Questing

Chapter 3: Questing

There were a few major revelations Steve figured out in his digging. The first one was simple and seemed to be nothing more than some quality of life from the system. It was the ability to somewhat customize his windows, deciding after what criteria Skills were sorted or what was shown on his Status for example. For now, he didn't really care about Skill sorting since he had so few of them, though he did add Skill Points and Gold to the bottom of his Status.

Now, the second thing he figured out was a whole different beast though. He could apparently gain Stats from physically or mentally training those Stats. The exact methods for each stat weren't spelled out, but he got somewhat of an idea of it. Raw muscle mass for Strength, general fitness for Vitality, stamina for Dexterity and simple speed or flexibility for Agility. Now, the mental Stats were harder to figure out. He thought it might be simple studying for Intelligence, thinking philosophically or somesuch for Wisdom and pushing himself forwards even when his Stamina ran out for Willpower. Meditating might also help with one or two of them, so he would try that out in a bit.

But there was still a problem with training. Physical training required movement and exercise. Those required Sp and that was something he didn't exactly have enough of right now, so physical training was off the table. As for mental training, he would have to wait and see. He didn't have any resources, so he couldn't exactly study from books, making meditation basically his only option.

Though, moving on with his findings for now, he also discovered that there was an inventory. It showed both armor and accessory slots on his body and even had an option to store items in it, though his excitement quickly ended when he saw his amount of slots. One. He had one singular inventory slot. Unlocking more came at a cost he could choose himself, be it Gold (1.000) or Skill points (100). It seems that his shop ability also had some influence over other menus. This made it somewhat useful, albeit still highly overpriced. Despite that it was his ability and he'd have to learn how to use it.

Now, that was the end of his findings after an hour or so of checking through menus and using <Appraisal> on practically everything. By now his Sp had also recovered a little more. With his stomach full he didn't exactly feel like hunting, so he had to figure out what to do with the remainder of his waking time. It really didn't take long to make that decision. Appraise the remainder of his skills, then try to improve intelligence, of course! <Appraisal>!

[<Quiet> (passive): A skill which reduces the noise the user makes. The higher its level the quieter the user.]

[<Dash> (active): A skill to explosively increase the user's speed. Consumes a percentile of total Sp rather than a set amount.]

Both of those were definitely very useful skills. With this it would be possible to hunt himself and escape from predators if necessary. Okay, that was good news for once. Now, onto the next step.

He had to rest for now to regain Hp, Sp and Mp, though as soon as his Mp were back he would spend them on further reinforcing his little log. So, what could he still do to hopefully increase his Stats? Meditate. He had no real resources here except for a little bit of space, so reading was out of the question and coming up with moral dilemmas to improve wisdom seemed a little stupid, so he settled on that. Unfortunately, he had never meditated before, so he would kinda have to figure everything out step by step.

So, first getting into a position suited for it. As a kitten he couldn't exactly sit with his legs crossed, so for now he'd have to make do with lying down as comfortably as he could. Then, regulating his breathing. Deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth. In and out. And then, he should try to feel the world around him more clearly…

[Absorbing mana from the surroundings.]

[Get 1 Exp]

A message quietly rang inside his head, though he could barely hear it right now. This sensation was too different from anything he had felt back in his own life. It was like a gentle wind on his skin, wrapping around him and slowly passing through his skin, into his body, before settling down, condensing and falling into a puddle there, adding another small droplet to it.

[Get 1 Exp]

Again, the notification rang, this one even quieter than the last. This sensation was incredible, far, far more incredible than any amount of physical strength could ever be. He could feel the mana around him, feel it wrapping him in a blanket that was cool and warm at the same time. He could feel how alive it was, how it brimmed with energy and how it got more stable and settled within his body, while still crackling with energy and ready to be used. Every hair on his skin stood up from that electrifying feeling and he opened up his eyes.

[Get 1 Exp]

[Max Mp has increased by 1.]

Woah. That was fucking awesome. Holy shit. Wow, just… wow. Damn. That feeling was more than any adrenaline rush he could have ever hoped to get from wielding a weapon and facing monsters. It was way more real than getting excited about a hard-earned win even. It was more exhilarating than a rollercoaster and more fulfilling than cake. Status?

Status:

|Unnamed|

Lv.: 2

Species: Common Mopaaw

Titles: <Tutorial Completer>

Hp: 9/13

Mp: 2/5

Sp: 14/17

Strength: 5

Vitality: 7

Dexterity: 8

Agility: 12

Intelligence: 4

Wisdom: 5

Willpower: 3

Luck: 8

Ability points: 0

Skill points: 0

Gold: 1

His Mp had really increased by one. This was yet another interesting feeling. He had never really tried out RPGs since the concept seemed a little weird to him, but seeing his Stats increase like that sure was pretty fucking cool. Now if only the system weren't so unfair. Oh well. According to the messages, he had also gained Exp from meditating, right? That was definitely useful. It wasn't exactly a lot of Exp, probably around one per minute, but it was Exp nonetheless. If he did this for a while longer, he might even be able to level-up before going to sleep. Okay, time to go on.

