Mistress Of The Evil Forest

Case 14: Icy-cold owl.

[HP: 54/136]

''Oh.''

Hm, the gauntlet's activation time is over. I forgot that I only had five seconds.

BOOM

The snake flies head-first into the tree behind the house, once again, writhing in pain.

Well, I managed to deal a significant amount of damage to it, so I'll be satisfied with that. Now, how should I kill it-

HOOT

Mom flies past me, accompanied by a strong gust of wind that almost knocks me over. Her claws glow golden again as she grabs the poor snake near its head, this time digging through the scales into the tender flesh.

HISS

[HP: 35/136]

The monster's HP rapidly decreases as mom tightens her grip, squeezing its body to the point where broken scales shoot out due to the immense pressure.

[HP: 19/136]

Goodbye, Mister Snake. You gave me quite a scare back then. Oh, wait, it's a female, right?

HISS

Mrs Snake keeps struggling for her life, but no matter how hard she tries, mom's grip proves difficult to escape. Eventually, her body falls lifeless onto the ground.

[You have defeated a Lv.33 Zircon Basilisk]

[Proficiency achieved a certain level]

[Being: Aurora Lv.12 has become Lv.14]

[2 skill point acquired]

Mhm, two levels. Not bad.

gulp

Maybe I can use some snake meat too. I'm hungry. 

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But first, regroup. I don't want to waste my MP teleporting down, and I can only blink to places I can see, so no 'wallhack', though I'm not sure if I'm using that term right.

Hmm... The building is around two stories tall, can I jump down from here? Should be fine, I'm level fourteen after all. Plus, I have my wings.

''Ya...!'' I jump forward lightly, flapping my wings as fast as I can.

''Ack!''

Unfortunately for me, it seems like I was overestimating myself. I managed to land on my feet somehow, but now my ankles hurt.

''Ugh...'' I let out a groan, dragging myself into the house.

''Aurora~!'' Ariel notices me and waves. ''Good work.''

auf

Smiley jumps right into my arms.

''Lady Aurora, what in the world did you do for the basilisk to lose that much HP?'' Skely asks curiously.

I raise the gauntlet. ''This, coupled with [Sharp Claw], my blade bypassed its scales entirely.''

''Hoh~ That's a clever way of using the item indeed... Wait, are you hurting?''

''...Yeah. I thought I would be fine jumping down from the roof.'' I let out a sigh.

''Please don't be so careless next time.''

''...Alright. And by the way, I want to ask you for some advice on buying skills.'' I sit on the floor, massaging my ankles. ''I've been eyeing [Heal] since yesterday, and I'd like a recommendation for an attacking skill with diverse patterns as well.''

I seriously need more ways to deal damage.

''You should absolutely buy [Heal] if you can, Lady Aurora. It's one of the most useful skills around, even though its grade is only [Rare].''

That's what I thought as well.

''Alright, bought it.''

[Skill: Heal Lv.1 acquired]

Two MP per usage, amount of healing depends on the level of the skill, okay. Let's use it right away.

''Ooh...'' I exclaim as my hands are imbued with golden light, and with a simple touch to my ankles, the pain is gone entirely.

''For attacking skills, magic generally has the most patterns, and it is the most popular option as well.'' Skely ponders. ''Each person usually has access to two or three elemental types. How are your, Lady Aurora?''

''Er, let me see...'' I open the [Rare] tab, which I remember seeing elemental magic there before. ''One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Eight of them in total.''

''Isn't that like, all of them...?'' Ariel tilts her head.

'''' ... ''''

''What did I expect from you...'' Skely facepalms. ''Either way, you should choose an element that you feel comfortable with first.''

I don't know that though, it's not like I used or studied magic back on Earth.

''Why are you even hesitating? Your race is literally 'snow owl'.'' Ariel speaks up.

'''' ... ''''

I mean, I saw mom using ice and wind magic, so I might be good at those.

