I lay down while watching the princess cook.
She seemed to be doing well, all things considered.
Then again she has 3 of my siblings crowding her.
Ah.
"Hey! No stealing ahead Big Bro!" I growl out.
"Geh!"
Caught red fanged and greasy clawed.
He tried to sneak off with a steak from the pile.
At the notice of my call out Little Bro #8 quickly moved over to Big Bro #4 and jumped on him.
"I can't believe you tried to steal food from right in front of everyone." He growled out.
"Are you really one to talk?" A growl off to the side.
I'm surprised he's doing as well as he's doing.
Actually, doesn't he already have him pinned?
Little Bro #8 seems to be getting even stronger.
Speaking of strength.
Let's start looking over my skills.
I want to learn more about what I can do as well as skills in general.
Appraisal should help me with getting a baseline, while the princess should help me with any general stuff I miss.
So. With that out of the way.
Time for an appraisal festival!
Let's start from the top and work down.
「Appraisal」
[Scratch]
[A basic attack caused by cutting the target. The strength of the attack can vary based on the user.]
Well that's no surprise.
I didn't learn anything new from that.
Next.
[Slash]
[A strong attack used to cut through a target. By focusing you can increase the attack's power or sharpness.]
I can change its sharpness by focusing?
Neat.
Next.
[Kick]
[An attack caused by using your legs. The strength of the attack can vary based on the user.]
This one's like Scratch but for legs.
Next.
[Tail Sweep]
[The user swings their tail horizontally to attack their target. Power in this attack can change based on tails speed and strength. Other skills can be chained with this skill. Due to variation, this attack has less attack power but more mana conductivity.]
Ooh.
This one seems more detailed than the others.
It talks about chaining skills as well as mentioned something about my variation.
This attack's power goes down but I gain something called 'mana conductivity'.
If I had to guess it has something to do with magic.
Maybe I can do things like use magic while using this attack.
Which means right now I can do squat with it.
No magic, no mana conductivity.
Ugh.
Let's move on before I make myself depressed.
[Tail Whip]
[The user swings their tail around freely in order to strike their targets like a whip.Other skills can be chained with this skill. Due to variation, this attack has less attack power but more mana conductivity.]
This one is the same as Tail Sweep from skill chaining to mana conductivity.
I wonder what the difference between the two is?
[Small Bite]
[The user bites down on the target using their fangs. This attack can vary based on the user.]
Another basic skill like Scratch and Kick
[Killing Bite]
[The user strikes with their fangs to kill off their target. Once this skill is activated the target of the attack will enter the Instant Death state.]
Whoa whoa whoa.
Hold on.
Instant Death state?
Instant Death is a status?
I thought I had an instant kill move, but it's not an instant kill move but a move that inflicts instant death?
I shudder just thinking about it.
Now I have to worry about others having this status as well.
[Sneak Attack]
[The user strikes at the target from an unexpected way. The inflicted target can enter the Weakened or Rattled state from this attack. Other skills can be chained with this skill.]
Weakened and Rattled.
Two more states.
There has to be even more states that a creature can fall into.
[Wind Control]
[Using one's own mana, the user can freely manipulate air and wind. The more mana you possess the stronger the control.]
Yeah that sounds about right.
I didn't know I used mana to control it though.
With all these magic based skills I should be careful not to run out of MP.
[Wind Magic]
[Allows the user to use wind magic.]
Oh.
That's sooo neat.
Now explain to me.
How the actually hell do I do that!?
My tail's actually cracking the ground from my anger right now.
[Fire Cowl]
[The user wraps their body in flames of their own mana. Due to Variation this skill can be sustained without mana in exchange for fire damage.]
Oh.
Well that explains the ability to set myself on fire and not take damage.
I guess the others will need mana to keep the flames going, while I don't even have to worry about it.
[Dragon Breath]
[The user sprays out a breath of a certain elemental type. This skill allows for Dragon Breath skills to be combined. Other skills can be chained with this skill.]
[Mana Breath]
[The user fires of a breath of mana. This skill changes based on the species of the user. Dragon users can activate and amplify magic with this skill.]
I can use magic with this?
Finally!
I have a hint about how to use magic!
Hurray for Mana Breath!
Hurray for Appraisal!
