I barely took two steps before I stopped. Partly because of the blue screen that appeared in front of me. Partly because I realized I didn’t even get her name. Sigh.

Calculating Experience...

Resolving Attributes...

Congratulations! You have achieved Level 4.

Level 4, huh...I suppose it was a fair assessment, considering that I just killed a human being, having much higher intelligence and will than the whole horde of slimes combined. Let me mentally clarify, higher intelligence and will than this particular horde of slimes put together. I once lived through a world where one of its nine oceans was, in reality, a massive collection of slimes under a hive-mind...go ahead and try beating that thing in a game of chess. I certainly wouldn’t again…

But that is a memory for another time.

For a moment I paused and considered what to do. Yes, I had already decided to find clothes before looting my would-be killer’s body, but I also felt like I was just procrastinating an unpleasant task. It shouldn’t bother me after all these years across so many iterations, but searching the body of a recently slain woman who looks about my age when I first...died...it just rubs me the wrong way. Maybe because it makes me wonder about my family...my first family...whom I would never see again…

Sigh. At least they don’t have to share the embarrassment of seeing me standing in public wearing nothing but my birthday suit, rather close to a dead body, and still covered in bright blue juices. Yup, time to change something about this awkward situation.

My mind focused once more, I began to walk to the nearest door in sight. The bloody corpse over there said that this place was a bandit camp, so there should be a fair amount of items worth using, especially for concealment and travel. No matter what world I was on, or what the condition of my body was when I ‘woke up’, there was one rule I stuck to like a fanatic with his religious dogma.

Always learn the best method of stealth available. You can never go wrong with stealth.

It doesn’t matter what occupation you hold, how skilled or unskilled you are, whether you use magic or not, stealth is one of, if not THE MOST valuable skill in ANY arsenal. After all, you can’t die by your enemy’s sword if they can’t find you to begin with.

However, right now, stealth is my tertiary goal. Primary and secondary are cleaning up and information, respectively.

As I walked, I opened up my status screen to see what changed.

Name:

Zareb Sindile

Age:

???

Titles:

Master of One’s Soul

Fame:

---

Level:

4

Class:

---

Health:

50/50

Health Regen:

0.05/s

Mana:

---

Mana Regen:

---

Stamina:

20/100

Stamina Regen:

0.1/s

Strength:

16

Intelligence:

27

Vitality:

5

Wisdom:

27

Agility:

15

Charisma:

5

Dexterity:

15

Luck:

15

Soul Force:

MAX

Soul Resilience:

MAX

So, one point in dexterity, luck, intelligence, and wisdom apiece, huh...and two points for agility? Interesting. I shouldn’t have gotten that large of an increase, if my theory about stats and leveling is correct, which I believe it is since my intelligence and wisdom both went up. I wonder if it has anything to do with the Attribute cores I collected? That’s the only explanation I could think of, since I did nothing else related to agility except push myself to move as fast as possible to take down my so-called assassin. Okay, no one called her that, but it’s my mind so my rules.

Then again, I have no idea what actions are related to each stat in this world, just my guesses and prior experience. This is part of why I needed information, hopefully I could find something in the remains of this camp that will help me understand how this world works. Still, soap and water first...or whatever this world’s equivalent is.

Maybe I should look for that information first after all…

The door I was walking to was mostly closed, but as I pushed it open I discovered just how lucky I am. It was a bathhouse!

I did look through every building earlier to check for remaining slimes, but I did not register most of the details. Now that I was not in a battle state, I could clearly see that this place was used to wash up not only the body but clothing as well. It seemed that the laundry was done recently too, perhaps yesterday, and left out to dry. Before I could get dressed though, I needed a bath. I saw a bathtub to the side, conveniently filled with water (maybe someone was about to take a bath just before they were taken from behind by the slime? And no, banish that thought you pervert!) with what looked like a bar of soap and a scrubbing brush, also made of wood, but a different material bristles, on the ground next to it. Not caring about the temperature of the water, I eased myself in, grimacing as the dried up bits of slime started to muck up the water. It only got worse as used the scrub to scrape away as much of the slime as I could find.

Once the water was well and truly ruined for any living being, I stepped out of the tub and pushed it to what I hoped was a draining hole a few feet away. It was large enough that, as I tilted the tub over to empty out the water, nothing spilled around the edges; the fluids went right down with no trouble. That task completed, I looked around for more water, and spotted several buckets by the opposite wall. Really, though? Why would anyone carry water across the room and not just keep both the buckets and the tub by the same wall? Sigh…

In any case, the buckets did indeed have water, and so I carried them over one by one to refill the tub. This time, I took the bar that was on the ground and pretended that it was soap, trying to lather myself up. Fortunately, it seemed that it was soap, and I was finally able to clean and rinse off my body properly.

