Chapter 14: Smoldering Claws

'That oughta do it.', Miles thought in confidence. Taking a moment, Miles figured out how to extend his steel-like claws. Now they weren't anything big like Wolverine's, but they still had that metal hue to it, likely being an effect of Steel Claws. Miles wondered if his claws were entirely made of metal, and if so, was it steel?

Shhhink. 

Ice being scraped reached Miles's ears as he reached out his right paw first, trying to get his footing back onto the ice. Miles struggled a bit, but it was then he heard the ice being scraped. His claws dug a good inch or two into the snow, allowing him to cling onto it.

[Ding! A new Skill has been created, [Traction].]

 -Allows Host to secure their body into place easier on rough surfaces.

'Neat. That means I won't have tough times trying to secure my footing on various surfaces that's easy to fall off of.', Miles mused, seeing another Skill obtained. It didn't have a plus nor a level next to it, so it likely couldn't grow. That was fine, Miles saw the skill was pretty straight forward, and it'll help him.

Just after getting that skill, Miles found him spending less energy just to hold onto the ice now. He released some energy he was using on his right arm, and he could still hold on just fine.

'Well that just made things easier.', Miles mused. 

"Yip!", Miles uttered, swinging his left arm in one go. In the midst of swinging his arm, he extended his claws out, and clung right onto the ice. He had a firm grasp now and he lifted himself right out of the water. His claws were still in the ice. He found that they were quite lodged into the ice, he had to yank them out.

[Ding! Steel Claws proficiency has risen by 50.]

'Really?', Miles thought, seeing that message appear. He didn't even activate his Innate Ability. He just naturally tried to use his claws. But it appeared just doing that alone still raised Steel Claw's proficiency. Perhaps that was because it was an Innate Ability, and not activated through a skill. His claws were already naturally utilizing Steel Claws.

Miles recalled the effect Steel Claws had, outside of making its appearance that of steel.

It was the fact that his Steel Claws boosted his damage by 50% during the day and 100% during the night. That is, if he used his claws to attack. It didn't mention the skill affecting other parts of his body, but he wondered if that would change the more he leveled the skill up.

'That means I just have a permanent boost in damage...', Miles concluded, realizing the effect of his Innate Ability.

Thinking that, Miles sharted to shake his body, realizing that water droplets were dropping onto the ice, making its surface even more slippery. He shook all of his fur for a good moment, letting the water that clung to it sprinkle onto the ground. His fur puffed out, becoming its glossy sheen of onyx once again. He felt a lot less damp than he was when he was swimming around earlier.

As he did that, another thought struck him.

'This skill must combine with Twilit Fervor. So that must mean during the day, I have an 80% boost in damage, while during the night, I have even a larger boost, 130%...', Miles continued. 'That almost is on par with Fire Fang's damage output, but that is without activating any Skills yet. He wanted to see if he could create an Attack Skill with his claws.', Miles concluded.

As he concluded that thought, Miles gazed upward toward the sky. It was much harder to see the rolling grey clouds now. More snow was falling down at a steady pace. The starry sky was nowhere to be seen, but it was clear to Miles.

It was night time now. The sun had descended beyond the horizon.

Yet Miles didn't feel bothered by it.

Quite the opposite, if Miles was honest. He almost felt excited. 

Foxes were nocturnal creatures. Naturally hunters of the night. They excelled in hunting prey a lot better, and mostly goofed around during the day.

It wouldn't be farfetch'd to say that Miles's day was just starting.

'It's almost like working a night shift. I can see things so clearly still, this is pretty weird.', Miles mused. It was almost as if it was day time to him, but Miles clearly saw it was dark. He could even see the town of Cold Lake. The town itself was completely dark, but he could clearly see the outlines of the village. 

'Right, this is the late 1800s. Electricity hasn't reached all around the world yet. There might be a few folks here who could afford electricity, but most families likely used candles still. Since it's night now, they are probably falling asleep for the night. It really is much harder to tell the time with these clouds in the way. I can't see the moon...', Miles uttered. His gaze remained on the clouds.

