CH 003: Status Screen
(A/N: This is a rewrite of this chapter. It's basically info drop, but it's very important. So definitely read it. It was in a "Natasha explains everything manner", but I turned it into just narrating it since it's way too freaking long.)
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(Time: Day 1 / Location: Low-Class Monster Forest)
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Sensing his gaze, Natasha turned and smiled nonchalantly :"Right, this is your first time seeing Magic. I had heard that dragons are quite proficient in Magic, but I guess they still need time to learn and be taught, huh? Don't worry, I'll teach you after a while."
And afterwards, she returned to what she was doing. Having accelerated the speed of draining the blood, it didn't take long to finish. It was done in about five minutes. Slathilia didn't know much about draining the blood of animals of that size, but he knew that it probably would take a few hours. Finishing it in a few minutes was pretty convenient.
Having finished that, she set the corpse down, and began to skin it skilfully. All while Slathilia watched and learned. While eating, at that. But just when he finished eating, he felt a sudden surge of strength that traveled throughout his body. Along with it, he heard a ding in his head before a transparent screen showed up in front of him, showing numbers and words.
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(Info)
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Name: Slathilia
Species: Hybrid Dragon
Awakened Race: Dragon (SS-Class)
Evolution Stage: Hatchling (Lv 01-20)
Gender: Male
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(Hybrid Physiology Jobs)
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??? Lv ???
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(Devoured & Absorbed Stats)
«D: Devouring / I: Ingestion / C: Consumption / M: Mana Core»
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Lv: 8 (0d+0i+8c+0m)
HP: 24/24 (0d+0i+24c+0m)
Mana: 24/24 (0d+0i+24c+0m)
Stamina: 24/24 (0d+0i+24c+0m)
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Strength: 24 (0d+0i+24c+0m)
Speed: 24 (0d+0i+24c+0m)
Durability: 24 (0d+0i+24c+0m)
Agility: 24 (0d+0i+24c+0m)
Senses: 24 (0d+0i+24c+0m)
Reflexes: 24 (0d+0i+24c+0m)
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Talent: 24/100 (0d+0i+24c+0m)
Intelligence: 24/100 (0d+0i+24c+0m)
Charisma: 24/100 (0d+0i+24c+0m)
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(Dragon Physiology Stats) {3rd Seal}
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Lv: 1
HP: 80/80
Mana: 80/80
Stamina: 80/80
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Strength: 80
Speed: 80
Durability: 80
Agility: 80
Senses: 80
Reflexes: 80
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Talent: 80/100
Intelligence: 80/100
Charisma: 80/100
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(Slathilia's Racial & Original Abilities)
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Self Analysis Lv 1 (SS)
Absorption Lv 1 (SS)
Healing Factor Lv 1 (SS)
Majestic Fire Breath Lv 1 (SS)
Majestic Fire Bite Lv 1 (SS)
Majestic Fire Claw Lv 1 (SS)
Majestic Fire Tail-Blade Lv 1 (SS)
Flight Lv 1 (SS)
Draconic Language Lv 10 (SS)
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Unlimited Growth (Overlink)
Devouring (Overlink)
Ingestion (Overlink)
Consumption (Overlink)
Mana Core Absorption (Overlink)
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Living Paradox
Mind Reading Immunity
Mind Control Immunity
Cloning Immunity
Absorption Immunity
Ability Copying Immunity
Plot Armor Immunity
Reality Warping Immunity
Reality Manipulation Immunity
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(Titles & Blessings)
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Benefits of Favoritism Lv 1 (Overlink)
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(Devoured & Absorbed Abilities)
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Berserk Lv 2 (G: Angry Rabbit)
Sprint Lv 3 (G: Angry Rabbit)
Bite Lv 2 (G: Angry Rabbit)
Libido Lv 1 (G: Angry Rabbit)
Sharp Senses Lv 1 (G: Angry Rabbit)
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"Gauw..." Seeing what was in front of his eyes, he unconsciously let out in amazement. It was then that he remembered something very important. Something he had forgotten because of the continuous unexpected events happening.
His wishes.
