Mythshaper
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Chapter 54: Upgrade (2)
🕑 Added 2024-05-13 16:07:30 +0000 UTCShai shot an [Arcane Shot] at the weakest Corrupt Inix, but before she could revel at her aim, her instinct screamed. She twisted her narrow form, avoiding the lunge of another one by a hair. The largest of them appeared to be the ringleader of this four-reptile crew. Not only was it controlling the other anoles somehow, but it had also managed to form a rudimentary, bestial battle strategy, which was basically overwhelming her with their numbers.
Re-establishing all her battle skills, Shai examined her opponent with [Golden Eyes] to look for any weak points. The horned anoles hardly possessed a tough exoskeleton like the monstrous centipedes, nor were they as fast on their feet, though they were devilishly sharp. However, none of that mattered, as their weakness was thoroughly apparent.
The anoles had a floppy dewlap under their long necks, which they could extend and retract at will. They hadn’t extended the loose skin during the battle, as it would hinder their movement and put an easy target on their backs—but that didn’t stop her from targeting the relatively fragile dewlaps of the anoles.
Her [Arcane Shots] bit through the floppy skin, causing the reptile to throw a fit of rage. Shai planned on carrying out a couple more attacks to finish it off. Unfortunately, a couple of its buddies rushed her. It was too much for her to deal with four copper-ranked opponents simultaneously.
Marvel came to her rescue before she needed her. Shai anticipated an assault from her rear, but it never came. She turned her head to find the corrupt Inix bound in webs, immobilised in place as it struggled to break free from the confines of cobwebs.
“I’ll take care of them,” Marvel’s voice found its way into her mind. “You begin collecting the mushrooms.”
The spider bolted to land among the anoles and impeded their advance.
“Give me a moment,” Shai replied and shot towards the only confined anole, while Marvel fended off the others that broke free. She only needed one more copper rank creature kill.
Shai wasted no moment to shoot another [Arcane Shot], infusing all the poison she could. It struck the anole in its weak dewlap before digging deeper into its neck. Of course, a strong copper rank creature wouldn’t fall just with that. So, Shai shot forth and bit into its neck.
It took more than a moment, but not long enough for Marvel to complain.
[You have slain a Corrupt Inix Lvl 29.]
[Congratulations! Your Mark, Predator has evolved into the Mark of the Apex Predator.]
[Mark of the Apex Predator:
By hunting down your tenth higher-ranked prey, you have proved yourself as the Apex Predator. All your survival and predatory aspects, senses have been augmented to match an Apex Predator. You have gained the aura of an Apex Predator, which may instil the effects: trance, freeze, or dread in targets.
+10% efficiency to all primary attributes.]
[Your skill, Predatory Instinct (D) reached complete mastery. +4 All primary attributes.]
[Synergy detected between the skill Predatory Instinct (D) and the Mark of the Apex Predator.]
[Congratulations! Your skill, Predatory Instinct (D), is evolving…]
Shai let out a loud hiss as primal essence surged within her, flooding all her channels with empowerment. She soon entered into an ethereal, meditative state, as all thoughts were lost to her. She directed the rush of energy at will. The control she discovered over the essence was something else entirely.
[Your skill Empower (E) has reached complete mastery of the rank. +3 Physique, Soul, Recovery.]
[Empower (E) has advanced to Empower (D). 2 Insight points have been consumed.]
[All primary attributes have reached the 50-point mark. You have formed the Perfect Foundation. +5% to all Primary attributes.]
[The next part of the quest Advancement III is available for you.]
“Shai?” Marvel’s voice found its way once again. “What’s wrong?”
She let out a squeal, still intoxicated with the power filling her. “Nothing bad... I just gained the Mark of the Apex Predator, and it came with a lot more benefits than I thought...”
“Oh... Congratulations!” Marvel exclaimed, too invested in the battle to express anything more.
Shai joined the battle instantly, regaining control over her form. With the rush of power coursing through her body, she lunged at the next opponent and bit it to death.
Marvel urged her again to get going with the real task they were here to do, so Shai refrained from wasting any more time fighting the corrupted creatures. She couldn’t level up without advancing to Copper rank, anyway. It was kind of pointless to fight at this moment.
I wonder if I would get back these essence rewards after I advance... Keeping her thoughts to herself since the one who could answer her was concentrated in battle, she focused on collecting the mushrooms.
[Congratulations! Predatory Instinct (D) has evolved into Apex Intuition (B).]
[Apex Intuition:
Mastery: 3%
The intuition of the Apex Predator is made evident in your blood, bone, and essence. You have gained a knack for intuition about stuff like hunting, survivability, and other precarious fields.]
