The man’s gaze zeroed in on the entry labeled ‘Name’.
Akkari. It doesn’t feel familiar, but I suppose it’s as good a name as any. I’ll take it for now.
The other entries were less straightforward. He didn’t know what a class was supposed to be, but it seemed moot at the point as the field was empty either way. The attributes seemed to quantify his ability in various areas, but they were all the same value.
Is 5 the average human baseline, then? And then the 2 unassigned points likely come from the level-ups. That means I would have been level 1 when I killed the wolf. The other box said it was level 20, and that the level difference was significant. And yet, it did not feel especially strong? But then again, I wasn’t the one controlling my body, I think.
What about skills, then?
As if reacting to his thoughts, a new box appeared before him. Feeling somewhat lost with the 7 boxes taking up the bulk of his vision, he blinked a couple of times and shook his head. The boxes disappeared without a sound.
Akkari focused again on the word ‘skills.’ His effort was rewarded with the new box returning before him.
Akkari’s Skills
Anamnesis
2
Improvised Weaponry
4
Execute
4
Okay, that’s not really helpful. What are these things supposed to mean, anyway?
The System helpfully supplied him with answers.
Anamnesis — Other people learn. You need only remember.
(Passive)
Grants the ability to recover memories when encountering situations similar to the forgotten past. Awards experience and skill levels based on the content of the memory.
Chance to trigger scales with skill level and Wisdom.
Experience and skill levels awarded scale with level and Wisdom.
???
Improvised Weaponry — For somebody else, a piece of scrap. For you, a deadly tool.
(Passive)
Increases accuracy when wielding non-standard implements in combat situations. Current bonus: +4%
Increases damage done by non-standard implements in combat situations. Current bonus: +4%
Execute — If you will it, they will die.
(Active Ability — Cost: 35SP)
Attempt to make a lethal strike against a surprised or weakened enemy. If it hits, deal massive damage to the target.
Current bonus: 2000% weapon damage
Akkari studied the boxes. At least, the Execute ability explained how he was able to do enough damage to what should have been a vastly superior opponent. What it didn’t explain was the loss of control and the speed with which he had reacted
His gut told him Anamnesis was the culprit for that, although the description of the skill didn’t mention anything of the sort. He had no other explanation at the moment, so he decided to let the matter be settled for now.
He waved away the boxes with a thought. A wry smile tugged at his lips as he noted how quickly he seemed to accept this new situation. Not like he could do anything right now but take things in stride. He was still very much lost, and as the wolf proved, the forest was not as lifeless as he’d originally thought.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
At least he solved the problem of food. He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to start a fire and get the meat cooked, but at the very least he had something that would provide nutrition.
Akkari’s thoughts returned to his Status, and the 2 unassigned points. He figured that if the stats gave him an advantage, it would be best to assign them as soon as possible. The names of the attributes seemed self-explanatory, but one thing gave him pause.
Of his 3 skills, one explicitly stated that it would scale with Wisdom. At the same time, he did not fail to notice that the same skill was the only one not to give him any specific numerical odds or multipliers. Something told him this was important, but he did not have enough skills to see how the average description behaved.
There was also the fact that unlike Improvised Weaponry, which he had gained from the broken arrow, and Execute, which he had gained from Anamnesis, Anamnesis itself seemed to have been with him from the start. It only became level 2 after the fight.
Execute had saved his life, and if Anamnesis was able to supply him with more skills like that, it made a good case for investing in Wisdom. Akkari was also tempted by some of the physical stats, as he knew the burst of speed he’d shown before was not something he’d be able to replicate by himself.
Deciding to trust his instincts, he willed the 2 points into Wisdom.
Nothing happened.
Looking more closely at his Status, he noted a small plus sign to the right of each attribute. He moved his hand to touch the one next to Wisdom and poked at it twice.
His hand went through the box, but anyway, the number went up. A new box popped up below.
Confirm selection?
No Yes
Akkari touched the ‘Yes’ button.
If he expected to suddenly feel a change coming, he was disappointed. Perhaps an increase to Strength would have been more noticeable, but the only thing he felt right now was a vague suggestion that maybe starting a fire in the middle of the shrubbery would be a fairly bad idea.
Mystical floating box affairs done with, he decided to move on to the next item on his increasingly long list of worries.
Shelter, and possibly food.
Sleeping in the open had proven to be a poor idea. Just because he had been unable to find any trace of animals did not mean they weren’t prowling around. He’d already figured out he was no tracker, so trusting in his lack of findings was more than a bit foolish.
Was that the increased Wisdom making itself known?
Akkari broke himself out of his reverie. The night was still young, and he was not yet out of the woodworks, literally or metaphorically.
The problem was he didn’t know what the proper solution to his problem was.
I guess predators would be scared off by fire? That’s probably my only option right now.
There was, however, a problem. Akkari did not know how to start a fire.
Seizing an idea, he brought up his Status again. Mana. He had mana, which implied he should be able to do magic. The strange feeling in his gut seemed to agree. Following on the thread of instinct, he willed mana to his outstretched palm. It felt like flexing a muscle he didn’t know he had.
He sat, looking in wonder at the small bundle of energy that had congealed in his open palm. If you looked closely at it, you could distinguish individual strands of mana, dancing like fireflies around a campfire. He was mesmerized by the sight, and at the same time, a strong feeling of rightness welled up inside him.
That was… too easy. Is magic supposed to come naturally like that? Still, I only have raw mana now. I don’t suppose turning that mana into fire will be as easy.
It was.
A vague memory tugged at his mind. It was not a full-blown vision like the last, much too fleeting to make an impression. It was him, sitting cross-legged on a beach, a pile of kindle in front of him. With no apparent motion from himself, the kindle burst into flame. Back in the present, he was holding a small fire in his hand. He brought it close to his face, enjoying the feeling of warmth on his skin.
[Anamnesis] By recovering one of your lost memories, you have re-acquired forgotten skills!
Mana Manipulation is now level 1!
Force Magic is now level 1!
The vision had been barebones compared to the first, but it had highlighted something Akkari had missed. He had a fire source, but he had nothing to set fire to, not yet. And going searching for kindling in the middle of the night struck him as a phenomenally bad idea.
He spent the next hour pacing back and forth along the stream, jumping at every sound. He was able to find a bundle of dry enough sticks to attempt a small fire.
The rest of the night was a blur, spent on multiple attempts to get the fire to stay, cut out a portion of meat with nothing but an arrowhead, and cooking said meat without also cooking his fingers at the same time — he felt like a proper fool after he realized he could use the leftover arrow shaft as a skewer. He remained awake for the rest of the night, unwilling to trust his feeble fire to keep predators away.
At some point, he remembered the new skills he’d received and brought up their descriptions.
Mana Manipulation — The fabric of creation, ready to be molded
(Passive)
Increases impact of Mana-based magic. Current bonus: +1%
Increases level of control when using Mana-based magic. Current bonus: +1%
Force Magic — Tear the earth asunder and light the sky on fire
(Passive)
Increases impact of Force spells. Current bonus: +1%
Increases level of control when using Force spells. Current bonus: +1%
Akkari did not find the first skill surprising, but the same could not be said about the second. He had not thought of fire as a force — or rather, a Force? — having associated the word with things such as movement. He conceded that there was much about magic, and about the world itself, that he seemed to need to learn. Another thing to add to his ever-growing list of mysteries.
As the morning sun made itself known, he fell asleep next to his fire on the gravelly riverbed, hunger now abated by a poorly cooked wolf haunch. As he fell into a slumber, he wondered how long it’d take him to make his way to civilization.
Akkari needn’t have worried. While he slept, civilization found him, instead.