Four hours later, bubble squid woke up and yawned cutely before they began looking around in their pond, which now had some baby fish in it. Bubble squid was annoyed by these things as they kept making noise, and right now does not think they would be worth much food or exp as killing something faster than her is not worth the time or effort required to do it. Bubble squid noticed something sharp and shiny between two large rocks and would begin swimming to it and said aloud.

Bubble Squid: Wow, shiny pointy. I like shiny pointy objects.

They quickly got close to it and activated [Appraisal] once more on the object.

Name: Miniature Steel Dagger

Weapon type: Throwing

Weapon Rank: E+

Durability:20/20

Damage:1-2

Description: A steel dagger made a bit too small to throw by most, but it is good for those of a small stature. Using the weapon melee or thrown will deal its damage plus 0.5% percent of the user’s dexterity stat. 

Bubble squid looked confused, picked up the hilt of the shiny sharp thing, and began swinging it around with their small hands before almost cutting themselves into calamari several times before stopping. They just put it around their tentacles, which took hold of it as they went back to the book to continue reading it in an attempt to get smarter so they can try out that mana control that the first page keeps mentioning, and possibly some of the other stuff in it as well.

Before long, bubble squid finished reading the first page and was having a less difficult time reading but were still struggling due to their unevolved brain and low intelligence stat. After 120 words, it would feel like something was ringing in their head before a few messages appeared. They really wished the noise did not make an obnoxious ringing sound.

You have gained the Title "Focused Learner." When reading any book, you process information from it 10% faster. However, you must learn and or know the language to take effect. 

Your intelligence has reached a total of 5! You can now speak more clearly, think better, and your brain has grown a bit in complexity. Keep raising it to help yourself learn new things. Also, you now level 3 in the common tongue cute bubble squid.

Bubble squid felt their mind and brain expand slightly, but even a small increase in intelligence should finally allow them to learn how to use Mana control. The book kept talking about it on the first and some of the second page. Now, bubble squid wants to learn it, obtaining a power that might help them get more food.

Step 1. Go into a meditative stance on a flat rock.

Step 2. breath in and out a few times and close your eyes slowly.

Step 3 (Important). Try to get a feel for mana around you. Breath in and out while expanding your mind. It takes time to learn the most basic form of Mana Control. However, being a Demi-Human or Monster with an unawakened Core in their body can lead to an easier time due to their body structure being different.

Step 4 (Warning). Beings of low intelligence are likely to die or explode from the high amount of mana flowing through their body. Also, there is a rare chance of going mad due to overloading the brain with information.

Bubble squid would be slightly shocked, albeit more confused as it has more terms that they don't know anything about going mad or, well, death in general. Someone could hear a loud splash as the squid jumps on the only large, flat rock nearby and goes into their best meditative stance atop it. Their tentacles kept slipping, but they forced themselves to stay still. Bubble squid slowly closed their eyes and began breathing in and out. They felt impatient but kept focused on the task at hand, and they would slowly breathe in and out to try to get a feel for this Mana around them.

They very slowly began feeling their mind expand, and images of something blue like the sea appeared around them in a small radius. Mana particles would flicker in and out of existence, with bubble squid feeling this and keeping the process going. Meanwhile, Terra (The Blind) felt something waking them up. She silently exited the tent and began walking towards the location where a Mana control session was going on. Terra watched behind a nearby rock something that has rarely been documented. A newly discovered species is doing the mana control steps almost perfectly.

Terra (The Blind): O-Oh, my god. I must tell the others in the morning what my Mana Sight caught.

She would make a mental note before sneaking back into her tent and going back to sleep while making sure not to make unnecessary noise. Bubble squid spent an hour doing this method before they felt something grow in their body, which made them feel pain and another feeling that is neither pain nor joy. They heard messages pop up, and as they finished the Mana control session, they took some time to look at them after feeling some chest pains.

You have awaked your monster core (tiny) early.  Your core might be small, but now you can handle 50 points of Mana. You have also gained the Passive Ability called "Mana Control Lv0 (Rank0). Each rank of this or any skill gives a minor boost to the control, power, and/or add a special effect since you're getting better at it. Sorry, I meant to tell you this info earlier, bubble squid.

They would see this message and info with visible joy, and they said ‘status.’

Name: N/A

Level: 2/5

Race: Bubble Squid (baby)

Monster Core: (Tiny)

Age: 3 weeks old

Titles: Focused Learner

Threat Level: N/A

Exp: 0/5

Gender: Female

Strength: 1.4

Dexterity: 1.2

Intelligence: 5

Vitality: 1.3

Wisdom: 1.2

Charisma: 1.3

Luck: 1.2

HP: 26/26 (1 Hp every hour)

SP: 60/60 (13 every every hour)

MP: 50/50 (4 every hour)

Skills: Appraisal Lv2 (Rank: 0)

Passives: Common Tongue Lv3(Rank: 0), Mana Control Lv1 (Rank: 0)

Racial Skills: Swimming Lv1 (Rank: 1), Tentacle Control Lv1 (Rank: 1), Tentacle Slap Lv1 (Rank: 0)

Bubble squid tried another idea and used Appraisal on one of their passives, that one being Mana Control. 

Mana Control: Grants the ability to manipulate the laws of nature through magic. Each level will make it a tiny bit easier to control your mana, and every Rank will make it easier to control how much power is in a spell. (spell power is proportional to mana used)

Bubble squid started shaking with excitement after realizing their hard work had paid off this quickly. Without missing a beat, they began to practice their Mana control after going back underwater to avoid their skin drying out beneath the torchlight. Trying to control their Mana was difficult and it was frustrating to learn how to use it correctly.

