Harry woke up in the cupboard, less from sleep than from the sheer ache of the floorboards. The cold had sunk deep into his small body. The fear of the coming day, of Vernon's temper or Dudley's bullying, was still there, a heavy stone in his stomach, but the layer of calm provided by [Gamer's Mind] meant he could look at the feeling analytically instead of being consumed by it.
He remembered the blue screens, the numbers, the strange words from last night. It hadn't been a dream. He wasn't entirely sure what it was, but it was real. And it knew his name.
STATS. He focused, feeling the same subtle mental pressure he had yesterday.
📊 [STATS]
Name: Harry Potter
Level: 1
HP: 50/50
MP: 10/10
STR: 3
DEX: 4
INT: 8
WIS: 6
LUK: 15
CHA: 9
It was still there. HP... 50/50. That must be health. It didn't feel like full health; his shoulder still throbbed. Maybe that meant he wasn't badly hurt, just sore. MP? 10/10? What did 'MP' mean? Magic Points? That sounded like a name from a fairy tale, not Vernon's computer terms. He didn't know anything about magic, though strange things sometimes happened when he was scared or angry. Maybe that was MP? It seemed low. 10 didn't feel like much of anything.
STR (strength), DEX (moving cleverly?), INT (thinking), WIS (knowing things?), LUK (luck!), CHA (people liking you?). His guesses from yesterday solidified as the System presented them again without questioning. It just showed them.
🎯 [QUEST ACCEPTED!]
Title: Survive the Week
Goal: Avoid Dudley's violent games. Minimize interactions with Petunia. Ensure daily food intake (minimum one meal/day). Do not reveal the existence of the System.
Progress: 0/7 days survived safely
Reward: +100 EXP, +1 LUK, unlock passive skill [Pain Resistance I]
Failure: Serious injury, revelation of the System, prolonged starvation. Unknown penalties.
Still 0/7 days. The day hadn't even started yet.
🧠 [NEW SKILL ACQUIRED!] (From Previous Action)
[Gamer's Mind Lv. 1] – Allows the user to calmly and logically think through situations without being unduly affected by negative emotions, mental stress, or psychological attacks. Enhances focus. (Current Effect: Emotional dampening 20%)
Another box popped up! But he'd already seen Gamer's Mind. Then he read the extra line: (Current Effect: Emotional dampening 20%). Ah. So it wasn't a switch that just turned everything off, it was a... sliding scale? It helped him 20 percent. It didn't make everything fine, just less terrible. That felt right.
🔔 [SKILL ACQUIRED!] (From Previous Action)
[Observe Lv. 1] – Allows the user to gather information on targets, including items, people, and environments. Provides descriptions and details relevant to the user's focus and System context. Cost: 1 MP per use on complex targets (People), 0 MP on items.
This one had another line: Cost: 1 MP per use on complex targets (People), 0 MP on items. Ah! MP was used for things. Like looking at Dudley and Uncle Vernon. That explained why he had MP! So focusing on the pan didn't use points, but focusing on a person did. It also listed it as "From Previous Action," acknowledging he'd done something to get it yesterday. But how had he gotten it? He'd just wished he could see more, and focused hard. Maybe focusing like that was the 'action'.
Suddenly, he felt a wave of discomfort. This was showing him all the things he'd somehow gained. It wasn't explaining how he'd gotten them beyond saying 'Previous Action'. And how did the System decide what a Skill was or when he got one? Was it watching him all the time? That felt a little... creepy. But it was also helping him feel less scared. It was very confusing.
The sound of Aunt Petunia's sharp rapping on the cupboard door jolted him back to the present.
"Up, you!" she screeched. "Get Dudley's toast started!"
Harry quickly dismissed the windows with a mental thought (or maybe they just faded when his focus broke). He scrambled out, the Stats, Quest, and Skills replaced by the dreary reality of number four, Privet Drive.
Breakfast was the usual silent ordeal broken only by Dudley's noisy eating. Harry finished cooking and serving without incident, carefully observing Petunia's expressions (Negative 80%, focusing on cleanliness) and Dudley's eating speed (Extremely High, current target: the toast in his hand) but not daring to activate the full [Observe] info pop-ups. It cost MP, and he had very little. He needed to understand how MP worked before spending it.
After clearing away the dishes, Aunt Petunia sent him to clean the sitting room. He moved silently, the faint emotional distance from Gamer's Mind making the task feel less like a punishment and more like... work. As he polished a side table, the familiar blue spark flickered.
📦 [ITEM: Rosewood Side Table]
Description: A well-maintained piece of furniture. Requires dusting.
Value: Moderate. Condition: Excellent.
He polished the hideous, lacy doily on top.
📦 [ITEM: Petunia's prize Doily]
Description: Handmade doily. Source of significant maternal pride. Do not damage or dirty. Condition: Pristine.
Notes: Inflicting damage may result in extreme penalties from Owner. (Threat Level: Critical)
Threat Level: Critical for the doily! More serious than Uncle Vernon's Threat Level when reading his paper (Moderate)! This was useful information. Gamer's Mind kept him from shaking, but he was very careful with that doily now.
