status and learning

As Bados departed, a new sigil affixed itself to Rapt's soul, a momentous event that set off a chain reaction. The existing sigils shifted and absorbed the new one, heralding a profound transformation in Rapt's essence.

*System connecting to soul. The soul connection is complete. *

*Scanning physical attributes. Scan complete. *

*Unauthorized attempt to change software. Scanning software changes for source. Source is approved*

*Initiating system changes. Adapting changes to the host. *

* System beginning updates. Updates complete*

*System reconfiguring. System reconfiguration complete. Reboot beginning in 5,4,3,2,1.

Hours had passed before Rapt woke up, and he had changed in more ways than one. The first way was the addition of the undiscovered system. The second was the unexpected awakening of self-awareness sparked by the system's activation. Rapt sat there, immersing himself in the new feeling as his level of consciousness expanded. 

Once done, he jolted up, remembering the unknown being that had invaded his cave. Rapt checked the cave through various means, eventually finding no clue about the mysterious being. To his surprise, a greenish transparent thing appeared before him after he finished his inspection. This sparked Rapt's curiosity, as he had no clue what this unknown "thing" was, but he felt no danger. Rapt began to study the strange object, trying to understand what it was, to no avail. A few minutes passed before he decided to try to interact with it through touch. Despite his efforts, he never came close to the thing, which always maintained its distance from him. After numerous attempts, Rapt eventually gave up trying to touch the 'thing.'

Rapt began to question what exactly this 'thing' was. During this thought process, changes occurred on the screen. If he had been able to read, he would have known the words said.

*Reboot complete. Troubleshooting system for software issues. No issues were found. *

*Imparting knowledge of language and system controls and functions to the host. *

*Rapt experienced a minor headache after those words appeared, causing him to close his eyes. When he opened them, he saw:

'Welcome to your system, Rapt. If you understand these words, please think 'yes' or 'no'.

Taking time to understand what had been asked of him, Rapt thought, 'Yes. '

'Good. Now, we will begin the tutorial on optimal system use.'

Read the prompt on the screen before watching the screen change to the start of the tutorial. This is your home screen or status screen, which shows basic information about you appearing in a side window as the tutorial begins.

STATUS:

Name: Rapt

Realm: Mortal (peak)

level: 1

Experience: 0/100

Health: 30/30 Condition: healthy

Stats:

Strength: 20 (max)

Speed: 20 (max)

Stamina: 20 (max)

Agility: 20 (max)

Intelligence: 20 (max)

Instinct: 20 (max)

Physical Resistance: 20 (max)

Mental Resistance: 20 (max)

SKILLS: ???????, ??????, ??????

System skills: Identify (level 1)

Blessings: Blessing of the Beast God

Thirty minutes later, Rapt studied his stats using the one visible skill {identify} and fully grasped what he was looking at and what it all meant. {Identify} was a skill provided by his system, which contained basic knowledge granted by its creator to help him adapt to his new life. It grows in tandem with its user as their experiences and knowledge expand. He dedicated himself to becoming familiar with the system by learning the information provided in the tutorial. Meanwhile, outside his cave, the landscape continued adapting to Bados's changes. After finishing with the system, Rapt walked to the entrance of his cave, feeling a vast amount of that same strange energy from before in front of him.

'{Identify},' he thought as a prompt appeared from his system.

It is a one-sided barrier that allows the user to leave while keeping others out. It seems to be for one-time use only.

Rapt read the description, and upon seeing that it was safe, he prepared to hunt again as hunger began to set in. As he started his hunt, he occasionally attacked a passing dragonfly, using {identify} to learn about his surroundings. After his fifth Dragonfly, Rapt sensed a large animal nearby, unlike anything he had sensed before.

Approaching slowly so as not to alarm the animal, rapt crept closer until he could see the animal before using {identify} on it and discovered it was a massive scorpion. With his {identify} skill, Rapt was able to see basic information about the scorpion:

[Basic information: a large scorpion with a length of approximately 4.5 meters (almost 15 feet), with most of its body comprising its tail.] It features two powerful pincers capable of crushing small boulders. It has a strong tail with a sting containing a powerful neurotoxin that could kill 20 elephants.]

Being his first encounter with a scorpion, Rapt approached cautiously as he understood from the brief description that it was different from the others he had eaten. The scorpion and Rapt were about to have their first fight with another strong predator. Rapt circled the large insect as it mirrored his movements with its tail and pinchers raised. Seeing the tail and pinchers raised, Rapt instinctively knew he needed to avoid the tail and pinchers. Waving its tail slowly side to side, the scorpion took the initiative as it moved quickly towards Rapt.

