I gulp audibly. As of now, allocating Combat Points is the only way I can check my stats. Last time, they averaged at around 30, with mana being the runt of the litter.
Compared to last time, how much stronger did I get?
Each level-up should give me +1 on all attributes in theory. But for the sake of my hypothesis, let’s say that stats differ when increasing according to affinity. The highest increase I’ve had so far is a +3 on damage. So say by some miracle, I get that +3 for each of my four level-ups. That would leave me with +12 on all stats, so I would therefore average at stats of 42 on each attribute.
If it’s anything over-the-top, then something fishy is definitely going on. Like a Greed-linked skill, maybe?
<20 Combat Points
Health: 61
Mana: 34
Damage: 73
Defence: 57
Speed: 69
Which attributes do you wish to increase?>
Holy… Okay, okay, okay. Definitely a skill. No way four level ups would let my stats increase by this much. Seriously, what?! Plus forty for damage and speed? Unreaall.
Hmmm… I’ve discerned that this rapid growth of mine is the doing of some sort of skill that comes along in a package deal. By being a Unique Demon, I also get some overpowered cheat skill? Yes! Yes please!
Though, there's a bit of a problem now. Namely: what do I do with this information?
I’d like to say that I should start going super aggro, but that’s basically what I’ve been doing this whole time. I’ve just been careful not to step past the line and die.
And I’m honestly not even that shocked, let alone excited, since I sort of suspected such a thing even in the beginning. It’s kind of like that feeling when you’re so confident about a theory that instead of anticipating excitement about proving it correct, you’re scared of getting let-down if the results don’t satisfy you.
So really?
Meh.
Sure is nice to get statistical confirmation, but… still pretty anticlimactic in my opinion. I suppose the smart way would be to carry on with these tests?
So far, I think I can safely say that my damage stat has been increasing the most, and mana has been increasing at the slowest rate. For the most part, I’ve been spamming all my Combat Points into speed, yet damage seems to always prevail.
This pattern has to be linked to mystery skill in some way, right?
I can think of three primary reasons for this. Either mystery skill increases stats based on my affinity with each attribute, has a set ratio when increasing, or increases stats based on the stats of my opponent.
The first possibility is pretty self explanatory. Say I’m naturally a hard-hitter, so my damage increases the most. But I suck at magic, so my mana barely increases. And the other attributes are somewhere along that line between 0 and 100 based on my own affinities.
The second possibility basically means that the skill I have increases my stats at a set rate. Like maybe 3:4:6:2:6:1 or something? So damage jumps up the most since it has the most ratio points allocated towards it, while mana doesn’t really go up since it only gets a tiny portion from the overall stat pool. I can’t change that set ratio, and it has nothing to do with my affinities—simply the skill itself.
Or, the third, and probably most logical probability: the stats I get are a direct ratio based on the stats of the opponent I killed. I mean, these roaches hit pretty hard, but I haven’t seen a single one use magic yet. So say the roaches themselves have high damage and low mana. By killing them, I simply get a smaller portion from their overall stats.
And, honestly, this clause sounds the most liable. I mean, it would make more sense this way, and wouldn’t you expect some badass sin skill to be more useful than increasing based on a determined rate?
So the third option it is.
But as of now, my options are well, …rather limited. I’ve only got roaches to kill, okay!
Meaning that even if I wanted to, I won’t be able to even out my stat pool. It’s not really a big issue right now since damage and speed seem to be the ones that increase the most exponentially, but maybe later on, say, I want mana to perform magic, then I could go and kill some monsters with high mana stats.
Though, without further ado…
Damage: 73 (+5)
Speed: 69 (+10)
Confirm?>
Yeah, I guess that looks about right. I would just go all in, +10 damage and +10 speed, but since damage already increases at the fastest pace, I might as well spend some Combat Points on my third most favourable attribute: health.
Health: 61 → 66
Damage: 73 → 78
Speed: 69 → 79
Current Combat Points: 0>
Yeesh, would you look at that. Rena Shinohara used Bulk Up! It’s super effective! Rena has ascended to godhood!
Oops, might have slipped a bit into the wrong genre. I’m not going to be climbing steps that increasingly put pressure on my ki core or whatever!
