Chapter 8: The Experience Bar
Chapter 8: The Experience Bar
October 4th
Supplies Inventory:
- Candles: 300
- Pine Logs: 5 bundles
- Portable Heater: 1
- Snow Boots: 2 pairs
- Blankets: 5
Consumption:
- Candles: 5
Used for lighting and during evening prayers.
Pine Logs: 1/4 bundle used for warmth, cooking, and offerings.
Snow Boots: No new damage, in good condition.
Portable Heater: No new damage, functioning well.
Blankets: No new damage, clean and warm.
...
In the resting room of the graveyard chapel, an elderly nun recorded the day's supply consumption.
The snowstorm that began yesterday continued unabated, blanketing everything in white.
When she went out to inspect, she noticed a gap in the graveyard fence that needed repair, and the snow accumulation on the chapel's roof required attention.
So, in her notebook, she added a quick end.
Maintenance Supplies (Estimated):
- Planks: 10
- Nails: 500
...
And then there was the matter of food.
With the arrival of this snowstorm, the cold winter had set in, and it was inevitable that food would become scarce in the town.
The nun began to write:
Food Reserves: Hard Bread x30, Red Wine x2.5 bottles, Cabbage x8...
The quill paused mid-stroke.
According to past winters' consumption, the chapel's food reserves were sufficient.
Over the past two years, as she walked down the corridor of time, her daily meals had become increasingly sparse, and these reserves would surely be enough for her alone.
As the nun pondered, the ink at the quill's tip began to bleed into the paper.
Scratch, scratch, scratch...
The quill resumed writing.
The Goddess of Peace remained calm, and a few strokes were added to the food reserves entry, along with an extra blanket and pair of boots in the supplies list.
Meanwhile.
In the room next to the resting room, Lin Sai awoke in an unfamiliar wooden bed.
He groaned, struggling to prop himself up, and leaned against the headboard to survey his surroundings.
He found himself in a simple brick and wood room, lying on a wooden bed with a single layer of sheets.
On the side near his head was a wooden window, below which sat a black wooden table. On the opposite side stood a row of dusty cabinets.
Between the cabinets and the table was a two-meter-wide clearing, leading directly to the room's door. This was the entirety of the room's contents.
"..."
Lin Sai looked down at himself and noticed a thick blanket covering him, perhaps the most valuable item in the room.
"An unfamiliar room..."
"I seem to have been brought to the chapel and then fell asleep..."
Lin Sai blinked in confusion.
Recalling his previous experiences, he instinctively used his ability to check his body, and then—
"Achoo!"
As expected, Lin Sai had caught a cold.
First, he was in a blazing fire, and in the blink of an eye, he was running for his life in the snow.
After such a series of events.
How could a thirteen-year-old not fall ill? Looking at the bright red words 【Disease - Cold】 next to his character status, Lin Sai's face turned grim as he continued to read.
Then, something surprising happened.
He saw a prompt:
【Task Completed】
【RPG Module Skill Upgrade, Level: 2】
【RPG Module Acquired Skill - Experience Bar】
【Experience Bar: Integrates the player's experiences, training, and achievements, converting them into experience points in the bar, providing a stable and reliable upgrade process for various abilities.
Note: The difference between the RPG module and reality is that players can become stronger once they fill up the experience bar.】
Lin Sai scrolled down.
As expected, each of his attributes now had a small experience bar, and the Agility, Constitution, and Will bars were already more than half-filled, indicating that upgrades were not far off!
Lin Sai was delighted for a moment, but his expression soon turned glum again.
He recalled how he had upgraded the RPG module.
"If every skill upgrade requires me to almost die once..."
"Who could possibly endure that?"
"I'm not some warrior who can keep coming back from the brink of death and resurrecting with power!"
Creak—
The wooden door of the room across from Lin Sai's bed emitted a rotting sound.
He looked up and saw that it was probably the elderly woman next door, alerted by his coughing, who had come to check on him.
"Oh, thank you so much for your help!"
Lin Sai quickly expressed his gratitude to the kind soul who had come to his aid.
Although he had defeated the beast with his courage and wisdom, it was only with the help of the elderly woman that he managed to escape the deadly cold when he reached the outskirts of the town.
The elderly woman didn't acknowledge Lin Sai's thanks.
She turned and closed the door, then slowly walked over to Lin Sai's side. With eyes as deep and dark as ink, she gazed at him calmly:
"Child, where are you from?"
"I..."
Lin Sai subconsciously wanted to bluff his way through.
But when he looked at his status panel, he saw a dim mark next to the red 'Disease - Cold' prompt. It said 'Law - Sin Mark'.
This was the mark left by the Law Knight.
The mark of a sinner from the Capital of Law.
If Lin Sai lied at this moment, it might make things easier for him.
But if things went awry, could a mere child like him even escape?
And with the Law Knight's notoriously strict and extreme approach to their duties, how could this elderly woman possibly escape?
To frame his savior for his own benefit?
No way!
Lin Sai's gaze hardened, and he swallowed, coughing lightly twice.
After suppressing the urge to cough, he seriously recounted his experiences to the elderly woman before him:
"My name is Lin Sai, and I'm a farmer's son from Anville Village."
"Just the night before Harvest Day, a Law Knight brought a prisoner to our village. He was an acquaintance of our village elder..."
Lin Sai slowly recounted the dangerous encounter from the day before, omitting some details to avoid causing trouble for the elderly woman, such as the thorn law sword emblem on Alvera's chest armor.
Soon, Lin Sai's coughing could be heard again in the room.
His story had come to an end.
Lin Sai knew that this choice would immediately plunge him back into a life of exhaustion, but his honest answer also brought him a sense of relief.
Lin Sai lowered his head.
He waited for the elderly woman to order him to leave, thinking to himself:
Perhaps with some luck, she might offer him a meal, but from then on, he would have to rely on himself.
He had now activated the 'Experience Bar'.
With effort, there might still be a way to survive...
"One's life is not a continuous accumulation of hardships, but the fruits that grow from them will never be solely pain and despair."
The elderly woman spoke, interrupting all of Lin Sai's plans.
Then, she said:
"Child, you're very tired. Continue resting."
Lin Sai's eyes instantly grew moist.
Even though he felt like an adult inside.
In just one day, he had faced two life-threatening crises.
Both times, he had to fight with all his might to tear open a path from despair and struggle to escape.
If this happened three times in a row!
How many true living beings could endure that?
Lin Sai's heart was filled with words of gratitude.
He raised his head again, wanting to express his thanks and his fear of implicating the elderly woman.
But at that moment.
He saw that the elderly woman had already stood up and was leaving.
She closed the door tightly behind her, not allowing a single gust of cold wind from outside to enter the room where Lin Sai lay.
(End of Chapter)
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