Of all the Legendary creatures, Dragons are the only ones whose tales undersell them. Whether it be in combat prowess or sheer ferocity, the stories pale in comparison to the real thing. Their will; their Geou, is so immense that even the Laws must bend to them. Their magical might is such that only Phoenixes are their better. In terms of sheer mass, the largest of Dragons near the size of Elder Behemoths, who are known to dwarf whole continents. When one is angered, annihilation follows. When one is appeased, miracles occur. Gods bow before them in their own Divine Realms. These beings of untold might are nothing like the paltry works of fiction they are known for. Dragons do not simply burn down kingdoms, they crack worlds.

- Vishtok’s Guide To Powerful Entities

It’s the next night, and I take a look at what I’ve accomplished in the past day. Three baskets bursting with fruit line the wall of the cavity, which itself has gotten an upgrade consisting of a branch wall extending all ten feet across and four of the seven feet high. It sports a kind of gate on the left end (Which was extremely hard to put together given what I have available to me). While I haven’t done much exploring, that doesn’t mean that today was any less productive in terms of my status.

*Ding*

*Ding*

*Ding*

[New Skill (Construction) Gained!)

[Foraging Reaches Level 4!]

[Physical Fitness Reaches Level 4!]

… [Crafting Reaches Level 6!]

[Construction] - Makes It Easier To Build Large Objects And Increases Quality Of What You Construct Based On Level

All in all, a solid haul if I do say so myself. The only thing that could make this better would be some Billy Joel. Well, that and Mar - No! Not now. Trying to shift my attention from something less mentally destructive, I go with the physical equivalent. In quick succession, five takka-takkas are downed. It isn’t long before I feel the burning in my abdomen. Over the span of maybe an hour, I once again allow myself to be brought down to 30/45 HP before activating [Life’s Decree].

*Ding*

*Ding*

[Toxin Resistance Reaches Level 5!]

[Life’s Decree {R} Reaches Level 2!]

Wondering how much it heals now, I check my rare skill.

[Life’s Decree {R}] - Once Every 23 Hours 45 Minutes, Flood Your Body With Vital Force To Heal 31% Of Your Health Near Instantly! Speed Of Recovery, Duration Between Intervals Of Skill Usage, Amount Recovered, And Strength Of Vital Force Used Improves With Level And Amount Of Points Invested In [Vitae]

Not a huge change, but if I can get this to a high enough level, maybe I can do what the warrior from my vision did. Imagine that! My wrinkly ass wading through throngs of enemies… yeah, not exactly my cup of tea now that I think about it. It’s still nice to have though!

Upon further inspection, I also realize that I have fifteen uninvested Path Points. I should probably finish out the little ones first. With that in mind, I dump 10 points into [Initiate].

Still but a mere fledgling by the [Macrocosm’s] standards, you have shown promise and skill enough to be rewarded for your efforts. This marks your first step on the Path To Power.

+1 To Your Choice Of Attribute

Without thinking twice, I invest it into [Vitae] while putting the last five path points into [Overachiever Ⅰ], which surprisingly prompts another message.

While most would win this through blood, sweat, and tears, you have done it through sheer luck. While a strength all its own, something a bit more tangible is sorely needed if you are to survive this reality.

+2 Strength

The increase to my [Vitae] may be negligible at this point, but the same cannot be said for my [Strength]. Clenching my fist, power unlike any I’ve ever felt courses through me. And this is only seven. Imagine what it would be like if I had as much strength as I do vitae. I cannot even fathom it. Opening my status, I check my progress.

{Status}

Name: Graham Lattem

HP: 45/45 (HP/Hr: 12)

Age: 61 (Earth) Years SP: 63/63 (SP/Hr: 39) Titles: Overachiever Ⅰ MP: 50/50 (MP/Hr: 24)

[Attributes]

(AP: 0)

[Skills]

[Paths]

(PP: 0)

Str: 7

Phy: 3

Con: 12

Vit: 24 (23+1)

End: 3

Ver: 3

Agi: 4

Dex: 4

Per: 3

Wis: 8

Int: 5

Wil: 6

Swimming Lvl 1, Identify Lvl 2, Pain Resistance Lvl 4, Foraging Lvl 4, Physical Fitness Lvl 4, Crafting Lvl 6, Life’s Decree {R} Lvl 2, Writing Lvl 1, Toxin Resistance Lvl 5, Construction Lvl 1

(New Blood), (Vitae), (Initiate)

Nice. I may not be the smartest, but from what I can gather, my health regeneration is just half of my [Vitae], while my stamina is twenty times [Endurance] plus [Physicality].

*Ding*

[New Skill (Mathematics) Learned!]

[Mathematics] - Increases Calculation Speed And Accuracy Based On Skill Level

I can feel something in my brain click, and it’s almost as if the world seems a little simpler in a way. I guess it makes sense considering how much time the brain spends doing calculations, even subconsciously. I refuse to go too deeply into it at the moment. I’m tired.

