I’d spent quite some time staring at the murals in the tower, thinking about my situation. I had always had my suspicions that the system was messing with my brain somehow, but was that really true?
Ever since coming to this world, having to deal with me being a monster and fighting to survive, I’d just gone about doing whatever I felt was necessary. I felt it was odd that I was able to adapt so easily to my new life, so I assumed that the system had fundamentally changed me and continued without a care in the world. But… I was starting to believe that wasn’t true.
Sure, the system seemed to have a weird access to my brain, being able to bestow complex knowledge at the drop of a hat, but that didn’t necessarily mean that it changed my personality. After thinking about everything that happened so far in great detail, I had come to the conclusion that…
The system had done nothing to change me.
My old life had been a disaster. I was addicted to gambling and dug a hole so deep that I eventually lost my life over it. So when I received this second chance at life… I completely embraced it, even if I hadn’t realized it at the time. I’d been freed from my shackles, even if the habit hadn’t gone away at that point. My gambling habits made me end up as a slug, almost costing me my second life before I even got to try living it.
I had been in a constant struggle, chasing after the next milestone the system was dangling before me without a second thought. Unlike on earth, my desperate struggles were constantly rewarded, a feeling even more addicting than chasing that one big win at the casino. I got immensely powerful, let it go to my head, and eventually ended up almost losing everything. And while I didn’t lose everything, I was back to being weak. Back to being the underdog.
So, should I stop chasing after the system's demands? Should I try to blaze my own path in this world?
No.
The system was but a tool, and I was the one wielding it. The system wasn’t trying to lead me astray or anything, I had been doing that to myself. Sure, it occasionally suggested some quests that were a bit insane, but it also rewarded me fairly whenever I completed them. The system didn’t have any bad intentions, so trying to descend to the eighth layer and completing whatever quest it gave me could only be beneficial for me.
The system was a tool.
All of the skills, magic, and mutations I’d received from it were tools. Tools I’d been given to survive and thrive. And I had not been using them to their full potential. It was time that I pulled myself back in a bit and started using my brain a bit. Full frontal confrontation was admittedly fun, but I still had a complete array of poison spells I’d been neglecting a bit. Sure, I’d been using them, but more as an offensive tool instead of a sneaky one.
I belong to the “intelligent races”, and like the ancient civilization had proven, just because I became a monster didn’t mean that I needed to be a “monster”. I had lost a lot and was now in danger, but in my list of tools, one of them stood above and beyond everything else. The only triple-S skill I possessed: Gluttony!
Yes, I’d been using it a lot, but not to its full potential. Gluttony was a deadly sin, not meant to be wielded modestly, so it was time I applied another sin. Greed! I would hunt and stuff myself with other monsters to regain my old glory and go even further beyond.
But!
Do it sensibly, by putting my own safety first. I had all the tools I needed to become a hunter from the shadows, perfectly capable of defending myself should it come to a confrontation. So, time to return to the mountain and get me some levels.
I once again tried comparing myself to the ancient civilization I’d seen. They hadn’t lost their way after turning into monsters, instead putting all of their energy toward the new path that opened up before them. They studied the newly born monsters, studied themselves, and no doubt proved that even though they may look like monsters on the outside, they were still very much intelligent on the inside.
In the same vein, I shouldn’t think less of myself because I’d been killing monsters to get stronger. In this world, killing was the only way to advance and survive. Meaning, for as long as I didn’t lose myself to my primal urges and remained true to myself, I would be fine.
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Arriving at the mountain took a bit longer than I was used to since my status had been halved, but that was fine. Starting right now, I’d restore it to its former glory and surpass even that. Just like before, the mountain was filled with avian monsters, quarreling for a prime spot to lounge about. I took up a position at the foot of the mountain and did a quick headcount. Counting them was a bit of a challenge since they kept moving around, but there were around twenty of them.
Rushing in there to fight would be an incredibly bad idea, so I’d have to completely rely on my poison to do the damage. But if I took them out one by one, I ran the risk of my kills being stolen again. And if I wanted to put them in my inventory I’d need to expose myself, which would be an equally bad idea. Thankfully, I had a wide-area poison attack!
