All basic attributes increased. Level up proficiency acquired Skill [Stab Lv4] has become [Stab Lv5] Skill [Resentment Lv1] has become [Resentment Lv2] Skill [Reparation Lv1] has become [Reparation Lv2] Skill points acquired Combat points acquired 50% of max health recovered> All basic attributes increased. Level up proficiency acquired Skill [Reparation Lv2] has become [Reparation Lv3] Skill points acquired Combat points acquired 50% of max health recovered> The sounds echo pointlessly in my head. I take a deep breath. Holy crap! What just happened? I totally lost control of myself on the battlefield and next thing I know, BAM! A bunch of dead bodies littered across the floor. Y-you know what the scariest thing is? I have no DAMN idea what I did. I think I vaguely remember bits and pieces of information, but it really didn't feel as if I was in control. It was almost as if my body was moving on its own, regardless of what I wanted to do. I can't just lose my cool mid fight like that. The only reason I won was because I got suuper lucky. If I was fighting a person, I'm sure my movements would seem predictable. In fact, stat wise, even I could tell that the roaches were way higher on the podium of strength than I was. I honestly don't know how I won that. Losing my cool did work out in the end because I intimidated the roaches and all, but I have to stop going to lala land and fighting purely out of rage. In fact, when I fought my first battle against Mr. Roach, I totally went out of control as well. Do I have anger issues of something? Eh, no point overlooking the past. Instead, its time to focus on the present, baby! Because I levelled up a bunch and got a truck load of combat points! "ALLOCATE COMBAT POINTS!!!!" Oh yeah! <10 combat points Health: 20 Mana: 10 Damage: 27 Defence: 16 Speed: 33 Which attributes do you wish to increase?> Hmm... My mana and defence are comparatively low, but if I wanna survive this, I feel like I gotta focus on improving my strengths than tryna fix my weaknesses. Being some half-assed all rounder just doesn't suit me. So... speed...? And maybe some damage? But my health is actually quite low as well. For some reason, my speed and damage increase more per level up than health, so maybe I should start pouring more combat points into that. Damage: 27 (+3) Speed: 33 (+2) Confirm?> Yeah, that seems about right. Wait... should I put even more into health? I mean, I take a lot of damage during my battles. In all of the ones where I come out on top as an underdog, I always sustain massive damage such as missing limbs. I'm sure that isn't good for my health. In fact, the only way I reliably heal up right now is through level-ups. But the higher level I get, the harder it will become to level up. I haven't put [Reparation] to use yet, and I don't feel like gambling on how powerful the healing is would be a wise thing to do. Which means... Confirm?> Yeah. I'm not entirely confident this is the best choice, but I’ll still do it Health: 20 --> 30 Current combat points: 0> Whew! I feel a lot – a LOT stronger than before! This is certainly better than my previous stats – the ones that averaged at 5 or 6-ish. Well… since I already slaughtered a bunch of roaches, it wouldn’t hurt if I kill more, right? I have no idea how I won that, but maybe I DO have some super-secret skill that makes me insanely overpowered? Okay, I probably don't have any insane skills, but maybe the skills I currently have are more important than I thought. I mean - stat wise - that roach was certainly much stronger than me. In fact, most of the items I use are marginally stronger than me! My gear is also ranked F, so I really got handed the short end of the stick… Forget about being a big fish in a small pond, I'm a piece of algae in the ocean! So something must have played a considerable role in helping me beat foes substantially stronger than me. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. The only thing I can think of are skills. Just how much extra damage does [Stab] give? Arrggg!! If only I had some way to [Appraise] it… Yeah, I know [Stab] gives me bonus damage. But HOW much bonus damage? Information like this would come in handy. Speaking of information and [Appraisal], [APPRAISAL] TIME, BABY! <[Rationality]: (passive) Allows the user to keep calm and make decisive decisions during times of urgency> Hmm… Yeah, I can totally see why I got that! If I'm not rational, what am I? <[Resentment]: (Active) Once hate towards a certain individual has reached the required level, that individual becomes Marked.