I feel my brain crackle to life as I start to wake from my sudden deep sleep. Nerves fire and respond as feeling flows back into my limbs, pins and needles slowly dissipating. My ears are engulfed with the sounds of battle and eating, and my nose fills with the scent of dried blood and dirt as I stand and stretch out my sore limbs. I must've slept on a rock or something. In the middle of my chest sits a boiling heat that begins to cool rapidly as I sort out my thoughts for the next few minutes.
First and foremost, that was awful. I mean, I feel amazing. My entire body is pulsing with energy, and I feel like I could take on the world. But the process of getting to this point sucked! The feeling of falling unconscious is never fun. But the sense of your bodily functions coming back online one by one is even more bizarre. Why would I even want to feel my stomach burble so clearly? Gross.
However, I can't deny the benefits of my evolution. Even though I haven't gained anything physical as I would have with my other two options, no new tail or increased size, I feel full to bursting with energy. If this is what a core is capable of, what Mana can do, I think I can get used to this feeling.
As I feel the newfound power from my evolution, I absentmindedly open my Status. My level seems to have reverted to level one after evolving, which is a bit of a pain. Even so, I'm pleased to see that I now have 10 Mana instead of zero. A major boon, if I do say so myself. Along with my Mana, I now have a "Core" label in my status. I'm not sure why a new stat was created, but hey, I'll take it. More importantly, I want to see if I unlocked anything skill-wise from evolving.
Opening up the skill menu, I'm excited to see if I've gained anything helpful.
[Skill Points: 1]
[Skills available for purchase:]
• Venom Proficiency: (1 SP) Improves the ability to use venom in attacks, enhancing potency and deliverance.
• Mana Manipulation: (1 SP) Allows the user to manipulate internal mana to a basic degree. Higher skill proficiency will grant access to higher forms of magic.
• Mana Surge: (1 SP) Allows the user to spend Core Mana to boost the production of specific glands.
• Dash: (1 SP) Allows the user to spend stamina for a burst of speed.
• Rend: (1 SP) Improves the ability to precisely and forcefully use claws, talons, and spines to pierce.
• Pet Communication: (1 SP) Allows telepathic communication with Pets. Higher proficiency will allow better clarity of words and emotion and communication at a higher distance.
A spectacular haul! So many new skills! And they all seem so useful! If only I had more skill points. Maybe next time, Aria. Still, even picking up one skill at this point will help me a lot. I might as well start to narrow them down.
Taking a glance over the skills, even I can tell there's a pattern here. Random as they might look, they all seem to be unlocked in response to actions I've already taken or struggles I've overcome. I couldn't tell before because there was such a small selection. Venom Proficiency is still here, so that's a good sign. It seems skills will follow over through evolutions. It wouldn't be a bad skill to pick up, either. Being a passive skill like Hearing, it would make my already potent venom even stronger over time. I have to fight for food anyway, so it'll almost constantly be getting experience. But at the same time, I already have many passive skills. Is it a good idea to go with another? I might have to put this one on the back burner for now. Plus, the next one seems a lot more interesting.
Mana Manipulation unlocked because of my Core and the fact I now have Mana to use. The prospects of such a skill are probably infinite. Magic is such an awe-inspiring thing to do, and I've no doubt I could do amazing things with enough practice. But that's the thing: Practice. The skill states that it gives basic knowledge, and that's it. I'm sure it would implant the understanding right in my head, and I would be able to comprehend it for the most part, but in the couple of days I've been here, the monsters have just gotten more and more aggressive. I don't know if I have the time to spend learning magic from the ground up right now. As unfortunate as it is, I think this is another shelf for now.
Reluctantly, I push away the thoughts of becoming an all-powerful mage and turn my focus to the next handy skill. Mana Surge is just what it says on the tin: A way to recharge special glands. And lucky for me, my venom gland seems to count as one of them. From what I understand, the skill utilizes my MP, or Mana, from my core to boost the production of mana-infused glands, so it wouldn't work if I had normal venom. But lucky for me, I was born with Decay-infused venom. This skill would help offset a massive problem with my limited venom pool and help me to stay in the fight for longer before having to retreat. And it's an active skill, so it shouldn't be as hard to level as a passive skill. This is high up there in terms of being picked. I want to get it straight away, but it's always better to look over all the options first.
Thus, we come to the Dash, Rend, and Pet Communication skills. All of them seem pretty useful. Rend appears to be yet another passive skill, but it helps me to pierce armor instead of just cutting. Not sure how it works, but I know how to cut things better since Rake leveled up, so I'm sure it'll do something similar.
