[Level 0 > level 1.]


    Without hesitation, Noah summoned his status again.


    Status


    Name: Noah Denter


    Race: Human


    Grade: F


    Caste: Dust


    Gate: 1


    Path: Novice


    Level: 1


    Strength: 12


    Dexterity:14


    Constitution: 11


    Intelligence:11


    Wisdom: 13


    Willpower: 14


    XP:6/10


    Essence: 0


    Stat points available: 3


    He scanned through each line but soon realized that the only change was that he now had three stat points available. For the first time, he really considered what the stats meant. Strength was obvious enough, dexterity likely referred to his speed or control over his body, and constitution was likely his physical hardiness. The other stats were interesting, clearly, he knew what intelligence and the others were, but did they do what he thought they did? As a software engineer, he was no stranger to computer games, even if he had never been as avid as a player as some of his coworkers. And in all the games he played with this kind of status, these stats determined magical capabilities. He knew this wasn’t a game, but what if the system just presented him with a familiar interface to help him along? At this point, he just couldn’t risk it, and either way he needed a physical more. That raised another question, would he choose to be a wizard if he could? That wasn’t really his style, but then again he had never seen real magic.


    Noah sighed. This particular decision could wait but for now, he would choose strength, dexterity, or constitution. Based on the intense training he put himself through over the last six months he figured that the base level person would have around 10 points in any given category plus or minus a few based on their lifestyle. If that was true then all his training had amounted to two or maybe three points in strength and around four points in dexterity. That was huge. In an instant, he could accomplish six months of grueling effort for one aspect of himself. What did he need most? He could definitely use the strength, everything around him seemed to be tougher than before the system. Dexterity was less attractive given he hadn’t experienced the lack of it yet. Constitution felt like an obvious choice given the state of his body. As much as he wanted to become super buff he wanted to survive even more. That thought tipped the scales and he mentally assigned the points to constitution.


    [Confirm allocation?]


    He gave a mental nod to the system. Then a fierce tingling raced through his body, like every muscle had fallen asleep and he was all pins and needles. The overwhelming sensation lasted a few seconds and then dissipated as quickly as it had come. When it finished, Noah felt like a new man. His arm still throbbed and his leg ached but something had changed. He felt healthier. Nothing superhuman, but more like how he would expect to feel if he drank a bunch of green drinks, did cardio every day, and managed his gut health. His skin looked more vibrant and his breathing felt deeper and clearer. He could get used to this.


    Noah paused. Where had he gotten the XP? Did he kill something without realizing it? He ran through the day''s events in his mind. The notification came in right after he got the fire settled and sat down. Did I get rewarded for starting a fire? Could I do it again? Easy levels? The possibilities raced through his mind. He was half tempted to start the fire over again, but just a thought of the effort involved and he put that idea to rest. He would have to figure it out but now wasn’t the time. He was hungry and thirsty and he could do something about one of those immediately. Noah fetched the rabbit carcass, the flint, and a few river rocks before returning to the fire. While he wasn’t an expert he knew that flint had been used for bladed weapons for millennia. With that in mind, he smashed his piece of flint with a large rock. He could admit it was a less-than-elegant performance, but the results were workable. He picked up one of the resulting shards and held it in the light of the fire. It certainly looked sharp. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    He began the arduous task that was cleaning the rabbit. He had the good sense to wander to the stream before dumping its guts on the ground. The flint shard was pulling its weight, and the handcuffs were becoming part of him at this point. He knew the entrails could be used as bait but that was tomorrow''s problem. For now, he roughly skinned the animal and rinsed it the stream. He positioned four larger stones around the fire to serve as a grate and set the now-cleaned meat on top. The twigs burned a perfect low and slow so it was just a matter of time. As he waited he had a truly disgusting idea that made him gag to consider. He was thirsty, really thirsty. That’s what he told himself as he returned to the stream and proceeded to rinse and clean the rabbit hide. He tested it in the water, holding the pelt by the four feet and allowing the cavity to fill. His face twitched when it refused to leak. This or die. It''s this or die.


    After the rabbit was thoroughly crispy Noah carried a pelt full of water to the fire and held it over the flame. The fur caught fire as expected and produced a putrid stench as it was burned away. He choked back bile and continued to hold it tightly. For all his drama he knew that if it worked it was another day of living, another day to come out on top. It took altogether too long for the water to boil and he wasn’t stopping short of complete bacterial destruction. The water eventually cooled and Noah braced himself as he lifted the makeshift vessel to his mouth. It had developed a thin layer of fat across its surface from the bits he couldn''t scrape off but he took it all in and swallowed immediately, refusing to let his taste buds stop him. He wasn’t sure if it was in comparison to the smell of the burnt fur, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as he had imagined. It tasted like bland, unsalted, bone-broth. Not good, but not terrible either.


    [1 XP gained.]


    “Huh, I’ll take it.” Whether for the effort involved to get himself to drink the water, or the fact that he managed to procure and sanitize it he didn’t know. He guzzled down the remaining water and moved on to the rabbit. It was burnt on the outside, a bit lean, and beyond gamey. It was also the first meal he had eaten in a couple of days so it was delicious.


    [1 XP gained.]


    That makes eight! Two to go. At this point he was pretty sure it was the end result that garnered the XP, perhaps effort was involved but he wasn’t sure what kind of scale he would be working with. He finished his meal as the last light of day faded, his surroundings illuminated only by the flickering fire. He was more than a little concerned about other curious animals as he considered sleep but he didn’t have another option except to stoke the fire and hope it was still as scary to the evolved beasts as to their earthen predecessors.


    When he woke it wasn’t to the rising sun. Judging by the low light of the fire, a couple of hours had passed but morning still seemed to be far away. His heart raced as he looked into the darkness around his little camp. He had his back to a tree with the fire directly in front of him, which in hindsight completely ruined his ability to see into the darkness. He tentatively placed a few more sticks on the fire, urging them to combust and shed more light in his vicinity. He picked up a pomegranate-sized rock and held it between his hands. Whatever had woken him would get more than it bargained for.


    He heard a loud sloshing noise in the direction of the stream followed by enthusiastic chewing. The entrails. The sounds continued for a couple of minutes and then stopped all at once. Noah knew then that he was being watched. He couldn’t explain how he knew, but he did. He readied his rock and sank into a comfortable fighting stance. If there was one thing all martial arts instructors had in common, it was a love for stances. And over the last six months, he had it drilled into him that a solid foundation was the key to all martial forms. He had trained with weapons, without weapons, and in all manners of combat. Whatever this was, he could take it. When the next sound came it was like the twang of a bowstring–if he didn’t move he was done. Noah stepped quickly to the side, simultaneously slamming the rock down on his previous location. It connected with a meaty crunch and the intruder, a wolf with strangely long legs, slumped to the ground. For good measure, he repeated the attack and was awarded with a satisfying ding.


    [10 XP gained.]


    In a single moment, he had gained an entire level’s worth of XP. He couldn’t help but smile as he considered where his new points would go. As he looked down at the beast, his excitement drained away. If there was one wolf, then there would be more.