《Adventures on Terra: Beginning》 Chapter 1.1 A bright light shines through my closed eyelids as I lay on a hard surface. I try to roll over away from the light but it doesn¡¯t seem to help. Who opened the shades? God, it¡¯s too early to get up. I yawn and rub my eyes as I come more fully awake. ¡°Welcome to Terra.¡± Hearing someone speak, my eyes shoot open. I look around for the source of the noise and see a small flying figure. Focusing on it, I see that it¡¯s a tiny woman with wings. She has jet black hair, alabaster skin, and is no bigger than my palm. This tiny woman flies through the air with four translucent wings and is wearing a dress that seems to be made out of leaves. ¡°What the hell?!¡± I yell and sit up. ¡°I said ¡®Welcome to Terra¡¯. Or are you deaf?¡± she says with her hands on her hips, hovering in midair. ¡°Huh, no. I¡¯m not deaf. Just surprised is all.¡± Still in a slight haze after waking, I look around and notice that I¡¯m not in my home. Instead I¡¯m sitting on the ground surrounded by trees. ¡°Where am I?¡± ¡°I just told you. Terra. Remember the ¡®Welcome to Terra¡¯ part?¡± she replies sarcastically. ¡°Where the hell is Terra? And what are you?¡± I ask, trying to keep track of the flitting thing. Flying right up to my face she replies in a huffy tone, ¡°I am not a thing. I am Mary and I am your fairy guide.¡± A real fairy? Is that even possible? I must be dreaming. Noting my incredulous expression Mary sighs. ¡°I guess you don¡¯t have fairies where you come from? Well, if you¡¯ll let me get on with my introduction speech, maybe I can answer some of the questions you must have.¡± I nod for her to continue. Mary clears her throat, ¡°As I was saying. Welcome to Terra. I¡¯m Mary, your fairy guide. You¡¯ve officially died and been transported here to have a second chance at life.¡± ¡°Wait! I died?¡± I interrupt. ¡°Yup. You¡¯re the first person from your world to be reincarnated here too. The great Overlord God decided that you¡¯d fit in well on Terra and brought you here after you died.¡± ¡°How the hell did I die?¡± I ask, interrupting her. Mary seems to look at something I can¡¯t see and responds ¡°Hmmmm. From your file it seems you died from a heart attack after a 72 hour marathon gaming session. You really should have taken better care of yourself.¡± I sit in stunned silence for a minute, absorbing the fact that I died, and was reincarnated. ¡°You really did luck out on which world you reincarnated to though. Based on your file, Terra is the perfect world for you. It¡¯s creation is, in part, based on the video games you seemed to have enjoyed so much.¡± she says trying to comfort me. ¡°What do you mean, ¡®based on the video games¡¯ I enjoyed?¡± ¡°Hmmm. The best way to explain is probably to show you. Think in your mind or say out loud if it helps, ¡®Status¡¯. Go on, try it.¡± she suggests. Feeling a bit silly, I do as she suggest and shout ¡°STATUS.¡± To my surprise, a blue window appears in front of me. Name: Armon Ellington Age: 19 Level: 1 Class: none Exp to next lvl.: 100 Titles: none Health: 15 Mana: 20 Stamina: 20 Strength: 10 Intelligence: 10 Dexterity: 10 Wisdom: 10 Constitution: 10 Charisma: 10 Luck: 0 Attack: 1 - 1 Defense: 0 Skills: none Abilities: none Spells: none She¡¯s right. This is a status screen just like the ones I¡¯ve see in the role playing video games I love playing. I see my name and age. Level 1. No class? That¡¯s what my ex-girlfriend said when she dumped me, so no surprise there. I have 10 for all my stats. Guess that¡¯s average. Thinking about the variety of different video games I¡¯ve played over the years, I wonder what each stat does here. ¡°Mary, what does each of the stats I see on my [status] page mean?¡± I ask. ¡°Oh, well strength affects how hard you hit and how much you can carry. Dexterity determines how quick you are and how accurately you hit things when you aim. Constitution determines your health. Intelligence determines your mana and how powerful your spells are. Wisdom affects how quickly your mana recovers and how resistant you are to some spells. Charisma determines how likable you are. Luck affects a variety of things subtly. Like how likely you are to find treasure or win at gambling.¡± she answers. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Ok. So I¡¯ll need lots of constitution if I don¡¯t want to die from low health and lots of intelligence if I want to cast many spells. Hmm, have to think about how to increase those two. Looking back at my [Status] screen I see that my attack is one. I wonder how that¡¯s calculated? Something to figure out later. Defense is zero. That¡¯s probably because I¡¯m naked. ¡°Umm, Mary? Where are my clothes?¡± ¡°In your inventory silly. You get a few items to help you get started as a part of your starter reincarnation package. Your clothes are there.¡± ¡°How do I use my inventory?