Energy Eater - Chapter 9 - Tell me about skills (Patreon)

Once it was clear that no one else was around, I had nothing else to do besides staying in the cave and recovering. It didn’t hurt to move anymore, but my body still felt stiff. This was likely due to the massive scar covering most of my stomach. Even my belly button was gone.

With a sigh, I sat back down away from the entrance, making sure I couldn’t be seen from the outside. A bit before the end of the cave, there was a small tunnel leading to an opening to the left. That would let me see the sky while still being far enough away from the ground or the top of this cliff. Taking the pole, I headed to that area while carrying my still wet clothes and the rope I found in the crate. I was going to put them to dry. Hopefully, there was enough sunlight hitting that natural balcony for me to dry my clothes and not be naked in the middle of the forest anymore. But that was a really simple task, and there were still a lot of questions in my mind.

‘Ok, now onto the skills. I already more or less understand how to use them, but what are the 5 uses?’

[Some skills, like {Compression} require more Energy to be prepared than to be used. Hence, despite using a single unit of Energy, it allows user to activate the skill five different times.]

‘Why is that?’ my eyes shifted to the pole on the ground. Once I activated {Compression} I felt a similar amount of… something, leaving my body as when I used {Body Regeneration}. But, the actual amount of what I assume to be the particles that covered the pole felt smaller than what left me. Then again, this was all very strange, and I was trying to make sense of things that didn't follow a logic I understood.

[In order to perform complex functions, such as changing the size and shape of an object while keeping its mass, a certain number of system particles are required to link in a network. That network controls the skill to follow user’s wishes and requires a certain amount of Energy to function. To actually perform the physical change in the target object, only 1/5th of the particles in the network are required to spend their Energy, maintaining only the bare minimum amount of energy on each particle to continue helping with the network control.]

‘Right, so when you say 1 Energy is not actually one, but a unit. Like saying 1 meter [3’2"] actually has a 100 centimeters [3’2"] inside it.’

[Correct, the values below 1 Energy are irrelevant for user as any skill will require at least 1 Energy to be used. Unless it’s a passive.]

‘Got it, got it. Do the skills have a description? I want to know what they actually do.’

[Would user prefer the description to be made with flair or purely informational?]

‘Give me the full information, but add some flair to it. Why not?’ I smiled. If the system was asking that, maybe it enjoyed being a bit more poetic about things.

[Acknowledged. Showing descriptions of all current skills.]

Four small blue screens appeared in my view. I knew this was just a hallucination created by the system, but it looked so real. Like one of those holograms in science fiction movies.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Quick Tier 1 Evolution - Passive

By following an optimized blueprint of System Particles, you are able to reach tier 1 at an incredible speed.
SP required to level up while on Tier 0: - 70%
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Energy Storage - Passive
Reserved Cost: 1 Energy

Every life needs Energy, and those in harsher conditions are able to store said Energy for when they need the most.
Units of Energy stored: 63/100
Energy recovered: 1 unit every 10 minutes.
Current Energy to SP conversion: 6.67% per unit.
Time required per unit conversion: 1 hour.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Body Regeneration - Active
Cost: 1 Energy

Even the strongest warrior can be injured in battle, but the body of a champion can easily recover from wounds.
By spending energy you are able to recover from wounds in your body. This skill can be used multiple times to increase its effects.
Duration: 10 minutes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Compression - Active
Cost: 1 Energy
Number of uses available: 0/5 uses

Size makes no difference, what is big can also grow small and the tiny can be a giant.
Changes the size of an object while maintaining its mass.
Weight range: 30 g [1.05 oz] to 300 kg [661.3 lb]
Size range: 20 cm [7.8 in] to 20 meter [21.8 yd]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[In addition, user also has one more skill. However, System is still analyzing user’s species in order to create it.]

‘Species? We are getting a racial skill? Or a human skill?’

[Correct. Analysis is still in progress. Approximate time frame for results: 70 hours.]

‘Ok. And that is going to count as part of the 4 skills I can have?’

[Human skill will be inherited by all human users. Memory will not be used for said skill. However, human skill may have an Energy cost to be used.]

‘That’s fair. I think, but… this also means Eaters have some sort of Eater skill too… shit,’ I sighed, but quickly focused back on the skills I did have, ‘A few questions. I’m leveling up faster now, right? The value in the {Energy Storage}, the 6.67% is about leveling up, right? Is that already with the 70% reduction? For the {Compression}, the weight is fine, but the size feels a bit odd. If the minimum is 20 cm [7.8 in] what does that actually mean? It can be that tall? Or that wide? Also, can skills evolve or improve in any way? Another thing, how do I recover Energy without that skill?’ all the questions I was having came flooding out, thankfully I stopped myself before going to more existential issues.

