Thirteen days passed just like that and today was the second day of week 33. I was now sitting on the ground after today's training while supporting my back on the trunk of the small tree.
I looked up through the gaps of the dark leaves into the dark sky. It was still filled with multiple colorful stars which never budged from their position. The sky was also clear and had no clouds.
'As far as I can confer from Alex's memories, this world had no clouds! If not the world then atleast this village had none.'
Putting my monologue aside, I flushed out the 'Candela Clock' from my inventory. This was the name I had given to the rock which told time with its glow.
I looked at the intensity of the light the rock was emitting and realized that the time was 5 o'clock in the morning. After checking the time, I placed it back into the inventory.
Since the day I've started my training, I would wake up every day at 3 in the morning. After two and a half hours, I would be done with everything and then start the day like every other slave.
I would finish all my works by 6 in the evening and after sleeping for 2 hours, I would meditate and have my dinner. I would then sleep again at 10 and the cycle continued.
I knew it was a very bad schedule but this was the only way for me to train secretly. However, not everything always goes as planned. There were a couple of days when I had to postpone my training because of the presence of some guards. There was also a day when I was very close to being caught but I somehow managed to stay safe.
'So tomorrow's the D-day, huh! I just hope everything goes as planned! Shall we see the fruits of my training?'
I slightly raised my left hand which was resting on the ground and flicked the nail of my pinky finger with my thumb.
Last week, I remembered that Delta once mentioned that I could set gestures to call upon my Status Window! Also, recalling how easily Princess Josephine muted me and made me unable to use my system, I set up a gesture to call for it.
Just as I flicked my finger, a translucent greenish screen appeared infront of me.
Click!
[
HOST INFO:
Name: Alex (Deniel)
Age: 15
Gender: Male
Level: 1
Fate Points (FP): 00/100
------
STATS:
Health Points (HP): 110/110
Mind Power (MP): 0/0 [Locked]
Strength: 0(+12) = 12
Defense: 0(+10) = 10
Senses: 1(+9) = 10
Health: 4(+7) = 11
Mind: 0(0) [Locked]
Free Stat Points: 0
------
SKILLS:
Passive Skills:
[Mining] Level 3:
You have grown proficient in handling mining tools. Your proper form and long practice makes you able to mine various minerals with ease. As the skill level grows, the ease of mining increases.
[Starlight Harvesting] Level 2:
Due to constantly practicing this skill, your proficiency has significantly increased. After reaching level 2, you can now grow the yellow variety of the Starlight fruit effortlessly and in any type of soil.
Due to spending so much time studying the fruit, you can now recognize other varieties of the Starlight fruit.
[Dagger Arts] Level 1:
You have practiced profusely with a knife and have just touched into the concept of using a dagger. With more training, correct form and guidance under a teacher, you can master the control of daggers.
Active Skills:
[Dagger Thrust] Level 1:
You have diligently practiced thrusting your knife with precision, speed and strength. Although your form is still crude, your muscles have started to develop in a specific direction. Due to the growth of those muscles, the system can now direct the stamina inside your body into them thus giving them a sudden boost.
This skill is can only be used maximum for 3 times in 24 hours. It depletes stamina so you should not use it when your stamina is low.
------
INVENTORY: LEVEL 1
Space 1: (0.6m³/1m³)
• Slot 1 - □ (0.01m³)
• Slot 2 - □ (0.05m³)
…
Space 2: (0.0m³/0.25 m³)
• Slot 1 - □ (0.25m³)
]
The size of my status window had increased.
Recently, I've received two more stat points. Both Strength and Defense received one point each. I could understand why Strength got one but for Defense, it was a mystery.
'Maybe it's due to the fruits I ate daily or maybe it was just close to ten already and my routine gave it the push that it needed.' I guessed in my head.
I also noticed the fact that increasing my stats through training would not give me the sudden pain that I would receive by increasing them with the stat points provided by the system. Although I haven't checked whether I would feel pain while allotting the stat points to Strength or Defense, but from my previous experience I was pretty sure that they were no exception!
Allotting stat points to Health gave a burning sensation to the connective tissues. Meanwhile allotting stat points to the Senses stat gave a cold sensation to the nerve tissue.
'I wonder what would happen if I allotted points to them both at the same time!'
Putting my thoughts aside, I looked at my 'Skills' section. I had received two new skills related to dagger arts. Also, the skill 'Starlight Harvesting' had increased by one level.
Actually, the gains were not given altogether. They came in slowly and one by one as I trained more and more. Thus, I received ample time to get used to them.
I recalled the time when I received the skill 'Dagger Thrust'. None of my skills had a name, it was up to me to set the name. As soon as I received the skill, the system strangely mentioned that naming this skill was necessary. After reading the description I realized that to use the skill, I would have to call it out.
After I named the skill, I also divided my skills into two categories in the same manner my company did in its games.
The ones for which calling out the name wasn't necessary were put into the 'Passive Skills' section. As for those that needed me to actually say their name for them to work, were placed in the 'Active Skills' section.
That day when I was done with sorting the skills, I immediately called out to my active skill. But to my surprise, nothing happened. Then I started to try many other things in order to find the switch for the skill. Coincidentally, just when I had positioned my right arm muscles in order to thrust the knife in the air, and whispered the skill name, the skill activated.
I felt a sudden surge of energy in my right arm. It was as if my right arm had turned into a sponge which was sucking all the energy from all over my body. In a matter of milliseconds, my arm got 'charged' and thrusted with insane speed into the air.
The skill was so effective that it created shockwaves in the air! I had felt the shockwaves as the stagnant air had turned into a small gust and blew over my face.
It felt amazing and magical. So much so that I wanted to try it once again! However, I felt as if all the energy inside my body had drained out. It felt like I had just run a long marathon! My right arm was also throbbing with slight muscular pain after using the skill.
Apparently, the skill made the targeted muscles work to their full potential. The pain would be automatically gone after resting for a couple of hours but the stamina would only recover after six to eight hours!
Ending my monologue, I looked at my inventory and realized that I've filled up all of space 2 with water and only 60% of space 1 was now remaining.
Flicking my left pinky finger again, I closed the Status Window.
Flip!
As the greenish window closed itself, I brought my right palm forward and fixed my eyes on it. Then, I moved my lips and without any sound, I lip-synced, "Space 1, slot 7, eject one item!"
These past few days I've also realized that the system didn't actually need to hear my voice to work. It was also capable of just reading my lips!
Whoosh!
As soon as I called out my inventory, a yellow vortex appeared above my right palm. As soon as it appeared, it started to slowly spin counter clockwise. Then, a yellow starlight fruit dropped on my palm from the spinning vortex. After receiving the fruit, I closed my inventory.
For the past fortnight, I've harvested a lot of starlight fruits. I would only eat one daily and store the others. When my 'Starlight Harvesting' skill leveled up to 2, I was able to grow five fruits from each crown every time I planted them. Thus, I was able to stack so many fruits that I could now eat them daily for a couple of months!
Crunch!
I took a bite from the sweet fruit and started eating it.
Breakfast was never given to the slaves. There was only lunch and dinner. Therefore, I probably was the only slave who was able to have breakfast albeit just a single fruit.
As I finished my breakfast, I noticed that I have now recovered some of my stamina from my training I then stood up and went back to the stable. Eventhough I was going to 'die' tomorrow, I still had to go to the mine today. After all, a slave was supposed to work till its last breath!
***