《Skulltacular: A tale of Wayward Bones》 01: How To Cope with the Loss of Arms ¡°Ugh, why does my head hurt so much¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with my body, why isn''t my voice coming out?¡± I think to myself. I gradually shake myself awake and attempt to stretch my arms. Only to feel confused when I can¡¯t feel them. My confusion rises even more when I realize I can¡¯t feel anything below my head. Trying to figure out what¡¯s wrong, I quickly look down at my body, only to find nothing there. No chest, No arms, No Legs, I had no body. Panic begins to swell in my chest and my mind is going a million miles a second trying to figure out what happened to me. Looking into my memories yields no results, I can¡¯t seem to remember anything about what happened to me, how I got here, or where here even is! I attempt to calm myself down and clear my head. Surprisingly, it only took a few seconds before I was calm and thinking logically again. ¡°How odd¡± I think but I shake my head and direct my focus elsewhere to distract me from my loss of parts. Looking around, I seem to be in a cave of some sorts. There¡¯s roots, a bunch of rocks, a small puddle of sorts in the corner, and some weird glowing mushroom. The mushroom was glowing an odd red color, not too vibrant, more like the color of rust or dried blood. For some reason, the fungus captivated me so I stared directly at it. As I eyeballed the mushroom intently, something peculiar happened, {Teviren Mushroom}. A small prompt appeared floating above the mushroom with what I assume to be its name. ¡°What???¡± I stared incredulously at the floating letters before trying to touch them, only to once again remember I have no limbs. ¡°Right, no arms, that''s gonna take some getting used to.¡± I remarked dejectedly, looking back at the mushroom, I gaze intently at it, still a bit bewildered by the floating screen, only for it to expand and cover my entire view. {Teviren Mushroom: Common} {A species of fungus commonly found in humid, dark areas within the Streka Continent. Has a variety of unknown uses} Feeling even more confused than before, I try to make the pop-up disappear, after several minutes of internal screaming and swearing at the pop-up, it eventually goes away with nothing more than a thought. I began to get a sneaking suspicion after looking at the floating screen and it was all but confirmed with my next actions. ¡°Status.¡± I said internally.
STATUS
Information Attributes Skills, Mutations
Name: ??? Toughness: 1 Skills Mutations
Race: Lesser Pygmy Boneling Strength: 2 Identify Lv 1 Otherworlder
Sex: Male Dexterity: 1 Mana bolt Lv 1 Undead
Rank: G- Endurance This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. 0 Float Lv 1
Level: 1 Intelligence: 9
Exp Required: 0/5 Willpower: 8
Titles: N/A Arcane 7
Health: 5/5 Divinity: 0
Stamina: 0/0
Mana: 10/10
¡°So I was right.¡± I had a hunch after what happened with the mushroom but I didn¡¯t think it would actually be correct. It seems I''ve been transported to another world, one with game-like systems. This revelation awakened some of my memories and I started to remember several stories from my old world of this exact scenario occurring, ¡°Isekai¡± I think is what it was called. ¡°If I''ve been Isekaied, then where are the catgirls?¡± I joked mentally. Focusing back on my status, two particular lines stuck out to me. First was in the {Mutations} tab, I pulled it up and inspect the first thing on it, very carefully. {Otherworlder: Your origin is not of this world. You are not bound by its laws, Grants the divinity attribute} Feeling confused, I reread it again to maybe find more info or some clarification, after several seconds I dismiss the pop-up and mentally sigh. ¡°At least that confirms my earlier theory, I truly am in another world.¡± I swiftly moved on to the other thing that captivated my attention, my race. {Lesser Pygmy Boneling: G-} {A species of undead commonly found in areas with dense death affinity mana. Characterized by their lack of appendages and glowing blue eyes, these floating skulls are one of the lowest tiers of undead and are usually killed as soon as they manifest into being. Pygmy Bonelings are distinctly different from other Bonelings due to their solitary nature, A trait unheard of in this skeletal species. Despite being far weaker and rarer than their more social cousins, a Pygmy Boneling has a higher potential for growth and if left unchecked can grow into a terrifying beast} ¡°Well shit¡± I don¡¯t know why it took me so long to finally realize that I was probably not human anymore. Looking back, I should¡¯ve seen the signs. The fact that I couldn¡¯t speak aloud for some reason, my panic being suppressed almost unnaturally, oh and the whole having no body thing. Yeah, pretty stupid of me to miss that. Oddly enough, I''m not too distraught with the fact that I''m no longer human. Don¡¯t get me wrong, being a human is great and all but I can¡¯t help but feel excited at the possibilities being an undead might bring. Now, if only I had arms then that would make things 100 times better. Checking back to my status, I systematically look through each line to see what more I can uncover from it. Starting with my attributes, I get a bit depressed looking at how low some of them are. ¡°Damn, am I really that weak.¡± I internally lamented. Focusing more on the attributes, I managed to pull up information on each one and began to read carefully through them. {Toughness: Influences health, regeneration, as well as natural defenses} {Strength: Influences physical prowess and how much power the body can exert} {Dexterity: Influences flexibility, balance, speed} {Endurance: Influences maximum stamina and stamina regeneration} {Intelligence: Influences the brain¡¯s processing speed and power, has a small effect on mana control} {Willpower: Influences the individual¡¯s mental strength and mana regeneration} {Arcane: Influences the individual¡¯s ability to control and perceive mana, as well as their maximum mana pool} {Divinity: Influences the user¡¯s ability to affect the world} Most of the attributes were quite standard, like you would see in any old RPG. However there was one that I was a bit off-put by, that being the attribute of {Divinity}. For some reason, I can¡¯t shake the feeling that it was a lot more important than the other attributes. Mentally shaking my head, I file that piece of info away for later and move on to my skills. As I was about to open up my skill list, a sudden movement occurred at the corner of my eyes. Swiftly, I turn my gaze at the perpetrator. Only, for my eyes to land on an odd looking beast, ¡°Is that a fucking rat!¡± 02: Rats Kinda Suck Gazing directly at it, made me certain that the beast was in fact a rat. If a rat got crossed with a weasel and further mutated by radioactive waste that is. I suddenly had an idea and quickly pulled up my skill list. {Identify: Lv 1} {Allows the user to gain insight on any object, creature, or place they desire. Information given is determined by Intelligence} Using {Identify} on the rat worked exactly like I thought it would. {Nuvarno Rat: Lv 2}, ¡°Huh, so that¡¯s your name.¡± I tried to get more info out of the pop-up and once I did began to thoroughly study it {Nuvarno Rat: Lv 2} {A species of rodent found only in the Nuvarno Crypt. These horrid pests are known for their slimy gray skin, beady black eyes, and large teeth coated with poison. They use their vicious bite to injure and poison their prey.} ¡°Huh, that''s neat, I guess my intelligence is high enough for me to get its full description¡± As I was busy contemplating on how important Intelligence was to gain info from {Identify}. I didn¡¯t notice the rat getting closer to me until it was mere inches from my face. ¡°Hey there buddy, you''re not gonna hurt me are you.¡± All of a sudden it lunged at me, trying to bite my face off. ¡°Shit!!!¡± I panicked and tried to move backwards only to get flung up into the air. My body (that being my head) started spinning wildly and I began to get rapidly disoriented. All the while, the goddamn rat kept jumping to try to eat me. {Float has risen to level 2} My spinning began to subside and I finally managed to stabilize myself in the air. It was then that the rat decided, would be the perfect time to bite me. {You have received 1 physical damage} ¡°Ow, fuck off already!¡± Feeling more than a little pissed at this stupid rat and slightly fearing for my life. I desperately try to think of a way to kill this rat or at least scare it away. Wait, don''t I have perfect skill for this. {Mana Bolt: Lv 1} {Allows the user to unleash a blast of potent mana at their enemies. Potency and size of mana bolts is determined by Arcane and Intelligence.} Inwardly grinning, I angle myself to face the rat still trying to take a bite out of me. I glared at it and quickly activated {Mana Bolt}. A strange sensation coursed through my body and a glowing purple bolt was shot out of my open mouth. {You have inflicted 3 magical damage to Nuvarno Rat} ¡°Nice!!¡± I managed to hit the rat dead on. Checking my resources, it seems that a single {Mana Bolt} only uses 2 mana.¡±Okay, I can fire off four more before I run dry.¡± Before I could resume my attack again, the rat¡¯s body started glowing a shade of blue and then it did something unexpected. It jumped higher than ever before and managed to bite me straight on my philtrum. {You have taken 2 physical damage} That hit sobered me up really quickly and reminded me that this is not a game and if I were to get hit like that one more time, I might actually die. Quickly checking my HP, I¡¯m alarmed at how low it got with me only having {2/5 HP remaining}. Not wanting to give the rat the initiative. I fire off another {Mana Bolt} only for the rat to dodge it. Inwardly cursing this pest, I try again at firing a bolt, only for the rat to jump away from me and once more dodge it. ¡°Damn it!¡± I internally cursed at the rat. I knew I needed to be smarter here and use my brain to actually kill this thing, suddenly I had a genius idea. I used {Float} and maneuvered myself straight up above the rat. I faced it and as swiftly as possible shot a {Mana Bolt}. Only for the fucking rat to jump back and dodge it entirely ¡°Does this rat have ultra instinct or something!?¡± I was down to my last {Mana Bolt} so I knew I had to make this one count ¡°Okay time to try something risky.¡± I use {Float} to get closer to the rat. Its beady eyes were watching me, seemingly aware I was trying something yet too stupid to figure out what. Once I got close enough to the rat it finally reacted, It began snarling at me and was getting ready to lunge at me. I just stood there silently, fully immersed in watching the rat and anticipating its movements. When it finally did lunge, it took everything in me not to prematurely fire a {Mana Bolt}. Wanting to make this the killing blow I waited until the rat was mere inches in front of my face before I released my final {Mana Bolt}. The bolt hit the rat dead on and it was blasted several meters away. Afterwards I got a notification that soothed my worries immensely. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. {You have inflicted 3 magical damage to Nuvarno Rat} {Nuvarno Rat: Lv 2 has been slain} {You have gained 2 Exp} {Mana Bolt has risen to level 2} ¡°No level up though, that¡¯s kinda annoying.¡± I floated over to the corpse of the rat to admire my handiwork a little bit. The rat looks thoroughly disfigured now, with its entire upper jaw blown clean off from my {Mana Bolt}. ¡°Damn, I need to level up that skill quickly.¡± Just as I was about to start surveying the cave, or crypt actually going off of the status of the {Nuvarno Rat}. I heard a distant pitter-patter of numerous small feet and what sounded like squeaking. ¡°Shit.¡± I immediately used {Float} to try and find a way out of here. After a couple seconds of frantic searching, I found a small crevice in one of the walls so I immediately tried squeezing inside of it. Thankfully, it was big enough for me but not too large as to reveal my location. I waited with bated breath for a few minutes until I finally saw some movements. And what I saw absolutely terrified me. Dozens of rats came streaming into the mouth of the cave and started running around the place, a few even got close to my hiding spot which spooked me a bit but luckily none of the rats were smart enough to look up at the walls. While the rats are a problem, I felt confident that I could take them on once my mana regenerated to full, no what truly petrified me was a single rat in the middle of the horde. It was gargantuan with fur the color of ash and incisors so large, I had no doubt that getting bitten by those things would result in an instant death for me. Naturally I used {Identify} on it. {Identify has risen to level 2} {Alpha Nuvarno Rat: Lv 6} {The apex of the Nuvarno Rat species. An Alpha Nuvarno Rat is what happens when a Nuvarno Rat is allowed to feast and grow in power. Possessing thick fur resistant to most blunt attacks, jaws that can crush bone, and even potent venom hidden in those fangs. This beast is a force to be reckoned with. However its most dangerous weapon is not its physique but its intellect, due to surviving for long it has become quite cunning and has been known to employ pack tactics to hunt down its prey.} Reading the status, thoroughly established that I would be screwed if I were to fight this thing, with each line only serving to emphasize the point even more. ¡°Okay, I guess attacking these guys is not an option.¡± Knowing that making even the slightest moves might put me in danger, I wisely stay in place and try very hard to be inconspicuous. ¡°Don¡¯t pay any attention to me, I''m just a piece of wall, la de da de da¡­¡± {Congratulations, you have gained the [Hiding] skill} ¡°Nice, at least I''m benefitting somewhat from this ordeal.¡± Having just received confirmation that I''m hidden, I feel more confident to resume my earlier status examinations. Starting with my new skill. {Hiding: Lv 1} {Allows the user to conceal their presence when remaining stationary, Effectiveness of Hiding is determined by Dexterity} ¡°Hmm, I might need to put more points into Dex if I want to use that effectively.¡± I thought, glancing back at the rats to see what they¡¯re doing and yep they¡¯re just loitering about. Feeling secure, I move on to the other skills and mutations. {Float: Lv 2} {Allows the user to float in the air by channeling nearby ambient mana, speed and maneuverability of Float is determined by Intelligence and Arcane} {Undead: You are a creature born from deathly mana. Grants resistance to most basic poisons, toxins, and hexes, Grants increased mana and health regeneration in areas with large quantities of death mana. The user is more susceptible to Divine mana and light of any kind. The Vitality Attribute is replaced by Toughness} Hmm, so basically I¡¯m stronger in areas with lots of Death affinity mana, I''m resistant to most poisons, and I''m weak to Divine and Light mana. ¡°That¡¯s actually quite a fantastic mutation.¡± I was a bit worried when first reading the name of the mutation, cause I thought might come with some nasty drawback or heavy restriction like having to eat brains, having to avoid sunlight or something odd like that but other than being weak to two mana types and not having the {Vitality} attribute. It seems very beneficial. After the examination, I look back at the rats and to my delight, they seem to be leaving the cave. I watch with glee as they start to stream out of the cave with only the {Alpha Nuvarno Rat} being the last one to leave. I can¡¯t seem to see the corpse of the rat I killed, only traces of blood. ¡°Did they actually eat their own kind, that¡¯s disgusting.¡± Just as the alpha was about to leave it suddenly did something unexpected. It turned around and looked straight at me. Our eyes met and I froze instantly. I waited with bated breath for it to do something, to lunge at me, to call back its pack and gang up on me, anything really. Yet nothing happened and we both simply stared at each other, with neither of us moving a muscle. It was almost as if we can both tell that the first to move would be the trigger to the proverbial explosion. {Hiding has risen to level 2} The notification almost made me lose focus but thankfully I steadied my nerves and kept my gaze directly at {Alpha Nuvarno Rat}. After what felt like an eternity, it simply snorted at me and walked off. I released a breath I didn¡¯t know I was holding, I couldn¡¯t help but feel relieved that I made it out of that alive but more than anything I couldn¡¯t help but feel insulted. It was the Alpha¡¯s eyes that deeply angered me, that look of contempt and pity. Guided by something deep within my soul, I made a declaration ¡°You looked at me as if I was trash, not even worthy to be seen as prey. I¡¯ll make sure you regret that decision for the rest of your short life.¡± It was on this day that the path of {Karz the Eternal} truly began. 03: Exploring the Nuvarno Crypt Following the rat pack''s departure, I exited the hole and started planning out my next moves. I definitely have to level up and get more skills, I also need to get more information on what type of world I¡¯ve been born into, and while not as important I kinda also want to know about my old world. I don''t know why but I feel a strange sense of longing for my previous world even if I can only remember bits and pieces from it. Hell, I can¡¯t even remember my own name. Speaking of which, I checked my status again to confirm something and see my progress.
