Elizabeth lay trapped in a deep coma, incapable of moving a single muscle or letting out even the quietest groan. Not the slightest sound from the outside world penetrated her dormant senses.
Yet, within the boundless, pitch-black expanse of her mind, countless profound and intricate Sharu scripts swirled and zipped past at breakneck speeds. Burning with a brilliant scarlet radiance, they demanded immediate comprehension.
She pushed her willpower to its absolute limits, forcing every fiber of her consciousness to analyze and assimilate the alien symbols.
From the excruciating moment she deciphered and fully grasped the meaning of the very first symbol, the speed at which her mind processed the subsequent ones began to steadily accelerate. With every passing second, it became more fluid and instantaneous, until it finally reached a point where she could flawlessly decode and comprehend the meaning of any complex Script in a mere three seconds.
After an indeterminable amount of time, Elizabeth absorbed every last swirling Sharu script. Suddenly, her consciousness was pulled into an endless, empty void suspended in nothingness.
Within this boundless vacuum, only one singular thing existed: the familiar, massive, fiery-red flame blazing with living heat. Hovering majestically at its very core was the spectral figure resembling a four-armed woman, crowned with living fire.
So this is the deepest secret of the Totem… Elizabeth whispered in her mind.
All the scattered puzzle pieces finally clicked into place, making her realize with absolute clarity why the Sharu's position was a matter of life and death for any clan.
In its primal nature, the Totem could be understood as a unique, hyper-advanced sort of master rune derived directly from the ancient Sharu scripts. The symbols she had just inherited were its inseparable, living roots.
Translating this mystical knowledge into the computer terminology she was familiar with back on Earth: the Sharu scripts were essentially the raw source code for the entire magic system. Only after fully inheriting and integrating them into one's soul could a person flawlessly understand the meaning of every single fragment of Script. This acted as the ultimate, absolutely impenetrable layer of security and confidentiality between a passing master and their new successor.
Elizabeth slowly and thoughtfully opened her blue eyes, staring up from the bed of pelts in her tent. She instantly felt with every fiber of her being that the world around her had transformed beyond recognition.
Her old, nagging myopia - a byproduct of years spent staring at a laptop screen back on Earth, which reduced distant objects to blurry smudges - had completely vanished without a trace. Her new, razor-sharp vision allowed her to effortlessly spot the finest specks of dust floating in the air and the individual animal hides bound to wooden support beams many meters away.
Eager to gauge the full scale of the physical and spiritual metamorphoses her body had undergone, she instinctively brushed the long blonde strands of hair off her bare shoulder and issued a quiet, firm command:
“Status.”
In a fraction of a second, an azure, luminous system window unfurled before her eyes:
[Status]
Name: Elizabeth
Class: Young Sharu
Stamina: 2.2 (Ordinary person: 1)
Strength: 2.1 (Ordinary person: 1)
Agility: 2.3 (Ordinary person: 1)
Spiritual Energy: 13 (Ordinary person: 1)
Sharu Power: 14
Totem: Blood Fire
Skills: Heal - lvl 1 (0/100)
“Such a colossal jump in parameters… no wonder my body feels so incredibly light and powerful.”
Elizabeth stared at her refreshed statistics with undisguised joy and fascination. Her stamina, strength, and agility had all more than doubled compared to an average human. More importantly, her spiritual energy had skyrocketed at an astronomical rate, increasing by over ten points.
Intrigued by the new addition to her panel, she immediately asked in her mind:
System, is the source of Sharu Power directly linked to my Spiritual Energy?
[Sharu Power is essentially the Host's raw Spiritual Energy that has been permanently transmuted and filtered through the inherited Totem into specialized Sharu Power. System-acquired skills, such as Heal, continue to directly consume pure Spiritual Energy.]
So that’s exactly how it works in practice… Elizabeth concluded with satisfaction, mapping out the operational rules of her new magic in her head: all traditional Sharu Techniques and the activation of Bone Tablets required dedicated Sharu Power, whereas unique system skills drew from her general spiritual energy pool.
She recalled the events of the previous evening - she had fainted on the dais under the overwhelming influx of knowledge in the dead of night. Now, crisp morning light was already filtering through the gaps in the tent's hide stitching, signaling the dawn of a new day in the camp.
