Ash already had a vague notion that each stat point has a specific improvement to an aspect. More so on endurance.

His three endurance stats gave him thirty health points. That would mean Lucy has fourteen to match her over a hundred health points, which were visible to him.

Her health points increased!? Ash exclaimed internally as his eyes widened.

When he deduced how the stat points were calculated, he surmised that one endurance stat is equal to ten health points.

Either she used her unassigned stat points that he couldn't see or her health increased by ten somehow.

No.

With her one-hundred and fifty health points in mind, he scanned Lucy's figure.

She wasn't wearing anything of note. He already double-checked it with identify. Everything she was wearing has no stat benefit, including the old and beaten sword a few inches away from her hand.

This tells him that Lucy gained a free endurance point just by purely training!

This?

Even in his previous life, exercising beyond the body’s limit and with proper nutrition can increase one's actual strength. He was so used to playing RPG games that he still thought that doing quests and hunting monsters was the only way to get strong at the start. Now that this has become his reality, he has almost forgotten the value of genuine effort!

This also increases the possibility that there are free hidden points that can not only be obtained from leveling but also from an extensive training regimen.

From the translucent window to Lucy's smiling face, Ash bounced his gaze up and down. He turned to Martha and smiled toothily, saying, I take that back, Martha! You're the best!

Arf! Arf!

The two girls couldn’t understand him, of course, but Lucy knew those were happy barks, so her smile became even wider.

Ash immediately dashed away towards the cottage.

Lucy was curious what he was up to, but she was too tired, so she just laid her head back down and continued panting heavily.

Martha just gazed at the back of the retreating white dog and said, “Rest for twenty minutes.”

She turned around and was about to continue her own routine behind the trees when Lucy jolted at her command.

“Really!? Teacher, I’m tired! Can’t I just not go to school today and have fun with Ash? You know Dr. Kolver said something about his condition, and he doesn’t have much left,” Lucy propped up in exasperation as she rambled on, which then slowly became slightly tepid at the end.

Martha stopped in her tracks as she turned her head halfway and saw Lucy slowly turning her head away.

For a moment, no one spoke until Martha continued walking away and said, “You can bring Ash with you.”

“But I’m tired, and I don’t want to—wait, I can bring him?”

Lucy immediately propped up, her eyes blinking a couple of times before they shone as she released an imperceptible smile. She already knew that her teacher didn't want to spoil her, so she has trouble believing it to be true.

“Can I really bring Ash!?” She asked again with anticipation.

Martha was already walking through the undergrowth, her back disappearing, but she didn’t reply.

Lucy chuckled as she stumbled forward, supporting her upper body with her arms pushing the ground, and screamed, “You said I could bring him, right? You didn't deny it, so no takebacks!”

She closed her eyes as she lay back down on her back with a flop. The morning wind blew across her face as her lips curled into a genuine smile.

She released a slight chuckle before opening her eyes and gazing at the pale yellow sky. She hummed a beautiful tune as she savored the remaining eighteen or so minutes of her rest.

…

Lucy’s room, Martha’s cottage.

A small white dog was pushing the wooden door close with his snout.

Click.

When the knob was turned shut, Ash's countenance brightened.

I think I can move better now. Perhaps I’ve already mastered using this body.

Ash didn’t welcome the idea of now living as a dog, especially as someone’s pet, but since Lucy was kind and he couldn’t just run away or escape, he chose to at least wait and see.

It’s not because I’m afraid that Martha might hunt me down and drag me back here.

At first, he was devastated that his plan to become a strong guardian wolf of the forest was destroyed just a few minutes after its creation.

With his hidden interface and the fact that stats can still be enhanced without wasting unassigned stat points, he could now spend points in areas that truly mattered.

With prior experience, he jumped and landed over Lucy’s bed and thought, This is great! I can increase my other stats by simply adding all my unassigned stat points to the ones without the “weakened” debuff. I'll just train hard for my strength stats and the others like it.

Breath in. Breath out.

He re-examined his interface and concluded that he would not require charm points. He considers it a waste of points to spend them on it. He's a canine. What would be the point if he couldn't use it for his future human wife if he remained a dog? He trusted his future self with his problems! He merely needs to consider the present!

Interface!

The bluish, translucent window popped up before him.

He already noticed that he was all healed up, proving that the doctor that they visited last night didn’t lie.

Ash ignored the remarks and focused on the rest.

I upgraded one of my "weakened" stats and added a point to my perception, bringing my unassigned stat points back to thirty-six. Since spending points on a weakened stat was proven to be functioning properly, I must improve either my perception or my intelligence. What would a dog even use charisma for? I’m not a wolf who will have a pack someday.

Ash snorted as he forgot he wanted to be one just yesterday.

Although I'm not sure what will happen, I believe I will need every part of my human intelligence back!

Although Ash considered himself to be smart, he already noticed a trait he didn't have before: a short attention span. So he decided to bet most of his unassigned stat points were for intelligence and some for perception.

This should improve my concentration, even for just a little bit.

He gazed at the translucent screen in front of him anxiously as he prepared himself. The pain when adding points to perception was worse than strength. He still hasn’t tried intelligence, but it can’t be that bad if he adds multiple points at once, right?

Hopefully, this won't pose a problem later, Ash thought to himself as he got ready. He dropped into a fetal position and closed his eyes.

Ash added eighteen unassigned stat points to intelligence and fifteen to perception. Bringing up the former to fifty and the latter to thirty.

