"Huff..."
Me and Teara have been training days and we haven't had significant growth. It's starting to get dark and the shadow the crevice creates doesn't help with my sight. Maybe I could get a night vision skill from trying to see in the dark?
"I think it's time for a break."
Teara slithers(?) up to me and spreads out on the ground, letting me lay down on them. I decide to try and get a skill by thinking, like concentration or rationality. If I already have something that helps me concentrate better and something that helps me rationalize better, wouldn't it make sense to have something that helps me calculate better? Yeah, a calculation skill! All I have to do is... math or something...
"2+2 is 4-1 is 3 = Quick maths!"
《Skill proficiency reached. Acquired skill 『Arithmetic Processing LV1』》
...really? That's all I have to do? Seriously? My proficiency gain is off the charts! Thank you Cheat Skill! Just gaining this skill made it easier to comprehend numbers and equations! Man, I wish I had this skill in school... Mrs.Oka could've asked us to do something like: "Find the x-intercept of the line that is perpendicular to the line 4x-2y-6=0 and passes through the point (8,2)." And I would've said "-12=x" immediately! It would've been so much easier.
《Skill proficiency reached. Skill 『Arithmetic Processing LV1』 has become 『Arithmetic Processing LV2』》
Sheesh! This is getting absurd! I literally just got the skill and it levelled up! Not that I'm complaining, but... wouldn't this make gaining new skills too easy? Like, what if I tried to predict what will happen in the future, fail, yet still get a prediction skill? Again, I'm not complaining. In fact, give me ALL the skills!
《Skill proficiency reached. Acquired skill 『Parallel Thinking LV1』》
I didn't think you would actually do it, system. Thanks for the gift though! You're so generous! With this new skill, my mind has expanded!
"I'm no longer on the mortal plane, Teara!"
Teara slithers away, most likely because I'm too awesome. Anyways, even though it may be true that it became much easier to think with these new skills, I'm still kinda dumb. While I'm on a skill gaining streak, why don't I test out how to buy skills with skill points.
It's weird, really. As soon as I got the "Appraisal" skill, I immediately disregarded where I got it from... I probably need to be specific with the skill that I want to buy, so I'll just say random names until it pops up.
"Stone Skin, Death Magic, Speed Boost, Great Wall... um, Steal? How about Shield? Shit. How does this work? Swordsmanship, um-
《Currently you have 75 skill points.
The skill 『Swordsmanship LV1』 can be acquired by spending 10000 skill points.
You do not have the skill points needed to acquire it. 》
...Why is swinging a sword so expensive? Is it because I'm a monster and can't hold a sword? That would make sense... so I can't get skills that are incompatible with my current body. Still, this is also good news! This means that if I have a good affinity for a skill, it will be easier to acquire! This will also mean that it will be much harder for me to get different skills in the future so... what if I got a skill stealing skill? Yeah, that would be OP!
"Predator, Copy, Absorb, Absorption, Soul Eater, Skill Share, Taketh Awayeth... I don't think this is gonna work... this sucks! System, I take it back! You're not generous, you're greedy! Give me the skills! You greed-"
*Crash*
A boulder falls into the crevice, making a large indentation in the ground as well as a noise large enough to be called a giants footstep... if the giant was a toddler at least. Well, it's not close to me, so it doesn't really matter. In fact, I could probably use it like a stepping stool to get out of this crevice! That was distracting though, so I'll just get back to saying skill names until I fin-?!
《Currently you have 75 skill points.
The skill 『Greed』 can be acquired by spending 100 skill points.
Do you want to acquire it? 》
Eh? Why did this skill appear? Is there more ways of buying skills than just thinking of them? Also...seriously, are you calling me greedy? Did you just use an "Uno Reverse Card" on me for calling you greedy, system? Frick man... Appraise it...
『Greed：Randomly takes status values, Skills or skill points from slain opponents. Taken Skills are set to level 1』
...really? System, I'm sorry for doubting you! You're gonna make me cry, seriously! This is exactly what I'm looking for and more! My happiness aside, why can I get the skill if it costs 100 skill points? I only have 75..! Wait, when I got appraisal last time, I thought I had used all my skill points, but instead I kept 25. Does this mean I have a 25% discount?! Heck yeah!
"Get the Skill!"
《『Greed』 was acquired. Remaining skill points 0 》
Wait, why doesn't it have a level?
《Skill proficiency reached. Skill『Taboo LV2』has become『Taboo LV4』》
Eh? Taboo?
