Kairen was grateful for whatever or whoever was behind the screens and their foresightedness when it came to aiding understanding. Even without any words to help describe things, there was still so much that he could learn from the visual display in front of him. A field of twenty-one images was displayed in front of him, arranged in three rows with an uneven horizontal spacing between the different images. Unfortunately, the new images weren’t moving at all, making it far harder to figure out what was supposed to change if and when he purchased them. Kairen wasn’t about to complain about it and risk having the still images vanish on him.

Probably the most helpful feature were the thin lines that connected various images, starting from the bottom three and branching outwards and upwards like a tree. Or three trees, to be precise, since none of the lines formed a connection between his three initial options, leaving him with three distinct groups. The top row had lines that went even further up but didn’t seem to be connected to anything. Kairen made a note of it to see if he could figure out what was hidden with a future request before returning his attention to the various images he’d uncovered.

The most obvious trait the second and third rows shared was that the costs were larger than the box that represented his maximum capacity. It didn’t give him any ideas as to how he could increase his capacity, but it solidified his belief that he could and provided a reason that these choices had been hidden by default. There really wasn’t much point in showing him options to select from if he wouldn’t be able to actually choose them.

Of course, even if he couldn’t select them yet just getting a better idea of what his potential capabilities were was a blessing. It quickly became obvious that the three connected groups of options were three categories of similar abilities that he could invest in. The left category was all about defenses. While the primary focus was on keeping monsters away, some of the upgrades seemed to feature arrows, sandstorms and even the sun. Kairen wasn’t quite sure how that last one would function, but the emphasis in all the images was on the barrier or other defensive measure present. Remembering how he died, trapped in a sandstorm, Kairen made a mental note to grab the sandstorm defense once he could afford it. Even if he couldn’t die again, he didn’t want to be stuck in the middle of a sandstorm any longer than he had to, and without any location to take shelter in he would have to spend the whole duration of the storm exposed to it and its effects. Then again, it wasn’t like he interacted all that much with his environment, and his oasis seemed to remove any contaminants that fell in it, so there was a small possibility that Kairen could simply go to sleep on his waterbed and take a nap until the sandstorm abated. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to let himself fall asleep though, even if the idea of simply ignoring a storm like that was appealing.

The middle tree was focused on the Oasis itself. From increasing the size and depth of the spring, to expanding the grassy area that marked out the limits of his domain, the general theme seemed to be affecting the physical characteristics of his Oasis. He wasn’t completely sure about that conclusion, as it only relied on the three images he could interpret. The three options that made up the third row of that category were more abstract and Kairen hoped he would get more information before having to decide on which ones to take. It was likely he would be given moving pictures to help explain things once he was able to select them. Kairen also saw the possibility of people settling in at his Oasis now that they knew about it. It was a slim chance at the moment, but he might be able to listen in on any teaching sessions they offered to eventually improve his reading capability. Even if neither of those things happened, he wasn’t too worried. None of the images seemed to have any negative connotations attached, and Kairen had never heard of a broken oasis in his admittedly somewhat limited experience, so it seemed unlikely that selecting an unknown option would harm him. Delay his purchasing of other options, yes, but at the moment it looked like he had plenty of time to figure things out.

The final tree was the one that gave Kairen the most headaches. The images were abstracted representations of their actual effects. It worked fine for the more physical effects, such as the defenses and improving the physical characteristics of the Oasis but fell apart when it tried to convey more esoteric information. What was shown was so varied and unusual as to make it almost impossible for Kairen to find a common starting point he could use to understand the message they were trying to convey. The only saving grace was the fact that he had a moving image for the first option, and that he had already purchased one level of it and could see its effects or non-effects, as it were.

Combined with his pre-existing knowledge and the areas that the other two categories covered and Kairen had a hunch that the theme for the last category was ‘blessings’ a vague catch=all term to describe the various boons and benefits that established Oases provided to the cities and settlements that grew up around them. The only problem with that idea was that most other Oases he had heard of only provided a singular benefit as opposed to the many options that Kairen could eventually purchase. Sure, there were some that could be thought of as separate effects such as the great temple of Ing increased energy, increased fertility, increased pleasure, and awareness of others could be seen as four different boons or boosts, but most just considered it a singular piece of sex magic.

Kairen’s best guess for reconciling the discrepancy was the assumption that the initial benefits of purchasing an ability were either minimal or subtle enough to go unnoticed. Despite the preview the moving image had provided, he hadn't really noticed a surge in new animals, and it would take a good amount of time to actually see if anything was happening. Even then it might be difficult to pin things down. After all, how much of an increase in new animals was due to his blessing on the area, and how much would simply be due to having ample supplies of water and vegetation for the first time in their lives?

Thinking about the animals gave Kairen an idea for something else to try. He’d been comparing this screen to the one a Judgement provided since they both had similar appearances. Kairen had been more focused on the differences between the two, but now he was interested in exploring the similarities.

“Can you show me my status? I want to know what information you can give me about the Oasis as it is right now.”

Unsurprisingly the unpurchased options faded away, leaving Kairen with three boxes representing his ability with small 1s centered directly above each one. The bar and numbers representing his current and maximum capacity also remained. He was slightly disappointed there wasn’t more, but he guessed it made sense in some ways. He wasn’t the human with statistical categories he was used to anymore. He was a guiding spirit for an Oasis, and these three boxes represented the sum total of his accomplishments. Still even if he was only the guiding spirit, Kairen hoped he had enough of a connection to the Oasis to get more information about it and pressed onwards with a series of questions.

“Show me what you can about the Oasis. What is the status of the Oasis? How much water is there in the Oasis?”

The last one had a measure of success. Perhaps because the water was something he provided? Either way a small image of a travelling barrel appeared. It was a common enough size and shape that Kairen recognized it easily and was made to hold enough water to last a man a week; seven gallons. Next to it a number appeared and started counting upwards, slowly at first but speeding up until the numbers seemed to blur before finally coming to a stop. It was a big number. It took him a bit, but he was eventually able to provide some context to the number 5,145. Sitting in front of him was enough water to supply his old village for two years, all in one instant. Of course, that didn’t take into account the spring providing that water, which seemed more magical than anything. His pool never overflowed, but he hadn’t noticed the level dropping any either as the animals drank their fill, and the memory of the pool forming in an instant was still vivid and fresh. Of course, all this could be improved on in the next few days, making his source of water even more impressive.

Kairen took a moment to appreciate just how much power he had. His condition insulated him from it to a degree, but in less than a week he had gained the ability to conjure up water on a level a grand hydromancer would be envious of, could do a better job of repelling monsters than any starting adventurer, and had the potential for so much more literally at his fingertips. He still wasn’t sure it was worth the cost. His family was dead, his home was destroyed, and he was a ghost forevermore. For a long minute he simply wallowed in the sudden rush of emotions, the awe and wonder mixing and struggling against the grief and rage he had pushed away until now.

The scream of a dying animal brought him out of his mood, and he watched as the group of jackals finished off the baby antelope they brought down. It lacked the experience to flee when it should have and had been caught while drinking from the oasis. Kairen felt a pang of pity for the poor animal that had its life cut short, but it served as a good reminder for him. He was hardly the only person to go through hardships, and instead of focusing on a past he couldn’t change he should work on directing that energy towards the present and the future.

Standing up he clapped his hands, wincing a little at the lack of impact or noise he had been hoping for. Still, he was determined to be productive while he waited for more people to arrive.

“Right. Time to get to work.”