BEEP! — BEEP!
[!!]
"Argh! What the hell?!"
The loud blaring of horns rudely dragged Kaelen out of his deep slumber, and he shot out of his thin-mattress, single bed
like how Jack does out of his box.
BEEP! — BEEP!
They continued blaring intensely, inducing a sharp migraine within the young Homunculus's scalp.
Kaelen pressed his palms against his ears that felt like they would soon bleed from eardrum rapture, and he clenched his jaw, albeit careful not to bite his tongue.
"..."
They suddenly stopped, and Kaelen opened his piercing pink eyes which were heavy due to the dark bags under them.
He relaxed his jaw, but he was reluctant to release his hands from his ears, his instincts warning him not to, not yet.
And...
<< ATTENTION ALL CAPTAINS!>>
...Just as he had feared, a loud, familiar voice, much louder than even the blaring horns in that it seemed to almost screech like that of Banshee, resounded as though the person speaking through the intercom was screaming directly into his ears.
"Shut up!"
He shouted, but his voice was drowned by the one speaking:
<>
[Why the hell would you repeat that?!]
<
<< FAILURE TO DO SO WILL RESULT IN SEVERE PUNISHMENT!!>>
Screech! Ch — Chk!
"Argh..."
The intercom switched off with a loud static, and Kaelen was finally at ease to remove his hands from covering his ears.
"Urgh... I should've slept some more."
He grumbled, regretting the fact that he had spent all night potting and planning his escape, especially now that he had a useful piece on his board — The unique, A Rank skill:[Monarch's Aegis.]
[Getting stronger comes first.]
[As I am now, even mob fodder from the first floor would wipe their asses with me.]
He got up, made his bed, attempted to corrected his disheveled hair and made his way toward the door.
"Sigh..."
His hand froze just before he could twist the knob.
[... I wonder, what hell awaits me today?]
A cold sweat made its way down his pale spine.
[It doesn't matter...]
But he took a deep breath to rebuke any and all negative emotions, thus, effectively fortifying his mind.
[This is what I wanted... I'm currently living my dream...]
[I'll turn this hell into my own personal paradise!]
He grinned, opened his door, and...
[...Mm?]
...He found a Homunculus waiting by his door, its right hand placed on its heart as it performed a very courteous bow.
"Good morning Captain, I trust you have rested well?"
He said, his eyes which were a light shade of yellow, stealing glances at his Captain, and there he found that the answer was otherwise.
"Yes, are you here to pick me up?"
[... How long has he been standing here?]
"Yes, Captain... We are aware that you do not know this place well, therefore Veylith asked me to be your guide, are you okay with that?"
The Homunculus stood upright and folded his hands behind his back, like a seasoned soldier awaiting their orders.
[Haha..He's so well-spoken for a tube baby.]
Kaelen scoffed inwardly and prevented a smile from donning his lips, he was, after all, being treated with respect, so it was only natural that he reciprocate it.
"Please, lead the way."
Kaelen spoke with a stern voice, adopting the air and mannerisms befitting a Captain.
"Yes... I will first lead you to the latrine so that you can bathe, and then from there we'll head to the cafeteria, would that be okay?"
At the Homunculus's question, Kaelen simply nodded and followed closely behind him.
As he was being lead toward the latrine, Kaelen pondered about many things. For example, he noticed that he had stacked up quite a bit of attribute points and wondered as to how he would use them.
[Open Status Window!]
Ding!
>Are you sure you would like to spend [10] attribute points into [Luck Stat?]
-[Y/N]
[Yes...]
Ding!
>Error, [10] Attribute Points cannot be added to your [Luck Stat.]
-Try another [-] value.
-Try another [Stat.]
[...]
For some reason, his face was completely blank, as though he had expected this to happen.
It usually would have been possible to put attribute points into any of the Core Stats without any limitation or exceptions.
The only Stats that couldn't be raised by the attribute points were the Derived Stats, for obvious reasons.
That was how the system that he created functioned.
"Sigh..."
He breathed heavily through his nostrils and attempted a few, random values to insert into his Luck Stat, he even tried pouring all 29 of them, but this bore him no fruit.
[...]
[...These bugs are really getting on my nerves.]
He pinched his eyes to rid them of the lingering crust and fatigue whilst simultaneously grappling with the urge to yawn.
[Maybe I should increase the proficiency of my class? I'm still at level one afterall...]
[No, let's not rush things... I might need them for something else at a later date, I'll just keep stacking them up for now.]
He turned his attention away from his attribute points, his bright pink eyes now lingered on the one thing he had been procrastinating on...
< Creator's Eye.>
[... I really hate the unknown.]
This was not a skill that he programmed himself, therefore he naturally felt anxious about it.
But he had no other choice, he had to know intimately, every card in his possession if he wanted to survive.
Tap...
He clicked on it, and its information was displayed before him:
───────────────────────────
Creator's Eye.
Skill Type: Supportive/Analytical | Passive/Active.
Rank: S-
> Description:
The eye of omniscient design, embodying the creator's wisdom and insight. This skill allows the user to perceive, analyze, and manipulate the essence of all things with unparalleled precision.
> Passive Effect (Sealed):
-Grants [Insight], revealing detailed information about objects, creatures, or environments the user focuses on. This includes weaknesses, strengths, and hidden properties.
-Enhances crafting and alchemy success rates by 50%.
-Allows identification of rare materials and Mana signatures undetectable by conventional means.
-Automatically detects anomalies, traps, or illusions within a 15-meter radius.
