every [Food] and [Drink] Consumable the user ingests.

 

Title: [Abnormal Multi-Faceted One]

Acquisition Requirements:

-Gain 5 additional Fixed Attributes before reaching Level 10

Acquisition Rewards:

-+10 to your lowest Fixed Attribute (If that Fixed Attribute is tied with one or more in terms of numbers, apply this reward to those as well)

Title Effects:

-Fixed Attribute requirements for Equipment, Items and Weapons are reduced by 25%

 

Title: [Novice Draconic Hoarder]

Acquisition Requirements:

-Become the first Freestyler to acquire over 10 000 Gold without using Currency Exchange or selling Items and other things that can be sold in exchange for Currency 

Acquisition Rewards:

-Acquire the Freestyler Passive Skill, [Pathless Draconic Hoarder] at its first stage

Title Effects:

-Whenever the user acquires 1000 Gold after gaining this Title in a similar way to the Acquisition Requirements, gain +100 HP and MP

 

<Skill Name: [Pathless Draconic Hoarder]

Skill Family: [Freestyler]

Skill Type: Active/Passive

Skill Description:

-Passive Effect

When the user gains 10 000 Gold via means excluding Currency Conversion, they gain 1 [Hoarder Counter]

-Active Effect 

When the user engages in an activity where an Item Drop is possible, they can spend as many [Hoarder Counter]s as possible to increase the likelihood of acquiring an Item that wouldn’t necessarily be possible to obtain with their current Causality value.

These activities include:

-Defeating an enemy 

-Foraging 

-Mining

-Checking the contents of a storage container (i.e. Treasure Chests, Pouches etc)

Cost: [Hoarder Counter]s (min 1)

Skill Duration: 1 second

Cooldown Time: 24 hours for each [Hoarder Counter] used for this Skill’s Active Effect 

Note: This Skill can be upgraded> 

 

Title: [First Bloodied]

Acquisition Requirements:

-Be the first Player to be afflicted with [Bleed] by something or someone other than a fellow Player

Acquisition Rewards:

-+5 to Dexterity and Constitution

-Acquire the General Passive Skill, [Bleed Resistance]

Title Effects:

-Whenever the user is either afflicted with [Bleed] or inflicts [Bleed] on a living enemy, gain +10 HP

 

Title: [First at the Pub]

Acquisition Requirements:

-Become the first Player to both consume an [Alcohol]-type consumable 

-Become the first Player to be afflicted with [Intoxication]

Acquisition Rewards:

-+5 to Agility and Metabolism 

Title Effects:

-Whenever the user is either afflicted with [Intoxication] or inflicts [Intoxication] on a enemy, gain +10 MP

 

Title: [First Double Whammied]

Acquisition Requirements:

-Be the first Player to be afflicted with Synergised Status Ailments 

Acquisition Rewards:

-+10 to Vitality, Constitution and Endurance 

Title Effects:

-Whenever the user is either afflicted with two or more Synergised Status Ailments or inflicts them on a enemy, gain +10 to Vitality and Intelligence 

 

Title: [Survivor of the Ripped Tongue Hell]

Acquisition Requirements: 

-Survive the initial damage caused by at least a shot’s worth of [Bá Shé Dìyù Baijiu], despite your Max HP being lower than the maximum amount of damage [Bá Shé Dìyù Baijiu] can inflict upon consumption 

-Survive the subsequent Status Ailments of [Bá Shé Dìyù Baijiu], despite your current HP at the time being lower than what the Status Ailments would’ve inflicted 

Acquisition Rewards:

-Generation of the Infernity Fixed Attribute

-+5 to Infernity

-+1% to Infernal Resistance 

Title Effects:

???

(Note: Title Effects will be revealed once you consume 10 shot’s worth of [Bá Shé Dìyù Baijiu] without Pain Reduction)

 

*Fixed Attribute: Infernity

In the world of Arbitrium, there exists special prisons made by the Demon Race known as “Hells”, which are reserved for prisoners for whom the judicial system considers to be too heinous and despicable to deserve the relative luxury of simply dying in a normal prison before they have truly finished a full life sentence.

In addition to being kept alive in order to live out their full sentence and endure the punishments that awaits them, “Hells” produce a unique type of energy that interferes with both their Attributes (Both Free and Fixed) and their Skills, making the prisoners less likely to enact a successful escape.

By coming into contact with beings and objects that contain traces of this unique energy, the Infernity Fixed Attribute will increase by variable amounts, allowing you to not only resist a fair amount of the penalties that can be incurred by being exposed to a “Hell”’s energy, but also have a higher chance of gaining the trust of both a “Hell”’s jailers and jailed.

 

Title: [Abnormal Five-Fold Resistor]

Acquisition Requirements:

-Gain 5 different Resistances before reaching Level 10

Acquisition Rewards:

-+10% to your lowest Resistance

Title Effects:

-Once every 30 seconds, when you are hit by an attack with a property you possess Resistance against, both your Physical and Magical Attack will be increased by 10% for 5 seconds 

 

“…hey, Baccistern, would you mind helping me up? I’d like to get started on some actual shopping right about now.”