This soul piece of Ali had only wished for two things. One, being reincarnated as a dragon. Two, having the ability to take other beings' abilities. The shock of being reborn, meeting a person right away, and seeing Magic right after had made him forget them. He didn't see much before Natasha heard him, but still saw enough for him to know his absorbing ability wasn't so simple.
"Hm? What's wrong?" Natasha asked, turning to see him staring into space. realization quickly hit her :"Ah, did you see your Status Screen?" Earning a questioning call from her dragon companion. Continuing to skin and dissect the corpse, she explained :"Right, very intelligent monsters can understand their Status Screen. Pretty dragons can as well. Alright, I'll explain, so listen carefully."
And so, she began to explain what was probably the most common knowledge in the entire world, Status Screen. Slathilia also listened carefully, and remembered everything she said.
1: According to her, nobody knows how or who started it, but the gods decided to make it so all beings had the ability to view their own capabilities and abilities. Referred to by the people as Stats and Skills.
2: Every being in this world has their own Status Screen. Be it humans, animals, monsters, they all have it. Heck, even flowers. The difference is being able to understand it or not. Simple minded animals and monsters don't understand anything, so basically after seeing it once that it comes out automatically, they are never able to see it again.
Even at the first time, they just attack it or try to do whatever they could do before it disappears automatically. Meanwhile, humans and intelligent creatures make use of it to know their own capabilities. After all, knowing yourself is extremely important for those who fight to make a living. Even those who don't fight still use it to understand their Skills and Jobs better.
3: Every Status Screen has 4 parts. One, personal information. Two, Personal Stats and Job Stats. Three, Skills and Abilities. Four, Titles and Blessings.
As she finished speaking, so did the dissection. "And that's that." She hummed, casting two Magic Spells on her hands and the knife. One for cleaning them, and another for drying them.
[1 Magic Circle Lv 1 Water Magic: Cleanse]
[1 Magic Circle Lv 1 Wind Magic: Wind Wisp]
As Slathilia walked to her, his eyes landed on a small blue crystal on the ground. "Gauw?" He called out, rolling the small crystal on the ground as Natasha explained :"Oh, that's a Mana Core. Every monster has one. It's a concentration of Mana inside of their body. Even you have one. Normally, only monsters have them, but on extremely rare occasions, a human or such may have them as well.
The size of the Mana Core depends on the monster itself. The higher the Class, the bigger the Mana Core will be. They can also be sold, so Adventurers or anybody who has killed a monster makes sure to take them."
Humming in acknowledgement, the baby dragon kept staring at it. He didn't know why, but he felt a particular hunger towards it. He did have a suspension as to why, but he still didn't jump to it.
"Gauw?" He called out, pointing it to his mouth when Natasha turned to him :"Do you want to eat it? Can you, though? I mean, monsters do eat the Mana Core of other monsters from time to time, but you're still just a newborn. Wouldn't you have a problem?"
"Gauw." He shook his head, causing her to shrug :"Then sure, go ahead. It's only an E-Class Mana Core anyway. Although it can sell, it wouldn't be anything that expensive. So, go ahead. Just be careful."
"Gauw." He nodded, before biting the Mana Core whole and chewing it. In terms of size, it was about as big as a small marble ball, so he didn't have a problem. Surprisingly, he didn't have a problem in easily chewing it either. Hurray for dragons once again.
After swallowing it, he felt that same rush of strength in his body, causing him to groan in satisfaction. Telepathically summoning his Status Screen, he saw the numbers had increased once again.
