CH 004: Curse?
(A/N: Guys, I changed the two previous chapters a bit. I'll summarize the changed bit of CH 4 so you won't need to read the entire thing. But go and read the first part of the chapter. Right at the start, the continued part of the explanation of Stats. So, for CH 4, the bit about Talent determining your maximum Level was removed, and it just means how fast you can level up. The maximum Level, the Level cap, was instead added to the Rank. The higher the Rank, the higher the Level cap. Natasha :"
Rank 1: 50
Rank 2: 100
Rank 3: 200
Rank 4: 500
Rank 5: theoretical, 1,000, since nobody has reached it as far as I know"
It's that part. But read the whole Stats part so you won't miss anything. And definitely read the starting part of CH 5, since that's very important and I can't summarize that shit.)
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(Time: Day 1 / Location: Low-Class Monster Forest)
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After the explanation provided by Natasha, she took a look at Slathilia's Status Screen to know his Personal Information and Racial Skills. But well, the surprises weren't just about him being a Hybrid Dragon. After seeing everything, it wouldn't be a surprise to say she was more shocked than ever in her life.
"You're not just a Hybrid Dragon..." She started, elbows on her thighs, fingers intertwined in front of her mouth, and thumbs supporting her chin, a look of disbelief on her face :"But you're also an SS-Class monster? Not just that, an SS-Class Dragon? You're actually a Dragon King? One that can level up by eating Mana Cores at that?"
It happened when she saw what he assumed as Classes or Ranks, next to the Skills. Seeing the "SS" next to his Race and all of his Skills had made her more and more shocked. Sighing, she decided to explain when she saw his questioning gaze :"As I've told you, through research and cooperation with extremely intelligent monsters, such as Dragons and Demons, we've found out that monsters' Classes are recorded in their Status Screen.
Where? On the Race part in Personal Information, and the Class next to the Skills. And your Class, as you can see, is recorded as "SS". Meaning that not only are you an SS-Class monster, but an SS-Class Dragon. Meaning in the Ranks of Dragons, you are a Dragon King."
"Gauw. (Oh.) Gauw. (Well, that's awesome.)" He realized, nodding in an impressed manner. Knowing that he was of the highest Class of both monsters and Dragons was pretty awesome. It's just that he didn't know how awesome it was yet, so he couldn't show that much excitement for what he didn't fully understand yet.
"[Dragon Ranks?]"
"It's pretty self-explanatory. Dragons, even among the monsters, are just built different. It wouldn't be overestimating it to say they're a whole nother breed of monsters. You see, unlike monsters that have three Evolutionary Stages, Dragons have five Evolutionary Stages.
Hatchling (Lv 01-20)
Larva (Lv 20-50)
Childhood (Lv 50-100)
Adulthood (Lv 100-500)
Pre-ascension (Lv 500-1,000)
What makes them different from other monsters is how they change after Evolving. You see, for normal monsters, they simply grow up when they evolve, like aging by years in a matter of minutes or hours. However, not only does the same happen for Dragons, their strength also multiplies!
Hatchling (Lv 01-20): Same Stats as Monsters
Larva (Lv 20-50): Same Stats as Monsters
Childhood (Lv 50-100): x2 the Stats of Monsters
Adulthood (Lv 100-500): x2 the Stats of Monsters
Pre-ascension (Lv 500-1,000): x5 the Stats of the Previous Evolution Stage
Basically, let's say for Dragon Kings, for example. At Hatchling and Larva Evolutionary Stages, their gained Stats are the same as other SS-Class monsters, 80,000 Stats. But at Childhood and Adulthood, it doubles! Their gained Stats become 160,000! And at Pre-ascension, it becomes five times the previous Evolutionary Stage, Adulthood, meaning they gain 8,000,000 Stats by each Level! Which is just a dick move at that point, honestly.
Meaning when it already takes 8 people with R5 Jobs to take on a single SS-Class monster, it takes 16 people with R5 Jobs to take on a single child or adult SS-Class Dragon. And at Pre-ascension Stage? That's just unfair. There aren't even 80 people with R5 Jobs to begin with. Heh, and they say we humans along with elves are Gods' and the world's apple of the eye."
Squinting her eyes at his, she playfully pulled on his cheeks :"Seriously, the audacity of your Race. As if monsters weren't already strong, they're even more freakish." Seeing how he grumbled and tried to break free, she chuckled at his cuteness. Letting go, she patted him as he rubbed his cheeks :"And that's why, there's a specific Ranking for Dragons.
Low-Rank Dragons = B-Class
Mid-Rank Dragons = A-Class
High-Rank Dragon = S-Class
Dragon Kings = SS-Class
It's not original to the Status Screen or the Gods, but something established by us mortals. And well, not only are you a Hybrid Dragon, but an SS-Class Dragon King. Which is just disrespectful, to be honest. But well, I'm not complaining. This simply means our team is stronger."
As he heard more and more, he couldn't help but get more impressed by the second. He was born with power. Power was his birthright. But his Skills meant that even that power would be surpassed in the future. And frankly, he was pretty happy about it.
Why wouldn't he? Who wouldn't like to be powerful? He was a pretty power hungry individual, so seeing that his chances of getting so much power was awesome. He honestly couldn't understand why most of those Isekai protagonists would be unhappy to be overpowered.
