Rocks

A sea of infinite void engulfed me; I found myself wriggling, struggling to break free of the eternal darkness. I pushed myself forward, closer and closer to the edge of the dome that encapsulated my very world.

I had thought it would be hard to break. I had expected it to be a hardened shell, tempered by the eternity of its existence. I never hoped to escape from the boundless abyss— drowning in the ocean of nothingness, forever trapped to unbirth.

And yet, I broke through the surface so easily, I didn't even realize I was finally free. Only the words that filled my head made me realize I was finally alive.

Salvos

Species: [Infant Demon]

Subspecies: [Demon Larva] - Lvl. 1

General Skills:

[Identification] - Lvl. 1

[Racial Skill: Universal Language Comprehension] - Lvl. 1

Stats:

[Available Stat Points: 0]

[Vitality]: 5

[Strength]: 5

[Endurance]: 5

[Wisdom]: 5

[Agility]: 5

Skills:

[Available Skill Points: 0]

[Unused Skill Slot] x5

These words resounded not as a voice, but as a breadth of information that I intuitively knew: I did not have to be told that my name was Salvos— I was simply Salvos.

I lay there for what felt like an immortal moment, choosing not to move, choosing to revel in my existence. Finally, I opened my eyes, taking in the world around me.

Up above, darkling clouds blotched out the crimson sky. The red glow of the heavens itself came down mostly unimpeded; only a piece of it was covered by the eddying overcast that seemed to grow fainter through the passage of time.

I was floating atop an inky, black liquid; what I had thought to be a vast ocean proved now to be nothing more than a mere pool— a puddle that I couldn't even sink myself into.

I flopped my way out of the sable water, hoping it wouldn't open up and swallow by being back into nonexistence. My body finally reached the pure, white surface of solid ground, the black liquid dripping off my body almost too easily, returning to whence it came.

The mass of land was far more expansive than the tiny pool of my birth; I looked curiously at the world around me, seeing distant sinuous crests and jutting peaks that piqued my interest. What is that?

I had an inkling of an idea of what they could be: I could comprehend the rough concepts of these shapes, but their true nature evaded me. I was captivated by it. I was drawn towards this strange, new world I had found myself in.

I glanced one last time back at the void I had been borne from, and saw nothing staring back at me. I no longer belonged to that world. Somehow, someway, I had squirmed my way out of it. And I would never go back.

—--

I dragged myself through the barren landscape, stopping every so often to investigate anything that I took a fascination to. The black clouds overhead were now nothing more than a speck in the distance, but strangely enough, the place of my birth had receded and vanished altogether.

It was gone. I was not sure why it was gone. I vaguely understood that it was possible for objects to disappear but still remain in existence. However, something told me that that was not the case here.

It mattered not to me. I continued my crawl across the chalky and rocky floor. It was not the most comfortable thing I had experienced— certainly, having no senses meant such disagreeable feelings would never be felt.

This was not something I just knew. This was something I had just learned for myself.

I did not enjoy the poking sensation that came when I was crawling over these tiny rock bits that were scattered all throughout the floor. It almost made me want to return to the puddle— simply floating as time passed was an absolute bliss, unlike this.

But I remembered the overwhelming fear I had of falling back into the abyss. It was not something I wanted. I was alive now, and I treasured that. So I made do with these minor inconveniences, choosing to bear this burden that came with life, pressing forward into the unknown.

...

I only got a little bit further before it got too much for me.

These small objects did not exactly hurt me; they did not pierce through my skin, leaving only brief indents before falling back off onto the floor. My health did not drop from this, yet I was sick and tired of navigating through this rough terrain.

I lowered my face down to one of these rocks, investigating its features and anything else that stood out to me. Surely something about it would clue me into a way to crawl over them without hurting!

I stared at the first rock, studying its every protrusion on its uneven surface. After pondering it over, I decided this rock was useless on its own— I needed a wider array of observations before a conclusion was made— and moved on to the next.

The second rock was bigger than the first, but just as haphazardly arranged in its shape. I looked over it for another indefinite period of time before looking over the third.

I was contemplating how the third was seemingly as rugged as the first and second on one side of its surface, yet completely smooth on the other, when more words suddenly filled my head.