《Conditions met. Title 『Ruler of Greed』 was acquired》
《By the effects of the title 『Ruler of Greed』, skill 『Appraisal LV10』『Conquest』 was acquired》
《『Appraisal LV10』 has unified into 『Appraisal LV5』》
...eh?? Eh?? EHHHH?! How?! I didn't know you could get Titles by acquiring a skill! I thought it was only the other way around! This is amazing! Even useless appraisal levelled up 5 times! Let's check my status!
『Small Unique Debea LV3 No name
Status
HP: 22/22 (Green)
MP: 37/37 (Blue)
SP: 38/38 (Yellow)
: 38/38+5 (Red)
Average Offensive Ability：21
Average Defensive Ability：341
Average Magic Ability：21
Average Resistance Ability：341
Average Speed Ability：0
Skills
『Premature』『Stronghold LV1』『Sanctum LV1』『Rationality LV3』『Appraisal LV10』『Impact Resistance LV1』『Concentration LV5』『Rolling LV8』『Poison Resistance LV3』『Corrosion Resistance LV2』『Overeating LV1』『Hopping LV7』『Bodily Movement LV9』『Hp Auto-Recovery』『Mp Recovery Speed LV1』『Sp Recovery Speed LV1』『Light Resistance LV1』『Cultivation LV3』『Naming LV1』『Cutting Resistance LV1』『Smother LV2』『Intimidation LV2』『Arithmetic Processing LV2』『Parallel Thinking LV1』 『Greed』『Conquest』『Taboo LV2』『n%I=W』
Skill Points: 0
Titles
『Encrypted Defence』『Gross Feeder』『Ruler of Greed』』
AHHH MY EYES!!! IT BURNS!!! Close it! Turn it off!
《Skill proficiency reached. Acquired skill 『Heresy Resistance LV1』》
《Skill proficiency reached. Skill 『Arithmetic Processing LV2』 has become 『Arithmetic Processing LV3』》
《Skill proficiency reached. Skill 『Parallel Thinking LV1』 has become 『Parallel Thinking LV2』》
Bruh! There should be a warning on this appraisal skill! Seriously, that hurt! Let's... try looking again... Frick! It's still hurts, but I can actually read it now, even with this headache...『Premature』must be my growth skill. Appraise it!
『Premature：Greatly improves proficiency gain on lower-leveled and un-acquired skills. Additionally, obtaining skills with skill points is discounted.』
Oh! So I was correct in my assumptions! Thank you god or whatever you are for this skill! What else do I have here... 『n%I=W』and『Encrypted Defence』seem interesting. Appraise!
『n%I=W：Cannot be appraised.』
Bruh...
『Encrypted Defence：Acquisition skill 『Stronghold LV1』『Sanctum LV1』：Acquisition Condition：Be a Unique Debea from birth ：Effect：Tremendously increases defence and resistance abilities. Makes the holder of this title immobile. Explanation：A title awarded to an insufferable person who shouldn't live, frick you.』
...seriously?
《...》
Appraise the Explanation, specifically the "frick you" part.
『Encrypted Defence：Explanation：frick you：Someone must really hate you to put this in a Titles explanation, huh? =)』
《Skill proficiency reached. Skill 『Heresy Resistance LV1』 has become 『Heresy Resistance LV2』》
I take back everything I've ever said, EVER! The system is just an internet troll! Seriously, do you play games for a living just to make fun of children?
"FRICK YOU TOO!!"
Teara coils further into a dark corner of the crevice.
《Skill proficiency reached. Skill『Intimidation LV1』has become『Intimidation LV2』》
Huh? Why did my intimidation skill level up? Weird... Actually, there's also the skills conquest and taboo that I got from acquiring『Greed』and I can't shake the feeling that there is something ominous about them. Appraise.
『Conquest：Compels one to conquer lands. When entering other lands, gain a small stat bonus. When『Greed』is activated, the targets soul will be consumed entirely.』
Interesting... So I'm just an explorer now? Also, targets soul will be consumed? Does it give me more experience? Very weird skill...
『Taboo：A skill given to those who commit a taboo. Must never be raised.』
Really? And I've already raised it by four... hmmmm... That's it, I have my goal now! If the system says that it shouldn't be raised, I'm gonna raise it to max level! Take that, system! This is what you get for making fun of me! I no longer trust your judgment!