He moved through the room, dusting methodically, activating [Observe] on various objects – the television (Item: Device for viewing programs. High family use), the dreadful collection of gnome ornaments (Item: Kitschy Garden Ornaments. Preferred Habitat: Outside), the stiff, unused fireplace (Item: Fireplace. Current Status: Decorative). It cost nothing, and it was endlessly fascinating. He learned things he never thought about, mundane details categorized neatly.
After about half an hour of diligent dusting, a small notification sound chimed again, visible only to him.
[Action Completed: Detailed Room Cleaning]
[Task Related to Surviving the Week (Appease Authority Figures)]
[+7 EXP]
Seven experience points! Dusting the whole room got him more points than just making breakfast (which was only 5). Maybe harder or longer tasks gave more? If he kept earning 7 EXP every time he cleaned a room, or more for tougher jobs... he could level up! 100 EXP needed for Level 2. He had 5 from breakfast + 7 from dusting = 12 EXP. Still a long way to go, but it was possible. His dreary chores suddenly felt like... progression. Like the loading bar filling up.
He was working on cleaning the large bay window when he heard Dudley's heavy footfalls lumbering towards the sitting room door. His [Gamer's Mind] gave a gentle hum of warning. Dudley had no chores; his usual afternoon activity was 'Harry Hunting'.
He stayed calm, peeking through the gaps in the curtains. Dudley pushed the door open, looking around with a bored expression. He spotted Harry by the window. A smirk spread across his face.
🧍 [PERSON: Dudley Dursley]
Level: 3
Current Mood: Bored, Malicious (towards Harry)
Conditions: [Bloated I], [Spoiled II]
Notes: Harry Potter's cousin. Possesses above-average STR for his age, negligible INT, and high CHA (Parental Figures). Current Objective: Torment Harry, Acquire Snack.
Current Objective: Torment Harry. [Observe] confirmed it. The Gamer's Mind kept his panic down, replacing it with a cold, tactical analysis. How to avoid? He could pretend not to see him, hoping Dudley would get bored. Or try to finish the window quickly and slip away before Dudley fully entered the room. Slipping away felt better. Minimizing interaction.
Harry ducked behind the curtains again, furiously polishing the small section of glass, trying to look completely engrossed. He could hear Dudley shuffle closer.
"Oi, Potter!" Dudley called out. "Mum said you weren't finished! Slacking?"
His hand shook slightly, despite Gamer's Mind. Aunt Petunia hadn't said anything of the sort. It was a trap. Dudley was waiting for him to come out, probably to shove him into the sofa or just kick his ankles.
He held his breath. Don't engage. Finish the window section.
Dudley took another heavy step. Harry could almost feel him right outside the curtains. His heart was pounding. Was this counting towards the quest? Avoiding Dudley's violent games? Yes. He just had to successfully avoid him.
He finished the section with a final rub and subtly glanced towards the doorway behind Dudley, planning an escape route towards the kitchen or back to the cupboard. As he did, a soft blue box shimmered in his awareness again.
🔔 [OBSERVATION ALERT]
System detected focused analysis of potential threat and escape vector while under duress. User is demonstrating Evasive Maneuvers.
He didn't fully understand the words, but the message felt... positive.
Suddenly, Dudley lunged. "Caught you!"
Harry, reacting instinctively aided by the enhanced focus from [Gamer's Mind] and perhaps a fractional hint from the System's 'observation alert', didn't turn. Instead, he dropped the polishing rag and ducked under the windowsill, wriggling out from behind the curtain low to the ground on the far side, away from where Dudley lunged. Dudley crashed into the curtains with a frustrated yelp.
Harry scrambled to his feet and bolted from the room, past the struggling curtains and the puffing sound of Dudley falling slightly. He didn't stop until he skidded to a halt in the kitchen.
He leaned against the counter, breathless. That was close. He risked another look at his internal display.
🎯 [QUEST PROGRESS UPDATED!]
Survive the Week: Avoided Dudley's violent games (1/?)
Goal: Avoid Dudley's violent games. (Multiple encounters per day count?)
Another notification followed immediately.
[Skill Use Detected: Evasive Maneuver - Successful]
[User demonstrates instinctual survival reaction paired with focused observation]
[+10 EXP]
[Potential Skill Development Detected! Repeated successful [Evasive Maneuvers] under threat may unlock a passive skill related to Agility or Awareness.]
Ten experience points! More than cleaning or breakfast. Successfully avoiding Dudley gave him points! And a... a hint about a new skill! Repeated successful evasive maneuvers. If he kept avoiding Dudley, he might get better at it, and the System would make that an actual 'Skill'. It wasn't just randomly giving him powers; he had to do something.
A cold, cautious surge of understanding and resolve filled Harry. His life with the Dursleys wasn't just miserable existence anymore. It was a game. A terrifying, high-stakes game with terrible penalties, but a game nonetheless. He was the Player. The Dursleys were... challenges? Threats? The Quest was Survival. And by learning how to 'play', by being observant and trying to survive cleverly, he could gain... experience. He could level up.
He was still hungry. He was still afraid of when Dudley would find him again. He was still trapped. But for the first time, the fear wasn't all there was. There was a sliver of control, a hidden pathway forward. The small, private smile returned to his face, a little stronger this time, edged with cunning and defiance.