*munch*, *munch*, *munch*
“Yum.”
A snail chewed its way through the petals of a small, bright white flower. Two perfectly elliptical leaves hung on either side of the flower.
*ding*
<code>Partial natural treasure consumed. Result: Intellect +1
Error: Minimum intellect not reached. Analyzing stats and increasing stats to acceptable minimums
Minimum intellect reached. System literacy requirement bypassed. Intuitive controls enabled</code>
The snail paused and waved its eye stalks and olfactory tentacles as it pondered.
“That’s different.” The snail thought. It resumed eating.
“Yum.”
*ding*
<code>Partial natural treasure consumed. Result: Intellect +1</code>
“Yum. I think I am thinking.”
*ding*
<code>Partial natural treasure consumed. Result: Intellect +1</code>
“This plant keeps making me smarter.”
*ding*
<code>Partial natural treasure consumed. Result: Intellect +1</code>
“Aw, the plant is gone. I ate it.”
*ding*
<code>Natural treasure consumed. Result: Experience +100
Level up: 2
Level up: 3</code>
The snail rested on the ground. With the snail’s final bite of the flower stalk, all evidence of the flower was gone. No truncated stem or root system remained of the white flower.
“I wonder what levels are.” Wondered the snail.
*ding*
<code>Level: A threshold marker that summarizes the general life experience of a System-enabled entity. Level up events are rewarded with "points"
Point: A unit that may be exchanged in batches to increase "stats" or acquire "passives" or "actives"
Stat: Measurement of the mind, the body, and the magical body, respectively: intellect, physique, meta-physique.
Passive: A passive skill (sometimes referred to as a "trait") which is always active or activates automatically, so long as the required resource pool is not empty. Manually activating a passive to activate or increase the effect costs large amounts of health and/or mana and/or stamina
Actives: A skill that is manually activated. Costs health and/or mana and/or stamina</code>
The snail retracted its eye stalks as it felt a headache form in its tiny brain. The curiosity of the snail continued to unconsciously prompt the System for explanations.
*ding*
<code>Intellect: The mind''s ability to comprehend, remember, and calculate
Physique: The quality of the body
Meta-Physique: The quality of the magical body
Health: Resource. The body''s ability to continue living. Based on physique stat
Mana: Resource. The magical body''s energy reserves for magical action. Based on meta-physique stat
Stamina: Resource. The body''s energy reserves for physical action. Based on physique stat. Strongly influenced by current health</code>
The snail retreated into its shell as the pain from the headache spiked. After a few minutes, the snail emerged from the shell and began to crawl towards the nearest green blur.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
An idle thought entered the snail’s mind. “Do I have stats?” The snail retreated into its shell again as a large lump of information was shoved into its tiny brain.
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Name</th>
<th>Level</th>
<th>Experience</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>N/A</td>
<td>3</td>
<td>40/100</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Stat</th>
<th>Value</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Health</td>
<td>4/5</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Mana</td>
<td>1/1</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Stamina</td>
<td>5/5</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Intellect</td>
<td>4</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Physique</td>
<td>1</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Meta-physique</td>
<td>1</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Available points</td>
<td>20</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table><colgroup> <col style="width: 33%"> <col style="width: 33%"> <col style="width: 33%"> </colgroup>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Passive</th>
<th>Level</th>
<th>Resource</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Slimy</td>
<td>1</td>
<td>Stamina</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Hard shell</td>
<td>1</td>
<td>Health</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Tremor sense</td>
<td>Stamina</td>
<td>Observe your surroundings through your feet (foot). Based on intellect stat</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Active</th>
<th>Level</th>
<th>Resource</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Hide in shell</td>
<td>1</td>
<td>Stamina</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
“Ow.” The snail complained. Before the snail could decide to emerge again from its shell, the ground began to tremble. The vibrations through the ground told the tail of one or more large things approaching quickly. The snail did not feel good about the approach of large things.
*ding*
<code>Natural passive unlocked: Danger sense</code>
The snail’s mind was overcome with a sense of doom about the approaching large things. A noise of crashing and destruction vibrated through the snail’s shell, increasing the sense of doom.
“Oh no! I want to hide! Wait, I am hiding…” The snail thought. “I want to hide more!” The little snail crammed itself as far into its shell as it could.
*ding*
<code>Passive available: Camouflage (15 points). Purchase?</code>
An idea trickled into the snail’s mind: it could use ‘points’ and make itself be harder to see. “Yes! I want that!” The snail thought. The sense of doom greatly diminished, but did not disappear. The snail held itself still in its shell as the vibrations caused it to sink a little into the ground. The crashing noise increased in volume until it shook the snail as strongly as the ground did.
The commotion continued for a long time, but snails are patient by nature, and the snail did not emerge from its shell until the sense of doom was long gone. When the snail’s eye stalks extended, it saw flickering red and yellow and felt heat.
“Fire.” The snail identified the hazard and navigated in the opposite direction.
<hr>
The snail wandered around and ate plants all day and into the evening. A few of the plants made the snail feel like its points had increased. The snail remembered spending points so it could hide better. The snail had felt those points show up after it got more intellect. “Can I get more intellect?” The snail pondered its memories.
*ding*
<code>Intellect +1: 5 points. Purchase?</code>
The snail waved its eye stalks as it considered getting smarter. “Would it be smart to get smarter? Hmm. Yes.” The snail chose. The snail immediately felt more aware of itself and its memories. In fact, the snail remembered that there were other stats. The snail munched on a rotten piece of fruit as it pondered a few connections it found.
“Health keeps me alive. Hard shell protects my health. Hide in shell protects my health even more. Physique makes Hard shell and Hide in shell better. Physique is a stat. Intellect is a stat. I spent points to get more intellect.” The snail waggled its olfactory tentacles in the snail equivalent of “Eureka!”. “I can spend points to get more physique and be safer! I want to do that!”
*ding*
<code>Physique +1: 5 points. Insufficient points (3)</code>
The snail retracted its eyes in disappointment. It continued to munch on the rotten fruit. “I need more points. I got some points from eating things. Did this fruit give me points?” The snail felt inside itself to check its points, but they had not changed.
"Why do some things give me points, but others do not?” The snail asked, sulkily.
*ding*
<code>Source of points: Natural energy, such as light from the sun or heat from the planet interior, is processed and concentrated in all living things. Some living things are superior in their ability to concentrate energy. Consuming concentrated energy converts that energy to points. As a living thing becomes saturated with energy, it must improve its processing abilities or find more concentrated sources of energy. The System may also allocate points as rewards for level ups or other accomplishments.</code>
“Blah, blah, blah, light from the sun, blah, blah, blah, some things have more energy, blah, blah, blah, energy to points.” The snail didn’t fully understand the concepts described by the System. “I need to eat plants that have more energy.” The snail left the rotting fruit and systematically went from plant to plant, looking for one that gave a point.