“Aaaaand, there we go!”                Kaltyr sat beside her personal lean-to, putting down the spool of metal wire and lifting the last of the sixteen spears to the green sky overhead, marveling at her handiwork.                “Judging by my levels in Improvisation…” The skill Improvisation leveled up.                “It’s definitely the case that finishing a task provides more skill XP …

“Phantasmal goo?”                Somehow, saying the two words made Kaltyr feel dirty.                [The jellies.]                The light entity used a stubby arm to point at the cube of translucent azure jelly Kaltyr held, then at the storage lean-to, where she left the first one.                “Oh, right. Phantasmal goo…”                The term really didn’t feel right.                “Maybe ghost …

Jubilation, glee, elation. Warm, fuzzy feelings of exultation bubbled up within Kaltyr as the mana bubbles she created gathered in front of her lips, melding together to form an even bigger bubble!                Then it popped, and a similar burning agony from before raged within the meridians of her neck and head. Though unlike when she stupidly took the fish’s …

Caught unprepared, Kaltyr fell backwards. Shock at experiencing an entirely new form of pain overwhelmed her senses as she landed on her back, unable to move. From her ears, she lost her sense of balance. In her mouth, she tasted blood. Of her eyes, she was too distracted for anything to register, making it so she effectively couldn’t see. Worst …

“What. The. Flying. F***.”                Kaltyr’s jaw clenched hard as she watched the pile of dirt crumble, returning to the earth.                “Did that thing only appear to press my buttons?”                Such potent anger coursed through the girl that she wondered if she’d ever speak normally because she found herself growling through her teeth again, but not on purpose. …

A sweat droplet dripped down Kaltyr’s face as she watched the human-shaped water hover above the gentle river.                There’s nothing… I don’t sense magical essence or mana within it.                The girl’s palms grew sweaty, threatening to loosen her grip on the antler.                How is that… The water’s just floating in mid-air! Is that possible without magic? But …

Kaltyr originally assumed that she’d killed enough of the deer and shown enough of her battle prowess for the rest of the beasts to give her space from then on…and was absolutely incorrect given her current state.                After sparing a second to spit out some grass, Kaltyr had little time to think before a snort could be heard from …

“H-holy s***… Really?”                Eyes wide in shock, Kaltyr felt the most intense case of excited jittering she’d ever experienced. Her fingertips and toes went numb as her entire body began to shake. The girl immediately clung to the tree’s trunk for her dear life, worried that she’d suddenly blackout from extreme jubilation and fall to the ground, ending up …

“These f****** deer are gonna be the end of me.” Kaltyr facepalmed for the tenth time. “Deer! Deer! I can’t believe I’m going to die to deer!”                A few minutes had passed since Kaltyr was stabbed by the buck’s antlers and she climbed a third branch higher up the tree, unwilling to stay within their range of stabbing for …

“Oh… Yeah, I forgot that they’re called Life Levels. For some reason I imagined it’d just say, ‘You’re Level One’. Well, I guess it being a ‘Life’ level does distinguish it from the levels to my skills, and whatnot.”                Kaltyr didn’t move from where she sat, continuing to hug her knees as she allowed herself to be warmed. For …