// In an unknown dark abyss //
On the ground that was void of life, a small creature awakens...
'Ugh...' I felt my head throbbing a little but it wasn't something too serious.
'It seems I have finally been able to regain my consciousness and memory, though only some bits of it.' I sighed
I was only able to recover a few of my memories, most of it was shown as basic knowledge and how I lived a normal life. Unfortunately, my other memories seem to be inaccessible, only leaving vague and cloudy images in my head.
However, that didn't stop me from attempting to recover those memories.
...
Which was possibly the worst decision I've ever made...
'AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!'
I screamed as waves of unimaginable pain rushed through my head. My mind was constantly being stricken by an unknown force. It was too much. Every second felt like an eternity as it continued assaulting my mind with an even much greater force.
'This is hopeless...'
My consciousness started fading away at a startling rate. I was striving to try and keep my mind intact. I convinced myself to continue and push on against the unnamed force. The state of my mind was chaotic, nothing was in the right place. Everything was disordered. Memories were moving everywhere but few of those that were inaccessible before began to show clearer images and bombarded me with past memories and some new information of my past life. It continued for a long time until the waves ended all of a sudden, also bringing away the pain with it.
I sighed with relief as my mind began to recover and restructuring itself. Calming tides moving in a rhythmic yet pleasing pattern overwhelms my mind. Everything was perfect. A sense of tranquility overtook me, when...
Ding!
'..hm?' A small screen appeared out of thin...air? does my mind even have air in it? Oh well.
[ You've gained the 'Pacified Mind' Skill ]
'That's...quite interesting' I thought to myself, raising my non-existent eyebrow. Though that made me aware of something instead. 'What am I? I don't seem to be human'
I was able to perceive anything in my mind, despite the fact that beyond it was a silent and blank space. It was impossible for me to see or hear but I'm fully aware of the surface I'm on. My sense of touch looks to be accessible, as I am able to sense the solid and rough textures of the floor.
'Next is movement' I tried moving for the first time for it only to be a complete SUCCESS!. *Ting* ...Ah, it seems like my 'Pacified Mind' Skill negated my celebration, calming me down in an instant. I'm grateful that movement is possible for me, albeit I was rather slow. It may also take quite a while for me to get accustomed to these as I don't seem to have any legs. However, that problem was solved as I adapted to my current situation and started slithering around seeing as it was a much quicker method than the previous. As I resumed my blind movements, I also gathered information regarding my surroundings to know where the hell I am.
'Rocks? more rocks? dragon egg?'...
'Wait...DRAGON EGG?!' *Ting* Ah, losing all those emotions really made me feel empty inside afterward... well, at least I got myself something astonishing. Though something that amazes me more was how I was able to identify a foreign object that quick.
Ding!
[ 'Informative Touch' Skill has reached Level 2 ]
A new skill? No...does that mean I already had this before? I don't remember obtaining a new skill recently though, its even level 2. Doesn't that mean I have other existing skills that I have yet to know about?
'Well, isn't that interesting...' As I started pondering over the number of possible skills that I may have with me. Thinking about it excites me, for a while at least, as a certain skill of mine keeps negating it...Regarding the skill, it seems to be an automatic type of skill. A passive skill perhaps? Hmm, I'll think more about it later.
Rummaging through a few of my recovered memories, I appear to have seen a similar concept from the games I used to play. They may work the same way, I hope... 'Well, nothing works unless I try.'
'So..status?' Nothing seems to be appearing. Maybe being more specific might do the trick.
'Open...status?? ... WO-ah?!' *Ting* ... I really should find a way to turn that skill off, getting some parts of me stripped away really ruins the moment.
> [ STATUS ]
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Name: ???
>
> Age: --
>
> Level: 1
>
> Experience ( Next Lv ) : 0 %
>
> You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
>
> Species: Proto Living Metal (Type 1)
>
> Class:- --
>
> Health: 120/120
>
> Stamina: 89/100
>
> Mana: 100/100
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> [ATTRIBUTES]
>
> STR: 1(11)
>
> VIT: 10(20)
>
> FOR: 3(13)
>
> DEX: 3(13)
>
> INT: 10
>
> WIS: 3
>
> CHR: 0
>
> LCK: 1
>
> [ Statpoints left : 0 ]
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Titles:-
>
> 'The One & Only'
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Effects:
>
> Enhanced Awareness, Enhanced Survival Instincts, Enhanced Adaptability
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'Ah, I don't seem to have a name nor do I remember it anyway, though what interested me more is that I'm...a living metal? Without a doubt, I'm definitely not a human but...what's a 'living metal'. Moreover, the 'Proto' and 'Type' accompanying it? When suddenly another screen popped up in front me, startling me in the process but was nullified without delay.
> [ Species: Living Metal ]
>
> [ Description: A species closely related to slimes that are capable of an unusual process called Self-Upgrade. ]
>
> [ Proto (Type 1): The first stage of a Living Metal, only capable of replicating a few skills of other beings with slight modifications made to it through the use of a unique skill ]
...
