"45… 46… 47… 48…49… 50!" My final push-up for the day has just been finished. Sweat was dripping from my body and I'm pretty sure some steam was also coming out of me. "Huff… puff… huff, I'll do the run later. I need water."
Slowly, I got up from the cool ground I lay on and went back to the small house I lived in.
It's been a month since I came to this world and I have done nothing but diligently complete my daily quests. I am not strong nor fit enough to survive whatever danger the penalty dungeon has in stock for me. Normally, pushing myself to the limit every day would take its toll on the human body. Especially as young as I am.
But with the Gamer's Body skill, every time I sleep, I am fully rested with no pain or soreness. I kept doing this training to hopefully become strong enough against this world's enemies.
Speaking of this world, I tried venturing out of my own a couple of times to not only find water and food but to also gain an idea of what world I am in. And the results were completely lackluster. It looked like any other forest on Earth. Green forests, rivers, and cliffs. Etcetera, etcetera.
Well, at least the fauna was still the same. Deers and rabbits galore for me to consume if I want to. Now hunting was a bit tricky at first, I fumbled about and lost some prey a couple of times. But when I started to get the hang of it, a new skill popped up.
[Skill: Sneak] Level: 2
[Sneak: Silent Shadow]
[Erase your existence to everyone and everything. Active use of this skill will make your presence harder to sense to anyone.]
[Activated: Decreased detection rate of 10%]
[Note: Can increase of rate with level up.]
[Cost: 50 MP for 5 Minutes]
I got it leveled up with how I'm constantly using it to stalk deer and rabbits. If I can level this up to the max, would no one notice me?
Anyway, I didn't use conventional weaponry from the wild but instead relied on my [Omega Nanites] and [Haki]. It was easy to configure an air gun, using the Metro games as a base and rocks as ammo, and with Haki added for a guaranteed headshot, I never ate revolting meat from the kills I did.
Although I cannot imbue the rocks with Haki yet, the chamber where I store the air can be hardened to capacity and stronger shots.
A month ago, they could only stun my prey and I would resort to deal the finishing blow myself. But now, my air shot goes through them like a bullet would. And it's all thanks to my daily training and daily stat points.
Strength: 15
Intelligence: 20
Agility: 15
Sense: 15
Luck: 15
{Skill Points: 0}
I prioritized my mana first then others as well. With how my future skills will rely on my mana, I need to not only increase my pool of mana but also regenerate as well. My other stats will increase naturally as well to give me an all-rounded character.
Although my stats are doing good, my gifts have stagnated. After each daily quest, I would try and train my Haki and Omega Nanite but do activities that stress them out or have me continuously use them for better results. And sure, they are gaining some experience but not at the rate I liked them to be at.
I did notice that whenever I killed a deer or rabbit with them, the experience was a bit bigger than simply training them. I wanted to use all 3 of my Haki to level them up faster but my MP was not big enough to use them in conjecture to one another.
As soon as went inside the house I woke up in, I was greeted with the sight of dried meat for faster consumption, fresh meat from the other day, and some pelts of fur from the animals I killed.
I was kind of worried about water since I had nothing to store them in but my inventory helped me with that. A single slot of my inventory was holding 10 liters of water and it's kept as fresh as I got it from. And even if it's poisoned, my gamer's body can neutralize it instantly so I can drink without worry.
I grabbed one of the dried meat hanging nearby and ate a big chunk of it into my mouth, Its dull flavor and lack of seasoning made me want to gag it out but I had to keep chewing if I wanted the buff.
[Consumed: (Poorly-Seasoned Meat)]
[Buff: Increase HP by 10 for 10 minutes]
Yep, eating foods gives me buffs. And if I follow the rule of rarity, the better tasting food is the better the buff. So far, I put up a fair amount of dried meat in my inventory in case I found myself in a tight situation. Water does the same but on my MP instead.
But enough about that. I soon finished my snack and simply stared at nothing. "It's been a month since I came here and yet... I couldn't find anything about this world. I wonder if god sent me to an actual other world or rather someplace else."
Paranoia and fear are very common when dealing with unknown territory. I've read some horrifying stuff back home and the lack of information would have got to me if it weren't for gamer's mind rationalizing my thoughts. I would have broken down long ago if it weren't for this skill.
By this point, I've built up some strength but I wanted to be a bit stronger. Most people would go out and explore by now. But I wanted to make sure I was ready first. There's no telling what kind of enemies I may have to deal with or what surprises await me at the edge of my home.
I needed more strength. So much more so that I won't fear anything that comes my way. It may look like a coping mechanism for my fear but there's truth to it.
With a resounding sigh, I got up and drank some water. "Status."