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"
《Skill proficiency reached. Skill『Intimidation LV2』has become『Intimidation LV3』》
*Timeskip*
《Skill proficiency reached. Skill『Rolling LV8』has become『Rolling LV9』》
《Skill proficiency reached. Skill『Hopping LV7』has become『Hopping LV8』》
Dang, it's really hard to level up movement skills with zero mobility... Teara is just coiled in a corner, so she isn't helping me with the training, which makes this so much worse! I'm also starting to get hungry, so I should probably go eat some fruit. I'm glad that this body doesn't eat as much despite being so... chunky, for lack of better words. I would've thought my appetite would be enormous but it seems as though my species doesn't usually eat very often, despite the excess fat on them. Here were my results when appraising my species.
『Debia：Debia are small pig like monsters who move incredibly slow, but have good defensive abilities. The reason for their slow speed is because of how much energy they need to move. A Debia would most likely use all the energy it has to escape in a burst of speed, but since they are stupid, they never think of running and instead face foes head on. The lower evolution of the Orc race.』
It makes sense that it's stupid, but I can't help but feel offended... This was good info, since now I know that not all monsters are as intelligent as the Randnels. Speaking of those little raptors, they're now in my belly! They were like bite sized snacks, even with my low level appetite. Their taste didn't help much, either. The last one escaped, but that doesn't matter very much anyway... Wait, if reptiles taste like chicken and I ate the Randels raw, does that mean I got Salmonella? Heh, Salmonella Randnels...
Anyway, time to go get my dinner! Time to eat some disgustingly nutritious fruit!
"Munch... blegh... crunch..."
《Skill proficiency reached. Skill『Bodily Movement LV9』has become『Bodily Movement LV10』》
《Conditions met. Skill 『Body Manipulation LV1』 was derived from Skill 『Bodily Movement LV10』》
Oh? OH! Skills can make stronger skills when they reach LV10? This is amazing! Since lower levelled skills level up faster, I should be good when it comes to... wait, what does this skill do? I should probably look through my skill list later to get some descriptions. Anyways, appraise.
『Body Manipulation：The ability to control your body at will.』
Um... appraise the "control your body at will" part.
It's a little hard to understand with just this.
『Body Manipulation：control your body at will：The parts of your body that can be controlled are as follows: Inner Organs, Outer Organs, Muscles and Fat.』
Oh! That actually worked? That makes things so much easier. So, I can control my entire body as long as it's not bones and stuff. That's an incredibly useful skill! Let me test something...
"Woah! I'm waving! I'm waving the fat on the top of my head like a hand!"
I try to crawl, but it's impossible to move more than one part of my body at a time. Let's try... the brain? How would I control the brain... Would I make it turn off my fear or something? No... I'd need to know the exact place in the brain that fear is in order to turn it off... I know that biology may not have been my strong suit, but I must remember something..! The rectum! Wait, no, it's... cere... cerebum... cerabumle... Ah! The cerebrum! It performs higher functions like interpreting touch, vision and hearing, as well as speech, reasoning, emotions, learning, and most importantly... fine control of movement!
《Skill proficiency reached. Acquired skill 『Memory LV1』》
Ah! Some of my old memories are becoming clearer! If I think hard enough... no. My memories are just clearer, I can't remember things that easily, but now that I've found out what a cerebrum does, I've also remembered the parts it's decided into and their functions! If I can single out a single part of the brain and control it, it would definitely be a big help! Imagine just shutting off your pain receptors! IMAGINE! There's no way someone without knowledge from Earth would even be able to combat i-?!
Suddenly, a shadow appears over me, covering eyesight and making it harder to see. Something then jumps down into the crevice and starts clawing at me, almost gouging my eyes out! I immediately roll over to try and smother it, but it just jumps on my belly as I roll, pinning me in place! Why am I afraid when I look at it?! Wait, why can't I move?!
《Skill proficiency reached. Acquired skill 『Paralysis Resistance LV1』》
Paralysis?! But it didn't even bite me ye-
"AH FUCK, DONT SLASH ME LIKE THAT!"
HP: 18/20 (Green)
SP: 29/36 (Yellow)
: 36/36 (Red)
Woah wait, it's actually dealing damage to me?! What is this thing?! Appraisal!
