There was nothing like being chased.
As you try to outpace your pursuer, the adrenalin you get, the swerving in and out of buildings, all of it made me feel alive. I glance over my shoulder, hoping to get a glance at the person trying to chase me down, only to see poor Richard doubled over, panting up a storm. Skidding to a stop, I turn around and blow a raspberry at my defeated brother.
"You'll never catch me!"
"You'll never catch me!"
"You'll never catch me!"
Like any good sister, I have to taunt my older brother any chance I get.
While hopping around and taunting my brother, I think about how it's been seventy months since I was reborn, making me a little over four and a half years old at this point. I sounded young when I put it that way, but that made me almost the equivalent of a six-year-old back on Earth. So yeah, I was still the equivalent of a child, just not that young.
Sometimes I still get confused by the longer years, but it's getting easier on me as time passes. The trick was throwing out my preconceived notions of age related to Earth.
Take Brother, for example; tomorrow, he turned ten and was gaining access to his status points. You would think ten was too young to gain access to a supernatural system that made a person stronger and faster overnight. And you still might think that, but it made more sense when you thought of Richard as a preteen, almost a teenager.
"Tomorrow, you'll never beat me again, Little Rabbit!" Richard wheezes, causing my face to scrunch up. I hated that nickname, and Brother knew that. I stare daggers at him, as Mom does to Dad when she wants him to apologize, but that only makes Richard's smile grow.
I could only stand there and pout, missing the days when Richard was a kind, attentive big brother.
Off to the side, three passing female villages giggle at the display, and to my frustration, they all are on Richard's side.
"Don't worry; you'll catch the Little Rabbit tomorrow," one says. "That's right, " another agrees with the first. "Keep trying, and you'll get her," the third smiles at Richard, causing him to blush.
I was red, too, partially because of the annoying nickname but equally because of how much it's spread among Spotted Creek Village. It wasn't even that good of a nickname.
I mean, sure, I ran around the village every chance I got ever since I learned to walk, but who wouldn't after how long I suffered crawling around on my hands and knees?
My obvious annoyance only made the three ladies giggle more. However, they did have a point about Brother catching me. Once he gained full access to his status page, chances were, I wouldn't be able to outrun him any longer, even if I kept my Running skill higher than his.
Looking up at the red moons slowly becoming more visible as the sun starts dipping in the sky, I resign myself to the fact I'll soon no longer be faster than my brother. And while a clear sky didn't solve all my problems, it always relaxed me to stare upwards.
Unlike on Earth, there was little pollution in this world, meaning as long as there weren't any clouds in the sky, you could see the seven moons orbiting the planet quite early before the sun even went down. It was the first month of the year, and they'd recently turned a beautiful red color, so they stood out amongst the pale blue sky.
To everybody else, it was normal to see the moons slowly shift colors throughout the year, but to me, it was still magical and wonderful to see. They started red at the beginning of the year, and after five months, they slowly shifted over a few days to a bright blue. And then, after five more months, they change to green and then back to red when the new year rolls over.
I've asked my parents and a few villagers why they did that, but no one seemed to have a solid answer. One of the older people in the village told me it was because of the gods shifting emotions throughout the year, but I suspected that wasn't the case. As someone who died and was reborn without ever meeting a so-called 'god,' I didn't put much stock in their existence.
The change in the moons likely had to do with mana, but that was my best guess.
"Got you!" I feel two hands grab my shoulders while looking up at the sky.
"That doesn't count," I angrily snap at Richard, who took advantage of my distracted state.
"Does, too," he sticks his tongue out at me, making a goofy face, and I struggle not to laugh.
I didn't think he would actually catch me, especially today, as he's spent most of our playtime looking back at our house. He obviously wanted to go home, but it was my job to keep him distracted while Mom and Dad prepared for tonight.
Usually, we celebrated our birthdays the day of, but because Richard was turning ten tomorrow, the Parents needed to sit him down and explain the nuances of his status page before he got access to it.
They didn't tell me all that, but that was clearly what they were prepping for. Mom just asked me to have fun with Richard, hinting that I should try to keep him away from the house by saying I was in charge, even though she said it jokingly.
So this year, Richard was getting two special meals, one tonight celebrating the unlocking of his status page and another tomorrow for his birthday.
I couldn't wait for dinner tonight. Dad left early this morning with a group of the village's hunters to track down some big game for dinner tonight. He arrived back a few hours ago with the hunting party, helping carry a wolf the size of a bear. It was so cool to see.
My mouth was practically watering, thinking about the type of steaks a person could get from a beast that big. And as long as Mother didn't turn the meat into another stew, I'll be happy with whatever she cooks.
Don't get me wrong, I'm happy always to have a hot meal with my family, but as soup and stew were easy and filling to make, it made up most of our dinners. It was only on special occasions like today and tomorrow that Mom branched out and made something different.
