After arriving on the solid branch, I was focused on one thing and one thing only.
"7," I called out through the cheers and celebration.
I felt my body get lighter as the ten or so snails slid off my back onto the solid branch. They shook as they got off my shell. 'That as probably their first near-death experience.' I thought to myself as I waited and rested my sore foot.
In the distance, I saw 7 slide out from behind a group of snails that had huddled together.
"I trust that you had already counted all the snails so what's the number?" I asked.
Anticipating the aftermath, I tensed up.
"22." He gestured sadly.
"Wait?!" I yelled out unexpectedly as I looked around. "How could have only 22 have survived?" I asked desperately for an answer. 'There's no way that only 22 survived.' I thought to myself.
He seemed to shake his head. "22 have died." He reiterated.
'Well I was expected more...' I thought. '22 isn't that bad.'
Yes, I casually thought that 22 life death count wasn't that bad. Was that bad? I became more and more insensitive to the loss of lives. I don't think that my head-space was quite alright.
...
The voice in my head seemed to agree with 7's count.
*Ding* it chimed in.
[Quest: Evacuate the Leaf!] (completed)
Snails: 157
Snails Escaped: 91
Snails Rescued: 44
Snails that survived: 135
Dead: 22
"Wow! I rescued 44 snails." I exclaimed. The snails around me turned towards me and begun to cheer. 'The voice's correct, and yet its recount is more specific...' I thought. 'It's also...' But before I could finish my thought, the voice chimed in once more.
Calculating...
Estimated survival rate: 10.0%
Survival rate: 86.0%
"Wait. So the chance of us surviving was only 10%?" I blurted out. My outburst was followed by a round of gasps as the snails heard me and begun to murmur. "Sorry, don't mind my outbursts. I'm just daydreaming!" I lied as I tried to de-escalate the situation I had made.
But in my head, I kept on thinking about the 10%. 'Is the 10% chance of survival the rate without me or if it was the chance of survival in nature? Are the heavens thinning the populations of snails for some reason? Where does this 10% come from if not the heavens?' I asked myself in deep thought.
Again, the voice seemed to chime in once more and cut off my thoughts as it filled my head.
Analyzing actions...
Calculating rewards...
Then like a torrent of bullets hitting metal, a round of dings fired off from within my head.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
+ 2 leadership
+ 1 charisma
+ 2 speed
+ 2 strength
+ 5 stamina
But then a low noise followed the dings and a language that I that same language I had heard the day before.
Error... Stats.stamina().static() = TRUE;
Updating... Stats.stamina().setStatic(False);
Updating...
[Stamina bar] (unlocked)
Just as I heard the voice ding once more, the yellow box that was still floating at the top of my vision seemed to break from its stasis as a solid bar as it begun to jiggle. 'Stamina...' I thought to myself. 'Is the yellow bar my stamina limit?' I asked myself.
Intrigued, I decided to test if it was.
Without asking or telling them why I grabbed onto the closest snail near me and pulled. Unfortunately for 7, that snail was him. Like a whip, I slapped my foot on top of his shell, while he jolted upward in surprise. I pulled. Like a piece of ice sliding over a frozen pond, he skidded towards me until his shell knocked it mine.
'Yes!' I concluded.
The yellow bar seemed to decrease in length ever so slightly as I pulled on him. But after I stopped, it stopped shortening and slowly recovered instead. 'It is my stamina!' I concluded as 7 stared at me with a confused face.
'Maybe the voice and the weird boxes are a gift from the heavens...' I thought to myself. 'Will I be able to use this to judge the amount of strength I can use?' I asked myself.
"Why did you suddenly grab me and drag me?" 7 asked furiously.
"Ha! I'm just giving you a hug. You know brotherly hugs and such." I lied as I smiled at him.
He stared back as if saying "Really?" in a disbelieving tone.
"Fine, I'm experimenting with something. I'll fill you in later." I explained.
He shook his head and turned his body as he looked away from me.
'Whatever then.' I thought.
The voice seemed to pause and wait for me. But as soon as I finished speaking, it continued spewing out numbers and words out with its metallic voice.
+ 1800 exp
+ 1512 exp (Survival rate bonus)
[Title acquired: Quick Thinker]
+ 1 wit (passive)
+ 1 intelligence (passive)
[Skill acquired: Quick actions LV1] (discovered)
+ Enables quick reactions and split-second thinking
Daily uses: 1
'Is it tallying my growth or am I being awarded by it? What are these things called titles? Also, skills... what are they?' I asked myself in confusion. I really didn't understand what the voice was at that point.
Once again the metallic voice interrupted my train of thoughts.
[Quest: Defend the Colony] (updated)
Please wait...
Compiling experience...
*Ding*
[Level 6: Reached]
+ 5 unlocked stats
+ 1 SP
Next level: 1388 Exp.
[Quest: Let's get to level 15!] (updated)
'Are levels a measure of experience? What does level 6 even mean in this world? Apparently, my stats are increasing... but why don't I feel any stronger?' I asked myself. The voice seemed to be correctly describing my situation. It made accurate and precise counts and measurements. It also seemed to be able to change the things I was saying. But, when it talked about levelling up and my skills at that time, I was expecting another change within my body. Unlike what I expected, I felt nothing. Nothing was different.
Suddenly, my train of thought was broken once more as roars and numerous screeches filled my ears.
The battle had heated up even more. I was so distracted that I hadn't noticed.
I looked into the distance and finally noticed the impact of the battle. What used to be a thick line of treeline and bushes had completely disappeared. What was left were only craters and rubble.
Dust clouds still floated in the air and blocked out my view of the battle. But the battle did seem to get closer and closer as more and more dust blew into the sky closer and closer to our tree.
Another blast and another shockwave.
I held tightly the tree as it shook in the wind.
I didn't hide in my shell. No, I looked intently for something. A flash. A limb. A tentacle. A projectile. Something that would give me more information on what was fighting what.
And then I saw it.
A large limb pulled out from the dust. Like it was winding up its strength for an attack, it continued to stretch backwards until it suddenly blasted back through the dust cloud once more.
The dust cleared some as the force of the hit pulled the air behind it.
Another explosion.
I felt the ground shake with the impact as a body slid out from within the dust cloud.
...