I stared at the skill Abyss Sanctum; Mastery of Death.

The skill sounded edgy but also really vague. It didn't give me any clues about what it did. The only thing I knew about it was that it could absorb other skills somehow. I didn't remember where I got it from, either. I think it happened when I was fighting those little Keilatrix's, but I wasn't sure.

That skill-absorbing incident was really painful and sudden, and it seemed like the skill that was absorbed was totally deleted. Maybe the description I got would explain why and how that happened.

I focused on the skill in my menu and thought about seeing the specifics.

Abyss Sanctum; Mastery of Death [Legendary]

Originating from the Abyss Sanctum, thism@77;0{allow@//hide}ju95e ycyq29-[ [-=0e o290-sk - Level 1 (jje83ks)

What the fuck?

I closed the description and opened it again, but that did nothing to change the weird jumble of text.

Was it corrupted or something? Could skill descriptions actually get corrupted in the first place? Or is it just another strange thing that I could attribute to this weird skill?

Was something keeping the description from me?

That was more than a little unsettling.

Who or what was the cause?

Were they hiding the description from me in particular or anyone who obtained this skill?

And was there a way to get around the encryption, or was it permanent?

I hoped it wasn't permanent. Even if it seemed really troublesome, the text said that the skill was Legendary. In games and novels, legendary is the top tier or at least near the top, meaning that skill was probably really powerful and rare.

Come on, why can't I just get a really cool skill without having to deal with all this baggage!

Oh wait, maybe I actually do have a powerful skill. I still haven't checked!

I started making my way down my entire list of abilities.

....

Perception [Common]: Eyesight and hearing increase in accuracy. (Passive) - Level 2

Foresight [Rare]: At important moments, receive a vague feeling of right or wrong depending on what actions you are about to take. (Passive) - Level 2

Climbing [Common]: While climbing with your hands and feet, your movement speed increases. (Passive) - Level 1

Contemplation [Common]: Temporarily increases concentration by 1 for 10 seconds; uses 1MP. (Active) - Level 1

Punching [Common]: Deal more damage with your fists. (Passive) - Level 3

Kicking [Common]: Deal more damage with your legs (Passive) - Level 3

Jumping [Common]: Jump higher and farther. (Passive) - Level 1

Stomping [Common]: Deal extra damage while stomping on things. (Passive) - Level 2

Analyze [Common]: When you see a creature or item clearly, you will be shown a description and level or rank. If it is too high a level, you will not be shown its description or level. (Passive) - Level 1

Demon Killer [Very Rare]: Deal extra damage to demons. (Passive) - Level 2

Demonic Envelopment [Very Rare]: Wrap your weapon with demonic energy, increasing the damage of your next attack; uses 3SP. Cannot be used without access to demonic energy. (Active) - Level 1

Sprint [Common]: Temporarily increases movement speed. Uses 1SP per 5 seconds of activation. (Active) - Level 1

Explosive Artist [Uncommon]: You are more familiar with explosive items, and explosions caused by you are more damaging. (Passive) - Level 1

Grappling [Common]: You deal more damage with your hands and feet, grabs and throws are also more effective. (Passive) - Level 1

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Slayer [Uncommon]: You are experienced at defeating enemies that are stronger than you. Deal a small amount of extra damage to higher leveled enemies. (Passive) - Level 3

Persistence [Uncommon]: Temporarily reduce the amount of damage you take by a small amount. Uses 1SP per 3 seconds of activation. (Active) - Level 1

Stealth [Common]: Generally decreases the sound you make and helps you blend into darkness. (Passive) - Level 1

Reflexes [Uncommon]: Decreases the time it takes for the body to react to things. (Passive) - Level 2

Time Dilation [Very Rare]: For a short period of time, perceive your surroundings faster than normal. Uses 1SP per ⅕ second. (Active) - Level 1

Deception [Common]: You are able to deceive things through your words and actions easier. (Passive) - Level 1

Blood Rush [Rare]: Power and Agility will both rise depending on how much melee damage you do while this skill is activated. Uses 1SP per 3 seconds. (Active) - Level 1

Scavenging [Common]: You have an easier time finding useful items from dead bodies or ruins. (Passive) - Level 1

Tracking [Common]: You can follow things by looking at the signs they left behind. (Passive) - Level 1

Taunt [Common]: Intentionally aggravate a creature with more effectiveness than normal; uses 1SP. (Active) - Level 1

