I continued to duke it out with the cockroaches. There was only 1 slinger cockroach left but still a lot of normal cockroaches. Thinking that it was time for a break I start to create the mana barrier. But just as I was about to do so…
*Bang!*
I was hit in the back of the head again.
'Ughh. What the hell is that?! Behind me is a cave wall so what could have hit me?'
Using Mana Release again to push back the upcoming cockroaches in order to give myself time to recover, I scan my surroundings. But just as I did so, I felt a reaction from the mana that I released to the left slightly behind me. Taking a look, I saw nothing there.
'How weird. Was that like mana echolocation or something?'
Thinking that I don't have a detection type skill yet, I sent out another pulse of mana with Mana Release but with less force and more of a scanning type similar to my Self Analysis skill.
[Skill Mana Sense created.]
[Skills Sight Enhancement + Hearing Enhancement + Olfactory Enhancement + Sensitivity Adjustment + Mana Sense combined into Sensing.]
'Great, a simple skill name! But why wasn't Tongue Enhancement included in that list? Whatever. I'll think about it later!'
Immediately activating the skill Sensing, I looked around. I saw the bodies of cockroaches I killed turning into steam and leaving behind a crystal. Upon closer inspection I noticed that the mana from the body of a cockroach seemed to be gathering to form the crystal.
'I see. So that's why the monsters leave behind a crystal. The rest of the monster seems to dissolve and turn back into mana and scatter in the form of steam.'
Figuring out some answers to my previous questions with my new skill was enlightening. But now wasn't the time. I noticed a spot to my left had a mana reaction despite not seeing anything there with my sight.
'An invisible assassin type cockroach? Wow. I would no longer be surprised if they had a healer type. Then they would have a balanced cockroach party.'
I flung a rock at the last slinger and successfully take it out. Now there were only a few more normal cockroaches near me and that one assassin cockroach. I finished up the last remaining cockroaches and then let out a fake sigh of a relief and acted like my guard was down while facing my back towards where the cockroach was. The assassin cockroach took this as an opening and went for the back of my head again.
'I knew you'd go for that spot again, dumb bug.'
I had made a layer of mud coat the back of my head earlier after I found out about the assassin cockroach. Just as the cockroach was about to hit me, I morphed and condensed the mud into a spike. With the cockroach's momentum, it gets deeply impaled by it. Just before the cockroach could escape again with its impressive speed, I made the spike branch out like a tree thus preventing the cockroach from running.
"Haha I got you now. You are the last living cockroach and I have some plans for you. Huehuehue."
Laughing evilly, I move the mud spike to my left arm and examine the assassin cockroach. Just to be safe, I also activated the mana barrier to scare away any surviving cockroaches.
Examining the assassin cockroach, it had had a darker shade than the normal ones and thicker hind legs and head. The Sensing skill only lets me see in a monotone shade of black, white, and gray but it was not hard to tell that this cockroach was made to be easier to blend in with the darkness. It continued to struggle on my spike while I kept observing it.
'Let's try using Sensing with Self Analysis on this cockroach to see if I can see its stats and skills.'
Controlling the mana to scan the cockroach, I start picturing its details.
Name: Cockroach Charger
Race: Roach Insect
Class: Assassin
'Huh. I can't see the skills? What a shame.'
[Skill Self Analysis evolved into Analysis.]
'Oh cool! Skills can evolve. Now I can use this skill on others and not just on myself.'
I immediately tried out my new skill.
Name: Ruby Sen
Age: 17
Race: Half-Human?
Physical Stats: Above Average
Mental Stats: Far Above Average
Mana Reserves: 33/100
Skills:
Assimilate
Mana Manipulation
Physical Resistance
Dissolve
Morph
Weaponized Limbs
Body Enhancement
Mind Enhancement
Tongue Enhancement
Mana Release
Sensing
Analysis
[Note: Displayed details can be adjusted to fit preferences.]
I was surprised seeing that last part after using my skill.
