As she stood there, the notifications continued to stack in her mind, blinking with a cold, digital indifference.
--------------------------------
{ [ You have successfully killed and absorbed the Dharma Power of level :5 - "Pussy Cat"]
[Once an ordinary black cat that subconsciously longed for the might of larger feline ancestors. Mana corruption unfortunately took that ambition seriously.]
[ You have acquired 1000 Dharma Power (DP) ]
[ You have leveled up!! (LvL : 18-->19) ]
[ You have received (2) Attribute Points (AP) ] }
---------------------------------
Looking at the notification, she fell silent for a moment.
"W.. WHAT!!? PUSSY CAT!!?" she blurted out. "WAS I showing off all this time in front of a cat?"
She stared at the massive, muscular corpse at her feet.
She really couldn't believe her eyes. 'Mana corruption'. The word lingered in her mind. It was her first time seeing a mutation this extreme. She had accepted that humans and zombies were changing, but the fact that a common pet could warp into a midnight nightmare was a bitter pill to swallow.
It was hard to accept, but the logic was undeniable. If humans could evolve, why couldn't animals then?
Her eyes narrowed. 'Level 5.'
She thought about it carefully. A Level 5 human and a Level 5 animal weren't the same. An animal's base stats, honed by thousands of years of predatory genetics, made a Level 5 beast vastly superior to a Level 5 human.
As she stood there pondering the mechanics of this new, hellish world, a terrifying thought struck her like a physical blow.
"Wait… If… If a normal cat could become this dangerous of a beast, then… then what would have become of a true beast? A true black panther?"
She imagined a Black Panther in a zoo, or a Grizzly bear, or a Great White shark-creatures that were already killing machines before the mana hit. If a kitten could grow to the size of a car and shred steel, then what would have they become?
A chill, far colder than her frost magic, ran down her spine.
The urge to become strong burned in her chest.
She couldn't afford to stay weak. Not when even the animals were evolving into monsters.
But she didn't dwell on this matter for long. It was all in the far future. Worry wouldn't solve the problems of the present.
She walked over to the black panther (aka) 'Pussy Cat'. She'd seen the white light shining and dimming from its corpse.
There was only one box.
And it was blue.
"Blue?" Seraphine was surprised. She didn't expect another color.
Curiosity piqued, she reached out and opened it.
A blinding light flashed and vanished, leaving a black steel sword in her hands. The blade was etched with intricate golden patterns and, to her relief, came with a fixed sheath.
Her previous blade had been a clumsy thing to carry, forced to remain in her hand at all times, but this felt balanced and professional.
She looked at the description of the sword.
------------------------
{[Normal Katana] - A cosplay item mass-produced for otakus with main character syndrome... Weebs think it's legendary, but reality disagrees.
Can cut enemies if the wielder stops posing long enough to swing. Still depends on the wielder}
-------------------------
"This…" she didn't know what to say after looking at the description.
She stared at the floating text, her eyebrow twitching in silent irritation.
"THIS SYSTEM !.." She wanted to curse but didn't dare, fearing that this good-looking sword might vanish.
She took the sword and fastened it near her waist.
"Mm, nice!" Seraphine hummed and smiled.
It was time to collect all the loot now. She could see some books and boxes scattered here and there.
It was all the fruit of her risk.
She walked to the nearby corpse and picked up the book.
It was black, different from the golden or yellow ones she and Rina had found before. That difference alone had sparked her curiosity.
She squinted, focusing on the system's floating text to see what kind of rare ability a hundred-zombie massacre had yielded.
But when she checked the description, her expression froze.
Only one word left her lips.
"Trash."
A literally trash...
----------------------------
{[Fire Ball] - Ever seen a clown with a fireball? Now you're the clown... Launches a tiny, underwhelming ball of fire.
Don't expect dragon-tier damage by the way.
Effectiveness depends on the wielder not burning their own hands, face, or clothes instead of the enemy.
[Active Skill]
[Cost: 10 MP per usage]}
--------------------------------
No matter how much she thought about it, there was simply no way to make this skill worthwhile. 10 MP per usage? At best, she could cast it twice before draining herself dry. Even with a full pool of 100 MP, that would only amount to ten fireballs
Weak ones at that.
The problem wasn't the cost, it was the lack of growth. The skill didn't scale in damage, only in number of casts. That made it useless in the long run.
Seraphine didn't even bother trying to learn it. With only two slots available for active skills, she wasn't foolish enough to waste one on trash.
Still, she hesitated to throw the book away. An active skill was an active skill, no matter how pitiful. So she kept it tucked with her loot for the time being.[1]
"Probably need to dump this on someone's head," Seraphine muttered, eyeing the useless skill book.