General Skill [Identification] Level Up!

[Identification - Lvl. 1] -> [Identification - Lvl. 2]!

Experience is awarded for the leveling of a General Skill!

I jerked, immediately losing concentration as I considered the implications of what the words meant. I had... leveled a General Skill? How did I do that? I was just trying to understand a rock—

My vision snapped back at the smooth yet rugged rock I had been eyeing. Whatever nuance that made the third rock distinct from the first and second was beyond my current understanding of the world. But of course, I had Skills I could use. Skills that were supposed to aid me in accomplishing certain tasks.

I barely parsed the use for [Identification] beforehand; its purpose was not something I truly understood. Now, however, I realized it was for identifying objects. It was to give me a better grip of things that were unknown to me.

So I focused onto the rock, my eyes never leaving the specific rock I had picked out as I activated the Skill.

[Identification]!

The word flashed through my mind. Whether it was by choice or whether it came from using the Skill, I did not know. However, information flooded by head as finally, I could unfurl the mysteries behind this peculiar object.

[Rock - It is a rock.]

...was that it?

No, that couldn't be. There had to be something more to it than that!

There was a secret here— there was a reason why it was not like the other two rocks I had seen. It was special. It had to be special.

But why did [Identification] not tell me what this secret was? It made no sense. I felt uneasy about my understanding of the Skill, doubts forming in my mind that it was what I thought it was. However, I had been certain I used it right.

Something had told me that [Identification]'s purpose was to identify things. It was the same thing that had told me what I was. It was the same thing that told me what I was capable of.

Perhaps...

I trailed off. Connections were being formed in my head. An epiphany was being made. I finally understood what I had gotten wrong.

The problem is not in the Skill itself, but in the Skill's level!

That was the only conclusion I could come to. That was why it did not tell me more information than I had already known. If I leveled the Skill, it would surely reveal the truth behind rocks!

I turned my attention to another pile of rocks to my left. These ones were significantly smaller. They were pebbles— miniscule rocks with fine features that were hard to make out without getting extremely close to it. But that was fine. I had chosen those to investigate since I knew I could learn more from them.

I had gone through two dozen of these pebbles before the words I had been anticipating came.

General Skill [Identification] Level Up!

[Identification - Lvl. 2] -> [Identification - Lvl. 3]!

Experience is awarded for the leveling of a General Skill!

Subspecies [Demon Larva] Level Up!

[Demon Larva - Lvl. 1] -> [Demon Larva - Lvl. 2]

Gained 5 Stat Points and 1 Skill Point!

I... finally did it! And I also leveled as a [Demon Larva] thanks to the experience gained from leveling [Identification]! It was a total success!

I could distribute my Stat Points and Skill Point later. For now, I focused on what was important. I glanced at the pebble closest to me and activated my [Identification]—

[Rock - It is a rock.]

...what?

That couldn't be right. [Identification] had just hit its second level. It should be telling me more than before, not the exact same thing. Unless...

I looked at another pebble, once again using [Identification] on it.

[Rock - It is a rock.]

No!

[Rock - It is a rock.]

No! No! No!

[Rock - It is a rock.]

Everywhere I checked— every pebble, stone, and rock I used [Identification] on— all produced the same result. It was all the same. All of them except for that third rock. The special rock.

I hadn't checked it yet, but it had to be different. It was different. I saw it with my own eyes.

I cast my gaze back to where I had once been, but was only met by an endless sea of small pieces of rocks spread throughout the empty landscape. I couldn't make out the rock that had me pondering over what made it different. Over what made it special.

It should be here! It has to be...

Then the realization sunk in. The bits of rock and pebbles uniformly crinkling the ground all around me were just that: rocks.

Nothing set one apart from the other. Rocks were rocks, even if there were some minute differences from one to the other. It is a rock, the words echoed in my mind.

Slowly but dejectedly, I accepted this piece of information; I had spent so much time chasing after an answer that had always been in front of me. It felt like a waste.

I crawled away from the spot I had hovered over for so long, wading through the rocks despondently. I paused.

Wait, rocks?