"What do you think Mom will make tonight?" I ask Brother as he lets go of my shoulders.
"I don't know," Brother rubs at the non-existent stubble on his chin. "Maybe, we'll have a roast? You saw all the meat Dad brought back from his hunting trip."
"I hope we get some fresh salad," I wish fondly.
"You're weird," Brother lightly shoves me playfully. I didn't even care about the light insult; I was tired of mushed vegetables. So even if it weren't childlike, I'd devour a green salad with a smile on my face.
I was soon to start getting my grown-up teeth in, and what good were big girl teeth if I wasn't chowing down on a delicious steak or other foods that didn't just fall apart in the mouth?
While thinking about food, I again see Richard look back at our front door, which was still closed. Smoke was billowing up from the chimney, meaning dinner was going, but we had yet to be called back.
"Starring won't help," I lightly tease in a childlike manner. Of course, the older I got, the less I needed to pretend to be a silly child, but I still needed to act my age. I've cultivated the image of being an intelligent child, but that didn't mean I could do whatever I wanted without raising suspicion.
At least I've become primarily independent over the years. Of course, I was still always under somebody's supervision, but at least I could eat, change, and go to the outhouse by myself.
I've grown a lot since those first few days I'd spent as a crying baby, both physically and mentally. I was 4' tall now and in relatively great shape. My red hair was tied up in a ponytail, and I was slowly developing a tan like the rest of my family.
Mentally though, I was almost a completely different person. Over the last four years, I've come a long way in coming to terms with my new life as a girl. Of course, I still had moments when I wished I was still a boy, like during potty training, but those were becoming few and far between.
I've grown comfortable in this body. The daily running and stretching helped with that, but it no longer felt like I was in the wrong body. I was Aaliyah, and I was ok with that. I've made peace with my situation.
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I still missed my previous parents and Stanley, but I didn't let the grief of their loss ruin my chance at a happy life as Aaliyah. Speaking of which, I see our front door swing open out of the corner of my eye.
Before Richard can react to the sound our door makes, I lightly shove him to throw off his balance, but not hard enough to knock him over. Then, while he stumbles, I book it toward our house and our smiling mother in the doorway.
Without looking back, I shout, "To slow again, Brother!" Knowing this was probably the last time I could outrun him for the foreseeable future.
"Hey!" I heard him shout behind me, but I was already in full sprint mode, and there was no way he could catch up to me.
When I reach our open front door, I jump into Mother's arms. "Must you antagonize your brother?" She chuckles as she easily lifts me up.
"Yep," I cheekily grin.
While still in Mother's arms, I carefully kick off my outdoor shoes to not track unwanted dirt into our abode. Mother smiles in approval before carrying me deeper into our house. Richard was hot on our heels and would be here any second, but before he arrived, I finally noticed Dad standing next to the kitchen table, which was covered in food.
He holds up three fingers and slowly starts to lower them. Mom laughed at the gesture, and luckily I realized what he was doing before he lowered his last finger.
When Dad reaches zero, Richard appears in the doorway, and all three of us shout at once, "Happy awakening!"
Richard is frozen in the doorway, and before he can do anything, Mom moves forward, still holding me, and hugs Richard affectionately. I also lean in to show my support, and soon the three of us are joined by Dad, who wraps all of us in his powerful embrace.
Everything is a whirlwind of activity after that. We all sit at the table, and Dad recites the dinner prayer. That was another thing I asked my parents about, but I was told to wait until I was older. So, I didn't know who these gods we were praying to are or why we did so in the first place. I just went with everything because it made the parents happy.
After the prayer, I looked at all the food on the table while Richard got the first pick of what he wanted.
The first thing I noticed were steaks from the beast Dad helped hunt. They were cooked beautifully, and I couldn't wait until Mom helped me fill my plate. The next thing I noticed was the fluffy bread rolls, which I recognized as Granny Gellar's handiwork. She lived a few houses down from us and was the village's best baker.
She made everything from a sizeable wheat-like plant called weizen, which was grown in the village's fields and could grow up to ten feet tall.
Also on the table was this world's version of corn on the cob. The husks were green like regular corn, but the cob was slightly red and leaked a red juice when cooked, which made it look like it was bleeding, hence the name blood maze. It was weird that it was the opposite of the weizen in that blood maze was a relatively short plant, only topping out at five feet instead of growing as tall as Earth's variant.
Then there was the stemmed pomme. They were potato-like fruit that grew on trees and resembled apples in appearance but was, in fact, a starch. Inside they had a seed like a weird avocado, but I'd long since grown used to their unique taste.
Lastly, I was happy to see a bowl of salad. It was a bunch of different leafy greens mixed together, with fresh berries on top, without any dressing, but that was fine with me.
Soon, everyone has a plate of food before them, and the light banter begins.
