「Processing conditions...」
「Conditions have been set. Good luck.」
This is already sounding sketchy as hell. What kind of reward comes with a condition? Wasn't I supposed to get something because I accomplished a feat? What a scam. What a great gift this was from the God of Chances, I grumbled. A dialogue with long lines I was too lazy to read appeared in front of me. I ignored it, and conveniently it relocated itself to my peripheral vision—what a nifty feature. I continued to admire my surroundings as I contemplated.
Fwaaaahh...I sighed. I didn't know what to do in my current state. As much as I wanted to move, my body was too injured to even stand up. There were no signs of movement, nor could I hear anything around me. I guess I'm safe here for a while. Well, I have no choice but to stay here anyway.
After looking around to appreciate the scenery around me, I laid my head on the soft soil that acted as my pillow. I gazed towards the sky, and a spectacle greeted me. Even with my poor eyesight, the scene above me was breathtaking. The warm glow of the heavens itself came down unimpeded as there were no clouds to be seen. I inferred that it was the middle of the day currently as two suns lit up the sky. Unlike the stars on earth, where they could only be seen at night, the stars here twinkled as brightly in the middle of the day. A mesmerizing aurora danced at the sky, warping and distorting the space around it. Stars could be seen falling every few seconds. I closed my eyes and made a wish to one of them. I wish for my injuries to disappear. I opened my eyes and checked on my body. I tried to move my left leg, and pain instantly coursed through my body. I chuckled. It didn't hurt to try. Fuwaaaahhhhh...I sighed once again.
I've been ignoring the floating dialogue at the corner of my vision to admire the scene around me. Might as well read what it's about. I can't do anything else at the moment anyway. I focused on the dialogue, and it reappeared in front of me.
「A Wanderers Worth」
「The God of Chances accepts and mends all lost children that wander into the world of Vertalum. For they have travelled a long and arduous journey, he grants them a second chance in life with their knowledge intact. The God of Chances has bestowed a great gift to each child, but he is unsure of how they will use this granted power. Entertained by this feeling of being clueless, he enjoyed watching his children forge their own path. For he cannot determine the actions of those who came from another world he has set a trial to watch his children grow into something that would surprise him or fail as they succumb to the harshness of Vertalum.」
「Conditions to Begin The Trial (A Wanderers Worth):」
• Condition (1)「Host must be from another world.」- Complete
• Finishing Condition (2)「Host must have completed their first feat.」- Complete
• Bonus Condition (3)「Host must be in a dying state.」- Complete
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「Perfect Conditions have been met. (3/2)」
「Perfect Condition Rewards will be received...」
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「The Trial, "A Wanderers Worth", has been started.」
「Inventory Unlocked: 0/5」
「Rewards:」
• 「+1 Status Point」
• 「+1 Status Point」
「Bonus Rewards:」
• 「Dice of Mending (3/3)」
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「You have become a candidate.]
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I stared at the floating dialogue in disbelief of what I just read. So there are others like me, but exactly how many are there? Trial? What the hell is that? I have so many questions in my head but no solutions to even think of. There was new information I suddenly instinctually knew regarding the Inventory and the rewards, but other than that, there's nothing else.
Inventory. I thought inwardly. Five boxes appeared in front of me, and one was filled with a weirdly shaped object. Upon further inspection, it started to look familiar. It was a 10 sided dice. The numbers that were engraved on each face was different from the numbers I knew. It wasn't the standard 1-10, not even the roman numerals I-X. I'm guessing this was the numerical language of this world. Fascinating.
「 Inventory (1/5:」
• 「Dice of Mending (1)」
• 「Slot Available」
• 「Slot Available」
• 「Slot Available」
• 「Slot Available」
I touched the slot with the dice inside it with my snout as I was unable to move my limbs. A small dice appeared beside my head out of thin air as it waited for me to roll it. I started observing the weird symbols around it, trying to guess which was the numerical equivalent to earth. All I cared for was the big circular symbol with lines drawn at the side, which made it look similar to the sun. I'm guessing that was the number 10. Its name implied something.
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Analyze, I thought inwardly. After reading the dialogue about the trial, I gained a small grasp of how the system worked. Well, just enough to make use of it.
「Analyzing...」
「Analysis complete.」
That was fast.
「Dice of Mending (3/3):」
「A bonus reward for completing all the conditions, including the bonus condition. It is a 10 sided dice with the ability to heal the user depending on the number that was rolled. A tenth of the maximum HP multiplied by the rolled number will be the amount of healing the user receives. This dice has only three uses.」
I deeply exhaled. The mechanical voice of the system was gone. Instead, the information was directly injected into my being. I instinctively knew how the dice worked after the analysis. I closed the dialogue that floated in front of me and proceeded to look at the dice.
If I understood correctly, getting a 5 means getting 50% of my health back. The higher, the better. If I get that sun-like symbol, I'd be back to full. I would magically walk off like nothing happened. The thought excited me.
Status. I excitedly thought, checking how my HP was doing.