¡± I inquire. ¡°You can usually access any part of the system menu by saying it out loud or thinking the command. Try silently thinking ¡®Inventory¡¯.¡± Mary instructs. I do as she suggests and think ¡®Inventory¡¯ in my mind. Another blue screen appears next to my status screen. This one is a series of boxes and some symbols at the very bottom. One of the boxes has something in it. When I focus on that box a small window pops up. Starter Shirt Defense: 1 A basic shirt that offers minimal protection. At least it''s better than being naked. Oh. That¡¯s neat. I get more information when I focus on something in the blue screens. I wonder how I put that shirt on? Hmm, maybe I¡¯ll try thinking [Equip Starter Shirt]. It works. Suddenly I¡¯m wearing a shirt. It¡¯s basic homespun wool. A little itchy but that screen is right. Better than being naked. I focus on the other boxes that seem to have items in the inventory screen. Starter Pants Defense: 1 Basic pants that offers minimal protection. At least it''s better than being naked. Definitely need those. Can¡¯t have the boys swaying in the wind. [Equip Starter Pants]. Like the shirt, the pants just appear on my body. Again, basic homespun wool. The itching might be more annoying down there but beggars can¡¯t be choosers. Only two other items in the inventory. One is food and the other water. Stale Bread Loaf (5) A stale loaf of bread. When eaten, increases regenerates of health and stamina by 5% over 30 minutes. Water Skin (5) A skin of water. When drunk, increases mana regeneration by 5% over 30 minutes. Health and mana regeneration when I eat or drink? That¡¯s pretty standard in most RPG games. That¡¯ll be useful if I get hurt. Health I get. It measures how hurt or healthy I am. What about stamina and mana? ¡°Mary, what effects stamina and mana?¡± ¡°Use of abilities and some skills use up stamina. Spells use up mana.¡° she answers. Huh, skill, abilities, and spells? I check my status screen and find none of those. ¡°Mary, I don¡¯t have any of those.¡± ¡°Of course not. You¡¯re only level 1 and just reincarnated. Abilities are either gained from your class or ability books dropped by monsters on very rare occasions. You can learn skills by either practicing something repeatedly or receiving training from someone that has that skill. Spells are gained from either trainers or spell books.¡± Hmm. I don¡¯t have any skill or spell books. Nor do I have a class. ¡°You said I can gain skills by practicing them?¡± ¡°Yup, if you run a lot then you get the [Run] skill. Want the [Unarmed Combat] skill? Hit things with your bare hands. However, unless you already understand the intricacies of metal working you¡¯re not going to gain [Blacksmithing] unless you train with a blacksmith. Also, abilities, skills, and spells all gain experience the more you use them. Skills begin at novice level then grow to beginner level, intermediate level, advanced level, expert level, and finally master level. So, the more you practice the better you get.¡° Well at least I can gain some skills on my own. Though it would have been great to have some overpowered spell or ability right from the start. I close all the blue boxes in front of me for now. Well, time to start gaining skills. Chapter 1.2 ¡°Now the fastest way to gain strength is to advance your level and skills. You gain experience to level by defeating opponents or completing quests. You can also use quests as an opportunity to practice your skills and abilities, leveling them too.¡± Mary lectures. ¡°So let''s get you your first quest!¡± A blue box appears before me. Make Dinner Mary is hungry. Create a comfortable location to eat and prepare dinner for Mary. Rewards: Base 10XP. Bonus XP based on quality of meal and location prepared to eat. Accept or Decline? I think [Accept Quest ¡®Make Dinner¡¯] and the window disappears. ¡°Hmm, ¡®Make Dinner¡¯, huh? Somehow I thought my first quest would be something along the lines of ¡®Kill 10 Rats and bring me their tails.¡¯¡± Mary screws her face up in disgust. ¡°Ewwwww. What would anyone do with rat tails? That¡¯s just gross. I¡¯d much rather have a nice meal. Preferably not rat by the way.¡± ¡°Ok. Ok. Make a meal. No rat. Got it. I don¡¯t suppose there¡¯s a supermarket nearby?¡± Mary shakes her head no. Oh well, didn¡¯t think it would be that easy. Mom taught all her kids how to cook but we always used ingredients from the store. Guess I¡¯ll have to get back to basics to get this quest done. A simple meal of roasted meat and salad seems like it shouldn¡¯t be too hard. I look around at the forest and realize I have absolutely no idea what plants are edible. I would probably fail my quest if i poison Mary. I sit and try to think of a way to figure out how to tell which plants to eat. As I sit, I faintly hear a rustling sound. I quickly turn my head to see what the sound is and see a small, white, furry animal. It¡¯s a rabbit. It¡¯s much larger than the rabbits I¡¯ve seen before and it has a horn. As I focus on the weird looking animal a new window appears above the rabbit''s head. Horned Rabbit Level 1 Well, that¡¯s useful. At least I can tell what it is now and if it¡¯s stronger than me. As I watch the horned rabbit I see it move to a bush and start nibbling. Of course! That¡¯s how I can tell which plants to eat. Watch the local wildlife. Guess that¡¯s how I¡¯ll have to get the meat for my meal too. ¡°Mary, are there alot animals around here?