Episode 8: Fisherman’s Profit ○
It’s been a week since I defeated the Green Worm horde, and today I was diligently working on raising my skills again. However, since my last level up, my skills have been growing increasingly slower. It seems that at level 24, self-training alone isn’t enough to make them improve much. Still, I don’t have anything else to do, so I just quietly keep using my skills.
As I was spending another ordinary day, around noon when the sun was directly overhead, and I was earning a tiny bit of experience with “Photosynthesis,” I sensed a vibration in the air from a distance.
I consumed some mana to expand the range of my Life Detection and confirmed that it seemed like two monsters were fighting. I then used Appraisal on the monsters.
Species: Great Mantis
Name: None
Rank: F
Level: 32
HP: 108/112
MP: 38/43
Attack Power: 88
Defense Power: 51
Magic Attack Power: 42
Magic Defense Power: 47
Agility: 66
Skills:
Iron Cut Lv12
Sickle Weasel Lv9
Species: Rock Scorpion
Name: None
Rank: F
Level: 31
HP: 78/92
MP: 32/39
Attack Power: 79
Defense Power: 85
Magic Attack Power: 37
Magic Defense Power: 63
Agility: 64
Skills:
Paralysis Poison Lv9
Poison Lv8
It seems like two insect-type monsters are fighting. However, even though they’re insects, their sizes are completely different from the mantises and scorpions I know. Even with their blurry silhouettes, both of them are easily over 1 meter tall. The Great Mantis, in particular, might be close to 2 meters.
These giant insects are engaged in a fierce battle and are heading this way. If I get caught up in such a fierce fight, I, who can’t move, wouldn’t stand a chance.
I fully utilized “Life Detection,” “Magic Detection,” and “Appraisal” to observe the battle. It seems the Great Mantis, with its superior attack power, is on the offensive, but it can’t inflict a fatal blow due to the Rock Scorpion’s defense. Conversely, the Rock Scorpion seems to be enduring the Great Mantis’s attacks while aiming for a one-hit kill with its poison.
However, the Great Mantis seems to be aware of the Rock Scorpion’s intentions and is unleashing a barrage of attacks, not giving it any chance to counter.
Without finding an opening to counter, the Rock Scorpion’s HP is slowly being chipped away. If this continues, the Great Mantis will undoubtedly win.
But the problem is, I’m likely to get caught up in the battle between the two monsters before the Rock Scorpion falls.
(I have no choice. Rather than waiting for one to remain, I’ll reduce both of their HP while they’re still fighting.)
First, I hit the Great Mantis, which is focused on its continuous attacks, with Poison Edge. The poison-infused water blade, launched from a blind spot, hit perfectly near the base of its left leg.
Not missing the chance when it stumbled from the sudden attack, the Rock Scorpion thrust its tail into the Great Mantis’s chest.
The Great Mantis immediately convulsed and collapsed to the ground. It was probably the Rock Scorpion’s paralysis poison that took effect. The Rock Scorpion quickly approached to deliver the finishing blow. As it raised its tail high, confident in its victory, I hit it with Poison Edge.
The sound of a shwip could almost be heard as the Rock Scorpion’s tail was cleanly severed.
The Rock Scorpion, already weakened by the Great Mantis, seemed to have received a fatal blow from my attack, and after writhing on the ground for a while, it stopped moving.
Meanwhile, the Great Mantis was unable to move due to the paralysis poison, and its HP was rapidly decreasing from my potent poison. Not knowing how long the paralysis poison would last, I continued to inflict damage with “Poison Edge,” and eventually, the Great Mantis died without recovering from the paralysis.
(Phew, I managed to defeat them before getting caught up.)
I stored the two corpses in my Item Box and took a breather.
(It feels like a fisherman’s profit, but since they were stronger opponents, I might have gotten a decent amount of experience?)
Species: Poison Grass
Name: None
Rank: G
Level: 30 Evolution Available
HP: 49/49
MP: 87/104
Attack Power: 43
Defense Power: 51
Magic Attack Power: 106
Magic Defense Power: 106
Agility: 0
Skills:
Special Evolution
Language Comprehension
Chant Annulment
Item Box Lv8
Appraisal Lv6
Thought Acceleration Lv7
Life Detection Lv8
Magic Detection Lv7
Hostile Sense Lv7
Auto HP Recovery Lv5
Mana Auto-Recovery Lv7
Light Magic Lv8
Water Magic Lv10
Space-Time Magic Lv3
Gravity Magic Lv3
Photosynthesis Lv8
Poison Generation Lv7
Pain Resistance Lv2
Titles:
Reincarnator
Skill Collector
Evolver
Giant Killer
Assassin New!
Oh, my level is maxed out, and I can evolve! Also, with Water Magic reaching Lv10, I can now use 4th tier magic. And on top of that, I’ve gained a new title.
Before evolving, let’s check the Water Magic and the title.
Water Magic 4th Tier: “Water Bullet”… Shoots out a bullet of water.
Hmm, a water bullet, huh? I’ll have to test that out later. It seems I can also use a spell called “Water Wall.” It’s a defensive spell that creates a wall of water. Next, the title is…
Assassin: Increases attack power and accuracy when attacking by surprise.
I see. I’ve certainly been doing a lot of surprise attacks, so this title makes sense. The name is a bit ominous, though. Still, I’m happy with the simple boost to attack power and accuracy. It will definitely increase my chances of survival.
(Alright, next is checking the evolution options!)
I proceeded to check the evolution options.
□Please select an evolution path.
・Mandrake
・Alraune
・Miasma
(Hmm. What are these? I can’t tell just by the names. Are these plants? I’ve never heard of any of these names.)
With my limited knowledge, I can’t imagine what these evolution options are like. I have no choice but to check them one by one with Appraisal.
Mandrake: A human-shaped plant with a forked root. The scream it emits when pulled out inflicts “fear” and “confusion” on those who hear it. Its body is one of the ingredients for a panacea.
……..
What is this? A human-shaped plant with a forked root… I can’t imagine it at all. Is it like a forked carrot or radish? The scream is ominous, and its body is an ingredient for a panacea, which means it’s definitely a rare plant that will be immediately harvested if found.
(Okay, let’s go to the next one.)
Alraune: A monster with the upper body of a human female and the lower body of a plant. The sweet scent emitted by the Alraune has a “seductive” effect, and it swallows humans whole with its large mouth that can split open to the ears.
……..
Uh, this… does this mean I’ll be eating humans? It has a human upper body, so it seems like I could communicate, but eating humans… that’s impossible. Why are the evolution options so ominous, like the Mandrake and Alraune? Isn’t there an evolution option that would allow me to enjoy a slow life? I have no choice but to hope for the Miasma!
Miasma: A plant-type monster with countless vines growing around its large mouth, and it can move around with roots protruding from below its face. It generates various poisons within its body, and the miasma it spews from its mouth contains “potent poison,” “paralysis poison,” “confusion poison,” and “sleep poison.”
……..
Seriously? Isn’t this basically that ◯lbor from a certain popular RPG…? It seems like it would also lead a life far from slow. In fact, it’s definitely a target for subjugation. If such a dangerous creature existed.
(I have to choose from these three…)
After much deliberation, I finally decided on my evolution path.