After shaking off the initial revulsion of the skittering legs and clicking mandibles, I forced myself to focus. I needed to know what I was dealing with. Swap: Appraisal.
[Appraised: Black Beetle (Rank D) — Level 4]
[Attributes: Hard Shell (High Defense), Winged Flight, Poison Miasma.]
"Rank D," I muttered. "They aren't fast on the ground, but those wings change everything."
I rushed forward with a [Dash], intending to launch a preemptive strike. I aimed a heavy kick at the leading beetle to flip it onto its back, but the insect was faster than it looked. It flared its dark, iridescent wings and took to the sky with a low, vibrating drone. As it flapped, a sickly green dust began to fall from its wings—a thickening poison miasma.
"Not good," I coughed, instantly feeling the air grow heavy.
Swap: Slime Mask. I thought of using [Water Body] to wash away the toxins, but then I remembered the nature of the Slime. Activate: Slime Body. As the poison dust settled on my skin, the gelatinous mana of the mask began to absorb it. Instead of the toxin entering my bloodstream, it was held in the "membrane" of the slime body, effectively neutralizing the immediate threat.
But I wasn't out of the woods. The other four beetles joined the first, their wings creating a storm of poison. I couldn't stay in the cloud.
Swap: Dash. I began to weave through the trees, a blur of silver movement. The beetles followed, surprisingly relentless in the air. Every time I gained distance, they would catch up, flapping their wings to keep the miasma surrounding me. I had to keep moving; if I stopped dashing, the poison would eventually overwhelm even the slime's absorption.
I dashed in a jagged, three-point pattern—left, right, then a hard diagonal—to create a small gap. Once I had a sliver of space, I went for a high-risk play.
Swap: Fire Mask. I didn't just throw fireballs; I created a vertical circle of aggressive flames between me and the swarm. The beetles shrieked—a high-pitched clicking sound—and swerved to avoid the heat. They lost sight of me for a split second.
That was all I needed. I scrambled up a nearby tree, using [Dash] to move vertically. As the beetles circled the fire, I dived from the canopy.
"Take this!"
I plummeted toward the nearest beetle, spear in hand. Swap: Dash. I accelerated my descent, aiming the spear at the center of its back. CLANG. The steel-tipped point struck the shell, but it didn't pierce. The beetle slammed into the ground, losing consciousness from the impact, but that "Hard Shell" was no joke.
"Are you kidding me?" I hissed, rolling away as the other three descended on me.
I was in a tight spot. The beetles were closing in, their poison thickening the air. I dashed seven feet back, then instantly dashed forward, trying to find an opening. I tried a new move: Swap: Slime Mask. I channeled [Slime Punch] not into my fist, but into the throw of my spear. The added kinetic momentum made the spear whistle through the air like a harpoon. It struck the second beetle mid-flight, the force finally cracking the shell and pinning it to a tree. One down, one unconscious. Three to go.
I retreated behind a thick oak. I used [Search] to track the remaining three. They were hovering over their unconscious comrade, waiting for it to wake up. They were defensive, territorial, and incredibly dangerous. My spear was stuck in the second beetle, and my first spear had been left in the trees.
"I need more firepower," I said, looking at a pile of fallen branches. Swap: Slime Mask—Reconstruct. I grabbed three sturdy pieces of wood and used the metal from my utility knife to tip them. In seconds, I had three crude wooden harpoons.
I used [Search] to pinpoint their exact coordinates through the leaves. I dashed through the branches, jumping down from the heights once more. I clutched the three spears in a bundle. Swap: Slime Mask—Slime Punch. As I fell, I threw all three spears at once, the kinetic boost making them fly with deadly coordination. Two beetles were struck and pinned. The fifth and final beetle, realizing the "weak human" was a predator, began to frantically flap its wings, creating a dense, suffocating cloud of poison miasma.
I dashed forward to grab my original spear, but I couldn't hold my breath long enough. I started coughing. My vision began to blur. The poison was finally getting through.
[Level Up: You have reached Level 10.]
[Rewards Acquired: 3x Mask Plates.]
[Skill Evolution: Dash evolved from Rank D to Rank C. (Range: 10 feet)]
[New Ability Unlocked: Strengthening.]
A new mask appeared in my mind—the [Mask of Strength]. I didn't have time to think. I slapped the new mask onto my face.
"Strengthen! Times Five!"
A surge of raw, violent power flooded my muscles. It felt like my veins were filled with liquid lead. I did a backflip off the beetle's back and delivered a single, downward punch. BOOM. The ground shattered. The beetle didn't just die; it was crushed into the dirt, its shell splintering into a thousand pieces.
But the strain was too much. The "Times Five" multiplier put a massive burden on my Level 10 body. My muscles screamed, and the lingering poison in my lungs made my head spin. I remembered the healing herbs my mother had packed in my bag. I managed to shove a few leaves into my mouth before the world went black.
I woke up an hour later. The forest was quiet. The sun was beginning to dip, casting long, orange shadows through the trees. I checked my surroundings.
Four beetle carcasses remained. The first one—the one I had only knocked out—was gone.
"I guess it wasn't hungry," I muttered, sitting up. My body was sore, but the medicine had worked. I checked my new stats.
[Name: Yugi]
[Level: 10]
[Rank: SSS]
[New Skill: Strengthening (Multiplier 1-5). Note: High physical strain.]
[Dash: Rank C.]
I looked at the beetle crystals and the remaining shells. Despite the near-death experience, I felt exhilarated. Every battle was a lesson. Every rank-up was a new face for my collection.
I spent the evening cooking a meal of roasted wolf meat and organizing my inventory. As the moon rose, I looked toward the horizon. The capital was closer now. I was no longer just a boy with a "useless" class. I was a Level 10 SSS-Rank Mask Maker, and the world was starting to feel a lot smaller.
"Tomorrow," I whispered, looking at the shimmering [Mask of Strength]. "Tomorrow, we go even deeper."