Larry finished wrapping the bandages Jorg had given him around his arm. Or at least, around what was left of it. The arm hadn’t regrown when Larry drank one of Jorg’s healing potions. Apparently, the potions couldn’t restore things that the body wouldn’t be able to heal by itself over time. Larry stared at the stump. He didn’t know what to think about it, so he avoided thinking at all. Right now, he just sat in the grass, his head hollow. The entire situation was just… surreal. He had killed the beast, but this didn’t feel like a victory.

The sunlight fell through the canopy, and flickers of light danced across the ground. A while after the beast had died, the usual sounds of the forest had returned, almost as if the woods themselves had been holding their breath until now, trying not to anger the beast. Larry tried to open Status with his right hand, but realized that he couldn’t. Not anymore. He used his left hand instead.

Welcome to Status. You have slain a being far above your level. Additional Meaning was rewarded. Additional Stems were rewarded. Your level has risen. You are now Level 7. For completing Level 5, additional Stems were rewarded.

Larry pondered over this information. If he had gotten Leven 7 from fighting one monster, what would the Level of an average person be? Granted, he hadn’t just fought some random beginner monster. The fact that this beast was able to wreak havoc on an entire group of adventurers spoke volumes for its power. Still, someone who had lived with Status their entire life must have gained Levels somehow. Larry decided to ask Jorg.

The giant man was currently sitting in the shadow of a tree, his back leaned against it. It has been a few hours since Larry had killed the beast, and Jorg and Larry had barely spoken with each other since then. Jorg was trying to hide it, but Larry saw that the man had cried. His eyes were puffy and red. Something about seeing the giant man cry made Larry feel uncomfortable. It's like watching a sad elephant. Jorg hadn’t taken the loss of his friends easily. Larry tried to think of a good way to start a conversation, but nothing came to mind, so he just sat down next to Jorg. They observed the wilderness together. A cool breeze glided over Larry’s skin, giving his goosebumps. When the wind touched his wounded arm, the refreshing cold turned painful. Nothing Larry couldn’t handle. It reminded him the times as a child when he bit into his ice cream, and his tooth would hurt. After a while, Jorg spoke.

“I knew Kelv since we were kids,” he said. “The monster ate him in front of me. Just... bit his head off. I don’t even know what happened to the mage girl. I was knocked out for most of the time.”

Larry felt stomach turn.

“She’s dead,” Larry said. Jorg simply nodded.

“What about the ranger?” asked Larry. “He might have survived. He knows the woods, he constantly bragged about it.”

“No. He got killed, too. Got eating right after Kelv.”

“Oh.”

Larry rubbed his right arm. He didn’t feel like asking Jorg about Status anymore. It just wasn’t the right timing. He touched his head and opened the information tab.

Larry Foulery Level 7 Species: Parasitic Human Title: Non Mystomorphosis: Whisper Stories: Uninvolved

Mystomorphosis was different now. Before it had said ‘Unaffected’. Something must have changed because of the fight, but Larry couldn’t think of anything significant, except the Levels he had gained. There was still so much he had to learn about Status. The thing that confuses him the most was that it wouldn't tell him what his stats do. Thinking about them, Larry opened his stat menu.

Stems: 15 Strength: 5 Intelligence: 7 Agility: 7 Thought: 5 Durability: 5 [LOCKED] Willpower: 6 Senses: 3 Instincts: 3 [LOCKED] Regen: 1 (V)

Stems seemed to be points he could use to increase his stats. They were the stem cells of attributes, basically. He tried asking Status what each stat does, but as always it didn't react, which meant he definitely had to ask Jorg now. There was no way he’d just put his points into an attribute without knowing what it does.

“Jorg?” Larry said. “Any idea on what I should spend my Stems on?”

Jorg considered the beast that lay some distance away from them. For the first time, Larry took a better look at it, too. Its fur had been burned of, leaving behind scorched skin and blackened bones. On of its giant arms and half of its head had been evaporated by the magical blast. Just what were these crystals? Jorg scratched his beard.

“You level up, huh? No wonder, usually the town would send a whole squad of strong people to kill something like that,” Jorg padded Larry on the shoulder. “Just increase what you think is best. It's every man’s own choice what he should increase.”

“That’s the problem. I don’t know what the stats do.”

Jorg looked at him. Disappointed, he shook his head.

“Your momma never taught you about anything? You didn’t even know how to your your inventory yesterday. ”

“Ah, you see,” Larry said, trying to think of an excuse. “I’m an orphan. I mean, I was. No one taught me about Status.”

There was no need to tell Jorg the real reason he didn’t know about Status. Jorg raised an eyebrow.

“You don’t speak like an orphan," Larry said. "Ah well, I won’t pry in personal matters. I’ll explain the stats to you, don’t worry. Basically, there are two kind of stats, the ones that make your body stronger,” he said, giving Larry a friendly jab on the chest. “And the ones that make your head better.”

“Let’s see,” Jorg said. “Stats affect everyone a little bit differently. Some people need less points in Strength to get to a certain level of power than others, for example. If I had to guess, I get a lot more out of Strength points than you do.”

Jorg laughed, displaying his log-like arms proudly. Larry rolled his eyes. Jorg continued explaining.

“Strength makes you stronger. Agility gives you more control over your body. With Durability you can take more hits, and Senses improves, well, your senses. You can see better and stuff like that. It's pretty easy to understand.”

The stats seemed to be pretty straight-forward. No surprises yet.

“What about the mind stats?” Larry asked.

“My mother always said, they are basically the same as the body stats, only for your head. Intelligence makes your mind 'stronger', and Willpower allows you to think longer without getting tired, that kind of stuff.”

Larry sighed. Jorg was a good guy, but his explanations were pretty lackluster. Everything Jorg had told him, Larry had more or less expected. 

“Also,” Jorg said, “You might wanna put some points into Thought. It mainly make you think faster, but it also makes your Status better. Everyone I know put at least ten points into it. ”

This is really the kind of stuff you should tell me right away, Larry thought. He put five Stems into Thought.

Thought has reached 10. Status will be upgraded.

The Status window disappeared. Larry felt this buzzing in his head again, just like the first time he has used Status. When it stopped, Status opened again.

New features available. You can now see your abilities, and the primary function of your attributes.

The new tab “Abilities” had been added in his Status. Exited, he opened it.

Adaptability Parasite

Larry raised an eyebrow. He had two abilities already, it seems. He just hasn’t been able to see them yet.

How much more is hidden from me, just because my Status isn’t showing it to me?

He looked closer at the abilities, and to his surprise, for once Status gave him an explanation.

Adaptability: On Earth, humans adapted to their environment, and made the planet their own. As this new world places obstacles in your way, you adapt to overcome them. You gain: Increased gain of Meaning. Parasite: Your are foreign to this world, and as such see no value in it. As you walk along your path, your surroundings wither away. You feast on their destruction. You gain: The pain and fear of your enemies strengthens you. Only works on intelligent beings.

Wow, what kind of edgelord wrote the descriptions to these things. Also, one of his abilities increases my gain of Meaning? I guess that's the stuff I need to level up? If that's the case, this might be a incredibly strong ability. Then there is Parasite, which basically sets me up to be a bad guy. I think I'll keed my abilities secret for now. 

Larry still had ten Stems left, so he used six to increase Agility and Intelligence to 10. Now he had four points remaining. He put two into Senses, raising it to 5. He felt an uncomfortable beating in his eyes and ears, but it quickly ceased. The last two points he put into Regeneration.

Maybe this’ll grow my arm back.

He didn’t have much hope, though.