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(Devoured & Absorbed Stats)
«D: Devouring / I: Ingestion / C: Consumption / M: Mana Core»
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Lv: 8 -> 40 {+32m}
HP: 24/24 -> 664/664 {+640m}
Mana: 24/24 -> 664/664 {+640m}
Stamina: 24/24 -> 664/664 {+640m}
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Strength: 24 -> 664 {+640m}
Speed: 24 -> 664 {+640m}
Durability: 24 -> 664 {+640m}
Agility: 24 -> 664 {+640m}
Senses: 24 -> 664 {+640m}
Reflexes: 24 -> 664 {+640m}
Regeneration: 24 -> 664 {+640m}
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Talent: 24/100 -> 664/100 (+640m)
Intelligence: 24/100 -> 664/100 (+640m)
Charisma: 24/100 -> 664/100 (+640m)
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(Dragon Physiology Stats) {3rd Seal}
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Lv: 1 -> 3 {+2}
HP: 80/80 -> 240/240 {+160}
Mana: 80/80 -> 240/240 {+160}
Stamina: 80/80 -> 240/240 {+160}
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Strength: 80 -> 240 {+160}
Speed: 80 -> 240 {+160}
Durability: 80 -> 240 {+160}
Agility: 80 -> 240 {+160}
Senses: 80 -> 240 {+160}
Reflexes: 80 -> 240 {+160}
Regeneration: 80 -> 240 {+160}
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Talent: 80/100 -> 240/100 {+160}
Intelligence: 80/100 -> 240/100 {+160}
Charisma: 80/100 -> 240/100 {+160}
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(Devoured & Absorbed Abilities)
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Horn Generation Lv 4 (E: Horned Wolf) {New}
Sprint Lv 2 (E: Horned Wolf) {New}
Bite Lv 3 (E: Horned Wolf) {New}
Pack Lv 1 (E: Horned Wolf) {New}
Prey Chase Lv 4 (E: Horned Wolf) {New}
Intimidating Howl Lv 2 (E: Horned Wolf) {New}
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Sensing the newfound strength and the lightness of his body, he couldn't help but groan in satisfaction. Especially when he saw the numbers on his Status Screen. This time, he had made sure to focus on both his body and the Status Screen. And when he saw how the numbers of Stats and Abilities rose, and the energy that fueled his body from the inside, he couldn't stop the excitement that lit up in his heart.
He didn't know the power balance and such of this world, but wasn't taking away the strength that the others had worked for a lifetime to gain in mere seconds just cheating? He didn't know how it worked, but the fact that his Absorbed Level rose to 40, and his Stats rose to over a hundred, in nothing but mere minutes after being born just proved how messed up his Abilities were.
But he calmed himself down. Sure, he was excited, and it was justified, but he still had something more important to do. He had to research and know more about his newfound Abilities. After all, his excitement was short-lived, and he could use the time to gain more knowledge about himself instead. After all, he was sure that would get more excited if he learned completely.
Such as how he was able to get stronger with eating beings' flesh and Mana Core. Who knew, maybe he could gain power through more methods. Maybe he could gain even more than the original. 'Hmm... Nah, hahaha how would that work?'
His excitement calmed down, but his head raced with thoughts of possibilities. He didn't have time to dwell too much on them though, since Natasha, who had noticed his changes, asked calmly :"You alright there? You keep making faces. Did something happen?"
"Gauw." He nodded. At the moment, he did not have any reason to tell her his powers, his deepest secrets. After all, if the public knew about it, 9 out of 10 chances are that people are either going to kill him while they still have the chance, or try to do something bad of that caliber. So of course, he wouldn't tell her. Not that he could, either.
He kind of couldn't talk.
But still, there was no problem in showing her that eating Mana Cores makes him level up. After all, he needed a reason as to why he would be eating Mana Cores from now on. He needed to show results so dissatisfactions wouldn't rise between them. After all, he was eating what could be sold for money. A large amount of it, for that matter.
There was a problem though. Language barrier. He couldn't tell her. So all that happened was him gauwing and making gestures awkwardly, while Natasha stood there with a clueless expression. In the end, all he could do was facepalm in annoyance. :'Oh, wait! I'm an idiot, why didn't I just write it on the ground like before?'
Groaning at himself, he turned and stood beside her, catching her curiosity as he began to write on the dirt with his nail :"[Leveled up.]" Immediately surprising her :"What?! You leveled up?!"
"Gauw!"
"From just eating a Mana Core?!"
"Gauw!"
"My goodness..." She gasped, covering her mouth in shock :"Could dragons do this? I haven't read or heard about anything like this..." A thoughtful look appeared on her face :"Is it perhaps an Ability or a Skill? Or does it have anything to do with your species? You don't look like a normal dragon, as far as I know."
'Hm? Different species?' Slathilia grew curious :'Wait, if I saw it right, wasn't there a Race and Species in my Info? Maybe that really is what made it happen. As far as I can tell, it seems like the Absorbed Stats and etc don't have anything to do with my Personal Level and Stats.'