STATUS
Information Attributes Skills, Mutations
Name: ??? Toughness: 1 Skills Mutations
Race: Lesser Pygmy Boneling Strength: 2 Identify Lv 2 Otherworlder
Sex: Male Dexterity: 1 Mana Bolt Lv 2 Undead
Rank: G- Endurance 0 Float Lv 2
Level: 1 Intelligence: 9 Hiding Lv 2
Exp Required: 2/5 Willpower: 8
Titles: N/A Arcane 7
Health: 5/5 Divinity: 0
Stamina: 0/0
Mana: 10/10
¡°I wonder if there¡¯s a limit to how many skills and mutations you can get.¡± I absentmindedly thought. Seeing that my skills were progressing nicely, I instead focused on my {Name}. Trying to use {Identify} on it, I was only met with confusion. {The individual has not earned a name}. ¡°Huh, are names something special in this world?¡± I really need to figure out the rules of this world. Filing that little tidbit away for later, I begin mentally preparing myself to exit this cave and explore the rest of the {Nuvarno Crypt}. I floated as quietly as possible to the entrance cave and peered carefully out. I seem to be in an intersection for a hallway of sorts with three passages. One going to the right, one to the left, and the last one straight ahead of me. ¡°Welp, might as well go straight ahead and see what¡¯s out there.¡± I moved as silently as I could, which in retrospect is quite easy given the whole floating skull thing. After a few minutes of skulking about, I finally found another creature, a rather ugly one at that. {Identify} {Rotroach: Lv 1} {A species of insects that thrive in areas with potent death and dark affinity mana. These bottom feeders can be found anywhere containing corpses, cadavers, or carcasses of any type. They are primarily scavengers and are quite docile but can attack if provoked} ¡°And I thought those rats were disgusting but these things truly take the cake.¡± The {Rotroach} looked like a cockroach if it was enlarged and given even more unsettling features, their twitching antennas and compound eyes are especially unnerving. ¡°Sorry roach, but you''re gonna have to die, I need your exp.¡± I floated a bit higher to get a better angle and started aiming at him. Once I was certain my shot would land, I fired a single {Mana Bolt} to test its reaction. {You have inflicted 3 magical damage to Rotroach} {Rotroach: Lv 1 has been slain} {You have gained 1 Exp} ¡°Huh, easier than I thought.¡± Feeling confident about my win, I waited until my mana regenerated fully before going off to search for another beast to kill. A couple minutes later I found four roaches eating the corpse of a {Nuvarno Rat}. Using {Identify}, I gauge the level of the roaches too see if they were worth fighting {Rotroach: Lv 1}, {Rotroach: Lv 2}, {Rotroach: Lv 1}, {Rotroach: Lv 1}. ¡°Three level 1s and one level 2s, shouldn¡¯t be too difficult.¡± I don¡¯t want to be too careless so I decided to end this fight quickly. I {Float} a good distance away and fired four bolts in rapid succession. Two of the bolts hit two roaches in its head killing them instantly, one of them hit a roach on its side, injuring it but not enough to kill. The final one whiffed entirely as the roach managed to dodge. I felt a surge of power enter my body making me almost drop to the ground. Luckily, I regained my composure quickly enough and focused back on the roaches. The one that I missed seemed to be angry at me and looked as if it was about to do something. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Checking my status, I''m pleased to find that my mana had not only regenerated but also increased {12/12 MP remaining}. Suddenly the {Rotroach: Lv 2} fired out a ball of viscous black goo at me, reacting quickly I floated out of the way and fired back with a bolt of my own. The roach nimbly dodged it but I anticipated this after learning my lesson from the {Nuvarno Rat}. I fired off a second bolt as it was dodging and I made sure to aim to where it would most likely run to. {You have inflicted 3 magical damage to Rotroach} My bolt managed to clip its front pair of legs on the right side. The {Rotroach} let out a shriek of pain, startling me a bit. Wanting to end this quickly, I swiftly fired a bolt at its head. {You have inflicted 4 magical damage to Rotroach} {You have slain Rotroach: Lv 2} {You have gained 2 Exp} Finally finished with that guy, I turned my attention to the other roach that I failed to kill initially. It was writhing around on the ground and looking to be in a whole lot of pain. A single bolt finally ended its suffering. Looking around at the dead roaches, I cringe a little in disgust as their corpses looked absolutely vile. Once I was sure nothing was left alive, I started heading back to my cave to recuperate and check up on some notifications that I left unchecked. I made my way inside the cave and after making sure nothing followed me. I opened my long line of notifications and began reading, starting from the oldest. {You have inflicted 3 magical damage to Rotroach: Lv 1} {You have slain Rotroach: Lv 1} {You have gained 1 Exp} {You have inflicted 3 magical damage to Rotroach: Lv 1} {You have slain Rotroach: Lv 1} {You have gained 1 Exp} {Congratulations, you have reached level 2} {+1 Intelligence, +1 Arcane, +2 Free stat points added} {You have inflicted 2 magical damage to Rotroach: Lv 1} {Mana Bolt has risen to level 3} ¡°So that¡¯s what that surge of power I felt was, I leveled up. It also looks like leveling up regenerates my resources fully, that''s good to know.¡± Satisfied with my notifications, I went to ponder on where to put my two free stat points. ¡°My build is a caster build, so I should probably focus more on Arcane, Willpower, Intelligence rather than Strength or Dexterity.¡± Was the idea I had but thinking more logically I truly didn¡¯t know what type of monsters this world could have. For all I knew there could be something out there that''s completely resistant to magic. Thinking this I decided to play it safe and put one point into {Toughness} to boost my rather small HP pool and one point into {Willpower} to further increase my mana regeneration. A surge of power entered me once more, making me feel satisfied with my choices. I pull up my status to marvel at my growth.
