I decided to wander in the direction of the sunrise as I waited for my MP to get higher.
'I wish I had taken a map when I left that stupid castle', I thought as I took a break from [Focusing] on [Area Perception], which was level 3 now.
Every once in a while, I ran into wolf-like monsters at the edge of my [Perception], but they moved far too fast for me to trust in my [Evasive Arts] to save me from, so I used [Obfuscate Presence] whenever I caught signs of anything, and disappeared in a different direction.
Now that my [MP Regeneration] was better, [Obfuscate Presence] worked better, too. It was only at level 2, though, and I couldn't put much into it so it was only useful if used in conjunction with my other two stealth skills.
I wasn't too comfortable with my perception skills being so weak, though, so…
[Confirmed. Unique Skill Invoked.] [Basic Skill: Echolocation will be created for 40 MP].
[Confirmed. Unique Skill Invoked.] [[Basic Skill: Heat Sense will be created for 30 MP].
[Confirmed. Unique Skill Invoked.] [Basic Skill: Area Scan will be created for 50 MP].
Another round ending with no MP for me. How great. But the skills were incredible.
None of them took mana, but [Echolocation] and [Area Scan] were pretty similar to [Area Perception], except I had to consciously use them to get the information, then sort through it with [Information Processing].
[Heat Sense] basically let me sense anything with an abnormal temperature, from cold and hot spots in the air to animals that I couldn't see with my eyes. It didn't have a level, so I wouldn't get better at it, but it was incredibly useful anyways.
With those three skills, I wasn't really concerned about being caught off guard anymore, as long as I used them periodically.
I spent the next few hours [Creating] whatever skills I could think of, starting with
[Store MP Created 80 MP]; [MP Efficiency Created 50 MP]; [Quick Growth Created 100 MP]; [Quick Learning Created 100 MP]; [Presence Sense Created 40 MP]; [Wind Sense Created 50 MP]; [Night Vision Created 80 MP]; [Mapping Created 20 MP]; [Small Storage Created 150 MP]; [Predate Created 110 MP]; [Air Magic Created 60 MP]; [Fire Magic Created 60 MP]; [Barrier Magic Created 80 MP]; [Scout Created 10 MP]; [Set Trap Created 10 MP]; [Create Thread Created 80 MP];
Starting at the top, [Store MP]
Store MP Overflow Up to 50% of Max Value.
Now, my max MP was technically 180, but it didn't affect [MP Regeneration], so it took the same amount of time to regenerate.
[MP Efficiency]
Magic Costs less MP. Didn't work on [Skill Create], though
[Quick Growth]
Status Increase Up 10% During Leveling.
[Quick Learning]
Skill Proficiency Increases Faster. This one had a level attached to it, and at level 1, it was only a 10% buff, so even maxed out, it would only be double what it would be otherwise, but it was still an incredible skill.
[Presence Sense] was basically [Heat Sense], just with things that had the potential to move.
[Wind Sense]
Sense Air Currents
[Night Vision]
See in the dark the same as you do in daytime. It basically just let me see more degrees of light. I'd still notice shadows at night, but moonlight and daylight seemed pretty similar to me with [Night Vision] on.
[Mapping]
Log Known Areas. It was like a map in your head, basically. You could figure out general directions from it.
[Small Storage]
Store a small amount of materials. Inferior version of [Storage]. Didn't have a level, but it would pair well with [Storage] once I got it, and it'd be incredibly useful for me before I managed to get the MP required to [Create] the skill.
[Predate]
Gain a small amount of status from consumed monsters. It was based on a percentage, and the fresher the monster, the better, but it was a way to increase my status aside from leveling. It even would regenerate my MP and health alongside the status buff.
[Scout]
Step Lighter, Boosts Perception Skills.
[Create Thread]
Create Thread from Thin Air. I had actually wanted Create Food, but…
[Unique Skill: Create Food… Not Found.] [Create Alternative Skill: Create Organic Material for 12409 MP Instead?] [Error, Skill Creation Failed, Not Enough MP].
I tried [Create Material] next, but…
[Create Extra Skill: Create Material for 2400 MP?] [Error, Skill Creation Failed, Not Enough MP].
