Now that Vansh had discovered the process to acquire new skills, he was excited to get as many skills as he could, and for acquiring new skills, he made a simple plan, which had 4 basic steps.
Step 1: Lure the creatures out of the lake into the house's area.
Step 2: Kill them outside the house.
Step 3: Drag their body into the house, using a rope.
Step 4: Devour the creature and gain its abilities.
For the first step, he needed something to lure the creatures to the surface, and that something happened to be a lantern. Unfortunately, there were no more lanterns in the house. So, Vansh called Manual, and as usual, Manual replied, "How may I help you?"
"Can I recreate the lantern which was lost?" asked Vansh.
"Yes, you can," replied Manual.
"How?" asked Vansh.
"You can transform any part of the house to the lantern, but the object that you select to transform must have the same number of HP as the lantern, which is 5 in this case," replied Manual.
"Give me the list of all the part of the house which has 5 HP," said Vansh, and within a second after making that request, the transparent screen appeared before him with the list of all the objects in the house that had 5 HP.
After going through the list, he chose a bunch of bone fragments scattered on the floor and exchanged them for the lantern.
Now armed with the lantern and a rope, he returned to the lake, ready to lure the creatures to the surface. This time, he kept the lantern closer to the surface, ensuring that if any creature attacked, he could quickly pull it out.
In the beginning, all he could lure was Water Salamandars. He wasn't getting any new skills from them, but his stats were increasing.
Soon he improvised his baiting skill, and instead of the lantern, he started using Salamandar flesh as bait. Surprisingly, it worked. The technique lured in a different creature this time. It was a long-legged spider crab-like creature. Appraisal wrote:
"Drag Spider
Threat Level – D
Description – Drag Spiders are shy creatures, however, provoked enough, they don't shy away to kill off the threat. They can use sticky threads outside the water to drag their prey underwater and kill it.
Length X Width X Height – 6 feet X 5 feet X 6 feet
Weight – 100 kg"
When the Drag Spider initially surfaced, it swiftly shot a sticky thread toward the salamander flesh Vansh was using as bait and began dragging it underwater. Vansh, however, didn't let go of the piece of flesh. He grabbed a large knife and attempted to cut the thread, but to his surprise, the thread proved incredibly resilient and didn't break. Frustrated, he decided to take a more direct approach and attacked the spider itself. His aggression seemed to agitate the creature, causing it to abandon its pursuit of the salamander flesh and focus on attacking Vansh instead.
The shell of the spider was very tough, making it difficult for Vansh to penetrate any blade into its body. But Vansh found some gaps in the spider's body where its raw flesh was exposed, and he pushed his blades into those regions, eventually killing the spider.
Vansh managed to drag the Drag Spider's body into the house using a rope since he couldn't interact with objects outside the house. Once inside, he utilized his Devour skill to consume the spider. When the entire spider was devoured, Manual informed, "New skill gained – Sticky Thread."
For months, Vansh experimented with many different baiting and luring techniques, and he was able to lure various kinds of creatures. He killed them, gained their abilities, and increased his status. The list included:
1. Water Salamandar – Threat Level D
Skills gained – Water Gun, Underwater Breathing, Poison Claw
2. Drag Spider – Threat Level D
Skill gained – Sticky Thread
3. Driller Fish
Threat Level – C
Description – This fish has spikes all over its body, and whenever it feels threatened, it ejects the spikes at its attacker. The spikes rotate at high speed when launched, and penetrate the attacker's body like a drill.
Length X Width X Height – 8 ft X 2 ft X 3 ft
Weight – 70 Kg
Vansh caught this by using the fish hook method.
Skill gained – Drill Spike
4. Sonic Lobster
Threat Level – C
Description – They live in the depths of water bodies, but sometimes they come to the surface for mating. A male Sonic Lobster is very dangerous during the mating season. They can use deadly sonic blasts from their claws, which can incapacitate or kill their opponent.
Length X Width X Height – 12 ft X 3 ft X 5 ft
Weight – 200 Kg
Vansh fought it when they came to the surface in the mating season.
Skill gained – Sonic Blast
5. Hyper Shell
Threat Level – C
Description – It's a snail-like creature which lives in the crevices of underwater rocks. It's an herbivore and mainly feeds on plant life underwater or algae on the surface. These creatures are known for their remarkable speed in the water. Additionally, they possess a unique defensive ability to ensnare their attackers using a toxic, adhesive slime, which not only immobilizes their assailant but eventually proves lethal.
Length X Width X Height – 10 ft X 4 ft X 6 ft
Weight – 150 Kg
Vansh managed to grab its attention when it surfaced to feed on the algae. Engaging in combat with it was challenging, but he persevered. Ultimately, he managed to gain control by using his sticky thread ability and delivering a sonic blast to its vulnerable region.
Skill gained – Deadly Slime, Speed ++
After killing so many monsters for months, he grew bored. His efforts no longer yielded new abilities or enhancements to his status, rendering the monster-slaying pointless. Among the creatures he encountered, there was one he had never engaged with, nor did he possess the confidence to confront. It was an elusive entity that he had glimpsed just once, lurking in the depths of the lake when he initially lowered the lantern.
As autumn arrived, the trees in the surrounding forest started losing their leaves. The lake's surface became covered with red and yellow leaves, and the once dense forest now appeared barren. Leafless trees were scattered all around, and previously hidden wildlife began to emerge. However, even the most fearsome creatures from the other side of the lake were too afraid to venture into the water.
Soon winter arrived, bringing with it falling snow and colder temperatures. Many creatures retreated to their shelters for hibernation to escape the harsh conditions. The frigid winds and freezing temperatures made survival difficult for most animals. The once-green grasses lay dormant beneath a blanket of thick snow, and the trees were devoid of bird nests.
However, even in that cold weather, Vansh had observed a massive creature prowling the forest during some moonless nights. It would fix its gaze on Vansh from the opposite shore of the lake but never dared to set foot in the water. Vansh never saw the entire creature; all that he glimpsed were its enormous, fiery red eyes and a mouth brimming with razor-sharp teeth.
Then one night, the lake began freezing and within a few weeks, a layer of 4-5 inches of ice was deposited on the lake's surface. Even after that, the mysterious creature from the other side of the lake never stepped foot in the lake.
One day, on the outskirts of the forest, a girl dashed into the woods, moving as if her very life depended on it. Her appearance was far from typical for a human. Her long hair resembled freshly fallen snow, reaching down to her petite 5-foot frame. Her skin bore an otherworldly pallor. She was attired in a white skirt that started just above her bust and flowed down to her knees. Silvery earrings adorned both of her ears and furry white shoes graced her feet as she navigated the dense snow.
What truly set her apart were her ears, which were larger and pointed, unlike a typical human's. Her eyes, while big, possessed a captivating beauty by any standards. However, the most intriguing feature of all was the two translucent antennae emerging from her white hair. They oscillated gracefully as she raced through the snowy forest.
After running for some time, she finally reached the forest's edge, from where the lake had begun. Thankfully, she encountered no dangerous creatures along her path, possibly owing to her appearance which allowed her to blend in with the surroundings.
Standing at the forest's edge, she took a deep breath to calm herself. She glanced behind to ensure no one was following her, finding no signs of pursuit. Yet, she had no intention of turning back to face whatever had driven her into the forest. Instead, her gaze shifted ahead, where she spotted a house situated in the center of the frozen lake.
"A house!" she exclaimed in surprise. "I didn't think anyone could live here."
Curious, she ventured onto the frozen lake, cautiously making her way toward the house.