Shell 3 did just that. He put his head down and trained, which meant that he fought a lot of other mean creatures. He had yet to get another level up or skill leveled up, but relying on his prior insight, he could infer what would happen. His breadth of knowledge did not increase with each skill Level Up, but his understanding of how to use them drastically improved.
He had learned that it took around fifteen breaths after de-summoning his needle before he could re-summon it. That meant that in a battle, he could not just throw the needle at someone, un-summon it, and immediately re-summon it and use it again, which ruined his dreams of just throwing his needle at other creatures until they were dead or running away without having to fight them.
He had also gotten better at just wielding the needle altogether, and looking back at the first fight, he cringed. He had been holding the needle between two fingers, if his luck had been worse, he would have lost his needle, and Shell 3 would have had to wait for 15 more breaths before he could re-summon it. All the while trying to fend off an angry, smelly creature who wanted to eat him.
With each level in acupuncture, he did not learn more about his opponent's body but how to implement acupuncture better.
The YODAS had told him that he should train, and he fully agreed with the YODAS. After all, he had no other choice. Any sane thing agrees with the voices in their head.
The Level Up had changed him for the better. He could now run! He had never been able to run before, and if more level-ups happened, he could imagine going from prey to predator, though he liked to think of himself as the apex predator of grass.
He did not go out of his way to find other creatures to fight. They came to him. Somehow more creatures found him than before the 'System'. However, he hid, and with every win, he felt himself get closer and closer to the Level Up.
The fateful day finally came. A creature covered in a shell, almost like him, was sniffing at the ground, looking for someone, probably looking for Shell 3. While their features were close, the beast tracking him was a predator, it had spikes all over its shell, and every part of its body was made to kill. Shell 3 was still in the prey category. He had no offensive measures at all.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
He was on a branch above the creature, and as it snuffled at the ground, he tried to find a part of the creature's body that he could attack. There were none other than the eyes. Even the ears were coved in shell! There was only one way to attack, and Shell 3 did not want to do it, but if he waited for the creature, he would be dead.
With his needle in his grasp, he wound up his hand, aimed at the creature's right eye, and threw. The needle flew across the gap, hit the creature squarely in the eye, and was immediately de-summoned.
The creature screamed out in pain. Saliva dripped off its fangs as it whirled around, trying to find what attacked it. With its vision impaired, it did not see Shell 3 shaking in a branch above it, praying to the Great Shelled One that he wasn't seen.
Fifteen breaths later, Shell 3 again summoned the needle, wound up his arm, and threw, this time at the left eye. The creature was fully blind as it flailed its heavily armored arms around, trying to hit something.
Another sixteen breaths later, the needle sunk into the right eye again, and sixteen breaths after that, it plunged into the left eye. This continued till the needle finally hit something vital.
The creature finally collapsed as the last drops of life left it, and screens blasted Shell 3's vision.
You have slain a Shelled Monstrosity(Outsider), Experience gained, Extra experience gained due to a lower Level of Host
You have Leveled Up, +2 Tough, +2 Control, +1 Speed
You have Leveled Up, +2 Tough, +2 Control, +1 Speed
Skill Summon Soulbound Needle has Leveled Up to Level 3
Skill Summon Soulbound Needle has Leveled Up to Level 4
Shell 3 slightly rejoiced at the flood of power and knowledge. Sadly though, he hadn't leveled up his acupuncture.
As power flooded through him, he soiled his shell for the third time in a sun cycle (A new record for him). He was scared not of the dead creature in front of him but of what it represented. Would he become like it with more level-ups? A killing machine?
The YODAS let out a small hmm and said, "Outsiders, they are creatures of destruction. Like them, you will never become."
Shell 3 asked the YODAS, "So I won't become like that creature?"
The YODAS responded, "Like an outsider, you will never become. Hmmm."
Power has reached a high enough level, creating Quest
Quest: Destroy All Creature Farmers => Time Limit: NA
His thoughts switched as the screen popped up in front of his vision. Purpose burned in Shell 3's eyes. He muttered in Shellish, "All Creature Farmers shall die!"