Chapter 3: What the hell does a System do?

Kanan couldn’t sleep. It wasn’t because he was hot or cold, or because Glena’s naked body was next to him. No. It was because of the system that floated right above his face, the green light frying his night-adjusted eyes.

’The Village Growth System.’ Kanan thought to himself. It had the word ’growth’ in it, so he assumed it had to do with growing something, most likely the village. This would make sense if he was supposed to save it.

’What else can it grow?’ He shut that thought down right away.

Kanan recalled that there were systems in books that he had heard of in his old life, but those felt more like memories rather than actual experiences. If he were to compare, it was as if he took the memories of someone from modern times and implanted them into his head.

’System? Can you tell me what I have to do?’ He asked

[The host is tasked with rebuilding the Village to its former glory, and then some.]

’Really?’ He asked sarcastically. ’As if that wasn’t clear enough.’

’What do you mean by former glory? Like during the age of the great warrior Sala?’

Sala was a great warrior who lived over a thousand years ago. According to the tales passed down from generation to generation, she caught the eye of Nemean the Second, and they became mates.

She birthed four children who would lead their village to a prosperous future. But that all changed around 300 years ago when the village was attacked, and all of Sala’s descendants were killed. This wiped out the bloodline of Nemean, so the village declined after that.

[Correct. The system will fully activate after the Blessing Ceremony. For now, the host must familiarize himself with the task of every blessing given from the Totem Pole and work hard before receiving a blessing.]

’So I just have to take on various tasks around the village? Sounds easy enough. Are there functions you have that don’t require you to fully activate?’

[Correct. The host will learn once he familiarizes himself with the tasks.]

’Hmm. Okay. Oh, one last question. Will I have, um, what’s the word, overpowered cheaps?"

[Does the host mean Cheats?]

’Yes. Cheats!’

[No. The system is only for advancing civilization.]

’Bummer. Okay. Thank you. I will sleep now.’

The system blinked away as if turning off a TV, and Kanan was finally able to get some rest.

---

Being a hunter meant he had to wake up early to hunt at the best times. At first, Kanan hated waking up early, but after his cousin drilled it into his bones, it became second nature.

He got dressed, putting on his loincloth, equipping his knife, and grabbing his bow with a quiver full of arrows. He didn’t use them yesterday, as he had laid out traps instead.

Before leaving, he kissed the sleeping Glena on the cheek and left to start his hunt.

"Oh, Kanan. Out hunting again?" A guard asked, who was currently changing shifts.

"Yeah. I gave my hunt to Healer Yala as payment."

"Good job. You’re becoming more responsible by the day." The guard tapped Kanan on the shoulder, giving him a slight nod with a smile.

"Did you find the body?" Kanan asked

"Yeah. We’ve also confirmed that the body belonged to the Typhon Tribe, so the chief is taking measures to ensure that we are prepared in case of an attack."

"Scary. I’ll make sure to end my hunt early today." The hunting grounds were a part of the village’s territory. It was safe from outsiders, but this didn’t mean that it was safe from predators.

Kanan only had the skill of a hunter who was trained, not one who was blessed with hunting skills. Upon taking the awakening ceremony, a person would be blessed by the gods and given a role to play.

When a person was blessed with their role, the Totem Pole from which they got it would glow up to seven stars that were carved into it. If a person only reached the first star, they would have a One Totem Blessing. If they reached seven, they would have a Seven Totem Blessing.

This did not mean they had six blessings. It simply meant how powerful their blessing would be.

Kanan currently didn’t have a blessing, as the ceremony only happens on the last day of the last month of the year to accommodate everyone being born around similar times.

So, even though Kanan was hunting, this didn’t mean he would get a hunter blessing. However, the more you can do prior to your blessing, the better off you might be if your blessing is mundane.

Though the village finds ways to use the blessing everyone has, so you wont be left out of anything, no matter how bad the blessing ones get.

This didn’t even include the powers gained when getting blessed.

A rabbit appeared in his line of sight, nibbling on grass as it looked around for predators. The steps of a hunter were meant to be slow and quiet so as not to startle their prey. Kanan slowly notched an arrow and aimed for the heart.

When his shot lined up, he released the string, and the yelp of a rabbit was heard soon after.

"Nice." He looked around before picking up the rabbit. It was still early, so he would hunt some more before heading back home.

[Would you like to register this animal?]

"Huh? Register?" Kanan read the explanation, and his eyes widened. Placing the rabbit in front of the system, it suddenly vanished and was now inside the green screen.

When he clicked on the rabbit again, it showed him tons of information. He read about where the rabbit lived, what it ate, its mating season, and more. It was a whole encyclopedia.

"A-Amazing!" Tapping the screen once again, the rabbit appeared in his hand. "And I can use this as storage? Wow!"

He placed the rabbit back into the system and went back hunting. This time, he wanted to hunt something bigger, a deer once more, or maybe a wild boar.

If he could hunt all of them, then he would not only be able to learn ideal hunting spots, but also know their behavior patterns. Kanan was already used to most patterns of the animals he hunted, but more information was always better.

"I’ll head deeper into the forest today. Maybe I’ll come back with something amazing."