(Caleb POV)
Alex- Caleb! Shit! He was still getting used to that. Being someone else, even with all their memories, wasn’t an easy adjustment.
The last few days had been hectic, just trying to get comfortable with two sets of memories in his head was a challenge. Often, he found himself switching from Earthling college student to thirteen-year-old, medieval peasant boy between conversations. It was very frustrating for both sides of him.
The System hadn’t been much help either. He’d read his fair share of isekai novels in his previous life and felt that he’d been ripped off. Where were his super cheat abilities that could swat gods like they were flies?!
Instead, he was a ‘Level 0’ peasant in the back end of nowhere.
But, with any luck, that would change today… whenever his dad finished talking to the shepherd.
After a week of doing whatever the System told him to, a near death experience, and a heartfelt moment with his family, he was this close to leveling up. All he needed to do was finish this last Quest and he’d have the XP he needed… hopefully.
After looking over the crops and spreading insecticides made by Elder Huga, they still had to check on the animals. Different groups of families managed different fields around the village, and each group also had livestock that was looked after by one of the families. But even though his family wasn’t in charge of the animals, his dad still came over to check on them and talk with the family that was.
This would be fine if the System didn’t count the Quest as complete only once Caleb’s dad said they were done for the day.
So now Caleb was lying in the grass next to the grazing animals around him. They weren’t Earth animals, either. They were like sheep the size of cows with a single horn that was shaved down by the shepherd, called Ralo. They were the perfect all-in-one livestock. Meat, fur, heavy labor, you could even let their horns grow out and make tools or weapons out of them.
Merchants come through the village every few months and the villagers would trade Ralo wool and wood from the forest for iron and anything else the village couldn’t make on its own. Those merchants and the yearly tax collection were the only real contact the village had with the outside world.
*sigh*
“Which means that I’m stuck here.”
Maybe the System had some grand plan for him, but otherwise he didn’t see a way out of village life. The money his family made was enough to get by in the village, but he knew things got much more expensive in the big cities. Even if he did leave to start his adventure, he’d probably end up broke in a gutter somewhere.
“Caleb! We’re done here! Let’s go grab some lunch, kiddo!”
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You have completed the Quest: Farmhand (Repeatable)!
You have been rewarded 1 XP!
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[You have earned 100 XP!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You are now Level 1!]
[Status Page is now unlocked!]
“Yes!" He shouted, pumping his fist in excitement. "Er, um… Coming dad!”
As much as he wanted to see what he had unlocked, now probably wasn’t the best time to do it.
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Caleb stood and ran to catch up with his father. They made their way back to the village and the guard at the gate nodded to them as they entered.
Only a few people were out on the street at this time, most were either at home eating lunch or still in the fields, probably. But Caleb managed to catch a glimpse of the village chief as he was speaking to one of the village guards, who was gesticulating seriously towards the forest.
They made their way deeper into the village and back to their home.
Their house wasn’t very big, actually it was on the smaller side for the village. It was still bigger than the studio he’d been renting when he died though, which was a nice upgrade.
Before they even entered, the heavenly smell of food wafted through the windows of the small hut. The meals here were simple, mostly just base ingredients, but his mom knew how to make the most of them.
Inside, Alice was practicing her sewing while Caleb’s mother kept an eye on her from the cooking fire. Alice’s head snapped up when they entered. She smiled and ran to her mom, holding out a wooden bowl for her food. Mom rolled her eyes but took the bowl to fill it up.
&&&&&&&&&&
After lunch, Caleb secluded himself in his room, telling his parents he was going to study the herbology book Elder Huga gave him. He took a deep breath, reminding himself not to let his expectations get too high. The System hasn’t been much help so far, so he shouldn’t expect to unlock god-level powers at level one.
“Ahem, System, please show me my status page.” He said nervously.
A big, bright blue box expanded into the center of his vision. The sight of holographic blue boxes just popping into sight was still jarring. Especially because no one else could see them except for him.
Maybe he was just crazy? That would explain a lot.
Words and numbers rapidly printed onto the box, displaying Caleb’s status for the first time!
