Carpet Fluid

I REINCARNATED AS A STICK by TrueDawn

In the vast plane of space lies a peculiar safe haven for a single girl. Although everything within this space was extremely white, including the girl's clothes...her name was truly the opposite of that.

The name of this girl was Kurohana. Although her beauty was akin to a blossoming flower under the rays of sunshine, her personality was uh...let's say...bipolar.

Sometimes she would act sweet in front of other people and make them feel good about themselves. Other times...

She would torture the living hell out of people just for her own pŀėȧsurė. And sometimes, it would be a mix of both, seducing people with her kind attitude and beautiful charm to fall under a trap that could be equivalent to eternal damnation.

That was Kurohana.

At this moment in time, she was looking at a glass orb, scanning through people to play with.

"Well you're wrong about that Mr. Heavenly Body, I'm picking a soul to use for my Transcendent Deity Weapon," Kurohana said towards the vast space, not exactly knowing where the person she referred to as the Heavenly Body was.

Anyways, she was currently scanning through the people that lived in a planet named Earth. After a few minutes, a specific person caught her eye and couldn't help but giggle.

"You'll be the one."

...

Bfre!

As if it was heavenly judgement, Aurus' house was struck by a bolt of lightning. Of course, when this heavenly body says that a person's house is struck by lightning, that meant the person who owns the house is struck by lightning as well.

Everything was charred to bits, even Aurus' body, the protagonist of this novel, was charred beyond recognition. If one were to look at it from afar, it would be similar to looking a big blob of black mass.

At this point in time, an incorporeal blob rose up from the charred body as it looked at the black mess with shock.

"How the...What the..." Aurus was dumbfounded at the current situation.

There wasn't any news of a storm coming near the city he lived in, nor was there anything peculiar that happened before Aurus sat down in front of the computer and did his usual routine.

It just...came.

After a while, the incorporeal blob couldn't help but sigh.

"I guess I have no choice but to accept my fate huh. It is kinda saddening that I couldn't have played longer as a God-tier existence."

Not many people know of this, but Aurus' usual routine involved playing the game where he devoted years of blood, sweat, and tears into.

Tvfo jfl rmru movuz ovfr Irdaraou Soahc Esmipoamr.

Even though it was an MMORPG, it had infinite possibilities that was quite similar to the other titles he had read on web novels back then.

Anyways, every information regarding the game is now useless since he's dead.

* Vsauce music plays*

Or...is it?

After Aurus was finished moping about how he can't play the game anymore, an invisible vortex appeared beside his incorporeal soul and *swoop!* suċkėd him in.

...

"Oh god...that was nauseating."

Aurus couldn't help but take deep breaths after going through that experience. Although he didn't know that he went through a vortex, he was sure that his incorporeal body was squished and stretched multiple times, making him feel extremely uncomfortable.

After calming down, he took a peek around his surroundings and was shocked to see that everything was white.

Tvu jfiil, ovu huaiare, ovu dimmz, ovu eazi ar dzmro md vaq, usuzwovare jfl jvaou.

Wait...girl?

"Hehe, welcome to my safe haven Aurus," a beautiful girl started to speak to Aurus, who was currently an incorporeal soul.

"Me?" Aurus couldn't help but point at himself although he didn't have any fingers.

"Yes, you," the beautiful girl smiled. "I have brought you here to give you another shot at life. Although you won't be reborn as a human, you would be reborn as a stick though."

Hearing that he was going to reborn as a stick, he couldn't help but feel that the woman in front was making fun of him. Just because he played Infinite Stick Evolution 24/7/365 doesn't mean that anyone can mock him for that.

"Why do I feel like there's a catch? Also, who are you?" Letting his logical and rational side take the lead, Aurus asked.

"Me?" the beautiful girl gave a cheeky grin which stunned Aurus. After that, she immediately released an aura that made Aurus feel like there was no oxygen around him.

"I'm Kurohana, the goddess of reincarnation."

"Kurohana..." Aurus muttered. "Well... that's a bit ironic considering the place, right?"

"Indeed it is but what can we do about it?" Kurohana shrugged it off and gave a bitter smile. Afterwards, she wore a calm yet happy expression. "Anyways, there's no catch to being reborn as a stick. I'll even add a little bonus if you do agree."

"And what if I don't?" Aurus asked.

"Then you shall be reborn again. But not as a specific type of race, you could either become human again, an animal, a ghost, a demon, the chances are equal," Kurohana snapped her fingers and made a chair materialize behind her, allowing her to sit down.

Aurus then pondered for a bit after hearing the choices. The first choice was that he would agree and he would be reborn as a stick. He would also get a bonus as well, allowing to do possibly great things. The second choice was that he would reject and be reborn as usual...with no bonuses whatsoever.

In front of a logical and rational person like Aurus, who would make a stupid choice to pick the latter?

"I accept. I accept being reborn as a stick," Aurus said after careful consideration.

"That's nice," Kurohana smiled as she enveloped Aurus' soul in a bubble of formless energy.

Afterwards, she gestured a few things with her fingers, making the formless energy glow in various places.

"Well then, you shall now be reborn as a stick. Don't worry, I won't forget your bonus. Good luck!"

Before the formless energy fully glowed, Aurus said two words.

"Thank you!"

After that, the formless energy disappeared without a trace. Any traces of Aurus were gone as well.

At this moment in time, Kurohana couldn't help but grin and laugh coldly.

"Stupid."

After a long while, Aurus felt that he hit something hard.

"Ouch," he couldn't help but say.

But although he said that, his voice couldn't be heard at all. It was as if it echoed within him.

"Well... that's weird, I feel like I can speak as much as I want, but I can't hear anything."

At this moment, he tried to look at his surroundings, only to fail in vain. The reason behind this was that...everything around him was pitch black!

"Haah...is there any way to see?"

As this question popped up in his mind, a notification sound could be heard going off in his head.

Ding!

'[Soul Perception I] has been unlocked.'

Whoosh!

As if the colors started to coalesce towards Aurus' eyes, the pitch black surroundings turned into a myriad of colors that would make it seem like the situation a while ago was only dream.

"Agh!" Though it wasn't for Aurus. Being bombarded with a ton of colors all of a sudden made him feel like his eyes were going to tear apart. But for some reason, he felt nothing although he shouted in reflex.

After a while, the colors dimmed down, allowing him to see everything around him. Taking his first glance at what surrounded him, he felt like this place was familiar.

Bpo ar fhopfiaow, ao zufiiw al dfqaiafz om vaq.

Recalling all of the thoughts in memory that were surprisingly not wiped by Kurohana, a distant memory from his past surfaced in his mind.

"Are you...serious?"

Aurus couldn't believe it at all. The distant memory that surfaced was a time when multiple little branches tried to do whatever they can to progress in terms of level or skill. Although what surrounded Aurus now was not sticks but instead grass, the trees, rocks, and everything else was exceptionally similar to the ones in his memory.

"If my guess is right, this is...the Forest of Beginnings."

The Forest of Beginnings, the first place players would arrive at when they start playing Infinite Stick Evolution. To others, it was a hellish time since everyone did whatever they could. But for Aurus, it just gave him a nostalgic feeling.

"Well...since I'm at the Forest of Beginnings, that means I have been reborn into...the world of Erudinia."

Erudinia, the world where ISE is based in, is surprisingly where Aurus is reborn. He didn't know why Kurohana did this, but he wanted to say thanks at least.

After looking at his surroundings, he turned his attention to his body. As said earlier, Aurus would be reborn as a stick. And as expected, he was indeed reborn as a stick.

Although there were different types of sticks since they came from different species of trees, Aurus didn't bother to care about what type of stick he was since he would eventually find out once he leveled up.

"Speaking of which...if I was reborn into the world of Erudinia as a stick, does that mean that I have a system?"

Although you may not hear this Aurus, you definitely have a system. Didn't you hear the notification sound from before?

"Wait..." Aurus started to process what happened before he could see. "I heard a notification sound and some voices and then all of a sudden, I could see everything around me."

Once he realized his current situation, his nonexistent eyes gleamed. "Could it be...?"

Ding!

'The [Existence Evolution System] has been enabled.'

'Setting user [Aurus] as the owner of the system.'

Hearing the voices that echoed in his mind, Aurus felt elated to know that the system in ISE was given to him.

"Is this the bonus Kurohana wanted to give me? If so, then this is a really good bonus."

Although he wanted to be reborn as a stick, he wasn't sure what he wanted to do when he was reborn. But since he obtained the system from the game, he felt that his life had a direction now.

"First of all, since I have the system, I'll have to become a God-tier existence once more. I only played as a God for like a few days before inevitably dying. I still don't know why that lightning bolt killed me though."

After dying, all he felt was disappointment that he was not going to be able to play as a God-tier existence in ISE anymore. Now that he had the system, even though it would take him a long while, he could reach the same height where he once was and even go further beyond.

As he was going to check his current situation, a voice that was familiar to him started to speak in his head.

"Hello there Aurus. It's me Kurohana. Although I kinda forced you to be reborn as a stick, I gave you two bonuses so you can say that everything is even. The first one is the Existence Evolution System you're using. Pretty familiar, right? I somewhat copied the system from the game you played and tweaked it a little bit so you can have more fun with the possibilities!"

Hearing that the first bonus was the system, Aurus couldn't help but feel proud that his guess was right. But wait...second bonus?

"As for the second bonus, it is a special skill that would definitely help you out. If you knew what it was, you'd definitely bow down in front of me and worship me hahaha! Anyways, I'll let you find that out for yourself and also, good luck!"

Since the second bonus was a skill, Aurus decided to leave it for now. At the moment, what he wanted to know the most were his stats!

"Open the status screen!" Aurus shouted.

Ding!

As if he was playing the game, a small semitransparent screen appeared in front of his field of vision.

________

[Aurus] (Level 1/3)

Experience: 0/3

Existence Level: Inanimate

Grade: C

Stats:

Toughness: 1

Thickness: 1

Density: 1

Unused Experience Points: 0

Urplut Gurulal Pmarol: 0

________

Checking that everything on the screen was the same as starting out in the game, Aurus couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

As for the stats and the other stuff, this heavenly body will explain it to you at another time.

"Open the skill screen!" Aurus shouted. Excitement was evident in his nonexistent eyes as he was extremely curious as to what skill Kurohana gave him.

Ding!

________

Active Skills:

[Roll]

Passive Skills:

[Smpi Puzhunoamr I], [Biullare md ovu Ruarhfzrfoamr Gmttull]

________

"Oh, [Roll] is still here. That's nice. But what about [Soul Perception I] and that other skill with the long name?" Aurus couldn't help but think hard as to what the two skills did.

"Identify [Soul Perception I]."

Ding!

________

[Soul Perception I] (Level 1/5)

Experience: 0/10

A skill obtained by those who are gifted in the soul, this skill allows the user to sense everything in their surroundings within a set radius.

