What does it say about me, that after a moment of surprise, I ripped my Stained Fang of the Pestilence Count out of the forehead of a Reanimated Bloat Toad. I easily accept the impending zombie apocalypse and raise my weapon?
Tallum, don’t relent. Isn’t the world filled with forces that would like nothing better than to destabilize your leisure? Doubts are the zombies’ strongest weapon.
In front of me, the Reanimated Bloat Toad didn’t slow, despite the wound. It opened its mouth and unleashed a greying tongue, covered in sickened growths that leaked black necrotic ooze. I hopped to the side, readjusted the angle of my arm, and drove it again through the head of the toad.
Its only response was a sickened burp. The reanimated corpse showed no signs of slowing down.
“Can’t tell if I’ve achieved leisure even in battle, or tension has somehow infected me,” I muttered. My squirrel hand snapped out and seized the extended toad tongue. Chopping down, I severed the distasteful limb. Black blood splattered out to my skin.
Your Skill (Earned) Body Manipulation has grown to Level 25)+14).
Your Skill (Earned) Field Butchery has grown to Level 12.
You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +10.
Please Note: Due to impurities in the blood, -1 Health.
You have successfully Absorbed Anima! Anima +12.
Please Note: Dangerous substances are present in the absorbed Anima! The foreign elements have attempted to inflict the Status: Rage. The foreign elements have attempted to inflict the Status: Madness.
Due to your Wisdom, you have resisted the Status: Rage.
A Mundane Achievement: For resisting your first exposure to a malignant Status, +2 Wisdom.
Due to your Wisdom, you have barely resisted the Status: Madness.
“Well, shit.” I scuttled back a short distance. The first notification was fine, but I didn’t like the second one, which included the modifier barely. Based on the fact a check occurred each time… there was a significant possibility I wouldn’t always pass, even with a timely +2 to Wisdom. “Nightshade, Sage, don’t absorb its Anima. It’s tainted.”
I raised a tortoise leg and kicked the reanimated corpse away as it lumbered after me. The front of its face caved in from the kick, but the necrotic energies didn’t fade. It staggered back to its feet, preparing to attack me again. My awareness flicked out to the surrounding battlefield-
I witnessed Nightshade thrust his new heron head into the center of a reanimated corpse’s mass. From the many leaking holes already present in its body, he had also quickly ascertained that physical damage didn’t slow down the zombies at all. A flash of light emerged from the burning ember in the heron head’s forehead; a split second later, a wave of force blasted outward, completely shredding the reanimated corpse to pieces.
“Heh, so our gluttony is used against us, with these undead rabble.” Nightshade flicked his arm and cleansed his weapon of the accumulated gore like an Edo-period samurai. My Field Butchery Skill could only dream of creating such a sloppy mess. He glanced over at me and nodded. “Understood. To think, after ordering forth so many slavering hordes, now they are turned against me…”
I barely even twitched. My focus pivoted to the rest of our gore-covered dance practice space. As I scanned the area, my skin prickled. Did that pesky gecko princess flee in the chaos...?
A flash caught my attention. Takkle’s sharp claws sliced back and forth. While Nigthshade and I had deployed brute force, the otter hacked away the reanimated toad’s legs until it was basically a flesh marble on the ground. The otter stepped back sharply, creating space while the toad attempted to use its stumps to drag its body through the mud. It nodded toward us. “Normal attacks are ineffective. Necrotic spawns are known to possess Health in such massive quantities that unless we strike at their weakness, we will be overwhelmed.”
“Weaknesses?” I asked. But even as I spoke, the reeds rustled again. The initial wave included four of these reanimated corpses, but now six more proceeded to gurgle their way forward. Considering their numbers-
“Fools! You draw the ire of a peerless Princess!” Sage’s shriek brought my attention around. Her jelly core hummed at such a rapid speed it seemed on the verge of evaporating. Her tails flailed around in every direction. “I shall guzzle your flesh and extinguish your flesh! All here will die, feeding my bonfire! Mwahahahaa!”
