An encounter and stats

Chapter 5: An encounter and stats

When he woke up, Steve was in a warm and dry place, wrapped in something soft. For a few seconds then he considered going back to sleep, until his memories came flooding back. The feeling of being chased and having passed out on the forest floor. Of the cold slowly creeping in. Of the wet dirt below him and the pain all over his body.

His eyes shot open then. He was inside for sure since there was a wooden roof and walls around him. He was also neatly tucked into a blanket on a small basket. Slowly while looking around he could feel his body again, his legs and back covered in dull, throbbing pain. In addition they were covered in… bandages? Status?

Status:

|Unnamed|

Lv.: 5

Species: Common Mopaaw 

Titles: <Tutorial Completer>

Hp: 8/17

Mp: 15/15

Sp: 20/20

Strength: 8

Vitality: 8

Dexterity: 10

Agility: 24

Intelligence: 7

Wisdom: 6

Willpower: 5

Luck: 8

Ability points: 1

Skill points: 150

Gold: 204

His Hp seemed to have regenerated a little, which was good. Then, what was that? H-huh? His maximum Sp was reduced? What was that bullshit? Fuck that! Well, at the very least they were full, he could check why they were reduced when he had made sure of his situation. Steve then stirred in bed, trying to see what kind of room he was in. A wooden cottage it seems. The space itself wasn't that small, maybe about 25 square meters or so. He seemed to be in a basket on a table. There were also a total of two beds on the left wall from his view and an oven on the right. One of those old, stone ones with a fireplace inside and a sheet of metal on top to cook food on. There were also some chairs around the table, a few cupboards next to the bed and oven for storage as well as some sort of trapdoor in the floor.

The short version would have been to say it was cozy. The windows let in streaks of midday sunlight, dust dancing in the rays. Steve stretched for a bit, ignoring the slight tugging of pain he felt in his legs. After that, he felt a little more refreshed as he finished wriggling his way out of the blankets and took two small hops onto a chair and then the floor. Now, Steve wasn't stupid enough to think that this environmemt was dangerous, but at the same time, he didn't want to be at the mercy of anyone else and he really, especially didn't want to be treated like a house cat. Even just thinking about being called "Sir Flufferbutts" sent shivers down his spine. So, he started concocting an escape plan, when the door flew open and a grumpy looking middle aged man stomped in.

His hair was brown but had started to gray, his beard was gruffy and fairly unkempt. He was also wearing a green vest over a brown shirt along with pants and boots of the same colour. When he saw the cat on the floor his frown deepened and he shook his head as he bowed down to grab it while murmuring to himself in a language Steve couldn't understand. He didn't really care though, for now there was something far more pressing than listening to some grumpy dude looking like he came from a medieval ranger convention. He used <Dash> without even a moment's hesitation and blitzed out through the door before the old man had a chance to blink. 

Steve didn't stop to admire the woodworking on the porch. He gave his surroundings a quick lookover, checking where he was and found himself square in the middle of the forest. For him, this was actually a godsend. He knew that he was only asleep for half a day or so from his Hp, so he also knew that he couldn't have been carried too far, which meant he was still on the same mountain. This, in turn, meant that he could find a way back to his log if he searched near the top of the forest, making his plan surprisingly simple: up the mountain until he found grassland, then back down to around the height his log was in. Then, travelling to the left and/or right for a few hours at a fairly quick pace. He had a 50/50 shot to find his log again that was and if he didn't it was sure to be in the other direction.

A flawless plan befitting of a true mastermind like him. 

Steve did start to slow down after a while, turning his full sprint into a jog when he was further away from the cottage. It was for two simple reasons, to conserve his Sp and not reopen his wounds. He wasn't too keen on impeding the healing process, though he had probably already done so. Oh well, what can you do. His dignity was worth a little bit of pain. Seriously, even a chance of being named something stupid had to be fully avoided. Then again, he didn't even know the language the man spoke. Maybe there was a skill for that? He would have to take a look at that in the Skill shop as well. What a pain.

Fortunately, Steve didn't run into any trouble on his way back. In addition to that, he also picked the right direction to get to his log on the first try. Combining those two factors, he finished his trip at dusk, when the familiar sight of his log finally came into sight. He let out a sigh of relief right on the spot before immediately reoccupying his home and lying down in between the familiar jagged lines on the wall. 