Current radius: 5 meters

________

"Ah! So that's why I can see now! It's all thanks to this." Aurus checked that the current radius of this skill was at 5 meters and examined if it was true. After a few minutes of testing, he found out that everything within a 5 meter radius was vivid and extremely detailed. As for everything beyond that, only blurry images could be seen.

"And now...this...long skill."

"Identify uh...[Blessing of the Reincarnation Goddess]."

Ding!

As Aurus started to read the skill details, he couldn't help but have the urge to hug Kurohana at this instant. Why? It's because of this.

________

[Blessing of the Reincarnation Goddess] (Level MAX)

Experience: MAX

With the goddess of reincarnation as your guide, your memories in your past life have not been tampered by the goddess but instead reinforced, allowing you to recall every single memory from that life. It also allows you to gain 50% more experience from everything you do thanks to your memories.

"Oh...my god. This passive skill is definitely fitting of the name." Aurus couldn't help but feel exhilarated whenever he sees the effects the passive skill gives him.

"A 50% boost to experience, not to mention every type of experience from levels to skills! And also to think that my memories weren't wiped because of this skill, I really can't help but thank her a lot!"

Being surprised by the effects of the two passive skills, Aurus had the idea of checking the only active skill he had, which was [Roll].

"Since the two passive skills have such godly effects, then wouldn't Kurohana change the [Roll] skill as well? Let's see if that's the case."

"Identify [Roll]."

Ding!

________

[Roll] (Level 1/3)

Experience: 0/3

The basic movement for twigs and sticks of all sizes and shapes. An intangible energy exists everywhere, more commonly known as wind. Harnessing the energy from the wind, the stick can move forward at a constant rate.

Rate of movement: 1 meter per hour

________

Aurus couldn't help but laugh bitterly. It seemed that he got his hopes up for no reason.

"Well it does make sense though...why would she tamper with the [Roll] skill if I already have two skills that would probably make a lot of players hate me if it was in-game?"

After calming himself down, he then wondered how much HP he currently had. When he looked at his status screen a while ago, he couldn't see his current HP amount.

"Show my HP bar," Aurus commanded.

Dare!

'The option has been enabled.'

After the voice that came from the system finished speaking, two numbers could be seen floating above Aurus' body, separated by a line.

"1/1 huh," Aurus felt that this amount of HP was normal for someone at his current level.

"Anyways, once I level up, I'll gain more HP anyway so why bother thinking how much HP I currently have?"

Aurus' eyes gleamed as he could still vividly remember the godly passive skill.

"Anyways, let's not make the skill a waste and use it properly!"

"Open up the map."

Ding!

A map of considerable size appeared in front of Aurus' field of vision, allowing Aurus to look at everything that surrounded within a one kilometer radius.

Aiovmpev vu fizuftw daepzut mpo ovfo vu jfl zugmzr ar ovu jmzit md Ezptaraf frt cruj usuzw nifhu iacu ovu gfhc md val vfrt, vu loaii jfrout om qfcu lpzu bplo ar hflu oval hpzzuro jmzit jfl tadduzuro dzmq ovu efqu.

And for some reason, there was only a deviation in terms of distance. Aurus had his eyes on a special place he went to at the start of the game back then and there was a distance of 500 meters between them back then. But now, that distance has been increased to 750 meters.

"Set a marker towards the place," Aurus commanded.

Ding!

'Marker has been placed. Forming path.'

After a while, a large blue triangle could be seen hovering above Aurus' body. Aurus could also sense a blue path that led to the place that he wanted to go to, it was an incredibly surreal experience for him.

"Let's not waste any more time. Wait..."

"What time is it?" Aurus asked.

Ding!

'Current time: Day 1, 8:12:32 a.m.'

"Hm... I've only wasted a few minutes on checking my current abilities. Anyways, [Roll].'

After muttering the skill name, a faint green energy started to envelop Aurus' body in a way that propelled him forward. He could feel that he could change the direction of his movement, but with the blue path in front of him leading the way, he saw that there was no need to change it.

"If I factor in everything that will happen to me along the way, it would take me around a day or two to reach that place."

At this moment, Aurus' eyes gleamed. "But I have that skill so it'll only take me a day at most!"

"Onward to that place that I can't say because I feel like someone will explain it later on!"

Whoosh!

Although a whoosh sound could be heard, Aurus was moving at a pace that could be compared to the speed of a snail's movement, but he endured it since he would speed up soon enough.

"Hehe. This is gonna take a while," Aurus couldn't help but say.

As Aurus was moving towards the place at an excruciatingly slow pace...

* Vsauce music plays"

Huw, Hufsuriw Bmtw vuzu. Wvfo...fzu lofol?

Hehe, I told you that I'd be explaining stats and the other things sooner or later so here I am.

Anyways, there are three stats to take note of: Toughness, Thickness, and Density.

Toughness is equivalent to the Defense stat in MMORPGs, Thickness is equivalent to the Vitality stat in MMORPGs, and Density is equivalent to the Attack stat in MMORPGs.

And that's all pretty much. No wait, there's something else. Although these three stats fulfill their roles, they still have hidden connections with one another. I don't know how they're connected but it exists.

Also, the stats that our Aurus has are only the three basic stats that every player has in ISE. Once he evolves to a certain point and reaches a certain existence level, he could obtain more stats like Intelligence, Spirit, Element Affinity and so on.

Now let's move on to the other stuff, specifically existence level and grades.

At this point in time, you might be bored already after reading this heavenly body's long explanation but...

Bear with me a little bit more.

Existence levels are basically a measurement on the sentience and power of a certain species. So far, you only need to know of two existence levels: Inanimate which is Aurus' current existence level, and Animate, the existence level after Inanimate.

They're self-explanatory so I won't explain any further. As for grades...

You know how some species are stronger than other species? That's because of grades. Although a lot of species are at the same existence level, when their grades are taken into consideration, some can do more than others.

Anyways, there are only five grades to take note of: C, B, A, S and X from lowest to highest respectively.

These grades affect not only existence levels but also skills as well...although I'll delve deeper into that part later on.

Anyways, I have to get going now. Something special is going to happen to Aurus soon.

* swoop*

Two hours have passed since Aurus enabled the [Roll] skill.

Aurus looked at the triangle on top of his stick body and looked at the number above it.

748.

"It has already been two hours and I've only moved 2 meters. This is definitely going to take a while."

Dare!

At this moment, Aurus was surprised. Shouldn't that notification sound come up one hour later, he thought. But then he remembered that specific skill and then smiled.

'[Roll] has leveled up.'

'[Roll] has leveled up.'

Hearing that announcement made Aurus' mouth curve from both ends. Although it was just an increase of 2 meters per hour per level up, to Aurus, it was progress.

Nonetheless, he was already getting sick of the sight, but since he had to continue moving forward, he just dozed off as he constantly rolled towards the place he set a marker on.

Now, let me ask you this question? What place did Aurus put a marker on wherein he still has 748 meters left to trek and is one of Aurus' main objectives in order to become fast?

Well of course, this Heavenly Body here shall answer that question while answering another question. The latter question shall be saved for later.

Anyways, Aurus is heading to a place that every player in ISE always heads to first.

If you're not a gamer, you wouldn't guess this but, it's a grinding spot! A grinding spot allows players to do speed leveling in order for them to evolve to higher grades and existence levels.

No wait. I'm sure you've probably guessed it's a grinding spot since almost every person that stumbled upon this novel is for sure a gamer.

Anyways, for the gamers, you can skip to uh...nowhere. For the people who don't play MMORPGs, I explained grinding spots. Anyways, normally, grinding levels up at a certain spot early-game is a big no-no since you wouldn't get used to your newfound strength.

Bpo ar ISE, lnuut iusuiare al gflahfiiw ovu jfw om nzmezull. Aiovmpev nifware fl f loahc al arouzuloare, nifwuzl usmisu arom vaevuz ezftul lm ovuw guhmqu iull frt iull loahc jvaiu mgofarare qmzu lcaiil. Dm wmp prtuzlofrt?

Now Aurus here is heading towards the closest grinding spot that could be traversed from the Forest of Beginnings.

What is its name? The Lesser Experience Haven.

Although it's self-explanatory, for those who are new to the game, and of course this novel as well, this place is filled with enemies, specifically twigs and sticks.

That's all for the place Aurus is heading towards. Now this Heavenly Body shall now answer the other question. What am I? Specifically, what are Heavenly Bodies?

Oh wait, I forgot to play the special music. Let me try that again.

* Vsauce music plays*

What are...Heavenly Bodies?

Although there is no concrete evidence on scientific basis that Heavenly Bodies exist, we Heavenly Bodies are a manifestation of the Creator's imagination in order to act as an overseer for an entity. Although I'm not given a name by the Creator, I usually call myself Hebo.

Also, even though Heavenly Bodies are made by the Creator to act as overseers, Heavenly Bodies are made to fulfill different purposes. Defense, offense, support, reconnaissance, pŀėȧsurė, everything could be done by Heavenly Bodies.

Now, there is also another type of Heavenly Bodies that aren't made by the Creator himself, these are called Artifixes, Artifux when it's just a single one.

These Artifixes are made by the Gods the Creator made to rule over the Eternal Plane, Eternal Plane being the universe.

Well, now that I think about it, isn't it weird that Kurohana didn't make an Artifux for Aurus? And for some reason, I became the overseer for Aurus?

The Creator is definitely weird, but he has his reasons.

What to do...what to do...how can I stall time while Aurus is still rolling?

Ding!

Eh?

I received a message from the Creator himself. Let me read it out for you.

'For those that are reading this novel, hello. I am the Creator. This novel is actually some sort of a mirror of the Eternal Plane I created and I'm quite bored so I'm currently writing this. As for spoilers, do you want some? Nah. I guess you won't need it.'

And that's al—wait, there's more.

'Anyways, I wanted to pull an April Fools joke on everyone that's reading this by turning All Star into binary, but then I thought... I'm too lazy to do that. So here I am, writing this letter to give to Hebo while you guys are waiting for something interesting to happen. Anyways, that's all from me. You might hear from me sooner or later, but it'll mostly be later than sooner.'

* Poof!* And just like that, the Creator's letter disappeared.

Ding!

Ah, finally. Aurus made a bit more progress after I rambled for a while.

...

4 hours have passed since [Roll] has leveled up.

The place Aurus wanted to go to is still far from his reach, with 736 meters left between them. Even so, there was a bit of change in Aurus' surroundings although he didn't notice that.

The thing he did notice was...

Ding!

'[Roll] has leveled up!'

'[Roll] has reached the MAX level!'

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

"Ah." Aurus heard the notification sound and made a short gasp of surprise before going back to normal. Since his [Roll] skill was now at MAX level, it was quite obvious that Aurus would evolve it. But before he did so...

