The wolf fell to the ground with a final roar, its eyes blanking out as the energy drained from its body. Daniel, still breathing heavily, looked down at the defeated creature. The feeling of victory was bittersweet, for the price had been high: its mana was depleted, and the wound in its side remained a reminder of the brutality of the fight.
"I... I did it..."
He whispered, feeling a mixture of relief and surprise. He hadn't thought he was capable of fighting like that, but the system and his abilities had backed him up. Yet something wasn't right. There was something inside him, an emptiness he couldn't ignore.
Once the tension of the battle dissipated, a notification appeared in his vision:
+50 EXP
Level Up
Level 1 → Level 2
________________________________________
Attribute System
Name: Daniel
Age: 18
Class: None
Level: 2
Health: 5/20
Mana: 6/60
Strength: 2 (+)
Speed: 3 (+)
Intelligence: 5 (+)
Luck: 10 (+)
SpecialAbility: - Adaptive Body (S) - Skill Creation (F) (Evolvable)
Skills: Basic Healing (F) - Energy Projectile (F)
AvailablePoints: 10
(Distribute your points) (among your stats)
________________________________________
Daniel looked at the available points. The system didn't give him specific instructions, but he knew what he needed to do: improve his skills. Strength and speed would be useful for combat, but intelligence… he thought he might need it later to better understand the world and the skills he had acquired. Finally, he decided to distribute his points like this:
________________________________________
Attribute System
Name: Daniel
Age: 18
Class: None
Level: 2
Health: 5/20
Mana: 10/60
Strength: 2→5
Speed: 3→6
Intelligence: 5→9
Luck: 10
SpecialAbility: Adaptive Body (S) - Skill Creation (F) (Evolvable)
Skills: Basic Healing (F) - Mana Projectile (F)
AvailablePoints: 0
________________________________________
The feeling of increased power was immediate. His muscles seemed stronger, his mind sharper. For the first time since he came to this world, he felt stronger. But despite that feeling of improvement, something else was happening, something deeper.
After the battle, as he processed everything that had happened, Daniel began to feel a strange sensation, as if something were infiltrating his consciousness. It was a feeling of connection to something he didn't understand. Without warning, images, memories, and emotions that didn't belong to him began to flood his mind.
A flash of memories invaded him, both clear and confusing. A woman, kind and caring, hugged him tightly. He, a small boy, felt the warmth of his mother. "I love you, son," she whispered.
The image quickly changed. Now he saw a little girl, a little older than him, with dark hair and bright eyes. She smiled and extended her hand. "Come on, Daniel! Let's play!" she said, but her words quickly faded.
Daniel let himself be swept away by the avalanche of images: his mother, his sister, his father's passing, his life before all this. A past he had never known. A love he had never experienced.
"My… mother? My sister?" he murmured, feeling a pang in his chest. This new Daniel's emotions were intense. Love, loss, all mixed together in a confusing, yet powerful way.
The revelation of these memories wasn't what he expected. It wasn't simply a personal memory he had recovered, but something deeper. It was as if, when he died, some of that other Daniel's essence had been trapped inside him, merging with the Daniel he now was.