NOVEL WEB [Arc 1] Chapter 2: Future Plans and King of the Caverns
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SYSTEM MESSAGE: [Identification] skill level has reached Lv.10. [Status Identification] has been added to [Identification Lv.10] Skill [Discern] has been unlocked in the Skill Shop You have earned 0.1 Skill Points Due to "Champion of Alvatria", an additional 0.1 Skill Points were earned. |
And another skill bites the dust.
It's been quite a few days (it feels like more than a month) since I was reborn, but things have been going... smoothly, I guess.
After I read about my race in the Kigal-Note, I made sure to stay out of the way of any monster possible, as probably anyone could best me in a fight, unless I got lucky again like with the snake.
Dungeon or cave, in places like this, the stronger guys would be at the bottom layers, while the weaker guys should be closer to the entrance. Maybe there's someone weak enough for me to farm EXP on! It's still better than being here with boulders trying to make a snack outta you.
The good news is that there aren't too many monsters that can climb up to the hills, so I've been using these heights to escape any troubles, and monsters as well.
The only guys on this floor who can climb all the way up to here are the Scavenger Snakes, and they stick to eating the remains of the meals from either those snake-necked tortoises like the first two guys or a cobra-like Water attribute monster that sometimes cooperate with the tortoise.
Not sure what the latter two guys are, as [Identification]'s range can't reach them from up here. It's safe up here, so I won't be going down anytime soon.
Food's no problems, as the whole place's littered in flora. The other monsters kept away from them for some reason, so I needed to figure out what kinda plants they were. That was done when I got [Identification] to Lv.5. A simple ability known as [Name Identification] got unlocked then. That, plus the Kigal-Note, was just what was needed to solve this mystery.
The reason why vegetables ain't on the menu is 'cause of this special plant known as the Crackerberries. They're an Explosion attribute plant species that literally blows you up when you're getting too close to them. They grow with other plants, camouflaging themselves to look just like them, so eating plants with these pests around is equal to playing Russian roulette with dynamite instead of bullets.
Funny thing is, their Explosion attribute was the reason why I'm able to figure them out. All hail [Magic Sight]! Even so, I needed to use the Note to figure out what was edible from the non-explosive ones. Some were goods, some were misses... I miss a good egg-and-bacon breakfast now... not to mention BBQ. Wonder if there are some non-monster fishes here?
Speaking of which, it became the third skill to reach Lv.10. [Identification] from before is the fourth guy.
The first one was unsurprisingly [Night Vision]. It also comes in colors when reaching Lv.10! The first colorful view of the marine blue caves was breathtaking...
Back to the point, the second skill that reached the good, ol' Lv.10 is [Spider Thread]. There was barely a moment between this guy, and [Night Vision]! But when I gave it a thought, I do use it to make bridges and for climbing, as I keep on walking on the higher area of this floor. I also used it against the snake, which was way higher in level than me, as proved by me getting the [Giant Killer] title. Maybe you get some bonus proficiency when using skills against stronger targets? Like in games?
When we're on it, let me give a quick explanation about titles. They're special abilities, similar to skills, that are automatically acquired when fulfilling certain requirements. In [Giant Killer]'s case, that was to kill a creature that was at least 10 levels higher, and their racial rank was one higher than my own.
Titles come with tons of rewards, such as bonus EXP, up to two skills, unlock certain classes, and you may even get some Skill Points! With [Giant Killer], I got two skills, [Strength Increase (Small)], and [Vitality Increase (Small)]. They're skills that improve your status values, not that I feel any different from before.
As for the effect of the title itself, an increase in damage is inflicted on those with a higher level, or higher rank in the racial hierarchy. Or, better yet, both at once! Sweet. Except for the part that I'll probably be toast if I face something like that.
You also get an equal amount of Skill Points, depending on how many Points the killed creature's race gets when they level up or reach a tenfold level with a skill. The snake was rank E- so I got 0.3 Points... which was doubled due to the whole Champion-thing,
Due to that, I've earned a total of 2.2 Skill Points since I was born. The initial 1 Point is not included.
I leveled up 4 times due to the snake, giving me 0.4*2, meaning 0.8 Points from only that, then 0.3 from the title, doubled to 0.6, for finally, those from the four skills lately, giving me 0.8 more Points.
I used up 1 Point after the snake episode, to get the [Threadsmanship] skill I saw when I got [Spider Thread]. The skill is what's called, a "Weapon Proficiency" skill. Meaning that even a doofus with a sword can use it with they get a [Swordsmanship].
Yeah. Threads can be used as weapons. Who'd known? Except for all the guys out there that watch anime and spy movies?