"If I remember correctly, the [Roll] skill was a C-grade Skill right?" Aurus tried to recall the thoughts of every single skill he had encountered before confirming that that was the case.

Since [Roll] was the most basic skill a player could have, that meant that it would start off as a C-grade Skill, the lowest grade for a skill possible. But once one were to max it our and evolve it, it could allow the player to move exponentially faster than before and even allow the player to do amazing things like teleport or fly!

But he was still far off from evolving [Roll] into that sort of skill so he commanded, "Evolve [Roll]."

Although [Roll] would only become faster and not allow his body to fly, it was better than nothing.

Ding!

________

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

[Fiflv]

[Roll+]

________

From the two options given to Aurus, he was sure that he was going to pick [Roll+] since it would eventually turn into the great [Hover] skill. But for some reason, he felt an urge to check the skills one by one to see if Kurohana tampered it.

"Identify [Flash]."

Ding!

________

[Flash] (Level 1/5)

Experience: 0/5

An upgraded version of [Roll] focused on traversing short distances at short times. Instead of allowing the wind to propel the stick forward, the stick instead stores the wind within it and explodes it into one go, propel the stick at a speed incomparable to before.

Dalofrhu ozfsuzlut: 20 quouzl

Cooldown: 2 hours

________

"Hm. No difference at all," Aurus said. He then checked the [Roll+] skill.

Ding!

________

[Roll+] (Level 1/5)

Experience: 0/5

An upgraded version of the [Roll+] skill focused on staying true to the original. With the stick's mastery, the stick can harness more of the wind to propel it faster.

Rate of movement: 10 meters per hour

________

"Although the distance traversed by both skills are the same in the same timeframe, I'd really pick [Roll+] instead of [Flash] since I hate staying in one place for a long time." Making his mind up, Aurus confirmed his choice of evolving [Roll] into [Roll+] and waited for the notification sound.

Ding!

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

"Well, that's one step further in the journey to becoming God-tier again," Aurus sighed.

Afterwards, he activated the [Roll+] skill, continuing to head towards the Lesser Experience Haven.

Although the Lesser Experience Haven was still far away from Aurus, he would usually this time where he was rolling towards a place to think about possible plans in the future or possible evolutions he could obtain. Since he had a lot of time on his hands now that he was reincarnated as a stick and had to work from the ground up, why not use it for some time to imagine?

"At the current rate I'm moving, it would take 4 hours for [Roll+] to level up, then 7 hours, then 10 hours, then 14 hours," Aurus started to calculate the amount of time it would take for him to reach the maximum level of [Roll+] and it definitely broke his belief that he would be able to reach the Lesser Experience Haven within a day. "It seems I've overestimated the passive skill."

[Blessing of the Reincarnation Goddess]. It was truly a passive skill fitting of the name. It allowed to recall all of his memories from his previous life and apply them in his current life. Not only that, but it also increased Aurus' experience gain in everything by 50%. How could he not overestimate it?

Anyways, he didn't think too much further and spent his time looking around his surroundings since at his current speed, it would now constantly change unlike before the skill evolution.

...

Hello there, Heavenly Body Hebo here. It seems that the Creator wants me to go back to his dimension and leave Aurus be. I don't know why he wants to do this but I saw a glimpse of another body beside him that looked exactly like me?

I-Is the Creator possibly thinking of replacing me Hebo with another Heavenly Body? Man, this is definitely unexpected. I want to witness Aurus' growth to becoming a—it seems I've spoken too much.

Eh? Wait...the Heavenly Body is moving somewhere else? The Creator didn't ȧssign him to Aurus? Phew, that's a relief.

But seriously though, why did he recall me?

"Ah, Hebo. You're back," the Creator looked me and gave a warm smile.

It feels like bliss whenever I look at the Creator's face. But I still want to know why he wanted me to go back?

"Why did you call me back Creator? Didn't you tell me to look over Aurus?" I asked.

Tvu Czufomz immcut fo qu dmz f gao gudmzu jzaoare f duj jmztl mr ovu ovahc gmmc vu jfl vmitare.

"I ȧssign someone else with more power to look over Aurus. And I chose an ironic person to do that," the Creator smiled as he laughed in a wicked manner. Now this...I feel like something wrong is gonna happen.

...

Whoosh!

All of a sudden, a chilly breeze blew through Kurohana's space. It was weird though since the space was fully sealed, not letting any wind pass through.

Kurohana couldn't help but shiver as a thought suddenly flashed in her mind. She formed a chair out of the white material that made the walls of her space and sat on it as a crystal orb appeared in front of her.

She then channeled her deity energy into the orb as a live image formed within her orb. The image formed was of a stick that was moving as if it was one with the wind. Indeed, Kurohana was looking at Aurus.

"Oh? He has evolved the [Roll+] skill already? Well that's to be expected," Kurohana gave a light smile. "With the blessing I gave to him, he would progress faster and faster."

At this point in time, Kurohana couldn't help but give an evil laugh. "Once he mȧturės to a certain point, hehehehe."

"He shall become the catalyst for my Transcendent Deity Weapon. The Archaic Soul Wood. He shall become that wood."

...

4 hours have passed since Aurus evolved [Roll] into [Roll+].

Ding!

'[Roll+] has leveled up.'

At this point in time, Aurus' rate of movement has been increased by 5 meters per hour, thus bringing the total to 15 meters per hour. If one could notice, evolving skills would also lead to greater increases between levels. Just like how [Roll] gave an increase of 2 meters per hour per level while [Roll+] gave an increase of 5 meters per hour per level.

Aurus look at the triangle at the top of his body and saw that there was a definite change now. There was only 696 meters left between him and the Lesser Experience Haven.

Using math, he deduced that the distance between him and the Lesser Experience Haven would be reduced by 100 or so meters once the skill leveled up again.

"Move onward! Towards the Lesser Experience Haven!" Auris tried to motivate himself, only to fail in the process.

...

7 vmpzl vfsu nfllut. Ir omofi, ao vfl fizuftw guur 15 vmpzl usuz larhu Apzpl jfl zugmzr fl f loahc.

Ding!

'[Roll+] has leveled up.'

Now, Aurus was halfway from maxing the [Roll+] skill and evolving it into a higher grade of skill. He then checked the triangle on top of his body and was surprised that his deduction was correct. There was only a distance of 591 meters between him and the Lesser Experience Haven left.

For some reason, Aurus couldn't help but sigh. "Although I've gotten used to waiting long times between level ups at the game, I just can't help but want my Transcendent skills back."

As he pondered for a bit, Aurus shook his nonexistent head. "Wait. Why limit myself to Transcendent skills if I can achieve Divine skills in the future?"

With this, Aurus gained a bit of motivation as he continued to roll towards the designated place.

...

Mortal, Transcendent, Divine. These three tiers are always visible in everything. For skills, they have a lot of differences.

Mortal skills are skills that almost every species can obtain. They range from a grade of C to X, same with the Transcendent and Divine skills. [Roll] is a good example of a Mortal skill. These skills act as a foundation for the next tier of skills that are also known as Transcendent skills.

Tzfrlhurturo lcaiil, dzmq ovu jmzt aoluid, ao ozfrlhurtl qmzofi iaqaol, fiimjare qmzofil om tm ovu aqnmllagiu. Tvu lcaii ovfo Apzpl jfrol lm qphv, [Hmsuz], al fhopfiiw f Tzfrlhurturo lcaii. Smquoaqul Tzfrlhurturo lcaiil hfr em guwmrt ovuaz iaqaol frt ukuzo f dmzhu ovfo al lfat om gu mriw tmfgiu gw tuaoaul. Tvulu lcaiil fzu Dasaru lcaiil.

Although Divine skills are extremely strong, a lot of the strong people in Erudinia have at least one of those skills, saved as a trump card.

...

10 hours have passed.

Ding!

'[Roll+] has leveled up.'

At this exact moment, Aurus noticed that he has already been reborn for a day already. Although he only rolled for most of this time, he couldn't deny that he has already existed for a day.

Looking at the triangle, he was surprised to see that the distance between him and the place was only 395 meters. Not wasting time, he continued to roll.

...

13 hours have passed.

It was currently night time in the world of Erudinia. But for Aurus who had [Soul Perception I], he didn't care if it was night or day since he could still see clearly.

At this moment though, Aurus could see that the shadows of the place he wanted to go could now be seen. As he looked at the triangle on top of his body, only 70 meters remained between him and the place.

He would usually use this chance to continue rolling, but he couldn't really do that at the moment.

Why?

Ding!

'[Roll+] has leveled up.'

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

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

'[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

Bpzlo hmmitmjr: 2 vmpzl

________

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.

Rfou md qmsuquro: 50 quouzl nuz vmpz

________

"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."

Dare!

________

[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.

Adouz zmiiare msuz ovu lvmzo gmtw md ovu ojae, f rmoadahfoamr lmprt nmnnut pn jvahv lvmhcut vaq.

Ding!

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

'Experience +3'

'Congratulations! Aurus has leveled up.'

"Eh?" Aurus definitely didn't expect his first attack to be a critical hit. In his previous life, he considered himself as a person with extremely bad luck. But for some reason, when he was reborn as a stick, the first attack he dealt was actually a critical? Have the gods finally taken pity on him?

It's quite an overstatement to say that the gods have finally pitied Aurus and given him good luck since he would eventually encounter situations that don't favor him, but it does seem that his luck is turning for the better.

"Well...now that I'm level 2 and I'm nearing the max level for this grade, I should head forward and enter the inner portion of the outer area," Aurus decided since he would evolve soon enough once he kills enough twigs.

"But before that...open the status screen."

Ding!

________

[Aurus] (Level 2/3)

Experience: 0/5

Ekalourhu Lusui: Irfraqfou

Grade: C

[HP]: 2/2

Stats:

[Toughness]: 2

[Thickness]: 2

[Density]: 2

Unused Experience Points: 0

Unused Genesis Points: 0

________

Esuz larhu vu urfgiut ovu mnoamr md luuare val HP gfz ovfo jmpit plpfiiw vmsuz msuz val gmtw, ovu mnoamr md guare fgiu om luu val HP gfz dzmq val lofopl lhzuur jfl urfgiut fl juii.

"Hm. From leveling up, I can say that my abilities have doubled," Aurus said to himself. It was quite true though since his stats were only at 1 at Level 1. He then checked the amount of experience he needed as he said, "I need 5 experience points before I max it out."

As he said this, he noticed something missing below the experience bar. "Why can't I see my species?"

Of course if dogs and cats have their breeds, sticks would also have their own distinct characteristics as well. Knowing the enemy's species would allow you to attack more efficiently and knowing your own species would allow you to improve in a way that benefits your own species.

Aurus then commanded, "Enable the option of seeing my species."

Ding!

'The option has been enabled.'

'Aurus' current species is [Stick].'

Hearing the voice that came from the system, he couldn't help but chuckle. "As expected, my starting species is the same as starting out in ISE. A stick."