[Fire Dragon Breath]
[The user shoots out a high powered magical stream of fire. This skill can only be used by dragons or those with dragon-like abilities. Other skills can be chained with this skill.]
[Water Dragon Breath]
[The user shoots out a high powered magical stream of water. This skill can only be used by dragons or those with dragon-like abilities. Other skills can be chained with this skill.]
[Wind Dragon Breath]
[The user shoots out a high powered magical stream of wind. This skill can only be used by dragons or those with dragon-like abilities. Other skills can be chained with this skill.]
[Earth Dragon Breath]
[The user shoots out a high powered magical stream of earth. This skill can only be used by dragons or those with dragon-like abilities. Other skills can be chained with this skill.]
The dragon breaths are exactly what I expected.
Dragon breath is a skill only those of the dragon heritage can use.
It would be strange if one who isn't a dragon, or can rival a dragon could use it.
It is a phenomenon where dragons are used as reference and equated to power and status.
A dragon is one of the strongest beings to fight against in all media sources, so having the power of a dragon or abilities of one means you have to be the strongest in the field.
Even games and shows have dragons akin to gods and devils, or even in some cases being stronger than them.
That's why they are widely known as the strongest despite how versatile...
ah.
I went off on a tangent.
Anyways.
My breaths skills are very powerful magic that I can use.
Wait, are they magic?
Well If I think about -- I should stop before I go on another tangent.
Speaking of, I wonder how the others are doing with the cooking?
I looked up to see what they were doing.
Well, Little Bro #8 was sitting on Big Bro #4.
Guess he got delegated to a stool while he was working on the stew.
The cave has this nice smell to it now.
It smelled so good that I could feel my stomach rumbling in response.
"How much longer?" I hear Little Bro #9 whine out.
"It's going to take a bit longer." Little Bro #8 replies. "But I think Miss Ernamaria is almost done."
Oh hoh?
'Miss' huh?
kissing up to get on her good side, are we?
I wonder, I wonder.
I turn to the princess and look to hear her response to the question.
I guess I'm not the only one.
"Um...yeah. I'm almost done." She replied with a small nervous smile.
Well, I guess reheating 28 steaks is a bit much for anyone.
If it was me I'd probably burn it with my limited cooking skills.
I peek over at my skills once more.
[Fire Resistance]
[The users ability to resist fire magic and fire based attacks. Proficiency of the skill varies between different species.]
[Fire Nullification]
[The users ability to negate all fire damage done to them as well as effects dealt through fire magic and fire based attacks.]
[Wind Resistance]
[The users ability to resist wind magic and wind based attacks. Proficiency of the skill varies between different species.]
[Electricity Resistance]
[The users ability to resist electric magic and electric based attacks. Proficiency of the skill varies between different species.]
[Plasma Resistance]
[The users ability to resist plasma magic and plasma based attacks. Proficiency of the skill varies between different species.]
[Fear Resistance]
[The users ability to resist fear based effects as well as keep composure in fearful situations. Proficiency of the skill varies between different species.]
[Pain Resistance]
[The users ability to resist negative effects from pain being dealt to the user. This skill slightly increases one's pain tolerance threshold in addition.]
Hmmm
So Resistance and Nullification have different abilities.
Resistance represents the overall force and effect behind the magic.
Nullification then is damage overall.
For instance if I had 「Fire Nullification」but not 「Fire Resistance」It wouldn't do any damage to me, but the feeling of being on fire would still remain.
I'd feel pain not from the fire, but from the burns left behind.
In reverse, I'd take damage from the flames, but it would take so long for it to actually hurt or show any physical mark on me.
That explains why both exist, but also made me realize something else.
Certain dragons and monsters also have abilities or properties towards this as well.
For instance, increasing power.
If you hit a fire dragon with fire for instance, in some cases they gain more power or strength.
In several games they show this ability off and even build mechanics around this.
It wouldn't be strange if we could do the same.
Well, that's assuming my thoughts are correct.
How that would be portrayed or even if it's actually a thing, I don't know.
Even now my knowledge is limited only to certain topics related to dragons from my previous life and some basic common sense for said life.
So that means it's her turn.
"Hey, Princess." I call out to her.
"Just so you know, I'm not a princess." She answers back. "My names Ernamaria."