¡± ¡°Yup, this is kind of a beginner area. You¡¯ll find all kinds of animals including some predators and monsters too, so be careful. You only get one life here. No respawns.¡± As soon as I started talking to Mary the horned rabbit ran off. The bush I saw it eat is small and has broad green leaves. That¡¯ll do for part of the salad but I get extra XP based on the quality of the meal I make. So, I want to see what other plants can be eaten around here. I get up, dust off my pants and begin my search for another horned rabbit to watch. Moving through the forest I catch glimpses of white blurs running from me. The last horned rabbit I saw ran away as soon as it heard me talking to Mary. Guess I¡¯m making too much noise. I¡¯m snapping twigs and rustling leaves with every step. That won¡¯t do. I¡¯ll never find another horned rabbit that way. I start to deliberately watch where I step. Carefully moving to avoid small twigs and leaves on the ground. That¡¯s better but I still hear my steps. I remember seeing a movie about ninjas and how they walk toe to heel and not heel to toe. I try it and notice that I make less noise. Guess those ninjas know what they¡¯re doing. I move a lot slower now that I¡¯m trying to be quiet. It¡¯s frustrating but it can¡¯t be helped since it¡¯s the only way I¡¯ll ever get close to another horned rabbit. I¡¯m on my second hour of moving quietly through the forest when I finally see a horned rabbit again. I freeze the moment I see it. I don¡¯t want to scare it off and have to look for another one. The horned rabbit doesn¡¯t seem to notice me and I watch to see what it does. The critter hops around the little clearing nibbling on several plants including a bush with bright red berries. I take mental note of the shape of the bush, its leaves, and the berries to use in my salad later. As the rabbit moves out of the clearing I move to follow it as quietly as I can. Suddenly a window pops up. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. You''ve learned [Sneak] I mentally ¡®Woooohoo¡¯ at getting my first skill. Thank you movie ninjas. I focus on [Sneak] to get more information. Sneak You are more difficult to notice while sneaking. Movement speed is reduced while sneaking. Advancing in Sneak reduces movement penalty and the chances of others noticing you. Level: Novice 1 (1%) Bonus: 20% reduced chance of being noticed. Movement speed is reduced by 75%. So, the more I practice sneaking the better bonuses I¡¯ll get as I level. Something to work towards I guess. I continue to follow the horned rabbit for another hour watching it¡¯s patterns until it finally disappears into a hole in the ground. As I watched the horned rabbit I get new notices. You''ve gained a level in [Sneak]. Novice 2. You''ve learned [Observe]. I check to see what changes happened to [Sneak] when it levels and what [Observe] does. Sneak You are more difficult to notice while sneaking. Movement speed is reduced while sneaking. Advancing in sneak reduces movement penalty and the chances of others noticing you. Level: Novice 2 (15%) Bonus: 21% reduced chance of being noticed. Movement speed is reduced by 74%. Observe You learn the weaknesses and strengths of a creature when you observe them for long periods of time. You gain a bonus to damage when fighting creatures you''ve observed. Advancing in Observe increased damage bonus to observed creatures. Level: Novice 1 (1%) Bonus: 1% damage bonus to creatures observed. Creatures Observed: Horned Rabbit I get 1% sneakier per level of [Sneak]. I wonder if the bonuses change when I get to beginner or intermediate? We¡¯ll have to wait and see. I get a nice increase in wisdom and a bonus to damage from [Observe] though. That¡¯ll be useful. Every bit of extra damage helps in a fight. Too bad I have to watch something for a ¡®long period of time¡¯ to get the bonus though. It¡¯ll only be useful when I have time to watch an opponent for a while and I won¡¯t have time to get the observe bonus in a surprise fight. As I walk away from the rabbit hole I decide to start collecting the plants for the salad part of the meal quest. I rush over to the where I saw the berries and realize I¡¯m wasting an opportunity to train. Why walk like normal when I can [Sneak] while I collect plants. It takes two hours to collect enough of the plants to make a salad for two but by the time I returned to Mary [Sneak] had leveled up to Novice 3. Time to get the meat. Chapter 1.3 Well time to go get some meat for dinner. I decide that Horned Rabbit is my best choice since I get the [Observe] damage bonus. I put on my best Elmer Fudd impression and say, ¡°Be vewy vewy qwiet. I''m hunting wabbits.