3: Multiple unlocks

“Status

[Status

Energy: 10

Quest: Collect 15 Energy

Reward: You gain Directional Hearing

Shop: Locked]

“Hey System, what is this Directional Hearing?” he asked.

<You can discern the direction of sounds>

“Oh, that’s helpful. Right now, every sound feels like it’s coming from all directions.”

<You gained 3 Energy>

“Three at a time? Not bad.” After overcoming the initial difficulty, the speed of Energy accumulation also became faster and faster. Slowly, as Energy began to accumulate, he easily completed the quest.

<You have unlocked Directional Hearing>

All the sounds around him suddenly separated, and he could now hear them as if with his own two ears.

“Yes, I am indeed underwater. And I don’t think the current is very strong, or at least if I were underwater, the sound should be louder,” he thought.

“Ah, the System did say I was in a Glacier. If I’m moving very slowly, that makes sense.”

He waited for more notifications to appear, but nothing happened. Ten minutes passed, but still nothing happened.

“Hey, System. Why am I not gaining more Energy?” he asked.

<The thermal Energy content in the Glacier is very low>

<The sun has just set, so you have lost your primary source of thermal Energy>

“Wait, does this mean I have to wait until tomorrow morning when the sun rises?” he thought. The System didn’t respond, so he assumed he was right.

“Oh my god!” He was afraid he would waste 12 hours listening to sounds that seemed like someone gargling.

“Is there any way for me to sleep?” he asked the System.

<You can shut down your consciousness until a certain condition is met, at which point the System will awaken you>

“Oh, then can you wake me up when the sun rises?” he asked. <Confirmed>

Suddenly, he lost consciousness.

<Waking from unconsciousness>

He woke up and heard parts of the notification.

“System, why did you wake me up so quickly? I said to wake me up after dawn.” He hadn’t even had a chance to close his eyes, and the System had already woken him up.

<Your consciousness has been shut down for 11 hours and 45 minutes>

he said.

“Huh? I slept for that long? But I didn’t even feel myself falling asleep

<You cannot fall asleep. The System will only shut down your consciousness at your request>

said. Cold.

“Oh,” he hadn’t realized that. “Oh my god, why is everything so cold? . Cold?” When he realized what he had just said, he

“Huh? I feel cold? What happened?” he asked.

<You can feel temperature through Thermal Perception>

“What is that? How can I get it?” he asked.

<Thermal Perception allows you to understand the temperature of objects around you>

<You unlocked it 5 hours and 23 minutes ago>

“What? Status,” He quickly opened the status page.

[Status

Energy: 253

Quest: Collect another 247 Energy

Reward: You gain Motion Perception

Shop: Locked]

“203!?!?!? How did I get so much Energy? Didn’t you say I wouldn’t get any Energy after the sun set?” Unbeknownst to him, his numbers had increased tenfold overnight.

<The sun is only the primary source. Other residual Energy also exists within the Glacier itself>

He asked, “Why can’t I see what I’ve already unlocked?”

<You can. Would you like to?>

“Yes, show me!”

[Unlocked

Energy: Unlocked

10: Auditory

25: Directional Hearing

50: Rotational Movement

100: Auditory Spatial Sense

200: Thermal Perception]

“Rotational Movement? Auditory Spatial Sense? What do these mean? Can you explain them?” he asked the System.

<Rotational Movement: You can rotate yourself in any direction.>

<Auditory Spatial Sense: You can determine how spacious your environment is by the sounds they emit.>

Listening to the System’s prompts, Ning began to sense his surroundings. From the gurgling sound of water and the cold temperature, he could tell that he was still within the Glacier, but being in the water, he couldn’t determine how large the Glacier truly was.

“Hey System, does Motion Perception mean I can sense if I’m moving?” he asked.

<Yes>

“Alright, now that the sun has risen, I should be able to collect enough Energy,” he thought, waiting for more Energy to be collected.

Suddenly, he received a notification. “Here it is.” He thought as he checked it.

<You have lost 2 Energy>

“What? Wait… wh-what? What did you say, I lost Energy? Why would I lose Energy?” He started to shout. The System’s purpose was to absorb and gain more Energy, why would he lose Energy?

<When water evaporates, some of the Energy in the water leaves you> “So, not only can I gain Energy, but I can also lose Energy?”

he asked.

<Yes. Your purpose is to use the System as Energy constantly flows out, but still constantly grow>

“I see. But, if I keep losing Energy, won’t it be difficult for me to gain Energy?” he asked.

<No. At some point, the Energy you absorb from the environment will be more than the Energy you lose>

<As you continue to gather more and more Energy, the Energy you lose due to environmental factors will begin to become negligible>

“I’m relieved to hear that,” he said, and as he spoke, he gained another 4 Energy. As the sun began to rise higher and higher, he both gained and lost a lot of Energy.

About five hours later, nearing midday, according to the System display, he completed the quest.

<You have gained Motion Perception>

“Oh, I can feel it. I can feel that I’m moving somewhere. But why can’t I feel the direction?”

He checked his status and then realized why. “This stingy System. Why does it make me do so many quests to unlock the simplest senses.” he thought.

The next unlock at 1000 Energy was Direction Perception. “Well, at least now I should be able to tell which direction I’m moving by sound,” he thought.

He let the water in the Glacier carry him away, hoping to reach a warmer climate where he could gather more thermal Energy.