Chapter 13: Leveling Up
…
[Profile]
Name: Grimrock
Race: Kobold
Rank: D
Level: 45
Age: Unknown
Attributes:
HP (Hit Points): 1
MP (Magic Points): 75
Strength: 250
Dexterity: 280
Speed: 180
Constitution: 300
Stat Points: 130
Abilities [Does not consume MP]:
1. Stone Guardian Lv.10: Summons a stone guardian for protection.
2. Pack Coordination Lv.20: Enhances the combat effectiveness of allied Kobolds in the vicinity.
3. Nimble Reflexes Lv.15: Swift movements that make it harder for enemies to land hits.
4. Keen Senses Lv.18: Heightened senses to detect nearby disturbances.
Skills [Consumes MP]:
1. Petrifying Gaze Lv.3 [12 MP per cast]: Gaze turns enemies to stone temporarily, immobilizing them.
2. Earthquake Tactics Lv.10 [20 MP per cast]: Causes localized tremors to disorient and damage foes.
3. Summon Stone Minions Lv.5 [40 MP per summon]: Calls forth stone minions to aid in battle.
4. Survivor Lv.Max: The host of this skill is able to survive any attacks that cause a massive drop in HP. It will prevent the HP from reaching 0. Can be used only 3 times.] [0/3 left.]
5. Stealth Lv.10 [consumes 10 MP per cast]: The ability to move quietly and avoid detection. Makes the user invisible for 30 seconds.
Equipment:
1. Stonespire Dagger [Rank C]: A dagger with a hilt made of enchanted stone, enhancing Dexterity and Strength by 10 points each.
2. Kobold Commander's Stoneplate Armor [Rank C]: Armor crafted from enchanted stone, providing both protection and agility; Constitution +35. [damaged.]
…
Ding!
[Congratulations.]
[You have gained 2100 Exp points.]
[You have gained 13 stat points from the 130 available.]
Ding!
[You can use the skill Devour to steal the dead target’s abilities.]
[Note: The stolen skills will reset to level 1.]
[Would you like to use the skill Devour?]
It was a tempting offer, and by no means was Azeth going to let this chance go. Having seen Grimrock’s stats, his mouth was salivating as there remained some extraordinary skills and abilities. But just before that, just to be sure, Azeth wanted to confirm something.
‘Just a quick question, how many abilities or skills can I devour?’
Ding!
[Level 1 devour allows the user to steal one abilitiy and one skill.]
“…”
‘This was important information, you idiot. Tell such conditions beforehand next time!’ Azeth scoffed, for he could have ended up stealing some useless or less useful skills!
[Command accepted.]
Shaking his head and regaining his concentration and calmness, Azeth now stared at the body of the Kobold leader. Seconds later, black fumes, just like those that were seen on Ella, engulfed Azeth’s eyes.
Ding!
[You have used the skill Devour.]
[You can steal one of these abilities:]
[->Stone Guardian]
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
[->Pack Coordination]
[->Nimble Reflexes]
[->Keen Senses]
It wasn’t all that hard to choose one of the abilities! He had something related to senses and reflex, so he could disregard the last two. He didn’t exactly need Pack coordination as he wouldn’t lead one anytime soon. With that, he was left with the Stone Guardian ability, which was not bad at all!
With a smirk sitting on his head, he looked at the ability keenly and said, “Stone Guardian.”
Ding!
[You have chosen the Stone Guardian ability.]
Seconds later, a black aura started oozing out of Azeth. The aura took a materialistic form, something resembling a black liquid which instantly engulfed Grimrock’s dead body.
Initially somewhat startled, Azeth regained his composure as another system message appeared.
[Congratulations!]
[You have devoured the ability - Stone Guardian Lv.1: Summons a stone guardian for protection.]
The black liquid stayed in place as the system showed another message.
[You can devour one of the following skills:]
[->Petrifying Gaze]
[->Earthquake Tactics]
[->Summon Stone Minions]
[->Survivor]
[->Stealth]
While it was easier to choose the abilities part, choosing the skills was a dilemma. That was because almost all the skills seemed powerful and menacing! All of them could have been of good use to him.
But he didn’t falter, and what would end up as the best help for him, he chose that.
‘No one knows when I will be backstabbed by anyone. If humans could do it, then why not monsters? Therefore…’
‘I choose Survivor.’
[Congratulations!]
[You have devoured the skill - Survivor Lv.1: The host is able to survive any attacks that cause a massive drop in HP. It will prevent the HP from reaching 0. Can be used only 1 time.] [1/1 left.]
