It had been such a long time since my last level up that I allowed myself to enjoy the sensation this time. As my body began to rapidly expand, to the shock of almost everyone, I was already eagerly looking forward what new skills I would get. So. when the option appeared I naturally chose to acquire a random new skill. When it was all said and done, I smiled looking at my stats sheet.
Name Thomas Race Living Hill Size 600m Level 22 0/230 Health 100,000/,100,000 Attack 107 Defense 123 Speed 106 Skills Active: Elemental Manipulation (water level 2(0/10), Earth level 2(9/10), Air level 1(0/10), Fire level 1(0/10)), Mirror Shield level 6(0/10), Gravity Manipulation level 1(0/10) Passive: Regeneration level 4(0/10), Healing Aura level 7(0/10) Talents Copper Shell, Improved Mental Fortitude, Last Stand, Telepathy, Inspiring physique, Enhanced Awareness
While not the largest single growth compared to how big I was before the level up gaining 200 meters in size Is definitely my largest growth spurt yet in terms of total mass gained. It feels weird to think that my tail is over half a kilometer behind me. Realizing this I can't help but wonder how long it will be before I'm bigger than most cities.
Moving on to my new skill I got fire manipulation. Really now I get fire manipulation? Why not back when every day was a fight for survival? Thinking logically, it wouldn't have done much good. Being able to manipulate fire and being able to conjure it are two entirely different things. Who knows what might happen as those skills level up though. I think I will elect to receive skill points next time. There are a few skills that are close to level 10 after all. I have no reason to think that level 10 is the max, but given how quickly healing aura is able to heal people at just level 7 I can't wait to see it in action at level 10.
No new talents this time sadly. I did manage to get all three of my main stats to triple digits this time though. I don't plan to do much fighting anymore but it's still good to know that I my combat power is still getting stronger. I'm no fool after all. Just because I don't plan to do much fighting from now on doesn't mean I won't have to. At my current size I can't imagine what could challenge me but that doesn't mean it isn't out there.
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Taking a metaphorical step back from my stats sheet I focus on the community on my back to see how everyone is doing. It's not good. You see I didn't just grow wider I also grew taller. My sudden growth spurt caught many people by surprise. Nobody died thankfully but more than a few people were feeling nauseous. There were also a few minor injuries. I guess I'll need to remember to warn them from now on. Thinking about it I guess it's like being in an elevator that suddenly starts rocketing to the top floor. Only you don't realize that you're in an elevator till it starts moving. Maybe I could use my gravity manipulation to offset the force caused by the sudden acceleration. I've never tried to use a skill while leveling up though so who knows if it's even possible.
Aside from gaining a few experience points treating the injuries I inadvertently caused the next few days were relatively uneventful. I did manage to add several more centimeters of dirt across my back now that I'm bigger and able to support the added weight. I was careful to avoid covering the crops in too much dirt. To be honest I could probably support twice or even three times what I'm currently carrying if not more. I'm worried that too much dirt will affect my maneuverability too much though.
It was fun watching the adventuring teams who went out to do quests return one by one and inevitably be first shocked then amazed at finding me so much larger than when they left. One thing I discovered by accident is that with my head and everything else tucked away inside my shell I look like part of the landscape thanks to all the dirt on my back. At least according to the last team to return that almost didn't find their way back because I was taking a nap at the time.
As we set off once again, I began to seriously think about the future of our little group. It wasn't exactly crowded on my back before but now there is so much extra room it might be worth picking up a few more passengers. After all more people means more minor injuries which means more experience points. I don't feel right asking them to injure themselves, but with enough people a few minor injuries here and there each day is almost inevitable.
At some point we started to approach a forest that was unlike any forest I'd seen before. Unlike a normal forest there were quite a few trees taller than me. Which is saying something given my current stature. I overheard one of the adventurers talking with Yuna about how this was an elven sacred forest, and they very much did not like visitors. A shame really because I very much wanted to enter. Not enough to anger an entire species though. Especially not a sapient species that would then be motivated to figure out how to kill me. I'm not ready to just walk away either so I park myself as close to the forest as I dare and wait. I'm hoping to get permission to enter even if such permission is rarely if ever granted. Still, I won't know without asking so all I can do now is wait for someone to come close enough that I can ask. Hopefully they don't just attack me on sight.
Around sunset of the third day, I notice several shadows approaching from the trees.