Morbid curiosity drove Yuki to inspect the dead weasel. It would not be surprising if the critter disappeared in a puff of smoke and left behind a treasure chest. It didn’t. The gory mess was still there when she got closer.
The coppery scent of blood and the vanilla scent of her magic power assaulted her nostrils. It wasn’t unpleasant; it even made Yuki wish for vanilla ice cream; even if her human sensibilities were screaming the smell was wrong. She took one last look and one last sniff. Then she hopped away until she found a thick shrub to hide beneath.
Immediately, her heart calmed down. She felt safe. Rabbits and open wide terrains didn’t go together. She concentrated on the blinking system notification. Best to tackle the annoying one first.
Deadly situation detected.
System lock removed.
Good luck.
That was the first time Yuki felt the system was talking directly to her. Was the good luck a pre-programmed message? Next, she read the system logs. She skipped the daily exp notification.
Brown-tailed weasel bit you.
You took 1 point of damage.
You suffered a Minor Wound.
Brown-tailed weasel is now Grappling you.
You managed to dislodge the enemy.
You took 1 point of damage.
You suffered a Minor Wound.
You invoked the spell [Wrack].
Spell Magnitude overwhelms the enemy’s Willpower.
Your spell caused 3 points of damage.
Your spell caused 4 points of damage.
Brown-tailed weasel died.
You’ve gained 10 experience points.
Brown-tailed weasel fled.
You’ve gained 2 experience points.
Yuki glared at the log, willing the numbers to change. Nothing changed. She kept glaring. The numbers refused to change. Ten experience points. She almost died, and that was worth only ten experience points. Yuki closed her eyes and then decided to ignore the logs. Too many words, and annoying. Who had time to read lines and lines of redundant text? A new notification popped up in her vision.
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Verbose log disabled.
Nice. Had the system finally decided to listen? “Hello, system. How are you doing?” No additional notification popped up. No other lines in the log. She decided to check the differences in her character sheet. “Status.”
On the landing page, Yuki already saw differences. The rabbit image was now surrounded by a green outline, except for a red splotch, exactly where the weasel had bitten her. She saw text there as well.
Fatigue level: Winded.
Yuki paid attention to her own body. Her legs were sore, and the wound hurt. She still hadn’t fully calmed down after the chase and fight. Yeah, that made sense. She clicked on the attributes tab, but nothing had changed there. She clicked on the characteristics tab. One of the three that were previously locked.
Yuki looked at the numbers and names. None of which made any sense. No, some made sense, but she didn’t want to deal with it. She sighed, deep and tired. If magic points and hp were also shown on the landing page, she would never open this tab again. A notification blinked into existence.
Layout updated.
Yuki returned to the landing page, where the rabbit now held a crystal cup, blue liquid sloshing inside. When she focused on the cup, numbers shimmered into existence. 17/20. The same happened with the rabbit, she noticed. When she focused on the injured area, a 1/3 appeared as well. She looked at the tabs again. Characteristics weren’t there anymore. Good, that would help. Yuki didn’t want to treat this as a video game. She was on her last life already.
She selected the next tab and saw a list of skills. She stared hard at the first one, willing the system to spill its secrets. Somehow, it obeyed.
[Athletics] (STR + DEX): 21.
Athletics skills cover a range of physical activities, including but not limited to climbing, jumping, and running. Armor interferes with this skill.
Yuki counted the other skills. She stopped when it got past thirty. She skipped to a subsection that read resistances.
Resistances.
[Brawn] (STR + SIZ): 2.
[Endurance] (CON x2): 4.
[Evade] (DEX x2): 40.
[Willpower] (POW x2): 40.
Her numbers were all over the place. She glanced at a second subsection named passions.
Passions.
[Love] fluff fur: 70.
[Love] fluff rabbits: 70.
[Hate] the stalker: 63.
That kinda made sense, even if Yuki had no idea why her hate for the stalker was listed there. She put the obnoxious person out of her mind. She was free and an unknown universe away. Lastly, she checked Advanced skills. Maybe conforming to her mood, Yuki saw several grayed-out skills disappear, leaving only relevant things.
The list wasn’t long. Invocation and Shaping were both here, both at 40. Yuki also saw Sewing and Leatherworking. Making those cosplays wasn’t in vain. Other notable skills included Seduction, Commerce, and Language (English). Yuki didn’t go in-depth about those skills. She thought back on the costumes she created. If she had hands, she could craft them again. The system didn’t seem to limit what she could do. It hadn’t given her any new knowledge aside from the sorcery skills.
Yuki closed her eyes and willed all the tabs, aside from her spell list, to disappear. She didn’t need them. If she ever did, she would just call them up again.
Layout updated.
With the boring part out of the way, Yuki took stock. The spell she cast had faded. She would need to cast it again if she wanted to use it once more. It lasted for a long time, which was nice. The fatigue level on her landing page now displayed “Fresh.” It also matched how she felt. She wasn’t tired anymore. That left the injury. She at least needed to know how regeneration worked.
Yuki chanted the words and moved her hands. When she finished with the cast, without alteration this time, the injury itched, and the scent of vanilla filled her nostrils. She waited, holding the magic while it did its thing. She tried to count the time. It was half an hour later and a renewal of the spell when the itching stopped. Yuki let the magic falter, then looked at where the weasel had bitten her. The fur was still bloodied, but no more bite puncture. She glanced at the magic points on her landing page. The crystal cup was three-quarters full. She used two magic points in this exercise. Not bad, but not good.
Rested, healed, and hungry, it was time to leave and find the burrow.