KiAera tore through the forest floor, her feet barely grazing the ground as her rabbit legs propelled her forward. The air buzzed with her energy, time stretching for a moment as she leaped upward, eyes locked on her target: a falling leaf.
She caught it in her mouth, landing, leaves crackling underfoot and the sharp scent of damp earth filling her lungs.
꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱
[MereSwiftness] - Beast - TECH: 2% to TECH: 3%!
꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱
"And that's how it's done." Her rabbit foot raised to scratch the back of her ear. She paused, clearing her throat, and placed the leaf on the floor before GamaGen.
The floating book tilted itself, a nodding gesture. | 'Correct, Miss KiAera. Utilize your skills more, and you can increase its level.' |
GamaGen surveyed the clearing, which redirected KiAera's gaze to her crystal companions, the Osseods. The mouse-like mite monsters waddled around aimlessly in search of crystals to forage. KiAera had given them the directive to search while she studied under GamaGen.
૮꒰˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶꒱ა
Big Osseod's Status:
ding Abyss Particles absorbed: 1 Unit
Accumulated Particles: 13 Units → 14 Units! (NEW!)
૮꒰˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶꒱ა
| 'As I was saying, Miss KiAera,' | this prompted her to peer at GamaGen, | 'all monsters of Zeldritzon have prerequisites that must be met before the next stage of evolution is obtainable. TECH is a significant factor, simply meet the level requirement and you unlock one of the conditions.' |
KiAera nodded, curling her tail across her legs.
"I know this. TECH is the level of a skill, of course. Anyway, I find it intriguing that it's additive to a Zeozon's base power level, our APeX. A [Flare Flick]," she lifted her paw, igniting it, eyes narrowing, "with a TECH of [1] is added to my [7 Units] of APeX. An end result that becomes an [8 Unit] attack."
꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱
[Flare Flick] - Fire - TECH: 1
꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱
She flicked the teensy flame at the leaf she placed on the floor. It crisped, incinerating into ash.
૮꒰˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶꒱ა
Big Osseod's Status:
ding Abyss Particles absorbed: 1 Unit
Accumulated Particles: 14 Units → 15 Units! (NEW!)
૮꒰˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶꒱ა
| ‘Affirmative, Miss KiAera. That is the benefit of leveling up a skill. Your power can be low, but your technique power can be potent when unleashing it. Kick ten times with your [MereKick].' |
KiAera blinked, taken aback momentarily by the instruction. But she gave the book a nod and struck her foot out once. Nothing changed. She did it again. Nothing. Then again, and again, and upon reaching the tenth [MereKick].
꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱
[MereKick] - Beast - TECH: 1 to TECH: 2!
꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱
She panted, feeling drained from such a simple exercise. How did she get so out of shape? Well, of course it could have been this form. But she also believed skills burned a portion of this mana that GamaGen mentioned before.
| 'That's correct. You cannot see it as a quantitative measure, but I can due to the mastery of my [Insight]. Here is a glimpse, Miss KiAera.' |
Immediately, she saw her own blazing spirit within her mind's eye:
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱
[Abyss Mana]: {[66 Units]/[88 Units]}
꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱
| 'Calculated from three seconds of your [MereSwiftness] usage, which means you depleted 2 Units of mana per second. Then you depleted an additional [1 Unit] with the use of each [MereKick].' | Of course this polymath decided to inform her about this now. But she appreciated the knowledge. So that was how her stamina worked in Zeldritzon. From this point forward she had to be more careful.
| 'Multiple uses of the same skill will level it up. I'm sure you figured such out already. And, you were going to ask how your Abyss Mana total will increase, I see.' |
She blinked and nodded, "Yes. I assume it regenerates with time?"
| 'It does. If I may use you as an example, Miss KiAera. What is your hypothesis on how the [Abyss Mana]'s total is determined?' |
KiAera blinked, taking a moment to count on her paws, then said, "Based on my current knowledge, it's derived from my current APeX power, maybe more. I'm not certain, since there's more than one category to my [Species Stats]. I'd wagered a guess it is ten times my current accumulated particles plus the [18] boost total of my willpower. That is one way I can calculate a total of [88]…"
| 'Correct.' | GamaGen's voice echoed in her ears. | 'Miss KiAera, you've become more adept at analyzing the data of Zeldritzon. This pleases me greatly. Let's move on to a new topic, shall we?' |
The Sage book floated towards another side of the clearing. It flapped open and landed on a clear crystal structure, pages fluttering. The Liorex egg pulsated at its side, seeming to bask in the sun's warmth.
