It's been 1 whole year since I came to this strange new world, and in my time here I've come to a conclusion.
This place is definitely not fun!
I mean come on, there's nothing to do here! This place is so utterly and unbelievably boring.
I mean, I know that in those magical fantasy novels on Earth, the main character usually gets teleported to a planet filled with all kinds of strange magical phenomena and goes on amazing, wondrous adventures with their quirky companions.
But that is definitely not how it's going for me. I mean, sure I do have the analysis skill that lets me view information on virtually anything, but honestly I don't see the fun in that. You can only view something so many times before it gets boring.
However, after using it so many times on various items I've just now leveled it up to level 4.
Unsurprisingly, it is quite useful. Especially so when finding information on the new things, I'm not very familiar with in this new world.
I did, however, figure out a bit more about the system after leveling up my skill, and it's very interesting.
First, when I upgrade a skill to the next level, I get one Skill Tree point. Which I can then use to unlock new skills through the system.
The second and most important, being that when I unlock a new skill, different branches on the tree glow with an ethereal light, and on closer inspection, the usual word that appeared on every branch, [Locked] disappears and in its place a new skill would appear.
However, the most interesting part about this is that when I unlock a new skill, the past skills that were not unlocked don't disappear. Meaning that I can unlock all of the skills if I want!
With that, I summoned the Skill Tree and looked at the bottom-most branch just barely above the trunk displaying the new skills I can unlock.
[Skill Tree]
Available Skill Tree Points: 2
Available Skills:
[Fireball] [Earth Mold] [Wind Blade]
I analyze the skills with great interest. Now which one should I choose? Shooting fire from my hand, Sculpting the earth around me, or shooting a blade of wind from my fingertips.
They all seem to be great choices, but I wonder why they're all magic-related? I say as I zoom out to look at the tree in full view.
Well it appears that only the branches nearest the magician class have lighten up which means I can more than likely assume that from now on, until I unlock the other classes, that I am only going to get magic related skills.
I'm actually pretty happy with that, knowing how versatile magic can be.
But which one should I pick? They all seem to be of relatively the same power, so picking one over the other won't necessarily impact me. Especially since I can go back and unlock them all later.
So maybe I should choose the one skill I can use right now, without causing serious damage to my surroundings.
Which only leaves the earth mold skill.
With that, I command the system to unlock the earth molding skill.
[You have unlocked Earth Mold]
I wait for a moment before thinking.
That's it? No skill points? Where are my stat points?!
Is it possible that I don't get any stat points for unlocking skills? Well, who am I kidding that's the only explanation!
Damn... And here I was hoping to improve my mana some more so I could spam my skill and level it up.
Somberly I say to myself.
Well, I guess it was just wishful thinking anyway.
***
Looking at the earth mold skill, I realized that it is actually much more versatile than I expected.
It lets me shape the earth around me into any form I desire! This means I can make anything I want, of course as long as it isn't a liquid.
Of course, it always comes at a price. The skill costs quite a bit of mana to activate. When I finish whatever creation I desire, the amount of mana used to shape that item is taken from my mana meter. And it doesn't hold back one bit.
Deep in thought about the possibilities of this new skill, I nearly missed the quiet voice calling out to me.
"Rony, it's time for story time, honey."
It was my mother subtly reminding me about the new tradition we all shared. Every night before I go to bed, my parents sit down with me on their bed and tell me a very interesting story, normally it's just fairytales made up long ago to entertain the minds of little children.
It's definitely one of the most entertaining things I do every day at least. Aside from exploring the mysteries of the system.
Now that I think about it though, I haven't really been doing anything in this world. I know I'm in the body of an infant but my thirst for adventure still continues to grow by the day!
I really wish I see some action soon!
***
"Okay, tonight Ronin, we're going to tell you a story only the most talented elite of our village know."
I looked at my father in curiosity as he began speaking.
"Once upon a time, in a land not too far from where we sit now., lived a demon! Yes, a real-life demon, a ferocious race of warriors studying the demonic arts."
