Ash was floating over the surface of a calm ocean with no end in sight. The world around him was suffused with sunlight, and there was perfectly still water a few inches below his feet, reflecting the dreamy brilliance of the heavens above.

It's as if he were floating in the vastness of the sky, drenched by the breathtaking scenery.

The sun shone brightly overhead, creating a fascinating halo phenomenon.

Where did I end up this time? Ash couldn’t help but voice out inwardly.

Just a minute ago, he was together with Lucy, Dr. Kolver, and that little mushroom lord.

He could see himself drenched in motes of light that were slightly warm to the touch but soft and calming at the same time. The motes of light danced around for a few more seconds and slowly gathered together into a resplendent cluster of tiny stars as they revolved around him.

He lifted his arms to try and touch one of them and was shocked to see that he now had human hands and feet; however, they were translucent and had a mixture of blue with a few shades of black here and there.

It was akin to the first time he arrived in the new world. Why do I like this again? Is this my spirit? Am I dead?

Questions flooded his mind. He thought he was finally getting some rest after a long and chaotic day, but one thing led to the next, and he was now in a place that gave more questions than answers.

The last thing I remember is that I tried reading the book but even continued after I started experiencing that headache. Tsk. I guess this is what I get for relying on the system too much, even without mana.

He scanned his surroundings once more. The space appears to be infinite, with a still-water floor and an endless open sky with a few cumulus and cirrus clouds as far as his eyes can see.

Ash became aware of what was going on beneath him. He wasn't even on the ground. He was still floating and was taken aback by the fact that, unlike how he first got here, he could now control his movements as he drifted.

He attempted to fly but was only able to get a few centimeters over the water.

It would be fantastic if I could achieve that. I can float midair but not fly. At least I have more control this time, Ash mused.

He then shifted his focus back to the sea. He found that it reflected enough light to be classified as a mirror.

I wonder what I look like, he thought.

He already knew how his hands and feet looked before, but he wasn’t given the chance to look at his countenance. He was anxious as he lifted both of his arms to observe this dreamlike state of his. Out of nowhere, an invisible force knocked him out of his reverie. He plummeted down and came to an abrupt stop, halfway down in parallel to the mirror-like water.

He pondered why he started to move again, but even more so when he suddenly stopped. His figure took his attention away as he gazed at his reflection.

This is how my body appeared before crashing to the ground. Why have I returned to this? Am I a spirit in the afterlife? Why am I shining so... blue?

A hairless humanoid with a bluish-translucent body and some neurological system exposed through the translucent skin appeared within his gaze. In the face, there were neither eyes nor a mouth. There are no ears or hair. He turned his head halfway to the side to get a better view and saw the nose holes had vanished, but there was a tiny bulge where the nose should be.

Ash reached up to his face, and while it did not go through as he had anticipated, his face felt smooth to the touch. The most noticeable feature was the light sphere in the head, which is supposed to house the brain with the rest of his body translucently blue but was outlined with his figure, making him an upgrade of his translucent screen.

After examining himself, he lifted his head as he started admiring the view. Still but clear water as far as the eye could see, reflecting the vast open sky, with a few white clouds slowly drifting across his perspective.

For a moment, he didn't do anything and just observed the place, then continued scanning the surroundings.

Maybe Lucy would like it here.

This thought unknowingly crossed his mind.

He was silent for a moment before his thoughts continued.

Did that young woman grow on me?

Ash gave himself a self-deprecating laugh. Although Lucy was his 'owner,' she was also the only one who treated him as a true friend and not a dog.

Ash thought to himself, This dream is weird, as he straightened up and kept scanning his surroundings. After hovering for over a few minutes, something tugged at the center of his being. Deep beneath the waters, a dark mass below began to surge as his vision was immediately blocked, followed by the sensation of being swallowed and scattered throughout his entire being, drowning his vision in darkness.

…

"Ash, get up! Get up! It's already early in the morning!" As Ash opens his eyes, Lucy's voice can be heard. The first thing he noticed was the shoulder-length, black-haired Lucy beaming at him. Ash flinched as Lucy got back up to get ready after she kissed his forehead.

My head, ugh. That was most definitely not a dream. Was that another one of my hidden skills? I'd been playing in that place for about an hour, and it was already... Wait, morning!? His eyes immediately widened as he scoured his surroundings.

He was no longer in Dr. Kolver’s home. Knowing that he was safe, he immediately relaxed as the comfiness overwhelmed him.

Oh well, I guess this is my life now. He yawned, shaking his head, and his huge ears wiggled with him. He braced himself and stood on all fours to stretch.

I was at that place for a few hours, but in the real world, it’s the next day? Or maybe the time here is different. Ash pondered with his half-opened eyes as he noticed that Lucy was no longer in the room. Glancing around, he thinks he could find Lucy somewhere out there and goes through the door.

