Propagate: A survival litrpg

39th | Bioforge

Day 69

Nice.

"Remind me again why we're doing this?"

The two of us sat on the ground opposite each other, both dismantling a monster corpse. I held half a bear pelt in my hands, deftly scything the skin from the meat. Meanwhile, Lily was getting a feel for the craft by analysing a rather large porcupine's body, whose explosive spikes I had ripped out before letting her explicate it.

"Well," I said, my voice stained with grit. "The chief reason Oldren hasn't been making us armor, besides the whole hibernation thing… Is because ferrous, the metal?" Lily nodded her head. I wasn't looking at her, but I felt the air shift from her movement. The sense a combination of my twenty eight touch stat, and [Way of the Wind].

"Right, well, it's too weak. An all purpose metal he said. It makes for bad armor. I'm not sure how well it served you in our fight against Cinder… but my spine injury was caused by it folding into my back from an impact." Specifically when he smashed his fire ax into my entire body. The armor dented into my back, bruising my spine pretty badly. Thus why I've been paralyzed, at least that's my theory.

"Uh huh… and how does that relate to this?" She asked, holding up a small rib bone. She had taken it from the small pile next to her, sat next to several other small piles of various bones from many different creatures. All set on a cut square of fur from whatever creature they came from.

I grinned as I finally managed to tear off the last bit of bear skin. "I'm hoping he might be able to combine it with some of these animal parts. Not just the bones." I looked over at her. "I'll admit, it's a shallow hope, but it builds good experience at the very least?" I grew uncertain halfway through my sentence.

I hope I'm not making her do this for nothing..

I glanced at her status.

Efficiency: 200% Stats - (x2E) Strength 30 Speed 30 Stamina 40 Dexterity 20 Intellect 80 Sense 40 Vitality 30 Spirit 20 Charm 34 {locked}

Class Skills- Super Appraisal |||||| lv9 Soul Exploitation |||||| lv4 War Conduction |||||| lv3 Clan Concord |||||| lv2 Skill Crash |||||| lv1

Special Skills - Mana Regeneration | lv1

Skills - Mana Sight ||| lv6 Mana Finesse ||| lv1 Mana Hold ||| lv1 Water Specialty || lv5 Lightning Specialty || lv6 Stitching | lv3 Cooking | lv4 Intense Focus || lv10 Lofty Meditation || lv8 SOLU || lv9 Hide | lv2 Aim | lv3 Coordination | lv2 Will | lv3 Dismantling | lv2

So she's learned [Dismantling], good. Suddenly, my eyes narrowed. "Hey, I'm looking at your status right now and… [Mana Regeneration]? Solo internist? When did this happen??"

"Ah, yeah!" She said, scrambling in place. Her panic causing her dismantling knife to slip past the skin, digging into the meat. She flinched, no doubt from her new [Dismantling] skill chastising her.

"Remember when I made you soup, and then all that weird stuff happened?"

"Vaguely." I answered slowly, trying to remember.

"Right, well I ran into the forest to get you more food. But as I was dragging it back, I suddenly felt super tired, like my whole body was giving out. Then… I don't know. Somehow, I managed to push through. I got the [Will] skill, and the new mana stuff."

"Mhm. You know anything about that 'mana stuff'?"

"Uhhhh…" She put down the knife and began browsing her status. "I know I had one…" she muttered under her breath. Then her face suddenly brightened. Man, she really wears her heart on her sleeve. Is that a Lily thing, or a child thing?

"Here we go! I had a lore tidbit about it." She explained. She coughed, and then spoke in an old, weathered voice.

"'Among this land there are three main types of magic, besides blood magic and the few more exotic ones, of course. Among these is Internal magic, used by fanatics who seek only to surpass their limits through thrill seeking and rigorous training, thus their name. These fanatics use the trace amounts of mana within them to strengthen themselves, even going so far as to pioneer techniques to absorb greater quantities of mana, and strengthening their four equivalents, specifically the body, in order to magnify their inner power even more.'"

By the end of the explanation she was out of breath, her voice losing the old accent she was failing to mimic.