His eyes then landed back in front of him, and still saw the single Level 3 Goose still sleeping. As he observed it, he saw his current stamina.

[Current Stamina: 68/110]

A couple more points were used to get himself out of the water. Miles decided it was now the time to kill this second Goose, but not right away. He wanted to try something first. He had Fire Fang, but with the Goose being Level 3, he didn't have a sure-fire way to kill it one go. He could try launching two or three attacks in succession before it has a chance to react, as it was still sleeping, but Miles thought of another way.

He had Fire Fang, but he wanted to see if he could use Firebending with his claws in hopes to create a new skill.

'It should be fine as long as I think of it right? It has to do with my imagination. If I imagine fire bursting out and covering my claws...', Miles began to think.

[Ding! 10 Stamina has been consumed.]

After hearing that notification, Miles's mind became clear just like the lake before him. Small bits of red-hot flames burst out, and he willed them right onto his claws. Whoosh!

A soft sound of metal being torn reached his ears, letting his claws set ablaze. Miles's vision returned from his mind, and his eyes landed on his paws down below. He immediately smiled seeing his claws now blazing with red flames. He didn't feel bothered by it either. It provided him a sense of comfort within the freezing night. To his surprise, however, he read a notification that he didn't expect to come across.

[Ding! Host's Innate Ability successfully augmented onto Host's skill, Firebending. A new skill has been derived from the two Skills. [Smoldering Claws - Lv1 (0/100)](+) has been created.]

'So that's what Steel Claws can do. I probably could use this ability to attack on its own, but by triggering Firebending, both were counted as skills. It's similar to fusing the two, but Steel Claws augmented it. Likely because it's an Innate Ability. It's always a part of me.', Miles concluded.

He was just expecting another skill like Fire Fang, so it would have become something like Flame Claws. But the system read the existence of his Innate Ability, and used it in tandem with Firebending, which powered up both instead before it fused into an entire new Skill, Smoldering Claws.

It did cost him ten more stamina to create this skill. He was approaching half of his overall stamina. It was getting a little riskier now. Knowing that Miles had to tread more carefully from here, he took a moment to see the rest of his new Skill's effect.

[Smoldering Claws - Lv1(0/100)](+)

 -Sets Host's claws aflame with a continuous burst of fire. Strikes out at the enemy at a fast pace.

  -Special Effect 1: Deals 200% Attack Damage onto a target. Chance to inflict burn is doubled.

  -Special Effect 2: If Burn is inflicted, inflict two stacks of Burn onto target.

[Ding! Due to creating a new claw Skill, Steel Claws proficiency has increased by 50.]

[Ding! Steel Claws has risen to Level 2]

[Ding! Steel Claws damage during the day has risen to 55%, and 110% during the night.]

'Another unexpected gain. Steel Claws did indeed level up thanks to me creating this new Attack Skill. And it even gave me an unexpected bonus, I can deal more damage now.', Miles thought.

'So now, since it's night...', Miles continued, thinking of the Skills he now has.

'30%...15%...200%...110%...and if I use Lucky Strike...', Miles continued, taking a moment to calculate the percentage of the damage he could deal now.

'I could potentially deal an increase in 555% Attack Damage!', Miles exclaimed in shock. He took a moment to calculate how much that would equate to when compared to his current Attack Damage. His Strength was 9, so that meant his Attack Damage was 27, since it was multiplied by 3.

'I could inflict 175 or so damage onto a target with just one attack. Seriously?', Miles concluded, taking in a cold breath of air as his mouth cracked open.

Thinking that, a glint of light streaked across his eyes as he sized up the Goose in his vicinity nearby, still snoozing away.

If Miles attacked the Goose now, even without Lucky Strike, he could still kill the Goose in one blow. Just barely though!

Without him realizing it, Miles's mouth started to salivate, as if he was looking at a delicious meal right before his eyes.

Without any hesitation, he lunged outward, aiming right for the Goose's neck, which was partially exposed!