"Ouuu...?"
Sophie could remember leaving the office, just now. It was late at night and she had been working overtime. She remembered crossing the carpark to her old hatchback that was in major need of replacement. She knows she got in her car and had started driving home. She has a faint memory of a bright light and the sound of crashing.
'So why on earth am I now in the body of a baby? Could somebody please tell me?!'
Sophie wriggled her arms and legs a little. It seemed like she could control them. So she couldn't be too young even if she couldn't seem to talk properly. She turned her head around to look around. Looks like she can control that function too.
'Although I don't recognize any of the plants around me... Where am I?'
She tried rolling over and managed to get up on her hands and knees. Success. Crawling... Check. Sophie used a nearby tree with blue fernlike leaves to pull herself up into standing position.
'Looks like I'm over 6 months old then. Can I walk though? That would put about a year if so...'
She tried a step without letting go of the tree first.
'It feels steady enough...'
Sophie took a second step away from the tree. She was now just barely touching it. Taking a deep breath, she took a third step away from the tree.
'So fair so good. So I'm old enough to walk. Looks like I'm about a year old then.'
Now that she was clear of her approximate age and agility, she paused to look around at her strange environment. Other than the blue fern leaf tree she had used to stand there were other wild looking plants around her. Trees with blue leaves, yellow leaves, red leaves. Bushes, with orange leaves and green flowers, pink leaves with blue flowers, purple leaves with orange berries. That was just some of the milder scenery within her view.
'It's almost like a world of magic. Did I reincarnate? I wonder if I can use magic? Um.... What do they usually call it in the books? Is it... Status?'
"Oootus (Status.)"
Much to Sophie's surprise a see through game like screen appeared in front of her.
Name: _________ (Sophie Baxton)
Species: Human
Title: Orphan. Reincarnator [x 10]. God's Blessed Child [x10].
Age: 1 Year. 8 months.
Level: 0 (0/10 XP)
HP: 500/1000
MP: 5000/5000
Magic Affinity: Water. Fire. Wind. Earth. Ice. Lightening. Space. Time. Light. Dark. Creation. Life.
Magic Skill: Appraisal. World Language.
'Wow... It's really like a game... Is there a item box?'
"Tem Bosh (Item Box)."
A second screen appeared next to the first one.
Item Box
Storage Capacity: Infinite
[No Items Stored.]
'Hmmmmm, great...'
Sophie looked back at the Status screen.
Name: _________ (Sophie Baxton)
Species: Human
Title: Orphan. Reincarnator [x 10]. God's Blessed Child [x10].
Age: 1 Year. 8 months.
Level: 0 (0/10 XP)
HP: 500/1000
MP: 4990/5000
Magic Affinity: Water. Fire. Wind. Earth. Ice. Lightening. Space. Time. Light. Dark. Creation. Life.
Magic Skill: Appraisal. World Language. Item Box.
'So... whenever I use magic for the first time it gets added to my status under skills?'
Sophie raised a hand and aimed at a purple rock a few metres away.
"Ata All (Water Ball)"
A small ball of water flew into the rock splashing it but otherwise doing no damage.
MP: 4980/5000
...
Magic Skill: Appraisal. World Language. Item Box. Water Ball.
She aimed at the rock again this time with just a finger.
"Ata Ulle (Water Bullet)."
This time a small bullet shaped water blob shot towards the rock and made a small dent in it.
'Not bad..'
"Ire Ulle (Fire Bullet)."
A bullet shaped flame shot towards the rock. This time the dent was deeper and slightly blackened.
"In Ulle (Wind Bullet)."
She didn't see anything this time but the dent in the rock became a small hole.
'That works! Now what about this appraisal thing?'
"Apashelle (Appraisal)."
A small screen showed up above the rock Sophie was looking at.
Violet Obsidian
Grade: B
Status: Damaged
'Whoops... Guess this was worth something? Let's store it in the item box...'
She touched the rock.
"Ollec (Collect)."
The rock disappeared from the ground and appeared in the Item Box screen.
Sophie thought for a minute. She needs a better way to find out what is around her.