As he walked out of the dining room, he shrugged and wondered, Where is everyone? Martha isn't here either?

Ash turned around and went out of the backdoor that had been left open. The sun was still concealed, but a glimpse of light was already rising from the east. He noticed Lucy's training under a huge tree behind their cottage.

She changed into a more relaxed outfit. Clad in a dark green cotton dress, she wore loose brown trousers below as she stood barefoot.

As the sun slowly rose, the big tree created a shadow on the ground and loomed over Ash as he observed Lucy swinging her sword with great concentration. She would scream every time she executed a strike.

“Hah!”

“Hah!”

“Hah!”

Her shoulder-length black hair swirled with her beat as she exhaled a misty breath from the early cold as she swung the old and beaten wooden sword. She did it a couple more times for a couple more minutes, till sweat began to stream out of her skin.

Lucy was still concentrating on finishing her routine, so Ash just let her be. He moved to a nearby stone with a flat top and laid down.

Ash fixed his gaze on Lucy, but he couldn't see her status page or interface. Then he realized that he had to activate it first with his thoughts. I'm hoping that this hidden skill will become active or automatic. It is far too inefficient. However, I could potentially enrage hostile entities if they detect me sneaking a glance at their names.

Identify!

_____________________

Lucy Austin

Level 18 Human

Health: 140/140

_____________________

Hmmm, I can see her level, but not the amount of exp. That’s fine. Hmmmm. It would make sense that Lucy would be at a higher level than me. She didn’t level up from that bear. Her exp requirement for the next level must be huge, Ash thought as he went to view her status page.

Her endurance must have contributed to her swift recovery.

Interface!

_____________________

Name: Ash

Level: 14 Exp 929 / 5,000

Health: 30/30 (Weakened)

Mana: 0/0

Strength 2 (Weakened)

Dexterity 4 (Weakened)

Agility 3 (Weakened)

Intelligence 32

Endurance 3 (Weakened)

Perception 14

Charisma 9

Unassigned Stats: 39

Life Form: Canine [???]

Skills: [Bite], [Intimidate], [Incapacitate], [Haste], [Track], [Rage], [Misdirect]

Items: -none-

Friends: [Lucy Austin]

Credits: 250

Remarks: You can barely kill anything bigger than your size. (You got lucky last time.)

_____________________

Ugh, these trash stats. How am I going to get rid of this debuff? Ash grumbled inwardly as he squinted at the translucent window in front of him.

He also saw that Lucy, unlike him, possesses mana, which bolstered his theory. Maybe there's a reasonable explanation why he doesn't have it. Being a transmigrator or because he was in a dog’s body could be the possible reasons, but whatever it is, this means he'll never be able to become a mage or wizard or use mana in this world, which irritated him.

In my previous life, MMORPG games usually included mages who increased their magic and mana capacity based on their intelligence stat or wisdom stat.

I could maybe also get it from items with abilities or skills from mission rewards, like the [Misdirect] skill. Sigh. Maybe it's just because I'm trapped in the body of a dog. How can I use magic if I don't have any mana?

I have thirty-nine unassigned stat points to spend; where should I put them? Because I lack mana, increasing my Int stat is pointless. For the time being, I'll try to put in some strength. It can also improve the damage done by my only offensive skill, [Bite].

Ash pressed the "+" sign beside the strength stat with his right paw.

Badump!

Instantly, Ash's heart palpitated as he felt his little muscles contract, releasing excruciating pain all over his body.

He wanted to scream but remembered that he could be heard, so he could only grit his teeth the entire time. He opened one of his eyes and saw that Lucy still didn't notice him as she continued her swings.

Sweat started to pour out beneath his fur as he could feel a tear almost coming out of his eyes.

Why does it hurt so much? It’s only one point! Argh! He gnashed his teeth as he screamed internally.

The process was finally completed after a few more seconds, and the pain in his muscles faded. He released a sigh of relief after the pain subsided. He could feel the air a little bit cold as his body stopped releasing sweat.

Phew.

Ash tried to move his body and jumped up and down on the mattress as his big ears and tail followed the laws of physics.

He stopped as he thought inwardly. I don’t feel the change that much. I can see that my strength has increased by a point. Is it because I’m still not fully used to this body?

The problem, however, is that if this is going to be my life from now on with every increase in stat points, the pain will always follow.

An imaginary tear dripped from his eye as he sighed silently. I have to put up with it because this is what I need to do to get stronger!

Ash then shifted his attention back to his interface. His strength stat increased by one, but something was wrong.

The small white dog stopped wagging its tail for a moment as its ears perked up while it tilted its head to one side.

It slowly squinted its eyes as it stared intently at the translucent window before it.

What? No! Where did the other unassigned stat point go!? His internal voice cracked.