While I had fairly processed the lore drop, my mind was still lingering on one thing. "I'm sorry, did you just say blood Magic?" She read back through the passage again, mentally. "Apparently." She shrugged.

I let my thoughts stew for a moment. "So you're a fanatic?"

"Apparently?"

"You don't sound so sure."

She sighed. "I don't know. I don't really feel that different, at least mentally. Physically I feel a lot stronger. I also have this sort of energized feeling."

"Is that so?" I said, my attention fully slipping back to the bear carcass. Half of me had stripped the meat from the bones, the other one paying attention to our inane conversation. With my eyes back on the prize, I focused on splitting up the meat into their relevant cuts

Cut.

Chip.

A small piece of rock chipped off of my knife. Then, in a cartoonish fashion, cracks materialized across its entire length, and then shattered to dust. In a second, my awful knife that I made in five minutes turned into dust. Seriously, not even a bunch of rocky bits, just straight up dust.

I pulled up my status and rolled to one of the side tabs. The codex. A list in chronological order of every single notification I've ever gotten. From levels to conditions, and now, even appraisal results.

Weapon: Skinning Knife Name: Diorite Grade: D

Durability: 127/145 Enchantments: N/A Traits: (-) Brittle | Amateur Grip | (+) Hard Edge Ability: N/A

< Trait: Brittle- Due to poor choices in material, the durability has been greatly decreased. The tool itself has a high chance of losing large amounts of durability from regular use. >

< Trait: Amateur Grip- Due to a shottily placed yet decent quality grip, Durability is slightly increased, and handling is moderately increased. >

< Trait: Hard Edge- This blade keeps its edge longer than it should, and is sharpened easier. >

Listen, I tried okay?

Yeah, the knife sucked. In my defense, I made it out of this granite looking rock called blade stone. I thought it would be good. And, yeah, it held a decent edge, and lasted long enough.. I guess. Lack of materials, and time. Not a skill issue!

Speaking of skill issues…

I blinked back to my full status.

There's some stuff I need to look at.

I certainly wasn't idle while I was injured. I made leaps and bounds on my advanced modification sub-system project. However… all the information I absorbed went in one ear and out the other. For example, I have two new [Class Skills].

I have not looked at their descriptions. At least, not the cognizant me. I need a refresher!

< Class Skill: [High Hound]- Doubles efficiency of the sense stat. Senses can now be visualized. Provides rudimentary versions of other senses: life detection, spatial awareness, danger detection, energy perception, mana perception.

< Class Skill: High Hound -> Hades Hound- An enhanced version of [High Hound], now including more senses! Sense stat efficiency increased. All bonus senses integrated into Sense stat. (Warning, this will massively increase the sense stat). All bonus senses are empowered. Acquire personal soul sense. >

< Note: Due to the powerful effects of this skill, its evolution has been halted until the user is in a safe environment. Proceed with upgrade? >

< Class Skill: [Imitation]- Copy the moves of a superior predator. By imitating their skills, The users' relevant skills will have their growth massively increased. The formation of new skills is greatly accelerated. Only works on creatures of a similar body type as the user. (Humanoid) >

< Class Skill: [Petrify]- Locking eyes with a sentient being will stun it for a few seconds. Passive intimidation greatly increased. Sentients much weaker than you will unconsciously be more afraid of you. >

What? Ok, first of all, these are awesome. Second of all, how have I never noticed the effect of either of these?

< Notice: Passive skill effects will not activate unless acknowledged by the user. >

I'm surprised, status. I totally didn't expect you to answer that. Why the sudden change of heart?

< Due to achievement #15, System authority has increased from <Low> to <Lower Middle>>

Oh!.... Who made you?

< Insufficient authority >

Worth a shot.

< No it wasn't. >

Huh?

< Insufficient authority!!! >

The message fizzled out, leaving a blank in the codex. Gee thanks system, that's real subtle.

"Lily, I'm going to do something questionable. Can you protect me?"

She made a scrunched up face. "That's not concerning at all… Uh, sure?"

Ignoring her reaction, I scooted about thirty feet away and triggered the skill upgrade.

The following was disorienting, to say the absolute least. A world shattering headache, what felt like blood flooding from my eyes, nose, and ears. Existence itself dialed up to eleven, to the point even the darkness from closing my eyes seemed oppresive.

