90. Red's New Skills And Professions!

Being friendly with wildlife didn’t come naturally to Red, unless that wildlife couldn’t be killed. Case and point – the Rock Bugs. Without carapace shell Rockie Grey wouldn’t have existed.

She splashed her feet in the water, her knee-high socks left on that same Rockie who nestled amongst a pile of rocks. They lapped at the rock with a rugged, metal-toothed tongue like how a dog would at a bone. This was to scrape any valuable minerals from the rock.

After all, ores were Rockie’s food source as a Forge Bug.

“Humans need a lot of water. But there are a lot of humans and animals who rely on it. Where does all this water come from in the first place?”

Red asked such questions as she skipped around the river, kicking up water and throwing it whoever dared to come close. She shouted out phrases, such as [Water Splash]!, [Water Whip!], and so on, imagining herself as the strongest mage to ever live.

But that illusion came crashing down when Snow served her a plate of cold-hard facts.

“Blessed can’t use magic like regular mages.”

“Why not!?”

“Because we’re bound to the processes of the Nexus. All of our powers are tied to Skills. The Nexus decides how we change as we level up and go on with our lives. That’s always been the case.”

“We don’t get to choose how we evolve?” Red wondered, snapping her head into the water to catch a fish with her bare teeth. “Kwinda dwumb.”

“It’s our limitation. We can’t learn fire magic, but the advantages even it out in my opinion. Take this for example.”

A graceful snow pinched her skirt to reveal her bare feet. Then, she dipped them into the waters. A faint, white glow hummed in the surrounding waters before debris, silt, and impurities were purified by the mere presence of her flesh.

“[Cleanse] and our Skills work by invocation. We don’t have to say it. I frankly don’t understand people who shout out their skills before they use it, or yell before they make a sneak attack.”

A puff of smoke seemed to come out of her ears.

Cute…?

“But what I mean to say is that Skills are easy to use. Take [Huntress’ Slash] for example. It’s not an Art or a Martial Art, so you’ll have to make a long-winded chant before you can use it.”

“I get it. It would kill any reason to use it in quick succession.” When it came to combat, Red understood everything and wore a look that didn’t belong to a clueless girl. “[Huntress’ Slash] works because I can keep it up. Are mages that disadvantaged?”

“Non-Blessed are.” Snow corrected.

  *

Snow’s lessons filled in the quite hours as they gathered as many resources as possible for the trip ahead. There wouldn’t be another source of water for the next few dozen kilometers, so it was important to make a stockpile.

To answer Red’s earlier question, Snow talked about how rain brought water from the distant seas, or the large inland lakes that would cause anyone living in an island to believe they were stranding in an endless ocean.

Then, the waters would flow from a mountain or somewhere high. She pointed Red to the great mountain ranges in the far south-west, and then the colossal Maw of the World far north.

It was difficult to put its size into words. The Maw of the World exceeded one thousand kilometers in width, and that was just the hole within the mountain top alone. The thick, distant atmosphere reduced it to a faint silhouette in the background, but it was always there, looming, as was the ever-present Nexus like they were stars fixed into the skies.

The power of gravity meant that all things in the world wanted to move to their lowest state, which was why things fell or rolled downwards.

“Huh. Now that you mention it. I guess that why rocks don’t roll uphill.”

“Ahahaha. It seems obvious at first, but when you really think about it, it can help you understand how not everything works in isolation.”

Isolation.

It was a word that resounded strongly with Red.

She gathered up fish, collected firework, punched and carved bark to create makeshift bottles…

“Bwa!” Three Paw jumped onto her lap.

He used his fangs to cave out tiny inscriptions that made zero sense to her.

“Brrr.” Then, there was Rockie who carried another twenty kilos worth of items within its fur.

“How many liters do you have right now?” Snow asked from the branches of a short tree.

She was busy plucking apples for them to take for the trip.

… Red used to have to do a lot of things on her own.

Scratch that. She did everything on her own. But now, she had a rag-tag group of monsters and a human by her side. They all had their own wants and needs, but in the end, they were driven by one major goal.

“Survival!” Red muttered.

She didn’t actually know what their major goals were.

Or if a bug or a damned wolf could have one.

She’d leave it at that.

But then, a thought came to her mind.

Why ‘can’t’ they have a goal?

As she thought about this, she couldn’t help but pat Three Paw’s head.

“Don’t look so happy. Gross.” She smiled.

  *

Red also used the little daylight they had left to test her Skills out on a bunch of inconspicuous Spiked Boars. Firstly, she looked at her new Profession – Avenger.

< PROFESSION: Avenger >

< Deliver justice as ordained >

It was an Offensive Profession that gave her two unique Skills.

The first was [Inequivalent Exchange].