"Did you finally catch the rabbit, Sweety?" Mom starts by asking Richard if he was able to catch me, but halfway through, she changes targets and looks at me, knowing I don't like my nickname.
"I actually did near the end," Richard happily proclaims before joining Mom in smirking at me.
I know I'm playing into their hands by answering, but my pride is on the line. "Just because I wasn't paying attention," I retort furiously. I look to dad for some backup, but he gangs up on me too.
"Let your brother have his moment today, Aaliyah. Starting tomorrow, he'll probably catch you easily, depending on how he distributes his points." Dad then starts telling us about his morning hunting trip.
"So, there I was, crouched in the bushes following the beast's trail, when suddenly the farkas leaps from the brush behind me. In a single moment, I turn and swing my axe using all my skills at once, slicing its head clean off." Father mimics swinging his axe for added effect.
Defiantly a good story, but I can tell by Mom's smile that maybe 15% of that is true. Sure, Dad is incredibly strong, and I'm sure he could kill a farkas with a single swing of his axe, but he had little hunting experience. That's why he had to ask the hunters for help. He might have killed the beast, but he certainly didn't find it.
Though, if Richard's open mouth was any indication, he was hanging on every word and didn't even think to ask about the other men he knew were with Dad during the hunt.
The rest of dinner was spent much the same way, Dad talking about hunting and working in the forest, Mom asking if we needed anything sewn, and Richard was excited about tomorrow. It was nice.
But dinner didn't last forever, and there were more important things to discuss. So everyone helped clean the kitchen, including me. Of course, I was only allowed to help clear the table, but at least I helped with something. And once everything was washed and put away, we all gathered back at the table.
The parents told me I didn't need to sit here and hear all this yet, but there was no way I would miss an explanation regarding status pages.
I expected Mom to lead the discussion, but surprisingly, it's Dad who starts with a severe expression demanding he is listened to. "Richard, I need you to focus on what your mother and I are going to tell you and take this very seriously. How you distribute your stats will determine your future in life. Depending on which stats you focus on will determine what future careers you have access to."
Mother speaks up next. "Honey, you need to think carefully about how you distribute your stat points. For example, if you want a physical job like your father, you must focus on Vitality, Endurance, and Strength. However, if you want to be more of a craftsman, you should instead focus on Dexterity, Senses, and Mind."
"But don't forget always to place a few points in other areas as well, especially Vitality," dad cuts in quickly.
"I was about to explain that next, Darrius!" Mother snaps at dad for being interrupted, causing dad to give her an apologetic look in return.
But Mom ignores Dad, to his dismay, and continues explaining to Richard. "You see, Sweety, you're still growing, and now is the best time to distribute your stats. Depending on how you distribute your points, you will likely grow taller, more muscular, and even age slower. This is because every person puts a part of their points into Vitality, not only to survive when something goes wrong but to slow their aging without sacrificing too much in other areas."
I know they are focusing on Brother right now, but I have a question. "What about the other two?" I ask.
My question reminds the parents I'm still here. They both look at me and then back at Brother and explain Manna and Clarity.
"Those two stats are not for everyone; you need to have a talent for magic before you waste points on them." Richard looks at Mom with a confused face, obviously wanting her to explain further.
"Mana-related skills, even the lowest ones, are much harder to get. People have tried to unlock these skills by pouring the majority of their points into Mana and Clarity, but all of them quickly find out it's a waste if they don't have any natural talent for it," Mother tells us.
"How do you know if you can use magic?" I couldn't help but ask another question.
Mom and Dad smile sadly at me and tell us it takes years of practice and a mentor before focusing on Richard, as he's gaining access to his status page tomorrow, not me.
"If you're interested in seeing if you have any magical talent, your father and I can talk to Anastasia tomorrow as she's the only person who can, and try to get her to test your aptitude," Mom offers Brother.
Anastasia was our village's only healer; as such, she had a high position in the village and had an attitude that matched. If she was the only person in the village who could use magic, chances were, Brother was out of luck, as she'd charge Mom and Dad a fortune to teach him if he had the aptitude.
He must realize this, too, because Brother looks crestfallen and nods in understanding. Mother moves to give him a light hug and continues with the lecture.
"You also need to remember your states page is very personal. It represents who you are as a person and should only be shared with those you love and trust. Your father and I will tell you ours to show you how we distributed our points. So, never tell anyone outside our house about any of this. I'll go first."
LV: 40 Experience: 50,834/62,504
Health: 1,890/1,890 Stamina: 697/796 Mana: 200/200
Vitality: 189
Endurance: 25
Strength: 25
Dexterity: 120
Senses: 30
Mind: 48
Magic: 20
Clarity: 20
Status Points: 0
Skills: Running (LV17), Mathematics (LV34), Writing (LV47), Trading (LV31), Lower Price (LV9), Cooking (LV50), Sewing (LV62), Cleaning (LV51), Dagger skills (LV11), Fast Hands (LV26), Detect Rip (LV4)
"You see, I spent my younger years learning how to operate my family's store before I met your father, so most of my skills are business related. Thanks to that, when I turned ten, my parents had me put most of my skills into the crafting categories. The rest I picked up after I met your father."