< Conflict! Ability; Mana sense already in possession! > < Compensating… > < Redistributing into budding sense.. > < (Full-fledged) Aura Sense added to new senses! >

< New Senses: Life detection, Spatial awareness, Danger detection, Energy perception, Soul sense, Aura Sense. >

A tidal wave of agony roiled across my brain. Blood seemed to pour from every orifice as the mind shattering expansion defied my sense of pain and left me unable to even think.

< Sense: 96.8 x 3.2 = > < Sense: 309.76 >

< Warning!!! Maximum stat value breached! > < Processing…> <Lowering all bonus senses to acceptable levels.>

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

< Stat value: 225.28 >

< Stat value: 217.6 >

< Processing… > < Processing… > < Processing… >

< Stat value: 198.976 >

< Stat value: 199 >

—

"Ughhh…."

…Is this what a lobotomy feels like?

I passed out a few times during the half hour long process, most of that just being me coping with the post upgrade agony. I don't know how many times, but I'd say three wouldn't be an overstatement.

I was lying face down in the dirt, a position that somehow reduces the noise all around me. Clearly, I underestimated what having those bonus senses become real biological senses would do.

Every single one is easily over ten times stronger than before, and no longer something I have to try and tap into. Now that the senses aren't just the product of a skill, but an actual part of me, I realize how lacking they have been this whole time.

Vitaeception. Life detection. It's kind of like being able to see, feel, and hear a being's heart from their entire body. I can feel the entire forest around me, in a completely different way than I ever have before. In a similar fashion, I can feel where Lily is, the compact yet strong heart beating in her chest.

Tactaura. Spatial awareness. This one isn't as foreign as the others, as it's basically like having [Nascent] or [Rumination]s sense expanding dome going at all times. I could barely even call it a lesser version, even though it clearly lacked in many areas in comparison. Its range was a moderate size bubble, a hemisphere maybe a hundred feet in diameter, with me at the center. Interestingly, I could feel the layer of earth beneath me, but only as a thin sheet. Despite the fact the bubble pierced through rocks and trees above ground, it didn't travel beneath me at all.

Malition. Danger sense. This one's depth has evolved immensely. No longer can I just sense danger, but intention. It's mainly intention now, actually. I can feel the monsters watching from the shadows deliberate and cower. I feel their hunger and fear fluctuate like waves. I felt its murderous intent solidify before it even made a move, its decision made. A small praying mantis broke out of a nearby shrub nearly thirty feet away. I felt its joints move as It pounced. Just barely a foot into the air the mantis got before a bolt of yellow lightning singed it into ash.

Forcension. Energy perception. At first I assumed it was for electricity, though I can see Lily's lightning just fine. This one went without use ever since I got it. But now that it's been enhanced, I realise its real purpose, and the fact that I've been using it subtly all along. The senses true identity allows me to see kinetic, and now, even potential energy. If honed, I could essentially see the future and become a god in battle, but this sense has its restrictions. Its activity seems to waver at random points, suddenly turning off and reactivating seconds, or even minutes later. I got the message, a powerful but otherwise unreliable sense. An infallible card in the future, but one that must be cultivated to become so.

Animance. Soul sight, of the personal variety. Now I can see myself in a different perspective. Now, I understand the four equivalents. News flash, the white fire that I've been manipulating with [Spirit Drive] is not in fact my soul, but something else. Probably my will, If I had to guess. In the center of my chest floated a small, white heart, barely an inch in length but colored with the same glistening white as the white space I arrived in before I was fully dislocated. Below it, where gym teachers say the core is, hovered an orange flame burning red hot with ecstatic energy. Above the soul, at the base of my neck at the center of my collar bone, sits a green gem. It's dull, and seems to be doing something, but for some reason, I can not see what. Above that, in the middle of my forehead sat an eye. Purple and ancient in appearance. One word appeared in my head when I sensed it. My mind's eye!

