Surviving as a Useless Bard in a Game

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I spent 5 gold coins and what I got were a ‘Health +5 Ring’ and a ‘Strength +3 Ring’.

Honestly, considering that a difference of just 1 in stats can mean several times the difference in reality, I got the health ring for a very cheap price.

It even looked weirdly flashy, so it was clearly not an ordinary ring.

To put it simply, it looked like something an old pig noble would use to confess to a young girl.

Meaning, it was super expensive.

So, I rolled the dice.

Until it worked.

Roll, roll.

What’s the problem? I’m just trying to haggle for a price I want, is that a problem?

It wasn’t just my persuasion that was powerful; with the added boosts from the dice and status window, they wouldn’t be able to resist parting with it for under 3 gold coins. Thanks to that, I managed to get a good deal.

At the right moment, the status window presented options to me. It seemed like it didn’t want to see me bleeding to death.

‘Maybe I might be getting a hang of this.’

I’m dying! I’m really dying!

—Maybe threatening like this makes it show me options?

If I get a chance later, I’ll have to test it out.

For now, I just hope that ‘chance’ doesn’t come in a situation where I might die.

So now, what I need to do is.

‘Status Window.’

–

[ Selina ]

[ Female, Bard ]

[ 22 years old ]

–

[ Strength: 0 ]

[ Intelligence: 2 ]

[ Skills: 2 ]

[ Charm: 8 ]

[ Health: 0 ]

[ Persuasion: 10 ]

–

[ Equipment: Strength Ring (+3), Health Ring (+5), Uncommon Lute ]

–

The minus signs next to the stats have disappeared along with the new job and equipment that came into play.

If I had known the reflection would be this fast, I would have checked it every time I had a moment… to be honest, it had been way too long since I last opened it.

Somehow, memories of when I first fell into this world started coming back to me.

It wasn’t exactly a pleasant memory, but I was lucky.

I met Skylar, and everyone was nice.

I wonder if I’ll ever get the chance to perform again in that small village near the Song Forest once all this is over. Just before going home… if there’s a chance.

Not a bad thought.

Yeah.

A story that started in a quiet rural village should also end in a quiet rural village; that’s the circle of life.

At least, that’s what I think.

Is this influence from becoming a bard?

I wasn’t particularly into tales of heroes or adventures. I enjoy fantasy games and novels, but if you ask me whether there’s an absolute amount of them, I’d say not really.

Since coming to this world, I’ve started paying more attention to the conclusions and processes of stories.

I want to weave, unfold, and sing their wonderful tales. I want to perform. I want to express it in my own way.

I feel that desire rising in my chest, and I’ve been suppressing those feelings while gradually holding back and sometimes letting them burst out as I continue on this journey.

“Skylar.”

“Yeah?”

“I want to write a song.”

“Out of the blue?”

“Yeah. If there’s a chance someday, I want to write a very beautiful song.”

“First, let’s safely sort all this out… if there’s a chance, then sure.”

“What do you mean by ‘all this’?”

“…My sister’s issue, my heart issue, and your eye issue.”

“How can we solve those? Should we go kill other body owners first? Or should we hide somewhere nobody knows and wait for them to find us?”

“……”

“Skylar, I’m talking about our next objective.”

Right. I was trying to convince him to act actively right now.

I dislike passive characters. I like active ones.

That’s my true feelings.

If you wait for the other person to act first, it’s already too late.

The enemy we’re dealing with is currently too strong and enormous for us to face with our current strength. Therefore, we need to become just as formidable.

That’s what I’ve concluded.

The issues regarding health and strength had been solved.

What does that mean?

—Finally, I’ve found the space to think.

I grabbed the jug. It smelled slightly of alcohol inside.

With that, I downed the alcohol in one go. The strong scent of it rushed up my nose. My mind sharpened. My head started to spin. The world was spinning too.

However, I remained standing tall in this spot.

People who gain composure begin to move towards greater goals. So do I. Because I’m human too.

I started coughing.

It’s strong.

Coughing, I still kept my two legs on the ground.

I didn’t collapse.

Blood started rising from my throat… no, wait, what?

…Why?

Why in the world?

I couldn’t swallow it.

Threw up.

In the end, I spat it out. Blood, in front of Skylar.

