After these couple of successful experiments, Timothy went back to his den. His slaves tried to follow suit, but he ended up discarding most of them, particularly those bigger, useless skeletons. He didn’t want them flapping around aimlessly, without even a pair of eyes to call their own, so he disposed of them mercifully. However, he couldn’t find the strength to dismantle that little anglerfish, and the assfish that he had reanimated, it seemed cruel to kill them, so he allowed them to follow him, though he wasn’t sure what he was going to do with such useless creatures!


    Anyway, regardless of the ethical dilemmas regarding his experiments, Tim was still quite happy that he was able to recreate life! The MQ upgrade that he bought, may be one of the most important purchases that he had ever made, regardless of how expensive the purchase was! It was worth the points!


    Tim''s understanding of magic had increased exponentially, and he was happy about that, though due to the same few experiments that he just performed, he started coming to the terms that he wasn''t a genius per se. He put his abilities to the test, and quickly understood his limits! He was good, but he wasn’t the best, and he was certainly far away from being godly, regardless of what the people around him might think!


    For example, even though he was able to craft new abilities, he couldn’t create mana patterns out of thin air, meaning, he had to pull an ability out of his own body, observe the patterns of mana channels within the ability, and then using a blank sphere, he summoned and modified mana channels that he already studied, in order to make something new! Sure this was a skill that most creatures did not possess, but it didn''t make him a genius, it made him more of a copycat, or an idea thief!


    He even did the math, he calculated. “In human numbers, having an MQ of 300, is like having an IQ of 140… it''s good, but I’m no Nikola Tesla, am I? I''m more like Timothy Testicles, not as prestigious.”


    Luckily the concept of MQ was that it could increase endlessly, he just had to put some work into it. He''d be able to create mana channels of his own one day, but for now, the standard he had carved for himself was good enough, though less prestigious. The latter didn''t bother him too much, because besides, being too good at anything would make him more of a target, rather than a respected figure, so he wasn’t in a rush!


    The best idea now was to check what other upgrades he could buy, and he did exactly that. He browsed the few other available upgrades, and looked at the ones who''d help him improve the things that he already had, rather than the ones that offered new abilities!


    Tim wasn''t craving to attain new abilities, especially since he could create his own, regardless of if his own creations had a good quality or not. Most of the purchases in this batch of upgrades focused on improving the skills he already had, so he prioritized those.


    The first one was a simple, physical upgrade, though generally it was a bit useless to him, and in this case it managed to strain his tail quite a bit, he felt immobile for a second after he initiated the upgrade. He was upgrading his barb & barb venom to level two, and sure, he could''ve used such an upgrade a long time ago when he just started out as a stingray, but the system had strict rules regarding the lining of upgrades, so he had to upgrade his barb now, even if he didn''t need it.


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    These strict rules that the system asserted were oftentimes disadvantageous, especially considering that most adventures that Timothy went through were far beyond the behavioral bracket of a normal stingray, but he just had to live with them for a little while longer. He could endure a few more weeks of having his purchase options strictly controlled.


    The system promised him that he could upgrade whichever abilities he chose, as soon as he went through this current batch of available upgrades! He was strong enough now, so the system was willing to give him such freedom, so in the near future, he could spend all of his points on barb venom if he wanted to, for whatever reason, though it was likely that he would never actually upgrade his barb ever again. He had more useful combative powers, such as fireballs!


    Anyway, the barb upgrade only cost him five-hundred system points, so he didn’t mind it, and moved on to the next upgrade that he had an eye on. This one was also a simple upgrade, as it had to with his sight, scent, and overall senses! He wanted to get upgrades like this out of the way as fast as possible, because they were not related to mana, and mainly had to do with the improvement of his basic physique. They were collectively useful, though not as much individually.


    [For 2,500 system points, you can upgrade your sight, scent and overall senses to level five! It''s a bit expensive for a non-mana related upgrade, but level five is decent.] The system beeped.


    “No kidding, it''s the only thing that I''ll have at level five… apart from my mana.” He waffled, and asked to purchase the upgrade.


    Tim felt a strain in his head almost immediately after, and that strain continued to affect his spine afterwards, because this was an upgrade that touched the nervous system. The pain he felt wasn''t paralyzing per se, but at some point it was very anxiety-inducing, and this part was horrible. He felt like three anxious teenage girls put together!


    “Ahh!” He grunted, though his voice was puny, because the upgrade affected his jaw as well.


    Timothy endured the upgrade for half an hour later, and the pain died down shortly after, so he was fine and dandy now. Overall, this was an upgrade worth buying, because its effects were immediate!


    Not only could he see another one-hundred meters ahead, even within the crippling darkness of the dark sea, through the gaps of the bony den, but he could also see his surroundings a bit more clearly! More clearly by a quarter, to be exact!


    “Hell yeah, 4k vision!” He joked.


    [Upgrade complete! 30,000 system points remain in your sum.] The system beeped.


    Timothy had plenty more points to spend, and he was planning to buy everything, though by now it was obvious that he couldn’t afford everything. Nevertheless, he quickly moved on to the next upgrade, as he needed every bit of advantage he could get, if he and the team were to survive the ruins of Aqumus!


    The system introduced, [For 6,000 system points, you can upgrade your Extingus Breath ability, for it to protect you against all necromantic, and or various ‘dark’ magical attacks! Your protective breath will make you more immune to unholy things, though of course a dark mage can overpower you if their mana quality is significantly greater than yours. You''re well aware of the math, but do not let that demotivate you, because every bit of extra protection could keep you alive a day longer! I highly recommend you buy this upgrade sooner, rather than later!]