NOVEL WEB Chapter 2: Miro
A woman…
Or rather, a woman in a painting.
It was abstract, the kind of art he'd normally ignore, and would have again today if it weren't for his odd situation.
He seemed to be in a wooden room filled with countless drawers, a coldness creeping into his skin, though his body heat fought it off. Outside, loud music blared, the sound leaking into the room.
"Keep it up, let it flow… I know you want it, so don't stop going hard."
It wasn't what his deviant brain had initially thought. Just music.
'In a different language? How can I understand it?'
But that wasn't the biggest problem. He couldn't move. His new body felt like it was fixed in place. He could only wiggle his feet and toes.
His throat was dry and painfully sore, and he felt something—or someone—gripping his arm.
Just as confusion reached its peak, a sharp pain surged through his head. Memories, not his own, began to flood his mind. The sensation was overwhelming, almost suffocating, like someone forcing water down his throat.
And then, a brief silence followed.
'I got scammed.'
Kai wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry about his new state. After all, he had become a fantastical creature called miro. These creatures looked like humans but with a monkey tail and red skin. They only ate fire objects or lava, which turned their bodies into ticking bombs.
If they got too worked up, they would explode, sending magma-like liquid everywhere. If they got angry, they would explode. If they did too much physical activity, they would explode.
They were lazy, floating around in lava pools, only moving to eat… and even then, they'd explode.
'Your mother explodes,' Kai cursed silently. 'Now I know why he didn't give the growing power to his own brethren.'
As for why Kai couldn't move…
His previous body owner was an anomaly in his kind, an adventurous and curious individual, but he still got their stupidity.
The miro was clearly different, no matter how he jumped or did whatever he wanted, he wouldn't explode unlike his brethren, but then he got lured by a middle aged man with just a lava candy.
'That man took the miro to an ice cave and I don't remember what happened after that. But right now, I am sure I am locked inside ice, with only my feet and toes free. Great.'
But then it clicked.
The hand touching his arm might be that middle aged man.
Now dead, or maybe still alive, and frozen alongside him.
A chill went down his spine.
His breathing turned rough, the limited oxygen in the small space getting consumed at a fast rate, the cold air irritating his nose.
'No, no, calm down, calm down. That guy who made me reincarnate in this body gave me some power, and I am alive; I can think, so calm down.'
He told himself that many times before calming down slightly.
Just then.
[Ding.]
'… Of course, my cheat is a system.'
[The system will aid you in answering your questions.]
[The system will guide and advise you.]
[The system will provide you with a status window.]
Kai immediately asked, 'How do I get out of this ice?'
It didn't give the answer, instead he heard another mechanical 'ding'.
[A quest has been issued.]
[Quest: 'Escape from the Ice.']
[Description: Due to unknown reasons, you are trapped inside a block of ice. Escape from it before it devours all your body heat and kills you.]
[Reward: 3 Skill Points]
[Time Limit: 01:59:57]
'… okay, so what can you guide me in?'
[Information regarding the magical flora and fauna, languages, legends of the Celestial Expanse, and the system functions.]
'Great,' his racing heart calmed down a bit. At first he was thinking that he had a faulty system that didn't respond after all. This also explained how he can understand the unfamiliar language of the song—system automatically translated it to him.
'Let's take it slowly and understand my powers first, I still have 2 hours.'
'What are your functions?'
[Please look at the status window.]
'Alright, show me.'
A translucent window appeared before him.
[Status]
[Name: Kai Vincenzo]
[Species: Miro]
[Innate Skill: Origin Extraction]
[Health: 50/100]
[Mana: 40/100]
[Skill Points: 0]
[Soul Cores:]
- Brown Star: Flare Monkey
[Soul Shards:]
- None
'That doesn't explain anything.'
[The system is the creation of Mr. Zero, and the major functions include increasing efficiency and usage of your innate soul ability, and the miro's natural ability to devour anything.]
'Mr. Zero is the man who sent me here?'
[Yes.]
'Zero mentioned someone called Morgana and about rejecting some voices, do you know about it?'
[No.]
'Eh… So my innate soul ability is this origin extraction? Tell me more about it.'
[It's a unique ability that allows you to gain skill points by devouring anything that contains mana—plants, animals, objects, anything. The miro you've reincarnated into has strong digestion and sharp teeth, which will help you in this process. The skill points you gather can be used to unlock different skills imprinted on the soul cores or soul shards you've devoured.]
'Oh, interesting. So devouring things gives me skill points, which I can use to unlock skills from the core or shard? My body has the monkey bloodline, so I already have the flare monkey soul core.' Kai fired off more questions. 'Hmm, what's a brown star? Is there a limit to the skills I can get? What's the difference between a shard and a core?'
[Brown Star is part of the celestial grading system. It's the lowest rank, essentially rank 1.]
'Mmh, okay.'
[There's no limit to the number of skills you can have. As long as you possess a soul core or shard and the required skill points, you can unlock a particular skill.]
[The difference between a soul shard and a core is that a core contains all the skill tiers, whereas a shard typically has only 1-2 tiers.]
'I see… Eh, I cannot touch the screen right now, can you show me the skill tiers of flare monkey?'
[Affirmative.]
[Soul Core: Flare Monkey]
[Rank: Brown Star]
[Current Skill Points: 0]
[Acquired Skills:]
- Tier 1: Torch Tail, Heat Sense, Devouring Mark Movement
- Tier 2: Explosion Immunity, Fire Claw
- Tier 3: None
- Tier 4: None
[Locked Skills:]
- Tier 1: Tail Whip, Thermal Vision, +
- Tier 2: Blazing Shield, Fire Ball, +
- Tier 3: ??? (Conditions not met.)
- Tier 4: ??? (Conditions not met.)