Thank you for the review! I don't know how I managed to write so much in 3 days either.
The side stuff didn't have a major impact beyond some extra text, and skill levels are fixed in the jam version. There was a lot I had to cut due to time constraints, unfortunately. If I make a post-jam update I plan on adding more skills, letting the player allocate points to them at the start, and add more side content to make it more like an RPG.
I'm glad you enjoyed the game.