I was curious about the water source, but didn’t see anything that could have served the purpose. It was possible that they formed the water by magic, whatever kind they have in this world, but it seems unlikely, since such a mage would be harder to kill by a surprise attack. Still, I truly did not know enough to draw a proper conclusion, so I dropped the thought as I emptied out the wash tub again. Cleaning up after myself, leaving the room a bit more tidy than when I found it, I looked over at the laundry. It appeared that someone was responsible for washing the laundry of the entire camp, as there were enough folded items to clothe a few dozen people. This should give me more than enough opportunity to find something that fit me.

I dug through the piles and pulled out the most likely candidates. A dark brown tunic, dark brown leather pants, a leather belt, and what appeared to be...boxers?!

First the earthen walls with glass windows and now boxer shorts? This world just doesn’t make sense. It’s like a multitude of time periods from my first life were smushed together into one weird mess.

Actually, these boxers seem to be made out of some sort of stretchy silken material...not elastic, as I used to know (and miss, over my many iterations...it’s the little things that give you the most comfort that you tend to take for granted), but maybe a type of spider silk? In any case, it was clear that these were not exactly like the underwear of my home world, but still similar enough that I knew I could comfortably wear them.

Also, for the sake of knowledge, I did look through the women’s side of clothing too. Not to be a pervert, but to understand what type of culture I will be encountering. It appears that the undergarments are also similar to that of my home world, with bras and panties of sorts. The bras were identifiable only in that they have actual cups, but no clasps. Instead, there were straps that helped with back support and weight management. I couldn’t tell how they were placed on or taken off, but that’s not my problem since I wouldn’t be wearing them. These were designed for comfort and practicality, not so much for appearances. Likewise, the panties were not some skimpy pieces of fabric, but instead looked substantial enough to keep that region warm and dry.

What did I get from all of this? I felt I could safely assume that gender discrimination was not as prevalent here as I had seen in other worlds. There may well be some, but not enough to be oppressive from one side or the other. One of the key signs of inequality I have noticed time and time again is what kind of underwear each gender is socially forced to wear. It is far more complicated than that, with many more factors involved, but clothing is always a good place to start looking if you want to see how a culture operates.

In any case, I left the women’s clothing alone since I had no use for it (no, not even as a disguise as a woman in the case of a matriarchal society, I learned the hard way that I am no good at impersonating the fairer sex), and picked out a few spare items from the men’s side to travel with later. I carried them all on my shoulders as I went from building to building, scavenging for whatever else may be useful.

In the end, I found a sturdy leather backpack; a pair of leather boots that fit me nicely and a spare that did not fit quite so nicely; a good haul of dried rations, including dried jerky and what felt like crackers, except far more filling than their appearance suggested; a few bottles made of a flexible material that I would have said was plastic, but truly wouldn’t make sense in this world - unless their magical science was advanced enough to make a form of plastic; and two sleeping rolls that I could comfortably lay on. Everything else I found was either not useful in the long run, would spoil over time, or just impractical for me to take on my own. I secured everything as best I could to the backpack, and walked around with my arms free to the last two buildings I had yet to check. I left the club where the girl was, since I did not want to use that slime covered shaft of wood anymore if I could avoid it, and if I did need to grab it then I might as well pick it up at the same time I go through her stuff.

The first of the two buildings I entered turned out to be a sort of training hall. Actually, isn’t this the same place where I first picked up the club? I went outside and circled around the building until I was certain that the wall where I discovered the club belonged to the training hall. So I woke up right next to the best place to get armed...That might explain the relatively high luck stat I had with my first level.

Shrugging, I went back inside and examined the weapons that were stocked there. Most of them were knives, daggers, short swords, bows and arrows, all of either wooden or metal varieties. Beyond them I saw a few of the larger weapons: a glaive here, a few spears there, and -

My eyes lit up when I saw my favorite piece of therapeutic release. A morningstar.

Typically, morning stars are at least six feet long, with a wooden shaft and a metal head. The head carries a central spike, along with several other spikes surrounding it, allowing the wielder to both bludgeon and puncture a target. It would have made my fight with the slimes much easier, as this weapon would be especially effective at bursting their membranes and causing havoc to their cores. Still, I had no idea if puncturing the core would have prevented me from using it afterwards as an item, or if I would have been able to do actual damage to them in the first place, so I suppose it was better that I had the club first.

