"Why did I have to suck at art in both my lifetimes?" I frown up at the ceiling.
I had successfully convinced Mom to buy me some paint from the merchant who visits our village every month to spruce up my room, only to waste it all essentially.
Was it so wrong of me to want to bring some color to my drab and dreary room? I didn't think so.
Sighing and cocking my head to the side, I stare at the Rorschach spots dotting my ceiling. They were supposed to be soothing clouds, but now I questioned my sanity every time I looked up at them.
When Brother stopped by shortly after I painted them, he had laughed at me for destroying his old room and very sarcastically suggested I take up art as a hobby.
I had kicked him out of my room for the offense, but I had to admit, he had a point. If I had more paint, I would cover the splotches, but I had already wasted too much money on them in the first place, so I just had to deal with it.
And despite him laughing at me, a part of me missed Richard living with us. Of course, only a tiny part.
I loved having my own room, both as a growing girl and because it allowed me to meditate and practice my magic skills in peace. And it wasn't like Richard wasn't still eating dinner with us every night; he just had his own place to return to afterward. His house was mostly empty, but as a carpenter, he was slowly changing that.
A lot has changed since he accessed his status page five-odd years ago.
It took Richard a year and a half to find his calling, but he's achieved a lot since he did. Initially, Richard had trouble deciding what he wanted to do, but one day he saw Salus, our village's architect, fixing someone's wall and offered assistance. The rest was history.
It was a good thing for the village that Richard decided to become Salus' apprentice. He wasn't old, but Salus was getting up there in age, and many had suggested he start looking for someone to take over his mantle.
Especially with all the random goblin attacks we've been having lately, it was simply too hard for Salus to fix everything himself.
It was actually back when the goblin activity first started to pick up that Richard ran into Salus and offered his help, so you might even call it destiny that the two of them met.
Much to Dad's disappointment, Brother loved being a carpenter and learning from Salus. And Salus genuinely enjoyed having Richard as his apprentice. It was common for people with apprentices to saddle them with all the undesirable work, but not Salus. According to Brother, he takes his time showing him everything.
And that's how a year and a half ago, Brother did the unthinkable and told us he would build his own house with his own two hands. And six months ago, he finished it.
Salus had helped Brother in his free time, but that just went to show how much they appreciated one another.
Brother had found his passion, and soon I would need to too.
My status page would unlock early tomorrow morning, and I'd finally be allowed to distribute the hundreds of status points I've earned for working hard over the last ten years.
Tonight Mother was making a celebratory feast, which was good because it was technically Richard's turn to cook. Since he moved out, Mom demanded that he starts practicing his Cooking skill, so now we all had to suffer through his meals twice a week.
Mother planned to get Richard to cook passable meals by the end of this year, but now that it was my birthday, half the year was gone, and Richard was still torturing us with his cooking.
I actually miss the casual soups and stews Mom prefers to make. Unfortunately, my brother is still under the impression there's no such thing as too much seasoning, so everything he cooks comes out under an inch of pepper. And the sad thing was, I wasn't even exaggerating that much!
Thank the imaginary gods that Mother wasn't making him cook my celebratory dinner. He was in the kitchen helping, but that should be fine.
Normally, I'd be happy to have him over with us, but he's been quite loud the last few hours. That’s why I came here for some peace and quiet.
"Why are you not scolding her about proper stat distribution as you did with me?" Case in point, I hear Richard grumble in the kitchen, the house's thin walls doing nothing to stop it from reaching me. If staying in here isn’t going to help, I might as well go be in the thick of it.
Getting out of bed and exiting my room, I make it to the kitchen in time to hear Mother's response.
"Honey, you never asked us any questions about your Status Page. Always running around shouting how strong you were going to be. We worried you'd dump everything into your Strength stat if we didn't sit you down and spell it out for you," Mother looks at Richard with pitying eyes.
"Aaliyah has been asking us questions about stats and skills for years. She even asked me to teach her the Mathematics and Writing skills to take notes." As Mom further laid into him, I met Richard's gaze and cockily grinned at him.
Richard's cheeks brighten under Mother's scrutiny, and I have the urge to brag about my level but catch myself at the last minute. I still had yet to decide if I wanted to tell my family about my level, mainly because: status page.
LV: 36 Experience: 6,699/38,335
Health: 160/160 Stamina: 117/160 Mana: 187/360
Vitality: 16
Endurance: 17
Strength: 15
Dexterity: 19
Senses: 21
Mind: 30
Magic: 36
Clarity: 32
Status Points: 350
Skills: Sense Mana (LV41), Acting (LV23), Meditation (LV39), Expel Mana (LV19), Charm (LV30), Running (LV21), Cleaning (LV12), Mathematics (LV26), Writing (LV12), Mana Manipulation (LV2), Wood Carving (LV6), Drawing (LV3)
It was crazy to think that I was only a few levels off from Mother's level. Of course, she probably leveled a few times in the last five years, but even then, I was still incredibly close for someone turning ten.
