When Harry woke up in the cupboard the next morning, the immediate surge of fear and misery was still there, a cold wave hitting him, but just like the day before, the faint hum of [Gamer's Mind] dampened the raw panic. It felt less like crushing despair and more like... a difficult mood he had to manage. Like keeping quiet when Uncle Vernon was watching golf.
He focused inwards.
📊 [STATS]
Name: Harry Potter
Level: 1
HP: 50/50
MP: 10/10
STR: 3
DEX: 4
INT: 8
WIS: 6
LUK: 15
CHA: 9
His HP was full again. Did he heal when he slept? He certainly didn't feel 100%. He was still achy and stiff. Maybe 50 HP was his maximum at Level 1? Or maybe HP only showed physical damage, not just being uncomfortable?
His MP was full too! It had been lower yesterday after using [Observe]. Did MP also come back when he slept?
🔔 [STATUS UPDATE]
MP Regeneration: Active. Current Rate: 1 MP per hour. Restful Sleep provides additional MP restoration.
Ah! The System just told him! 1 MP per hour. And sleeping helped. That was good. It meant he could use [Observe] on people sometimes, knowing his points would return. Ten points didn't feel like a lot if it took ten hours to get them all back outside of sleeping, but maybe the rate would increase?
🎯 [QUEST ACCEPTED!]
Title: Survive the Week
Goal: Avoid Dudley's violent games. Minimize interactions with Petunia. Ensure daily food intake (minimum one meal/day). Do not reveal the existence of the System.
Progress: 1/7 days survived safely
Reward: +100 EXP, +1 LUK, unlock passive skill [Pain Resistance I]
Failure: Serious injury, revelation of the System, prolonged starvation. Unknown penalties.
One day down. He'd survived Monday. Six more to go for the reward.
His attention drifted back to the skill screen from yesterday.
🧠 [SKILL LIST]
[Gamer's Mind Lv. 1] – Immune to emotional breakdowns under stress. Focus enhanced. (Current Effect: Emotional dampening 20%)
[Observe Lv. 1] – Gather information on targets. Cost: 1 MP (People), 0 MP (Items).
That second line about Observe costing MP made more sense now. And that notification about 'Evasive Maneuvers'... he brought it up in his mind.
🔔 [POTENTIAL SKILL DEVELOPMENT]
User demonstrates instinctual survival reactions when threatened by a specific individual (Dudley Dursley). Repeated successful [Evasive Maneuvers] have been noted.
Action Trigger: Successfully avoid or escape immediate physical threats/ambushes.
Current Progress: 1/5 (Successes required to unlock Agility/Awareness skill?)
Keep practicing Evasion to develop new abilities.
"Current Progress: 1/5". He had successfully dodged Dudley once yesterday (the curtain incident), and the System was tracking it. He needed to do it five times, successfully avoiding Dudley or maybe others who threatened him physically, to maybe unlock a skill related to being quick or knowing where things were. This felt like a goal, a mini-quest linked to the potential skill. He could do that. Dudley was a predictable source of 'Evasion Practice'.
The lock on the cupboard door rattled.
"GET UP!"
Harry dismissed the windows, already planning. Make breakfast (+EXP). Avoid Dudley (practice evasion, +EXP if successful). Do chores (+EXP). Find food (progress Quest, avoid starvation failure). Keep the System a secret (avoid revelation failure). This wasn't just surviving anymore. It was surviving with objectives.
Breakfast was identical to the day before. Cook, serve, clean. He kept his head down, but his focus, enhanced by Gamer's Mind, felt sharper. He moved efficiently.
[Action Completed: Prepare Dursley Breakfast]
[+5 EXP]
Current EXP: 12 + 5 = 17/100
He was 17% of the way to Level 2. Every little chore chipped away at the required total.
The morning blurred into cleaning. He dusted, vacuumed, and tidied, occasionally using [Observe] on objects. Seeing "Condition: Excellent" or "Requires Cleaning" felt like completing tiny, unspoken System objectives. It validated the endless work.
Cleaning the garage felt like a bigger task. Dusty, cluttered, full of Uncle Vernon's mysterious boxes of... things. Harry worked diligently, wiping down garden tools and sweeping the floor. It took over an hour.
[Action Completed: Detailed Garage Cleaning]
[Significant Effort Detected]
[+15 EXP]
Current EXP: 17 + 15 = 32/100
Fifteen EXP! That was a good chunk! Larger, harder chores paid more. The system was grading his work. He needed about seven more chores like this, or twenty small ones, or a few more evasion successes... Level 2 felt a little closer now.
