Upon waking up, I rubbed my weary eyes and hastily devoured a few bites of Bibsis flesh. Cautiously, I made my way down to the pond to quench my thirst. After checking that my Health and Stamina were fully restored, I repeated the tactics of the previous day. In the warm early afternoon, I was hit by two water balls in quick succession.

Strangely, the first one didn't hurt at all, while the second one hit me with excruciating pain. A pattern began to emerge in my mind as I tried to decipher some of the game's rules. After resting and healing myself to full Health, I deliberately endured two more water ball attacks without trying to dodge. It would almost be my downfall.

The first shot hit me in the stomach, rapidly knocking out more than half of my Health. Then the next struck, rattling my brain inside my skull. Concussed and disoriented, I somehow made it back up to the altar. Quickly, I cast another Heal spell, hoping to clear my head and prevent potential brain injury.

My dangerous experiment did, however, prove one thing; I would feel no pain with the first hit IF I was at maximum Health. Finally, I had an explanation for my mysterious skill, 'Pain Nullification.' I had to remind myself that this was not some form of invulnerability, as I could still take damage from attacks.

Nonetheless, anything that reduced the pain from this horrible world was sorely welcome. Leaning against the comforting security of the tree, I decided to take stock of the situation and review my current gains.

STATUS

Calling: $%^& Level 2 Acolyte of Avaria

Strength: 9

Dexterity: 10

Constitution: 12

Intelligence: 10

Wisdom: 9

Charisma: 8

Luck: 11

SKILLS & PROFICIENCIES

Pain Nullification (lvl.1)

Power Strike (lvl.1)

Endure (lvl.1)

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Stealth (lvl.1)

Rest (lvl.1)

Backstab (lvl.1)

Dodge (lvl.1)

Polearms (lvl.1)

SPELLS & MAGIC

Heal (lvl.1)

Rust (lvl.1)

Identify (lvl.1)

GIFTS

Curse of Entropy: -20% all starting attributes.

Experience to next level 170/220

Health: 16/16

Stamina: 21/21

Mana: 7/7

A day and a half of a consistent loop of receiving damage and healing myself had increased my Constitution by another two points, raising both my maximum Stamina and Health. I also discovered that my Dexterity had climbed to ten somewhere along the line. Additionally, I noticed that the average damage I inflicted with my half-spear had increased by one point after using Identify following a solid hit on one of the monsters. Unfortunately, I had not gained any Wisdom or Intelligence, likely due to my exclusive use of physical attacks instead of magic.

Interestingly, I had also acquired three new skills. Two of the more enigmatic ones, 'Dodge' and 'Backstab,' were at level one, similar to all my beginner skills. I assumed that I had obtained the Dodge skill by avoiding the countless water balls that had been spat at me. Backstab could have resulted from my success in launching surprise attacks against the Bibsis. I speculated that this skill was responsible for the occasional spikes of one or two damage points I inflicted on the oversized fish when I managed to catch them off guard. It was logical to assume that my third new skill, 'Polearms,' was acquired from my extensive and exclusive use of the scavenged spear.

Thank goodness I had been an avid gamer in the old world. Without that skill set, I would have had little frame of reference for this bizarre experience. Shaking my head in disbelief, I noticed that I had also inexplicably gained an extra point of Luck. I had only a vague idea of how that attribute would affect my current predicament.

Circumstances were certainly not perfect, not by a long haul, but they were definitely improving. I felt a glimmer of consolation that I was beginning to understand the world I was in. It was satisfying to work out some of the rules that I had to play by. There was no internet or wikis here with easy answers, yet despite all of this, I was enthusiastic about tomorrow.

In this world, self-improvement was a more tangible notion compared to my old life. Experiences and skills were broken down into numbers, and I was given solid feedback showing when I had gained abilities. Huddling against the tree, I decided to rest despite being at full Health, Stamina, and Mana, as I was at the limit of my mental endurance.

Tomorrow was another day, and I had five more monsters to slay to attain level three.