The skill itself wasn't really outstanding. It just increased the strength of his grip. But what made it interesting was an added bonus.
'Its power increases when the target is the neck.' Kai gulped. 'According to the system, if the ant somehow was able to attack my neck, then I'd have lost at least 50% of my health… and it would have been gory as fuck.'
But what made him feel like he got a good enough ability was that he could actually use this vice grip ability with his fire claw one, and as such, his power would be at least twice the normal skill usage.
This also proved another point—it wasn't that the skills were good or bad; everything was about how the user would use them.
He immediately unlocked the camouflage core.
[Unlocking the brown star core 'Camouflage Ant'.]
[-5 Skill Points]
['Camouflage Ant' Unlocked.]
[Congratulations, you've obtained the skill 'Vice Grip'!]
Kai then ordered the system to not show those 'scanning' messages when he would devour the core, and the reply was the obvious 'Affirmative'.
"All right now," he muttered under his breath and excitedly touched the conifer's core with his tail.
[Core(s) Plundered: Conifer]
[Rank: Red Star]
[Unlock Requirements: 30 Skill Points]
[Skill(s): Needle Shots]
[Do you want to unlock the core?]
'Ooohh, tell me about this skill.'
[You'll be able to shoot countless needles from your mouth, each of them doing piercing damage. Once pierced inside the body, the blood will keep on leaking out until and unless the needles are removed.]
'Oh, do I gain the blood like the trees?'
[No.]
'Ah,' Kai nodded, "Well, it's still good enough."
He immediately unlocked this core too.
[Unlocking the red star core 'Conifer Core'.]
[-30 Skill Points]
['Conifer Core' Unlocked.]
[Congratulations, you've obtained the skill 'Needle Shots'!]
'I need to test this skill first,' the miro thought and swiftly left the place. Who knew if some creature had come near due to the commotion?
He got up at a tree and smiled. He could easily harass people using needle shots from up the tree and might even scare them witless.
He was about to test the skill when his gaze went to the ground nearby the tree. There was a high possibility of a creature home being there. Now, he would, of course, not touch the hornet nest, but what he started thinking about was the nest of the ants.
He hesitated but still went back to the previous place where his first battle happened. Narrowing his eyes, he looked around. Though the trees were shining, it wasn't really bright enough for him to see any obvious holes. Previously, the vegetation was sparse, and the ants were moving, which was why he was able to notice them.
The miro still looked around for a bit and actually saw a small opening nearby.
'Sure enough,' he smiled happily, 'Let's hope I get something good from there.'
He approached the hole and looked into it—nothing was visible.
He used torch tail and then looked inside again.
White, slimy capsules like eggs were there, around ten of them.
'…'
Kai straightened his back and couldn't decide immediately; them being unborn lifeforms made him a bit uncomfortable about devouring them.
But…
'System, what's the chance of me getting the camouflage skill if I devour them all?'
[Chances are much lower than when you devoured the mature ants.]
'…It's settled then. I'll devour them. Well, not like they will be able to survive even if I don't…. Oh, wait, there's a chance of them having a core?'
[Every creature has a core. The difference is if one has awakened it or not. The unawakened cores, also known as dormant cores, have a uniqueness to them, especially when it comes to beasts. A creature can get a skill even if their core isn't awakened, but this skill is mostly crucial for survival, and usually limited to one or two skills.]
A glint flashed in the miro's eyes.
'So I have a chance to get a skill even without devouring a core, but I'll have to devour lots and lots of the creatures…? But it's just a chance, a probability, and not a definite result.'
[Yes.]
While he discussed with the system, his tail had already started its work. It swiftly moved inside and devoured everything inside; nothing was spared.
[You have devoured an ant's egg.]
[You have devoured an ant's egg.]
[+1 Skill Point]
This made Kai shake his head a little. Reason and logic were on his side, for sure, but his act still felt a bit immoral.
'That's so human, not gonna lie.'
[You have devoured an ant's egg.]
[…]
So, he didn't get anything…
[You have devoured a camouflage ant queen.]
'Oh?'
[Core(s) Plundered: Camouflage Ant Queen]
[Rank: Red Star]
[Unlock Requirements: 50 Skill Points]
[Skill(s): Camouflage]
[Do you want to unlock the core?]
The miro looked at the skill points he had and considered.
'I only have 12 skill points… Guess, I'll have to hunt more… but man, my mana expenditure feels a lot more than the gain.'
A frown appeared on his face, but soon he relaxed and shrugged.
"Time to find Ms. Skintight, I guess."
The miro was about to jump back on the tree when suddenly he felt the ground below him tremor, and from the bush, a big monster jumped on him.
He had no time to react.