Two hours later, I found myself sitting on a large boulder, staring at a blue screen in front of me. Ahi appeared soon after I got the level 1 notification, so I got distracted cleaning up the hut.
That was until I coughed up a lung from all the dust and got sent outside, now banned from cleaning. Guess that's what happens when you stand in a dusty room without getting the air flowing through the hut.
Sighing, I turned my attention back to the screen in front of me.
[Level 1 Unlocked]
[Congratulations on unlocking level 1. You have earned the Survivor Title and 5 Stat Points. To use stat points, please open your status page and add points to whichever stats you wish to. You have one chance to use points and can't change allocation once done.
Survivor Title can be added on your status page. It will give you 5 stat points on strength as well as 10% bonus on EXP.]
Once I read over it a few times, I decided to open up my status page, finding a few things had changed.
[Player: Elisa Wood
Age: 23
Species: Human
Powers: None
Level: 1 (23/500 EXP)
Quests Completed: 2
Money: 12 500 Coins
Locked
Statistics: Strength 1, Intelligence 1, Wisdom 1, Endurance 1, Agility 1, Charisma 1
Standard Skills: Locked
Special Skills: Locked]
[You have received stat points. Do you wish to use them? Points will be lost if not used.]
[Yes] [No]
I looked at the screen that suddenly popped up in front of my status page, realizing this was what the system was talking about earlier, making me huff a little.
What was I going to use these points on?
I already had the bonus five from the survivor title thing, so I wasn't worried about my strength stat. Maybe put one point in each of the other stats.
Yeah, that could work.
I didn't really know what the stats did, well I knew what the words meant, but wasn't sure how they affected me. Like what was the difference between intelligence and wisdom?
I could probably figure that out later as this went on. For now I quickly added the stat points in before adding the title on too. Once everything was done, I expected to feel some kind of power inside me, like those MCs in system stories, but I felt the same as before.
Tired and annoyed with everything. Sighing, I gazed at my new status page.
[Player: Elisa Wood
Age: 23
Species: Human (Survivor)
Powers: None
Level: 1 (23/500 EXP)
Quests Completed: 2
Money: 12 500 Coins
Locked
Statistics: Strength 1(+5), Intelligence 1(+1), Wisdom 1(+1), Endurance 1(+1), Agility 1(+1), Charisma 1(+1)
Standard Skills: Locked
Special Skills: Locked
Title Effect: 10% Bonus EXP]
Satisfied with everything, I decided to move onto the next thing on my agenda. Looking at my newbie starter pack rewards. Just as I thought that, a new window popped up.
[Newbie Starter Pack Rewards]
[1 Blue Lottery Ticket
50 Random Seed Pouches
A Guidebook to the Beastworld
4 Clear Crystals
2 Sets of Clothes
1 Hygiene Pack
All rewards can be found in your camping bag. Lottery Tickets can be used to roll for a skill or other great rewards in Random Spin.]
The ticket immediately sparked my attention as I read the words 'skill'. Maybe if I was lucky, I could get some awesome OP skill. I quickly opened up Random Spin.
[Random Spin]
[Use a blue or golden lottery ticket to get one of the following rewards:
Examine Skill1000 EXPThree Knowledge BooksInstant Knowledge Skill500 EXP2 CrystalsA blue ticket
Note: A blue ticket will get you one reward while a golden ticket will get you two. You can only use a ticket once and rewards change with every spin.]
[You currently have one blue ticket. Do you wish to use it?]
[Yes] [No]
I gazed at the rewards, wondering if I should use the ticket. That instant knowledge skill looked really tempting. Not that the examine skill was bad either.
After a moment of back and forth, I decided to use the ticket. Even if I didn't get a skill, EXP would level me up, getting more stat points and those books would be helpful.
I wasn't sure about the crystals, but had a feeling they were of use. Maybe a currency in this world, if bartering wasn't the only thing they did.
[Congratulations on obtaining Examine Skill]
[Examine Skill - Locked]
[Allows the user to examine living creatures and obtain basic information about said living creature. Can use whenever with a cooldown period of 30 mins. Requires: 5 Mana per use and Intelligence 20]
[Warning: You are currently unable to use skills. Requires Level 3 to be unlocked]
I wanted to strangle this system. Why give me hope and a skill when I couldn't even use it?! Especially a good skill like this. I was better off with the EXP then.
Shaking my head, I got rid of the system windows, deciding I had enough with it for one day. There were other things I needed to focus on.
Like my plans for the future.
While I had brief moments to think about this, a part of me hadn't really come to terms that this was my new life. I kind of wanted to believe this was all a dream and I would find myself waking up from a coma.
Yeah, I knew the system said I was dead and everything, but I still wanted to cling onto that stupid hope.
Maybe it was because I wasn't ready to let go of my life on Earth. Despite my father dying, I still had other family members that I was close to. Not as close as my father, but my mother and I had a decent relationship.
Hell, I was even missing those bratty twins, Marco and Gabriella.
They were from my mother's second marriage to my stepfather, David, technically making them my half-siblings. But if I was being honest, even with the ten year age gap, I would do anything for them.
Grief began to clenched my heart tightly, making my chest hurt as I continued to think about the family left behind. Sure it wasn't a perfect one and we sometimes fought, but I was still happy at the end of the day.
I couldn't imagine the pain my mother was going through with me leaving her behind.
A few tears fell as I thought, this is what authors sometimes forget when they write isekai stories. It's hard to let go of your past life, even knowing that it was impossible to go back.
Letting go is so hard…
"Elisa…" A familiar voice murmured in shock, making me look up.
I wiped the tears coming down my face, trying and failing to smile at Ahi. "You done?"
"Y-yes… But are you okay?" Ahi asked worriedly.
I wanted to say I was fine, but the words were stuck in my throat. Because truthfully I wasn't. I was scared of what lay ahead of me and grieving what I was leaving behind.
Instead, I got up and wrapped my arms around Ahi's waist, my head resting on his cool chest. "Can you just hold me please?"
Ahi didn't answer me, just letting his actions do it for him. And the moment he coiled around me, the dam of emotions inside me burst.