The girl and I walked through the tunnels. I considered running, but we had no idea what could be lurking around the next corner, and the sound of our footsteps might attract sothing. It quickly beca clear, though, that Emily had no idea where we were going. If we kept walking aimlessly, things could go bad fast. I rembered how many tis Pops and the hunters told about people getting lost in caves. According to them, it happened a lot, even in the old world.
If we got lucky, we'd find a map. Or maybe so signs saying, 'Exit this way.' But if not, we needed sothing different. And maybe that sothing was already waiting for . After turning left and reaching a long corridor with two blue spotlights at each end, I stopped.
"Hey, what's your na?" I whispered to the girl.
"Emily. And yours?" she replied.
"Hi, Emily. I'm Cassandra. We're going to stop for a mont, so can you keep an eye on both sides of the tunnel and let know if anything shows up?"
"What? Why are we stopping?" she asked, her voice shaky.
"Because I need a mont."
"What do you an, you need a mont? We need to get out of here! If we stay here, no one's going to find us. We need to leave! What if sothing else is here?" Her voice was growing higher in pitch, teetering on hysteria.
"Emily. Calm down."
"Why should we stop? That's crazy! Do you want us to die?!" Her voice rose even louder.
"Emily. Stop."
"I'm going to die in here. My mom was right, I'm stupid. I don't want to die."
I grabbed the girl's head with both my hands and decided to use her as inspiration, "Shut up. Listen, you're not the only one freaking out right now. I just killed whatever the hell that was, and I have no idea if there are more of them around. So here's what we're going to do: I'm going to sit down and breathe for a second so I don't have a ntal breakdown while we're trying to survive. Sound good?"
Emily stared at , wide-eyed, letting my words sink in. Eventually, she nodded, and I let go. I sat down, pretending I was processing what had just happened. In reality, I wanted to see what I got from my level-up.
'Sys, can you show the level-up now?'
[Acknowledged.]
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Cassandra Ydorf - Level 5
Titles: Enduring Heart
Tier 1 - Formless Monk
Mind 6 - Body - 10
mory - 7 Energy - 3/9 (3 Reserved)
1 attribute point available
Skills - 7/7
Energy Storage - Passive - 1 Energy
mory Bank - Passive - 1 Energy
Predatory Sense - Passive - 1 Energy
Body Regeneration - Active - 1 Energy/10 minutes
Compression - Active - 1 Energy/5 uses
Burst of Strength - Active - 1 Energy/ 10 minutes
Formless Series - Passive
Mind of Possibility - Available
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'No extra Energy or mory?' I asked.
[Correct. User's class may increase available energy more often. However, that does not an user will always receive an increase.]
'Fair enough. Put that extra point on Mind. Let's get it to 10 to level everything out before we continue.'
[Acknowledged.]
'Now, what about the ski-'
Before I could finish my sentence, Emily interrupted.
"How long do you think you'll need?" She was scanning the tunnel nervously, her head whipping back and forth as if every shadow was a threat.
"Just a couple more minutes. More if you keep interrupting ," I said, perhaps more coldly than I intended. Then again, we were in an ice-thed dungeon.
"Right… sorry," Emily mumbled, still not looking at .
'Sorry about that, Sys. What about the skills? Did I get any?'
[User currently has three skills available for selection. System also recomnds consuming the Aranean. As the creature was in possession of a System, System is likely able to acquire unique skills if user consus the Aranean body.]
'Look, it might be a monster, but it had so sort of sentience. Especially if it could use the System. I'm not sure how comfortable I am with the idea of eating sothing like that. It's sort of like… a person.'
[Then why is user referring to the Aranean as it and not they?] the System asked.
I had no real answer for that. It felt strange calling a creature like that 'they,' but if it was capable of communication, maybe I should be. Maybe one day I could find one of them to talk to. That felt stupid, but at the sa ti, I really didn't like the idea of dealing with not just the Eaters, but another brand of mindless monster that wanted to kill everything. Maybe we could talk and find a way not to kill each other at least until we got rid of the bigger threat.
'It just happened. I'm still getting used to everything. Put the idea of eating that on the 'maybe' pile. For now, can you show the skills?'
[Acknowledged.]
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Ice-Veined Strength - Passive - Fledgling
Reserved Cost: 2 Energy
Enhances the user's physical strength, making their blows feel as heavy and their skin sturdy as the permafrost. Increases damage dealt and reduces the user's susceptibility to physical attacks.
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Chill Touch - Active - Fledgling
Cost: 1 Energy
Turn your fingertips into ice that saps the life from your enemy's veins. Allows the user to project a chilling sensation through touch, temporarily weakening or stunning their targets.
Uses: 3
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Sticky Fingers - Active - Fledgling
Cost: 1 Energy
Your fingers gain the properties of a spider web. Allows the user to manipulate their fingers to beco sticky, enabling them to climb walls and adhere to most surfaces.
Duration: 10 minutes
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'Shit. That one costs two Energy to maintain?' I focused on the Ice-Veined Strength skill.
[Correct.]
'I'm assuming that ans it's stronger than one that requires only one Energy to maintain, right?'
[That is the expected result. However, it is possible that a skill is less optimized than another, resulting in a higher cost without an equal increase in effectiveness.]
'{Mind of Possibility} is currently available. Can I use Proxy to show what those skills would do?'
[Activating Proxy to emulate the skills would require three Energy currently stored in {Mind of Possibility}. Would user like to proceed with activation?]
'Yes, please.'
A holographic version of myself appeared in front of . Her clothes were just like the ones I was wearing, including the long coat. But I noticed how much of a ss her hair was—half of it stuck up with bits of spider web still clinging to it, the other half almost glued to the side of her face.
