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Chapter 965 - Upskill the Side Hustle
🕑 Added 2022-04-09 08:27:38 +0000 UTCFirst full status update for a long time. I've tried to fix it and get all the errors out, but I'm sure I've forgotten something. Let me know what I missed!
Hope the week is going well for everyone! Two chaps tomorrow to make up for lack of posts, been a busy chap over here. Also, there will be an AMA on Royal Road tomorrow for those who are interested!
Gawd. Mutating is such an itch in the thorax. Once more, only once more and I'll be done for my current evolution. Though that means I'm drawing ever nearer to the next tier, and who can say how many mutations I'll have to go through in that one? If I reset my carapace, I'll have to go through all of those again, and I have to say they were some of the worst. My entire body, more or less, is covered by the exo-skeleton, and when it changes size or shape, the sensation is truly maddening.
The equivalent for a human would be their skin changing in size or composition over the course of a few minutes.
Horrific. But that's for future Anthony to worry about. Current Anthony isn't going to waste another moment thinking about it, not even in a sub-brain.
I mean, why would I? I've got mad SKILLS to be thinking about. I've been grinding my magic hard, as always. Having multiple brains is a wonderful hack in this regard. No matter how busy I get, I can always have a couple of constructs whipping up a spell and flinging it at a nearby target, or straight up into the air, whenever its done. This has resulted in some rather delicious gains in key skills.
The final goal is always kept in sight! Gravity Mana Specialisation!
I'm probably not there yet, but when I get through enough ranks of new types of mana, I'll get there eventually.
All right, time to take a look at I'm working with.
Awww snap. Finally I've achieved the long sought after upgrade to my biting skill! I've been operating on Doom Chomp, or Doom Chomp, as I've come to think of it for such a long time. Doesn't have the same heft without that special emphasis within my mind.
Ah yes, it feels like yesterday when I first experienced the true joy of having the energy of my body, or stamina, manifest itself as jaws of pure light that slam shut on front of me. A special moment in my history, of that there's no doubt. Then the fusion of all of my bite skills gave me the ultimate chomp, that eventually became the pinnacle that came to feared across the Dungeon.
What could the upgrade be?
[Doom Chomp (V) -> Void Chomp (VI) - A devastating chomp that rips into the material of existence itself.]
That's it? I mean, that's awesome, but that's short. I can't freakin' wait to take this for a test run. This is a big ticket item! A rank six skill! We are freaking flying, baby! One skill point down, let's get keep the party rolling! Whoo!
Sometimes you just have to punch it with a whoo.
As I browse through the impressive list of skills that I've acquired over the journey, I can see a couple of other nice jumps that I've reached.
Expert Grip is jumping up to Master Grip, which is nice. I need all the help I can get when I'm this heavy…
Dash has reached rank five! I'm super happy about that one. Flash Dash (V). Sounds impressive! If a bit wordy…
Mana Masking can promote up to rank four, another win for the stealth approach.
Mana Sensing is promoting up to rank five. Definitely going to be helpful.
Oho! Mana Craft is punching up to rank six! Nice one! That's going to be a big deal. That skill is literally the lynchpin of all magic in this world, governing the ease and grace with which one can grasp and shape mana. I can't wait to see how it feels!
Force Magic up to rank four is nice, without being a big deal.
Exo-Skeleton Defence is jumping up a rank! Also a big deal. Dodge is up to Grandmaster, as is Endure. An all -round increase in my defensive manoeuvring, capacity to avoid attacks and absorb impacts. Winning all around!
Acid shot is up to rank five, as is precise shooting. I'm especially happy about the second, as it effects all aiming, which includes spells.
Oh! Charge and Mandible Spear have both hit the third rank and can be fused! I wonder what the new Skill is called?
Spear Charge?
… really? Isn't that just literally combining the key words of the two skills. Such laziness, Gandalf! That's beneath you.
Chomp Combo has reached rank three as well, which is going to be even more devastating with the Void Chomp. Actually… I could hardly sustain a Doom Chomp combo… the new Void Chomp… oof. It's going to be rough.
Still, this is an incredible wealth of progress! I'm excited!
Looking over all the skills that have progressed into the higher ranks, I'm satisfied with how far I've come. I know Granin likes to say that any skills lower than rank six are basically pure garbage, but I haven't been alive that long, I can't be expected to push myself ahead that far.
In fact, I can probably thank my life of near ceaseless, desperate combat for my rapid advance up the ranks. So hey, an endless series of life and death struggles is good for something at least.
Punch it whoo? Probably not the time.
After looking over all of skills, I confirm the purchases, knocking a decent total off my skill points, but not really threatening it overmuch. I've racked up a hell of a lot skill points. I really need to see if there's anything new to buy. Probably not right now though. I have a lot of new abilities to get used to, so I'm going to sit on what I have for the time being.
When I hit confirm, the warm drizzle of new knowledge creeps over my brain. Then it keeps on a creepin', then some more, until my mind is literallyshivering under the deluge of new information.
I probably shouldn't have done all of this at once! A single rank six skill is packed with a lot of stuff, and I just dropped like four of them on myself!
I wouldn't say the sensation is unpleasant, like the mutation itch. It's more like how a single shiver running down your spine is basically fine, but a thousand at once is a rather intense experience.