STATUS
Information Attributes Skills, Mutations
Name: ??? Toughness: 2 Skills Mutations
Race: Lesser Pygmy Boneling Strength: 2 Identify Lv 2 Otherworlder
Sex: Male Dexterity: 1 Mana Bolt Lv 3 Undead
Rank: G- Endurance 0 Float Lv 2
Level: 2 Intelligence: 10 Hiding Lv 2
Exp Required: 3/7 Willpower: 9
Titles: N/A Arcane 8
Health: 6/6 Divinity: 0
Stamina: 0/0
Mana: 6/12
¡°Not too bad for my first hour being here or at least I think it''s been an hour, time is kinda hard to tell with no clocks around.¡± Finished with inspecting my status, I plan to exit the cave again. ¡°Time for some grinding.¡± I returned back to where the roaches were and was surprised to see two of the corpses already gone, with only some blood and a severed leg being the only indication of them being there. ¡°Must¡¯ve been another Rotroach, either that or something else entirely.¡± I {Float} past them and started going further in the {Nuvarno Crypt} After about 30 minutes or so of wandering I finally came across something interesting. A massive ebony tree with hundreds of leaves of ashen gray sitting in what appears to be the remains of a fountain with water overflowing onto the cold dingy floor. Feeling curious I got closer to the tree and immediately felt the ambient mana change drastically. It''s an odd sensation but it''s as if the mana here is easier to control like it''s more connected to my body. ¡°This must be death mana, judging by how natural it feels to me.¡± I pondered. I had a hunch so I checked my mana and yep it¡¯s regenerating faster than before. ¡°I wonder what¡¯s causing this death mana, could it be the tree?¡± Wanting to know more, I used {Identify} on it. {Identify has risen to level 3} {Ruinwood Sapling} {A juvenile sapling to the Ruinwood tree. Ruinwoods are a rare variety of tree that can only be found in areas with a heavy concentration of dark and death affinity mana. These trees are known for their innate ability to absorb ambient mana into their trunk where it is then transformed and expelled as death affinity mana, rapidly changing nearby landscapes to desolate wastelands. Has a variety of unknown uses.} Getting closer to the tree, A glint of something green caught my eye. I moved closer to it but before I could see what it was, something unexpected happened. {You have received 2 magical damage} {You have been inflicted with (Shadestalker Hex)} {You have resisted (Shadestalker Hex)} ¡°What the Shit!!!¡± My vision went dark for a moment only for it to return to normal the very next second. I quickly floated away and looked around frantically to find my assailants. I eventually found them, they were perched up on one of the big branches of the {Ruinwood Sapling}, Just mere inches to where I had been. ¡°I really can¡¯t catch a break, can I.¡± I mentally lamented. 04: War Against The Bats In front of me were three bat-like creatures with elongated snouts and razor sharp talons. They looked extremely menacing with one big bat being flanked by two smaller bats. I backed off slowly and used {Identify} on the closest one to get a proper read on these guys. {Shadestalker Bat: Lv 2} {A species of chiroptera found commonly in areas containing large amounts of dark-affinity mana. These stealthy predators are famed for their piercing silver eyes, jet black fur, and silent flying. Their method of hunting involves stalking their prey using their stealthy movement before going in for the kill with an infused sonic blast that blinds and ultimately ends their prey} ¡°Stealthy predators, no wonder I didn¡¯t see them.¡± Just as I was about to make a plan of attack I got interrupted by one of the bats charging straight at me, panicking I fired a {Mana Bolt} at it. {You have inflicted 3 magical damage to Shadestalker Bat: Lv 2}. ¡°Fuck it, no need for a plan just maximum effort.¡± I quickly {Identify} each of the bats to see their levels. {Shadestalker Bat: Lv 2}, {Shadestalker Bat: Lv 3}, {Shadestalker Bat: Lv 4}. The one that I had just hit was the level 2 one and he¡¯s looking rather pissed. The bat started screeching and charging at me again trying to tear me apart with his sharp talons. Using {Float} I nimbly maneuvered and dodged the attack but the bat didn¡¯t let up, I kept dodging waiting for an opportune time to retaliate. Suddenly I felt something wrong and quickly turned to look at the other two bats. It was lucky that I did, one of them was charging up some kind of spell in its mouth.Before I had the chance to stop it, the bat let loose the volatile energy in the form of a high-powered screech. The spell hurtled straight at me. My options of dodging were limited with the spell and the other bat pincering me. Acting quickly, I use every ounce of {Willpower} I have and push {Float} to its maximum potential to dodge straight up as fast as possible. {Float has risen to level 3} Narrowly dodging both the spell and the bat, I look down to see them both collide in mid-air. Seeing the opportunity given to me I quickly fire out a {Mana Bolt} at the dazed bat. {You have inflicted 4 magical damage to Shadestalker Bat: Lv 2} {You have slain Shadestalker bat: Lv 2} {You have gained 2 Exp} I quickly check my HP and MP to see how I''m doing on resources. {4/6 HP remaining}, {9/12 MP remaining}. ¡°Okay, you have four more shots, better make them count.¡± Turning around to the remaining bats, I got closer to them to get a better shot. Apparently, they didn¡¯t like this all too much because they let loose a monstrous howl and flew straight at me. I steadied my nerves and focused on the lower leveled one first. The level 3 bat tried to slice me with his talons but just before he was gonna hit me, I floated backwards, narrowly dodging his claws and retaliating with a {Mana bolt} to the face. {You have inflicted 4 magical damage to Shadestalker Bat: Lv 3}. The bat cried out in pain and began glaring at me, it then flew back and started inhaling a bunch of mana, in preparation for a spell. ¡°Oh no you dont!¡± I have a feeling that letting him finish that spell would be very bad for me so I quickly {Float} over to him and fired a {Mana Bolt} right into the bat¡¯s open mouth, instantly exploding its entire upper jaw. {You have inflicted 5 magical damage to Shadestalker Bat: Lv 3}. {You have slain Shadestalker Bat: Lv 3} {You have gained 3 Exp} {Congratulations, you have reached level 3} {+1 Intelligence, +1 Arcane, +2 Free stat points added} {Mana Bolt has risen to level 4} ¡°HELL YEAH!!¡± A surge of power enters my body, making me grin a toothy smile. I want to celebrate right now but there¡¯s still the matter of the final bat. Unfortunately, I should¡¯ve paid more attention to my surroundings. {You have taken 5 physical & magical damage} {WARNING! You are on critical health} ¡°FUCK!!!¡± I was so preoccupied with killing the level 3 bat that I completely disregarded the level 4 one. The bat managed to sneak up behind me and puncture the back of my head. It''s now holding me tightly with its claws while I futilely try to free myself. I can feel its claws tightening around my skull, a single clench of its claws can easily end my life. Terrified for my life, I fire several {Mana Bolts} in rapid succession to try and escape, unfortunately the beast merely tilts backwards and dodges all of them. Being up close to this thing, I can now see its cruel silver eyes peering into me, Its mouth curled up almost in the shape of a sneer. The bat opens its jaws wide, a swirl of mana entering it. Preparation for its signature spell. ¡°NO, NO, NO, FUCK, THINK, THINK, THINK!!!¡± My mind races to think of a solution out of this but nothing I can think of works. Looking at the beast¡¯s looming jaw, something inside of me snaps. I was no longer thinking of ways to escape just ways to kill this fucker. ¡°You want a piece of me, fine, THEN YOU CAN HAVE IT.¡± I start charging up a {Mana Bolt} filling it with all of my remaining MP. As the beast¡¯s spell was nearing completion, its silver eyes locked on to mine almost as if to say ¡°I¡¯ve won.¡± Unfortunately, I wasn''t going down without a fight. Moving faster than ever before, I charged up a powerful {Mana Bolt}, and just as the bat was looming down. I moved before the bat could react and sink my teeth into its skull. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. {You have inflicted 8 magical & physical damage to Shadestalker Bat: Lv 4} {You have slain Shadestalker Bat: Lv 4} {You have gained 4 Exp} {Mana Bolt has risen to level 5 [Max Level]} {Mana Bolt can be upgraded} {Congratulations, you have gained the [Mana Bite] skill} {Congratulations, for overcoming adversity you have gained the [Immutable] title} The bat¡¯s head practically explodes and I''m instantly coated in viscera. I drop alongside the beast¡¯s headless body but I manage to free myself and {Float} away before hitting the ground. I feel extremely drained and lethargic, I want to just lay down somewhere and take a nap but I have enough foresight to know that, that would be a terrible idea. I took one last look at the corpses of the three bats, feeling no small amount of vitriol for my assailants. ¡°Should¡¯ve thought twice before going after me.¡± I smugly but tiredly proclaimed before making my way back to the cave. I thought about exploring the tree but decided to play it safe and regenerate a bit before I get ambushed by another monster. Making my way down the corridor, I was thinking back on the recent battle and evaluating on what I could¡¯ve done better when suddenly I heard the sound of numerous tiny feet moving my direction. I immediately recognize the sound of the rats and frantically try to find another hiding spot. Unluckily though, most of the walls around me were rock solid and had no cracks or crevasses. My eyes flicked back to the direction of the {Ruinwood Sapling} and I had a crazy yet ingenious idea. ¡°Let¡¯s hope they¡¯re dumb enough to fall for the same trick twice.¡± I sped my way back to the tree and looked at its crown. After finding a spot with a large amount of leaves, I wiggled my way in and made sure to cover myself as best as I could. Not wanting to get caught but still curious about what the rats might be doing, I made a little opening in the leaves where I could see the rats and stayed stock still. Activating {Hiding}, I prayed that my camouflage was enough, while waiting for the rats, I decided to check up on my status to see what changed.
STATUS
Information Attributes Skills, Mutations
Name: ??? Toughness: 7 Skills Mutations
Race: Lesser Pygmy Boneling Strength: 2 Identify Lv 3 Otherworlder
Sex: Male Dexterity: 1 Mana Bolt Lv 5 Undead
Rank: G- Endurance 5 Float Lv 3
Level: 3 Intelligence: 11 Hiding Lv 2
Exp Required: 5/9 Willpower: 9 Mana Bite Lv 1
Titles: Immutable Arcane 9 Endure Lv 1
Health: 1/11 Divinity: 0
Stamina: 7/7
Mana: 0/14
¡°Huh, why is my Toughness so high, and when the heck did I get stamina.¡± Looking around my status screen, I eventually see who the culprit to my new additions are. {Immutable: You have gained this title from performing a feat of great endurance. Requirements = Survive an attack with the lowest possible HP and defeat the one who attacked you. Effects = +5 Toughness, +5 Endurance, grants the [Endure] skill} ¡°Damn if all titles are this good, I¡¯d try and die more often.¡± I close the tab to momentarily spy on the arriving rats. I almost lost my nerve right there and then when I saw the sheer number of rats streaming into the room. ¡°Did these guys multiply or something!¡± Counting each rat that I see, I''m almost shocked to find out that the rat pack had more than double the amount of rats since I last saw them. Worst of all however, was when I saw the {Alpha Nuvarno Rat} again. I used {Identify} on him to see if anything had changed and to my annoyance something did {Alpha Nuvarno Rat: Lv 7}. The bastard had leveled up since I last saw him but strangely enough I wasn¡¯t as scared of him as before. While yes, there is a four level difference between us, I still feel like I could kill him. Just not right now of course. I might be arrogant but I''m not stupid. ¡°Just you wait rat, once I get strong enough, I''m gonna eradicate your entire species.¡± I vowed mentally. 05: The Fruit of Ones Labor After a while of spying on the rats, I got bored so I went back to checking my notifications. It was then that I remembered the 2 free points that were just waiting to be spent. Glancing at my attributes, I ruminate for a few minutes on what to put them in before ultimately putting them in {Intelligence} and {Arcane} to get nice even numbers. Satisfied with my choice I move on to seeing what my two new skills did. {Mana Bite: Lv 1} {Allows the user to coat their jaws in mana to unleash a devastating bite, damage and size of Mana Bite is determined by Strength and Arcane} {Endure: Lv 1} {Allows the user to infuse their body with stamina, temporarily raising their Toughness. Duration and effectiveness of Endure is determined by Toughness and Endurance} ¡°Another attack skill and a defense skill, good I actually do need a way to actively defend myself.¡± Done with reading, I activate {Endure} to get a feel for the skill. A yellow-ish sheen covers me when I use the skill and I could feel myself getting denser, not enough to the point of weighing me down but still significantly heavier than before. Checking my stamina, I see that I haven''t wasted a single point yet, so to experiment I leave {Endure} running while I check the final and most important notification. {Mana Bolt can be upgraded} {Upgrade Mana Bolt (Y/N)} ¡°So skills can be upgraded at level 5, that''s good to know, better start grinding my other skills then.¡± I clicked yes and the prompt expanded to a list of five options, each with their own little infobox.