Yes, there were rocks all around me. Rocks that had been so meddling. Rocks that made every movement so uncomfortable.

Rocks that I didn't even register are there anymore.

I had been moving through rocks for such an extended period of time, it was not an issue anymore. I no longer felt the pokings of the rocks on my body. It was just like the dichotomy between the cool stone surface and the strong heat radiated from all around me which I initially felt when I left my puddle, but I had gotten used to it.

I thought such an accustomance applied only to that specific circumstance. Now I understood it could apply to a wide array of things— possibly more than the two I had just experienced. So I didn't care anymore.

I happily continued my squirming through the white ground, unsure whether I should head to those small hillocks or tall mountains in the distance which my [Identification] didn't work on for some reason, but stopped when I noticed something.

Firstly, I felt my gaze was sharper than before. It was subtle, I would not have been able to tell the difference if I didn't spot them in the distance.

I had been musing about what I would do with my Stat Points and Skill Point. But now, all of those thoughts were gone as my attention was drawn to the bright colorful shapes moving in the otherwise desolate and plain world.

It was the others.

Just like me.

And there were a dozen of them.

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(description)

The Others

I saw the others for the first time. There were many of them, all grouped together and wandering mindlessly through the empty landscape. They stood out in the white background— their vibrant colors stood out in sharp contrast to the blandness of the landscape, making them almost seem inviting. But I did not approach.

I waited in the near distance, watching to see what they would do. There were all sorts of them— most of them like me, but with slight variations in their forms. One of them had black and yellow spots on its back, despite the rest of its writhing mass of a body being red in color.

Another one had only a single eye on its face instead of the two I had, with a pair of long protrusions right above it. And another one had multiple small protrusions at the bottom of its body, wiggling and moving in a way that somehow made it faster than the rest.

It almost reminded me of the rocks wrinkling the ground— we were all the same, only slightly different. Was I then just like a rock with absolutely no individual characteristics to me? Was I not special in any way? Somehow, the very thought of that terrified me.

At first, my interest had been piqued from encountering these other creatures, but now I wanted to run away from them. I had to be different. I had to have something that differentiated myself from the others!

I was just about to flee from the group of colorful beings that looked just like me when I remembered the words that resounded in my head when I was first born. No— I wasn't remembering the same words. It was different now, but I knew it was the words that defined me. And it was...

Salvos

Species: [Infant Demon]

Subspecies: [Demon Larva] - Lvl. 2

That was right. I had leveled up, which was why I was Level 2 now. But that wasn't why I checked my Status. I did it because I could use it to compare myself with the others. If I used [Identification] on them, would the results be the same just like with the rocks?

I was uncertain, but I had to know. I felt my entire body quiver as I focused on the nearest of the others— the one with the colored spots patterned throughout its body. I hesitated for a moment, however went ahead with activating my Skill anyway.

[Identification]!

The words appeared in my head: the information that described the being for what it was. My entire body tensed as I processed it all—

[Demon Larva - Lvl. 1]

I found my entire body sagging, feeling the tension that once held me disappear. This sensation, it was... relief? I wasn't entirely sure just yet what it was, but I liked the feeling. It was nice.

This Demon— [Demon Larva]?— or whatever it was, was evidently the same Species and Subspecies as me. And yet, I was higher leveled than it. It was different from the rocks which all produced the same results. There was a distinction between myself and the others. I was not an object, but a subject— just like I thought I was. And somehow, that thought calmed me down.

Wait, that means...

I carefully approached the group of Demons that had taken notice of me and were now just staring at me; some of them had a curious look on their face, almost as if they were waiting to see what I would do, while others seemed completely uninterested and were just following whatever the group was doing.

I got closer to them and began using [Identification] on each and every single one of them. I might have been unlike a rock in that I was unique, but I was not sure if that applied to these Demons too. Perhaps they might have all been the same, which in that case, meant they were just more rocks. That was almost the conclusion I came to where I checked the first three Demons.

[Demon Larva - Lvl. 1]

[Demon Larva - Lvl. 1]

[Demon Larva - Lvl. 1]

I was just about to stop using my Skill, deciding that these Demons were all the same, when I saw the Demon with the protrusions... the legs... take a step closer to me. I met that Demon's eyes and used [Identification] on it.