¡± ¡°Why are you talking weird? Of course you¡¯ll need to be quiet if you plan to hunt horned rabbits. Otherwise they¡¯ll hear you coming.¡± Mary responds, deadpan. Guess they don¡¯t have classic cartoons here. I¡¯ll miss that. ¡°Nevermind Mary, I¡¯m off to get the rest of dinner.¡± Mary waves bye and says ¡°Ok, have fun. I will look bad on my record if you kicked the bucket this soon. So, try not to die.¡± As I walk away from Mary I try to think of ways to fight a horned rabbit. I¡¯ve never had to hunt for dinner before. It can¡¯t be that hard, can it? It¡¯s level one just like me. I slow down and [Sneak] as I approach a group of bushes with the berries I saw the rabbit eat, I see one horned rabbit eating berries at the bushes. I grab a large rock and rush forward hoping to overwhelm it quickly. The horned rabbit turns once it hears me, it¡¯s horn glowing. Instead of running like I expect, it lowers its horn and charges. I feel a piercing pain in my side. I look down and see a horned rabbit sticking out of my side. It¡¯s little rabbit feet pawing against me, trying to pull free. Damage received: 8 Oh crap, guess that horn isn¡¯t there for decoration. I grab the rabbit''s horn so he can¡¯t get away and repeatedly hit it with the rock in my hand. Soon the rabbit stops moving and disappears in a flash of light. Instead of a body, there are some items on the ground by my feet. I don¡¯t have time to look at them right now because my side hurts like hell. I check my [Status] and see I only have seven health left and a ¡°bleeding¡± effect that makes me lose one health per second. I rip part of my shirt and press it against my side to stop the bleeding. I quickly take out and eat the bread in my inventory. It¡¯s hard and tasteless but my health begins to restore slowly and the pain lessens. That rabbit was tougher than he looked. He almost killed me with one hit. Guess that¡¯s fair though, after all I did kill him. I saw the body disappear and items replace it. What did he drop when he died? There are two items on the ground. I pick up each and focus on them. Horn The horn from an innocent horned rabbit. Rabbit Meat 1 serving of rabbit meat. I need another horned rabbit to get all the ingredients for this meal but I sure don¡¯t have the health to take on another one with a frontal attack. One hit almost killed me. I finish another stale loaf of bread to restore the health and stamina I lost during the fight. It¡¯ll take an hour to get back up to full strength. While I wait I put the rabbit meat into my inventory and try to think of a better way to fight. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. First, using that rock sucked. It took way too long to defeat that horned devil. What if he¡¯d got loose? I need a better weapon. I know first hand how sharp that horn is. It would make a good knife but if I¡¯m that close it can get me too. Hmmm, how about a spear. Same piercing power and a longer reach. If it gets too close I can always back away or drop the spear and use my fists. How to make a spear though? I remember seeing those survival shows on TV. Survivorguy did it a couple of times. Let¡¯s see, first I need a straight tree or branch about shoulder height. I look around for suitable material. There. A fallen tree with branches about the size I need. I repeatedly kick a branch until it breaks off then strip the smaller branches and leaves attached to it. It¡¯s a little crooked looking but good enough. What next? Oh, I need to make a place to attach the horn. I take a hand sized rock from the ground and bash it against another rock until it splits in half leaving a sharp edge. I use the sharp edged rock to trim the branch to about shoulder height and split one end a bit without breaking the branch too much. I slide the horn into the split but it¡¯s a little loose. I need something to tighten up the horn at the end of the branch. Darn it, there goes the rest of my shirt. I tear up what¡¯s left of my shirt into strips. I wrap some around the end of the split branch that has the loose horn and it tightens up nicely. I still have some left over strips and put them into my inventory in case I need to bandage another injury later. Craftsmanship Though not formally trained in any crafting skill you''ve used your ingenuity to create something. You receive an increased chance of success at creating a new item. Level: Novice 1 (1%) Bonus: Increase chance at creating new item by 1% You''ve created the item [Improvised Spear] Improvised Spear Damage: 3 - 5 Durability: 10/10 A sharp spear created using materials at hand. While not professionally made it will do in a pinch. Just don''t expect too much from it. Sweet. Crafting. I¡¯m a crafty crafter. Damage isn¡¯t bad on the spear. I swing the spear around a few times and stab the air. Definitely better than a rock. Raising my improvised spear high above my head I declare, ¡°I shall name you my horny spear.