Silas woke to the dim glow of the setting sun, casting golden hues across the ruined village. His body felt heavy, sluggish, but he was alive. That thought alone felt surreal. He reached up to move the strands of hair from his eyes, but the motion was incomplete. His right hand brushed his forehead. His left hand—was gone.
A wave of cold realization swept over him.
He turned his head slowly, his breath catching as he gazed at the stump of his left arm. It should have been raw, festering, his life long drained from the open wound. But it wasn’t.
The wound was matted, sealed by some force beyond his understanding. Pain still pulsed through what remained of his limb, a quiet agony rather than the searing fire he expected. He should be dead. With a wound that serious, with the sheer amount of blood he had lost—he should not have risen once more.
Then it struck him.
The sunlight.
His ability. Photosynthesis.
His breathing steadied as he stared at the descending sun, the warmth brushing against his skin. The light had saved him. It had knit his wound closed, perhaps not perfectly, but enough to keep him from death’s grasp. He had been foolish before, unprepared for the realities of this world. He had thought like someone bound by the rules of Earth, of a world without horrors and monsters. That line of thinking had nearly cost him his life.
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His arm ached again, a dull, persistent reminder of his failure.
He let out a slow breath and sat up. He needed to know where he stood now, what he had become. His body was no longer what it once was. He opened his status.
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Status
Name: Silas Greystoke
Age: 13 Years Old
Level: 2 (Level Up)
Title: Viator Inter Mundos (Traveler Between Worlds)
Automatic Translation: Enabled
Job: (Available at Level 5)
Seed: Helianthus (Sunflower)
Stats:
Strength: 5
Stamina: 5
Energy: 1
Speed: 4
Vitality: 6 (+2)
Intelligence: 10
Charisma: 4
Dexterity: 5
Bond: 1
Free Points Available: 4
Skills:
Photosynthesis: Absorb energy from the sun to restore stamina and gradually replenish health. Prolonged exposure increases overall vitality, but effectiveness depends on environmental conditions.
---
He had leveled up. The two additional vitality points—undoubtedly from his body''s survival instinct—reinforced what he already knew. His abilities were actively adapting, ensuring his survival, even from grievous wounds.
His fingers traced the rough ground as he contemplated what he saw. His Strength remained low. He had struggled before, barely able to wield the long sword in the armory. That meant his stat likely reflected his actual physical prowess—weak, malnourished, untrained.
Speed, too, was unimpressive. If he had been faster, he might have dodged the blow that had taken his arm. He swallowed hard at that thought.
Intelligence, however, was his highest attribute. It made sense. He had always been observant, rational. But how did that translate here? Did it affect memory? Learning speed? Problem-solving?
Then there was Bond—a single, almost negligible number. He hadn’t noticed any effects from it yet, but considering his Seed was listed in his status, he could only assume Bond played a role in whatever this symbiotic connection meant.
He clicked into his Title.
Viator Inter Mundos (Traveler Between Worlds).
A foreign phrase, yet it resonated within him with clarity. Between Worlds. He wasn’t just displaced in space. He had crossed boundaries far greater than he had imagined. Did this mean he had been chosen? Was this something orchestrated?
None of it made sense yet. But he had no choice but to keep moving forward.
He exhaled, pushing himself up to his feet. His balance felt off. Of course it did—he was missing an entire limb. He grimaced. Adapt. That’s what he had to do. Survive, learn, and adapt.
First, he needed to assign his new stat points. Then, he needed to find a way to keep himself from making the same mistakes again.