"Eh?" Aurus definitely didn't expect his first attack to be a critical hit. In his previous life, he considered himself as a person with extremely bad luck. But for some reason, when he was reborn as a stick, the first attack he dealt was actually a critical? Have the gods finally taken pity on him?
It's quite an overstatement to say that the gods have finally pitied Aurus and given him good luck since he would eventually encounter situations that don't favor him, but it does seem that his luck is turning for the better.
"Well...now that I'm level 2 and I'm nearing the max level for this grade, I should head forward and enter the inner portion of the outer area," Aurus decided since he would evolve soon enough once he kills enough twigs.
"But before that...open the status screen."
Ding!
________
[Aurus] (Level 2/3)
Experience: 0/5
Existence Level: Inanimate
Grade: C
[HP]: 2/2
Stats:
[Toughness]: 2
[Thickness]: 2
[Density]: 2
Unused Experience Points: 0
Unused Genesis Points: 0
________
Ever since he enabled the option of seeing his HP bar that would usually hover over his body, the option of being able to see his HP bar from his status screen was enabled as well.
"Hm. From leveling up, I can say that my abilities have doubled," Aurus said to himself. It was quite true though since his stats were only at 1 at Level 1. He then checked the amount of experience he needed as he said, "I need 5 experience points before I max it out."
As he said this, he noticed something missing below the experience bar. "Why can't I see my species?"
Of course if dogs and cats have their breeds, sticks would also have their own distinct characteristics as well. Knowing the enemy's species would allow you to attack more efficiently and knowing your own species would allow you to improve in a way that benefits your own species.
Aurus then commanded, "Enable the option of seeing my species."
Ding!
'The option has been enabled.'
'Aurus' current species is [Stick].'
Hearing the voice that came from the system, he couldn't help but chuckle. "As expected, my starting species is the same as starting out in ISE. A stick."
"Well let's not waste any more time," Aurus placed the thought at the back of his head and activate the [Roll++] skill, heading towards the inner portion of the outer area.
...
Within the dimension Kurohana resided, one could see that Kurohana was eagerly watching a stick roll through a crystal orb. Although this would normally bore people, for Kurohana who had a near infinite lifespan, it was better than doing nothing. If you think about it though, who wouldn't want to see their catalyst become stronger so it can create a better weapon?
"In just two days, you're already close to evolving? This is definitely great." Kurohana let out a laugh that was unbefitting of her appearance. At first glance, everyone would think of her as a pure and innocent girl, but sadly she had a bipolar personality that would even merge together at times.
Ring...
All of a sudden, a ringing sound could be heard coming from the orb. Kurohana, who was watching Aurus, frowned as she looked at the person who called her.
Yes, the reason for the ringing sound was that she received a call.
She changed the image on the orb from Aurus into another person Kurohana knew. This person was a God just like her but he governed another part of the universe, specifically the underworld.
Although this person was ruler of the underworld, he was devilishly handsome to the point that many goddesses would confess to him, only to be rejected by the cold aura he emitted.
This god was none other than the God of the Underworld, Hadouken.
Kurohana looked at Hadouken with a smiling face as she was used to looking at handsome people. "How are you, Hadouken?"
Hadouken opened his mouth as a cold yet calm voice sounded out. "I'm fine, thank you. The Underworld is currently stable at the moment and I'm planning to improve its power soon enough. How about you, Kurohana? Are the Six Paths having any issues?"
Kurohana shook her head as she maintained her smile. "Not at all. In fact, it's becoming better since I've assigned personnel for each path. Anyways, if you strengthen the Underworld, my Six Paths would also benefit from it, you know?"
Even though they were gods who tend to stay out of the mortals' issues, they still wanted to grow stronger and possibly reach the level of strength that the Creator, the God of Everything, wielded. Since that was the case, they would strengthen the things they governed and limit the access of the mortals from the divine portions of the things they governed.
At this moment, Kurohana let out a small snigger as she said, "You do know you didn't come here for that, right?"
Hadouken looked at her and couldn't help but let out a rare smile. "You're right. Let me get straight to the point."
"Teach me how to craft a Primordial Weapon."
...
17 hours have passed since Aurus activated [Roll++].
Ding!
Ding!
'[Roll++] has leveled up.'
'[Roll++] has leveled up.'
Indeed. Through these past 17 hours, Aurus traversed a distance that allowed him to level up [Roll++] twice. And considering the fact that each level up increased the rate of movement of [Roll++] by 10 meters per hour, Aurus is now moving at a speed that slightly exceeded the rate of 1 meter per minute!
After a while, Aurus stopped in his tracks and saw two twigs that were coincidentally beside each other, making him smile.
"They shall be my targets then," Aurus then rolled towards the two twigs and positioned himself perpendicular to the twigs just like before. He was taking his chances on whether he could achieve a critical hit again.
"Attack!" Aurus shouted inwardly as he rolled over the two twigs. Although the situation he imagined looked great in his mind, in actuality, it was slow as usual. Well it was faster than before, but still slow.
Ding!
'Aurus has dealt 0.2 HP to [Twig (1)].'
'Aurus has dealt 0.2 HP to [Twig (2)].'
'[Twig (1)] and [Twig (2)] have been killed.'
'Experience +6.'
"..." Aurus had a solemn expression once he saw this. It turns out that he didn't need to do a critical hit anymore since his attack stat could now one shot the twigs to death.
As he continued to read through the notifications, he knew his time has finally come!
'Congratulations! Aurus has leveled up.'
'Aurus has reached the MAX level.'
'Aurus has met the needed requirements and is now ready to evolve.'