He spent most of the rest of the morning trying to make himself scarce. Dudley was outside with his gang. Uncle Vernon was at work. Aunt Petunia was gossiping on the phone in the kitchen. This was prime time to avoid her. He hid in the back garden, behind the shedding tools, technically still cleaning the back steps.
[Action: Hiding/Appearing Busy]
[Task related to Quest "Survive the Week" Objective "Minimize interactions with Petunia"]
[+2 EXP]
Current EXP: 32 + 2 = 34/100
Even hiding earned points, as long as it served the quest! This was amazing. His entire, awful existence was now generating points, inching him forward.
Mid-afternoon brought the inevitable: Dudley and Piers. They crashed into the garden from the front, having finished whatever mischief they were up to. Harry froze near the back fence.
🧍 [PERSON: Dudley Dursley]
Level: 3
Current Mood: Energized, Looking for Trouble.
Notes: Harry Potter's cousin. Possesses above-average STR for his age, negligible INT, and high CHA (Parental Figures). Current Objective: Find Harry.
Harry tensed, his [Gamer's Mind] locking down the immediate urge to curl up and cover his head. His brain ran scenarios. Nowhere obvious to run to. The fence was too high. The shed door was locked.
"There he is!" Piers yelled, pointing.
Dudley's face lit up. He began running, that heavy, thudding run, directly towards Harry.
🔔 [IMMINENT THREAT DETECTED!]
[Suggested Action: Evasion!]
The little box flickered, a silent nudge. Harry didn't hesitate. He darted sideways, aiming for the narrow gap between the shed and the garden wall, a space Dudley was far too big to fit through easily.
Dudley, caught off guard by the change in direction, tried to pivot but mostly just stumbled, losing speed. Piers, more nimble, kept coming.
Harry scrambled into the gap. It was dirty and spider-web ridden, but blessedly safe. He crouched low, pressing himself against the rough brick.
"Oi! Get out of there!" Dudley yelled, frustrated, trying to peer into the gap.
"He can't fit!" Piers snickered, lingering just outside.
Harry stayed put, breathing hard, heart pounding. He hadn't been caught. He was safe, at least for now.
🔔 [Evasive Maneuver: SUCCESSFUL!]
[Potential Skill Development Progress Updated: 2/5 Successes]
[+10 EXP]
Current EXP: 34 + 10 = 44/100
He'd done it again! 44 EXP. He was almost halfway to Level 2 now! He could see the blue progress bar, if he focused, a thin line slowly creeping across the top of his internal display.
He stayed in the gap for a long time, even after Dudley and Piers got bored and went inside, demanding drinks. Only when Aunt Petunia called him to help with supper preparation did he emerge.
The hunger was a constant companion (Quest Objective: Ensure daily food intake, Progress: Still need 1 meal). Usually, supper was his one meal, if he was allowed to eat after serving the others.
He helped Aunt Petunia set the table and bring food, working quickly and quietly to minimise interaction. His stomach rumbled so loudly he was sure she could hear it. When dinner was served – roast chicken, potatoes, vegetables – Harry was given a small plate and pointedly ignored.
He ate every single bite on his plate slowly, carefully. It wasn't much, mostly a chicken wing, half a small potato, and a spoonful of peas, but it was a meal. He finished, making sure his plate was spotless.
🎯 [QUEST PROGRESS UPDATED!]
Survive the Week: Ensured daily food intake (2/?) (Day 2 Goal Achieved)
Goal: Ensure daily food intake (minimum one meal/day). Status: Achieved for Day 2.
[Task Related to Surviving the Week: Achieved Minimum Sustenance]
[+10 EXP]
Current EXP: 44 + 10 = 54/100
He was over halfway! Achieving the daily food intake goal also gave him points. Everything seemed to grant EXP if it related to the quest or demonstrated learning.
As he curled up in his cupboard that night, ignoring the aching cold and the sounds of the TV from the living room, Harry reviewed the day. He was tired, still a bit hungry, and knew tomorrow would be more of the same. But he also had 54 EXP, two successful evasions counted, and Day 2 of his quest complete. He understood a little more about HP and MP regeneration, about how certain actions granted points.
It was still a hard life. But now, every miserable chore, every fearful evasion, every scrap of food wasn't just endured; it was progress. And that made all the difference.