"Ap (Map)"
A small map screen showed on the other side of her status screen which she noted had added the new skills. The map showed her immediate location and indicated the foliage around her. There were also dots that appeared to be moving around.
"Apashelle Shersch (Appraisal Search)."
Small labels appeared on the screen at various points. The dots now showed what appeared to be names of the local wildlife. Nothing was located too close to her however. Foliage and other items around her also showed labels.
'This would be so much easier if I could work the magic without having to say it out loud. Ummmm.... Close Status.'
Her status screen closed.
'Close Item Box.'
The item box screen also closed.
'Much better... Now let's fill my item box with some useful things... '
She spent a happy hour using the appraisal status on her map to collect what looked to be useful items before she heard a foliage shuffling beside her. Sophie looked in the direction of the sound before stepping back and raising a finger in it's direction and waiting patiently. Her map showed something called a horned rabbit with a Rank F was there.
A minute later a blue lop eared rabbit hopped out of the bush. There was a white horn on it's head.
'Wind Bullet.'
A small hole appeared on the rabbits head just below the horn and the horned rabbit fell over.
''Status.'
Sophie's status screen opened again.
Name: _________ (Sophie Baxton)
Species: Human
Title: Orphan. Reincarnator [x 10]. God's Blessed Child [x10].
Age: 1 Year. 8 months.
Level: 1 (5/20 XP)
HP: 500/1100
MP: 4780/5500
Magic Affinity: Water. Fire. Wind. Earth. Ice. Lightening. Space. Time. Light. Dark. Creation. Life.
Magic Skill: Appraisal. ... Map. Appraisal Search. Soundless Chant.
'Hey... My level went up! Ah but I'm hungry. Shall I try and cook the horned rabbit? Ummmm... Skin'
The skin separated from the horned rabbit.
She used a [wind blade] command to remove the horn and to cut up some large branches placing them onto a wide flat violet obsidian rock that she had found earlier and a [dry wood] command to dry it out enough to cook with before adding a [flame] command to start a fire. Then she fixed two Y-shaped sticks on either side of the fire and struggled to poke a hole through the skinned horned rabbit before hooking it to the two Y-shaped sticks.
After a while she noticed some movement on her map. Some of the wildlife indicators where beginning to move towards her as the smell of the meat began to spread out.
'Not good... Ummmm.... Barrier.'
A 2 metre wide silvery bubble formed around her and the fire.
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
Just in time. 5 green wolves crashed into the barrier. Sophie watched them as they growled at her through the barrier. The appraisal label called them emerald wolves and placed them as a Rank C animal. She turned the roasting meat before looking back at them.
'Can I kill shoot them through the barrier? Wind Bullet.'
She aimed at one of the emerald wolves and the wind bullet shot through the barrier into it's forehead, killing it. Seeing that it worked she quickly shot the rest as well before collecting their bodies. A little while later the roasting horned rabbit had finished roasting. After removing the fire and letting the meat cool down, she took a bite.
'Not bad. Could do with some seasoning though.'
She quickly filled her stomach. After storing the left overs and cleaning up her things, she studied the map for a while. She needed to find some sort of shelter. It was also quite concerning that she had no idea how she was even in the forest as such a young child. Who put her there? Who is her family? A normal baby would probably have died having been left out there alone like she was.
Finally she spotted a small hut on the map located deeper in the forest. It was situated in a small clearing next to what appeared to be a stream. It seemed suitable for her to stay in for the time being. Looking up at the sky and noticing that it was getting dark, she opted to stay in the barrier for the night and looking for the hut in the morning. She skinned one of the wolves for the fur and used water magic and wind magic to wash and dry it so she could use it as a blanket. It felt warm and she quickly fell asleep after ensuring that the barrier remained strongly in place.
Sophie woke a few times in the night as the sounds of various animals came around the barrier. She quickly killed and collected the ones that woke her. Eventually the sun began to rise and got up, collecting her fur blanket. She dropped her barrier, before rethinking and redesigning a barrier that lined her body as a protective layer.
