The One Being Protected [Magical Girl Urban Fantasy]

"Designated characters... How fun." The One Above All seemed to finally be warming up to me. I could see it in his eyes that he'd understood exactly what I'd gone for. Did I surprise him? Well, I said before that I wasn't some evil god out for his suffering.

"I couldn't have him live a lonely life. Even players find a sense of immersion in video games, so why can't he?" I made my actions clear. There was no need to hide what a 'designated character' meant. It could be inferred from the way games were built.

Ben also started to understand and respect me.

Feeling warm when seeing the explanation I gave.

This wasn't the same as Co-Op Mode. They wouldn't be able to share his secret or be aware of his time looping ability. However, he could at least grow a sizeable team with varied powers. Each of them being retained even when a 'New Game+' started.

He started to understand the Specialties I gave.

Thief was the most deviously deceptive Specialty among the bunch, but also reflected many things about his blessing the more he read. The first part being about ‘Steal’ in particular. Was it the ability similar to what you’d see in Isekai fantasies?

Nope. It was entirely connected to the ‘game’.

Every enemy and NPC could earn him at minimum a potion if it succeeded. There was a 10% chance of stealing not what was on hand, but what the system decided he could steal from them. Most friendly NPC characters wouldn’t really give anything from Steal.

Using it on a companion also didn’t work.

The entire premise of this Skill worked on the foundation that this world worked on game logic in his eyes. Anything stolen from enemies will not appear after their defeat, so it wasn’t necessary to use in the middle of battle unless it was important.

Tech seemed to be short for Technique.

It wasn’t powered by his Mana, but an MP meter shown in the Pause Menu under a section that had his name. Going from 100% to lower whenever MP was used. This was a combat resource that was solely provided to him by the mechanics of this ‘game’.

Any one he designated as a character would have it.

In short, it was a broken ability. Not only did it not rely on Mana Reserves he didn’t have, but being able to Steal from enemies meant he could acquire items that shouldn’t exist. The most attractive part were these ‘Potions’ that he’d presumably get from mobs.

It was a creation skill at this point.

He was bringing things that didn’t exist into reality.

Despite the name of the Specialty, he found this first one would suit him and be extremely precious. The others had cool abilities like Black Magic (which were attack or debuff spells) and White Magic (that had buffs and healing), but they weren’t needed.

At least not to him.

He’d only gotten used to using Mana currently. He might gain power easily by choosing one of the magic or fighting related Specialties, but they didn’t seem as appealing as this particular one. Almost like it was designed to be the most important Specialty.

The restriction on weapons was also important.

Blue Mages using forks was a good sign for him.

Maybe he could pick up a random fork to use.

Comparatively, daggers wouldn’t be easy to find.

If he was to be more realistic, then he’d probably choose Blue Mage as the contender for which option suited him the most. ‘Eat’ allowed him to instantly defeat any enemy at what the game calculated as 20% HP with a special perk if they’re at 10% HP.

Blue Mage was essentially a ‘learning’ Specialty.

He could gain the unique abilities of Monsters.

This included things that needed extra limbs.

It suited his personality.

There was some controversy in his head about what would happen if he used ‘Eat’ on a person, but he was surprised this Skill was restricted to Monsters only. It was unlike Steal, which could help him gain an infinite amount of materials to improve crafting.

Moreover, Blue Magic also ran on the MP gauge.

It was definitely a second choice compared to the perks Thief gave, but he didn’t make this crucial decision immediately. There were many things to consider before he made this choice. That’d be how helpful the Specialty would be in his future growth. 

He was also intrigued by what ‘Summon’ did.

Apparently, Priest had more Summoner focus.

While the White Mage understandably was not.

There was a clear distinction made between them.

“Mmm…” He didn’t know what he’d get if he used Summons or how useful they’d be. If he relied on random chance again, there was a high chance he’d be stuck with useless abilities. These new extensions to his blessing made him at ease in using more keys.

[Use Key: Strength reset.]

[Use Key: Skill removal.]

Rather than choosing his Specialty first, he decided to see what these two had within them. The chests had difficult keys to let go of, but he decided to open both of them. He looked at the Gold Chest and his Skill List. Going through the selectable options.

There was one that was easy for him to let go of.

['Exorcism (Crude)' had been removed.]

It wasn't like he'd have to work that hard to regain this skill. The only exorcism method he knew of currently was smacking an Apparition with purifying energy. I'd forgot he had that Skill to be honest. He really did pull a good one on me with that answer.

As for the Strength reset...

['Strength Tier' has been reset.]

Since he realised it wasn't that useful, he let it go.

Looking at the rewards from the two chests.

