Chapter 17 Turn The Tide

Swiping across the menu Bojing selected the skill tree dropdown menu in which as soon as he saw it he instantly was hyped.

" Whoa, this will turn this situation around! " ( Bojing )

Quickly without a moment's hesitation he pressed his finger against the panel, selecting a specific skill in which he knew would help turn his situation around. Out from the panel a green glow illuminated out from within, encircling his body before flowing into his soul.

[System: The New Skill [ Auto Shield ] Has Been Learned]

" Activate skill… Auto Shield! " ( Bojing )

[System: Active Skill Auto Shield Has Been Activated]

Suddenly bright green energy flowed out from all facets of his body in a stream of pixels that began to individually block each attack automatously on its own. One by one the wolves' attacks landed only to be forced back by his shields embrace. The sight was quite beautiful, almost as if it was a flowing river that was both raging yet tranquil. With this the pain had stopped as the wolves had no way of contacting his skin. However, they weren't going to let up as there was one flaw they smelt emanating from the near future.

Usually, skills have specific times they can be active for until they must undergo a cooldown, however for Bojing this was not the case, at least it wasn't before the reset happened. Along with the reset various skills were lost, entire skill trees had changed their skills, the way Bojing levelled up had changed and even his very equipment had changed, and along with these changes also came a huge nerf… the addition of cooldowns and active times.

Realising this very fact Bojing knew he didn't have much time to wait around, however there was one thing he most certainly could try to cheese this new system, although this method would put him through tremendous amounts of pain. As per before it was evident that his skills had their own levelling system as seen through their [ Proficiency ] levels, and as per the way he now levelled up, although it was a gamble, he had a hunch how to level his skill, and in turn what levelling it might entail.

Standing there Bojing did not move, instead he purposely moved into the path of the incoming attacks, causing his skills active time to accelerate by a minimal amount. With each scratch and bite Bojing did nothing except stare at the proficiency bar located next to his new active skill. One and a half minutes go by when suddenly the skill gives way, deactivating in an instant. Standing their Bojing new what must come next. For the next 2 minutes the wolves' bit and scratched at his skin, causing the immense tally of pain he had endured moments before, however it was a tad bit lighter as his unwavering resolve shone through, keeping him fixated on his goal.

It was true, he was totally useless without his allies. All he could amount to was this intense pain that shot throughout his nerves, but he knew this was a fact. However, this time he realised something else other than the pain and the guilt of burdening others. By being so useless he has found his way to truly be useful to his comrades, and to that he was deeply thankful. However, the dark thoughts still loomed in his mind, but they weren't strong enough to pierce his new iron will.

About 30 cycles of this method go by until he hears the sound he was most anticipating all this time.

[System: You have levelled up… You Have Been Awarded One Skill Point]

" Yes, this is what I've been waiting for. " ( Bojing )

Scrolling up by one node in the skill tree Bojing soon realised all his suffering did nothing, as blocking the above node was a lock sealed shut. Clicking on it Bojing saw the one thing he feared could happen during his reset.

[System: You Must Reach Level 5 Proficiency With The Previous Skill Before Unlocking This Skill]

" Damn… I should have checked that earlier. I was too fixated on leveling up my Auto Shield. " ( Bojing )

However, in this moment as if by pure chance or will of the world he saw a hidden panel situated behind the panel itself.

" What's this? " ( Bojing )

Running his finger over the back of the panel it instantly turned a dark black.

[System: Switched To Monster Mode]

" Wait… could this be! " ( Numen )

" What is it Numen? " ( Numen )

Numen went silent for but a moment before explaining things to Bojing.

" That's a monster panel… that's impossible even for a duality user! " ( Numen )

Shocked Bojing quickly replied.

" What's a monster panel? " ( Bojing )

Breathing a deep sigh Numen again began to explain.

" Of course, she wouldn't tell you players about it. A monster menu is something only a monster possesses. Think about it as their unique panel that shows their status and skills, not to mention equipment and race. For a human to posses such a thing that was previously thought impossible, but for whatever reason you posses one. " ( Numen )

" Really… but wouldn't Ju Fen have one as well? " ( Bojing )

" No, all her race status are shown in her duality menu, as per all half monsters half humans. " ( Numen)

In that moment a sudden realisation came to Bojing.

" Doesn't that mean I am a full monster then? " ( Bojing )

" That brings me to my second point. If that were the case, then you couldn't possibly have access to a player menu. In the same way that a half human can't have a monster menu, a full monster cannot possibly have a player menu, it is just physically impossible! " ( Numen )

Puzzled they both took some time to piece together the various possibilities of how this could occur, when they heard a small yawn echo throughout their minds.

" Bojing… where are we? " ( Yang )

" Of course… Yang is still with me! Are you ok Yang? Are you able to come out? " ( Bojing )

" No… the physical force is still keeping me confined here, although it isn't too bad, I am getting a lot of rest after all. Although I would prefer it if I could get out and help you with these ruffians " ( Yang )

Even with just her voice he could hear her pouting tone from her voice clear as day. It was obvious to him that she just wanted to keep him safe.

Scrolling throughout the new menu Bojing stumbled on various new tabs and words that referred to completely new mechanics and the like, however two such things stood out more that the rest.

" What does this " Morph " feature do? " ( Bojing )

" It's the first I've heard of this feature… maybe it has something to do with how you reacted with Ju Fens feather back there and gained the appearance of her race. " ( Numen )

" Oh yeah, I totally forgot about that… I wonder how I was able to do that. Well we can worry about that later, as for now I want to check out this second feature I've found. " ( Bojing )

Navigating the menu Bojing soon found himself face to face with a myriad of various skill trees, some named and labelled the names of his Dualities while some were left completely blank. Clicking on the tree that was called " Yang " it opened to show a streamlined tree connected with various lines and skill nodes. At its centre was a skill node that was grey but not sealed that read " Yang Summon ".

" What does this do? " ( Bojing )

Clicking on it the prompt appeared.

[System: Do You Wish To Learn This Skill… SP Cost Is 1]

[Accept] [Decline]

" Well… only one way to find out since the skill has not description. " ( Bojing )

Suddenly a dark black flash encircled Bojing before flowing into his body.

[System: Activating Skill]

Suddenly a black shadow made up of pixels flowed out from his body, piece by piece forming a humanoid form. When the shadows faded dark claws shot out instantly killing all of the wolves encircling him.

" That is enough lounging around… lets go see if there is a boss room! " ( Yang )

Reaching out for his hand Yang began to dash off into the distance. Suddenly a black flash of energy emanated from his body and it began to change shape.

" Bojing! " ( Numen )

" What the? " ( Bojing )

Chapter 17 End