"You may look like a human, but you are not one," Romulus calmly analyzed as the energy emitting from his sword pulsated into thin and thick filaments. As they whirled around its illusory surface, the coldness within Romulus's gaze grew ever icier. Then, without a hint of remorse in his expression, he slashed down, causing the wind to whistle as he cut through it. Within an instant, the Pearlescent Cleaver made contact with the savage zombie's head, and in one swift motion, the head was cleaved into two, then the rest of its body followed in tow.
SPURT!
Greenish-red blood gushed out the top of the Zombie's head, marking the end of its undead life. The rewards for this kill were then warmly received by the one who held the blade.
[Ding! You have killed a Lvl 17 Zombie and received 4,700 EXP!]
[Ding! |Pearlescent Cleaver| has been leveled up from 'Lvl 2' → 'Lvl 3']
"Oh?" Romulus's brows raised in interest as he felt his control and potential damage output when using this skill increase by around double what it once was.
After relishing in the feeling for a moment, his piercing gaze peered deeper into the foggy streets of Ghost Town. The first thing he saw were dozens of shadows maneuvering through the fog, causing it to billow and whirl. His mind churned as he tried to approximate the average strength of these elusive monsters. As a result of this intense focus, something within him was activated, subsequently resulting in a shift of magic. It flowed from an unknown part of his body, through his veins, and up to his right eye, where it then took on the form of a brightly glowing blue sigil. Several ancient lines imprinted themselves onto this sigil, with each line brightening up one layer at a time. "What is happening—" Romulus attempted to say, but was briefly interrupted by the sigil altering his vision and showing him something that was previously obscured from him.
BLING!
[Zombie (Lvl 19) - Threat Tier: Yellow]
[Night Howler (Lvl 16) - Threat Tier: Green]
[Night Howler (Lvl 17) - Threat Tier: Green]
[Zombie…]
From within the fog appeared dozens of luminescent screens, all appearing at varying distances away. Most were green in color, some were yellow, and even further in were a couple black ones. A keen glint emerged in Romulus's eyes as he made use of his growing intelligence to deduce what he was seeing. His conclusion wound up being that he somehow fulfilled all the prerequisites to activate another Skill, just like how he obtained Roll, Frost, and Pearlescent Cleaver.
He wanted to escape the Night Howlers when he first encountered them, so he received the |Roll| Skill. Then, there was a point where he wished for the fifty attacking Night Howlers to just freeze over and die, so the |Frost| Skill was gained. For |Pearlescent Cleaver|, he yearned to touch and wield a blade, so there it came.
As for the EX-Rank Unique Skill |Truck-kun's Retribution|, well, that was something uniquely given to Romulus, maybe created as a result of wishing for a change before Transmigration? Or maybe it was something more — something yet to be discovered. Its effects, however, were still not fully delved into. Below the permanent boosts that were originally received, there were a couple sections that were covered in literal question marks, leaving a deep sense of mystery.
Romulus was still discovering more and more about this mysterious Unique Skill that essentially made him impervious to all damage below a certain degree. Moreover, there was a part of him that believed his ability to receive certain skills if conditions were fulfilled had something to do with that EX-Rank Skill. However, as he had no concrete evidence to back up that claim, it was just baseless conjecture for now.
"So much more to uncover about myself and these new abilities," he murmured softly. "And yet I still know little to nothing about where exactly I am." He observed his surroundings, seeing more and more of the medieval-style buildings, as well as dozens more of those system tags. But other than that, it was just the same thing for as far as the eye could see. Mist, abandoned buildings, and streets overrun by horrifying monsters that only knew violence. "I want to understand more about living as a free person, and I also wish to explore," Romulus said melancholically. "I really want to see more things…"
Then, as if a requirement had been fulfilled, another magical phenomenon occurred inside of him, eliciting the creation of yet another Skill!
Out of the corner of his eye. Specifically, directly above his right wrist, there flashed a blue circle. On that circle were scattered red dots, and there were also exact replicas of the buildings in the surroundings. Although it was 2-D in the beginning, upon touching it, Romulus saw the digital map expand and transform into a 3-D representation. It displayed all the buildings in their present conditions, the wandering monsters, and even what both of them looked like. If used in conjunction with the S-Rank 'Magical Eye' Skill, then the monsters on the minimap could even have their stats and threat tiers disclosed!
For a few moments, Romulus was left stunned by all that just transpired. His ability to create new Skills exceeded even his expectations, and it was highly likely that this wasn't even close to being the limit of his capabilities. If not just by the smallest marginal amount, he had become…
"Too overpowered," he muttered while listlessly staring deeper into the fog. The more he glanced at the Minimap and then matched it up to the real-life representation, the more his mind became dazed. If being completely frank, he had no idea how his unexpected transmigration into this world turned him into some form of MC-level character.
Even so, Romulus would not grow complacent. It was unknown if this EX-Rank was any good or even if the ability to create skills in rapid succession was out of the norm. Moreover, the strength of the monsters he had been fighting was also a topic up for debate. For all he knew, they were weaker than the weakest of chickens in this world. After all, appearance wasn't everything.
With all of this in mind, Romulus pulled up his system interface before resuming his exploration of the place that the S-Rank Minimap Skill called the 'Ghost Town.'
BLING!
.....