~Congratulations! You have survived Initiation and broken into Tier 1. As a reward, please receive this raise in your Attributes based on your activities during Initiation. Rest assured, each new component will receive at least +1.5 in each Attribute.~

Did it just call me a component?

A list of her Attributes and those of her dogs appeared.

Strength

5.0

--> 2.8

7.8

Resilience

5.0

--> 5.3

10.3

Reflexes

5.0

--> 4.0

9.0

Speed

5.0

--> 3.6

8.6

Perception

5.0

--> 3.8

8.8

Stillness

5.0

--> 4.9

9.9

Willpower

5.0

--> 4.5

9.5

Intelligence

5.0

--> 2.7

7.7

Koda

Strength

3.0

--> 3.0

6.0

Resilience

5.0

--> 4.0

9.0

Reflexes

4.0

--> 3.0

7.0

Speed

5.0

--> 3.0

8.0

Perception

5.0

--> 4.0

9.0

Stillness

3.0

--> 1.5

4.5

Willpower

4.0

--> 4.0

8.0

Intelligence

2.0

--> 2.0

4.0

Sugarbear

Strength

3.0

--> 3.0

6.0

Resilience

3.0

--> 3.0

6.0

Reflexes

5.0

--> 4.0

9.0

Speed

5.0

--> 4.0

9.0

Perception

5.0

--> 4.0

9.0

Stillness

3.0

--> 1.5

4.5

Willpower

4.0

--> 4.0

8.0

Intelligence

2.0

--> 2.0

4.0

~All efforts are being made to ensure a seamless transition into your new world.~

Wait! New? I just thought they were like updating the old? What happened to the old? Was she going to lose her house and land?

~Congratulations! You are in the top 10%. Please accept these 2 medium grade Health potions and 3,000 credits.~

She didn’t think. She downed the first Health Potion but it only covered the gouges across her side. She glanced at Koda. His wounds were serious and she was filled with anxiety every time she saw the blood seep through his bandage but she had to think this through. Koda’s wounds would heal, in time, just like her own; but Koda could afford to spend that time resting. Not only did she have to keep moving, she was the whole key if something went wrong. Whether a tree fell or something attacked, they needed her up and mobile. It was amazing they’d gotten this far already; she didn’t want to trip up over a broken leg. She may have hesitated one more moment but she downed the second. Immediately she felt relief in her leg. However once she pulled the cast off, a dull ache ran up her shin suggesting it still wasn't fully healed. She'd have to be careful with it. At least she could walk though. She'd manage.

After surviving the month, keeping her dogs, and almost restoring her leg, she needed new goals to plan. Taking stock of the last month, she decided the best goal would be to rest a week and then try to make sense of everything that happened. She was in a new world, or at least a changed one. Still wasn’t even sure about that. She'd been nearly dying almost every day and now these Attributes that seemed to run the world had nearly doubled in one moment. What was that about? Another thing to worry over, but not now. This next week would be celebrating. She was alive! Only then would she try to figure out how to keep it that way.

She decided there was some fairness to this dreadful new world, reflecting back on their Attribute growth. Every terrible trial had been paid for it seemed with an absurd amount of Attributes. She’d never say it made a broken leg worth it but at least she could feel some victory.

Enough with all this torture. It was time for a breather she decided as she drank tea in the sunshine, her Frankenstein stitched house behind her. She should be dead. That was terms for celebration. They’d all survived! Even Koda was on the mend with that poultice wrap constantly on him. She leaned back against Sugarbear, savoring the new mix of tea leaves she'd been experimenting with to replace her meager supplies. Plant Identification definitely had its uses and it turns out you can use a kettle with a campfire.

The next few days went much the same. She still rose with the sun but now she could savor her mornings. She’d kept her mattress in the kitchen for Koda’s sake but now she could spend her time idling rather than worrying over what needed to get done next. Eventually as the sun rose higher she would wander outside. She stayed close to the house and away from any hunting grounds, identifying plants and practicing their many uses. She’d managed to upgrade the poultice on Koda and he was already up and walking, even if not fully healed. Most of her research, though, went into tea. Many of the plants had it in their description but very few actually made a decent cup. She was also beginning to contemplate the campfire. It was certainly working; she’d already learned to cook most of her favorite recipes over it however none of that involved rain. She wasn’t sure how the weather patterns would work now but in the past, she’d be due for a few storms. Which meant she needed an alternative to outdoor grilling. It was added to the list of answers she needed, like how on earth could she learn about Void Mastery without killing herself and everything around her. If she remembered her physics right a void was a spacial vacuum. If she thought about her magic books, then the void was something far more dangerous than even that. Not something you experimented with leaving it to your own intuition! If she found absolutely anybody who knew about it things might be different. Besides, there was also those credits waiting. Far too many to just spend on Attributes, but what did she have to buy out here? Better the familiar than the strange. She’d wait on those bigger problems and let her normal Skills grow along with her Attributes—naturally. She’d have to keep a closed eye on them this time, didn’t need to be caught by surprise like she was back at the altar.