His unassigned stat points were reduced by two instead of one.

Ash’s eyes darted across the translucent window in search of the reason, but he couldn’t find any.

Ash’s eyes stared at the word (Weakened) for a moment before his eyes widened.

Could it be?

He tried putting a point in perception. Instantly, his body convulsed to no end as he was thankful he was already lying down.

Sh*t, I forgot about the pain! Stupid! Argh! He berated himself internally, not forgetting that there were other people near the cottage, as saliva started to pour out through the gaps of his sharp teeth.

This is definitely worse! Aaah!

His brain spasmed. Every time Lucy swung her sword, his ears would make it sound like the sword was just a few inches away from him as her shouts became like thunder.

His eyes turned bloodshot, and his pupils dilated. It got so out of control that everything zoomed in and out. He couldn't handle it as he became dizzy, so he closed them. His sense of taste got so strong that he could feel his saliva becoming a flavor. He could bizarrely differentiate the remnants of the taste of the pie from yesterday morning and the breakfast he had just a few minutes ago. He was so weirded out that he could even taste the fertilizer used by the farmer for the cabbage soup.

His sense of smell got so out of hand that he could sense Lucy outside and know which direction she was swinging her sword, and he could smell Martha a few meters away from him but couldn't sense that she was moving.

Finally, the morning chill multiplied so much that it became unbearable, like he was submerging himself in a tub filled with ice cubes prickling his skin, but after a few seconds, everything that he felt vanished like it didn't even happen.

Breath in.

Heeep!

Breath out.

Phew!

That was far worse than increasing his strength stat. Do I need to do this several times? Maybe I should do it all at once next time so I can finish it all in one go.

Ash remembered to check his interface for changes. He realized his perception had increased by one, but it didn't take two unassigned stat points this time, bringing his unassigned stat points to thirty-six.

Is this what the interface meant when it said weakened? A stat downgrade? What should I do to fix it? To improve all of my weakened stats, I'd need two unassigned stat points instead of one.

What is this? two for the price of one, but in reverse? My pain was wasted! It's a scam! I want my stat point back!

Ash received three unassigned stat points for his level-up yesterday. If there is a level cap, each unassigned stat point will become significant over time. So he'd have to make every single one count. Losing even one point is detrimental to his gaming instinct.

Ash was about to wallow in misery but quickly shook his head. No! It's a good thing I didn't subconsciously press the "+" button lots of times like I usually do when playing, or I would be dead by now due to the pain or lose more points due to this debuff.

Ash, calm down; be rational! You're still new to this. Although you've played a lot of games, read novels, and watched a lot of anime in your previous life, this is an unknown territory. Every mistake you make will be the difference between life and death!

If he had regular human hands right now, he would've stroked his chin so he could only use his paw comically and think of something, but a little, dull noise interrupted his train of thought.

Thud!

He noticed Lucy lying on the ground in the distance.

Arf! Arf? Woof.

Lucy! Are you all right? I was supposed to be watching you, Ash exclaimed as he dashed to Lucy's side. The sun is already shining, brightening the environment with each passing second. It shone down on Lucy's perspiring face. She was grinning from ear to ear, as if she had had a pleasant experience while panting.

Phew! You're okay. Don't scare me like that!

Arf! Arf. Awooo!

"I'm fine, Ash. I'm just exhausted-umpff!"A small yet long piece of cloth was tossed from somewhere, which covered Lucy's face and some parts draping over the blades of grass below.

"I told you not to scream whenever you swing your sword. There's a distinction to be made between controlling your breathing and continually changing your unnecessary battle cry. Do not imitate the way the town guards are training. You are different from them.”

Martha's voice could be heard from behind Ash. When he turned back, he noticed she wasn't wearing her dress anymore. She paired loose trousers with a tank top and sleeveless shirt, emphasizing her curves. It accentuates her attractiveness even more when paired with her long, jet-black hair pulled up in a ponytail, exposing the back of her neck with a few strands of hair not caught up in the knot.

"Good morning teacher!" Lucy simply reacted with a beautiful smile as she lay face up, gasping for air.

Come to think of it, I noticed someone coming over while upgrading my perception. So it was Martha. Ash paused for a second as he realized she was the one who put Lucy up to it.

He turned around with furrowed brows and glared at Martha.

Woof! Woof! Woof...?

Martha, this is overkill! She’s still just a kid! How could you? I need to call the child services hotline. Are there even any in this world?

Woof! Woof! Woof...?

He berated Martha nonstop, but when he turned back to Lucy, he noticed something.

All this time, Ash forgot to close Lucy’s interface. He wasn't sure if it was luck or something else that led to this moment, but he scrutinized the translucent screen near Lucy's head.

_____________________

Lucy Austin

Level 18 Human

Health: 141/150

_____________________