"Well let's not waste any more time," Aurus placed the thought at the back of his head and activate the [Roll++] skill, heading towards the inner portion of the outer area.

...

Within the dimension Kurohana resided, one could see that Kurohana was eagerly watching a stick roll through a crystal orb. Although this would normally bore people, for Kurohana who had a near infinite lifespan, it was better than doing nothing. If you think about it though, who wouldn't want to see their catalyst become stronger so it can create a better weapon?

"In just two days, you're already close to evolving? This is definitely great." Kurohana let out a laugh that was unbefitting of her appearance. At first glance, everyone would think of her as a pure and innocent girl, but sadly she had a bipolar personality that would even merge together at times.

Ring...

All of a sudden, a ringing sound could be heard coming from the orb. Kurohana, who was watching Aurus, frowned as she looked at the person who called her.

Yes, the reason for the ringing sound was that she received a call.

She changed the image on the orb from Aurus into another person Kurohana knew. This person was a God just like her but he governed another part of the universe, specifically the underworld.

Although this person was ruler of the underworld, he was devilishly handsome to the point that many goddesses would confess to him, only to be rejected by the cold aura he emitted.

This god was none other than the God of the Underworld, Hadouken.

Kurohana looked at Hadouken with a smiling face as she was used to looking at handsome people. "How are you, Hadouken?"

Hadouken opened his mouth as a cold yet calm voice sounded out. "I'm fine, thank you. The Underworld is currently stable at the moment and I'm planning to improve its power soon enough. How about you, Kurohana? Are the Six Paths having any issues?"

Kurohana shook her head as she maintained her smile. "Not at all. In fact, it's becoming better since I've ȧssigned personnel for each path. Anyways, if you strengthen the Underworld, my Six Paths would also benefit from it, you know?"

Even though they were gods who tend to stay out of the mortals' issues, they still wanted to grow stronger and possibly reach the level of strength that the Creator, the God of Everything, wielded. Since that was the case, they would strengthen the things they governed and limit the access of the mortals from the divine portions of the things they governed.

At this moment, Kurohana let out a small snigger as she said, "You do know you didn't come here for that, right?"

Hadouken looked at her and couldn't help but let out a rare smile. "You're right. Let me get straight to the point."

"Teach me how to craft a Primordial Weapon."

...

17 hours have passed since Aurus activated [Roll++].

Ding!

Dare!

'[Roll++] has leveled up.'

'[Roll++] has leveled up.'

Indeed. Through these past 17 hours, Aurus traversed a distance that allowed him to level up [Roll++] twice. And considering the fact that each level up increased the rate of movement of [Roll++] by 10 meters per hour, Aurus is now moving at a speed that slightly exceeded the rate of 1 meter per minute!

After a while, Aurus stopped in his tracks and saw two twigs that were coincidentally beside each other, making him smile.

"They shall be my targets then," Aurus then rolled towards the two twigs and positioned himself perpendicular to the twigs just like before. He was taking his chances on whether he could achieve a critical hit again.

"Attack!" Aurus shouted inwardly as he rolled over the two twigs. Although the situation he imagined looked great in his mind, in actuality, it was slow as usual. Well it was faster than before, but still slow.

Ding!

'Aurus has dealt 0.2 HP to [Twig (1)].'

'Aurus has dealt 0.2 HP to [Twig (2)].'

'[Twig (1)] and [Twig (2)] have been killed.'

'Experience +6.'

"..." Aurus had a solemn expression once he saw this. It turns out that he didn't need to do a critical hit anymore since his attack stat could now one shot the twigs to death.

As he continued to read through the notifications, he knew his time has finally come!

'Congratulations! Aurus has leveled up.'

'Aurus has reached the MAX level.'

'Aurus has met the needed requirements and is now ready to evolve.'

Prev ChapterNext Chapter

Finally! Aurus has been rolling for around two days and killed three enemies just so he can finally start the true journey to becoming a God-tier existence.

Now, why does the true journey start at becoming a B-grade Inanimate? These reason behind it is that it is the evolution that sets your class. You could be a stick warrior, a stick ranger or a stick illusionist. Those are the three main paths you can choose and it just expands from there.

Multiple players have given up midway through their journey to becoming a B-grade Inanimate because to them, it would just be a cycle of roll, kill, and repeat. But once they knew that the B-grade Inanimate species had more skills than C-grade Inanimates, they would have the urge to come back...but they wouldn't have the chance to catch up anymore.

Even though a grade seemed like a small difference to every other species, for sticks, it's what truly sets them apart from other sticks. Plus the diversity doesn't end there since they can evolve even further into other types.

Aurus looked at his surroundings and checked if there were any enemies nearby. Seeing that there were a few twigs and sticks that could possibly roll and attack him, Aurus rolled back to the outer portion of the outer area at a speed incomparable to before.

It still took him 14 hours though.

...

Ding!

'[Roll++] has leveled up.'

Aurus ignored this notification and calmed himself down. Since this would be his first evolution, the choice he would make would affect him in the long run. He has to make it count.

"Evolve," he commanded.

Dare!

'Aurus has met all of the requirements needed to evolve.'

Ding!

'Aurus has met special requirements needed to evolve into Special species.'

Hearing the second statement, Aurus' eyes widened. "Special species! I can't believe I can evolve into a Special species right off the bat!"

Special species. From the name alone, these species are extremely special obviously. Why? That's because these species are just like normal species, but with more effects like more active skills or passive skills.

If one were to compare it to a normal MMORPG, it would be akin to a hidden class. If the Warrior was a normal class, then the Berserker and Guardian class are hidden Warrior class.

The same thing applies for Special species.

Ding!

________

Piuflu hvmmlu ovu lnuhaul ovfo Apzpl jaii usmisu arom:

[Mahogany Branch]

[Sakura Branch]

[Walnut Branch]

[Wind Mahogany Branch (Special)]

[Wind Sakura Branch (Special)]

[Wind Walnut Branch (Special)]

________

Seeing the amount of species Aurus could choose made him somewhat overwhelmed. But looking closely, it was pretty much the same choices for normal players other than the Wind type species.

Also, people might not usually notice this but, a Stick will now be called a Branch once it evolves since it grows in size once it evolves. What does a Branch evolve to afterwards? Possibly a Branch Formosus or a Sapling, but that's in the future.

"If I remember correctly, the Mahogany Branch is the Warrior class, the Sakura Branch is the Illusionist class, and the Walnut Branch is the Ranger class," Aurus said as he opened the screen for the Mahogany Branch.

"It's been a while since I played as a small branch so the memories are kinda hazy."

Ding!

________

[Mahogany Branch]

Existence Level: Inanimate

Grade: B

The stick has decided to surpass its limits and become stronger, focusing on defense and close range combat. The stick that evolves to this type of species are destined to become guardians or deadly close range attackers.

The active skill [Charge] is obtained.

The passive skill [Tenacity] is obtained.

Tvu nfllasu lcaii [SP Somzfeu] al mgofarut.

________

"Ah. Forgot about the [SP Storage] skill," Aurus' memories were revived after seeing the info regarding the Mahogany Branch. Every species of the B-grade Inanimate level gain a universal passive skill, which is [SP Storage]. This shall be explained later.

"[Charge] is a skill that is self-explanatory while [Tenacity] is a passive skill that increases defense and reduces damage once the HP reaches a certain point," Aurus said to himself as he was rummaging through his memories. He played as a Mahogany Branch in his previous life and that's why he can still remember it.

"Identify [Sakura Branch]."

Ding!

________

[Sakura Branch]

Existence Level: Inanimate

Grade: B

Tvu loahc vfl tuhatut om lpznfll aol iaqaol frt guhmqu lozmreuz, dmhplare mr aiiplamrl frt tuhunoamr. Tvu loahc ovfo usmisul om oval ownu md lnuhaul fzu tuloarut om guhmqu qflouzl md loufiov, qflouzl md aiiplamrl, mz qflouzl md gpddl frt hpzlul.

The active skill [Confusion Pollen] is obtained.

The passive skill [Sakura Bloom] is obtained.

The passive skill [SP Storage] is obtained.

________

"According to my memories, the [Confusion Pollen] skill confuses enemies and possibly makes them attack themselves. The [Sakura Bloom] skill is basically the main method on how players can cast illusions. The more flowers on the branch, the more powerful the illusion is," Aurus muttered.

"Anyways, a friend of mine played this and became a God-tier ȧssassin, but it's lacking something," Aurus said to himself as he identified the last normal species in his choices, [Walnut Branch].

Ding!

________

[Walnut Branch]

Ekalourhu Lusui: Irfraqfou

Grade B:

The stick has decided to surpass its limits and become stronger. The stick that evolves to this type of species is destined to become a ranger able to deal with multiple enemies or a sage that is able to conjure magic spells that could shake the earth and tear the heavens asunder.

The active skill [Nut Shot] is obtained.

The passive skill [Fruit Creation] is obtained.

The passive skill [SP Storage] is obtained.

________

Reading the flavor text alone, Aurus' interest was piqued. "Becoming a ranger or a mage that can conjure spells?" At this point, his decision was set. He would become a [Walnut Branch].

"Well... since I've decided my species, let's see the Special variation of the species."

"Identify [Wind Walnut Branch]."

Ding!

________

[Wind Walnut Branch] (Special)

Existence Level: Inanimate

Grade: B

The stick has decided to surpass its limits and become stronger. Unknowingly, the stick has improved its movement skill so well that it has gained the recognition of the wind that surrounds it. The stick that evolves to this type of species is destined to become a ranger or a mage that would go down in legends but could possibly exceed that.

The active skill [Nut Shot] is obtained.

The passive skill [Fruit Creation] is obtained.

The passive skill [SP Storage] is obtained.

The special passive skill [Wind Affinity] is obtained.

________

Although Aurus wanted to check each and every skills of the [Wind Walnut Branch] right now, he wanted to become a God-tier existence as fast as possible so he'll just check later.

"I've chosen. Evolve to [Wind Walnut Branch]!"

Afterwards, the system asked the same question as a confirmation, to which Aurus readily agreed.

All of a sudden, Aurus felt like he wanted to go to sleep until...

He actually did go to sleep.

As to why this happened, it had something to do with the system. A few minutes later, a notification sound could be heard although Aurus was unconscious.

Ding!

'[Aurus—Twig] has evolved to [Aurus—Wind Walnut Branch].'

"Gasp!" Aurus woke up as he took in a deep breath. He didn't expect that he would fall unconscious whenever he evolved. Fortunately, nothing happened to him while he was unconscious, but it still gave him a feeling that he was vulnerable.

He then checked his surroundings and saw that it was already dark...not that it made a difference for him.

"System, what time is it?" Aurus asked.

Ding!

'Current time: Day 3, 09:15:32 p.m.'