"It is said that this specific demon once lived amongst us humans, treating us as equals instead of inferior."
Hearing this I think to myself, Interesting, so it seems that there are actual demons in this world, just like what I saw in many novels back on earth.
"The demon said to be the wisest amongst them all, bestowed a blessing upon our land, for the land to be prosperous and abundant, where crops grew bountifully, and rivers flowed with crystal-clear waters. The skies would be forever golden, and the people would flourish in the favor of the demon's wisdom."
"Yet, in the depths of this amazing feat, lay a dark price. An ancient curse woven into the fabric of the land itself!"
"Every 1000 years, without fail, a horde of monstrous beings would rise from the earth, clawing their way from the shadows to descend upon the land. These beasts, born of nightmares and fury, would seek to lay waste to everything in their path."
"Villages would burn, fields would be trampled, and the cries of the innocent would echo in the wind. The monsters would stop at nothing to destroy all that had been built, their bloodlust never sated until the first light of dawn, when they would retreat into the dark corners of the world."
"And so, the people were caught in a never-ending cycle. Blessed with wealth, yet burdened by the horror that stalked them every thousand years."
"But don't worry Rony, this is all just a legend. No one has actually proven it to be true, at least not from our little village, haha."
Interesting. So this demon was so strong that he was capable of granting "blessings" upon an entire continent?
That just makes me even more curious about this world's power system.
But what about this curse? Is there a chance of it actually being real? My father didn't necessarily seem very convincing when he said it wasn't true.
Well, I guess I'll never actually know, let's just hope I wasn't born near this thousand-year deadline.
With that, the story was over and my mother carried me to the room my crib was in and laid me down with a peaceful smile.
I lay down in my bed and contemplated about what to do next. I don't think I can fall asleep very easily after hearing that legend of the demon and his cursed army.
Strangely, it sent shivers down my spine just thinking about it.
I'll just try out my earth molding skill.
***
Holding a small sharp dagger made from earth I felt truly accomplished, as I finally succeeded in making a weapon.
Granted, it was very crude and lacked any sort of special characteristic but still, I was satisfied. This just proved the potential of this skill in the future.
Looking at my dagger I excitedly swing it in the air. My mana was depleted quite a bit after all my experimentation.
Mana: 13/30
Looking at this number with a strange feeling of dread I began to sweat profusely, as if I was being was being warned about something.
I tried to focus on what might be wrong but there seemed to be no use, until moments later.
I felt the crib beneath me begin to shake violently as the earth around me began to tremble with unexpected force, as though something was attacking it from below.
However, the next moment before I could even react, I was thrown violently from my resting place and tumbled across the floor of my room.
Amongst the turmoil I could hear footsteps quickly approaching the door as it violently swung open, nearly falling off its hinges. To my great relief, in walked my father wielding his silver sword.
The knight meant to protect the people of the village from monster invasions had appeared to help me.
Luckily, I'm sure he'll be able to show off his skills soon because, rising through the barren earth of my once profoundly clean room, was some kind of strange monster I have never seen before.
It appeared to be some sort of strange, terrifyingly huge shadow creature.
Clawing at the earth as it tried to exit the hole in the ground. The strange beast emitted an absurdly loud screech, deafening me as moments later, my father lunged toward my position, standing guard in front of me, pointing his silver blade directly at the monster.
Immediately as the beast appeared something appeared in front of my face.
[You have received an emergency quest]
A quest? I actually get quests from the system, I had no idea I could get those!
But there was not much time to be surprised as what came next shocked me even further.
[Quest: Survive the Night of Abominations]
[Reward: Survivor Title]
[Optional Quest: Slay 3 Creatures of the Night]
[Reward: Book of Demons]
I looked at the information in front of me, absolutely baffled by what I saw.
Those rewards... I wanted them. No. I needed them.
All I have to do is survive the night? That can't be too hard. But this feels strangely coincidental.
Judging by these rewards... Yeah, it was no coincidence at all.
With my mind racing with anticipation and a slight smile plastered on my face, I think to myself.
Legend my ass!