She was contemplating these problems when a tingle ran down her spine. It was odd. New world odd. She felt a pressure coming from the front of her property. It was where the driveway used to meet the road before her whole home had transmigrated to the land of insanity.

She armed up and signaled Sugarbear. Koda was resting inside where she determined he should remain. Fading into the woods, she and Sugarbear stalked forward. Their driveway wasn’t long and there wasn’t much land between the point of entry and her house. She’d never even bothered hunting there.

They weaved between the smaller trees, trailing under the shade of the greater oaks, and stayed keyed for any sign of an invader. It didn’t take long. He was standing in front of her house; eyeing it up and down, black hair pulled back to stay out of his way. Sugarbear and she crouched together, letting the undergrowth cover them and watched. How had she known he was there?

He began to move. He tested each step as went up the stairs, checking for who knows what. The house was still solid. When he got to the door, he surveyed the space before crouching to work on the lock. He locked silly crouched over a doorknob, his frame easily exceeding six foot. Cassidy wasn’t sure what to do from here. She’d never had a visitor before or, well, at least not recently. She felt like the rules were different.

He was only 200 meters out. An easy shot. She slid up along a tree to keep her sudden height from sticking out and levelled her bow. He was still fiddling with the door. She doubted this was the kind of lock he was used to but that just gave her more time. Breath in; she motioned for Sugarbear to stay while eyeing his hands on the door. The bolt flew. Breath out. It struck just an inch above his working fingers. Now his instincts were much better than hers. He launched himself backwards right away and put the awning’s pillar between himself and the arrow’s origin.

She stayed against her tree, not certain what the next move should be. Sugarbear’s ears were back but she hadn’t moved from her spot next to Cassidy. Which was good because Cassidy wasn’t sure what would happen. The moment stretched longer. Her mind was blank.

Eventually she saw the top of his head peek around the corner for the briefest of seconds, but then it was gone again. She waited. He peeked again, still looking for her, before disappearing once more. She remembered his figure, no bow, nothing long range. She could shoot him dead at this distance if she needed. With that reassuring thought she decided to throw him a bone and stepped away from her tree into a sunny spot and waited. He peeked again and froze a second when he saw her before disappearing again.

Her confusion turned to annoyance. Just how long was going to keep stealing looks before hiding like a coward?

“Hello!” That came out a bit angrier than she intended. Sugarbear growled with her mood, but at least it didn’t scare their new guest away. Or, at least, he didn't go off running. Instead there was a hesitant answer.

“Hello?”

She waited again.

Another peek.

Another silence.

“Fucking enough." She muttered, then tried a third time "Who are you and what the hell are you doing to my front door?”

“Umm…” a couple coughs.

Okay, she had just shot at him. He didn’t seem capable of defending himself. She shot at a defenseless man and was now yelling at him. It was time to back up a step. She sighed and sucked in a breath before letting it out. In a much calmer tone, she tried again.

“I’m Cassidy. Who are you?”

For a moment she was afraid she’d just get silence again, but he spoke up, “I’m Bertold. I heard these woods were abandoned so I just wanted to check them out.”

That didn’t sound right. These woods were new. Anyone could tell the difference between them and the gloomy trees. “Do you see many houses like mine in deserted woods? It looks awfully fresh to me.”

There was another silence. Damnit. She should have just been nice and pretended to buy his bullshit.

Another sigh. This was going nowhere but he was obviously useful. A local who knew about this world? Goldmine. Let’s try bribing.

“Since you’re not trying to kill me,” Brilliant move mouth, that sounded super friendly. ”Why don’t we go around back for some tea? I just made a fresh batch and don’t want it to start boiling over while I’m out here.” Ok, so less bribery, more annoyance. But he was moving! It seemed to be working! She put her bow away and started to walk into the overgrown lawn. He stayed on the porch. She waited as he watched her, eyeing the weapons and massive dog that was alongside her. She hoped he came to the conclusion that if she wanted him dead, he’d be dead by now because she didn’t want to have to point it out. It seemed like it would be counterproductive.

At last he seemed to relax. There was an odd smile that came on his face. She wasn’t sure what to make of it. Didn’t think she liked it. Her hand went to Sugarbear in warning but nothing happened. He came down the stairs and walked towards her through the lawn. It was only then she saw the short sword at his side. She frowned. Maybe this wasn’t her best idea yet. Better yet, it was terribly stupid. She should have known no one made it out here without a way to defend themselves.

But he made no moves. Just stopped a couple paces away, waiting on her. She did not like the thought of that sword at her back but remembered all those charging stags and boars. If she could keep them from skewering her, she could keep him from too. Besides, she had Sugarbear and nothing caught Sugarbear by surprise. Much more confident, she headed around back to the promised tea.