----------------
[Absorption Panel]
[traits acquired - null]
[skills acquired - null]
----
[current status]
[name - Klaus]
[physique - 7]
[magic - 1]
[Skills - passive aggro (F), Origin Absorption (Divine)]
[Traits - roach (B)]
-----------------
looking at the panel Klaus was quite surprised, he had read way too many web novels to not know what this panel signified.
it was clear as sun that he had awakened a cheat, some crucial information slowly entered into his mind about the usage of the panel.
The panel was a part of his divine skill origin absorption. the skill was of divine rank and the highest level Klaus had heard about till earlier was only SSS ranked skill. he was quite sure that the divine rank was quite a few levels above the SSS.
A sudden soothing satisfaction had crept up in his being, as if he was content with his life, a feeling he had not felt in years. he knew that If utilised properly the skill could help him grow stronger as for the extent he did not know.
the skill had many aspects but for summarising it could let him absorb powers from other things. He did not clearly know the distinction between a trait and a skill, he knew he would get familiar with it once he progressed.
thinking about that his gaze landed on the roach trait that was B ranked.
"I thought I only had passive aggro skill but who knew I also had a trait lets see.." he thought as he tied to focus on the trait.
soon another window opened in front of him.
---
Roach (B):
description: Your will to survive is absolute. Even when broken, battered, and on the brink of death, you cling to life with the stubborn tenacity of a cockroach. Death finds you a remarkably difficult target.
----
"could have named it better, comparing me to a cockroach" looking at the description Klaus's face twitched, thankfully others could not see these things.
Klaus moved on from that and since he knew about his talent passive Aggro he didn't really need an explanation.
Klaus closed the screen and started planning on what to do next. a good thing about his talent was that absorption could be carried out on dead targets for a period of 24 hours after death.
Now the most logical path would be to use the 100,000 credits to buy as much of fresh monster corpses as possible.
But first he required an awakened identification to purchase such materials and even doing the simplest tasks of an awakened, and for the identification he required an awakened ability to showcase in front of the association.
So it all circled back upon him, now the only way to proceed was to find a creature to kill or a corpse. or even a material with appropriate magical properties would do. quite unthankfully he had never bothered of purchasing any of such things earlier.
Looking around he could not find any clue on how to start, he took a deep breath and sat on a chair to meditate. After sometimes he felt the need to eat something, he hadn't fed himself in days after all, god knows how he was still sane.
He stood up and proceeded towards the small shabby kitchen with only space for one person. As he opened the fridge he saw a half-eaten banana being salvaged by a group of black ants.
The banana was rotten so he picked it up to throw it away, in the process one of the few ants crawled up on his hands. In frustration Klaus slapped his hand with the other and the poor ant was slain.
Klaus was about to shake of the dead ant's body when a notification rang in his mind.
[ding !! target detected for absorption]
[would you like to proceed with the absorption?]
looking at the notifications Klaus was sceptical at first, but then he remembered a fact from his distant memory that ants had the ability to exhibit strength much greater than their original proportional size.
The gears of his mind churned quickly, and he realized that insects were one of the most underestimated species due to their size. he could leverage their abundance in natural urban environments to grow safely.
with that thought he confirmed 'yes' in his mind and a small portal appeared in his hand that swallowed the ant's corpse
[ding!! ant's corpse was absorbed]
[ding!! passive skill acquired Herculean Subtlety (D)]
looking at the rank of the skill Klaus was quite surprised, the results had exceeded his expectations, he immediately looked at its description.
--------------
Herculean Strength (D)
Description:
Ants are known for their incredible strength-to-size ratio.
It grants a subtle, almost imperceptible enhancement to your Physique and Endurance, allowing you to exert disproportionate strength or maintain physical activity for extended periods without easily tiring.
You find it easier to lift, push, and endure physical strain beyond normal human limits.
effects - physical stats (+10% of the current)
-------------------
with that he also checked his status to see the changes it caused and as expected
-----------------------
[current status]
[name - Klaus]
[physique - 7( +0.7) >> 7.7]
[magic - 1]
[Skills - passive aggro (F), Origin Absorption (Divine), Herculean Strength (C)]
[Traits - roach (B)]
------------------------
first of all his physique points had changed from 7 to 7.7 and also a new skill name had appeared on the panel's skill section.
Klaus wanted to try more so he searched for the rest of the ants that had escaped during this time, after looking around the room for quite a bit he finally found one and slapped the ant in the same manner as the last one.
similar to last time a notification appeared in front of him, and he proceeded with the absorption but this time no new skill appeared, but the effects of the existing Herculean strength got enhanced.
now the increase in physical stats increased to 15% of the total stats from the earlier 10% increase. also a count appeared in front of the skill.
Herculean Strength (C) [2/1000]
Klaus theorized that this count signified the amount of ants he had to absorb to see significant changes in the skill.
what followed was a restless massacre of the ant community in his house, and with increasing death count of the increase in effect dimmed down, after killing 5 more ants the effective increase in percentage decreased to 1 % and after fifteen more ants it halved to 0.5% increase with each ant which lasted till 30 ants and then the increase stopped, but still Klaus continued his hard work.
A few hours passed and Klaus had already slain about 100 ants. and now he was sitting and observing the changes in his skill.
Herculean Strength (C) [100/1000]
effect - physical stats (+70% of the current stats)
physical stats - 7 (+4.9) >> 11.9
Klaus was quite satisfied with the effects of the skill since the increase was in percentage rather than solid stats, the skill would be useful for a lifetime.
regarding the rank of the skill he was quite confused as the effects of the skill outmatched the effects. he thought there was a more thorough criterion of determining the rank of a skill.
still he felt that if other hunters knew about his absorption ability, they would either die of heart attack due to the unfairness or would do anything to kill him to decrease his threat. but either of that won't happen since he had decided to keep it a top secret.
dangers lurked in this world almost everywhere.