Just as Michael had hoped, he encountered another monster.
It was another slime, just as he wished.
However, this slime had a higher level than him.
While Awakeners shouldn't be judged solely by their level, thanks to attribute points, there's a reason the saying "fight according to your level" exists.
Although a level 7 acid slime didn't necessarily mean it would be much harder to kill due to a slime's naturally weak constitution, its acid would likely be more potent than the previous one.
However…
"With my current constitution and speed, could I actually take on this slime head-on?" Michael wondered.
Monsters didn't have attribute points like Awakeners, so any increase they got as they leveled up was purely based on their race.
If Michael relied solely on the stat increases his human race naturally provided—0.2 in all stats and 0.5 in Intelligence per level—he'd only gain 1.8 in Strength, Agility, and Constitution and 4.5 in Intelligence by level 10. He'd be stronger than other humans, but nowhere near as powerful as he was now with his attribute points.
This was why attribute points felt like cheats.
With attribute points, even a level 7 monster shouldn't be too tough for Michael if he planned well. For the acid slime, avoiding its acid shots would lower the danger significantly.
Of course, Michael only considered this. Until his gun proved ineffective, he preferred long-range combat with monsters.
It wasn't that he lacked close-combat skills; by the time students left high school in the real world, most had basic combat training, due to the combat-oriented nature of Awakener and Cultivator professions they could potentially have in the future.
Though he wasn't the top in his class, Michael had learned some close-combat skills. But knowing how to fight didn't mean he could automatically apply it well in a real encounter.
Michael stared at the acid slime, about 20 metres away and slowly crawling further.
If it had been farther, his {Detect} skill wouldn't have worked, as unranked Awakeners could only use it within such a limited range.
'I wonder if {Basic Shot} will be effective at this distance,' Michael thought, uncertain.
Unlike {Detect}, which was arguably unique, other skills—even class skills—had clear limitations and mastery levels.
{Detect} had its own limitations, but notably, it didn't have a mastery level. Unlike other skills, which started from {Basic Mastery} or class skills from {Intermediate Mastery}, {Detect} had no {Mastery} rank.
One unique feature was that, like a talent, it didn't use mana, yet unlike talents, it also didn't require soul energy
The only valuable information he found in his research was that {Detect} could be considered a passive skill—a rare type that required no mana to activate and functioned constantly. Active skills, in contrast, needed to be manually activated using energy.
Yet, despite this classification, {Detect} still didn't quite feel like a typical passive skill.
Michael was intrigued by the nature of the {Detect} skill, but when he searched the forums, he found only basic information, with no mention of its unique properties.
His first thought was that this was due to his authority level in the Supers Association, which was only Level 1. If {Detect} required a higher authority to learn more about, it confirmed its unique nature.
Perhaps, he thought, it might even have something to do with the uniqueness of the Land of Origin itself, rather than just the skill's effects.
Other skills, however, were generally more straightforward once one became familiar with them.
Most skills didn't mean immediate effect upon activation.
Just because an Awakener had the {Fireball} skill, for instance, didn't mean a fireball would instantly appear upon activation.
Instead, activating a skill provided the caster with knowledge and an instinctual feel for its workings, making it easier to use.
The higher the skill's {Mastery}, the deeper the knowledge and ease of use.
Take {Basic Shot}, the skill Michael acquired. Activating it wouldn't immediately fire a bullet; instead, it would instinctively guide him on how to hold the gun, aim, and shoot—an improvement over his earlier, more random attempts.
As his {Mastery} improves, the more the skill would feel like second nature to him.