I was hoping for C, but this... Thank you, Grandpa! Shai was momentarily dazed at the skill evolution. Though for a skill of B rank, it looked a little lacklustre, considering the description only involved intuition. Debating that she would know better after putting the skill to the test, Shai manoeuvred herself quickly from one row to another, uprooting the mushrooms by snaking her way through them in a wreckage.
She planned to store them when she reached an inventory-full load. She didn’t have the same level of control over the boons as she did over her skills or aspects.
A few of the corrupt creatures found their way towards her, as Marvel wasn’t nearly enough to keep them at bay. Shai either finished them off with a barrage of [Arcane Shots] or frightened them away. Well, considering she was focused on one job, it was more of the latter.
The new mark, [Apex Predator], helped greatly. She would just flare with primal essence, and her predatory aura would cry out, impacting the creatures psychologically. It worked like a charm so far.
Marvel finished cleaning up the creatures before Shai could collect the mushrooms. Without uttering a word, the young empathic spider joined her in collecting the sustenance. There was no gloating over their friendly competition, either, as Marvel wholeheartedly collected the mushrooms in a heap.
“Well, you look a little bigger,” Marvel observed after they finished.
“Huh?” Shai hadn’t noticed before, but as she examined herself, she found that the growth was far more than just a little... Be it her length, dimension, or weight, all of it had almost doubled. She still wasn’t half as massive as the dumb python she had hunted, but she feared she would get there with advancement.
“What do you intend to do with the corpses?” she asked.
Marvel’s eyes flashed towards the corpses spread out, or hanging from the wall. “Nothing, I guess... I have collected a few cores from them, but anything more would waste too much time.”
She turned to show a dozen or so gem-like essence cores bound in cobwebs on her abdomen. Shai felt it a loss, as Marvel hadn’t collected nearly half of the cores. But there was nothing they could do at this moment…
Letting out a hiss of exasperation, Shai put her essence to work. She spread it all over the heap of mushrooms and urged her Inventory boon to absorb them all.
It turned out they had collected a little more than what she could carry herself.
“Now, are we good to go?” Marvel urged her.
“Wait a second...” Shai turned her head to the remaining mushrooms as her jaw opened wide, along with a terrible suction force. Dozens of mushrooms entered her mouth nearly as fast as the Inventory stored them, though she could only eat so much...
Perhaps becoming massive won’t be bad at all, Shai thought to herself as Marvel carried her on his back before shooting out.
Stuffed full, Shai let her mysterious stomach do its work, while she turned her attention to her status page. She had grown a lot since the last time she checked.
________
[SYSTEM PAGE]
[Shai]
Rank: Foundation (F)
Path: Favoured Hatchling Lvl 25
Laws: Concept of Hunger (intermediate)
Mark: Fatemarked. Blessed by Kismet (Lesser). Apex Predator.
Attributes:
Primary Attribute:
Physique: 54 (+20%)
Mind: 65 (+40%)
Soul: 76 (+20%)
Recovery: 51 (+40%)
Special Attributes:
Insight: 2
Evolution: 0
Fortune: 9
Unallocated points: 16
Aspect:
Golden Eyes (A) | Poison Affinity (D) | Essence Eater (B)
Skills[8/8]:
Advanced Meditation (E) - 100% | Apex intuition (B) - 3% | Arcane Shot (D) - 95% | Essence Weaving (E) - 92% | Force Shield (E) - 59% | Empower (D) - 1% | Mental Corrosion Resistance (D) - 100% | Spellforging (D) - 2%
Boon:
Inventory | Lingual Comprehension
Remark:
I promise I won’t eat you...
[System Log] [Active Quest] [Skill Reservoir]
___________
Shai wanted to know how her stats compared to someone like Marvel, or better yet the elder spiders, who were easily thrice her level. Well, they definitely had better mastery over their skills, but she didn’t think Marvel had that much edge on her, simply based on pure attributes.
And Shai could already see how much she could improve... But she didn’t intend to delay her advancement any further than required.
She’d grab that delicious fruit from the cunning spider grandma after finishing this job and comprehend the concept of Light in no time. That would take care of one requirement for the path [Eye of the Crusader].
The other one would be a little tricky, Shai thought. Thankfully, spellforging had already shown her a way.
Comments
myth
Gonna fix that soon...
No Name
The math doesn't add up here... " length, dimension, or weight, all of it had increased by 30%, more or less." (I'm assuming you meant diameter. rather than dimension) If both her length and width increased by about 30%, then by the relation of these parameters with Shais volume, she should be about 70% heavier.
Apoca
Wait... Don't advance without finishing the Advancement questline! Advancement III is waiting for you!