[Demon Larva - Lvl. 3]

It was Level 3? It was higher leveled than me!

I stared at that Demon in shock and another feeling for a moment. Why was it Level 3 and I was only Level 2? That was unfair. I wanted to be Level 3 as well!

For some reason, I was discontent with being lower leveled than this Demon. I wanted to possess the same or better qualities than it— her!

She was a her.. I intuitively knew she was a her. And she was better than me.

However, she seemed to pay no mind to that fact, and was instead moving her legs, gesturing between herself and me. She... wanted me to go with them?

I glanced about at the others, again taking in their stats with [Identification]. In that group of a dozen, there were three other Demons at Level 2— the same as me— and one more at Level 3. The rest were Level 1, and apart from the one with colored spots on its back, they didn't seem too interested in anything really.

They were just following the group. But why were they doing that?

I pondered it over for a moment, as the group began to head off, led by the other Level 3 Demon. The one with legs waited for me as I lay there, considering these questions in my mind.

Perhaps, I thought, as the Demon finally started after her companions. Perhaps they're following the Level 3 Demons to learn how to get to that level too?

That was the only line of reasoning that made sense to me. I could not rationalize any other train of thought that would lead them to group up like that. After all, the moment I met that Demon, I immediately wanted to reach the same level as her, so it made sense that the others felt the same way!

I hurried after the group as they got further and further away. They didn't slow down for me, even though a few noticed me trailing after them. Not that it mattered. I was still with the group until they once again gathered as a group, attracted to something new and interesting.

They huddled around something that was lying motionless on the ground, just at the foot of a small hill; I tried to see what it was, but they were blocking my vision. I had to go around them— up to an elevated position— to clearly see what they were investigating.

Was this how they leveled up? I did level up from inspecting rocks on the ground. Perhaps simply going around and poking at whatever new thing you came across was what helped you to level. Maybe the more peculiar an object it was, the more experience you gained from looking at it?

I peeked down at what the others were studying, when I realized I had been mistaken as to what it was they say. Instead of seeing a weird rock like I had imagined, I saw another [Demon Larva] lying on the ground, motionless.

The others had formed a circle around it, curiously looking on at it, but still keeping a small distance away from it. It was almost a repeat of when they had met me, except that they didn't approach it any further. Why was it not moving? Why was it just lying there? These were questions that crossed my mind, and I was sure they held similar thoughts to these too.

Suddenly, the [Demon Larva] jerked. It straightened its body, snapping its head up as the others backed away from this sudden movement. This [Demon Larva] looked different. It was not like the ones in the group— the ones that were about my size with small variations in form. Instead, it was thicker than us, it was larger than us, and it had a longer body than us.

Noticing this fact, I had my interest piqued and I decided to inch closer to it. I got till I was about as far away from it as the others before I used [Identification] on it. The results it produced surprised me.

[Demon Larva - Lvl. 5]

It was Level 5? That was more than twice my level! It was 2 levels higher than the highest leveled Demon in the group!

I had to know its secret; it was so huge— almost twice my size— and so high leveled as well. I didn't want to be Level 3 anymore— I wanted to be Level 5 if it meant I could get that big!

The others must have shared the same thought. One of the Level 3 Demons— the one with the legs— slowly stepped forward to the Level 5 [Demon Larva]. The only thing that stopped me from rushing up to it as well was a sudden thought.

It was a random thought, but I wondered to myself: why was it alone? Did it not follow any other Demon to reach its level? And did it not encounter any other Demon that wanted to follow it to reach its level?

It was these thoughts that made me a moment slower than the legged Demon to reach the large Demon. She stopped right in front of it as it loomed over her. She tilted her head slowly, and proffered one of her tiny limbs out—

And it crushed her.

In a single motion, the large Demon crushed her with its head. The Level 3 Demon— the one that had waited for me as the rest of her group left me behind— was squished in an instant. All that was left of her was a broken body with black liquid oozing out of it.

I stared in shock for a moment, still trying to process what had happened. And I wasn't the only one. The others were as taken aback as I was. The only thing that saved us from being immediately killed as well was the change that went over the large Demon's body.

