Lucien returned to the manor in frustration.
He was supposed to check the state of the territory but now, work was the last thing on his mind.
Instead, he made his way to the Soilwyrms he had been breeding. Tending to them usually helped him relax.
The BREED skill offered him not only ideas but also accelerated the breeding process.
Seventy Soilwyrms now writhed under his care. He decided to cull sixty of them, hoping the drops would benefit his farm.
Then... after the 60th kill, something unexpected happened.
A glowing blue skill card floated before him.
"What?! Monsters can drop skills too?"
Lucien's eyes widened in disbelief. He then burst into uncontrollable laughter.
The surprise washed away his frustration in an instant.
[Ting!]
[CONDITIONS MET]
[UPDATING SKILLPEDIA...]
A progress bar materialized mid-air, accompanied by a soft chime that felt oddly satisfying.
He stared at it with his brows furrowing.
His Skillpedia wasn't complete yet. Could acquiring a skill from a monster be the missing trigger for an update?
He wasn't sure.
He stood still watching the progress bar slowly filled with growing anticipation.
[UPDATE FINISHED...]
[SKILLPEDIA v.1 now accessible]
His eyes gleamed. The update's version number hinted that more upgrades might come in the future.
"SKILLPEDIA!" he called out, summoning the book.
His skill book appeared before him. Lucien dove straight in, flipping through the pages at lightning speed.
His eyes glowed with excitement, completely absorbed. Page after page turned and a wide grin spread across his face as if he'd just uncovered a long-lost treasure.
Something had changed.
Something big.
The book was now divided into two distinct sections. One for human skills and the other for monster skills.
And best of all, the skills were now properly organized.
Each entry was sorted by rarity. It's a simple but elegant system that made browsing effortless.
★ (for Common skills)
★★ (for Uncommon skills)
★★★ (for Rare skills)
★★★★ (for Epic skills)
★★★★★ (for Legendary skills)
But one change stood out most.
Previously, he could only view skills he had seen or scanned. Now, every ★ (1 star) rank skill was unlocked by default. Pages upon pages of common skills revealed themselves.
Even better, finding a specific skill was effortless. Lucien could simply speak or think about it and the book would turn its own pages to the right entry.
But then… Lucien noticed something odd.
In the monster skill section, only one skill was unlocked. It was the one he had just obtained. The rest were nothing but rows of question marks.
There were no hints.
No descriptions.
No clues on how to unlock them.
It seemed the only way to acquire monster skills… was through drops.
With curiosity piqued, Lucien turned to examine the new skill he'd received.
***
Skill (Active): ★★★
Illustration: A translucent Soilwyrm tunneling underground
Name: Burrower's Eye
Description: Allows the user to see through layers of walls or ground.
***
Lucien's eyes sparkled. He quickly placed the card against his forehead.
Immediately, he activated it.
A faint glow passed through his eyes and suddenly, the world changed.
He could actually see through the wall!
Outside, Sebas stood stoically, waiting to be called as always. The sight made Lucien stifle a laugh.
He tested the skill further. By narrowing or widening his eyes, he could adjust the depth of vision. And unlike SCAN, this didn't strain his eyes that much.
Then, a thought hit him like lightning.
"Wait... can't I use this to find the cores of those damned slimes?"
The sudden realization made his heart race. He wanted to dash straight back into the dungeon.
But reality pulled him back.
Just seeing the location of a slime's mana core wasn't enough.
Slimes could freely move their cores inside their bodies and Lucien's swordsmanship was... sloppy at best.
The thought of digging out a core by hand again made his stomach churn.
He needed precision.
Real accuracy!
But he knew the truth. He lacked both skill and proper training.
And that needed to change.
"Show me swordsmanship skills," he said aloud.
The SKILLPEDIA displayed an array of entries. Lucien scrolled through them carefully, weighing his options.
After a while, he finally settled on one.
***
Skill (Active): ★
Illustration: A figure slashing with precision
Name: Slash
Description: A basic sword technique to strike with focus and precision.
How to Obtain:
• Slash a target 1000 times with pinpoint accuracy in one hour.
***
"This one's perfect... and with Burrower's Eye?" Lucien smirked. "Those slimes don't stand a chance."
Wasting no time, he headed straight to the garden to begin the process.
After awhile...
"ARGH! I give up!" he groaned, throwing his hands in the air.
