Drake left the Merchant's Guild, the promise of 1000 gold coins ringing in his ears. He found a quiet corner in a nearby alleyway, leaning against a stone wall. He needed a moment to process everything.
"A thousand gold coins," he muttered to himself. "That's… a lot of money. Even in a world without credit cards and online banking."
He shook his head, a wry smile playing on his lips. He was finding it surprisingly easy to adapt to this new reality. The game-like system, the quests, the rewards… it was all so… convenient. Too convenient, perhaps?
"I mean, I died, woke up in a fantasy world, and immediately got a user interface telling me what to do," he mused. "No existential crisis, no questioning the nature of reality. Just… accept the quest and move on."
He opened the Codex. *Stats.*
* Level: 2
* Strength: 8
* Dexterity: 14
* Constitution: 9
* Intelligence: 12
* Wisdom: 7
* Charisma: 14
* Luck: 5
* Health: 95/100
* Available Points: 0
*Skills:*
* Observe (Level 1)
* Sense Magic (Level 2)
* Street Fighting (Level 1)
* Harvest (Level 1)
He frowned at his stats. "Okay, so I'm fast and charming, but I hit like a wet noodle," he commented, focusing on his measly Strength score of 8. "I need to work on that."
He mentally scrolled through the Codex, searching for more information about the stats. He found a section explaining the general grading system used in Atheria.
* **Stats are graded as follows:**
* 1-10: Weak/Novice
* 11-20: Average/Trained
* 21-30: Strong/Expert
* 31-40: Exceptional/Master
* 41-50: Legendary/Godlike
* **Character Levels are broad indicators of overall power, but individual stats determine specific strengths and weaknesses.**
"So, I'm basically a wet noodle novice," Drake summarized. "Great." He looked at his skills. He noticed that *Sense Magic* had leveled up after he used it to locate the source of the whispers.
He mentally queried the Codex about skill progression.
* **Skills increase in level through repeated use. The more you use a skill, the more proficient you become, and the faster it levels up.**
"Ah, so it's like practice makes perfect, but with experience points," Drake mused. "Good to know."
He closed the Codex, feeling a renewed sense of purpose. He might be a weakling right now, but he wasn't going to stay that way. He had a quest to complete, a reward to claim, and a whole new world to explore. And he was going to do it all in his own chaotic way.
He decided to visit a local smithy before heading out to the Whispering Caves. He figured a decent weapon would be a good investment, even with his limited strength.