As I pondered the skill I had acquired from Monkey Kong, the Status Screen suddenly popped up, displaying some text for some reason.
*Proficiency has Reached 100%*
*Pocket Sand(D) has been Upgraded*
Skill Pocket Sand is Evolving
Evolution Successfully
Pocket Sand has been Successfully evolved to Jar of Dirt
Jar of Dirt (C)
*Generating Quests*
Quest: Main Quest
Go to the Human Capital Neopolis and meet with the other Hero Candidates.
Reward: A random skill will be granted and Upgrade a skill of your choosing
Hold on, the notifications are still coming? And Pocket Sand evolved? What's up with this name? Let me try appraising it. With that thought, I activated my skill.
"Appraisal"
Jar of Dirt (C) (Active)
Dirt. This is a jar of dirt. Is the jar of dirt going to help? I got a jar of dirt!
Effect: When used on the opponent's eyes it temporarily blinds them, there's a small chance that the glass permanently blinds them. If it is used on any other body part causes irrigation and makes them lose their focus, There's a small chance that the glass causes some damage and even causes a bleeding effect. If it is used on the floor then it will act like a trap and will immobilize the enemy. (Not effective against Earth-type monsters)
NOTE: You can still use the Pocket sand skill.
Energy: 50 Per Use
Proficiency: 0%
What the hell with this shitty description? It's the same as the last time. This skill always has a stupid description.
Anyway, that's not the important thing right now. What's really shocking is this new quest – it's not your average quest, it's labeled as a Main Quest, and the rewards are pretty damn great. I can earn a new skill and even upgrade an existing one just by meeting the other hero candidates. That's seriously awesome!
Anyway, it's getting pretty late now. Let's head back to Random Town and turn in the quest. But for some reason, I can still hear the Boss Music. Wait, could it be?
I turned around to look at the Monkey Kong's corpse; it was still there. But why do I keep hearing the music? Should I follow it to find the source or just head back to Truck-Kun?
Well, I'm all battered and bruised, so I think I should just head back for now. With that in mind, I made my way back to Truck-Kun. But for some weird reason, the music was getting closer. Then, I found the culprit behind the boss's music—it's Truck-Kun. He saw me and started a conversation.
"Hey there, why are you so late? I thought something happened to you," he said.
I was furious to find out that he was the one responsible for the boss's music. How could he even listen to music in the first place?
"You stupid lump of metal, do you have any idea what I went through today while you were listening to music leisurely? Anyway, how the hell can you even listen to music in the first place?" I basically screamed at him.
"Whoa, whoa, why do you look so angry? Calm down. And why are you all battered and bruised? What happened to you?" he asked me.
*sighs*
I sighed and told Truck-Kun, "It's kind of a long story." Then I recounted everything that had happened to me that day: hunting five hundred monkeys, discovering the weird submarine, encountering the Book of Culinary Kills, witnessing the evolution of Bloody Axe, and my intense battle with Monkey Kong, including how I defeated him using my ultimate attack. As I narrated the events to Truck-Kun, he suddenly burst into laughter for some inexplicable reason.
"Bwahaha! To think your signature skill is called 'Holy Shit'! Bwahaha! Serves you right for tricking me into naming Truck-Kun. Even if my name is just a joke, at least it sounds like a name. But your 'Holy Shit'? Do you really plan on shouting 'Holy Shit' every time you use it? I would definitely like to see that," he continued laughing uncontrollably.
"What was that, you little shit? Wait, how do you know about the name?" I asked him curiously.
"Do you really think I wouldn't be interested in my new name? I used the skill Search Engine to look up what my name means, and that's how I know. At first, I was really furious and wanted to run you over, but it looks like karma had a better plan for you. Bwahaha!" He said these somewhat unsettling words quite casually.
"Ahem… Anyway, where is this music coming from?" I attempted to change the subject.
"Oh… this? I actually got a skill called FM that allows you to listen to different types of music and other things, and it was very cheap as well," he told me casually.
