Sergu is taking some time to think about the information of Erlulu's scan results, so I search for a high point to look for the coast she mentioned. The most obvious usable perch is a cliff at the north edge of the clearing, so I climb the rockface and turn to take in the view. There is a lot to look at. From several colors of standalone crystalline trees similar to Erlulu before she emerged from her shell, to a massive six legged beast, vaguely bovid and covered in stony scales, perhaps ten meters tall at the back drinking from a pond or lake, to a few things that look like thin, long towns? As in, they seem to be about two or three hundred meters across, but are several kilometers long. The further ends are at the coast and the nearer ends more inland. So I suppose that must be a side effect of the landmass growing. Fishing villages that have had to rebuild at the coast each year? I imagine it's even worse with port cities.

The ocean itself has a faintly purple hue instead of the dark blue I was expecting, it also seems fairly transparent from here. I imagine up close I could see straight to the sea floor. "Heh. Bet this view would be even more impressive around sunset." I hear a giggle from Sergu and glance over her way. She has wandered back into Erlulu's reach and is running around, dodging clearly casual tentacle swipes and almost playing tag while grabbing little blue flakes. Likely shed fragments of the creature's tree shell. Or would that be bark? Well, if she's fine doing her own thing, I'll take a bit to check what my Deep Scan gained by leveling up. Status.

I sigh slightly, then Deep Scan the Deep Scan entry. [Deep Scan: An advanced form of Scan, reveals System observations of the target. Level 1: Scan 10, Investigation: Search the recorded knowledge of the Races, or request an explanation from the System, for information about the target. Level 2: Codex: Bring up the Scan or Deep Scan results from any previously observed target, Great Scan Range: All Scan skills range increased to 1000 Meters] Observed, not Scanned? As in, if I've so much as seen something I can Scan it later on? . . . Okay, how bout a Deep Scan for the Goblin Commander? [Goblin Commander: Light Attribute Goblin variant, known to possess a diverse skill set] Aside from the words, there is also a, almost stock image of a Goblin Commander displayed in my mind. That, is weirdly video game-y. Hope there's a better way to use it though.

I shake it off and go back through to Deep Scan the Scan skill. [Scan: A skill that requests information about a target from the System. Level 1: Bio-Scan: Stat information for living things. Level 2: Item-Scan: Stat information for weapons and armor. Level 3: Wide Scan Range: All Scan skills range increased to 100 Meters. Level 4: Skill Scan: View skill information from allowed targets. Level 5: Modern Language Text Translation: Translate written words from currently active languages. Level 6: Catalog: Recall previously Scanned information. Level 7: Long Scan Range: All Scan skills range increased to 200 Meters. Level 8: Universal Scan: Basic information on all things. Level 9: Full Scan: View all allowed status information on living things, weapons, and armor. Level 10: Scan Display Sharing: Allow others to view Scan results]

"Ha! Wow, I haven't been using everything Scan can do, huh? Well I suppose half of the skill levels grant passives, but still." I continue to take in the view as I think through the uses for Scan's abilities. After a while I hear a fluttering noise from the cliff side facing Erlulu's clearing. When I look over Sergu is landing on the little plateau, having decided to fly up rather than climbing. "Done collecting those shell fragments?"

She pauses in walking over and fans her wings lightly. "Er, yeah. I mean, I also wanted to play with her a little though. I think she gets pretty bored up here on her own. You sure you don't want to go say hello to her?" She turns her head to look back down into the clearing.

"I mean, if you really want me to, I can. But I think it isn't the best idea. She's got Mana Absorption, and both my heart and clothes are made of crystalized mana. I suppose my robe is easy to replace, but it would be a hassle if she wrecked my current favorite body."

She sets her hands on her hips and pouts up at me. "Erlulu is a good girl. She won't just, eat you, for no reason! Besides, just because she could do something doesn't mean she will. You don't stay away from people who are stronger than you because they could attack you, do you?"

I'm being lectured by a small pink lizard girl. I'm not entirely certain how to process that. "Ahhh. Yeah, I guess I am a little paranoid there. Still pretty slimy though." She gives a slight huff and narrows her eyes. "Ehe he, maybe next time? By the way, if her slime is one of your favorite reagents, why'd you only fill one jar?"

"I can tell you're trying to change the subject." She relaxes her arms and shakes her head. "But I'll let it slide. And to answer your question. The quality starts dropping after about a week. So there's no reason to take more than I'm likely to use. Plus if I take too much her tentacles might get chaffed when she withdraws them? Haven't exactly put it to the test though. Speaking of testing, I'll need to see what I can do with light and wind mana. But this should still be enough."

"Hmm. For that matter, is it a good idea to rely on materials from a Unique Monster for your potions? If anything happened to her, or she evolves, wouldn't all the recipes that use her slime or shell pieces become useless?" She perks up, apparently excited to talk about alchemy.

