understanding

A heavy weight pressed against my body, and a dull numbness spread through my limbs. My mind was sluggish, and my thoughts were swimming in a haze. Slowly, awareness crept back in, and I blinked.

Snow.

I was buried in snow.

My arms, my legs - everything felt trapped beneath the thick, frozen layers. I shifted slightly, feeling the resistance of the cold, compacted snow against my body. The sensation wasn't uncomfortable… just restrictive.

A soft ding! Echoed in my ears, followed by a familiar blue screen flickering into existence before me.

[System Notification]

You have been left asleep to recover energy.

Total Sleep Duration: 30 hours, 12 minutes, 45 seconds

I blinked at the prompt. Thirty hours have passed since then…

I tried to look around, but even with my head and neck free, all I could do was turn slightly. The same vast snowscape stretched out before me, unchanged.

I need to get out.

Taking a deep breath, I braced myself and pushed forward, forcing my way out of the snow's hold. My legs wobbled slightly as I stood, but I quickly steadied myself. Being buried so deep would have made it nearly impossible for most people to escape.

For me, it felt like moving through slightly thicker air.

Now on my feet, I took a slow, careful look around. The endless stretch of white remained unchanged, a frozen wasteland of silence and stillness. But then, movement.

My eyes honed in on a lone wolf in the distance, its light grey fur standing out against the snow. It was exactly 552 meters away.

I blinked. Huh. That's oddly specific.

I hadn't needed to do much, I just had an unconscious feeling that was correct. 

Another weird thing... well, I think it's a good thing, so I should ignore it.

With no immediate threat in sight, I dusted off my dark dress—the same one I had been wearing since my first memory.

The fabric was smooth and well-made. It covered most of my upper body but left my shoulders bare, the edges cleanly cut.

Long, fitted gloves extended up to my elbows, blending seamlessly with the dress. The hem reached just past my knees, with knee-length shorts underneath for added flexibility. Light snow boots covered my feet, built for movement without sacrificing warmth.

hold on

As I looked closer, I noticed something odd. The wound on my side, where I had been clawed, was completely healed. Not even a trace remained.

Stranger still, my clothing was intact as well. There wasn't so much as a tear or a bloodstain. It was as if the damage had never happened in the first place.

Ding!

The screen from before flickered, but something was different. Instead of the usual blue, the glow had shifted to a soft, light purple. A slight glitch flickered across the screen as it transitioned. So minuscule that most would have blinked and missed it.

Before I could dwell on the change, the text from earlier dissolved, replaced by something new.

[System Status Screen]

[Name: Yuki]

[Race: Snow Girl]

[Level: 2]

[Class: Snow Girl, █████████ ██ █████]

Hp: 120/120 (if reaches zero, your life ends.)

Mp: 500/500 (energy source)

Strength: 15 (Determines physical power.)

Vitality: 5 (Affects health and recovery.)

Intelligence: 25 (Defines MP capacity and magic strength.)

Agility: 30 (Influences movement speed and reaction time.)

Dexterity: 15 (Governs bodily control and precision.)

Unassigned Stats: 5

[Available Skills]

[Snow Girl: Blessing of frost, Temperature Magic (-)]

[█████████ ██ █████: ████ ██ ██████, █████ ████████████]

As I looked over the text, I took a moment to process the words in front of me.

So my name is Yuki... I think I like it. Next, I was a Snow Girl. I wasn't sure what that meant exactly, but it made sense. I have only ever been in a land filled with snow, so it makes sense.

My gaze drifted lower, scanning through the numbers and words. I didn't have a reference for what was considered high or low, but it was information nonetheless. Strength, vitality, intelligence... through the descriptions, besides I could tell what each did. And from what I could see, I was a person with great speed and great magical strength. But I am quite fragile... I think the word I'm looking for is a glass cannon.

Oh, speaking of magic, I guess the ice that defended me was my own magic.

I looked lower at my skills from the Snow Girl category.

Well, temperature is how hot or cold something is, and since it has a negative sign, it must mean I can make things colder. And Blessing of Frost… that must be why I can't feel the cold at all.

A small smile tugged at my lips. Understanding things felt nice.

My eyes wandered to the other section - another set of skills listed under something else. The words were there, but my mind barely acknowledged the strange gaps in the text. If anything, it felt normal, like there was no reason to question it. These were my skills. They belonged to me, just like the others. 

I closed the screen with a thought, and it disappeared just as easily as it had appeared.

Now that it was gone, I turned my attention back to my surroundings, considering my next move. After a few moments, my gaze landed on the light grey wolf in the distance once more. It had moved closer, though it still hadn't noticed me. Right now, it seemed to be searching for a meal.

Maybe…

memories of the from before wolf, and the endless wave of thoughts of not wanting death to come.

I don't want to die.

I quickly shook my head, pushing the memory aside.