Nightshade and I exchanged a glance; Sage had clearly drunk from the zombie's Anima. I just wondered whether it was Rage or Madness we were witnessing.
“MWAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Become kindling, tailless swine!”
…probably both.
A zombie unleashed a wet croak and hopped toward Sage. She released another cackle and pounced forward. Her tails shredded the toad’s side and she buried her tentacles into the wound. I could see places where the necrotic growths pressed against Sage’s flesh and began to cause it to melt; but she was a puppy given its first taste of raw meat, heedless of the dangers of filling her belly.
I immediately began moving. Even if she would probably slaughter a great deal of the zombies this way… is she paying attention to her Health?
Alright, First Blessing. You’ve already shown so much utility… can you even help with this?
Sage continued to drink flesh, but I didn’t want to get caught in her flailing tails. I poured all of my attention into the mud beneath my feet and felt very in control. I had gathered quite a bit of Agility and Poise recently and had just spent several hours focusing on the interplay of muscles and movement. Adrenaline flooded through my body. My focus narrowed. The moment stretched.
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
Your Skill (Earned) Unnatural Adrenaline Rush has grown to Level 2.
My force shifted through the entirety of my body. I hurtled forward.
Due to your actions, you have gained the Skill (Earned) Minor Realm Step.
Your Skill (Earned) Minor Realm Step has grown to Level 2.
Your Skill (Earned) Minor Realm Step has grown to Level 3.
The front part of the step earned me the Skill and the first Level, but it was the mobilized Poise at the end of the step that caused me to jump right to Level 3. After moving rapidly to Sage’s side, I planted the foot and dispersed my momentum. The blunt limb sank into the damp ground.
I tried to ignore the impressive-sounding Skill name, even as Sage pulled her face out of the rotten flesh of the reanimated toad. As her senses scanned me, I didn’t sense even the slightest hint of recognition in her jelly core.
Just hunger.
Blessed Oils erupted from my every pore. And with a great effort of will, I managed to interrupt the Blessing so it only took half of my Mana.
Due to your Unique Actions, Proficiency of your Blessing Seep Blessed Oils +7.
Sage raised her tails as my oils splashed across her body. “Your arrogant transgression can earn you only a single reward! Dea… Oh? Brother Tallum? Aha, this is awkward, did you perchance witness me dancing with another and were overcome with jealousy?”
The tension fell from her tails. She patted my side to reassure me, then looked around. I felt her puzzlement as she noticed the approaching zombies. “Oh, a mindless ramble approaches? How convenient. Let me demonstrate the practical applications of dancing.”
“Sister…” Nightshade sighed.
“Careful, Sage. Their Anima is poisonous.” I said. Pointing out to Sage that she had delivered almost the same line thirty seconds ago would be pointless-- besides, I had plenty of other activities to busy myself.
Your Skill (Species) Interstitial Body Structure has grown to Level 26.
Your Skill (Temp) Weak Secretions has grown to Level 17.
Your Skill (Temp) Weak Secretions has grown to Level 18.
I created pockets in my flesh to catch all the dribbling Blessed Oils, just in case either of my siblings instinctively absorbed more Anima and were overcome with madness. At the same time, I activated my minor healing secretions. As soon as my squirrel paws were covered with healing liquid, I rubbed Sage’s side. Considering how much Anima she had happily drank, I wanted to push her Health back upward.
Of the initial four, Nightshade annihilated one, Sage had thoroughly devoured another. Takkle’s foe was legless and scrabbled in the mud. The one I had fought had its head and torso largely pancaked, but that didn’t stop it from hopping awkwardly around. But now six more Reanimated Bloat Toads revealed themselves.
Their oozing eyes fixate on us instantly.
