In the time Lin Hao spent understanding the functions of his powers, everyone else around him was rather "lazy", sitting around and waiting for the mysterious person to tell them what would happen next.
"Is nobody else concerned about this?" Lin Hao thought to himself, this was a situation where they could possibly die after all.
It was important to be vigilant, but some of them thought this was just a game.
While listening to the tutorial, Lin Hao had uncovered the following information.
Every individual had favored stats at the beginning, which effected the starting number of those stats.
Favored stats increased more as the individual increased in power, while lacking or unfavored stats grew at a slower pace.
Every User also possessed a unique trait based on their personality, Lin Hao's was something he knew would come in handy later.
[Never Give In!]
"You are too stubborn to quit, causing you to resist fear and panic much easier. You also possess a higher pain tolerance, so long as you are refusing to surrender or give up."
This would be useful, Lin Hao didn't doubt the potential dangers or situations that awaited him in this new world.
His favored intelligence also meant his Cubic Reservoir stat would grow higher than average, granting him slightly more fuel for his [Volcanic] ability.
From what he was told, abilities worked very loosely.
If you were able to think of a application, it would transform into a skill you could train and develop. The growth of your stats also influenced the applications of your Cubic Power.
Someone with higher strength or dexterity would find it easy to use physical applications, but may struggle with projectile or ranged applications of their Cubic Power.
He raised his hand, eager to test something out.
"Nobody said we couldn't try out our powers.." Lin Hao raised his hand in front of him, and concentrated hard on generating magma.
His hand slowly produced a violently hot and burning ball of searing dark red magma. Multiple people began to look at him with awe as Lin Hao concentrated on it.
"That man is generating Magma with his bare hands!"
"Insane!"
"I hope I get a broken power like that!"
The magma coursed and flowed in Lin Hao's hands, moving like water despite it's rocky texture. It strained him to maintain this for even a second, but he had to see what he could do.
Feeling his body start to hit it's limit, Lin Hao quickly released his focus on the ball of magma.
A loud sound blew off in his head, like a reward notification in a game. Lin Hao tried opening his status window to see what changed.
[Achievement Unlocked, Prodigy: Be the first person to use your Cubic Power. +2 to your intelligence!]
A stat increase so early! Lin Hao felt confidence surge through him, he had already started ahead of the others.
But he couldn't get stagnant now, while people weren't done sorting out their Cubic Powers yet...
He could easily fall behind.
All it took was for someone more "talented" or practical than him to show up, Lin Hao was more than well aware of his limitations.
He wasn't smarter than anyone, faster, or stronger in any way in the normal world. It sucked to look back on how crappy his life had been.
But there was no time to feel sorry for himself.
Lin Hao checked his stats window, observing how much Cubic Reservoir the usage of [Volcanic] had consumed.
[Personal Details]
Name: Lin Hao
Race: Cubic Human
Cubic Power: Volcanic [1% Comprehension]
Unique Trait: Never Give In!
[Stats]
Health:60/60
Cubic Reservoir:20/40
Experience:1/100
Strength:5 [Normal]
Intelligence:9 [Favored]
Dexterity:7 [Favored]
Wisdom :3 [Lacking]
His Jaw dropped at the power consumption rate, half of his Cubic Reservoir was already emptied! Thankfully, the number began to quickly rise back to normal.
Intelligence influenced the rate of regeneration someone's Cubic Reservoir had. Stats in this new world worked differently than your average game, normally you'd have to amass large stats to start receiving benefits.
Here stats grew much more slowly, and even a 1 number difference was large.
Lin Hao's 7 intelligence meant his Cubic Reservoir regeneration was above most people's. The fact that it rose to 9 now placed a large gap between Lin Hao and the others.
His mind began to feel clearer from the sudden increase in his intelligence stat.
It seemed the stats would also effect their physical bodies. His body in comparison, had felt lighter ever since his stats and power were awakened.
If he could keep unlocking achievements, it would more than make up for his short comings. Lin Hao worked hard to tune out everyone around him, focusing on his power currently.
He began to think about the ball of volcanic matter he generated, and how to better sustain it.
That's when another sudden notification popped off in Lin Hao's brain, a window appearing in front of him.
[Achievement Unlocked! First Skill Creator: Be the first person to create a skill. +2 Intelligence, +1 Wisdom]
The volcanic ball Lin Hao thought deeply off created a skill of it's own, he now had a new interface called [Skills] on his system window. Lin Hao raised his hand to tap it, seeing only one skill below.
[Volcanic Ball]
[Rank 0]
Description: Generates a ball of Magma, be careful! Consumes Cubic Reservoir the longer you hold onto it.
Lin Hao listened to the skill tutorial attached to the window as well, it seemed whatever concept you think of can transform into a usable "Skill".
So long as it was feasible for your power, and had a form of "logic" behind it.
You couldn't use rocks to make yourself fly without a method of launching yourself, for example. Nor could you use fire to become cold, how would that even work?
Lin Hao checked his Cubic Reservoir, finding it already fully charged at 40/40.
His enhanced intelligence now made him regenerate Cubic Reservoir quickly, turning him into a rapid power house from the beginning.
"Alright lets try this again." Lin Hao focused on the volcanic ball forming in his hand once more, the magma manifesting much more brightly.
He looked at his stats while holding it, seeing if he could decrease the Cubic Reservoir consumption.
Holding it for a few seconds, his Cubic Reservoir was at 30/40, a good sign of progress. But his "training" was interrupted now by the same mysterious voice, causing him to drop the ball and burn a bright mark on the ground.
"Now that you all have received your Cubic Powers, we can start the real game."