Stretching with a yawn, Perytos stalled for a moment, looking at the sights. The slightly chilly haze of Celarity slowly climbed higher onto the still starry sky. It washed entire swaths of the forest away in it’s icy glow.

  In the glow of the first sun the air seemed to glow. It’s refreshing qualities fused together, creating a slightly hazy barrier for the light to bounce off.

  Perytos' eyes watered from sheer magnificence of the moment. He sighed, burdened with his thoughts. If only this beauty didn't come with such horrors. It was kind of poetic even, the most beautiful sights being hidden from most civilizations. Protected by the wrath of nature.

  This line of thinking stirred something in his mind. Why can’t I travel the world and see those sights? What is stopping me? Losing his family meant that any previous obligations he had were gone. Nothing stopped him from traveling, from exploring what the world had to offer. He could become an adventurer, now that any dreams of living with his parents were shattered. The thought was oddly comforting and chilling at the same time. Something to think about in the future I guess, for now survival takes precedence.

  Getting over the momentary reverie, he looked at his battered body. The wounded calve sealed itself and the only indication something happened was an aggressive purplish streak. His wrist looked worse; sure any visible wound disappeared overnight but black pus pilled up, limiting his movements slightly. It seemed like while the oath was powerful, it was helpless in the face of disease. At least all his shallow cuts and bruises sealed, this meant that he could move without feeling pain.

  He definitely needed to have his wrist looked at in Netcore. The city known for it's textile goods was just outside the Tremor woods; there could rest for a few days and continue to the capital. From how fast he had been traveling yesterday, two more days didn't sound too far-fetched.

  His quality of sleep though, left much to desire; it could be said that the horrors of the prior day marked him in more ways than one. His tired mind assessing his surroundings with decreased efficiency.

  After taking notice of everything, Perytos looked at his new notifications. During the desperate scramble of the previous they he hadn’t noticed them, and he didn't inspect them right away after waking up, due to the discipline honed through many nights spent hunting. Taking stock of himself and the surroundings was something he did automatically by now.

  After a quick prompt the text unfolded:

  You have been rewarded for overcoming your limits with a skill selection, you can select (one) skill:

  "Mana Manipulation"- A choice available to every being with the System. This skill increases the ease with which manipulating mana comes to you, allowing for easier spell casting. Possible facet of mana acquiring with further upgrades. Affinity: mana. Soul Spark cost: minimal- very low

  "Emotional Pain Resistance"- Due to immense trauma and mental scarring this skill has been offered to you. This skill will passively reduce any emotional pain and minutely increase resistance to foreign mind manipulation. Affinity: mind, scar, resistance. Soul Spark cost: low

  "Wood Carving Proficiency"- As a beginner wood carver and this skill has been offered to you. This skill will help learn and retain knowledge related to wood carving along hands on experience, subtly guiding your hand during the carving process with the weight of past experience. Any attempt at carving with this skill active will give a product minutely more in line with the carver's intention. Affinity: craftsmanship, knowledge, mastery. Soul Spark cost: low intermediate

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  "Oath Resonance(A Healthy Mind is A Healthy Body)"- A skill choice that is given to all who have acquired an oath, being tailored to your oath to it. This skill passively improves the capabilities of your body, increasing: strength, toughness, speed and endurance. When your' cognitive functions are reduced this skill will not activate, same happening with lack of focus and determination. However, the stronger your will, the bigger the boost will be. Affinity: Oath, body, determination. Soul spark cost: as this skill is tied directly to your oath it is powered by the energy of the Universe, reducing the cost from intermediate to very low.

  These options seemed... peculiar, yes that was the right word. At the top of his head nothing seemed usual. Where were the fighting skills, the ones that would destroy anything on one's path. His selections seemed... kind of lame.

  He chided himself. Power was power no matter what form it took. The system just offered him choices based on his experiences; that didn’t mean the choices were useless. But first and foremost, he needed to live to hone his skills. The skill with the strongest instant power would be his choice. yes, surviving is the priority he nodded to himself.

  Mana manipulation was out instantly. If he could learn to cast spells, his chances would increase drastically. It was just that- He had no teacher, no guides, no ancient spellbooks to learn from. Casting spells left and right would remain a dream for now. He would pick it up later for sure; it was a must have skill for all living things. Most creatures didn't have a natural talent for manipulating mana, or it was too weak to matter. Even if they did, they would still pick the skill; getting mana facets every 10 levels instead of depending on introspection was too big of a boon to pass up.

  Wood Carving Proficiency was another skill that had long term potential but would remain practically of no value now. With his considerations of becoming an adventurer, his interest in becoming a craftsman didn’t wane. He still wanted to create with his hands, not just destroy. The skill was the perfect opportunity; it would elevate his crafting to another level. In the future it wouldn't be impossible for the skill to strengthen any creations he made! it was definitely another pick for later.

  Actually on second thought, these skills were amazing. He just had unreal expectations of them at first. There was no easy way to gain power, only strife, only struggle. It was up to him to meld his choices to his needs. He got back to Pondering his next skill.

  Emotional Pain Resistance. It looked like a bad joke. The system was taunting him for sure. His breath hitched and his jaw tightened in anger. How dare it make fun of him, after everything he lost- Everything that was taken from him. His initial childish excitement soured, covered by the remainder of the weight he had to carry on his shoulders. He wouldn't pick the skill; that burden was his to carry, either he would learn to live with it or die trying. No doubt remained in his mind about the validity of the claim; he was unwilling to take an easy shortcut. If he felt like the weight of the world leaned on him, he would carry it until his end. That was his nature.

  Much less excitement remained after the latest skill. Only newly discovered stubborn defiance flickered meekly. Still in the process of being discovered.

  he got into the final skill of the selection; wanting to get it over quickly - It wouldn't be day forever; he needed to move soon.

  A healthy mind is a healthy body; the name tasted weird on his tongue. Weird name aside, it was what he needed, instant power. A stronger body meant that he could escape the Tremor woods quicker. No further considerations were needed. He picked the skill.

  He wheezed involuntarily. The feeling of strength filling his muscles surprised him, they somehow seemed- denser, stronger. His body was more capable in almost every way. With this he would get to Netcore in less than a day. Testing the skill out was on the forefront on his mind.

  He quickly climbed down the tree, almost falling in the process due to the lack of care.

  Wait, why didn't I feel the boost anymore? what happened? The nourishing energy stopped feeding his muscles, it just turned off the moment he wanted to test it.

  He looked at the description again, slapping his forehead in shame. Apparently, he wasn't focused enough, so it deactivated. Over the course of a few minutes, he tried getting into the same headspace with varying success.

  Being focused sounded far easier than it was, forcing it didn't work. With a clenched jaw from focusing so hard Perytos finally came to a conclusion:

  It won't work for everyday tasks, I need to be really focused on a single thing. He felt disappointment, his first skill and it wasn’t immediately useful. No running faster to Netcore for him.

  The silver lining was, that at least it would activate when he needed it the most, an undead wouldn’t empower him so easily again.

  With that discovery, he began running forward once again, just until shouts and growls filled his ears.