[Bronze Choice:

1. Allocate the D Rank to a specific stat.

2. Gain two Stat Dices.

3. Allocate the Rank to a random Stat (Rank Up).

4. Gain a random Stat from one of the ‘Four Paths’.]

[Gold Choice:

1. Gain a random Skill (including high-tier ones).

2. Synthesise two or more existing Skills.

3. Choose a selected Skill of the same mastery.

4. Combine removed Skill with an existing Skill.]

There were many intriguing options, but the Bronze Choices were the easiest for him to decide on. It was because he was aware of how random Stat Dices could be. If he rolled a 1, then he would’ve wasted a dice unless that F Rank was added to his Magic Tier.

It was too risky to leave to chance.

The same could be said for the third Bronze Choice.

Even though going above C Rank sounded good, he was aware that those who enhanced their body beyond a certain degree felt restrictions. This was the same for his Magic Tier. Having an above D Rank power didn’t necessarily mean control over it.

He’d heard rumours of those who died young from being unable to control Mana beyond the limit of their body. The supernatural world wasn’t a place where ‘being strong’ equates to being capable of fighting. Only two options were left after this.

Allocate the D Rank to a specific stat.

Gain a random Stat from one of the Four Paths.

The first was exactly what he wanted, while the second was something he didn’t expect. There was definitely more to the supernatural world than just Mana Users. Psychics, Mutants, Warlocks, and Shamans were aplenty. All of them were unique.

Of course, Mana Users were in the majority.

One couldn’t naturally learn to use the four powers.

You had to be born with the talent. That, or another had to implant that power in your body. The latter being naturally weaker than the former. After all, it was akin to transplanting organs. Rejection was mostly the case for those who tried the latter.

It was an unexpected choice.

Should he continue his original objective of gaining a Magic Tier, or should he gain the exclusive powers that could only be attained by those uniquely talented in the supernatural world? He started to lean towards the latter the more he thought of it.

There were other ways to unlock his Mana Reserves.

Comparatively, the latter was exclusive to right now.

Ben pressed on the fourth Bronze Option.

Not hesitating in the slightest.

“Let’s see…” He could feel that the power was coursing within him. Alternating between his brain, heart, flesh, and soul… Each one having a different level of interaction with the material world. Flesh being the most corporeal out of the inner mediums.

It felt like a lottery was happening within his body.

Eventually, the power stopped at his brain. A power unlike anything he’d ever felt flowed through him. A kind of energy that could likely cause an immense difference to his future potential. He felt it was part of his body the moment this new power awakened.

[You have gained the ‘Psychic Tier’ exclusive Stat.]

[The rank allocated is D.]

[You have gained the Innate Skill: ‘Telekinesis’.]

[You have gained the Innate Skill: ‘Psychokinesis’.]

[You have gained the Innate Skill: ‘Metal Evolution’.]

And just like that, he gained three Skills at the same time. The first two being based off of the intensity of psychic energy, while the latter being based off of his unique inclinations. A specialised power unique to every Psychic regardless of what rank their energy.

[Skill Name: Metal Evolution (Special)

Description: By devouring metallic substances, the body can undergo a unique growth. Metal will no longer be poisonous to the user. Able to harness the traits of devoured metal depending on mastery.]

It was his first time seeing a Skill labelled ‘Special’ instead of having a mastery attached. Ben could infer that this unique ability manifested to compliment his Innate Gift. Just as he was able to absorb the purifying energy of metals, this was truly special.

He wondered if it was possible to replicate his Gift.

“Eating metal?” He murmured while squinting his eyes a little at the description. That part bothered him a little. He imagined his friends seeing him eat a metal spoon and seeing him as a freak of nature. It was that, or they’d get him to preform at a circus. 

He wondered how far this evolution would go…

Judging from his Innate Gift and what he knew of Psychics in general, they were in no better position than Gift Users in terms of the danger of their own abilities. He had to be careful. There would definitely be unseen consequences he didn’t know of just yet.

He had to test it when he got the chance.

Now came the Gold Choices.

He could gain a random Skill (dropped because of the unpredictability), synthesise two or more existing Skills (passable), choose a selected Skill of the same mastery (useless because his Exorcism was at ‘Crude’ mastery), or combine removed Skill with an existing Skill (interesting due to implications).

He could probably gain the Skill of ‘Alchemy’ quickly if he combined his original Skills of Material Crafting, Material Dismantling, Mana Sense, and Mana Control… but doing so also came with the downside of having to relearn the created Skill.

Moreover, he could probably achieve it with effort.

Combining his crude Exorcism with an existing Skill might give it additional attributes. If he thought about his future of hunting Apparitions, then he could probably create something useful by combining it with any of his current Innate Skills.