The next best thing was [Create Thread], so I got it. It wasn't cheap, either, but it was better than nothing. Once I had [Create Thread], I looked at my status again
Grant Carr
Human
Level 1
MP - 80 / 120 (180)
Unique Skill - Skill Creation (2 / 5)
Extra Skill - Impulse (6)
Evasive Arts (5)
Conceal (4)
Stealth (4)
Self-Regeneration (2)
Breath Regulation (2)
Examine (3)
Information Processing (5)
Arithmetic (4)
Language Comprehension
Focus (6)
Area Perception (4)
Echolocation (3)
Area Scan (3)
Heat Sense
Presence Sense
Wind Sense
Night Vision
Quick Growth
Quick Learning (1)
Mapping
Scout (1)
Predate
Set Trap (1)
Create Thread (1)
Summon Weak Enemy (1)
MP Regeneration (4)
Obfuscate Presence (4)
MP Capacity
Store MP
MP Efficiency
Small Storage
Modify Weight (1)
Earth Magic (3)
Air Magic (1)
Fire Magic (1)
Water Magic (1)
Healing Magic (2)
Barrier Magic (1)
Resistance - Blast (2)
Resistance - Heat (2)
Resistance - Pain (2)
Resistance - Sleep (1)
Resistance - Hunger (2)
Resistance - Thirst (2)
Resistance - Nausea (4)
No surprise that [Nausea Resistance] had gone up with all the MP exhaustion, but I had been thinking so hard on my skill set that I hadn't noticed how hungry or thirsty I was. The associated resistance skills had both gone up a level, and my [MP Regeneration] had gone up, too.
It didn't surprise me that most people with [MP Regeneration] probably didn't use theirs as much as I did, and regenerating 5 MP per minute was great.
80 MP left, huh? I used 10 of it to drink, this time, the water ball that I was able to make was notably bigger, and managed to clean a little bit of grime off of my body while I was at it. After that, I decided to check out my new skills, so I [Summoned] another slime with 10 MP.
"Huh, it's stronger." I had [Summoned] the slime directly above a pot made with [Earth Magic] this time, about a foot across.
The previous slime would have easily fit, but this one only barely fit, and its stats were generally 10, instead of 5. It even had 1 MP, which the last slime hadn't had. There was even a tiny rock in its center, which I took to be some sort of magic stone, or maybe a core.
Guess it doesn't really matter. I had a lot that I wanted to do in this world, and taming monsters was definitely on the list, but I had [Summoned] this particular slime to kill it, so I mercilessly reached inside it and pulled out the rock, causing it to lose shape, dead.
Cool, it worked. The slime was only slightly better than the last one, so it still fell firmly in the category of disgusting, but I got one added to every single one of my stats except for MP just from eating that thing. On top of the extra stats, I'm pretty sure that I still regenerated the MP that I didn't absorb. Seeing this…
[Confirmed. Unique Skill Invoked.] [Basic Skill: Gluttony will be created for 40 MP].
[Basic Skill: Weak Magic Resistance will be created for 20 MP]; [Basic Skill: Acid Resistance will be created for 10 MP].
[Gluttony] to help my stomach hold more, and the two resistance skills to help me deal with slimes.
They weren't very filling, but they were weak and easy to kill, so I decided to start using them to grow my MP once I regenerated it back. With that in mind, making new pots with magic would be a waste, so I decided to stop traveling for the night.
I didn't go to sleep, though, for two reasons, so that I could train [Sleep Resistance], and because of my paranoia.
About 45 minutes-ish after I made the last three skills, my MP was topped off at 180 again, so I invoked [Summon Weak Enemy] with 80 MP this time, instead of just 10, mentally pushing as best I could for something with high MP and low Intellect, so that I could get as much MP as possible without much risk.
After all night, ten slimes, and two [Summon Weak Enemy] levels, my status looked like this.
Grant Carr
Human
Level 2
Strength - 99
Dexterity - 124
Agility - 124
Endurance - 88
Intellect - 85
MP - 300 / 200 (300)
I had successfully managed to summon a bunch of slimes with MP between 40 and 50, Intellect too low to use it, and other stats roughly around 10 each.
Since [Predate] tended to give me about 10% of their stats overall, I had managed to get my MP up to 200 and I could store another 100 on top of it. I now regenerated about 8 MP per minute.
I had managed to level up from the slimes, too, but clearly, leveling was fairly useless compared to [Predate].
"I better work on a way to actually fight, now that I have a way of getting stronger." Clearly, getting stronger was going to have to mean fighting strong enemies, which I could summon, but I wasn't going to reach my potential and make myself so strong that none of those idiots back at that castle can ever touch me again by just summoning slimes too weak to fight back.