"Hmm, let's do this." Natasha started calmly, but with a serious air to her :"First things first, let me finish explaining everything about Status Screen, then we'll see what's so special about you. I may not look it, but I'm quite knowledgeable in these things."
"Gauw." He nodded, and she sat once again, sitting him on her lap as well :"Alright, where were we? Oh, right, the parts and sections of the Status Screen. As I've told you, Status Screens are divided into 4 parts. 1, personal information. 2, Personal Stats and Job Stats. 3, Skills and Abilities. 4, Titles and Blessings."
And so, she began explaining once again.
1: Personal Information. Pretty self-explanatory. It shows some basic info about the individual. Mostly, it's just the name, age, race and gender. There can be extra parts, but that depends on the individual. For example, Slathilia has an extra "Species" part in his Personal Information.
2: Personal Stats and Job Stats. Self-explanatory. There are three things to know.
2.1) Personal Stats. Self-explanatory. Stats that everybody has. Monsters, humans, and humanoid creatures such as elves and dwarves. The higher the Stats, the stronger the individual. The Stats raise with the Level. They are Lv, HP, Mana, Stamina, Strength, Speed, Durability, Agility, Senses, Reflexes, Talent, Intelligence and Charisma.
2.1.1) Innate Stats. All Stats will rise with Level, except Talent, Intelligence and Charisma. Those two are unique to each individual. Talent and Intelligence are determined at birth, while Charisma depends on individuals. They are maxed out at 100. Other than Charisma, the other two can't grow. Unless a miracle has happened or you've taken some kind of a treasure.
2.1.1.1) Talent can be misleading. The only purpose of it is to show how fast your growth can be. Talent: XP per day through Mana Cultivation before the body starts to overload. The higher your Talent, the faster your chances of leveling up, the higher XP you get, and the higher your chances of your Job Ranking up.
There are two common ways to Level up. One, Mana cultivation, and two, killing.
?
'Wait... did... did I hear that right?' Slathilia thought in disbelief. With everything that he had heard and learned, he thought this was a fantasy world. But now, he heard something very unexpected. 'No, hold on... Systems and Levels are there, so is this world like fantasy manga plus cultivation xianxia? Manga plus manhua?'
"Hm? Do you have a question?"
"[Cultivation?]"
"Yes, cultivation."
2.1.2) Leveling up. Two ways to achieve, killing or Mana cultivating. All beings unconsciously absorb the Mana in the world. Mana cultivation is when individuals personally accelerate the speed of absorbing the Mana, which turns to XP and the Level rises when a certain amount of XP is gained. Unlike what Slathilia thought, this method is much more convenient than killing. Simple, all monsters always give a specific amount of XP according to their Class when killed.
G-Class: 2 XP
F-Class: 5 XP
E-Class: 10 XP
D-Class: 30 XP
C-Class: 50 XP
B-Class: 100 XP
A-Class: 150 XP
S-Class: 200 XP
SS-Class: 500 XP
Their Level doesn't change anything. XP stays the same. And to Level up, you need a specific amount of XP.
Lv 1: 100 XP
Lv 2: 200 XP
Lv 3: 300 XP
Lv 4: 400 XP
Lv 5: 500 XP
Lv 10: 1,000 XP
Lv 50: 5,000 XP
Lv 100: 10,000 XP
Lv 500: 50,000 XP
But the problem is, the XP resets to zero after Leveling up. So even after killing an SS-Class monster, the pinnacle of the monsters, an individual will only go from Lv 5 to Lv 6. And so, killing to Level up is extremely inconvenient. So Mana cultivation is the best way to Level up.
Needless to say, Slathilia was a bit speechless. But he was happy nonetheless. Now he didn't need to worry about somebody trying to kill him for XP while he's still weak. The explanation continues.
(A/N: This part is the confusing and kinda complicated part, so focus.)
2.2) Job Stats. Stats, for monsters, are determined by their Classes, while for humans and elves, they're determined by the Rank of their Jobs. The higher the Class or Rank, the stronger that monster or individual.
