--Mission 1--
As a newborn baby, you are both weak and ignorant. The first step towards becoming powerful is to know more about both this world, and the system you've been entrusted with.
Mission Objectives:
-Read all Help articles about System.
-Read all Help articles about the planet Arion.
-Learn a skill the natural way.
Rewards: +1 System Point; +1 Mission Point; +1 Random Skill Book; +5 Exp
Callie wanted to jump up and down in excitement, but her weak body could only flail her legs and arms wildly. It probably looked ridiculous, but Callie didn't care. She had a mission now! One that she could accomplish, even in this newborn body.
Plus, when she did the math in her head of the added rewards she'd get from her blessing and trait, well, the reward would be more than worth it!
'Help articles, please.'
A blue text box popped open over the Missions panel.
--Help Articles--
--System Help--
-Status Page
-Missions Page
-Store Page
-Building Page
-Inventory Page
-System Options Page
--Planet of Arion Help--
-Geography
-Races
-Languages
-Politics
-Economics
-History
--Cultivation Help--
-Levels
-Cultivation Methods
-Cultivation Items
--Magic Help--
-Levels
-Magical Affinities
-Magical Training
-Spells
-Magical Items
'Wow. That's a bit more than I thought I'd find.' Callie eyed the long list with a pensive frown before finally shrugging. 'Whatever. Maybe I'll get the reading skill from this.'
And so, Callie settled into her bassinet to read Help articles and hopefully grow to understand this new life she'd been reborn into.
Of course, it wasn't that easy. There were sub-articles in each grouping, and even more sub-articles popped up when you clicked on the sub-articles! It was a LOT of reading.
However, she'd been right about the skill. After reading the first article, she had a system notification.
--New Skill Acquired: Reading Lv. 1--
'Well, that's one part of the mission completed.' Callie ruefully thought. However, she felt like the help articles themselves would take many days to read. And even then, she wasn't sure she'd completely retain all of the information.
'Hmm. I wonder if I invest some of those stat points in intelligence, would I be able to read it all faster?' Deciding it couldn't hurt, Callie quickly switched to her status screen and began investing the points. After all, she had points to spare.
After she added 5 points, Callie noticed a slight headache coming on.
After 10 points, that headache felt like a full-blown migraine.
After 15 points, Callie had to stop investing. It felt like her entire brain might explode at any moment.
Callie couldn't even read the screen anymore. The words of her status screen seemed to blur into fuzzy, wavy lines of nonsense right before her eyes. Callie fought the nausea and sleepiness for but a moment, before unconsciousness overtook her.
Callie fell into sweet nothingness.
--------------------
When next she woke, it was to another feeding experience that Callie really didn't want to remember, even if it was with her mother this time. She cried afterwards, hoping that the annoying noise would ensure she'd be placed back in her bassinet, rather than subjected to more cuddling with her awakened mother.
She had a lot of reading to do, after all.
Callie's mind felt noticeably sharper. She really wanted to test out what she could do with those help articles now!
Her mother cooed to her, rocking her gently. Callie pretended to be soothed, and quieted. Her mother quickly rocked her over to the bassinet, nestling Callie in the blankets gently as she pretended to sleep.
'Hmm. Can I see the status screen with my eyes closed?' Callie wondered.
Instantly, the window popped up in the darkness of her closed eyelids. It was a little unsettling, but Callie decided it would work nicely for her whenever she got stuck around adults who might be worried about her odd behavior.
Curious about her new stats, Callie read over the fresh screen.
--------Stats--------
Name: Caliope (Callie) Griever
Level: 0
Exp: 0/10
Race: Human
Life Stage: Newborn
Cultivation Level: 0 (Locked)
Magic Level: 0 (Locked)
Health: 230/230
Mana: 0/0
Recovery: 1050
Stamina: 10
Strength: 5
Dexterity: 5
Agility: 3
Intelligence: 30 (+15)
Wisdom: 15
Willpower: 20
Endurance: 20
Control: 10
Charisma: 40
Perception: 10
Luck: 100
Faith: 10
Skills: Reading Lv. 1 (See Details)
Abilities: N/A
Traits: UNKNOWN ERROR DETECTED; Curiosity; Necromantic Legacy
Professions: N/A
Blessings: UNKNOWN (Error Detected); UNKNOWN ERROR DETECTED; Goddess of Sacrifice; Goddess of Luck; God of Power
Curses: God of Cruelty
Titles: N/A (Locked)
Stat Points: 9,985
Skill Points: 52,156
System Points: 0
Mission Points: 0
Building Points: 0
Gold: 0
Karma Points: 2,415,866
Divinity Points: 148,528
Universal Points: 2
Allies: (Locked)
Past Life Reward System: 10 Past Lives Rewarded
Callie studied this screen, thinking. Maybe she should invest more points before going back to the help screen? Higher perception, wisdom, and intelligence would certainly help her in studying its contents, and after seeing how much there was to read, Callie really didn't want to have to go back to check for information again later.