"Ernamaria." I repeat back.
Quite the long name you got there.
"I'll call you Mari for short then."
"Mari. That's a new one." She mutters under her breath. "Okay then what should I call you?"
"Good question. I don't have an answer though." I tell her. "Forget about that for now. I have some questions to ask about skills."
She looked at me shocked and confused for quite a while before asking. "You don't have a name?"
"I just said that, didn't I? No, I don't have one." I growl out "Now I have a few questions about skills I wanna ask."
She's gone silent again.
She seems to be lost in thought.
Is this what I'm like to others when I do this?
Ugh, that can get annoying quick.
Note to self, work on not being lost in thought.
Skill Up!
「Observation」has reached Level 12
...ignoring the timing of that for now.
"Hey Mari. Pay attention will ya."
My growling seems to snap her out of her thoughts.
"Oh, sorry." She turns her attention to me. "What did you want to ask?"
"Skills. Basics. Explain." I sitting myself down with a plop and a slap of tail to follow.
She hums before turning back to her pan to flip a steak onto a plate.
"Well, to start off. Skills are simply a manifestation of your abilities. You gain skills once your mind and body are aware of it."
"Once I'm aware of it? Then shouldn't I have a bunch of skills for things?"
"Yes and no." Mari answers. "You don't just get a skill just because you can physically do such things. For instance, you're interested in magic, right?"
I nod. "Yeah?"
"Well...I can tell you have quite the amount of Mana. But you probably don't know how to use it, even if you physically can use it." She explains. "You can physically do so, but you're not mentally ready for it."
"I see." I hum.
So I have to be physically able to do so while also mentally ready to do it.
That makes sense in some regard.
Then the reason I couldn't swim before was because even if I knew how to, I physically couldn't.
Then what about「Fortune Trader」?
That skill lets me learn a skill and use it immediately.
"Can a skill cause other skills to be formed?"
"That's how most skills work." Mari answers "Each skill can be raised up to a certain level before creating a higher level skill."
"Normally Skills max at Level 10 before gifting a new skill. If that skill has a level next to it, you can increase its level and probably get a new skill from it. Otherwise, you get one without it and reach the end of that skill's potential."
...
Huh?
What was that feeling?
It felt like a chill down my spine.
I shake my head before turning back to Mari.
"So...have you ever had a skill you couldn't see?"
"You mean a hidden skill?" She asks.
I look at the food she was cooking before nodding.
She looks down also going silent.
"Those skills aren't common for everyone, but they aren't rare either." She says. "From records and books I've read, it's basically what's read as 'a skill that's hidden from everyone'." She moves the stake from her pan and sets it down on the plate. "From whats been studied, there's multiple reason for someone to have a hidden skill, but the most common case is the body being ready for the skill, but the mind not knowing how to use it."
"Like having memory lost?" I ask.
"Exactly. Memory loss is actually the most common cause for the hidden skill to appear."
"Memory lost..." I mutter to myself.
I got fortune trader from the hidden skill right after remembering a bit of my past life.
So, if I try to remember more of my past, perhaps that hidden skill will be revealed.
But how am I supposed to do that?
"Do skills have a maximum level they can reach?" I ask her.
She shrugs. "I don't know. Most skills go only up to 10 and simply stop growing, but some have been recorded going as high as 50 before stopping. I personally think that there's no limit for skills, but limits for the one using the skill."
She looks over at me and smiles.
"Now mind if I ask a few questions?"
Oh?
She wants to ask now?
Well, since she answered questions of mine, it seems only fair
"I'll answer what I can."
"Can you tell me anything you know about Ennith?" She asked
"Ennith? Hmm..."
Good question.
I hardly know about her myself.
But I can say this much at least.
"She's a self serving dragoness who enjoys satisfying her own desires above anything else. She's also a good caretaker and takes good care of us. But other than that I don't know so much."
She also seems to be good at magic as well, but I don't even know what kind she uses.
Not like I would say this but I assume Mari already knows this part.
She did get affected by Ennith's magic.
"Ah, I see..." she says looking off to the side. "She seems like a good mother."
I look away.
"She's pretty good...as a mom."
As Mari asks questions about the cave and the others, I keep on looking through my skills.