> ? Marked? What does that mean? Okaay… If I'm not rational, then I guess I'll just be a psychopathic killer! What stupidly insane skill is this? So [Resentment] plus [Stab] is my combo? The thing is the extra hate damage is probably exceptionally higher than the extra stab damage. I mean, [Resentment] can only work on people (or in this case, roaches) that you seriously death-glare hate, right? So it could only take effect to a selected minority. Contrast that to [Stab], which literally works on anything as long as your attack is stab related. Since [Resentment] is only applicable to a handful, its extra damage should be higher than [Stab], which is applicable to everything and anything. This skill would be totally insane against a life-long nemesis or something. Just pour all your hate into them. In fact, gaslight yourself to hate them even more! Look at that bitch, eating crackers like she owns the house "…" Damn, I need to start being a hater. Haters gonna hate! … Moving on, I discovered something else wicked just then! Back-to-back [Appraisal]! If I [Appraise] something, I can also [Appraise] the information given to me from that Appraisal! Name: Rena Shinohara Level: 8 Rank: F Class: None> And then if I do this, I can finally get to the end of what a 'Unique Demon' is! Err… I feel like I’m unravelling something very deep right now. I've scouted two key words: 'Satanic Demon' and 'Miracle Human'. What does it mean when it says I'm a failed byproduct of a 'Miracle Human", though? I wanna get the roots of this. So this 'Miracle Human' is essentially just another r reincarnation, just like me? But I guess they're going around playing Hero or whatev - wait… playing HERO? Didn't I get some [Hero] thing revoked from me not too long ago? So… because of my bad personality and not having the power of friendship, I get thrown away and turn from a 'Miracle' to a freaking 'Demon'? WHAT THE HECK? Sure, I don't care at all about saving people, but those bonuses would be all the worthwhile. I'd go around playing Hero if I could get such awesome benefits! Geez, this really pisses me off. I guess I'll pry deeper into this and hopefully distract myself. Huh? Well, a Unique Demon is essentially a reincarnate with the [Satanic Demon] title, right? Which means I DO have some super-secret, stupidly overpowered seven-deadly sin skill right? Oh yah! I'm all pumped up now! I'm gonna become absolutely broken! Hahah! Roaches, do your worst! Nothing can get past me now! ... Which sin am I allocated in though? Personally, I think I would either be Sloth, Pride or Greed. But I feel like I might be tied up with Wrath. I mean - my trump card, [Resentment] - is literally linked with rage and wrath! Could [Resentment] be the skill I obtained due to Wrath? If so, it doesn't really seem that broken for a deadly sin-exclusive skill. I don't really seem like the type to hold a grudge anyway. I'm not the hateful type… ...Well, at least I hope I'm not. Sure, [Resentment] is a solid skill, but it seems mediocre if it were supposed to be one of those exclusive skills. So, lets cross our fingers and pray to god that this isn't my special skill. Maybe I can't explain the way my stats grow because of my hidden skill. I mean, usually there must be some sort of algorithm for how stats grow per level-up, right? But my stats increase at random intervals, and I don’t see any pattern present. Nothing Sloth based can explain this. A Sloth related skill would probably exponentially increase my passive regeneration or something. Pride-based skills? I don't see how pride will let my stats grow faster. Something Pride-based would make me immune to debuffs, I think? Which nails it down to Greed. I can totally see me stealing my enemies stats once killing them with a Greed based skill. Greed is all about taking things from others and wanting more! Hmmm… But couldn't Gluttony also have the ability to steal stats? Like, you 'eat' them, not just metaphorically, but literally - you consume and steal their stats. Buut, I'm not a glutton - food was never a priority - so my [Satanic Demon] title probably gave me a Greed related skill. Does that mean that every time I fight and kill, I get stronger? That probably explains my rapid growth. In roughly 3 hours, my stats have jumped from 6-ish to 25-ish. So, I wanna fight a lot, as long as I can confidently win. Maybe I should farm low levelled roaches? Ah - crap. I got too distracted by my thoughts again. I spend way too much time contemplating. Well, there’s only one final thing so [Appraise] now, Well, [Satanic Demons] and [Angelic Knights] are basically fated to fight each other, huh? Sure, Hero Vs Demon Lord is cliché and stereotypical, but because it's so common, I wouldn't be surprised if its how things work in this world. So I guess I'm bound by fate to fight some Hero. I don't even get to choose a side. BAM! Demon Lord. No take-backs. Not that you'll catch me complaining. The villains are way cooler than the heroes. Some guy with a tragic backstory spends 500 years of preparations and tireless training just to avenge his family, and some random kid comes out of nowhere and stops him with the power of friendship and the goodness in his heart. If that isn't stupid, then what is? Well, personal preferences aside, I