LEVEL : 8
???
< Hatchling Red >
< CORRUPTED > NAME: ??? HP : 430
MP : 620
AGI : 26 RESIST : 42 AGE : 0 ATT : 30 (+35)
MAG ATT : 5
O : 7 D : 0 ORIGIN : Original ATT DEF : 32 (+15)
MAG DEF : 15
S : 1 E : 3
Hatchling Red’s prowess against the Soft Shell Mini Millipedes allowed her to increase her HP as well as her total level. From what she understood, leveling did not occur from killing creatures, but instead by leveling Active Skills.
Huntress’ Slash became her most used Skill, allowing her to make quick work of the unsuspecting insects. The problem was that she could only use it a total of 3 times before she would have to wait for her mana to restore, which was an agonizingly slow process.
She didn’t have a clock or a frame of reference to time how exactly much mana she was able to restore per minute, and the voice in her head refused to tell her. So, as she munched on the carcass of the 30th Millipede, she counted the number of drips from a nearby stalagmite.
She counted 3,600 drips, which equaled roughly 200 MP restored. The same was with her HP. Each drip represented a second in her mind, and she quickly asked the voice in her head how many seconds existed in a minute.
< Minute >
< A measure of time containing 60 seconds >
“Handy voice.” She complimented cheerily, slurping the putrid juices of her prey.
By now her palette had grown accustomed to the repulse flavor. But that didn’t mean she enjoyed it. Rather, it made her keener on tasting real food; the kind that smelt good, was warm, and made people smile.
This just made her grimace at every bite.
At least the Rock Bug seemed to enjoy it.
“60 minutes. That’s an hour, I think. So that’s 200 Mana thingies per hour.” She concluded and as if to reward her efforts –
NAME: ??? HP : 430 ^3/Min
MP : 620 ^3/Min
AGI : 26 RESIST : 42 AGE : 0 ATT : 30 (+35)
MAG ATT : 5
O : 6 D : 0 ORIGIN : Original ATT DEF : 32 (+15)
MAG DEF : 15
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
S : 1 E : 3
– The mysterious prompt revealed this hidden information.
“Huuuh? What’s the point of hiding things from me? Grrr! Are you making fun of me?” She slashed the air again, waving the blade around wildly in frustration. “Is there anything else you wanna hide?”
To an onlooker, she’d look completely insane. The Rock Bug stared at her, tilting its head to the side judgingly before it went back to feast on the Millipede, again inciting a curse from Hatchling Red who wondered if boiling the creature would kill it.
It became evident that the Soft Shell Mini Millipedes did little for her stats. However, they did allow her to level up her skills.
< ACTIVE SKILLS >
(O) Huntress’ Slash [6/10]
(O) Punch [1/10]
(S) Friends! [1/10]
(E) Appraise Object [3/10]
As she made her way back into the now vacant chambers of the Soft Shell Mini Millipedes, she pondered on how she gained a level in [Friends!]. Curious, she checked the description of this bizarre skill.
< (S) Friends! >
< Become friends with the most likely and unlikely of things! >
< COST: Nil >
She wondered just who she had become friends with.
Not that it mattered much to her.
* * *
Her total level did not add up with the rest of her Active Skills. This was because each ODSE level was valued differently. The voice in her head summarized how total levels were calculated.
< Total Levels >
< Calculated by the following equation: O+(D/2)+(S/4)+(E/10) >
This meant her actual level was closer to 7.55, but the weird prompt must have rounded it to the highest number. To preface things, Hatchling Red was no genius, but when she engaged all 20 of her braincells then one could expect results, so long as she didn’t fry her brain.
There was a lot to learn about these numbers, skills, and the very existence of this ability of hers to see her stats. She wondered if there were others with the same powers as her. Was it unique?
She skipped along the caverns, becoming giddy as she hoped to find out as soon as she left this cursed place. Being able to think so freely was a leisure she never knew was a right to the living.
The caverns became dimmer, the light slowly transitioning from blue to a radioactive green. The terrain became largely varied, bearing miniature hills and pillars as yet another gargantuan chamber began to unravel itself.
Strange, ivy-like foliage dangled from above, the ends of the plants coiled like the tails of a chameleon. Upon closer inspection, she revealed that these green, glowing plants were in fact a different form of Glowworms.
LEVEL : 1
Green Glowworms
ORIGIN : Insect HP : 1
ATT : 0
MAG ATT : 0 AGI : 0
No nutritional value. Like salad. I bet salad has no nutritional value too, like these colonies of green worm noodles.
She cautiously manuvered past them, entering a space that was closer to an underground jungle than a cavern thanks to the Green Glowworms. They dangled from all manners of rock formations, creating the illusion of trees as tiny insects gathered by them and around pools of water.
One landed onto the back of her hand. It was tiny, strange insect with a long proboscis. Normally, she’d be creeped out by any multi-limbed creature, but this looked kinda cute for some reason.
However, this couldn’t be further from the truth because in the next moment, it began to suck her blood.
Her heart dropped as she swatted it.
LEVEL : 1
Cave Mosquitoes
ORIGIN : Insect HP : 1
ATT : 0
MAG ATT : 0 AGI : 8
“… vampire insects…”
To think these creepy crawlies would also have a thirst for blood.
Suddenly, loud buzzing could be heard in the distance.
When her eyes moved in its direction, her face turned pale.
Because what she saw was no ordinary Cave Mosquito, but instead –
“… A giant vampire insect…”
– She gripped her blade, staring at the long, lance-like proboscis of a giant Cave Mosquito.
If she thought wolves were bad, then this was an utter nightmare.