[10/10 Horned Rabbits Killed]

[Area Quest: Kill Ten Horned Rabbits Complete]

[Rewards: Experience +200]

[Level up!]

[Level] 1 → 2

[Status Points] 0 → 5

[Skill System Unlocked]

[Skill Points] 0 → 1

As I killed the tenth horned rabbit, a string of messages popped up in front of me. I actually began jumping for joy when I saw the level up message. But calmed myself when I saw the last of the messages talking about a skill system. I looked around before hastily leaving the area in order to find a safe place to sit. In the end, I decided to climb a tree where I would be out of sight. I wanted to know what this skill system was all about.

“Hmm… No information but a comprehensive skill tree…. Let’s see appraisal, mining, leatherworking, even herbalism. I see, so by skill, it was not talking about spells or anything like that but actual skills themselves.” I pursed my lips as I looked at each tree. It was kind of like a profession system you would see in an RPG. It had item crafting and many other things, even fishing. Like, let’s take fishing, for example. If I were to stick a point into it, I would automatically learn how to fish any kind of fish, and my rate of catching fish would be increased slightly. If I continued popping points into the tree, my skill in fishing would improve.

“This is…. Really handy.” It was not just one or two skill trees but hundreds. There were even skill trees for commanding armies. Not that I ever think I would end up commanding an army, but you never know. Life can take strange twists and turns. After all, I was reborn in another world. I never in my life would have ever thought such a thing was possible, never mind being reborn in another world with a system.

I went through all the skills that were currently there and decided on taking Appraisal as it was the only thing really useful to a seven-year-old me. Once I selected my skill, I took a look at my status screen._-.

[Name]: Faith Cyrilia

[Age] 7

[Level] 2

[Race] Dragonkin

[HP] 300/300

[MP] ∞

[Status Points] 5

[Strength] 30 (+)

[Vitality] 30 (+)

[Intelligence] 30 (+)

[Mind] ∞

[Agility] 30 (+)

[Skill Points] 0

[Skills]

[Appraisal (LVL 1)]

I decided not to use my status points just yet. I wanted to check to see if the mana trickle would once again up my stats for me as well as checking to see that if they do cap at sixty, what would happen if I added the points to an already maxed out stat. What I did notice, though, was that there were plus signs next to each stat except my mind stat. This gave me more evidence that my mana and mind stat was definitely infinity. Of course, I would still be careful not to overdo it too much unless it was necessary.

“Since that is all settled, let’s test this appraisal skill.” There was no special keyword or anything like that, skills were done by knowing. Like if I had put a point into forging and picked up a hammer used in forging I would instantly know what to do. At least, this is what I was getting while reading the skill tree descriptions. Appraisal only said by focusing on an object, I could get detailed information on the said object. So I plucked a leaf from the branch next to me and began focusing on it. Soon a small window appeared in front of me.

[Leaf]

[A leaf from a tree.]

Seeing the tiny bit of information about the leaf, I decided to check my sword as well.

[Short Iron Sword]

[Attack: 5-15]

[A short sword made of iron. Perfect for beginners.]

“Oh?” This actually surprised me. I did not expect this much information. It even gave the sword’s attack power. The more I learned about this system, the more game like it got. But that was fine as well since it would help me in the long run. “Time to try to level up again!.”

After I jumped down from the tree, I made my way over to where I had killed the horned rabbits. A few seemed to have been dragged off by other monsters, but with the few that remained. I focused on them to see if anything would come up.

[Horned Rabbit (Deceased)]

[Type: Beast]

[Attack: 1-5]

[Level: 1]

[A low level monster that is quick and uses its long horn to attack its prey’s vitals .]

“So they were level 1.” I scratched my head and tried to do some math on what I should expect from higher level monsters, but I was still lacking experience fighting anything but horned rabbits to really make any kind of guess. While they seemed to have been moving in slow motion, this could be due to the level the system was giving them. If that was the case, anything of a lower or same level might be slow compared to, let’s say, a level 3 or 4 monster. But without fighting a higher level monster, it was all speculation and nothing I could really base anything off of.

That being said, I realized not once have I used magic…. “Alright! I will use magic in my next fight as well.”

I had two goals for coming here. One was to level up, while the other was to practice my magic and begin experimenting with magic in out of the norm ways. I have pretty much understood the runic equations and how they work, so I wanted to go a step further and begin creating my own magic. Although I have already taken a step towards that with my magic circles being formed in my eyes instead of out in front of me. Eventually, I wanted to crack the code for instant magic.

There had never been any records of anyone creating magic circles in their eyes. So I was not sure if this was something I came up with myself or if others were able to do it as well. It was a process I created that used my eyes as the finger, channeling my mana through my pupils to draw the circles in my eyes. The magic circles were smaller, so with the combination of the two, I was able to generate the output of magic needed to actually cast the spell. But this required precise arrangement and needed interlocking mana connections between the eyes. Without the connections, they would not be able to cast anything, no matter how much mana is pumped into the magic circle.

I also figured out how to up the power of magic spells through this process. I have yet to test it out, but I could, in theory, make a fireball ten times hotter and more destructive with more mana and a small adjustment to the mana input runic equation. Luckily messing around with magic circles would not cause any kind of magic to appear out of nowhere. There seemed to be some fundamental law that says that an activation word was needed. Of course, I haven’t delved far enough into the runic equations to see if it was possible to remove the activation word just yet.

I was still learning and testing theories. Using my knowledge of all the novels I have read in my past life to bring out new ideas that might not have been thought up yet in this world or have but never tested. Not that it mattered as I was only doing these things as my hobby and did not care about telling others about my findings. Trade secrets should never be given away. This was my train of thought.

I didn’t dare go too deep into the forest, but I still did not wish to be too close to the edge of it either, as it would raise the risk of me being spotted by the villagers. If I ever got caught, it would be the end of my excursion outside alone, this much I knew. At least until I got older anyway. But as of now, I could not let that happen. I had eight years to level up as much as possible and learn as much as I could about magic.

I was currently looking for more horned rabbits. While I knew they would not give me much experience, they were still good practice for my magic. And as they say, always start off small before trying to go big.

It did not take me long to find another group of horned rabbits. I quickly charged right in and began forming the magic circle. As I went to pass the group of horned rabbits, I stretched out my hand and softly spoke the activation word. “Fireball!”

A blaze of fire rotated in front of me before shooting out towards the horned rabbits. Within seconds, a loud explosion was heard, causing the leaves on the bushes and trees to flutter.

*Boom!*

[Horned Rabbit Killed]

[Experience: +5]

[Horned Rabbit Killed]

[Experience: +5]

[Horned Rabbit Killed]

[Experience: +5]

Multiple notifications spammed me at the top of my vision as I stood rooted and looked at the small crater in the ground. I had seen my mother cast a fireball before, but it was nowhere near as destructive as this. This was just…. Insane!

A crater about three feet deep, smoking and melted rock. Charred earth and horned rabbit remains. Bushes and trees on fire, it was a scene of great destruction… Wait… “Waterball!”

I had sweat dripping from my brow as I put out the fire. “I need to be more careful with fire magic in a forest….”

I just hope the smoke from the fire does not bring a bunch of villagers here. But to be safe, I knew I should quickly escape the scene. And so that I would not be caught, I could only go deeper into the forest.

I just never expected that after running for ten minutes, that I would be faced with such a challenge out of nowhere….

[Skeletal Tiger]

[Type: Undead]

[Attack: 60-80]

[Level: 5]

[An undead monster that spreads rotting plague to its targets.]