"Would anyone actually take it after reading that pathetic description?" She shrugged to herself.
Of course they would. In a world where most people were running around with nothing but kitchen knives, people would be desperate for any edge. The skill wasn't technically bad it only become worthless when facing stronger enemies. Against weaker foes, it could still serve a purpose.
With that thought lingering, she turned away from the corpse and walked toward the other bodies scattered across the frozen road.
She crouched down and reached for another one. This time, it was a black box.
Without hesitation, she opened it.
-------------------------------
{ [Ear Ring] - A normal ear ring from roadside stalls or fancy stores. Looks cheap because it is.
[Upon wearing, it increases Mana by +10] }
-------------------------------
She looked at the description and took a heavy breath, already accustomed to the system's sarcasm.
She wondered if the thing would ever show her an ounce of respect.
"Hmm. +10 mana? Seems like it'll be useful for Rina," Seraphine said. "But for the time being, I'll wear it." She mumbled and put it on. It was a plain red earring with no decorations.
The moment she wore it, she felt something change in her abdomen. It felt like something was boiling. But instead of feeling uncomfortable, Seraphine felt relief, Soothing and Energetic.
She took a look at her mana.
-----------------
ATTRIBUTES :-
• MANA : 29 (+10)
------------------
Her mana had already recovered somewhat since the fight, but now the boost made her feel sharper and steadier.
There was still more left to collect. She took her leisure time collecting them one by one.
She walked over to another black box.
Opened it.
------------------------
{ [Bracelet] - A cheap plastic bracelet previously ignored by humanity and abandoned in random drawers worldwide. But now its value skyrockets past a diamond-etched bracelet.
[Upon wearing, it increases Mana by +5] }
------------------------
Upon reading the next description, a genuine smile broke across her face. "Another +5 mana!"
She happily put it on, feeling the secondary surge of energy weave into the first.
-----------------
ATTRIBUTES :-
• MANA : 34 (+5)
------------------
Seraphine felt as if she were swimming in a pool of pure energy. The sensation was intoxicating, powering up felt so effortless that it almost felt like she was cheating.
"I don't think anyone else has stats like this right now," she smirked, patting her wounded shoulder with a bold grin.
She was becoming a monster in her own right, though she didn't allow her ego to take over either. Overconfidence was how people ended up like the "Pussy Cat."
Next, she moved onto another black box.
Opened it.
-----------------------
{ [Simple Boots] - A slightly worn out and mildly uncomfortable boots, so what?
[Upon wearing, it increases Agility by +5] }
-----------------------
"Woah!" She was genuinely surprised. Without a second thought, she kicked off her old, worn-out shoes and laced up the new boots.
They were a little stiff, slightly uncomfortable, but the moment she tightened the straps, the system confirmed the boost.
-----------------
ATTRIBUTES :-
• AGILITY : 53 (+34)
-----------------
The change was immediate. Seraphine felt lighter, faster, her body almost humming with speed. She was now five times quicker than an average human.
She quickly walked over to another spot.
This time it was a green box.
"Green, huh…" she murmured, crouching down. "Seems like the colors represent rank. Not too hard to figure out."
Her fingers brushed the lid, and she opened it with a flick. "Might be something good."
But the only thing she got was a ring.
"A ring?" She thought it was gonna be another boost item, but her eyes widened in disbelief when she focused on the description.
----------------------------
{ [A broken Spatial ring] - A damaged spatial artifact capable of bending space itself, It's literally a squished backpack in ring form.
[Additional Feature : Items placed inside experience no passage of time. Which is great because your loot will be preserved for the next person who loots YOUR corpse.]
[Storage Capacity : 1m × 1m × 1m]
[Warning :Attempting to store living organisms may result in spatial collapse and catastrophic destruction of the ring.] }
-----------------------------
"A spatial ring?" Seraphine's face gleamed with excitement.
It was the perfect item for an apocalyptic world. The description noted that time stood still within the ring's pocket dimension, meaning she could store food and supplies without worrying about them rotting or going cold.
She wore it on her ring finger and picked up her old blade. She didn't throw that away.
She brought it near the ring.
"Mm, how do I—" The moment she thought about storing it, the ring absorbed the weapon like a vacuum, making it vanish from her hand.
"Woooaah!" She stared at her empty palm. It truly was a magical sight.
"Now how do I retrie—" The blade flashed back into her hand suddenly. "Ohh, so that's how it is."
She stored it again and started walking over to the other loot.
