You have gained the general skill [Lesser Gravity Manipulation (Uncommon)]
Skill has been automatically placed into an open slot
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You have slain Warrior (Level 1 | Tier 0)
You have gained 8 Tutorial Points
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You have slain Warrior (Level 1 | Tier 0)
You have gained 10 Tutorial Points
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You have slain Archer (Level 2 | Tier 0)
You have gained 22 Tutorial Points
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You have slain Warrior (Level 1 | Tier 0)
You have gained 11 Tutorial Points
Your race has leveled up to level 3
Your class has leveled up to level 3
Skill Selection Available
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“Whew~.” The sigh escapes me before I can stop it, my shoulders sagging as the final blue box fades. The adrenaline leaves with it, and suddenly I feel incredibly tired. The few injuries I sustained hurt now as well.
Luckily, the pain is already fading, with my cheek almost completely healed, and my arm soon to follow.
I plop myself onto the nearest chair-like object—which happens to be the headless corpse of Greasy—and finally let myself process the last 5 minutes.
I was sleeping peacefully.
There was an ambush.
Lots of blood.
Highly suspicious instincts.
Star powers... apparently.
And then bodies hitting dirt, followed by using my improved sense of smell to hunt the rest down because leaving unfinished work feels rude.
Looking down at the expression frozen on the severed head laying in front of me, I nod thoughtfully.
“Eight out of ten. Yours isn’t quite as dramatic as the elf’s, but the placement is artistic. Much better than the archer.”
Patting his blood soaked shoulder approvingly, I pull up my status screen and dump points into Dexterity without hesitation.
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Lyn
Health: 59/100
Stamina: 72/280
Race: Foxkin (Level 3 | Tier 0)
Class: Warrior [Common] (Level 3 | Tier 0)
Aspect: Star
Traits: [Starborn]
Titles:
Stats
Vitality: 10
Strength: 16
Dexterity: 28
Perception: 16
Charisma: 10
Free Points: 0
Class Skills (2/8):
[Slash (Common)]
[Lesser Dexterity (Common)]
General Skills (4/8):
[Inspect (Common)]
[Running (Uncommon)]
[Basic Swordplay (Common)]
[Lesser Gravity Manipulation (Uncommon)]
Racial Skills:
Vulpine Senses
Special Skills:
[Universal Translation]
Tutorial Points: 77
Tutorial Countdown: 49 days, 06 hours, 06 minutes
Skill Selection Available
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I whistle low.
“That’s… a lot of tutorial points. Huh.”
Apparently hunting users is extremely profitable. Noted. Not something I would do intentionally, of course—but if people attack me first?
Well.
Accidents happen.
Also apparently I was asleep for eleven hours, which explains why people caught up to me enough to try stabbing me in my dreams like overachievers with bad manners.
Curious about my new skill, I focus on it.
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[Lesser Gravity Manipulation (Uncommon)]
Unlocked by demonstrating fundamental control over gravitational force.
(Passive) Increases the effectiveness of all gravity effects by 15%.
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Neat.
I’ll pick my new skill later, no point committing until I understand the other two branches of Astral energy.
Standing, I brush imaginary dust off my skirt. A pointless instinct, considering it’s somehow still perfectly clean despite the gore around me. Then I grab the fallen warrior’s sword.
I get the distinct feeling I’ll need another one very soon.
Channeling heat attributed Astral energy into the blade feels natural—like exhaling—but the flame that forms is wrong. Too hot. Too bright. The blade glows with iridescent starfire—
—for approximately 1.5 seconds.
Then it melts.
Fully.
Into a glowing puddle of molten metal, half-formed regret, and terrible decision-making.
It hits the ground with a loud schkkk. The grass immediately bursts into flame. A flame that spreads.
Rapidly.
Within seconds, there’s a respectable bonfire growing, climbing the bark and chewing into the lower branches with frightening enthusiasm.
Luckily, I am already walking away quickly.
Whistling.
Very casually.
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You have gained the general skill [Lesser Stellar Flame Manipulation (Uncommon)].
Skill has been automatically placed into an open slot.
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[Lesser Stellar Flame Manipulation (Uncommon)]
Unlocked by demonstrating basic control over Stellar Flame.
(Passive) Increases the effectiveness of all Stellar Flame abilities by 15%.
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I inspect the flame itself.
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Stellar Flame
A star-forged fire of exceptional intensity, found only within the hearts of massive celestial bodies.
Inflicts Astral Burn on contact.
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Astral Burn
A soul-searing effect unique to Stellar Flame. Continuously drains Health, Stamina, and Mana from affected targets.
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I slowly turn to look at the now-unpleasantly-large smoke pillar rising behind me.
I nod solemnly.
“…I should be careful with this one too.”
A beat later:
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You have slain Green Forest Slime (Level 2 | Tier 0)
You have gained 2 Tutorial Points
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I stare.
“…I wonder if it would work on bigger things.”
The thought lingers longer than I’m proud of.
But curiosity is a powerful motivator, so I head back to retrieve the last two swords for testing, navigating the forest with ease.
Except, voices.
People.
A dozen of them, surrounding the bodies I left. Serious, alert, and looking mildly concerned at the sight of two violently disassembled corpses.
Yeah. No.
Walking towards a crime scene with a bloody sword + walking away from a forest fire = not a great first impression.
I retreat and continue to move forward instead.
Notifications continue.
Slimes, rats, and an unlucky bird cooked by the flames.
Another 12 points.
A happy accident.
…For me.
Not for them.
But they aren’t here to complain, so the scoring remains positive.
The forest thins as I run, uninteresting creatures being completely ignored, like kale chips in favor of literally anything else.