Here it comes!

Budump!

ARRRGHH!

His brain throbbed once, but then Ash felt like he was being struck with a baseball bat all over his body. He began to convulse violently as he tried to close his paws and drew his limbs closer.

He couldn’t even feel anything but indescribable pain.

F*ck!

Various scents and stenches all around him were filtered and drilled into his nose in various forms, wreaking havoc on his nostrils.

Even with his eyelids closed, he can make out the skid, blood, and blood vessels before forming different forms and sorting them out to become three-dimensional images inside his mind.

Sounds all around him were funneled and pierced his ears like an arrow.

Inside his mouth, he can taste everything he ate in the last twenty-four hours, even the time when he still wasn’t inside this body and thought, What is this bitter aftertaste? Is this po—!?

Argh!!!

Awoooo!

With pain exceeding his expected threshold, he no longer cared if someone could hear him. He couldn’t even think properly.

All the hair in his body stood and hummed as each one vibrated. With all of this happening, it combined into one clump of massive information overloading his brain.

All of a sudden, there was silence.

…

Ash experiences the sensation of floating in a dreamy state once more. He opened his eyes to find himself back over that enormous expanse of water reflecting the sky, adorned with cumulus and cirrus clouds.

Looking around, he realized that this was the same dream he experienced the night before.

He tried to float down into the mirror-like water to see his reflection like last time, but before he could, a large amount of water floated up in front of him, forming a sphere of water.

Ash, the now-space mannequin, instinctively stepped away in surprise. After a few seconds, it still floated in front of him like it was suspended in midair.

It appeared to be a floating, perfect orb or marble. He approached it with curiosity, raised his right hand, and touched it; a wave of ripples traveled across its surface, showing it was the same water from before.

Even with a forceful touch, it only rippled, and no water fell back into the motionless water below. It didn't feel like water at all.

He traced the sphere's surface with his translucent fingertips. He didn't feel anything, as if he were simply touching the air.

I imagined it would be water, he reasoned. He could feel his fingers hitting something liquid almost immediately. He had the sensation of touching actual water.

Hmm. Is it changing because I asked it to? Ash thought momentarily as he adjusted his gaze around him before returning to the sphere of water.

He tried to change the shape of the floating sphere with his thoughts, and it worked. It shook and vibrated, yet not a single drop of water fell. He let his imagination run wild, and the sphere of water transformed into a typical-looking oval-shaped mirror, typically found in his former life's public restrooms.

I can? This is a dream that I can control! Wait, is this even a dream?

He quickly glanced at his translucent form reflected on the surface of the spherical water and turned around as the water sphere fell back down without making a sound behind him.

The sky that depicted the day with cumulus and cirrus clouds was gone. In its place, the sky had turned into a clear, starry night.

Wow, it did change! I can see the North Star, big and small dippers! Is this what they call a lucid dream? I don’t know the rest. Did it change to my wishes depending on my memory? Well, it looks like it. I'm not even that good at astronomy, or whatever they call it.

From afar, Ash appears to be a translucent, blue-glimmering creature sunbathing in a sea of stars. The night sky was directly mirrored into the unending sea of mirror-like water, creating a breathtakingly beautiful view. He hadn't seen it before, but when it was dark, Ash could see an afterimage every time he waved his hand, like a small aurora.

Even if I have no mana in the real world, I believe this experience ranks among my top three. Just like my first time playing an online game with friends, Ash then inwardly grinned because he couldn't show any facial expressions in this form.

Real world... Come to think of it, I haven't tried that yet. Interface!

_____________________

Name: None

Level: 14 Exp 929 / 5,000

Health: ?

Mana: ?

Strength ?

Dexterity ?

Agility ?

Intelligence 50

Endurance ?

Perception 30

Charisma ?

Unassigned Stat points: 3

Life Form: Canine [???]

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

Friends List: [Lucy Austin]

Credits: 250

Remarks: I invoke my rights.

_____________________

This place is connected to the real world! No, it might also be a different world. Am I a world-traveler? No. This is confusing. I had no name the first time I arrived, making it look like I’m in a new world right now, but there are still some similarities.

For instance, his skills, except for the two new ones, were all the same, along with his level and stats. Especially with the two new lines in his interface showing his credits and friends list.

Before he continued thinking further, he noticed he could input a new name, so he did to get it over with.

[“Origin” is accepted.]

Yes!

"..."

Take it back! Do over! He gazed around, hoping those who were managing his interface would acknowledge his command or at least hear him out.

But it didn’t change. The interface was just silent.

Ash let out a long sigh.

Moving on. [Telepathy] and [Telekinesis]? Where did these skills come from? The [Misdirect] is still there, which is weird. All of these new skills are related to intelligence or perception. Is this because I added points to them? If I add points to strength or endurance, will I gain more skills?

Ash deliberated for a moment as he tried to think of possible reasons why he obtained them, but aside from his initial conjectures, nothing seemed to explain their existence.

He couldn't test any of them since he only had three unassigned stat points left.

With his thoughts going nowhere, he scooped up some water to form the mirror again.

He scrutinized his reflection and saw the same thing: a translucent, bluish humanoid figure.

The eyes are both big and eerily white, but there are no mouths or ears. There was a small mound in the middle of his face that appeared to be the nose.

He couldn't see his skeleton, skin tissue, muscles, or even organs through his translucent skin. He resembles a cheap bluish-black shiny mannequin that barely emitted any reflection.

What the?