It was a sentence where the process and the result were reversed, but the meaning got across. Skylar’s eyes looked at me. And then, he saw the blood spat on the ground.

The problem I thought I had solved hadn’t really been resolved.

The penalty from the negative status must be the deterioration of my health. If so, does the worsened state vanish in an instant when the status goes up?

Can a cancer patient immediately run out and about after being deemed cured?

‘No, that wouldn’t be the case. It’s more realistic for it to return slowly. Like waiting a few minutes until the debuff is lifted.’

This subtle world, which seemed to mix reality and gaming halfway, hadn’t fully restored my health status yet.

After all, my health status was 0, so it’s not a good state. I still remained in a ‘sickly’ condition. Why did it take me so long to realize this?

For now, I won’t die, but I won’t suddenly feel better and jump around either. It turned out to be a rather awkward result.

“Skylar, I’m fine.”

“…A person who just spit out blood says they’re fine?”

Typically, coughing up blood indicates there’s been bleeding inside the body. However, in my case, it was a bit different.

There wasn’t bleeding inside me, nor was my body in that terribly bad of a state. It’s just that the remnants of the negative status penalty were still lingering on, causing me some discomfort.

Even if I explain this, Skylar wouldn’t understand. He’d just think I’m lying when I insist I’m fine.

No matter how much I mumble about the status window and penalties, wouldn’t he just suspect me as being mentally unstable or ask if I even have that ability?

To be honest, I still wanted to hide some information about myself. Since Skylar hasn’t told me much, it felt selfish and irrational for me to do the same.

I couldn’t even quite comprehend my own thoughts.

A strange reasoning that appeals to emotions rather than reason. I never used to think like this.

“I’m really okay.”

“Let’s go.”

“…Huh?”

Skylar grabbed my wrist. Very tightly.

Is it because my strength is at 0? I felt like I could resist against the strength of a child.

Should I resist? Or not?

What difference would it make if I resisted now?

“I told you I’m fine.”

In the end, I chose to resist. I stopped Skylar, who was pulling me towards somewhere with my legs.

Skylar turned around. With those small eyes wide open, it shouldn’t be scary… but honestly, it’s a bit intimidating. Yeah. You win.

But still, I’m not going to the hospital or the church. I don’t need to.

I don’t want to pay a hefty treatment fee for something that would resolve itself if I just stay still.

“I’m telling you I’m not okay. If I keep pretending that everything’s fine, will I really become okay?”

“…That’s not right.”

No, actually if I keep saying I’m fine now, I would end up becoming truly okay.

Wouldn’t this just make Skylar more irritated if I said that?

Perhaps, it would be better for my safety to choose the best words I can manage in this situation.

When we first met, I distinctly thought he was a scheming little brat, but as time passed, he seems to be showing a bit of… obsession towards me.

With an alcohol-filled brain, my persuasion was starting to analyze and judge the current situation coldly.

My eyes began to assist.

Magic Power was swirling.

‘…Skylar is currently angry. And he feels like crying.’

He wants to cry? Skylar?

Why…?

“Skylar.”

“Selina.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“I have nothing left to hide from you now. Even if there are things I haven’t told you, I’ll answer if you ask. Honestly. So… I hope you’ll do the same.”

“Alright. I’ll do that. I’ll tell you everything honestly without hiding anything. Is that good enough?”

“Good. This is a contract.”

“Do wizards always talk about contracts in such situations? It was starting out a bit emotional.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yeah.”

I promised to talk honestly with Skylar, and he did the same.

This was a contract.

We inadvertently tied ourselves together in truth.

The two rings on my left ring and middle fingers were inexplicably a bit itchy.

They weren’t in any particularly meaningful position, but if I remember correctly, that meaning was… love, eternity, and trust.

Oh, ugh…

Let’s switch to a different place tomorrow. Sure.

—

So, the next day arrived.

I wasn’t dragged off to a treatment center or church, and in the end, I decided to monitor the situation from the inn. The expensive room of the Adventurer’s Guild was worth it.

A morning without stiffness was a long time coming.

My head was clear.

I pushed some of the liquor in my water bottle down my throat again.

For some reason, Skylar was still sleeping in the bed next to mine.

‘The guy who always woke up before me is sleeping in today.’

I woke him up and shared my plans.

Finally, I felt like I was starting to get a large framework in place.