Auralis. Aura sense. This one is even more subtle and esoteric than animance… I can hardly see a difference. I activate [Smash] forming deep, ocean blue fire that erupts from my skin and shapes into a billowing cloud around my arms. More of it stretches out and forms into large spiked knuckles that then slam into place, setting the rest of the fire into a vague gauntlet shape. The color is much deeper and more varied, while the depth of detail making up the skill has been dialed up to eleven. Besides sheer appearance, I can feel the skill with a whole different part of myself. Interesting, but I'm not sure how useful this will be.

I stood up and brushed off all the dust clinging to my body. I glanced at Lily, who was still carefully dissecting the same old monster corpse, and it seems she hasn't made a lot of progress.

From where I was standing I could see her side profile, her face matted with a deep frown and dull concentration in her eyes. Her features seemed tired, her body strained. The skin beneath her eyes was slightly misshapen. Is that what real life eyebags look like?

For once she didn't seem interested in what I was doing. There was the slightest tang of tension in the air. Fabricated, as we hadn't had any fights that could have strained our relationship. Even still, the tightness was noticeable.

Itching to get moving and be productive, I shoved the thoughts away and put on my usual poker face. "I'll be back around dusk." I said as I sauntered off into the woods. I got no reply. I stopped and scanned her vital signs.

Living creatures seemed to glowed green like a radioactive silhouette, with a heart shape in the center cut off from the rest by thick black lines in the shape. Her heart shape, most likely her soul, was a more faded lime green, the mass of her energy was duller than the plants and prey around me. The edges of her silhouette were dulled to black, as if she had become less of herself.

Concern drove its way into my gut, but I continued my journey into the forest. I progressively ramped up my speed, going from a brisk walk to a fast jog, then to a run and adrenaline-spiked sprint. I basked in the feeling of freedom as the wind ran through my hair, ruffling the long brown strands into a somehow cleaner looking formation than before.

It also reminded me of how many bathes I've missed. It's not like I smell bad or anything, we've long surpassed that phase. Rather, the dryness and general filthy feeling drives my moral into the ground. No wonder the japanese in all the other isekai stories are fucking obsessed with bathing! Oh my god, I get it now!

By this point I have so many skills working in tandem that describing all of their effects for every action is beyond tedious. Every aspect of my being far surpasses my original state. By now, my senses have surpassed even superhuman levels. My strength and speed are so great I can rip apart a tree with my bare hands, out pace a car, and out last one too.

I doubt stamina will ever be a problem again. [Journeyman] is making it almost impossible for me to lose any stamina, with its insane efficiency, both in stamina saving and the actual movement, and its occasional nullification on the off chance some stamina is actually lost. Not to mention my incredible stamina regeneration. Not to say that it outpaces my consumption, not while I'm moving, at least. But nowadays a five minute break is enough to keep me going non stop for another half hour.

I let the wind wash away my thoughts as I simply focused on weaving around trees and rocks and keeping my balance on the uneven earth.

I wasn't running mindlessly. I was following the vague trail made by [Seeking] towards the object of my fascination. No 'find me a good rock' this time. I asked a very sophisticated and highly detailed question!

[Seeking], find me some extraordinary sand.

The skill had moved from denial to anger, now lashing out at me for the dumb question. I reigned it in, amused, and followed its trail diligently.

Over the next few hours, I found many patches of sand. Frustratingly, the few I found that could be useful were extremely scarce, often being small piles or a highly specific mix of foreign rock caught in some crevice.

Nature was unwilling to let me search for my query in peace.

How foolish of me, to even think about taking a break on a rock for a second. Here I was, an innocent lad sitting on a very uneven rock underneath the comforting shade of some trees, when a motherfucking laser beam shoots out of the tree line.

I saw it coming and dodged. Funny thing about [Launch] is that I don't even have to jump to use it. I can just instantly fire off in a chosen direction. Even with my feet hanging off the boulder and unconnected to the ground I was unobstructed in my move to dodge.

I went straight upward, and clung to a branch with one arm about ten feet above the rock. A beam of lava orange fire seared right through it, leaving a mass of melting rock and a trail of destruction in its wake.

I could see a pattern of glowing orange approaching in the distance, along with the sounds of heavy, monstrous breathing. I swung myself around the tree and planted my feet firmly against the wood. Then I sailed away in the opposite direction, this time using raw strength as my catalyst.

