∼ Day 45 ∼

Mulling over the options that had opened up for me as I once again had access to my magic, although limited, I suddenly remembered something else that gave me hope. Pulling up my status, I confirmed the 24 skill points stored and luring me to use them.

It was only one point from meeting the requirement of Lesser Eldritch Vitality. But I had an advancement ready, that I had just acquired from the last battle with the overgrown lizard.

-Skill list!-

Skill list Name Type LVL -Appraisal- Information 7 -Blood Magic- Magic 5 -Blood Plague- Unique 3 -Blood Profiling- Information 5/5 -Blood Shaping- Unique 4 -Blink- Transport 8 -Greater Puncture- Offensive 9 -Greater Smell- Sensory 8 -Mana Mending- Defensive 2 -Iron Gut- Defensive 3 -Language Adaptability- Information 3 -Lesser Mana-Infused Exoskeleton- Defensive 3 -Lesser Mana-Infused Organs- Defensive 3 -Mana Control- Magic 4 -Obscurement- Defensive 6 -Paralyze- Offensive 7 ⇒ 10 - (Advance) -Silent Flying- Defensive 4 -Thermal Sight- Sensory 4 -Swift Flight- Transport 6 -Infusing Slash-

Offensive 2 -Spell Formation- Magic 4 -Blood Conversion- Magic 1 -Blood Born- Unique 2

My greatest increases in power hadn't actually been my attributes, but instead my skill increases. Overall, everything had pretty much leveled up, and I had even already advanced Weak Infusing Slash a long time ago. I was a bit muffed when I went to advanced the skill, it had only given me one option, that being 'Infusing Slash', just a better version with increased effects.

It seemed that when you advanced your skill to off-shoot into different effects, you wouldn't be able to do it again the next advancement. Or at least not when the skill was still determined as 'weak' or 'lesser' in those regards. I believed that you would most likely get multiple choices again when reaching something like 'greater' or simply the standard version like 'Infusing Slash' instead of 'Weak Infusing Slash'.

But I was determined to find out if my hypothesis was correct or at least somewhere accurate in that direction by advancing Paralyze here. Paralyze was originally labeled as 'Lesser Paralyze' before I had advanced it. Following my guesses, that since I didn't choose an off-branching effect and that it's not a 'lesser' skill, then I should most likely be granted multiple options. Holding my breath in anticipation, I pulled op the advancement.

-Skill advancement - Paralyze!-

Skill advancement - Paralyze Choose one advancement -Greater Paralyze- Creates a gland at the user's mouth and claws that produces a paralytic compound that can be injected into a target. Greatly improved paralytic capabilities. -Petrification- Creates a gland at the user's mouth and claws that produces a compound that petrifies biological creatures and can be injected into a target. -Paralytic Diffusion- Creates a gland at the user's mouth or claws that produces a paralytic compound that can be sprayed out or injected into a target. -Bewilderment- Creates a gland at the user's mouth and claws that produces a compound that paralyzes biological creatures and can be injected into a target. The compound comes with a second effect of confusing the body of the target.

It would seem that my hypothesis was mostly confirmed. But surprisingly, I also seemingly had some of the same options that I had last time I advanced the skill. If my memory was correct, then Petrifaction and Bewilderment were both available last time, just in their 'lesser' versions. The only new upgrade was then the Paralyze Diffusion skill.

Reading them through, it wasn't too hard to once again already discard both Petrification and Bewilderment. The reasons were the same as the last time. Petrification would most likely render flesh and blood into stone, or the like.

This would mean that their blood would essentially become useless to me, something I'd rather wanted to avoid. As for Bewilderment, it simply didn't seem worth it compared to the other options. I found the skill very lackluster from its description.

That left, Greater Paralyze and Paralyze Diffusion. Being able to spray out my paralytic compound did sound very cool and useful, but I worried very much that its effects would be heavily hampered and lessened by not being injected directly into the bodies of creatures. Simply closing their mouths or eyes, would only allow the compound to attempt to invade their pores and weak points like ears or other similar entry points of the body.

Seeing how much I already had to pump into opponents of my own level of strength to just hamper their movements, I doubted that the compound would have any greater effect than just annoying my opponents rather than fully incapacitating them.

Not only that, but my gut feeling told me to pick Greater Paralyze and wait for the next advancement. I wasn't exactly sure why, but I simply felt that a great opportunity awaited me if I stuck to the normal path of Paralyze until I advanced it one more time. Confident in my choice, I picked it.

-Skill advancement - Greater Paralyze!-

[Skill - Paralyze has been advanced to Greater Paralyze!]

[For advancing a skill you receive 3 skill points!]

Something that had struck me was the thought of "do skills follow some kind of grouping to determine the skill's maximum level and when they would advance?". I had been unconsciously been grouping skills into certain tiers, like as in monster's evolutions, by simply how many times I've advanced them.

For example, Infusing Slash would be a 3rd-tiered skill for having reached its third version, but also due to the fact that skill advanced a second time gives three skill points instead of the two that you originally get. Wondering if there might actually be anything tangible to my theory, I did something I hadn't done in a very long time.

I asked the system.