¡± I only feel a little silly since no one''s around to hear me. As I check my status screen I notice I¡¯m still a little sore but my health and stamina are back to maximum. Time to find another horned rabbit. Chapter 1.4 I use [Sneak] to quietly move to places I¡¯ve seen a horned rabbit before and soon spot another one. This horned rabbit is digging in the ground at some type of root. Perfect. He¡¯s distracted. No trying to rush him this time. That didn¡¯t work last time. With the greatest of care I move silently behind the rabbit. Just a few more steps to get in range. Now! I thrust my improvised spear as hard and fast as I can, piercing the horned rabbit in back. Damage dealt: 4 , backstab damage: 4 It squeals in fury and turns towards me. Oops. I¡¯d hoped my sneak attack would finish it. I jump back, pointing the spear at the rabbit, ready for it¡¯s attack. I see a red glow envelop the horn of the rabbit and feel a small sense of dread. Shit, It¡¯s [Charge] attack! I desperately dive to the right hoping to avoid the dangerous attack. Unfortunately I¡¯m not entirely successful and feel a burning pain along my side as I hit the ground. Damage received: 7 Getting back to my feet I see my left side bleeding from a small wound. Thankfully I didn¡¯t take the full force of the [Charge] attack. Seven damage from just a glancing blow? I don¡¯t think I can take that attack head on and survive. Looking around I see the horned rabbit running at me again. It¡¯s horn isn¡¯t glowing this time but this guy is still dangerous. I stab forward with my spear but the rabbit dodges. He¡¯s quick too. I barely sidestep as the rabbit stabs where my left leg was a moment ago. I kick the rabbit hard, trying to create some distance between us. Damage dealt: 1 I only caused one point of damage? We¡¯ll I¡¯m not kicking this guy to death. Instead of hurting the the horned rabbit, it just looks angry. Suddenly an idea occurs to me and I smile. I know just how to beat this horned furry devil. I can¡¯t beat this guy head on but if I use his own power against him, I have a chance. While trying to get in position for my brilliant plan,I take six more damage from the rabbit¡¯s attacks. Finally I¡¯m ready. I put my back to the largest tree I can see, I plant my feet shoulder length apart and point my spear at my furry foe. I growl at the creature and yell, ¡°Come and get me you unicorn turd.¡± I see an evil glint in the rabbit¡¯s eyes and his buck teeth take on a sharpened appearance. A powerful red glow envelops the rabbit¡¯s horn telling me he¡¯s powering up his [Charge] attack. I focus on the rabbit''s feet for the earliest signal as to when he¡¯ll attack. The instant I see the rabbit¡¯s feet move I dive as hard as I can to my right. I feel a powerful gust of wind as the [Charge] attack is unleashed and the rabbit blurs through the space I just occupied. Unable to slow himself down, the horned menace slams into the tree behind me. Picking myself off the ground, I take up my fallen spear. I see the rabbit trying desperately to pull his horn out of the bark of the tree and smile. My plan worked. It¡¯ll only take the creature another minute to free himself but that¡¯s all the time I need. I walk behind the rabbit, grip my spear with both hands and stab repeatedly. Damage dealt: 3; backstab damage: 3 Damage dealt: 4; backstab damage:4 Damage dealt: 5; backstab damage: 5 This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it You''ve killed a level 3 Horned Rabbit. You receive 15 XP. You¡¯ve gained the [Spear Mastery] skill. Level 3 horned rabbit? No wonder he was so hard to kill. Guess I should have checked his level before I attacked. There is a flash of light and the body disappears leaving two items behind. Lucky Rabbit¡¯s Foot The foot from a horned rabbit. It¡¯s supposed to be lucky. Just not for the rabbit. Bonus: Critical hit chance increased by 1%. Rabbit Meat 1 serving of rabbit meat. Nice. I finally have the meat I need for the ¡®dinner quest¡¯. What¡¯s the [Spear Mastery] skill? Spear Mastery You''ve learned to wield the spear. This weapon takes both strength and dexterity to use. When you wield a spear you will gain a bonus to damage. At higher levels you will gain additional bonuses. Level: Novice 1 (1%) Bonus: 1% bonus to damage when using a spear. That bonus damage will be useful since I have to hunt for all my food. I head back to the clearing to prepare a meal for Mary and finish the quest she gave me. Mary flies down from a tree she was resting in and greets me as I walk into the clearing.¡°Welcome back brave hunter. Glad you didn¡¯t die fighting those helpless rabbits. Though I have to ask, why are you shirtless?