Calculating the time that passed while he was unconscious, it took 6 hours to evolve into his current form. He then started to examine his body, which at first glance was definitely bigger than before.

The color of his bark was now a slight ash gray as some green shoots could be seen growing out of Aurus' body.

He didn't panic at all after seeing it as he was sure that it had something to do with his skills. "Open the status screen," he commanded as he wanted to know what changes happened to his stats and stuff.

Ding!

________

[Aurus] (Level 1/5)

Experience: 0/10

Species: Wind Walnut Branch (Special)

Existence Level: Inanimate

Gzftu: B

[HP]: 5/5

Stats:

[Toughness]: 5

[Thickness]: 5

[Shell Hardness]: 5

Synchronization Rate: 20%

Unused Experience Points: 1

Unused Genesis Points: 0

________

At first glance, Aurus noticed a lot of things. The first of which was his current Species that could be seen under the experience bar. Afterwards, he checked his HP that has basically doubled compared to his previous health. As he continued to look at his status screen, he then asked the system, "What's [Shell Hardness]?"

Ding!

'[Shell Hardness] is equivalent to the [Density] stat before evolution. It affects the attack power of the fruit created with the [Fruit Creation] skill.'

"So it's just my attack stat but transferred to another place, huh," Aurus easily understood what the system meant. As for the [Fruit Creation] skill, he would check it later as another thing caught his eye.

"Synchronization Rate? That hasn't been there before," Aurus muttered. "What is it?"

Ding!

'Synchronization Rate refers to the level of connection of the soul to the body. For other species, it is the level of intelligence a soul has. For a species at the Animate level, they would have a Synchronization Rate of 100%.'

"Ah. So that's what it does," Aurus nodded. He tried to move his body with the [Roll++] skill and saw that it responded faster when compared to before.

"Since this Synchronization Rate increases with every evolution I think, I might have the possibility of wielding a weapon, increasing my leveling speed." Aurus imagined himself rolling through a wave of enemies as a floating weapon hovered beside him as he killed each of them one by one, leveling up at a preposterous speed.

He then closed his status screen as he said, "Time to check on my...wait."

"System, enable the option of showing my SP bar," Aurus commanded.

He almost forgot about the universal passive skill every stick would get once they reached the B-grade Inanimate level, [SP Storage].

Now what is [SP Storage]? It's the equivalent of MP in common MMORPGs, but in this case, instead of the Intelligence and Wisdom stat affecting the amount of MP a player can hold and the speed at which MP regenerates, for ISE, it was instead based on the skill [SP Storage].

Without this skill, B-grade Inanimates would not be much different from their C-grade counterparts. It is the reason why B-grade Inanimates say that the true journey begins when you evolve to B-grade.

Ding!

'Option has been enabled.'

Not long after the voice finished speaking, two numbers separated by a line could be seen under the HP bar hovering over his body.

"2/2 huh. Definitely how I expected it to be," Aurus nodded as he opened the skill screen.

Ding!

________

Ahoasu Scaiil:

[Roll++], [Nut Shot]

Passive Skills:

[SP Storage], [Wind Affinity], [Fruit Creation], [Soul Perception I], [Blessing of the Reincarnation Goddess]

________

"Hmm..." Aurus looked at his skill screen as he pondered. He felt like there was something in the screen...specifically numbers.

"Ah," Aurus realized. "System, enable the option of allowing me to see the skill levels."

Ding!

'Option has been enabled.'

Now that he has enabled the option, his current skill screen now looked like this.

________

Active Skills:

[Roll++ Lv.5/10], [Nut Shot Lv.1/3]

Passive Skills:

[SP Storage Lv.1/3], [Wind Affinity Lv.1/3], [Fruit Creation Level 1/3], [Soul Perception I Lv.1/5], [Blessing of the Reincarnation Goddess Lv.MAX]

________

Now contented with him seeing each skill have their levels beside it, he then commanded, "Identify [Nut Shot], [SP Storage], [Fruit Creation], and [Wind Affinity]."

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Three screens appeared in front of Aurus' field of vision as he looked at each screen one by one.

'Ah. I should enable the option of seeing the skill grades as well,' Aurus remembered as he was looking at the screen. 'I'll just do it later.'

________

[Nut Shot] (Level 1/3)

Experience: 0/3

A Walnut Branch can utilize their fruit as projectile weapons that can deal damage to enemies. Once the fruit collides with the enemy, it shatters into pieces, dealing damage. The damage is reliant on the [Shell Hardness] stat of the stick.

Cost: 1 SP

Cooldown: 5 seconds

________

________

[SP Storage] (Level 1/3)

Experience: 0/3

An omnipresent energy found in the world of Erudinia, it allows sticks to do things that are normally impossible for them. Commonly found in a gaseous form within a vessel formed in the stick, it holds infinite possibilities.

Maximum SP capacity: 2 SP

SP regeneration rate: 1 SP per minute

________

________

[Wind Affinity] (Level 1/3)

Experience: 0/3

With enough experience, the stick can sense the wind in the surroundings, utilizing it in many ways possible. This skill boosts the damage and projectile speed of attacks by 1%.

________

________

[Fruit Creation] (Level 1/3)

Experience: 0/3

An innate skill found on all sticks and branches related to the Walnut race, this allows branches and sticks to form fruits that could either be used as storage for SP, or bullets for attacking.

Maximum amount of fruit: 3

Maximum SP capacity per walnut: 1 SP

________

Aurus looked at this and couldn't help but let out a smile at the skills he currently owned. It was nowhere near compared to the skills of a Mahogany Branch that he played in his previous life.

Now that he was going to be a ranger or possibly a mage, the first he had to figure out was to become efficient with his SP.

"Now then," Aurus asked himself, "What ratio should I use for the amount of SP storage to the amount of bullets?"

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"Since the [Fruit Creation] skill allows me to create 3 nuts, I should go with 2 on SP storage and 1 as a bullet for now." After pondering for a bit, Aurus finally settled on a ratio that seemed like it would help him.

Activating the [Fruit Creation] skill, three small nuts suddenly sprouted from Aurus' body. Two of these nuts were a pale green in color, while the other one was similar to the color of Aurus' body, ash gray.

"Hm. If I add in the two nuts I set for SP storage, that means I now have 4 SP to use," Aurus then started to think far ahead. "If the [Fruit Creation] skill or the [SP Storage] skill levels up, that would mean I would have more SP to use. If I have a lot of SP, I might unlock a new evolution!"

Aurus couldn't help but snigger at the thought. Just like how evolving [Roll] to [Roll++] allowed him to access a Special evolution, he had a feeling that having a lot of SP would allow him to access a more special evolution compared to his current species. Perhaps a Rare evolution?

While he was engrossed in his delusions, a notification sound popped up, bringing him back to reality.

Ding!

'[Fruit Creation] has leveled up.'

"Well that was fast," Aurus couldn't help but say. He then opened the screen regarding the skill, checking the differences between the levels.

Not long after, another nut sprouted from his body. This nut was also ash gray just like the last nut from before.

"Okay. With 4 nuts, I think I'm set for now." Aurus then opened up the map and set a marker for the outer portion of the inner area, which was 4 kilometers away. He didn't dare to enter the center of the Lesser Experience Haven, since a scary enemy lived there.

With the blue path leading his way and the triangle hovering on top of his body telling how much distance he left being manifested, he then activated [Roll++] and started to...well roll.

As he rolled, he noticed that his rolling wasn't bumpy at all. He took a look at his body and saw that the nuts were inside his body, waiting to sprout once more when needed. Looking at this, Aurus couldn't help but thank Kurohana for giving him the system.

...

And with only an ellipsis separating two situations, 42 hours have unnoticeably passed. Along the journey, two notification sounds alerting Aurus of the [Roll++] skill leveling up occured.

At the moment, Aurus stopped where he was and all of a sudden, the four nuts he prepared before sprouted out, giving Aurus a sense of security. He then looked around his surroundings and saw at first glance that the enemies he would face right now were not pushovers.

A few meters away from him, a thick branch could be standing in place as the cold breeze blew through its bark. The thick branch didn't flinch at all from the cold...because it was a branch.

"Identify," Aurus commanded.

Dare!

_________

[Lesser Mahogany Branch] (Level 4)

HP: 15/15

_________

"Gulp." Aurus swallowed his saliva even though he didn't have any saliva to swallow. He looked at the HP of the branch in front of him and couldn't help but scratch his head figuratively.

"15 HP. That's almost 8 times bigger when compared to the sticks in the outer area," Aurus took a deep breath before realizing something.

"Wait a minute. Ain't I a Wind Walnut Branch? A species specialized in attacking from far away?" At this moment, Aurus sniggered as he got closer to the enemy he identified. After the gap between them was shortened to 2 meters, Aurus positioned his body perpendicular to the branch and then chanted a skill.

"[Nut Shot]."

Although it sounded wrong when heard for the first time, this skill was the first attack skill available for those of the Walnut race. This skill is equivalent to the [Charge] of the Mahogany race and [Confusion Pollen] of the Sakura race.

Ao ovu qmquro, Apzpl ovmpevo ovfo [Npo Svmo] jfl fr arlofrofrumpl foofhc lcaii iacu [Cvfzeu], gpo md hmpzlu, jaov ftsfrofeul hmqu talftsfrofeul.

The 1 SP Aurus used to activate the [Nut Shot] skill circulated in the place where SP is stored and then went through the xylem and phloem of his body before reaching one of the ash gray nuts that were hanging from his body.

Not long after, the ash gray nut started to glow green, a normal glow that would come from using SP. It then started to hover as it broke off from the small branch it latched on and then shot itself towards the enemy Aurus targeted.

Bang!

In an instant the nut collided with the body of the enemy, the nut then exploded into multiple bit sized pieces and dealt damage to the enemy.

Ding!

Aurus then heard the notification sound and opened up the damage screen, only to be shocked by what he saw.

'Aurus has dealt 5 HP damage to [Lesser Mahogany Branch].'

After being dealt damage, the Lesser Mahogany Branch then started to roll around as if it had a soul of its own and tried to search for the one who did it. After a while, it gave up since it didn't find anything, going back to its original place.

Aurus couldn't help but snigger at the thought. "Since those of the Mahogany race don't have long-range attacks, they can't hit me while I can hit them! Although it takes me a while to activate my attack skill, it does deal a lot of damage in exchange! I wonder how much damage it'll deal once I evolve it."

At this moment, Aurus felt something happening in his body so he checked it out. One of the nuts that were pale green in color had its SP suċkėd by the SP vessel in Aurus' body, turning the nut into an ash gray color.

It was at this moment that Aurus realized the ideal way to use his nuts.

"Make everything SP storage while I leave one nut empty!" Aurus' eyes gleamed at his fast thinking. Not long after, three nuts were now pale green in color while one of them was ash gray in color.

"The cooldown has ended. Now! [Nut Shot]!"

Bang!