Right, this was his home now. It would probably be smart to mark the area around it so he would know if he was in the vicinity. Well, that could wait until tomorrow. While he wasn't short on breath he also didn't feel like doing labour, so instead he carved runes again. The combo of doing that and meditating had become more relaxing than most other things by now. But then, when he was just about to start carving, his stomach loudly announced itself. Right, he was just about to go hunting when someone decided they needed to be rescued. Steve sighed again. Hunting at dusk wasn't gonna be nearly as easy as it was at night. The visibility was better after all. Damn. Though he did have <Throw> to make it at least a little easier. Oh who was he kidding, when it came to taking down mice that ability was absolutely busted. That way, three mice were soon eaten at the beginning of the night. 

Then, when he returned to his log, he started his carving. After two runes he meditated for a while, two more runes, meditating and after another low 1st grade reinforce rune he saw a pop-up.

[Level Up!]

So it happened. His level had increased once more. This one had taken a little longer than his last few level-ups, so it had better be worth it. Time to check on the fruits of his labour.

Status:

|Unnamed|

Lv.: 5 -> 6

Species: Common Mopaaw 

Titles: <Tutorial Completer>

Hp: 9/17

Mp: 19/19

Sp: 28/28

Strength: 8

Vitality: 8

Dexterity: 10 -> 12

Agility: 24 -> 25

Intelligence: 7 -> 8

Wisdom: 6

Willpower: 5 -> 6

Luck: 8

Ability points: 4

Skill points: 250

Gold: 207

Damn, his Sp value had really risen by quite a bit now. Well, he was curious if his maximum was still reduced like it was previously, though there was nothing he could do about that yet. He'd see how his stats develop with time. For now he should just be happy about having reached an acceptable level of Sp, since he could now probably focus on Mp instead. The ability to carve more than two runes at a time shouldn't be too far off, especially with his Intelligence steadily increasing. 

So, Steve kept carving runes until the world brightened again, and in those hours before Sunset, his eyes finally fell shut. After the final two of the six runes he had carved he didn't even meditate anymore and instead just shut his eyes and drifted off into sleep. The next day he'd go about marking the surroundings for sure.

When Steve woke back up his wounds already felt better. The pain had faded even further away, so he heartily stretched before looking outside. Dusk hadn't fully settled in quite yet, it looked more like it was late in the afternoon than the evening. Before heading out to hunt and shit he checked up on his Status again, just to see how his Hp was doing.

Hp: 12/17

Sp: 30/30

Turns out his maximum Sp had increased as well. That quickly led to Steve figuring out that his Sp had reduced because he was wounded. Before, he had only injured his back and body, his legs had never really been hurt before. It was only sensible that injuries prevented him from acting at full capability would reduce his stats. Seems like this system was actually somewhat realistic, the bullshit parts aside, that is. After stretching for another second, Steve headed out to mark the trees.

For now he didn't stray too far from his base. He couldn't just mark the trees with his claws as those marks would have been hard to discern, so instead he used runes on them, scratching their jagged lines into the tree bark. This way he could only mark two trees before meditating though and he still preferred to do so inside his log shelter as it was by far the safest place for him as of then. After regenerating he went back out and marked two more trees. When he was done he had marked a space of around 20 by 20 meters. It wasn't huge at all but it would still make finding home quite a bit easier if he ever got lost. It even took him the entire night to do so, given that he had carved 16 runes by the end of it and also hunted down three mice as food for the day. By now he was able to carve the low 1st grade reinforce runes a lot quicker than before. He might even be able to get the mid-level ones down with an okay chance, but he wanted to wait for at least one more level to do so. Yeah, one more level was all he needed. 

By the end of the night he returned to his log again, only to find someone sitting on it. Steve immediately had alarms going off in his head. It was a human for sure, but not the grumpy old man from the cottage. This one had long, slick, brown hair flowing down her back. Her face had far fewer folds and her blue eyes were far less piercing than his. With her having the same hair colour as he was struggling to maintain and being dressed in the same clothes as the old man, he could easily tell that they were somehow related, though the girl seemed a lot younger. Maybe a daughter or something.

Steve didn't approach for a few minutes and hid behind a tree, barely glancing out from behind it to check if she did anything. The girl didn't move from her spot. All she did was occasionally lift her head up to scan the surroundings, which is when he would withdraw his head, before letting her eyes droop to the floor again. She was waiting for someone, definitely. Had he unknowingly made her rendezvous spot his home? Ah, damn it. If he was already getting closer to her - which he had to, he was not giving up his log - he wanted to understand her at the very least. Luckily for him, <Language Comprehension lv.1> was only 50 Skill points and thus added to his arsenal. He felt knowledge quickly filling his head, though it wasn't as much as he would have liked. He knew quite a few words, but not nearly enough to understand a full sentence. Well, maybe he would be able to understand some of what she would say at least. If he even learned the right language…

He would have to try to find out. Before walking up to her, Steve also prepared the rock from his inventory. He had stopped walking around without it as it proved an invaluable hunting tool, capable of taking out a mouse in a single hit. He was ready to grab the rock and full force yeet it into her face at any point. 

