Felix sprinted through the forest, lungs burning and legs trembling. Finally, his body betrayed him, his cardiovascular fitness simply wasn't up to the task. Collapsing on the ground in a panting heap, he listened for signs of pursuit. Silence.
Did I lose them? He wondered, too exhausted to even lift his head. The terror of being killed, which was all encompassing minutes ago, didn't seem so bad now that his lungs were on fire and his legs were wet noodles. Shallow scratches crisscrossed his body, throbbing as he lay face down in the loamy soil.
But nothing came. No bandits. Not anything. Slowly, the burning in his lungs faded, and Felix was able to push himself up into a seated position, his many scratches protesting. He found himself in a small clearing. Gingerly, he stood up and did a full 360-degree turn. Majestic trees stretched up towards the sky, their canopies casting the clearing in dappled shade.
It’s kind of peaceful here, Felix thought. It reminded him of the long hikes in Muir Woods he had taken as a kid with his father. Those were happier times, back when they all lived in San Francisco.
Felix shook himself back to reality. This wasn’t some manicured park in California, he reminded himself. He was in another world. He had almost gotten killed by bandits. He needed to figure out his next steps.
First, things first, where did I come from? Felix walked around the clearing, carefully stepping with sore bare feet around sticks and rocks. Despite his efforts, he found no tracks or broken twigs marking his passage. The woods were silent, the only sounds coming from the wind rocking the trees.
I still don't know if I want to angle back towards the road, but it would be nice if I knew which direction it’s in.
Felix wasn't sure what to do next. He’d never been in a survival situation. Hell, he’d hardly left his house in the last 5 years. Suddenly, yowling sounds echoed in the distance, sending a thrill of fear coursing through his body. Were those dogs? Coyotes? Wolves? Some kind of fantasy creature? They sounded far away, but the reminder that he was not alone in these woods made him feel vulnerable and exposed far more than his near nakedness.
It's ok, it's ok. He kept repeating to himself, trying to stave off panic. This is usually the part in the anime where a busty elf or dryad shows up in bikini armor and falls in love with me.
Felix looked around. Trees, trees, a few rocks, and - oh look, more trees. No elf. No dryad.
Worst Isekai ever, Felix thought, wondering if Arry had misrepresented the situation he was in.
Out of ideas and tired of waiting for his harem to present itself, Felix decided he’d just start wandering. He picked a direction and set out, trying to keep the sun to his left side, though the canopy often made it hard to see which direction the light was coming from.
If I can find my way to some kind of civilization before dark, I’ll be okay, he consoled himself, somewhat reassured by the finite goal. Based on the sun’s position, it was still mid-morning. That gave him at least several hours before nightfall.
He set out. As he walked, he tried to keep his mind occupied by attempting to put everything he could into one of his three inventories.
Hours passed as Felix delved into the nuances of his skills, avoiding any other thoughts. He discovered that any non-living thing he touched with his hands could go into his Porter’s and Merchant’s inventory spaces, regardless of size and visibility, so long as it fit within the skill restrictions.
At one point, Felix encountered a boulder the size of an EZ-Boy Chair, halfway buried in the earth. He touched it, directing it towards his Porter’s Inventory with a thought, and it vanished, leaving a 3 foot wide crater.
Felix staggered, feeling the 0.25% of weight his Porter’s Inventory didn't negate for the first time. Glancing at his Porter’s Inventory screen again, he noticed there were two labeled numbers at the bottom.
Porters Inventory - Basic (0.26%)
Volume : 7/50 cubic meters
Mass: 2,945/10,000 kgs
He was too tired to math at the moment, so he guestimated that adding the boulder to the inventory space had increased his own effective weight by 15 lbs. It didn't feel like wearing a backpack. Instead, the weight felt proportionally distributed all throughout his body. Even though it made his movements feel a bit sluggish, it was far more comfortable than carrying the same amount of weight any other way.