Lucien slumped to the ground in frustration. He had underestimated the challenge. Not the effort, but the accuracy.
Hitting the exact same point 1000 times in an hour? Lucien can describe it in one word.
Insane.
What made it even more insane was that this skill was the easiest to learn among all the swordsmanship skills. The others took days of training or required far more effort to master.
But he wasn't ready to quit.
He reread the instructions then suddenly... an idea struck him.
Lucien approached a nearby tree and made a sharp slash. A clear mark appeared on the bark.
A suspicious grin tugged at his lips. If his hunch was right, learning this skill might be easier than he'd thought.
He took a stance again. But this time, halfheartedly.
Instead of swinging with full force, he held his sword just above the target mark and... lightly tapped it. It's almost as if he were gently drumming rather than slashing.
To an observer, it would look ridiculous.
But with each tap, he struck the mark with perfect accuracy.
He kept this up until...
[Ting!]
[CONDITIONS MET]
• Slash a target 1000 times with pinpoint accuracy in one hour ✓
[Skill: SLASH Obtained]
Description: A protective talisman that safeguards your life
Use: Can be bound to any non-living item obtained from drops.
Effect: When you receive fatal damage, the bound item is destroyed instead, sparing you from death.
Lucien's eyes sparkled once more. He'd earned the skill... and a bonus!
With the talisman, even assassins wouldn't worry him. Not that he wanted to be hunted… but it was nice to be prepared.
He smiled in satisfaction. Despite the earlier frustration, the morning had been incredibly productive.
"Time for lunch... and slime-slaying time after kukuku."
•••
After a quick meal, Lucien dashed back into the dungeon.
He soon found a trio of blue slimes. Activating BURROWER'S EYE, he spotted their mana cores with ease.
He brandished his sword and leapt toward the group of slimes.
The best part about the skills was how natural they felt. The skill itself seemed to guide him, offering subtle insights on how to use it effectively.
Take Slash, for example. Though he was still an amateur, with the skill's help, he moved like a seasoned mercenary…
Well, at least when it came to slashing.
Lucien swung his sword at the nearest slime with a sharp whoosh. His blade struck straight through its core.
The other two slimes became agitated and they retaliated by firing the gooey Slime shots.
Lucien dodged swiftly, letting the sticky projectiles fly past him.
Without missing a beat, he swept his sword in a blur and slashed the remaining slimes with another whoosh.
Finally, the body of the slimes disappeared and only the mana cores and his gray drops remained.
After picking it up, He observed the drops.
Lucien blinked in surprise. So slimes could drop more than just coins and plushie?
But the moment he picked up the Slime Plushie, his expression soured.
"Tch… seriously?"
He hated useless items cluttering his already limited inventory space. The plushie served no purpose. At least, not one he cared about. Worse, weak slimes didn't even give him enough experience points to justify the hassle.
Type: Collectible
Rarity: Common
Description: As soft as clouds. Popular among young maidens. (Collect the full set for a surprise!)
"What the—! Collectible?! Does that mean there are more varieties? Are they going to take up individual inventory slots?!"
He groaned. Limited inventory space and pointless plushies weren't a good mix.
Next, he looked at the gel.
Type: Consumable / Alchemy Material
Rarity: Common
Description: High-quality gel used in potion-making. (Edible…?)
"Finally, something useful," he muttered. "I can sell this. Or maybe learn alchemy... Definitely not eating it though."
Lucien ventured deeper into the dungeon while skillfully cutting down more slimes with his combos.
As he progressed, he noticed different colored slimes started to appear.
One of them is a Green Slime which oozed forward with a far more aggressive pattern than the sluggish blue ones.
Before he could react, it lunged at him with surprising speed.
Lucien's eyes widened but his body moved on instinct. He dodged to the side and followed up with a swift counter-slash.
The green slime burst apart and dropped something that instantly made Lucien's mood sour.
His eye twitched. "You've got to be kidding me..."
Lucien stared at it in horror.
"What do you mean by this, system?!" Lucien shouted, holding up the new plushie. "Why did this take up another slot? Just because it's a different color?! Seriously?!"
Of course, the system gave no answer in return..
Fuming, Lucien went on a slime-murdering spree.
Fortunately, the rampage paid off. A few uncommon drops began to appear, giving him something to smile about.