As I stared through the glass, the remnants of the conversation with them danced within me.

‘My parents mentioned skills, didn’t they? The system earlier referred to them too. Supposedly I should be able to use them now, no?’

Much to my surprise, something appeared in front of my eyes. It scared me, causing a squeak to escape and my hand to go against the rectangle.

Skills:
Active skills: Status, System Library.

Having failed to touch anything in concrete, yet having my hand halted on something, I peeked back at it, regaining my composure.

‘My hand doesn’t go through?’ It looked transparent, but a bit more to the yellow tone. Seeing as it wasn’t harmful, my finger hit the different words one at a time, trying to understand what I was dealing with.

Notice: System consumed 2 mana.

System: You have received the achievement, Mana.

Notice: You have unlocked mana, wisdom, and titles in status.

Status:
Mana: 4/6
Wisdom: 2
Titles(+)
Achievements(+)
Skills(+)

After hearing the different messages and grasping the pieces of information that they delivered, I stared curiously at the new window in front of me.

‘Since it consumed 2, that should mean I have six max and four left.’

My brain remembered once more the recent conversation with my parents, whereas they described its uses.

“In order to use skills, energy is necessary to fuel them,” strangely I offered it to the system of this world, whatever that meant.

These were my parents’ words very summarized. This could only mean that I had successfully used it without training, the one mom mentioned I’d undergo with my father. And so, both out of curiosity and from doubting that I actually needed to learn such things from the proof in front of me. My hand raised to chest height, leaving the palm faced to the ceiling. Then I attempted to pour out this so-called energy on it. I muttered a few times, feeling incapable of even sensing anything within me. I struggled and attempted various things, making funny gestures and silly expressions, but to no avail.

‘It seems like using mana through skills differs from what they did.’

Quickly, I grew bothered by failing. Thus, there could be only one thing I could do while waiting for my parents to finish. At that, my gaze returned to the screens, and I attempted to see what things were possible with them. First, I tried to hold one of them by grabbing it on the side where it was thin like a page of a book. Once I felt my fingers putting pressure on both edges, I pulled it to the side, making it look like it slid through thin air. My lips smiled happily at it since the transparent yellow window actually moved. Now I had the screens next to each other, enabling me to sight both freely in a more organized way.

“This is amazing!”

Titles:
Reincarnated.

Skills:
Active skills: Status, System Library.

I voiced out happily, completely forsaking and forgetting the not-so-good inaptitude to use mana from prior actions. To be fair, anything that wasn’t a book, my mind just flew away, always looking for other things to keep my attention on. Without understanding how wisdom affected my status and since touching it or the title didn’t lead to anything. I realized that the only thing that actually mattered was the skills.

‘I wonder what this one does.’

Pondering on the issue didn’t last long, as my curiosity didn’t allow me to wait. Without thinking twice, my finger touched it, and once again I felt a part of me being stolen. Possibly the mana, but it also felt painful and before I could do or say anything, my mind blacked out.

A while went by, allowing me enough time to wake up and regain control of my body.

‘What happened to me!? Was it the skill!? I believe some voices echoed in my mind, but I can’t seem to recall them...‘

I started stretching and bending my arms and legs whilst lying on top of the bed.

‘Weird... it felt like my body was extremely tired, but I can move it just fine now.’

After changing into a sitting position, I looked for injuries around my body and realized there were none.

‘I seem to be alright.’

Filled with braveness, curiosity, and naivety, I voiced out.

“There’s only one way to find out what happened! Skill status!”

Notice: System consumed 2 mana.

Status:
Health: 7/8 | Mana: 37/39
Vitality: 8 | Wisdom: 13
Fame: 800 | Disgrace: 500

‘Is that my health? What happens if it reaches zero? Do I possibly die?’

I felt a chill down my spine, becoming frightened at the thought of losing my own life. Once my mind focused on the screen, I shouted while placing both hands in front of my mouth to reduce the sound.

‘What happened to my mana!? Is it normal to be that high?’

