Eventually she landed in a small clearing of rock, the amount of rock was getting tiring if her [Supernatural Sense] didn't blare at her every time she flew towards the deeper parts of the Cave she might've flown far off to where she saw those lights in the distance.
It had occurred to her that she had two Skill Points waiting, although the question remained if she should wait to use them or not... on one hand she could simply unlock skills by doing things, at least she thought so, the System annoyingly hadn't confirmed or denied this by forcing knowledge onto her. Although she could also get evolved skills? It was complicated. She didn't even know if [Enhanced Sense] had been evolved or simply made obsolete by a skill she had obtained from evolving.
And then it all clicked, it didn't matter. This world had talking rats and snakes that could shoot water bursts! She couldn't just try and plan out for the future, Skill Points were useless if she was dead, and if she died she couldn't find Lily, and if she couldn't find Lily that meant...
Alice curled into herself, maybe it was better that she didn't, after all she was a Monster, Lily might be as well but she was probably something cool and noble like a [Dragon]. She didn't know why her mind put so much emphasis on that word, but it didn't matter. She screeched in the cave, she needed to stop acting like this! She was prepared to make things work no matter how far!
"It's fine! Evolve! Become Humanoid! Go find Lily!"
Alice proudly declared her plan to herself, not quite taking into consideration how... simple it was. She thought inwardly opening her [Skill List].
"[Leaping]? No, I can fly. [Stealth]? That could be useful... but I should see what else I can find. [Binding]? How would I bind anyone and what for? Wait... [Shadow Magic]? That... I can get magic?"
Alice's snout curled into a smile, as she happily focused in on [Shadow Magic], she unlocked it without thinking further, it was magic! If she had magic she'd be way safer! After all, she could fly! She'd like to see those dumb rats fight back as she bombarded them from the skies! She reveled as knowledge flowed in from the skill and she saw her notifications.
Alice quickly checked her status, happy as could be, before it was suddenly dashed. No no no! How could she be so foolish! So stupid!
Name: Alice
Race: Baby Blood Bat (Tier 1)
HP: 15/15
Mana: 0/0
Strength: 4
Dexterity: 7
Constitution: 4
Intelligence: 1
Wisdom: 1
Charisma: 5
Luck: 1
Skills
Echolocation 1
Supernatural Sense 2
Blood Drain 3
Pain Resistance 4
Shadow Magic 1
Spells
Weak Shadow Spike 1
Her eyes bored into her Mana, she still had zero! She had unlocked Magic but had no mana to use it! She helplessly looked at her new Spell, focusing in on its details.
Weak Shadow Spike 1
- Mana Cost: 1
- Description: Weak Shadow Spike manipulates a Targets shadow, using it to create a Spike from the shadow to attack its Target. This spell is best utilized by assassins. It was created in the 2nd Era during the War of Glass by the Shadow Queen.
Alice stared at the description, why did the spell have information on how it was created... that was weird. She then refocused, mana, how did she get mana?
A quick scroll through the [Skill List] and she found her answer, two skills she had skipped over because they were greyed out. [Mana Control] and [Mana Circulation]. Her eyes glared at the requirement for [Mana Control] the 5 Intelligence taunted her.
"What a scam! An absolute scam! How could I have the ability to unlock magic if I don't have the requirements to unlock mana!"
She complained openly before staring at [Shadow Magic] on her [Status Page], the requirements section on it was... alarming.
[Shadow Magic]
Requirements: ████████ (This one's a freebie cutie, even if you didn't pick Shade Bat)
Her head felt fuzzy as she read the requirements, when she tried to speak aloud just to herself she found herself unable to. Something refused to allow her to speak of it, that was dangerous right?
"Okay... in the future I should read all the requirements before selecting a skill."
Alice muttered to herself, she paced around in the clearing as she tried to decide on what skill to use her last point on. She couldn't get Mana Control just yet, although she also didn't know how to gain Intelligence, she didn't think she was stupid? Although based on her last skill choice maybe she was.
It was times like this she really wished Lily was here, whenever she was uncertain on what to do, Lily always had a plan, always knew what to do. Alice slumped down onto the ground as she sorted through the skills.
"Ugh! This System is useless!"
Alice yelled in frustration and then was instantly met with searing pain in her head. The same knowledge nailed into her head over and over. It was like a [Blacksmith] hammering at metal.
The System is Absolute
The System is Absolute
The System is Absolute
The System is Absolute
The System is Absolute
"I get it I get it I get it please stop!"
Alice pleaded, finally it ended and she breathed heavily. Maybe it was best to use that skill point later.
Von was a proud Rat, he had gotten the uncommon evolution of Poison Rat, it put him ahead of the other Rats who had only been able to stick to the standard evolution or worse had chosen the Giant Rat path. Sure it made the other Rats scared of him but that was good! They were scared of The Rat King as well!
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He skittered confidently along the cavern floor, as he searched for The Bat, this further prided him. This upstart had been hunting his kind and ruining their expansion plans! And now he had been chosen to slay it, he had been given the honor... it made sense! Not only did he have an Uncommon evolution but he also had a [Title]! How many monsters could say they had a title? None except The Rat King that he knew!
He gazed at his status with pride.
Name: Von
Title: Plaguemaster
Race: Adult Poison Rat (Tier 2)
HP: 35/35
Mana: 15/15
Strength: 4
Dexterity: 6
Constitution: 2
Intelligence: 11
Wisdom: 6
Charisma: -5
Luck: 0
Skills
Poison Synthization 3
Poison Coated Claws 2
Poison Fangs 4
Leap 2
Enhanced Sense 2
Mana Control 1
Poison Magic 3
Inspect 2
Spells
Weak Poison Shot 3
Incomplete Plague 1
Skill Points: 3
Von couldn't help but feel his smile widen as he stared at Incomplete Plague 1, a gift from The Decay for his actions. He bet even the Rat King had not been favored by The Timeless before, he bet that the System hadn't even gifted him the knowledge of them! He was special, chosen, that's why he had [Inspect]! He smiled fondly as he thought back to the Human he had found, dying out fallen from some higher part of the Cave. if Von hadn't found those two [Skill Books] on his corpse he may not be where he was today.
