A rumor said there was a young, beautiful girl with her crimson long hair dancing elegantly in a certain deep part of the Abyss. The place was widely known as the 'Ancient Dome' since it housed a lot of powerful Asuras, while the temperature was easily exceeding 100° C.
The rumor also stated that the young girl was seen flailing her hands around, while sometimes kneeling down. Her teary eyes were glowing red, but it made her figure much more mythically majestic than ever. Her voice was unrecognizable, but judging from the movement from her mouth, she was talking to something invisible.
The witnesses, who were looking with telescopes from a place high above, were enchanted by her beauty, even though she was still in her late 10's, to the point they could not take their eyes off her.
She was then known as the 'Sky-clad Dancer", since she was naked the whole time, and quickly became the hot topic on the surface.
Some said that the rumor was exaggerated, while others said to have witnessed her with their own eyes. But nobody was able to tell whether she was a human or not. At least her bodily features were telling that she was somewhat humanoid.
No one was still yet to know that the girl would slowly grow into something they feared, much more than the Asuras.
***
"Aaa… Aaa… Achooooo!!", I sneezed loudly. "Ugh… Why do I feel so cold when everything around me is burning?"
I wrapped my arms to cover my body. It was a strange phenomenon. Was it related to my current condition?
[The answer is yes. Your bodily traits are abnormal compared to humans'.]
That very answer just gave me a big hint. I did not know if the voice was just messing up or it really did not realize that it spoiled so hard.
"So what you're saying is that I'm no longer a human, aren't I?"
[Indeed.]
The voice replied immediately.
"I see…"
I lowered my head, looking at my body again. Seeing how my hands were moving gently, I still could not believe that I was no longer a human.
"Can you continue, please?"
[Affirmative.]
A short pause followed after that.
[But before that, I wish you to address me by my name. Not 'the voice'.]
"You're really picky, don't you know that?", I sighed. "Fine, calling you Dea should do it."
[I express my gratitude.]
And just like that, I felt the distance between us shrink a little bit.
***
After talking with Dea for a bit, we reached a new height of understanding about both of us.
"Hey Dea, can you start explaining now?", I stared upward. "We got side-tracked so hard…"
[If you were not being foolish we should have gotten further than this.]
"Please, I'm not in the mood for more bickerings."
[... Affirmative. What do you wish to know?]
I stopped for a brief moment before I continued to ask.
"Tell me, what are these things called skills? Am I the only one possessing them?"
[Every living organism has traits and adaptable abilities. Those are what you call skills. Do I need to explain it in more detail?]
"Yes, please."
[Long ago, the Goddess of Destiny, Necessitas attempted to—]
"Stop! Stop right there! How long will it take until you're done explaining at that pace?", I cut Dea's explanation.
[... You said you wanted to know the details.]
"Yes, I did! But not that detail, okay? Please explain it in the simplest way possible."
[Tch… Understood.]
Hmm? Did Dea just click its tongue? I suddenly recalled a certain Goddess did that too.
[Skills are basic abilities given by the world system to its dwellers to boost their survival chance. Skills also possess their own growth. The more you use them, the faster they are growing. That is the simplest explanation about skills.]
"Hmm… So what about 'that' skill I used earlier?"
[Skills are mostly divided into 5 grades. Common, Rare, Epic, Legendary, and the rarest one, Mythical. But some skills are not graded. To be exact, they cannot be graded.]
Dea paused shortly.
[As of now, there are only 3 types of skills that fall into this category. Unique, Mutation, and EX or Extra. One of them is your skill, [Devour]. It lets you devour, or to take a bite, on anything in your surroundings or your target. It also lets you absorb a portion of the target's skills and blessings at your choice.]
"Wait a minute… So you're saying that I actually have 2 of those ungraded skills? The first one, [Devour], is an EX, and the second one, you, is a Unique?"
Chomp! Again, the ground shook a little bit. I completely forgot that I could activate a skill just by saying its name.
[You have acquired Rare Metal ores x6. Automatically stored in Bona Dea's Dimensional Pocket.]
"..."
[... I am appalled at your ignorance.]
"Umm… Can we do something about this, please?"
[Requesting permission for sealing [Devour] until further confirmation… Yes or no?]
"Yes please."
The next moment, I could feel a loud thud inside my chest. It was just like a beat of my heart but much louder. It was not painful though.
[The skill, [Devour], is successfully sealed.]
"Thank you.", I sighed. I was worried whether I would be stuck without being able to control my skills, but it seemed that was not the case. When I was lost in thoughts, Dea told me something outrageous. No, it was not an outrageous thing normally, but in my current situation, it was.
