James slowly came back to consciousness. He reached for his nightstand as he always did when he woke up but snatched his hand back when he felt the cool air around him. He reached for his blanket next to cover him but found nothing there either. His thoughts finally rearranged, and he froze. He didn’t want to hurt his injuries from getting hit by the truck.
Come to think of it, why didn’t anything hurt? The only sensation he felt was something tickling his legs. Scared that it might be a spider, he pulled his legs up towards his chest, then rolled over onto his side. Then he opened his eyes.
Then shut them. There was a black-haired wolf with abnormally large teeth staring at him, 10 feet away. He opened his mouth to scream, but then remembered the urgent thought. Don’t scream when you wake up. Even after he had followed that advice, it was still burned into his brain. He opened them slowly again, begging it to disappear. Of course, it didn’t, but at least it wasn’t moving. It was not dead though. No, it was very clearly alive. But it was also very hungrily eyeing him.
He took a few seconds to reorder his thoughts. First, he was alive. Then, he was hit by a truck. Then, he remembered some sort of fuzzy conversation, but if he tried to focus on it, there was a barrier in his mind, as if his brain was telling him “This happened, but you don't know anything further." Then he woke in this grassy patch of a forest with a wolf choosing him as its next meal. He risked another look. Still there.
Of course, by now he had a suspicion of what happened. He died and was selected by a powerful god to be his champion in this world. The god must have noticed his drive and ambition to become a powerful swordsman. It was probably the god of heroes or something. Yes, that was it. Now that that explanation was done with, he had to figure out what world exactly he was in. He couldn't very well get up and move away, with y'know, the wolf. Another glance confirmed said wolf hadn't moved but had a triumphant look on its face and seemed like it was about to. James idly wondered what kind of monsters there were for a wolf not to attack an unmoving target until it was sure it was dead or unconscious.
The grass was still tickling his legs, but he didn't chance moving them again. He suspected that the wolf was scared of him, but if he got up it might decide to attack while he was unbalanced. He wondered if this was some sort of kidnapping, but quickly dismissed that because he desperately wanted this to be another world. He set his shoulders - mentally, obviously, because of y'know the wolf - and decided to see if his dreams would be crushed or not.
[Menu], he thought. There was nothing so far, but he wasn’t discouraged. Anything to keep his mind off the wolf. [Settings], [Window], [Stats], [Status]. At the thought of that last one, a window opened in front of his eyes.
General Name: James Falksfield Class: [Select] Race: Human (3 free points every time you level up) Level: 0 Location: Elegar forest, Elegar [Kharth] Strength: 22 Agility: 36 Vitality: 16 Endurance: 21 Intelligence: 28 Wisdom: 18 Will: 21 Charisma: 26 Health Points: 160/160 Mana Points: 70/70 Skills Class Skills Please select a class to have access to class skills. General Skills Storyteller - Novice 1 (47%) Instrument - Advanced 2 (31%) Literate - Demigod 4 (4%) Gamer - Intermediate 2 (71%) English - Very Advanced 3 (36%) Celestan - Intermediate 5 (0%) Identify - Beginner 1 (0%) Sprint - Intermediate 5 (30%) Titles Dreamer Runner Resurrected Long-distance Runner
The simple window set James’s heart beating like a scared rabbit. Not for fear, but because this simple window encompassing half of his vision made everything simpler. If he had seen that he was Advanced 2 at Instrument, he would have practiced his trumpet more! But there were so little general skills. He saw Dreamer, which he expected if there was to be a achievement system, because he had spent so much time daydreaming.
Literate was at Demigod 4, which was unexpected, but when he thought about it he had a very firm grasp on writing and English. Speaking of English, it was at Very Advanced 3. If he had to guess, there was only one or two classifications between Very Advanced and Demigod, because while plays and poems that he had written in middle school - the reason for Storyteller - helped Literate more, they probably helped English at least a little bit. The percentages seemed obvious, they were there to track how far you were from the next tier in your classification. It seemed you needed a lot of time to level up a General Skill was, as he knew now that there were at least 5 different classifications, and he could guess at three more.
In fact, everything on the list of General Skills was something he had spent a lot of time on except for Celestan and Identify. He almost wished he had gone to the gym, so he would have gotten a weightlifter skill or something. He focused on one of the titles, Resurrected, and was greeted by another window layered right over the top of the main window, in the center of his vision.