[Concentration]
[A skill that allows the user to focus on a task or action. The effects vary depending on the use.]
[Perseverance]
[A skill that allows the user to endure and continue. So long as the user's spirit never breaks this skill will persist. This skill will trigger automatically.]
That's a strange one.
As long as my spirit never breaks?
What a strange description of text.
Also this skill seems to trigger all on its own.
I guess some skills you just keep and they work passively.
[Accelerated Thinking]
[A skill that allows for the user to think at a higher speed than normal. When in users the perception time will slow for the user. This skill can be chained with other skills]
Ah 「Accelerated Thinking」
You've been a lifeline for me.
[Danger Detection]
[A skill that warns the user of incoming dangers. The higher the level of this skill the wider the range of perception. This skill will trigger automatically.]
And here is my second lifeline.
「Danger Detection」
This skill has really been helpful in keeping me alert of dangers.
Honestly without these two I'm pretty sure I'd be dead right now.
[Weak Point Search]
[A skill that allows the user to search for the weak point of a target. The more familiar a user is with a target the more proficient it becomes. This skill can be chained with other skills.]
This skill is rarely used.
Now that I think about it, I should try using it more.
It's too good a skill just to ignore.
Also it would help a lot if i got used to using it more often.
[Dismantling]
[A skill that allows the user to disassemble a target into visible parts. This skill can be chained with other skills.]
[Cooking]
[A skill that allows the user to cook with the ingredients on hand. The more knowledge you gather while cooking the more proficient this skill becomes. This skill's effects vary depending on the use.]
「Dismantling」and 「Cooking」seem like perfect skills for food, but I wonder if that's all I can use them for.
The way their skills read out makes me think I can get more out of them.
[Tracking]
[A skill that allows the user to track down targets. The more knowledge you gather on tracking the more proficient this skill becomes. This skill's effects vary depending on the use.]
[Stealth]
[A skill that allows the user to hide their presence. The more knowledge you gather on stealth the more proficient this skill becomes. This skill's effects vary depending on the use.]
Eh?
I'm surprised these two skills have a varied effect based on use.
Aren't both of these skills pretty straightforward?
How can both effects be varied based on use?
[Teacher]
[A skill that allows the user to impart knowledge onto others. The more students you successfully teach the more proficient this skill becomes.]
[Climbing]
[A skill that allows the user to grapple to surfaces while retaining stamina.]
[Dig]
[A skill that allows the user to dig into surfaces.]
...
Somehow these two are more underwhelming than I thought.
[Dragon Language]
[A skill that allows one to speak the language of dragons and their kin. Languages that are the root of the dragon language can also be understood.]
Ah.
So this one also affects dragon-like languages as well.
That must mean there's more than the dragon language that dragons speak.
Now I'm curious.
Does that mean that there's a universal language all dragons speak, but then sub languages for each type of dragon?
Or maybe it's a division based off of each Elemental type like a fire dragon language and a water dragon language and such.
It could also be based off of the region's they exist in, like maybe there's eastern dragon languages and western ones?
If I think about it, in the media there's cases of dragons not being able to communicate with the undead and mechanical variants of their kind. So maybe undead and mechanical dragons have their own language as well?
Ah!
I went on a tangent again.
I quickly shake my head of those thoughts and look around for my siblings.
Most of them seem to be wrestling with each other.
Ah Big Bro #1 is taking on Big Bro #3 and Little Bro #9 at the same time.
Seems like they're really going at it.
Ah.
Even Big Sis #2 and Big Sis #5 are facing each other.
[Observation]
[A skill that allows the user to process what one has seen into easy to understand information. ]
[Appraisal]
[A skill that allows one to appraise targets and compare information with other targets of the same type.]
Ah, 「Observation」 and 「Appraisal」both seem similar, but function differently.
In that case I should use 「Observation」more for everyday things and 「Appraisal」for comparing things.
Maybe I should use it on the animals I hunt as well.
[Comforting]
[A skill that allows one to bring a sense of calm to targets. This skill's effects vary depending on the use.]
Big Bro #1 is atop big bro #3.
Big Bro #3 is trying to shake him off, but it's not going well.
Big Bro #1 let out a flame breath on him, even though I doubt it would do much to him.
[Dragonize]
[A skill that allows one to unleash a dragon's might. This skill's effect varies depending on the species.]