KiAera smiled at the sight, padding toward the two.
"So what determines how much Abyss Particles one needs before undergoing evolution?" She inquired.
| 'Again, Miss KiAera, there is no solid answer to that inquiry, every Zeozon has their own requirements. However,' | GamaGen paused briefly before continuing, | 'From my knowledge, [Common] Merecritts typically require [6000] Units of Abyss Particles before undergoing evolution to the [Emergent] stage.' |
KiAera arched a brow skeptically. Six thousand whole units? How difficult would that be considering she only earned one unit per light-blue crystal consumed? She frowned deeply as she considered this predicament. They're so sparse—meaning she had to take that other path.
"Of course." KiAera said. Her ears twitched as an unfamiliar sound rang in her ears. Her nose twitched as the scent of a monster drifted into the clearing.
The leaves crunched underfoot, then the forest fell silent.
GamaGen snapped shut, hovering a meter off the crystal. | 'Danger is in the air, Miss KiAera. I warn you now. There's something I wanted you to know about Zeldritzon…' |
The book appeared to hesitate, but its response did not arrive with the appearance of a rat sprinting into the scene. Or so it appeared to KiAera, despite the monster having a set of oddities she was accustomed to—like the mouth gasping at its tail.
꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱
Name: Gnawrat
Race: [Gnawrat]
Species: [Gnawrat]
APeX: [9 Units]
Attributes: [Beast]
Faction: [Praieon]
Variant Grade: [Common]
Evolution Stage: [Fledgling]
꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱
꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱
KiAera's [Insight] - Tier F (1%) > Tier F (2%)
꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱
KiAera crinkled her nose, noting the Gnawrat's bleeding shoulder. Particles bled from its back, shoulder, and worst of all, the rat's missing hind leg.
Suddenly, the noise of bird chirping reached her ears.
Emerging forth from the bushes...an appalling sight, ants. Big, red fire ants. They were half the height of KiAera's Merecritt stature. Bigger than an average Earth cat. That crept her out, KiAera did not like most insects, and for them to be that size, she felt queasy by visualizing their freakiness.
Steeling herself, she counted five of them. She hoped that remained their maximum.
Chirp! Chirp! Her gaze turned, registering the first Fierant with her [Insight]. It carried the Gnawrat's hind leg in its mandible, swallowing it with a tilt of its head.
꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱
Fierant #1 [APeX] - 11 Units > 12 Units
꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱
꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱
Name: Fierant
Race: [Fierant]
Species: [Fierant]
APeX: [12 Units]
Attributes: [Xensect] [Fire]
Faction: [Predator] [Aggressor]
Variant Grade: [Common]
Evolution Stage: [Fledgling]
꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱
Another Fierant, with [10 Units], stepped forth, darting toward the Gnawrat without a beat of hesitation. The rat monster squeaked, attempting to escape, only to fail. It fell on its face by placing weight on its missing leg .
The Fierant reached it, but it screeched when KiAera's [MereKick] smashed into its head, causing it to skid away from the Gnawrat. The fire ant's head cracked, and with a clack of its mandibles, it screeched and ignited itself.
"Hates you! Food! Give!" The ant snapped.
KiAera grabbed the Gnawrat with her ears and zoomed with [MereSwiftness], kicking herself back to stand beside GamaGen. The Gnawrat trembled in her grasp yet remained still, weeping, sinking itself into her chest. This made her heart sank, KiAera felt bad for the rat monster.
Her frustration deepened when she witnessed another Gnawrat, kicking and thrashing in the mandibles of a third Fierant. The Fierant swallowed the shrieking beast whole.
꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱
Fierant #3 [APeX] - 13 Units > 14 Units
꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱
Damn it!
"Badness! Badness!" KiAera ears pricked, and she turned to witness Big Osseod rush to her side. The large Osseod whistled several chirps and squeaks. Immediately, its smaller counterparts, the other Osseods, formed a line formation on either side of their flanks.
Aligned at their front, the Fierants were hesitant, considering their next course of action with the twitch of their flaming antennae. They seemed to realize they were against superior numbers. Perfect.