Although humans were short-lived in comparison to the elder race, they were as numerous as the trees in the forest, and were almost as ferocious as the barbaric orcs of the Long Hills. The League and the Old Empire ceased their endemic wars, united with the promise of gifts of powerful elven artifacts and mithril bullion.

  — On the Cataclysm by an unknown Quassian Schor, circa 103 AC.

  Looking at the night sky, I saw an ocean of shimmering stars accompanied by a rge, solitary moon that served as a fine contrast to their brilliance. For all its beauty, however, something was wrong. Though no student of astronomy, I could not identify a single familiar consteltion or guiding star. This unexpected feeling of dispcement and isotion compounded my misery.

  The pn was to stay awake for the rest of the night to keep watch on the pond below. However, this intent shattered when faced with the cruel reality of my tired body. Exhausted, my eyes felt like lead, as the exertions of the past hours had left me cold and shivering. Slowly and inexorably, like the turning of the seasons, I closed my eyes and faded off into a troubled sleep.

  I gradually awoke as the morning sunlight filtered through the branches of the tree and danced across my eyes. Rushing to panicked wakefulness, I looked around with wild eyes, searching for threats. However, all that y before me was a sea of grass stretching as far as the eye could see beneath a cloudless sky. Sometime in the night, my robe had dried out and I was, at least, no longer shivering. The warm sun shone down as I attempted to gather myself towards some sembnce of calm.

  This was no idyllic fantasy nd where the hero would be guided by the hand to become strong enough to face his destiny. No, this was a brutal world that taught in pain and suffering. Those who could not pass muster would die.

  Checking my notifications, it seemed that I had gained another point of Constitution in the night. I hypothesized I had gained this single point due to my current harsh conditions, and that this was the reason my maximum Health and Stamina had increased. From this, it would be logical to assume I could increase my Health by both increasing in basic level and improving my Constitution attribute.

  Muttering to myself, I swore to increase my Constitution as often as I could. I simply did not want to feel the awful numbing pain of being at low Health anymore. Upon checking the rest of my “Status,” I noticed that I had acquired a new skill, Rest, which was at level one.

  It seemed I could gain skills from even the most inconsequential things. I observed that my Health was only slightly below the maximum, and my Mana and Stamina were both at full. I craved more knowledge about the world I had found myself in. I needed more data. It was time to experiment.

  STATUS

  Calling: %^& Level 2 Acolyte of Avaria

  Strength: 9

  Dexterity: 9

  Constitution: 10

  Intelligence: 9

  Wisdom: 9

  Charisma: 8

  Luck: 10

  SKILLS & PROFICIENCIES

  Pain Nullification (lvl.1)

  Power Strike (lvl.1)

  Endure (lvl.1)

  Stealth (lvl.1)

  Rest (lvl.1)

  SPELLS & MAGIC

  Heal (lvl.1)

  Rust (lvl.1)

  Identify (lvl.1)

  GIFTS

  Curse of Entropy: -20% all starting attributes.

  Experience to next level 110/220

  Health: 13/14

  Stamina: 19/19

  Mana: 6/6

  I analyzed my current Status. If this were a game, apart from the horrible start, I was in a satisfactory position. I had likely completed one of the early stages of a grueling “tutorial.”

  My cautious nature willed me to cast Heal to top off my Health, but the curious gamer inside of me wanted to experiment with Identify, my new spell.

  With a slight spring to my step, I made my way around the tree to look down at where the mudskippers were. Finding a medium-sized specimen on the far side of the pond, I uttered, “Identify,” and willed the monster’s secrets to be known to me. I felt the now-familiar shifting and pulling sensation, and my Mana was channeled into the spell as it coursed through my body. But this time, instead of releasing within me, it was funneled towards my chosen creature.

  Bibsis (lvl.1)

  Health 8/8

  “Bibsis,” I muttered to myself as I fought the frustration of being unable to see all of its relevant stats, such as Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution. Drawing a deep breath, I tried to calm myself. It was probably physically weaker than I was, but I had no idea if it had spells or special abilities apart from the water balls. However, at least I now knew the name, Health, and retive level of the creatures I had faced, which further reinforced my hypothesis that this area was some sort of tutorial zone.

