Chapter 5: An Incident
I have been grinding for… not sure how long, honestly. Ever since I'd left the area of the dungeon entrance and started hovering around the area just outside of it, my time has all been spent in the same routine as usual. Hunting down other monsters, leveling up, and keeping myself alive. I made sure to stay away from the paths I'd found any explorers using as I stuck around here, best not to take too many risks while gaining what strength I can before trying to get out of here.
Not like that's been all that eventful, though. Level has increased, Skills have gone up in rank, so on and so forth. My Demon Eye reached level ten, but nothing really happened once it did. Or maybe because I'm just a normal Basilisk, it won't improve more… or something. I'm not sure how that one works, really. Does a Skill evolve at max level? Do some just stay as they are once they hit level ten? Does it depend on what kind of Skill it even is? Man, do I wish I had a guide to know how this system works. It would help me understand what I'm doing with half of it!
Appraisal is still basically useless even now that it's level five. What was the addition this time? Status. That's it. Just what my status is. Nothing else. THIS FREAKING SUCKS AT LEAST GIVE ME MY STAT BLOCK!
Elroe Basilisk LV11 Riku Shiratori Status: Normal
I still don't even have numbers on my meters! And I don't even know if there's some kind of threshold for growth here either. I hit level 11, and… nothing really happened. Yeah, the usual stat bonuses applied, but that was about it, really. If I can evolve, I guess a Basilisk does so at a higher level. Like… what, am I akin to the late level evolutions in a specific series I will not directly name? I might be. I dunno. Yo, System mind telling me how evolution works in this damn world?!
…
Of course, I get nothing in response. Damn voice only talks when it needs to, after all. Is it just an automatic thing, or is it someone just pranking me and laughing from afar somewhere? Heck, I still want to know why the hell I'm a Basilisk and not a human! Is this a divine joke, or did the reincarnation glitch out on me? I want answers, dammit! But… I probably won't be getting any so long as I'm stuck here on my own.
And now I'm thinking about that nameless spider I ran into before. I really do hope it's still alive, at the very least, so I can confirm that theory of mine. If it's not another reincarnation and is just some unique variant, for some reason, then that'll be that. But if it is another… then at least I probably won't be on my own while I'm still in this place. And boy, can I only hope it's someone I know from class. A guy can only be so lucky, though, can't he? I mean… I was always pretty lucky in gachas and MMO drops. So, eh, who knows.
Granted, I'm not sure how lucky it is that I reincarnated as a monster. And I doubt this system has a luck stat of some kind. Man, I hate not having enough information.
The goal with the hunting outing today (or night, I still can't tell how much time has actually passed) came as a bit different than the usual for me. I've been sneaking around and experimenting with magic often enough. A few of my magic skills have gotten pretty high up there. Earth Magic grew into Terrain Magic once it hit level 10. It's made it way easier to tunnel and make new temp nests when I need to, and the spells I'd been making general use of as a whole got overall stronger. I could also probably go about making walls now if I really tried to do it.
Fire Magic is level nine now, and I can assume it'll be about the same with Earth once it grows to the next stage. But my main concern of practice today is Shadow Magic. It's uh… well, it's still kind of useless feeling to me at times. I think the most helpful spell I've gotten out of it is the one I found myself able to use once it hit level 6. And even then, Earth Magic was more practical. All it does is let me sink something into a shadow, and in the times I tested it, things I sunk could escape pretty damn easily! I've made better pitfalls with Earth Magic. At least those can be laced with spikes!
And yes, I did just say I'd rather make a trap that goes against the Geneva Conventions. So what?
And so my only hope is to level the hell out of Shadow Magic while I can and hope that once it does rank up. Please, oh please, let the next stage be flat-out Dark Magic. That'd be a thousand times more useful to me in this dang cave. Heck, it's probably only this useless to me because it's a cave. It's always dark, and everything in here can see just fine!
So, that's what I've been doing for some time now in a recently dug-out temp nest. I used magic to light a fire in a small pit I'd dug out, using some fat-covered hides as fuel so some shadows would be cast along the walls for me to manipulate. Stretching them out, changing their shape, man, I could basically run a high-end shadow puppet show if I keep this up. Kids would probably find it really damn amusing, wouldn't they? At least it'd let me get something out of this practice I'm doing if I get precise enough with it. But that's neither here nor there.
Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Shadow Magic LV8] has become [Shadow Magic LV9].
Ah, thank you, System. Still, a level below where I want it to be, but progress is progress! Besides, my MP bar is getting pretty low anyway, so best to take a break for now.I should probably go find something to munch on too, would help out while I want for my MP to regen. Actually, speaking of Skills, I'd been practicing enough. I got a Skill called [MP Recovery Speed]. One of those skills that just does what it says. At least it means my MP regen is slowly getting faster as it levels up. Wonder if there's an HP regen skill too.
Number of Skill Points Currently in Possession: 29,600. Number of Skill Points required to purchase Skill [HP Auto-Recovery LV1]: 2,000. Purchase Skill?
Damn, that's gotta be the most expensive Skill I've seen so far. I've only bought a few since I would like a list before I go ham on the skill buying! Having System pop in to tell me of a Skill I can buy whenever I randomly think of one that happens to exist is getting old. But, whatever. Buy it!
Skill [HP Auto-Recovery LV1] acquired. Remaining Skill Points: 27,600.
Not like I can see if it's kicked in at all since my HP bar is full for now. It's not like my dodging ability is perfect, so if I get into a straight-on fight, odds are, I'll see how much regen I have at some point. Though I guess by "HP regen," it would include JUST my HP. So far, my wounds have all healed either naturally or just been wiped when I level up. And I doubt I can rely on that bonus, however I have it, forever. I've got no idea whether that level-up fill-up is a reincarnation bonus or not. If it is tied to some Skill, then I obviously can't see it for now. All the more reason I need Appraisal to hit a higher level than it is and soon.
Rules of the MMO Junkie: Information is king. The more you know, the better. And the more you understand the system you're playing in, the easier it'll be to use it however you want. One of my goals here is figuring out just how this system works so I can game it. Especially if it's about survival. Anything that's broken, anything that's abjectly powerful, if I can find a way to get it, then by whatever deity is listening, I'll go full Munchkin and get it. Demerits be damned!
So now, some hunting targets, please come on around for me. All I need is something, even if it's small enough that it would just be a snack. Pop on out and make this Basilisk's day, will you?
Danger warnings went off in my head, and I dashed to the side of the tunnel I was going down. Rather than a gout of poison or even a bit of monster-used magic, a long body went crashing onto the ground where I'd been. Heck, it almost took up the entire freaking tunnel on its own! The hell, man? You're hogging space! Well… not that it matters when I can easily dig out a hole in the wall. The hell is this thing anyway?
Elroe Baladorado LV 9 Status: Normal
Once again, wishing I could see stat numbers! I know I'm level 11, but this snake rearing up at me is at a higher evolution stage for all I know. So for all I know, its aggregate levels are higher than mine! That and I'm not sure stats mean much between a meter-long Basilisk and a giant freakin snake. If I had been rammed by it, I don't think stats would have stopped me from feeling that thing's weight. Physics still applies, after all.
Well, not like I don't have cheese strategies in mind. Time to see what a maxed-out Demon Eye will do to a thing like this! Let's go for the one-shot!
Though as my eyes flashed, the snake wriggled its body around, getting its head out of the way. Instead, all I wound up petrifying was a portion of the scales just behind it. And it didn't even seem bothered by that despite how wide the patch was. The heck? I mean, I know it's bigger than me, but I've turned some of those big deer monsters into near statues while hunting! Does this thing have petrification resistance?
But any time I think about that was cut off by the Baladorado smashing its head down at me. I dodged again. Thankfully my Running skill has been increasing, so I'm getting faster. Well, so what if I can't petrify it in one go? I'll keep it up and throw in magic too!
Another patch of scales becomes sone as the snake is turning, and I follow it up by slamming a hand to the ground. Stone spikes shoot up from it, the snake attempting to dodge by getting its sides scraped by the spikes. But somehow, the effect didn't seem as strong as it should have. And when I hit it with a fireball, it tanked right through it even when the scales of its face were singed. So it definitely has some kind of resistance going on here! But is it elemental resistances from being in fights, or does it have a skill that lets it resist magic? Dammit, if only I could know!