Skill Upgrade - MANA BOLT
Mana Spear: Unleash a spear of potent mana, Slightly Increases penetration power and damage
Greater Mana Bolt: Direct upgrade to Mana Bolt, Greatly Increases damage, size, and mana cost
Mana Buckshot: Fire a buckshot of potent mana, Slightly Decreases size and mana cost, Slightly Increases damage
Infused Mana Bolt: Combine stamina and mana to empower the bolt, Slightly Increases damage, Requires stamina and mana to activate
Arcane Screech: Let loose a screech of potent mana, Slightly Decreases damage, Increases range, Inflicts the [Dazed] debuff
Seeing the expansive array of options in front of me, I take my time and read each one carefully to make sure I get the best choice. At first, each one seems fantastic in their own right but after reading more thoroughly I eliminate both {Mana Buckshot} and {Infused Mana Bolt} as potential options. The former is more likely to put me in danger as going off of my knowledge, a buckshot is rather inaccurate at long ranges and I don''t feel comfortable fighting all my battles at close range ,while the latter requires me to use both stamina and mana to shoot, which is bad because the size of my current stamina pool is abysmally small. Discarding those options I take a closer look at the three remaining ones. ¡°Eh wait I still have {Endure} running, don¡¯t I?¡±. Quickly checking my stamina, I see it has dropped by one point. ¡°So 1 stamina point for 1 minute of {Endure}, quite a good trade-off but I need to use this ability in actual battle to see its performance.¡± I turn off {Endure} and focus back on the skill choices. After some deliberation I discard {Greater Mana Bolt} as, even though it was a good overall upgrade, the line about increased mana cost warned me against picking it. Left with only two options, I weigh each skill''s upside and downsides before finally coming to my decision. {Mana Bolt has been upgraded to Mana Spear} {Mana Spear: Lv 1} {Allows the user to charge and unleash a spear of potent mana to pierce their enemies. Size, potency, and damage of Mana Spear is determined by Intelligence and Arcane} {Hiding has risen to level 3} My reasoning for picking {Mana Spear} over {Arcane Screech} was quite simple. I just felt like {Mana Spear} was overall the stronger skill, while it could be said that {Arcane Screech} has more utility with the {Dazed} status effect, I couldn¡¯t really see a way I could use that effectively as I am now. Don¡¯t get me wrong I might use status effects later down the line but for now, all I need is solid reliable and cheap damage. Done with my skill upgrade, I check to see what the rats are doing. Almost all of them seem to be in various states of sleep with the Alpha in particular dozing off without a care in the world. I was about to also take a nap myself cause I still felt somewhat lethargic when a hint of something green caught my eye. ¡°Now what could that be?¡± I slowly made my way over to the green thing, taking care not to disturb the crown of the tree lest I want to earn the ire of the sleeping rat pack. Once I was close enough I realized it was what had originally caught my attention in the first place before I was rudely interrupted by those bats. ¡°Huh, I didn¡¯t know saplings could grow fruit.¡± I naturally used {Identify} on it. {Identify has risen to level 4} {Ruinform Berry} {The crown jewel of the Ruinwood trees. These berries are extremely rare and highly sought after by Toxicologists, Hex Casters, and any one else with classes regarding poisons, toxins, and hexes. Born from a steady and continuous infusion of death mana and dark mana, these berries contain a unique poison that is more akin to curse than a toxin. Has many unknown uses, may grant certain benefits upon consumption} Seeing the fruit up close it certainly is a fantasy-looking fruit, It has an emerald green hue and looks like a cross between a durian and a lemon. I can almost see the intense amount of death and dark mana radiating from it, making me salivate in anticipation. I think for a moment or two if I should truly eat a sinister looking fruit because a single line in its status told me I might get benefits. But ultimately I say fuck it and resolve myself to eat it. ¡°I need power and I need it now,upgrading my skills are good and all but I need a definitive edge against the other monsters here.¡± This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Finished with my inner monologue, I carefully pluck the {Ruinform Berry} off the tree and put it on a sturdy branch before trying to bite chunks out of it. Annoyingly though, the berry¡¯s skin is harder than it looks so at a loss for options, I just open my jaws wide and devour it whole. ¡°Tastes kinda sour, I wonder how long it takes before the effects start showi¡± *Blurgh* ¡°What the fuck was tha!¡± *Urgh* A piercing pain starts to form in my skull and with each second it gets worse and worse. It quickly transitions from a simple stinging sensation to a full force throb only to once more change into an ache of unimaginable torture. I grit my teeth to try and keep myself conscious but my actions are futile as the ache sends waves of agony across my entire bony body. The sting became so unbearable I had no choice but to deactivate {Float} and let my body fall on a sturdy branch. Using every ounce of {Willpower} I have, I do everything to keep myself awake but my struggling merely delays the inevitable. I could do nothing but await whatever fate befell me as my eyes rapidly fade to black. ¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°EuaGughghg¡± Slowly but surely I regain my consciousness. My body still feels like shit but the pain is now greatly dulled. I slowly {Float} up and check my surroundings to make sure I''m not in any danger. Thankfully the rat pack was still sound asleep and I couldn¡¯t see any new threats yet. ¡°Okay, now what the FUCK was with that fruit.¡± I mentally grumbled. I inwardly cursed the fruit and its stupid misleading status. ¡°May give benefits upon consumption, oh yeah we also forgot to tell you it feels like your guts are being boiled alive!¡± After several more curses at the insidious berry, I eventually calm down and checked on some notifications that had appeared when I was unconscious. {You have been inflicted with [Ruinous Bane]} {[Ruinous Bane] can not be resisted} {You have taken 3 magical damage} {WARNING! You are on critical health} {Congratulations, you have gained the [Rot-Touched] mutation} {Congratulations, you have gained the [Aura of Rot] skill} {Congratulations, you have gained the [Blight Body] skill} ¡°Woah! Two new skills and a brand new mutation¡± I thought with glee. I was slightly petrified when I read the damage notifications and the ones about me being infected but luckily it all turned out A-okay. I¡¯m relieved to find that my health has regenerated somewhat so I¡¯m no longer close to death anymore. Unable to contain my excitement I quickly open my status screen only to get another surprise.
STATUS
Information Attributes Skills, Mutations
Name: ??? Toughness: 7 Skills Mutations
Race: Lesser Pygmy Boneling Strength: 2 Identify Lv 4 Otherworlder
Sex: Male Dexterity: 1 *Mana Spear Lv 1 Undead
Rank: G- Endurance 5 Float Lv 3 Rot-Touched
Level: 3 Intelligence: 12 Hiding Lv 2
Exp Required: 5/9 Willpower: 14 Mana Bite Lv 1
Titles: Immutable Arcane 20 Endure Lv 1
Health: 11/11 Divinity: 0 Aura of Rot Lv 1
Stamina: 7/7 Blight Body Lv 1
Mana: 28/28
¡°Holy hell, 20 arcane and 14 willpower!¡± I¡¯m flabbergasted just looking at the absurd numbers. Wondering how my {Arcane} and {Willpower} increased so much, I pulled up my new mutation to read its effects. {Rot-Touched: You have experienced the true essence of Rot thus altering your very being, +10 Arcane, +5 Willpower, Grants the [Aura of Rot] and [Blight Body] skill} ¡°Hehehehe, I take back everything I said about you Ruinform berry, you were the best thing to ever happen to me.¡± My mood is now sky-high and after my short bout of unconsciousness, I feel well rested and ready to take on the world. I open up my two new skills to see what they''re effects are. {Aura of Rot: Lv 1} {Allows the user to project an aura of decay at a radius around their body, Range and damage of Aura of Rot is determined by Willpower and Arcane} {Blight Body: Lv 1} {Grants the user a small chance to inflict [Blight] with any physical attack, Chance of [Blight] infliction is determined by Intelligence and Arcane} I can definitely use {Aura of Rot} right now but {Blight Body} may be a bit tricky to fit into my fighting style. ¡°I wish I had some test dummies to try these skills on¡± I mentally sighed. Just then, I remembered about the rat pack right under me, the rat pack currently sleeping and absolutely defenseless. ¡°Muehehehe, this might just work.¡± I think while smiling a wicked grin. 06: Evolution I stealthily floated down near the rat pack making sure to move very slowly so as to not alert them. I got as close as 12 cm before I saw one of the rats twitch instantly putting me on high alert. I kept my eyes locked on that rat but after a while, it looked to be fast asleep so I carried on my next step of the plan. I activated {Aura of Rot} and a shimmer of dark green energy started projecting outwards from me in a radius. The range was quite a bit smaller than I expected, only being a measly 3 cm away from me. I pump more mana into the spell to hopefully increase that range. After expending 4 points of MP, my {Aura of Rot} finally hit 4 four rats right below me and I eagerly watch to see its effects. At first nothing happened and I was left confused but then the fur of the rats started sizzling as if on fire, then a black mold-like substance started growing on their skin. It spread with alarming speed and it wasn''t long before the rat¡¯s entire body was covered in it. I watched with rapt attention as the mold disintegrated their bodies, with the rat¡¯s not even able to offer any retaliation. It only took a few minutes before the flesh of the rats were fully disintegrated, leaving only bone. Looking around, I saw the rest of the rat pack still sound asleep so I turned off {Aura of Rot} and went to check my notifications. {You have inflicted 6 magical damage to Nuvarno Rat: Lv 1} {You have inflicted 6 magical damage to Nuvarno Rat: Lv 1} {You have inflicted 6 magical damage to Nuvarno Rat: Lv 1} {You have inflicted 5 magical damage to Nuvarno Rat: Lv 1} {You have slain Nuvarno Rat: Lv 1} ¡­¡­¡­. {Congratulations, you have reached level 4} {+1 Intelligence, +1 Arcane, +2 Free points} {Aura of Rot has risen to level 2} ¡°Hehehe, ehhehe, AHAHAHA¡± I cackled internally. Unable to contain my glee at the hilarity of the situation. A full level for only a few minutes of work, how great is that. I shake my skull, quickly setting my focus back on track, I remind myself not to be too overconfident and to just kill these rats. Arrogance is a slow and insidious killer, I need to keep that in mind. Getting back on track, I open my status to see which of my stats I should put the free points in. Seeing the pitiful numbers of {Strength} and {Dexterity}, I distribute the points there to somewhat balance my rather skewed attributes. Finished with that, I gaze upon the still sleeping rat pack and grin. ¡°Time to grind.¡± An hour and multiple dead rats later, I turned off {Aura of Rot} and was greeted with my second level up of the day as well as an unfamiliar notification. {Aura of Rot has risen to level 4} {Congratulations, you have reached level 5} {You have reached the current level threshold, evolution is possible} {Commence evolution (Y/N)} ¡°Whoa, I can evolve!¡± I wasn¡¯t entirely sure what the process would do to me but I couldn''t help but feel excited nonetheless. I mean, who didn¡¯t feel a sense of amazement when their starter pokemon first evolved. Pokemon, that was a game from my old world, I used to play it with¡­with¡­...with someone. I tried to remember more details of my past but my head started hurting something fierce so I let go of the memory and turned to the evolution screen to occupy my thoughts. ¡°I wonder what I can evolve into, hopefully something with arms.¡± I joked privately. I was about to click yes on the evolution prompt when all of a sudden things went horribly wrong.*RAAAAARGH* ¡°What the shit was that?!¡± I turned to the source of the noise and was horrified by what I saw. A monstrosity with six legs and a jaw ringed with sharp teeth. It looked like an odd abomination of a horse, its skin was the color of rust and was pulled taut against its ugly frame. Numerous pustules ring the sides of its body, giving off the appearance of a sickly creature. But the worst part of the beast had to be its mouth. Its mouth covered its entire head leaving no room for eyes, only teeth. ¡°What in god''s name even, are you?¡± I used {Identify} on it to figure out what I was looking at. {Eqonigar: Lv 10} {A fetid creature of equine terror. This beast is what occurs when the corpse of an equine is tainted with a steady infusion of blight and then infested with a rageful spirit. Once a trusty steed, now merely a monster who hungers for anything living. Notoriously difficult to kill, it is best to avoid these creatures as once they encounter their prey, they will stop at nothing to devour it¡¯s flesh} All im getting from reading that description is I need to fucking leave. Without warning, the beast sprints toward the tree with an unbalanced but still ridiculously fast gait. The rats had already long awakened once the beast first roared and by the look on the Alpha¡¯s face, I can say for certain it truly wants to kill me. Unfortunately for him, I {Float} back into the crown of the tree and hid as best I could. {Hiding has risen to level 3} The {Eqonigar} barrels into the rat pack, killing a few and injuring many in the process before smashing its head into the trunk of the {Ruinwood Sapling}. The rat pack angry at the death of their brethren charge and begin biting at the six legs of the {Eqonigar}. I watch all of this unfold from the relative safety of the tree. The brawl quickly turned into a bloodbath with the rat pack being cut down to less than half of their members due to the actions of the {Eqonigar}. ¡°Probably didn¡¯t help that, I killed a whole heap of them before this fight started.¡± I inwardly remarked. I watch as the {Eqonigar} stomps, kicks, and devours clusters of rats whole. The rats desperately try to fell the beast but no matter what they do, it won¡¯t go down. Oddly enough, I can tell that it wasn¡¯t because the rats were too weak, it looks as if the horse monster was regenerating. Wait no I am correct, it is regenerating. ¡°It definitely healed its wounds just then, so it can regenerate after eating.¡± I ponder. The {Eqonigar} is running rampant with the rat pack able to do nothing to stop it, until finally only two are left standing, the Alpha and the {Eqonigar}. I could sense that this was the climax of the battle so I watched fully immersed in this battle and its end. It seems however that fate had other plans. *QEEEEEEQ* A screech erupted from a corridor left of the {Ruinwood Sapling} followed by the sounds of numerous wings flapping in sync. Before the Alpha or the {Eqonigar} could react, a whole horde of {Shadestalker Bats} emerge from the corridor and upon seeing the {Alpha Nuvarno Rat} and the {Eqonigar}, Instantly launched themselves at the monsters. The bats tear into the equine monster and begin rapidly barraging it with their dark spells. The horse beast goes into a frenzy from the attacks, it starts kicking wildly in the vain hopes of killing the bats. Glancing at the alpha, I saw that it was in an even worse state. Its exhaustion from fighting the {Eqonigar} coupled with the loss of its greatest strength (the pack) made him an easy target for the bats. It was now utter chaos with the involvement of the bats so before anything else could join in on this brawl, I hastily made my escape. I waited for the perfect moment when all the three combatants were distracted, I then pushed {Float} to its maximum limit and practically burst out of the tree like a bullet. I felt a slight pang of regret at not being able to end the Alpha but my safety is what matters most. ¡°If there are more things like that Eqonigar running around, then I have no choice but to evolve, I can¡¯t keep running and hiding when things turn to shit.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Thankfully my speedy retreat was unnoticed by any other enemies and I made it back to the cave safely, even getting a skill level for my troubles. {Float has risen to level 4} Looking around and making sure that nothing followed me, I finally felt safe enough to evolve. Excited at the possibilities, I mentally confirmed yes on and eagerly awaited the evolution process. {Warning! Evolution will render the user unconscious} {Proceed with evolution (Y/N)} Reading the prompt I felt absolutely relieved I didn¡¯t try to evolve back at the {Ruinwood Sapling}, who knows what might happen with my body. Clicking yes, a new screen popped up.
