I finally had a moment's peace to ponder what had happened to me. That giant tall blue humanoid was anything but normal. I killed it. The thought shook me to my core. I had never killed anything.

"To think the first time was with a whip sword." I mumbled to myself. Looking around I realized by the man's bedside was a window to the forest below. I pried myself from the snowy floor and moved over. Maybe I could clear my head.

I stared out of it now, leaning on the sill.

My eyes spotted something new. An undeniable bunny, white as snow, hopped around below. It nibbled at a tuft of white grass I hadn't ever noticed before. It was almost as if the bunny was just another lump of snow. How many had I missed before?

Its camouflage didn't stop a silvery fox from coming along. The attack was vicious, at least for me, and painted the snow red. The fox's only task it had already completed, that was, pouncing on the bunny. From there it snapped its neck, and suddenly it had a limp dinner.

That reminded me. The sun was already setting, I couldn't see it, but I could feel the temperature drop. The light, what little made it through, was dimmer. I wondered how the forest was so bright and ended up attributing the fact to the reflectiveness of snow.

I recalled my [Powers].

[Lottery]

Have a chance to generate a loot box that contains one or more permanent random items. The possibilities of the generated items are endless. The rarity and value of the items are affected by [LUK]. The chance for failure is exceptionally large compared to success. This [Power] has a long cooldown period. Cooldown is affected by [WIS].

[Cheat]

The odds are skewed for you. The next chance-based effect used will be more favorable. This [Power] may be applied to anything involving random chance. The power of this effect is affected by [INT]. This [Power] has a long cooldown period. Cooldown is affected by [WIS].

[Buff Roll]

A random buff is generated and applied to yourself. There will always be a beneficial effect to a buff, however, beware of negative drawbacks. The power of this buff is affected by [INT], the favorability of this buff is affected by [LUK], the duration of this buff is affected by [WIS].

[Weapon Roll]

A random weapon is generated and equipped. The nature of this weapon is completely random and sometimes even useless in a given circumstance. The quality and rarity of this weapon are affected by [INT], the favorability of this weapon is affected by [LUK], the duration of this weapon is affected by [WIS].

[Armor Roll]

A random armor is generated and equipped. The nature of the armor is completely random and sometimes even useless in a given circumstance. The quality and rarity of the armor are affected by [INT], the favorability of this armor is affected by [LUK], the duration of the armor is affected by [WIS].

Intelligence, Luck, and Wisdom seemed to fit the bill. I'd put money on the first two, wasn't too sure about Wisdom. I wonder how that's measured, or what it's measured against?

The quality of my stuff had always been decent so I could say my Intelligence was alright. And I've been seeing the favorable keyword a lot so my Luck must be high too. I felt that that was normally a low-frequency occurrence and I've seen it a good number of times. But as for Wisdom, my things only ever lasted one or two minutes, so it must be low.

But... turning around, the sleeping man had already been wearing the armguards for close to half an hour.

"That's interesting." I said staring at the armguards that still haven't dissipated. The squirrel had a tendency to stare at me when I talked to myself but generally acted as if it knew I wasn't talking to it. "Maybe his Wisdom is high? I'll have to do some experiments."

A shamrock mist surrounded me once more, taking form.

Buff: [Hardened Hands]

Your hands become dense allowing your strikes more stopping power and your fists more durability. The weight behind your fists become heavier.

Weapon: [Hardoak Bow]

A smooth bow made of hardoak. While the flex to the bow is hard to apply, when done correctly, the power behind the arrow is multiplied significantly. Arrows from this bow have increased velocity compared to a bow of similar design.

Armor: [Hunter's Step]

Soft linen footwear that wrap around the feet closely. Their design reduces the noise created by ones feet, especially when moving through wild terrain.

I spent a moment just admiring the items. When I ran my hands across the footwear and hardoak bow, I admired them as well. It was a process I would probably do countless times, every time I used the [Powers] I would have something new.

I passed the time waiting for them to run out by checking their quality. They didn't seem like they were about to fall apart or anything. But that only begged the question: What did quality pertain to? I wasn't sure, but for now, I just checked their physical condition.

