"If life is so wonderful,
Then why have you died?
Nothing remains beautiful,
Don't cover yourself in lies."
I.
After being forced down that hole made by Heidi-sama, I suddenly lost consciousness. The next thing I know, I'm already sitting next to a tree. There's a thick mist wherever I look so I thought that the sun has yet to rise. But that is not the case because, as I looked up, there is a bright yellow light up in the middle. Though it is also covered by the mist. Strange.
"Status" A game-like window appeared before me, displaying all of my basic information.
Name: Jean Martin
Age: 30
Owner: Heidi (Queen of the Underworld)
Blessing: Necromancy
This is what my basic information looked like on the status window. All of this is common knowledge already. What I need to see is my status points. I quickly swiped to the left using my hand just like Heidi-sama taught and then I finally saw it.
Strength: 10
Note: You're as strong as a teenage boy who stays at home and does nothing but hold his wanker all day.
Speed: 5
Note: Remember that turtle who raced with a rabbit? Well you're slower than that turtle. Hahahaha.
Intelligence: 50
Note: Ohhhh this is somehow decent. Tsk.
Stamina: 60
Note: Yeah. Yeah. I know it's decent.
Luck: 0
Note: Congratulations, you're the type who'd get exploited by almost anyone. If a plague hits, you'd be the first one dead. If you get hit by a stone, you die. If you get bitten, you die. If you go into a town and stare at a punk…you'd die because they would beat you up real good.…pfffft.
"What the hell is this?" I furrowed my brow as I saw my status points. I wasn't told that there would be side comments for every trait. These are just goddam awful. Arggghh. I bet that Loki guy is the one who designed this.
(Actually it was Heidi who designed it.)
I scrolled down the status window, seeing the other valuable things that are part of this journey. My Necromancy skill is at level 1 which is expected. There's a note description at the bottom of the skill name, explaining what my skill can attain at its current rank and the means of making it grow.
*Necromancy – the skill animates any form of living creature.*
*Current level restriction: You can animate a single human corpse, any animal or monster weaker than a human can be reanimated. The number increases based on how much weaker it is compared to a single human person."
"So a single human, plus animals and monster corpses can also be used." I said to myself.
"Hmm..I see."
"Wait…"
"Monster!?"
I furrowed my brows even further and facepalmed. These gods have really put us in a sort of death game. Well, maybe that's the reason why we have stats such as strength and speed in the first place. There's a lot more I need to figure out but before that…
"Heidi - sama are you there?"
There's a function on the status window where the Entertainer can call his/her god/goddess anytime they wish. But I doubt everybody has an owner as convenient as mine. I smiled thinking how fortunate I am to be owned by her.
"Yes darling~" Was Heidi-sama's playful response.
"You never break out of character, do you?" Heidi-sama just laughed over the comment.
I started walking as I talked with her. There were a lot of trees on the way and I needed to be careful because, like I said. There's a thick mist wherever I look.
"So what do you need Jean?" Heidi-sama said in a welcoming tone.
"I was just wondering why it looks like I'm in the middle of nowhere. I mean, there should be a town nearby right? But all I see are trees."
"Haaahh~ my dear boy. You aren't looking at things properly. You are near a town named Ent. It won't even take you an hour to walk there. That is, if you know where it is. Hehe." She said as she hung up on me.
For the third time today, I got annoyed.
"Yup, she's playing with me." I said to myself.
Then again, I guess this is better. At least I know that a town is nearby.
"Haaaa-" I let out a deep sigh and just continued walking.
"JOOOHHN!" I heard Heidi-sama shouting over the line. It startled me and made me fall to the ground, my heart beating faster from the shock.
"I almost forgot to mention! You have a hundred bonus status points already. Allocate them well okay?"
"Wha –" She continued talking, breaking my momentum to reply.
"Just so you won't ask anything more, they came from the fact that you got delayed from transport for a week and also because you are my entertainer. As per the game rules dictate, no god/goddess can harm an entertainer which they do not own. So yeah, this is the collective compensation from those two incidents. Wanna add anything?"
Actually there were a lot of things but right now I am just shocked.
"K-bye."
I really do have a strange goddess. But I'm grateful for this nice jumpstart. A hundred points huh. That's like hitting jackpot in the lottery! Though where should I allocate them? Hmmmm.
Strength would enable me to fight monsters and thugs easier, plus I may need a job. Usually, a man who passes from town to town can only find jobs that require hard physical labor.
Speed is also a good candidate for the same reason. If I am faster, I can run away from monsters that are stronger than me. Plus, it's also good if I'm chasing someone down. This could also be beneficial in finding a job. With the amount of stamina I have, I can probably run very far without easily getting exhausted.
Though balancing my stats is also an option. That would be better than just placing everything in one stat and giving me a huge weakness over the others right? But that could wait. For now, I need to find the town.
II.
In estimation, I've already walked for an hour. Yet, I'm still lost. Wherever that town is, when I find it, I'm gonna make corpses crawl over its streets.
