Wake up.

A textbox appears before your very eyes. But you cannot understand the words it contains. It is practically gibberish.

Wake up!

Now you recognize that it is shouting at you. Not because of the exclamation point, but because you feel it jolt through your whole body. It is an odd sensation. One that makes you wonder if these textboxes are tied to your consciousness...

Listen to me, you idiot! You can't go sleeping until the end of time!

For some reason, you feel insulted by this particular line of text. One of the words strikes you as familiar, and you can't help but feel offended.

You would raise your fist and angrily shake it in protest, but as you possess no limbs, it is impossible to do anything but endure the ceaseless badmouthing.

This goes on for a while—perhaps a few millennia or so. You'd sit there in absolute darkness, and occasionally be berated by a string of textboxes.

You eventually learn not to care and instead pay attention to the letters themselves. Every intricate detail you'd take note of, from the lines to the shapes to the combinations they'd form.

And at some point, you receive a different-looking textbox.

Congratulations! Your「READING」skill has increased to Level 1

Fittingly enough, this one you can read.

Thus you patiently await the rude textbox's return, hoping to give it a piece of your mind. When it does though, you realize you cannot speak, for you have no idea how to.

Would you look at that? You've finally learned how to read! Hah! Haha! You illiterate fool! How can anyone go thousands of years without reading? It seriously took you this long to understand what I'm saying? What a joke!

You couldn't muster up anything in response. And you retreat into your shell, totally defeated.

More time passes by, and you ultimately gain the courage to stand up against the bully textbox. You clear your throat upon sensing its arrival, and you prepared your tongue with a retort you've been working on for centuries.

Hey sleepyhead, I'm getting real tired of this! Either you wake up now or I'll torment you till the universe explodes!

"S-sh.." you slowly start.

Your lips quiver and your voice is unsteady. Despite your inexperience, you eke out your first words, due in no small part to years of degradation. And what emerged from your mouth came like pure instinct, and surprised the textbox to no end.

"Shut up, will ya?!"

Congratulations! Your「SPEAKING」skill has increased to Level 1

Spooked by your defiance, the textbox flees, leaving you to revel in your success.

"I-I win!" you loudly proclaim. You would fist bump if you had the hands to do so.

Suddenly, an orb of blinding light approaches you from the depths of this pitch-black void. And though you know it is blinding, you feel no pain in your eyes and your retinas aren't melting. You stare at this ball of white, as it stares back at you.

"W-what you..?" you nervously ask.

"Interesting. You've already relearned the language of this world. It hasn't even been an eon yet."

You are startled by a sound that isn't your own. A stentorian voice—overawing in tone, yet warm and smooth like a hot cup of honey tea. It slices through the silence you've experienced like a knife through butter. And your ears inherently perk up.

Congratulations! Your「LISTENING」skill has increased to Level 1

"What you?!" you press on, still none the wiser as to what was going on.

"It does not matter. You will soon awaken from this dream. And from then on, I can no longer protect you." the floating sphere of light ironically leaves you in the dark.

"I no understand."

"There is plenty you do not understand my child. To find the answer, you must seek it out for yourself."

"I no understand!"

"I am sorry. Your skill levels are too low for us to converse on equal footing. Return to me when you have maxed out everything."

"Max? Everything?"

"The world you'll find yourself in is quite dangerous. Take care not to get yourself killed."

"K-kill..?" you do not fully comprehend the implications of this word yet. Yet you shudder at its usage.

"Goodbye, my child. And remember your directive."

Current Objective: Learn what it means to live.

In that instant, you snap out of your slumber. Lying on a weathered bench, you realize you finally have a body to move around with.

Sitting upright, your bare feet touch the wet grass beneath. As you were stranded in perpetual warmth for near eternity, this sensation catches you off guard. And the cool breeze pierces your naked body. This also comes as an unpleasant surprise.

You stumble to your feet and take in your surroundings.

You are in an overgrown park, hemmed in by rows of rusted metal skyscrapers. These towering gray and brown structures cast a shadow over you. It is daytime and the sun is out, yet it is only just brighter than the void in your dreams.

This does not mean anything to you though. To you, these are strange monoliths in an unusually green place.

To you, the void is all you've ever known.

Congratulations! Your「OBSERVING」skill has increased to Level 1

Staggering over to a pond to your left, you pick up on how to walk. You strike the ground with your heel and put one foot in front of the other. You gradually repeat this action until you effectively propel yourself forward.

This occurs naturally to you, and upon reaching the small body of water, you raise another skill.

Congratulations! Your「WALKING」skill has increased to Level 1

Sludge and lilypads have overtaken the pond's surface. You lean over and peer into the stagnant water.

Looking you straight in the eye is a young woman. She has beautiful long locks of silver hair and pointy ears that could prick your pretty little fingers. It takes you a while to register that this is in fact, you.

"This... me..?" you mutter to yourself as you glide your hands around the contours of your face.

It is then that you remember you are braving the elements wearing nothing but your bathing suit. The biting cold becomes swiftly apparent and you rush back to the bench from whence you came.

Plopping yourself down on the bench, you notice something soft gracing your bottom.

A cloak. Ragged and worn. You instinctively wrap it around yourself and clutch it tightly. It may not be the best protection against the freezing winds, but it's all you've got. The cold is still as unrelenting as ever.

Congratulations! Your「COLD RESISTANCE」skill has increased to Level 1

Unsure about how to proceed, you heave out a sigh and scan the area once more.

Trees, leaves, bushes, mossy stone, and a road that encircles the park. None of these contain anything of use. Staying here in the shade is also probably not an ideal plan, given your clothing situation.

At any rate, you figure it's best if you keep moving. Rising from your seat though, you happen to step on a strange object.

"This is..?" you reach down and pick it up.

It's a leatherbound book, filled to the brim with pages. You open this book, curious about its contents. Inside is text you've witnessed many times before.

Unlocked Skills Progress Reading 1/100 Speaking 1/100 Listening 1/100 Observing 1/100 Walking 1/100 Cold Resistance 1/100

And in the pages following, is a story.

About you.

That continues to write itself as you read this.

So, what will you do now, o' nameless seer?

How will this book end?