It helps me make better thread-based creations as well. Like laces! Okay, I joked. It helps me make what I call web bridges. And I know the name's too spot-on. But anything that helps me avoid the monster-infested ground floor is fabulous in my book.
Oh, and I used the remaining 1 Point as well, leaving me with only 0.2 Skill Points in the wallet. The new skill is called [Danger Sense], which is better than nothing within detection abilities, I guess.
Now then, I've been delaying this for too long, but people may be wondering about the System Message I got before. The [Discern] skill is a little something that allows me to "double-identify" the results that [Identification] brings up.
This is needed since [Identification] can only tell me how many skills, titles, and blessings, the target of identification has. Besides, it's faster to identify it rather than to look it up in the book all the time.
Therefore, let's not waste any time! Take up the Skill Shop... searching using one of the skills in my possession... using [Identification] for the search... and presto!
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SKILL SHOP |
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Available skill points: 0.2 |
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Search by word: |
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Search by skill [Identification] |
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Available skills:
Power-up [Identification Lv.10]: 1 Skill Point for 1 level up. |
Ugh, 3 Points... Anyway, this is another way of using the Skill Shop. You can look after skills that are related to the one you used for the search, and it's even possible to gain new levels with it by paying Skill Points! I would rather obtain new skills instead, but every man to his taste..., or in this case, every demon.
Still... those other two skills... I won't be needing them in this cavern, or Dungeon, or whatever. Still, it's not stupid to keep a memo about them existing.
Anyway, there's no need for [Discern] at the moment. [Identification] at Lv.10 can't show skills yet anyway. Just look:
| Name: | Garami | |
| Race: | Grey Demon | Gender: Female | |
| Level: | 5 | |
| HP: 14/14 | MP: 10/10 | SP: 16/20 |
| STR: 15 | VIT: 11 | MAG: 9 |
| RES: 10 | SPD: 14 | DEX: 21 |
| INT: 120 | LUC: 150 | |
Only stats, gender, level, and name! The gender, level, and name came when the skill reached Lv.5.
At Lv.15, I can see these Karma Values, and at Lv.20, you can see the skills, along with the Skill Points. I need that [Discern] skill to see what the skills really are though.
Lv.30 lets me see the traits of the guys, but not what they are until I get [Discern]. And Lv.40 lets me see titles, but, again, you need [Discern]. And at Lv.50, the Blessings from the gods are shown. I don't even need to mention the need for that other skill, do I?
Therefore, there's no dire need for [Discern] right now, but I wanna have more skills! And not live in this snake hole! Stairs to the next level, where are you!?
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Zzz... One grilled chicken... Two grilled chickens... Zzz...
*rumble, rumble, rumble!*
Whoa!? I'm up!
"SHAAAAA!!!" - ???
That sound-! A snake? Where's... whoa!
A gigantic... cobra? Something that looked like a bigger, and more regal-looking, version of the Water attribute cobras that I've seen on the ground floor. It's so big, its head touches the fog-banks in the ceiling! Its scales look more like sapphires than snake scales, and on its head, there is some sort of crown? Horns? It just looks like he has some crown on top of his head.
*SPLASH!!*
WOW! Was that something like a dragon's breath? Whatever it is, large amounts of water came out of the cobra's mouth. And it reaches even here! Wait, was these 'hills' something that was formed from the cobra's mouth?
... This is a guy I don't wanna mess with. I think I'm gonna call him the king cobra from now on.
Hey! That's a Fishman! Or, what's left of him. Don't tell me they challenged the king cobra? They must have. I don't think a Fishman would get taken out by water after all.
Maybe that's why there are not so many different types of monsters here? They got flushed away by the king cobra! The Water attribute monsters must have some ways to cope with the flow, and the Scavenger Snakes can just escape to higher ground.
This event has furthered my will to escape this floor. Let's just go the opposite way of the water flow, as it's probably being led towards the lake tunnel that goes downwards. Just need to steer clear of his majesty. He gives me the shivers.
Hmm... maybe these fishmen are some sort of invaders? The king cobra blasted them 'cause they were moving on his turf. That sounds plausible. Then, considering the position of the king cobra's blast (which should be the direction the fishmen came from) with the water flowing towards the lake, the entrance should be... around that way!
It's also an area that I haven't looked at yet, according to my map, so let's check it out afterward. I'll wait for his majesty to go to sleep. In the meanwhile, I'll hide behind this big rock...
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SYSTEM MESSAGE: [Danger Sense] skill level has reached Lv.10. You have earned 0.1 Skill Points Due to "Champion of Alvatria", an additional 0.1 Skill Points were earned. |
Truer words were never spoken!