The black liquid that engulfed Grimrock retreated and returned into Azeth’s shadows once again. Azeth, now standing steady with his eyes closed, could feel the little increase in his strength, especially the new ability and skill that he got, reinforced him a bit more.
But Azeth was not done yet. He lowered his gaze once again, and this time, with a little more greed, he took a look at the equipment and items that Grimrock had on him.
The armor was the first thing Azeth looked at; however, it was completely ruined. He instinctively knew that if he even moved it by an inch, it would just fall off and disintegrate - again, this reminded him of how powerful Ella’s attack was.
Either way, his attention changed to the dagger that Grimrock had under his armor, which he probably used often in battle.
The dagger didn’t have a proper hilt and in itself was made out of a sharp stone after relentless polishing. Although looking brown, the dagger did appear crystal clear, as if light could pass through it.
‘Is it made from crystal?’ Azeth pondered as he looked at the dagger and the effects that it provided.
As long as he wielded the dagger, both his strength and dexterity stats would increase by an additional 10 points!
Strength: 8 [+10]
Dexterity: 7 [+10]
‘Interesting…’ saying this to himself, he now looked for a place to hide it.
Looking at himself, he kind of felt naked for the first time. That was because other than the thin black fur, he had nothing on him! While trying to shake this thought out of his head, he ended up finding a solution regarding the dagger, thanks to the system.
Ding!
[The host could use the inventory function to store any items or weapons away.]
“Is it something like spatial storage magic?”
[Affirmative.]
With a smirk, Azeth glanced at the dagger and at the system, which now displayed a set of various boxes. It was portal-like. As Azeth moved his hand forward, the dagger started sinking in and ultimately vanished from his hand.
Instantly, the dagger appeared in one of the slots in the inventory tab, reassuring that it was indeed stored away by the system.
Now, the next and final step was utilizing the recently gained Exp points to level up.
‘System, if I use up all the Exp points, at what level will I reach?’ Azeth gulped a large chunk of saliva, waiting for the revelation. He was excited for he was seriously going to grow stronger.
Albeit it was a lucky encounter, he couldn’t let the chance slip by!
Ding!
[From Lv.2 to Lv.20 is possible to achieve by consuming 2070/2109 Exp points.]
[Do you want to level up?]
‘Hmm…’
‘I surely do, but cancel Lv.20, make me level up till Lv.18.’
Azeth was going to stand with the previous plan. He knew that leveling up could heal his injuries and hence, saving some points to level up at the right time would be beneficial.
[Command accepted.]
[Consuming 1680/2109 Exp points.]
Azeth stumbled for a moment as the leveling up started. Blinking his eyes, he could see the leaves in the trees fluttering rather slowly. It was as if time itself had become slow.
His perception had increased, and his entire body had become hot. It kept getting hotter. As Azeth’s mind slowly started coming together, he could finally see the black flames that had engulfed him, which slowly started to extinguish.
After about twenty seconds, he had leveled up about sixteen times!
Ding!
[Congratulation, you have leveled up. Here’s your new stats for reference:]
[Profile]
Name: Azeth
Race: Dragon
Stage: Hatchling
Rank: E+
Level: 2
Age: 5 days
Attributes:
HP (Hit Points): 300
MP (Magic Points): 150
Strength: 120
Dexterity: 110
Speed: 70
Constitution: 130
Exp points: 429
Stat Points: 199
Abilities [Does not consume MP]:
1. Enhanced Strength Lv.1: Strength attribute is doubled for 2 minutes.
2. Defence Curl Lv.1: Curls into a ball to reduce damage taken; Damage taken decreases by 10%.
3. Sleep Lv.1: HP and MP recover by 1 point per minute.
4. Enhanced Sense Lv.1: Can scan and detect motions or position of things within a radius of 15 metres.
5. Devour Lv.1: Can devour the abilities/skills of any target under the requirement level.
6. Stone Guardian Lv.1: Summons a stone guardian for protection.
Skills [Consumes MP]:
1. Rage Lv.1 [3 MP per minute]: Doubles Strength, Speed, Dexterity, and Constitution.
2. Survivor Lv.1 [Half of remaining MP, auto-consumed]: The host is able to survive any attacks that cause a massive drop in HP. It will prevent the HP from reaching 0. Can be used only 1 times.] [1/1 left.]
Equipments:
1. Shell-Helmet [Rank E]: A helmet made out of shell from which the dragon has hatched; Dexterity +1.
2. Stonespire Dagger [Rank C]: A dagger with a hilt made of enchanted stone, enhancing Dexterity and Strength by 10 points each.
“...”
‘Yeah, now I’m qualified to teach Dirt,’ Azeth concluded as he noticed the significant increase in his stats which had overtaken even that of Dirt’s.