I saw this and wish I knew what it meant.
I have a few ideas what it could mean if, for instance, I wasn't a dragon.
It could be transforming into a dragon, or unleashing some kind of draconic power.
Big Sis #2 is trying to avoid Big Sis #5 and fight her at a measured distance.
Big Sis #5 however isn't backing down and pressing forward.
[Skill Unlock]
[A skill that allows others skills to be gained. Use of this skill activates Fortune Trader.]
So this skill triggers another skill.
I mean, this was already known, but the fact this skill triggers another skill makes me wonder.
What happens if I lose 「Fortune Trader」?
Will this skill not function correctly?
Will it still function, but I not have to use 「Fortune Trader」?
Will I lose this skill due to losing 「Fortune Trader」?
[Wind Blessing]
[A blessing given to you by the wind. This skill will trigger automatically.]
The skill that insect told me about.
I still wonder about the one who gave me this skill.
Big Bro #1 has Little Bro #9 on his back with Big Bro #3 fighting out front.
Little Bro #9 is breathing out flames himself to hit Big Bro #1.
His flame breath is smaller than everyone else's, but he's able to keep up with the other two in this fight.
[Hidden]
[Recover what is lost and clear away the darkness.]
Huh?
This one...
This one feels different.
It's less of a description, and more like a mission or quest.
I guess 'recover what is lost' means to remember my past.
Guess that confirms the 'lost memory' theory.
Nothing I can do about it now though.
[Fortune Trader]
[A skill that takes away future potential for current power. This skill will trigger automatically. ]
Big Sis #2 is getting cornered by Big Sis #5
At this rate Big Sis #2 will be caught against a wall.
She jumped up against the wall and clung to it.
Big Sis #2 was now up against the wall.
Actually, she was holding onto it upside down facing Big Sis #5.
She climbed up backwards and started shooting out fire breaths at her from the new position.
Big Sis #2 put herself in a new position that made catching her all that much harder.
Seems like Big Sis #5 is the cornered one now.
[Hyper Growth]
[A skill that greatly increases one's growth speed. This skill will trigger automatically.]
And this skill increases my growth speed overall.
Does that mean the amount of time it takes for me to mature decreases or does it mean that it can increase my skills growth speed?
Could be both or neither.
Well the skill is vague to begin with.
Clang Clang Clang!
The sound of loud beating metal makes me wince before turning to see little bro #8 banging a pot with a ladle in his maw.
"Okay everyone! Food is ready!" He growls out happily.
I'm curious what kind of food he made for us.
Not expecting anything fancy, but grilling steak and fish and making some kind of stew.
I have no idea what he's planning.
But food is food and I'm hungry.
Thankfully it seems I'm not the only one.
The others are coming over as well.
Little Bro #8 smiles before setting down several large metal bowls in front of us all, himself included.
I feel like I'm an animal or something...
...which I might be in most cases.
He turns to the pot, placing his claws on it.
"Portion 11, Serve."
The pot then glowed before the liquid inside flowed up like a geyser and swirled around in the air.
It was shocking to see it circle around before several streams of the liquid flowed down into our bowls slowly filling it up.
Inside their was the meat of the stakes as well as several chunks of...some kind of vegetables I guess, and a large slice of pink meat that was most likely the tuna.
It was quite the surprise to say the least.
I looked at the stew for a second before turning to see the others.
Everyone was already eating.
They didn't even hesitate.
Well.
You only live once.
...
...!
It's...Amazing!
It's so good!
It's so juicy and savory, not to mention the broth was easy to gulp down but went down so smoothly.
Ah.
I didn't even realize I ate it all.
Little Bro #8 had this proud smirk on his face as several of us turned to him expectantly.
"Anyone want more?" He asks.
"Yeah!" We all pretty much replied.
Once more the stew leaves the pot and fills up our bowls.
Once more we eat its contents.
Once more we ask for more.
I don't know how many times we repeated this cycle, but we did it until there wasn't anything left.
I lick my lips and lay to the side.
Little Bro #8 is a really good cook.
"Excuse me."
I peek up looking at Mari.
"yeah? Have a new question?" I ask.
"Yes. um..." she looked at me before asking. "How would you all feel about me giving you all names?"