And I should have known the pause that came when I was running that over left an opening. The snake barreled forward and slammed right into me. I careened into the wall and felt the pain flare through me, my eyes darting to my falling HP bar. Damn, I knew the size difference would make that hurt. I'm still over half, but that still hurt like hell. Man, I wish I knew if it was a stat difference or if we're actually even. I know I'm hurting it too because the snake's HP bar is around the same point as mine. So even if my magic is being resisted, it's still hurting it enough to count.
But that's the problem. I've hit it multiple times, while all it took to knock me down this far was one blow. That magic resistance is the difference-maker. Dammit!
But like I'm going to let some damn snake be the end of me! Besides, I haven't fought something decent in a while, so bring it on!
The snake charges again, and this time, as I dash away, I use magic to soften the ground. Its head rams right into the softened stone and digs into it. In the pause from it thrashing to get free, I dash under and swipe my arm up, earth spikes erupting from the floor and to its softer underside. The spikes go right in this time, though not as much as I wanted. Agh, dammit! Was that me underselling it or that resistance slowing them down?
At least now the snake actually has to move differently, or else it'll just hurt itself. I have a moment to breathe while it struggles. And as it is, with it being restricted in movement, for now, I hit it with the Demon Eye again, more patches of scales becoming stone, some of them starting to fall off as its HP begins to fall more. But the snake breaks free, and its eyes are downright glowing with anger. Ah crap, I just hit the rage threshold, didn't I?
When the snake charges this time, my attempt to dodge is met by its tail flying forward and smacking me back. It's trying to trap me in it! Even with the space it has here, the damn thing is starting to coil in. And that doesn't restrict what it can do; it restricts me! I can keep trying to petrify it, but the Demon Eye isn't exactly a light MP user, and this thing's body is long. Fire magic is out since that'd probably blow me up too! But don't forget I use Earth Magic, you dumb snake!
A good a time as any to try something new.
As the snake coils, I move back as far as I can. My hand touches the ground, and I think of a line—a wide, tall line and ending it in a point. Make a wall, dammit, make a wall and use it like a guillotine on this thing!
The wall I'm imagining forms and rises quickly. It's rough, but I can catch the top being just enough of an edge to matter. The snake shoots its head down in the exact moment, and as it does, the wall meets one of the petrified portions of its body. Bingo! I wished I could cheer as I watched the wall break through the petrified scales and cut right through the snake's body. I scrambled onto its writhing body as the head fell and stared as everything started to slow down. My body felt sore, and I probably had a cracked bone or two. But ha! I win! Riku Shiratori can take this one to the bank!
Though maybe I shouldn't have been so confident. I dropped down from my new perch and strode up to the snake's head. I was expecting nothing at all. Just a dead snake head and nothing else. What I got as I tapped the head with a claw was a sudden twitch of movement, a flash of pain, and everything going dark. The last glimpse I had was my HP bar dropping again as I fell back.
Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [HP Auto-Recovery LV1] has become [HP Auto-Recovery LV2].
System's voice rouses me out of unconsciousness. My vision is still dark, and I feel like I was just in the aftermath of being hit by a truck. In fall fairness, that snake was about the size of one. Gagh… lucky nothing came after me while I was out. Ouch, just… ouch. Getting back to a nest is going to be a pain. I should just…
It's still dark.
I opened my eyes. But it was still dark.
Was something… no, I don't feel like I'm underneath anything. Maybe I somehow fell to another cavern where it's dark even with night vision. Some kind of shadow magic, perhaps. No… I don't think I'd be alive if I'd been dragged into a shadow. I know how that spell works. I mean, maybe I just got my eyes covered in something back there. I doubt it's…
I blink a few times, and all I get is a hot, painful feeling where I know my eyes are. I still feel them. But, something's… off now. I move forward and stumble across whatever's in front of me. I can still feel things. I can still smell. I can still hear.
But I can't see.