The large Demon wriggled as it began to morph and grow bigger in size. That brief reprieve was what allowed us to finally react to this unexpected development. Three of the Level 1 Demons and one of the Level 2 Demons charged at the large Demon, throwing themselves at its body in a combined attack.

It reeled back from the hit, bruises forming on its body where it had been struck. They continued to assault its body as the others began to join in. For some reason, I was also compelled to help them fight the large Demon, but that feeling was quickly squashed as it crushed the Level 2 Demon. It swiped its body at two of the Level 1 Demons, breaking their bodies and sending them flying.

Upon seeing that, the rally against the large Demon quickly turned into a retreat; I watched as the Level 1 and Level 2 Demons that started at the large Demon in a charge scramble away from it as it crushed the last of the Demons that had attacked it.

It was too high leveled for us to take down! We were less than half its level, so of course it would be able to take us out with ease. But there was still the other Level 3 Demon, the one with the feelers on its head—

I cast my gaze around, looking for the Level 3 Demon. He was... running away? No— he wasn't just running away, he had been running the entire time.

I must not have noticed because I was distracted, but the moment the large Demon killed the first Level 3 Demon, he turned tails and ran for it. That was why he was already disappearing into the distance while the others were still within the vicinity of the large Demon.

I panicked. I was going to be crushed too! I didn't want to be crushed! I didn't want to... die. I had just been born. Dying now was something I absolutely did not want!

I started after the Level 3 Demon, trying to catch up to him. But he was faster than me— barely faster, but definitely faster. I crawled alongside the other fleeing Demons as we tried to get away from the large Demon. I craned my head around as I did, just in time to see it catch and crush another Level 1 Demon.

It was faster than us too! For some reason, even with such a large body, it moved quicker than I was. Why was it so fast? Why was it so strong? I didn't know. I don't know—

Then, as if by instinct or by deduction, I realized why it was faster than me. It had a higher [Agility] than me. That had to be it.

It had leveled up and used its Stat points to raise its [Agility]. And that was probably why it was its size too. One of its Stat points— either [Vitality] or [Strength]— was also raised to make it bigger. The large Demon was about to catch up to me when I hurriedly recalled my Stats.

Stats:

[Available Stat Points: 5]

[Vitality]: 5

[Strength]: 5

[Endurance]: 5

[Wisdom]: 5

[Agility]: 5

Skills:

[Available Skill Points: 1]

[Unused Skill Slot] x5

I had received 5 Stat Points and 1 Skill point from leveling up. I had nothing to spend my Skill Points on, so I ignored it and focused only on my Stats.

Each of my Stats already had 5 points in it, but I now had 5 more I could distribute amongst them. I had a rough idea of what each did, but only two of them would help me in the moment: [Strength] and [Agility].

If I spent my Stat Points on [Strength], perhaps I could match the attack power of the large Demon. However, that still meant it outmatched me in speed, so it would land more hits on me and kill me faster. So that was out of the question.

So I decided. [Agility] it is. I spent all 5 of my Stat Points straight into [Agility], and instantly felt an odd sensation wash over my body.

I didn't sprout legs, per se, though I did gain small limbs that helped push me forward. I also felt lighter. My body was more slick. Like even if I didn't use my limbs and just crawled ahead, I would still move twice as fast as I did before.

I wasted no time trying to accustom myself to my body and sped ahead. I ran past the other Demons ahead of me, feeling relief knowing that I would escape with my life. That was, until I heard the crunch that came from another Level 1 Demon being crushed by the large Demon.

I stopped in my tracks and turned around. The large Demon was catching up to the others. It was going to kill them all— none of them, except for the Level 3 Demon, were going to escape. They were all going to die.

That didn't bother me so much. As long as I lived, why did it matter if they died? And yet, I was running from this large Demon. This large Demon that attacked and killed us for no reason. The others were running from it, fearing for their life, when they probably would have been able to take it down if they worked together from the very beginning.

In fact, one of the Level 2 Demons realized this. He realized that they could not escape, and the only chance they stood was if they banded together. He tried to rouse the others to turn around and fight. Squish. He died as the others ignored him and continued to flee.