Early the next day, something interesting happens as I approach a group of takka-takka trees. Sitting on one of the higher branches of the oak-sized plant is a small, spindly thing. It has a set of ocular organs much like an aye-aye, with two arms and two legs that make it resemble a primate in form, though it has no fur, its bare skin grey and leathery. On each hand, it has seven fingers, the middle of which is significantly longer than the rest sporting a protrusion similar to a rose thorn at the tip.

[Kirrokey Lvl 2] - These nocturnal, long-limbed creatures are fairly harmless herbivores for the most part, though be wary, as they are quite territorial and always travel in groups.

While I do need to level up, I just can’t bring myself to harm the little critter. Hopefully, it won’t mind me taking a few fruits.

Going in to take one, the kirrokey immediately lets out a deafening screech! Following this, five more of the couple-foot-tall buggers come swinging in from nearby trees and glare at me balefully before they begin posturing and hissing at me.

“Okay, okay. Good weird little monkey things. I’m just gonna grab a few of these here fruits, and I’ll be on my way.”

Seeing me going for yet another fruit seems to be the final straw, as they immediately jump down from the tree and lope towards me. The first one lands right on top of me, clawing and biting at me with surprising fervor!

“Agh! Aghhhhhhhhhhh! Ahhhh - oh.” It’s doing surprisingly little. It hurts a bit, yeah, but [Pain Resistance] coupled with my higher [Constitution] is making it feel like little more than a bunch of weak pinches. It did say they were fairly harmless too.

Grabbing the animal, I haul it up and off of me before throwing it to the ground. Instead of running away like I thought it would, it instead begins to run at me! I don’t want to bring these guys back to my base, and I also really need to level up… guess it’s time to cross that bridge.

I’ve never been one for blood. These past few days may have somewhat numbed me to the idea of pain on myself, that is true, but I’d never want to hurt another living being. That being said, I’m no animal rights activist, and I’m fully aware of where my food comes from, it’s just that that’s always been so far removed from me that it was easy to ignore.

What I am about to do won’t be.

As the first kirrokey lunges, I grab it and hold it fast before bringing one of my hands to the neck and twisting the thin body part. With an audible snap, it breaks. A very similar thing plays out with the remaining five. Even when there are multiple on me at once, they’re just so frail that it doesn’t matter.

This is going to haunt me, I can already tell. Anything to get back home though. Anything. Whatever comes with that journey just needs to be accepted.

*Ding*

[Level 2 Kirrokey Killed! Experience Awarded!]

… [Level 2 Kirrokey Killed! Experience Awarded!]

On the upside, I finally have some meat. If I remember correctly, these bodies need to be drained of blood so it doesn’t spoil or something. I’m no expert.

Quickly taking out some of the rope I’ve made from inside of the basket, I tie up the carcasses and drag them back to the base. Each body requires me to make a separate trip across the water with it to keep them from all dragging across the stream’s floor. Once they’ve all been lined up, I get to work on making some sharp rocks to cut them with. It takes a few hours, but eventually I succeed, no doubt thanks to [Crafting]. The steps I take are straightforward enough. I do my best to skin them, absolutely demolishing the hide in the process, before cutting (with lots of bashing on the spine to get it to separate) off the heads and hanging them up to drain.

Now let’s see if I can get a fire going.

It takes the entire day. Not the 5 minutes you see on television, but the entire rest of my day. Even then, it almost didn’t work. Blade in hand, I cut some meat and cook it as thoroughly as possible, then I [Identify] it.

[Cooked Kirrokey Meat] - The cooked flesh of a kirrokey. Mildly poisonous to you.

*Ding*

[New Skill (Cooking) Gained!]

[Cooking] - Improves [Dexterity] And Quality Of Food Made When Cooking Based On Level

After slightly burning a few more slabs of meat to eat tonight, as well as doing my best to cook much more before wrapping it in a bunch of large fronds from some lower plants and burying it, I dig in. It’s probably just the fact that I haven’t eaten anything but fruit the past few days, but it is the best meat that I have ever tasted hands down. Throwing in some takka-takkas for desert, I await the impending repercussions for my actions.

Pain. So much pain that I am left writhing on the floor and unable to so much as voiced my agony wracks me incessantly. Following this, a feeling almost like the exact opposite of the vital forces I have become so accustomed to lately fills me, Looking at my {Status}, I can see that I’m already three-fourths to death! Without hesitation, I activate [Life’s Decree] and throw up the vile sludge of toxins.

How did that happen so fast? Did I spend more time on the ground than I thought, or was the combined poison of the meat and fruit just that powerful?

*Ding*

*Ding*

… [Toxin Resistance Reaches Level 8!]

… [Pain Resistance Reaches Level 7!]

Thinking about how close I came to death yet again tonight, I put out the fire and attempt to sleep.