Name: N/A
Age: 0
Species: Common Spirit
β¦ Skills:
Common Skills: π£π₯π’πππ¦π¦ (x2), π πππ₯π’π ππ‘ππππ₯, πππ§πππ¨π π‘ππππ§ππ’π‘, π©π’πππ, ππππππ₯π¬
Special Skills: ππ’π’π₯πππ‘ππ§ππ’π‘, π¦π£ππ₯ππ§π¨ππ π₯ππππ‘ππ₯ππ§ππ’π‘, π¦π£ππ₯ππ§π¨ππ πππ€π¨ππ¦ππ§ππ’π‘, ππ¨π§π’π£πππ’π§, πͺππ§ππ₯ π ππ‘ππ£π¨πππ§ππ’π‘, πππ©ππ§ππ§ππ’π‘
Rare Skills: ππ₯π§πππππππ ππ‘π§πππππππ‘ππ, π’π©ππ₯π©πππͺ (ππ¨π‘π§ππ₯) , π§ππππ£ππ§ππ¬
β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β β - βΌ -
There was only an hour left before the sun rose, that's when I heard it.
It was a scream, a feminine one at that. I was merely lazing about, sorting through my skills again when I heard it. At first I thought that it was my ears playing tricks on me, but then I remembered I don't have ears!
Β«Answer: The sub-skill ππ¨π‘π§ππ₯ has detected an organic lifeforms near the lake. Unfortunately, an unspecified amount of Lycanthorpes have been detected as well. Proceeding out of the cave is advised againstΒ»
"Graaaaa!"
It was another yell, but was far different from the one I heard. It was low and baratone, like a growl. Lycanthorpes, no doubt. It had seemed as of they were still surrounding the lake. But for some reason, a living person was here too.
But if if Lycanthorpes are like Ghoul Wolves, they shouldn't be able to see me unless they have the ability to like π¦π£ππ₯ππ§ π¦ππππ§. Though Googl was right, leaving the cave might a death sentence as I don't know what Lycanthorpes are capable of.
At least, not yet.
Β«I am extremely capable of analyzing anything within a 5 mile radiusΒ»
Β«Understood. Scanning perimeterβ¦Β»
I wanted a very deep analysis of everything so I turned π£π₯π’πππ¦π¦ to the absolute max. I discovered while training that by turning that skill to it's absolute max, Googl also perceives time as I do. So in essence, I am tricking her into believing that she should take as much time as possible for a deep scan when in actuality, it had barely been 2 seconds.
I floated there, bobbing my shiny little body, waiting for a report from Googl. Because I was processing my thoughts so fast, a million questions came resurfacing back up to my head. Luckily, thanks to one of ππ₯π§πππππππ ππ‘π§πππππππ‘ππ's countless skills, I was more than able to keep up.
But one struck out from the stream of questions: Why can't I feel anything?
It was such a simple question yet it struck a chord in me. Why couldn't I feel anything? It was like my emotions had been watered down and I had been turned into aβ¦a machineβ¦
An Artificial Intelligenceβ¦
No, it couldn't be. I was still human! If I could feel fear from when I first encountered Joanaβ¦wait a minuteβ¦did I feel anything when Joana tried to kill me? Looking back on it, I don't recall any feelings of fear, only the urge to survive. In fact, it felt like everything I was doing felt autonomous for the sake of one goal: getting stronger.
I was snapped back to reality when Googl presented her data report.
Β«Report: Analysis of the lifeform Karmic Beast LycanthorpeΒ»
Β«Species: True Evolved Lycanthorpe
Karmic Line: Evils Line (True Evil beast)
Attribute: Elemental (Fire, Water, Wind, Geo)
[BIOLOGICAL CONTENT HIDDEN FOR USER SAKE]
β€ SKILLS
Common Skills:
βͺ π₯π’ππ₯, π¦πππ¦π, ππππππ§ππ‘ππ ππππππ§π¬,
Special Skills:
βͺ π§π₯πππππ₯, πππ₯ππ πππ’π’πππ¨π¦π§Β»
Alright, standard skills. Nothing here seems to dangerous or indicates that they will be able to see or do harm to me.
Β«Notice: Unique evolution of Lycanthorpe, Eclipseborn, has been spottedΒ»
Β«Analyzing anomalyβ¦Β»
If this Eclipseborn monster was strong enough to catch the attention of Googl, it must be pretty strong. Being a unique evolution of an already seemingly powerful monster, it must be one hell of a beast to take on!
