Chapter: 3

(Alita's POV) 

Alita dedicated an entire day to cleaning and preparing the hide until it was finally usable. However, it needed to dry and couldn't be fashioned into clothing for three days. Exhausted, she sighed as she sought refuge underneath her well-fortified tent. She found solace in the tranquility despite only being in this unfamiliar forest and inhabiting this unfamiliar body for two days. For the first time in what felt like ages, she didn't feel threatened, and she didn't feel compelled to act against her will. As she contemplated her situation, Alita couldn't help but wonder if she could ever grow accustomed to this newfound sense of peace and contentment. 

"Maybe not..." - Alita 

Alita said as she reflexively grabbed a venomous snake trying to attack her. She grabbed the snake's head and tore it off before tossing it into the fire. Only with a sigh did she fade back into the solace of sleep. 

Alita's experience with dreaming was truly fascinating. Lucid dreaming, a phenomenon where the dreamer is aware that they are dreaming, is considered quite rare among humans unless one trains themselves to achieve it. Despite this, every dream that Alita had was a lucid dream. These dreams felt incredibly vivid to her, often blurring the lines between the dream world and reality to the extent that she would sometimes feel phantom aches in her body upon waking or instinctively reach for a wound that she had vividly experienced in the dream, only to find it wasn't there. 

This tool proved invaluable in her arsenal of skills, allowing her to train and strategize even in the depths of slumber. Yet, this gift was not without its shadows. As a child, her dreams unfolded like chilling horror films, filled with grotesque, disfigured creatures and relentless demons that pursued her with an insatiable hunger. At times, she managed to elude their grasp, but more often than not, she found herself ensnared in their nightmarish clutches. These harrowing visions, while terrifying, cast the mundane reality in a softer light, making it seem far less daunting than it truly was. Consequently, she was forced to mature at an accelerated pace, shaped by the absurdly vivid nightmares that haunted her nights. 

Once again, she found herself in her dream's white void. She needed to devise a plan for sustainability since she couldn't simply encounter people in the middle of nowhere. She began creating efficient hunting and gathering routes with her perfect memory and exceptional perception. She also started planning for the future, considering establishing a farm and a cabin. She also noticed some rocks with iron deposits. Strangely, the iron deposit wasn't there when she had passed by before but had mysteriously appeared. The rock emitted a similar energy to the one she felt in her body before vanishing as if it had never been there. She would investigate that later, though. 

In a dreamlike scene, Alita addressed a mysterious shadowy figure resembling her in stature. The figure, devoid of any distinguishing features, appeared to be made entirely of shadows, with a swirling black mist flowing from its form. Alita asked, "Have you considered this?"

The shadow figure responded, "Based on our memories, it's not entirely bad, but it's small and lacking. This needs to be expanded upon. It won't take long for animals to avoid this route and a little longer for any edible plants to grow here."

A grey figure added, "I agree," while a white figure chimed in, "Same here."

Various figures, each in different shades of black and white, emerged, each processing its own thoughts and comments. By the time of this lucid dream, there were 11 distinct figures, including Alita herself. They formed a circle around a mound of shifting sand, with the shadowy constructs resembling the forest and its routes. The intricate detail and complexity of this mental creation were unprecedented. 

Upon awakening, Alita noticed the fading of the white void, a signal that it was time to return to consciousness. Lacking any friends, she took to creating her own—quite a few, in fact. However, this only served to exacerbate her already heightened level of insanity. The more distinct and individualized these figures became, the more her insanity seemed to escalate. While Alita was the main pilot of her body, she found that her creations could take control when she was asleep or unconscious.

In her previous world, Alita had experienced episodes where her mind was invaded or her body taken over, often by mages specializing in illusions and mind control. The figures acted as a safeguard against any intrusions into her mind and also had the ability to assume control of her body when she was unable to do so herself. 

"Alright, let's get to work" - Alita

____________________________

[2 Weeks later] 

____________________________ 

-Proficiency- 

Hunting - Level 5 -> 9: 46% 

Cooking - Level 1 -> 3: 74% 

Stealth - Level 3 -> 5: 32% 

Spearmanship - Level 1 -> 2: 4% 

Archery - Level 1 -> 4: 57% 

Insanity - Level 37 -> 44: 1%

Crafting - Level 2 -> 9: 7%

____________________________ 

Alita found herself seated on a log by her newly upgraded fire pit. These past two weeks had been a period of close examination of the changes occurring within her body and mind. With each level of progression, she found her understanding growing as small increments of information flowed into her consciousness.

Reflecting on her past experiences, Alita remembered that while she had used a bow in her previous world, it was infrequent, and without any formal training, her fighting skills had developed out of necessity during battles with her life on the line. As she advanced in archery, she noticed improvements in the basics, such as refining her stances, enhancing accuracy, and developing muscle memory for faster and more precise motions.

Her progress in stealth allowed her to become even more attuned to her surroundings, making it easier for her to conceal her presence and increase her awareness of the space around her. In cooking, she observed that each level brought her greater control over temperatures and precise timing when preparing food.

Moreover, as she delved further into the realm of insanity, she noticed that the shadowy figures started to exhibit subtle, almost imperceptible features. She also found herself hearing their whispers even when she was not dreaming, as they provided her with guidance and alerted her to potential dangers and changing details in her environment.

Alita's camp transformed from a small tent into a sophisticated shelter constructed from wood and stone. The interior was decorated with carefully placed refined tools and makeshift yet skillfully crafted wooden tables. Inside the shelter, she had fashioned a bed using leaves covered in hides to create a makeshift mattress. Following that, Alita fashioned a loincloth to cover her genitalia and a bra to conceal her breasts. 

Furthermore, she dedicated time to enhancing her weapons. She created a leg strap to hold a sharp stone dagger securely and honed her spear to allow it to penetrate even tougher hides. Not stopping there, she constructed a completely new, more potent bow, ensuring it was meticulously designed for improved performance. She crafted arrows with bone tips to achieve greater penetration and speed. Lastly, Alita's body started to develop muscle from the constant influx of food and physical activities. Her young body was already fit with muscle, but her muscles were now even more defined. 

Alita takes a piece of tender, tasty meat from the fire that doesn't taste like air before looking at the setting sun, completely unaware of the event that occurred the following day. 

Reference images for the Loincloth, bra, Appearance, and Physique will be located in the comments ->