If its ranged attack is that powerful, how strong could its close range be? After all, a beam like that would probably have a lot of recoil. The beam itself didn't seem to waver, so either I don't know beam physics or this monster has a rockin body.

I ran between branches as my unseen attacker dived heavily into the ground again and again. Only once I was sure I had gained ground did I dare to look back. Right as I did so, the creature took the opportunity to shoot another beam at me.

Its skin was smooth and dark, almost sort of a dusty red like a hippo. Its head was huge, around 70% the size of the rest of its body, which already dwarfed most cars. It had no eyes or ears, save for some small holes in its head off to the side.

Bracket ( [ ) shaped lines on its stomach glowed fire mana orange as it opened its massive jaws and stretched the skin at its cheeks. Bright orange light cascaded from the maw for barely a second before another huge battering ram of energy burst out.

It was so fast I didnt even see it travel. The world near simply became fire, and then went back to normal, though noticeably more burnt. The creature had barely slowed down to make the beam attack, though I had already been outpacing it so I was a good distance away.

I pulled on [Conceal] as I strafed higher into the dense canopy of trees. Once the monster was near my last location, I dropped down from a higher branch and [Cleaved] a heavy gash through its left flank, no doubt slicing through many of its organs.

The creature seemed unaffected by the blow. It stamped it's oddly spindly left leg into the ground and whirled around in a semicircle spraying a wall of searing flame. The fire scorched the nearby trees and burned all the foliage to ash.

I began wildly dodging between trees, as the creature spun in place continuously firing its huge fire lasers. While I was trying to gauge its abilities, it seemed to be doing the same to me.

How can it see me?! It doesn't have eyes! Its beams were not randomly placed. All of them were shot near me, and left ashy destruction in its wake. A small scale forest fire was quickly forming in the vicinity. And as the localized inferno increased in size, so did the monster's accuracy.

The next tree I jumped towards cracked beneath my feet. I hastily engaged [Launch] to set myself back on course. Unfortunately for me, I had fallen right for its trap. The creatures legs were way more powerful then they appeared. It soared into the air after getting a running start. It opened its massive jaws, but instead of another heat ray, colossal jaws of white fire manifested into the air near me, miming the shape of its jaws.

The jaws clashed together like a thunderstorm. The trees and foliage caught in its vice grip were rent like a fissure in space. The force created a visible shockwave that knocked me into the ground, though I managed to spin myself into a rolling fall.

I sat up fast to dodge the next pounce, this one leaving dinosaur footprints in the ground where I was a second prior. I didn't have a second to think before the creature's body went rigid and it fired yet another beam at me, its charge time no longer seeming to exist.

The past events had completely knocked me off course and rattled all of my skills. I'm used to having a bit of time to build up some momentum, but this creature had just ruined everything. My right hand was caught in the blast, scorched black by the immense blast. I clenched my teeth and growled in pain.

I used the force to spin myself around whilst channeling my stamina into the wound. In a few seconds the char peeled away and my hand was operable again. Enraged, I threw a [[Wave Cutter]] at it, which was barely twenty or so feet away.

The little bastard dodged by hopping into the air, swinging its tail at the same time. White fire built at its tip and emerged as a crescent blade that sped up the longer it was in the air. I took a knee and didn't wait for the soft thunk of the skill landing before I rushed at the monster.

I converged my stats to speed and began strafing around it. If a decisive blow won't work, then death by a thousand cuts it is! It tried to move around my blows, but I completely scrapped defense and put everything into making it bleed.

After its fourth failed escape attempt it realised what I was doing as well, after a meaty exchange to my chest that made my heart skip a few beats. The fire around raged as we danced. Despite the monstrosity trying to tear me apart, our dance was somewhat enjoyable. I was able to sink and immerse myself into the fight.

The catalyst for my victory.

I sank into that focused state again. Where the noise around me dampened and red and grey dots danced across my adversaries flesh. Occasionally I'd misstep. I would trip on uneven ground or get grazed by the surrounding inferno, messing up my rhythm.

But as I grew composed, the monster grew sharper. As the heat formed a haze in the air and the ash began to infect my lungs, the monsters gnashing teeth grew ever closer to my neck. Its legs become better placed, its skills activation better timed.