He decided to pull the boulder back out. At the last moment, he extended his hands, palms out. It was lucky that he did, as the boulder appeared right in front of his outstretched palms, slamming into the ground with a resounding thud. He didn’t even want to think about what would happen if his palms had been facing up or towards himself.
Good to note for future use, he thought, filing that tidbit away.
Felix reabsorbed the large stone, this time braced for the increased weight, adjusting to it after a minute or two of walking. He decided to keep it inside his inventory for practice.
I’ve got to get used to the feeling sometime, he reasoned. Besides, it’s a nice boulder, round and speckled. Felix could picture it on his front lawn.
Another discovery Felix made was that his Rogue’s inventory behaved differently from his other two skills. He could put plants directly into it, unlike the Porter’s and Merchant’s inventories, which required him to yank the plants out of the ground first.
The range of his Rogue's skill was also unique. Felix found that he didn’t actually have to touch items to store them in the Rogue's Inventory. Anything that came within about 6 inches of any part of his body could instantly be transferred into the storage space. At the same time, he found he could make those items reappear within the same range of any part of his body.
As a result of these discoveries, whenever Felix saw a stick, rock, or plant he wanted to collect, he would step near it, activate his Rogue’s skill, absorb it, and transfer it into his Porter’s storage space. Twice, something he collected exceeded Porter's Inventory's one silver value limit and refused to transfer. Both times, he moved the items into his Merchant’s Inventory instead, where he read their improved descriptions.
Dragon’s Breath Fern
Common Tier
Description: Found in several coastal tropical forests throughout Aelor, this fern is easily identified by its red tipped leaves. Boiling the stems creates a tea called Traveler’s Boon, which is renowned for its spicy aroma and pleasantly soothing effects.
Status Effects:
* Health regeneration slightly increased for one hour when consumed
* Stamina regeneration slightly increased for one hour when consumed
Unique Effects
* Resistance to cold slightly increased for one hour when consumed
After reading this description, Felix took the Dragon’s Breath Fern out. Stripping several of the leaves, he popped the fibrous stems into his mouth and began to chew, eliciting a bitter, spicy flavor that reminded him of cardamom. Within seconds, he perked up, like he’d just had an espresso. He even felt like some of his scratches hurt just a little bit less.
Felix imagined it would be even more effective as a tea. He harvested three more clusters nearby before continuing on, hoping he'd eventually get an opportunity to boil water. From that point on, he kept an eye out for the distinct plant, finding a few more on his trek through the woods.
The other item that ended up in his Merchant’s Inventory was a mushroom. After reading the description, Felix was less thrilled about it, and was glad his Rogue’s skill had allowed him to store it without touching it.
Monk’s Eye Blood Bulb
Rare Tier
Description: Identified by its white bulb and red spots resembling weeping sores, this mushroom is coveted by alchemists and assassins alike for its blood sap, which can be refined into either a potent painkiller or poison. It is difficult to find, requiring precise conditions to grow. It is known to deteriorate rapidly once removed from its environment.
Status Effects:
* Variable
Unique Effects:
* Variable
* Highly Toxic
Felix considered throwing the toxic mushroom out. He had no plans to become an assassin, and having a toxic item in his inventory bothered him. Still, he figured he might sell it to an alchemist. He also wondered about the deterioration description. Would his inventory preserve it, or would it decay? If it deteriorated, would its description change? In the end, he kept it in his Rogue’s Inventory along with Arry’s pen, separate from his other items. If nothing else, it was a chance to further experiment with his skills.
Not long after his second find, Felix stumbled onto a small stream. Hunger and thirst hit him full force at the sight of the crystalline water. He rushed forwards, fell to his knees, and cupped his hands to drink. After drinking his fill, Felix sat back and took a deep breath. His scrapes no longer throbbed, but his skin felt tight where the scabs had formed. Every muscle ached, as if he’d done an intense full body workout. His legs were the worst, painfully tight.
