SMO Chapter 6.1 : Traveling

The Road to Mardeal Town was a surprisingly long one.

The Road in itself is Safe, but was Long because it went around a Large Forest, with Extremely Large Trees.

There were 4 Different Creatures in that forest, which included the Wolves and Rabbits.

Looking at a Map, LacX and Mana stand outside the Large Forest.

"Are you sure we should go through here? I already don't like the feeling of this place." LacX puts the Map into his 'Storage'.

'It is a quicker path than the Main Road, and will also allow you to get some Experience, both in Combat and in the System.' Mana started forwards.

"Well, no pain no gain I guess. And wait, you know about the System?"

'When a Creature reaches B-Rank, they have enough Intelligence to Acquire and Use a System.'

"Interesting. So what is your Rank? I can't tell using my 'Appraisal' Skill."

'I will tell you. But in exchange, you will explain how you have my Clan's Skill.'

"Alright, Deal. You first, since mine will take a bit more explaining."

'I am an A-Rank Creature. I am a little stronger than the normal Frostform though.'

"Alrighty. Well, I have a Unique Skill called 'Copy'. I didn't know what it could do until I first used the Appraisal Orb. After touching it, I acquired the 'Appraisal' Skill, and it allowed me to view the Status of other people. On their Status, I was able to see their Unique Skill, and I was suddenly able to Copy it. I can Copy a Skill Three Times a Day, so I used it when I Appraised you. I also Appraised the Large Wolf, and gained their Clan Skill as well. That's my story, so there you have it."

Mana stood still, stunned at the information that she was given.

'So you can copy Three Skills a Day? And even Unique ones? And just by seeing the Name of their Skill on an Appraisal Screen?'

LacX just nods, not knowing how to react.

'That is... quite the interesting thought. If that is true, then you can eventually become the strongest amongst the Humans, or even the S-Rank Creatures, and eventually the Unique-Rank.'

"Unique Rank? Is there a Unique Creature?"

'Yes. I have only encountered it once, and even then, I feared for my Life, and was on edge for nearly a week. It's Aura was that of absolute destruction. If you are faced with it, then Run, no matter the cost.' Mana had a terrified expression on her as she explained.

After a bit of walking, a sound was heard from the trees.

Silent, they both waited for something to happen.

Suddenly, LacX is hit extremely hard in the back, causing him to fall forwards, and nearly into a tree.

"Oww. What hit me?" Looking around, he finds a Rooster-Looking Creature perched on the branch of a tree.

Seconds after, it Charged at high speeds, nearly hitting Mana.

'I don't know what these are. Use your Appraisal.' Mana attempts to attack, but the Rooster bounced back to the branch.

[Appraisal]

[Name : None]

[Race : Brooster]

[Rank : D]

[Level : 11]

[Clan Unique Skill]

<Booster : Doubles a Single Stat for 1 Minute. Consumes 25 MP. (Cannot be Used until this Skills Effect has ended.)>

<Acquired New Skill>

<Booster Acquired>

[Daily Copied Skills : 1/3]

Using the New Skill Immediately, LacX doubles his Agility, causing him to move almost instantaneously next to the Brooster.

"Hello again." Slashing at the Creature, another Hen-Looking Creature came charging in, faster than the Brooster.

[Appraisal]

[Name : None]

[Race : Quick-Hen]

[Rank : C]

[Level : 17]

[Clan Unique Skill]

<Bash : Doubles the Users Agility when Charging Forward, and causes Damage based on the Agility Stat. Consumes 10 MP>

<New Skill Acquired>

<Bash Acquired>

[Daily Copied Skills : 2/3]

Activating the 2nd New Skill, LacX collided with the Quick-Hen, killing it instantly, since his Agi was Doubled Twice.

"Man, I did that much with over 4000 Agility? And if I got faster..." Thinking about it, he remembered that he still had some Stat Points from the Large Wolf.

[Rewards]

[Exp +36]

[Drop : Feather]

<Drops placed in Storage>

'So my Drops don't just pop out anymore? Then that means that I don't have to manually pick the Drop that appears near the corpse.' He was about to "Bash" the Brooster, but was hit from behind once again, this time hitting his leg.

Before he fell to the ground, he used "Bash" to break his fall, but now only had 5 SP left.

'Do you need some help?' Mana takes a step forward.