EVOLUTION - Tier 1
Name Rank Description Stats Skills Mutations
Pygmy Boneling G A direct evolution to the Lesser Pygmy Boneling. Grows In both size and magical power. However, it retains the physical frailty of its lesser variant. Specializes in magical ranged attacks. Intelligence +2 Mana Shield N/A
Arcane +2 Bone Sense
Willpower +1 Conjure Bone
Free Points +1
Lesser Wraith G+ A spirit of vengeance reborn through occult means. Higher affinity for curses and hexes. Specializes in slowly killing their prey with a variety of different curses. WARNING! Picking this race will irreversibly change your body. Strength -1 Chains of Agony Incorporeal
Arcane +4 Cursed Cry
Willpower +2 Hexcall
Intelligence +3
Pygmy Gremlin G A divergent Evolution to the Pygmy Boneling. These nasty critters are known for their hit & run tactics. WARNING! Picking this race will lead to the loss of certain skills. Willpower -2 Small Weapons Mastery One With the Pack
Dexterity +4 Slice & Scratch Lightfoot
Endurance +2 Lesser Steal
Strength +1
Rotspore Trapper H+ A Unique plant based lifeform that hunts its prey by secreting deadly spores in its immediate vicinity which slowly decays and rots their victims. WARNING! Picking this race will lead to the loss of certain skills as well as irreversibly change your body Endurance -1 Spore Release Necrosynthesis
Dexterity -2 Vine Whip Unfettered Bloom
Toughness +6 Blight Briar Rooted
Arcane +4 Draining Touch
Juvenile Blighted Eidolon H- A rare race that is born when an undead species touches upon the essence of Blight itself. Specializing in magical attacks of both ranged and physical nature, this novice illusive hunter is skilled in the art of assasination. Dexterity +3 Ebony Claws Half-Spectre
Arcane +3 Phantomstep Camouflaged
Strength +2 Soul Sense
Free Points +1
¡°Woah, that¡¯s a lot to take in, well at least I know now that I can pick my evolutions and not get changed forcibly into something else.¡± I spoke internally. Surveying my surroundings once more to make sure I¡¯m perfectly safe, I start reading through the options listed. So first of all I''m definitely not picking the {Rotspore Trapper}. From an outside perspective, it appears to be the best option. With it having the highest rank out of the rest as well as more skills and mutation than the others. However, all that is only surface level. Looking more in-depth, it is plainly obvious that picking this evolution will only hinder me in many ways. ¡°I''m guessing it''ll probably turn me into a plant monster of some kind and while that might be okay for some, I quite enjoy being able to move so no for me!¡± Quickly dismissing that option, I examine the 4 other options and after some careful deliberation, I quickly take out both {Pygmy Gremlin} and {Lesser Wraith}. The former on account of it not meshing at all with my current build and possibly leading me to waste my high {Arcane} stat, while the latter for the simple fact of me still wanting to have a physical body. Currently I''m nothing but a skull, but I will hopefully regain my body one day so me getting rid of my physical body and turning into an incorporeal wraith would kinda be a redundant choice. ¡°Plus how am I gonna get more info on this world, If i''m a ghost¡± Confident with my decision, I regard my final two choices, {Pygmy Boneling} and {Juvenile Blighted Eidolon}. Weighing both options as well as their benefits and drawbacks, I eventually came to a conclusion and picked the {Juvenile Blighted Eidolon}. I feel a sudden bout of drowsiness but this time I don¡¯t fight it, floating over to a flat spot in my cave. I deactivate {Float} and adorn a simple grin as the darkness overtakes me. 07: Juvenile Blighted Eidolon ¡°I still can¡¯t fathom why you decided to pick him¡± ¡°Hmm, was there another one you thought I should have chosen?¡± ¡°No, none of them were worthy of your grace but this one is an especially baffling choice.¡± ¡°Furthermore, why did you give him such a frail body? The Exanimus has a myriad of races, why choose such a feeble one?¡± ¡°Hohoho, where¡¯s the fun in that, If I were to give our little friend here everything from the start then wouldn¡¯t it ruin the whole purpose of the c?????????????r?????????????u????????c??????????????????????????????????i??????????????????b????????????????????l?????????????????????e?????????????????????????. ¡°That''s a fair point but I still can¡¯t understand your reason for choosing him¡± ¡°Do you remember what I first said to you when the other F?????????u?????????????????????n????????????d???????????a????????????m?????????????????????e?????????????????n????????????t????????????????s?????????????? proposed this little event?¡± ¡°You told me you had a vision of sorts, about a new legend that was about to be born, how its impact would change the¡­..Wait then that means!¡± ¡°Hohhohhoo, It seems you understand now¡± ¡°Then were the rest of them also a part of it?!¡± ¡°Who knows, they might be or they might not be, now shush our little friend is awakening¡± ¡°I can¡¯t wait to see what type of story you¡¯ll show me, oh little Cassian.¡± {Congratulations, your race has evolved into [Juvenile Blighted Eidolon]} {+3 Dexterity, +3 Arcane, +2 Strength, +1 Free point} {You have gained the [Ebony Claws] skill} {You have gained the [Phantomstep] skill} {You have gained the [Soul Sense] skill} {You have gained the [Half-Spectre] mutation} {You have gained the [Camouflaged] mutation} ¡°Yaaaawn.¡± I slowly woke up feeling like I had the weirdest dream, I tried to recall the details of it only to come out empty-handed so I just forgot about it and started stretching my arms. Wait a darn minute ARMS, I looked down and saw two bony alabaster arms staring right back at me. ¡°HOLY SHIT! I have arms again, hell yes!¡± I wave my two appendages up and down in pure glee. Savoring the feeling of regaining my hands even if they are bony now. Now that I had hands again, I did something that I had wanted to do from the very moment I first awoke in this world, I touched my face. Rubbing my hands all over my face was a unique experience, partly due to the fact I was touching my own skull and partly because my sense of touch felt muted. As if I were touching things through wool mittens rather than my own hands. Done with kneading my own face, I begin examining the rest of my body. My whole body was covered in a dark green aura of sorts, very faint but still able to be seen if you¡¯re actively focusing on it. Checking out the rest of my body, I noticed how I had no legs, and only bony ribs as a torso. Curiosity got the best of me so I started poking it but immediately stopped when a stinging sensation emerged from where I poked. ¡°Okay so even if I¡¯m part ghost, I can still feel the pain, duly noted.¡± I said. Content with my new body, I finished my examination of it and went to check on my status screen.
STATUS
Information Attributes Skills, Mutations
Name: ??? Toughness: 7 Skills Mutations
Race: Juvenile Blighted Eidolon Strength: 5 Identify Lv 4 Otherworlder
Sex: Male Dexterity: 5 *Mana Spear Lv 1 Undead
Rank: G- Endurance 5 Float Lv 4 Rot-Touched
Level: 5 Intelligence: 13 This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Hiding Lv 3 Half-Spectre
Exp Required: 0/15 Willpower: 14 Mana Bite Lv 1 Camouflaged
Titles: Immutable Arcane 24 Endure Lv 1
Health: 11/11 Divinity: 0 Aura of Rot Lv 4
Stamina: 7/7 Blight Body Lv 1
Mana: 33/33 ...
¡°Oh yeah I still have 1 more free point, now where do I put you.¡± I ponder for several seconds before deciding to put it into {Toughness} . After all, you can¡¯t go wrong with having more health. Looking over my status screen I briefly wondered if there was a way to display all my skills, without warning a new screen popped up.
Skills
Active Passive
Identify Lv 4 Hiding Lv 3
Float Lv 4 Blight Body Lv 1
*Mana Spear Lv 1 Soul Sense Lv 1
Mana Bite Lv 1
Endure Lv 1
Aura of Rot Lv 1
Ebony Claws Lv 1
Phantomstep Lv 1
¡°Huh, that¡¯s nifty, now let¡¯s see what my new skills are all about.¡± Pulling them all up, I read them starting with the most interesting sounding one {Ebony Claws}. {Ebony Claws: Lv 1} {Allows the user to coat their arms in flowing deathly mana, enhancing their next attack. Effectiveness of Ebony Claws is determined by Strength and Arcane} {Phantomstep: Lv 1} {Allows the user to briefly turn intangible and rapidly move to a spot within their line of sight. Duration of Intangibility as well as speed of Phantomstep is determined by Dexterity and Arcane} {Soul Sense: Lv 1} {Allows the used to passively sense the aura of creatures within their vicinity. Range of Soul Sense is determined by Intelligence} ¡°Oooh that¡¯s quite a diverse group of skills, can¡¯t wait to try these out.¡± Wasting no time, I activate {Ebony Claws}. My arms started glowing a dark navy blue color before rapidly transitioning into a pitch black hue. Once the process was done my hands were the color of coal and I could almost feel the power radiating in these claws. To test it out I floated closer to a wall and scratched it as hard as I possibly could. *Shink* The results were utterly shocking, five deep furrows about 30 cm in had embedded themselves in the wall. ¡°Woahohoh.¡± I say in pleasant surprise. If these claws are this good, I wonder how the rest of the skills will function. Scanning around the cave, I find a good spot about three meters away from me. I focused intently on using {Phantomstep} before activating it. I ended up a meter left of where I had originally aimed and also upside down. ¡°Hiujujjju¡± I said while swiftly righting myself. ¡°Okay, that didn¡¯t go exactly as planned, Second time¡¯s the charm.¡± Once more I used {Phantomstep} and aimed for a certain spot but this time I ended up two meters in front of it. Not to be deterred I tried over and over to land in the correct spot. Until finally on my 8th attempt I managed to do it. ¡°Hell yeah!¡± {Phantomstep has risen to level 2} {Float has risen to level 5 [Max Level]} {Float can be upgraded} Satisfied that my hard work had paid off, I checked on my last skill before upgrading {Float}. Trying to gain an understanding for {Soul Sense}, it was then that I realized it had already been activated from the start. ¡°That dark green aura surrounding me must¡¯ve been my soul.¡± ¡°Why is my soul the color of a lime?¡± I absentmindedly wondered. Moving on from that, I mentally signaled yes to the {Float} upgrade.