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Name: Caleb Harrison
Age: 13
Level: 1 (100 / 250 XP)
Title(s): Transmigrator, Survivor, Alchemist
System Points: 133 (10 SP / Day)
Attributes:
* Body: 0 +
* Mind: 0 +
* Magic: 0 +
Skills:
* None
Status: Normal
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Well… that’s a little underwhelming.
“Um, System?” He asked. “What is all of this?”
[This is the Host’s Status Page.]
No Shit. He wanted to say that, but he’d rather stay on the System’s good side, even if it was a smart ass.
“I mean, what do all these values mean? What are ‘Titles’ and ‘System Points’? Why are all my ‘Attributes’ zero? Please, explain.”
[From the top, then.]
[First, your Level. Your Level determines your access to System Features, like the Status Page. After collecting enough XP, you will increase in Level, which will grant you access to more Features of the System.]
[Your Titles reflect your achievements and grant additional rewards. Currently you have 3 Titles. The Survivor and Alchemist Titles rewarded you with an additional 10 System Points each. Meanwhile, your Transmigrator Title rewarded you an additional 50 Points as well as giving you 10 Points per day]
[System Points are the currency of the System and can be spent to enhance your abilities. You currently have 133 System Points.]
[Your Attributes are not a reflection of your current capabilities, but are actually an indicator of how much your being has been improved by the System. You can spend System Points to improve your Attributes.]
[The ‘Body’ Attribute affects your muscular strength, organ function, and overall physical capability.]
[The ‘Mind’ Attribute affects your cognition, reaction speed, and perception.]
[Finally, the ‘Magic’ Attribute affects your ability to perform and control mana.]
[Skills are abilities granted by the System that either enhance the Host or provide supernatural powers. You currently have no Skills.]
[Your Status is an indicator of any unusual effects to your state of being. Currently, you are in a Normal state.]
Caleb read through the slog of messages as he worked to understand the System. Eventually breaking it down to “spend points to get better to level up to get more things to spend points on”.
Looking back to the Status Page he saw the small ‘plus’ marks next to his Attributes and focused on the one next to ‘Body’. It seemed like the safest option as he didn’t know what “enhancing” his mind would be like or how people would react if he suddenly began to use magic.
[Would you like to spend 100 System Points to increase the ‘Body’ Attribute?]
“A hundred points?” That was most of what he had saved up. Then again, he’d be right back to where he was after another week, so it wasn’t that big of a loss. He shrugged and said “Yes.”
The notification vanished and Caleb felt a subtle warmth in his chest before it moved through the rest of his body. He didn’t feel any different though. He tried to lift up his bed but found it was still heavy as shit to his small body. He even checked his Status again just to be sure and found his ‘Body’ Attribute was now ‘1’ and he only had 34 System Points left.
He was confused for a moment why it wasn’t 33, but realized the System must give him the points one at a time and not all 10 at once.
He did a few more exercises as he tried to feel a difference in his abilities, but if it was there, it was incredibly minor. He thought about asking the System “what gives?”, but realized it really didn’t matter. He would just keep putting points into ‘Body’ until he noticed something. It wasn’t a real cost when all he had to do was wait for his savings to fill up again.
Well, if super strength was off the table for the time being, what about other superpowers?
“System, how do I get skills?” He asked.
[Skills will be rewarded for relevant Quests and Missions, or they can be bought using System Points in the System Shop.]
The System was obviously prepared for his question given its quick response. But after reading it, Caleb felt his energy drain away.
“And, let me guess, the System Shop is…”
[The System Shop will unlock at Level 2]
“Of course it does.”
Caleb sighed in momentary defeat, as he had no other option but to wait for his points to save up. In the meantime, he had a repeatable Quest to farm (literally and figuratively), and he was going to start training with the village chief soon. Even if the System wasn’t a super-cheat like he had hoped, Caleb’s life had definitely taken an upturn in the last week.
He took a deep breath and reminded himself to be patient. He’d save up XP and System Points and get all the stats and skills he could want, it was just gonna take a while.
He flexed his hands and stretched some more in a feeble attempt to feel his strength before cracking open his herbology book to study.