Chapter 5: Free Food & A Conflicting Victory
『Small lesser Taratect LV 5 No name』
The spider I saw looked more menacing than the last. Whether it was a higher level or something else, I wasn't sure.
Even with that, I might be able to surprise attack it but even that might be tricky from this angle. I'm peaking my head out just a little from behind the wall, staring at its back as it walks in the other direction.
It proceeded forward so I followed its pursuit, running lightly in order to avoid its perception. I hid in little indents along the wall, only doable since of my small stature.
At this point, I was only a couple of meters lagging behind, but I needed to get just a bit closer in order to shock it before it notices me.
"Skill proficiency threshold reached. Acquired skill 『Stealth LV1』"
They even have one for this huh...
Putting my full attention on the taratect, and when I felt I was in a decent spot, I flew up, landing on its back.
It immediately shook itself, trying to fling me off but I closed my talons on its back, keeping myself in place. I have to act fast since while it cannot reach me here due to the no-neck situation, there are multiple other ways it can eject me from the top of it.
After steadying myself slightly more, I started pecking really fast, in the gap between the head and the abdomen, trying to hit a vital point. It started screeching, but I continued.
Finally, it began its assault to get me off its back.
At first, it began to roll around, trying to crush me under its weight. I had to pause my pecking and flap one of my wings each time it tried to roll on that side. Luckily, it put out just enough force to prevent the taratect's defense.
In each gap in between when it attempted to roll once again but in the opposite direction, I landed another hit at the gap.
It was tough to hit accurately, sometimes I hit the abdomen instead, probably doing less damage but that's fine. Every little bit adds up, yet I have to kill this thing soon before it is successful in my removal.
It finally gave up on rolling but in its last struggle, it ran up the wall, throwing me off my balance, and went into the ceiling making it feel even more strange.
It then let go from the ceiling, plummeting to the floor with me beneath it. I quickly leaped off its back and flew to the wall as I heard it hit the floor behind me. I somewhat did a wall jump, changing direction back to the spider who was attempting to move back upright and was close until it finally rolled out of the way. Now it faced me who was in a tight spot due to the little control of movement I had while suspended in the air.
At the same time, it jumped at me, I changed my positioning with a few flaps of my wings and flew to it, preparing to bear the consequences. It's better to be attacked head-on than from behind.
The spider tackled me onto the nearby floor and started to bite my wing as I hurriedly pecked its face, aiming for its eyes.
"Skill proficiency threshold reached. Skill 『Poison Resistance LV2』 has become 『Poison Resistance LV3』"
"Skill proficiency threshold reached. Skill 『Pain Mitigation LV1』acquired"
As I hit one, it flinched and halted but continued its attack. In the time it bit twice, l I finally reached its last eye.
With it blinded, It bit aimlessly and I began to claw my way out. Once I escaped, it was biting everywhere around it with me standing a few meters away from it. In one final attempt, I once again jump towards its back and pierced my beak into its flesh only a few more times, before its movement halted, and this time, for good.
It's not like I came out from this battle unscathed though. My right wing which was bit twice was struggling to stay on. I was right to assume it was also poisonous. If not for my now-raised resistance, I might have lost in this battle and died.
A level 5 spider is stronger than I thought. It had the upper hand in strength, defense, and nearly any other category but I managed to pull through due to its dimwittedness.
"By the effects of the skill 『Diverge LV1』, skill 『Poison Resistance LV1』and『Night Vision LV9』was acquired"
"『Poison Resistance LV1』 has unified into 『Poison Resistance LV4』"
"『Night Vision LV9』 has unified into 『Vision Expansion LV3』"
"Unable to withdraw two skills due to incompatibility"
"Every basic ability rose"
"Unable to withdraw the other 90% of stats"
If I leveled up, it would have come before this, so no level this time.
"Skill proficiency threshold reached. Skill 『Diverge LV1』 has become 『Diverge LV2』"
Diverge leveled? I assumed it would take longer but this is welcome. What would its effects be though? Higher absorption rate?
Anyways, it was a tough battle and the level-up bonus did not come so I could be certain I won't be fully healed. The stats from diverge made me feel slightly better but it was rough nonetheless.
If I want to heal, I have to eat the dead spider next to me so... Into my stomach, you go then.
I began eating the dead enemy on the spot and unlike last time, I did not receive another level to my resistance due to eating it. If I want to, It'll be tough at this rate I might have to eat another few to raise it like so. From what I can tell though, Diverge takes the skill and unifies it, leveling it without fail.