[Absorbing mana from the surroundings.]

[Get 1 Exp]

[Get 1 Exp]

[Get 2 Exp]

[Get 1 Exp]

[Max Mp has increased by 1.]

[Mp full. Unable to absorb more mana.]

[Acquired the Skill <Meditate lv.1> through a specific action.]

So he ended up with 6 Max Mp and a new skill. Compared to what he started with, that was an incredible gain, not even considering the Exp he got. Now, what about this new skill?

[<Meditate> (active/passive): This skill increases Mp regeneration rate. When used actively it increases regeneration rate further and gains more mastery.]

Mastery? A new term, then?

[Mastery: Gained when utilizing a certain Skill. It serves to increase that Skill's level.]

So skill Exp, essentially. Interesting. <Meditate> was definitely a useful skill, so he probably should try to level it up, though he would have to try that out later. Luckily, he already knew how he would spend his Mp. Time to carve another rune!

This time, Steve started scratching the wood on the opposite side of the previous rune, slowly and meticulously carving every line into it. He still decided to use a low rune as high ones simply had too high a risk of failure. With this one, there wasn't as much of a risk, maybe around 20% chance of failure, though that was only a guess. And sure enough, after a while he finished and the usual notification rang out.

[Successfully carved low 1st grade Reinforce rune. Get: 10 Exp.]

[Level Up!]

Huh? Another level-up? That was good damn news! Hell yeah! Status!

Status:

|Unnamed|

Lv.: 2 -> 3

Species: Common Mopaaw

Titles: <Tutorial Completer>

Hp: 13/13

Mp: 6/12

Sp: 20/20

Strength: 5

Vitality: 7

Dexterity: 8 -> 9

Agility: 12

Intelligence: 4 -> 6

Wisdom: 5 -> 6

Willpower: 3

Luck: 8

Ability points: 3

Skill points: 100

Gold: 1

And what a level-up it was. It may not have netted as good of an overall upgrade, but his intelligence increased twice just from the level itself. He still had his three Ability points and another 100 Skill points to spend. It also seemed like an increase in level would restore half his Stats, given that his Mp were exactly half full. Other than that, he was finally fully regenerated. This was finally an acceptable situation. As for now though, he decided to save his Ability and Skill points in case he desperately needed any one stat later and instead chose to use the combo of meditating and craving runes to reinforce his base. Now that he was seeing his Stats improve, he was slowly getting into it. This log would be the start of it all, the very beginning point of his empire!

And such, a small kitten meowed maniacally while scratching up the inside of an old, dead tree.

Truly menacing.

With the newfound combo of <Meditate> and <Runecarving> he was able to get three more runes done until his eyelids started getting heavy. It seemed that the Skill <Meditate> might regenerate Mp faster than doing it manually, in exchange it didn't expand his maximum though. This was a bit of a problem but quickly resolved in his head. For now he would use the skill to create a save place for him to rest as soon as possible, while once he had established that, he would manually expand his mana pool and use that mana for additional runes of other skills he had by then. Soon after completing the third rune, he laid down to meditate again, but when he was about to use the Skill his eyes fell shut and he drifted off into the land of dreams.

It was late in the day when he opened his eyes again, the sun already having covered about two thirds of the sky. Though he couldn't tell that from inside the log, of course. No, his attention was occupied by the message right in front of his face.

[Main Quest: "Survive the first day!" completed. You have received: 2 Ability points, 50 Skill points, 50 Exp.]

[Main Quest: "Conquer the forest!" added.

Reward: 10 Ability points, 300 Skill points, 500 Exp, 1000 Gold.]

[Sub Quest: "Reach Level 5!" added.

Reward: 100 Skill points, 100 Gold.]

He had apparently completed and gained new Quests. There were Quests. This added a whole new layer of complexity, really. By completing Quests he could earn extra points and Gold. Apparently the Main Quest even had smaller Quests aimed at achieving the final goal. Given that there was a Main Quest there must also be other Quests. would he receive those from humans? Or maybe out of nowhere? Even <Appraisal> told him nothing.

[Quests: These are tasks which will reward the individual after completion. Some can be refused while others have to be completed.]

That's all it said. They were tasks, what incredible information. It was almost as stupid as when he appraised stuff like his runes or some trees. It had the absolutely amazing capability of spitting out information like.

[Tree: a Tree.]

or

[Rune: A reinforce rune.]

Truly incredible. Appraising was basically useless when it came to matters outside of the interface and now there was stuff that it explained unreliably even within the interface. He sighed. While that was unfortunate, he couldn't exactly change it. In addition to that, his stomach growled. Well, he couldn't exactly eat the log, so it was practically time to step outside.

