A day has passed since the birds successfully disarmed me.

(Goddess Julia should be here soon for her daily gardening duty.)

I’ve come up with a plan of action.

It still takes me a couple of minutes to concentrate, but thanks to numerous hours of diligent meditation training last night, I eventually managed to bring up my own status much faster than before.

First things first, I need to recuperate somehow.

I’m somewhat reluctant to admit the twigs were parts of my body, but the sharp pain I felt and the decreased DUR in my status has me believing I’m probably almost dead.

When I noticed the absence of a health stat in my status, the DUR stood out like a sore thumb all of a sudden.

When the letters LVL appeared in my head before, it didn’t even occur to me that this information that’s somehow appearing in my mind is abbreviated for some reason.

 

(Hmmm… DUR is probably short for durability?)
Each time the birds ripped a part of my body off… This number has decreased.

I’ll assume for now that means if I’m attacked one more time. I’m dead.

(…) 

Will I reincarnate again?
Is this my last chance?
Regardless, I’m going to try to survive.
Despite having died before, death still scares me.

So how do I recover my durability?

I have two ideas.
The first is to somehow get someone to install a new set of arms.
Even though I can’t move them, I’d preferably like a set of nice straight sturdy and thick branches instead of the flimsy twigs I had before…

The second idea is to level up.

(Maybe I’ll get all my health back like a role-playing video game…)

Unfortunately, I have no way of attacking.
I can’t even move. 

That brings me to the second action item in my plan!
I should learn magic!

Right as I finish rehearsing my action plan to myself, Julia approaches.

(She’s here!)

(Oh~)

She’s carrying more of those strange crescent seeds that those birds like.
I guess she’ll be replanting the ones the birds ate?

Julia gets on her knees and begins working in the garden.

(Ah- that was close…)
My goddess' ample bosom nearly led me astray again.

(Huh?)
Julia looks up at me with her usual blank expression.

There’s a subtle disgust visible in her eyebrows though.
I can tell these things because of experience.

(Oh! Oh! She must’ve noticed my arms missing!)

This is the most eye contact I’ve had with Julia so far!

Julia approaches me and grabs hold of my sides.
(!)
(I- I’m being touched. I’m being t- touched by a woman right now!)

(Oh!!)
Julia lifts me out of the ground slightly and turns me around 180 degrees.

(…Huh?)

My excitement at all the new things in my field of view overshadows my confusion for the strange thing Julia just did.

I look at the quaint rustic looking cottage house.

And next- I immediately focus my eyes on the fantasy-like round magic tower placed near the cottage house.

(Oh! Alcazar! I wonder if that’s carrot man’s name?)

(!)

A familiar warmth and catchy jingle catch me by surprise.

(Oh! I levelled up?!)

(No- wait- it’s my ability that levelled up-)

Is this because I’ve been using it day in day out?

Still somewhat startled, I focused back on the tower that I was looking at before.

(Oh!! More information appeared in my mind this time!)

Whilst I was excitedly celebrating my discovery, a familiar sound began playing behind me.

(…) 

(J- Ju- Julia is peeing behind me…)

(Oh- wait… she must be using her water magic…)

(*phew*… I need to calm down…)

Whilst I try to forget about the perverted mental image that appeared in my mind just now, I’m suddenly grabbed from behind again.
If I could still swallow, I would’ve probably involuntarily gulped right now.

Julia lifts me up and spins me around again.
(Ah.)

Julia quickly walks off behind me and out of my field of view before I can even look at her.

◇◆◇ 

 

(I failed… )

I failed to recuperate and learn magic today.

I got so excited when I finally got to see all the new things behind me that I completely lost track of what I had to do…

(I’m going to die…)

More birds will surely arrive soon now. 

If I’m not careful, my new life in another world will most likely be cut short.

 

The protagonists in the other world stories that I liked to read would usually live out the remaining years of their life surrounded by beautiful women…

(…)

Like clockwork, the sound of flapping wings approached and 1 bird landed in the garden.

(There’s no new info on how to defeat this thing…)
The new information was useless.

(W-… welcome. P- Please help yourself to some seed sir.)
I do my best impression of a friendly shop clerk trying to greet a customer.

Like a bully who just realised it’s found a new victim, the bird’s eyes lock onto me and a familiar smirk appears on its mug.

(I- I don’t have any seeds on me s- sir…)

The bird jumps up and flies straight towards my face.

(N- NO- P- PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE!!!)

Like a cornered animal, I desperately scream in a last-ditch effort to save myself.
When suddenly-

I feel and hear the familiar warmth and jingle again.

*Don~*

With a panicked expression, the bird stops itself in its tracks right before it’s about to hit my face.
It began flapping its wings in a panic and turned around the other way.

It flew off.

(Ah-…)

(I- I survived…)

(?!)

I’m assaulted by a whole slew of pleasant feelings.

(Haaa…)

My first instinct from many years of playing games is to consult my status.

To my surprise, my status appeared a few seconds into my meditation this time!

(My durability is still at 1…)

Eager to forget about my near-death state, I focus on my new ability.

(Mental huh? That’s such a broad term… I wonder what it does…)

Whilst I try to come up with some sort of theory as to what mental is supposedly referring to, further information suddenly flows into my mind.