¡± Blushing slightly, Mary adds,¡±Not that it doesn¡¯t kind of work for you.¡± Facing Mary, I run one hand through my hair a bit embarrassed. ¡°Yeah, I might have tried to take on a horned rabbit a couple levels above me. I had to tear up my shirt for bandages and to make this great horny spear.¡± I smile and proudly present my spear to her. As Mary flies closer to me, I see her slap her head at my stupidity. She looks me in the eye, raises a single finger and says,¡°One, it was silly to try and fight something at a higher level. You¡¯re lucky it didn¡¯t skewer you.¡± Raising a second finger, she smiles and adds in a giggle,¡°Second, a ¡®horny spear¡¯? Did it try to hit on you or something?¡± I just smile and roll my eyes at her. She¡¯s just jealous of my amazing crafting skills. I turn away as Mary laughs at her own joke. I hear Mary¡¯s stomach growl and decide I should get started on that meal. Chapter 1.5 The sun is setting as I gather materials for a fire. I pick up some rocks and place them in a circle. I grab some twigs and small dead branches from the ground to use as kindling. I break some of the larger branches I see into smaller pieces to use as firewood. Now how did Survivorguy do this? I make a firebow using some of the thinner branches and a large piece of wood. I place some kindling on the wood and begin spinning the firebow. Nothing happens at first, so I continue to spin the firebow until a small amount of smoke forms from the kindling. I¡¯m surprised It¡¯s working and stop moving the firebow. The smoke stops of course. Ok, move the firebow faster. I spin the firebow faster and faster creating more friction. I keep at it for what seems like forever. My arms start burning from the effort but smoke starts to rise from the kindling and a small flame forms. ¡°Ugh, me make fire.¡± I grunt, doing my best caveman impression. Mary just smiles and rolls her eyes while watching what I do next. I receive a notice but ignore it for now. I move the small flame to the pile of kindling in the stone pit. The flame increases. I add more twigs and eventually branches until I have a good roaring fire. With the fire going I look at the notices I received. You¡¯ve learned the skill [Firestarter] By starting a campfire you¡¯ve established a [Camp]. Bonus to health, stamina, and mana regeneration while in camp. Current bonus: 5%. Sweet. I get a bonus from building a camp. Wonder if better camps give better bonuses? Something to experiment with later. Let¡¯s finish up this quest. I¡¯m hungry. Night falls as I spit the two portions of rabbit meat on some branches and arrange some wood so the spits lay above the fire without actually touching the flames. I can already see the meat browning and smell the delicious aroma. While the meat cooks I arrange the vegetables for the salad. I realize I don¡¯t have any plates or utensils and decide to use the larger leaves as a sort of plate for everything else. I put the berries around the edge of my leaf plate forming a berry circle. Once I turn the meat over to cook both sides I take it off the spit. The meat has a nice caramelization on the outside and only a bit of char. The smell makes my mouth water and I see Mary follow the meat with large hungry eyes. As soon as I place the meat in the middle of the berry circle I get a couple notifications that I ignore since the smell of the food is making my stomach growl. Mary looks at the food like she hasn¡¯t eaten in days. ¡°Let¡¯s dig in.¡± I tell her. We both eat the hot meat gingerly with our hands. I break up the meat into smaller pieces so she can grasp them with her tiny fairy fingers.¡±This is soo good.¡± Mary says through a mouth full of food. She¡¯s right. The meat is crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. The salad and berries add some texture and fruitiness to the meal. Even though Mary has to take each small piece of meat and berry with both hands to eat, she still finishes her part of meal before me. Where does she put all that? Finally my stomach is full and I take a moment to look at my notifications. You''ve learned the skill [Cooking]. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. You''ve made [Fire Roasted Meat and Salad]. Fire Roasted Meat and Salad A well made meal of fire roasted meat and locally grown vegetables. When eaten, gain 10% increased health and stamina regeneration over 30 minutes. You''ve completed the quest ''Make Dinner''. You receive 10 XP plus a bonus 5 XP for the quality of the meal. I¡¯m happy to see I got extra experience points. That means Mary liked the food. Wondering what bonuses I get from my new skills I bring up their descriptions. Cooking You can cook nutritious and delicious meals. Learn new recipes from experimentation, cookbooks, or from other cooks. Your meals may give a variety of bonuses once consumed. Level: Novice 1 (1%) Bonus: 10% less likely to burn or ruin a meal. Firestarter You are skilled in starting fires. You require less fuel and time to start a fire than others. Level: Novice 1 (1%) Bonus: 10 % less time and fuel required to start a fire. Well, those are nice bonuses for things I¡¯ll have to do anyway. Mary flies nearby and sits back on a log with a full stomach. ¡°That was a good meal. I sure like giving that quest out.