I didn't need to see other kids' status pages to know; I was incredibly over-leveled for my age. It would've been nice to know for Acting purposes; sadly, Richard had always remained tight-lipped about his status page, only ever alluding to how amazing he was.
But considering the parents told us the average villager was level 35, and I was past that already, it would be quite a shock if my level was revealed to people.
All of my original skills have seen decent growth, but Sense Mana gave me the most experience and was by far my most valuable skill. I thought it would eventually hit some roadblock as I leveled it, and I especially worried when it hit level 40, but my fears never came true. Sense Mana hit level 41 not long ago and was, in my opinion, super overpowered.
Using it, I could see the different hues of mana around me. Sense Mana also allowed me to gauge my internal mana supply and others vaguely.
But in doing so, I had to be extremely careful. My skill had a twenty-seven-foot radius, meaning I could quite easily see what went on in the parent's bedroom. And I'll just say my parents really love each other, and nothing is worse than seeing a Picasso painting of mana depicting what they do at night. It takes much more than meditating to get that picture out of my head. Yuck.
While Mom and Richard are cooking, I sit at the table with Dad. He starts talking about how proud he is of me and how work is going. I try to listen as long as possible, but when Dad starts going over every tree he decided to chop down today, my mind naturally wanders back to my status page.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
While Sense Mana gave me a lot of experience points, it's been slow to level as of late. And it's actually been Mathematics and Writing that has been providing me the most experience as of late.
Learning to read in a village as small as this was hard, as there were few books on hand, and the ones that were were usually boring, like crop yield reports. Still, Mother did an excellent job teaching with what she had.
But by comparison, Mathematics was much easier to level. Once Mom taught me the symbols used for numbers in this world, it was literal child's play to do the math as I had a high school degree in my past life.
At first, I thought I wouldn't gain anything from the skill once I leveled it up, but it had the surprising effect of helping me remember the math equations I was forced to memorize in school. Those equations, in turn, helped me level my skill further. It almost made me wish I had taken more than up to geometry in school.
Each skill was a success in its own right, but some got more attention than others. For example, the levels in Wood Carving were from dad teaching me, but I wasn't focusing on it. The same could be said for Drawing; while I would love to level it up and finally advance from drawing stick figures, it wasn't my number one priority. They just weren't as crucial as my growing number of mana skills.
Along with Sense Mana, Meditation, and Expel Mana, I now had Mana Manipulation to keep me busy. The only problem was that I'd had the skill for over a year and could only get it to level 2.
I had only unlocked it by slowing down the mana flow inside my body. I've tried slowing it down further, but that has seen little progress, while speeding it up didn't work at all. But I didn't want to focus on the negative during my big day, so I cleared those thoughts before they could bring down my mood.
I would eventually figure it out, and one day I'd be able to cast fireballs like I've always wanted to.
After making that promise to myself, it is only a short time before Dad gets up to help the rest of the family bring the food to the table.
We all recite the dinner prayer together, and I get served first, as it's my big day.
The rest of the night goes as usual in our house. Richard and I trade a few good-natured barbs until Mom tells us to stop. Dad talks more about the surrounding forest and how the village's hunters are trying to combat the pesky goblins—typical family talk.
Mother and Father take a minute to discuss how I need to be careful about distributing my points tomorrow, despite telling Richard earlier they wouldn't, but I don't mind. I've been thinking about tomorrow for ten years, and any advice they offer me, I'll take it.
The three of us eventually have to say goodbye to Richard, but he doesn't leave without giving me a spine-cracking hug and whispering, "Good luck tomorrow," in my ear.
After that, I move on autopilot. I change into my nightgown, brush my teeth and yell goodnight through the walls, subtly hinting to the parents that I would appreciate a quiet night for a change.
Tomorrow couldn't come any sooner!
**********
I hear the creaking noise of our front door opening.
Grabbing my blanket, I pull it tighter around me and curl into a ball wishing the sun would go back down. Unfortunately, I had not slept as well as I had planned. My parents were quiet, which was nice, and I even dumped most of my mana pool, thinking it would help me sleep, but nope.
I was too excited for my own good, only managing to swing a few hours of rest before the sun started to leak in through the shuttered window.
Rolling over, I face the door to my bedroom and wait. It isn't long after I hear the front door close shut that there's a knock on my bedroom door. Mom doesn't wait for me to respond before opening it, as she usually has to come in to wake me up.
"This is a surprise," she says, seeing me already awake. "Now that you're an adult, do I still need to wake you up in the morning?" She jokingly smiles at me.
"Please do," I groan.