Sure, wanting to see growth was awesome, but that was only for stories. Who wouldn't want to be powerful from the get go? Which would you prefer, being born a billionaire and having the easiest but most successful life, or being born broke and homeless and having to live a shitty life just so you could rise to the top? And well, he was pretty happy about his situation. "Also, this Skill... Absorption is pretty powerful, huh?" She said, and he nodded as he willed it to show its explanation.
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Absorption: Racial Skill that allows Slathilia to Level up through consuming the remaining Mana inside of the Mana Core.
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Humming thoughtfully, she turned serious :"Slathilia, let's keep this Skill a secret as well, alright? This might not sound powerful for someone without knowledge, but many will know its true worth. To level up, one must kill. It's a fact that has been around since time immemorial.
However, you can just sit around and eat Mana Cores, and then just level up. Not only will it attract unwanted jealousy, it will probably attract the attention of evil individuals who'll try to experiment on you to see how it works. To see if they can get that ability as well. So, better safe than sorry. At least till you're powerful enough to not care or be in danger."
"Gauw. (Alright.)" He nodded, serious before he thought of something :'Wait, she said that an SS-Class monster gains 80,000 Stats per Level, right? Wasn't what I gained 80 Stats?! Isn't that a thousandth (1/1,000th) of what I should gain?!'
(A/N: His stats were changed from 20 to 80 so they would be 1,000th of what they should be. It would be confusing if it wasn't like that. I also changed the previous chapters. Along with the new Stats assigned for monsters. Meaning he gained 640 Stats from the Lv 32 E-Class Horned Wolf instead. 20 x 32 = 640. At first, I was planning to randomize the Stats, since only the first three Stats, HP, Mana and Stamina always gain the right Stats. Meaning 3, 5, 50, etc.
While the other stats would grow randomly. Making someone specialized in strength or speed and such. But believe me, randomizing it when Slathilia absorbs them is annoying as hell. So, from now on, his Skills allow him to gain all Stats with how they should've been, like the first three Stats. Basically, all of the absorbed Stats from Horned Wolf were 640 instead of random Stats. Except the last three, Talent, Intelligence and Charisma. Those are always random from 1 to 100. Except for Slathilia, since his Unlimited Growth Skill allows him to go beyond the limits.)
Turning to his Status Screen, he looked at the gray areas. The parts that were invisible to others. Looking through it, he quickly found the Personal Stats part.
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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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"Gauw...?" He groaned, growing confused :'3rd Seal? What the hell's that?' Noticing his behavior, she raised an eyebrow :"What's wrong? Did something catch your attention?" Causing him to hum thoughtfully.
He wondered if he should show it to her. After all, she herself told him how important the privacy of the Status Screen is, and he didn't trust her enough to show her. But his knowledge was close to nothing, and he didn't know if this was serious.
'Wait, she already knows about the Stats SS-Class monsters gain. And since I was just born, it's obvious my Lv is 1. Even if I leveled up, it was only to Lv 3. Not showing it is when you've lived for a long time and don't want to show the details of your strength. Hmm... oh, fuck it. Risking it just a bit now is better than possibly losing my life over a little bit of privacy later on.'
Finally deciding, he willed his Dragon Physiology Stats to be visible as well. Causing the redhead to be surprised :"Oh. Well, I'm... thankful for your trust, I guess? But why are you showing me your Personal Stats too?"
Pointing at it, he urged her to look. Seeing how she hesitated was honestly a pleasant sight. Knowing that his partner respected privacy made him smile in approval. But after he urged her again, she finally looked with a sigh. However, frowned in confusion as well when she saw the uncovered section :"What the? Why are your Stats so low? They're a thousandth of what they should be... 3rd Seal? What? Why is your strength sealed?"
"[Seal?]"
"It's exactly as it sounds like. Your power has been restrained for some reason. But why? And how? You were just born. So did someone do it while you were still an egg? Does it perhaps have anything to do with why you were here in the first place? Hmm... is it a curse?"
Hearing the last part, Slathilia's eyes twitched :'The heck? I was just born, and I'm already cursed? C'mon, man.'
"[Curse?]"
"Hm, Curse Magic. Also called Black Magic. It's mostly used for these things. Weakening someone in a certain manner, or in a certain field, torture, cursing, enslaving, etc. Sealing also happens with Curse Magic most of the time. There are other methods, but Curse Magic is most often involved. Honestly, it would be better if it is Curse Magic."
"[Why?]"
"*Smirking* Because if that's the case, I can dispel the curse with Holy Magic. It will be easy, since the two are each other's natural enemies. If the Holy Magic is stronger than the curse, we can solve it. And believe me, I have faith in my Magic."
"Gauw. (Hm, I see.)" He nodded, sighing in relief. He really didn't want to be living and walking around with an unknown curse attached to him. Smirking, she pulled up her sleeves :"So, wanna start right now? The sooner it's solved, the better, right?"
And he didn't have a single reason to disagree. "Gauw!" He cried out happily, jumping off of her so they could begin. Chuckling, Natasha got up and got ready :"Alright, let's get rid of this curse, shall we?"
(A/N: Next chapter will start the real story. Phew. And no, spoilers, but the part where they try to unseal him is skipped.)
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(Today's Devoured)
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Angry Rabbit x1
Horned Wolf x1
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Gained Lv: 40
Gained Stats: 664