Help! I'm asexual and trapped in a dating sim!

Chapter Three

Right. If moss grew on the north of trees, and Naughty Elephants Squirt Water, then west is that way.
I began to walk.
Then I walked some more. And some more.
+1 endurance! popped up in front of me, then faded. I walked some more.
Why didn't this ration pack come with water? How is water not important?
To take my mind off my scratchy throat, I began to sing.
"All day I've faced,
The barren waste,
Without the taste
Of water.
Cool water."
I'll admit, the choice of song probably wasn't helping.
Eventually, still singing, I came across a clearing. A girl, probably twelve or thirteen compared to my seventeen, had been collecting herbs. Or so I deduced from the herbs that were no longer in the ground, and instead in her hand. Now, though, she was staring at me.
"Hey, is the city of..."
What was it called? Dyrian? Dwyrian? Dyrhain, that was it.
"Dyrhain around here anywhere?"
She stared at me mutely.
"Hello?"
She started, a deep blush blooming on her cheeks. "Yeah, there is, it's that way over there in that direction," she babbled. "I can take you if you want me to or I can not."
"I would appreciate that, thanks," I said, smiling at her. Her blush became a flaming red.
I felt like I needed to repay her somehow. "Can I give you a hand with those herbs?"
She nodded.
"Are you part elf?" she blurted out. "Because you look it. I mean, pretty." She blushed harder than I thought possible, clapping a hand over her mouth. I froze for a moment. Did she have some kind of crush on me already? Was that even possible? I wouldn't know, really— I wasn't hideous in my old life, but neither was I Adonis reborn. Certainly not the kind of guy that young girls giggled over.
But I'd seen it before. This was the way the freshmen behaved around the popular twelfth graders.
Nothing for it but to play along. I didn't want to get stranded in the woods. "Yes, I'm half elf."
But also I was too lazy to be bothered to collect herbs.
I scanned the forest. "Any birds around here?"
I heard a tweet and parted the brush. A trio of small, bright blue birds were perched there, flapping their wings at me excitedly.
Hi!
Hello, mister!
Do you need us?
We'll help you!
Yeah, we'll help you!
"Why, thank you, little birds," I smiled. I turned to the girl. "Which herbs do you need?"
Her face a mask of shock, she wordlessly pointed to three different plants. One was bright green, tall and thin, one a duller green with coarse, fat leaves, and the last a teal blue with bright yellow flowers.
"Could you collect some of those plants?"
Can I? One bird's chest puffed up proudly. You're only looking at the national seed-picker champion!
And we'll do our best!
Anything for an elf like you, sir! Your kind are rare around here.
"Thank you."
The birds took off, and within minutes three large piles of herbs, each plucked neatly by the stem, stood at the centre of the clearing.
Skill gained— Forage I!
Another, smaller heap of exhausted birds lay next to them, almost lifting off the gre it... mister!
Yeah...! Got em... all!
They'd tried so hard!
"Aw, you're the sweetest! Thank you."
Somehow the champion seed-picker mustered the energy to flap wearily onto my finger.
You're... welcome.
I stroked him reverently, marvelling at the softness of his feathers. He preened.
Anything else we can do?
"No, I think that's it."
He bobbed. We'll leave you alone, then.
"I'll see you around, kay?"
Yeah, we'll find you!
Sure thing, mister!
The little girl was staring at the piles of herbs, eyes wide and mouth agape. If her jaw dropped any lower, she'd trip over it.
"That enough?"
"Yeah," she croaked. "That's about a week's harvest, actually."
"Great! Now, which way to the city?"
She gathered the herbs, hurriedly stuffing them into her satchel until it overflowed. I would have offered to help carry them, but if I'm being honest I wasn't quite sure how the portal/black hole system worked yet, and I'd hate to look like a fool. My self-esteem had already been shot to smithereens by the rabbit. How could something so cute be so mean?
"Just over this way," the girl said, beginning to lead me in a... slightly different direction than the one I'd been heading in. I must have gone off track somewhere.
We walked in companionable silence for a few minutes, until the city came into view on the horizon, the girl glancing up at me occasionally.
"I'm Panne," she said abruptly, sticking out her free hand.
"Lee," I replied, shaking it. "Pleasure."
"Me too."
Did that make sense? I wasn't sure.
"What are you coming to the city for?"
"I'm heading for the academy."
"Oh, wow," she said, gazing up at me with an awestruck expression. I could practically see the love hearts in her eyes. "You're strong enough to get in without being a noble?"
I hadn't thought about that. What if I had to prove my worth to be allowed in? The little screen had said that I had the scholarship, but I couldn't prove that I had earned it. Because I hadn't.
"I have a scholarship."
"You must be a pretty high level," she said admiringly.
Level? I had to figure that out later.
"Not really," I hedged. "Just got some special skills."
"Cool!" she gasped. "Like wha-"
"Oh look, there's the city," I babbled. "Thanks for your guidance, I'd better get going, lots to do and the day's growing old!"
Was that a saying? Don't think so. Too late now, I just had to go with it.
"I'll see you around, and if you need any help with herb gathering be sure to find me, I'll help you out!"
I ran, my half-elven legs carrying me faster than usual.
"Bye, Lee!" she called after me. I glanced back, and she looked so forlorn that I almost turned to answer her question.
Then I remembered that I couldn't answer her question, and kept running. "Bye, Panne!"
There was a line at the city gates and I joined it, feeling a little out of place with my brown leggings and tunic when standing next to the people wearing finely coloured silks. In addition, they all seemed to be human, with very European features in comparison to my own. The weight of the pouch at my waist reminded me even more of my situation. Well, not weight, exactly. More so the lack of it.
Panne had mentioned levels, right? How was that going to work?
"Yeah, I'm level seven now," I heard from the man who pulled up behind me. I turned to look at him. It was quite hard not to, considering he was covered in blood. "I got a whole level from that dire wolf! You can see why the nobles are so powerful! With the money to get into high-level zones, I bet they're getting a level a year."
"Oh, wow," breathed the woman at his side, fluttering her eyelashes. "Did you get any skills?"
The man's chest swelled. "You bet I did," he said gruffly. "It's called 'Fang of Wolf'. Hang on, I'll read you the description. Status."
The man's gaze became unfocused and skimmed from side to side as if he read from something.
"Allows the recipient to..."
I turned back forward, tuning him out. "Status," I muttered. Another screen popped up in front of my eyes, translucent green and with white lettering.

