The serene crunching sound of onions being chopped rang through the empty house. The rhythmic pattern resounded bouncing off the walls creating an unsettling atmosphere, the producer of said sound chopped happily away humming a joyful tone that sometimes went off-key but stayed in tune, for the most part, the song was a familiar one to the woman and her tone gradually became wistful and far away, as the woman looked to be in her forties drifted off into deep memories, the nostalgia she felt was so tangible, the air pulsed as though responding to her call, the ageing lines that graced her face did not diminish her beauty but served to add a wise and thoughtful look to the woman whose hair was stark white but smooth and flawless beautifully complementing her emerald eyes that glistened in the rays of light that came through the kitchen window. All was peaceful and calm, save for the many floating utensils. The woman did not once turn around, nor did she ask after the girl that was previously there, but continued her work, releasing eerie melodious sounds until a blue screen greeted her sight, causing her movements to halt. She let go of the knife, leaving it suspended in the air. An unmistakable blue shine hovered around the object that soon went to join the others, while she dried her hands with a cloth, ignoring the existence of the screen that suddenly appeared. “How is my child?” a crisp, hoarse voice rang out into the seemingly empty air. On the bluescreen that now hovered around her, words formed: “The Amused Conqueror says the girl is doing better than the other mortals. He asks the Commander when she will return since her mission is done, and he also says it's boring without the Commander's company. At this point, a smile graced the aged features of the woman, making her look ten times younger than she was. “In six months I will return; he had better prepare my wine and watch over my ward well.” Her voice was laced with laughter, tenderness, and sorrow as the floating utensils arranged themselves in their place in sync with the receding rays of sunlight, and soon everything was as it was before she came: dull, lifeless, and lonely.
In the separate space that held a girl and a floating box, confusion was very prevalent as the girl was perplexed mostly at her identity being partially undefined, as well as the being that paid attention to her and the skills linked to that being. She scoured the “common knowledge” given to her and found no mention of these things, and her annoyance grew as she felt like a puppet on a string dancing to the tune of someone or something she was unaware of.
What does %&*# mean? Why do they pay attention to me? Am I somehow related to them? It might be possible. My mother always said I was never hers to keep for long, especially when I wanted to move. I thought she felt sad about my decision to move out, but maybe she was alluding to this. But how would she know about this? Does Dad know of this? Hah, stay calm. Now you can’t panic. Kathrine, there are more important things to think of now. This status thing is meant to show me information about myself, which is understandable, but the stats make everything seem more game-like, but from the information, this is a real game; I could die if screwed up, and since they replaced me with another "me,” it’s safe to assume my actual body is still on earth, so my spirit or soul is here? This makes no sense; I have too little information and can’t assume too much. I need to understand what these stats are for. I have trained my body to cope with my obsession with sword arts, so that might explain something, but when did I eat anything “mana-infused” and all these passives, where did they come from? Could Mother’s words also mean she picked me up from somewhere? Mother would have the answer to that, and she’s not here. Okay, enough sidetracking, Kathrine. I need to ask this helper to explain precisely what the information in my head means since it knows more than I do right now.
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“I need an explanation for these stats,” she said to the floating screen.
"The user has received "common information" concerning stats; I do not understand the user's question."
"I want you to explain this to me; you know far more than I do, and I know you may have access to higher-tiered information, and your explanation would prove to be more helpful."
"Checking protocol. The user has not violated any rules and has sufficient authority to request this information."
"To answer the user's question, the five basic stats, namely strength, agility, dexterity, stamina, and intelligence, are paramount to your growth as a representative of your planet.
Strength: This relates to the amount of physical energy one has; it determines the ability to perform various actions, and it also determines the defensive capability of the user's body with a ratio of 1:1.
Agility: This is the ability to change the body's position quickly; it is an integrative combination of balance, reflexes, coordination, strength, and endurance that determines the user's bodily reaction to situations. It also passively increases one's ability to think, comprehend, absorb new information, and adjust to changes in the environment.
Dexterity: This is the flexibility and ease with which one uses their hands, but it can also apply to the whole body of the individual; it can affect the use of weapons to an extent as it allows for more skilful manipulation of fingers.
Stamina: This is the physical and mental energy the user has to do tasks for a prolonged period; it affects the thinking and reaction speed of the user. An arduous task would consume more stamina, which would greatly reduce the strength of the user's attacks and their ability to perform in general.
Intelligence: This largely affects the user's ability to think, comprehend, and manipulate the world around them through mana. It improves the user's ability to manipulate active skills that require mana and increases their degree of control over the roguish surrounding mana. It increases the amount of mana in the user's body by a ratio of 1:10. The user must be warned that an overflow of mana is very dangerous and has a 60% chance of crippling the user; hence, the constitution of the user's body must be increased.
Constitution: This is one of the three special stats. This one determines the capability or potential the user has to contain mana; it determines the healthiness of the user's body, or in simpler terms, the level of impurities the user's body contains. A regular lesser being has 100 in this stat, but the user has trained her body to the limit of her sex without the use of enhancers and has gained a higher constitution due to her hard work and the blessing of %&*#. This has removed most impurities from the user's system and allowed for a higher mana capacity than other lesser beings. The user's constitution is currently 1000, meaning the user's mana cannot be increased above this figure due to the risk of mana overflow.
The user does not have the authority to learn about the other special stats.
Does the user have any other questions?"