Once more, the sole ash gray nut flew towards the Lesser Mahogany Branch and exploded into bits, dealing 5 HP damage just like before.

Not long after, one of the pale green nuts turned ash gray, giving Aurus another bullet to use. But at this moment, a notification sound popped up which somewhat confused him. He then heard the voice from the system and from there he understood.

Ding!

'[Fruit Creation] has leveled up.'

'[Fruit Creation] has reached the MAX level.'

'[Fruit Creation] has met the necessary requirements and is now ready to evolve.'

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"Hm...well this is a surprise," Aurus muttered as he checked the remaining HP of the Lesser Mahogany Branch in front of him.

After seeing that just one fight allowed him to already evolve one of his skills to a higher grade, he couldn't help but admire the passive skill he gained from Kurohana.

"Though it's not like incredibly strong where it breaks the balance of the world, it still lets me improve at a fast rate," Aurus said.

"Well let's finish this first before I evolve it! [Nut Shot]!"

Bang!

With one more ash gray nut, the Lesser Mahogany Branch that Aurus targeted finally broke apart into two and died.

Ding!

'Aurus has dealt 5 HP damage to [Lesser Mahogany Branch].'

'Experience +15'

'Congratulations! Aurus has leveled up.'

Aurus then closed his eyes and felt a weird sensation all over his body. All of the cells in his body started to condense towards the center as new cells were formed, making Aurus' body denser than it was.

He didn't know why this happened but then realized something.

"Leveling up means that my stats increase," Aurus deduced. "Now that I have a faint connection with my body, does that mean that I can now feel every improvement happening in my body?"

Thinking about it, it sounded plausible. Aurus placed it in the back of his head and decided to test his hypothesis later.

"But first..." Aurus was going to command something to the system but a notification sound popped up.

Ding!

'[SP Storage] has leveled up.'

"Ooh. I'm surprised it leveled up this fast. I just need one more level before I can evolve it," Aurus chuckled as he said this to himself. Though it sounds weird that the ability of storing SP can be improved through skill leveling instead of stat improving, it's quite logical from the perspective of a stick.

A stick inherently doesn't have any way of improvement other than the environment and skills it has. For [SP Storage], the repeated usage of SP allows it to gain experience and level up.

Pushing the notification aside, Aurus then focused on the matter at hand and commanded, "Evolve [Fruit Creation]."

Dare!

________

Please select the skill that [Fruit Creation] would evolve into:

[Condensed Fruit Creation]

[Piercing Fruit Creation]

[Regenerative Fruit Creation]

________

"Ooh. Three choices," Aurus said to himself. "From the names alone, I feel like each and every one of them is a great upgrade compared to the previous skill. I should check what each skill can do before I really choose."

"Identify [Condensed Fruit Creation]."

Ding!

________

[Condensed Fruit Creation] (Level 1/5)

Experience: 0/5

An upgraded version of the [Fruit Creation] skill, focused on a balance of SP storage and damage. Once evolved to this skill, the amount of fruit able to produced would be reduced by half, but in turn, it would allow the fruits to hold twice as much SP and allow the fruits to deal twice the amount of damage.

Maximum amount of fruit: 3

Maximum SP capacity per walnut: 4 SP

________

"Holy... that's a lot of SP per nut," Aurus couldn't help but say. He checked the maximum amount of fruit he could produce and saw that it made sense since [Fruit Creation] at max level would allow him to make 5 fruits since each level increased the limit by one. But, 4 SP per walnut?

He then checked the skill screen for [Fruit Creation] and saw that each fruit could now hold 2 SP since it was maxed in level. After checking it, everything now made sense to Aurus.

"If I evolved to this skill, I would basically hold double the amount of SP I can currently hold with a maxed [Fruit Creation] skill and even deal twice the damage than I used to do." If Aurus said that he wasn't interested in this skill, he'd be lying. He then moved on to the next skill.

Dare!

________

[Piercing Fruit Creation] (Level 1/5)

Experience: 0/5

An upgraded version of the [Fruit Creation] skill, focused on dealing extreme amounts of damage. Once evolved to this skill, every fruit formed will now deal twice the damage. In exchange for that, the amount of SP a fruit can hold has been halved. Nonetheless, the Walnut stick can now produce a nut that can deal twice the doubled damage, effectively dealing four times the damage.

Maximum amount of fruit: 5

Maximum SP capacity per walnut: 1 SP

________

"Ohhh!" Aurus' eyes gleamed. "Dealing four times the damage with the same skill? If I chose this, I would be able to one shot the Lesser Mahogany Branch I fought a while ago and possibly one shot stronger species as well!"

But after he realized something, he thought that he shouldn't pick this skill as an evolution. "If I choose this skill, it would be harder for me to become a stick mage. Although one shotting enemies is cool and stuff, nothing's cooler than conjuring spells."

Ever since Aurus evolved and knew that he had SP, he was aiming to get a lot of SP...although he didn't know how much SP he wanted. 25? 50? 100?

"Let's move on. Identify [Regenerative Fruit Creation]."

Ding!

________

[Regenerative Fruit Creation] (Level 1/5)

Experience: 0/5

An upgraded version of the [Fruit Creation] skill, focused on everything related to SP. Once evolved to this skill, the fruits produced would be able to hold twice the amount of SP while still dealing the same amount of damage. In exchange, the Walnut stick can produce a new type of fruit that could either regenerate HP or SP which has its own limit.

Maximum amount of fruits: 5

Maximum amount of regenerative fruits: 1

Maximum SP capacity per walnut: 4 SP

________

"This is..." Aurus was left speechless after seeing the upgrade the skill brought. Although the nuts wouldn't deal as much damage when compared to the Condensed or Piercing variant, he would be able to hold twice the amount of SP just like the Condensed variant. Not to mention, regenerative fruits that would allow him to regenerate HP or SP over time! With that, wouldn't he become invincible or be some sort of gatling gun with the amount of SP he regenerates?

"I've chosen!" Aurus nodded as he made his final choice.

Ding!

'[Fruit Creation] has been evolved to [Regenerative Fruit Creation].'

If Aurus was still human, his mouth would be curved at both ends, showing his happiness. But since he was a stick, he instead started to use the fruits he obtained.

"First, create a regenerative fruit that regenerates SP!"

Not long after saying that, a light blue nut sprouted out of Aurus' body, radiating a soft blue light. Afterwards, 5 more nuts sprouted from his body, 4 of them being colored a slightly darker green than before and a single ash gray nut.

Aurus then looked at two bars over his body and smiled.

HP: 6/6

SP: 19/19

With that amount of SP, he wouldn't have to worry about running out of SP while fighting. But at this moment, Aurus frowned. He was currently facing another problem.

'A Lesser Sakura Branch has targeted you!'

'You have been hit by the [Confusion Pollen] skill. You shall be confused for 10 seconds!'

Right now, only one word came out of Aurus.

"Shit."

After hearing the voice from the system telling him that he was hit by a skill, specifically a skill coming from the Sakura race, he knew that he was in a predicament.

"Man, I'll never be this relaxed ever again," Aurus sighed. Although he had a passive skill that would allow him to see everything within a 5 meter radius, most of the time he would be focused on one thing instead of everything around him.

"First off, let's wait until this Confusion debuff dissipates." Aurus took a calm breath and tried to sense his surroundings through the sounds as his sight was impaired.

He could hear some rustling a few decimeters away from both sides of his body. From this, he guessed that there were at least two enemies.

Aurus looked at the time left for the Confusion debuff. There was only 2 seconds left. At this point in time, Aurus knew that he would either move forward or move backward to avoid the enemies from the sides.

"But..." A thought suddenly flashed in his head, remembering something his illusionist friend told him back then. "At this stage of the game, inflicting debuffs on enemies would only be effective when hit directly."

From this, he was sure that the stick that inflicted the Confusion debuff on him wouldn't be on the left or right side of his body since the pollen had to cover a large part of the body for it to take effect!

Aurus gritted his teeth at the thought. There were only two places left for the stick he wanted to kill to be at, either in front of him or behind him. Without any way to find out where the stick was, he was stuck at a crossroads on which direction to head. But then, he just steeled himself and said, "You know what? I'll just rely on my instincts!"

Whoosh!

"Now!"

The Confusion debuff finally disappeared, allowing Aurus to see everything in his surroundings. After one glance, he made a judgement to move...forward!

Whoosh!

Bfre!

At the place where Aurus previously stood, was a small pile of violet pollen. This pollen was the [Confusion Pollen] of the Sakura race.

Aurus couldn't help but smile as he looked at the stick in front of him. That's right. Instead of moving backward, he instead moved forward to face the Sakura stick head on!

"[Nut Shot]!"

Bang!

After he shot the skill, he felt three sticks heading towards him at a slow speed when compared to him. He dodged the three sticks with ease and shot another [Nut Shot] to one stick after the cooldown was done, surprisingly killing it.

"Eh?" Aurus was surprised. Shouldn't the sticks in this area have high HP? But while he was pondering on that question...

Two nuts that were heading towards him came out of nowhere!

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Of course, the nuts were moving at a speed that was still manageable for Aurus, who dodged it with relative ease.

Apzpl ommc f duj tuun gzufovl...juii nvmomlwrovulaxut dmz f duj luhmrtl gudmzu immcare fo val hpzzuro laopfoamr.

A few decimeters away from him were two sticks that were somewhat scrawny in size, yet had this faint menacing aura surrounding them. Beside them was a broken stick that had the same appearance, presumably the stick that was killed in one shot by Aurus.

Behind the two sticks was a slightly gray branch that had a pinkish tint to its bark. This stick had three pink flowers on its body, while two sticks stood on each side, nuts prepared to shoot once more.

"Damn," Aurus couldn't help but curse. "I can't believe my luck is this bad that an Elite enemy encounters me while I was evolving [Fruit Creation]."

If evolutions could be differentiated into normal evolutions and Special evolutions, of course there are also different tiers of enemies. Normal enemies are just like the Lesser Mahogany Branch Aurus fought a while ago, it was basically a weaker version of the class the player chose. But Elite enemies are on a different level.

Not only do they have stronger stats when compared to normal enemies, they even have skills that allow them to do more than the three normal stats!

Ding! Ding!

'Aurus has dealt 6 HP damage to [Sakura Tamer].'

'Aurus has dealt 6 HP damage to [Lesser Mahogany Stick].'

'[Lesser Mahogany Stick] has been slain.'

'Experience +5'

The notifications explained what Aurus was fighting up against. He also understood why the stick he attacked died in one shot.

"Although I'm up a Sakura Tamer, it can only tame Stick-level [1] species at most."

Since the Sakura Tamer is in the Lesser Experience Haven, that meant that it would be limited in its choices of species to tame. Even if it tried to tame species on the same level, it would fail as those kinds of species would be alert to not let their bodies be controlled.

"Identify [Sakura Tamer]!"

Ding!