Skill Upgrade - FLOAT
Levitate: Direct upgrade to Float. Increases speed and maneuverability
Armored Hover: Offers both movement and protection. Grants an active mana barrier alongside skill use. Decreases speed and maneuverability
Accelerate: Rapidly increases the user''s speed for a short period of time. Greatly Increases speed, Decreases maneuverability
Wind Rider: Harness the winds as you see fit. Grants a limited ability to control surrounding winds to enhance your speed, Mana cost is subjective
¡°Hmm, only 4 options this time, well at least they all sound good.¡± I said internally. Spending some time reading the prompt, I soon realized that they weren¡¯t actually that great. Leading me to my decision of playing it safe and picking {Levitate} for the simple reason of it being the only one not to have a downside. {Armored Hover} doesn¡¯t really fit that well with my race, {Accelerate} is unnecessary since I already have {Phantomstep}, and {Wind Rider} comes across as a very situational skill. {Float has been upgraded to Levitate} {Levitate: Lv 1} {Allows the user to have full control of their movements in the air, Speed and maneuverability of Levitate is determined by Intelligence and Arcane} I activated the skill and immediately felt a difference in my movement, where before I moved rather stiffly and constrained to 6 directions. Now it felt like I could maneuver however I liked. To test this out I started doing loop de loops and moving erratically from side to side, I was honestly impressed by how different it felt than before, it wasn¡¯t just that I could move better no it felt like I was more in control of my speed and momentum. Like I could stop and start according to my whims. Done and satisfied with my upgrade, I face the entrance to the cave. ¡°Time to see how strong I¡¯ve become.¡± 08: Mushrooms with a side of sliced Ghouls Making my way out of my little cave, I mentally debate on which direction I should take. Surveying each path, I get a feeling for the enemies within them thanks to my {Soul Sense}. Using that, I decided to go right where there was the strongest resonance. While I was moving along in the corridor, I suddenly remembered about my two new mutations so I opened them up. {Half-Spectre: your body is partly spiritual in nature, Slightly decreases physical damage taken but slightly increases magical damage taken} {Camouflaged: your presence is harder to detect through normal means, Increases the effectiveness of all stealth-based skills} ¡°Quite decent, though the line about taking more magical damage kinda sucks but oh well what can you do.¡± I mentally shrug. Now knowing exactly what my new mutations did, I began workshopping methods of attack and luckily for me I found a target to try them out on. More specifically 5 targets. {Gloom Shroomling: Lv 4} {A sentient fungal monster. Though looking rather dopey, these pint-sized terrors may still prove a threat to anyone wanting to take them down. Able to use their gloom spores to deadly effectiveness, they are able to incapacitate and slowly drain their foes of energy. The deadliest thing about these mushrooms however is not their spores but their interconnectivity with one another. For the colony will never surrender} ¡°Wow, what an impressive status for such silly looking guys.¡± I wasn¡¯t saying that to demean them but just one glance at them and you can already tell these guys were fodder enemies. They had no eyes, mouth, or anything like that, only stocky arms with three fingered hands. The tops of their heads were covered with a purple mushroom cap, with tiny mushrooms also growing from them. ¡°Let¡¯s see how strong these guys are.¡± There were two level 4s, two level 2s, and one level 1s. It looks like they hadn¡¯t seen me (can they even see?) So before they could react, I used {Phantomstep} to appear behind both of the level 4s and swiftly slice both of them with {Ebony Claws}. {You have inflicted 8 physical & magical damage to Gloom Shroomling: Lv 4} {You have inflicted 8 physical & magical damage to Gloom Shroomling: Lv 4} {You have slain Gloom Shroomling: Lv 4} {You have slain Gloom Shroomling: Lv 4} {You have gained 2 Exp} The other shrooms instantly react to their comrade¡¯s death and two of them rush me while the other one starts emitting a gaseous purple fog which I assume to be their spores. Not wanting to get caught in the fog, I levitated back all the while firing {Mana Spears} at all three of them. {You have inflicted 9 magical damage to Gloom Shroomling: Lv 2} X2 {You have inflicted 8 magical damage to Gloom Shroomling: Lv 1} {You have slain Gloom Shroomling: Lv 2} X2 {You have slain Gloom Shroomling: Lv 1} {You have gained 1 Exp} ¡°It looks like the higher leveled you are, the less exp you gain from lower leveled enemies.¡± I mentally noted that down. Gazing over the shroomling corpses I don a small satisfied smile and make my way deeper into the corridor. After about 6 minutes of moving, I encountered a crossroads. Thinking for a bit on which path to take, I suddenly heard and sensed several creatures to the left so I stealthily made my way to check it out. What I encountered was odd to say the least, A group of seven {Gloom Shroomling} fighting against a trio of zombies. {Identify} {Ghoul: Lv 6} {A more evolved version of the common undead. These undeads can be found almost anywhere that corpses reside. They have low intellect and sluggish movements but are a threat in large groups.} Feeling curious at the fighting, I got closer but still kept a sizable distance so as to not alert them. Both parties appear to be relatively equal in strength with neither side losing ground, that is until the shrooms all rush aggressively towards the {Ghouls} intent on killing them. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. The {Ghouls} looked stunned for a moment before they roared and charged forward in retaliation. The two parties clashed head on with each ghoul taking on several shroomlings in combat. As this occurred, I silently waited and bided my time for the perfect moment. {Hiding has risen to level 4} A {Ghoul} grabbed two {Gloom Shroomlings} to use as improvised weapons, he flung them around and pummeled his enemies with them. While another {Ghoul} resorted to simply biting chunks out of the shrooms. The mushrooms weren¡¯t defenseless however, as since the battle began they had been spreading their spores around the place, resulting in a thick purple fog enveloping the area. Yet the spore¡¯s are not as effective as the mushrooms would like if their harried movements were anything to go by. ¡°Those ghouls must have the same Undead mutation I do, no wonder the shroom''s spores aren¡¯t affecting them as much.¡± I thought. The battle was nearing its end and both groups could sense it, there were two {Ghouls} remaining with the third having already been incapacitated by the spores. The mushrooms were down to less than half of their original group with only 4 shrooms alive, but quite injured. The {Ghouls} slowly shamble towards the remaining shrooms intent on slaughtering them. Would be a shame if someone interfered and stole all the exp, now wouldn¡¯t it. *Fwing* {You have inflicted 10 magical damage to Ghoul: Lv 7} {You have slain Ghoul: Lv 7} {You have inflicted 9 magical damage to Ghoul: Lv 6} {You have slain Ghoul: Lv 6} {You have gained 4 Exp} {Mana Spear has risen to level 2} The {Ghouls} bodies drop down dead with one having a sizable hole in its chest and the other losing its head entirely. I make myself known at this point and instantly {Phantomstep} over to the shrooms. Without much delay, I activate {Ebony Claws} and behead three of them with a single swing. {You have inflicted 9 physical & magic to Gloom Shroomlings: Lv 3} X2 {You have inflicted 7 physical & magic to Gloom Shroomlings: Lv 2} {You have slain Gloom Shroomlings: Lv 3} X2 {You have slain Gloom Shroomlings: Lv 2} {You have gained 2 Exp} There was still one remaining shroom guy so I moved over to finish him off when I suddenly had a thought. ¡°I wonder if Ebony Claws work with punches.¡± Wanting to know, I activate {Ebony Claws} and shape a fist. Without wind-up, I simply striked the shroom in the head and the results were just as impressive as I had hoped. A fist sized dent was embedded in the guy¡¯s skull, he was dead of course. {You have inflicted 8 physical & magic to Gloom Shroomlings: Lv 2} {You have slain Gloom Shroomlings: Lv 2} ¡°Hehehe, I could get used to this.¡± I left the area in search of more sources of exp. I''m really starting to enjoy this world. Elsewhere in the world Two people were walking side by side, one was a young man dressed in ornate cerulean armor and the other a young woman dressed in mismatched cloth armor, the pair at a glance may seem human but a closer inspection at the young man¡¯s pointed ears and the woman¡¯s thick coat of red fur will dispel any notion of the thought. The pair were currently bickering as they always do. ¡°I still don¡¯t understand why we have to attend this stupid class, it¡¯s just gonna be Miss Nymeria scolding us again.¡± The woman said with annoyance in her eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t you mean scolding you.¡± the young man said with a teasing tone but his face quickly paled when the girl shot him a death glare. The woman let out an animalistic growl so the man quickly apologized, ¡°Sorry, sorry y¡¯know i¡¯m just joking with you Enya¡± he says while making a placating gesture. ¡°Hmph, fine but again do we really have to be here.¡± Enya asked for the umpteenth time that day. ¡°Headmaster Arwan specifically told all students to be there, so we have to attend.¡± the boy responded. ¡°But Theon, we¡¯re one of the best rookie adventurers in the academy, wouldn¡¯t it be better if we were training and adventuring instead of being forced to join these pointless assemblies.¡± ¡°The fact that we¡¯re one of the best rookie adventurers here, is exactly why we''re being forced to join, haven¡¯t you heard the rumors.¡± Theon countered. ¡°What rumors?¡± Enya asked. ¡°The one about Pontiff Ciro, of how he got a divine revelation from his deity and that it''s imperative that he share it with all of us.¡± Ulric answered. ¡°Well that explains why those Church of Durran guys were running around all over the place, any idea on what the news is.¡± queried Enya. ¡°Nope, not a clue, hopefully it''s something simple like having to relinquish more crops to Durran so that this rainy season isn¡¯t as damaging.¡± Responded Theon. ¡°Oooh, I wonder if it¡¯s another {Storm Hunt¡¯s Decree}.¡± Enya said with elation in her eyes. ¡°The last one was so fun.¡± ¡°The last one almost cost me an arm and you an eye.¡± Theon sternly reminded her. ¡°Awwh but didn¡¯t you enjoy it, I remember you excitedly telling me all about how you speed leveled your {Hydro Knight} job.¡± Enya retorted. ¡°Yes, be that as it may, that event wasn¡¯t something we do for fun, it was something we do out of necessity. Now be quiet, we''re near the lecture hall and you wouldn¡¯t want Nymeria scolding you again now would you.¡± Theon said while opening the door inside. Enya wanted to spit out a witty retort but thankfully kept her mouth shut. The pair entered the room unknowing that their life¡¯s were about to get a whole lot more dangerous. 09: Dungeon Plans The door creaked open and the pair were instantly met with several dozen stares. ¡°Well, well, well, if it isn''t Mr.Vallance and Ms.Lefaye. Care to explain the reason for your tardiness.¡± asked an authoritarian voice. This voice of course belonged to Nymeria Val¡¯Anzur, the instructor for this year¡¯s rookies as well as an extremely scary woman. The best word to describe her would be Steel, standing at a height of 6 ''7 ft and boasting an extremely toned body, she was the textbook definition of a veteran adventurer. This point was accentuated even further with the numerous scars she had on her body, especially the scar running along her upper cheek which she earned from a fight with a {Basilisk} or so the rumor goes. Needless to say, the two rookies were stunned silent and were left racking their brains in an attempt to make some sort of excuse. ¡°Well actually teach, we were just back from mmph!¡± Enya started but was quickly silenced by Theon putting a hand over her mouth, this was due to him knowing about her horrendous ability to lie which usually worsens situations for both of them. ¡°We¡¯re sorry ma¡¯am, it won¡¯t happen again.¡± Spoke Theon while doing a respectful bow. ¡°See to it, that it doesn¡¯t Mr.Vallance. Now take your seat.¡± Nymeria commanded. Both rookies were inwardly relieved and quickly moved to sit with their friends, Delyth and Byron. ¡°Now that all of us are present, we can finally move on to the topic at hand. I¡¯m sure some of you have heard the rumors regarding the Church of Durran.¡± Nymeria spoke aloud. Murmurs and hushed whispers ignited among the student adventurers, all of them asking one another about what it might possibly be. ¡°Silence.¡± Nymeria calmly spoke, at her words the students instantly stilled lest they wish to earn her ire. ¡°As I was saying, the clergy of Durran along with their Pontiff has relayed to both the guild and the academy an intriguing piece of info as well as a decree. The info being that The gods have summoned otherworlders again.¡± This got a reaction out of all the student¡¯s with some being more confused than others. One particular boy couldn¡¯t contain his curiosity so he shot his hand up to ask ¡°But Miss Nymeria aren¡¯t the gods only allowed to summon a single otherworlder every century or so?