Because, in accordance with the system's description of my domination skill, I had the ability to permanently transfer not only my controlled targets' life force or senses but also their strength.
Just the thought of rapidly increasing my strength by simply transferring it from my controlled targets was mind blowing.
This skill was really on an entirely different level.
However, there was a limitation to this skill, and that was the number of targets that I could control.
For now, I could only control two monsters, but I was sure that as I leveled up, I would be able to control more, and although the increase in number might not be much, I was sure that as long as I continued to control demons and monsters, permanently transferred their strengths, and then replaced them with new ones, I could still continue to grow stronger.
'And, as long as one of my controlled targets is alive, I could even heal myself from any injury.'
'Maybe with this, I can even break past my potential limits and grow infinitely.'
My breathing became heavy as this absurd possibility occurred to me, and my mind began working on overdrive.
My earlier intuition was indeed correct, because now I really don't need the healing skill as much.
Instead, what I most needed was this terrain detection skill.
Even though I could use the senses of my targets and send them to scout ahead of me, that in itself was risky because at that time I would have no one near me to protect myself, and it would also make my controlled targets vulnerable to attacks.
'Because, no matter how good one's senses are, they cannot always detect everything in their surroundings.'
But if my assumptions were correct, then with this ability, I might be able to just solve this problem, saving me from all the hassle and risks.
Still, to confirm my assumptions, I asked the system.
'System, show me the details of these four skills available in the rewards.'
[Error: The host needs to possess the skill to be able to view their details.]
"Haaa!"
As expected, I now understand that this was not some omnipotent system as described in those novels, but rather something akin to a smartphone with no internet connection but a regular mobile network in charge of providing rewards for completing certain achievements and helping the user better understand their powers.
Anyway, since there wasn't anyway to know more about these skills, without wasting any time, I simply followed my gut feeling and selected the "terrain detection" skill.
[The host has chosen terrain detection as their reward.]
[Terrain Detection has been granted.]
As soon as the system notified me, a large amount of memory was suddenly injected into my brain, and I became instantly aware of the ins and outs of this skill, including the method of correctly using it, unlike my class skills that I had to try myself to learn.
"The skill is exactly what I had imagined."
To put it simply, this skill allowed me to spread my mana in the surrounding area, then use the feedback provided by the spread mana to get a live 3D map like structure of the surroundings in my head.
In addition, there was no limit to the distance it could detect, except for the fact that the user could bear the mana expenditure.
However, this skill was really useful because of its flexibility and versatility, which was exactly what I needed at the moment because of my low health and mana stats.
As soon as I made up my mind, I folded my legs, sat down in a relaxed position, and activated my skill terrain detection as the mana slowly started to flow out of my body like water evaporating due to extreme heat, diffusing in the air, and spreading outward in a circular direction with me as the focal point.
Actually, only this first part, which involves spreading mana, consumed a lot of mana, because once it was spread successfully, it became a lot easier to just maintain the already spread mana to keep the map alive.
Minutes passed, mana continued to spread, and I could feel it draining from my body like water as if someone had opened the dam.
Slowly, slowly, as the map of the surroundings started getting created in my head, through which my mana passed, I continued to look for a suitable place as my next hideout spot.
It was an undeniably wonderful and bizarre experience.
The terrain detection picked up some insects and other small animals that were moving around.
But, what was surprising was that even with such a large influx of information constantly being processed in my brain, I didn't feel any burden at all, as if everything were so... natural.
It was then that suddenly an area got created on the map in my head.
"This is the one!" I cheered
"Calculating the distance, it should be about 2 kilometers away."
It was the perfect place I wanted for my next hideout spot—a small cave type area some distance away from a river with no dangerous monsters in the vicinity.
I knew that I didn't have much time left here because, owing to my map, I had also discovered some bizarre-looking monsters near this area, who were constantly moving in a random direction, and considering their size and shape, they were extremely dangerous for me.
"They could be here anytime, so it's better to leave now."
My legs were sufficiently healed to not hurt anymore, and although running, jumping, and lifting weights were still a bit difficult, walking and doing other activities were no problem at all.
