Life has a strange way of handing you exactly what you need, right when you need it. This was especially true for a certain little fox cub who has just awoken in a chilly and snow covered forest.
‘Where… am I?’ The little fox cub slowly opens her eyes, squinting as she adjusts to the light shining in from outside her small den. ‘Something doesn't seem quite right.’ She starts to examine her surroundings observantly. She looks around herself and finds that she is surrounded by dirt and rocks on all sides. Looking outside of her den, she can see tall trees with long and dense evergreen colored branches covered with snow, a chilly but gentle wind blows into her den, tickling her nose and making her sneeze.
‘It seems I'm in some kind of hole in the ground? I'm not sure how I got here. Actually, I can't remember much of anything prior to this moment.’ she thinks to herself, trying to grasp the situation she is in. ‘Well, whatever is going on, I should try to assess my situation first before I start to panic. After all, keeping calm when facing an unknown challenge is important.’
Attempting to stand up and leave the den, she stumbles back onto the ground, her legs refusing to cooperate with her. She quizzically looks down at the ground, trying to understand why her body isn't responding the way she expects it to. Only to find… ‘PAWS?! What the heck is this?! I know I said staying calm was important, but screw that — where the hell is my normal body!? Wait… what does my normal body even look like, anyway?!’ The small fox screams in her head, suddenly feeling dizzy from panic.
‘I'm pretty sure that I was a human, right? So why the heck do I have paws?!’
[That is correct, you were a human.]
‘Oh great, first my memories are gone, and now I'm hearing voices in my head. I really am going crazy now.’
[The host need not worry, as she is not going crazy. I am a system installed on her soul, designed to help the host maximize her cultivation.]
‘Oh, okay, that makes sense… A system to help with my cultiva- wait, WHAT?!’ Thoughts race through her head faster than she can process, leaving her dizzy and overwhelmed. After 60 straight minutes of freaking out, she finally calms down enough to attempt reassessing her situation.
‘Ok, so I have paws now and have a system to help with my cultivation. What even is cultivation?’
[Cultivation is the process of tempering one's mind, body, and soul to transcend mortal limits and to obtain a higher state of existence. By cultivating, one refines the natural spiritual Qi in the world around them into usable energy. Beasts cultivate by instinctively transforming the spiritual Qi into Mana that is stored in their beast cores, while humans refine and store the Qi in their dantian.]
‘So basically, magic stuff?’ she asks pinly, trying to simplify the seemingly complicated answer.
[… Yes.] the system responds in a slightly annoyed tone.
‘I can't really seem to think all that well. It's really hard to form complex thoughts.’
[That is because the host is currently [Animal] grade. As the host evolves, her intelligence will improve.]
‘I guess that makes sense. So what animal exactly am I?’
[The host can pull up her status simply by willing it.]
‘Oh, okay. Status time!’ she says in her head, excited to see how powerful she is.
User Status--------------------------------User Status--------------------------------Name: UnnamedGender: FemaleLevel: 1HP 20/20Mana: 0/0Age: 1 DayRace: FoxSpecies: Arctic Fox CubGrade: AnimalStat Points: 5Skill Points: 10
--------------------------------Titles--------------------------------None
--------------------------------Stats--------------------------------Strength: 1Toughness: 2Agility: 2Stamina: 3Spirit: 1
--------------------------------Skills--------------------------------Bite(1), Scratch(1), Growl(1)
--------------------------------Divine Abilities--------------------------------None
--------------------------------Inventory--------------------------------Guide to the Immortal World (Beginner), Meat (5x), Rubber Duck (1x)--------------------------------
[colpse]‘Well, my days of being human are officially over, if that's even what I was before. I guess I'm a fox now.’ She sighs, accepting her fate, resolving herself to her new life. At least, that was until she saw her stats. Her jaw drops to the floor. ‘ONE strength?!. I'm so weak, a breeze can blow me away! I'm practically a snack for anything bigger than me.’ She curses her small and feeble body in her mind. ‘I thought when you get reincarnated in a magical world, you're supposed to be overpowered. Wait, why the hell do I have a rubber duck in my inventory?!’
[The [Rubber Duck], along with the [Guide to the Immortal World (Beginner)] book and [Meat (5x)] are part of your welcome package to your new life.]