I'm blind. I'm blind. I can't see. Everything around me is just darkness. Not even a glint of light. It's totally dark. Nothing. Emptiness aside from touch and sound. All I'm getting is whatever chills are in the cave air on my wounded body, the ground below me. But no images. Nothing. I'm blind. Completely, utterly, blind.
Nononononononono NO! How the hell… did my eyes get hit when I approached the snake's head?! Dammit, dammit! I can't tell where I am! If I can't see… what the hell can I do? I can't use my Demon Eye. I can't aim spells. I can't even know just where something is actually coming from. No, no, no. Not like this, no way. I can't… no way, no way, no way!
All I'm doing now is stumbling along while hoping to whatever the hell is listening, nothing comes for me. If I'm found now… I'm a sitting duck. I can't see, and I'm still weak after fighting the snake. I can't see my meters either. What's my HP at? Has it at least regenerated to a safe level? Where am I even going right now? Dammit… dammit! I can't find my way around!
Stumbling around, tripping over things I can't find easily. All I can do is wander and wait. A wall, I can at least find a wall. If I make a hole in it, I can hide for a bit. Wait something out. But… wait for what? Nobody's coming to find me. I'm on my own. If anyone in my class did reincarnate, I sure as hell doubt they're monsters like me. Dammit… DAMMIT!
I only find a wall by bumping into it and feeling around. Whatever magic I can use in this weakened state, I just started using it to move into the wall. I didn't care how far I went with it. I just dug until I felt exhaustion take hold of me. And then I collapsed onto the floor of the hole.
Think, think dammit! I just… if I'm blind because my eyes were wounded, then… then I just need to level up. When I do, I'll heal, and my eyes should recover like everything else, right? Please, whatever the hell is listening, don't make this damn state permanent! What the hell can I do in a state like this?! A basilisk without its eyes is just a regular lizard! Dammit, dammit all! What the hell kind of luck is this?! This is complete bullshit! Why the hell am I even in this situation? What sick joke is someone playing with all of this?!
Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Anger LV1] Acquired.
Not. Helping. Right. Now. System! Buzz off for a while so I can… so I can think. That's what I need to do. Think. Just… think. Calm down, and focus. It sucks. This all hurts like hell. Being unable to see and thus use like half of my actually decent Skills makes this the absolute worst-case scenario I can be in. But, panicking and being reckless won't help me get through it.
Skills. I need to buy Skills that can compensate for my eyes right now. I don't care how much they cost; I need to overcome this. Screw logic, screw sense of a build. Survival, everything needs to be about survival until I get out of this damn cave. System, lay it on me! Skills for any kind of sensory perception and enhancement, what are they?!
Number of Skill Points Currently in Possession: 27,600. Number of Skill Points required to purchase Skills [Auditory Enhancement LV1], [Olfactory Enhancement LV1], [Tactile Enhancement LV1], [Taste Enhancement LV1], [Spatial Perception LV1], [Motion Perception LV1], and [Heat Perception LV1], 2000. Acquire Skills?
Every. Single. One.
Skills [Auditory Enhancement LV1], [Olfactory Enhancement LV1], [Tactile Enhancement LV1], [Taste Enhancement LV1], [Spatial Perception LV1], [Motion Perception LV1], and [Heat Perception LV1] Acquired. Remaining Skill Points: 25,600.
And the instant the acquisition is made, it feels like my brain is being assaulted by all kinds of things at once. The information is a jumble, a complete indecipherable hunk of information I can't handle. But I will dammit! Survival is on the line, so screw it! I'll process it all, even if it's painful! Just think!
Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Concentration LV1] acquired.
Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Parallel Thinking LV1] acquired.
Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Arithmetic Processing LV1] acquired.
The throbbing in my head lets up as the surprise series of new Skills sets in. It's still not much, but at least the sudden bombardment of information isn't as bad now. I can at least think about what I need to do. Just… something.All I need to do is find something to kill so I can level up. I don't care what it is. At this point, I wouldn't even care if it was a human just making his way through the cave.
My life over anyone else's right now!
That snake had to have gotten me close to leveling up. It can't take much to do it. That's all I need to do. So just wait.