If anything, the footwear might've been slightly worn. Almost as if it had seen some use prior. I went so far as to take the shoe off and smell it. Logically, that would indicate that someone has worn it. No dice.

In the end, the shoes and the bow didn't dissipate at the same time. Both died out within a minute of each other. My buff died out in the same timeframe. My mental clock counted their times at anywhere between a minute and two minutes.

I tried again.

Jackpot Buff: [Absorbent Efficiency]!

Any sources of nutrients taken into the body while [Absorbent Efficiency] is in effect will have its effect multiplied by two. This effect counts for magical methods of intake as well.

Weapon: [Hardlight Shurikens]

Solid light formed into a pair of shurikens. These shurikens retain their sharpness indefinitely. They are lighter than any of their counterparts and are able to reach high velocities. Meant to shear through clothing, these shurikens are nearly void of any stopping power. Able to be used as a light source.

Armor: [Shield Ring]

A small, plain iron ring. It is charged with mana and a simple enchantment will protect the user from any perceived physical threat. A small forcefield will attempt to repel any threat registering as an attack.

"I can get a jackpot buff?" I said first, blinking. "Wait." My eyes widened slightly.

I reached into my cloak and into my jacket pouch, retrieving the small weight I had placed there. The [Exqusite Long Ration]. An admittedly suspicious-looking block, that tasted fantastic, or so it was said. I had yet to take a bite. The reason I attained the life-saving cloak I wore and this ration from the [Lottery] was because the ration was able to keep me sustained for a week. There was no telling how long I'd be out here.

[Absorbent Efficiency] just doubled that cushion.

I took a bite and a wave of flavor caressed my tongue. The block all but melted in my mouth in a way that was both sweet, fleeting, and filling. And then my hunger and thirst just disappeared. Gone from my perception. That had moved into my system fast.

I couldn't tell if the [Absorbent Efficiency] even kicked in, but there was a lively feeling in my stomach. "It worked, I think."

My belly felt full and for a moment I thought about the science behind such food. The thought was for later, I was in the middle of an experiment.

I had just enough time to admire the constructs made of pure light, the shurikens, and nearly prick my fingers on them. Before that eventuality, a small forcefield pressed back against the tip of the yellow shuriken, protecting my finger. Compliments of the small iron ring on my finger no doubt, which truly looked like nothing special.

Then they disappeared, and I counted only a few seconds between each one this time. They landed close to the two-minute mark. This time I wasn't able to discern their physical conditions. The [Hardlight Shurikens] were simply hard to do so and the [Shield Ring] was just plain iron. It was hard to judge the quality and wear of such a small piece of metal.

[Absorbent Efficiency] ran out as well and I wondered if that meant I was back to being sustained for only one week. But then I remembered that the description was clear in that it specified any food eaten while the buff was active. The keyword there was eaten. I didn't need to have the buff to reap its benefits.

"I'll stick to assuming between a minute and two minutes for each." I said to myself. "It's hard to measure quality or rarity though. [Hardlight Shurikens] seemed pretty anomalous though. Did that equate to rarity?"

My [WIS] I assumed to be low but perhaps one or two minutes was a long time for them to last? My [LUK] seemed high though I wasn't sure entirely sure if jackpot rolls were affected by it so my conclusion was drawn from the favorable adjective I've been seeing. As for [INT] that one was hard to gauge.

I stared out the window and found the blood of the bunny had already been covered in a soft sheet of snow. That would've been me today. If I hadn't got lucky and got this cloak, or if I died to the giant. If I hadn't eaten that ration I'd be starving about now. Would I even have lasted long enough for food and water to be a problem had I not been lucky?

The thoughts swirled through my mind like a blizzard. How my hands still felt defiled, the pressure I felt against the urumi as the giant struggled, and the subsequent release as I decapitated it. How I planned to survive out here if I wasn't able to find someone to help me. Where I even was. They raged through my head like an all-encompassing storm.

I stood amid it all. Buffeted by every thought like a boulder-sized lump of hail. Thoughts, doubts and fears weighed my legs down. My legs quivered with the weight of my worries. Every other thought struck me. Sometimes they lifted me up, against the storm, but more often than not I was struck closer to the floor. I knew if my knees ever touched there I would be frozen forever.