-System, do skills have tiers, ranks, or anything that determines their maximum levels before advancements?-

[Yes]

I was quite stumped by the very short and simple answer, so I thought some more before asking again.

-System, please add tiers to the skill list. And -uhm, remove the column displaying types-

I was hoping that the system could display the tiers directly on my skill list, and for the types, I simply didn't want more clutter on the skill list and found that knowing the types to be rather useless information.

[Changes to the skill list have been made - Skill List] Skill list Name Tiers LVL -Appraisal- 3 7/15 -Blood Magic- 3 5/15 -Blood Plague- 3 3/15 -Blood Profiling- 1 5/5 -Blood Shaping- 3 4/15 -Blink- 2 8/10 -Greater Puncture- 2 9/10 -Greater Smell- 2 8/10 -Mana Mending- 2 2/10 -Iron Gut- 1 3/5 -Language Adaptability- 1 3/5 -Lesser Mana-Infused Exoskeleton- 2 3/10 -Lesser Mana-Infused Organs- 2 3/10 -Mana Control- 3 4/15 -Obscurement- 2 6/10 -Greater Paralyze- 3 1/15 -Silent Flying- 2 4/10 -Thermal Sight- 2 4/10 -Swift Flight- 2 6/10 -Infusing Slash-

3 2/15 -Spell Formation- 3 4/15 -Blood Conversion- 1 1/5 -Blood Born- 3 2/15

I was once again stumped, as the seemingly important information had been available all this time, I had just yet to ask the system to display it because I didn't even know it existed. Not particularly wanting to be needlessly mad at the perfunctory and apathetic system, I went to look over my skill list.

Apparently, I had been somewhat right on the money. But to my surprise, the idea of that a skill's tier being based on how many times they've been advanced was wrong as most of my magical skills that hadn't even been advanced yet were already at the 3rd-tier.

I wasn't sure what exactly determined the tiers, but making a guess based on a commonality that all the skills seemed to share, it wouldn't be outrageous to think that it must be at least partly based on the maximum level of each skill. So that meant the maximum levels for each tier were; 1st-tier 1/5, 2nd-tier 1/10, 3rd-tier 1/15, and so on.

I was quickly pulled from the wandering thoughts about skill tiers, as I remembered a purchase that I had been waiting for almost 25 days now. With the advancement of Paralyze and the subsequent acquisition of three skill points put my at 27 skill points, well enough for Lesser Eldritch Vitality skill.

Not hesitating in the slightest, I bought the skill with giddy enthusiasm.

-Skill shop - Lesser Eldritch Vitality!-

[Skill - Lesser Eldritch Vitality has been added to the skill list!]

Feeling a slight tingle spread throughout my body, I inspected my body to check for any unexpected changes that might've appeared. To my relief, I didn't feel any extra appendages like tentacles or a fifth limb, as the word 'eldritch' did give me somewhat pause to what it exactly meant in this world. But instead, I simply felt like my whole body had just woken up for the first time ever, and it was sprawling with both vitality and vigor, every cell lit up with potent and vibrant life.

Looking at the stump of my arm, and feeling my ruined eye, I couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed as not change took place. I had at the back of my mind hoped that this monstrous regeneration of the skill would've helped regrow a limb or an organ, but it didn't seem so.

I remembered that there were other skills I could've bought that described the ability of being able to restore limbs, but they all said to be extremely slow, so I didn't put my hopes in them.

Besides, I would've also meant that I would have to forego this skill once again, in favor of purchasing such a skill, meaning I probably wouldn't be able to even buy this skill before I evolve again. But I also had a suspicion I would be needing this skill as the evolution was just around the corner, and if I was unprepared for that time, it wouldn't end well.

But it wasn't like I actually had a desperate need for the eye or arm as of now, as for the last 25 days I've been fighting in life and death battles with only one of each. I've actually become very accustomed to fighting this way, only giving me a slight disadvantage in that department.

Looking to my healthy arm, I quickly drew a wound onto my carapace with my improved Infusing Slash skill as it was now more than enough to even slash open my abnormally resistant carapace.

[You have taken 6 damage!]

Before my very eyes, the wound closed at a visible rate and not even leaving a scar or demarkation of damage ever having occured, making me whistle in appreciation. My unkillable nature had just taken another leap.

It was just as fast as a normal charge of Mana Mending, but then again I've yet to actually try out the mana side of the skill due to the blockage of my mana, so I doubted the skill would lose its value anyways.

I was curious if anything had changed on my status, so I quickly pulled it up.

-Status!-

Status

Information Attributes

Traits, Titles, and Skills -Name- "???" STR 15 Skills 23 ⇒ 24 -Race- Azde (Blood Fiend) VIT 40 ⇒ 68 Traits 7 -Sex- Male AGI 72 Titles 3 -Rank- E+ DEX 25 Skillpoints 24 ⇒ 2 -Level- 34/35 INT 25 Resistances

Health 284/285 CHR 8 Physical Resistance 15 Stamina 85/85 WILL 32 Magical Resistance 13 Mana 43/43 MAG 48 Mental Resistance 12

Just as I thought, my vitality has taken an absolutely massive leap - plus my health had even risen more than a full one hundred points. Very much happy with my purchase, I began to go to town on my body, wanting to see the limits of my newly acquired skill.