[Name: Monica Varnhart]
[Level: 'F-' 0/9]
[Health: 46/80]
[Constitution: 8]
[Spirit: 14]
[Superpowers: Upgrade, Appraisal]
[Inventory: none]
[Status: Body synchronization rate 72% (initial adaptation), Frostbite (high, -1 point of health for every hour), Hungry (medium, -1 point of health for every two hours)]
"Damn... Fuck." Monica's breath fogged in the frozen air as her eyes widened. "Did the strange survival Mod I randomly bought online to cheat in the game actually come with me?!"
She stared at the holographic panel, her heart pounding against her chest with a mix of shock and a burst of wild joy.
It was familiar. Too familiar.
That pale-blue font. The clean lines. The layout. The stat categories.
"This… this is just like the cheat from the survival game."
Her lips parted, and she almost laughed, half-disbelieving, half-overjoyed. "Holy crap… I'm not dreaming. It really came with me!"
She wasn't new to this.
Half her previous life had been spent nose-deep in web novels with tags like—System User, Cheat Awakener, OP MC with Golden Finger—you name it, she'd read it.
And now?
This is the traveler's cheat— the classic golden finger every transmigrator dreams of.
She grinned through cracked lips, not even caring that her face stung from the cold.
Her eyes ran down the panel.
She skipped her name and focused on the part that mattered: Level: F-. That tiny "F-" glared at her like a cruel joke, but it was also a small spark of hope.
"That's the starting level from the game," she muttered to herself. "So that means… I really am an awakener now. And this world follows the same system rules as the game…"
Her mind raced.
In the game, it went from F, to E, to D, all the way up—each step harder than the last. Resources were everything. Experience was gained from survival, crafting, fighting, and upgrading.
The thought made her both excited and nervous.
"If the rules are the same… it won't be easy."
She remembered how hard it had been to level up in the game—running around for scraps, hunting wild beasts, grinding for hours just to get one single point.
And this world wasn't some game with restart buttons or guides.
Here, if she failed… she died.
She looked over the rest of the panel, frowning slightly.
[Health: 46/80] – That explained why she still felt like crap even after eating the winter fruits. Her body was running on fumes.
[Constitution: 8] – That was… decent. In the game, the Constitution affected physical strength, stamina, and resistance to cold and injury. Most normal people had a score of 3 or 4. And the upper limit of Health also depends on the Constitution.
[Spirit: 14] – That number surprised her. In the game, Spirit influences mental strength, reaction speed, energy recovery, and power activation.
She guessed it might be because her soul had fused from another world.
Or maybe her body's hidden potential had something to do with it. Either way, it was good. Really good.
Then came the real prize.
[Superpowers: Upgrade, Appraisal]
She almost choked.
"Two skills right off the bat?" she whispered. "Even in the game, people only started with one."
Her heart skipped again. Just by looking at the names, she could guess what they did.
Upgrade — That meant she could strengthen objects. Maybe gear. Maybe weapons. Maybe more. In the game, this was a rare and extremely powerful Mod.
Appraisal — Even more useful in a strange new world. Knowing what something was, what it did, and how to use it… was half the battle in survival.
She hadn't even tried activating them yet, but her instincts told her they were already part of her body now. They were her.
Then she checked her Inventory. Five empty slots.
A simple thought let her feel them—like invisible pockets in the air around her.
She had no items yet, but she knew she could store and pull out things with just her mind.
"Could be life-saving later," she muttered.
Her eyes dropped to the Status section, and her smile faded.
[Body Synchronization: 72% (Initial Adaptation)] – That was the connection between her old soul and this new body. It wasn't complete yet, which meant she needed to adapt faster.
But worse were the other two:
[Frostbite (High): -1 health/hour]
[Hungry (Medium): -1 health/2 hours]
If she didn't get more heat or food soon, she was going to die a slow, painful death, system or not.
"…This cheat won't help if I freeze to death before I can even figure it out."
As she sighed and looked at the flickering campfire in front of her, a strange feeling came over her. The characters in her field of vision… shifted. Moved.
"Appraising…"
She hadn't said it out loud. Just thought about it.
A new screen popped up in front of her, this one directly over the fire.
[Item: Bonfire (Lv.0)
Function: Provides light and heat. The higher the level, the larger and stronger the range of its effects.]
[Current Effective Radius: 1 meter with a temperature of 14 degrees F, then the effect decreases further away.]
[Time Remaining: 823 minutes]
[Evaluation: A crudely built bonfire. Fuel is low, but functionality is not yet affected. Continue burning wood to gain upgrade experience.]
[Experience: 750/10]
[Note: This bonfire can be bound as the host's personal equipment slot to share attributes and special skills. Once bound, others cannot use or modify it. If destroyed, the shared attributes will reset.]
Monica blinked hard. She looked around.
The bonfire continued crackling gently, but now she could feel it pulsing slightly. Like it had a core. A presence.
Then it hit her.
It's not just identifying things…looking at the overflowing experience, she figured that she could upgrade it right now without any further waiting.
"Thinking back, this bonfire has been burning nonstop for the last five days, so my upgrade skill can also be used like this."
The Upgrade skill wasn't just for weapons or armor. It could apply to anything. Even a fire.
Even this dying fire that three hundred people were counting on.
And now, it could be strengthened.
Monica took a shaky breath and clenched her fists, looking towards her mother and her brother, she thought.
"I wasn't helpless anymore. Not just another mouth to feed. Not just someone waiting to die."
Monica knew that if she played her cards right… she could protect everyone.
Even in this god-forsaken world of endless snow and death, she had something no one else had:
A cheat like superpower.
She immediately chose to upgrade the bonfire.
Just a thought—Upgrade—and the upgrade panel responded.
A faint chime rang in her ears, followed by a glowing holographic countdown floating above the fire:
[Upgrading: 00:59]
Monica's eyes widened.
A translucent ring slowly rotated over the flames, displaying the remaining seconds in pale-blue numbers. The light shimmered softly, visible only to her.
She glanced around the cave, trying to see if anyone else noticed. But the others sat motionless, huddled under worn blankets and ragged hides, their gazes locked on the flame—or on nothing at all.
Still, that one minute felt long. Her heart pounded harder with every second that ticked down. Not from fear—no, this time it was anticipation.
'Come on, come on…' She stood tense, watching the countdown like it was a bomb about to go off.
She clenched and unclenched her fingers, ignoring the sting of half-healed frostbite, rocking slightly on the balls of her feet.
Finally—
[Upgrade Complete.]