"Well, I don't want anything to happen to her, obviously. But I have tested some things out. Her little cousins have slime that has similar properties. It's just less potent, and much harder to collect in decent volumes, since they're so much smaller. So I'd just have to adjust them there. As for her shell, I've only got a couple recipes for it so far, so no big loss there. I tried the trees that also seem related, but their bark doesn't work the same way." She shakes her head and taps the ground with her tail. "And if she evolves, well, it'd still work pretty similarly, as far as I'm aware. But even if things changed that much, I'm sure I'd find new uses. It's all very exciting in that regard!"

"By little cousins I take it you mean the animals she is in part descended from?" She nods, then suddenly claps her hands and looks around. When she spots a large rock she runs over and lifts from one side, underneath is the typical mix of insects, isopods, arachnids, and other creepy crawlies. The most unusual thing I suppose is the small holes bored into the rock itself. She raises the rock to the point where she can hold it steady one handed, then taps near one of the holes with a claw. After a second a small white and yellow slug pokes its head out of the hole and looks around. She holds her finger out to it, and it sets its chin on her finger. Then I can feel a trickle of her mana moving away. "That easy to find, are they? Scan."

"Some similar skills, and crazy weaker, of course. Oh, right. Eh, share scan display with Sergu?" A moment after I say that, she gasps and looks back at me. "Apparently the Scan skill's level ten effect lets you share the display with other people. Figured I'd test it, given the situation." After a moment she pulls her finger away from the creature, it seems to reach after her briefly, but then withdraws back into its stone burrow. She carefully sets the stone slab back down.

"Showing you around and playing with Scan seems fun, but I suppose we should head back so I can get to work." I sigh, then nod. She runs over to the edge to wave down to her tree friend. "See you later Erlulu! I'll be back in a few days with some new potions!" The creature waves back, then retracts her tentacles into the tree. Though her main body is still sitting out at the top watching us.

"What do you bring potions up here for?" Testing them on Erlulu seems unlikely given the way she has been acting towards her, so I can't really guess. Sergu walks back towards me. "That aside, are we not going back through her clearing to head down the mountain?"

"It'll be faster if we just go the rest of the way up, then jump from the top and glide down. At least, I should be able to carry you if it's just gliding down instead of properly flying." I freeze in place at the idea, and she reaches in to grab me by the waist and lift me up. She exhales with a puff and sets me down. "Yeeeah. You weigh about as much as a dwarf. I think I can manage. Probably fall a little faster than I'd like, but it'll be fast at least." She holds her hands up high excitedly. "And after that you can switch back to the big body and carry me the rest of the way!"

We turn to the mountain peak and start climbing up. "I, think I'm afraid of heights. But it seems like it's not too bad. So I'm willing to at least try. No idea what I'll do if I freak out after we jump though. . ."

"Oh! I think I've heard of that. You're supposed to not look down." That's not very helpful. I scoff, but keep climbing either way. We eventually reach the peak. This particular mountain has a nearly flat top, with an area about half the size of a football field. Once we're up there, Sergu leads the way to the eastern edge. From here, we can quite easily see the town. Even my workshop is visible, likely because it is taller than the other buildings. "Alright, now how should we? . . ."

Sergu slips behind me, and jumps on my back, then she wraps her legs around my waist and locks her hands together in front of my chest. It takes me a second to recognize what she's doing. I see her arms and legs, and can sort of feel her weight on my back, but without a sense of touch it didn't click quite so quickly. "Hey!? Huh. I guess that makes sense though. Wait, how am I supposed to avoid looking down if you're holding on like that?!"

"Dunno. But doing this from the front would be more embarrassing, right? Plus it'd make landing super awkward. So, what're you waiting for. Back up a bit, get a running start, and jump off."

"You say that like it's such a simple thing. Haaaah. Are you sure we should be doing this?" She extends her right wing out in front of me and makes a shooing motion. "Uuuuu. Alright." I back up to about ten meters away from the edge of the mountaintop. Since I don't breath I take a moment to puff up my spirit, extending my spiritual form a bit beyond the limits of my body, to psych myself up in place of a deep breath. Sergu makes a slight noise, but I'm already starting to run. I pushed myself with my enhanced strength, managing to get nearly up to my peak speed by the edge, then I jump. The moment after I leap, my mind goes blank.

Sergu takes over pretty quickly, spreading her wings out, adjusting her grip on me, and leaning into the wind. After a moment she makes an exclamation. "My Gravity Resistance skill just went up to level two! Now I might be able to actually fly like this!" She laughs loudly and gives her wings a strong flap. The switch from gliding downwards to rising up jolts my attention, causing a moment of panic.

The next thing I know, I'm falling. Ahhhh! Why'd you drop me?! I flail around a bit, then notice that my arm is black with specks of multicolored light. No? I fell out of my body?! That realization doesn't stop me from continuing to thrash about and scream mentally as the ground rapidly approaches. But, when I actually hit the ground, nothing. No sense of impact, barely even a sense of a change in speed. I just, stopped falling. Oh. Riiiight. No body means no fall damage. That makes sense. Ha ha haa.

I stand, and look up. Once I spot Sergu and my body I quickly notice that Sapph is trying to get her attention. Suppose she noticed that I'm not there. After a moment Sergu starts drifting downwards again, though she is still moving towards the town. So I start running in that direction as well. My pace seems more like the speed a human from earth could move, rather than moving at the speed I could while in a body. And physical stats missing means no speed? Hmmm?