After scratching my index finger with the thumbnail for a bit, I started comparing the different values and occurrences.

‘Health and vitality... I received both the same way I did with mana and wisdom.’

A wide smile lifted my cheeks.

“This can only mean they pair with one another!”

After realizing this new piece of information in it, I tried to recollect bits of the words that resounded in my mind after I blacked out.

‘I think I received new achievements, right?’

I focused intensively on the word, opening a screen with new information next to the previous one.

Achievements:
Early Series(12/60) Before the ceremony.(+)
Mana: First time using the world’s energy. Reward 1 wisdom.
Mana Exhaust: First time reaching zero mana. Reward 10 wisdom.
Damaged: First time being hurt. Reward 1 vitality.

‘So that’s where all this mana came from... uh!? Was I damaged? Wait... unless... emptying mana might harm me?’

I did a small smile containing the anxiety inside, realizing that my health was indeed seven out of eight. With some confusion, I stared at it for a moment, eventually noticing the value change.

‘I got this. My health is full again. It seems like resting recovers both of them. To avoid any injuries, all I have to do is track the mana. That way, I won’t get hurt again!’

Satisfied with my little understanding of the matter. I felt like I gained some confidence in it, which allowed me to keep going. My beautiful green eyes gazed upon the status screen scanning the skills, and changing the information on the achievements screen.

Skills:
Active skills: Status, System Library.

‘It seems like the maximum windows I can have at one time are two.’

I nodded lightly with a faint grin, content with my newest discovery, but alas, there was more to know. Therefore, I couldn’t help myself but mutter innocently with a soft tone, causing my mana to be expended once again, “system library...” 

Notice: System consumed 2 mana.

System Library:

World of Artana I

Fishing I

Baking I

Cooking I

‘Do I have to choose one? I was quite a fond reader in my past life. If these are books, then I’ll have a lot of fun from here onwards.’

My finger approached the one on top.

‘Let’s try the first one, World of Artana I.’

Notice: System consumed 15 mana.

World of Artana I:

Author Name: Wise John.

Long, long ago, many injustices and strife across the world existed.

This came to be as each god created a race as they seemed fit.

The problem started with the races seeking world domination.

Many kings surged, many kingdoms and armies raised.

A world covered with wars making the weaker races lose the most.

With our human race, the one loved by the goddess Aria. There was a day where we came close to coming to extinction. Hearing the constant prayers and pleas, she proposed a certain deal to the other gods.

Once they accepted, they created a system that made the world more balanced and their meddling restricted.

Thanks to that, each god kept a different race which they help from time to time.

In the divines place, the system began taking care of everyone by its laws.

From what I know, at the beginning of the world, four races came to be humans, beasts, demons, and monsters.

Despite the balancing of the system, some races were born stronger than others, very few individuals were naturally better than most.

Thanks to everyone being ultimately different and the humans are the very weakest. Our goddess Aria began summoning heroes from other worlds every 100 years to help us.

So that humanity can prevail longer... so that we won’t die.

Page 14/30

Notice: You have unlocked race and name in status. 

System: You have received the achievement, Beginner Reader.

After reading for a while, I ended up on page fourteen where messages popped and it even allowed an achievement to appear. My mouth opened and closed a few times before I could speak again.

“I don’t think I want to live in such a dangerous world!”

A fearful expression came through as I dreaded the possibility of my family’s death.

“E-even if the goddess summons heroes... I don’t think they’d be able to crush beasts, demons, and monsters altogether! Don’t they have like a vast territory of their own and are stronger than us?”

I took some deep breathing, calming myself down and attempting to relax from the unexpected information.

‘It seems way too many things to handle. It could depend on how many heroes she summoned too, but even then... I don’t quite know how strong these individuals are.’

The strength of my grip increased, making the knuckles turn white with a hint of red in the middle of each one.

‘Sounds like I should take the lessons extra seriously and become strong as fast as possible to protect them if it comes down to it.’

