The sun was already high when Daniel returned to the village. His clothes were dirty and torn, and his arm was still bleeding from the wound left by the goblin chieftain. Some villagers stared at him with wide eyes, others ignored him indifferently. Only the children looked at him in amazement, as if he had returned from a legend.
As soon as he crossed the threshold of his house, Alicia hugged him tightly.
"You're bleeding! What happened to you? Where have you been?"
"I'm fine, don't worry," she said, hiding the trembling in her voice. "It was... training."
Elena, his older sister, looked at him with wide eyes, but said nothing. She had always been observant.
That night, Daniel barely slept. His body ached, but his mind was awake. The fight against the goblin chieftain had changed him. His level had risen. He had three new points to allocate, and a new skill:
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Skill: Basic Analysis (F)
Allows him to gain elemental information about objects and creatures.
Mana Cost: 2
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He first used it on one of the scales he found stuck to the goblin chieftain's corpse.
[Hard Scale - Quality: Unusual]
It could sell for a good price at the market in a nearby village.
And there the idea was born.
I need money.
If he wanted to keep growing, he needed better equipment, decent food, maybe even potions. Hunting was useful, but not enough. And he couldn't keep putting his family at risk by going out into the woods alone.
He had to find a job. Something he could do in the village, or near it, that would give him a steady income… and experience, if possible.
The next day, he went to the noticeboard in the village center.
Among the crumpled and poorly pinned papers, one caught his eye:
HARVESTING HELPER WANTED
Northern Forest
Pay: 6 copper coins per day. Moderate risk.
Basic equipment available.
Go to: Old Thom, cabin by the mill.
Daniel tore off the paper and went straight to find him. "Old Thom" turned out to be a hunched man with a beard longer than his walking stick. He looked him up and down with a raised eyebrow.
"You don't look like a harvester," he said. "You look like someone who's fought something that was too much for him."
"I want the job," Daniel replied. "I know my way around the forest. I'm fast. And strong."
Thom studied him silently for a moment longer before nodding slowly.
"Good. We'll leave tomorrow at dawn. Bring a knife, a sack, and sturdy boots." And if you have some magic, even better.
That night, Daniel assigned his points:
+1 Strength
+1 Stamina
+1 Intelligence
His body once again underwent that subtle change, that cellular refinement that made him feel firmer, more awake. He checked his interface:
Level 4
Life: 40/40
Mana: 40/40
Strength: 6
Intelligence: 7
Speed: 6
Now then, he thought. I'm ready.
The day with Thom was different from what he expected. They didn't just gather medicinal herbs and rare roots; they also had to avoid areas with aggressive creatures, old hunters' traps, and the remains of structures the forest had reclaimed.
In the middle of a hollow, Thom showed him a bright blue flower.
"This is called Watershadow. It grows near mana sources. Very valuable. But it attracts nasty bugs. Be prepared."
And he wasn't joking.
Minutes later, a swarm of magical insects emerged from the mud. They were the size of a fist, with wings as sharp as needles.
"Back off!" Thom shouted. "You, rookie! Do something!"
Daniel raised his hand.
"Mana Projectile!"
One, two, three shots. The insects exploded like tiny flash bombs. But there were a lot of them. Thom took out a bottle of blue smoke and threw it on the ground. The air thickened. The bugs fled.
—"Not bad, boy," the old man grunted, dusting himself off. "Perhaps you'll be more useful to me than I thought."
At the end of the day, Daniel received his six copper coins. They weighed little, but meant a lot.
And most importantly: he had survived another fight, and learned.
+40 EXP
Progression to Level 5: 120/180
That night, Daniel sat by the fire, the coins in one hand and a medicinal root in the other.
I'm closer. Stronger. But there's still a long way to go.
He looked toward the window. Beyond the forest, beyond the village, he knew the world stretched out with opportunities… and dangers.
"I'll make it. Not just for me. For them," he whispered.
And as the fire crackled, his resolve hardened to steel.
The night, after his journey with Thom, was not a restful one for Daniel. Despite his physical exhaustion, his mind raced. The coins in his hand were a testament to his progress, but also a reminder of what he still lacked.
