You Have Reached A Threshold (01)

Alban whirled around and quickly activated Inspect on the monster.

'A bit cold blooded of an analysis, and it wasn't very useful. But, at least it let me know that I can beat it.' Alban started backing away and studying the monster, for he didn't know a lick of how to fight. Probably was a good choice not to rush up to it though.

The baby something did indeed look flimsy. Flimsy in the fact that it didn't look like it had much weight. It compensated, however, with a frame the size of a wolf and a scaly exterior. It crawled on four legs, no tail keeping its weight centered. Instead, it had a heavy looking head, akin to a rhinoceros, that it tilted downwards to keep its balance. The sharp horn that was not only on its nose, but also on its shoulders gleamed in the crime scene moonlight. Its eyes, a steady and leveled hunger. This did not look like a mere baby, it looked more like a mini tank with four legs.

The baby something, fed up with letting its prey size it up, dashed at a surprising speed, despite its clumsy appearance. Although Alban was not entirely calm, he realized the advantage he had on that little something...it had four legs, while he had two. As a result of that, he could change his trajectory while he moved, unlike the beast that laid before him. Sidestepping the charging rhino-something, he then delivered a sharp kick to its side.

It seemed that Inspect wasn't wrong at all. It didn't look like it could sustain another kick of that caliber. Alban, still tense, remembered what the tutorial said. He wasn't going to take any chances with a reviving monster that looked like it'll tear him apart the second it can touch him. Although his feet seemed sturdy enough to kick at its scaly skin, he wasn't sure about the rest of his body.

The rhino-something was still a bit dazed, not expecting a prey to have some sort of ultimate move. It was shaking itself out of its stupor though, confident that the prey had just had its last struggle. It had seen this take place many times, and although he also fell for it, the ending of all its experiences showed that it would still be the victor in the end. For it was the fastest, strongest, and handsomest looking Tajaran of its kind. And he was about to show the prey that...

To show the prey...

It saw the sky being blotted out. Some bipedal creature was not only stealing its prey, but stealing its life! Oh well, he'll find it and take it on next time. The Tajaran was very assured in its eventual revival, it fiercely doubted that whoever was killing it, it could also fully destroy its body. That was the last thing that baby something ever thought.

Alban wasn't taking any chances. In fact, he actively refused to let this bite him in the ass at some point. From the few things he could remember, he always felt dissatisfied when a character wouldn't ever finish the job. So he stomped. He crushed the baby something under his feet, and scattered its remains. If he could use that burgeoning mana he had, he would've burned it too! Oh well.

<+10 Health. +4 Mana. +2 free status points. Your existence has become stronger.>

Alive.

Alban felt alive. More alive than he had ever been. Maybe that stupid tutorial was right, and maybe he would have fun surviving. Walking away from the area where he fought the baby something, he sat a bit away from it and used Inspect on one of its remains.

{Tajaran Corpse Shard}

Durability: (3/7)

"Inspected remains for the first time, rewarded the skill {Assembly}, {Dismantle}, 2 Lone Points."

Impressed by his gains, Alban inspected all the new skills he gained, including the {Steady Mind}.

{Steady Mind} (Passive)

{Assembly} (Passive)

{Dismantle} (Passive)

'These three skills seem quite useful. I'll have to mess around with assembly a bit when I get a chance...shame I can't right now, seeing as I have no real mana technique. I don't even know how to use it. I'll keep this shard in my inventory for now.'