Devi had no idea how long she lay on the cold stone ground. Long enough for it to longer be cold at least, as stone slowly leached the limited warmth from her body. Her eyes were staring blankly at the cavern ceiling, not really seeing anything, but it was too much effort to close them.

Doing anything was too much effort. Everything besides thinking that was. Going over the failure that the twin spider fangs had become. Literally blowing up in her face as she thought she could make something like that. Were her earlier successes just flukes? She hadn’t really done anything, just drew a few odd shapes and filled them with blood, and that had been enough to make a magic item. Anyone could have done that. She wasn’t special in any way.

And then when it was time to actually make something, she failed. Spectacularly. She had even taken damage from it. And now all she was left with were the shattered chitin and remnants of the poison, absolutely useless. She had nothing to show for all that time spent, and even the danger she had put herself through getting the materials. Nothing.

Her thoughts didn’t stop there though. They circled back to how utterly helpless she had been when facing the vampire who she could only assume killed her. Everything she tried failed miserably, not even slowing the vampire down in the slightest. Her strongest trump card, her exploding mana gems, did nothing. She had been completely helpless.

Mars probably could have fought off the vampire. They are far more capable than me. Hell, even Matt probably could have done something. I’m just useless.

Devi groaned internally at how badly she had messed up trying to save the both of them. She didn’t even know if they had made it back alive, and she hadn’t even gone out of the cave to check. What type of person was she?

Her mind fell into a mental rut, spiraling deeper down, unable to break free. The longer she lay there, the more she berated herself for not moving. Doing something instead of wallowing in self-pity. It didn’t help.

But that only made things worse, deepening the sense of hopelessness in the situation. If she couldn’t even get up, it just proved how worthless she was. It was such a simple action, and even that eluded her.

Her shame and self-loathing wrapped themselves around her like a shroud, suffusing every inch of her body. It kept her pinned to the ground, floating in a lonely sea of doubt and fear, unalbe to even call out for help. Not that there was anyone to hear. No shoulder to lean on, no hand to cling to. Nothing.

Just like always.

She was alone.

Devi only had herself, and it wasn’t enough.

She wasn’t good enough. Not for this place, and definitely not for herself.

The deafening stillness of the cavern washed over her, swallowing her in a suffocating cocoon of despair. The weight of her perceived failures pressed down on her chest, making each breath a laborious effort. The relentless spiral of self-criticism seemed unbreakable, and Devi felt as though she were sinking into an abyss of her own making.

In the midst of this internal torment, something unexpected shattered the suffocating silence. A soft, almost imperceptible flutter of wings, like the whisper of a secret, echoed through the cavern. Devi's dulled senses barely registered the sound, but it was enough to momentarily divert her thoughts from their self-destructive path, a small part of her mind preoccupied with the sudden intrusion.

With her eyes still glazed over, she didn't immediately notice the presence of a small, shadowy figure circling above. Her mind is still her jailer.

It wasn’t until there was a white-hot pain erupted from her neck did she broke free from herself.

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Devi's world erupted into chaos as the searing pain lanced through her neck. Her eyes flew open, and she gasped, the fog of despair lifting instantly. Panic coursed through her veins as her survival instincts kicked in.

She felt the wet warmth of her own blood spilling from the wound on her neck. With trembling hands, she reached up, her fingers coming away slick with crimson. Her heart pounded in her chest, and her mind raced to comprehend what had just happened.

Unfortunately for her, her opponent did not let her get her bearings, red flashed across her vision as pain erupted across her cheek.

Devi snarled in pain, instincts kicking in. Her mind raced as the bat lunged at her again, fangs bared her vision filled with flapping wings and glowing talons.

As the bat closed in, she fumbled with the blade at her side, the worn hilt finding her grip with familiar ease. The bat's claws brushed against her cheek, leaving a stinging trail of pain, but Devi was ready. She shifted her weight, turning her body to meet the attacker head-on.

With a desperate lunge, she thrust the jagged remains of her blade towards the oncoming menace. The blade found its mark, impaling the bat through its chest with a sickening squelch. The creature screeched one final time, its red eyes wide with shock, before falling limp.

Devi's heart raced as she withdrew the blade from the lifeless bat. Her hands trembled a mix of fear and exhilaration coursing through her veins. Her blood dripped onto the stone below, mixing with the dark ichor of the monster. Her stomach remained quiet, even at the sight of the blood.

She still picked up the bat, cutting the chest completely open, searching for the small gem that she hoped was there.

With a grin, she plucked the precious gem from the bat's innards. It glimmered in the dim light of the cavern, a small but valuable prize for her efforts. She held it up to her eye, watching the gentle glow of mana shine through the gem’s facets

As her adrenaline faded, a small plan started for from.

~ᵥ----ᵥ~

Devi stared at the small handful of glowing gems held in her clenched fist. It had taken far too many bats to acquire even this many, but seeing them all gleam from the cracks in her hand, made it worth it.

Thankfully, the small fluttering monsters hadn’t been smart enough to realize that she had been hunting them, picking off lone bats one at a time, using her now improved vision to get the drop on them.

Her hunting had led to her running away from quite a few swarms over the past few days. Devi had never once engaged with the larger congregations of monsters. She shuddered at the memory of all the flapping of wings and arcing red talons she had previously endured. If she could avoid a repeat, she would.

Besides the trove of mana crystals, she had gained a few level-ups, one both her Class, Race, and [Enhance Attribute]. Her vocation felt a little sad and lonely, sitting at level 4, while her Class was almost double, not to mention her other rarely used Skill was still stuck at level 1.

It is not like I forgot about it or anything.

She had definitely forgotten about that Skill, usually too engrossed with what she had been doing at the time to remember that she could marginally change her tools. Which usually wasn’t all that important of a thing.

The Skill probably got better the higher level it was. It was true with her other one, but it was hard to remember. It wasn’t her fault.

It wasn’t like there was a guide to any of this. Who knew, maybe [Improvise Tool] was amazing, and she was just using it wrong. Or it was a complete waste of time, and she should forget about it.

The seven [EMPTY] Skill slots on her Status taunted her whenever she opened it to check on things. There hadn’t been any notifications telling her she could slot another Skill, or even that she had unlocked one. Nothing. It was starting to annoy her.

Regardless of how much she skulked around in the shadows, no [Stealthy] Skill appeared, and no matter how much she moved her mana, she never was awarded for her efforts besides the almost unnotable change in how easily she could manipulate the energy.

She felt cheated. What use was having a spot on her Status screen for more Skills if you couldn’t gain any? It didn’t make sense. She was certain there had to be a way to go about it, but nothing she did had helped. Even muttering “Buy Skill,” or “Open shop,” had done nothing except make her look like a fool.

With a growl of annoyance, Devi stomped back to her small alcove, the joy of holding the multitude of glowing crystals forgotten. It was time to turn her fistful of rocks into a fistful of explosives.