After gaining some sort of goal, or the beginning of one, my eyes quickly gazed back at the book, looking for a date, ‘I wonder when they wrote this book. All the information I can find is the title and the author’s name on every page. He could very well be dead already.’

I then remembered the system voice opening the screen by thinking about it.

‘Let’s see what that achievement gave me!’

Achievements:
Early Series(12/60) Before the system unlock.(+)
Mana: First time using the world’s energy. Reward 1 wisdom.
Mana Exhaust: First time reaching zero mana. Reward 10 wisdom.
Damaged: First time being hurt. Reward 1 vitality.
Beginner Reader(1/100): Read a set of books. Reward 1 wisdom once complete.

‘Sounds like reading books will allow me to check more of them, and by doing a ton more, it’ll even reward me with more wisdom. That’s amazing!’

After realizing there was some sort of early series to it, my finger touched it. Unknowingly to me, my eyes sparkled with this new information.

Achievements:
Early Series(12/60) Before the system unlock.(-)
Early Reader: Read a book. Reward 10 fame.
Early Merchant: Make any type of trade. Reward 10 fame.
Early Killer: Kill a creature. Reward 10 disgrace.
Early Friend: Make a friend. Reward 10 fame.
Early Pet: Get a pet. Reward 10 fame.
Early Thief: Steal something. Reward 10 disgrace.
Early Trickster: Trick someone. Reward 10 disgrace.
Early Chef: Cook something. Reward 10 fame.
Early Brewer: Make a suspicious-looking drink. Reward 10 disgrace.
Early Rider: Ride an animal. Reward 10 fame.
Early Planter: Plant a seed. Reward 10 fame.
Early Crafter: Create something useful. Reward 10 fame.

After reading it for quite a long time, laughter escaped my lips, arriving at a conclusion.

‘It seems like the system kept track of everything I’ve done till now, rewarding me with disgrace and fame based on my actions. I wonder what they’re for...’

Giving it no further thought, my mind quickly recollected the prior thoughts from the most recent tale I had gone through.

‘That story was very interesting can’t wait to read more of it.’

I let out a yawn while getting myself comfortable on the bed.

‘In my old world, despite everything, my father was quite rich, so he had his own library. The wealthiest duke... and also the coldest one.’

Two hours went by and I found myself to be stretching my arms and legs, making a little noise with the snapping joints of the bones. The bed below me, tagged along with the melody by creaking the wood that supported the cushion, and then my eyes and lips opened about the same time.

“That was a good nap. I’ll try to not sleep more, otherwise, I’ll have trouble at night.”

I smiled cutely and then remembered the skill from before.

“Guess I’ll read a bit more, nothing else to do, system library.”

Notice: System consumed 2 mana.

System Library:

World of Artana I

Fishing I

Baking I

Cooking I

‘I wonder what these symbols are after the books; I’ve read a lot of them in my past life, but I’m pretty sure it didn’t have these...’

I placed my right hand between the window and myself in order to block the sunlight, creating a brief shadow.

‘Could it possibly be the various series like how sequels and prequels existed for famous authors?’

Soon I reminisced about the past.

‘I believe mine had normal numbers for them. This could be an original method of numbering things.’

My shoulders shrugged, and my mouth opened. “I want to read the fishing I! Might as well see what the others will bring.”

Notice: System consumed 15 mana.

Fishing I

Author Name: The Fisherman Felix

In the world of Artana, there’re many things to learn about, for example, jobs, and on that note, mine was called fisherman.

It’s one of the benefits in this world that anyone can get. It allows us to use their blessings in our daily lives to make a living, earn money and level up while gaining certain abilities that make it easier to some extent.

But, as any beginner must start. I’d advise by buying or making your own rod, one made of bamboo as they’re flexible, unless you have a robust physique for something better.

The next thing would be to afford either a wire made of horsehair or finely woven flax, as they’re very consistent and durable. Regarding the bait, one can buy worms from the store. Also, do not forget to get a hook. Once you have all the materials required, you can ask a blacksmith to fuse them for you with one of their skills. 