Before I think on that more I notice something a ways ahead of me. A mass of spiritual essence. A gray wispy thing the size of a basket ball. It seems to be trying to reshape itself, with the idea of something quadrupedal in mind. But it can't reach a detailed appearance, and no matter what shape it ends up as it quickly melts back into a vague blob. Looking upon it leaves me with a strange sense of tragedy, and longing. Perhaps I'm feeling its emotion somehow? Interesting? Scan. [Lost Plasm] Just the name? No status? Deep Scan. [Lost Plasm: The remnants of the soul of an unknown creature that has faded and forgotten its own form.]

After I've been observing it for a few seconds, it seems to notice me. The Lost Plasm begins crawling towards me in an unsettling manner, growing new limbs each time it tries to pull itself forward. Caught up in watching it, I allow it to approach. Once it is rather close, it reaches out, feeling a strong desire for, something. I reach back out to it, curious as to what it's doing. Then something like a mouth forms at the end of the limb, which then bites down on my spectral hand. There is a spike of pain, as if I touched a burning hot surface, so I yank my hand back. The plasm seems to grow a shade darker, and squirms happily.

I look at my hand, it looks thinner than normal, almost as wispy as the plasm itself had been. You would predate me? A pitiful, lost little thing like you? ¦I will not allow it¦ The ghostly thing twitches, as if it had heard me. My spirit extends, thins, and inflates in size, then my now giant hand reaches out to enclose the plasm. Then once it is within my grasp, I crush it, thinking of taking back what it stole. The spirit of my extended hand visibly thickens, then draws back to a more normal size. I can feel a larger amount of SP coming in than I had actually lost, so I take a moment to scan myself. My SP cap has gone up to an even three hundred.

Did I really get that much from it? I look at the spot the plasm had been. For some reason the grasses in the area are quickly wilting, or even crumbling into dust. Oh. I guess I also ate the, soul specks those plants may have had? I stop to look myself over. The only difference I notice, particularly, is a few new flashing specs of green in my right arm. Mmmm. Probably best not to go around consuming the souls of random patches of grass. But, could be useful in a pinch?

I look back up for Sergu, she is getting close to the ground now, about halfway to the town. Meaning she's quite a ways ahead. I think it over, then try to take another body out of my Component Warehouse. It works, so I hop in and start running at the superior pace allowed by my speed stat. Once I get fairly close Sergu runs towards me, leaving my other body laying on the ground. "You have another spare body? Neat! Anyway, once you went limp Sapph started freaking out. And it kinda freaked me out when she gave me the feeling of falling through that telepathy!"

"Well, I was plenty terrified when I fell out of my body. Still. On the logical level, I now know that falling can't hurt me, so hopefully I'll be able to talk myself out of the fear of heights. Maybe?" I walk past her to my other body. Once I get close enough Sapph flies up to scold me, though she gives up on that to hover near my right arm for a bit. After she has settled I take Sapph's pouch off of my main body, then store it instead of switching over to it. "Now then, you wanted me to carry you?" I bring the giant body out of storage, pass the pouch off to Sergu, transfer to the larger vessel, and store the Goblin Prime body I had been using.

"Oh! Yes please!" She flies up to sit on my right shoulder, and Sapph settles atop her head. "Kaaaay~ I'm ready to go!" I start walking towards the town at a casual pace, though Sergu seems excited anyway. After a bit she starts kicking her feet, like a kid sitting on a ledge. "By the way, I felt something weird just before you jumped off the mountain. It was like a velvety blanket, but it kinda flowed through me?"

"Ahh? Oh. That was probably my spiritual body. I sorta, extended it past my physical body to hype myself up before the jump." I walk on for a few more steps, then pause. "You might be able to learn Spiritual Energy Control if you experience that feeling enough? Or increase the likelihood of a class that can use it showing up for you?"

"That's a great idea! And the feeling was nice, so I wouldn't mind that." We continue on, her occasionally trying to make small talk, me, not really having much to say in response to those lines. A bit before the edge of town, she hops off my shoulder and flutters down to the ground. "We're close to our next stop, you should switch back to your main body before we go there though. Be a lil' awkward walking around a farm as a giant, right?" A farm? Guess she did mention a second, more mundane ingredient, huh?

I take my preferred body out, transfer to it, and store the giant one. "Alright, lead the way. I suppose." She hands Sapph's pouch back to me, then giggles and starts running northwards. I give Sapph a moment to settle on my head before I start running after her.

Chaos_Sinner777

I've overdone the skill system huh? Quite a few for so early on. . . Well, at least I intend to have Anima focus on improving the skills they already have for a while. Does "Codex" make "Great Scan Range" useless? Cause if you can see it, you've observed it, so what does it matter if you can Scan something you can see from up to a kilometre away? Oops? Maybe it takes a bit for Codex to kick in, so if you need a Scan in the moment the scan range helps? Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to playing Void Terrarium. Gotta take care of my Daughter in a Jar.