The morningstar I gazed upon now was actually in similar length to the club, meaning it was much shorter than normal. It was about three feet long, maybe four with the central spike. The shaft still looked like wood, but the bottom of it seemed to be encased in metal, probably to help balance the weight of the shaft against the weight of the head. The head had a multitude of thick spikes spaced out evenly, making it truly look like the rays coming from the sun, as an artist’s rendering would have it. I couldn’t tell what type of metal was used throughout the weapon, but it looked strong enough to last for a number of battles.

I gently, almost reverently, grasped this beauty and held it aloft. It felt good and heavy, not in the sense that it weighed a lot, but more in the sense that it had purpose. This weapon was made to be used, and use it I shall.

“If you do not have a name already, I shall call you Rising Sun,” I spoke out loud. I had the tendency to name the weapons that might end up saving my life. Even across the many iterations I have lived through, this sentiment has not changed among weapons masters. It was almost like a fundamental law of the universe.

Unfortunately, I understood from experience that each iteration is literally it’s own separate universe...but that is yet another story for another time. If I don’t keep my thoughts focused on the here and now then I may never get the answers I seek.

I looked around and found a strap I could use to carry the Rising Sun. I held out a little hope that there would be a magical pocket dimension where I could store some items, since carrying around even a morningstar of this size would quickly become a hassle, but for now I could manage with securing it lengthwise across the back of my waist, just above my butt. With that done, I picked up a couple of the better looking daggers, and, just in case, a sturdy bow and a quiver of arrows. I would have prefered not to take them, as was almost overburdened with all the other stuff I gathered, but I knew that having a ranged attack available will save me a lot of trouble in the future. Failing to plan ahead is planning to fail, and I don’t like failure.

Finishing up my preparations, I left the now abandoned armory and went to the last building I had not checked. Although the various homes and utility structures showed signs of people having just been there (prior to becoming slime food), none of them showed signs that my attacker had been active there. So this must be the only place she could have been occupied in. It was a decently large building, still one floor like every other structure around me, but the size made me feel as if it held particular importance. Walking inside, my hunch was confirmed, as I saw a spacious desk and chair, along with an open chest by the wall filled with items. There was also a partitioned area where I could tell a bed and a chest of drawers were, but the drawers were open and seemingly emptied. On the desk itself were a number of paper documents.

Curious, I started with the desk, hoping that the papers there would tell me something good.

After reading through several pages, I decided to shrug off my equipment and sit down, because what I found was a gold mine.

There was a meticulous record of all supplies within the camp, including the stolen goods. It seems that wonder-assassin had consolidated all of the records that the bandits kept and was going through them to see what was the most useful or valuable. There were even details about when the group had made attacks, who was hit, what was stolen, and the value and use of each item. That’s how I discovered that they had once robbed a merchant who was bringing books to a library in a city not too far away. This merchant was supposed to be hiding a few rare books, including ones related to magic, amongst a number of other books that were written for children and educational purposes. While I found myself extremely annoyed that this bandit group would steal books destined to help kids develop into bright young adults, I had to admit that this was convenient for me since I would be able to get the basics of this world without asking a potential murderer. I scanned through the list of stolen books, and discovered that there was one dedicated to the use of cores! I decided to start with that one, as it held my interest the most, and I had time to go through whatever I wanted. I doubt that anyone would find this place and myself anytime soon.

According to the record, all the books were actually held in that partitioned room I saw earlier, as there was another chest that I couldn’t see from my earlier position. As I searched through it for the title I wanted, I mentally gave myself a pat on the back for the training I did in the late thirties or so of my iteration count. Tired of waking up in new worlds where I had to learn entirely new languages, I spent an entire iteration training myself to be able to pick up any language immediately. This is one of several abilities I tied into my soul, once I understood I could use my soul in such a manner. Now that I have a few levels in this world, I will get back into the habit of using the powers I developed for myself outside of every system, but for now I will just focus on my ability to read this new language and translate it into concepts that I could understand.

Finding the book I was looking for, I went back to my chair and started to read. And by the end, I was both enlightened, and a bit confused.

The attribute cores I used earlier are not typically used that way. Instead, they are gathered and condensed through magical means into Stat Cores. Whereas I absorbed a core and raised the potential for my status to grow, Stat Cores immediately raise a specific stat value by an amount relative to the density of the core. However, this is not a cheap method, so it seems that the common folk sell the attribute cores that they find for a little supplementary income from the Mages Guild (yes, there was a brief mention of a Mages Guild, but only to highlight where the cores go in this economy), and in turn, those with higher wealth buy the condensed Stat Cores to raise their own stats without putting forth any effort.

While this new information concerned me, what I was far more interested in was the information the book had...on Elemental Cores.