Checking his inventory capacities, he supposed it made sense. He’d gained some weight.
Porter’s Inventory (Basic - 0.5%)
Volume: 11/50 cubic meters
Mass: 3,825/10,000 kgs
Merchant’s Inventory (Basic - 0.15%)
Volume: 0.2/2 cubic meters
Mass: 2.5/200 kgs
Rogue’s Inventory (Basic - 0.73%)
Volume: 0.035/0.5 cubic meters
Mass: 0.07/50 kgs
Despite the 99.75% weight reduction in the Porter’s Inventory, the weight had accumulated from the range of stones and logs he’d picked up. He estimated he was now carrying about 25 lbs of extra mass across his three inventories.
For the first time, Felix took note of the percentages next to each skill. They had all gone up. It seemed like it was an experience bar for his skill tiers. Felix was shocked to find that after a half day of constant use, none of his skills had even gotten past the 1% mark.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
Waving away his interface screen and further speculation, Felix stretched and massaged his muscles. In the ensuing silence, the intrusive thoughts he’d been avoiding began to surface in his consciousness. Worse, the light through the canopy had dimmed to a dull orange, indicating he didn’t have much daylight left.
Feeling hopeless, Felix realized he wasn’t going to find civilization tonight. He’d have to sleep outside. Despite his utter lack of survival knowledge, even he knew from survival shows that he needed shelter. Casting his gaze around, he saw that a few dozen feet upstream there was a muddy ridge with a slight overhang. Felix headed towards it.
Felix pulled several logs and small to mid-sized stones from his inventory and began building his makeshift shelter, finishing just as the last bit of orange light disappeared behind the tree line.
“Looks like a beaver’s den,” Felix muttered to fill the silence.
Sticks and stones jutted out at odd angles, with the largest of the logs forming a small wall on one side of the ridge along with the stones. The result was a quasi-insulated tunnel-like structure. It was just big enough for him. Felix army-crawled backwards into the structure, and then rolled onto his back, settling on his bed of leaves and grasses.
The receding twilight from the entrance barely gave him enough light to see the twigs and logs that made his ceiling as he stared up.
“So it's not the Ritz Carlton,” he said out loud, “but it's better than being outside.”
As if in response, the night life began to come alive around him. The yipping and yowling he’d heard earlier came back with even more vigor, though it still sounded far away. Squeaks from what he assumed were bats sounded out, and he thought he heard the hoot of an owl.
He tried to fall asleep. Exhausted as he was, he should have easily passed out, but every time he started drifting off, a rustle in the trees nearby or the sound of branches snapping would wake him back up. His imagination came alive, picturing wolves and goblins and all sorts of night monsters. He pulled a baton-sized stick from his inventory, planning to use it as a club if necessary.
More than an hour passed, before Felix gave up trying to sleep. It didn't help that his empty stomach ached and growled constantly, protesting his uncharacteristic fast. Finally, Felix decided to try and distract himself with the interface again.
The translucent menu screen popped up in front of him, dimly glowing a light blue. Interestingly, the light did nothing to illuminate his hovel.
Notifications
Character Sheet
Titles
Skills
Current Status Effects
Inventories
Felix watched his Notifications tab pulse a few times. He’d been so consumed with his inventory experiments, he’d forgotten to look at his notifications page. He thought about selecting it now, but chose Character Sheet instead, since he'd also not seen that yet.
Character Sheet:
Felix Chandler, Human (Basic - lvl 0)
Stats:
Strength 9 Dexterity 4 Endurance 3 Durability 8 Perception 14 Intelligence 16 Charisma 2 Luck 10 (+50%)
Resource Pools:
Resource Capacity Regen Rate Per Minute Health 71/80 0.8 (+2%) Stamina 21/30 0.3 (+2%) Mana 160/160 1.6
Huh, Felix thought. He channeled everything he knew about game mechanics to try and better understand his starting stats. It sort of makes sense if I consider 10 to be average and 20 to be the peak of human potential.