2.2.1) Jobs. Jobs roles and positions of individuals in the world determined by the Gods at the moment of birth. People who have a different job in life than their Job are pretty common. If it exists, (A/N: There's porn of it lol) there's a Job of it. Battle oriented such as Warrior, Archer, Swordsman, to simple works such as Cooks, Tailors, Bakers, Merchant. But what is most important, is the Rank of the Job.
{Important} Because the Job determines the upper limit and the Stats for both Personal Stats and Job Stats.
The higher the Rank is, the stronger you are. There are 5 Ranks in Jobs. Even a single Rank in difference means a lot of difference. The difference being the Stats gained at Leveling up, and the power of the Skills the Job will give at certain Levels.
Rank 1: 3 Stats per Level
Rank 2: 5 Stats per Level
Rank 3: 50 Stats per Level
Rank 4: 500 Stats per Level
Rank 5: 5,000 Stats per Level
The difference is easily seen even at the beginning, but it's really seen at the higher Levels.
R1 Lv 100: 300 Stats
R2 Lv 100: 500 Stats
R3 Lv 100: 5,000 Stats
R4 Lv 100: 50,000 Stats
R5 Lv 100: 500,000 Stats
Ranks are also determined at birth, but they can be increased. It is extremely hard, but still possible. Ranking up needs two requirements completed. One, proficiency in Job, and two, hitting the Level cap of the Job.
Rank 1: 50
Rank 2: 100
Rank 3: 200
Rank 4: 500
Rank 5: theoretical, 1,000
There are three factors for Ranking up: Talent, hard work and luck. Once these two requirements are met, Talent Stat is enough and luck is good, the Job will automatically Rank up. And once that happens, all previous Stats change to what the current Job Rank would've given.
{Example} 30 Stats at Lv 10 will turn to 50 Stats at Lv 10.
Personal Stats will be decided by Job Rank as well. And will change with it.
Ranks have titles. From Rank 1 to Rank 3, it's always Low-Rank, Mid-Rank and High-Rank before the Job's name. For Rank 4, it's usually Master "Job name". For Rank 5, each Rank 5 of any Job has a unique title of its own.
{Example} Hero is for Rank 5 Swordsman, Berserker is for Rank 5 Axeman, Great Sage is for Rank 5 Mage. The list goes on.
"I know it's complicated, and someone isn't supposed to learn everything in one go. So if you have any questions or don't understand something, feel free to ask. Hahaha or write it down, I don't know."
Slathilia chuckled, putting aside his calmly serious mood for a moment at her joke. These were things he had to know, so he couldn't not be serious. And with all the information she had to offer, he couldn't not pay attention.
Honestly, he really did expect himself to be confused and not understand some things. However, that didn't happen. He understood everything perfectly, and didn't miss out on or doze off in any part. That would definitely be hard for the past him, since his mind always felt foggy.
But now? Now it felt like a clear sky. One with not even clouds in it. He could understand and memorize everything she said perfectly without any problem. And he could hold only one thing responsible for it, his Intelligent Status Points. It wasn't a surprise, since she said the max was 100, but his, combined with the Absorbed Stats, was at 880/100. Far above the maximum Stat. Confirming that he understood everything, she continued.
2.3) Monsters Stats and Classes. Monsters and demons, instead of Jobs and Job Ranks, have Classes instead. The higher the Class, the stronger the monster. From lowest to highest, it's G, F, E, D, C, B, A, S, SS. Their classification was done by Gods, since it is recorded in their Status Screens.
Instead of a Level cap decided by Job Rank, monsters' is according to their Class. As the Class goes up, so does the Level cap, and every two Classes, their strength is multiplied just like Jobs. There are five Job Ranks and the Stats multiply with EACH Rank. There are nine Classes and the Stats multiply each TWO Classes.
Monsters are inherently a lot stronger than Spirit Rankers (humans, elves, dwarves, individuals with Jobs). But as the Class goes up, the strength of the monster is multiplied even more.
