Mhn... I still feel sleepy. But… It can wait.

I wake up from the slumber inflicted by my evolution, noticing that my surroundings seem to be exactly the same as before. The night sky illuminates the crater and its surroundings.

The day and night cycle is strange... according to [Memories]. Or I just don't need to sleep that much… I don't know. Will pay attention to the sky more, in the future, though.

I look at my body, interested in what the evolution changed, and see something quite interesting. I seem to have grown a bit, some... 5 centimetres taller? I can't tell, as I don't have anything to compare myself to. My feathers resemble the night sky, with spots of light in some of them, and so do my flames. My eyes should have changed too, but I can't see it now… I'll need to check it soon.

After observing myself, I open my status to see what changed.

-

Evolution and changes:

[Infant Phoenix - E] -> [Starlit Infant Phoenix - E]

Level: 10 -> 1(I)

Stats:

Strength: 3 -> 5

Agility: 7 -> 10

Recovery: 15 -> 20

Mind: 11 -> 12

Will: 5 -> 8

Soul: 10 -> 11

[Of Flames and Embers] -> [Starlit Flames]

-

I open my full status.

-

Status:

Name:

Race: [Starlit Infant Phoenix]

Level: 1(I)

Stats:

Strength: 5

Agility: 10

Recovery: 20

Mind:12

Will: 8

Soul: 11

Stat points: 10

Skills: [Dodge II], [Charge III], [Bash II], [Poison Resistance I], [Stealth I], [Meditation I], [Mana Resistance I], [Pain Resistance I]

Abilities: [Phoenix Heart], [Starlit Flames], [Lesser Elemental], [Emotional Telepathy], [Memories]

-

Wow. So many changes… it makes me happy seeing this, It actually seems that I was making some progress with all of this! sigh, but I know it is not enough. In Essence, my StatusThe essence showed me that I simply suck at fighting, my strategies too simple and obvious, and the usage of my powers not good enough… So, I’ll train. Trying to understand my strengths and weaknesses is only the first step.

I look at the crater again, the molten rock having been cooled off, glass and pieces of it scattered around.

Time to leave, it seems. Time to learn and understand my powers a bit better, and evolve! I finally have something to do now, a clear goal... or at least a shadow of one to complete. It felt good, very good.

I hop out of the crater, entering into the forest again for training and to learn... about myself . After all, as some would say, ‘Know yourself and the enemy, you shall not fear a hundred battles’, or something? The point still stands, though. Training!

…

I stalk the unsuspecting deer, my form completely hidden from all but the most attentive and perceptive minds. I get closer and closer to the deer, and strike!

I bash at the deer, instantly breaking its ribcage; it falls into the ground, spasming. It went well, I think? I gained experience, that’s all that matters.

I burn the deer, ending its life quickly.

sigh, I lost count of how many days I’ve spent on this, and I’ve hit a wall in my training. Most of my attack skills are capped, and no matter how much effort I put into them, I can’t increase them to VI! It must be a system rule, I’m sure!

I learned much these past few days, I’d say. Levelling my skills a bit, learning how to use them more effectively, and earning some new skills, even. I levelled up some, too. But, there are still things that I haven’t tried yet, having only sparingly used [Meditation], I still can’t manipulate my mana.

I hop away from the deer, using my wings to hop faster. I tried flying, once. I discovered that my body is simply too small for it, so I’m using my wings to assist me in hopping.

I stop at the place I call my nest, the remnants of a tree, big enough to accommodate me, and its comfortable too!

I make myself comfortable in the space, and start to think about some things. I think it's finally time to discover what the stats actually do, having some stats points to use.

I look at my stats again.

-

Stats:

Strength: 5

Agility: 10

Recovery: 20

Mind:12

Will: 8

Soul: 11

Stat points: 12

-

So… I’d say that the 3 first ones are related to the body, and… the 3 last ones are mental? Or spiritual.

I add one point into Strength. I immediately notice a slight difference. I feel… stronger? No, not only that, I feel that I can exert more power into everything now, if just a margin.

I add one point into Agility, now. The difference isn’t much, but I feel that I’ve gotten a bit faster, or… like the world itself slacked its restraints on me. Strange…

I add a point in Recovery but don’t feel anything. Huh, I guess it is indeed a Phoenix main stat, then? So, I’d say that recovery does the obvious, then. Recovering all types of energy.

I add one in Mind. The effect is noticeable. Everything feels sharper, I can understand things a little better now, process things better, etc. My mind just feels better overall. Interesting!

One in Will. The difference isn’t noticeable at first, but I still can feel it. I feel that I can control my body better, and so my mind too. I feel that I have a better grasp on them, marking them more as mine than before.

And last, I add one point in Soul. I feel… the same. No difference, at all. Huh, strange. I don’t have a clue on this one, maybe something with the system? Perhaps.

I wonder how I should spend the stats points now. I have a few of them, only getting one per level, so I need to think about this based on the long-run. I decide to not use them now, Again, I simply don’t know enough.

Having made my decision, I start to meditate. Let's see if I can control the flow now.

…

The sensation when I enter this state changed after the evolution. Instead of it only being a red river with an overwhelming flow, with warmth corresponding to fire, it feels much gentler now.

It is a river of stars, now. The feeling of stellar mana is very different from fire mana, but not too much, as my first main affinity is fire, after all. It feels warm and cold at the same time, with a feeling of timelessness and eternal expansion. It seems to embody the stars at its core.

I try to change the flow of the river, and my efforts seem a little better than last time, grasping the edge of the river, and changing one of the smallest flows towards me.

Finally!

I play with the flow of mana a bit. It is flexible yet sturdy, warm yet cold, Very confusing indeed. I attach the flow into my chest, specifically my heart.

I end the meditation and immediately check my status.

-

[Mana Manipulation I] learned!

[Meditation III] Upgraded!

-

Yes! Finally got it!

I’m a little excited now. You see, I noticed something odd these past few days, too. I’m a [Lesser Elemental], according to the system, yeah? But… why couldn’t I use mana? After all, according to [Memories], elementals are beings made of mana, so why couldn’t I use it?

I thought of it a lot, and eventually concluded that I simply didn’t have the skill required for it, which is odd. Phoenixes must have an instinct for that, then? I thought at the time.

But, I finally found the answer now! Connecting the river into myself was it, and I was acting only on a hunch.

Yawn. I’m quite tired now. Sleep it is, then.

…

Days pass after I used mana for the first time. I trained, fought, understood and explored the forest. A routine that I got used to. It was all broken by something however.

...

I wake up due to the ground trembling. I look around, trying to see what is causing it, but I can’t see anything. It is in the middle of the night, but I found that I have some sort of night vision, so it doesn’t bother me much. Nothing. The ground stops shaking, and I exit my nest. I need to find what made the ground shake, as it could be a powerful predator with some of the creatures I’ve seen here.

The ground shakes again, this time weaker. I start to hop towards the direction I believe the epicentre is. I’m curious to see what creature did this.

Reaching the place, what surprises me the most isn’t the damage that was done to the place, with more than three craters around it. Nor the great beast that made these crater, a bull-like beast, with big horns seemingly made out of stone, and a brown pelt with random pieces of stone on them. No, what surprises me the most is what the beast was fighting against.

Humanoids.