The afternoon sunlight felt quite nice on Steve's fur, actually. For a moment, he closed his eyes and stretched to his fullest ability, before opening them and gazing into the forest. Something about it was a little different today. It seemed just a bit more… vibrant. The grass looked a little brighter and the air was filled with the buzzing of insects. Even now, he could see a butterfly sitting on a tree only a few steps away from him. When he looked around on the floor, he could see an ant colony not too far from here, carrying some leaves and needles from the trees. Then, looking a little further, he could even see a deer, though that might not be something he'd wanna hunt. No, he needed prey that was actually possible for him to catch, so mice, in the best case, though he would also take moles or something.

It took only a bit of time until he found a mouse scurrying along the forest floor and even less time to jump on it using <Dash> after he had found it.

[Killed a mouse. Get: 5 Exp, 1 Gold.]

It was still a little annoying to avoid the fur while eating, but at the very least he was somewhat full after the meal. Then, he thought about it for a second and decided to hunt a second mouse. He could take it over to the log and have food for a little later, this would allow him to focus on carving runes for the day. He had already carved a full ring all around the middle of the log, but he was planning to completely fill the inside with runes. Never could be too sure, after all.

And just like that, Steve decided to dedicate yet another bit of time to searching and hunting a mouse, though this one took a lot longer than expected. Luck wasn't exactly on his side and it took him multiple attempts to finally catch one of the beasts. Then, as usual, he killed it on the spot.

[Killed a mouse. Get: 5 Exp, 1 Gold.]

[Level up!]

What? A level-up? He must have been pretty close with the experience from the quest, huh. This was perfect for him though. Absolutely perfect.

Status:

|Unnamed|

Lv.: 3 -> 4

Species: Common Mopaaw

Titles: <Tutorial Completer>

Hp: 13/13

Mp: 15/15

Sp: 16/25

Strength: 5 -> 6

Vitality: 7

Dexterity: 9 -> 10

Agility: 12 -> 14

Intelligence: 6 -> 7

Wisdom: 6

Willpower: 3

Luck: 8

Ability points: 8

Skill points: 250

Gold: 3

This was quite a good level too. His Intelligence only got a small upgrade, but his physical Stats increased quite a bit. This would make hunting Mice fairly easy for the future, though there was also bad news. He just passed the threshold of a new level with 5 Exp, so the maximum progress towards another level-up was 4. This would possibly take quite a while then. While this was unfortunate, it was no insurmountable hurdle. He would simply work towards raising his Stats in the meantime then.

After having decided on that, he put the mouse in his single inventory slot and decided to go back to the small pond he had found. Since the bear drank from it he should be okay doing so as well. He was basically halfway there already anyways. Luckily for him the bear wasn't around this time, nor were any other big animals, so he quickly ran to the lake, drank until he was no longer thirsty and then headed back to the log.

It was the first time since reincarnating that he was actually looking forward to something. Without him even realizing it, carving runes had legitimately become kinda fun. He enjoyed knowing that he had created something solid and tangible, that he had improved on something else. It was just enjoyable to make a bit of an impact on the world, for him at the very least. So, when he arrived at home, he got to it again and carved two beginner runes. It was actually the first time he failed at one of them, marking 7 successes and 1 failure.Oh well, it wasn't too bad, it wasn't like it would kill him to retry the rune, though unfortunately he only got half the Exp from it. Whatever, just meditate for now.

[<Meditate lv.1> has levelled up!]

At some point, when he was already almost done, his mana gathering speed seemed to increase just a little. He understood it once he opened his eyes again after refilling his Mp. It didn't have a huge effect, but <Meditate> levelling up didn't exactly have downsides to it. It would simply increase his mana regeneration speed, both passive and active, probably, which was just what he needed anyways, so it was fine by him.

After meditating he carved two more runes, both successful, when another notification appeared.

[Successfully carved low 1st grade reinforce rune. Get: 10 Exp]

[<Beginner Runecarving lv.1> has levelled up!]

Hey, fuck yeah! Increasing the success rate of his runes was one of his top priorities, so this was quite perfect for him, having a safe home was the most basic basis for survival after all. With his Mp depleted, Steve went right back to meditating, filling them up just a little quicker than before. And at the end of the night, by repeating the process, he had drawn six more runes onto his walls. By now, they should be quite sturdy, huh. Well, he'd see when it rains anyways. For now, he thought he could simply call it a night when something dropped down outside his small home and a Quest popped up.

[Random Quest: "Kill the giant spider!" added. Reward: 20 Exp, 50 Gold. Accept?]

