-Ah!
I screamed and flinched at the voice in my head. I didn't understand a single word it was saying. And who was talking anyway? I was literally alone in the house?
"Due to the first acquired skill, the system installation was premature"
"System Loading"
"0%"
"25%"
"100%"
"Loading successfully"
-Stop talking in my head! You're annoying!
"System Initializing"
"Successful"
-Stop! I don't understand anything.
"To register and launch the system, enter your first and last name"
"| Enter |"
-Stop...! Finally, he stopped talking. What the hell was that? Why did I hear someone talking in my head when I couldn't understand a thing?
"SAY YOUR NAME"
And like a bolt from the blue, those words rang out. My head started to hurt, as if I'd just smashed it with a huge hammer. I fell headfirst onto the bed and tried to shake off the pain. But the most interesting thing was that I understood the meaning of those words.
-You want me to say my name? And then this torment will end?
"..."
-My name... my name... Me. I don't know my name. Did I even have one?
My face fell, tears streamed from my eyes, and my lips twisted in a frustrated grimace. My lips parted, and I tried to say something in my defense, that I was a person, not just a nameless thing. But not a single word came out.
"Registration failed"
"When you can tell me your real name, please try again"
The loud ringing of the bell pierced my brain and body again. But this time, I didn't even move. My sadness was astonishing. When I was told to pronounce my name, the information about every word was hammered into me as if I were a top-level linguist and knew literally everything. And to understand that my parents had abandoned me and never given me a name was simply... simply unbelievably bitter.
I remained in this state of collapse for as long as my eyes held tears. Only with my last tear did I realize that this nameless life wasn't over and that I needed to make my parents pay for abandoning me. I was determined to show the world that even so, I would be the best.
Looking at the book still lying quietly next to me, I pulled it closer and began reading. I didn't understand the words, but I could read them. Chapter one was called "Finding Water in Nature".
Without understanding a single word, I turned the page and saw a multitude of drawings, both those drawn in the book and others that looked as if someone had deliberately drawn them with crayons. Many of the drawings were attached to individual sentences, and they looked like they belonged in a children's book.
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
-Water is the most important thing for survival in nature! It can be found in rivers...
Reading was very interesting and fun. Not knowing many words, I imagined myself walking through a summer forest, looking for a wonderfully beautiful place with water I could drink from. Or I imagined seeing a pond and waiting for an animal to drink from it, so I could figure out whether it was safe to drink from there or not.
This "book"—I learned that word from the text—was a veritable treasure trove of useful information. A world of fantasy and science literally exploded before me.
After finishing the first of three pages, I could roughly tell where the best place to drink water would be. For me, in my circumstances, this knowledge was simply indispensable.
As I was about to turn the page, I heard the door open and my fox came in with firewood. She looked at me with an intrigued look. After carrying the wood to the stove, she came up to me and looked at me.
I pointed to the book and said:
-Book.
-Ururu.
-Hm? I don't understand.
The fox looked at me for a few more seconds and decided that since there was nothing to be gained here, she went outside.
I continued reading my fascinating book, this time reading the second page. It explained that any water obtained from nature is best boiled, and there were detailed instructions on how to do this.
Ohhh... So I'm really smart, then? I remembered that experiment I'd recently conducted with water. My depressed mood was finally lifted by my pride.
The last page was devoted to the importance of carrying a spare water bottle and refilling it whenever possible.
After reading the last page, I was truly convinced that a supply of water was incredibly important, and I hope I will always remember these pages.
Hungry after such a grueling task, I waited for the fox to arrive with her meat. And as if on cue, literally a minute later she entered the room with another incredibly large piece of meat. How does she always manage to arrive at just the right moment?
She placed it on the floor and began to look at me. Already knowing my task, I picked up the sword and approached the meat. Looking at that blade, I remembered the pleasant pleasure I got from cutting my hand. This memory was strange to me, but I couldn't say I minded it. After all, only with moderate pain in my hand do I not feel the need for that drink.
I took the sword in both hands and struck. Like before, my blow was extremely inaccurate, and the meat was now divided unevenly.
Focus!
Exactly! How forgetful of me... I touched my right eye and felt a slight chill. My right eye can't see, that's where the inaccuracy came from. I'd become so accustomed to it, practically born with it, that I'd forgotten it couldn't see.
Now, taking this into account, I tried to strike the ai... My blow was a little smoother than usual. It's hard to say whether my guess was correct or whether I was just lucky.
Taking two pieces of meat, she placed them on the stove and went outside. I also took my portion and started cooking.
The fox's portion started to burn, and like the most caring girl in the world, I turned her food over. Then I turned mine over. In the end, the fox didn't come... Oh well! I finished cooking her food and left it on the floor where she'd eaten it last time.
I stabbed my piece with my fork and started eating. Then the fox entered the house, and on her small ice tray, I could see small red circles. I'd seen them somewhere!
I ran to my book, leaving the second piece of meat on the plate, and began leafing through it with a wild sense of curiosity. On the second page, about boiling water, it described how to make "tea" using berries. As I understand it, the word "tea" refers to some specific flavored water.
Burning with desire, I ran outside with the pot, under the fox's questioning gaze. Having quickly gathered snow in such cold weather, I returned and dragged myself to the stove and began heating it.
After boiling some water, I approached the fox and pointed to her berry. According to the book, this berry was a rose hip. She nodded approvingly, and I took a dozen. I poured boiling water into a glass and dropped in the rose hips, waiting for them to steep.
While they steeped, I quickly finished my meat. And seeing how bad my plate looked after I'd eaten from it, I wanted to clean it up. So I used the remaining water from the pot to clean the plate.
My tea should be ready in about half an hour. I took a warm mug and sipped some of the tea...
The taste was simply incredible! The tea itself was warm, not so hot that it was hot, and not so warm that you could drink it all in one sitting. The tea's flavor was incredibly rich, so rich that every nuance seemed to be distinct. And the aftertaste was incredibly strong, as if deliberately prolonging the flavor from the first sip. A warm feeling washed over me as I swallowed this tea.
I can say it's delicious.
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I'm also wondering where I should write my thoughts? In a chapter or should I continue them in notes?