Felix frowned at his far below average endurance, dexterity, and charisma. He couldn't deny it. Those weren't exactly his strong suits. He decided to focus on the positive. His perception and intelligence both seemed relatively high, and his luck got a 50% bonus for some reason.
Unable to glean any further information, Felix returned to the main menu screen and finally chose to read his notifications. A massive amount of text filled his screen. Felix scrolled to the bottom and read his earliest ones first.
Notification: You have been inducted into a new sector. Congratulations! You are now a Mundane Tier Human - lvl 0
Notification: You have acquired a skill. One of three skill slots filled.
Notification: You have acquired a skill. Two of three skill slots filled.
Notification: You have acquired a skill. Three of three skill slots filled.
Notification: You have met the requirements for a race tier upgrade. You have upgraded from Human, Mundane - lvl 0 to Human, Basic - lvl 0.
Huh, Felix thought. So getting all three skill slots filled gave me a tier upgrade. Did that impact me somehow?
Seeing no further information about it, Felix decided to move on.
Notification: new title gained.
Title: Jack of No Trades, Master of One (Unique)
Your three skills have an unprecedented three-way 100% synergistic relationship. Dude, you really like inventories, huh? Better hope you don’t need any other skills to survive in this world.
Title Effects:
1. Skill Synergy: You are able to apply effects between your skills at will for one hour a day, subverting skill restrictions when applicable. Cool down is 24 hours.
Felix felt like slapping himself.
“This is why I should have read the notifications first!”
Felix had no idea that titles were a thing in this world, and this title’s effect had a profound impact. There were so many new ways he could use his skills now. He hoped tomorrow would come faster so he could test some of them out.
Excited at the possibility of more good news, Felix read on.
Notification: New title gained.
Title: Celestial Thief (Divine)
You have stolen an item of great personal value from an unsuspecting hardworking deity who just wanted to clock out at 5 pm and eat a sandwich with the coworker he’s secretly been crushing on for half a millenia. Shame on you.
Title Effects:
1. Lucky Bastard: Luck +50%.
2. In-deference: +25% resistance to holy/divine auras and related mental effects.
3. Heretic: Those with strong religious affiliations will inherently distrust you.
4. Anti-Zealot: Those with strong anti-religious affiliations will inherently trust you.
Felix paused. Another title was great, but the pen again? His interface system seemed obsessed with the thing. Still, the first two title effects sounded powerful. He wasn’t too sure what the Heretic and Anti-Zealot effects would mean for him though, which made him a bit uneasy. This uneasiness only increased as he read his next notifications.
Notification: You are being transported to Aelor. Due to unforeseen intervention by a divine hand, your spawn point has been redirected. New Destination: Random.
Notification: you have gained a new title.
Title: Target of Arcadeus's Petty Wrath (Cursed)
You have been cursed by a god. Nice going dumbass. Who knows what forms this curse might take? Maybe you’ll stub your toe more frequently than usual, maybe a mountain will fall on you. Who can say? You’ve angered a god. There’s literally no limit to the scale of petty revenges he can take on you.
Good luck!
Note* this title is temporary. Unfortunately for you, temporary for a god could still mean thousands of years.
Title Effects:
1. ???
2. ???
3. ???
4. ???
5. ???
Felix sucked in a deep breath. Not good. This was definitely not good. He’d been so disarmed by Arry’s nerdy appearance and casual demeanor that he’d failed to fully grasp the fact that he’d been dealing with a god. He should have never stolen that pen, no matter how cool it looked. Felix wondered how much of his recent misfortunes were a direct result of this curse.
Dreading what he’d see next, Felix read the last notification.
Notification: you have gained a title.
Title: Outworlder (Unique)
Yep, you were isekai’d, and you didn’t even need bus-kun’s help. We’re not gonna OP you though - definitely not after the stunt you pulled with Arcadeus. Poor guy. Still, we did sort of rip you out of your afterlife system… Tell you what, here’s a welcome fruit basket.