'The skill system creator must have heard of my complaints. Well thanks for the upgrade. I'll retract my complaint.'
I quickly tried to change how my stats looked to a more video game character like status that I am familiar with.
Name: Ruby Sen
Age: 17
Race: Half-Human?
Health (HP): Level 9 [20%]
Mana (MP): Level 15 [33%]
Strength (STR): Level 8
Defense (DEF): Level 9 (+20)
Intelligence (INT): Level 17
Willpower (WILL): Level 14
Speed (SPD): Level 7
<
Assimilate
Mana Manipulation
Physical Resistance
Weaponized Limbs
<
Dissolve
Morph
Body Enhancement
Mind Enhancement
Mana Release
Sensing
Analysis
<
Tongue Enhancement
'Much better!' I thought to myself after seeing my new status display.
I made my HP and MP show based on percentage. My HP must be low because of the state my original body is in and the blows I took from the cockroaches. STR shows the level of physical force I can exert. DEF is my physical damage resistance. It has a boost in levels due to the passive skill Physical Resistance. INT is my level of mana control and how much I can control at a given time. It surprised me that it was my highest stat. Similar to DEF, WILL is my resistance to mana and crowd control type skills. SPD represents my movement and reaction speeds. I based the stats with level 100 being the highest level a living creature has ever reached in this world. Of course, I let the mana determine those levels because I've never personally seen creatures with level 100 stats yet. Level 10 is supposed to be the average level of an adult human in this world.
For the skills, I separated them into passive skills, which don't require a heavy amount of mana to use, and active skills which do. I was surprised to see Weaponized Limbs as a passive because I still need to use mana to turn my limbs into weapons.
'Maybe it's because of the Morph skill and Weaponized Limbs just gives a passive damage increase. It sucks how I still can't see the skill descriptions. And this Tongue Enhancement skill… Why is it labeled as an extra skill? Can it not be classified into either passive or active skill? *Sigh* Even though the skill system got better there still remains some odd parts.'
Finalizing my skill analysis, I return my attention to the Cockroach Charger.
'Now what do I do with you. Well since I got all I wanted from you, guess I'll just use Dissolve to try and recover some MP.'
I enclosed the skewered cockroach in mud taking a bit from my "storage trunk" so that I can fully cover this giant bug. I then activated Dissolve and slowly recovered MP. Around 20 seconds into the process, my MP was full.
'Might as well keep dissolving the rest so that I can get the crystal… Huh?'
As I continued to dissolve the cockroach charger, the mana I was getting from it started to grow rampant. Instead of crystalizing, it started to be rapidly absorbed into my body.
'What's going on? Is it trying to self-destruct?!'
I started to get worried until I heard my voice say something in my head.
[Skill Camouflage acquired through Assimilation.]
'Nani?!'
Information about how the cockroach charger used this skill started appearing in my mind. It coats itself with a layer of mana and then made the mana to become very similar to the mana in the environment.
Activating the Camouflage skill, I saw my arms start to fade from my sight. Of course I can still see them with my Sensing skill.
'The MP drain isn't too bad. I'm recovering faster than the amount this skill drains even while controlling my mud body and Sensing turned on. I can become an assassin type mud girl!'
I became excited about becoming an assassin like one of my favorite sexy protagonist who likes to grind levels alone. Looking forward to the future, I took a look at the aftermath of my battle with the cockroaches. I saw glowing green orbs and crystals lying all over the ground.
'It's gonna be a pain to pick all of these up. *sigh*'
CHAPTER END.
Name: Ruby Sen
Age: 17
Race: Half-Human?
HP: 9 [22%]
MP: 15 [100%]
STR: 8
DEF: 9 (+20)
INT: 17
WILL: 14
SPD: 7
<
Assimilate
Mana Manipulation
Physical Resistance
Weaponized Limbs
<
Dissolve
Morph
Body Enhancement
Mind Enhancement
Mana Release
Sensing
Analysis
Camouflage
<
Tongue Enhancement