"Couldn't sleep?" Mom hits the nail on the head first try.
"I was too excited," I tiredly tell her.
Gliding over to my bed, Mom leans down and kisses my forehead. "Don't worry; you'll feel more awake once you distribute your status points."
"Because they will energize me or because I'll be flopping all over the place?" I give Mom a dubious look.
"Both," Mother lightheartedly chuckles.
What I was referring to is that once I start distributing my stats, I'll temporarily be unable to control my body. Usually, a person levels up and distributes their points immediately, and doing so, has little effect on the body, even if you put all ten in a single category.
However, when a child turns ten, they gain access to multiple levels' worth of status points, and distributing them can have some funny consequences.
When Brother distributed his points all those years ago, he flopped around on the ground like a fish for hours before he regained control of his body.
"Mom, can I please distribute my points inside?" I activate Charm and plead with my eyes, not wanting to be embarrassed in front of whoever walks by during the day.
"Sorry, but it's too dangerous for you to be indoors. We can't have you breaking everything inside just because you don't want to be embarrassed." Mom wickedly smiles at me; "Now go outside and start. The longer you put it off, the longer you must stay outside."
Mom gives me one last kiss on the forehead before leaving, but this one feels more aggressive than the first.
After she's gone, I finally throw back my covers and slowly crawl out of bed. Of course, I procrastinate by taking longer to get ready, but even then, I'm out of my bedroom in thirty minutes with my red hair brushed out and tied up in a ponytail. I've tried styling it several ways, but I prefer it like this, as I can keep it long without it getting in my eyes as I run.
As for my clothes, I chose my worst pair of pants and an old shirt, as they are likely to get dirty. I could wear one of the only two dresses I have to get back at Mom for not letting me stay inside, but she'll probably make me wash it myself if I get that dirty.
Even though I'm annoyed at Mother, I still hug her goodbye when I snag a piece of jerky from the kitchen, and she, in turn, wishes me luck.
Swapping out my house slippers for my outdoor shoes, I leave the house and stretch under the morning sun. Of course, it was fall, so it was a little chilly out, but at least it wasn't raining yet, and as long as I stayed in the sun, the cold air wouldn't bother me.
I already knew the spot I was going to use. A dozen feet from our front door was a decent-sized boulder. During the summer months, I loved to sit atop it and let the breeze wash over me.
I was lucky to be born when I was; Dad told me children born during winter must go to the village's stables when they first distribute their status points. I wasn't sure if he was joking, and I didn't want to find out.
Crawling atop the boulder, I let my legs dangle comfortably as I meditate for a minute before distributing my points. Contrary to what Mom said, there was no rush, and it was better to have a clear head.
After taking a few calming breaths, I feel my shoulders relax, and only then do I pull up my status page and distribute my points as planned.
LV: 36 Experience: 6,699/38,335
Health: 1000/1000 Stamina: 659/666 Mana: 338/500
Vitality: 100
Endurance: 50
Strength: 50
Dexterity: 50
Senses: 50
Mind: 50
Magic: 50
Clarity: 50
Status Points: 86
Skills: Sense Mana (LV41), Acting (LV23), Meditation (LV39), Expel mana (LV19), Charm (LV30), Running (LV21), Cleaning (LV12), Mathematics (LV26), Writing (LV12), Mana Manipulation (LV2), Wood Carving (LV6), Drawing (LV3)
As a gamer in my past life, I knew spreading my points out like this wasn't the most productive use of them, but I had a good reason for doing so. Mainly because no matter what this world was like, it wasn't a game, and min-maxing myself could lead to a whole host of problems.
But that doesn't mean I'm going to distribute all my points evenly; in fact, depending on what future path I decide to take, I'll probably never put points in some of these categories again.
Having 50 in each stat just meant I had a solid foundation for whatever I chose later. Besides, I still had a lot of points left that I was planning on holding off distributing until I found a job I liked. And when I do I'llll.......
Holy shit! I close my eyes as I start trembling. I need to grit my teeth to keep myself from moaning.
I felt absolutely amazing!
My whole body feels like it's on fire, but in a good way.
Slowly opening my eyes, I'm greeted by a new world. The colors were brighter, the air tasted fresher, and I could hear the wind against the houses better. It was like all my senses went from one to ten instantaneously.
My heart was pounding in excitement; I wanted to see this new world and experience all it had.
I go to push myself off the boulder, but I immediately hate myself for getting caught up in my emotions. Because as soon as I push off the rock, I'm flailing my arms as I rocket myself six feet forward.
I land on the ground face-first. Groaning, I wonder if I accidentally broke something, only to realize I barely felt any pain from the fall. It must be the Endurance I raised.
Okay, time to get up, I tell myself, but my limbs refuse to listen to me. Every movement I make is exaggerated. When I try to get my hands underneath me to push myself up, I end up hitting myself in the sides.