¡± she says with a grin on her face. ¡°You survived your first day and finished your first quest. Good work. Time for me to count fairy sheep though. I¡¯ll see you in the morning.¡± Saying this Mary flies off into a nearby tree and disappears. I wish Mary a goodnight and decide to relax by the fire after such a busy day. Putting my hands up to the fire, I enjoy the warmth of the crackling flames. As I sit, I listen to the sounds of the forest at night. I hear the wind rustling through the leaves and the small animals moving at night looking for food. I think about all things that happened today and am kind of amazed. I made a spear with my own two hands and fought a ferocious horned rabbit that almost killed me. I also gained some nice skills for working hard and thinking on my feet to solve some problems. Maybe this world is a good chance at a new beginning for me. I enjoy the fire for a while longer before I gather some leaves for an impromptu bed. As I lay next to the fire and drift off to sleep I can¡¯t help but wonder what tomorrow will bring. Chapter 2.1 I yawn loudly as I wake up. Man, my neck and back are stiff. The ground does not give good lumbar support. ¡°Morning sleepy head.¡± Mary greets me. ¡°I¡¯ve gathered some berries for breakfast. Figured you¡¯d be hungry after all that hunting you did yesterday.¡± The berries taste pretty good. ¡°Thanks Mary. So, what¡¯s on the agenda for today? Anything else you¡¯re teaching me or new quests?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just here to answer your questions and help you learn the basics. I¡¯m not your nursemaid.¡± Ok. ¡°Guess I¡¯ll work on raising my skills. Any tips on what skills I should work on?¡± ¡°Hmmm. Honestly I¡¯m more worried about your stats than your skills. By the time most people are your age in this world, they¡¯re already about level 5 and have a job or class. Their stats are much higher if they''re adventurers. If you¡¯re a regular person you''re ok with average stats but if you plan to keep fighting monsters you¡¯ll need to increase them.¡± Average stats? Who wants to be average? ¡°How do I increase my stats?¡± ¡°Well, one way is from leveling. You gain free stat points when you level that you use to increase any attribute you have. Another way is by training your body. Naturally if you lift heavy things you¡¯ll increase strength. Run or sprint and you¡¯ll increase constitution. There are a lot of ways to train.¡° Let¡¯s see what some exercise gets me. I start with some push ups. After about about 3 minutes my arms are burning but I continue on. After another 2 minutes I stop. My arms feel like jelly. No stat changes yet. Ok. Work out the legs now. After another 5 minutes of squats and lunges my legs are quivering. I then lay on the ground and do situps for 6 minutes. I¡¯m feeling really tired but push for one more situp. Suddenly I collapse and can barely move. As I lay there I hear a giggle above me. ¡°What¡¯s wrong there strong man? Can¡¯t move? Hehe.¡± ¡°What the heck Mary? I was moving fine a minute ago. Sure I was straining but I had energy. Now I can¡¯t move.¡± ¡°You forgot about your stamina silly. Remember, I told you when you use some skills it takes part of your stamina. The same applies to any strenuous activity. Run out of stamina and your body collapses because it¡¯s out of energy.¡± Collapsing because I ran out out stamina? Note to self. Do not run out of stamina in a fight. I can only imagine what that horned rabbit would have done to me if I¡¯d collapsed in front of it. After a few minutes I feel some energy flowing through my body and I can move again. I call up my [Status] screen and see I only have 1 stamina point left. ¡°You can move now? Good. Here are some more berries to eat. They¡¯ll help recover your stamina.¡± Mary tells me while handing me the fruit. I eat the berries while looking at my status screen and see that my stamina is recovering faster. I sit and rest until my stamina has recovered. I get up and notice my muscles aren¡¯t stiff at all. I guess resting does more in this world. Ok. I don¡¯t want to collapse again. After about 15 minutes of hard exercise I feel that same sense of extreme tiredness and stop immediately. I check my status screen and see that I have 2 points of stamina. I sit down and rest while eating. It takes about 15 minutes to fully recover my stamina. So, 15 minutes exercise and 15 minutes rest. Seems like a good balance. I continue this cycle for another hour. I finally get a notification that I¡¯ve gained new stats. Strength +1 Constitution +1 I feel a slight increase of the strength in my limbs and feel a little less tired. Finally, the exercise paid off. Over an hour of hard work for a couple of stats. I can handle that. What about the other stats? ¡°Mary, what can I do to train dexterity, intelligence, wisdom, charisma, or luck?