4 - Another choice, Another Skill

[You survived an incident that could've been a distaster, thus, a new reward will be received.

Please choose from the three options.]

Seeing the announcement for reward so suddenly, Rumi was surprised. Surely, the situation had been tense and it could've gone wrong if not for the mysterious voice in her dream waking her up in time. But, she didn't expect to get a reward out of it in the end.

'I mean I'm happy that I'm getting something out of this but..'

[Choice System is here to make you stronger to survive in this world. It is only natural that I help you out in your journey for your growth. But remember every choice you make through me will shape your journey.]

Hearing System's answer, Rumi felt a little more relieved. It was a natural reaction since she had been on her guards and felt like she was truly alone with no one or nothing to trust or rely on. As such, even a small reassurance of sorts from a System had made her feel like she wasn't totally alone in this.

It was probably not that good to get attached to things, Rumi had learnt this multiple times in her past life, yet, a small incident like this was enough to make her feel a rush of emotions again.

'I guess it's amazing how the mind works. And maybe how my brain works cuz it never seems to learn..' Rumi sighed.

But, anyways, she was excited about this development of getting stronger and what the reward options could be this time.

'Okay, let's see the options.'

[Option 1 : Passive Skill - Guardian's Vigil.

(Short description - Heightened awareness while sleeping and enhanced reflexes upon waking up.)

Option 2 : Whispers of the Gale.

(Short description - Ability to hear coversations and sounds from the afar, sense changes in incoming threats, environment and weather within a state of focus.)

Option 3 : Echoes of the Past.

(Short description - Able to see glimpses of an area's past by touching an object or walking through a location, and feel the emotional ties with the event to explore further.)]

Seeing the options, Rumi felt even more excited. First of all, the option 1 is exactly what she needed right now.

She lacked the means to wake up exactly when it was needed, so she wouldn't feel at ease to even get a wink of sleep in a district like this. She thought getting stronger would mean being able to move around with much more freedom, but again, to get stronger, she needed to be able to make use of her passive skill Sloth to its full potential.

Her reiryoku wasn't at an impressive level and she didn't know any flashy or deadly moves for combat. With these limitations, she had no choice but to rely on Sloth's energy accumulation and efficiency.

This brought her back to the issue of getting enough sleep.

The requirement for her passive skill Sloth couldn't be fulfilled without the ability to rest properly and sleep for ten hours a day. So, if she wanted to move forward, she needed to address this problem sooner or later.

And, now that she had been given the option for another passive skill that would help her with heightened senses while sleeping, it would definitely provide her with additional protection and more importantly, wake her up exactly when she needed.

As for the second option, Rumi loved the idea of being able to hear conversations, sense danger and environmental awareness since it could give her a lot more room to work with and potentially tactical advantage. She could see it working well in spying, hiding, getting away from situations, which she considered to be just as important due to its tactical advantage and versatility. But, then again, she also knew that it wouldn't currently solve her problem and make her able to move forward from this point.

And while she loved about all the potential advantages, she also knew it was important to be realistic in certain situations.

As for third option, Rumi wasn't too fond of getting emotionally tied to things and navigate through them to find out about a past. Although it could be a tool to uncover past mysteries, Rumi felt that the whole emotional pull and dealing with it would be more troublesome. Besides, she had never been an overly empathetic or morally righteous person who wanted to find the truth in everything or save everyone. She had always been looking at herself and making choices to ensure her own safety and well-being, no matter what.

So, Rumi felt that option 3 wasn't suitable for her either, despite its potential.

'I'll choose Option 1- Guardian's Vigil.' Rumi made a decision. While she felt that the cost of opportunity for choosing option 1 was higher than the last time, she knew it was natural and couldn't be helped.

As System had said, she would make choices and build her own power, meaning there would always be powers she had to sacrifice to become stronger in certain other aspects. While it may leave a bitter taste in her mouth, it was a natural thing to happen in life.

For example, if she only had two hours of free time and she chose to nap instead of making dinner and eating, she would lose the opportunity to eat and go hungry. But, if she had made dinner and eaten, she would've lost her sleep and go tired.

It was a natural occurence that had always been happening in life, yet when obvious powers got into the options, one could waver a little more.

Truly amazing how mind works, Rumi thought.

[Understood. You chose Passive Skill - Guardian's Vigil. You have received the passive skill - Guardian's Vigil.

Description : "Guardian's Vigil" is a passive ability that enhances your subconscious sensory perception while you sleep. It functions as a protective mechanism, allowing you to detect potential threats or disturbances in your immediate environment.

Sub-abilities : Sensory Amplification, Selective Alertness, Subconscious Processing, Adaptability.