"No, I have a plan. Just watch."

Before his "Booster" ran out, he used "Sprint", in creasing his Agility a little further.

'I have one shot, with two targets. This will be tough.'

Charging forwards, LacX twirls in a drilling motion, hitting 1 of his Targets, and just barely missing the second.

[Rewards]

[Exp +25]

[Level : 5 -> 6]

[Drop : Chicken Breast]

Before the last Brooster could hit him, Mana shot a small 'Ice Needle' that hit the Creature directly in the chest, killing it.

'Ooh, I leveled up. That's surprising, considering my Rank and all.'

Laying down in exhaustion, LacX opens his Stat Menu, putting his Points into Agi once again.

'By the way, Master, what are your Stats?'

Looking at his Stats, even he felt slightly worried.

"Well, besides the extra Strength from my Weapon, and the Defence from my Hoodie, I have exactly 1026 Agility, and 1 of everything else."

Mana sit's in silence, before finally giving her remark.

'You poor soul... do you only know of Agility?' She looks at him with pitiful eyes.

"Oh come on. Don't mind that. I have skills that make up for it, so it's fine. Anyways, teach me some Magic. I have some Skills that can help with both Ice and Wind Magic, so it would be nice to use them."

'Okay, but only if you do one thing for me.'

"And what would that be?"

Pointing at the Broosters and Quick-Hen, she begins to drool.

'Cook those for lunch. They look delicious.'

With a sigh, he takes the the Chicken Corpses and gets to work.

Plucking the Feathers and Draining the Blood gave LacX another Skill, which was 'Dismantle'. Using the Skill, he removed nearly all of the Feathers from the last Chicken, and removing the Wings from the Corpse, putting them into his Inventory.

Getting a small Table and Cutting Board from his storage, he takes the Chicken Breasts and cuts them into small pieces. Placing them on a Skewer, he seasons them with salt and waits for them to cook over the fire.

Afterna few minutes, the Skewers are done, and he hands around 15 Skewers to Mana, and takes 3 for himself.

After eating, LacX puts everything back into his storage, having both his 'Cooking' and 'Storage' Skills level up.

'That was quite a fine meal. Now before we start, we must first find a body of Water. A large one would be good, but even a small pond would suffice.' Mana begins sniffing the air.

"So to learn Ice Magic, we would need Water. So am I gonna learn Water Magic first?"

'Yes. Ice Magic in itself is just the control over your Magic's Temperature. Making a Ball of Water cold enough to Freeze will allow you to have enough control over magic. It is extremely difficult, however, and will take some time before you can Freeze Magic.' Finding a scent, Mana beckons to LacX, and they head towards a slightly large lake.

'Oh? I seem to have found something interesting.'

Looking at the Water, it had a small Glow to it, and seemed to have something at the bottom.

"What is this? And what's that thing at the bottom?"

'This seems to be a "Mana Pool", and that there, I do not know. If I am correct, then it might be an Egg of sorts, or maybe a Jewel or Artifact. Worst case scenario, it is a "Mana Bomb" that is waiting to be detonated.'

"Should I go and see what it is?"

'If that is what you wish, then do so at your own risk. Be wary.'

Taking his Belt and Hoodie off, he dives in.

As he swam, he got a System Message.

[Mana Pool Effect Active]

<For every 30 Minutes, your Max MP will increase by 1. MP Recovery increased to 100 MP per Minute>

Liking the sound of the effect, he continues to swim, also gaining the "Swimming" Skill.

Finally reaching the bottom, he decided to put the object in his Storage, since he was running out of air, and swims back to the surface.

'Well? What did you find?' Mana wags her tail in anticipation.

"I don't know, but this Mana Pool has some crazy effects. I can increase my MP Cap by sitting in here every Thirty Minutes. Sad how I can't stay here for too long though." Staying in the water, he takes the object out of his Storage, and uses Appraisal.

[Appraisal]

[Name : Egg]

[Race : Dragon Slime]

[Rank : ? ]

[Level : NaN]

[Unique Clan Skill]

<*Locked*>

"It's an egg. Apparently it's the egg of a 'Dragon Slime', whatever that is. Do you know?"

Mana sits there, practically gaping her mouth extremely wide.

'Is it me, or do I surprise everyone with every single thing I do.' LacX was slightly concerned, until he heard a crack.

. . .