_______

[Sakura Tamer (Special)] (Level 3)

HP: 29/35

_______

"I would have to fire 5 more nuts before it dies completely," Aurus calculated how much shots he would have to do.

"Unless..." All of a sudden, Aurus started to charge towards the two Lesser Mahogany Sticks in front of him.

"...If I kill the small fries first!"

"[Nut Shot]!"

Bang!

One of the two sticks in front of him broke into the two after being hit with an ash gray nut. Aurus instantly removed the notification screen after seeing that he gained 5 experience. Afterwards, he started to move closer towards the other stick.

At this moment, the Sakura Tamer couldn't stand it any further and commanded the stick in front of Aurus to fall back. Not long after, it commanded the two Lesser Walnut Sticks beside it to shoot at Aurus. Of course, since the vanguards are Mahogany sticks, then the rangers would be Walnut sticks, right?

Following the orders of their master, the remaining Mahogany stick rolled back at a speed which Aurus could catch up to, but did not bother. At the same time, two nuts headed towards Aurus. Aurus didn't plan to dodge it, he wanted to see the level of defense he had.

Bang! Bang!

'You have received 0.2 HP damage.'

'You have received 0.2 HP damage.'

Aurus couldn't help but grin at the damage he received. It was extremely miniscule when compared to his large HP bar.

"Man...your sticks are weak."

Aurus then rolled towards the Mahogany stick after making sure the cooldown for his skill was over. As he was rolling, he changed his regeneration to HP regeneration as he sprouted 5 fruits once more.

Ding!

'[Regenerative Fruit Creation] has leveled up.'

Aurus couldn't help but chuckle after hearing the notification sound, producing one more green nut on his body.

"[Nut Shot]!"

Bang!

As if the Mahogany stick was running for its life, it was shot in the back, instantly breaking apart into multiple pieces. If there was any blood, it would look more gruesome rather than just be splinters.

The Sakura Tamer stood in its place. It couldn't move...well it's more to say that it didn't move. It didn't move because of the shock Aurus brought to it.

As a B-grade Inanimate, the Sakura Tamer had a pretty young soul that allowed it to tame lesser species. Nonetheless, since it only had a young soul, it didn't know how to choose ita fights.

Likewise, the Lesser Walnut Sticks on its sides were frozen in place since the Sakura Tamer and its tamed sticks shared emotions.

Using this chance, Aurus shot another nut towards one of the Lesser Walnut Sticks, successfully filling up his experience bar.

Ding!

'Aurus has leveled up.'

At this point, Aurus moved closer to the Sakura Tamer who was still frozen in place and said.

"You're next."

Trying to defend itself from the possible onslaught, the Sakura Tamer commanded the only tamed stick it had to charge towards Aurus with full speed.

Aurus looked at this and smirked. He easily dodged the Lesser Walnut Stick's charge with his extremely high-leveled [Roll++] skill. Of course, those of the Walnut race did not need to move at high speeds, thus their movement skill is severely lacking.

Aurus used the time it took for the Lesser Walnut Stick to rotate to prepare a shot that would easily kill the stick in one shot. Of course, it was [Nut Shot].

But all of a sudden...

Ding!

A notification sound popped up, shocking Aurus who was sure that he didn't gain enough experience for something to level up.

'[Nut Shot] has leveled up.'

"Ah," Aurus understood. It did seem weird that [Nut Shot] didn't level up at all with the amount of shots he has taken already. He only needed 3 experience points to level the [Nut Shot] skill to level 2, and combine it with his godly passive skill. If you think about it, it's weird that the skill level up notification was extremely delayed.

Thinking about this, Aurus got to a certain conclusion.

"Is this...lag?"

Yes. Lag. The bane of every player, not only in ISE, but in any game that needed the internet to connect. Aurus knew what lag was and he hated it to the core, but he just didn't understand why his system is lagging behind in notifications when no internet exists in the world of Erudinia. Not to mention, the system is connected to Aurus' soul!

"Haah...if I find a way to fix this problem, I'm going to—" Aurus was muttering something as he shot out a nut, killing the Lesser Walnut Stick in one go. But a sound he never expected to hear once more popped up.

Ding!

'Aurus has dealt 11 HP damage to [Lesser Walnut Stick].'

'Experience +5'

"Phew... it's just a battle screen notification." Aurus couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. He looked at the damage he dealt and tilted his nonexistent head in confusion. "This isn't a critical hit at all. My damage has been increased by 50%. I wonder why..."

After a few moments, he knew the culprit behind it. "The level up."

Ding!

"Oh my god..." Now, Aurus truly didn't expect another notification sound to pop up. He opened the notification screen and well... let's just say the system has been nerfing him all this time.

'[Nut Shot] and [SP Storage] has leveled up.'

'[Nut Shot] and [SP Storage] has reached the MAX level.'

'[Nut Shot] and [SP Storage] has met the necessary requirements and is ready to evolve.'

Aurus couldn't help but press his nonexistent fingers on his nonexistent forehead in stress. If he was in danger, he would be happy with the system telling him that his skills have leveled up...but he didn't feel any happiness at all. To him, it felt like the system was trolling him.

Thankfully, the Sakura Tamer was still frozen in place from the fast-paced killing spree Aurus did from its perspective. To Aurus though, it was extremely slow since of course, he would fight faster species in the future.

"I'll have to evolve these skills after I finish this Sakura Tamer." At this point, Aurus didn't feel any anger towards the Sakura Tamer anymore. Just anger towards his own Existence Evolution System.

Apzpl vfloaiw nmlaoamrut vaqluid ar dzmro md ovu loaii dzmxur Sfcpzf Tfquz jaov val [Rmii++] lcaii frt lvmo f rpo.

Bang!

Ding!

'Aurus has dealt 14 HP damage to [Sakura Tamer].'

"Oh?" Aurus couldn't help but raise his nonexistent eyebrows. "It seems that the damage I deal has been increased by 33%. Anyways, if I look at my damage from before the two continuous level ups, I've basically doubled my damage output."

As he was mumbling to himself, the cooldown for the [Nut Shot] skill ended. He then shot another nut towards the Sakura Tamer, bringing its HP down to an extremely critical state.

Ding!

'Aurus has dealt 14 HP damage to Sakura Tamer.'

'[Regenerative Fruit Creation] has leveled up twice.'

Aurus couldn't help but frown after seeing that one of his most reliable skills, [Regenerative Fruit Creation], also had delayed level ups. And not just one, but two of them!

"Haah..." Aurus took a deep breath and exhaled loudly as he was sure that the Sakura Tamer wouldn't attack him. He formed 2 additional green nuts on his body which held more SP than it used thanks to the skill reaching the halfway point of completion.

If one were to look at Aurus' current stats for HP and SP, it would look like...

HP: 7/7

SP: 35/35

Indeed. With just a level up from his [SP Storage] skill and two level ups from his [Regenerative Fruit Creation] skill, Aurus was able to basically double the amount of HP he had.

He then spared a glance towards the extremely pitiful Sakura Tamer in front of him and then commanded the system to identify the enemy in front of him. Thankfully, the system didn't lag this time.

________

[Sakura Tamer (Special)] (Level 3)

HP: 1/35

________

"Wow...this is some heaven-defying luck," Aurus couldn't help but say after seeing that the Sakura Tamer was only hanging by a thread.

"Any last words?" Aurus went closer to the branch as he prepared a nut to end its life. He wasn't expecting that the branch would actually answer his question, but it turns out, fate works the opposite of what you think.

"No...Kill...Me..." Since the vitality of the Sakura Tamer was extremely low, it could only force itself to say these three words. It also shocked Aurus, since from this he realized that he was actually speaking out loud whenever he thought he was talking to himself.

"I should be careful with my surroundings," Aurus reminded himself as he looked at the branch in front of him and sighed.

"Think of it as fate."

Bang!

The nut Aurus shot collided directly at the center of the Sakura Tamer, breaking the branch into two halves, with some splinters being scattered all over the ground.

Aurus looked at this and sighed. "Thank you for your donation."

Ding!

'Aurus has dealt 12 HP damage to [Sakura Tamer].'

'Experience +30'

'Aurus has leveled up.'

Aurus looked at this with a frown. He then complained out to the skies, "What the heck?! My skill have level ups that are delayed by when I level up, it's just on time? What's the meaning of this?"

Silence filled the surroundings afterwards since the system didn't exactly interpret it as a command. Aurus sighed once more and said to himself, "I'll evolve [Nut Shot] and [SP Storage] first then I'll think about this problem later on."

With that goal in mind, Aurus then commanded.

"Evolve [SP Storage]."

"Evolve [SP Storage]."

Ding!

________

Please select the skill that [SP Storage] would evolve into:

[Condensed SP Storage]

[Expanded SP Storage]

[Flux SP Storage]

________

Lmmcare fo ovu hvmahul ar dzmro md vaq, Apzpl nmrtuzut msuz val nflo uknuzaurhul jaov ovu [SP Somzfeu] lcaii jvur vu nifwut fl f gzfrhv md ovu Mfvmefrw zfhu gfhc ovur, lnuhafiaxare fl f himlu zfreu foofhcuz.

"Hmm...if I remember my choices correctly, the evolution I chose for [SP Storage] would be to expand it so I have more SP to use for skills. But now that I'm aiming to become a mage, I can't haphazardly choose that right?"

From the various MMORPGs Aurus has encountered and played back then in his previous life, mages were reliant on their Intelligence stat as it was the only way for them to increase their MP, attack power, and of course, the amount of spells they could unleash.

Surprisingly, ISE pursued a sense of reality that MMORPGs couldn't achieve, wherein the purity of the SP the player uses affects the strength of the skills and the casting speed of the skills. Aurus has faced a lot of mage class players before in ISE, most of them focused on achieving a high level of purity for their SP rather than a vessel that seemed like it would hold a boundless amount of SP.

Nonetheless, in the late-game periods, many mage class players would be able to achieve both, bringing terror to every player they met.

"Identify [Condensed SP Storage], [Expanded SP Storage], and [Flux SP Storage]."

Ding! Ding! Ding!

_________

[Condensed SP Storage] (Level 1/5)

Experience: 0/5

Ar pnezftut suzlamr md ovu [SP Somzfeu] lcaii, dmhplut mr fhvausare f vaevuz npzaow dmz SP. Dalhfztare ovu uknfrlamr md ovu lomzfeu aoluid, ovu lomzfeu vfl dmprt f jfw om hmrturlu ovu SP ovu loahc vmitl arom f npzuz dmzq, fiimjare lcaiil om gu hflout jaov vfid ovu fqmpro md SP jvaiu vfsare vaevuz lozureov.

Maximum SP capacity: 5 SP

SP regeneration rate: 1 SP per minute

________

________

[Expanded SP Storage] (Level 1/5)

Experience: 0/5

An upgraded version of the [SP Storage] skill, focused on storing high amounts of SP. The storage expands in terms of internal space, yet remains the same externally. Once evolved to this skill, the storage can hold twice as much SP than before in the initial levels while giving the stick the ability to hold even more SP at later levels.

