Am I being insulted right now by my own skill?
Gabriel just insulted me unintentionally with that blunt description, the words landing in a way that made my small shoulders tense for a second before I shook it off with a quiet huff.
But as she said before, I am but a freak of nature that can exist without any need for food, water, or even oxygen.
My body is running on completely different rules that normal creatures could never understand or survive by.
Earth biologists and scientists would kill to get their hands on me if they ever discovered what I had turned into, eager to cut me open and study every strange part of this grey-skinned form with all their equipment and endless questions.
CREAK.
Hm?
As I spoke with Gabriel inside my head so I wouldn't die of loneliness, I heard something creak sharply somewhere ahead, the sound bouncing off the stone walls and making my short white hair shift a little as I tilted my head to listen more carefully.
Something is out there... and it feels close too, lurking just beyond my immediate line of sight in the darkness.
I can feel a distortion in the magic around me, a subtle ripple that brushes against my senses like a faint current moving through still water.
With Magic Perception, an Extra Skill I had gained, I can use the magic flowing through the air and stone to feel stuff around me without needing to move any closer.
Depending on the range of what I'm feeling, I could even taste and smell what is close without physically going there, the information arriving as faint impressions and subtle flavors on the edge of my awareness.
And this thing I'm feeling...
Damn, it's good at hiding itself.
It's actually managing to blend with the magic around it almost seamlessly.
Not perfectly, but enough so that I can't make out exactly what it is or its full shape from here. A true hunter.
But too bad for it; I have a helpful assistant in Gabriel that can process the details for me without any effort!
{Parsed: 15 Meters away, behind the jagged rocks on the left, a Level B+ monster is lying in wait, its presence coiled and ready to strike at any moment.}
Pfft! Level B+? Piece of cake for someone like me at this point in my growth...
Ah, wait; Shion told me not to be conceited with these guys.
They could strike me down quickly if my guard drops even for a single second.
For offense, I can use my tentacles to lash out fast and hold down things when I need to, extending them from my body with surprising speed and strength.
And I'm apparently really strong physically, my small frame hiding a lot more raw power than it looks like it should on the surface.
But for defense... I don't know much of what to do besides "take damages and regenerate" as my main way of handling trouble when things get rough.
Which brings the thought to mind; how does my regeneration work in fact when I really push it to the limit?
As I thought about this, turning the question over slowly in my head while my short white hair swayed with each step, I continued walking forward with my small feet stepping quietly across the uneven ground.
I was moving steadily toward where the B+ monster was waiting for me behind the cluster of tall jagged rocks.
If I have my arm cut off completely in a fight, would it grow back instantly like nothing ever happened?
Or would it take quite a while to heal completely, leaving me open and vulnerable in the meantime?
Is there any side effect from taking too much damage all at once, something that might slow me down or weaken me later on?
I know through Pain Nullification that I might not feel the necessary discomfort that normally comes with being hurt badly.
But what is the ceiling on how much damage I can actually take before it matters?
What is my real limit before something truly breaks and doesn't recover?
And what better way to test all of this than to face actually dan--
CRUNCH!!
Mhm.
I was attacked the moment I moved past the tall jagged rocks that jutted up from the cave floor like broken teeth.
Something big, a wide mouth filled with rows of sharp teeth, had clamped down hard at my sides, so strong and swift that I seriously didn't see it coming until the jaws were already locked tight around my torso.
Then I sensed it wasn't over yet and tried to get out of the mouth biting me, twisting my small body sharply to pull free with all my strength, but--
CRACK-BOOM!
Something fast and scorching hot seared through my entire body like a bolt of lightning, vibrating violently and tearing me apart from the inside out with raw electrical force that made my grey skin twitch and spark uncontrollably.
It wasn't THAT painful thanks to the nullification keeping the worst of it away, but it didn't feel good at all, sending unpleasant jolts racing through every part of me and making my body seize for a moment.
I knew it was bad for me, so with my free hand that wasn't trapped in the jaws, I swung my fist down in a heavy hammer strike directly on the mouth clamping me so tightly.
The force was solid and powerful, the impact landing with a loud crushing sound as shockwaves erupted outward from the point of contact, destroying the jagged rocks nearby and sending sharp stone fragments flying in every direction across the cave floor.
It left my body and disappeared from sight immediately.
No, it didn't actually disappear.
It moved away so fast that it appeared to vanish into the surrounding shadows, leaving only a faint blur behind in the dim light from the scattered glowing crystals.
Black blood was seeping out slowly from the deep places where its large teeth had pierced into my sides, the dark liquid dripping steadily onto the cave floor with soft plopping sounds that echoed faintly.
I was looking and checking myself out carefully, my small hands pressing gently against the wounds as I examined the damage with wide eyes.
My stomach was torn open wide and some organ thingies were trying to come out, shifting and pulsing visibly as they fought to stay inside the torn opening. Maji yabai.
My chest was messed up too, the bones there cracked and sitting at weird, unnatural angles now, poking against the torn skin in several places.
Forgetting the gore for a moment... This is crucial data:
I seem to have blood and bones after all, even in this strange grey body that doesn't feel fully human anymore.