Was I really like these other Demons, running like a coward from something I could beat? Surely I was not just a rock that the large Demon used to level up before tossing me aside like the other dozen rocks it looked at, right? And if I really wanted to reach the same level as that large Demon— if I wanted to hit Level 5... no, Level 6 like it— I shouldn't be running away from a fight like this, should I?

So I stopped running away from this large Demon and charged back at it. It was about to crush another Demon— the one with the colorful spots in his back— when I tackled it, striking it across the face.

The large Demon turned its attention to me as I struck it with my entire body once again. This time, it took the brunt of the hit and brought its head down to squish me like it did the others. However, I skittered away from the attack, dodging it with relative ease.

I backed up as it tried a follow up attack, swiping at me from the side, trying to use its size to its advantage. I barely avoided this attack. If it had hit me there, I probably would have been squished. But I survived it, and saw a wide opening.

As the large Demon tried to reorient itself, I saw the perfect chance to strike once again. I aimed for the bruise that had already been made by the first of the others that attacked it, smashing my head down onto it.

This proved effective as it staggered from the blow, pulling itself back to try and gain some distance between myself and it. I did not let up, however. I used my new limbs to hold onto its body as backed away, continuing to hammer my head into its body.

It lurched from the repeated strikes, trying to shake me off. When it couldn't do that, it straightened its body and brought its head up and over me. It tried to smash me, but I easily slithered away as it hurt itself. But instead of getting off the large Demon, I made my way up of it.

It twisted its body in confusion as I climbed up to its head. It was wary of attacking me now that it realized it was able to inflict damage on itself with me on it. And in that moment of uncertainty, I seized the large Demon by the head.

I wrapped my body around just below the head of the large Demon. It thrashed about to get me off it, but I simply squeezed my body tighter, using my limbs to stop myself from falling off. It spun and squirmed in a panic, but I did not let go.

I wasn't sure how long I held that position— I wasn't sure how much harder I tried to curl myself under its head— but eventually, there was a pop. The head of the large Demon fell limply off its body, its black blood getting all over me.

I collapsed alongside the body of the large Demon, and I lay there triumphant as the words of victory rang in my head.

Defeated [Demon Larva - Lvl. 6]!

Abundant experience is awarded for defeating an enemy three times your level!

Subspecies [Demon Larva] Level Up!

[Demon Larva - Lvl. 2] -> [Demon Larva - Lvl. 3]

Gained 5 Stat Points and 1 Skill Point!

Subspecies [Demon Larva] Level Up!

[Demon Larva - Lvl. 3] -> [Demon Larva - Lvl. 4]

Gained 5 Stat Points and 1 Skill Point!

I did it! I leveled up twice! I...

Wait, why am I only Level 4? It was Level 6, right? I beat it! It was Level 6! Shouldn't I be Level 6 now too?!

Learning Experience

Salvos

Species: [Infant Demon]

Subspecies: [Demon Larva] - Lvl. 4

General Skills:

[Identification] - Lvl. 3

[Racial Skill: Universal Language Comprehension] - Lvl. 1

Stats:

[Available Stat Points: 10]

[Vitality]: 5

[Strength]: 5

[Endurance]: 5

[Wisdom]: 5

[Agility]: 10

Skills:

[Available Skill Points: 3]

[Unused Skill Slot] x5

I evaluated my Status after having killed the Level 6 [Demon Larva] by myself. The others— the survivors from the encounter— had left without me. None of them turned around to try and help me when I confronted the large Demon.

Not that it mattered to me; somehow I knew that if they had helped out, I would have gained less experience from killing it, which would have given me less levels too. So I actually preferred that they stayed out of the fight.

Anyway, it was not like I was happy with the amount of levels I gained in the first place. I had doubled my levels, going from Level 2 to Level 4. And while that seemed like quite the achievement at first, I still wasn't satisfied. The large Demon was Level 6— since I killed it, shouldn't I be at least Level 6 too?

Something told me that that wasn't how it worked. But it should!

I might not have been as big as it, and I might not have had as many levels as it, but I killed it when the others failed or fled. The fact that I deserved more of a reward than what I got led me to conclude that the world wasn't fair. Which was unfortunate, but it wasn't something I was going to dwell on. Instead, I focused on my Status.

