Chapter 2 Enhancement

Vincent had no time to lament the fact that his necklace turned into ashes. The appearance of the floating notification window brought him joy as he couldn't wait to explore it.

'A system! I knew it… There should be something special for me.'

The screen that appeared in front of him was something that he had seen in the online games he had played before.

He was, of course, curious about how this thing works but him being transmigrated here is already something he couldn't imagine.

[ Awakening Sequence - First Stage ]

[ Item Enhancement Lv1 – The user can use their Mana or Enhancement Stones to upgrade the item they are holding ]

[ Enhancement EXP: 0/5000 ]

"Ahhh… It's really like a game."

Vincent muttered as he found this quite familiar. In some games he played, there are indeed enhancement stones but with different names, like Moonstone, Elemental Stones, Fine Burr, Gemstones, and many others…

However, the part about Mana being used for enhancement was quite new to him when it comes to enhancements…

"So Mana does exist in this world…" Vincent muttered to himself.

As he understands, Mana is an attribute that exists to utilize magic power or abilities. Though he's unsure how it works within this world, it shouldn't be that far from his guess.

Anyway, he had already surmised that he had transmigrated to a different Earth or planet considering the existence of Savage Beasts that are not existing in his previous world.

Those Savage Beasts weren't even the strongest creatures out there and his Grandfather had briefly mentioned the existence of Mythical Creatures and Magic Beasts too.

Well, he's unsure whether it was mentioned just to scare him from going out but there must be some truth to it.

"Hmm… That's it?"

Five minutes after the appearance of the Awakening System, he discovered that it indeed only has a single function right now, the Item Enhancement…

"Very well, let's see how this works."

Since his grandpa wasn't here yet, he might as well explore the new skill he obtained.

He looked around the house to find what item he could try to enhance so he can trigger the effect of his newfound ability.

"That worn-out knife should do it…"

Vincent found the knife that his grandfather was using but it's currently placed above the water jug in their small kitchen…

He can't reach it with his height so he quickly took a chair that he could use. But as soon as he held the chair, he saw the notification from the system.

[ No Enhancement Stones found. Do you want to Enhance this item with Mana? ]

He was also given options on the screen, Yes or No.

But instead of selecting one of the two, he decided to unhand the chair.

The notification disappeared.

"This is interesting…"

He then held the chair again and as expected, the notification appeared.

"Let's see…"

He experimented for a while to see the limit of this system.

After a while, he concluded that only his hands, specifically his palms, can trigger the notification window.

Well, he tried using his elbow, feet, nose, and other parts of his body but it didn't work.

'Then it makes sense that I'm not getting notification from my shirt…' He thought.

Apparently, he tried touching his shirt as well and only that time did he receive a notification.

"Alright, time to test it with this shirt…"

Vincent muttered as he took his only decent shirt from his room. He decided not to take the knife since he realized that there might be some visible changes to it once he enhances it. His grandfather would surely ask him about it and it might not be a good idea to inform him about his secret this early.

[ No Enhancement Stones found. Do you want to Enhance this item with Mana? ]

"Yes."

As soon as he answered, he felt something leave his body… and he passed out after.

However, before he fully lost his consciousness, he heard the sound of several notifications appearing in front of him.

***

"Urgh… What happened?"

Vincent opened his eyes and although he passed out and slept for a while, he still felt a little bit tired for some reason.

Soon, he noticed the multiple notifications from his system. Because he didn't check them out immediately, it seems that they have minimized themselves in the corner of his vision and as he focused his eyes on them, they were immediately maximized for him to see clearly.

[ Enhancement Successful ]

[ Dirty Wool Shirt + 1 ]

This is the first notification he saw. He didn't mind the system calling his newly washed shirt being "dirty" at all.

"It was successful. I thought it failed since I fainted… But would that happen every time I enhance an item? Isn't that too inconvenient?"

Vincent frowned for a moment as he checked the other notifications.

[ Congratulations! You have successfully enhanced your first item. ]

[ You have obtained the Basic Item Appraisal Ability ]

[ Basic Item Appraisal: In exchange for a few units of mana, you can identify the basic status of an item.

Cost: 2 units of mana per usage ]

"Appraisal! Now, this is a lot better. So passing out has benefits, huh…" Vincent now felt a lot better seeing the new function of his system. However, he doesn't even know how much mana he has.

He then continued to check the last notification he had. Luckily, it answered his concern just now.

[ Congratulations! You have successfully used your Mana. ]

[ You have obtained your own Basic Status window. ]

'My Status window?'

As soon as Vincent said this in his mind, his basic status indeed appeared.

[ Name: Vincent ]

[ Age: 6 years old ]

[ Mana: 0.01/1 ]

Perhaps because it is indeed the Basic Status, there are only three lines in his character window.

'This pitiful mana… Is this why I passed out?' Vincent thought for a moment.

Nevertheless, he also noticed that he could change the name written on it if he willed his mind. He tried it a few times but he placed his name back after trying it out.

It's quite interesting but he decided to keep his name as is since there's nothing to gain from it. He will be living as Vincent from now on after all.

Clank… Clank…

The door of the house suddenly unlocked as his grandfather arrived with their dinner in his bag.