< (O) Inequivalent Exchange >

< EFFECT: Intentionally take damage to exploit an opening. Deal 1.2x Damage regardless of damage taken. Deal 3x Damage when damage taken exceed 20% >

< COST: HP >

It seemed useless compared to [Huntress’ Slash] at first glance. But she saw its potential against enemies that did have a bloody trail to exploit, potentially creating a much-needed bloody trail to follow.

Or, it could even work under Snow’s guidance. The blood trail was instinct, whereas the white trail she had envisioned against the Queen of Sweet and Bitter thorns represented rationality.

Next was her Passive:

< (O) Antagonize >

< EFFECT: Antagonize a target. Reduces the likelihood of target disengaging from combat. Draw aggro in multi-targeted combat. If HP reaches 0 from an Antagonized target, gain an additional Nemesis Stack >

The latter part was problematic. She still no idea how dangerous losing her sanity was. But given it had an incredible effect on Three Paw, there was merit in using it. Furthermore, drawing this weird ‘aggro’ might also help keep Snow safe!

“Aggro? Oh, that’s an Adventurer term for aggression. It’s when you draw fire to yourself.”

“Uhuh. So it’s basically drawing a big target on my back.”

“You’re getting it now.”

She tested these out on the poor, inconspicuous Spiked Boar.

Regardless of whether she antagonized it or not, it would still come running at her.

“Oi! Walking meat sack!” She called out, waving her hunting knife.

“Ggggg.”

The boar turned on its hind legs, glaring at her. Its intentions were clear, although…

Spiked Boar

LEVEL : 30

Why do I feel annoyed that a dumb animal still wants to fight me? I’m like twice its level!

“You should be running! Cowering in fear! Because it is I, Hatchling – No, Fledgling Red!”

She introduced herself with a cackle and a stupid grin, her short black mantle fluttering behind as she tried to look flashy.

But to her surprise –

< Spiked Boar has successfully been antagonized >

“Ggggg!”

– The Spiked Boar charged headfirst with crimson-glowing eyes.

“Huh!? Wait – Why’d that piss you off!? Be afraid! Be very afraid!”

Red let herself get tackled by the thing. She skidded back on her heels. None of the quills managed to puncture her clothes. But by allowing herself to be hit, she was able to test out [Inequivalent Exchange].

“Goodbye!”

A one hit kill. Her blade carved through it like it was no more than a pear. In fact, she didn’t even have to use her blade. Another Spiked Boar threw itself at her, and she merely punched it, and it died whilst impaled on her arm.

“Heh. Ahahaha… HAHAHAHA!” Red celebrated, smiling innocently at Snow and the others. “It’s so easy~!”

The Harpoon Bear, who had also been helping them with their packed goods, shuddered as tears seemed to form in the corners of their eyes.

“[Cleanse]. Stop getting dirty all the time.” Snow rubbed her thumb along Red’s cheeks, squeezing them playfully.

“Not my fault they’re full of blood… Heheh~”

A shadow suddenly loomed over Red.

The bloody mess that was splattered over her caused a latent hunger to spark within Snow.

“Heh… hehe… huh?”

“Red, may I?”

There was no need to take blood. Snow only really required it whenever she used Blood Manipulation or went through an extensive period of time without blood. However, a part of her couldn’t resist the sudden urge…

Didn’t Snow say that she was surprised by how good my blood tasted? Am I that tasty?

“Just don’t go draining me! Or I’ll hit you with the [Inequivalent Exchange]!”

  *

Her Huntress Profession also gained new Skills.

< (O) Tempered Strike >

< EFFECT: Area of effect attack. An after image of bladed attacks lingers in the air for 0.1 seconds. This after image extends 30 centimeters from the blade’s original position >

< COST: 500 MP >

“F-F-Five hundred!? Why so much!?”

“Area of effect Skills tend to be pretty costly.”

Red grumbled as she slashed the air. Suddenly, that anguish turned to delight.

“Woah!? I got long range tactics now!”

“… That’s long range?” Snow said, barely audibly.

“Hey! Thirty centimeters is A LOT in close combat! Think about how much I do these!” Red slid underneath a Spiked Boar to demonstrate how closely she fought against her targets.

“Or these!”

Then, she sprung back towards the Spiked Boar, barely dodging in mid air with a twirl. The margin of error was within mere centimeters… No, millimeters. Red’s combat instincts were flawless, which often led to her fights looking like a dance with death.

As for her other two Huntress-based Passive Skills –

< (O) Tracker >

< EFFECT: Track down a target more effectively. You are able to find details hidden in plain sight >

< (O) Scent Recognition >

< EFFECT: Able to determine the presence of others by scent alone >

Three Paw barked happily as he joined Red for the hunt.

“… You know, at this point, are you sure you’re not part wolf yourself?”

Red couldn’t help but sigh.