Suddenly, my brain catches fire as information floods it. I immediately understand how to navigate the System's store. Oh. A list of items and their costs appears in my mind. But it's a short list.

Store Level: 1

General Items:

Store Upgrade: 1000 Credits

Stat Point: 10 Credits

Apple: 5 Credits

Small Backpack: 10 Credits

Healing Items:

Rejuvenation: 0 Credits (No Damage Detected)

Soul Skills:

Soul Forge: 25 Credits

The last one catches my attention. I focus on it and immediately gain a vague understanding of the skill. It will allow me to create items at a cost. I guess it means credits. That seems important. I choose it and sense my credits decreasing to seventy-five. I really hope I did the right thing.

I sigh as I glance at the others. Everyone looks worried except Kyle and the other two, who are probably exploring their options. I shake my head as I buy the small backpack and six apples. I'm sure they're vital if this store is offering them now.

My eyes widen as the backpack and apples appear floating in front of me. Slowly and carefully, I reach out. Whatever was holding it in place vanished. It's very light in my hand, and its material is of poor quality. But hey, beggars can't be choosers.

I quickly open the flap and toss my apples into it. I have to admit that I'm tempted to buy more stat points. But I should hold off on that for now. After all, it took ten points to get anything from the soul stat. So I can only assume the same of the others.

My eyebrow raises as I notice backpacks and apples appearing in front of the other three. I can't help but see that Kyle bought only two of them. There may be something in his store that costs more.

'Well, that was interesting.' Kyle chuckles as he wiggles his fingers. 'Let's go around the group and see what everyone's options were. You go first, Sam.'

'Well,' Sam begins as she licks her lips. 'It's pretty much what you said it would be. I can't say I really feel any different. But, I felt something. Like my body is holding energy. The feeling gets stronger with every point. There is a couple of skill options. One is for dealing damage, another for protection, and the last is for a burst of speed.'

I groan internally at Sam's explanation. Three skills! Each of them sounds useful. I listen as she explains the other things the store will allow her to buy. However, it's the same as mine. I guess I should be grateful for that. At least she doesn't have an advantage over me. Although, it would be great if someone in the group had steak in their store.

'Thanks for that, Sam.' Kyle smiles in her direction. 'What about you, David? What did the mind stat reveal?'

'There are only two skills for the mind stat.' David sighs as he wipes the river of sweat from his brow. 'Confuse, which disrupts a target's concentration, and Tame. It lets you build a mental link with whatever animals are out there. I chose Tame since it seems more useful. My store options are the same as Sam's.'

I smile at the apparent displeasure on David's face, even as others in the group look at him with excitement. Sorry, but you won't be messing with anyone's mind anytime soon. I chuckle to myself as I catch Kyle gazing at me.

'What about you, Kyle? Since we're doing this in the order that the stats appear?' I ask while holding his gaze. Bet you thought you could get everyone to reveal all their information before sharing yours. Sorry, but I was ready for you this time.

'No difference in the store to Sam's and David's.' Kyle shrugs as a grin spreads across his face while tilting his head to the side. 'But I had five skills to choose from. Air Bullet, which harms the target and knocks them back. Firestream, which basically turns my hand into a flamethrower. Ward creates a transparent shield which blocks skills. Arcane Bolt is a pure damage spell. Finally, is Fluid Earth. It allows the user to turn solid earth to mud and back again.'

There are some murmurs of excitement from the group at Kyle's explanation. Damn. How did he get to be so lucky? Now I'm really not looking forward to explaining mine.

'What one did you pick?' I ask with a frown on my face.

'Fluid Earth,' Kyle replies as he notices the confused expressions on everyone's faces. 'Sure, the others sound cool. But we don't know what's out there. I can use this skill to trap targets to buy us time. I'm guessing I also use it to dig a cave or pit for us to hide in to give us safety. In my mind, it's the best choice for me.'

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

I can't help but nod at his logic. He may be a kid in my eyes, but he's thinking things through for the benefit of the group. I need to find out if that's how he naturally is or if he's working off his experience with games. Still, it annoys me that someone much younger is more capable than me. Maybe I'm getting old? At thirty, I'm one of the oldest in our group.

'What about you, Rick? What happened with the soul stat?' Kyle asks as everyone turns their attention to me. Sarah gives me an encouraging smile and a thumbs-up while I shake my head.

'My store is the same.' I pause as I feel my chest tighten. 'Soul only has one skill. Soul Forge. It allows me to create items at a cost.'

Silence. Yep, that's all I hear from the others. I glance at the others and see the disappointment on their faces. I guess nobody else will be choosing this stat. Wait. Why's Kyle grinning like a madman?

'That's fantastic!' Kyle screams as he jumps up and down. 'Not what I was expecting at all! But it's amazing! What can you make? Weapons? Armour? Buildings?'

Suddenly an air of interest descends on the group. I shiver as everyone looks at me like I'm a fresh piece of meat. Damn it! I didn't want this!

'I don't know.' I shrug as I measure their expressions. 'I'll probably have to use it to find out.'

'Well, use it then.' Sam says with a frown as she crosses her arms over her chest. 'We need to know what you can do before we make any more decisions.'

I groan as I glance at Kyle. However, he nods his head in agreement with Sam. What if something goes wrong? I still need to find out what the cost is. What if it's called the soul stat because it takes a piece of me every time I make something?

It doesn't seem like I can get out of this. I swallow to clear the lump in my throat as I hold out both hands, palms facing the ground, at waist height.

