The next morning, I woke up and saw a new notification in my {System}.
You have leveled up! Congratulations Level 1 -> Level 2. Due to the stats gained before your first level, you have gained a Title!
Title gained:
One Who Builds Their Own Fate
(upon level gain, increase stat point acquisition by a number equal to stats naturally gained during that level divided by two.)
Stat points + 14
'I'm gonna be honest, that Title seems kinda unbelievable' I thought, wide-eyed while reading the notification.
'Mr. Darius made it sound like the average person gains like, two stat points after their first level, so gaining 7 times that sounds unbelievable. I should probably mention something to Mama and Papa before putting the points anywhere.' I decided to go out and see Mama and Papa at breakfast before doing anything.
"Mama, I leveled up this morning!" I shouted into the kitchen.
"Oh really, sweetie? I guess it is about that time. So where are you going to put your status points?" Mama asked, while making breakfast.
"I don't know yet, but I have something I need to tell you and Papa first, and I think it's gonna be something we need to keep quiet." I went over to the window to check if anyone was nearby.
"Alright, now I'm a little worried dear, what's got you so nervous?" Mama looked at me with concern.
"Alright, Mama, Papa. After my first level, I should have 2 status points to use right? Except my Karma increases that to 8." I was speaking softly so that my voice wouldn't carry far out the window.
"Oh dear, that is quite a big difference from other kids your level. I can see why you're hesitant to use them right away." Papa looked thoughtfully into the table.
"That was expected though, what wasn't was the title I earned when I leveled up this morning." I looked at Mama and Papa as their faces grew a bit darker.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
"And what does this title do, sweetie?" Mama asked.
"It gives me even more status points every level based on the points I naturally gained that level. I have 14." I stated bluntly.
"Oh." They were speechless.
"So I was wondering what I should do about this. Should I use them all? Save them 'til I'm a higher level so that I don't seem weird? Just use a few? It's so much that I'm worried about how it would affect me." I was clearly at least a little stressed out about this
My panic had broken their stupor, and they came to comfort me in my worry.
"Don't worry Amara, we'll figure this out. My first instinct is to wait on using them at all until you have the ability to protect yourself better. You're clearly not in need of the two you would normally have gotten if you gained a title for your natural improvements. And hoarding them cant really do anything bad to you. What do you say honey?" Papa gave some advice, and Mama took a minute to think it over before agreeing.
"That sounds like a perfectly good plan. I would say once you are no longer an apprentice, you can start using the stat points to make sure you exceed where you end up doing your work. I wonder how many status points you'll have accumulated by then?"
"Mama, Papa, thank you so much for helping me through this. Knowing I'm so different is kinda scary, but what you said makes sense, and won't draw attention to me. I think I'm gonna work even harder to make sure my stat gains don't slow down in the future. The more points I can get, the better I'll be." I was reinvigorated by my parents' love and concern.
"With that out of the way, Amara, sweetie, I made your favorite for breakfast." Mama lightened the mood with everyone's favorite distraction, food.
"What's the special occasion?" I was a bit skeptical, as the fruits for this dish were nearly out of season, and thus, much more expensive than normal.
"Give us a little bit to eat before we tell you, Amara." Mama said as we all sat around the table and started eating breakfast.
After we had finished, she began to speak to me, "Well, you see sweetie, we actually have some news of our own for you." She sounded nervous and excited. "Amara, you're going to be a big sister!"
My jaw dropped.
"What?" Dumbfounded, I just sat there, trying to process.
Waiting to have a second child until your first one was 10 wasn't uncommon in the world. As your first gains their {System}, they become more independent, and are on the way to helping provide for the family. At this point, it is financially more reasonable to have another child, if you planned on more than one in the first place.
Due to this, most children around the ages of 11 to 14 also gained experience in taking care of children, as they would babysit their new sibling while their parents were busy. This leads to more equipped parents further down the road, as well as a tighter bond in the family as a whole.
But these concepts would fly right over a young Amara's head, and she just sat there until her mom shook her back into reality.
"Amara sweetie, you need to close your mouth before another bug lands in there. You have chores to do, and the smithy to go to after that. Hop to it dear, you're going to have a bit bigger of a share of work in the near future." Mama teased, finally bringing her back to her senses.
"Right, Mama, I'll get right to my chores. I'm gonna need to be even stronger to protect my little sister in the future." I'm suddenly a little excited now that I'm thinking more clearly.
"Little sister? What if it turns out to be a brother?" Mama was amused by the assumption.
"I've just got a feeling. I'm going to spoil her so much. I can't wait to meet her!" I got up and bolted outside to start my work day.