In other words, her daily free draw had already successfully reset.
System, draw! she commanded, a spark of excitement dancing in her blue eyes.
Once again, the massive wheel of fortune materialized in her inner vision, spinning on its axis with loud, whistling momentum. Elizabeth watched the blurring colors with bated breath until the wheel abruptly braked, its pointer settling firmly on a vibrant green sector with a metallic click.
[Congratulations! You have obtained a Green Box. Would you like to open it?]
Yes, open it immediately, she confirmed without a moment's hesitation.
A flash of green light erupted before her eyes, followed by the familiar, mechanical chime in her head:
[Congratulations! You have obtained: Crafting Guide - Techniques of Linen Weaving.]
“Oh? Another physical item?”
Elizabeth instantly sat up cross-legged on her bed and looked curiously at the handy, dark-green hardcover book that had materialized out of thin air directly into her hands.
Embossed across the thick cover were the traditional English words: “Techniques of Linen Weaving”.
She opened the book, flipped through the first few pages, and immediately commented with a faint smile:
“This book looks quite old, stylized for bygone eras, but the text is entirely in English…”
Absentmindedly twirling a strand of her pale blonde hair, she furrowed her brow slightly before her gaze softened:
“Even so, this book arrived at the absolute perfect time. Thanks to this, the people of this tribe will finally have something proper to wear and stop freezing.”
Carefully browsing the diagrams and descriptions, Elizabeth was relieved to discover that all the methods detailed within were ancient, fully traditional fiber processing techniques that required absolutely zero advanced modern technology or metal machinery. In short, it was a comprehensive manual for the entirely manual cultivation, spinning, and weaving of linen from scratch.
In the current reality of the tribe, only a privileged few could afford to wear clothing made from genuine animal pelts.
Even elite Totem Warriors typically wore nothing more than narrow strips of leather wrapped around their hips. Ordinary women received only meager scraps of torn fur to cover their upper bodies, forcing them to weave stiff, dried grass into makeshift skirts to cover their lower halves. As for the small children running around the camp, many were completely naked, left to the mercy of the morning chill.
Only a select few, such as Valeria - a promising future Totem Warrior - had the privilege of wearing a full, albeit tight, set of animal leather clothing. That, of course, was largely due to the status of her mother, Neria, who led the entire clan.
Elizabeth understood this grim calculus perfectly: the vast majority of hard-won animal hides had to be strictly allocated for patching and constructing tents to protect the tribe from rain and predators. This naturally caused a severe shortage of raw materials for clothing, because in the brutal struggle for survival, a safe roof over one's head always took precedence over comfort.
“Successor, are you awake yet?!” a loud, respectful shout suddenly called out from outside the tent.
“I'm awake, you can come in!” Elizabeth hurriedly closed the book, rolled it up, and hid it safely beneath her bedding.
The heavy entrance flap was pushed aside, and Neria and the towering Riven stepped into the tipi, both wearing incredibly grim, drawn expressions.
“How is the old Sharu doing?” Elizabeth asked quickly, rising to her feet with genuine concern.
Neria bit her lower lip hard. Slowly, with boundless sorrow, she shook her horned head and said in a hoarse voice:
“He was simply too exhausted from the long fight… our sacred Ancestors took him to their side just before dawn.”
“…” Elizabeth opened her mouth helplessly, but in a fraction of a second, she realized that in the face of such a monumental loss, she couldn't squeeze out a single meaningful word. Empty consolations would simply never suffice in a moment like this.
“Successor, from this moment forward, you are our rightful Sharu, and this entire orphaned Tribe desperately needs your wise guidance,” Riven said with utmost solemnity, placing his massive hand - still bandaged from the previous night's blood ritual - over his heart.
“I understand the gravity of this moment, and I will not fail you,” Elizabeth replied with a deadly serious, resolute tone.
“Our Sharu, come with me to the main chieftain's pavilion. The entire interior has already been cleared out and prepared for you,” Neria said, stepping aside respectfully to clear the path.
“Alright, lead the way.” Elizabeth had no intention of refusing. She knew perfectly well that in this critical moment of mourning, the tribe immediately needed to see their new leader taking her sanctified place in the Main Pavilion to calm the hearts of the terrified people.