{Status}
Name: Esther Marie
Level: 2 {Exp: 53.13%}
Titles: [Transmigrated Soul]
___
HP: 180/180 + 10 {Regen: 13 Per Minute}
MP: 250/250 {Regen: 15 Per Minute}
___
Strength: 15
Intelligence: 20
Agility: 15
Sense: 15
Luck: 15
{Skill Points: 0}
___
{Inventory}
16x Poorly Dried Meat
30 Liters of Natural Water
2x Poorly Skinned Deer
5x Poorly Skinned Rabbit
50x Rocks (Ammo)
[Blueprints: NieR: Automata (Pods)]
My status is looking pretty good for only a month here. HP and MP almost doubled from my initial level-up, mainly from my stats. I don't know how powerful these enemies are here so it may look odd if a 5-year-old can fight on par with an adult and win.
My body has been progressing as well. During the first week of training, I compared my height to a nearby tree each time I put a point into my stats and noticed small differences. Being taller, having more muscle, and looking better too. I did notice a small bulge on my chest but wasn't too worried about it. My hair is still the same bird's nest from a month ago but it looks shiny and healthier now.
"Well, enough about that. Now it's time to start the grind." A gamer's work is never done.
_________________________________________________________________________________
2 months pass by. I know it's been two months because the system keeps track of how many daily quests I've completed. 92 of them are done.
Not only did I get stronger but my skills as well. After my daily training, I would spend some time honing my gifts.
I did not know how to train my [Omega Nanite] so I simply created more and more intricate mechs until my MP ran dry. And now did I have some useful weaponry that I can call upon instantly.
I stood a fair bit distance away from the house and looked upon the lone tree before me. Taking a quick breath, I quickly mentally called upon one of my creations.
A series of machinations formed on my right arm, and a blade of equal length appeared.
This construct is relatively simple. It just produces a long sword on my arm. However, it's more of a short sword in my hands rather. I'm pretty sure a small kid wouldn't have access to a menacing blade like the one I have.
This kind of construct would be hard for me to do. Not only do I have to stabilize the weapon comfortably in my hand but also make the blade sharp and long enough to do some damage.
Thankfully, my daily training for the past 3 months started to show. In the past, this kind of construct would use up more than half of my MP to maintain for a minute.
Now it costs less than that and I can maintain it for longer periods.
[Omega-1 Nanite] Level: 4
Because I'm constantly using my Omega Nanite, it leveled up the fastest than my other skills. The Omega Nanite truly is a godsend as I can manufacture limitless amounts of constructs and the only limitations are my MP and imagination.
I looked at the tree in front of me and shifted my posture so that my blade was behind me and my left foot in front. A sigh was released before I burst towards my target and with one swipe of my sharp blade...
*Shing!*
... the tree fell from the ground with a resounding thud. The body had a clean cut in the middle and my sword showed no nicks or cracks.
"My training finally bore fruit," I commanded the blade to disappear and took a look at another one of my targets. A giant rock by the side. "Let's see about my other gift."
With a small amount of effort, my right arm turned black in an instant. The power resonating from it was making the grass underneath my fist swirl from the pressure.
Haki was just as successful with me constantly using Kenbunshoku and Busoshoku in tandem with the Omega Nanite. I'd continue exhausting my reserves every day to train my Haki as much as possible.
[Haki] Level: 3
I got into position with my right arm cocked and aimed at the center of the boulder in front of me. And in one flow of movement...
*Bam!*
... I punched the rock with my Haki-clad fist, instantly forming spider-web cracks around the epicenter. It didn't take long until the boulder exploded from impact and my fist sustained no damage.
A grin formed on my face as my many days of constant training had shown great results and I wanted to see what it looks like now. "Status."
{Status}
Name: Esther Marie
Level: 5 {Exp: 3.57%}
Titles: [Transmigrated Soul], [Hunter]
___
HP: 300/300 {Regen: 20 Per Minute}
MP: 450/450 {Regen: 25 Per Minute}
___
Strength: 30
Intelligence: 50
Agility: 20
Sense: 20
Luck: 20
{Skill Points: 2}
___
{Inventory}
30x Poorly Dried Meat
60 Liters of Natural Water
5x Poorly Skinned Deer
3x Averagely Skinned Deer
10x Poorly Skinned Rabbit
6x Averagely Skinned Rabbit
100x Rocks (Ammo)
___
{Skills}
Gamer's Mind
Gamer's Body
Haki
Omega Nanite
Sneak:
___
{Perks}
Intellectual Mind [Int: 50]
___
And now, I got my first perk. As soon as my Intelligence hit 50, I got it.
___
[Perk: Intellectual Mind]
[You learn information much faster than anyone else. And retain said information for longer periods. A cheat for tests, if you will.]
___
It's pretty basic but for my first perk, it's nice to have. I'm sure Gamer's Mind will make sure that my brain won't have tampered but you can never know how much information you lose every day.
"Sigh, it's been 3 months since I came to this world. I've trained every day and gained stats and leveled up my gifts, even got a perk for my efforts. Food and water are not necessary and my body is growing steadily as well."
3 months ago, I notched my height on a nearby tree to know if stats actually influence my body. And now, I'm probably a foot taller from the notch. My muscles are also coming along and my hair has been getting shined as of late.
But that doesn't matter, as I nodded in my stats. I think I'm strong enough to head out.
It's time to get out of here.