Currently, I had 3 available Skill Points and 10 available Stat Points. I still had no Skills for me to invest my Skill Points in— which confused me in more ways than one. For example, how was I supposed to gain a Skill? How was it different from a General Skill? Why couldn't I use my Skill Points on my General Skills?

Unable to solve this mystery behind Skills, I then decided to simply look at my Stat Points for now. As I had figured out earlier, [Agility] was something that made me faster... in addition to other things I couldn't parse right now. When I had spent all 5 of my Stat Points on [Agility], my body changed— kind of like how the large Demon's body changed after it had leveled.

I grew these... limbs. They ran down the side of my body, not exactly forming full rows of them, but still rather numerous. It was a strange feeling, suddenly changing forms. It was something I was probably going to get used to for now, whenever I spent Stat Points.

I considered the other Stats I had: [Vitality], [Strength], [Endurance], and [Wisdom]. I could guess vaguely what each of these Stats did by themselves. There were other facets to these Stats, but I was certain [Vitality] would give me more health, [Strength] would make me stronger, [Endurance] would increase my durability, and [Wisdom]... would grow my magic power?

I puzzled over this idea of magic for a moment, until my mind drew a link between magic and the Skill Slots I had available. Apparently, magic was something every living being was capable of doing, but was aided by the Skills and General Skills they learned.

That was interesting. I had been curious about what these Skills were just a moment ago, and now knowing that having more [Wisdom] was somehow connected to them made me decide to experiment with it. For now, I was going to spend 3 of my Stat Points on [Wisdom], 2 on [Vitality], and keep the remaining 5 to figure out for later.

Immediately after using the Stat Points, my body began to quiver. It started to shift, changing in size as I grew slightly bigger. It wasn't as drastic as a growth the large Demon went through— something told me that not only would different combinations of Stats result in different changes to the body, but the individuality of myself and the others made the changes we underwent specific to us as well.

However, while the change that came over me from increasing my [Vitality] was made apparent to me in more ways than one, I was left confused by my [Wisdom]. I did not feel smarter or anything too blatant like that. In fact, I almost thought that nothing had happened from growing my [Wisdom] for a moment.

That was until I stopped focusing on myself, and turned my attention to the world around me. After I became Level 2 from leveling in [Identification] twice, I had thought my perception of things was more sharp. And while that didn't change this time, I felt like my vision was now piercing through some veil that I didn't even know was there before.

There were... lines? Or something else. A thing called mana was cutting through the world. It was not doing so intrusively, but rather in a way that kept it together. It was like strings woven together and into each other to create something that was whole.

I tried to reach out and grab one of these strings, but found my physical hand simply passing over through it. It was hard to touch; I knew my body would not be able to interact with it in this simple of a way. I had to understand it more. I had to learn about them— follow these strings— to get a better grasp of what they were, so I could actually touch and move them.

So that was what I did. Very quickly, I spent the rest of my Stat Points between [Strength], [Endurance], and [Agility]. For now, I was content with my speed so I only increased it by a single point, while splitting the rest equally between [Strength] and [Endurance].

Once again, the changes from these Stats were more tangible and obvious at first, but I intuitively knew that the changes I experienced went beyond simple physical changes.

—--

I would have thought it would take a while for me to have to get used to my new, bigger body; with extra parts to me coming in the limbs as well as a longer form, it was quite a significant change to what I was before. And yet, I did not find it uncomfortable using my limbs to move through the rocky terrain.

The bits and pieces of rock sticking out of my limbs were barely a nuisance, and I could even move faster now. And while that sped up my process of simply moving, apparently moving faster somehow correlated with meeting other Demons faster. Unfortunately however, these Demons I met weren't like the first group I had encountered.

Defeated [Demon Larva - Lvl. 3]!

Experience is awarded for defeating an enemy!

Subspecies [Demon Larva] Level Up!

[Demon Larva - Lvl. 4] -> [Demon Larva - Lvl. 5]

Gained 5 Stat Points and 1 Skill Point!