[Calculating materials needed for creating a wearable cloth… Rare Metal ores x14 found. It is possible to create a simple dress made of threads from the gold and silver extracted from the ores. Proceed to make one?]
Silence. I went silent. We both went silent.
"Aren't you the best, Dea?! Of course, a big YES! Wohooooo!", I was overjoyed after knowing that one of my main problems could be solved immediately.
After all this time, I almost forgot that I was butt naked. Unconsciously, I moved my body around in happiness. I also danced a little, with my small hands flailing around. I did not know if it was due to my physical body being that of a child so I could get happy easily or what, but I couldn't care less. The fact that I would be able to wear something soothed my heart deeply. When was the last time I ever felt this happy?
[Processing the materials… Separating other substances… Weaving gold threads… Adding silver threads…]
"Really, you're the best, Dea!"
Even though I could not see it, it was quite easy to know that Dea was also happy for being praised. It was more than enough for me to conclude that Dea had emotions too.
[You have acquired Mithril ores x2, Iron ores x12, Precious Stones x6. Automatically stored.]
Eh?
"Wait, what? Mithril? Precious stones?", I was shocked by the sudden notification I got.
[The dress is complete. You have gained new skills.]
In a blink of an eye, a dress appeared in front of me. It was like seeing something pop out of the void just like that. Although it was shaped roughly, it was still made from gold and silver so I was quite intrigued by how glittery it shone. I placed the dress by my hands and started looking at it.
"Hmm… Isn't this too extravagant? I mean, look at how shining this thing is!", I never felt this kind of emotion before. "So this is why women like things like this, huh?"
If only it were the past me, I would run towards the auction hall to sell it as soon as possible. But the current me was not the same. I didn't know why but I felt more at ease thinking about my well being instead of getting rich and making more money. The thought of it alone disgusted me.
[The change in your attitude will also affect your next phase of evolution.]
Hmm? Did it just say evolution?
"What do you mean by evolution?", I questioned Dea, while still holding the dress with my hands.
[Evolution is a stage where your growth has reached its peak and you need to have a better vessel. By evolving, you will grow stronger while you are still keeping the traits you had before.]
I immediately recalled that I was no longer a human. With me knowing nothing of my own origin, it was easy to conclude that I would be chased by humans, being experimented on, and the worst case scenario, hunted to death. They would probably think of me as a new variant of Asura.
[That possibility is not impossible. You will have to grow stronger before then.]
I knew it. I was tasked to save humanity before and I failed to complete it, so what was my task this time?
[Your newest task is to survive until you are strong enough to stand on your own. And the only ways to accomplish that are level up and evolve into a higher being.]
I did not know how to feel about this. After all, I had been so arbitrary for my entire life before.
"No, I must stop thinking that way.", I shook my head slowly. "What should be prioritized now is my survival. Regretting things comes after."
I tried being positive. It might seem pointless at first, but I assured myself that everything would turn out just fine.
"As long as I try my best, what is rightfully mine will be reclaimed, won't it? Hmph… I feel like opening a new page of my life.", I crossed my hands smugfully. "By the way, it's not cold anymore, what happened?"
I lowered my head to check on my body.
[I am glad you like the dress.]
"Huh?"
Without realizing it, I was already wearing the dress. It was a perfect fit. The sensation from the woven cloth made from gold and silver that touched my skin was not that bad. Instead, I kinda grew a little bit attracted to it.
[I suggest you check your status. Yes or no?]
Dea was actually being very convenient. Was I too conceited to know that before? Or was I too blind to realize that?
"Yes please.", I agreed to it, while hiding my little smile behind my hands.
*Farenna's newest status:
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{{{ Status }}}
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Name : Farenna
Gender : Female
Age : 8 y.o
Race : Lv. 1 ???
Status : Sealed
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Sync. Rate: 0.31%
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HP : 200 MP: 100
SP : 70
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STR: 10 LUK: 5
AGI : 15 DEX: 10
INT : 12 VIT : 20
Unallocated pts: 0
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Equipments:
· Headgear : None
· Armor : Rough Golden Gown (Rare)
· Torso : None
· Feet : None
· Misc. : Sealing Chains of Hell (EX)
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Skills:
· Appraisal Lv. 1
· Devour (EX)
· Bona Dea (Unique)
· (New!) Crafting Lv. 1
· (New!) Weaving Lv. 1
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Blessings:
· Blessing of Purity & Chastity
· Blessing of Growth (Inherited)
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Curses: None
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Titles:
· Regressor
· Goddess' Apostle
· Rotten to the Bone
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