¡± The young man asking was Byron Herst, a {Halfling} who was a close friend of Theon as well as his team¡¯s resident {Sporecerer}. ¡°They are indeed Mr.Herst. Otherworlders are often seen as a precious resource because of this fact, coupled with their innate talent for inspiring change, it''s no wonder every nation in this world covets them.¡± Nymeria responded. ¡°However this makes the church¡¯s command a rather baffling one.¡± at this Nymeria took a scroll that was attached to her hip and unfurled it fully, clearing her throat she began ¡°The Church of Durran as well as all other clergy of the 36 Precepts have hereby declared that should any individual come into contact with a newly summoned otherworlder, they are to immediately terminate them.¡± Nymeria took a small pause before continuing. ¡°Any individual found colluding or assisting these otherworlders in any way will be accused of treason and will be sentenced to execution.¡± Stated Nymeria. It was like the air had been sucked out of the room leaving all 10 students staring at their teacher in mute silence. Some were in shock, some were rapidly trying to process the info, and a select few were grinning from ear to ear. Theon was about to ask why exactly had this been decreed, when he was interrupted by a loud banging on the door. Raising an eyebrow, Nymeria responded succinctly ¡°Enter!¡± ¡°My deepest apologies for interrupting the briefing Ms. Val¡¯Anzur but Headmaster Arwan is calling for you.¡± a gentlemanly voice intoned. ¡°Tell him I¡¯ll be right with him Geraint, Just need to finish with the students.¡± Nymeria responded. ¡°Very well madam.¡± came the posh reply from Geraint. Turning back to face us, she announced ¡°Despite the rather grim announcement, this does not change your daily schedule. You are to continue leveling up your Class and Vocation in preparation for next week¡¯s tournament. Remember, the team who wins will get a personal commendation from Headmaster Arwan as well as a choice of one item from the academy''s vault.¡± With that she exited the room, leaving the students to begin animatedly discussing what they had just heard. ¡°Do you think Miss N was serious when she made that announcement? The churches won¡¯t actually hurt us if we help someone, will they?¡± Delyth questioned timidly. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be unheard of for the churches to do something like that, remember the Cleansing that happened a few years back.¡± Byron replied. Sensing that the topic was getting rather somber, Theon swiftly interjected ¡°How about we instead discuss where we''re going to train, the tournament is rapidly approaching so shouldn¡¯t we put all our focus on that?¡± He asked with a steady gaze at his team. ¡°Yeah Theon¡¯s right, we can worry all about churches and otherworlders later.¡± Enya responded. ¡°For now I want to hurry up and get some more Class Levels, my {Brawler of Embers} class has been stagnant for a while now.¡± She said while pumping her fists together. ¡°Where should we grind this time, the Sewers?¡± Byron queried the others. ¡°Nope! Anywhere but there, that place sucks ass.¡± Enya vehemently declined. ¡°But mine and Theon¡¯s skills work really well there.¡± Countered Byron. ¡°Yeah, well you know what doesn¡¯t work so great there, uh almost ALL OF MY SKILLS!¡± Enya yelled. ¡°Alright, alright, no need to shout Ennie. What other places could we go to?¡± Theon asked with a gentle voice. Enya was annoyed at being called by her old nickname but simply shrugged and started waiting for suggestions. ¡°We could level at the {Mettino Forest} like old times.¡± Delyth suggested. ¡°Nah, the mobs there are too weak to gain any meaningful EXP.¡± Enya said. The group was at an impasse and spent several more minutes discussing options before Byron suddenly got an idea. ¡°Hey, how about we go to the dungeon near the {Racun Swamps}.¡± ¡°The one filled with undeads right? Hmm, yeah that could work, we do need to practice fighting swarms of enemies.¡± Theon agreed. The team talked it over for a few minutes before all agreeing. ¡°Okay, I will notify the academy of our excursion, in the meantime you guys get your gear set up.¡± commanded Theon to his team. ¡°Oh by the way what¡¯s the dungeon called? I need to make sure I report it correctly.¡± Theon asked Byron. ¡°Uhh I think it was called the {Nuvarno Crypt}.¡± Back in the crypt ¡°That should be the last of them.¡± I said while looking around. Surrounding me were numerous corpses, all of them being {Gloom Shroomlings}. I had originally only attacked a small group of them but more just started coming out of nowhere which led me to getting rapidly swarmed and having to use hit & run tactics to pick them off. Glancing around to make sure no other shroom guys were going to attack me I was relieved there was nothing around so I could finally open up my notifications. {Congratulations, you have reached level 6} {+3 Dexterity, +3 Arcane, +2 Strength, +1 Free point} {Ebony Claws has risen to level 2} {Phantomstep has risen to level 3} {Soul Sense has risen to level 2} ¡°Steady progress is the best progress.¡± I internally remarked. Opening up my status, I look at my stats to determine which one needed the free point. Seeing that my {Intelligence} had fallen behind my other magical stats, I decided to put the point there. ¡°Now let''s see what else I can find.¡± I once more ventured deeper into the crypt. Following several minutes of me just wandering aimlessly, I eventually come across something interesting. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. An ornate treasure chest, made of aged wood and lined with golden filigree. Getting excited at the prospects of getting epic loot, I blindly rush forward to open the chest. Mere moments before opening the chest, a stray thought enters my mind ¡°why does this chest have an aura surrounding it?¡± *Chomp* {You have taken 5 physical damage} ¡°AAAAHHHH!! Let go of me you shitstain.¡± The chest had suddenly grown jagged teeth and bit my right arm, it was now trying to quickly swallow me whole. Struggling to free my arm, I activate {Ebony Claws} and begin rapidly slashing the chest. {You have inflicted 6 physical & magical damage to Mimic: Lv 7} {You have inflicted 4 physical & magical damage to Mimic: Lv 7} {You have taken 3 physical damage} ¡°God damn it!¡± The mimic tightened its jaws aiming to rip my arm off completely. Growing frustrated, I used {Ebony Claws} on my trapped arm and started randomly slicing and scratching the inside of the beast, aiming to do as much damage as possible. {You have inflicted 7 physical & magical damage to Mimic: Lv 7} {You have inflicted 9 physical & magical damage to Mimic: Lv 7} {You have slain Mimic: Lv 7} {You have gained 2 exp} Finally the beast stills and I slowly take my arm out to inspect. My right arm is completely busted with fractures running all along the entirety of the appendage, my fingers were even worse off with my index and thumb finger being missing entirely. ¡°I really hope that heals otherwise I¡¯m gonna be very fucking pissed.¡± Throwing one last death glare at the mimic¡¯s corpse, I punch it once more for good measure before skulking off to recover. Unfortunately for me, I don¡¯t even get the chance to mend my arm. A few minutes after encountering the mimic another abomination attacked me. I was currently pushing {Levitate} to its limit trying desperately to escape a level 12 {Eqonigar} that I had randomly encountered. ¡°SHIT, SHit, shit, I can never catch a break can I.¡± I search around frantically for a way to escape but it seems my luck is running out, straight ahead of me was a dead end. My eyes fell upon the wall with despair as I desperately tried to figure out a solution. It was then that I had an idea, it was foolish and if it failed I would most likely die but I had no other options so I went with a gamble. I rushed over to the dead end and turned to face the {Eqonigar}. The horse monster stops for a brief moment and faces me in confusion. I gestured ¡®come at me¡¯ at the beast, idly wondering if it can even see. *HROARGH* the {Eqonigar} lets loose a horrific roar before running straight at me I steady my nerves and wait for the right moment. The beast was about a meter away from me when a dark gray aura started surrounding it. I wondered what it was doing before it suddenly ramped up in speed, practically gliding over to me. ¡°Oh shit!!!¡± Just mere moments before it was about to chomp my head off I used {Phantomstep} to dodge right. The {Eqonigar} had too much momentum and had no way of stopping so it unceremoniously crashed into the wall. With the abomination dazed, I swiftly made my move. Firing several {Mana Spears} at its head with my right arm, I activate {Ebony Claws} with my left and begin scratching and gouging at its hind legs. {You have inflicted 6 magical damage to Egonigar: Lv 12} {You have inflicted 7 magical damage to Egonigar: Lv 12} {You have inflicted 9 magical & physical damage to Egonigar: Lv 12} {You have inflicted 5 magical & physical damage to Egonigar: Lv 12} {You have inflicted [Blight] to Egonigar: Lv 12} It was then that a rarely used ability of mine finally showed its worth. The {Blight} started off as a small spot in the {Eqonigar¡¯s} wounds but it rapidly began spreading before my very eyes. The horse beast screeched in pain and was now lashing out randomly. Its movements were beginning to get sluggish and the {Blight} had overtaken its entire back half at this point. A few seconds later, The monster was completely weakened and collapsed in a pitiful heap. I feel guilty at this point and resolve myself to just end it. While the beast was distracted, I moved close to its head and as quick as can be, used {Ebony Claws} to behead the {Eqonigar}. {You have inflicted 6 magical & physical damage to Egonigar: Lv 12} However it appears I underestimated its neck strength since I only managed to make it halfway before my arm got stuck in the neck of the beast. It immediately started freaking out and moving erratically in an attempt to dislodge my arm. Wanting to end it quickly, I charged up a full powered {Mana Bite} and got ready to deliver a devastating chomp. The {Eqonigar} roared once more and tried to rip my arm off but I moved faster than it and sank my teeth into the beast¡¯s fleshy neck. *Pooom* An explosion rang out as a good portion of the {Eqonigar¡¯s} neck was blown off, the monster finally collapsed with a pool of sickly green blood surrounding its corpse. {You have inflicted 8 magical & physical damage to Egonigar: Lv 12} {You have slain Egonigar: Lv 12} {You have gained 12 Exp} {Mana Bite has risen to level 2} {Ebony Claws has risen to level 3} {Blight Body has risen to level 2} ¡°Phew, finally that guy died.¡± I sighed in relief. I gazed at the horse monster¡¯s corpse and couldn¡¯t help but shudder at the sheer speed at which the {Blight} was decomposing its body. ¡°Holy Hell, Blight is fantastic, I gotta figure out a more reliable method for activating that.¡± I idly thought. I was about to turn around and look for another path but before I was able to. *Krrusch* The wall in front of me had spontaneously collapsed. ¡°Hmm, the Eqonigar must have done more damage than I thought, wait what is that?!¡± A bright light was shining through the new opening and I felt compelled to explore. 10: Forgotten Library Floating through the hole in the wall, I was met with a peculiar sight. A massive library filled with rows upon rows of aged books. ¡°Huh, a library within a crypt. Bit of an odd choice but it¡¯s a fantasy world so I can¡¯t really complain.¡± I float over the debris of the ruined wall and begin exploring the insides of the library. Observing the entirety of the room, I estimate there to be about 8 shelves in total with who knows how many books hidden in them. The interior of the library was illuminated by numerous floating candles scattered randomly near the ceiling. I float over to one of the candles and poked it a few times, it budged slightly but never fully moved from its position. I then went over to one of the shelves and tried to grab one of the books but just as I touched it. It crumbled to dust. ¡°Whoa, these books are super old.¡± I try grabbing another one but just like before it disintegrates into dust. Now realizing that these books could contain important info on the world, I mentally chastise myself for my carelessness and resume exploring the rest of the library. On top of each shelf there were signs with faded words etched on them. I tried reading one but the letters were super foreign to me. There were some familiar letters from the alphabet but it was mixed in with some strange symbols I couldn¡¯t decipher the meaning of. ¡°That one looks like an inverted 7 and that other one looks like a squiggly G.¡± Shaking my head in helplessness, I searched around some more before coming across several tables. In each of the tables there were stacks of scrolls, quills, and books just scattered about haphazardly. I used {Identify} on the objects to see if I can glean more info out of them. {Book} {An aged book containing unknown information} {Scroll} {A weathered piece of paper that contains barely legible writing} {Quill} {A worn-out writing utensil} {Identify has risen to level 5 [Max Level]} {Identify can be upgraded} ¡°Well ain¡¯t that helpful.¡± I remark sarcastically. At least my {Identify} can finally be upgraded so without wasting any time, I signal yes to the upgrade.
