He could feel the force of the wind steadily increasing as he got closer to the source of the light. As the light got ever brighter he could see that every surface was made of the same porous, black rock.
He was fascinated by the fact that the rock all around him was also getting hotter and hotter by the step. By the time he noticed the heat becoming so hot it was painful he had been spaced out studying the walls for some time.
He immediately opened his (menu) to find his HP had decreased by 1 down to 14. He began panicking as a deep dread filled his soul from places unknown. He stopped as a familiar box filled his vision.
[Congratulations! Step 2 complete! You have realised the danger of your situation!]
[Step 3; Find a way out of your current predicament. Hint: Resistances are gained by continued exposure.]
[Congratulations! You have unlocked a hidden feature of {the system} exclusive to your race!]
[Skeleton's "born" in a volcanic Dungeon gain the unique skill (Ashen Shield)]
He quickly opened his menu to study his new skill and noticed something even more interesting.
Name: N/A LVL: 1/5 XP: 1/10 HP: 14/15 MP: N/A SP: 21/25 Titles:
(Gods Chosen), (Magic Being), (Unique Existence), (Self-Aware Skeleton)
Skills:
Menu - (Allows the user to access the menu)
lesser-nightvision - (you can see in dim light better than most)
Ashen Shield - Cost; 1MP/Min FREE - (A basic (dark) element spell intrinsic to (Volcanic Skeletons). It allows the user to conjure a layer of phantasmal ash around their person to protect from (weak) physical and basic elemental attacks.)
slash - Cost; 5SP (you can slash with claw like appendages)
chatter - Cost; 10SP (you release a chatter which causes {Fear} in all nearby, weak-willed, creatures.)
??? - (???)
??? - (???)
He pondered why the Description for (Ashen Shield) was so much longer than the others as he was scanning over his skills, until he discovered the second skill full of question marks.
He decided that this meant one of two things. Probably. The system was either broken or it was hiding things from him. He felt the primal fear from earlier rise in him once more at the thought of either prospect being the truth.
As a means of trying to calm his raging emotions he reread the description of (Ashen Shield). It was at this moment that he realised that he had completely failed to realise that this spell was completely free!
He immediately activated it and watched as the few shadows cast by the distant orange light into the tunnel began to grow ever longer in his direction. They seemed like they were stretched to breaking point before a slight trembling sound filled the tunnel before the shadows leapt at him and in the moment of panic that followed, he watched them morph into ash and adhere to his form.
Every surface on his body was now a dull shade of grey, however, the heat that had been making it hard to move was now no more uncomfortable than when he had first awoken. This revelation calmed him enough to allow him to regain some semblance of composure.
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He shambled over to the nearest wall and balled his hand tightly into a fist, or at least the best fist a skeletal hand allowed him to form. He pulled his fist back and launched a sharp jab into the stone. The ash did dull the impact but it still stung slightly as he placed his arm back at his side.
He didn't think he had taken enough damage to lower his HP but it still smarted. As he was beginning to contemplate if his new skill would be strong enough to protect him from the source of the light a low rumbling caused the entire tunnel to shake. The sound caused him to fill with fear once more.
He tried to search for the source of the sound and in the distance, in the direction that he had come from, dully reflecting the light from the orange thing, something was quickly approaching his location. He hurriedly searched for any way to hide from the entity coming towards him. It was at this moment he spotted a small alcove in the wall less than a foot off the floor, that he was almost certain hadn't been there a few moments prior.
As he dove into it he felt the heat rise in the surrounding area once more. He pushed his form as hard as he could into the back wall of the alcove to avoid the things attention.
After a few moments the thing entered his field of view and he could see a metal creature. It was shaped roughly the same as him but it was substantially more bulky than his skeletal form. It was a deep blood red and was covered in countless nicks and scratches.
It's head rotated slowly as though it was searching for something. Every time it moved it was accompanied by a loud *Screeee* that seemed to reverberate inside his skull. After what felt like an eternity the being turned back the way it had come and awkwardly ran away.
As he tentatively left the alcove he was met with the now comforting messages from the system, but as he read them he felt less and less comforted.
[Succesfully hid from a substantially stronger creature! Less XP awarded for receiving help from a...]
[Administrator privileges invoked...]
[Full XP awarded...]
[12XP awarded...]
[Overflow Detected...]
[Administrator Privileges Invoked...]
[Converting Overflow Into Bonus...]
[Bonus: Choose one; HP Boost, Random Skill]
As he stood in stunned silence at the sudden onslaught of messages that assaulted his mind he absentmindedly selected to receive a random skill.
[Congratulations! You have been assigned (water breathing)! This skill allows yo...]
[Administrator privileges invoked...]
[(Water Breathing) judged as incompatible for this life form...]
[Redrawing random Skill from pool associated with previously assigned skill...]
[Congratulations! You have been assigned (Lesser water Manipulation)! This skill allows limited control of mundane water!)
He was once again left speechless, even with his usual lack of vocalisation, by this latest string of notifications. Administrator? Someone was in charge of the system?
He also had a more pressing question how had he levelled up so quickly?
This felt far too soon. He was aware that as a monster he would level up and then Evolve to grow stronger but he was also aware that some monsters went years before they evolved from their initial stage. His head spun as he thought about the implications of potentially levelling at this rate.
Another box popped into his view as though trying to clear his head of all extraneous thoughts.
[As a reward for getting to your first level so quickly you been gifted the (Title); (Flourishing Lifeform)]
[Congratulations! You have been granted access to analyse your menu via the combined effects of (Gods Chosen), (Self-Aware Skeleton and (Flourishing Lifeform) as well as the effects of (???).]
He immediately rushed to open his Menu once more to study it's updates.
Name: N/A LVL: 2/5 XP: 0/10 HP: 20/20 MP: 5//5 SP: 40/40 Titles:
(Gods Chosen), (Magic Being), (Unique Existence), (Self-Aware Skeleton), (Flourishing Lifeform)
Skills:
Menu - (Allows the user to access the menu)
lesser-nightvision - (you can see in dim light better than most)
Ashen Shield - Cost; 1MP/Min FREE - (A basic (dark) element spell intrinsic to (Volcanic Skeletons). It allows the user to conjure a layer of phantasmal ash around their person to protect from (weak) physical and basic elemental attacks.)
slash - Cost; 5SP (you can slash with claw like appendages)
chatter - Cost; 10SP (you release a chatter which causes {Fear} in all nearby, weak-willed, creatures.)
Lesser Water Manipulation - You have a lesser ability to manipulate mundane water in your surroundings at no cost.
As he Focused on (Flourishing Lifeform) it opened a new box for his perusal.
[Flourishing Lifeform - You have levelled up extremely quickly for a creature of such a weak species. This is extremely rare! Effect: You gain slightly more XP from unusual actions, you gain limited ability to analyse things and are able to access more functions of the (menu).]
He felt that if he had flesh he'd have been as white as his bones by now. How did he keep gaining these absurd Titles by doing nothing?