[User is leveling up at an accelerated pace. The value present in {Energy Storage} is already taking into account the benefits provided by {Quick Tier 1 Evolution}. The size in {Compression} is merely a reference. The pole user had been utilizing, for instance, can have its longer length to be 20 centimeters. However, since objects can have a multitude of dimensions, the size range was defined as a way to direct user wishes when utilizing the skill.]

[Skills are capable of improvement. They can both be evolved into a new skill with different but similar effects, or improved through mastery. Higher mastery allows user to fine tune a skill’s capabilities. Once user has reached any degree of mastery beyond basic, additional information will be displayed in the skill description.]

[User’s body is constantly producing Energy. Currently, user can recover 1 Energy every hour through the skill {Energy Storage}. Additionally, Energy recovery speed can be improved by consuming food.]

‘So this is about how much I eat? What if I just gulp down everything in the crate? Would that make me recover all my Energy at once?’

[User’s stomach has a limit on how much Energy it can convert at once. If that limit is surpassed, user will no longer receive any benefits from eating more food. In addition, consuming more food will not allow user to go past the current 2 Energy limit. Or 3 if passive {Energy Storage} is deactivated. However, such action is highly unadvised since doing so would expel energy stored.]

‘Expel energy stored… that really doesn’t sound pleasant.’

[System believes it will be a highly unpleasant situation.]

[User has yet to inquire about acquiring new skills. Would user like to know that information?]

‘Yes, please!’ I had no idea what to do with the skills I already had, but if this was like any of the other systems I saw in books, I would be swapping out skills left and right.

[There are 3 ways of getting a new skill. First is by leveling up. Every 1 to 5 levels, System will offer 1 to 3 skills related to the actions taken by user. Every 5 levels, user is guaranteed to receive the option to acquire at least 1 skill. Second, user can find another being that has a skill and get it from them. It can either be something shared willingly, or user can kill and consume the original owner to add the skill to System. Third, user can request a specific type of skill from System. In response, System will gather relevant attributes of other skills that were or will be offered to user, or skills acquired through other means to create the skill user requested. This third option will generate something called a Quest, which allows System to constantly scan for sources of information that will result in the desired skill.]

‘Hold up. I have to eat people to get their skills? And animals or monsters?’

[Correct. {Quick Tier 1 Evolution}, {Compression}, {Body Regeneration}, and {Energy Storage} were all skill acquired after user ate the being known as Eater.]

I had almost forgotten about that. My stomach turned again, forcing me to hold down the water I drank earlier. I wasn’t confident enough to eat without hurting myself, much less throw up.

For the rest of the day, I did my best to understand the skills properly. Mainly, I wanted to understand how I could recover Energy without the {Energy Storage} skill. First, I used the {Body Regeneration} one more time, focusing on my stomach and the area that should’ve been damaged during the fight against the Eater. More specifically, where I was impaled by one of its tentacles. According to the system, in order to target a place with the skill all I had to do was think about where I wanted the skill to be applied. Just like how I could call for my status screen, or how I could change the size of the pole with {Compression}.

It was a surprisingly easy and intuitive process. Even when the skill was actively working, I still could change the location where it was placed. Either this was much easier than I thought, or I was a genius when it came to controlling a skill. Then again, anything I did placed me aggressively in the classification of ‘average.’ Yay for being the first human user of the system, I guess.

While testing things, my thoughts ran wild.

Fine, I had this tool, this system, but what it actually meant? I was stronger. But that was still untested. I was more resilient, sure, and harder to kill than a roach, or well.. An Eater. But so far, that was about it. Skills were a thing. Even if I wanted to say that {Body Regeneration}, {Quick Tier 1 Evolution} and {Energy Storage} were all bullshit and something in my head, {Compression} sure as hell wasn’t. I made that pole grow and shrink. With my mind. Wait.. Was it with my mind? I don’t know, with some part of me. The system also saved my life, there were no two ways about it. And I’m not dead or dying, this is too real, the pain and discomfort I’m feeling is too real for it to be a hallucination before death. If I’m wrong about that, well. What’s the point of worrying? Everyone dies one day or another, even if I consider that I might be dead, that doesn’t change the fact that I feel alive and want to keep it that way. Then again, isn’t that life? Aren’t we all already dead and just trying to defy our ultimate fate with every step?