My stomach is also complaining. I haven't eaten anything since the moment I entered this world. That's a big problem, I never accomplish anything with an empty stomach. My brain already overheats when my stomach is full. Imagine how busted its gears are when I'm completely out of food. Wait…there might be something I can use to get out of this.
"Status" The game window appeared before me again. I looked at all the stats and studied the things that come with strengthening them.
Yes! This is the answer! Out of all the stats I have, one of them is actually more beneficial than the rest, and it would also greatly improve my rate of growth and that is:
Intelligence!
Yes! If I allocate all 100 points on my intelligence stat, I may just get a great lead!
Intelligence would help me analyze things easier. It would also give me a clue on the easiest and fastest way of nurturing my other stats. Lastly, I can understand the towns I would come in contact with. The best way to deal with them. Also, the most beneficial form of entertainment.
'Okay it's decided then! Status!"
My status window appeared again. At the end of my intelligence stat is a ⊕ icon which, if clicked, would increase my base stat depending on how much unused points I have. I quickly pressed it and allowed all 100 points to be converted to it.
*Alert: You have received the passive skill "Sage's Wisdom"*
*Alert: You have received the active skill "Analyze"*
*Alert: You have received the active skill "Subconscious"
*Alert: You are now immune to all mind controls, confusion spell and illusion, and forgetfullness."
"Alert: You now have the highest intelligence stat in the game"
Damn, that's a lot of notices from the game. Guess, converting that much is really a big deal. But I don't feel any change at all. Hmmmm… Let's try these active skills first. Wait, how do I even activate them.
"That's easy." Wait, where did that voice come from?
"Say the name of the skill, or just mouth it on your mind, it would activate immediately." Oh…it's in my head. Wait, why aren't I frightened?
"That is because, fear only works when a person does not fully comprehend something master. Your intelligence have already gone beyond human capacity and so, there is almost nothing that could cause you fear now."
"Ohhh. That's convenient. Why do you have a female voice though?"
'That's because my master is a sick pervert who wishes to be with a girl 24/7."
"Heeeey! That's not true! That's not true at all!"
"Heh." I swear I heard the Sage's Wisdom laugh at me, but then I shouldn't complain because it's a really handy skill. Okay then time, to test things out.
"Analyze"
A lot of information suddenly popped up in front of me.
*Name: Malia Tree
Classification: Tree
Description: Fruit bearing. The leaves can also be used for medicinal purposes while the bark is good for enriching the soil. Fruits are edible for human beings.*
"Nice, I can finally eat." I said to myself happily.
All I can see is the tree in front of me, but all other trees beyond the mist have also shown their status window. Malia tree. Malia tree. Auburn Tree. Jori Tree. Entrance Tree. Olly Tree. Ja– wait…
Entrance tree!? So does that mean that if I go to that tree I would be able to enter another place?
"That is correct master. The tree serves as a portal to enter Ent Town." Ohhh...
"Thanks Sage's Wisdom."
"I am just performing my function master." Was its monotone reply. Although I don't want to call it Sage's Wisdom each and every time. Hmmm. Might as well give it a nickname.
"Hey is it fine if I just call you Sei? It's short for Sage."
"Call me what you wish master. I am yours to command."
"Okay. Sei it is." I said with a grin on my face.
Before going to the town entrance, I got a lot of materials along the way. Fruits, herbs, mushrooms, and even rocks. I placed them all on my item storage which also popped up as soon as I mouthed the word "inventory" on my head.
While picking up materials, I found the remains of what seems to be a worm from this world. I used my analyze skill on it and found something peculiar.
*Name: Fertility Worm
Species: Worm
Description: This worm is able to enrich soil to a point where all that is planted there will grow in a matter of days. However, they have gone extinct 300 years ago because humans exploited the worms too much. *
"Damn, this worm feels like it would cost a fortune." I said. The idea itself of a single worm doing this much is unbelievable.
"Inventory." I placed the worm's remains inside my item storage together with another peculiar thing I found with it. At first it looks like nothing more than a stick but, as I used my analyze skill on it, something unbelievable came up.
*Name: Warden
Species: Monster
Description: A monster shaped as a tree, Wardens have gone extinct 500 years ago. Due to men continually chopping down trees, the wardens have developed extreme bloodlust towards the human species.*
With everything I found, I finally decided to enter the town. Things are going well at the moment but, the real challenge has yet to begin. I am currently at last place in the ranking of Entertainers. Meaning, if I screw things up on this town, I'm as good as dead. There won't be a life after this.
"Right let's leave it at that. I need to focus on what I can do at the moment." I said to myself positively.
"You have a hundred-percent chance of dying at your current state master." Was Sei's negative response.
"Gee. Thanks for the encouragement Sei."
"You are welcome master."
With that, I entered Ent town. As soon as I did, the thick mist which I found outside also appeared on this town. Come to think of it, this mist is really weird, I might as well try and analyze it.
"Analyze" The information suddenly appeared before me and it left me speechless. Paralyzed from what was there. Sei's right, I'd be dead if I don't figure this out.
*Haze of Forgetfulness – causes those surrounded by it to lose some memories from the previous day.*