After the strange phenomenon of eating the spider who is larger than me whole, I felt significantly better and left the crime scene behind, walking down the tunnel I tried to go previously.
That battle was full of risks and I should avoid attacking any species that is over level 5 from now on unless necessary. I need to kill something else for a level-up heal...
Making my way around, I saw a little caterpillar-like monster, around the same size as me surprisingly.
『Elroe Gastruch LV5 No Name』『Elroe Gastruch LV5 No Name』『Elroe Gastruch LV3 No Name』『Elroe Gastruch LV3 No Name』『Elroe Gastruch LV 1 No Name』『Elroe Gastruch LV 1 No Name』『Elroe Gastruch LV 1 No Name』『Elroe Gastruch LV3 No Name』『Elroe Gastruch LV5 No Name』『Elroe Gastruch LV5 No Name』『Elroe Gastruch LV 1 No Name』『Elroe Gastruch LV2 No Name』『Elroe Gastruch LV2 No Name』『Elroe Gastruch LV2 No Name』『Elroe Gastruch LV 4 No Name』『Elroe Gastruch LV 4 No Name』『Elroe Gastruch LV3 No Name』『Elroe Gastruch LV 4 No Name』『Elroe Gastruch LV2 No Name』『Elroe Gastruch LV5 No Name』
Using Appraisal, there were 20 in sight here.
Appraising the name, I got:
『Elroe Gastruch: An extremely weak but often avoided species』
So they're weak but avoided?
Should I do the same since perhaps they attack in packs?
No, even if they're avoided and they do attack, just looking at their pill bug-shaped body, I could easily outrun them, even in my injured state.
Deciding to kill one for a level-up, I walked over to the nearest one and pecked it.
"By the effects of the skill 『Diverge LV2』, skill 『Corrosion Resistance LV5』was acquired"
"『Corrosion Resistance LV5』 has unified into 『Corrosion Resistance LV6』"
"Unable to withdraw one skill due to incompatibility"
"Every basic ability rose"
"Unable to withdraw the other 80% of stats"
It died already?!
It said it was extremely weak but wouldn't hunting these be pretty sustainable and good for me? I received an LV5 resistance right off the bat.
Wait, I can imagine why they weren't hunted now...
The spider who was poisonous had poison resistance so can this one can rot you from the inside out when you eat it?
Well, only one way to find out.
I stuck my beak in it once again, taking out the flesh and eating it until I felt as if my innards were going to be thrown up.
It tasted absurdly bad. While it's not good to waste food, I see no beneficial reason to continue eating this. I might possibly die if I do so.
Stepping over to the next one, I pecked it once again, and it fell to the floor instantly.
"By the effects of the skill 『Diverge LV2』, skill 『Corrosion Resistance LV5』was acquired"
"『Corrosion Resistance LV5』 has unified into 『Super-Corrosion Resistance LV1』"
"Unable to withdraw one skill due to incompatibility"
"Every basic ability rose"
"Unable to withdraw the other 80% of stats"
This one also died instantly but still no level-up.
Looks like I'm going on a massacre...
25% of the way, I finally received what I was looking for.
"Experience points have reached a certain point. Individual, Tiny Lesser Chicken LV2 has become LV3"
My body glowed and I was healed similar to how it happened before.
"Every basic ability rose"
"『Skill Proficiency Level Up Bonus』acquired "
"Skill proficiency threshold reached. Skill 『Appraisal LV3』 has become 『Appraisal LV4』"
"Skill proficiency threshold reached. Skill 『Thought Acceleration LV4』 has become 『Thought Acceleration LV5』"
"Skill proficiency reached. Skill 『Iron Grip LV3』 has become 『Iron Grip LV4』"
"Skill point gained"
A few skills leveled up as well, but not many as last time from what I can tell. Still welcome either way.
65% of the way there, something intriguing happened again.
"By the effects of the skill 『Diverge LV2』, skill 『Corrosion Resistance LV5』was acquired"
"『Corrosion Resistance LV5』 has unified into 『Super-Corrosion Resistance LV10』"
" 『Super-Corrosion Resistance LV10』has evolved into『Corrosion Nullification LV1』"
"Unable to withdraw one skill due to incompatibility"
"Every basic ability rose"
"Unable to withdraw the other 80% of stats"
After killing all 18 remaining Elroe Gastruchs, I was met with another shock.
