Roland smiled. His hard work finally paid off. He opened the achievements screen.
'Colle-'
His smiling face suddenly froze and he stopped in his tracks.
[Achievements]
[Level up a skill to level 9]
'Are you kidding me!? All that wasted time and effort, yet the achievement wasn't even the one I was trying to get!?!'
Annoyed, he immediately closed the system, but not before collecting the reward.
[5 SP Obtained]
After that, he went back to rolling on the ground. Now that he realized it, he wasn't as angry as he would have been. It was probably just because he got some extra points. Still, he wondered when he would finally complete the achievement for traveling a certain distance. A small dust trail followed behind him as he increased his speed. That's when a thought emerged in his mind. The achievement said that a skill was now level nine, right? Opening the status screen, he checked to see which skill it was.
[Form: Rock (Unidentified)]
[HP: 20/20]
[Def] [2]
[Mana] [1]
[Skills]
[Mana Sense Lv.9] [Telekinesis Lv. 8]
'It seems that the skill that reached level 9 is Mana Sense' He muttered to himself. Deciding to test it out, he stopped using telekinesis and rolled to a stop.
'Mana sense'
A strange feeling suddenly overcame Roland. It was as if he could know exactly what was happening without even thinking about it! Shockingly, the range of the spell had nearly doubled, and the mana use was many times less compared to when he used it previously. Moreover, it seemed he could find out what he needed to much faster! Before this, the spell sent the knowledge to his brain, requiring him to process the information before he could figure anything out, but now, the system sorted some of it automatically.
Since the spell was more efficient, it was possible to constantly keep it on for at least a day before running out of mana.
Continuing on his journey, he found that he only needed 7 more system points to purchase mana manipulation. While he was rolling, he had checked what the skill did, and although it was basic, it would still be pretty useful.
[Mana Manipulation]
[Allows for faster and more efficient usage of mana]
It seemed like it was a passive skill that would allow him to cast spells faster and use less mana at the same time!
Looking at this back then, he knew he had to get that skill. It would level up over time, and the effects would only become better, similar to how mana sense had gotten more efficient after it got to level 9.
Besides that though, it seemed he had run into a problem. There was a giant wall blocking his way.
'Wow...' He thought, looking at the structure blocking his way. It had a bunch of lines all over its surface, and at certain intervals, it pulsed with a bright blue glow. The lines were placed in a way that they created a large row of symbols dotting the entire wall.
Cautiously, he rolled up to the it, only to find it didn't do anything to him.
'Is that it?' Using telekinesis, he slowly flew over the wall, not knowing what it did. Landing on the other side, he turned to look at the wall again.
'What!?' A shocked look appeared on his face. The wall had changed! A thin barrier had suddenly appeared on top of the wall, blocking the way back out. It reached toward the sky, and when he looked up, it seemed to never end. Attempting to get back over the wall, he found that the barrier didn't impede him at all.
'Does it only work against living beings?' He thought, flying back over again. Pushing it into the back of his mind, he decided to continue onwards into the forest behind the wall. The forest was quite the eerie place. The ground was riddled with sharp rocks, and many paths were covered by thick, brown, thorns. Rolling on the bumpy terrain, the dark shadows created by the trees gave the place a strange atmosphere.
It was only when it reached midday that he finally heard the sound of another achievement being completed.
"Ding!"
[Achievement Completed]
Immediately, he opened the achievement screen once more, checking to see the achievement.
[Achievements]
[Travel 10 Kilometers] [Collect]
Collecting the rewards, he check to see if he had enough system points for Mana Sense.
[15 SP Obtained]
Complaining to himself about how he had to travel so far just to get a mere 15 system points, he opened the shop, going to the skills section.
[Mana Manipulation] [50 SP]
[Water Creation] [60 SP]
[Wind Blade] [75 SP]
[Fireball] [60 SP]
...
'Mana Manipulation'
[Purchasing Mana Manipulation for 50 SP]
[Confirm?]
[Yes] [No]
'Yes!'
[Mana Manipulation Added to your Skill List]
Checking the status screen, he saw the skill had been added, and exhaled in relief.
Expanding his mana sense to its limits, he swiftly scanned the surrounding environment. He would have to keep it on the entire time he was here. Now that he had the time, the first thing he needed to do was look for threats, since he still didn't know if there was anything different about the world he had reincarnated into. If there was, he had to know where it was so he could avoid it. That's when he stopped.
'I'm a rock! Why do I need to hide from predators? I can just sit in the open and they won't know a thing!'
Although he knew this, he had to find out about the area around here. The glowing wall was very ominous, and the fact that it had to trap something in here definitely meant that there was something strange about this place.