  I decided to continue casting Identify for confirmation. However, with each use of the spell, my Mana decreased by one without revealing additional information. As I continued to cast the spell, I could feel a pressure mounting in my head.

  On the fourth casting, I was overcome by a sense of dizziness simir to the time I had used Heal twice. Thankfully, there was no accompanying sharp, stabbing pain, or overwhelming exhaustion like when my Mana had dropped to zero.

  Upon careful examination, I concluded that all the creatures I had targeted with Identify were only level one. I breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that if I had been in a high-level area, my prospects would have been exceedingly grim.

  Taking a small break from my experiments, I left the weapons I had scavenged by the small shrine and made my way down the hill to relieve myself on the other side of the pond. When I returned to the tree and altar, I resolved to try out the “Power Strike” skill next.

  I took a few deep breaths to prepare myself. I picked up the half-spear in a loose grip and practiced jabbing at the air in front of me. With all the strength I could muster, I shouted, “Power Strike!” while thrusting forwards. Nothing happened. Undeterred, I continued to attack the air while shouting the skill’s name.

  After several fruitless minutes of exertion, my Stamina had depleted to about half. I hurled the half-spear to the ground and threw a punch at the nearby tree, screaming “Power Strike!” at the top of my lungs. My left fist shot out at an arming speed, pulling my body along with it.

  The impact caused chips of bark to scatter, and I felt something in my wrist snap. The excruciating pain was too much to bear as I crumpled into a fetal position on the ground, clutching my injured wrist to my chest with my good hand. Blood trickled down my knuckles, a stark contrast to the color of my skin. It was a vivid reminder that in this world I could bleed, just as I had in the other.

  After what felt like an eternity, I summoned the strength to stand up, and leaned against the tree for support. I drew shallow breaths through gritted teeth as I half-screamed in agony. Closing my eyes, I recited the births and deaths of long-dead leaders, battles that changed my homend, and the rise and fall of ages, rebellions, and revolutions. It was a mnemonic tool to help me distract myself from the pain.

  While the world I found myself in was game-like in nature, some things were unquestionably not. Unlike controlling a character with a mouse and keyboard, I was well and truly immersed in the “game,” and felt pain with every foolish mistake. Despite this reality presenting itself like a game, the consequences of my actions were very real.

  You have gained 1 Intelligence.

  I let out a wry ugh between waves of pain. Closing my eyes and whimpering forlornly, I decided to rest and focus on restoring my Mana.

  For the rest of the morning and a significant part of the afternoon, I cast Heal whenever possible, determined to bring myself back to full Health. I theorized that my maximum Mana had increased by one point, likely due to the recent boost in my Intelligence.

  When my Health reached around eleven or twelve, my wrist snapped back into pce with a painful crunch, which was then soothed by the remaining aura of my healing spell. Finally, sometime in the te afternoon, I was back to full Health.

  An injury that would have taken at least a month and a half to heal in my previous life was fully rectified here in about half a day, thanks to my magical abilities. I found it preposterous, and yet a part of me could not deny the reality of my situation. The pain, if anything, reminded me that this was all-too-horribly real. Still, I could not help but marvel at the miracles I had performed. “Magic…” I whispered in a hushed, reverent tone.

  In a previous life, I had read that “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” Could nanobots or some other super technology be responsible for the “magic” and this game-like world? Were my struggles merely entertainment for some weird interstelr audience? But these questions only served to perturb me, so I brushed them from my mind. Survival was my imminent concern and I refused to die.

  The first pangs of hunger hit me as the sun dipped ever lower in the sky. I waited for my Mana to reach full again before picking up both halves of the broken primitive spear.

  Absently, I considered casting Identify on my weapons, but thought better of it, as it was painfully obvious what I held in my hands. My ominous Rust spell was also perhaps worth experimenting with at a ter time, for I could not see anything in my local environs that would precipitate its use.

  I needed all my resources to do what I pnned to do next. I needed to grow, and growing, in this world, meant killing.