[Characteristics:

—Positive Trait: Creative Applier

—Negative Trait: Scatterbrained Learner

—Learned Skills: Street Mixed Martial Arts (Expert), Material Crafting (Basic), Material Dismantling (Basic)

—Innate Skills: Mana Sense (Basic), Mana Control (Basic), Telekinesis (Crude), Psychokinesis (Crude), Metal Evolution (Special)

—Innate Gifts: None]

[Statistics:

—Strength Tier= F (Human)

—Agility Tier= F (Human)

—Speed Tier= F (Human)

—Defence Tier= F (Human)

—Magic Tier= Rankless (Unawakened)

—Psion Tier= D (Enhanced Psychic)]

He looked at his Stats. Maybe if he added Exorcism to his Metal Evolution, then he would finally be free of the curse of turning into a mass of purifying energy with no way to exert itself other than through violence. Probably gaining proper Exorcism abilities.

But he could also learn this from a proper mentor.

Moreover, he wouldn’t be able to access his Innate Gift unless he either died or gave up this timeline. It wasn’t something he was willing to do. Rina had made him more careful about how he treated each iteration. He shouldn’t prepare himself for death.

He thought about what his new abilities were…

‘Telekinesis’ was the general ability Peak Psychics had that allowed them to muster energy. It was similar to how Mana Control worked. One did not need assistance in sensing their own psychic energy innately, but using it was a difficult endeavour.

Having this Skill allowed him to manipulate ‘Psion’.

On the other hand, ‘Psychokinesis’ was akin to the basic ‘Mana Bullet’ learned by Magi. Being able to use it without being taught was a testament to the amount of Psion currently coursing through him. It felt like he could grasp the world telekinetically.

Perhaps due to it still being crude, Ben couldn’t really move anything just yet. He would probably need extensive training just to be able to use it properly. The most important point was that his senses had expanded more vividly than before.

The psychic energy he had touching the world.

Interacting with material and matter.

He thought about what he’d do next with this.

Finally figuring out what Gold Choice to choose.

[You have chosen to synthesise the Skills: Street Mixed Martial Arts (Expert) + Mana Control (Basic) + Telekinetic (Crude) + Material Dismantling (Basic) have been selected. You cannot choose any more Skills. The limit in selection has been reached.]

[Warning: Expert mastery Skill will degenerate due to excessive lower tier Skills. You cannot undo this process. Skills that have been synthesised cannot be relearned separately. The current combination will degenerate synthetic Skill to mastery level: (Adept).]

Ben carefully read the information, then clicked the accept button. It was a bit sad, but there was no need to keep his Street MMA since it would likely never improve beyond that of Expert. He wanted to blend his control of Ether and Psion into one ability.

A completely new Skill was born from the synthesis.

After getting that done, Ben chose his Specialty.

He unpaused the ‘game’ and went back to reality once again. His mood having improved after feeling the generosity of the one who favoured him. Maybe my name of ‘Loki’ and random boxes had attached negative preconceptions of the personality I had.

Anyway, he tried designating another as a character.

Extending his influence without knowing if it works.

[You have chose the NPC: ‘Rina Doyle’.]

[Permission must be granted for the tethering.]

As soon as he saw these messages, it felt like some kind of earthquake happened. His instincts were telling him that something was coming towards him at top speed. When the girl arrived, she was holding the transparent blue screen in one of her hands.

Like it was a material object in reality.

“..She won’t hit me with that, right?” Ben shivered with that thought. Her current appearance was so striking that he wondered if she was angry. It was his consideration that he chose to make her someone who shared his benefit. A companion of sorts.

“This is because of you, isn’t it?” She pointed at the screen in her hand that was asking permission to tether her to the ‘main story’. The exact words being this: [Would you like to join the campaign’s main story? Doing so will make you a playable character.]

Of course she didn’t understand what it meant at all.

There was only one reason it’d pop-up out of nowhere, and she hit the nail on the head. Ben was completely flabbergasted. Unable to come up with a good excuse. He stopped thinking about making it sound better and just told her the truth about it.

“Click accept. I’m trying to share my powers.”

“It won’t turn me into a guy, right?” She frowned.

“Honestly, I really can’t say.” Ben had no idea what’ll happen. Would that really matter much? They had started to have an argument over it. One side trying to get her to accept the suspicious invitation, and the other trying to figure out what exactly this was.

Ben tried to explain it to the best of his ability. He left out the time-looping aspect, but hasn’t hidden the ‘Pause Menu’ and that she could choose her own Specialty on top of being a Magical Girl. How her Skills would become listed and learn her traits.

Time passed, and the commander finally started to wake up in his tent. Ready to call them over.

Unknowing that a lot had changed in his absence.