Bubble Squid: Come on! Do something cool! 

She pouted before calming down slowly as they knew they needed to work for this sort of power in order to survive. As the adventurers wake up and exit their Tents, they find out something stole their Half-eaten Roast while they were sleeping. That did not matter now, and after an hour of packing, and eating some eggs on toasted bread for breakfast, they set out. 

Marvis (The Redshirt ): Alright, did anyone notice any strange occurrences last night?

Noob#1: I didn’t notice anything other than a bunch of small roaches trying to get into my bag of snacks. 

Noob#2: Uhhh I was asleep, and the only thing I heard was a humming noise from something called a blood wasp. 

Marvis ignores both of their nonsense before Terra coughs a bit to get everyone's attention, hoping everyone would listen to her and not make jokes about her being blind again.

Terra (The Blind): Everyone, I have to say that I felt something strange within my Mana Sight's range last night. I woke up only to see a new species of monster that-

Noob#1: Hey shut up. Newborn monsters are too stupid to know how to learn anything new. Let's just get moving already.

Marvis (The Redshirt): For the first fucking time in my life, I will somewhat agree with the commoner on this one. Let's talk about this after we get out of the dungeon. Let's go.

Terra sighs once more and curses seeing as one of them is gonna die to this monster one day. They went on their way down the grass dungeon path while making sure to take notes on the wildlife, any traps, or monsters on the lowest level that they don't register as a threat yet due to still being in their infancy

Bubble squid felt drained of Stamina as their body and mind were hard at work practicing to figure out how to control their Mana, and a message popped up telling and showing them their result of the hard labor they did to try to figure out how to use Mana control.

Congrats, Bubble Squid, for the hard work that you did over an unknown amount of time, your Mana Control passive went up 3 levels, meaning controlling your Mana is easier to do, and you are closer to learning how to use magic.

 

Bubble Squid felt great joy, and they would smack away the message before closing the book and jump onto the surface to find some food with their new shiny pointy object called a Miniature Dagger. It would follow the weird people as they wanted to know where they were going, and maybe it would lead to finding new food or things to attack to grow stronger. Meanwhile, the party of adventurers were taking their sweet time, making sure to write everything down, telling the noobs advice, and even fighting some medium-sized rats that were easily killed due to their sharp weapons fire bolts. It gave noob #1 and noob #2 time to do their own thing and kill them with their poor weapon skills.

Bubble squid would find that one of the medium rats was still alive but severely weakened. They used Appraisal on it, which did not gain another level.

Name: N/A

Level:5/6

Race: Thick Rat

Status: Bleeding(Heavily), Near Death

Health: 30/250

Description: A monster from the rat family who evolved to be bigger and stronger. These can take a bit of damage due to their hide; however they are weak to slashing and blunt weapons. They are also slow and require more food to live, so starvation for this variation of rat can happen much quicker.

The system can't show any more information due to low Appraisal level)

Bubble squid would approach the thick rat and begin stabbing it with their Miniature Dagger while their mouth watered at how big their catch was. So much tasty flesh and weird not flesh would be useful, and after a couple more stabs and tentacle slaps which did.1 damage each, they would see a message appear.

You have gained [Butcher] Lv1 (Rank: 0) from cutting into the rat's body several times without mercy (you cute monster). Say ‘butcher’ and the user's weapon will cut up the body into useful parts. Each level will increase the chance of a higher quality of food, and every rank gives a 2% increase to double the amount of meat earned from said animal. (Weapons like cutting knives or butcher cleavers have an easier time getting more meat).

You have gained 3 whole levels from killing a higher tier monster, meaning you can now evolve into 3 different types of bubble squids.

Bubble squid would look shocked at the information, say “[Butcher]”, and in a flash, the active skill had separated the meat and pelts. 1 tenderloin (small), 1 rib (small), and 2 rat pelts appeared on the ground in front of them. Bubble squid was super happy, rushing back home with the pelts and meat being carried in their tentacles. Minutes later, they had their stuff hidden under a flat rock, so no one could steal the food they earned.

Evolution options available to your race: bubble squid (baby)

1. Trapper bubble squid (Common): Trapper bubble squids are a variation of Bubble squid that has learned to make use of newly grown shark-like teeth, longer tentacles, and strength to trap people in the waters they live in. However, direct flights are not something they excel at as their bodies become more fragile as a result. (Pros: Higher Strength, Dex, and gaining a stealth skill. Cons: Reduced health, take 5% more damage, lower vitality) (Threat Level: E)
2. Hunter bubble squid (Uncommon): An uncommon type of bubble squid has rarely been recorded. Your body evolved to be balanced and create traps to catch monsters or people. Gain Weapon mastery passive, Trap making, and False tentacle trap. This type of bubble squid is hard to kill due to their reliance on weapons and traps, which can cause bleeding and. However, there is a mana cost in creating traps or using weapon skills. (Pros: Balanced stats, Weapon masteries, Trap making, and hunting based skills. Cons: Takes mana and energy to make traps)(Threat Level: E-)
3. Magic bubble squid (Unique, Rare): A never-before seen mutation of bubble squid. Capable of using magic in creative ways that not many people have done before. Becoming one grants you Level 5 Mana Control, the loss of your Tentacle slap racial skill, Mana Shaping Lv3, and the racial skill Bubble Magic. Slightly increases mana pool, and contains great potential. (Pros: Many skills, Higher intelligence, and slightly bigger mana Pool. Cons: Currently unknown due to this evolution never having happened before)(Threat level: E+)

Bubble squid was very interested in the last option but would choose later as they are currently too tired to do anything else after following those weird, not water people or fish.

(Bubble squid’s updated status)