Michael reviewed his status and noticed he now had six unassigned stat points.
[Host, I highly recommend you assign those points to INT. You will gain more mana and think more clearly. It is a hidden effect that outperforms the others.]
Michael raised his hand and assigned all of the points to INT.
+--+
MP: 155/155 -> 185/185
INT: 11 -> 17
+--+
He stopped trying to argue with the system. So far, everything it had told him had been helpful.
A few seconds passed. His mind felt clearer, as if he had just woken from a full night's sleep.
He looked around the empty room. Hospital beds lined the walls, and a single chair sat beside a desk. He decided to walk over. It beat standing around waiting for patients.
A small mirror rested on the desk. Michael stared into it and froze. He had not thought about his appearance since arriving in this world. Calling him handsome felt like an understatement. Golden eyes like crystal. Glossy black hair. Short and skinny. His memories confirmed past malnourishment.
Because of that, his eating habits had suffered. He ate too little for an eight-year-old. The cafeteria portions had been small, likely because Hilda already knew his history.
'Since I have reincarnated, I should make some adjustments,' he thought, determined.
The door swung open. Nurses carried in a young girl, likely from the orphanage. They explained the situation quickly and left. It seemed they had already been informed of the new arrangement.
Her wrist was broken and her elbow badly bruised. A simple case for healing magic.
Michael approached while she lay in pain. Tears still slipped down her cheeks despite the painkillers.
'She looks pitiful,' he thought. He focused on her wrist and said, "Focus Heal."
Golden light wrapped her wrist. A normal healer would have needed another cast. Thanks to the system, one was enough.
[Focus Heal +15 EXP]
Her tears stopped. She drifted into sleep. Her wrist and elbow were as good as new.
Michael addressed the system with a frown. "About the EXP. It jumped from 100 to 1000. Is it going to increase tenfold every time?"
[No. Level 0 is a placeholder to help you learn the interface. Normal leveling begins at Level 1. Each level will require 1000 more EXP than the last. Skills follow the same idea, but their increments are 500.]
Michael did the math and gasped. "You are saying I need to heal over two thousand people to reach Level 10?"
[That is correct, Host.]
"Is there a faster way?"
[Not for now. Once you enter dungeons, you will gain experience from monsters killed, even if you do not land the killing blow. As long as the person who killed the monster received healing from you, you will gain EXP.]
A thought sparked. If he found a party, he could soak experience in a dungeon.
The system cut him off.
[Do not even think about it. At your current level, walking in a dungeon would be difficult. The pressure from a single monster would crush you. You would die.]
Harsh, but true. He had been arrogant.
[If you reach Level 20 and enter the Academy, you will have a chance to go to a dungeon. I said Level 20 because by then I expect you to understand your role as a healer.]
'Level 20 in four years… tough,' he thought, 'but not impossible.'
He reminded himself that he was a healer now, not a mercenary.Even with a few old skills, he could not bridge the gap with raw violence.
[After your shift, we will train. Be prepared.]
'Training?' he wondered. Healing practice?
The hours passed. His workday ended. Since the girl, only three patients had come in, bringing a bit more experience.
[Focus Heal +45 EXP]
In total, he earned 180 EXP today, 165 of which went into Focus Heal.
'Any progress is progress,' he thought with a sigh.
He left Emergency Room 3 and approached the receptionist to ask about clocking out.They told him it was already handled. The head doctor was watching his progress.
That was fine. If he proved himself, he would move up to Emergency Room 2, where the caseload and complexity were higher.
He stepped outside, ready to grab a late lunch, when the system stopped him.
[Host, go to the training field. You can eat later with dinner.]
"Why?" he asked, puzzled.
[I told you we would train. That includes running and lifting weights.]
He clenched his fists. He had expected spell drills, not physical training. "Is that necessary?"
[Host, you are weak, frail, and slow. Do not expect results with a body like a slug. Also, this is the perfect time to earn extra stat points.]
That caught his attention. 'Stat points?' The system had not mentioned this earlier. "Elaborate."
[Certain activities grant stat points. Running improves AGI. Pushing your limits improves END. Lifting heavy weights improves STR. INT and CHA are harder to gain passively.]
He remembered the bonus +1 INT from generating Focus Heal. So that counted as well.
[Expect your endurance to be tested. This will not be light exercise.]
A shiver ran down his spine. 'This system is the devil.'
To the side lay a stadium and an open-air gym, like the beach setups he had seen in his previous world.
[Start with running. Ten laps around the stadium.]
"Are you crazy?" he blurted, not caring who heard. He already felt worn out. Ten laps?
[You do not want to run ten laps? Fine. Walk one hundred. Your loss.]
"If I walk a hundred, I will finish tomorrow," he said flatly.
[I am not asking for a sprint. Jog. You will surprise yourself.]
Michael trudged to the track. People glanced his way. He ignored them.
"All I have to do is jog ten laps?"
[Yes.]
He began. His pace was very slow.
After about three minutes he finished the first lap. Four hundred meters each.
He was already gasping.Nine laps to go.
Before he could protest, a familiar blue box appeared.
[+1 END]
It was sudden. He checked. His END had risen from 2 to 3. The fatigue eased a little. Enough to try another lap.
He ran one more. Then another. On the fourth, his breath hitched again and his knees wobbled.
Another box appeared.
[+1 AGI] [+1 END]
This time he felt lighter and sturdier. His jog picked up slightly, barely noticeable unless you were looking for it. It was enough. He pushed through the remaining laps.
By the end, he sprawled on the track. The gains had barely carried him through. Only a final point during the eighth lap kept him going.
[+1 END]
'Finally,' he thought, staring up at the sky and gulping air.
[Four stat points in total. Not bad, Host. Rest five minutes, then head to the open gym.]
He grumbled, but the improvement was real. His stamina had climbed.
Only a few people were at the outdoor gym. They were serious lifters and paid him little mind.
[For you, the best exercise is the deadlift.]
He whispered, "Isn't it better to train everything?"
[If you did not have me, yes. With stats, balanced strength follows the STR attribute. When you gain STR, it is as if you trained your whole body.]
'Got it,' he thought, picking up a straight bar with no plates.
The system stopped him.
[What are you doing? Put twenty kilograms on each side.]
He had expected that. Still, forty kilograms was a lot. He weighed about twenty himself.
[For a veteran, you are a wuss.]
His brow twitched. He loaded the plates and lifted. Heavy, but manageable.
[Add another twenty on each side.]
'I had to jinx it,' he thought, loading more weight.
Now it was brutal. He could barely get one clean rep.
[Perfect. Do this until you gain two STR points.]
'Devil,' he thought, and kept lifting.