The morning fog enveloped the town of Liria, but Daniel no longer felt the tiredness of the previous day. His mana regeneration had been slower than he expected, but at least he no longer felt the emptiness that had remained in his chest after the illusion. Even though his memories remained a puzzle, he knew he had to move forward. The system had made it clear to him that the answers to his past were much closer than he thought.
As he entered the center of town, the dirt streets were quiet, with medieval-style wooden houses and people just beginning their daily activities.
It was a normal morning, with the townspeople hurrying about their daily tasks. Everything seemed so ordinary… and yet, for Daniel, it was as if he were in another world.
Suddenly, in the central square, he saw her. His mother. The woman he had seen in the illusion. But this time, there was no distortion. She didn't fade into light or disintegrate into fragments. She was there, holding a basket of fruit, talking to an older man.
Daniel took a step forward. Upon closer inspection, he realized that his mother was in her thirties, with black hair and a face so sharp it didn't look her age, and a body neither large nor plump, but with breasts that highlighted her figure. His heart began to beat, and a thought occurred to him: "Is she really my mother?"
To confirm that thought, he called her.
"Mom?"
The woman turned quickly, and for a moment, she didn't seem to recognize him. Her eyes widened when she saw the young man standing in front of her, and her expression changed from surprise to doubt.
"Daniel?" she said, as if the name was hard to come out of her mouth. A torrent of emotions crossed her face. "But... how?" Her mind was still confused, as she couldn't understand what problem her son had had.
The woman accompanying her looked at Daniel and then at his mother, blinking, confused.
"Mom! It's my brother!"
The woman dropped the fruit basket. However, she ignored the mess and walked toward him, her eyes fixed on his face, trying to understand what was happening.
"Why didn't you come home yesterday?" she asked, with a mixture of fear and concern. Her voice trembled. "Did something happen to you? Why are you so dirty and covered in... blood?"
"I'm back, Mom. I had an encounter with a wolf." At that moment, his sister ran up to him and hugged him. Daniel, not knowing what to do, bent down to hug her too.
"I missed you so much, brother," she said with a smile, unaware of how much those words hit Daniel, like a dagger in his chest.
His mother watched him for a moment, then nodded slowly at the embrace between her sons and led them both home.
Later, in a small wooden house, Daniel sat by the window, staring at his interface.
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AttributeSystem
Name: Daniel
Age: 18
Class: None
Level: 2
Health: 20/20
Mana: 30/30
Strength: 5
Speed: 6
Intelligence: 9
Luck: 10
SpecialAbility: Adaptive Body (S) - Skill Creation (F) (3/5)
Skills: Basic Healing (F) - Mana Projectile (F) - Accelerated Recovery (F)
Available Points: 0
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The problem was obvious: he didn't know how to evolve his skills. Every time he created one, he found that the levels simply didn't increase. How did he advance? What did he need to do to improve his healing skill, or to level up Skill Creation?
"How do I do it?" he muttered, scratching his head.
Despite the system's help, there was something inside him telling him that simply distributing points or creating new skills wasn't enough. He needed something more.
The answer came in the form of a small notification in his vision.
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SystemAlert: Requirements not met for level increase.
Possibleactions: 1) Perform extended use of the skill (minimum 10 activations). 2) Achieve a skill-related event (use in critical situations). 3) Create a skill related to the current mastery.
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Daniel stared at the notification. Use the skills more? What did "related events" mean? Did it imply he had to risk his life even more to improve?
He felt a chill. Maybe he wasn't ready to face all of this so soon. But time was running out. The answers, his past, his abilities... everything seemed connected in some way he couldn't understand.
He didn't know everything that would happen, but he understood that his only option was to move forward. Not only to understand his past, but also to discover what he needed to do to evolve and overcome the challenges ahead.
The path to the future was being charted, and although fraught with uncertainty, he wouldn't stop.