Maximum SP capacity: 10 SP

SP regeneration rate: 1 SP per minute

________

________

[Flux SP Storage] (Level 1/5)

Experience: 0/5

An upgraded version of the [SP Storage] skill, focused on allowing the SP to be regenerated at a faster rate. Once evolved to this skill, the storage mutates to have SP receptors that allow the stick to absorb more SP than usual, increasing the rate of SP regeneration. In exchange, the expansion of storage has been discarded.

Maximum SP capacity: 5 SP

SP regeneration rate: 2 SP per minute

________

Although expanding his storage and increasing his SP regeneration rate enticed him to pick those choices, he made sure to pick his choices with a calm mind and chose the [Condensed SP Storage] skill.

Now, what are the possible reasons as to why Aurus chose this skill rather than the others? Well...since he aims to play as a mage this time although it's his second life, he's trying to reference his skills from the top mages of ISE.

Sarhu vu jfl fgiu om fhvausu ovu ukalourhu iusui md Gmt ar val nzusampl iadu, vu jfl fgiu om vfsu f imo md hmrruhoamrl jaov qfrw qfeul rufz ovu ukalourhu iusui md Gmt mz fo ovu iusui aoluid, frt qmlo md ovuq vft lnuiil ovfo vft f hmlo fo ovmplfrtl pn om qaiiamrl md SP! Tfcu arom hmrlatuzfoamr ovfo fii md ovu qfeul Apzpl vfl quo vfsu fhvausut ovu vaevulo npzaow dmz SP fhvausfgiu ar ovu efqu...wuo ao loaii hmlol f imo md SP!

And that's why...

Ding!

'[SP Storage] has been evolved to [Condensed SP Storage].'

Aurus chose it, to prepare for the future.

At this moment in time, he couldn't help but sigh. Whenever he wanted to evolve his skills, he would have to go through multiple screens that mostly held useless information just so he could make a choice rather than seeing the instant benefits.

"System, please enable the option of seeing the instant effects of skill and species evolutions in one go," Aurus decided and commanded.

Ding!

'The option 'Short Evolution Info' has been enabled.'

Since the option was in the game, of course, it was also available in his system as well. He couldn't help but let out a light smile as he commanded, "Evolve [Nut Shot]."

[Npo Svmo], ovu dazlo mddurlasu lcaii vu mgofarut frt jmpit usuropfiiw iuft vaq om guare f nzmnuz qfeu. Hal hvmahul ar usmisare lcaiil jmpit fdduho val dpopzu jvuovuz vu urtl pn guhmqare f qfeu mz f zfreuz.

Ding!

________

Please select the skill that [Nut Shot] would evolve into:

[Dual Nut Shot]

[Quick Nut Shot]

[Infused Nut Shot (Special)]

________

"Eh?" Aurus couldn't believe his eyes...well he didn't have eyes in the first place but still. "I know they exist but...how did I get them so early?"

Just like how evolutions have normal and Special types, skills also have normal and Special types which affects the power of the skills depending on the tier the skill is at.

Fzmq val nflo quqmzaul, vu mriw vft f gprhv md Snuhafi lcaiil fo ovu Tzfrlhurturo lcaii. Io jfl fzmprt 7 fo qmlo. Hal dzaurtl juzu rmo dfz mdd dzmq ovu rpqguz fl juii, vfsare fzmprt 4-8 Snuhafi lcaiil.

"Identify all of the possible skill evolutions."

Ding! Ding! Ding!

________

[Dual Nut Shot]

In exchange for more bullets shot, firepower stays the same.

Number of bullets: 1 -> 2

SP Cost: 1 SP -> 1 SP

Cooldown: 5 seconds -> 8 seconds

________

________

[Quick Nut Shot]

Gains more firepower thanks to its increased speed. Has a chance to land a critical hit (stacks over innate critical hit chance).

Critical hit chance: 10%

SP Cost: 1 SP -> 3 SP

Cooldown: 5 seconds -> 10 seconds

________

________

[Infused Nut Shot (Special)]

Thanks to the stick having high amounts of SP, the bullets can be infused with high amounts of SP, allowing them to deal more damage.

Levels of Infusion: 0 -> 3

SP Cost: 1 SP -> 2 SP (Level 0), 5 SP (Level 1), 10 SP (Level 2), 20 SP (Level 3)

Cooldown: 5 seconds -> 10 seconds

________

Looking at the simplified information screen in front of him, Aurus could now easily find out which skill could offer him the most benefits, and of course, he would have to pick the [Infused Nut Shot].

"From its method of usage, it could give me a chance to evolve it from a skill into a magic spell!" Aurus' eyes gleamed as he confirmed his chance.

Skills could be evolved into magic spells when a player is of the mage class. They also follow the same tier levels: Mortal, Transcendent, Divine. But the main difference is that, Mortal magic spells have a might equivalent to Transcendent skills. Well if you think about it, the spells mages conjure are definitely out of this world, right?

Ding!

'[Nut Shot] has been evolved into [Infused Nut Shot (Special)].'

Aurus then looked at his skill screen and checked his progress, feeling quite contented. Yet one thing stuck out though.

"I'm going to have to find out how to improve [Wind Affinity], Aurus murmured.

"But first, how the heck do I fix delayed skill level ups?"

It did seem weird though. Every time he did something that would garner him a possible level up in his skills, it would usually end up being delayed. Say he shoots three shots within a minute which allows him to level up skill A within mere moments, it ends up becoming a level up to skill A many minutes later.

Pondering for a bit, Aurus then asked the question. "System, why are the level ups for skills superbly delayed?"

Ding!

"Eh?" Aurus didn't expect to hear a notification sound. He thought that it was just an inherent fault in the system Kurohana gave him, possibly emulating the feeling of lag he despised oh so much. But hearing a notification sound, it seems that that isn't the case.

'To remove delayed skill level ups, please upgrade the Existence Evolution OS.'

"Existence Evolution OS?" At this moment, Aurus was really confused. Back in his previous life, there was nothing called the Existence Evolution OS, only the Evolution Tree, Genesis Tree, Divinity Realm, and so on.

While he was wondering why there was something like this, an idea flashed in his mind.

"Since I've been reborn into a stick, the system I have is from the game but it doesn't stop there," Aurus continued to deduce until all of a sudden, his eyes gleamed.

"Does that mean that I can evolve the system to the point that it exceeds the capabilities of the system within the game?"

With this in mind, Aurus asked, "How do I upgrade the Existence Evolution OS?"

Ding!

'To open the Existence Evolution OS, please say 'Open OS'. To upgrade the OS, you can use OS points.'

Aurus only listened to the first statement and ignored the second, prompting him to say, "Open OS!"

Ding!

In an instant, a somewhat large screen appeared in front of his field of vision, occupying most of his view. Nonetheless, he made sure to check if there were enemies nearby before asking so he could be considered to be safe at the moment.

_________

[Existence Evolution OS]

OS Points: 1

Level Up Synchronization (0/10)

Cost to upgrade: 1 OS Point

Azoadahafi Irouiiaeurhu (0/1)

Cost to upgrade: 1 OS Point

Memory DLC (0/3)

Cost to upgrade: 1 OS Point

________

"Hmm..." Aurus couldn't help but frown at the three options on the large screen. One of them was related to the problem he was currently facing, but the other two were something of another level.

He ȧssumed that the remaining two options on the screen would possibly affect his future progress.

All of a sudden, he noticed something.

"OS Points? Where do I get them? How did I get one?" Three questions instantly appeared in Aurus' mind. Thankfully, the system instantly answered his question.

Dare!

'OS Points are points used by the EEOS to improve itself and adapt to the needs of the user. To obtain them, the user must have to achieve certain tasks. As for how the user got one, it will be answered in due time.'

Hearing the vague answer that came out from the system, Aurus instantly got an urge to punch the system to shreds, only to realize that the system is intangible and he can't punch it.

"Haah..." Aurus calmed himself down by taking a few deep breaths and then looked at the options from a rational perspective.

"Identify the options in front of me," Aurus commanded.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Within a few seconds, three modestly sized screens appeared in front of the large screen Aurus was staring at a while ago, which allowed him to look at the advantages and disadvantages of each option.

________

[Level Up Synchronization]

The system was born imperfect, thus becoming unreliable whenever the user needs its help. One of these imperfections is that the leveling up of skills is delayed to various degrees, bringing the user's life in danger. Once upgraded to its first level, the problem shall be removed. Once upgraded to its maximum, there's a chance for the system to reward twice the amount of level ups.

Nmou: Mmsuquro lcaiil frt nifwuz iusui pnl fzu ukhiptut.

________

________

[Artificial Intelligence]

The system was born imperfect, thus becoming unreliable whenever the user needs its help. One of these imperfections is that it doesn't have the sentience capable of helping the user in its mundane tasks. Once upgraded, the system attains sentience, allowing the system to adapt to every situation the user is in. It also unlocks the Existence Evolution AI section of the EEOS.

________

________

[Memory DLC]

The system was born imperfect, thus becoming unreliable whenever the user needs its help. One of these imperfections is that the system doesn't allow the user to access all of their memories, becoming a hindrance rather than a tool. Once upgraded to the first level, it allows the user to access more of their memories, allowing them to use their memories to logically and rationally make decisions. Once upgraded to its maximum, the user can access all of their memories from their previous life, allowing them to think ahead.

________

Aurus closed the three screens and looked at the large screen once more, letting out a long breath. He was unsure of what to choose. At the moment, he only had one point to use to upgrade the system's OS, plus he wasn't sure if there was even a way to upgrade the OS.

In the end, Aurus closed the screen and sighed.

"Haah...I guess I'll have to live with this nuisance for a while. But once I find out that I can earn more OS Points to upgrade the system OS, I'm sure that I'll use the first one to upgrade Level Up Synchronization."

Placing that thought in the back of his head, Aurus then went to his next problem.

"[Wind Affinity]."

[Wind Affinity], a skill Aurus obtained after evolving into the Wind variant of the Walnut Stick species. It was a passive skill that allowed him to increase the attack power and attack speed of the skills he used, yet for some reason, along the way, even in his fights, it never gained any experience. Not even once.

In his previous life, Aurus would always hear that any player that gains an elemental affinity skill would surely become a strong existence at the Ascendant or God tier. They would have the power to shake the earth and tear the skies asunder.

Plus, Aurus was sure that upgrading his [Wind Affinity] skill in addition to gaining more SP would allow him more evolutions once he gets the chance to evolve to an A-Grade Inanimate.

Thinking for a bit, Aurus opened his map and set a marker towards a place that only players at the level of at least the X-Grade Inanimate would tread towards.

"Set a destination to the Tempest Cliff."