With 13 points available, the temptation to distribute them randomly was strong, but Daniel knew every decision mattered.
He looked at the interface, his eyes lingering on each attribute. Strength would help him in combat, Toughness to withstand more hits, Speed to dodge and arrive safely. Intelligence... that was the one that intrigued him most.
He had noticed how the Basic Analysis skill gave him a crucial advantage. What else could he do with more intelligence? New abilities? A better understanding of this world?
He thought about the swarm of magical insects, about the way Thom had used that bottle of smoke. Cunning was just as important as brute force.
Finally, he made his decision: Strategy and Learning.
Over the next few days, Daniel dedicated himself to working with Thom. Every day was a lesson. He learned to identify plants by their scent, to read animal tracks, to sense the subtle vibrations of mana in the air.
Thom, in his grumpy way, taught him not only to gather, but to survive.
One afternoon, as they crossed a stream, Thom stopped abruptly.
"Do you feel that, boy?" he murmured, pointing with his staff toward a small cave hidden by the undergrowth.
Daniel concentrated his mana, activating Basic Analysis.
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[Young Ogre - Danger: High]
[Weakness: Direct Sunlight, Loud Noises]
[Items: Vitality Potion (Small), Wooden Club (Damage: Moderate)]
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"There's a young ogre there," Daniel reported, his voice firm despite the chill that ran down his spine.
"Sunlight seems to weaken it. And loud noises."
Thom looked at him with a mixture of surprise and respect.
"So that's your magic, huh? Useful, very useful. Most people only know how to throw sparks."
The information changed his focus. Instead of avoiding the cave, Thom devised a plan. Daniel, with his speed, would lure the ogre into the clearing, while the old man prepared a noisy distraction with dry branches and a rolling boulder.
The ogre was imposing, even the young one. His skin was moss green, and his growls made the ground shake. But Daniel was quick, dodging his clumsy attacks. At just the right moment, Thom unleashed his "distraction," sending the ogre reeling.
Daniel seized the opportunity, launching a blast of Mana Projectile at the monster's head. With the ogre stunned and half-blinded by the sun, a final, coordinated blow from Thom with his reinforced staff brought it down.
New Skills, New Challenges
That night, Daniel not only received his coins and a small portion of the potion they found on the ogre, but also a new notification:
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Congratulations! You have demonstrated a superior understanding of your surroundings.
New Skill: Heightened Perception (E)
Slightly increases the ability to detect hidden threats, traps, and important details in the environment.
Mana Cost: 5
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[Leveled Up!]
[Level 4 → Level 5]
[Level: 5 [0/240]
Attribute Points Gained: 5]
Tiredness faded into euphoria. Heightened Perception... it was just what he needed for his work.
The Echo of the Forest while Daniel's progress was undeniable, the village kept pace with him. However, a new murmur began to circulate among the inhabitants.
Stories of more aggressive creatures, crops being strangely damaged, and even some villagers not returning from their outings.
One night, Elena approached Daniel as he was cleaning his rudimentary knife.
"Brother, is it true what they say? That the forest is... changing. Mother says we shouldn't go so far."
Daniel felt a knot in his stomach. The safety of his family. His reason for growing, for fighting.
"Don't worry, Elena," he said, trying to sound confident. "I'm learning to be stronger. I'll be here to protect you."
But as he held her, a truth settled in his mind. Power came with a price, and it wasn't just the blows or the exhaustion. It was responsibility. The growing awareness that the world outside his village was far vaster and more dangerous than he'd ever imagined.
And he, with his nascent abilities, was now part of that danger... or its solution.
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Attribute System
Name: Daniel
Age: 18
Class: None
Level: 5 [0/240]
Health: 50/50
Mana: 60/60
Strength: 10
Speed: 11
Intelligence: 14
Luck: 10
Special Ability: Adaptive Body (S) - Skill Creation (F) [???]
Abilities: Basic Healing (F) - Mana Projectile (E) - Basic Analysis (F) - Sharpened Perception (E)
Available Points: 10
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