The Scorpion lashed out with its left pincher, which Rapt dodged. The scorpion quickly followed with a strike from its tail, and Rapt dodged again. This time, creating distance between them, Rapt circled the scorpion again as they prepared to clash. Rapt took the initiative this time, charging towards the scorpion, aiming to remove its tail. The Rapt easily dodged the slow pinchers, waiting for the tail strike to come down. As Rapt continuously dodged the scorpion's attempts, he quickly understood the advantage he had over his opponent. After constantly missing with its pincers, the stringer strike came, and Rapt quickly dodged, then, with a burst of speed, ran up the scorpion's back before biting and swiping at its tail, almost severing it from the body.

The scorpion felt the loss of its tail, and Rapt, who was still on its back, decided to roll to dislodge the raptor. This sudden movement threw Rapt a considerable distance away and stunned him with the force of the counterattack. The scorpion seized this opportunity to close the distance and continue its offense, launching an attack with its pinchers. With the scorpion's attack closing in, Rapt was brought out of his stunned state, causing its pincers to catch only air between their powerful strikes.

Rapt, who had regained his composure, dodged the pincher attacks and aimed to finish the fight. After that, he jumped onto the scorpion's back, clawing and biting at its body. The scorpion would eventually meet a messy demise as its attempts to dislodge the raptor failed. Rapt clawed and bit the scorpion back, breaking through its exoskeleton and digging out its organs until it was no longer moving. Rapt began dragging the scorpion to a secluded spot to eat quickly, having noticed new predatory creatures in the forest.

On his way to his meeting, Bados thought about a world perfect for Rapt. This planet, located in the Maximus Galaxy, was named Ambu by the intelligent life forms that inhabited it. Bados decided on this planet since persuading Tetanus to participate in a survival trial would be easier. Due to their recent exposure to mana, they will likely face turbulent times ahead, leading to many battles of life and death. This would enable Bados to avoid wasting time and accruing penalties for his actions if Tetanus didn't kill Rapt and accepted this proposal.

Rapt returned to his cave to rest after finishing the scorpion, to prevent running into another conflict during this moment of weakness. He settled into the cave and used this time to review his basic information in depth. Rapt learned from his study and the system's input. He realized that a peak mortal meant the only way to improve oneself was to push past one's mortality. Examining his stats revealed that he had been reborn as an anomaly, as most who reach peak mortality do so in at least one category. This meant that it would have been unfathomable if Rapt had succeeded in pushing past the barrier of mortality to the level of power he could wield.

During his study, Rapt also discovered that the system had limits regarding the questions it could answer, such as how one breaks past the mortality barrier. As he continued his Q&A with the system, Rapt discovered that he was massive for his base species and could be considered a completely new species, separate from his parents' lineage. After about an hour, Rapt no longer felt overly full and was prepared to continue exploring, but he began to feel thirsty and left to find a water source. Once he left the cave, Rapt continued his hunting expeditions, returning to rest and question the system about anything that piqued his interest before repeating. During this time, he successfully hunted many creatures such as bears, wolves, and big cats. With each successful hunt, the subspace would study Rapt's prowess and adapt the environment and animals that would bring out his full potential.

With each full increase, the hunts became more perilous as strong animals and numerous packs spawned in the sub-space. During one of his reprieves, Rapt could be seen eating from the carcass of a large-horned bovine. Rapt ate his meal . About a minute later, another reprieve occurred, leading Rapt to ask the same question: "Why...is...this...happening...to...me?" This time, it was more apparent than before, with the process continuing with an increase of time between reprieves from pain until it ended around 25 minutes later. This was when Rapt obtained his first two stats: Intelligence and Mental Resistance. Shortly after the end, Rapt was on the ground, still feeling the aftershocks and sensory overload from what would probably remain a traumatic experience for the time being.

Looking at Rapt lying on the ground, Bados asked in the beast language," Can you understand me clearly?" After breathing through the aftershocks, he replied, "Yes," before taking another short break and asking, "What happened to me?" Bados then told Rapt the brief story of his birth, death, and rebirth and the cause of the pain that he just had to endure. This prompted Rapt to ask one question: "Why?" "

Bados bluntly replied," Because I felt that you deserved to have a chance to survive rather than being born only to die... so now I have many things I want to teach you before I send you to your new home world. The first thing we'll start with is the screen in front of you, what it's for, what it means to increase your stat levels, and how that affects your overall level."

Bados looked at Rapt's stats on his way to the meeting, and even though he was the weakest beast he had ever given his blessing to, he had potential.

"If Rapt didn't live up to his potential, he would be stripped not only of his blessings but also of his life." Bados thought coldly before pushing it to the back of his mind.