"She burnt all our meals when we moved out to the village," Dad laughs with a reminiscent look on his face.
Mother blushes but otherwise ignores Father's comment. She then explains to Brother how you can get experience points from crafting and how some people choose to go that route rather than hunting. The only catch was you only got experience for what you personally did, so you couldn't just buy a bunch of unfinished work, finish it, and get easy experience that way. Whatever you put into your craft, the more you receive back.
Mom's example was if a farmer throws some seeds on the ground and comes back a few months later to harvest, he'll get some experience for whatever grows, but it will be nothing compared to the farmer who cares for his field all season-long.
"Alright, now it's my turn!" Dad excitingly starts telling us how his status page looked.
LV: 41 Experience: 54,816/69,380
Health: 1,810/1,810 Stamina: 812/983 Mana: 70/70
Vitality: 181
Endurance: 42
Strength: 122
Dexterity: 78
Senses: 35
Mind: 15
Magic: 7
Clarity: 3
Status Points: 0
Skills: Running (LV50), Cleaning (LV29), Axe Skills (LV74), Woodcarving (LV26), Hunting (LV22), Axe Arts (LV48), Perfect-Chop (LV33), Mathematics (LV24), Writing (LV18),
I can't help but be impressed with Dad's physical stats. He loves the attention and starts flexing for us. “Aren’t I awesome? I’m 6 levels higher than the average villager,” he states proudly. My eyes nearly pop out of my skull, not because of Dad but because of me. The average villager was level 35? I was getting close to that myself!
Mom rolls her eyes, but as I'm sitting right next to her, I can see her steal more than a causal glance at Dad's muscles. Mom lets Dad show off for a minute before she coughs into her hand, signaling him to stop. She then points out a significant difference between her and his status pages.
"As you heard, your father never invested any points in Mana or Clarity as I did. My parents had me take classes from a local mage in hopes I could unlock magic, but I only ended up wasting my status points. Another thing I hope you noticed, Richard, is that even though I have more skills than your father, his are higher level, work better with each other, and are much stronger for it. Unlike me, your dad didn’t switch professions halfway through his life, and is better off because of it."
Mom stops talking to give Dad a chance to say his piece. " That’s right, you should place some of your points tonight, as you were technically born in a few hours, but I wouldn't distribute all your points at once," he cautions.
"The sooner you distribute your points, the better, but you shouldn't rush your decision. I recommend going around the village tomorrow and asking people about their various jobs. You don't need to decide on your carer right away, but you can narrow it down so you know where you should best distribute your points. If you offer to help for free, I'm sure more than one person will let you help them, so you can get an idea of what it's like doing their job. Just don't give them exact numbers."
"On the same note," Dad adds. "You can come work with me for a day to see what I do, just like my old man did with me," he grins proudly at Richard.
"Don't let your father bully you into taking his path," Mom's stern words are like a bucket of cold water dumped on Dad. “You’ll regret it if you find something you love later and have already distributed most of your stats.”
"Why Silvia?" Dad asks Mom with a look of betrayal.
"Stop exaggerating," Mom waves off Dad's defeated expression. "You know what you were doing, don't tell me otherwise. You can take Richard to work with you after he's helped around the village and has experienced more by himself."
Mom and Dad go back and forth a bit after that, but they never raise their voices or belittle the other's opinions.
While all that's going on, I can tell Richard is looking at his status page because it looks like he's staring at something in front of him that only he can see. He had a rare look of concentration that I wasn't used to seeing on his childish face.
That was good; it meant he was taking Mom and Dad's warnings seriously, as he should.
While everyone is distracted, I pull up my own status page.
LV: 25 Experience: 8,736/9,157
Health: 130/130 Stamina: 89/110 Mana: 107/170
Vitality: 13
Endurance: 11
Strength: 9
Dexterity: 12
Senses: 14
Mind: 28
Magic: 17
Clarity: 21
Status Points: 240
Skills: Sense Mana (LV19), Acting (LV20), Meditation (LV22), Expel Mana (LV8), Charm (LV12), Running (LV14), Cleaning (LV4)
Ok, after hearing about the parent's status pages, it was abundantly clear mine was exceptional for my age. And I had another eighty months to grow even stronger before distributing my status points.
Part of me didn't want to wait any longer, but another part thought of my parents. When I turned ten, did I tell them about my abnormal level or keep it a secret?
I can say one thing for certain, Richard wouldn't be the only one staying up late thinking about his status page.