—–
I looked at the sky in front of me, there were vast clouds, clouds wherever I looked, the sun was completely covered by them, and the icy and cold wind was quite freezing and bad to the bones… good thing I don’t have bones to begin with.
Lucifer, Partner, and I decided to come here while Silvio and Francesco stayed with the rest of the people.
Only the three of us decided to come and scout- ah, Emeraldine was here with us, being carried by- no, not Lucifer, me.
“Uwah, hehe…”
She began to giggle playfully.
I don’t know why she wanted me to carry her, but fine, I guess.
Though we were way above the forest canopy, if I drop her from here… she’ll surely die.
And that’s certainly not something I would want to see… so I had to be extra careful, and I wrapped around her some of my shadows as if they were ropes for extra security.
She has a holy aura that could easily burn my shadows and make them disappear, though, but at the very least, I know I can trust her that she won’t do such a thing to me! I hope…
We quickly flew up into the skies and flew around the forest. It was so vast I knew it was going to take a while even if we flew quickly.
Hey system, is there some way to learn a Skill for mental mapping? I just remembered you said I could use Proficiency Points or Experience Points accumulated to buy Skills.
Are any Skills useful for now?
Those sound very expensive… Wait, can there be a Skill that lets me create an internal space and store everyone there to solve this problem?
Ugh, okay, I guess that one is some end-game stuff…
What do you recommend?
[Mental Mapping: Lv1] is the best for what you need, it will help you map anything inside your mind, and you can also summon the map as a holographic window made of shadows through Darkness Magic.
Is it costly?
Ugh… Is there not some OP Skill I cannot afford after buying this one that will help me in a pinch later on?
I see, so I can mostly just buy utility stuff, alright, buy Mental Mapping.
Ding!
[You’ve exchanged 60k Skill Proficiency Points. Skill Proficiency Points Left: 126k]
[You’ve learned the [Mental Mapping: Lv1] Skill]
[You learned the [Opportunistic Buyer: Lv1] Title Skill!]
Hm?! I got a Title Skill
Let’s see them…
…
[Mental Mapping: Lv1]
Grants the ability to register all environment within the user’s perception and map it inside of their head as if it were a true map item. Living beings can be discerned as if they were red dots, and even obstacles can be seen in wide detail, alongside areas that might be special places, such as Dungeons, Cities, and more. Special Icons can be displayed. Each level increases its accuracy.
…
[Opportunistic Buyer: Lv1]
A Title given to the first buyer of the Skill Points Shop; a powerful Trait only available for powerful beings whose souls clearly surpass that of mortals.
Grants a 5% discount on all Skills that can be purchased with each level. To increase the level of the Title, buy more!
Don’t stop buying, dear guest!
…
I see! The Mental Mapping Skill seems pretty straightforward. I suppose I can make a whole game-like map with it inside of my mind. That’s pretty useful. The level increases as I map more stuff, I guess?
And then there’s the Title. It says that I get a 5% discount on buying stuff because I was the first one to discover this wonderful Shop! How useful, isn’t it? The more I buy, the higher the level will increase, and the more discount I can get… Wait, what if I hit Level 10? Will I get a 50% discount?! Well, that would be half the price of Skills… wouldn’t that be nice…
I guess it is time to activate the Skill.
Mental Mapping!
FLASH!
“Oho! Here we go- GYAH!”
Suddenly, I felt a sudden pain all throughout my head.
My soul, in fact! It felt as if my mind was about to explode!
My mind suddenly felt as if it was everywhere I could look.
And because I didn’t have eyes, I could see anywhere around me through my ghostly senses, which made it, so a massive area all around me was instantly mapped inside my head.
It almost made me freeze like a computer being loaded with a lot of info at once.
The pain was terrible! I had never felt this much pain before…
Ugh…
“M-Maria?!”
Emeraldine suddenly slipped off my grasp as she fell off!
“Ah, shit!”
I quickly flew to catch her, but I realized the shadows I left hanging around her managed to stop her from falling.
Her face was completely confused, and her expression seemed filled with nausea. She seemed to be about to throw up.
“Ugeehh…” She groaned.
“S-Sorry… Are you okay?” I sighed as I held her in my arms again.
“What happened?!” Asked Lucifer.
“Master? You cried in pain out of nowhere….” Said Partner.
“Erm… Haha, nothing, really! It was just a little thing… I learned a new Skill, that’s all. I think it can help us map easily inside of my head,” I said.
“Oh, well, that’s useful,” Said Lucifer.
“Then let’s map the surroundings. This forest seems way too big!” Said Partner.
“Alright!” I said.
“Uuggh… My stomach is all mixed up… Agh….” Muttered Emeraldine.
“Hang on there, Emeraldine… Use your healing magic!” I said.
“R-Right!” she said as she began to use healing magic on herself, which created a bright light that began to burn my shadows.
The arms holding her and the other rope-shaped shadows were turned into nothingness in an instant.
“Eh?”
“Huh- GYAAAAH!”
And she fell off again…
—–