Von skittered along, he was confident he could take on this Bat, the only Monsters he was scared of in this sector was that Salamander Xana and The Rat King, no one else could stand up to him! He was sure of it! Sure there might be higher tiered monsters, but with his [Poison Magic] and status as a [Poison Rat] he had the confidence in slowly taking down them. The only reason Xana was an issue was that [Fire Magic] of hers and of course The Rat King had [Voice of The Rat King].
After a bit of travel he finally had found it, the area the first scout had died. Surely this must be where The Bat made their home. He hid within the shadow of an outcropping of stone, watching carefully. He was confident but also knew his strengths were in ambushing. Oh he could not wait until he could unlock [Stealth] and [Ambush].
But all of those thoughts vanished when he saw it approaching, gliding over the Large Bat gripped onto the ceiling of the cavern far above. It was too far for him to properly attack, none of his Skills or Magic had that much range but that didn't mean he couldn't get them. Scouting parties often came this way, trying to expand the Rat Kingdom. All he had to do was find one...
Scout Sasha was an anxious sort, she was close to her evolution, she could feel it! Just a little more and she'd be able to become something greater than a Scout, maybe if she gained some sort of special skill, she desperately was doing her best to unlock [Stealth] that might let her become something like a [Shadow Rat]. Because of that she didn't mind being a Scout, even if it meant she was in danger all the time.
She skittered along, sticking to the corners and shadows a lot of scouts had died recently. The Bat hunted them mercilessly, it was scary she had no idea what they had done to catch its ire. She suddenly stopped as she felt a gaze on her. [Danger Sense] was screaming at her that she was in danger. She quickly looked upwards to see if The Bat had found her, yet nothing was gliding in the skies, and then she felt a crudeness wash over her body. It was hard to explain, she felt as if she was being assaulted, every part of her body poked and prodded.
"You will do."
A voice spoke behind her, she turned and cringed as she saw The Rat behind her, he was larger and his fur was a sickly green with beady black eyes. His teeth were sharper and pointer than hers, and he smelled of death.
She didn't like The Plaguemaster, he was scary and overly boastful and what's more he had no care for his fellow Rats, he used magic that got them killed without a care in the world.
"Sasha, you've been selected to help me kill The Bat. You understand what that means right? You're going to be a hero! Favored by The Rat King himself!"
The Plaguemaster gave her a toothy grin, she didn't trust any of it at all, the fact he knew her name was surprising but then she remembered one of his boasts. The Plaguemaster loved to talk about how he had [Inspect] just like humans. That must be what that feeling was, he had invaded her privacy, disregarded it. It made her sick.
"I... I don't I don't want any part of that! I'm a Scout not a War-Warrior!"
Sasha did her best to stand up for herself, as The Plaguemaster got closer, bringing his right front paw along her fur. She shuddered as she felt him touch her.
"Now now Sasha, listen, you're very important in my plan. You wouldn't want The Rat King to hear about this would you? Refusing to help kill our enemy?"
His words were poison in themselves, she didn't want to do this, but he was forcing her. She was just a Rat, nothing more than a Tier Zero monster. When she didn't say anything, The Plaguemaster's grin widened, showing his rows of spikey teeth.
"Good~ Now listen all you gotta do is go into this clearing after I've given you a little buff, oh and Sasha... if you run away I'll melt your bones with Poison."
He chuckled and Sasha held back tears, she wanted to scream and run but she couldn't. The Plaguemaster was a Tier Two Rat, and held a lot of sway within The Rat Kingdom. And then dread covered her as she read the notification from the System.
"Th-this is..."
Sasha attempted to speak up.
"Hushhh, now go out into that clearing over there and make a lot of noise, remember, you're doing this for The Rat Kingdom."
Tears fell as Sasha nodded slowly, she slowly made her way into the clearing and began to squeak loudly. She hated this, she didn't want to be a Plague Rat, she didn't want to die! But she had no choice, she had no choice but to help The Plaguemaster, he would gain favor from this, she hated it, she hated him, she hated herself, her lungs burned and her chest twisted, burning tears flowed down her furred face as she glared over at where he was hiding.
She wanted nothing more than to kill him, but she didn't have the strength for that, she didn't have the power... she was nothing compared to him. She was- Slice. Claw dug into her stomach, she looked up seeing a large grey bat, it had been so silent flying down or maybe she had been too focused on what had just happened, it was weird feeling the claw inside her, feeling it press against her heart. So this is what death felt like? Atleast... atleast finally all the suffering would be over. Finally... she could rest.
What an odd Rat Phaelyn thought as she looked at the corpse in her claws, it had been making so much noise that it had woken her up. Well at least she was feeling a bit peckish, she swallowed it down without much thought, she was just spreading out her wings when she paused and stared at the notification in disbelief.
Phaelyn vomited, both as an effect of the plague and her own will attempting to vomit it out. She could feel she was weaker already and then something slammed into her side, she snapped her head over as the poison sizzled against her skin, seeing the Green Rat that glared at her.
She ignored the notification as she opened up her mouth and utilized one of her more useful skills, [Sonic Blast 3]. A screech of sound flowed across the air, slamming into the green rat sending it flying. Phaelyn smiled, even as blood dripped from her mouth.