While approaching, Steve quietly hissed at the girl and bared his fangs. He really didn't want her there. As soon as she heard him she jumped up though, which bettered his mood a little. That's right, his home wasn't a damn chair. He hoped she would keep that in mind. This small gesture caused him to stop hissing at the very least, though he kept himself close to the ground and ready to jump at her any second, even when she fully fixed her eyes on him and her expression softened. 

There was a moment of silence between the two then, as the woman seemed to be contemplating something. She must have noticed it was him by the bandages that were still wrapped around his limbs and chest since he saw no reason to remove them. Then, after a second the woman bowed deeply, gathering her hands in front of her chest as her hair surged forward and very nearly touched the ground. At the same time she hurriedly blurted out a sentence, of which Steve caught three words: "Thanks - something - save - something - bear." 

Okay, yeah, he didn't think the old man would have been chased by a bear. He looked far too professional. It did make more sense for this girl of… what, maybe 20 years, to be careless. 

"Meow," Steve answered. It came out as the high pitched meow of a tiny kitten, too. Great. He sounded really damn pathetic there. 10/10 job steve. He actually tried to tell her to be more careful, but attempting to speak hadn't been his most… thought out choice yet. No one's perfect anyways, but the girl shrugged it off with a smile as she straightened her back and nodded quickly. Was she saying she understood him? No way, no way, no fucking way! She then took a single step towards him.

Now, Steve usually wasn't the type to push others away from himself. Most of the time he didn't exactly care, but this time he was also a cat so the situation was a little different. He was scared of a few options that existed. She could capture him with a net or cage of some sort. She could pick him up and hold him with her hands to take him back home. She could even try to tame him or something the like. This was a risk he was unwilling to take, he deeply cared for his freedom and independence after all, so with her step forward he also moved one step back. Well, one human step was about three steps for him though. 

In that moment, the face of the woman froze up and her smile faded a little. She didn't seem to be angry or anything, instead the corners of her mouth simply drooped down. She was sad about something, apparently, but after a moment she shook her head and her smile was back. Then, she placed something on the ground and stepped back from it, about as far back as the distance he had maintained to her before. He wasn't stupid and was willing to humor her for a little bit, as he was confident in outrunning her at the very least. So, he checked up on the mystery object.

Turns out it was meat. A small package of meat, actually, as he could see after pushing the leaf packaging aside. For a moment he shot the girl a glance but she didn't seem to be moving from her spot. Was this her attempt at taming him? She might have rescued him that day, but he was still opposed to being someone's cat with his whole being. He was reincarnated as a cat, yes, but he wasn't a domesticated cat, or at the very least he didn't want to be. If he was a domesticated one wouldn't he get poisoned from raw meat anyways? No, he was determined to stay feral, so he took a step back from the package and slowly shook his head.

This made the girl's expression drop again. He couldn't really help it though, the risk was simply not worth it. If it was just meat he could get it from mice for now. Later on he might even try to hunt down a rabbit or something. It wasn't worth it to eat whatever she presented to him, as good as the smell may be. If she wanted to thank him he wanted there to be no strings attached. For another moment the girl hesitated, then she nodded and made her way over to the package step by step, allowing Steve to move backwards as well. She got the distance part at the very least.

When she was back at the package she picked it up and pocketed it again. Then, she thought for a moment and sat down on the log again, which was followed by an immediate hiss from Steve as he placed his hands on the rock in his inventory. He was not about to let this girl disrespect his house. Not fucking cool. As she should, the girl quickly got up and bowed again, offering him another apology. She seemed to understand that he wasn't a normal, stupid cat at least. Well, if she sat down on the log once more he would still throw a rock at her face though, no doubt about it.

The girl on the other hand seemed understanding and continued to think on her legs. She wanted to somehow offer a reward to Steve. Then, she seemed to have an idea. She quickly tapped the air a few times when a notification popped up in front of Steve's face.

[Cherry Silvers has offered to trade. Accept?]

He did. It was a trade, after all, so it shouldn't cause him too much of a headache. Soon after, another window popped up, showing him what he could trade and Steve's face got a little more white. He could trade items from his inventory of course, but when he took a closer look he could also offer up Skill- or Ability points. After just a few seconds, the girl has confirmed her side of the trade and the other side of the negotiation window displayed what she was offering in large letters. [3 Ability points, 100 Skill points] it said. This girl was seriously offering a full set of level-up rewards to him. Well, from her perspective he did save her life.