¡± The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°You raise dexterity if you practice things that require it. Climbing, dodging, throwing or shooting things accurately all require good dexterity. Wisdom is raised when you apply knowledge you already have or make connections from incomplete information. It¡¯s often gained when training in puzzles or creating new things.¡° That makes sense. ¡°The other stats might be harder for you to train here in the forest. Luck is only raised when you get lucky or when you beat some long odds. Professional gamblers have naturally high luck. Intelligence raises when you learn new information. So you usually get gains when you read books or raise spell levels. It¡¯ll be easier to raise your intelligence when you get to a large city where there is a library or a mages guild. Charisma is raised when your...well charismatic. Get new people to like you or admire you. Again, hard to raise when you¡¯re in the forest with just me.¡± ¡°Ok, I get that I can¡¯t do much about the intelligence or luck stat till I can get to a city. However, can¡¯t I just seduce a certain fairy guide to raise my charisma?¡± Mary blushes slightly, puts two fingers up and comments ¡°One, I¡¯m way out of your league ¡®level one¡¯. Two, that kind of stupid tactic only works if your target doesn¡¯t know they¡¯re being used. Once they know you¡¯re just using them your reputation with that person will go way down. It may also lower your reputation with the town. No good buddy.¡± ¡°My reputation?¡± ¡°I was going to save this part till you met some other people but it looks like I¡¯ll have to explain reputation now or you¡¯ll start planning to be a fake Don Juan to raise your charisma. Reputation is the opinion any person or group has towards you. If you have a high reputation you might get discounts at stores or access to special quests because they trust you. If you have a low reputation you¡¯ll get the opposite. You¡¯ll get higher prices. You¡¯re less likely to get information. You might even be thrown in jail by the city guards if your reputation is low enough.¡± Oh. There goes my plan to seduce all the eligible ladies in town. ¡°Why don¡¯t I just work on strength, constitution, and dexterity for now then?¡± ¡°Good idea Rico Suave.¡± That¡¯s how my first week in Terra goes. I¡¯d do push ups, sit ups, squats and lunges to train strength and constitution. I climb trees and rocks to train dexterity. I try to train [Sneak] and [Observe] while hunting. I have to cook a couple time a day so [Cooking] goes up some. After dinner I sprint around camp to raise my constitution some more and then off to bed. Unfortunately my plan doesn¡¯t go quite as well as I hoped it would. The first day¡¯s gains are pretty good. I gain +1 to strength and dexterity, +2 to constitution. I also raise all my skills, except for [Sneak] and [Craftsman], by one level. After that, there are diminishing returns. Turns out the higher the stat the more training it takes to raise it again. The next day I exercise twice as much but only gain an increase to constitution. The third day I decide to focus only on increasing strength and add lifting weights to the routine. I gain an increase to strength but it takes all day. Day four is dedicated to climbing and chasing squirrels. I gain another point to dexterity but I¡¯m exhausted by the end of the day. By the end of the week I¡¯ve completely stagnated. I¡¯ve stopped gaining strength, dexterity, or constitution. I had to follow small woodland creatures for more than half the day for [Sneak] rise a level. Thankfully, all that sneaking lets me raise [Observe] a couple more times. However, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be fighting boss squirrels, lizards, or grass snakes any time soon so the bonus damage from the skill is kind of wasted. There aren¡¯t very many tough creatures to fight either so [Spear Mastery] only goes up two levels from the entire week¡¯s hunting. Thankfully something happens that takes my journey to the next level and lets me get on track. Publishing Hello everyone. Thank you so much for following me on my journey as I''ve written a LitRPG story. I''ve decided to publish it and sign up for the Kindle Unlimted Program which requires that I delete 90% of the story anywhere else online. I''ll leave the 10% up as a sample of the book. If you want to continue to enjoy the story you can do so by purchasing it on Amazon. Adventures of Terrs - Book 1: Beginningshttp://amzn.to/2gr9lOlIf you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Thank you again for being supportive readers. GeekBytes a.k.a. R.A. Mejia