Resurrected - You have been resurrected by [Divine] power. [Death] magic will be twice as effective on you, but [Divine] power will heal you for a quarter of the Health Points modified. (Applied at the same time as the Health Points are modified)
He thought that was some strange wording first, then raised his eyebrows in shock. Double the damage?! Or... The wording said twice as effective. Looking at the [Divine] modifier, there was clearly healing based on [Divine] power, so there could be healing based on [Death] magic. Or something else related.
James tried to flick the window away and remove it with his focus on the top bar moving, but it just moved to the right of his vision. Then he tried thinking about it gone instead, and that worked. Looking over his status again, he immediately saw the Class select. He focused on it, and was rewarded with another window right on top.
Available Classes (You may reset your class to a class that you have unlocked at any time, but be warned that you will most likely die if you have made significant gains in Physical statistics.) Beginner Fighter A beginner class of fighter with bonuses to Strength (+3) that branches into many other classes. Everybody starts from something. Beginner Runner A beginner class for messengers with bonuses to Agility (+3) that branches into many other classes. Start your journey. Apprentice Craftsman A beginner class for aspiring blacksmiths with small bonuses to Strength (+2) and Agility (+1) every level that branches into many other classes. A tutor is recommended for this class. Apprentice Swordsman A beginner class for aspiring swordsmen with bonuses to Strength (+2) and Agility (+1) that branches into a few other classes. A tutor is recommended for this class. Beginner Mage
A beginner class for aspiring mages with bonuses to Intelligence (+3) that branches into many other classes. A tutor could be helpful for this class.
... ...
He looked down the long list of classes. The ones at the top caught his attention the most. [Beginner Fighter] and [Beginner Runner] each had one aspect of what he wanted to be, (swordsman and speed) and [Apprentice Blacksmith] had both strength and speed. [Apprentice Swordsman] seemed the best and obvious choice at first glance, but both it and [Apprentice Craftsman] recommended a tutor. James wondered why the craftsman class was higher than the swordsman class, but then saw that the swordsman only branched into a few classes.
The classes seemed to be based on what he liked the most. James was sweating from the presence of the wolf, but didn't want to fight it without a class. He renewed his search, but strived to be as fast as possible.
Glancing further down, he saw a few like [Beginner Mage], [Apprentice Enchanter], and - [BEGINNER MAID]?!? He thought that it must be a mistake that it was so high on the list. It only gave bonuses to Agility and had only a few other classes to branch into. After his initial moment of outrage, though, he understood why. This list was probably also based on popular picks as a secondary factor. There were only around 20 other available options than the top 5, probably due to the classes you had to unlock at the top of the list. There were a few Craftsman variants like [Apprentice Blacksmith] and mage variants like the [Apprentice Enchanter] class further down on the list, probably because of his relatively high Intelligence, but they didn't branch into many other classes and some even only gave 2 extra stats per level.
Suddenly, he heard a growl. His eyes shot open, and he saw the muzzle of the wolf five feet away from his face. It felt like two, though, and he scrambled back instinctively. The wolf seemed to have gotten over its fear, and padded closer to him, but still slowly. Quickly he thought [Status], and navigated to the class selection. It said he could reset his class at any time, so he focused on the first option on the list. He didn't go up a level, but he still felt slightly stronger with the knowledge of the [Beginner Fighter] class. He suddenly felt calm in the face of the fight, but it was quickly overwhelmed by the fear of the wolf.
The class window disappeared, and there was a Ding! in his mind. 'Typical notification,' he thought, before looking at his main window.
General Name: James Falksfield Class: Beginner Fighter Race: Human (3 free points every time you level up) Level: 0 Location: Elegar forest, Elegar [Kharth] Strength: 22 Agility: 36 Vitality: 16 Endurance: 21 Intelligence: 28 Wisdom: 18 Will: 21 Charisma: 26 Health Points: 160 Mana Points: 70 Skills Class Skills Active Heavy Swing - Beginner 1 (0%) Charged Stab - Beginner 1 (0%) Intimidation - Beginner 1 (0%) Passive Improvised Weapons - Beginner 1 (0%) Fighting - Beginner 1 (0%) Calm - Beginner 1 (0%) General Skills Storyteller - Novice 1 (47%) Instrument - Advanced 2 (31%) Literate - Demigod 4 (4%) Gamer - Intermediate 2 (71%) English - Very Advanced 3 (36%) Celestan - Intermediate 5 (0%) Identify - Beginner 1 (0%) Sprint - Intermediate 5 (30%) Titles Dreamer Runner Resurrected Long-distance Runner
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They were separated into active and passive skills. James dismissed the window though, he had time for that later. His scramble got some distance from the wolf, but it was gaining and it had just started trotting forward. James didn't turn around, but he backed away as fast as he could without falling over. He risked a glance back, and there was a tree just 6-7 feet behind him. He turned the glance into a full-on sprint, and adrenaline helped him close the distance.