Β«Analysis Complete!Β»
Β«Species: Mutated Lycanthorpe: Eclipseborn
Karmic Line: Evils Line
Attribute: Dark (Storm Magic, Lunar Manipulation)
[BIOLOGICAL INFORMATION HIDDEN FOR USER SAKE]
β€ Skills:
βͺ Common Skills: π₯π’ππ₯, π¦πππ¦π, ππππππ§ππ‘ππ ππππππ§π¬, ππππππ§ππ‘ππ π¦ππ‘π¦ππ¦, ππ«π§π₯ππ π ππ¨π₯ππππππ§π¬, ππππππ§ππ‘ππ π₯ππππ‘ππ₯ππ§ππ’π‘, πππ₯π ππ π¦ππ‘π¦π, π£π’ππ¦π’π‘ π₯ππ¦ππ¦π§ππ‘ππ, ππππ ππ‘π§ππ π₯ππ¦ππ¦π§ππ‘ππ, ππ¦π§π₯ππ ππ’π‘ππππ¨π₯ππ§ππ’π‘
βͺ Special Skills: ππ¦π§π₯ππ π¦π¨π π π’π‘ππ‘π, ππ¦π§π₯ππ π£π₯π’ππππ§ππ’π‘, ππ£ππ« π£π₯ππππ§π’π₯, πππ£ππΒ»
βͺ Rare Skills: ππππ π’π π§ππ πͺπππ
HOLY HELL, THIS MONSTER WAS STACKED. I looked at the data report slack-jawed and dumbfounded from how ridiculously strong this monster was. Whoever was getting hunted up there was a complete fool to venture here.
Β«Affirmative. The Rare Skill ππππ π’π π§ππ πͺπππ is similar to your ππ’π’π₯πππ‘ππ§ππ’π‘ skill only it is ten times as strong and allows for the user to completely dominate the mind of hundreds of beings. Notable sub-skills include π§ππ’π¨πππ§ ππ’π ππ‘ππ§ππ’π‘, ππ’π₯π'π¦ ππ πππ§ππ’π‘, and πππͺ π’π π§ππ πͺπππΒ»
It all makes sense now! This Eclipseborn was controlling all these Lycanthorpes and bringing them here, but for what?
Β«The skills ππ£ππ« π£π₯ππππ§π’π₯ and πππ£ππ seemingly allows the Eclipseborn to exude a great amount of it's karmic energy onto it's surroundings in an attempt to get them to surrender or completely subdue and eviscerate said targetΒ»
The thing has not one, but two skills for intimidating it's opponent! It was settled, whoever screamed up there must have been dead now. There's just no way that something would be able to fight something like that, much less run away from it.
I thought of copying the skill data, but because the monster was radiating pure evil karma, I decided against it. Even copying one of it's skills could be fatal for me with the amount of evil pressure it gave off.
Β«Understood, scanning for non-Evil Karmic lifeformsβ¦Β»
Β«Report: A single non-Karmic entity has been detected approximately 3 miles from your current location. Reporting scanned informationβ¦
Species: Evolved Beastman of the Storm Element (Stormbeast)
Karmic Line: Evils (Storm Alignment)
Attribute: Storm
[BIOLOGICAL INFORMATION HIDDEN FOR USER SAKE]
β€ Skills:
βͺ Common Skills: ππππππ§ππ‘ππ ππππππ§π¬, π₯ππππ‘π₯ππ§ππ’π‘, ππππππ§ππ‘ππ π¦ππ‘π¦ππ¦, ππ«π§π₯ππ π ππ¨π₯ππππππ§π¬, π¦π§π’π₯π π ππππ ππ‘π’πͺπππππ, π¦π§π’π₯π π¦π£ππ₯ππ§ π¦π¨π π π’π‘ππ‘π
Special Skills: πππππ§π‘ππ‘π π¦π£πππ₯, πͺππ‘π πππ§π, πππ₯ πππππ,
Rare Skills: ππ₯πππ π’π π§ππ πͺππ‘πΒ»
So it's a Beastman I heard! I wonder what they looked like, hopefully not with the face of an animal and the voice of a human, that'd really throw me off. Anyways, looking at their skills, they seem pretty skilled enough to maybe get away from the monster that is the Eclipseborn.
Though, to keep my conscience clearβ¦
Β«Calculatingβ¦weighing skill variablesβ¦scaling traitsβ¦Β»
Β«The probability of an Evolved Beastman killing an Eclipseborn is less than 14%Β»
Yikes, that was gravely low.
Β«The probability of escaping an Eclipseborn is less than 7%Β»
WHAT?! YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THERE'S A HIGHER CHANCE OF KILLING IT THAN ESCAPING IT?!
