Deniel

"Sister Rena, why did Sister Jenny name me, 'Deniel'? I always have to correct others and tell them that my name is not 'Denial', but 'Deniel'. Also, all the elder brothers make fun of me!" A chubby, eight year old boy complained to Sister Rena. He was fair and looked cute like a normal child. There was nothing remarkable about his looks.

Sister Rena was in her late forties. Her face had many wrinkles with a motherly affection on it. Like the other three Sisters in the orphanage, she also wore a white gown with a black veil on her head. She held some papers in her left hand and Deniel's hand in her right.

Currently, Deniel and Sister Rena were returning after talking to an old couple who came to the orphanage to adopt children. They were supposed to meet with three kids who fit their criteria but one of them got sick and couldn't meet the couple.

Deniel was one of the two kids that finally got to meet them. Although the couple wanted to adopt both of the kids, they could only afford one at the moment. Since the other boy was skinnier than Deniel, the middle class couple liked him better and ended up adopting him. They went home with the other guy and left Deniel back in the orphanage with Sister Rena.

It wasn't the first time Deniel was rejected like this but the third. Although for Deniel, it wasn't a big deal. He liked the orphanage better. Even more so when most of his friends were in the orphanage and the orphanage even provided better facilities than some of the families out there would!

While walking down the corridor, Sister Rena looked at Deniel, smiled and thought, 'He thinks that they are not adopting him just because of his name!'

After contemplating her words Sister Rena answered, "You see Deniel, your name means someone who puts their fate in the hands of God and let 'Him' guide them. Sister Jenny gave you a beautiful name but since she was not from here and had a different accent, your name has a different pronunciation. But you should not be disheartened Deniel, because a rose of a different color stands more beautifully in a garden full of red roses!

"Also, don't think that your name is the reason why they're denying to adopt you. Actually, the reason is that you don't want to leave the orphanage and your friends, isn't it? Or is it that you're still waiting for Sister Jenny to return? Tell me, do you still want to marry Sister Jenny?"

Sister Rena teased Deniel. When he was younger, Deniel would always tell everyone how he's going to save Sister Jenny from the monsters like a prince saves a princess and then marry her. But a few years back, she was moved into another church, leaving the prince behind to grow.

Deniel's cheeks turned red with shame. He wanted to forget his shameful past but in a small orphanage where making fun of others was a major source of entertainment, every person remembered all the shameful memories of each other.

He looked towards Sister Rena with his big clear eyes and answered in a low voice, "Why should I care about someone who doesn't even care to visit? Humph!"

"Now now, don't be so angry Deniel. We all know why she's so busy. Oh! Let's give her a call today as it has been a long time since the last time we talked to her. She might be free today."

"Really?" Deniel gave the most beautiful smile which could even soothe the heart of wandering spirits!

***

"Huff!"

I exclaimed as I opened my eyes. I looked around and found out that I was still somehow sitting on the tree branch. The pain has already vanished.

'Was that a dream? No, it was my memory from when I was in the orphanage! Those were really the golden days of my life! Sadly enough, I never got adopted by any of the families that came to the orphanage. There was always a better choice than me!'

Putting my thoughts aside, I moved my hands to the back and realized that the wound has finally stopped bleeding. A hard scab has already formed over the wound.

"So directly putting three stat points gave so much pain that I fainted!" I said to myself while wearing back my shirt.

After waking up, I was feeling energetic so I jumped from the branch and hopped around a bit to get used to my changed physique. I noticed that my bones and the pumping of my heart felt stronger now. I could also now pinpoint the exact location of my blood vessels and feel my bones!

'Have I grown taller?'

My shirt which was loose earlier, now seem to fit me. I couldn't tell exactly how much height I've gained but I was sure that I was atleast the average height in my age group. Without wasting any more time, I called out my status window.

[

HOST INFO:

Name: Alex (Deniel)

Age: 15

Gender: Male

Level: 1

Fate Points (FP): 00/100

STATS:

Health Points (HP): 110/110

Mind Power (MP): 0/0 [Locked]

Strength: 0(+11)

Defense: 0(+9)

Senses: 0(+9)

Health: 4(+7)

Mind: 0(0) [Locked]

Free Stat Points: 1

SKILLS:

(Unnamed category):

[Mining] Level 3:

You have grown proficient in handling mining tools. Your proper form and long practice makes you able to mine various minerals with ease. As the skill level grows, the ease of mining increases.

[Starlight Harvesting] Level 1:

You have trained under a master for how to extract Starlight Fruit seeds, plant and harvest them. Your methods are still crude but as the skill grows, you can effortlessly grow all the varieties of the Starlight Fruit.

INVENTORY: LEVEL 1

Space 1: (0.98m³/1m³)

• Slot 1 - □ (0.01m³)

• Slot 2 - □(0.01m³)

▪︎▪︎▪︎

Space 2: (0.20m³/0.25 m³)

• Slot 1 - □ (0.05m³)

]

Everything was the same as earlier but unlike previously, I had a total of 11 stat points in my Health stat. It was the same as that of my Strength stat.

'So my muscle tissue and my connective tissue are slightly better than a normal human. I still have one stat left. Should I spend it now or keep it for later?'

If this were a game, I would have saved the stat points for emergencies but adding the stat points brought some discomfort with it. This could prove dangerous in a battle.

After thinking for a bit, I added the remaining stat point into my Sense stat. Since it would upgrade my nerve tissue, I expected it to also upgrade my brain!

As soon as I put the point into Sense stat, my vision blurred, the voices around me became quieter and the intensity of everything I was feeling or thinking, decreased. It was like I was in a dream where I didn't know what was going on!

The sensation stayed only for a couple of minutes and everything came back to normal. I did feel that my eyesight, hearing and smell have slightly improved but it wasn't much noticeable.

Overall, all of my tissues were now around as strong as an average man. Since I was only 15 now, I must be stronger than my peers!

After checking my status window, I did some exercises and felt that it was now easier to do those workouts. After working out for a bit, I rested beside the tree and then I went back into the village through the broken fence I came out of.

***