Caelan has never been a gamer. He once tried it out of curiosity but soon found it to be boring. He was supposed to either sharpen his skills to compete with other players, be immersed in the world and story, or just use it to socialize with other people. It was so boring that he fell asleep once.
What Caelan wants is the thrill of finding parts of a mechanism and using that to create another mechanism! It's like a puzzle, but has tangible or visible results unique only to the maker.
Thus, instead of being a gamer, Caelan became a game developer. That's why he is a bit familiar with the terminologies being thrown around by the monotonous voice and the translucent panels as given by the [Chosen Innovator System].
With a machete in his right hand, a wooden buckler in another, and a chain vest on his torso, Caelan lowered his center of gravity as he prepared for the dogs to pounce- and they did!
One of them jumped at him while another rushed to his legs. He deflected the first one with his buckler and tried to swing his leg back away from the second. Caelan doesn't have any training; he's just doing everything his instincts tell him to.
Due to his inexperience, he failed to notice the third dog that already followed the second in time, and it bit his left arm.
"Aarghh–!"
Caelan wanted to wail in pain, but could only growl as he angrily swung the machete towards the third dog. Unfortunately, the attacks were unrelenting as the fourth dog didn't miss a beat and was already on his other leg.
Caelan didn't care. He was already focused on the dog that bit him. In anguish, the machete just missed the third dog as it dodged, but Caelan was in tunnel vision that he chased after it, intending to bash his buckler onto its dog head.
It was a stupid move as the other dogs had already taken the opportunity, but Caelan still ignored them. With haste, he chased the third dog down and swung his machete towards it.
Two dogs already tried to gnaw at his legs, blood spurting from him, but this didn't decrease the speed at which his machete fell onto the dog.
Shick– Awuuu!
The hit connected! But the cut was shallow. Caelan just noticed that these dogs don't have any fur at all, but their skin felt like a shell. It's not that the machete is blunt, but the dog's skin is tough instead.
I almost cursed the angelic voice-!
Caelan only had a brief moment to internally complain as he felt the pain from the wounds caused by the other dogs. His anger was rising, and he continued to swing left and right towards them.
Just like how he was acting in survival instinct, the dogs are also just relying on their instincts as well. All they could do was bite and scratch when they saw an opening, and dodge when they saw an incoming attack.
Caelan tried to spin around with the wooden buckler to fend off the other three dogs that they created distance. This made Caelan focus back on the third dog, slashing his machete towards it again and again.
The third dog took its last howl before it lay completely still.
The other three dogs felt fear. They are tough, but killable. They are sure they can kill this man, but not without a second death. This is not a chance they are willing to take, so they turned on their tails and ran off.
Caelan was almost blinded by his fury and tried to chase after them, but stopped when he felt weakness gnaw at him.
"Arghh…" Pain enveloped the parts of his body that were bitten.
This pain… this is reality!
Caelan threw the buckler and machete away in anger.
"A second chance at life, my ass!"
Not even minutes into this world, he was already dying. He remembered the first sentence of the angelic voice was [Karma is real.]
Maybe that was right, but also maybe he killed millions of people in his previous life instead of helping them. Why else is he in this state!?
Caelan stopped in his thoughts. This is not the time to lament over his situation; he needs to solve it. He took his t-shirt off. It was still the t-shirt he wore when he was in his lab. He tore it into multiple lengthy pieces and wrapped them around his wounds to stop the bleeding.
To his surprise, it was easier for him to tear the fabric. Maybe it's because of the adrenaline? Or was he scammed by the supplier, and this fabric is actually cheap? No, it's definitely because he's much stronger now. Those level-ups had significantly increased his strength, speed, and vitality, as proven in the earlier fight.
For now, he had stopped the bleeding, and there was no immediate danger. Caelan can finally relax, even though he was gritting his teeth in pain.
He looked over the carcass of the dog he had just slain and figured something.
Let me test my other skill.
What makes the most sense, according to its name, is using the skill [Inspect] to see the details of the target.
Caelan inched closer, not having the strength to stand up for now. Fear still has its shackles on him, so he didn't get too close to the dead dog.
"... inspect."
Another translucent window appeared before him.
[Armored Canine - Level 3 - Earth Attribute]
"Level 3… earth attribute… what the hell is an earth attribute?" Caelan scrunched up his face. He already has an idea of what it is, but doesn't want to make a guess.
While on it, Caelan tried another skill.
"Manual."
It didn't show up earlier, just a Hidden Quest being completed. This actually saved his life, so he didn't complain much. Now, a translucent window popped up, saying: [Target Unspecified].
"Huh…"
As a programmer, Caelan wasn't that much confused this time.
"Manual for Earth Attribute."
[Earth Attribute.
A fundamental principle governing all entities—living, non-living, material, and immaterial—that embody resilience, permanence, and substance. Its essence manifests as toughness, stability, patience, memory, fertility, density, depth, and latent value.
Physical expressions include soil, stone, mountains, minerals, and the very body of the world.]
So, it's like the law of physics but for magic in this world– Caelan was quick to connect it to his past world, which seemed far too mundane compared to this world he was transmigrated in, even though he had only spent minutes within.
While Caelan feels terrified and unsure of this world, it also feels novel to encounter this one-of-a-kind experience.