Status: Lee
Age: 17
Race: Human/Dark Elf
Level: 5
XP: 0/500
Stats:
Strength- 20
Endurance- 21
Agility- 20
Dexterity- 21
Intelligence- 20
Wisdom- 20
Skills:
Forage I (20/100)
Archery I (1/100)
Dark Storage V (6/500)
Tongues
Otherworldly
Goddess' Boon

Okay. Any descriptions of anything? And why, exactly, was I at level five when I'd spent a total of about an hour in this new world? And dark elf? I wasn't aware that was a race in the game, though it explained my purple hair.
Forage I— All produce found and harvested in the wild gains +1% effectiveness in it's major property.
Archery I— All arrows shot are +1% more accurate and do +1% piercing damage.
Dark Storage V— The ability to store items inside nearby shadows, to be retrieved at any time. +5% size of storage. +5% size of opening. (Note: Your scholarship is in here. I just hid it initially so that you wouldn't discard it like you're going to with that quiver. Don't let it get damaged! -Goddess)
Tongues— Lee ability to read, write and speak any language. (Note: Thought this might help you out! BTW, the bold means it's a unique skill. -Goddess)
Otherworldly— Every tenth level, Lee will skip one level and gain one unique skill. (Note: I didn't want you to die straight away! I gave you a little extra experience to start, too. Can't have you walking around at level one hoping to get into the academy, after all. Don't worry, this is hidden from any inspect spell that's not divine.)
Goddess' boon— ????? (Note: You'll have to find out! ;) This one's hidden too. Just be careful, and there's only a limited number of times this can be used on this world.)
I almost sobbed. She wasn't mean to me! She'd cared enough to give me a pool noodle before launching me into the deep end. And level five seemed to be an average level of power, if the blood-spattered hunter behind me was only level seven. And I guessed that stats of around ten were the human norm, as I felt about twice as strong and fast as I had before.