I mean, to be fair, it literally has a skill dedicated to hunting so I'd imagine it's an amazing hunter. Makes me wonder if it also has my Hunter sub-skill as well, or even my Overview skill!
Β«Notice: The being Eclipseborn does share a similar sub-skill to your ππ¨π‘π§ππ₯ in it's arsenal called π¦π§πππππ₯, albeit it's a weaker version of your skillΒ»
Well, I'm glad to at least have that win. Speaking of my Overview skill, I activated it it once again try and scan my surroundings. It was nearly day! The beautiful sunrise had come up again, creating an absolutely stunning gradient shades of warm colors.
At the same time though, the Lycanthorpes howled and began running away from the moonlight. Some got on all fours while others just ran like Olympic sprinters, and in some cases, I saw what happened to those that stayed in the light.
A Lycanthorpe didn't get to shade quickly and the light of the sun touched it's skin. Almost instantly, it's fur caught on fire and it fell to the ground in a blood-curling roar of sheer pain. It rolled on the floor, trying hopelessly to shield itself from the wrath of the daylight to no avail.
The fire turned into a bright golden hue as the Lycanthorpe roared louder in pain. It managed to stretch out it's hands to it's companions, who watched him with no emotions on their face as their own kind suffered an agonizing death before their very eyes.
Finally, the Lycanthorpe was engulfed in the flames. The screaming ceased and all that was left was ash.
Β«Note: As Lycanthorpes are creatures of evil karma, they are killed by sunlight and fire as it is a an element of the Virtuic Karmic LineΒ»
I stared at the pile of Lycanthorpe ash not in horror, but I happy in fact: I found their weakness. I also noticed that out of all the hundreds of Lycanthorpes, the Eclipseborn ran the fastest with it's tails behind it's legs. It just made sense, a monster that derives it's powers from the moon would be afraid of the sun!
Β«Answer: Sunlight is the most powerful version of the Virtuic Element Fire, which can counter and hurt the Storm and Lunar Element the Eclipseborn wields. To kill the Eclipseborn is a different matterΒ»
I knew it wouldn't be that easy, but hey, at least I have a basic idea of how to fend that thing off from Joana if it shows up again.
Speaking of showing up again, I wondered if the Beastman that I sensed was still up there. Hopefully they were alive, them being dead won't be too good on my conscious. I used ππ¨π‘π§ππ₯ to search for any signs of life still up there, praying whoever it was still alive and kicking.
Β«The skill ππ¨π‘π§ππ₯ has detected a Beastman in the floating in the river west of your current position. Vital scans appear fatalΒ»
Yeah, it seems the Lycanthorpes really got to them, huh? I used π’π©ππ₯π©πππͺ to locate their exact location and managed to see merely an outline of the dying Beastman, but from what I could tell, it looked female. The I used π§ππππ£ππ§ππ¬ to try and communicate with them, as the skill forces someone who doesn't have it temporary access to it.
There was a strange whizz sound as I connected to their head, a sign that I had established a good connection. Now it was time to confirm if there were dead or not, hopefully not.
There wasn't a response just yet, but it was alright. Their consciousness probably must be slipping fast though.
οΉβ¦whoβ¦who are youβ¦?οΉ
YES!
οΉβ¦w-why?β¦οΉ
There wasn't a response for a second, which began to worry me. Acting fast, I whizzed out the cave and began searching for the Beastman's body. Using a sub-skill of ππ¨π‘π§ππ₯ called π§πππ₯π ππ π¦ππ‘π¦π’π₯, I was able to find their body.
Next was the hard part. Since I didn't have a physical body, it would be tough to pull her to shore. My best bet was πͺππ§ππ₯ π ππ‘ππ£π¨πππ§ππ’π‘, which I had just acquired and was a complete novice at.
I had to try though.
I manipulated the water around me into tentacle-like shapes and had it coil around the Beastman's body. It was strenuous, as I split my mind using π πππ₯π’π ππ‘ππππ₯ to focus on each individual tentacle and employed π£π₯π’πππ¦π¦ to speed up my thinking process.
Next, I used πππ©ππ§ππ§ππ’π‘ blitz through the water. I was careful not to even let one tentacle get loose, and in a flash, we burst out the water. The sunlight reflected off the Beastman's body as we did.
Luckily, she didn't land on the harsh ground because I had the tentacles morph into a bed made of water. She landed on it rather ungracefully with a splash!
Now that she was out of the dark water, I had a clear view of what she looked like. She had medium-length gray hair that had sticks and dirt in it, long thick eyelashes, and pale white skin painted with bruises and scratches. She wore worn padded armor with belt straps and fur lining and felt pants.