I turn around in the narrow tunnel, and keeping my hands (front feet but how cares, they're basically hands) to the wall, I shuffle forward until I find the entrance I'd made. And then I sit there. I don't move out of it. I just wait. Something has to come by this way eventually. And whatever it'll be, I'll kill it. How? I don't even know. I'll just spam my strongest earth magic and hope it dies. Even if they're weak, these new Skills should help me do that. So come the hell on labyrinth, throw something at me!
And so, I wait. And wait. And wait.
And then I finally sense something. A bit of heat coming from another direction. A new taste in the air, a mix of things that's hard to make out but distinct from the scent of the dead snake that still might be nearby. And a bit of motion moving right in this direction. A sound goes with it too. A disturbed noise… language. Screw it… I already resolved to kill whatever comes in this direction. So I wait again. Even if it ends up being a human, I already made that choice.
Closer, closer, closer…
Once I hear a solid footstep right in front of me, I let loose. I can hear the ground ripping up in front of me as I let my earth magic run loose. In the split second that follows, a panicked shriek echoes out across the cave. And then, just silence and the pungent smell of blood in the air. Whatever it is, it's dead almost instantly.
Experience has reached the required threshold. Individual Elroe Basilisk Riku Shiratori has risen from Level 11 to Level 12.
All basic attributes have increased.
Skill proficiency level up bonus acquired.
Skill [Shadow Magic LV9] has become [Shadow Magic LV10].
Skill [Shadow Magic LV10] has progressed to Skill [Dark Magic LV1].
Skill [HP Auto-Recovery LV2] has become [HP Auto-Recovery LV3].
Skill [MP Recovery Speed LV2] has become [MP Recovery Speed LV3].
Experience has reached the required threshold. Individual Elroe Basilisk Riku Shiratori has risen from Level 12 to Level 13.
All basic attributes have increased.
Skill proficiency level up bonus acquired.
Skill [Terrain Magic LV2] has become [Terrain Magic LV3].
Skill [HP Auto-Recovery LV3] has become [HP Auto-Recovery LV4].
Skill [MP Recovery Speed LV3] has become [MP Recovery Speed LV4].
I feel an immediate wash of relief as I feel any sense of pain wash away as my old skin peels off. And glory be to it, my vision is back too! Haha! I don't care if it's a reincarnation cheat. Thank you, broken-ass skills! I'm still alive! Take that, you stupid snake! A last-ditch attack from your stupid head means jack shit now!
What did I kill anyway? Had to be pretty strong if it made me shoot up two levels. All I can say I know I did was make as many earth spikes as I could. But, well… man, that is a lot of blood. Edging out of the hole and kicking off whatever bits of shed skin is clinging on, I look around and up. And find what my kill was.
A person. So mangled by the series of spikes perforating their body, I can't even make out what they looked like or whether they were a man or woman. Just a mess of limbs and meat tangled up in wildly protruding spikes of stone that had come out from every angle. And whatever is left of their face is plastered in something resembling an expression of terror. I can't even pull my eyes away from the sight of it.
I… I did that. This person is dead because of me. And that couldn't have been painless. I know I said it didn't matter, that even if it was a person, I'd do what I needed to survive and keep living. And I'll stick by that statement. But… dammit. This really is real. I'm so damn used to games where killing something means the body either vanishes in a blink of light or dust or doesn't even have any real damage before it despawns.
But… there's a dead body in front of me now. Skewered by my own thoughts and desperate desire to survive that fueled them. All sense of morality that I still have are telling me how messed up this is. How wrong this looks. The fact this is because of me, done solely to save my own skin regardless of the situation, is wrong. But for as much as that learned morality sticks, as much as the thought is there, I don't feel it sinking in like it should.
It registers, I know this. But there's no feeling of disgust or even empathy towards the dead explorer hanging on those spikes. I just feel… nothing. I cannot, for all the moral sense I've had drilled into me from my old life, bring myself to actually care that I just killed another human. I'm not sure how to even describe this. Like… yeah, I'm sure their friends and family are going to be sad. The funeral is basically gonna be nonexistent. All the better, really. And they went into this place knowing something could kill them. It's an occupational hazard.
