We sprinted through the forest for nearly 15 minutes, with her leading the way and me following closely behind. However, I noticed that she was struggling to maintain the pace. While I had been focused on the direction of the bandit camp, I hadn't heard or seen any signs of pursuit. Based on how we left the camp, I doubted they would risk chasing after us. "We can stop and take a break," I suggested, confident that there was no one behind us and that they were unlikely to come after us. I spoke effortlessly, not the least bit out of breath. Running continuously for extended periods had never been my strong suit, and I always ended up feeling like my lungs were about to burst. Upon hearing my suggestion, she gradually slowed her stride and eventually came to a staggering stop, collapsing on the ground, desperately trying to catch her breath.

"It seems we managed to escape without being pursued. So now that we have a moment to catch our breath, I should probably introduce myself. I'm Blake. What's your name? I can't keep thinking of you as the gorgeous prisoner girl," I said, attempting to flatter her with a touch of humor. However, instead of appreciating it, she glared at me and continued gasping for breath. "You don't have to tell me your name if you don't want to. Just do as you promised and lead me to the nearest town, and I'll be out of your hair," I added, sensing her disapproval. By this point, though, she seemed to be calming down and breathing more easily.

"I'm Stellanova Moonsprite, and I'm frustrated with you because I can't access my stats or mana while wearing this slave collar. Without them, I'm as useless as a level 1 nobody. It surprises me that I managed to run for so long without having access to my stamina, agility, and mana-enhanced body attributes. I would appreciate it if you could be more considerate of my situation and allow me to catch my breath. It's unfortunate that you didn't obtain the keystone from Bragda to remove this collar, as it would enable me to access my stat screen." As she shared this information, I realized there was a lot to unpack. First I thought she was just wearing a fancy necklace which had some crazy arcane symbols on it and I hadn’t really paid it much attention since we were kind of busy escaping. Although I had a theoretical understanding of stat screens and attributes, none of it seemed to work for me when I attempted to access it. Now I faced a dilemma regarding how much I could trust her. If I asked her about accessing my stat screen, she might think I was joking or suspect that something was wrong with me. On the other hand, I didn't have anyone else to turn to, and she owed me a debt of gratitude for rescuing her, regardless of my clumsiness.

"Stella, I have a few questions for clarification. First, could you explain what a slave collar is? Second, I'm curious about how to access the stat screen you mentioned. And third, I'm a bit confused about how the collar prevents you from using your stats. Aren't they simply a reflection of your natural abilities as you grow stronger?" Feeling completely ignorant, I decided to be straightforward and see what response I would receive.

"What game are you playing? It's common knowledge what a slave collar is used for—suppressing abilities and exerting control over high-ranking individuals. I observed your actions earlier, so don't act clueless with me. To pull off what you did back there, you must have a level of at least the upper 70s, and let's be honest, probably even higher. It's absurd to think that someone as powerful as you doesn't grasp how the stat system works. Spare me the act, boy. Despite my outward appearance, I'm no naive girl you can manipulate into believing your incompetence." She stated, gracefully running her hands through her hair and tucking it behind her long, pointed ears, indicating her elven heritage.

“Get ready for this mind-blowing revelation that I'm about to drop on you. Brace yourself because it's absolutely absurd and ridiculous, yet shockingly true. I am not, I repeat, NOT from this world. No magic, no levels, no stats. Just your average, run-of-the-mill, boring people in my world. But the goddess Illyanna told me I would be the same as my previous self she created this new body for me and transferred all my previous life's information when she sent me here. She promised I'd be the same person, just younger, but guess what? I've been experiencing these insane boosts in strength, speed, and agility. So, nope, I have no clue what you're talking about. And let me tell you, I am in desperate need of a friend in this strange new world that I stumbled upon. No pressure, though. Just throwing it out there.” I gazed at her, hoping she'd at least give my story a chance or not outright dismiss it. But all I got was a bewildered expression and a stunningly beautiful elf girl staring back at me with her mouth wide open, utterly confused. Well, isn't this just perfect?

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Stella's gaze lingered for a few more moments until I impatiently snapped my fingers right in front of her face, causing her to swat at my hand and shake her head. "Hello? Earth to Stella? Anyone home? Can you try to keep up, please?" I muttered under my breath.

Finally, she seemed to come back to reality and asked, "Wait, is there any way you can actually prove that your story is true? Did you really meet our Goddess? Well, for the sake of temporary sanity, let's give you the benefit of the doubt and see what we can figure out from here. After all, it won't hurt to entertain this madness for a moment." She took a deep breath and continued, "Now, in order to access your stat screen, you have to will it open and think of what it means to you. Some people call it a 'Stat sheet,' others a 'Character sheet,' and some even go with 'Profile.' The specific word isn't as crucial as your intent. And, oh, don't forget to conjure up a mental image of what you think it should look like. You know, like how we explain things to clueless children who are just discovering their stats for the first time. Are you still with me? Great. Now, concentrate on that and let me know when you've successfully pulled up your info. Then I'll do my best to explain things further, in case you have more questions. I can't believe I'm doing this with an adult..." I let out an exasperated sigh, wondering if this would ever make any sense to me.

I concentrated intensely on visualizing the desired character sheet from Questcraft appearing in front of me. Initially, there was no immediate response, but slowly, akin to an old monitor powering on, a screen started to manifest before my eyes. However, to my surprise, it was completely different from what I had anticipated.

Name: Blake Johnson

Level: 0

Class:

Race: Human

Attributes:

Vitality 985

Strength 1342

Stamina 794

Agility 1245

Intellect 1534

Wisdom 1743

Spells and Abilities:

N/A

I had incredibly high stats, but what puzzled me the most were my level and class. According to the character sheet, my level was marked as 0, and instead of a fixed class, there was a dropdown menu resembling Questcraft's character menu. Confused, I looked at Stella, who once again stared at me as though I had grown a third head. "I just noticed something strange," I said. "The sheet says I'm level 0, and my class is shown as a dropdown menu instead of a specific class. Plus, I don't seem to have any spells or abilities. Any idea what's going on?" I asked, hoping for some clarity. Stella's bewildered expression remained, leaving me even more uncertain.

In a flat, emotionless tone, Stella questioned, "How did you manage to summon your character sheet in the air where I can see it too? I can see that your level is listed as 0, but that's impossible because even infants begin at level 1. I've never come across a level 0 before. Is it possible for you to will the dropdown menu to change? Maybe select a class or something? This whole situation is incredibly strange, and I'm starting to believe that you might be from another world. I've never heard of anything like this happening before." Stella's confusion mirrored my own, but instead of making me uncomfortable, it actually made me feel less self-conscious.

"Sure, I'll give it a try and see what happens," I replied. I concentrated on opening the dropdown menu, and to my surprise, it filled with all my characters from Questcraft, each at the maximum level. The class was displayed alongside the character name in parentheses. Curious, I selected one of the characters to see if I could choose the corresponding class. As soon as I made my choice, everything around me turned blindingly white, and I could sense a transformation occurring within my body.