still couldn't give one or two shits about what other people think of me. If I can get strong, I'll do whatever it takes! Maybe not whatever, but I'll go to extreme lengths to get what I want. I still won't waste aside my humanity, even if I have no idea if I'll make it out alive. ----- So, remember how I got swarmed before? Turns out that crater was a breeding ground or something, because as soon as I went past it, I got flanked by a bunch of roaches. I feel like something very similar has happened before. In fact, my muscle memory just kicks in, and I dash away, but...why are they so slow? Last time this happened, I swear the roaches were way faster! In fact, I don't feel scared at all. I can put up a pretty good fight, huh? I turn around, and face them, head on. A roach lunge at me. I attack it, instantly killing it. ""…"" ""…"" The roaches stare deeply into my eyes. I return the gaze. D-oh! This is the perfect chance to utilise my Greed based skill! Unlike last time, the roles of hunter and hunted have been reversed. I am no longer the field mouse, but the great eagle. Come back here you pieces of juicy XP! The roaches try to run away, but my speed stat is just better. CRUNCH!! Two down, 11 left to go. CRUNCH!! CRUNCH!! Skill [Stab Lv5] has become [Stab Lv6]> Oooh! Nice! I removed a section of the roach legs, so they function more like daggers now. Because the roach's exoskeletons are all so crispy, I make a satisfying crunch whenever I kill one. Sort of like when someone steps on a leaf with crunch potential. Besides, stabbing and slicing is my only legitimate attack method, so any level-up is a nice upgrade. Hahaha! Come back! Weaklings! CRUNCH!! CRUNCH!! CRUNCH!! SHIING!! I loll off the head of a roach with a satisfying slice. Nine down, 4 left to go. I effortlessly kill three sore roaches with a series of consecutive stabs and slashes. To be honest, I don't really feel good doing this. If the soldier roaches were adults, this is almost like slaughtering a bunch of children. But I'll do what it takes to survive. Besides, it was that D ranked Dungeon Roach who attacked me first! And before that, a pack of rabid chihuahuas! Monsters clearly don't have a shred of mercy, so I don't see why I should hold back and refrain from killing them. With one left, I finish it off in a single attack. That sure was anticlimactic. I didn't even level up. Although I do suppose that should be expected since the difference in strength was to large. That was quite the let down… The only way I can check my stats are after I get combat points, so I can't check how much power I stole from those bugs. If I kept one combat point saved up at the time, I guess I could continually check my stats, but I'm not here out of my free will. I'm here to survive. Even one comat point could mean the world to me. If this were a game, I could just save the game and retreat to that save file if things went wrong. But it isn't. I take back what I said when I first came to this world - this isn't a game. It isn't something I should take lightly. - My life is on the line. I will do what It takes to thrive and survive. Clap! I clap my hands together and take a deep breath. All negative emotions and stuff aside, I think I found a way to get strong faster. I can utilise the breeding ground to get as many easy kills as I can, level up, and steal their stats. Oh yeah! This almost feels as if I'm exploiting some loophole! I wonder how strong I can get by farming these roaches! I [Appraise] the crater. A sudden burst of information floods into my brain, almost washing me away in the strong currents. But after that shock, my head feels amazing. There’s so much information flowing through, but I'm not dazed one bit. Its kinda like that feeling when you get butterflies in your stomach. Within the swarm, there are roughly one hundred Rank F roaches. Not even one of them exceed level 3. Then there are 'seven queen roaches'. All of them are Ranked D and are level 20-ish. I've never seen one before, so I [Appraise] the species. Turns out Queen Roaches are rare, and are only found in the main nest, which means, this is the main nest. Charging in seems reckless. I can deal with the small fry, but the Queen Roaches are gonna be a hassle to fight. Maybe I should resort to guerrilla warfare and slowly dwindle the number of baby roaches while growing stronger in the process before attacking the Queens? I...dunno. But, here is something else I gathered from that information. It said that Queens can only be found in the 'main nest', meaning that there are more separate 'sub-nests' out there as well. Should I fight the 'sub-nests' first, or attempt to annihilate the 'main nest'? The thing is, I have no idea how many 'sub-nests' there are, or where they are located. On the other hand, the 'main nest' is here, right in front of me. Hmm… I throw my dagger. It points towards the main nest. Alright, main nest it is!