I need to get stronger. If I want to survive, I can't hesitate. That wolf… I should use it to gain experience.

But before that, I need to figure out how to actually use my magic willingly. Temperature Magic… If I can control the cold, maybe I can turn it into a weapon that I can attack with. Instead of the draining blast of ice I did before.

I raised my hand slightly, my palm facing the sky, and focused on it intently, hoping to feel something. But nothing. 

My lips quivered downward into a small frown. Hmm, this will take a while, won't it?

---

Time passed as I experimented, slowly piecing together how to manipulate my magic. At first, nothing happened no matter how much I focused, but after repeated trial and error. I finally managed to shape it into something tangible.

In the end, all I could create was a simple, sharp pole of ice. It wasn't anything impressive, but at least it was something. A weapon, however crude, was better than nothing.

I gripped the ice "spear" tightly, feeling its solid weight in my hand. 

Now that I had a weapon, I focused on reinforcing it. Carefully, I condensed the ice, packing it tighter and denser to ensure that it wouldn't shatter upon impact.

Finally, I sharpened the tip, crafting it into a lethal point. By the time I was done, nearly half of my MP was gone - and that's not even counting all the failed attempts before this.

After finishing, I exhaled with a small smile. My breath was visible in the cold atmosphere. Proud of my first ever creation. Now, time for what I made this for.

I turned my attention back to the wolf in the distance. It was still unaware of my presence, its head lowered as it sniffed at the snow, searching for prey. Slowly, I crouched low, keeping my steps light as I moved forward.

I moved carefully through the snow, keeping my steps light and quiet. The wolf hadn't noticed me yet, its focus still on the ground as it searched for something.

I got pretty close - closer than I thought I would. But as soon as I was about five meters away, its ears twitched. It froze for a moment before its head snapped toward me, eyes locking onto mine. 

I flinched at the wolf's sudden movement, but I didn't do something stupid like run away or panic. Before it could react - whether to attack or flee - I thrust the ice spear straight at its head.

Sadly, the strike was noticed, and the wolf jerked back just in time to avoid a fatal strike, but. It wasn't fast enough to escape unscathed. A wet squelch filled the air as the sharpened tip of my weapon pierced its eye.

The wolf let out a sharp, pained yelp, staggering back as blood and fluids dripped from its ruined eye. Its body tensed, muscles coiling as it let out a deep, guttural growl. Even when it was injured, it wasn't going to back down.

I tightened my grip on the ice spear, bracing myself. The wolf lunged, its powerful legs propelling it forward with surprising speed despite its wound. I barely managed to twist to the side, feeling the rush of air as it snapped its jaws where I had been a second ago.

Not wasting the opening, I swung the spear like a club, smashing the shaft against the side of its head. The wolf staggered from the impact but recovered after a second, snarling as it circled me warily now. 

It's injured and slower, but it won't charge in blindly any more.

The wolf lunged again, feinting left before twisting mid-air to attack from the right. I barely managed to react, raising my spear to block. The impact sent me skidding back, my boots slipping against the snow.

But its attack had given me the perfect opportunity. As it stumbled from the force, I twisted to the side, slipping around its flank and releasing my grip on the spear still lodged in its jaw. The sudden loss of resistance threw it off balance.

I didn't waste the opening. Using the momentum from my movement, I raised my leg high before slamming it down in a sharp axe kick onto the wolf's back. A loud crack echoed through the cold air as my foot connected, driving the beast into the snow with a pained yelp.

It thrashed, trying to rise—but I wasn't going to let it. Without hesitation, I stomped down on one of its limbs, pinning it in place. Then I stomped again and again and again until it drew its last breath.

Ping! Ping! Ping!

[You have killed a LvL 4 Snow wolf. ]

[your proficiency in temparature magic (-) has increased]

[You have leveled up]

Multiple notifications flashed before me, confirming the wolf's death and my growth. I raised an eyebrow at one prompt in particular - my proficiency in Temperature Magic had supposedly increased. Testing it out, I reached for the air in my palm, and to my surprise, the cold responded with far less effort than before, freezing into a crystal of ice. 

Strange… does that mean the system controls how experienced I am in all the skills I learn? I wondered as I manipulated the ice in my hand. Before, it had taken immense focus just to move without touching it, but now, it almost moved naturally - like guiding my own hand, albeit slowly. Maybe if I killed more wolves, I might become strong enough not to need to be nearby to defeat one. At that thought, a warmth blossomed inside me, imagining a time when I'd be strong enough to eradicate a creature that nearly ended me once, without even batting an eye.

My lips curled into a smile before I quickly shook my head. Focus, I'm not there yet. Right now, I should probably allocate my unused stat points first, then rest for a bit before heading out to fight again.

I gave a small nod before opening my status screen.

A/N Hmm, do you think this book is good? Also, I would love all the feedback I'd get. i like comments. It's my cocaine for writing.