[Skill: Ice Magic Lv.1 acquired]

''Alright, bought.'' I stand up again, feeling my brand-new ankles. ''I have one point left, any suggestions?''

''Because you already have [Heal], I would suggest getting [MP Regeneration].''

Let's see, increase the rate of MP recovery by 5%. Sounds good enough. 

''Sure.''

[Skill: MP regeneration Lv.1 acquired]

Alright.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Name: Aurora              

Race: Owl-kin                    Title: The Underdog

Level: 14

HP: 39/39                    MP: 49/49

STR: 3.4                     INT: 8.2

AGI: 3.8                    STA: 3.3

Skill: [Sharp Claw Lv.4], [Domination Lv.3],
[Enhanced Hearing Lv.2], [Stealth Lv.2],
[Inspect Lv.1], [Night Vision Lv.1], 
[Pain Tolerance Lv.1], [Heal Lv.1],
[Ice Magic Lv.1], [MP Regeneration Lv.1]
[Language Lv.1], [Blink Lv.1].

State: Normal.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

''Now that's done, let's regroup with mom for a bit.'' 

I want to negotiate the snake meat.

Getting closer to mom, I can't help but admire her. She has already skinned the giant snake, now casually cutting its body into small chunks. It looks like she gained a level as well.

''Mom.'' I call her, a dozen of my siblings trotting behind me.

HOOT

Mom pushes one of the chunks toward me.

Well, I don't even have to negotiate.

''Thanks. I'll take it.''

Because the night was still young, I decided to test my ice magic with Skely, who allegedly was a master in the art of magic. I left mom and her children near the fireplace I made for roasting the meat and went to a clearing nearby.

''Now, explain to me how magic works.''

Skely ponders for a brief moment before snapping his finger, but instead of a pop, I just hear a loud clack. Poor soul.

''For starters, there were theories floating around on how exactly magic works, but ultimately no theory was without faults or inconsistencies.''

So no one knows it, then?

''Instead, I think it would be more beneficial to just focus on its utilizations.''

''Agreed.''

''With magic in general, you can basically create whatever attacks or moves you want, as long as you pay enough MP to the system.''

''And the efficiency, along with power increases when the skill levels up?''

''Exactly. That is the gist of it. The rest depends on your imagination, and, well, INT stat.''

''What about the chanting that you did, then?''

''Chanting helps boost the speed of casting by creating a clearer image of elements, though with your INT, I think you might not even need it.''

''Let me try.''

Raise my hand into the air, and then, er... Ice spear!

''Oh?''

Out of nowhere, an ice blob appears near my hand. It quickly grows larger and longer, eventually reaching a point where it is the size of an ordinary metal pipe. That costed one MP, pretty decent. When I try to funnel more MP, nothing happens though. It seems like this is the limit for now.

''You know, people with INT as high as you were basically extinct back in my era.''

His era, huh...

''...Hey. Don't you want to go back to civilization?'' I launch the ice spear into a tree nearby and ask.

''Not really.'' Skely sighs lightly, turning to Ariel and Smiley playing in the distance. ''Ariel was my only family, and it's not like they would accept a skeleton as a member of society or anything, no matter how much time has changed.''

''Hmm~'' I hum and conjure a small shield this time, it seems quite weak though.

''How about you, Lady Aurora?''

''Nope.'' I crouch down and shove the shield against a rock. Broke instantly. ''I don't know any people there. Instead, I know you and Ariel. If you guys won't go, then I won't as well.''

''I see... Though, I'm still curious. About what happened after I died.''

Hmm... An ice sword is pretty useless for now. Let's try bursting spikes from the ground instead.

''We can go back there once we're strong then. Overwhelmingly strong. To the point where even all of them won't be able to go against us.''

''Hahah, I like that idea.''

Oh, the spikes are pretty fast... Geh, cost a lot of MP though.

''Well, I got a decent grasp of the magic now. Thanks.''

''Not a problem, Lady Aurora. What should be our next move, then?''

''Continue hunting, of course.''