Unsettling Observations
Leo and Ouroboros were surprised by the level up notification and the fact that they had skipped an entire level to reach Level 5. It was quiet a shock to them that they had jumped straight from Level 3 to 5.
"The girls must have done something crazy"
Leo had a bit of awe and concern in his voice as he wrenched his hands, snapping the neck of the goblin he had in a headlock, the last of the two swarms that the 2 young men had faced.
"Mhm…"
Ouroboros sounded a bit distracted as he stood a small distance away from Leo.
Turning around to face the Snake, Leo saw that Ouroboros was checking his updated status. It was then that Leo realized that he had also forgotten to check his own status. Opening up his status screen, he was taken aback by the change.
Character Status
Name: Leo
Race: Adaptive Beastfolk
Title: Cruelty of Man
Class: Fighter
Age: 18
Level: 5 (270/1600exp)
Status: Sickly (Body Upgrade in Progress)
-Health: 104/127 → 136/136
-Mana: 50/50 → 60/60
-Strength: 7 → 9
-Endurance: 5 → 6
-Agility: 13 → 15
-Dexterity: 11 → 13
-Intelligence: 7 → 8
-Wisdom: 5 → 6
-Charisma: 12 → 14
-Luck: 10 → 11
-Free Points: 2
-Fame: 5
-Attack: 95
-Defence: 28
-Dodge: 56
Resistance: Poison (1%)
Skills: Chimerafication (Innate Racial), Invocation of Evolution (Low), Bond of the Zodiac (Low), Appraisal (Innate), Battle Sense (Innate), Elemental Conversion(Unique), Shield Arts (F) Rabbit Legs(NEW!), Snake Venom(NEW!)
Equipment: Astra (R)
Character Status
Name: Ouroboros
Race: Myriad Hydra
Title: N/A
Class: Rogue
Age: 19
Level: 5 (164/1600exp)
Status: Healthy
-Health: 121/160 → 190/190
-Mana: 31/50 → 60/60
-Strength: 5 → 6
-Endurance: 11 →13
-Agility: 12 → 13
-Dexterity: 12 → 14
-Intelligence: 7 → 8
-Wisdom: 6→ 7
-Charisma: 10 →12
-Luck: 1
-Free Points: 4
-Fame: 20
-Attack: 100
-Defence: 45
- Dodge: 54
Skills: Regeneration (Innate Racial), Appraisal (Innate), Poison Blood (Innate Racial), Poison Resistance (B), Serpents Eye (Innate), Stealth (F), Trap Setting (F)
Snake Venom(NEW!)
Equipment: Arachne (Unique)
Ouroboros had expected to be labeled as a Rogue based on his playstyle up until this point. For the most part, Instead of facing his opponents head on, he had harassed from the sides, using traps and the threads of Arachne to contribute to the party.
Leo was a bit confused about his own class though. While it was often used as a gauntlet to slash and pummel, the base combat for Astra was a shield! It made no sense for him that his class was Fighter.
As if sensing Leos confusion Astra spoke up.
'Thats just a basic class. You are assigned a class when you reach a fledgling status. You can unlock rarer jobs via quests or owning certain items and meeting certain conditions!
Leo frowned upon hearing that new information for the first time.
"In that case, what are the basic classes?"
Leo's question caught Horos' attention as the former tried to gather information from his Weaponized partner. .
'Oh thats simple. We know that there are 8 basic classes in this world. They are [Fighter],[Warrior],[Priest],[Rogue],[Mage],[Archer],[Merchant] and [Tamer]. Each one has its pros and cons but for us, all of them are far beneath us'
Astras reply while full of enthusiasm was also filled with egotistical pride that made Leo sigh.
He detected that there was something that was strange but dismissed it as his imagination, instead choosing to gather up the loot, dumping the dropped weapons into a pile on the ground. .
"Why do you want all the weapons in a pile here?"
Ouroboros was curious about why they were doing this but only asked after they finished moving everything. From his estimates, the total amount of weapons were 13 swords, 10 stone axes, 12 shields and 17 daggers.
"I am sorry but its for this. [Invocation of Evolution]!"
Leo looked a bit apologetic as he extended his right hand towards the pile.
His hand quickly transformed into a pitch black void as an ominous looking mouth jutted out. It rapidly grew into a ravenous maw that swallowed all of the gear whole before the void like darkness retreated back into the bracelet as if it was never there.
Ouroboros own jaw was agape for a moment as the gear disappeared without a trace.
"Umm…What the fuck was THAT?!"
Horo shouted in disbelief after coming to his senses.
"Hehe….its a skill of Astras that helps it grow and evolve."
Leo reply came with a sheepish smile as he used one of his fingers to scratch his cheek.
"Okay…Thats a bit creepy though ya know right?"
Ouroboros directed a suspicious gaze towards Astra. What sort of weapon ate other weapons?!
'We are not creepy. He's creepy! Why are you staring at us like that?!'
Astra retorted in complaint, how could a sleazy deceptive snake called it suspicious of all things. It was completely offended by Horos' words. Leo could only chuckle in response
"While I may agree with how unsettling it is to see how they eat. Astra is my partner so I will trust them".
While he could feel the gratitude from deep within Astra for standing up for it, it was less than pleased at the sentiment part of it was 'unsettling'.
"Alright fine, lets put aside the debatably cannibalistic nature of your bracers for a moment. I have 2 questions."
the snake remarked as he held up 2 fingers in succession.
"Okay…?"
"First is what is the gender of Astra? You keep referring to them as 'it' or 'they'. While it may be a gear at the end of the day, it can still talk and think right?"
Leo was in stunned silence as he heard that question. At first he didn't understand the question. Astra didn't have a gender, it was gear. But when he elaborated, Leo thought that it actually made some sense. He couldn't be so impersonal with his partner right?
'What nonsense! We do not need such a title. We are completely fine as is!'
Astra huffed seemingly uninterested yet Leo noticed that it was actually more interested than it was willing to let on.
"Just like men to name their cars and or precious items, isnt only fitting you do the same?"
The snakes logic was something that Leo couldn't help but finding himself agreeing with him.
"You're right…."
"Alright then. Tell Astra she needs to be a lil cuter when she eats~"
the snake flashed a cheeky grin which made Astra act a little flustered
'W-we will eat how we please!...Stupid Snake…'
Astra pouted but for some reason not able to stay angry at the man who had implied she was precious to Leo.
"She is totally insulting me right now. Am I right?"
Ouroboros pointed his finger at Astra with a finger as he looked into Leo's eyes.
Seeing the two interact with each other despite Astras voice being only heard by him, Leo responded with a barely concealed laughter in his voice
"How did you know~?"
The other party narrowed his eyes and shrugged his shoulders
"I seem to have that effect on the ladies, Why would it be any different with her~?" '
The two men looked at each other briefly before they burst into laughter. After a few moments, Leo was able to regain his composure
"So….What's your 2nd question?"
Ouroboros stopped chuckling as he pointed to the bodies of the goblins that had yet to disappear.
"Have you ever tried to consume something like….that?"
Leo eyes widened in disbelief that the Snake was suggesting that they use a corpse as a means to evolve Astra.
'...'
Yet Astras silence made doubt grow within him. Was this something he needed to do?!