And eventually:
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Timber Squirrel (Level 3 | Tier 0)
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Wild Hare (Level 3 | Tier 0)
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Forest Badger (Level 3 | Tier 0)
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Their levels make me pause briefly, but… no. Even if they’re the same level as me, none of them look like they’ll give me the kind of fight worth the effort. So I keep moving along the path, stopping only when my stamina dips low enough to justify a rest. Three hours pass in a rhythm of sprinting, sword swings, and occasional gravity-assisted leaps that are probably very inefficient, but definitely fun.
My persistence finally pays off when I habitually activate Identify on a rabbit I spot during a break.
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Wild Hare (Level 4 | Tier 0)
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Hm.
So level scaling depends on depth after all.
I scan the quiet forest. There hasn’t been a single slime or rat since I passed into the Level 3 region. Not even a stray one trying to bite my ankles. That makes things simple. Monsters have fixed territories.
Excellent.
Predictable ecosystems mean predictable prey.
…And predictable prey means predictable leveling.
I leave the rabbit to its innocent, herbivorous lifestyle and keep running down the path, fast enough that Olympic sprinters would file a lawsuit against reality. Occasionally, I activate my gravity manipulation mid-run just to feel my body go feather-light or sudden-brick heavy. It’s stupid, reckless, and serves absolutely no tactical purpose.
I grin every time.
Two hours later, something interrupts my momentum. A faint tone and a shimmering blue window.
Oh, and also a massive wall of dense fog stretching higher and farther than I can see.
Subtle.
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Zone Transition Detected
You are approaching the boundary of Zone 2.
Entry Requirement: Defeat the designated Area Boss.
Recommended Level: 5
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...Of course there's a boss.
I tap my sword hilt thoughtfully and open my Tutorial Countdown.
Only a few hours left in the day.
Fine.
I’ll wait for nightfall.
To anyone else, that sentence would sound absurd. But the night is home. The stars are... well… mine.
So I unsheathe my sword and continue practicing. The rhythmic weight of the blade steadies my breathing, and before long, I fall into a cycle of imagined combat. I replay the ambush from earlier, refining footwork, adjusting angles. This time, I focus not just on surviving, but dominating.
Hours pass in a blur, and just as the sun kisses the distant treeline, a notification blooms across my vision.
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[Basic Swordplay (Common)] has been upgraded into [Nascent Sword Style (Uncommon)]
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[Nascent Sword Style (Uncommon)]
The earliest form of a self-created sword style, originating from the User Lyn. Though undeveloped, it will evolve as Lyn continues to practice, refine, and define its core techniques.
(Passive) Increases the effectiveness of all established techniques within Lyn’s evolving sword style by 20%.
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I blink.
…Well. That’s new.
It grants a larger bonus than my other uncommon passives—decently so—but the limitation is clear. It only applies to the techniques I’ve practiced. Not improvisation. Not instinct.
Just… what I’ve deliberately created.
I tap my chin, frowning.
“That’s fine I guess. I’ll just… make more techniques. Enough to cover everything.” A grin spreads across my face. Sharp, mischievous, and way too pleased. “Which means I get to name them.”
A dangerous amount of excitement sparks in my chest.
Edgy names are the true endgame.
With that crucial philosophical conclusion settled, I sit and focus on restoring stamina. The forest hums around me, wind brushing tall grass, insects chirping, distant running water. The world feels vast, and alive.
The old me would have found hours of running and swinging a blade mind-numbingly boring. A waste of time. Mechanical. Meaningless.
But here?
Here, every movement has weight. Every skill notification is a victory. Every second of effort carves progress into reality.
My practice saved my life earlier. Skill mattered. Reflex mattered. Improvement mattered.
And then there’s them. My birthright, my secret advantage.
Gravity manipulation. Improved control, as well as explosive speed or bone-shattering force.
Stellar Fire. A flame strong enough to melt steel like chocolate.
And Light, which I haven't gotten the chance to test yet, not wanting to accidently break my only weapon.
No more stupid mistakes… for now.
My grin grows.
I sit beside a tree, letting stamina recover while planning moves, names, and future dramatic poses.
And then, night fully arrives.
With it, many very loud and chaotic voices.
“LYN!! SWEET DARLING YOU’RE BACK—are you hurt? Are your hands cold? Do you need a hug??”
“She set a forest on fire, Clearly she’s thriving.”
“DO IT AGAIN.”
“She almost died. Twice. I was so proud.”
I beam upward.
“I missed you too.”
I tell them everything—the ambush, the sword melting, the fire, the running—and receive overlapping reactions ranging from horrified maternal concern to enthusiastic bloodlust. They saw it all already of course—they are always watching—but telling the story is far more fun.
When I mention getting injured, a few of them shriek loud enough that I instinctively slap my fox ears flat and cover them. No idea why, I healed those wounds in like, 20 minutes, courtesy of my health stat never reaching 0. They weren't even that bad.
I also don’t know why I protected my fox ears instead of my human ones—instinct, maybe—but I file the confusion away for later.
The mood shifts briefly—soft, sad, something I don't understand—so I bulldoze past it with more storytelling.
Finishing my story, I ask why I can’t hear the sun anymore, and the stars answer, far more serious than normal.
“That isn’t a true star. Just a ball of mana pretending.”
That… raises alarming astrophysical implications which no one answers, so into the mental Find Out Later folder it goes.
Once my stamina returns, I stand.
Some fret. Some sigh. Some scream encouragement.
At least 4 of them claim to be making cosmic popcorn.
I choose not to question it.
The fog wall awaits.
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Challenge Prompt
Would you like to engage the Zone 1 Area Boss?
Recommended Level: 5
Options: Yes / No
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My grin stretches wider, and my tail starts flicking like it already knows something fun is about to happen. I mentally poke the yes button—twice, just in case—and hope whatever comes next is fight-shaped. The fog surges forward and eats my vision whole.
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