"Skill proficiency threshold reached. Skill 『Diverge LV2』 has become 『Diverge LV3』"
Already?
Not only that but the nullification skill I received was currently 『Corrosion Nullification LV3』despite my killing 7 after that. Due to it being another level, it seems to take two level 5 corrosion resistance to level it up once.
Killing these was rather productive but I could see how other creatures have little need to kill them as they gave little experience points.
I decided to take a bite and eat it from another one again. While it still was the worst thing I've eaten, I didn't feel the need to puke, possibly due to the nullification I acquired.
Looks like I'm eating all of these then too.
After finishing the last of them, I once again got something else.
"Skill proficiency threshold reached. Skill 『Over Eating LV1』acquired"
Is this really something to be proud of though? What are its effects?
Appraisal.
『Over Eating: A skill acquired from overeating 』
I predicted that somewhat but I thought due to Appraisal reaching level four just recently, it might be able to tell. Let's try it on me now.
『Tiny Lesser Chicken LV3 No Name 』
I was about to retort that nothing changed, but I glanced to the side of the information that popped up and saw a green, blue, yellow, and red bar.
I tried appraising the green bar and received:
『HP』
What does that mean?
I appraised HP and got
『Hit points』
Seriously, what does that mean?
I appraised it one more time, receiving:
『Hit points: a point that displays health』
Is that what it is? Why call it a hit point when you could just call it a health point instead?
So the green represents my overall health, which is incredibly useful to check in a fight.
I did the same with the blue bar and got:
『MP』
『Magic points』
I'll think of this as a battery almost then. If I use a spell, it could drop halfway let's say, so half charge. It's not the number of spells you could use I think.
Now the yellow and red were both labeled SP. I'd like to assume the yellow stands for stamina and the red stands for strength but it seems relatively pointless to have both when they can be combined somewhat.
Doing appraisal all the way again, for the yellow I got:
『SP』
『Stamina points』
『Stamina points: Points consumed from movement』
and for the red I got:
『SP』
『Stamina points』
『Stamina points: Points consumed from movement』
Aren't they the same thing? What is strange though is that the red bar has a little tick mark and extends longer than the other ones. I guess I should test it.
I was about to run when I heard a pop. I turned around and was met with another egg. As that happened though, the red SP bar dropped to the same length as the other bars. Do I lay eggs when that extra bar is full?
I tried running till the point of exhaustion and the yellow bar was depleted at the same time I couldn't move much more. At that time, the red bar dropped only slightly. I guess it might only be for eggs but I'll experiment with it over time.
While I was running I noticed something though. Wasn't I lasting longer than usual?
I know my stats raised from each time I kill something but how drastic was it? If I killed 20 things and if let's say only .5 point goes up for stamina, why does it feel like I'm going double the distance I previously could? Was it at 10 before if that's the case?
Disregarding that, I wonder if I can see these bars for other creatures, and if I could, that would be extremely useful. If I can't I still have to level appraisal until it reaches a higher level anyways.
I've been delaying for long enough but let's eat my egg again.
I repeated the same drinking process I did last time which is similar to poking a hole in a coconut and drinking from it. After I finished, my skill activated like usual.
"By the effects of the skill 『Diverge LV1』, skill 『Piercing Beak LV1』『Iron Grip LV1』『Wing Propulsion LV1』『Night Vision LV2』 was acquired"
Seems I ate my son instead of my daughter like last time due to the lack of the Eggs skill.
"『Piercing Beak LV1』 has Unifed into 『Piercing Beak LV7』"
"『Iron Grip LV2』 has Unifed into 『Iron Grip LV5』"
"『Wing Propulsion LV3』 has Unifed into 『Wing Propulsion LV5』"
"『Night Vision LV2』 has Unifed into 『Vision Expansion LV4』"
"Every skill absorbed due to compatibility"
"Every basic ability rose"
"Every stat absorbed due to compatibility"
Having an egg now almost acts like a mouthwash as it successfully removed the disgusting taste from the Gastruches I ate.
My red SP bar went up so I can correlate that with eating I suppose.
I was moving to leave this area until I felt an impact and burning pain on my tail.
"Skill proficiency threshold reached. Acquired skill 『Acid Resistance LV1』"
That was acid that stung me then.
Spinning myself around I saw a frog around 10 times larger than me about to strike me with its tongue it just stuck out.