But Steve wasn't a scumbag. He had the option to confirm his side to finalize the deal after giving both of them another confirmation prompt, or to outright decline her deal. He chose the second. This was way too much. Way, way too much. He would feel like a scammer that way and Steve disliked scammers about as much as stupid names. Now that he thought about it the girl did have a pretty cool name by the way.

That same girl, Cherry Silvers, was now furrowing her brows and actually upping her offer. What? Was she stupid? 5 Ability points and 200 Skill points? Seriously? No way. Nah, not a chance. Steve declined again then and walked to the side of his log, a few steps closer to her. He started scratching something into it then. It was a single line. The girl was watching him with attentive eyes as he went about his work, staring at the line to figure out its meaning. One line. One. He didn't want more Ability points, he wanted fewer. The girl smirked then and sighed as she changed her offer once more. [1 Ability point, 50 Skill points]. Well, she wasn't giving up on the Skill points, but at the very least she got his message. She wasn't stupid then. In the same breath Steve nodded and confirmed the offer before the two of them finalized the trade. The girl then had a happy smile on her face, though it was different from when they first met.

Her eyes were a little different. The blue hadn't gotten harsher or softer, but the look she gave him changed. It went from looking at a cute pet to being impressed with him. She wasn't looking at him with those pet-owner eyes that looked that seemed to degrade him to being a house cat anymore. If this was the case then he might be able to trust her not to try and tame him in the future.

And seeing the bright smile of the girl as she bowed down and said her thanks once more before running off, it seemed he might have made a friend.

With another nod at confirming his rewards he headed back inside his home, before walking in a small circle once and lying down. Just when he had closed his eyes he was assaulted by multiple notification sounds. Steve only forced his eyes back open with a deep sigh.

[Sub Quest: "Establish a small territory!" completed. You have received: 100 Exp, 50 Gold.]

[Level Up!]

[Sub Quest: "Defeat the great Stag!" added. Reward: 2 Ability points, 100 Skill points, 250 Exp.]

[Sub Quest: "Defeat the Mother of spiders!" added. Reward: 2 Ability points, 100 Skill points, 250 Exp.]

[Sub Quest: "Defeat the royal Wolf!" added. Reward: 2 Ability points, 100 Skill points, 250 Exp.]

[Sub Quest: "Defeat the black Bear!" added. Reward: 2 Ability points, 100 Skill points, 250 Exp.]

[Sub Quest: "Defeat the Forest Lord and take over!" added. Reward: 5 Ability points, 200 Skill points, 500 Exp, 1000 Gold.]

Oh shit. Those were some important notifications, damn. Those markings counted as creating a territory then? And those next few quests… wouldn't they signify the start of his reign over the forest? Shit. This was a bit sudden, wasn't it? Not to get anything wrong, he wanted to be king, but this was moving a little quick. Also, what the fuck was that supposed to mean, the black Bear and the Forest Lord? Huh? There were multiple things like that bear walking around? And there was something even stronger too? He had just reached level 7, what the fuck was this even supposed to mean? Well, he would get benefits in between fights, but there was no guarantee he wouldn't have to fight multiple opponents at once. The only one that seemed even remotely possible was the great Stag. Maybe he stood a miniscule chance when going up against that thing. The bear could tear him apart in one swipe, the wolf was probably a pack leader and the spider was called Mother, so she must have an army. There was, quite simply, not even a hint of a way for him to combat them. Nothing, he was out of ideas. He didn't even know where they were. Ugh, if only he had a map.

Well, time to at least check his level before going to sleep. Status.

Status:

|Unnamed|

Lv.: 6 -> 7

Species: Common Mopaaw 

Titles: <Tutorial Completer>

Hp: 13/17

Mp: 32/32

Sp: 32/32

Strength: 8

Vitality: 8

Dexterity: 12

Agility: 25

Intelligence: 8 -> 11

Wisdom: 6 -> 8

Willpower: 6

Luck: 8

Ability points: 8

Skill points: 350

Gold: 260

WHAT?! What had just happened to his mana? His points had been allocated how exactly? How did that make any sense? What was this BS again? He couldn't even use his runes offensively and he was unable to use a single offensive Spell. It was completely stupid for him to be receiving increases in those Stats right now! He needed Strength! Vitality! Those stats, not intelligence! UGH!

