"Hnnnn..." A young girl of the catkin race stirred, stretching her limbs as she mumbled curses at the sunlight trying to penetrate her eyelids.

However, the moment she opened her eyes, her body instinctively froze, and every hair stood on its end.

'Where am I? How did I get here?' Her panicked eyes tried to find an answer, but she could only answer the first question.

The waves sluggishly rolled onto the beach in an almost lazy manner, and about a couple dozen meters off the sea was an endless expanse of trees and plants. Crustaceans fought epic battles between themselves to determine who would get the shinier shell, and seagulls screeched in the skies and on the ground, trying to find anything they could gobble up.

The catkin was both horrified and curious at the same time. She had never seen a beach before, and this scared her, but also piqued her curiosity.

Just as she was about to try exploring, she thought, 'Wait... I don't remember ever being on a beach... but... I don't remember anything?'

She blinked and tried to knock her head with her fists, but to no avail.

She smiled sheepishly, despite the strange void forming around her heart. She knew things, she wasn't like a newborn that never saw the light. Instead, she knew things, but she didn't know how she knew them, nor could she remember any previous experiences.

Just as the catkin was about to try and wander off, a bright panel popped up in front of her.

Welcome to your Status Card Name - N/A Age - 2 minutes Strength - 1 Constitution - .3 Vitality - .5 Intelligence - 2 Dexterity - 2 Wisdom - 1

Despite seeing with her own eyes, she struggled to understand what was happening. She even went as far as rubbing her eyes and pinching herself to confirm that this was real.

"This... What is this?" She asked, once more torn between fear and curiosity.

Welcome to your Status Card This is your Status Card.

She snickered despite her situation, before breaking out into a nervous giggle. "Yeah, I know that. Rather, Mr. Status, can you explain where I am? Or who I am? Or..." Before she could continue asking questions, another panel flashed before her.

Welcome to your Status Card

ERROR! CANNOT ANSWER!

ERROR! CANNOT ANSWER!

The catkin stared at the card for a dozen seconds before asking more questions. "Can you at least explain what is happening?"

Welcome to your Status Card

ERROR!

...

ERROR OVERRIDE BY SYSTEM

While we cannot explain what has transpired, we can tell you what is happening now.

You have been brought to this place by the Higher Powers and gifted the opportunity to redeem yourself.

Our only demand to you is to survive. We do not care what else you do.

The Catkin's eyes dimmed and she thought for a while before asking a long series of questions, hoping for more answers, or at least information.

As she found out, this place was a huge island populated with a large variety of monsters, many of which very aggressive. However, she was also told that, despite her abysmal stats that even a squirrel could beat her at, the System would allow for her to grow in stats as long as enough Anima was gathered.

Apparently, Anima was the essence of all life. It could be found on all living things, and it was very mysterious.

The Catkin asked a whole ton of other questions, like what her stats meant and how could she survive.

While the second question was ignored, she was politely explained the first. Strength represented pure muscle power, vitality was the ability for one to recover and it also helped one tank fatal wounds.

Dexterity was agility, reflexes, and speed. Constitution was the raw defense and bulkiness of one's body, while intelligence and wisdom worked in tandem to increase magical comprehension and ability.

Despite being thoroughly bored by the long and annoying explanations, the catkin eagerly absorbed the information. Finally, three hours after she awoke to this strange and new land, she finally began a journey that would bring about a massive change to the world order.

Whether that was for good or bad, it was yet to be seen.