Chapter 17 First Steps

Author Note : 

I am back, everyone !!!

First, I would like to apologize for the long silence.

I, unfortunately, lost two members of my family in quick succession, and it was pretty hard for me to recover from that. At the time, I lost all drive to create anything and barely had enough energy to even go to work.

I am better now and will restart posting chapters starting today.

Naoto

I woke up so early the next day that everyone was still asleep. Since I fell asleep without realizing it, I still wore my robes from the ceremony. After all this time, It was starting to stink.

After showering and dressing, I sat behind my desk and opened my notebook.

I began to write my plans for the immediate future:

First, I needed to improve my stats. For that, I planned to join the same Dojo that Maria had already joined. There, I could get in better shape and gain more physical stats.

That covered VIT, STR, CON, and AGI. Those stats were low, so it would take a long time to have them reach 20. When I asked Emily, she said: 

[You are still 10 years old, and since you don't have any race, bloodline, or title advantage, your stats are already pretty good. Getting those stats to 10 should take a few months, but reaching 20 will take years without help.]

"I didn't think It would take that long."

[Well, it's not an RPG. You cannot gain stats by killing monsters. But you still have the system to help you. There are potions and pills in the system shop that can assist you speed up the process.]

The second thing I needed to do was to learn how to draw. It was essential to my goal of spreading the culture and entertainment I was so fond of. I didn't understand why that dream and the one concerning video games were separated since they seemed to overlap.

[According to the system log, the first originates from all the fantasies and stories you imagined on Earth, and the second arises from your love for video games. As long as your dreams have different reasons behind them, they will generate different missions.]

"Ok, that's a little weird, but I won't complain. More missions mean more rewards, haha."

Learning how to draw will be an effective way to increase my DEX. To achieve that, I needed to learn to draw the old-fashioned way. It meant I had to use pencils, ink, and paint, but I only required pencils and paper to start. Since it was cheap, I could afford it with my regular allowance.

On the other hand, I wanted a good computer to learn how to code. I didn't need one to start because I could use the old, laggy laptop that my mom gave me, but I wanted to get a top-spec one that ran more smoothly.

[Nerd..]

"And proud of it. Seriously though, Learning programming should be a good way to increase my INT. It's already reached the requirement for the mission, but getting more can't hurt, I guess."

[That's a pretty good plan. You have almost everything covered.]

"Yes, that just leaves CHA. How can I even gain Charisma naturally ?"

[CHA is a weird stat. It's not really possible to train it. Generally, you gain some each time you have a breakthrough in your Aura or Mana realm. Breaking through purifies your body and soul and helps you eliminate any defect you have. But you have options: First, you can buy supplements from the system shop. You can also use your free stat points or wait to get older. Since you received Lady Venus' blessing, it should significantly boost your CHA.]

"I don't even know when that blessing will activate, and I don't want to wait years. I plan to use my coins to help me train, so I will take option B."

I immediately opened my status screen and added the free points I received the day before to my Charisma.

As soon as I added those stat points, I felt a tingling sensation through my body. It was painful but a little uncomfortable—like having ants crawling under my skin. Suddenly, I heard my bones crack. That sound scared me a little.

[Don't worry. Everything is ok. Your body is adjusting to your new stats.]

After a few minutes, the sensation disappeared. I immediately rushed to my mirror to check the changes.

The first thing I noticed was that I had gained a few centimeters. I was now around 150 cm in height, pretty tall for a 10-year-old girl. I also noticed that my body had a few curves. My waist was a little thinner than before, my hips a little wider, and my chest now had little mounds. It was nothing exaggerated, but I now looked more like a young adolescent than a child.

My face changed as well. The last traces of baby fat disappeared from it. With my pale skin, it made me look like a doll. It also made my eyes look less round. 

I was pretty satisfied with my changes, but my sudden growth made most of my clothes too small.

I wore my sports outfit. It was stretchy enough for me to wear comfortably.

I was pretty nervous about my family's reaction, but it seemed it was for nothing.

Only my father was surprised because his knowledge about blessings and cultivation was limited, but my mother explained that it was fairly common to experience a physical transformation after being blessed. Mine was not that severe, according to my mother. Some people grew new limbs or organs like horns or tails depending on the gods who blessed them.

The four goddesses who blessed me were human in form, so I didn't change too much. My mom thought that my transformation resulted from my blessing from Lady Venus. Only I knew that my changes were due to the system.

After breakfast, I went shopping with my mother, Charlotte, and Maria. We bought plenty of clothes. Since my transformation made my chest develop a little, I had to purchase my first set of bras. There was a pretty awkward moment when my mother realized I already knew how to wear one. I managed to evade suspicion by using the ultimate trump card.

"I saw a video on the internet," I said to my mother while blushing a little.

It was normal for a girl my age to be interested in fashion, so my mother didn't find it weird but seemed disappointed. It seemed she was looking forward to some mother-daughter bonding time.

After shopping for clothes, we went to the electronics store. My mother agreed to buy me a computer as my Ceremony Gift.

Once inside, my nerdism went into overdrive. I had already checked, and as far as computers were concerned, the technology was almost identical to Earth's, so I already knew what I wanted. I went directly to a shop attendant and started to pester him. 

"Hello, I want to buy a custom PC."

"Hello, young lady. We have pretty good gamer laptops in stock…"

"No thanks. I don't want a laptop; I want a desktop computer with these specs."

I gave him a piece of paper. As soon as he read it, His eyes went wide.

All the best components were listed, including a dual CPU and GPU for redundancy and performance, three monitors, a height-adjustable desk, an ergonomic chair, and all basic peripherals.

The shop attendant was ecstatic. The bill for that single order was equal to three months of his salary, and he would get a massive commission for that sale.

The whole discussion lasted more than 30 minutes, so Maria and my sister began to feel bored, so I decided to stop there.

My mother frowned a little when she saw the bill. She was suspicious that the vendor scammed me, but I reassured her. After paying, we went back home.

Once back, my mother asked the maids to clean and prepare the unused study next to my room since I didn't have enough room in my bedroom. The shopkeeper told us that what we ordered would arrive a month later.

I still had two months until the start of the school year, so I planned to start training in the meantime.

Every morning after breakfast, I went to the home gym my mom installed to train at home. I did the caped baldy training regimen for beginners: 20 situps, 20 pushups, 20 squats, and 2 km of running on the treadmill. I also wanted to train with weights, but my mother forbade it until I started cultivating.

After Lunch, I took a one-hour nap before studying for one hour. Even if I had all the memories of my learning, I realized that most of my knowledge was pretty blurry. It seemed that I didn't like to study before regaining my memories.

After a 30-minute break, I practiced drawing. I used online tutorials to learn about sketching, proportions, and perspective. It was hard, but I quite liked it.

I spent my evenings playing with Charlotte or chatting with Maria.

After two weeks of that schedule, I saw the first results. I gained a few stats points and a bit of proficiency in drawing. 

Name: Alice Wright

Race: Human (no bonus)

Bloodline: none (sealed)

Aura level: Mortal (not awakened)

Mana level: Mortal (not awakened)

Title: None

Stats

HP: 40/40

MP: 0/0

AP: 0/0

VIT: 10

STR: 5(+1)

CON: 6(+2)

AGI: 7

DEX: 13

INT: 21

CHA: 20(+5) 

Skills:

Novice Drawing Skill (proficiency 14%) 

Free stats points : 0(-5) 

Shop coins: 50 >

Two days later came the day I had been waiting for—the day of my entrance test for the Dojo.