The wolf was almost on top of him, and James was starting to cry. He didn't want to die not even 5 minutes into this new world. Hands trembling, he swung himself around the tree counterclockwise, but the wolf did not stop. It sprinted around the left side of the tree and leaped.
James stumbled back, and the lunge narrowly missed. He fell to the ground on his back and scrabbled on the ground as the wolf leaped again. He barely managed to get halfway up before the wolf leaped again. This time James fell on his face, but the wolf still sailed right over - and hit the tree. James turned over and looked around on the ground. All he saw were twigs and small rocks, but then he spotted a branch. It was fresh, but it was over by the tree, where the wolf was. James tried to calm his breathing, but it came out in shuddering gasps.
With wobbly legs, he forced himself onto his feet. The wolf had slowed down from the hit with the tree, thankfully, and so James got up first. He moved towards the wolf, and for a second it looked almost frightened, but it wiped that away quickly. He charged at the wolf, and it growled and tensed in return. Of course, he was really charging for the stick. he dodged away at the last second, but it got a swipe in.
James's howled. His leg hurt like it never had before. He wondered if the wolf's claws were poisonous but knew that it was just painful. He kept running and managed to swipe the stick from the ground as he ran past. He felt like he wanted to collapse, but through teary eyes saw the wolf bounding towards him, closing the difference with quick hits on the ground. He stood firm, and 3 notifications rang out in his mind. Ding! Ding!
Pain Resistance has reached Level 1! Pain Resistance has reached Level 2! The category [Resistances] has been unlocked!
Calm has reached Beginner 2!
These notifications he quickly dismissed and watched the wolf growl as it ran.
He wanted to be happy about the notifications, but he didn't feel calm at all. The wolf was coming towards him, and he readied his weapon. It did its classic leap, and this time he noticed that the time that it spent coiling its legs did not equate to the power of the leap. He wondered if that was a skill, but the wolf was on him at the apex of its leap. He swung his stick like a bat, and it hit the wolf in its nose. It managed to swipe at him with its claws that were definitely significantly longer than a normal wolf's claws. They cut into his arm this time, but the injury wasn't as bad as his leg. A Ding! resounded.
Improvised Weapons has reached Beginner 2!
He backed up again, and winced further at the stinging in his leg and arm. He would have to clean the wounds out after this. He was not looking forward to that. Another Ding! sounded out.
Pain Resistance has reached level 3!
The resistances seemed to level normally without the "Beginner" and "Demigod" classifications. He would definitely check out what other menus there were to unlock if he reached civilization. But that was an if for now. The wolf seemed to be doing something different now. It was still a few feet away, but it was raising its front right paw. James wondered if it was seeing double from the hit to the head. A glimmer of hope reached his heart, then it was brutally murdered when he saw the energy gathering on its claws. He looked behind him, but he had gotten completely turned around from the clearing and was right in front of a tree. Again, he readied his weapon, and this time he didn't wait for the wolf. He charged forward, yelling incomprehensibly to psych himself up. The wolf suddenly faltered in its "casting". This time when it was frightened, he got another Ding!
Intimidation has reached Beginner 2!
He had an idea as he ran and focused on [Identify], without actually opening his [Status]. A blue window appeared in the upper right corner of his vision.
Lesser Elegar Wolf Level ?? (Juvenile) Starving, Angry (Other status effects hidden because of low level and low Identify level)
He felt massively disappointed in himself. Well, he wasn't beating himself up too much, but he couldn't even beat a starving baby wolf. Plus it said lesser?? He needed to finish this fight before its big brothers came. Then he realized further that he had screamed twice, probably attracting the attention of any beasts in the area. He was sure the urge to not scream when you wake up was specific to the one wolf, but it's generally not good to scream in a monster-infested forest. He banished those thoughts and tried to pull on some determination.
James raised his makeshift club above the wolf - he aimed for the head again, because it worked at least a little last time - and struck. as he struck, he focused on [Heavy Hit], but he couldn't grasp it somehow. The normal hit was enough to stun the wolf, though, and tears of relief started streaming down his face as he hit it again and again. It wasn't idle though and tried to activate the claw skill again. He wound up for a hit that would make a pro baseballer proud and clubbed it on the side of the snout. It howled in pain, and collapsed, shallowly breathing. It looked up at James and seemed resigned to its fate.
