CHAPTER 13 – FIRST EXPERIENCE
The next day, I woke up with Lilay clinging to me, as always. Strangely, I didn’t see Krahs or the spear nearby, which I found unusual. Since he wasn’t there, I decided to open the store.
((Store)/)(\MD 736/)
Welcome to the store, user! Here, you can buy whatever you need for your world conquest, my dear idiot. (•^-^•)
-Food / Medicine
-Skills
-Miners
-Plant Materials
-Clothes / Armor
-Slaves
-Magical Items
-Animals / Pets
-Accessories
-Technology
"I need to get stronger… I’ve spent too much time just living without doing anything in this world. And what if that Star Descendant isn’t actually good? Maybe I’ll lose everything before I even get a real start."
I looked at the store categories, thinking about what would be most useful for getting stronger.
"I want a new skill, but I can’t afford one yet… On the other hand, technology is cheaper and more accessible for me."
As I browsed through the options, something caught my attention, but I quickly realized it wouldn’t be very useful underwater.
"Hahaha, fire? How am I supposed to use that?! Most of this world is submerged! Unfortunately, I don’t have SpongeBob’s powers…"
Even so, this option reminded me that in the future, when I establish my civilization, I will need large surface areas to use fire. After all, you can’t work with minerals without heating them for molding.
"Wait… Miners!"
Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
I looked at a small lucky crab, and an idea popped into my mind. I quickly opened the miners' tab and searched for a material I used to rely on in games.
"Obsidian… 5 MD."
I let out an evil laugh as I purchased a piece of the stone. I chose a fragment shaped like a blade. The little crab had no idea what was coming. My laughter ended up waking Lilay, who blinked sleepily.
I grabbed the crab with one hand and the obsidian blade with the other. With a quick strike, I hit its mouth, opening it effortlessly.
{+1 XP}
Immediately, I opened my status screen.
[Crystal-Scaled Mermaid]
Name: Nexha
Age: Newborn
Status: Normal
Lv: 0 XP: 1/10
HP: 20/20
MP: 5/5
Strength: 1
Defense:20
Intelligence: 10
Luck: 7
Beauty: 30
Title: First of Many
Skills: Analyze, System Store Access
Seeing my very first XP point, I couldn’t contain another laugh—this time, louder than before. Lilay, still sleepy, stuffed seaweed into his ears and went back to sleep.
"Finally, XP!"
I looked at the dead crab, cracked open its shell, and tried to eat the upper internal part. It was slimy and not as appetizing as the material that built up on the outside, but it was food, and I didn’t want to waste it.
After swallowing, I looked around for more crabs to start my first farming session in this world.
Several small crabs climbed up from the central pool, unaware of their impending fate. I grabbed them one by one, stacking up prey. After a while, a soft chime echoed in my mind.
{Congratulations! You have reached Level 1! Check your status to see the changes.}
I ate two more crabs and already felt satisfied. Lilay, on the other hand, finally got out of bed and started helping me devour the tiny creatures. Unlike me, his appetite seemed insatiable—even after eating seven crabs, he still wanted more.
I stopped as soon as I leveled up. I had killed ten of those little creatures in one go, and I didn’t want my brother to get a stomachache. I only ate the inner parts, but Lilay devoured everything, leaving behind only the crabs’ skeletons.
While he finished eating the last one, I reopened my status screen.
[Crystal-Scaled Mermaid]
Name: Nexha
Age: Baby
Status: Normal
Lv: 1 XP: 0/20
HP: 25/25
MP: 10/10
Strength: 2 (+1)
Defense:21(+1)
Intelligence: 11 (+1)
Luck: 7
Beauty: 30
Title: First of Many
Skills: Analyze, System Store Access
"Interesting… My luck and beauty didn’t increase. Maybe they grow differently from the other stats. It could be something like defense, which might improve in a different way… Still, I feel like I’m becoming a natural tank."
Lilay finished the last crab and tossed its shell onto the pile we had gathered. The ten shells formed a considerable little mound.
"If I crush these shells and eat them… would I gain more defense points?"
I looked at the obsidian shard in my hand and decided against using it for this. It was sharp but not sturdy. Unlike certain games, obsidian wouldn’t be useful as a smashing tool.
"I’ll need something tough but not too heavy."
That’s when an idea struck me: buy different stones and test them for this task.
I sat on the sand and started searching for a smooth stone to use as a base and another round one to use as a hammer.