Skill Upgrade - IDENTIFY
Advanced Identify Gain more Insight into the world around you. Increases information given from skill use
¡°Huh? only one option this time, I guess it must be one of those linear skill paths.¡± I mentally shrugged and just picked the given option. {Identify has been upgraded to Advanced Identify} {Advanced Identify: Lv 1} {Allows the user to receive additional information from the world around them, Quality of information given is determined by Intelligence} ¡°Let¡¯s test out this upgrade shall we.¡± I glance over to a random book and {Identify} it. {Gardening Basics 101: Common} {An aged book containing unknown information on the subject of Botany} ¡°Well at least now I know what the books are about.¡± I thought. It appears, I can now also see the rarities of items. Scanning some other books, I found that most of them were either about mundane stuff like table manners or the importance of proper boot maintenance but a few of them were rather intriguing and could be my ticket for gaining knowledge about this world. I carefully picked four of these books and laid them out on a nearby table for investigation. {A Short History of the Vertalis Kingdom: Common} {A book containing the history of the Vertalis Kingdom and it¡¯s monarchs} Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. {The Fundamentals of Arcana: Uncommon} {A book containing information on the basics of mana as well as guidance on its proper use, contains unknown enchantments} {Tales of the Otherworlders: Common} {A compilation of stories related to the achievement of past Otherworlders} {Deities of Zedunya: Rare} {A book containing the lore and history on the numerous gods and deities of Zedunya, contains several unknown enchantments} After reading the item descriptions, I begin to understand more about the world I¡¯m in. ¡°From the looks of it, I¡¯m not the first otherworlder to arrive here.¡± I mutter internally ¡°Gods truly exist huh, I suppose that shouldn''t come off as a surprise considering my current situation.¡± I remarked. I don¡¯t think I was particularly a religious person then again I couldn¡¯t remember anything concrete from my past life so I could be wrong. Getting back on track, I decided to read the books in order of least interesting to most interesting so I went ahead and started reading {A Short History of the Vertalis Kingdom}. Or at least tried to, it turns out that even if I know a general summary of the book I still can¡¯t read it if I don¡¯t know the language. After several seconds of me attempting and failing at reading, I check the other books and see if I fare any better there. {The Fundamentals of Arcana} wasn¡¯t any better with the language still being indecipherable for me, however inside of the book there were a few unique looking symbols that seemed important so I merely put it away for later. The {Tales of the Otherworlders} was also a bust facing the same problems as the two before it. I opened the last book and was met with the same strange language as before but to my surprise, the words began randomly shifting and moving around the page as if alive before settling into a language I could actually understand. Happy, I can gain some knowledge, I began intently reading the {Deities of Zedunya} book. ¡°The world of Zedunya is a marvel of a world with a myriad of people, places, and cultures so diverse and interesting, attempting to quantify them all in this book would be the height of foolishness. There is, however, one thing that almost all cultures have in common. That would be their reverence of the Gods. The deities of Zedunya are powerful and influential beings, however not all of them are equal in rank. Among the many gods there exists a hierarchy, a natural order with which they have to unconditionally follow. The lowest rank of deities are the Inner Gods or the 36 Precepts as they are more commonly known. These are deities that govern over a small or singular concept, they are the most numerous of the gods and also the most accessible of all of them, with each member of this group having their own official clergy. They are also the deities that summon Otherworlders most frequently, with a third of the Otherworlder population stemming from them. Gods that fall within this categories are: {Durran: Lord of Storms}, {Colubris: Father of Serpents}, {Merapi: Volcano¡¯s Warden} and many others. The second rank among the gods are the Outer Gods or 24 Mandates. These divine beings lord over purer domains than their lesser counterparts. Each of these beings possess enough power to decimate entire empires, and change parts of the world as they see fit. Only a few of these deities possess clergy due to their inherent tendency to view anything other than the divine as lesser. Due to this outlook, they rarely if ever summon Otherworlders, viewing them as a scourge on the natural order. Some of the top figures within this category are: {Noxillia: Night Mother}, {Aerion: Divine General}, {Xantho: Artisan of Pleasure}. The last rank and the most mysterious of the divine beings are the Distant Gods or 12 Fundaments. Not much information is known about them, what we do know is more akin to myths and legends rather than substantial info. The most basic knowledge we have of these supreme beings is that every single one of them is powerful enough to rewrite reality as they see fit. It is unknown exactly what the full extent of their powers are but it is widely speculated that each supreme being is connected to a foundational law of the universe. These supreme laws act as both their source of strength as well as the chain that limits them. The names of these grand deities are lost to time but their Epithets are still remembered and revered to this very day, These include: {King of All Kings}, {Queen of the Abyss}, {Fatewriter}......¡± As my eyes land upon that final name, a strange sense of deja vu overtakes me. Flashes of unfamiliar images assault my mind. People, places, and things that feel familiar yet distant keep pouring into my head without stopping. I clutch my skull with both hands in a desperate attempt to cease this endless deluge yet, just as quick as it started it suddenly stopped. I was left dazed and confused at what had just happened. Seeing that the book had fallen from my hands, I hurriedly picked it back up and flipped back to the last page. ¡°Fatewriter? What is your connection to me?¡± I ask with a quivering voice, hoping to get some sort of answer. When nothing happened, I dejectedly went back to reading but didn¡¯t get more than a few words in when I heard. *Kriiict* I turned around immediately, only to find a purple squirming object hurtling straight towards me. I reflexively blast out two {Mana Spears] in quick succession, the first one merely grazes the object but the second one stabs it dead on and impaled it. {You have inflicted 4 magical damage to Skitterslice Spider: Lv 4} {You have inflicted 8 magical damage to Skitterslice Spider: Lv 4} {You have slain Skitterslice Spider: Lv 4} {Mana Spear has risen to level 3} The purple ball thing splats to the ground with a sickening crunch, I look briefly at the corpse before sensing the movements of a dozen tiny feet all around me, forcing me to survey my surroundings. ¡°Oh dear, this might be a problem.¡± 11: Survival of The Fittest Elsewhere in the Crypt A lone figure skulks through the dark dungeon in search of food and a place to rest. Its one usable eye darting about for both threats and prey. Numerous wounds are visible on its quadrupedal body, the worst of which is the gash on its front leg, hindering its movements. Though to say its wounds were purely physical would be very wrong, since the worst injury of all would be the harm to his ego. Forced to run away like a coward, forced to watch his pack be slaughtered, and worst of all unable to even kill the bastard who did it. Yes that shitty skull, he remembered how that bastard slaughtered his pack when they were at their most vulnerable, how it fled after attracting the big beast and the flying swarm. A sudden movement to his right caught his attention, one of those scavenger bugs. Usually he wouldn¡¯t even bother with one of these bottom feeders but desperate times call for desperate measures. The critter was looking at him hungrily, probably thinking he was about to die. A surge of anger ignites in his chest at being viewed as prey by a weak bug like this Without warning, he charged the bug before it could react and bit his head clean off. Devouring both its head and body in a matter of seconds. After he was finished, he was greeted by the last remaining member of its pack, the glowy letters. He wasn¡¯t entirely certain what type of rat it was, only that if he followed the glowy letters, he would gain strength. This was how he became the Alpha in the first place. {You have slain Rotroach: Lv 4} {You have gained 3 Exp} {Congratulations, You have reached level 10} {+3 Vitality, +2 Strength, +1 Intelligence} The familiar feeling of power entered his body once more, the numerous wounds dissipating like dust. ¡°More power, I need more power¡± he thought. The Alpha grinned with his large teeth, a singular goal at the forefront of his mind. To destroy the one who slaughtered his pack, to destroy the one who almost ended his life, to destroy that bastard SKULL. Back in the Library ¡°Pheww, at least I get some decent Exp for that.¡± I pant in exhaustion. Surrounding me were the corpses of 13 {Skitterslice Spiders}. Four of them directly in front of me, three to my left, five to my right and back. I glanced around warily and sighed in relief when I didn¡¯t sense any other creatures from {Soul Sense}. I was still rather miffed that I didn¡¯t sense the spiders sneaking up on me, then again their status screens kinda explained why that is. {Tier 0 - Skitterslice Spiders: Lv 3-5} {A sneaky arachnid which excels in stalking their prey undetected before swiftly dismembering both life and limb with their sharp claws. One should exercise caution when coming across this creature because should you encounter one, others will undoubtedly be near. Common Skills: Sneak, Razor Slice, Leap} It looks like the upgraded {Identify} now tells me several new things regarding monsters. For starters, I can now see what skills they might have or at the very least their common skills. I briefly wondered if there was a better way of gaining skills , cause most of my learned skills either came from level-ups or happenstance. Other than the skills {Advance Identify} also tells me which tier they are in. I remembered seeing that word somewhere but I couldn¡¯t put my finger on it. I pulled up some of my past status screens hoping to get a clue. Luckily, I found it rather fast.
EVOLUTION - Tier 1
¡°Huh, Tier 0 must be my tier when I was a Pygmy Boneling and I entered Tier 1 when I evolved into a Juvenile Blighted Eidolon. ¡° I surmised. Done looking at screens, I mentally pulled up some notifications I postponed for after the battle. {Levitate has risen to level 2} {Congratulations, you have reached level 7} Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! {+3 Dexterity, +3 Arcane, +2 Strength, +1 Free Point} {Mana Bite has risen to level 3} {Phantomstep has risen to level 4} {Aura of Rot has risen to level 5 [Max Level]} {Aura of Rot can be upgraded} I adorn a simple smile as I look over my recent gains, I don¡¯t think I could ever get bored of the addictive nature of leveling up. I ruminate a bit on where to put the free point before deciding to just put it into {Toughness} for some more survivability. Finished with that, I open my options for upgrading {Aura of Rot}.
Skill Upgrade - Aura of Rot
Deathly Pulse Expel a wave of decay around the user. Greatly Increases Damage, Decreases Range, Increases Mana Cost
Miasmic Presence Passively release miasma from the user''s body. Slightly Increases Damage, Greatly Decreases Range, Mana cost is null
Plague''s Boon Imbue your body with the ruinous power of the Plague. Grants increased attack for a set period, grants a chance to inflict the [Plagued] debuff.
Fetid Aura Direct upgrade to Aura of Rot. Increases Damage, Range, and Mana Costs. Allows the user to sense presence within the aura
¡°Some rather unique options this time¡± I mused. I examine each choice carefully and weigh their pros and cons. After some thought, I decided to cross out {Miasmic Presence} as an option. Although it seems good on paper, in practice it might be a hindrance if I can¡¯t control the skill. ¡°It would suck if I accidentally end up killing the first person I talk to due to my inability to control a skill.¡± I reason. Sure of my decision, I look at the rest of the skills and after a couple of minutes decide to cross out {Fetid Aura}, for being too basic of an upgrade in my opinion. Thus leaving me with only {Plague¡¯s Boon} and {Deathly Pulse}. Both upgrades seem really good and would synergize quite well with my assassin caster build. {Plague¡¯s Boon} would be a solid buff and can, in theory synergize well with {Ebony Claws} allowing me to not only increase my damage but also give me a semi-reliable way to debuff an enemy while {Deathly Pulse} can act as both a solid deterrent incase any enemies get too close to me as well as a sneak attack of sorts when I''m fighting in close range. After thinking it through some more, I eventually decided on {Deathly Pulse} as I believe it could offer more usage down the line and could potentially save my hide if something gets too close for my liking. ¡°Let¡¯s see what this skill¡¯s all about.¡± {Aura of Rot has been upgraded to Deathly Pulse} {Deathly Pulse: Lv 1} {Allows the user to expel a short-range burst of concentrated decay at a radius around their body, Potency and range of Death Pulse¡¯s is determined by Willpower and Arcane} ¡°Does this work the way I think it does.¡± I ponder. I move farther away from where the important books are located, just in case the effect is too destructive. Once I was a good distance away, I activated the skill and a rush of mana surged out of my body before rapidly changing into dark green smoke in the air. I watched with rapt attention as the smoke made contact with a stray piece of paper and the paper began dissolving with a speed visible to the naked eye. After a few seconds, the paper completely dissolved. ¡°It wasn¡¯t kidding when it said concentrated decay, that might be one of my strongest skills now.¡± Feeling satisfied with the test, I checked how much mana that one burst wasted. Only to find that singular burst took 6 mana from me. ¡°Going off of my current mana pool, I can cast that skill 7 times before I run dry. The mana cost is a little steep but it¡¯s worth it if the performance is anything to go by.¡± I remark. I look back at the green smoke and notice that it hasn¡¯t fully dissipated yet. ¡°So it can also act as a smokescreen of sorts huh, that''s good to know.¡± I was about to experiment more with the skill when {Soul Sense} picked up an aura heading rapidly towards me. I didn¡¯t even get the chance to react before it was upon me, the last thing I saw was the glint of something silver then my world went white.