James suddenly felt guilty. The description clearly said it was starving, and he had any number of options beside fighting. He felt the sudden weight of some jerky in the pocket of his shorts that had been there all along. He took it out slowly but sped up once he saw the wolf sniffing. Its snout looked bruised, but not broken. He dropped a piece of jerky on the ground near its mouth and backed away. He might feel bad, but he wasn't stupid. It got up and slowly shook its head a little to get rid of its dizziness. Then it gulped down the jerky and snarled at James. 'Right, this isn't a dog,' James thought. He emptied the rest of the jerky on the ground and threw the wrapper into the forest. Not littering was low on his list of priorities right now.
James hobbled back to the clearing, but he couldn't see his backpack anywhere. It was worth a try, but now that he knew it was gone he needed to get to water. He kept walking in the opposite direction of the wolf, and finally broke down fully. James didn't have any illusions about going back to his own world soon. He knew that the way he had gotten here was to die, and he didn't plan on doing that anytime soon to get back.
Soon enough, he found a small stream. It wasn't muddy, so he decided that it would do. He felt a little better after washing out his wounds - which earned him another level in Pain Resistance - and decided to explore the system a little more. He had read about customizing the system by thinking about it in novels, so he decided to do that first. The resistances were below the General Skills, so he started on those first. It was surprisingly easy to customize, all he had to do was think of abbreviations or formatting and it would happen. First, he changed the visual appearance of the main Status menu. When he was finished, it looked like this.
General Skills Name: James Falksfield Class Skills
Class: Beginner Fighter Active Passive Race: Human (3 free points / lvl) Heavy Swing - Beginner 1 (0%) Improvised Weapons - Beginner 2 (43%) Lvl 1 (<25%) Elegar forest, Elegar [Kharth] Charged Stab - Beginner 1 (0%) Calm - Beginner 2 (57%) Str 22 Agi 36 Intimidation - Beginner 2 (70%) Fighting - Beginner 1 (68%) Vit 16 End 21 General Skills Int 28 Wis 18 Storyteller - Novice 1 (47%) Instrument - Advanced 2 (31%) Will 21 Char 26 Literate - Demigod 4 (4%) Gamer - Intermediate 2 (71%) HP 142/160 MP 70/70 English - Very Advanced 3 (36%) Celestan - Intermediate 5 (0%) Resistances Identify - Beginner 1 (0%) Sprint - Intermediate 5 (30%) Pain Resistance lvl 4 (>50%) Titles Dreamer Runner Resurrected Long-distance Runner
James found out a few things. First, that he could abbreviate things, but he did not do so for any of his skills or skill related things. He also found out that he could force percentages on anything, but things like resistances and levels would only show him approximations. He didn't know if there were smaller estimations than 25%, but he didn't think so. He did get the feeling that he had gained some experience from the fight, but he suspected that he had to either kill things or get injured to earn experience.
He also assumed there were more sections than what was currently displayed, as you could almost always unlock many system sections if there was an option to unlock them at all. He also looked into why [Heavy Hit] didn't work during the fight, and what a few of his other skills did. Apparently "like most active skills" [Heavy Hit] had another component that you had to do. For [Heavy Hit] it was shouting the skill, and for [Intimidation] you had to want to get rid of your own fear or cause fear in someone else. That explained the fear the wolf had. It was an honestly interesting skill, because it would take your own fear away for extra intimidating power. He didn't understand why it wasn't passive, but maybe he'd get a passive version later.
[Calm], however, was a passive. It kicked in during stressful situations to calm you down a little more. It was a passive not because it was active all the time, but because it kicked in automatically. He would need it. The thought of that wolf biting into him made him shudder. He didn't want to do that again.
Suddenly, he heard a loud keening howl. Then a notification rang out in his mind, but this time it sounded just a little bit... sinister to him. Ding!
You have helped kill [Lesser Elegar Wolf] Lvl 14. Less experience is awarded for fighting with someone else.
Lvl up! 3 free points are awarded and +3 Str.
Lvl up! 3 free points are awarded and +3 Str.
Well, at least that answered the question of if his abbreviations worked on alert windows. James turned around as a booming sound rang out and the yelps of wolves were heard. He ran in the complete opposite direction.