He could absolutely not accept this. If he tackled the Main Quest as he was currently, he would die for sure. No two ways about it, he had to increase his stats before this battle. The real question was how. He could try to level up but that would take ages if he just hunted for mice. Now, he'd have to manually raise his stats, which meant… training. He shuddered at the thought. He would have to multitask too, while working on his Dexterity he might also throw rocks to work on that skill, same while working on strength. Vitality would hopefully go up in the meantime. The only stat that didn't worry Steve too much was Agility, it was the only thing he currently held any confidence in.

Well, those were the worries of tomorrow's Steve. He could simply shut his eyes and end the day for now.

The next day was… harsh. More than harsh, really. He finally had to train, with no more excuses to be made about it. He needed strength, vitality and dexterity and a lot of them at that. So, he ran. It would definitely increase his stamina and maybe even his vitality if he was lucky. As for strength, it wasn't as important, as it could be supplemented if he levelled <Throw> up, so he simply kept activating it every second or third step he took. This way, his Sp were emptied out rather quickly, but his Dexterity still showed absolutely no improvement. He had to go further than simply emptying out his Sp then, it would seem.

Steve didn't want to die. It was a simple concept, but he just wanted to live his life, really. Sadly, the place he was in was a hostile environment. It wasn't as if he hated the forest, but he also couldn't feel quite safe in it. It was for a simple reason too: He could run into that bear anytime. And he was fairly sure it still had a grudge. Now, maybe he would be able to run away. He might escape it, yeah, but what would the point be? It could smash his home and keep going after him. If it did, he might even end up in the territory of another big shot. Then he might have multiple of them at his throat. There was even a good chance one of them might be faster than him.

In the end, he didn't exactly have a choice. He had to be stronger in order to survive, that was the full story. If he raised his stats, he wouldn't need to fear for his life. It would allow him to be comfortable, which was all he really needed as of now. Ah, not being afraid, what a great thought…

And while absorbed, Steve kept running forward, setting one foot in front of the other, even though his Sp were depleted and his breathing was rough. His body was craving a break by now, but Steve still showed no signs of yielding and pushed himself on further. His speed was reduced a little of course, but he was still running at a light jog, which was more than enough to exhaust him further. Only when his legs started to quake and almost give in under him he was knocked back into his body and immediately collapsed onto the ground. This wasn't the result he had hoped for, but at the very least it was a start. So, not giving up after one round, Steve kept running. First one run became two. Then three and four. And finally, when he was about to give up after a while of training, just when the sun appeared over the horizon, a notification appeared in front of Steve.

Dexterity 12 -> 13

It had taken a full day, but finally his Dexterity had increased. Only when his stomach growled Steve realized that he had missed his breaks for food. He had spent all day running and resting, nothing else. Damn, he would need a better training schedule at the very least.

The next day's breakfast consisted of three mice which he quickly wolfed down before resuming his exercise while also periodically activating <Throw>, which levelled up soon at the very least. While he could throw decently fast and far by now it was still lacking if he wanted to take down that bear. No, he needed more Strength and a higher level of <Throw>. He simply didn't have a clue on how to train his Strength. He didn't exactly have any weights around, so he didn't know how he was supposed to train his physical power.

Well, until now that is.

Running turned out to be a wonderful time for Steve to clear his thoughts, so he did. If Strength increased the physical Strength of just his attacks and "punches", then he simply had to make those more powerful, right? Running, in that case, wasn't quite the perfect option, as usually one would run out of breath before truly wearing ones legs down. He needed something that would wear his legs down more quickly. Which is when he settled on climbing.

Of course, that was just enough to make it a hypothesis. He definitely had to test it. As to be expected, he failed miserably. He had never climbed a tree like this before, so him losing grip and plummeting down was only natural, but Steve couldn't afford to give up so quickly. He dug his claws into the tree and tried to pull himself up over and over again, only getting more stubborn with each fall. He would show this shitty tree who was boss! 

But even countless attempts later and covered in bruises he had yet to reach the lowest branch. He had failed. He had lost. A crushing defeat really, but Steve's eyes didn't touch the ground. He glared at the tree and the fire within his pupils burned so bright that he thought he even saw a bead of sweat sticking to the trunk.

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

And just like that, the fire in Steve was extinguished. He-... This-... 

Steve simply let out a sigh great enough to knock over a dragon before trotting away defeatedly. He quickly let his anger out on two more mice and ate them up. Having a rock in his inventory was truly handy.

The next day started just about the same, with stretches and a dead mouse. By now Steve no longer skipped on his morning exercise though, running smoothly through the woods until he was out of stamina. Then, once more he faced the tree…