Not to mention, understanding what was going on in this new world would probably be the highest benefit to her in this little body. Strength, agility, and dexterity were all but useless right now, since she couldn't really move.
And obviously, there were limitations to how many points she could invest at a time. Callie shivered when remembering the pain she felt after investing 15 points into just 1 stat. Maybe if she spread them out it wouldn't hurt as much? Callie really couldn't know unless she tried.
Decision made, Callie invested some points in intelligence once more. Like before, when she hit 5 points, a slight headache started behind her eyes. However, this time, Callie stopped investing in intelligence and switched her attention to perception and wisdom. Deciding under the current circumstances, perception would have the widest range of benefits, Callie started there and quickly added 5 points to the perception stat.
The headache intensified slightly, but was nothing as bad as when she put 10 points all in intelligence!
Satisfied, Callie switched to wisdom, and added 5 points to its tally. Again, the headache intensified, making Callie hesitate. She laid back in her bassinet and waited, hoping the pain would pass quickly so she could continue experimenting.
However, the pain didn't pass for some time, so Callie allowed her mind to fall in and out of consciousness, napping lightly as she waited for it to abate.
What woke her next was a rather urgent need to use the bathroom, causing Callie to grimace in disgust. She knew there was no getting around the use of her diaper, but she began to cry in earnest, hoping the adults in the house might come running before she had to sit in her own filth for too long.
Thankfully, her mother seemed to be a dedicated one, for she was soon changed and fed once more. This time, however, Callie didn't even get a chance to cry as she was handed to a young boy to hold as soon as she finished eating.
Callie looked up into the handsome features of a young boy of around 8 or 9, who had a striking resemblance to her mother.
'So I have a brother in this life. I wonder if there are any other siblings running around here that I've yet to meet.' Callie thought. 'But why haven't I seen a father figure around here anywhere?'
It was really hard to get a strong sense of what was going on in the body of a newborn. She could only look wherever they pointed her head, as turning her head to look around was not a skill she'd figured out yet. Besides, they kept bundling her up in one blanket or another, practically paralyzing her from moving anyway.
Not that Callie had tried. She was a little afraid her increased strength stat would rip or damage something. And wouldn't that be a sight! A newborn babe, ripping through blankets and tearing herself from people's arms!
They'd realize something was odd about Callie for sure.
Honestly, her increased abilities were more restricting than freeing. The fear of what might happen to her in this world if she were discovered kept her from really trying much out. Not to mention, the Goddess of Sacrifice's warning still resonated in Callie's mind, making her cautious of what might happen to her if she wasn't careful.
If there really were creatures on this planet who didn't want to share power, like she said, what would they do if they discovered someone like Callie, with all her abilities as a little newborn?
--New Skill Acquired: Analysis Lv. 1--
--New Spell Acquired: Analysis Lv. 1--
Callie smiled, satisfied. She quickly faded her grin, glancing up at her brother once more, hoping he just thought she had gas or something.
However, the look on her brother's face made Callie shiver reflexively. He looked cruel, hateful even. It was even more unsettling coming from his sweet, cherubic face. To see such an evil glare coming from such an angelic-looking child was somehow more terrifying than it had been coming from the villain-looking god. At least his looks matched his personality! This...well, this was like a snake in the grass, mischief and evil and cruelty wrapped in a pretty, little package no one would suspect.
He was whispering something to Callie, but, of course, Callie didn't understand. It wasn't like he was speaking any language she'd ever heard before! But his body language and expression gave the words an ominous connotation, making Callie glad she didn't really understand.
Whatever he was saying, Callie got one message, loud and clear. She needed to be on her guard around her brother from now on.