As he slowly rolled around the area, he made a mental map of everything important. Although he didn't find much, he noticed that most of the things here were pretty similar to what he could find on Earth. The conclusion he reached is that the world he was currently in was likely a parallel universe that got affected by some external force, or just developed differently.
What he found strange though, is the fact that he had not found a single living being in the last hour he had been here. Continuing deeper into the forest, he slowly sped up, starting to become anxious. Where had everything gone? There were no signs of life no matter where he went. There were no tracks, scents, and not even a single sound echoed in the vast but empty forest. Unnerved, he began to turn back; there was something strange about this place. Another notification from the system startled him.
[Quest: Unknown Energy Source]
[Requirements for completion:]
[Obtain The Unknown Energy Source]
[Rewards:]
[System Upgrade]
[Time Limit: 10 Days]
'Quest?' Roland thought, this had never happened before. Aware of the fact he had to search around in this creepy forest, he was still hesitant. But when he saw the reward, he decided that he would give it a try. If the system was upgraded, it would help him a lot more. It shouldn't be a problem just to search for an item, would it?
'Wait, how am I supposed to find it?'
[Mini Map Temporarily Enabled]
[Item Marked on Mini Map]
Pleasantly surprised, he tried to find the Mini Map in the system.
Finding a separate section for it, he turned it on. He saw a small map appear in the corner of his vision, with two markers representing him, and the object the system had told him to find. Immediately, he rolled in the direction of the other marker.
He had been going a while now, and it was starting to get dark. Slightly worried, he slowed down his pace a bit, looking around more diligently. He had seen nothing in the day, so the animals here might be nocturnal. A sudden cracking sound made him look around. Then, saw a giant black cat, staring at him with its dark amber eyes.
'Ah!'
Immediately, Roland froze. The cat looked around a bit, before fixating its eyes on him. The second it saw him, the cat pounced at Roland. Surprised, he rolled out of the way, dashing into the bushes nearby to hide.
A moment later though, the cat leaped through the leaves, accurately going to Roland's location with no hesitation, almost as if it knew he was there in the first place. Caught off guard, he barely managed to get out of the way using telekinesis.
Immediately, he rolled into the forest, going at his maximum speed. When he turned around and saw the cat gaining on him, he started to panic.
'How is that thing still following me!?!'
At his max speed, he should have been going at a speed of at least 100 miles an hour, and nothing should have been able to catch up to him, so how did it exceed that limit?! Moreover, telekinesis had leveled up many times and he was now much faster than he was in the past!
Focusing on the current situation, he weaved in and out of some trees, trying to lose the cat. Then, there was another notification from the system.
"Ding"
[Telekinesis Leveled Up]
Surprised but relieved, he sped himself up, rushing through the forest haphazardly. The skill had become level nine, so he could go a lot faster. Unused to the speed, every now and then he would smash into a tree, sending waves of pain over his body, but he didn't stop until he reached the giant barrier.
With his back to the wall, he saw the cat agilely leaping off a nearby tree, landing on its feet. Slowly it crept forward, still looking right at him. Slowly, using telekinesis, Roland flew higher and higher, until he reached the height of the wall. It was then that the cat pounced. Immediately, Roland flew backward, going past the barrier. A split second later, the cat hit the wall, bouncing off of it onto the ground with a meow of pain. Landing on its feet, it jumped at the wall once more. Although it realized it was a futile pursuit, it still rested nearby for a while. A bit later, it snarled, before stalking away, its lithe body blending into the shadows of the trees.
'That was a close one!' Thought Roland, relieved that he managed to escape. However, when he felt the waves of pain coming from one part of his body, he frowned. Opening the system, he checked to see if anything had changed.
[Form: Rock (Unidentified)]
[HP: 17/20]
[Def] [2]
[Mana] [1]
[Skills]
[Mana Sense Lv.9] [Telekinesis Lv.9] [Mana Manipulation Lv.1]
'How did I lose some HP?'
When he saw that the area for health had gone down to 17, he panicked. However he soon found out what was wrong. Feeling the waves of the pain on one side of his body, he strengthened the mana in the area and sent his mana to investigate. He noticed a chunk of rock had been ripped off from his body, likely during his mad dash to escape. Shaking his head, he turned back towards the wall.
The symbols on it had noticeably dimmed, probably because of the creature hitting it. It was strange though. The wall should have been built to defend against the things inside and prevent them from getting out. So why had those attacks from the cat damaged the wall? Unable to find an answer, he rolled around the wall agitatedly.
He had gone in full of confidence, yet he was kicked out soon after he went in. If telekinesis had not leveled up, he would likely be in the jaws of that mutant cat creature. What kind of fate would befall him if he ever found himself in that situation, he didn't want to know.
'I need to get stronger!'
The next time he went in, he would be prepared.
It seemed he had some training to do.
________________________
'Why did I choose to do this?!'