On her way, she also stored the Fireball skill book too.
But she suddenly stopped midway. A series of notifications began to pour into her mind, and unlike the loot alerts, these felt different.
It was a message this time.
Seraphine's breath caught as the message echoed in her mind:
-------------------------
{[Message ]-- Congratulations! You have earned the Title: "Zombie Killer" for slaying more than 100 zombies single-handedly.
[Title] : "Zombie Killer"
[Title Effect] : Low-level zombies will now be slightly intimidated by your presence.
-----------------------------
"Oh!.. Oh!.." Seraphine gasped. The surprises hitting her one after another.
She didn't waste time admiring the new title. She could dive into her stat window properly once she found a safe spot, but right now, she was standing in the middle of a graveyard of her own making. While there were no undead in her immediate vicinity, she could still see silhouettes roaming in the distance.
She checked the time: 4:00 PM.
She only had a few hours of daylight left.
She walked over to a group of dead bodies that she had slain earlier.
There were three items.
A black box, a black book, and a blue book.
She took the black box first and opened it. The blinding light disappeared and formed into a hammer.
A two-handed hammer.
-----------------------
{ [Toy Hammer] - Have you seen the toy hammer in the carnival festivals where you check your strength... here is a toy hammer for you too. }
------------------------
She didn't care about the sarcasm dripping from the description.
She gripped the hammer with both hands, feeling the solid weight of the handle, and brought it down hard against the pavement.
The surface shattered instantly.
It wasn't a massive crater, but the impact was deep and undeniable.
For something the system practically called a "toy," the destructive power was far beyond any normal sledgehammer.
It was a clear sign that the system's benchmark for weapons operated on a completely different scale of reality.
"Definitely not a toy," she muttered, tossing it into her spatial ring without another thought.
Next, she checked the black book.
--------------------------
{ [Static Field] - Create a 3m crackling circle on the ground for 8 seconds. Enemies inside take slight damage per second and move 10% slower. Feels like a thousand ants biting.
The caster can choose who is affected inside the field.
Radius, duration, damage, and slow all scale with the caster's mana pool.
[Requires minimum 5 MP to activate] }
----------------------------
"Mm… This feels good." Seraphine was satisfied with this skill, but she still didn't equip it as it only provided one function.
She put the skill book into her ring again.
Next, the blue book.
Earlier she got a nice sword from the blue box.
She expected something nice from this one too.
"Oh God, please be something good this time also." She knew she was greedy, but she prayed anyway.
She picked it up and focused on the description.
As she read, her face twisted into an expression of pure, Disgust or perhaps something even more complex. She stood there, frozen, staring at the screen in total silence.
She didn't know what to say about this.
Was it trash?
Was it good?
Was it OP?
She couldn't categorize what she was looking at.
The description was so bizarre, so fundamentally strange, that she couldn't even begin to wrap her head around how she was supposed to use it. She couldn't decide anything at all after seeing the description.
------------------------
{ [Mana Mosquito] - The person who equips this passive skill is destined to be kicked out of every party and die alone.
This is a double-edged sword. Standing near people with high affinity to mana (20+ max mana) slowly steals their mana within 5m while you regenerate. (Allies included.)
But you can't drain them below 10 MP. You're a parasite, but a polite one.
You'll never run out of mana. You'll also never have friends.
All the people near you... they hate you.
[Mana Mosquito is a ONE OF A KIND Passive Skill !] }[2]
[1] (Author Note)--There are 3 types of active skills in this world. 1:] (Normal Active Skills):- These skills require a fixed mana cost to cast. Like [Fire Ball], you can’t increase its size or damage no matter how big your mana pool is. Yeah, you could cast more of them, but that’s not gonna change anything. 2:] (Real Active Skills):- They require a minimum amount of mana to cast. Let’s take an example: a skill called [Ice Wall]. Suppose it takes a minimum of (5) mana points to cast, but the size, durability, and thickness all depend on the caster and the amount of mana they put into the skill. 3:] (Autonomous Spells) :- I can’t say much about this since it’ll be a spoiler, but just note one thing: these spells require a lot of patience and creativity from the caster. It’s not an OP skill. It can become trash or a gem depending on the caster.[[ My condolences to the person who equips this [Fire Ball] ]]
[2] As this world has different types of active skills, there are 2 types of passive skills:- 1:] Repetitive Passive Skill and 2:] One-of-a-Kind Passive Skill. The names explain themselves, but I’ll explain it anyway. A repetitive passive skill means you have the passive, but other people might have it too. One-of-a-kind means there is only a single passive skill like it, simply put, there are no duplicates.