Sensory Amplification : While you are asleep, your other senses (hearing, smell, even slight vibrations in the air or ground) become more sensitive. This heightened awareness acts like an early warning system, alerting you to dangers or unusual activities nearby.

Selective Alertness: The ability can be attuned to ignore common, non-threatening sounds and movements (like small animals or distant noises), focusing instead on specific types of disturbances – like the approach of people, sudden or large movements, or the use of spiritual energy close by.

Subconscious Processing: Your mind processes these sensory inputs while you sleep, allowing you to wake up or remain asleep based on the perceived threat level. This processing doesn't disturb you rest unless necessary, ensuring you get the rest required for your Sloth skill.

Adaptability: The ability can adapt over time to your experiences and preferences. For instance, if you learn that certain types of spiritual energy are not a threat, "Guardian's Vigil" can adjust to ignore these in the future.

Requirement : Pre-sleep ritual, 1/3 of reiryoku that would be stored in the sleep (The passive skill will use one-third of the total energy that will be stored in the sleep by Sloth in exchange for its extra protection.) ]

Rumi was amazed after reading the description in detail. It was truly an amazing passive skill with a lot of sensible sub-abilities and strengths. With sensory amplification, she would be able to sense anything dangerous or out of the ordinary in her surroundings during her sleep, and with subconscious processing, she would maintain a level of caution without necessarily sacrificing her quality of sleep.

Besides, she could select which she would be aware of and which she would deem as safe and adapt to her needs further with the help of Selective Awareness and Adaptability.

Although this passive skill was solely for her sleep and wouldn't work when she was awake, it was more than enough to help her move forward.

The requirement for the skill wasn't too ridiculous, either. She would need to perform a pre-sleep ritual every time but since it wasn't stated what it had to be, she could just come up with something she could maintain everyday. Using her reiryoku in exchange was also understandable as her body and senses had to be enhanced to a degree in her sleep. Surely, she would lose out on one-third of potential reiyoku everyday but it was better than losing out on all due to her inability to fulfill the Sloth's sleep requirement.

All in all, Rumi was satisfied with this new passive skill.

'Right, I kind of slept for a while before I was waken up...I wonder if there're any changes to my stats.' Rumi thought before deciding to check her stats. Since she fell asleep earlier, she should also have been storing some reiryoku, shouldn't she?

With the thought, she opened her stats.

[Name : Fujiwara Rumi.

Age : 1 day. (Soul Society)

Race : Newly crossed soul.

Relationships : None.

Reiryoku level : Moderate.

Stored reiryoku : 30/1000.

Skills : Sloth (Passive), Guradian's Vigil (Passive), Fire Resistance (Passive).

Tools : None.]

"30 units?" Rumi muttered out loud. So, it did store some of the reiryoku. But, how was the rate of storing reiryoku?

'System, how long was I asleep for?' Rumi asked. After all, it was important to know how much sleep equals to how much stored reiryoku.

[You were asleep for approximately 3 hours.]

'So, the rate is 10 units per hour.'

[Exactly. The normal conversion rate is 10 units per hour of sleep.]

Rumi nodded to the answer, 'But I guess with Guardian's Vigil, I'll only be able to store like two third of it. How much would it be again..?'

"Let's see..If I can store 10 units per hour and use one-third of it,..I have to divide 10 by 3? 10 divided by 3 is ...umm..3 x 3 is 9. So, 3.3333...?" Rumi muttered, trying to work out the math.

"Dang it, my brain already hurts having to calculate basic math. How am I supposed to figure this maths out everytime.." She said, dramatically. "I hate maths!!!"

[...]

"Anyways, let's calculate it a different way." Rumi said to herself, not wanting to work out the decimals. "It would normally take ten days but then I have to subtract one-third of it. So, to make up for the subtracted one-third, I need to sleep for like three more days. But then, I need to subtract one day worth from the three days, going by 1/3 logic..So, I need to sleep one more day to bring it back, but then, I need to subtract 1/3 again, so I probably need to sleep one more day? So, it's probably like 15 days to reach 1000 units?"

Rumi was almost lost in her own logic but at least, she came to an answer, even if she wasn't sure her maths was right...

'System...is my maths right...?'

[..Yes. Assuming consistent sleep patterns and no additional reiryoku usage in battles or other activities, it would take approximately 15 days to accumulate 1000 units of reiryoku.]

'See, I was right! Maybe I'm a maths genius, after all..' Rumi nodded proudly to herself, feeling like a genius.

Could it have been her passive skill Sloth's efficiency at work?

Maybe.

But, Rumi was too happy to care.