“Takkle!” Even as I hesitated on what to do, a new voice cut across the mud field. The sinuous body of Pukkle slithered forward to join us. A split second later, Violala arrived on buzzing wings. As she alighted, Pukkle glared around. “Traitors! You have isolated and attempted to slaughter my lifebound partner! I will never forgive-”
Takkle rapped the other otter on the head. “Do not jump to conclusions. We remain allies with the Chimera Core.”
“But aren’t they responsible for this?” Pukkle glared at us.
My indignation mounted. It was one thing to struggle against my own bad habits from a past life, but when my leisurely new existence was being actively sabotaged by another, it became torture. When I find out who actually caused this…
Your Skill (Earned) Short-Term Prediction has grown to Level 21.
Your Skill (Earned) Body Manipulation has grown to Level 25(+15).
Following the insistent clang of my machine, one of my squirrel paws snapped up; to even my surprise, I caught a bulging toad tongue before it could smack me in the side of the head. I cleared my throat lightly, as though this display of dexterity was a normal occurrence. “If we are finished with the accusations, we really need to-”
The caught tongue suddenly flared with a golden light, causing me to drop it; both Detection and Short Term were nonplussed by the sudden development, causing me to flail awkwardly and step away, my composed mystique shattered.
Yet what was even stranger was that the golden light resolved into golden flames that spread from the tongue to the body of the toad that had tried to lick me, causing it to writhe in obvious pain.
Then the notifications started.
Virulence has activated!
A Notable Achievement: for cleverly discovering an unexpected application of a Stat, your Stat is evolving!
An unexpected application? Of Virulence? Ah, it lets damaging Status Effects crit, essentially. But-
Oh. I looked at my squirrel paws, still covered with small drops of liquid. The healing secretion. But to a zombie, healing-
The flames golden flames spread across the reanimated bloat toad. Its struggles became more vigorous, but it couldn’t escape the spreading healing. After one last shuddering breath, the zombie collapsed.
Get saved, you seeping asshole.
Your Stat Virulence has evolved into Malignance.
Malignance: An extraordinarily rare Stat. Moderately increase regenerations. Provides a small amount of natural resistance against all Status effects. Provides greater resistance against foreign physical Status effects, as your physical presence becomes inhospitable to parasites. Provides a moderate chance for all Status effects inflicted by the user to have a boosted effect.
“Chosen Tallum, you’ve already developed a countermeasure,” Violala tapped my back in admiration.
“All that is required is that their movements be sealed and you can finish them off? A minor matter,” Nightshade flexed the long neck of his heron head arm.
Meanwhile, I could only twitch. Wait a second, System. Why the hell would I develop a Stat called Malignance when I accidentally rubbed healing secretions on a zombie? Also, this Achievement definitely includes the word cleverly-
Your Skill (Earned) Monster’s Wisdom has grown to Level 25(+25).
A Notable Achievement: For developing a Skill to (+25), you have Earned the Skill (Earned) Exalted’s Due.
(Earned) Exalted’s Due: A wondrous Skill. Randomly receive small bonuses when Leveling, earning Achievements, or evolving. Newly (Earned) Skills and evolved (Earned) Skills are much more likely to be specialized or of a higher ------. Variant Skills will commonly appear. Any time user triggers the effect, Skill Level will increase.
Do you think I can’t tell this is a blatant bribe! I wanted to shout the words. But then I read the Skill description again. My eyes began to swim in the daydreams. Bonuses anytime I Level or earn achievements? And the increased possibility of gathering more valuable Skills-
“Wait.” I paused. Sage, Nightshade, Pukkle, Takkle, and Violala all looked at me. Abruptly, my expression twisted.
System…!
My new Skill was my tenth (Earned) Skill, filling up my slots completely. So the appearance of variant Skills-
THIS BENEFIT IS COMPLETELY USELESS TO MEEEEEEEE!!!!!
Your Skill (Earned) Monster’s Wisdom has grown to Level 25(+26).