Chapter 60 - The Spider Boss Skill Books!
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"I have become stronger, but how strong am I compared to the rest? Just where may I be in the classification of strong people? I am certainly not yet as strong as a Peak Stage Rank 1 Cultivator, but perhaps after the Job change… but even then, perhaps growing after that will become a bit harder compared to now,"
"I also need to see where someone like Matsuo would be in terms of strength, so using Inspect on him is a priority whenever I get back at Earth and met him again. But he was certainly strong, perhaps just as strong as Reuberto, thing is, he was just very surprised about the things happening with the Goblin Champion, but I am sure that he would have cleaned the floor with it if he had used all of his power against that monster…"
"Well, he was being considerate of me, as I wanted to grow strong from that experience. If he had intervened, it would not have been as enriching," thought Frank, as he submerged himself into his mind as several thoughts flashed within, as the level of his skills increased, and as he acquired the Concentration Skill, his ability to concentrate became greater.
Frank sighed once again as he moved his thoughts and worries, for the time being, he was getting strong fairly quickly according to Matsuo, but also according to Matsuo, there were people within the Underground that could be considered to be Demigods, he was simply not enough, even with his fast progression, he was always concerned if he would even manage to catch up in time before some kind of a disaster were to fall upon him or the people he loved.
"I have to keep striving forward from now on… and this, let's see the loot, for now, perhaps there is something that can help me out in getting stronger fast," he said, as Ruby roared.
"Ah, you got very strong, Ruby, already level 8! Perhaps you might be able to evolve at Level 10… Well, if it's similar to my Job changes, then that might be the case… You're a Rank 1 Monster (Earth Scale) yet you're so strong already, I can't wait to see how strong you will get at Rank 2…" said Frank as he petted Ruby. He opened his Inventory and gave her three butchered horned rabbits, which she quickly began to devour happily.
Finally, Frank glanced at the 'loot' left by the Giant Venomous Spider Queen.
When the black smoke dissipated, a few items were revealed within, there was one Skill Book that was white and black, having an illustration that resembled spiderwebs, there was also two Runes, one was red-colored and the other was purple-colored, and lastly, there was a beautiful black mask with the design of the shadow of a spider, with eight legs and eight 'eyes', six of them were small red jewels, while two were bigger than the others to work as crevices for the wielder.
"This book… A Spider Threads Skill Book…? That might be useful if I can combine it with my Mana Threads and Bind. And if I apply Sewing to this, I might be able to make a few things myself… And these crystals are more Runes, I have not used the other one I had because I did not want to waste it… but the red-colored one is an Attack Rune that gives +5 Strength, and the Purple one is a… Poison Attack Rune? It gives the Poison Attribute Effect to any weapon it is infused with… Amazing… But this mask…"
Frank grabbed the mask and used Inspect on it.
[Dark Spider Assassin Mask of Stealth (C-Grade)]
Stat Bonuses: [+15 Speed], [+5 MP], [+3 Strength], [+3 Magic]
Skill Bonuses: [Stealth: Level 1], [Camouflage: Level 1], [Silence: Level 1]
Special Effects: Stealth Enhancement, Camouflage Enhancement, Silent Steps.
Rune Orifices: [1 [Empty], [2 [Empty]
"A Stealth Accessory, just like the one Matsuo has… I hit the jackpot here… and it is C-Grade to boot. The stats bonuses are amazing for the mask, and it comes with three Skill Bonuses, all of them related to hiding my presence… And, lastly, it has orifices for runes! Something that none of the equipment I have had… It has two orifices as well, so I could stick the Speed and Strength Runes… The Poison Attack Rune needs a weapon," said Frank, as he quickly equipped the mask and felt the effects immediately.
It was almost like Matsuo's accessory, but instead of affecting a large range, it only affected him. He seemed to have become a bit undetectable, as Ruby had to sniff well enough to find him.
"I suppose as I level up these skills within the mask, I will be able to increase my stealth capacity… It also might be possible to learn the Skills by myself after using them for enough amount of time. Well, it is not like I am replacing this mask any time soon, it will probably stay with me for a long time until anything better shows up, and it might not even be specifically for a mask… although walking with this everywhere might seem a bit bad, for now, I will make it invisible," said Frank, turning the mask invisible through the System Function, making the mask virtually disappear while leaving all of its effects on him, he was even able to touch his face back, it was as if the thing was not even there anymore.
"It seems that I can also turn on and off the stealth, camouflage, and silence skills at any time, so I won't be stealthy everywhere," said Frank, turning off his stealth abilities.
He then grabbed the two runes he got, saving the Poison Attack Rune for the moment, and deciding to use both the Speed and Strength Runes into the mask, which he had already equipped.
Ding!
[Do you wish to insert the Runes into the desired equipment? You will be able to free the orifices, but the Runes will be destroyed if you do so afterward]
[>YES NO]
"Yes"
Ding!
[Inserting Runes into the desired equipment, please wait]
Flash!
Suddenly, both runes turned into flashes of green and red light, flying towards Frank's mask, and pouring their entire essence into it!
"This… They disappeared?" wondered Frank, as the mask appearance didn't change at all, yet the effects of the rune appeared in the equipment status, showing that both orifices now held the two runes. Due to this, the equipment gained a bonus of +3 Speed and +5 Strength.
"I will have to wait until I get a nice weapon, a knife or a short sword might be fitting, or anything, honestly, I just want a weapon of my own instead of borrowing them…" thought Frank.
"Now… this Skill Book, I will use it immediately, I've read a lot of web novels or light novels to know that thread creation is always a useful Skill," said Frank, touching the skill book and learning the skill right away, as the skill book quickly turned into light particles that were infused into his body.
Ding!
[You learned the [Spider Thread: Level 1] Skill!]
And just like that, Frank glanced at his hands as spider threads flowed out from below his nails… The whole scene was strange and odd, and it made Frank felt a bit of nausea due to the strange feeling of secreting threads from his fingers.
However, he endured it as he created a long thread and cut it off, analyzing its quality.
He learned that it was flexible, strong, and even a bit sticky.
"Damn, will I become like that superhero now?" he wondered, as he imagined himself going through the towering buildings of Tokyo with his spider threads while wearing his spider mask… it was all quite fitting, which made him a bit concerned.
[Spider Thread: Level 1/10]
The ability to produce spider thread, a special Skill possessed by Spider-type creatures. Can make customizable threads.
Customizable Qualities: [Viscosity], [Elasticity], [Resilience], [Texture], [Strength], [Size]
"So by just thinking about it before producing the threads, I can customize their qualities… If I make it sticky enough while making it resilient and strong enough to resist my weight… then it is perfectly possible to go around towers in Tokyo… Oh god…" muttered Frank.
Although this was fascinating, he still has not recovered that much over the shock of him producing threads, it was as if he had slowly become something else than the normal human he was. Although it was instantly and it was as if he did not even realize it, it was still quite shocking for his normal human mind.
However, just after a few minutes, he felt simply fine, so he gave in to his desires and began to experiment with his threads for a bit, making Ruby a bit confused.
He realized that he sucked at controlling threads, and it was completely different than the mana threads that moved to his will. It was also particularly hard to blend both of them, but he assumed that as he kept practicing, that he would get good at it eventually.
"Oh right, I also got those other Skills, should check them up as well…"
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Thank you very much for reading!