Arthur Wu had never considered himself a fighter. In fact, if you had asked him a few days ago—before he was unceremoniously reincarnated into a random forest—he would have told you that the hardest thing he'd ever done was open a jar of peanut butter without making a mess. But here he was, kneeling next to a giant, unconscious boar the size of a minivan, covered in sweat, his heart pounding in his chest, and still trying to figure out what the heck was going on.
The beast lay before him, its side rising and falling with labored breaths. Arthur stared at it, trying to make sense of the ridiculous situation he found himself in. His hands still gripped the stone he'd used to fell the beast, but now it felt strangely like a child's toy in comparison to the weight of what he'd just done.
"Well, at least I didn't die," he muttered, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand. He had no idea how he'd managed to throw that rock with such precision. It was as though his body had known exactly where to aim. He couldn't even remember what kind of stone he had grabbed, or whether it had any special properties. It was all a blur, like a foggy dream.
The boar was still out cold, but now, it was time to figure out what to do with this victory.
Arthur swallowed hard. He didn't know the first thing about surviving in this world. Sure, he had always played RPGs and watched a bunch of anime, but none of that seemed to apply here. This wasn't a game. He wasn't some overpowered hero that was going to instantly win every battle. In fact, if anything, he was still a weakling. The Panic Attack skill had saved him once, but it wouldn't be much help next time.
And next time, there would definitely be a next time.
Arthur opened up the system screen again, hoping it would give him some answers. He scrolled through the messages that popped up in front of him.
SYSTEM UPDATE:
XP Gained: 500
Level Up: Level 2
Skills Unlocked:
Panic Attack (Level 2)
Stone Throw (Level 2)
New Skill: First Aid (Level 1)
"Okay, I leveled up... again," Arthur murmured to himself. The system interface was straightforward enough, but there were still so many questions he had. He didn't have a quest yet, no hints as to what his next move should be. The forest around him was eerily quiet, save for the occasional rustle of leaves in the wind.
His eyes darted to his stats, where the Panic Attack and Stone Throw skills had leveled up slightly. That was... something. Still, they were so basic, so rudimentary. He needed real power. He needed to figure out how to become strong enough to not get slaughtered by the next giant boar that came his way.
As his fingers hovered over the Stats menu, a new window appeared, showing his attributes. He had stat points to distribute, and this was the moment of truth.
SYSTEM STATS:
Level: 2
XP: 0
Health: 100%
Mana: 50%
Strength: 3
Agility: 3
Intelligence: 10
Charm: 1
Available Stat Points: 6
"Okay, now we're talking," Arthur murmured, his fingers hovering over the stat screen. "I can actually improve myself. Maybe I won't be a complete disaster after all."
But then, a thought crossed his mind. How was he supposed to distribute these stat points? Should he dump them all into Strength so he could hit harder? Or Agility to run faster? Or maybe Charm, even though the system had made it clear that Charm was pretty much useless right now? Or maybe he should go for something more sensible and increase his Intelligence so he could unlock better skills or find a way to understand the world?
He sighed deeply, his head spinning with all the possibilities. "Maybe I'll just go with a balanced approach. I don't want to focus too much on one thing and end up too weak in another."
Arthur sat down on a nearby rock, staring at the stats screen, letting the decision sink in. The more he thought about it, the more he realized how important this decision was. In RPGs, you could always reset your stats if you messed up, but this wasn't a game. This was real. These choices would affect his survival.
"Alright," he said, straightening up and cracking his knuckles. "Let's do this."
Without wasting another moment, he started adjusting his stat points.
Strength: +2
Agility: +2
Intelligence: +1
Charm: +1
"Not too bad," Arthur said, nodding to himself. He still had room to grow, and there were many unknowns, but this felt like a solid foundation. Strength for the obvious reason—so he wouldn't be a weakling. Agility so he could avoid death as often as possible. Intelligence for understanding the world and unlocking new skills. And Charm—well, that was more for his own dignity. If anything, he didn't want to be the socially awkward guy who couldn't even get a basic interaction going in a world full of potentially dangerous creatures.
He stared at his stats one more time, almost feeling the weight of his choices. The 6 stat points were gone, spent, and there was no going back now. His gut told him he had made the right choice.
Arthur didn't have time to second-guess himself. The boar was still unconscious, but the world around him was beginning to feel more alive. The sounds of the forest started to shift. Leaves rustled, branches creaked, and something—somewhere—was watching him.
"I should probably figure out what to do with this thing," Arthur muttered, standing up and wiping the dirt from his knees. He hadn't come this far just to leave the boar's carcass lying around.
A glance at the boar told him that it wasn't going to be getting up anytime soon. It seemed genuinely incapacitated, its breathing shallow and uneven. But if it were alive and angry, Arthur knew he'd be toast. The best option, for now, was to find a way to finish this—safely.
His gaze shifted to the First Aid (Level 1) skill that had unlocked after his last level up. This skill might be useful for healing wounds, but Arthur had no idea how it worked. Still, it was a start.
"Let's see what this can do," Arthur mumbled, activating the First Aid skill with a mental command. The system flashed a brief notification that he had activated it, but there was no instant cure or flashy effect. Arthur frowned.
SYSTEM:
First Aid (Level 1):
Ability to clean and bandage wounds, apply basic medicine, and ease pain. Requires a basic knowledge of anatomy.
Arthur blinked. "What? So I can heal myself... but only if I know how?"
"Great. Just great," he grumbled. "Well, I guess I'll have to rely on not getting hurt for now."
With no immediate way to use his newfound skill to help himself or the boar, Arthur figured the best thing to do was to explore the area. He couldn't just sit around waiting for the next crisis to hit.
The problem was, he had no idea where to go. This forest was vast, and he had no clue what lay beyond the trees. How far did the forest stretch? What kind of dangers would he encounter? Would there be towns, people, or some kind of civilization? Or was he just going to be stuck in this forest with boars and other wild animals forever?
He pulled himself to his feet, deciding it was better to take action. He needed information. He needed to find something or someone who could help him understand this new world he'd been dropped into.
As he walked through the forest, carefully avoiding more potential pitfalls, Arthur started thinking about his next steps.
The stat points he'd spent were only part of the equation. He still had his skills to work with, but those wouldn't be enough to ensure survival. The Panic Attack was useful for evading danger, but it had limited uses. The Stone Throw skill was... well, it was useful for knocking things out of the way, but against something bigger than the boar, it wouldn't do much.
He had to level up more. He needed more skills. He needed to get stronger.
With that determination in mind, Arthur pressed forward, ready to face whatever this strange new world had in store for him.