Thinking about my questionable existence got me nowhere, so I focused on keeping warm during the storm. Propping my spear against the wall, I started doing some stretches. I raised my arms as high as they could go in this stiff gambeson; when I reached my limit, I started rotating them back and forth. I kept going until my shoulder got sore, then I dropped my arms and bent over, reaching for my toes.
My bulky armor halted me before I could get further than an awkward U-shape. The move nearly tipped me over and I hastily stood up straight. Next up was jogging in place which wasn't much easier than the other exercises. The gambeson hung off me uncomfortably, making jumping up and down as I was rather tiring.
At least it got the blood in my veins moving. Eventually, though, the effort of moving my legs in a jogging motion became too much and I had to stop. Leaning back against the tall, stone wall, I put my weary muscles to rest.
As I was resting, I noticed something moving in my peripheral vision. I turned my head, thinking something - or someone - was coming but all I saw was snow. I could still see the thing flickering in the corner of my eye but I could never find it. Finally, it came to me to move my eyes but not my head.
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Doing so let me see a flashing exclamation point. Focusing on it brought up a short line of text:
> For constant strenuous activity, you have gained +1 Endurance, +1 Strength. Please check your status menu for your gains.
What the heck? I've never seen anything like this before. Then again, I haven't seen a lot of things before, so that's no surprise. I guess I should...check out this status menu? How do I access it? Maybe by saying 'status menu'? I did so and an opaque window of text appeared in front of me, blocking my line of sight.
"Wow," I whispered then ate a mouthful of snow. Choking and sputtering, I tried not to die again as I looked at the text box.
> Name: None (Elden Keep Guard)
>
> Class: Guard
>
> Level: 1
>
> HP: 100/100(+10)
>
> SP: 110/110(+10)
>
> MP: 7/7
>
> TP: 0
>
> AP: 0
>
> Strength: 10 (+1)
>
> Endurance: 11(+1)
>
> Agility: 5
>
> Vitality: 8
>
> Intelligence: 7
>
> Charisma: 3
>
> Skills: [Measure Bribe] - 1; [Lesser Radar] - 2; [Thrust] - 1
>
> Spells: -