Now you should have a fishing rod and lots of worms, procure a small river which will equal to tiny to mid-fishes, no point going for greater prey as you’re bound to lose your tool. Once you find a spot you like, find some big stones, so that you can stick the rod there.

That way you’ll be able to avoid staying lots of hours holding the rod by yourself, which can be tiring. The moment the bamboo bends, you’ll have to pull the fish with a lot of strength out to get it out. Or at the very least, to go passive at it, allowing for it to suffer eventually getting tired.

Don’t forget a basket with long leaves to cover your fish with once you get one, if you can even add some salt to avoid getting it rotten.

Page 1/2

Notice: You have unlocked level and job in status. 

‘In a way, it’s a good thing the books aren’t all too long. It’ll allow the achievement to be done in no time!’

The screen disappeared when I waved my hand left and right.

‘I wonder if the library is being mindful of me for being young. I’m used to read enormous books, so skill, do your best!’

My hand fell on the lap alongside the other one before resuming my inner thoughts.

‘I’m truly grateful the language is the same, otherwise both skills would’ve been useless till much later.’

My eyes took a glimpse through the window on my right side after finishing the second page, which talked about fish names and what a few looked like. I didn’t get to leave my mansion in my past life. I had read everything there was in my former father’s library, but the knowledge I had differed to some extent from this world’s. For example, there were a few books related to wars, and they showed records of diverse human kingdoms fighting one another. The focus of my stare changed to the door.

‘Since I haven’t received a gift from my parents and they usually tell me to wish for one. I’ll ask them during dinner if I can get a fishing rod.’ 

Once more my vision went through the window, but this time to check the weather. The night wasn’t too far off, as the sun was sinking behind the forest to the northwest.

‘Now I’m curious about the rest of the books. I couldn’t have asked for a better skill, since that was all I loved in my past life! Let’s see what my parents are doing while the mana recovers, just in case.’

My feet took me close to the door, allowing my hand to open it by rotating its handle. My room entrance connected directly to the hall, which led both to the bathroom with a door to the left and the living room further ahead. The exit of the house resided to the right. Thus, after a few extra steps forward, I found both parents resting on the sofa talking to one another.

“Baby, come sit with us.”

She gestured with her right hand for me to approach them with a big smile on her face.

“So what were you doing this long in the room, dear?”

Unsure if I should divulge my skills, I replied simply.

“I was reading a book. How about you two?”

 Mother made an unsure expression but then nodded slightly, possibly realizing the gift earlier.

“We finished cleaning the leftovers of the party a few minutes ago, so we took the chance to rest here.”

Rosaline’s hand approached me, patting my hair, eventually stripping it off the knot, allowing the many golden strips to flow freely.

“Could I request a present?” I smiled happily, melting their hearts as they tilted their heads curiously.

“A gift?”

My parents asked in unison, surprised, as I had sought nothing for these past seven years.

“Yes, I’d like a fishing rod!”

“A what!?”

Once more they asked me in harmony, baffled about my strange request.

“Yes, I’d like to fish! We’ve gone on a stroll near the river a lot of times already. It wasn’t far, so I could do it whenever I’d like.”

My parents looked at each other as if trying to mind-read one another.

“Oh! Before I forget some wire in case it breaks...”

With sloppy behavior, I added, feeling guilty.

“Ah... worms too, please, otherwise I won’t have bait for the fishes...”

Dad found my behavior funny, patting my right cheek softly.

“It’s not something out of my budget, so I’ll get you one.”

I smiled happily, ending up giving him a hug.

“Thank you, father.” 

My mother hurriedly added as she didn’t want to feel left out on such a unique occasion.

“If there’s anything else you’d like, I’ll gift it to you. That way, you’d have a present from both of us.”

I nodded in agreement, giving her a hug too, so she wouldn’t feel bad.

“Yes! I’ll let you know once I have something in mind. Thank you very much!”

We stayed in comfort for a while, speaking mainly about those who appeared at the party, so that I grasped who everyone was, from their names to professions.