I opened my eyes and sighed, trying me best to let it go for now.

As if waiting for me to settle myself a voice broke my reverie.

"Gibber says you helped me." It said.

I turned and found the man awake, the scaled squirrel was in one of his hands, while he examined the armguards on his other arm. "You looked like you'd seen better days. Thought I'd see what I could do." I replied cooly.

"Enchanted gear, huh? How'd you manage to get your hands on that?" He said in small awe, turning his arm. "It's like the fever was never there. Gibber says I've been out for a day, maybe longer."

"They've been on you for an hour." There must have been a caveat to [Gift] because the armor hadn't dissipated yet. The buff might've made it permanent.

"An hour too long then." He made to unlace the things.

I held up my hand. "Please, it's no hair off my back. Make sure the fever's gone for good." I said, taking time to look around pointedly. "It's a nice place you have here. All snow, huh?"

The man became wary but quickly calmed down, as if realizing where they were. He looked to Gibber, as I could only imagine his squirrel was named, and then back to me. "Took me three weeks to carve out. Not easy. Even with Gibber's help."

There was a moment of silence before he spoke up again. "You're new, aren't you?" He said with a sureness in his voice. "You look like it."

My eyes locked onto his. He nodded.

He continued, staring at me. "Already had your first taste of this world too." He saw something in my eyes. He shrugged recognizing my confusion as well. "You remember the time pause and the [System Shop] right? After that, people started coming into this world. And that's what you should think of it as. An entirely new world. Because that's what it is."

"That's impossible." The words came automatically as if my first reaction was denial. The words died on my lips. Then how did I explain any of this?

"And a world frozen in time isn't?" He looked at me again. "You're lucky you ran into me and not someone else. Some people take advantage of the new ones. There's a group of good enough people north of here, you might be good to try your chances with them." He looked to the armguards he wore and to my fur cloak. "Looks like you might be able to take care of yourself though."

"I saw the fire." I responded. "Can you tell me what you know about everything?"

The man shrugged. "Something happened to our planet. You'll see an abandoned structure every now and then but it'll normally be overgrown. You'd probably recognize them for what they were though. A library, or a coffee shop, or a grocery store."

He didn't stop when he saw me listening. "Most people dropped just try to find a place to live. Settle down. They go to what's familiar, especially here in the snow. The buildings attract the monsters though." He grimaced. "I was one of the luckier ones who found a group of people early. A girl who could play with fire and another older guy who knew the woods, at least ones on Earth. We got a fire going and nearly died hunting for food. The cold nearly killed us but we found a building, an old ice cream shop, and settled down. The girl's fire was the only thing keeping us going until we could find something furry to kill. It was when we came back to creatures in our pseudo home that we realized the buildings weren't safe. I was the only to make it out alive, me and Gibber."

"What do people make of the [System Shop]?" I questioned.

"I bounced some ideas with Laury and Halt. Laury was too young to be anything but amazed by it but Halt and I had some theories. Maybe it was something to ease our transition to this new world, who knows? I never knew what they got aside from the obvious fire. Never knew, never asked, and neither did they." He said it wistfully, as if the events surrounding their death were further in the past. But the man seemed like someone used to loss.

"Are there still new people appearing? Even three weeks after you came?" I asked next.

"You." He answered. After a moment's thought. "I didn't come three weeks ago. I came closer to a month ago. I started carving this place out once I lost Laury and Halt. I knew better than to find shelter elsewhere. There were people here when even I arrived though, or so I've learned. We saw the signs, the fire in the north, and just general indicators that could be nothing but a human's touch."

I listened in, knowing that was a fate that could've well awaited me. "So you know nothing?" I asked realizing he hadn't at all came to any conclusions.

"And neither does anyone else." He responded. He looked out the window and noted the darkness. "You can stay here tonight. Name's John, nice and simple. Squirrel's name is Gibber, try not to call him that though, he'll insist he's a scale armor variant."

I followed his gaze, looking outside. I sighed, "Vak. Nice to meet you."