Rolling Over Sticks

'[Roll+] has leveled up.'

'[Roll+] has reached the MAX level.'

'[Roll+] has met the requirements and is now ready to evolve.'

"Now this...this I didn't expect," Aurus said out of shock as he didn't deduce far enough to foresee this situation. In most cases, players would ignore this for now and head towards the grinding spot before evolving.

But who was Aurus? He was the great owner of the godly passive skill, [Blessing of the Reincarnation Goddess]!

Every meter he passes would always lead to him gaining experience! Why would he just head straight towards the grinding spot? That would be a waste of his skill.

"Hmm...if I remember correctly, this is the time where there's an even bigger jump in the effects of skills," Aurus said. Although it goes without a saying, this next evolution is basically putting the skill at a level where there is only two grades left before it evolves into a true Transcendent skill.

"Evolve [Roll+]," Aurus didn't dare to delay it any further and commanded the Existence Evolution System.

Ding!

________

Please choose the skill that [Roll+] would evolve into:

[Roll++]

[Breeze Burst]

________

"Hmm...what should I choose?" If it was the usual Aurus, he would pick [Roll++] since it would eventually lead him to being able to fly using the [Hover] skill. But after looking at the second skill, he hesitated.

"Man...this skill sounds so cool..." Indeed. Aurus hesitated just because the latter sounded cooler than the former. "I should think it from a logical perspective though. What would give me bigger benefits?"

"Identify [Breeze Burst]."

Ding!

________

[Breeze Burst] (Level 1/10)

Experience: 0/10

An upgraded version of the [Roll+] skill. With the stick's massively increased affinity and control with the wind, the stick can store wind energy within its body while constantly moving, allowing for a backup plan when cornered.

Rate of movement: 30 meters per hour

Burst distance: 30 meters

Burst cooldown: 2 hours

________

Seeing the rate of movement on the [Breeze Burst] skill somewhat disappointed him, but seeing that he can move a considerable distance in a short amount of time, that's when he truly hesitated.

"If I pick this skill, that would basically mean that I would have a last resort skill when I'm cornered," Aurus thought of it from a beneficial perspective. But all of a sudden, a pessimistic idea entered his mind. "What I activate the skill, only for me to burst a certain distance and move constantly afterwards, not allowing me to save the burst for dangerous situations?"

At this moment, Aurus shuddered at the thought. He then looked at the skill he chose back then and the skill he was most familiar with, [Roll++].

Ding!

________

[Roll++] (Level 1/10)

Experience: 0/10

An upgraded version of the [Roll+] skill. It's obvious that the speed of movement is higher compared to the previous version thanks to an additional plus sign on the end. With the stick's massively increased affinity with the wind, the stick can propel itself at high speed, although there would be a limit thanks to the air resistance it receives. Who knows? Once it evolves, maybe it gains a new supporting skill.

Rate of movement: 50 meters per hour

________

"This..." Aurus' eyes widened. Although he knew the capabilities of the [Roll++] skill all too well, there was something that caught his eye. There were a few sentences that said something about the [Roll++] skill possibly gaining a new supporting skill once it evolves, and of course Aurus knew what he had to do.

"I choose [Roll++]," Aurus said.

In the game, [Roll++] was a skill that was rarely chosen by people since it only offered one mode of movement, which is rolling. Unlike [Breeze Burst] which offered two modes of movement, [Roll++] paled in comparison.

But ever since he was reborn, this was the first time he found a change in the skill, even if it was just flavor text. He had no choice but to pick it to be honest.

After confirming his choice once more, Aurus then heard a notification sound.

Ding!

'[Roll+] has been evolved to [Roll++]!'

After making sure that the [Roll++] skill was there, he continued to roll, shortening the 70 meter gap to zero after a few hours.

...

The Lesser Experience Haven. A grinding spot made for those in the C-grade and B-grade Inanimate level. Back then, it was a battlefield of who could hunt which enemy first as everyone wanted to grow faster than others. But for Aurus who was reborn into the same world without any other players, it was truly befitting of the word haven.

The Lesser Experience Haven spanned over 5 kilometers in radius, being split into two areas meant for the two grades. The outer area, which is comprised of the outer 3 kilometers, is meant for those at the C-grade Inanimate level. The inner area, comprised of the remaining 2 kilometers, is meant for those at the B-grade Inanimate level. Although there are times that C-grade Inanimates challenge the inner area, most of the time it would end up in defeat and they would remove the thought of going back there before they evolve.

Aurus only headed a few hundred meters in because that was enough for his current level. The inner portion of the outer area sometimes had scary enemies that boasted high attack or high HP, and he didn't want to face them at his current pitiful state.

"Hmhmhm...where is my experience?" Aurus hummed as he continued to roll, searching for the best enemy to kill.

Within the outer portion of the outer area, there exists two types of enemies: twigs and sticks. Sticks boasted HP that was as high as a level 1 C-grade while twigs had HP that was only a fifth of a level 1 C-grade. Even though that was the case, twigs boasted an attack power that was higher compared to a level 1 C-grade while sticks boasted an attack power around half of a level 1 C-grade.

Now the question is, what enemy is Aurus searching for? That's right, a twig.

Although twigs boasted higher attack power, level 1 C-grades can still withstand a few of the twig's attack before dying, perhaps even leveling up before dying.

After a few more hours of searching, he found what he was looking for.

"Identify."

Ding!

________

[Twig] (Level 1)

HP: 0.2/0.2

________

Aurus looked at his HP bar that was higher than the twig and rolled towards the twig. After a few minutes of rolling, Aurus positioned himself perpendicular to the twig as this would allow him to utilize most of his density in one go, increasing his chances of doing a critical hit. This was experience he built up in his previous life, and he was now going to use it.

"[Roll++]!"

Whoosh!

Wait...whoosh?

The speed at which Aurus rolled over twig was slow. Although it was multiple times faster than a snail, it was lacking when compared to a human that could move around 5 meters in a second. To be honest, he could only move at a speed close to 1 meter a minute as of now, but that would change soon enough.

After rolling over the short body of the twig, a notification sound popped up which shocked him.

Ding!

'Critical hit! Aurus has dealt 0.2 HP damage to [Twig].'

'Experience +3'

'Congratulations! Aurus has leveled up.'