Opening her map and the appraisal search function, Sophie began to head in the direction of the hut. Being so small it took her a long time to travel. She collected a lot of herbs and other plants as she went as well as killing any wildlife that came too close to her. She was a little frightened to realize that the closer she got to the hut, the higher in rank the wildlife became but nothing seemed to hard for her to kill and nothing managed to break through her barrier. Several times she had to take a break to rest and eat something. She also spent more than one night in her fur blanket and barrier. A total of 15 nights from her first one, she finally reached the hut.
Looking around, Sophie felt like the hut was somewhat abandoned looking but seemed safe enough to live in. She set up a large barrier around the clearing before studying the hut's structure. She took some time to repair the damaged or rotting parts. Then she entered the hut to look inside. Using a [clean] command, she cleared out all the dirt and dust in the hut. It was surprisingly spacious. There was a small kitchen area next to the door on one side and a small table and chair on the other. In the rear corner of one side was a single bed frame while in the opposite was a book shelf filled with old and slightly tattered books.
'How surprising. There are actually books in the middle of the forest. Hopefully I can read them.'
She moved to the bed frame and studied it. It seemed solid enough but it needed a mattress and bedding to be usable. Opening her item box, Sophie quickly sorted out what materials would be useful to create a mattress. She used the leathery skins of some Rank A Armoured Rinos as the mattress case, sewing them together with some Rank B Steel Spider thread and a Rank D Spiny Porcupine quill as a needle. It was a little tough going and poked a lot of holes in her fingers but she finally had a casing for her mattress. She filled it with feathers that she had removed from a flock of Rank C Thunder Birds before sewing closed the final end.
Sophie made a pillow using skin of a horned rabbit and stuffing it with more Thunder Bird feathers and then used a couple of the emerald wolf furs for a bottom sheet and blanket.
Stepping back, Sophie felt that that her efforts came together well. She would be able to sleep quite comfortably tonight. Her stomach rumbled then, reminding her that she was hungry. Looking outside the sun was low in the sky, just above the treeline and it was obviously well past midday.
'Just as well, I still have cooked food in my storage for tonight. I'll eat some of that and have a look at the book shelf while it's still light out before going to bed.'
Sitting at the small table she quickly ate her meal, this time it was roasted Thunder Bird, before heading over to the book shelf. There were what appeared to be history books as well as books on magic skills and medicine. Grabbing one of the history books, she settled on the bed to begin reading.
Sophie soon learnt that the world she was now living in was called Solute and she seemed to be living in the Lowell Empire. The forest she was in, was known as the Dark Shire Woods. It was located to the north of the Empire and the edge of it was situated about 60 kilometres from the Northernmost city, ironically known as North City. As she learnt this new information, her map screen began to add to the new details to the map. She could see North City at the bottom of her map. At the top of it, on the other side of the forest was a mountain range known as Dragon's Ridge. The forest itself was around 100 kilometres wide at the smallest point.
Letting out a yawn, Sophie placed the book back on the shelf, checked on the barrier around the clearing and hopped into bed to sleep. It had been a long day for a little child.
The next day dawned early. Sophie stretched her body after waking up. Her bedding was made perfectly. Feeling curious, she opened her status screen before dropping her jaw in shock.
Name: _________ (Sophie Baxton)
Species: Human
Title: Orphan. Reincarnator [x 10]. God's Blessed Child [x10].
Age: 1 Year. 9 months.
Level: 25 (30/250 XP)
HP: 3,500/3,500
MP: 17,400/17,500
Magic Affinity: Water. Fire. Wind. Earth. Ice. Lightening. Space. Time. Light. Dark. Creation. Life.
Magic Skill: Appraisal. ... Wash. Dry. Dismantle. Clean. Repair.
Physical Skill: Walking. ... Sewing. Reading.
'How did I get to such a high level? Or is this even a high level? I don't even know what's normal in this world. I'm guessing it's pretty high for a baby though.
Does the HP and MP increase with each level? Ummmm, so 100 HP every level increase and 500 MP every level increase?
I've used 100 MP already... Is that the cost to maintain the barrier? Worth it.'