"What? Did you get a new skill? Why didn't you ask me before? And why did you get a stupid skill like that to begin with?" I shouted at him angrily.
"Shut up! I have no reason to ask you before I get a skill. Do you always ask me before getting a skill? And you just left me here alone, and I was starting to get bored. What else do you want me to do?" He countered back.
"Really, do you think it's a good idea to blast music when you are literally surrounded by monsters? Now that I think about it, Monkey Kong was also going in the same direction where you were. If I didn't meet him, would he have come here instead? Wait, that actually makes sense. It doesn't matter if you are a human or a monster; if you hear a weird noise, you will definitely be curious to find out about the source of the noise," I was talking to myself.
.....
But Truck-Kun was silent for some reason and then started to talk, "What you just said made a lot of sense. So, that's why there were so many monkeys looking at me? Wait, what would have happened if Monkey Kong had come here directly? I can't even do anything to him; all I can do is just sit here and do nothing. That's kind of scary," he said, feeling genuinely worried.
Hmm… I guess from his perspective, he's someone who can't even do anything without my help. If I were to stay in the same place without doing anything, I would be bored too. Naturally, I would also look for some kind of entertainment. I guess I can't actually blame him.
"Fine, fine, I can understand where you are coming from. Now that I think about it, I should also look at my skills and upgrade some of them if possible," I told him.
Then I opened my Status Screen.
"Status Screen"
Once I said these words the familiar blue screen popped up once again
Name: Dokuta Doyama
Age: 20
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Job: Hero Candidate
Unique Skill: SumMon(X)
SumMons: Truck(S)
Level: 17
Health: 5000
Energy: 5000
Physique: 5
Oratory: 5
Wisdom: 5
Escalate: 5
Resilience: 5
Skills: Holy Shit, Overdrive MK I, Jar of Dirt (C), Skill Share(S), Axe Mastery (C), Cleaving Strike (C), Axe Throw (C), Precision Projection (C)
Status Screen Skills: Auto-gathering, Compendium, Inventory (C), Appraisal (C), Map (C)
P.O.W.E.R Points: 3000
Exp: 0%
Wow, my status screen looks a lot better than it did a few days ago. Now, should I get a new skill or upgrade an existing one? Hmm... I think I should focus on learning how to better use my existing skills, so I don't plan to get a new one for now. Maybe I will upgrade one of my existing skills.
But which one should I upgrade? Unfortunately, 'Holy Shit' and 'Overdrive MK I' cannot be upgraded. As for the skills 'Axe Mastery', 'Cleaving Strike', 'Axe Throw', and 'Precision Projection', I think I will leave them as they are for now. As for 'Jar of Dirt', I will decide whether to upgrade it after using the skill.
Then, should I pick one from the Skills section on the Status Screen? As for the Inventory and Map, I haven't encountered any problems for now. The only option I have left is Appraisal, which I had a lot of trouble with because I couldn't see some of Bloody Axe Rex's hidden skills and I couldn't see anything when I fought the Monkey Kong.
Alright, it's decided. Let's upgrade the Appraisal Skill. I selected the skill "Appraisal" on the Status Screen, and another screen popped up.
*Do you want to upgrade the skill Appraisal for 2500 P.O.W.E.R Points?"
Y/N
What, 2500 P.O.W.E.R Points? That's pretty expensive. How is the cost of upgrading a skill and the required number of P.O.W.E.R Points determined?
Hmm... Do I really need this upgrade? Well, I certainly do, but am I willing to spend this much on a single skill? If it can provide me with more information, then it's definitely worth the cost. I guess I don't have much of a choice; I should just buy it.
With my decision made, I selected 'Y', and another screen popped up.
* Appraisal (C) has been upgraded to Appraisal (C+)*
P.O.W.E.R Points: 500
Great, now can I fully see the Bloody Axe Rex's skills? Let's give it a try.
I pulled out my Axe and used the skill on it.
"Appraisal"