{Example} At G-Class, the Stats of the monsters are x0.5 (half) that of Job holders. At F-Class, the Stats are x1 (same). At E-Class, the Stats are x2 (twice) as much. At D-Class, x3 (thrice). At C-Class, x4 (four) times. And it just goes up like that. So basically, it would take a group of Job holders to kill a monster above D-Class if their Level isn't high enough. And at SS-Class, it needs EIGHT people with R5 Jobs to go against one.
G-Class = (x0.5) R1 Lv 01-10 = 03-30 Stats (06-60)
F-Class = (x1) R1 Lv 01-25 = 06-150 Stats (06-150)
E-Class = (x2) R2 Lv 01-50 = 20-1,000 Stats (10-500)
D-Class = (x3) R2 Lv 01-75 = 30-2,250 Stats (10-750)
C-Class = (x4) R3 Lv 01-100 = 400-40,000 Stats (100-10,000)
B-Class = (x5) R3 Lv 01-250 = 500-125,000 Stats (100-25,000)
A-Class = (x6) R4 Lv 01-500 = 6,000-3,000,000 Stats (1,000-500,000)
S-Class = (x7) R4 Lv 01-750 = 7,000-5,250,000 Stats (1,000-750,000)
SS-Class = (x8) R5 Lv 01-1,000 = 80,000-80,000,000 Stats (10,000-10,000,000)
(A/N: You all have no idea how much brainstorming it took for me to finish this and make it make even a bit of sense!)
{Note} You need to have a trustworthy group if you want to live a life of hunting monsters for a living. Like Adventuring. That is if you want to challenge and kill strong monsters though. A person can still go solo if they just hunt weaker monsters.
"Once you understand Jobs and Ranks, it will be pretty easy to get all of this. Doing the vice versa can also make it happen. Alright, we've gone through the important and basic parts of information about Stats. Which is actually the most complicated out of them all. Now, let's continue."
3: Skills. Self-explanatory. Three ways to gain a Skill.
3.1) Sacred Skills. Skills that are gained at specific Levels and can be specific to a single Job. Both monsters and Spirit Rankers will acquire at most 10 Sacred Skills. One at Lv 10, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 200, 400, 600, 800. (A/N: Quick note, this part wasn't in the original CH 3, I'm just mentioning it. It will be introduced a few chapters later. So Slathilia doesn't know about it yet.)
3.2) Innate Skills. Skills that one is born with. Such as Slathilia's Racial Skills.
3.3) Acquirable Skills. Skills that one can be acquired if mastered to a certain degree. Such as Swordsmanship or Cooking.
4: Titles and Blessings.
4.1) Titles are acquired when recognized for a large or significant action, or through continuously and excessively doing something. Gods reward your good action with a good and beneficial Title, and punish you if it's a bad Title received from a cruel act.
Gaining a Title can be extremely hard. As mentioned, it can be acquired through a significant or excessive action. Basically, quality or quantity.
{Example} Killing the population of an entire city or country in a short time, which will result in you becoming famous in the world and for your actions to be "acknowledged". Or if you kill a large number of people in secret, even if nobody figures it out, the gods will still know and you will receive the "Murderer" Title. Or if you steal a lot of time, even if not something significant, like fruits and pickpocketing, you will receive the "Thief" Title. On the other hand, if you steal the entirety or at least a large amount of what's inside a vault, you will still receive the "Thief" Title. So, as mentioned, quantity or quality.
4.2) Blessings are acquired when a God favors you or you've done something for them, the world or for people to want to reward you.
{Example} If a Priest heals and saves a lot of lives, there's a chance that he or she will receive a Blessing from a God of Life, Light or another God that favors good acts.
"Gauw?" He interrupted, and wrote what he wanted to know :"[A God?]"
"Hm, Yes, a God of Life. There isn't a single God. In fact, there's so many of them that it's hard to keep track of their names and numbers. But they are in a higher plane of existence, so we don't need to worry about them. Although I don't know about every God, I still know that they're also divided by Ranks determined by their individual powers. Their Ranking is, from lowest to highest,
Minor Gods
Demigods
Gods
Great Gods
God-Kings
But the last one is said to be just a legend though, since there aren't any records of a God-King, nor is there any evidence of them existing. Like a temple to worship them or something. But well, I don't really care either way. Matters of Gods and such is none of my business. Neither do I worship one. I just live my life."