Dash, on the other paw, is more of a mystery. While it says it boosts speed, it uses a resource called "stamina." Except, I don't have a stamina bar like in video games. I mean, I have an MP stat, so why not SP? I guess it's hidden. Or it could just literally be based on how much my body can do in one go. Too many uses and I might pass out from exhaustion. Still, I don't think that bars this as an option. In fact, it might even place it at the top of the list regarding usefulness. Hidden tools or weapons are always the strongest in video games. If I can unlock more skills that require Stamina by unlocking this now, I might be able to gain powerful physical skills to augment myself better. So much to think about! Still, one more skill to choose from, and honestly, I think this one is the correct choice.
Pet Communication was a skill that no doubt unlocked when I reconstituted Eminence. The other skills are all useful in their own right, but this has something they don't: I can communicate with something spawned from this infernal place. The amount of information I stand to gain from this skill, not to mention the ability to bounce ideas off of another being, makes this the obvious choice for me right now. I can always pick up the other skills next time I level up.
[Would you like to purchase Pet Communication for one skill point?]
Yes, I would, you gruff voice you.
The smooth feeling of skill acquisition starts immediately after I confirm my purchase, and I relish it. It really does feel relaxing to learn new skills. If only it were this easy to learn mathematics. I might not have failed school if that had been the case.
Before long, the skill soaking is done, and it doesn't take long to sense a change. There on the edge of my consciousness, sits another being. Tentatively, I try to reach out to the presence with quiet thoughts, as per the instructions from my skill. I can tell that this is Eminence, but they might be a bit scared that I'm suddenly speaking inside their brain. I would rather not spook a centipede with neurotonix; thank you very much.
'Emi, can you hear me?' I ask softly.
The centipede, who up until this point had been off wandering the den, freezes. In a flash, their head is turned to me, and they look almost bug-eyed (heh) to hear my voice. I may have scared them after all.
'It's alright; it's just me. I didn't mean to startle you.' I say as I wave a paw at the small arthropod.
Much like they did the first time, I'm suddenly rushed by the little bug as a silky smooth, yet frantic voice enters my mind.
'Mistress! You finally spoke to me! Oh, I'm so relieved! When you fell asleep and didn't wake up, I was so worried. Are you okay? You're not hurt anywhere, are you? Why did you wait so long to speak to me? Have I done something?' Eminence blurts out.
My mind is immediately jumbled from the word vomit (mind vomit?) Eminence is spilling into my head, and I'm momentarily stunned by her barrage of questions. I take a few minutes to center myself before I begin to speak, the little centipede pestering me and fussing over my body to check the condition as I do.
'I'm fine, Eminence. You can stop fussing; I only evolved after all. More importantly, do you know how long I was asleep?' I ask.
Eminence takes a mental breath before responding in a much calmer tone.
'I'm sorry, Mistress. I was too excited. Regarding how long you had been asleep, it was around an hour or so. While you rested, I cleaned the nest of all stray pieces of Biomass and guarded the entrance from intruders. None dared to oppose me in my mission!' She says as she puffs up in pride.
Probably because there's a slab covering the entrance, though, if I said that, it might hurt her feelings. Still, I only slept for an hour, huh? If that's the case, why can I hear so much fighting in the tunnel? I guess Emi could be wrong. She is only a few hours old, after all. Not only that, she's a monster. Who knows if she understands the concept of time? I may need to take what she says with a grain of salt. But if she isn't, and it has only been an hour, that means all those monsters spawned again that quickly. That... isn't good. I need time to recuperate after each battle, and an hour's rest isn't going to cut it. With how small the tunnel is, the monsters will constantly be fighting. They might eventually break into my den and kill me in my sleep. If that happens, Emi will most certainly die too.
I look down at the little arthropod, which is still prideful over her make-believe duty. I suppose I should praise her, shouldn't I?
'Well done, Eminence. You did exactly what you needed to. I'm very proud.'
'Thank you, Mistress!'
Like a dog might, after doing something good, she rubs up against my claw to get me to pet her, which I do so happily.
It's safe to say if anyone tried to harm this adorable little monster, I would battle them to the death.
And that's just around when I begin to hear digging from the walls of my den.
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[Status Page:]
Name: Aria
Core: Normal
Species: Infantem Aculeum Draculus; Infant Sting Drake
Level: 1
[Stats:]
• Might: 25
• Toughness: 18
• Cunning: 25
• Will: 15
• Health: 40
• Mana: 10
[Mutations:]
• Teeth +0
• Tail +0
• Decay Stinger +3
• Skin +1
• Claws +2
• Vibration Sensitive Ears +5
[Skills:]
• Hearing; Level 2
• Bite; Level 2
• Tail Attack; Level 3
• Rake; Level 3
• Tunnel Sense; Level 1
• Dig; Level 3
• Pet Communication; Level 1