Title Effect:
1. Edible Arrangement of the Heretic’s Lament: You are able to summon one random edible arrangement a day by audibly saying sorry to Arcadeus. You’ve got to mean it too. Cool down is 24 hours.
While Felix’s heart sank as he read yet another pen-related passive aggressive comment, the effect description negated all his misgivings. His stomach gave out its largest growl yet as it realized he may actually have a chance of filling it with something.
“I'm sorry Lord Arcadeus for stealing your heavenly pen. I was wrong to do so.” Felix called out and waited with bated breath. Nothing happened.
It said I've got to mean it. Felix thought he had, but maybe his guilt wasn't enough.
He reflected on each of the descriptions talking about the pen's sentimental value, then he recalled his own feelings towards his possessions stuck on another world in another universe. He considered what it would feel like for someone to steal from his precious collections. Hell, if they thought he was dead, his possessions were probably going to get auctioned off. Maggie certainly wasn't going to keep them. A scene played unbidden in his mind of Johanson winning a bid on his prized toaster collection. Real emotion began to well up from within Felix then.
“Arry,” Felix said, his voice hardly more than a whisper. “I’m so sorry for the disrespect I showed you by stealing something that was meaningful to you. I promise I will find a way to make it right.”
Something appeared at the mouth of his tunnel. It was a bouquet of pineapple, melons, and apples carved into flower shapes and spitted on sticks, the sticks wedged into a red paint can vase.
Thoughts of contrition disappeared as Felix launched towards the food. He inhaled the fruit, pausing only long enough to remove them from their sticks. The heady sweet flavors were only slightly soured by his lingering sense of guilt.
Finishing the arrangement in less than a minute, Felix stared at the paint can, now empty except for the little sticks that had served as flower stems. His stomach felt better, but he could have eaten three more arrangements worth of fruit.
On the ground next to the can, Felix noticed a small envelope. It must have fallen out in his mad rush to fill his stomach.
He picked it up and shuffled further out of his homemade cave on knees and elbows. There, the moon and starlight was just barely bright enough to allow him to read.
In neat cursive on the outside of the envelope were the words, “Congratulations on Kicking Cancer's Ass!!!”
Strange. It looks like these arrangements come from my old world. Felix wondered if it was a copy or if someone somewhere was missing their congratulatory gift. Ripping open the envelope, he fished out the letter inside and began to read.
“Mom, when you were diagnosed three years ago, we had no idea what to do. You were always the bedrock of our family, our lighthouse in the storm, and then this happened. We realized it was now our turn to repay a small part of all the sacrifices you made for us. We-”
Felix stopped reading as tears filled his vision. How strange. He'd never lost a relative to cancer, and he'd never been the type to cry easily before. Looking inwards, Felix found that even though the empty pit in his stomach had lessened from the food, a new emptiness was expanding inside him. He thought maybe he felt that way because of all the collectibles he had lost. Instead, the faces of his sister, niece, and nephew came to mind.
I’m never going to see any of them again, came the thought. The realization hit him like a truck, the pain of the loss physically assaulting him as his chest constricted. Curling up into the fetal position, Felix began to cry in earnest. He missed his world. He missed his sister and his niece and nephew. He missed his parents.
Seeing their faces over and over again in his head, Felix continued to quietly sob, until, ever so slowly, he drifted off into a fitful sleep.
As Felix slept, the stream continued to burble and meander downhill, ignorant of the new squatter nearby. If Felix had any survival knowledge, maybe he would have checked for animal tracks along the stream's edge. He might have found the clawed paw prints that were the size of trash can lids not ten feet from where he slept. If he’d known better, he might have at least made sure the sticky sweet remnants of his edible arrangement were placed far far away from his camp.
Unfortunately, Felix didn't have such knowledge. And so he slept, unaware of the massive owner of those prints, who lumbered through the woods not too far away.