I love playing videogames. It's always interesting to be a part of a world you can actually interact with. Being drawn into a story and helping determine the outcome has always fascinated me. It's the same basic reason I love reading, because stories in general also captivate me. The systems and mechanics of a game can determine the moment to moment gameplay, but they're hollow without the backdrop of a well-written story. That's not to say mechanics don't matter, because the reverse is also true. A game's story can be ruined by mediocre mechanics. So when I say I love videogames, I'm saying I love both the stories and the mechanics of videogames. So one could reasonably draw the conclusion that I would be excited by the screen in front of my eyes.

General Information Name: Derrick Finigan Species: Human Sex: Male Age: 24 Titles None Stats None Skills None

"Woooooo!"

One would be correct in that assumption.

"Fuck yes!"

This went on for several minutes.

My elation finally reigned in, I give this system some thought. I don't see any bars for health or stamina. Maybe this system doesn't track those? There's no mana either, but I'm still hopeful magic exists. This is a foreign world after all. Magic definitely a possibility.

I don't have any skills, stats, or titles. Skills and titles I can understand since it might have some odd conditions for acquiring those, and/or they aren't tracked from before I started using the system. Stats though? I don't understand why I don't have any of those. In most games and books there would be a statistical evaluation of my character expressed as stats. I expected an assessment like "Strength 10, Dexterity 12." Unless "stats" has a different meaning in this context?

Additionally there isn't an experience bar, or anything of the like. I don't have a level shown either. Perhaps it will show up when I get a skill or defeat an enemy.

Hmm.

Let's try touching it. I move around for a bit to try to get my hand in front of the screen. But interestingly, I can't seem to get in front of the display with anything, even my hands. It seems as if the blue box stays the same distance away but it's just on a layer just above whatever it is I'm looking at. Attempting to touch the box from below just resulted in poking myself in the forehead. Further experimentation resulted in the discovery that when I closed my eyes, I could still clearly see my status.

Hmm.

Overall this is shaping up to be an odd system.

Oh?

My status just changed.

General Information Name: Derrick Finigan Species: Human Sex: Male Age: 24 Titles None Stats Name Value Intelligence 100.5 Perception 100.5 Skills Name Level Value Investigation 1 Int +0.5, Per +0.5

Well that answers some of my questions. It seems I need to discover stats, since intelligence and perception weren't shown before I had a skill modifying them. Speaking of which, it seems the stats aren't actually representative of myself. Unless I happened to have exactly the same score in intelligence and in perception, which is unlikely. So these stats most likely modify me to become more perceptive and intelligent. Somehow. Perhaps by levelling in this skill I've physically increased the amount of cones and rods in my eyes by 0.5%, therefore increasing perception. It's also possible it's some sort of supernatural increase. More investigation is necessary to draw any conclusions about this.

Another issue I'm interested in is the effect skill level has on my ability to investigate. Is the skill level a representation of my actual ability to do the task, or a number indicating how much supernatural "help" I receive from the system when performing the skill? The difference between the two is subtle, but I'm betting it's the latter or some amalgamation of the two.

Investigation ticked up while I was lost in thought. Nice.

I can probably test some hypothesise about the system to get investigation up more. Not right now though. First I need to figure out how to close the menu.

And it's suddenly gone.

Huh.

It responds to thoughts.

"Neat. Status."

Nothing happened. A thought might open it.

Status.

The blue box opens in front of me. There isn't any of the peculiar feeling that I felt the first time I opened my status this time. I file that information away for later and close my status with another thought. Looking up at the sky I notice it's late afternoon. I spent quite a while messing around with my status. I should get to some of my more pragmatic duties. The system is unlikely to fill my belly after all. At least I think so.

"Item shop?"

No such luck. I'm tempted to spend more time messing around, but I'm reminded of the coyote attack.

The system could feasibly strengthen me to the point where I don't have to worry about animal attacks anymore. However, at the rate investigation increases stats, I doubt that will be happening any time soon with physical stats. Assuming I can find skills that increase physical stats, and assuming there are physical stats, AND assuming there aren't any other factors inhibiting growth I'm not aware of.

That's too many assumptions to bet my life on. I should stick to more mundane methods for now. I have little to no experience fighting anyway, and I'm not exactly fond of it.

A decision made, I turn my thoughts to creating a structure. A small walled hut will prevent any animals from directly attacking me in my sleep. I could feasibly build fences around my camp, but they could be easily circumvented without significant investiture of time and materials. The materials required are abundant in this forest, so the only cost associated with them is the time it takes to harvest and prepare them. So it essentially boils down to time. It would take far too much time to make fences, during which I'd be vulnerable. Alternatively I could make a hut by tonight if I build it into my cave. Let's not waste any more time.

I get up from my rest and search around for a rock suitable for cutting wood. It needs to have a triangular edge opposite a rounded protrusion to hold onto it. I spot what I'm looking for near the river a few moments later. My newest tool in hand, I head out into the forest.

It doesn't take long to spot what I'm looking for. Namely, straight wooden spars to serve as the posts in my hut. The one I've found is three inches in diameter, and has off-white vertically-striated bark. I don't recognise the species, though that could just as easily be from lack of knowledge as it is from it being a breed not on earth. I kneel near the thin sapling and ready my hand ax. I give it a good solid hit to chip away at the bark near the base of the tree. It takes another dozen swings until I can pry the trunk away from the stump. I drag my spoils back to camp to cut it to length and remove the branches.

Now to do this ten more times.

"Sigh."

It might have been optimistic to think I could finish this in an afternoon. No use moping around though, so I'll try to get as much of it done as possible.

Several hours later night descends on my work and it's too dark to continue. I've amassed fifteen spars of varying thickness and length. For now I've laid them across my cave to provide some defence against predators. I've laid my coyote pelt out in my cave as an impromptu bed.

A bed I'm laying on. It's uncomfortable. I can't sleep. My bed's not uncomfortable enough to prevent my weary body from finding rest. I can attribute my fitful sleep to the random noises I hear occasionally out in the woods. For the past several hours I've been jolted out of sleep by a faint rustling a dozen times. I keep imagining another coyote's malevolent eyes in the surrounding dark every time I hear a noise, and reach for my spear.

I need a distraction. I bring my status up with a thought.

General Information Name: Derrick Finigan Species: Human Sex: Male Age: 24 Titles None Stats Name Value Intelligence 101 Perception 101 Dexterity 103 Endurance 100.5 Strength 100.5 Skills Name Level Value Investigation 2 Int +0.5, Per +0.5 Harvesting 3 Dex +1 Woodworking 1 End +0.5, Str +0.5

Oh? I've gotten a few more skills. I probably got them from cutting spars. They gave me some new stats too. Apparently there are physical stats. These stats, like the ones before, still aren't entirely clear on what exactly they do unfortunately. Strength seems straightforward enough, but dexterity? It could effect flexibility or speed as well as my ability to move deftly. Assuming it acutally does even that. Or anything at all for that matter.

Given food for thought, I ruminate on the nature of this system, eventually drifting off to a dreamless sleep.