First things first — eight rounds of Curse Eye of Grudge loaded.
I fired one off at the nearest target without much thought.
The instant it activated, I died.
I know that probably doesn't make any sense, but I didn't understand what had happened either.
It wasn't a matter of being fragile or weak or any of that small-fry stuff.
I got a taste of what it feels like to be one-shot insta-killed.
Nope, nope, no way.
Are you guys seriously this weak?
While I was thinking that, I leveled up.
Twice.
Huh?
Wait, even though they're this weak, I get this absurd amount of Experience Points from them?
I just took out eight of them, but the Experience Points gained per person exceeds a single Greater Taratect.
You're kidding me.
I figured their Experience Points would be decent since they have a ridiculous number of Skills, more than their actual combat strength would suggest, but I didn't expect it to be this ridiculous.
Oh boy.
Humans are just too delicious for Experience Points.
I'm suddenly incredibly motivated.
First, I shed my molted skin.
Wait, thinking about it, isn't this basically a striptease?
Who even benefits from that?
Oh, while I was having stupid thoughts, one of them recklessly charged right at me.
I could just take him out quickly, but let's have a little experiment here.
Constructing a magic formula.
It's the same magic I've been watching them use over and over.
Building the formula from memory.
Then activating the completed magic.
Earth Magic — Earth Wall.
Even without a Skill, you can still activate magic.
It's just that having the Skill means the system assists you, making it vastly easier than activating without one.
It's like the difference between walking and taking a train.
Walking requires you to check the route yourself and navigate there on your own, while a train takes you there automatically.
Which one's easier? Obviously the train.
But that doesn't mean you can't walk there.
Obtaining a magic Skill means you automatically acquire the formula for that magic.
All you have to do afterward is reproduce the formula you've obtained.
In other words, if you know the formula, you can do the same thing.
During my fight with Araba, I saw that magic formula more times than I could count.
So I should be able to reproduce it.
That was my theory, but when I actually tried it, it was surprisingly easy to recreate.
Maybe that's thanks to the pinnacle of magic manipulation, too?
The knight gets launched into the air by a wall that sprang up from beneath him.
Whoa.
He ended up in a state so grotesque I can't really put it into words.
Nam nam.
The summoner is shouting something.
Oh?
Some things just got summoned.
A bird, a turtle, a tiger, and a dragon?
Huh.
Must be a coincidence, but that's basically a Four Symbols lineup.
Though yeah, these are definitely off-brand versions.
First, the bird.
It's completely black.
You should've gone with red for that one.
Its available element is wind too — no fire.
The turtle.
Now that I think about it, I took out a baby turtle in the Upper Layer a while back.
It's grown up.
Actually, turtle, you're literally just a rock.
You're not a turtle carrying a rock on its back — your very existence IS a rock at this point.
The tiger.
Why is it pink?
Seriously, are you okay with that?
Aren't tigers supposed to be kings of the jungle?
Does a king of the jungle really get to be that garish pink?
And then the dragon.
Dude, you're a dragon in name only.
You look like a round fish.
Are you a pufferfish?
You've got poison too, don't you — you're a pufferfish, not a dragon.
So many things to riff on.
Well, they're reasonably strong though.
Judging by Status alone, they're stronger than the summoner who called them.
The high ones have Stats over 800.
They have fewer Skills compared to humans, but still.
The bird is using wind magic.
It can cast magic?
I guess being kept by humans makes you a bit smarter?
I don't have wind resistance, and even if it hits me, the damage won't be anything major, so maybe I'll take the hit on purpose to try and gain resistance.
Ouch.
That stung a little.
Guess I can't acquire resistance from a single hit after all.
Wind and water attack me simultaneously.
No water resistance either, so let me take that too.
Oh, the tiger charged in.
No point taking its attacks, so I'll skip that.
Here's another one I got used to seeing in the Araba fight — Earth Lance activated.
《Proficiency has reached a certain level. You have acquired the Skill『Soil Magic LV1』》 Oh?
Wait?
I'm using Earth Magic, but the Skill I acquired is the lower-tier Soil Magic?
Ah — so the Proficiency gained from using Earth Magic counts toward Soil Magic?
Hmm.
It's a great discovery that you can earn Proficiency by constructing and using magic from scratch even without the Skill, but the Skill you get from it is the lowest tier in that magic's system.
Oh well.
If I can get a magic Skill without paying skill points, that's way more economical anyway.
Having the Skill makes constructing magic easier, and boosts both power and accuracy.
Right, in that case, I should copy the wind magic the bird's been using.
I've been watching it for a while, so I have a pretty good idea of the formula.
Once I can use wind magic, I won't need to bother gaining resistance the hard way.
So anyway, bird, your role here is done.
Knocking it down with Repulsion Eye.
Let me try using wind magic on the pufferfish.
Oh, success! Success!
Keep using it and I should get the Skill eventually.
Last one is the Rock Turtle.
Its defense is high, sure, but not when you compare it to the Earth Dragons.
It has way more SP than it needs, so I'll just drain it with Curse Eye of Grudge.
Thanks for the meal.
While I was busy dealing with the Four Symbols (lol), the knights were trying to escape.
I'm not letting you get away — you're walking Experience Points.
To farm Proficiency at the same time, I focused on soil and wind magic.
Casting magic while picking off numbers with Curse Eye.
Hm?
That mage is trying to cast teleportation?
And wait — isn't that the higher-tier mass teleportation?
They're planning to flee with everyone?
Curse Eye is out of range.
I'll have to snipe with magic.
Oh, the summoner blocked it.
Pretty impressive.
The summoner is desperately summoning Monsters to intercept my magic sniping.
I notice my MP has been recovering bit by bit ever since I drank that stuff.
An MP Recovery Potion?
Didn't know they had handy gadgets like that.
Humans are dirty, alright. Truly dirty.
The surrounding knights are taken care of, but those two might actually get away.
Instead of sniping, I should just hit them with one big attack.
Dash.
At this distance, dashing is faster than teleporting.
I close the distance to right in front of the summoner and the mage.
Dark Spear activated.
This is different from the Proficiency grinding I was doing before.
This is the highest-level magic I can use right now.
First, I take out the mage with this.
Then the summoner can be boiled, fried, whatever — I don't care.
But just as I thought that, the summoner threw himself in front of the mage to protect her.
Dark Spear pierced through the summoner's body and wounded the mage, but she managed to escape by teleportation at the very last moment.
Ugh.
They got away.
Oh well.
I've marked them, so I can finish them off whenever I want.
Besides, I've racked up a massive amount of Experience Points, so my Level has gone up considerably.
[Evolution Possible: Zana Horowa] I've grown enough to evolve.