So I decided to act on my thoughts right away and stood up to leave this place.
Under normal circumstances, leaving in such a manner, even on the horse's back, would be suicidal in this uncharted region, but since I was aware of my surroundings and the location of my next temporary hiding place, the danger was a lot less.
With that, after ordering the horse to lower his body, I got on his back and mentally ordered him to first go out of the cave, then in the direction of the place we had to go, while also telepathically telling him what route to take.
Looking at the surrounding area and the cave entrance, which was covered in lengthy cascading buttress roots from the trees above it, I realized that the cave was partially subterranean.
The horse exited the cave quickly without having to jump because there wasn't much of a steep slope to overcome.
With me riding on his back, when the horse emerged from the tunnel, the intense sunlight that greeted it forced me to strain my eyes.
For a brief while, I became overwhelmed and lost focus when sunlight hit my face, and suddenly, my thoughts went blank.
Taking in the scene in broad daylight seemed to unlock my heart, letting out the shackles of my innate human fear of the unknown in this unfamiliar world and predicament.
With my eyes getting moist, my face hot, and my shoulders shivering from the sudden chill of the wind, the thin shield I had built up around my mind began to crack.
The forest was strangely empty and eerily quiet, which gave me the uneasy impression that the entire area was mourning.
"No. No. No." I shook my head and somehow kept myself from crumbling because I knew that staying still was not an option.
*Inhale*
*Exhale*
Breathing deeply, I focused once more on the present and ordered the horse to continue.
The horse obeyed my command and began to move in that direction while I did my best to order it to take a safe route while attempting to make as little noise as possible.
With the first sign of movement from the horse, I mentally gave an order to the system.
'Show me the details of my second job class skill, [Shadow Blend].'
Since the beginning, I had been very curious about this skill, but because I didn't have much time, I had to leave the cave first.
Anyway, now that I knew the basics of how to use different skills, I was confident that I could use them if needed in an emergency situation without any issues.
Ding!
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[Shadow Blend]
This skill allows the user to blend himself and other things, including his or her dominated targets, into shadows or darkness by entering a separate space, also known as the shadow space.
The being or objects concealed therein will continue to move as long as the shadow does.
Vice versa: if the shadow doesn't move, the object becomes immobile along with the shadows.
The size, weight, or shape of the shadow or the object to be hidden doesn't matter because the skill uses the laws of space.
Caution: Once the shadow is undone, the hidden objects or beings will be automatically ejected from the shadow space.
[Currently used shadow space slots: 0/2]
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'F*ck!'
As expected, this skill was also on par with my "Domination" skill.
There were so many possibilities with this skill that it was almost unimaginable.
'Just think about an army that suddenly pops out of nowhere from the shadows.'
One could only imagine the chaos and confusion that would ensue.
It would be a terrifying and unexpected sight for anyone who witnessed it.
Goosebumps appeared on my body with just the thought of that absurd situation.
As for the caution by the system, it wasn't actually that big of a deal because no one said that the shadow should only be on the ground.
Isn't there a shadow almost everywhere?
And since size didn't matter, the possibilities of this skill were just endless.
"Hehe... hehehe... HAHAHAHA."
After laughing until I was crying, my mood finally calmed down.
The fear I had been feeling went away, and an unnameable chill came over my face.
"I will make them pay."
With a newfound determination, I steeled my heart and focused on the road.
The terrain was uneven, but my trusty mount carried me with ease through the dense forest and thick jungle.
And after 40 minutes of constantly changing routes and staying alert, I finally reached my destination.
As I approached the river, the sound of rushing water grew louder, and the air became cooler and more refreshing.
Finally arriving at the small cave near the riverbank, I dismounted and took a deep breath of the cool, fresh air.
Surrounded by the natural beauty of the tranquil lake, rustling leaves, and the sound of the river, I felt a sense of peace and rejuvenation.
"This would be my refuge for now, a place to recuperate, and then I will find a way out of this dungeon."
It was when I was planning and cheering that something abruptly appeared in my map that was still activated.
"Huh?"
"What's this?"