『Scourge Basilisk LV2
Status
HP: 132/132 (Green)
MP: 116/130 (Blue)
SP: 120/120 (Yellow)
:63/63+187 (Red)
Average Offensive Ability：153
Average Defensive Ability：79
Average Magic Ability：136
Average Resistance Ability：98
Average Speed Ability：71
Skills
『Cutting Enhancement LV9』『Night Vision LV10』『Stealth LV5』『Cooperation LV7』『Impact Resistance LV1』『Feint Resistance LV1』『Running LV2』『Anger LV7』『Intimidation LV1』『Heretic Magic LV1』『Heresy Resistance LV1』『Taboo LV2』『Paralyzing Demon Eye LV2』『Magic Power Perception LV3』『Magic Power Operation LV3』『Shadow Magic LV5』『Vision Expansion LV2』『Paralysis Resistance LV1』『Overeating LV8』『Strength LV1』『Solidity LV1』『Heretic Attack LV1』『Memory LV1』『Persistent LV1』
Skill Points: 140
Titles
『Assassin』『Merciless』『Monster Slayer』『Fearbringer』『Avenger』』
"Ah, hello my lost experience points, how are you doing? It seems like you've evolved, huh? That's great..."
Whelp, I guess I'm dead!
《Skill『Body Manipulation LV1』has been activated in order to prevent your bowel movements, specifically what will be expelled from the bowels》
*Notes*
[This was a much longer chapter, so I hope you enjoyed!]
[Firstly, some people may say that giving our protagonist『Greed』so early on is too overpowered, I would disagree. My reason? He has to kill something in order for 『Greed』to actually work as intended, so right now it was just a fast way to get him『Appraisal LV10』without a major Timeskip.]
[Secondly, some may say that it was "cliche" how he found the skill in the first place, but the thing is, why didn't Kumoko just shout skill names? I mean, she litteraly did it first thing with 『Appraisal LV1』and then completely disregarded it as a feature. Here, we also see that skills either incompatible with the body or person will be extremely expensive, even with a discount.]
[Thirdly, people would probably like to know about the『Body Manipulation』skill that I created. The reason I made it was because I liked the idea of a skill that is useless unless used in any non-obvious way. It would make sense that the people of this fantasy world would only use this skill to build muscle or "last longer", but with the knowledge gained on Earth, you can use biology to your advantage and completely transform a simple "Ima tense my muscles with a skill" to a "I'm going to turn off my sensory strip in the cerebrum so I will not feel anything" and so on. Still, it will take a while for our protagonist to actually get to this stage, since his memory is apparently very bad. >:) ]
[Heres a sidenote, his Intimidation skill is increasing because of Teara being intimidated by him. You would be intimidated too if a random fat kid yelled that they were no longer on the mortal plane. This is a fact.]
[Now we're getting to the good stuff, The Scourge Basilisk. When I had first made the Sariella Randnel run away, I just meant it as a gag, but then my friend gave me the idea to have it come back as an evolved monster wanting revenge! Usually, a Randnel isn't able to evolve into a Basilisk. In fact, Randnels aren't known to evolve at all! The thing is, I thought I could add an evolution because it completed the requirement: Have both of your Randnel companions die in battle and run away. With this hidden requirement met, it evolved once it reached max level.]
[Some of you may also be saying this "But Basilisks are a first stage monster species that hatch from eggs, they don't evolve form anything!" but let me just say this. I don't care. It's still a higher ranking species than the Randnel, so if it meets the requirement, it should be able to evolve into a stronger, not newly hatched Basilisk because of it previously being a Sariella Randnel with stealth, cutting enhancement and cooperation, which regular Basilisks don't have.]
[Speaking of regular Basilisks, the ones in the Great Elroe Labrynth are weaker than the ones in Sariella. Why? Because there are no naturally born Basilisks in Sariella. This Sariella Randnel just so happened to be the first to get such a unique evolution, and even though it was weaker than its Elroe counterparts, that's not the case after it evolved! Without further adieu, here is the Scourge Basilisks Status and Description!]
[Monster: Scourge Basilisk]
Status: Scourge Basilisk is a subspecies of Basilisk characterized by its strong front arms, golden eyes, dry but fair looking scales and a much larger body than its Elroe counterpart. A lizard monster who can paralyze everything in its vision area. Has blue colored scales and is over 2 meters in length. It is a unique evolution of the Sariella Randnel, evolving for the sole purpose of vengeance. They have the ability to eat rocks, plants and meat while also not needing to drink anything, giving them the ability to survive and thrive anywhere on land.
Description: A monster with no confirmed sightings in recorded history. As such, there is little to no information about it, and it is shrouded in mystery. It is said to be an evolution of a singular Sariella Randnel, but even that is merely conjecture. The only monster said to have evolved into this species is the one known as the Bane of Sariella, which is a moderately dangerous monster that has been raiding and killing merchant carriages that come through the region. Danger level B-A.
[Chapter ④ End]