Am I just trying to rationalize this now? I'm a monster, after all. If they'd found me in that state… would they have killed me without hesitation? Would I not have had a chance and just been killed as easy prey by this human? Am I really, seriously justifying this? It's all just questions. It's happened. It's too late to ponder over it and wonder how it would have gone if things had been different.
But, have I actually just decided humans are different enough from me that even if I still retain the moral sense, I don't care if one dies? Is my heart just as monstrous as my body is now?
Ugh… man, this is getting bothersome. I'm sorry, really. But, I had to survive, and it was bad luck that you happened on me when I was desperate. Maybe you're better off, though, getting out of this world. At least, I hope so. I still don't know enough to really decide how bad it is or not. I'm just a Basilisk stuck inside of a labyrinth, after all.
What the hell judgments about this world can I make as I am now?
I'd been in such a confused mood after that I didn't even have it in me to bother trying to eat the snake's body when I passed back by it. It would probably just taste bad anyway, and I already have a bad enough taste in my mouth questioning the extent of my own humanity now. Whatever's left of it, I suppose. I'd made sure to avoid anything that would seem to lead me onto a path where that explorer's fellows would likely go, just to be sure. Honestly, I wasn't in the mood to kill anything else for a while. I just feel… unsettled.
Though not because I killed something with actual sentient thought. What unsettled me was the fact that it didn't bother me at all. It just killed any mood I may have had. Not even knowing my Shadow Magic had evolved to a new Skill was something I felt happy about right now. Ugh… dammit. Being on my own is a freaking drag. System only chimes in to give me alerts. I doubt I can talk to the humans here even with Telepathy, and I got no clue if I'm ever going to find that spider again. This sucks! Hey, god, gods, or whatever the hell is running the universe, what the hell did I do to get slapped into this when I reincarnated? I thought the rules were that shitty humans are made into cats to make up for it! I wasn't even that bad! Hel-loooo?!
Of course, there isn't an answer to my angry demands for them. I'm basically just screaming into the void and hoping to get something from it other than silence. A mess, it's just a mess. I need to speed this up. I'm level 13 now, but I'm still not sure what my threshold for evolution is. It might be asking too much, but if there are Skills that can speed this up, I'd be a happy guy… lizard. Whatever. Y'know, like some kind of EXP and proficiency boost, or hell, even a Skill stealing Skill. Buuut… yeah, that all sounds way too OP. No way skills like that actually…
Number of Skill Points Currently in Possession: 25,600. Number of Skill Points required to purchase Skills [Greed] and [Pride], 200. Acquire Skills?
What? Greed and Pride? As in the Seven Deadly Sins? Those? They're Skills here? What… can I Appraise that? What the hell do they do?
[Pride]: n% of the power to reach godhood. Upon acquiring, experience points and proficiency will greatly increase, along with improved growth capacity for every ability. In addition, the user will gain the ability to surpass the W system and interfere with the MA field.
[Greed]: n% of the power to reach godhood. When the user kills a target, randomly steals either status values, Skills, or Skill points from the target. In addition, the user will gain the ability to surpass the W system and interfere with the MA field.
Didn't I just say something like this would be way too OP? System, please, for the love of whatever listens, cut me a break! Kind of in the middle of processing an existential crisis! Now you tell me whoever arranged this decided abilities like this needed to exist? And why are they so cheap?! Is this some kind of implicit statement about me?!
But, I also need to survive. I need to get stronger. As quickly and as efficiently as possible. If these Skills let me do that, even if they end up having some kind of demerit… would it be worth it? I know I said I would use whatever I could. But after all of this… should I? What if I do, and these Skills just push me further away from what I used to be. Would I stop being who I was before I reincarnated if I keep going like this?
And if I do… what kind of person would I become instead?
A/N
And now I suppose the question is, do I have Riku get them now, or hold off a bit and let him further ruminate on the degradation of his humanity? Decisions decisions…
EDIT: I forgot in the novel whenever a level jump happens ALL the levels are noted down. So added that in for continuity.