Sorry, but no xiaxian or cultivation here. Just pure grinding! The way LitRPG was intended! Who cares about the fourth wall?!
(Rena Shinohara is grabbed by some hand from the sky, before getting duct-taped to the cavern wall.)
Okay, nevermind. I do care about the fourth wall. Man, getting duct-taped really sucks! Trust me, you never wanna experience that in your life. Imagine being that ‘modern art’ banana that sold for a million or something…
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That aside, I’m kind of wondering how exactly I beat a roach that was light years ahead of me in terms of power. It has to be that acid, right?
I mean, just because the Guard produced some acid, doesn’t mean it's immune to its effects. Same goes for humans, actually. If you had a hole in your stomach and your digestive acids suddenly leaked out, you would be as good as dead.
So maybe it produces the acid in some special gland and secretes it outwards by spitting to form a makeshift projectile? I don’t exactly know the science behind it, but that acid was absolutely devastating. I got super lucky then, to be honest.
I just tried to clamp the roach’s mouth shut so the acid wouldn’t get to me, but I ended up making the roach deal way more collateral damage than intended, so it all works out in the end.
Speaking of the roach…
How am I going to get out of this cramped corridor with the huge frame of a dead roach blocking my pathway?
Having heaved the roach out, I puff my chest out in satisfaction as I admire my work from a distance. For a second, I really thought I was gonna get trapped in there! Good thing I had the bright idea to shovel at the already damaged parts of stone in order to make the corridor slightly wider.
Alright, now that I’m done with the physical labour, I guess I should get back to the theory side of things.
Before, when I spontaneously level upped, two things had caught my attention. Some title called [Underdog], and some skill called [Melee] that fused with [Slash] and [Stab].
<[Underdog] (title)
Condition: Defeat a foe deemed marginally stronger and impossible to beat.
Effect: Deals extra damage based on the difference in rank.>
Hmm… If it were a difference in level instead of difference in rank, I’m sure this title would be a lot more useful, but it doesn’t seem that good right now. I mean, once I reach a certain level, I should rank up from F to D, right? So the skill gets less useful the more I progress.
And most of my enemies are rank F. The highest being Queens, Guards, and probably also the King. I probably won’t get that much bonus damage if the opponent is just one rank higher than me, but if it were levels, they…
Okay, both ways, [Underdog] doesn’t seem that good.
But the unlocking condition seems pretty hard to get, so this should be a rare or powerful title, right?
Well… being pessimistic sucks, so let’s just be optimistic and say that the ‘extra damage’ scales pretty high per rank. Even if it doesn't, extra damage is still extra damage, so I’ve got no room to complain!
Yeah! That’s the spirit!
I already used to kill the baby roaches in a single hit before, and since my stats took a massive leap forward, I’m even more certain that they’ll pose no trouble to me anymore, so [Underdog’s] bonus damage won't allow me to squat there. But I’m planning on wiping out the sub-nest, meaning that I’ll be up against the Queen and some more Guards, so the bonus damage might mean the world there.
In fact, speaking about baby roaches, I’m definitely far stronger than them, yet we’re still under the same rank. Like, based on my personal evaluation, no way are those baby roaches even near the same league as I!
Uh, is there really such a thing as a cap, or is it just impossible to rank up?
I’m getting unnerving suspicions that ranking up is impossible…
N-no, it should be fine.
…
Well, regardless of whether ranking is possible or not, I also got some other skill called [Melee]. For some reason, both [Slash] and [Stab] got integrated into [Melee], so I’m assuming that [Melee] is probably some advanced, superior version of the former skills.
They’re totally compatible.
I mean, why else would they fuse together?! The proficiency from [Stab] and [Slash] also boosted [Melee] up to level 4. Which seems weird, since [Stab] was level 7 and [Slash] was level 3. But for some reason, [Melee] wound up level four instead of level ten. Maybe some of the proficiency was lost during the conversion?
You know? Basic science? 100% energy efficiency is impossible, because some energy is lost on the way? Same logic?
Probably.