I dodged to the right, using appraisal on my opponent.
『Elroe Frog LV2 Failed to Appraise Status』
So Appraisal doesn't work on other creatures' statuses yet indeed.
As soon as I dodged, the tongue retracted back into its mouth and it spits out a liquid ball, which is what I assume to be acid. I narrowly dodged it but a few droplets from it splattering on the floor shot back, hitting some spots on my under half.
Ignoring the pain from it, I flew up and over it as its gaze followed me. The mouth of the frog parted signaling a possible tongue strike again and instead of landing behind it, I dropped myself and fell directly at its side, successfully hitting one of its eyes with my beak on my drop-down.
I landed on my feet which felt slightly awkward for a split second but while the frog was squirming in pain, I circled around it, landing on its back in a similar way to the spider, and dug my claws into its skin.
It shrieked in pain once again and Instead of just pecking this time around, I flapped my wings while moving on its back, creating multiple gash wounds.
As I reached the floor again, it spun itself while kicking, hitting me square in the ribcage, and sending me into the nearby wall.
It looked at me with its remaining eye and I watched in partial awe as the shoulders of the frog heaved up and down. Not due to tiredness, but laughter...
This creature in front of me has some level of intelligence and ego no less.
I seemingly shrunk back from the laughter, too weak to move which caused it to laugh even more.
And that was when I struck.
While it was occupied believing it had won, I flew up, clawing at its neck, taking out its other eye, and scratching its front in a similar manner as I did to its back.
It writhed on the floor in pain, making animal noises unbecoming of a frog.
If I just left it, it would die from blood loss at this rate. I'm not in the state to stay safe in close range with it due to the movement it's doing so I'll do just that.
Minutes passed and it moved slower and slower throughout the time. When I was sure it couldn't do anything now, even if it tried, I stepped over to it. I pecked it square on its head full force and shortly after, it was completely silent.
"Experience points have reached a certain point. Individual, Tiny Lesser Chicken LV3 has become LV4"
"Every basic ability rose"
"『Skill Proficiency Level Up Bonus』acquired "
"Skill proficiency threshold reached. Skill 『Piercing Beak LV7』 has become 『Piercing Beak LV8』"
"Skill proficiency threshold reached. Skill 『Parralel Thinking LV3』 has become 『Parralel Thinking LV4』"
"Skill point gained"
The burned patches on my skin were healed, the same as the internal injuries I received from the impacts.
"By the effects of the skill 『Diverge LV3』, skill 『Acid Resistance LV1』『Poison Resistance LV1』『Accelerated Growth LV1』『n%l=w』was acquired"
"『Acid Resistance LV1』 has unified into 『Acid Resistance LV2』"
"『Poison Resistance LV1』 has unified into 『Poison Resistance LV5』"
"Unable to withdraw two skills due to incompatibility"
"ERROR"
"Skill『n%l=w』cannot exist twice in one individual"
What...?
"Every basic ability rose"
"Unable to withdraw the other 70% of stats"
As Voice-san finished her announcement, I gained a skill that might help me level faster called Accelerated Growth.
What was n%l=w though?
Due to the fact, it can't exist twice, doesn't that mean I already have it? A skill two completely different monsters have that is different from others. It doesn't have a level either...
Despite the countless appraisals I've done, no answer besides the appraisal failing came back.
Even though I just defeated a strong opponent, I couldn't help but feel a slight sense of unease.
Kiyo's Current Information:
Species: Tiny Lesser Chicken
Level: 4
Stats (Not Known yet):
HP: 44
MP: 26
Yellow SP: 36
Red SP: 36
Offense: 24
Defense: 20
Magic: 17
Resistance: 18
Speed: 19
Known Skills:
Appraisal LV4
Eggs LV3
Mental Arithmetic LV6
Piercing Beak LV8
Thought Acceleration LV5
Parallel Thinking LV4
Wing Propulsion LV5
Iron Grip LV5
Diverge LV3
Vision Expansion LV4
Poison Resistance LV5
Corrosion Nullification LV3
Heresy Magic LV1
Taboo LV1
Stealth LV1
Pain Mitigation LV1
Acid Resistance LV2
Accelerated Growth LV1
n%w=l
Titles:
Super Computer Brain
Gross Feeder
Kin Eater
~Author's Note~
Like the fight scenes? Tried my best but I have never really done them before so I'm not sure about the quality.
Anyways... The plot thickens : )
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