That was the third Demon I had seen since I defeated the large Demon, and just like the large Demon, all of these Demons attacked me mindlessly. I had approached the first one— a Level 2 Demon— because it didn't seem too dangerous.

And while it wasn't dangerous per se, it did try to tackle me. I didn't have much difficulty dodging the surprise attack, although dispatching it wasn't as quick of an endeavour. With my relatively low [Strength], I couldn't crush it in a single blow and relied on multiple strikes to beat it.

After that, I approached the other Demons more cautiously, but still they charged at me. And while they were all lower leveled than me, they didn't even hesitate in their attack. At first, I had considered it to be a bit of a nuisance, but after I leveled, I decided it was a good thing— in a way.

While I risked dying whenever these Demons came after me, if I defeated them I gained experience which would help me level up myself. And not only was leveling up a satisfying thing, it made me stronger.

With this strength, I could defend myself better. With this strength, I could survive!

But that was boring. There wasn't really anything for me to do; I had tried investigating more strangely shaped rocks, but I lost interest in them far faster than before. Eventually, I turned my attention to those large rocks in the distance— those mountains.

It was strange. These tall, massive shapes became smaller as I went further away from them— they didn't sink into the ground, but instead appeared to almost simply shrink in size. I had not traveled to one before, however after making this observation, I decided to traverse up one of the smaller hills.

I had known that a hill became larger as I approached one, but it was still such a jarring sight seeing it turn from this vague outline into this towering shape before me. Putting 2 of my Stat points into [Wisdom] and [Agility], with the last remaining point into [Strength], I scurried my way up.

I didn't do nothing on this trek; I was being productive. I raised one of my limbs up, running it through the invisible strings of mana as I continued trying to acquaint myself with it. It wasn't exactly telling me anything in specific, but I felt like I was learning more about it. My vision of the mana wasn't completely clear just yet, however—

General Skill [Basic Mana Manipulation] Learned!

Experience is awarded for the learning of a General Skill!

I stopped right in my tracks as the words resounded in my head; I tilted my body, trying to figure out what just happened. I... learned a General Skill? That was right, it was still a Level 1 Skill. But that was better than nothing. Now I knew I was capable of learning General Skills— that was how I gained them.

It might not have been the exact same process for Skills, but it was probably a somewhat similar one. I lifted one of my limbs and tugged at the mana strings, and instead of just passing through nothing, I felt the barest sense of something being there.

It was a slight feeling— something that showed me nothing, while opening up endless possibilities at the same time. And it happened just as I crested the top of the hill.

I rested there, at the peak of this massive rock. I cast my gaze around the landscape, at the flatlands down below, and at the other mountains that rose above the one I was on. I was Level 5, and while it was satisfying to know that I had reached a level similar to the large Demon, it still frustrated that I was not at its level yet.

In a way, I was like this hill. Tall, but not the tallest. Not anywhere close. Something blazed within me; a decision that I came to naturally. I wanted to level— not just to Level 6 or some other arbitrary level. I wanted to keep leveling until I could not anymore.

I wasn't sure if there was a limit, and if there was one, I did not know how high I could even go. And yet, it gave me something to do. I wanted more in my life than to simply exist. The rocks and the land— they were interesting at first, but they lost their novelty after a while. Seeing the same thing over and over again became dull over time.

So I gave myself a goal. It was my will. And when I went down the hill, back to the flat landscape, I was not just wandering aimlessly anymore. I was on the hunt. Searching for those mindless Demons that destroyed everything they saw.

And it wasn't long before I saw the next ones ahead. I let go of the strands of mana I was holding onto the entire time— apparently [Basic Mana Manipulation] was a hard General Skill to level since it was still at Level 1— and focused on the lumbering Demon. It charged me, of course. That was what all these wild Demons did.

As for me? I leveled.

Defeated [Demon Larva - Lvl. 3]!

Experience is awarded for defeating an enemy!

Defeated [Demon Larva - Lvl. 4]!

Experience is awarded for defeating an enemy!

Defeated [Demon Larva - Lvl. 3]!

Experience is awarded for defeating an enemy!

Defeated [Demon Larva - Lvl. 2]!

Less experience is awarded—