‘Welcome package? What is this, vacation? Well, I don't know much about my st life right now, so for all I know, maybe this is a vacation.’
[The host's soul is still in shock from her death in the mortal world, and therefore, is struggling to recall her memories. Over time, the host should start remembering details from her previous life.]
‘I see, but don't people normally forget everything after they die? Why am I different?’ she wonders, trying to recall any possible information that can help her.
[That is because the host has special circumstances.]
‘Special circumstances? What kind? Also, for someone who lost all of her memories, I seem to be pretty intelligent, not to boast. Why is that?’ Her head tilts to the side quizzically and one of her ears flops over to the side.
[The system is not allowed to reveal that at this time. As for why you seem to be intelligent despite losing your memories, it is instinctual. Your memories are not gone, more like suppressed. You will likely find yourself saying or thinking things that seemingly come from nowhere as a result.]
‘Well, that's fine, I suppose. But can you at least expin the duck? I get the meat and the book, but why do I have a rubber duck?’ she asks with a hint of irritation.
[Chew Toy]
‘A chew toy? REALLY?!’ Her eye twitches as she hears her system's expnation, her mind going numb from complete disbelief. ‘Are you messing with me, System?! Is there some god up there ughing at me right now?!’
The system does not respond to her comments. Perhaps because it felt there was no need to do so?
‘Well, whatever. For now, I am hungry. System, how do I take the meat out of my inventory?’
[Reach forward with the intention of accessing the item you desire in your system inventory.]
‘Ok, here I go~.’ Reaching forward with her paw, ripples appear suddenly in the air, emerging from where her paw disappeared seemingly into nowhere. She feels something inside the invisible space, so she paws at it until it drops out of thin air.
Eyeing the meat on the ground, she makes a sour face. ‘Wait, no pte? Worse — the meat is raw! A certain chef would be furious at this disaster. But I have no way to start a fire, not with paws like these. Guess I really have no choice.’
Bringing her small face up to the meat, she hesitantly tears a bite off of it. Her face grimaces at the texture and thought of eating raw meat, but as she chews, the taste pleasantly surprises her. ‘This tastes a lot better than I was expecting it to. I'm still not a big fan of the texture bu-’
Halfway through her thought, she hears a notification go off in her mind.
[EXP gained!]
‘Holy shit, I gain exp from eating food?! That is amazing!’ She quickly starts eating the meat faster until it was gone.
[EXP gained!][EXP gained!][EXP gained!][Level Up! You have reached Level 2! +1 to all stats.][You have gained 5 stat points and 2 skill points.]
She looks at the system notifications in front of her in disbelief. ‘I gained a whole level from eating a single piece of meat? Leveling up is going to be a piece of cake! Hey System, does the meat in my inventory go bad? Can I put more meat into my inventory?’
[The host can only store system-provided items into the system inventory. Any items put in the system inventory enters stasis, meaning time does not pass — therefore, food does not age.]
‘Oh, so I should probably not eat this meat unless I absolutely have to, considering it does not expire. Meaning, I should do some hunting. I have 10 stat points and leveling up increased my stats by a bit too.’ she thinks to herself, looking at her status window. ‘I'll put 3 stat points into strength, 4 into agility, 2 into stamina and 1 into toughness.’
User Status--------------------------------User Status--------------------------------Name: UnnamedGender: FemaleLevel: 2HP 40/40Mana: 0/0Age: 1 DayRace: FoxSpecies: Arctic Fox CubGrade: AnimalStat Points: 0Skill Points: 12
--------------------------------Stats--------------------------------Strength: 5Toughness: 4Agility: 7Stamina: 5Spirit: 2
--------------------------------Skills--------------------------------Bite(1), Scratch(1), Growl(1)
--------------------------------Divine Abilities--------------------------------None
--------------------------------Inventory--------------------------------Guide to the Immortal World (Beginner), Meat (4x), Rubber Duck (1x)--------------------------------
[colpse]She looks at her status window irritated. ‘I'm still so weak! It can't be helped, I'll just have to work on getting stronger and surviving for the time being. It's time to try to get up and go hunt.’
AnDwHaT5