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「Status:」
「Cunning: 23」
「Power: 12」
「Spirit: 25」
「Resilience: 15」
「Unspent Status Points: 2」
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「HP: 2/25」[Internal bleeding, Numerous bones broken, Multiple organs bruised and punctured. Shock Imminent (3 Minutes). ]
「MP: 5/5」
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Oh. Well, that was a fun read...I'M ABOUT TO GO INTO SHOCK IN 3 MINUTES?! The sense of urgency quickly dawned upon me as I hastily pushed the dice with my snout. It tumbled and rolled across the uneven soil, and with each turn, the dice started glowing faintly green. After a few more moments, as the dice struggled to keep its balance, it stopped, and the number on top of it was the sun-like symbol I was hoping for. The symbol started to glow bright green, and the light began to form threads and made its way towards me.
The green threads of light entered my wounds and soothed the pain from within. I could feel my body regaining strength. Torn muscles started to reform, and my heart began to beat with more vitality. I could enjoy this feeling forever...the gentle light lifted my mood and put me in an elevated state of thinking. Ahh...yeesss...
I lay there, unmoving, savouring the feeling of the healing that's taking place. I can feel my joints snap back to their place. Feels good to be lucky once in a while. The gentle light started to fade as the dice called its threads back. The dice also disappeared and returned back into my Inventory.
I sighed, a bit sad that it was already over. Now that I'm fully healed, I can start exploring again. Finishing the conditions gives a reward upon completion. I wonder what else I'd obtain? More dices? I greedily thought. I shook my head. I did not get reborn to become similar to a drug addict.
Alright! Let's contin—URGH?! Sudden pain greeted me as I rolled to my side to try and stand up. What...the...hell? It...still...huurrrtts...? I should have been healed back to full.
「30% of your health has been restored.」
...
JUST NOW, YOU TELL ME?! I yelled at the dialogue that floated in front of me. I took deep breaths to calm myself down. Now, 30% how much health did that give me. Status.
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「Status:」
「Cunning: 23」
「Power: 12」
「Spirit: 25」
「Resilience: 15」
「Unspent Status Points: 2」
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「HP: 10/25」[Numerous Fractured Bones, Minor Bleeding, Multiple Bruised Organs.]
「MP: 5/5」
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Still half dead. I'd be at risk moving around with broken bones, should I roll it again? I contemplated, it was my only source of health currently and I didn't know if I could get more. Maybe, I could get more if I complete more conditions. Uh...Trial...?
「A Wanderers Worth's First Trial: "Overcoming Frailty" has begun...」
• Condition (1)「Candidate must locate suitable prey. 0/5」- In Progress...
• Condition (2)「Prey must be stronger or larger than the candidate. 0/5」- In Progress...
• Finishing Condition (3)「Hunts finished successfully. 0/5」- In Progress...
• Bonus Condition (4)「HP must not go below 80%」- In Progress...
Well, looks like that's not an option, I sighed, I wanted to keep the dice for future use if I ever get in another dangerous situation. I have no choice, but to roll again. With a heavy heart, I pulled the dice out of my inventory. I breathed deeply and rolled the dice hesitantly.
It tumbled across the uneven soil and eventually slowed down and rested a few inches away from the clear waters of the lake. A symbol that was similar to a crown with a line going through it started to glow an ever brighter green than the last roll. I didn't know what number it was identical to, but I knew it was better than the circular symbol.
Soothing threads of green light wrapped around my body like a cocoon. This was a vastly different experience, it was much more intense and calming. It felt like I was in heaven as the warm embrace of the light cradled me. My mind was soothed and I very well knew, that my body was now completely healed. The cocoon slowly tightened around me, it was quick yet gentle and like a lie, it vanished leaving me wanting more.
「60% of your health has been restored.」
Wow...that was only a number six? What feeling would it be if I rolled a number 10? I looked at the dice that transferred itself to my inventory with greedy eyes. I shook my head and thought to myself, I'm going to need this if I ever get close to dying. It's my last resort. Status.
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「HP: 25/25」[Excited State.]
「MP: 5/5」
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That really got me back to full. I quickly stood up and assessed my current state. Oh-ho? I was surprised to see that my tail was back as I noticed it wagging behind me. It can even restore missing body parts? Wait! I quickly dashed to the near water and observed my reflection. My left ear! It's back to normal too! I stared at my reflection for a few seconds more thinking of how powerful the dice was. This type of thing didn't exist on earth, it wasn't even possible to replicate this. This world...it's a complete fantasy setting, like the novels I've read. Intriguing.
Krrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....
Huh? Wazzat? Hostile intent? It was faint, but I could clearly hear it due to the ambient silence of the environment. I focused on my senses, the gentle wind whispered on my ears and the calm rustling of the leaves accompanied it, among those sounds there came a third that was out of place. Water was dripping but from where?
Bloop. Bloooop. Bloop. Bloop. Skkrrshhh...
Something just moved out of the water and stepped onto land. I can hear it dragging its feet across the ground.
Krrrrrrr...Krrrrrrrr...
There it is again. It was making a low rumbling sound, was it angry? Why? I instinctively knew the sounds it was making were an act of aggression towards something, but who?
KRRRRRRRRRR...!
It started growling, oh dear. The hostility wasn't directed at me, If I guessed correctly the source is probably within a hundred meters away from me towards my right. I started walking in the direction of the sound, curious about what was happening. If I play my cards right, I could... I chuckled inwardly. I laid low and moved carefully so that I avoid getting spotted. I only had one thing in mind as I proceeded. It was time to hunt.
「Stealth has been activated. You are less likely to be seen.」