Knowing that there's an existence outside the laws of the universe, other universes or other worlds other than the human race from Earth knows about, and that there are 'aliens' in this world living by different standards, Caelan felt enlightened.
"Humans…?"
Are there humans in this world? Caelan wasn't sure since he had only seen dogs and… that flying lizard— a dragon!
"Oh, fuck! I forgot about that!"
Caelan turned his head up so fast that it felt like it was about to detach from his body. Earlier, when he saw that huge thing in the sky, he was feeling out-of-this-world, like everything was still a dream, half-asleep for a better term. Now that he has, more or less, accepted that this is reality, what the fuck is that thing!?
"Holyyy… I almost got killed by these little dogs. What if that dragon finds me? I'm doomeddddd!" Caelan turned pessimistic for the worst. But this time, his worries are founded.
If that creature were to ever take an interest in killing him, just the weight of its tail could crush him like a tin can being rolled over by a massive tank.
I'm not safe out here!
I need a safe area, somewhere I can build a shelter on… hmm, building a shelter. I wonder what materials I can find here to build one—
At the thought of building a shelter, Caelan's mind briefly daydreams until he snaps back to reality.
"Ahhh, let's focus on survival first! Once we live this out, we'll enjoy the fuck out of it!"
Caelan promised himself that if he were to be given another chance in life, he would take care of himself first. It turned out that he was given this chance, and now, he has to live up to that promise.
First, he has to make the most out of the situation. The reality of the matter is, if that dragon-like creature really took an interest in taking his life, even if he were to run for an hour in advance, it would still be able to easily catch up to him with the speed it displayed earlier.
Furthermore, injured by the cursed dogs, Caelan couldn't really run, so there's no point but to use his time productively in another matter, which is to explore his available skills.
"Manual for the Inspect Skill."
[System Unique Skill: Inspect
Unique to the User of the Chosen Innovator System. A skill enabling the user to see through the stats and basic descriptions of the target.
Current Level: 1
Can inspect the basic descriptions such as name, level, and attribute type of the target.]
"Manual for the Storage Skill."
[System Unique Skill: Storage
Unique to the User of the Chosen Innovator System. A skill that provides extra-dimensional space for the user's item to store.
Current Level: 1
Can store 100 kilograms worth of items, not exceeding Epic Rank and/or Level 100.]
"Huh… that's so useful!"
Caelan didn't know how to process the Inspect skill yet, as he doesn't have any reference for how useful it is. However, for the Storage space, there is no person from Earth who can't understand the value it provides. Imagine having a pocket that can carry what a whole tool shed can store.
It's priceless!
"Manual for the Explore Skill."
[System Unique Skill: Explore
Unique to the User of the Chosen Innovator System. A skill that enables the user to map out the distribution of power in both the non-living and the living.
Current Level: 1
Reliability decreases as the target's level exceeds the user's level by 10.]
For this skill, Caelan had to scratch his head. It seems like he had to use it to fully understand the skill.
"Manual for the Manual Skill."
[System Unique Skill: Manual
Unique to the User of the Chosen Innovator System. A skill that acts as a guide for the Chosen Innovator System.]
"Thought as much…"
Caelan found the description of the Manual Skill to be what he had expected. It is like the Inspect Skill, but instead, it describes the mechanics of the system itself. What's interesting about this skill is that it has no level. Either Caelan is still too weak to even consider leveling this skill up, or there are no more level-ups, and he can just use it whenever he wants to. If it's the latter, that would be very helpful.
Since Caelan got the gist of all his skills, he wants to learn more about the Explore Skill, as he was still unsure of it.
"Explore," Caelan looked at the dead Armored Canine.
The skill was activated, and something lit up from the Armored Canine. It's like stars and constellations are shining onto it. A majestic sight added on top of a gruesome being. Staring at it, there's a pattern that Caelan saw. There's an abundance of granite grey/copper brown dots of light on the dog's skin. Then, it clicked on Caelan.
"Is this the Earth Attribute? Maybe that's why its skin is unusually tough!"
Caelan then shook his head. How absurd for him to use the word "unusually" when everything in this world is unusual? Since this dog is just level 3, what if its skin is actually soft in comparison to others?
But, whatever, the logic still stands. The dog's skin may be tougher because of the Earth Attribute.
After looking at it for a while, there's just one thing to do with this dead dog.
In games, you usually get loot after killing monsters. Unfortunately, this world is not that game-like where it automatically gives you the loot after killing the monsters; you have to get it yourself.
Thus, picking up the machete he had thrown earlier, Caelan began to skin the dog and get most of its Earth Attribute.
Looking at it again with the Explore skill, the abundance of color stayed with the skin even when he took it. Maybe he's right in his theory!
He placed it into his storage.
[Armored Canine's Skin material x1 acquired]
Ding-! A notification from the system rang in his head.
[Hidden Quest: First Loot completed.]
[Reward: Earthly Leather Armor Set Recipe x1]
[Learn recipe?]
Caelan was dumbfounded. A recipe? He was very familiar with these kinds of things. Doesn't this lead to him sewing the leather armor himself?
Excitement surged within Caelan as he answered a huge, "YES!"
[Recipe learned successfully.]
[Basic Armory Skillset Level 1 achieved.]