I hold still on the spot, vibrating as the intense sensation fills my brain. Eventually it fades and I take a look at my complete status, basking in my own glory.
Name: Anthony
Level: 84 (Rare) (VI)
Might: 205
Toughness: 180
Cunning: 145
Will: 100
HP: 360/360
MP: 768/768
Skills:
General:
Grandmaster Excavation (V) Level 1; Expert Grip (IV) Level 1; Expert Stealth (III) Level 18; Tunnel Compass (IV) Level 17; Iron Mind (V) Level 15; Master Stamina (IV)Level 22; Still Meditation (IV) Level 39; Flash Dash (V) Level 1;
Mana:
Advanced Mana Craft (VI) Level 1; Condensed Mana (V) Level 1; Grand Finer External Mana Manipulation (V) Level 1; Mana Hoarder (V) Level 1; Layered Mind Magic Affinity (V) Level 36; Extended Directed Mana Sensing (V) Level 1; Expert Healing Magic Affinity (IV) Level 3; Advanced Omni-Elemental Affinity (VI) Level 25; Advanced Mana Masking (IV) Level 1; Wood Magic Affinity (I) Level 1; Metal Magic Affinity (I) Level 1; Lightning Magic Affinity (I) Level 1; Advanced Force Magic Affinity (IV) Level 1; Advanced Barrier Magic Affinity (III) Level 12;
Pet:
Further Pet Communication (III) Level 20; Core Crafting (IV) Level 18; Pet Growth Speed (I) Level 5;
Defensive:
Divine Exo-Skeleton Defence (VI) Level 1; Grandmaster Dodge (V) Level 1; Grandmaster Endure (V) Level 1; Expert Grace (IV) Level 1; Master Mandible Parry (III) Level 1;
Offensive:
Guided Acid Shot (V) Level 1; Grandmaster Precise Shooting (V) Level 1; Void Chomp (VI) Level 1; Master Chomp Combo (III) Level 1; Spear Charge (III) Level 1;
Mutations:
Senses:
Focal Compound Eyes +30; Future Wave Sight Antennae + 30 (Twilight Filament);
Defence:
Thickened Complete Diamond Carapace +30; Fortified Healing Inner Carapace Plating +30;
Physical:
Fortified Absorption Legs + 30; Mana Drenched Mandibles +30; Hastened Potent Regeneration Gland + 30; Widespread Stinking Pheromone Gland + 30; Expanding Discerning Stomach +30; Coiling Hyper-Twitch Musculature +30; Distributed Instantaneous Sub-Neural Network +30;
Acid:
Propagating Mana-Feasting Bind Acid Gland +25; Guided Hyper Pressurised Scattershot Acid Nozzle +25; Thickened Draining Acid concentration gland +25; Exhausting Thickener Acid Stimulation Gland +25;
Mental:
Indomitable Coordination Cortex + 30; Crushing Gravity Well Main Brain +30; Mind Mana Mastery Sub-Brain +30; Mind Mana Mastery Sub-Brain +30; Mind Mana Mastery Sub-Brain +30;
Mana:
Forceful Unending Gravity Magic Gland +30; Might Infusing Collective Will Vestibule +30 (Soul Crystal); High Purifying Communal Spirit Nave +30;
Species: Colony Paragon
Skill points: 68
Biomass: 463
Comments
jonathan Wieringa
To be fair, he has been fighting termites for a heck of a long time and got heavily messed up by a scaled creature, so those jumps in endure and exo-skeleton make sense. You keep an entire list of upgrades that are mentioned or you just notice these things?
BS91
According to Ch 934, Grip, Dodge, Chomp Combo, Grace, and Mandible Parry should all be ranked up already. Meanwhile, Pet Communication is *still* left at (III) lvl 20, while Exo-Skeleton Defense and Endure seem like rather huge jumps, having gone from lvl 45 → all the way up to 80, and from lvl 16 → 40. (That's a leap of 35 and 24 lvls, respectively.) In other news, I'm glad to see the max mana entry finally get updated :) - Anthony's still gonna need the Colony to funnel cores into him at that rate, though.
Variation
can spells be mixed/combined more specifically? like using gravity mana to condense water mana and freeze it so you just have hyper dense & heavy ice?
Titaniumtac
I think you are correct, could be just to initially fuse them
Touch
Can it also be like transport matter into the void, which may be a dimension that breakdown matter? Or call the void to change matter in certain space into magic energy and such?
InfernalDrake
I thought that upgrading fusion skills cost extra skill points, or am I misremembering?
Octaeon
Yeah... BoD is my favourite novel recently. The setting is great, the writing is great, you can feel how hard MC is working himself... I only hate how sparingly its being updated.
kalada William-jumbo
I know :( BoD is really something special.
sebsebs
Full status update = big fight coming = tier 7 hype intensifying
Greyg
2 chapters coming but neither is dove biting ankles ohwell termite death it is
Aidan Mcarthur
So by eating the fabric of material existence, would he be using matter annihilation of a sort, or rather, twisting the space his attack crosses until it only tangentially intersects with reality, not destroying matter but breaking the connection of space to itself in a small area?
Sam Beasley
You forgot to change Expert Grip into Master Grip in the full Status. Great chapter otherwise.