Bad idea, Cassandra. Let’s not spiral into a morbid philosophical debate right now. Back to the system. Do they skills have some sort of classification, like tier 0 and tier 1 as I have?

‘Hey, system. Do skills have rarity? Or some sort of classification of power level?’

[Skills do possess a classification. Basic skills like {Energy Storage} and {Compression} are tier 1 skills. {Quick Tier 1 Evolution} is considered a tier 2 skill and {Body Regeneration} is considered a tier 3 skill.]

‘What’s the max tier?’

[Current information indicates the max tier of a skill is 10. System reminds user that a tier 2 skill means the skill itself is considered as perfuming actions that only tier 2 particles would be able to perform, not that the user is at tier 2.]

‘Wait, so skills have their own tiers separate from my tier?’

[Correct.]

‘Ok that’s just confusing. Can we change the tier term? Instead of using a number, call it, I don’t know. Novice or something,’ why did the system insist on using repeated words for various things? Maybe it had to do with it being close to a computer, something about the name being just a label and not the actual way it used to search for things. I can’t remember what Pops used to say about making computer programs.

[Acknowledge. Skill tier level will change from 1 to 10 to the following: Fledgling(1), Aspirant(2), Adept(3), Skilled(4), Veteran(5), Champion(6), Master(7), Ascendant(8), Paragon(9), Myth(10). In addition, unranked skills also exist. Those would be considered tier 0 in the previous classification.]

‘That sounds better. I never liked the idea of just saying its rank A B or S. But what are the unranked skills? Just weak skills or something different?’

[Neither. Unranked skills are basic skills that need to be properly analyzed before evolving into a new skill. The being known as Eater had an unranked skill called {Movement} that assisted with its movement. However, the skill was still in what is considered an experimental stage. That does not mean said skill was weak, only that its function was limited by a lack of understanding of both the being known as Eater and its System.]

‘Ok. I’m not sure I understand that properly, but I guess it’s better to wait for me to get one of those. But the skills I do have, can you tell me their ranks in the new classification?’

[Acknowledged. {Energy Storage} and {Compression} are of the Fledgling rank. {Quick Tier 1 Evolution} is of the Aspirant rank. Lastly, {Body Regeneration} is of the Adept rank.]

‘Right,’ I stared at the rank of the {Body Regeneration} skill, ‘Is it normal for someone at level 5 to have a skill on the Adept rank?’

[System does not have enough data to answer that question. However, it is likely that such event should not be a regular occurrence. Skill tier does not indicate simply power, but the complexity of actions taken by system particles during the use of the skill. Basic SP should not be able to perform actions as complex as what {Body Regeneration} requires properly. Still, the skill is able to work at a reduced effectiveness. To correct this issue, user must reach Tier 3 as it’s the tier of the skill itself.]

I froze, ‘Hold up. This is the weaker version of the skill? What will happen when it gets its fixed? Will I be able to regrow my arm if it falls off?’

[System does not have enough information to confirm that hypothesis. However, considering the name of the skill, it is a likely possibility.]

‘How did that Eater get a skill like that, then? Was it a high tier?’

[Incorrect. Being known as Eater that was killed by user Cassandra was only a tier 1 being. There are only two possibilities for being known as Eater to have acquired the skill {Body Regeneration}. First, it was able to kill and devour a creature that possessed said skill. Second, it was given the skill by someone who had it.]

‘So did the, I’m assuming Eater, that gave that one the skill lost the skill?’

[No. A user can share a skill with another user in a similar way as sharing System itself. However, the progression requirements are reduced to 10% per skill.]

I nodded, and ate a bit more, night was starting and I had no light, in addition, I was also tired even if I didn’t move around all that much today. Maybe the constant use of the {Body Regeneration} skill was similar to physical work. After eating a bit more and drinking some water, I decided to sleep. I wasn’t about to risk myself by walking in the middle of the night without being able to see a thing. Maybe I could find a bat, or a wildcat that would give me a night vision skill. But that would be a problem for future me. Present me was tired and wanted a bed. But, present me would have to be satisfied with a blanket placed on top of a bunch of rocks. However, sleep didn't came easy as the sound of grinding metal rang on the forest below once more. I was far from being safe and the monsters made sure to not let me forget.