“Alright, I’m done playing around with the system, let’s check out what happened in the forest and then leave.”

Matthew retrieved his hatchets before he made his way back to the forest, only to find headless bodies dispersed between the trees.

“Is this what they call running like a headless chicken? I really didn’t expect the traps to work this well!”

Walking closer to where he set his traps, there were large chicken heads on the ground and a bit further the bodies of the rest of the monsters.

‘I get why this is one of the easiest portals. The monsters here really are weak and stupid. Some of them managed to suffocate themselves with the snare traps I set up at neck level because they tried to keep running… I guess in their case, evolution really is a myth. In what environment can such creatures actually live?’

“Anyway, that’s enough with this, time to leave. Exit portal.”

Another feature of the perma portals is that players can leave them at any time. This is not the case for regular portals. Normal portals can only be exited through the gate that remains inside the portal. The gate outside collapses when no more monsters or players remain in the portal.

Zoom.

Matthew appeared again on the empty parking lot, a few meters from the gate he had entered. It was now dark.

He pulled his smartphone from his inventory to check the time. Electronic devices do not work within portals so using it inside to see how long had passed was not an option.

‘I should get a mechanical watch, why didn’t I think of it before? I guess that’s something you have to need once before you realize you need it.’ he thought, and made a mental note to order one when he gets back home.

He walked home quietly, thinking about what had happened. He caught sight of his reflection in a window and noticed he was covered in monster blood. 

‘Damnit! I have to pack changes of clothes and some buckets of water and soap in the inventory for next time, too!’ he thought and hastened his pace to stay as little as possible outside, even though the neighborhood was deserted.

After arriving home safely, he dumped his clothes and jumped into the shower. Exhausted from his day, he ordered a pizza delivery and looked for a mechanical watch.

‘Seeing how the clock on my phone had to update after connecting back to the network, I can’t put the watch in the inventory either. It’d just stop after a while anyway. I’ll have to be careful not to break it. Let’s order multiples just in case.’ he thought, before placing an order.

After getting the pizza and eating, he started planning the next steps for tomorrow.

“Alright so first, I’ll go get stuff for cleaning myself in the portals and buy a bunch of changes of clothes, and then, I’ll go to the next perma portal on the list.” he said, while writing on his notepad.

In the morning, he went shopping for what he needed and, once he arrived home, tossed everything in the inventory. 

‘What’s this?’

When he looked in his inventory, the clothes he put in had an unexpected characteristic. Everything he put in the inventory was represented with an icon on a gray background, but the clothes had a green background instead. When he thought about inspecting it, a new window appeared before him.

[Item: T-shirt]
A black T-shirt with a U neck.

- Bonus when equipped -
DEF: 1

‘Huh? And there is an [Equip] button too? Hmm, Equip, then.’

As he thought that, the T-shirt disappeared from the inventory and a new [Equipment] window opened. Just like in a video game, there were a lot of empty slots, as well as a Torso slot where the T-Shirt was placed. The defense bonus was also visible in the status window.

Taking a look at himself, he saw that another T-Shirt was covering his own. Looking back at the Equipment window, he noticed an eye icon. Clicking it changed it to a crossed icon and the T-Shirt that had appeared was no longer visible. The bonus, however, was still active.

‘So there is a function like that? Wait a second! That means I could wear armor or stuff like that? I have to check it out!’

As he realized that, he bolted outside. He arrived at a military surplus shop and bought body armor, reinforced pants, boots, and a helmet.

He darted back home, and proceeded just as before.

“Oh, right! Maybe this could be good, too!” he excitedly added, and threw his motorcycle helmet and motorcycle gloves into the inventory, before checking out the results.

[Item: Body armor vest]
A stab-proof vest as well as a bullet-proof vest. Good for stopping penetrating weapons and softening blows.

- Bonus when equipped -
DEF: 15

…

[Item: Motorcycle helmet]
A motorcycle helmet. The red stripes give your bike an additional 10 horsepower.

- Bonus when equipped -
DEF: 2

- Additional option -
The visor protects the eyes.

[Item: Military helmet]
A simple military helmet.

- Bonus when equipped -
DEF: 3

‘Hmm, the motorcycle helmet has less defense but an interesting bonus, let’s just go with that for now.’

[Status window]
Name: Matthew Carter
Level: 4
Achievements: 2

- Stats -
STR: 16
AGI: 17
END: 16
INT: 19
ATK: 65 [+2]
DEF: 48 [+28]
MGK: 57
RES: 54
(Available stat points: 14)

“Alright, nice! I gained more than 50% additional defense. I hope I won't have a use for it, though, but that’s pretty good. The 2 attack points from the motorcycle gloves aren’t that impressive but I’ll take it. Let’s use some of my available points too, since I’m at it. I have no use for intelligence right now so I’ll put 4 points in the other stats and keep the last 2.”

‘Hmm… I Feel a bit stronger? And I don’t feel hindered in my movements by the items I’ve equipped, that’s really good, I guess my system really isn’t all that bad.’

Thinking that, he got the anvil he had used as a trap from underneath the worktable and tried lifting it.

‘It’s so much easier than when I did last time! I definitely got stronger. Nice!’