'Soul Forge.' Yep. I have to say the damn name of the skill out loud for it to work. I feel like an idiot. What's this? There's a surge in the energy I felt forming in my body from before. It tingles as it splits in two and each half runs down a different arm to my hands.

A purple glow surrounds my arms and hands as the air between my palms and the ground shimmers. Something clicks in my mind. Like I've made a connection with something. I frown as I try to understand it, but it's like pushing against a mud wall. A solid block of metallic purple forms in front of me. I tremble as I realise it looks like an altar.

Soul Gems

Equipment

Structures

Constructs

Hmm, it works in the same way as the store. I check out the Soul Gems option first, but there's only one option. A red soul gem. I curse when I realise the problem. I have to buy the ability to make it! It costs ten credits. Even then, I must have two red crystals as materials to make it! What the fuck is up with this shit?

I quickly check Equipment. There are four options here. A club, a primitive spear, and cloth clothing. Each cost ten credits to buy and a single red crystal to make per item. At least with the clothing option, I can make trousers, shirts, shoes, gloves, and hats. The final option here is a primitive wand. Although it says wand, it looks more like a staff with a red gem on its tip. This one costs twenty credits to buy and two red crystals to craft it. My heart sinks in my chest. The System has shafted me big time.

There's only one option in Structures. Thatch Structures. It will let me make walls, doors, stairs, and so on out of wood and thatch. But it costs fifty credits to buy and a single red crystal for each structure.

I sigh as I lose all hope for the final option. Wait. Now, this seems interesting. Again, there's only a single option. A spider bone golem. I frown as I check its cost. Ten credits and a red soul gem to create it.

But that's not all. I can control one of these for every ten points in the soul stat. So, that means that someone with zero in soul can't use them. It'll be costly to go down that road, and to be honest, I wouldn't say I like the idea of controlling dead things. But, apart from making weapons and clothes, it is my only viable choice to defend myself.

I sigh as I slowly explain what I've discovered from my Soul Forge. Kyle mumbles to himself as the others discuss the features of my skill amongst themselves. A dull ache has appeared in my shoulders and lower back. Unfortunately, it will disappear if I remove my hands from the Soul Forge.

'Basically,' Kyle begins as the others settle down. 'The Soul stat leads to a support class. You provide the equipment and buildings for the rest of the tribe. I'm guessing we'll need you to build bridges and such. Maybe defensive walls if we run into a large group of enemies in the field. So there's potential for a battle engineer class.'

Kyle frowns before he continues. 'What bugs me is that you have access to a necromancer class. I guess that makes sense considering it's called the Soul stat. But why does it come under a tab called Constructs?'

'How many credits do you have left, Rick?' Kyle asks as he shoots a concerned glance in my direction.

'Thirty-five.' I reply in a deadpan voice as I roll my shoulders.

'Can I ask you to buy the primitive spear and cloth clothing for now? They'll be the most useful for the group for now.'

I nod my head as I purchase those two options. Fifteen credits left. I hope Kyle has an idea of how to earn more of them. Since I have nothing else to do with the Soul Forge, I remove my hands, and it shimmers away to nothing.

'Well, I guess that covers them all.' Kyle smiles broadly. 'The rest of you can choose whatever stat appeals to you the most. But I will say this. No one else should choose the soul stat until we understand more about it. Right now, we need people capable of fighting.'

Kyle looks around at all of us with a grim expression. 'Judging by what Rick has said, I can only assume we need red crystals. I'm guessing they can be turned in for credits. But, if we look at this from a game perspective, it probably means we have to kill monsters to get them.'

'Since Rick has no way to fight, you'll have to pay him in crystals if you want something from him. I think that's only fair. Do you all agree?'

'Yeah. Sure.' Everyone else replies, and only a few have disgruntled expressions.

I guess Kyle isn't so bad. I'm grateful he thought of that. He probably realised the same thing I did. Building up the soul stat and unlocking things to create will be expensive! Buying stat points is bad enough, but adding this makes it much worse.

There's that breeze again. Its slight chill seems worse than before as I wait for the others to make their choices. I know I don't have to stand here. The System gave me that information when I unlocked the store. All ten circles only need to be full to create a tribe or when a group wants to combine credits to make a purchase. That's probably for things like the Store Upgrade.

Eventually, everyone has a pack and some apples. Kyle flashes an approving look at us while he seems to ponder something.

'Ok, folks, let's go find some monsters! Everyone who chose Body should take the lead since you'll be our frontline fighters. Those who decided on Mind and Will come next. Rick, you'll take the rear along with anyone who chose Tame from the Mind skills. Don't worry too much. I'm sure the nearby monsters will be designed for our level of stats. Forward, march!'

Kyle chuckles as he points toward the forest. Sarah flashes me a sad smile as she jogs into position beside Kyle. Damn, the one person who's been friendly to me will now be marching ahead of me. I wanted to talk to her some more and get her thoughts on all of this.

Oh, great. Here comes David and the redhead with the pixie cut. I guess that makes us the loser squad. I sigh as I think about that. That'll change, though, once these two manage to tame something with their skill. At least one good thing came out of this. If something looks like it's too much to handle for the group, I'm in the best position to make a run for it.

David shoots a curious glance in my direction as he hears me chuckling. I shake my head at him as we fall into position.

'Don't worry about it. It's nothing.' I say as a smirk appears on my face. Sorry guys, but I'm definitely going to survive this place. I don't care if I have to step over your corpses to do it.