Regenerate [Very Rare]: Instantly heal whatever you normally would in a day. Can heal less HP and cost more SP depending on the severity of the wound. (Active) - Level 1

Quick Feet [Uncommon]: Gives you better balance and footing, as well as coordination on your feet. (Passive) - Level 2

Tenacity [Epic]: Lets you take hits that would normally kill you. The cost varies. (Passive) - Level 1

Iron Stomach [Common]: You have an easier time eating food that is normally inedible and have a slight resistance against ingested poison. (Passive) - Level 1

Double Hit [Uncommon]: Attack twice in a very short amount of time, dealing more damage with each strike; uses 1SP. (Active) - Level 1

Block [Common]: Temporarily gain better stopping power against physical attacks; uses 1SP. (Active) - Level 1

Counter [Common]: Deal more damage after avoiding a hit; uses 1SP. (Active) - Level 1

....

That's a lot.

It was surprising just how many skills I had acquired over the course of the past few hours, reading through all the descriptions took some serious work!

There were a few skills that seemed absolutely invaluable, like that Tenacity one. It was a skill that literally let me survive hits that would normally kill me! That seemed really overpowered! Though it was a little suspicious that it didn't specify what the cost was.

Well, even if the cost of the skill was something crazy it was probably better than actually dying.

I was more worried about the potential weaknesses; maybe the skill only works in certain situations. It probably doesn't make me completely immortal, that would break the system very quickly. It's sad, but I can't do anything about it.

Well, thinking back on it, this system hasn't been designed very well. I randomly get skills with no way to know if they're good or not, I have to fumble my way through everything, and worst of all, there's no balancing! Come on, I spawned next to a colony of giant gorillas when I was level 1!

It's like the designers aren't even trying to make this a balanced game!

Or somebody hates me.

Once again I must rue the fact that I have such an annoying personality...

But to be honest, how did this game system even come to be? If I actually think about it, it makes no sense. It's unrealistic for a different world to have an RPG game system so similar to something from Earth it even has loot boxes.

And also, it's got all sorts of things that drawback to games and novels. Skills, levels, stats, and more.

Should I just stop thinking about it?

Is it just an inherently unreasonable idea in the first place, and I shouldn't read too much into it?

Maybe! But that won't stop me from theorizing!

....

Besides the small pool, the cave was pretty cramped. There was a tiny alcove where the Cirilka eggs used to be and a bit of standing room between there and the pond. That area was where I had spent most of my time, sitting with my back against the wall, enjoying the cool air while going through my menus.

Bright blue light flooded the entire cave, coming from the pool like some kind of beacon. I don't think there was a single shadow in there, even though the light shouldn't have been able to hit some corners and crags.

The light was pretty volatile actually. Even if I closed my eyes, it was still glaringly bright. I had no idea how I was going to sleep.

Actually, that's a good point. How the heck was I supposed to sleep? There were demons crawling around everywhere! If I tried to get some shut-eye, I would probably wake up as Abitsimus chow!

The only thing I could think of was getting some sort of alarm skill. Not that I had any clue about how to get something like that, but it was the only idea I had.

I started looking through my skills for anything that could protect me while I was sleeping, or at least something that could give me an idea for how to do it.

I was starting to get a little thirsty, actually.

Then I saw the skill Iron Stomach, which gave me resistance to ingested poisons and let me eat normally inedible things. It didn't seem like it would be useful for sleeping, but...

Resistance to ingested poisons...

Then I turned towards the pool of blue mystery liquid.

Yeah, I think I've put this off long enough, and now that I have something like poison resistance, I should probably go see if I could drink that stuff.

I stood, stretching my body, and walked over to the side of the pool. It only took a few steps.

I cupped my hands under the surface and let out a burst of breath as my fingers registered the ice-cold temperature.

I brought the liquid up to my lips and quickly swallowed the handful.

....

The blue liquid tasted like the most carbonated, fizzy, and bubbly drink I've ever had, multiplied by a hundred.

As it went down my throat it felt like the skin of my mouth was being burned off.

Spikes of pain shot around inside my head and my eyes rolled uncontrollably inside their sockets.

I screamed wordlessly as I tried in vain to spit the stuff out of my mouth, but I was barely in control of my body at that point.

The pain didn't stop even as the liquid traveled down my body and to my core. I could feel the waves of pain moving downward with it, leaving raw scrapes and slashes in its wake.

I thought: Holy shit why did I drink that stuff.

Then I blacked out.