The turtle tasted like the worst thing I'd ever eaten. The texture was awful. The scent was putrid. Maybe it's because it went from legendary quality to garbage after I cooked it. At least I have Cooking Lv1 now.
Actually... I think I should check on my stats and skills. How do I do that, though...?
"Um...? Menu? ... Status? ... Open Menu?"
A screen blinks into view right in front of me.
"Shit! Uh.... Okay I guess saying 'Open Menu' works then."
The screen before me shows an image of myself along with my equipment. Currently, I'm naked with no gear equipped. So it's just an embarrassing image of me in the buff.
Below that image shows my HP at 30/30 and my MP at 10/10. Looks like I'll have to be mindful of these values. I wonder if I can see the bar when I take damage or if I just become aware of my HP value. I'll find out another time.
Also on this screen are a few other options. Stats, Skills, Jobs, and Inventory. Let's start with Skills. I've leveled up a few, so I want to take stock of where I'm at.
"Open Skills."
The screen before me now displays the Skills page.
Oh? I must have missed when I obtained that Spear Fishing skill. But it's different from Fishing? Interesting... I should try to get a proper fishing rod at some point and test the skill out.
So how do I level up skills? There doesn't seem to be any EXP listed here for skills.
"System, how do I level up skills?"
I guess skills aren't really EXP based. No points to allocate either. Pure chance.
"Open Stats."
Time to see what my numbers look like.
The screen flashes and cycles over to the page containing my stats.
HP: 30/30 | MP: 10/10
Stat Points: 3
STR: 1
DEX: 1
VIT: 1
INT: 1
RES: 1
LUC: 1 (x2)
Oh? So I guess I don't start with anything at all. No points allocated anywhere. Not even a name.
Hmm... That Fishing God sure set me up with a weird start.
I guess I should just start with choosing a name.
As I thought this, a panel appears in front of me with an input box. No keys or anything. I guess I just have to speak at it and something will happen.
Oh but what should my new name be? I haven't heard any names in this world. And I don't want to keep my old name, either. Maybe I should just take the name of someone cool? Since this life was given to me by the Fishing God, then maybe I should honor him with choosing a fisherman's name.
...
What the hell is a fisherman's name? That just sounds too vague. Maybe there are some cool guys who fish who have cool names.
I used to watch a show with a guy who caught massive fish and sometimes even wrestled them. Crazy bastard. What was his name? Mmmmm....? Uuuuhhh?
Oh I think it was something like....
"Wade?"
"Whoa, wait! Why the question mark? Answer me!"
No response. I just sigh and hang my head. When I look back, my name is now listed as 'Wade?'
For some reason, the Fishing God's laughing face is still looping in my mind.
Oh well. Time to allocate some stats. Since I have this Lucky Pull System, I should probably just apply my points to LUC.
"Nice! Now, Open Jobs!"
The screen transitions into a new page that shows a large list, but almost all of it is listed as N/A. There's just one job at the very top of the page.
Nobody.
"Wow. Fuckin rude."
So it's just the starter job. And it's a lame one, too. Way to handicap me, System!
Still, it shouldn't be hard to get to a higher level. I just have to fight some monsters!
As I think this, a chill runs down my neck and back, accompanied by a gust of wind. It's getting pretty late now. I don't know anything about this place, so it's best to just play it safe tonight. I'll sleep now and hunt in the morning.
----------
I wake up and stretch out my tired limbs. I decided to sleep in the tree last night. I have no clue how to put together a shelter and it would just end up as garbage quality anyway.
After hopping down from the tree, I rummage around on the ground and retried the Legendary Crocodile Turtle Shell and a Legendary Stick. I don't have a handle for the shell to use it as a proper shield, but I can still grip it with both hands to block if I need to.
With these two items now equipped, I start walking through the forest. But I get curious about something and open up the menu again to see my equipment. It looks like the stick and turtle shell are both listed in my equipment. I reach out and tap the screen to zoom in on my equipment stats.
Equipped: Legendary Crocodile Turtle Shell, Legendary Stick
ATK: 6
DEF: 11
EVA: 1
Oh? I guess there's a stat for evasion, too. That's neat. And it looks like the stats are working fine. For now, my STR only increases my ATK by 1 and my VIT only increases my DEF by 1. The rest of the stats are from the gear. I wonder how these numbers compare to real weapons, though.
Maybe twenty minutes into wandering the forest, I finally pick up a trail. Small footprints of what seems to be a rabbit or something similar. Hunting mode: engage!
I crouch a bit low and creep around while following the tracks. I only manage about six steps before the System decides to give me some new alerts.
I know that it's supposed to be a chance to obtain skills and level them up, but... either I'm too lucky or they're super easy to unlock normally.
I'll look at those skills later, though. Right now, it's time to hunt!
I continue creeping around with a lowered posture and follow the tracks. Over the course of ten minutes, I manage to level up Stealth and Tracking twice.
Then there's a sound of rustling in the bushes. I move slowly and try to catch whatever it is off guard. When I reach the bushes, I can hear it moving around just on the other side.
Time to become my breakfast, small creature!
I jump up with my stick above my head, ready to smash down at the creature. That's when I see the cutest bunny in all the world. Small, fluffy, snow white fur, cute wittle eyes, and that tiny nose! Oh so cute! I can't take it!
"I'm sorry, bud. I'm not gonna hurt ya. You're too cute to kill."
The little bunny didn't seem to be too afraid of me. It just looks up and does that little nose twitchy thing that rabbits do. As I stare at the adorable critter, I notice it's black eyes shift to red and it's gaze lock onto mine.
"You alright there, bud?"
No answer. It just rockets forward by kicking off the ground with incredible force. A huge cloud of dust erupts behind it as the rabbit moves towards me with high velocity.
That's when I feel it. My brand new package. It has been assaulted. The pain of the impact is rapidly crawling through the nerves in my whole body. I wanna puke! I wanna cry! I drop to my knees and press my forehead to the cool earth. And I cry.
...
And puke.