"Gauw. (I see.)" Slathilia hummed before she realized something :"Oh, by the way, while we're on the subject, let me tell you something. If you ever happen to receive a Blessing, try to keep it a secret. There aren't many of them in this country, but there are still a lot of weirdos who are obsessed with Gods. Who knows what they'll do. Especially if your Blessing is from a high level God. There's a temple dedicated to worshiping the Great Gods, so especially try to stay out of their sight unless I'm with you."
"[Are they dangerous?]"
"Not really. They're just... weird. It's not like they'll try to hurt you or something. In fact, they will treat you with the highest respect, since you're favored by their gods. It's just that they might be a bit... too enthusiastic. Like, meeting an idol or hero you've always wanted to meet. So it might come as creepy. They don't mean anything bad, they'll just get too excited and may not notice if you're comfortable or not."
"[You talking out of experience here?]" He joked, causing her face to twitch. He expected a few reactions, but a tired sigh and a thousand mile stare wasn't one of them :"Wouldn't you want to know..."
'... I mean, it was obvious she wasn't your average girl, but I guess she's extraordinary?'
"But anyway, did you understand everything? If you didn't, just ask."
"Gauw." Slathilia nodded calmly, taking a moment to process all the information. Looking at his cute serious face, Natasha couldn't help but chuckle, patting him fondly :"There are still more things to learn, but don't worry. You'll forget them instead if everything is said in one go. When we come across them, I'll explain, deal?"
"Gauw. (Deal.)" He nodded with a smile, grabbing and shaking the stretched finger in a handshake manner. But as their cute handshake ended, Natasha grew serious :"Now, since I explained everything that you needed to know for now, can I please take a look at your Status Screen?
Oh, let me say this first. Some people consider the Status Screen as something private and would rather not show it to anybody they don't trust. I'm someone like that. It's not that it's forbidden to show it, but some people like to keep it a secret. But the majority of people don't really care. I keep it a secret because of my circumstances. So if you don't want to show it, or show only a certain part, I can understand."
He appreciated it. She could've just told him to show it, but she was considerate enough to warn him. It honestly wasn't anything big, but he still appreciated the small gesture. He nodded, before questioning :"[Show only a part?]"
"Yes, when making your Status Screen visible to others, you can choose to hide certain sections. Like, only showing the Personal Information section, or the Skills and Abilities section. And you can also choose to only show a certain part of that section. Like, only the name or race. Or a specific Skill or Ability. It's up to you."
Oh, I forgot to explain this part. Normally, the Status Screen is only visible to you, but can choose to make it visible to others as well. To do that, you need to say "Status Screen open", and will it to be visible. If you just say it, it won't show up. You need to focus on top of saying it. See how mine didn't show up even though I said it?"
The baby dragon nodded in interest. He was curious about his partner's Stats and Status Screen, but since she said wants to keep it hidden, he didn't want to be rude. Nodding as he understood, she continued :"Now, since I've told you everything and warned you, can you show me your Status Screen? Honestly, I'm only curious about your Personal Information, so just showing just that as well. And as I said, you can choose to not do that either. I can understand.
But believe me, this is very important. Being able to level up by just eating Mana Cores is way too important to ignore, since the potential of this ability is through the roof. Also, we should definitely keep it a secret. Amazing abilities attract the unwanted jealousy and envy of others. It may get dangerous, since some people might either want to take advantage of you, or try to get rid of you before it's too late."
"Gauw." Nodding in understanding, he took a deep breath and focused. Amazingly, he could feel his Status Screen when he focused on it, and what he wanted to be visible. Honestly, it looked like a game Status Screen. When he mentally clicked on it, it would lose its light and kind of turn gray.
Once he chose what should be visible and what shouldn't be, he spoke up :"Gauw. (Status Screen open.)" And his Status Screen appeared in front of him, brightening somewhat more than before when it was invisible.
He was clear on what to show. After all, even if they decided they were partners, he still only knew her for not even an hour at max. There was no way he would show her everything. Absorbed Stats and Skills were out of the questions. Those were the first things to be made invisible. After that, he had also hid his Original Abilities, along with those gifted by Crow, and had only made his Racial Abilities visible. He hid his Stats as well, of course.