Poison Mist was fairly close to leveling up as well, so doing this was killing two birds with one stone! Glancing at my low MaxMP, I decided to pump five hundred MP into the spell, and infuse it with some void mana as well. This should hopefully cover most of the mountain since it could barely be called a mountain at all. The spell snapped into place almost instantly and I started pumping my mana into it until I was satisfied.
When I finally cast the spell, a massive amount of poisonous gas was released and expanded rapidly. Two of the stronger-looking monsters seemed to realize that something was afoot and took off, much to the glee of the others. The two that left might have been able to sense the powerful magic spreading out, but the rest was all too happy to continue in ignorant bliss, immediately fighting for the now vacant spots near the top. Once they realized they were poisoned, it would already be too late for them.
Alright, everything had been poisoned, and the mist would linger for a while, ensuring that the status effect was applied constantly. But, seeing as it took two helpings of Poison Assassination, it was unlikely that the poison would take care of them. I didn’t have enough MP to cast a spell this big a second time, so I retreated a bit and took three monsters from the third layer out of my inventory, and devoured them.
Not only did it restore almost all of my MP, but I also got an attribute point in strength out of it. Eating everything in my inventory was a tantalizing thought, but I’d better eat them slowly so I could restore my HP and MP quickly. I returned to my earlier spot and waited until I could feel the mist fade away before immediately replacing it. Just to make sure, I repeated the process again, although I didn’t get any attribute points this time. Unlucky.
I really should invest more into Luck, so I could get points more consistently.
About two-thirds into the duration of this poison mist, I could see the monsters flagging. My poison was doing a number on them, and some of them were probably suffering from deadly poison as well. Seeing this as my chance, I finally rushed up the mountain toward the closest monster. Too busy dealing with its failing body, it never saw me coming and I took it out rather easily with a few well-placed spears.
I quickly stored it in my inventory as soon as I got the system message confirming its death and changed targets. My poison had run its course, and they had become sitting ducks, barely able to put up a fight. My tactic was paying dividends already!
I rushed from monster to monster, dispatching them with great efficiency, occasionally having to divert to collect one that succumbed to my poison. I dispatched monster after monster, and before too long I had seventeen new monsters in my inventory, gained two levels, and the mountain was empty. I was happily sitting at the top of the mountain, basking in my victory for a second when a shadow announced the arrival of another monster.
I quickly looked up and saw a serpent with four leathery wings, one of the monsters that left earlier. Shit! All it took was a moment of complacency and I was rewarded with an ambush. I immediately jumped off the top, towards the forest below and the serpent followed with a dive. I quickly fired off two poison spears which it dodged, but that was okay since they were only fired to conceal the two poison assassinations I sent out immediately after.
I used a mid-air leap to jump toward it, much to its surprise and grabbed on with my tentacles. I was now riding on its back, which it didn’t enjoy at all, violently trying to shake me off. Unfortunately for it, I was using my other tentacles to mess with its wings, which caused us to crash into the side of the mountain, hard.
Not wasting a second, I jumped off the dazed serpent, firing off the two void javelins I managed to summon while riding it. Two explosions rocked the mountain and I followed it up with a few spears and bombs. I cursed a bit when I saw my MP getting close to zeroing out. I had barely used any magic and was already running out. This wouldn’t have happened if my wisdom points hadn’t been cut in half.
For now, I used the distraction from the bombs to run toward the cover of the trees while summoning another three void javelins. The serpent eventually managed to get its bearings and came after me again, which earned it another javelin to the face. And, capitalizing on the situation, the other two spells hit it shortly after.
This, combined with the poison I used earlier finally managed to take the serpent down. The system told me it was a level thirteen Sky Wyrm, causing me to frown a bit. Before my run-in with the nasty voidling, I could have taken this guy out easily instead of having to fight an epic battle. Well, the battle was kind of one-sided with me not giving it a chance to properly react, so it wasn’t that epic.
I felt like I’d used my abilities to the utmost, though, so that was good. Nervously eyeing the sky, I decided to retreat to the tower and recover. I’d taken care of most monsters around here, but I was running on a low tank, and had a whole bunch of monsters to eat! So I rushed back to the tower and settled in for dinner.