[Congratulations! You slayed a Rank 2 Beast]
[You get 200 Skill Points and 10 Attribute Points]
The notification regarding his imminent rewards, reaped from the heroic and pivotal act he had just pulled off, was still floating across the translucent screen. Darien was yet to respond because a brief wave of unprecedented trauma washed over him before a new slice of clarity and awareness percolated.
'200 Skill Points? That's a very nice start.'
Darien thought, clenching his left fist while his right hand remained firmly wrapped around the dagger's hilt with all his might.
'I wonder what kind of Skill I can make with 200 SP.'
'It should be decently impactful at the very least. Judging from the grueling way these Skill Points are earned, I must never make the mistake of making a useless skill. Wasting hard-earned SP is a tragedy!'
Under the moonlight, Darien slowed his thoughts as he noticed the other portion of the notification he had previously ignored, because Skill Making had taken all the spotlight in his mind.
'10 Attribute Points? That's brilliant! I can now work on improving my Attributes and also allocate kill rewards to them as well!'
[Affirmative. You may allocate Attribute Points across your stats in any combination you desire. Be decisive with your choices, Host, as they directly influence performance.]
'Yes. Yes. You're absolutely right.'
'From what you mentioned earlier, System, I reckon negligence of certain Attributes could result in poor execution of skills—or worse, complete incapability of even creating them!'
Darien raised his left hand and rested it just beneath his bottom lip. His mind focused on how best to ration his very first set of Attribute Points as he stroked his chin like a tactician.
From his starting values, the overall assessment was that he had a mediocre physicality, even for a teenager who hadn't fully crossed the threshold of puberty. Darien stood at about 160 centimeters in height and weighed no more than a feather lost to the breeze. No matter the power of any skill he might make, a poor frame like his would only cripple its true potential in every possible way.
So, for a start, Darien was fully convinced that investing in his overall athleticism was the wisest course. If he was going to survive in this world, he needed to be capable of the most basic physiological tasks like running, jumping, leaping, dodging, and others.
Intelligence need not be touched because he was already above average, albeit by a slight margin. Still, Darien figured he could afford to overlook it for now, as long as it didn't interfere with making a crucial skill later on.
'10 Attribute Points: Let's put half of it in Stamina, 3 in Vitality, and 2 in Defense. I can manage the rest…'
Once the system confirmed the changes had been applied, Darien reverted his focus back to what he deemed paramount.
'Now I have 200 Skill Points. I could open the Creation Panel and attempt making a skill of my choice!'
With confidence, Darien blurted out into the cold night where silence had heavily fallen after damning minutes of chaos.
"System! Launch the Creation Panel!"
[Panel commencement in progress…]
[Welcome to the Creation Panel. You already know what it's all about]
[SP Balance: 200]
[What skill would you like to make today?]
Darien was a boy full of ideation, phantasy, and wonders, so you could imagine how panoramic his creative and imaginative intellect was. His head spun with thoughts and wild concepts that made him grin to his ears and flash a perfect set of white teeth.
'I can create any skill, mm? Let's see what happens if I go for a cataclysmic skill that could erase this forest in one blast!'
'System, how would you even know exactly what I have planned?'
[System reads your mind]
'Oh! In that case, let's make this Skill. It's quite easy to imagine, yeah? So don't tell me my Intelligence isn't enough.'
[Analyzing concept… Calibrating potency… Weighing cost…]
[Ding!]
[Skill frame established]
[Name: Unnamed]
[Description: Description failed! Unmatched Intelligence requirement!]
[Cost: 75000 SP]
Darien fell dead. At first, his face was beaming with excitement at the system's initial responses. However, once the description failed to load, his smile curled into a frown. And from a frown, his jaw dropped to the ground when he saw the Skill Points required to make the skill.
'AH?! WHAT THE HECK! THAT'S TOO HUGE! IT MUST BE A BUG!'
[No, host. The skill you imagined was far too voluminous.]
Darien lifted his jaw from the ground and fixed it back in place.
'But Intelligence is 12. Isn't that enough too?!'
[No, host.]
'Can't you at least tell me what marks I have to reach in relation to the skill's potency?'
[Unfortunately, not part of the system programming, host.]
Darien grumbled with discontent and held himself close in the chilling night as he thought about the Creation Panel. 75,000 Skill Points for a skill that creates a white, violent, repulsive force that blasts everything away actually seemed rational now that he gave it some proper thought.
Plus, with his current physicality, it would be incredibly backhanded. A skill he couldn't even activate by himself? All of a sudden, Darien realized it had been a bad idea all along, and he silently thanked the system for stopping him.
But still, if he had the Skill Points... he might not hesitate to make it.
'I need to get more Skill Points at a faster rate. I can't even stop thinking about OP Skills. Urgh! My brain's messed up!'
Darien collapsed onto the cold ground of dirt, mud, and mosses. He let his shoulders relax and stared up at the ever-glowing moon. His hand met a lone fruit, and without thinking, he picked it up and took a primal bite.
The taste was juicier than anything he had ever sunk his teeth into!
Suddenly, an idea hit him like never before as he continued devouring the fruit.
Darien shot back up into a sitting position, his heart pounding against his chest with a grin so wide, his smile lines threatened to tear themselves apart.
'System! Create this skill…!'