Day four of living with the Vikings.
I spent the entire day in my new house, cleaning every inch until there wasn't a speck of dirt left. There were a lot of dried-up animal droppings scattered around. I made sure my new home was sterile. This place wasn't just going to be my home—it was going to be my clinic too.
Also, I spent my time learning some basic survival skills, like how to make a fire. Trust me, fire is crucial in this era.
Without fire, I couldn't cook. Without fire, there was no light. And without fire, I wouldn't be able to stay warm when winter hit.
With no electricity or gas, everything had to be done manually. I tried making fire like in the movies, rubbing two dry sticks together.
But no matter how hard I tried, it didn't work. Turns out, that method wasn't very effective.
The people here use flint stones to start fires. They shave dry branches into thin slices and then strike the flint and direct the sparks onto the shavings.
The little sparks would ignite the shavings. When you see smoke, you blow on it gently until the fire catches.
The one who taught me this was Ingrid.
I've got to admit, that crazy woman is a big help.
It's not like we've become friends or anything, but I'd say our relationship has "slightly" improved.
Since the day I helped Einar with his broken leg, Ingrid's attitude has changed a bit. Not that she's suddenly sweet or speaks kindly to me. She still yells in my face like usual.
But now, she doesn't make as many snide remarks or cause problems. She used to take every chance to criticize me. Like whenever I'd ask something or talk to someone else, she'd butt in.
But today, she's been a bit more "quiet." There's been less unnecessary bickering, and she even taught me how to make fire, although she complained the whole time. Well, it's partly my fault for not getting the hang of it right away.
Overall, she's become slightly more reasonable. I don't know what changed her mind, but it's given me some peace of mind.
Thanks to her, I could sleep warmly through the cold night breeze. I mean, the fire kept me warm.
"My first night in my new home. Even without a mattress or soft pillows, I was able to sleep peacefully."
Birna brought over a bundle of fish earlier today. I just grilled all of them. Ate some for lunch, and the rest for dinner.
"My stomach's full. Time to sleep."
As I was about to close my eyes, something important hit me.
"Ability Store!"
When the system notification popped up telling me I could access the Ability Store, I didn't get the chance to check it.
After helping Einar and getting him home, I had to go to the mead maker. I needed a bunch of mead to use as a substitute for antiseptic. By the time I was done, it was already dark.
"How do I even access the Ability Store?"
So far, the system's always popped up randomly. I have no idea how to access it. The only thing I know how to use is "Spatial Visualization." All I have to do is think about it, and a 3D hologram shows up.
If abilities work the same way as accessing the system, then I guess I just have to think about it.
As soon as I thought about the Ability Store, a status info screen popped up before me.
DING!
[ Character Info ]
[ Name: Michael Lim ]
[ Occupation: Dukun ]
[ Race: Nordic ]
[ STR: 10 ]
[ VIT: 7 ]
[ INT: 25 ]
[ DEX: 14 ]
[ Skills: Surgery Lv. 8, Medical Knowledge Lv. 6, Cooking Lv. 1, Foraging Lv. 4, Horse Riding Lv. 3, Swordsmanship Lv. 3 ]
[ Ability: Spatial Visualization, Translator. ]
[ VIRTUE POINTS: 100 ]
[ SIN POINTS: 0 ]
[ Ability Shop ]
Some things had changed but felt not right.
"What the heck is this?"
Instead of giving me a more reasonable occupation like a doctor or healer, the system labeled my occupation as a seer. And to top it off, that's typically a female role. How did I even get this?
I have no idea how this system works. But hey, it's better than being labeled a thrall.
"Well, whatever."
Then my attention shifted to the very last option on my character info: Ability Shop. Once I tapped it, another blue screen popped up.
[ Ability List ]
[ Clairvoyance - 2000 Virtue Points ]
[ Pacemaker - 2000 Virtue Points ]
[ Echolocation - 2000 Virtue Points ]
[ … ]
"Oh, God. If you had given me these abilities in my first life, I probably wouldn't have ended up here."
My jaw dropped. No matter how fast I scrolled down, I couldn't find the end.
The system had hundreds of abilities. Most were kind of supernatural, like something straight out of a video game.
"Wow, that's wild."
But the prices for these abilities? Ridiculously high.
"This makes no sense. Levitation for 10,000 points? Mind reading for 15,000? And what the hell, invisibility for 100,000 points? Hell no."
The more unique an ability, the more expensive it was.
These abilities were pretty much impossible to buy. I only got 10 or 20 virtue points for saving a life. If I wanted to buy levitation, I'd need to save 500 to 1,000 people.
"Looks like all the cool abilities are just for show."
I sighed, disappointed.
But it's not a big deal. Most of the expensive ones were supernatural abilities I didn't really need anyway.
"Maybe I can find something cheaper that's actually useful."
I kept scrolling, looking for an ability that would help with my job—something like enhanced vision.
After about half an hour, I finally found one that caught my eye.
"World History Records, price: 50 Virtue Points."
According to the description, World History Records let the user accessed information about past events around the world. There was no clear limit on how far back the information goes.
If the time I'm living counts as "history," I might be able to use this to anticipate future events. I could also figure out who the influential people with bright futures are and make connections with them.
In other words, I could predict the future.
I chuckled at the thought.
"If I really have this ability, then maybe it makes sense that my occupation is now seer."
This ability was super useful, especially for someone like me who knew nothing about the Vikings.
"I'm buying this!"
DING!
[ Ability added! ]