<[Melee] (Passive): Adds bonus damage to any melee-based attacks. Also gives the user fundamental knowledge of all melee-based arts.. Bonus damage and battle knowledge increase as skill levels up.>
Oh?
So, like, I can do kung-fu and skillfully wield my daggers now? I’ve got a fundamental knowledge base of all melee arts, haven’t I?
I move around experimentally, having no idea what to do. In fact, I’m really drawing a fine line between pure flailing and technique. Yet, halfway through my hapless movements, some sort of instinct just takes over, and I end up doing a 360 roundhouse kick on the wall left to me while minimising the recoil damage done to my foot.
Well, if [Underdog] wasn’t good, this sure makes up for it!
Another massive boost to my offensive capabilities, for sure. My only attack methods all fall into some subcategory of melee battle, so all by attacks get boosted, it seems. Not only that, but did you see me move just then?
Yeah, the movements felt a bit rough around the edges and unrefined, but if managing to pull a roundhouse kick out of my ass counts as ‘fundamental knowledge’, then I bet I could do way more!
Except, against these roaches, martial arts won’t do jack shit, so I’ll have to lay off the kung-fu for another day. Good thing it says all melee arts. So I can probably wield my daggers the way an assassin does now. Probably not. But probably reasonably better than before. Probably. Hopefully.
Using the dagger I had wiggled out of the Guards jaw, I experimentally move around, sidestepping at random intervals and swinging my dagger while ducking—basically the things I saw on anime.
Interestingly enough, my movements feel a lot smoother, and instead of gruffly shifting from one position to another like before, I instead transition between movements fluidly without that usual jerky movement. Small things change ever-so-slightly.
But most notably: my pose and footwork, which was virtually redundant before, have gotten some form. Like how I now subconsciously stand with my feet shoulder width apart for balance, and how my thumb now rests on the side of the handle for control and precision.
I mean, damn!
Damn!
Dayum!
I totally love this new skill! All hail [Melee]!
Next, it totally makes sense to salvage the Guards corpse to make even better daggers! I’ve already made a really nice one from one of the roach’s scythe-like extensions, but I can always make a second one with the other scythe part!
And even better:
Unnamed
Level: 2 Rank: D Class: Guard>
This guy retains its rank! Even after dying, it’s still rank D!
Which means, naturally, the body parts I loot from it will also be ranked D! Wahahahaha!!! This catch is gonna be tons better in quality than the others!!! I’ll make a killing!!!
Do I sound like a black-market organ trader? Because I totally think I do.
Using the long-bladed dagger as a saw, I manage to yank off the other scythe-like leg. The length of the scythe/katana shaped blade is in-between that of a shortsword and a dagger.
So what do I call it?
Short-shortsword?
Longdagger?
Honestly, I think I’ll just stick with ‘dagger’, since y’all know that ‘dagger’ refers to ‘long-bladed dagger’ from now on. Well, until I find myself a better pair of weapons.
Cutting off the antennas, I wrap them around the ligament section of the scythes. It creates a pretty comfortable grip.
I take a step back and look in awe at my 5-minute crafts daggers.
…You know what? I think I’m gonna put more effort into these.
After roughly an hour later, I once again take a step back and look at my fine daggers in marvel. Along with the two main daggers from the roach’s scythe extensions, I also made four throwing knives from the other leg parts, although those are far cruder than my main daggers. Haha!, even artisans would be jealous of this beauty!
Looking proudly at my makeshift daggers, I [Appraise] them.
Damage: 100 Durability: 700 Resistance: 200
Specials: None>
Whoaa…
...My craftsmanship was so good that I made a legit, bona-fide weapon?!?! I mean, even the system registers them as actual daggers!
Hell yeah!
ONE HUNDRED FREAKING DAMAGE!
These daggers are overpowered as heck!
I guess these are the rewards I deserve for beating an enemy that I shouldn't have been able to defeat.
I’ll go see what else I can salvage from the corpse. Well, I would, but… I don't want to go near that gross body anymore. A pile of blood, pus, froth, and who knows what has formed a large puddle over there, you know?
No way am I touching that shit.
Forget about cutie beauties, that thing probably comes straight out of sleep-paralysis hell.