I'm a self-upgrading ability-copying metal slime. THAT'S FUCKING AWE- *Ting*...I'm not a narcissist but damn I love myself. Anyway, next is 'The One & Only'
> [ The One & Only ]
>
> [ Description: Being the only one of your kind, your death would mean the end of an entire species. To survive, you gained highly adaptive abilities ]
>
> [ Bonus Stats: +10 for STR, VIT, FOR, DEX ]
>
> [ Additional Effects: Enhance Awareness , Enhanced Survival Instinct ]
...Oh shit.
I was left a little speechless there.
Snapping back to reality, I began to look at my attributes.
Damn..without that title I would've been pretty weak. Though it's hard to know how strong I currently am as I don't even know the average for whatever this place is. Looking at it again, I appear to be lacking charisma the most, then again I don't really think a metal slime would be that charming, except for blacksmiths... wait, do dwarves exist here? Oh, I'm getting off topic.
Realizing that my skills weren't shown, I concluded that it was probably a separate screen and command. Time to see my skills!
'Ah, let's try, Open Skills!' ...
hm, not it?
'Open Skill? Skills? Skill Window? Access Skills? Show me my skills.......Skill...List?' Please be the o- Ding! WOOO- *Ting*
...
> [ SKILLS ]
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> General Skills:-
>
> Identify Lv.1
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> 'Living Metal' Skills:-
>
> Pacified Mind (ON), Acidic Metal Lv.1, Body Storage(Type 1),
>
> High Regeneration Lv.1, Informative Touch Lv.2, Devour (Modification) Lv.1
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Resistance Skills:-
>
> Acid (10%), Water (10%)
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Bonus Skills:- --
Most of these are quite self-explanatory through their names but it doesn't actually tell if it is an active or passive skill. For the time being, I took the chance to turned 'Pacified Mind' off. One skill that I'm not quite understanding was 'Devour'. I mean, I do know it has to do with devouring something but what's with the Modification part of the name? 'Uhh, Check Devour Skill '
> [ Devour (Modification) Lv.1 ]
>
> [ Description: A skill that enables the user to devour the target whole and gain skills relating to it ]
>
> [ Modification: This allows the user to gain a skill that is slightly different from the original, though the modification may be both advantageous and disadvantageous ]
>
> [ Species Bonus: Other than gaining skills, the user will also be able to increase a few of their attributes, which will be dependent on what attribute the target specializes in ]
>
> [ Cost: Mana free, user will not gain any experience from the target ]
'I already can see myself using this..'
Remembering the Dragon egg beneath me, I thought of something. Could I use this on the Dragon Egg? Obtaining the skills and the attributes of a dragon is quite intriguing, though I'll not gain any experience from it. Still gonna do it anyway, I'm not gonna neglect an opportunity that's right in front of me. ' Let's try identifying it first though. Identify '
> [ Abyss Ancient Dragon God Egg ]
>
> [ Description: One of the Ancient Dragon Gods belonging to the powerful and ferocious Dragon Empire, mainly specializing in void, dark and space skills. It has yet to be awakened. ]
Hmm, the description seems to be quite accurate to the hard egg under me as I was able to sense a powerful aura surrounding it, this is definitely an opportunity of a lifetime. I wouldn't mind getting my hands on new skills especially from three different types, plus it's even from a goddamn dragon god. I also doubt I'd be able to control it after it hatches or awakens from the egg so it's a much safer method for me to devour it. Let's do that.
To my surprise, wrapping myself around the egg wasn't difficult at all, I was expecting it to be a much laborious task as it is a dragon god egg we're talking about here. Oh well, it's time to eat! 'Devour'
The dragon egg that was previously under me vanished into thin air along with the powerful aura surrounding it before. I was able to sense the huge rise in my power and what was once a silent and blank space around me was now echoing with the sound of dripping water and the display of small rocks scattered on the ground that seems to be barren of any other living creatures.
[ You have devoured the 'Abyss Ancient Dragon God Egg' ]
[ You have gained the target's skills and a few of its attributes ]
[ You've earned the title of 'The Ancient Devourer' ]
[ 'Devour' Skill has reached Level 2 ]
[ 'Devour' Skill has reached Level 3 ]
[ 'Devour' Skill has reached Level 4 ]
. . .
[ 'Devour' Skill has reached Level 7 ]
' Hehehe... I can't wait to find out what skills I've gained and how stro- ' When all of a sudden I was interrupted by a powerful earthquake that was followed by a blaring roar causing the rocks from the ceiling of the cave to fall. Without delaying anything, I evaded the rocks with swift movements that I never had before. Must have been the work of the Dragon God's Skills or something... ' Nice..hehehe '
Searching through the cave with my new hidden eyes, I saw it...
I can feel myself trembling as a pair of yellow glowing eyes with absolute killing intent stared straight at me...