Blue Pearl Village
It was nighttime, and the stars twinkled as the wind blew softly.
In one of the houses, the faint cries of a newborn echoed—a boy.
His name was Kaelith.
Kaelith was different from the others. He had hazy memories lingering in his mind.
Time passed, and the highly active child quickly learned new things and continued to grow.
Three years later,
Near the village, Kaelith sat on a rock, gazing at a waterfall.
Today was special. The hazy memories in his mind were becoming clearer and clearer. He frowned softly and closed his eyes.
'Oh! I remember now.' In his previous life, he had been a normal person, like everyone else. The noteworthy thing about him was that he did calisthenics as a hobby—and he was a pro.
________
Memories
Kaelith yawned. 'I feel so sleepy', he thought while jogging his usual route in the morning.
'Huh! Who is that?' It was 5 a.m., still dark, and hard to see.
Kaelith was used to working out alone, so he was surprised to see someone else out this early.
He frowned as he noticed the silhouette of a person quickly approaching him.
As the distance between them closed, Kaelith saw something glinting in the person's hand. 'Is that a knife?'
'What kind of psycho do I have to meet so early in the morning?' Realizing the danger, Kaelith quickly ran in the opposite direction.
The chase began. Kaelith ran, and the psycho followed.
"Hey! Stop! Huff, stop already!"
"Huh! Why should I?" Kaelith shouted back, continuing to run.
'This way.' Familiar with the area, he made a left and muscle upped his way to the other side of a house's wall.
"Fuck! Where did he go?" the psycho muttered, stopping to scan his surroundings while catching his breath.
Kaelith, on the other hand...
'It should be here...'
'Ah, I found it', he thought, picking up a thick metal rod. The rod's origin? Well, the son of the house's owner was an alcoholic—and a bad one at that. One day, while exploring, Kaelith had stumbled upon it.
The length, width, and weight of the rod were perfect for fighting.
With the metal rod in hand, Kaelith quietly opened the front gate and stepped outside. He walked a little ways, peeking around a corner. 'Oh, he's still here. That's good.'
"Fucking damn it! What kind of luck do I have? My first prey escapes my hands." The psycho muttered, turning around to head back.
"System, invest all my points into..." His words were cut short as the metal rod slammed into his face.
Crunch.
The sound of bones cracking echoed. The psycho crashed into the wall next to him and fell to the ground.
'Did I kill him?' Kaelith muttered, surprised by the impact of his full-powered blow.
He squatted beside the corpse and poked it with the metal rod, thinking about what to do next.
'I guess I should dump him into the river, along with this rod. That alcoholic might finally be useful for once...'
He paused his thoughts as something incredible happened. The psycho's corpse suddenly released a blinding light that enveloped Kaelith.
'It's too bright!' His vision went dark.
[Congratulations on killing a system user!]
[On your successful endeavor, you have claimed Proficiency Upgrade System Fragments x 4.]
____________
Back to the present,
'That line of text... Was it about killing a system user? For someone with a system, that guy was quite weak, though.'
'Anyways, System! Are you there? Hey!'
'It's not working. Maybe I should try a different word', Kaelith thought while leaning back on the rock.
'Status.'
A dark blue window with a series of texts appeared before him.
[ Name: Kaelith
Lifespan: 3/ 96 years
Race: Human
Attributes: Strength 12, Dexterity 15, Constitution 13, Comprehension 300, Soul 156, Energy 1
Affinity: Fire 3, Others 1
Talent: N/A
Metamorphosis: N/A (Each metamorphosis multiplies all stats by 1.2)
Mutation Techniques: N/A
Skills: N/A
Items: Proficiency upgrade system fragments x 4 ( ownership 100%)
Proficiency points: N/A ]
'Hmm, my lifespan is quite long. That's good.'
'Affinity, talent, techniques...' Kaelith wasn't unfamiliar with these terms. The supernatural system of power known as the Lifeforce Mastery existed here.
System fragments???
'Ah! Right! I received those when I killed that guy. So I can obtain system fragments by killing more system users', Kaelith thought, planning his next steps.
'Anyways, how does this system work? The name implies I can upgrade proficiency in skills and techniques, but how do I obtain proficiency points?' The image of the psycho madly trying to kill him flashed in his mind.
'Is it related to killing?'
Thinking for a moment, Kaelith stood up and walked towards the shore. The water was shallow, so he easily waded in.
'Let's see.' He quietly walked toward a group of fish and crouched down.
'It never ceases to amaze me', Kaelith mused. Everything on this planet was gigantic—even the insects were enormous.
'Now...' In one swift motion, a 30 cm tall fish appeared in his hand.
He held it with all his might and walked back to the shore.
Once he was far enough from the water, he let go of the fish.
Bang!
The fish struggled to breathe as it slammed into the rocks. It struggled for a while before finally stopping its movements.
[You have killed a fish. Proficiency Points +2]
[A new skill has been recorded: Hand Fishing]
[Hand Fishing (initiated 1/500)]
'So my guess was right. Let's see...'
'System, invest all my points into the skill Hand Fishing.'
As soon as he made the command, the blue window appeared again. His proficiency points dropped to zero, and the Hand Fishing skill increased by two, reaching level three.
A change occurred in his body, as an unknown power surged through him. Muscle memory was engraved in his body, and new knowledge appeared in his mind.
'So that's how it is. No wonder that guy was so weak', Kaelith thought. The system was peculiar. Unlike he expected, it didn't directly upgrade his strength.
'Well time for more fishing.'