Other than those, only Personal Information, Racial Abilities, Titles and Blessings were left. Which didn't really have anything to be kept a secret. He would be using his Skills anyway, so it's only a matter of a day or two before she sees them for herself.
"Alright, thanks for trusting, little guy." She smiled gratefully, patting him before growing serious :"Now, let's see. Name, Slathilia. Species, Hybrid- what?! You're actually a Hybrid?!" Surprising him with her sudden outburst. He actually jumped from surprise when she was shocked like that.
"Sigh, well, guess we need even more explaining to do already." She calmed down, growing slightly serious.
[Hybrid Monsters: Monsters that, unlike normal monsters, have Jobs. Meaning on top of an inherently superior physiology and Stats, they also have Jobs, Job Stats, and Sacred Skills brought by Jobs on top of having normal Sacred Skills like normal monsters. Their Personal Stats are decided by their Class, while Job Stats are decided on job Rank. Aren't actually a fusion of two or more monsters.]
"The entire reason why humans and such have Jobs while monsters don't is to make life and strength fair, since monsters are born with far more power and have a superior physiology than us. Especially the high Class ones. So a monster having a Job is just... unfathomable. Also, Hybrids are always a lot smarter than normal monsters, so they also know how to take advantage of their Status Screen. Ah, wait, so that's why you're so smart... being a Hybrid explains it."
Slathilia had a look of realization. At first, he thought that the Hybrid part was weird, since in his thoughts, he felt like it was there because he was a mix of two or more different races. Although it could mean very good, since he could have the strength of two or more different races, he still wasn't in a rush to feel excited. After all, he felt like not just any monster could be the partner of a dragon. But still, unexpected things could always happen.
Sure, having the powers of different races was awesome. But he could still get them by devouring them. Just like how he did with the Horned Wolf and Angry Rabbit. However, by being a mix, there was a chance he would have extra weaknesses as well. So he was still worried.
But after hearing her explanation, he was definitely happy. Now, not only did he have all of his Abilities, he also had the powers of a Spirit Ranker. Although he felt like he could, he still wasn't sure if he could take a Spirit Ranker's powers and Job as well. Now, even if he wasn't able to, he had his own Job as well.
As she finished explaining, Natasha grew serious. But in her emerald-green eyes, Slathilia could see worry as well. "Listen, we must not let anybody know about this, alright?" She asked gently, earning a questioning look that made her sigh :"I'm sorry to say this, but Hybrids are not welcomed by any of the races. Not even intelligent monsters accept them.
For humans and such, it's because they're monsters. So they don't take the risk of such a monster growing powerful in the future. For monsters, it's because they're not part of them. Even the members of the same race see them as outsiders. So Hybrids are either cast out by their own race, then killed if discovered by another race. Or just killed by monsters themselves, if they're not of a highly intelligent race."
'Oh, well that's messed up.' The baby dragon thought, but he just shrugged afterwards and nodded :"Gauw. (Alright.) Gauw gauw. (I'll keep it a secret.)" Seeing that he seemed to agree, she sighed in relief and nodded :"Good. Thanks, and don't worry. Your secret is safe with me, and I won't try to harm you because of it either. After all, it only means our team will grow stronger in the future, no? So why should I not welcome it?"
"Gauw!" He chirped happily, before she turned to his Status Screen again :"Alright, now, how about we find out what your Job is? Hmm, let's see... huh? It isn't written?" She asked, unsure as he gauwed in question :"Your Job isn't written. There's only question marks. Why would it be like this...? Hmm, is it because you're just born? There isn't much knowledge about Hybrids, so I don't really know..."
After thinking about it for a bit, but not coming up with any answer, she just sighed :"Forget it for now, I guess. Either something will happen when you grow a bit, or we'll just have to find something out in books. But for now, we can only put it aside. Is that alright?"
"Gauw. (Fine.)" He sighed, slightly sad. But he just shrugged in the end :'Guess that's all that we can do for now.' Seeing him agree, she nodded :"Alright, let's see the rest of your Status Screen as well."
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(Today's Devoured)
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Angry Rabbit x1
Horned Wolf x1