Just then, I hear some giggling not that far away from me. Without moving my head, I search my surroundings with my eyes and see a group of village ladies laughing at me.
"Tough, isn't it?" A familiar voice says from my blind spot. My whole body jerks as I try to face my brother, and it takes me a while to overcome my spasms. And when I do, I find Richard perched on my favorite boulder, looking down on me.
"Remember back when it was me on the ground, and you spent the whole day teasing me while I couldn't move?" Richard reminds me with a grin.
I had no response, well, more like I couldn't respond. Trying to say something snappy in return only causes a weird screech to come out of my mouth.
"You sound like an injured rabbit!" Richard almost doubles over in laughter.
Now he's starting to piss me off; fueled by anger and red with embarrassment, I force my body into a crouched position. And while he's still laughing at me, I launch myself like a rocket at him.
Brother's eyes turn the size of dinner plates as I turn myself into a human missile. I wanted to catch him off guard, but Richard reacts surprisingly well. He actually braces himself on top of the rock and catches me mid-flight. Despite myself, I can't help but congratulate him. "Nice catch."
While in his arms, Richard looks down at me with a severe look. "Aaliyah, you need to be more careful. Even if you feel invincible right now, you can still get hurt," he lectures me.
In hindsight, I might have overacted, but at least he wasn't laughing at me anymore.
Hopping down from the boulder, Richard gently sits me back down on the ground. "Take it slow; feel your toes, your feet, then your legs. Once you think you have a handle on those, try to move them, but as little as possible. Get used to how much you need to hold back," he advises me.
Following his words, I slowly flex my toes in my shoes, then my leg muscles.
"Good, keep that up, and you'll be up and running again in no time. I wish I could stay and watch you struggle a bit longer, but I'm supposed to meet Salus across the village for work," Brother then reaches out and pats me on the head like a dog.
I want to knock his hand away, but I'm afraid I might use too much strength and hurt him. So I let him torment me until he's satisfied as payment for making fun of him when he had to go through this.
Brother doesn't stay long, and soon he leaves for work, and I'm left by myself again. The giggling ladies were also gone, and I couldn't see anyone else, so I was able to suffer in solitude.
Unable to move properly, I do the only thing I can and meditate again.
While trying to get used to my body, I noticed how much it's changed over the years. I was a young woman now; I was 5' 3'' and growing taller daily. Without proper mirrors, I've only ever seen my reflection in Dad's polished axe, so inspecting my face is hard.
I know I was slowly losing the chubby cheeks I had as a baby, but I was okay with that. I wasn't a model by any standards, but I was happy with my appearance. I especially like the green eyes that I inherited from my father.
Village life has kept me fit, and thanks to my stretching and running each day, I've kept a skinny figure. Puberty has already started, so keeping my body clean is a must, but I'm hoping higher stats keep pimples away.
My chest has started to grow, giving me mixed feelings. I know a lot of confidence can come with size, but I'm hoping they end up the same size as Mother; not too big, not too small.
I'm still growing and curious to see how my stats affect my body over the next few years.
After focusing on my body for so long, I can slowly move my limbs. To get up, I imitate a sloth; you would think learning to walk for the third time would be easy.
One slow step after another, I slowly became more accustomed to my enhanced body. I had to thank Richard later; without his advice, I would still be lying face down in the dirt right now.
I was forced to pause initially, but as I walked around the outskirts of the village, I regained control of my legs.
After my first lap around the village, I feel comfortable trying jogging.
Jogging slowly morphs into running, and soon I'm back at normal speed. But I wasn't stopping there.
With every step I take, I push a little harder. As a result, I was going faster, and it was much easier to maintain my speed without feeling winded.
While making my fourth lap around the village, still not feeling tired, I'm comfortable enough to turn my attention partially toward the village.
I was so caught up in my runner's high that I missed the people shouting and waving at me. They were over forty feet away from me, and the wind rushing past me was muffling their voices, but I knew what they were shouting.
"Little Rabbit."
"Little Rabbit."
"Little Rabbit."
I sigh in resignation; over five years later, I still can't escape that nickname.
As I pass by our house again, I decide to stop. Slowing down almost sees me tripping, but I catch myself before I fall.
I had tested my physical stats enough; it was time to see what boosting the others did.
Once again, climbing up onto my favorite rock, I activate Meditation. The skill was getting a lot of use today, and I barely had to focus to sense a noticeable difference in my mana network.
My overall mana had increased by almost 40%, and with the boost to Senses, Mind, and Clarity, it was much easier to track its movements throughout my body.
It would take a lot of experimentation to see what new bonuses my stats afforded me; good thing I loved doing just that.
Look out, world, because there was a new superpowered Aaliyah to deal with!