-Notice: Your current level and Mana Pool are too low for the Passive features of this skill, however, you can manually activate any of the features whenever you so please.
> Active Effect:
-[Blueprint Creation]: Enables the user to create a comprehensive blueprint of any inanimate object or structure they examine. These blueprints can be stored mentally or transcribed onto a medium for later use.
-[Essence Manipulation]: Grants the ability to analyze and alter the Mana flow of an object or being temporarily, allowing for effects like weakening an enemy's defenses or amplifying an ally's abilities.
> Special Trait:
-[Master's Foresight]: Once per day, foresee the outcome of a single action within the next 10 seconds, allowing for perfect decision-making during critical moments.
> Limitations:
[Essence Manipulation] requires direct focus and consumes 10% of Max Mana per second of usage.
Foresight has a cooldown of 24 hours and cannot foresee actions of individuals with a level equal to or greater than the user.
───────────────────────────
[Ugh... So much information...]
He grumbled inwardly, he had honestly hoped to just skim through it.
But...
[It's so detailed! And the formatting style, it's an exact replica of mine.]
[The description, limitations etc... These look like something that I would come up with.]
[How strange...]
A smirk that contradicted his thoughts twisted the corner of his upper lip and he continued memorizing the details of the skill.
[It really has a lot of sub-skills too, even more than Monarch's Aegis.]
Sub-skills, otherwise known as traits, are essentially skills that are part of a major skill (those that appear on the interface.)
For example, Monarch's Aegis has the sub-skills: [Falter] and [Sovereign's Will.]
Comparably, Creator's Eye has the sub-skills: [Blueprint Creation,] [Master's Foresight,] [Essence Manipulation,] etc...
To reiterate; these do not appear on the main interface as they are not main skills, but are instead a part of them — like how atoms make-up a molecule.
[Haha... This skill might actually be better than anything I could have ever come up with.]
His smirk turned into a bitter grin, and before he knew it, his guide notified him that they had reached their destination.
Kaelen spent around eight minutes in the shower and he found that the facilities were spotless as though they had just been cleaned.
He then discovered that this was due to a certain species of Slime that feeds on grime, scum and filth. It's excrement is a crystal-clear liquid that strangely carries the scent of lavender, and serves to buff, shine and polish the latrine as the Slimes move about.
Kaelen was then led to his second location, the cafeteria.
There he found the others waiting for him, none of them having already touched the food that was placed in front of them.
[I see... So each Decadon has its own separate facilities...]
[... I also saw what looked to be a training area on my way here.]
Just as he mused, Veylith and the others stood to their feet and offered their greetings to Kaelen.
[... Is that mine?]
His pink eyes lingered on a plate of food that honestly looked more appetizing than what the others had.
[...]
[... I feel bad, but I shouldn't undermine the hierarchy.]
Kaelen returned their greeting and sat down first, followed by Veylith, and the others sat down after her.
The Decadon shared a meal terrorized by an awkward silence, but Kaelen didn't mind it too much since he was too preoccupied with his thoughts.
//
*Five minutes before all Decadons are required to meet in the assembly hall*
[That was a good meal, but...]
Grumble~
[I'm still so hungry! It's like I barely ate anything...]
Both he and his stomach grumbled, a part of him wondering why they weren't given the option to receive a second serving.
Surely there wasn't any shortage of food, this was, after all, one of the three Major Towers — here, there is everything in abundance.
[Tch... That stingy weirdo, it must've been by his orders.]
Charymos's visage ran through his mind as they entered the familiar wide-open space with walls painted in pure white, the assembly hall.
Step... Step...
They found the other Decadons already there, and as soon as they entered, one of the Captains and the Homunculi he led approached Kaelen's.
"Kaelen, I have a proposal for you."
A voice came from the one who led the approaching Decadon, his bright green eyes sharpened by the scar on his face.
[... I wonder what crafting skills I'll be able to learn? It'll be good to take advantage of this skill's properties.]
[I hope I also have a knack for alchemy, 50% chance of success is actually insane.]
Perhaps Kaelen was so engrossed in his thoughts that he hadn't heard Thyra? His gaze was planted on the floor, and not once did he look at him.
[To think that one sub-skill could have so many uses... I need to test it out as soon as I can.]
Although he was oblivious to what was just said to him, Kaelen instinctively stopped walking when he felt that an obstacle — or rather, Thyra, was in front of him.
"Are you deaf? I'm talking to you."
Clench!
Thyra grabbed Kaelen's shoulder along with his attention and squeezed.
"..."
Kaelen gave no response and merely looked at him straight in the eyes.
"Her... Give her to me."
With his hand still squeezing Kaelen's shoulder, Thyra pointed at Veylith.
"If you do, I'll give you four of mine."
Thyra gestured at the Homunculi standing behind him.
"What did you —"
As Veylith was about to step forward, Kaelen cut off her words and stemmed her actions by raising his arm.
[...I suppose now is a good time to test it out.]
■■ Creator's Eye: Insight. ■■
As soon as he cast that spell, Kaelen's left iris branched out in a dendritic pattern resembling the intricate branches of a fibonacci spiral.
[!!],[!!]
Ta! Ta!
Feeling a surge of Mana, Thyra instinctively lept backwards to create space between him and Kaelen.
[Ah... So this is how it functions?]
He mused, his eyes lingering on the writing now visible to him, hovering above Thyra's head.
<□ Thyra — LV. 5
Class: Magic Swordsman LV.3□>