Now came the problem of how to heal her. The only healing skill in my arsenal was π¦π£ππ₯ππ§π¨ππ π₯ππππ‘ππ₯ππ§ππ’π‘, and I didn't know whether it could heal other people as wellβ¦
Β«Answer: The entity has not taken any spiritual damage, so using the skill π¦π£ππ₯ππ§π¨ππ π₯ππππ‘ππ₯ππ§ππ’π‘ would be useless. Also, the entity posses the skill π₯ππππ‘π₯ππ§ππ’π‘ and should repair damages in due timeΒ»
Phew, one worry off my back.
I sat down on a small boulder, looking at the horizon. It was officially daytime, the sun casting a warm glow over the area. Colors of blue, red, and yellow melted over the horizon; something I had never seen on Earth before.
I nearly jumped out my spiritual form when I heard a cough beside me. I nearly forgot I had a living being next to me!
She opened her eyes wide with surprise and uncertainty, patting down her body to check for any vital injuries. She breathed a sigh of relief when found out none of her injuries were serious.
I decided to introduce myself.
"Hello! You feeling alright?"
She jumped, instinctively pulling out a dagger from her back pocket trying to detect where the sound (which was me) came from.
"Show yourself!" she shouted. Her voice was deep and mature, with a hint of authority.
"Uh, down hereβ¦"
She looked around again, her stormy gray eyes finally landing on me. I glowed innocently, trying to look as non-threatening as possible. If I had eyes, I would be batting them right now. Her head cocked to the side, trying to comprehend what she was seeing.
She sheathed her rusty dagger and pointed at me. "A-Are you�"
"Yes, I am the one who spoke to you and saved you, no need to thank me,"
She stared at me wide-eyed and slack jawed, her hands still in the pointing position. I thought maybe I should say something but I thought if I did anything else out of the ordinary, she'd lose her mind.
"B-But you're just a Common Spirit!" she argued. "Y-You can talk, use MAGIC, andβ¦andβ¦"
"And what?"
She gulped nervously. "You don't give off any karmaβ¦it's like you're not apart of any Karmic Lineβ¦"
I tried my best to contain my laughter. She'd go insane if she finds out I'm actually not apart of any line, and probably cease to exist if she knew what else I can do and what I even am. For now, my best bet was just playing dumb and innocent.
"O-oh that! Well, uh, you seeβ¦I'm a..aβ¦"
I could tell she was growing more and more wary by the second, I had to find a way to get her to trust me and lower her guard. If she worked for someone like this Rue guy Joana mentioned, I could be in big trouble. But as much as I strained my mind to come up with a lie or something to save my skin, I couldn't.
"I'll ask again: what are you?"
Yeah, I was done for. It was a good run while it lasted.
"He is a special kind of spirit," Joana's voice said behind the Beastgirl. "Even I don't know his true nature, but I assure you he is harmless,"
The Beastgirl jumped again and drew her dagger at Joana. Her fear melted when she saw Joana was just a naiad, as shown by the edge of her black dress turning into water. She put her dagger away.
"I'm Joana, a water naiad," she flashed the edge of her dress which constantly dissipated into water. "And that over there is Yuzuru, a spirit,"
The Beastgirl bowed in respect to Joana. "My name is Fenris, Great Spirit," she said. She pointed to me. "Are you sure that-THAT thing- is harmless?"
Hey! What did she even mean by that? Was this spiritual racism?!
Joana flashed a warm smile. "Very," she said. "I know the absence of a Karmic Line is unusual, but what isn't unusual in this world,"
Fenris was still nervous. She comically scooted up closer to Joana, whispering something in her ear. Thankfully, thanks to a sub-skill of ππ¨π‘π§ππ₯ called π©πππ₯ππ§ππ’π‘ π¦ππ‘π¦π, I was able to translate the vibrations and frequencies in the air that allowed me to effortlessly listen in on what she was saying.
"What if it's a spy for Rue? I heard he's quite the schemist"
Joana laughed. "I don't think Rue even knows this lake exists, much less sending something as harmless as Yuzuru here,"
Fenris shot me a look, and I pretended to be unaware that she was glaring at me intensely.
"I guess you're rightβ¦" she rubbed her temple. "Well, it was a pleasure meeting you both- I think- but I really must get going,"
She began to dust her already damaged and worn armor, but before she could even take a step, Joana grabbed her shoulder. I could feel a chill run down Fenris's spine as she did.
"No, stay a while," Joana said. "I have someβ¦questions."