So this was a Quest he could actually deny, which was both interesting and new. Though, in this case, the choice was more of an illusion. If he denied, he'd have to give up his log to this eight-legged asshole and he really didn't wanna do that. He had also seen those videos of huntsman spiders taking down fairly large animals though, so he knew he had to be quiet. He also really needed an offensive ability of some kind. Also, accept the bloody Quest already! Jeez. Okay, deep breaths now Steve. We're gonna have other people do this in the future, so bear with it for now!

While Steve was busy calming down and decreasing his heart rate, the spider started moving its hairy legs around just in front of the log's opening. It hadn't noticed Steve yet and if everything went his way, there was still some time until it would. Now, his thought process was fairly simple. A spider has eight eyes in the front and eight legs. It also had its webbing. But none of that could really reach him on its back, right? So all he needed to do was drop on the spider from above and kill the shit out of it. He only had two problems now. 1. How would he get on top of it and 2. his fear of spiders. Now, while he was afraid, he wasn't as afraid of this spider as of others. The small ones were a lot more terrifying, because they could just disappear and you would have absolutely no idea where they would disappear to. That was scary. This big one was just disgusting.

Anyways, after a short inner monologue on spiders, Steve exited the log on the other end, walking backwards without making even the slightest sound, then he jumped on top of the log, since even the lowest tree branches were absolutely impossible for him to reach. After some sneaking, and making sure that mister I-have-twice-your-legs was looking the other way, he pounced. Using <Dash> he jumped, landed on the back of the spider and dug his claws deep into it. He got two good slashes in before the spider shook itself, dragging his claws over its back but shaking him off.

Steve landet on the forest floor with an audible thud, but quickly regained his posture even though his ribs were less than excited about having just hit the floor. When all eight of the spider's eyes then fixed on him, he knew he stood no chance in a simple strength based matchup, so instead, he took the path meant for people like him: He ran away. He turned around and dashed away at full speed before the spider could even think about using its string on him. He might not be stronger but he was definitely faster, and with it being injured, it might bleed out after a while.

Now, Steve may have been an idiot, but he wasn't stupid. After running away he sneaked closer again to check the spider's location. And sure enough, it hadn't moved too far. It was a little further up the hill, at a spot with very few trees around so it couldn't be ambushed. For now it had to heal, so being stabbed in the back would prove problematic. Steve on the other hand was thinking. He had to avoid the spider's silk and fangs at any cost. If he got tied down or bitten, he'd die, which would not be very cool at all. Having said that, what were his weapons? With his paws he couldn't throw anything at it so his only option was close combat. If he approached it from the side, it would simply turn, if he came from behind, he had to deal with the webbing but would be hidden, from the front he would have to deal with its fangs. So his only options were above and behind, both of which were limited.

Currently, he was standing slightly below and to the right of the spider, looking at it from the mountaintop, so he would have to circle around it before being able to attack. So he did. Steve always stuck to trees to protect him from the spider's view, even if it turned and otherwise used the undergrowth for cover, checking every so often to make sure it was still there. And after a while, he actually was perfectly behind the thing. So he snuck closer to it, carefully raking each step to make sure he was silent.

[Acquired the Skill <Sneak lv.1> through a specific action.]

Immediately upon gaining the skill Steve used it and his steps became a little quieter yet. He'd check out the conditions later using appraisal. Bit by bit he got closer to the spider until he was finally within range. Then he lunged onto it, a little further forward this time and dug his claws into its head. When the spider let out what sounded like a screech he had already raised his paw for his first strike and quickly clawed over half of the spider's eyes. While it was still writhing in pain, Steve raised his hand up again and swung at the other half, clawing it equally. Luckily for him, while the spider was now quickly scurrying along the forest floor, it wasn't shaking him off. This was exactly the opportunity he had been looking for. He started clawing at the spider's eyes again until they were thoroughly destroyed, which is when he moved onto its head and cut it up. He simply kept hitting and scratching it, over and over, until he heard the usual message.

[Killed a giant spider. Get: 100 Exp, 50 Gold, spider's venom (consumable).]

[Random Quest "Kill the giant spider." completed! You have received: 20 Exp, 50 Gold.]

[Level Up!]

While still breathing heavily, Steve received the level-up message and immediately felt much more refreshed than before.

[Sub Quest "Reach Level 5!" completed. You have received: 100 Skill points, 100 Gold.]

[Sub Quest "Establish a small territory!" added. Reward: 100 Exp, 50 Gold.]

Finally, some good news! Time to get back home and check out the rewards, then. Though it was unfortunate that his inventory was filled, this way he had to drag the small vial of venom there manually, but whatever. It was about sunrise when he finally arrived back at his base. The next Quest was to then establish his territory, so he would probably have to hunt some animals around his log to make sure everyone knew it was really his. Probably. Maybe he also just had to make some markings, he could figure it out in a bit. And when he got back home after a bit of a walk, his eyes immediately fell shut.