'Sys… Is that an accurate depiction of ?'
[Yes. SP present on user's body is able to inform System of their precise location. With that information, System is able to create a perfect duplicate on a molecular level.]
I brushed the hair off my face. 'Okay. Go for it. Start with Ice-Veined Strength. And if at all possible, compare it with {Burst Of Strength}.'
[That will require an additional point of Energy from {Mind Of Possibility}.]
'You can take the point.'
Proxy walked to the side, getting so distance between us. She turned towards and put her arms to the side in a fighting stance. After doing a quick three-punch combo, she turned to face the wall. Without anything appearing in front of , I could tell that right now she was using {Burst Of Strength}, but the safe version, not the one that removed the protection from my own body. She delivered a punch into the wall, causing a small crater to appear with a radius of about 15 centiters [6 inches]. Right in the center of it, there was a mark of her fist.
The hologram walked a few steps back, turning towards again. Her position was exactly the sa, but I could tell she was now under the effects of Ice-Veined Strength, which, for the record, felt really weird to have a skill based on ice when I had just barely gotten into the dungeon. Proxy showed the three-punch combo one more ti, but there were differences in her movents. They felt slower, but more natural. As Proxy shifted and got ready to punch the wall again, I understood what those distinctions were. With {Burst Of Strength}, only her punches were being affected by the skill. The effect was powerful but localized. Only the muscles in the arm were gaining that power before the attack. Now, Ice-Veined Strength allowed her entire body to move at the sa pace. Every part of her working together. To be honest, I might be able to replicate that effect with {Burst of Strength}, but it would take a lot of practice.
With one last punch, Proxy hit the wall again, in the sa exact position as she had done before. There was no crater this ti, but the mark of her hand was a bit deeper. It was clear that the first attack was stronger, but this one felt more stable. The power behind it was more focused. Next, a knife appeared in Proxy's hand. She walked over to and showed her left palm. With a simple motion, she made a cut that started to bleed blue instead of red. Right above the cut, she did the sa thing again, but this ti, the wound was much more shallow, with only a couple of drops of blood appearing. Without any words, I understood that the second wound demonstrated how the defensive properties would help .
[Simulating Chill Touch.]
Proxy walked away from as an amorphous holographic blob was created between us. This fake enemy kept wriggling back and forth constantly. My virtual self reached out and touched the target, a trickle of particles entering the blob. They spread around the area where the two holograms ca into contact and, after a second, stopped completely. The mont the particles did that, so did the target dummy, or at least, the part of the dummy that was covered in those particles. Proxy punched a part of the blob that was unaffected by the skill, showing how it continued to wiggle, and then did the sa with the area frozen by the SP. The second punch caused so cracks to appear on the virtual enemy. Finishing the demonstration.
[Simulating Sticky Fingers.]
For the last skill, the blob vanished, and Proxy just walked towards the wall. She removed her shoes, placed both hands and both feet on the wall, and started climbing up, like a spider. Once she reached the ceiling, she let go of both her legs and dropped back to the ground. It seems like just the hands would not be enough to hold my weight. To finish it off, Proxy reached down towards where her shoes were and picked them up with open hands, showing how objects could also be stuck to her fingers.
'Thanks, Proxy,' I smiled.
[Proxy is unable to feel gratitude.]
I rolled my eyes. 'And thank you, Sys.'
'First things first. Get rid of Sticky Fingers. It might be nice, but I do not see it helping all that much.'
[Acknowledged.]
'Chill Touch… I only have one open slot in my {mory Bank}, right?'
[That is correct.]
'And if I fill that slot, I will not be able to swap skills that I currently have without losing them, right?'
[That is also correct. It takes ti for a skill that is currently on the user's mory to move to the {mory Bank}. During that process, the skill must exist in both the user's mory and in the {mory Bank}.]
'That is what I thought. mory Bank currently has Formless Steps of Prey, Formless Nodus Swipe, Formless Boar Charge, and Quick Tier 1 Evolution. Right?'
[Correct.]
'So forget Chill Touch. It is nice, but it does not seem worth it. If I want to delete a skill from the {mory Bank}, how long does it take?'
[The process is instantaneous.]
'But I would still need an hour to place Burst Of Strength in the {mory Bank},' I frowned. That was a really good skill, and the combo could be amazing, but it might not be worth it. 'Forget it. Get rid of Burst Of Strength. Replace it with Ice-Veined Strength.'
[Acknowledged.]
I instantly felt two Energy leaving , but also felt myself getting stronger. It was a similar effect to when Burst Of Strength was active, but now the feeling was not as alien. It was much more natural, as if it was a part of . Looking down, I opened and closed my hand a couple of tis, trying to get a feel for my new strength. I quickly jumped up, causing Emily to yelp.
"Sorry. I am good now. We can go."
Emily blinked at . "Just like that? You are over this?"
"Not in the slightest. But I think I am good enough so we can continue moving. Like I said, I just needed a minute to process that," I replied, keeping up with the lie.
"Okay, great. I think we should go," Emily pointed to my left.
Suddenly, a yell ca from the right, "Run!"
Emily glanced at before she started running after the voice.
"What are you doing?" I asked, following the girl.
"That is Johnny. He knows the way out."
If I was just trying to escape this place, I would think that was a bad idea. No one yells run if they are not running away from sothing. But part of the reason I ca here was to get stronger—strong enough so I would not have to worry about an Eater attacking or Pops when I managed to get back to him. So running into danger was exactly the kind of thing I wanted to do.
"Let's go then!" I held back a smile, already dreaming about a few more level-ups in my near future.
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