Neither of us seemed to be tiring, but I knew from the ground blanketed by the monster's blood that its defeat was certain. I got several deep cuts on its meaty neck, aiming to behead it, but I didn't need to. With its flesh more divided than together, pieces of its hanging on by fleshy threads and more blood on the outside then inside, the monster finally dove head first into the ground after a clumsy lunge.

Its tail flopped onto the ground, and its body stopped moving entirely.

"Good fight." I panted. I hadn't exactly come out uninjured. My body was covered head to toe in burns and scorch marks. Huge three clawed gashes remained on my sides and shoulder, my feet raw and peeling from the heat.

My whole body was covered in sweat, my skin appearing pink from the heat, heavily sun burnt. Personally, the heat didn't bother me very much. The injuries, while serious, weren't very painful.

Attempting to loot the monster was a lost cause. I put my hand on its rump to feel its smooth skin, and instantly reeled back from the heat. My handprint was still visible on its skin, a dusty white mark slowly fading.

Appropriately, the fire glowed orange in my danger sense, which now felt natural enough it was getting difficult to call it out. A warning from my consciousness rang out, and I lept backwards from the creature. The fire had created a ring about fifty feet across, but now it was encroaching.

Not that I was worried about the creatures being burnt. It'd be silly if its internals were fire proof but not its externals.

From around my handprint, dozens of slits opened around the creature's body, widened, and exploded with jets of flame. With the fire encroaching it reducing the efficiency of my healing, I decided to let sleeping hogs lie and fled out of the circle.

How? I just.. Curled up and jumped through it. I do have a fire resistance skill after all. Speaking of that…

< Helter Smelter lv58 Slain 5089 XP acquired> < Attained 1 Soul (large)> < [Cleave] Experience threshold Reached. Lv6 -> Lv7> < [Skirmish] Experience threshold Reached. Lv13 -> Lv15> < [Dismembering] Experience threshold Reached. Lv6 -> Lv7> < [Health Pulse] Experience threshold Reached. Lv16 -> Lv17> < [Narrow Evasion] Experience threshold Reached. L18v -> Lv20> < [Break Fall] Experience threshold Reached. Lv5 -> Lv6> < [Baleful Heat Resistance] Experience threshold Reached. Lv4 -> Lv8> < [3D Maneuvering] Experience threshold Reached. Lv3 -> Lv5> < [Launch] Experience threshold Reached. Lv4 -> Lv6 | 15/15> < [Stamina Swell] Experience threshold Reached. Lv1 -> Lv2> < [Bark Runner] Experience threshold Reached. Lv5 -> Lv7> < [Internal Clock] Experience threshold Reached. Lv3 -> Lv4>

Excellent gains. Ooh, and [Narrow Evasion] can level up too? That's great!

But my enthusiasm was dampened.

I still need to find that special sand though…

After fifteen minutes of searching, I had an interesting idea. What if I go the opposite direction of the Helter Smelter? Maybe there's something cool over there?

And go I did. That part of the forest had significantly less trees, brush, and life in general. Things were looking pretty grim until I saw a pool of dark water that sparked my interest. Once I fell from the tree, (because I'm too cool to walk on the ground like a plebian), I raced to the pool.

But to my surprise, it was a pool of purple sand, with glittering gems in its midst. I went for the real prize, that is, the sand. The gems were probably a trap for something under the sand, so I Ignored them and plunged my fingers straight in.

…Let's not talk about it.

I weaved myself a basket on the fly, using the huge leaves which are a staple in this world at this point as insulation to keep the sand from falling out. I gathered a pretty solid amount, maybe three gallons or so, and set off. I mentally bookmarked the location for my definite many return trips later.

On my way back home, searching for the best path through the winding trail I left, I wondered how I would heat the glass and meld it into my bottle shapes. A tree in the distance fell, stocking the flames of the no longer localized wildfire the helter smelted had started and, as far as I knew, was actively feeding.

I smiled to myself. I may not have a brain, gentleman, but I have an idea. I walked purposefully towards the burning patch of forest. Time for a bit of innovation.

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39th | Bioforge

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