Passive [Acidic Body] triggered! Your passive [Acid Immunity] was triggered! [Acidic Body] dealt 0 damage to you! P-System Log

Holy shit, it worked. I'm so fucking cool.

So that's the power of a thousand W Inertia. Roughly 10000 XP, unless there's a bonus to delivering it all at once. That feels... too low. Just based off of how these things tend to go, I feel like skills would evolve at some multiple of 10--10, 50, or 100, most likely. Each time a skill levels up, though, the amount of XP it needs to hit the next level also increases. If I assume it's the lowest possible number of levels to evolve--that's 10--then I would've needed at least 40 levels. I don't know how much W Inertia [Acid Resistance] needed, but even if it only need 100 at first and its cost increased by 100 per level, I definitely wouldn't have been able to afford 40 levels worth of it.

The first screen that popped up had an error message. Maybe that has something to do with it? I dunno. I think I'll accept that as my explanation for now and just take the W.

And what a massive W that is. Like, holy shit, I just created a [Legendary] skill from a [Common] one in moments. That's pretty neat. Sure, it took me a whole thousand W Inertia to do (and probably should've taken me more), but I think it was at least somewhat worth it. I mean, I've still got, what, 37000 W Inertia left? I'm in no risk of running out of it, and I just saved Jerome's life. Probably saved myself by proxy.

Hero's Personal Log 074

Jesus fucking Christ, thank you. That was actually insane. Are you cheating?

Don't answer that. I don't need to know.

I know I'm asking a lot, but can you help me get out of here as well?

P-System Message Acknowledged. P-System Log

Dang, Jerome not being an ass? That's new. I guess it comes with the territory of definitively knowing that he would be dead if I hadn't acted there.

Anyway, that was fun. Making a new skill and leveling it, I mean. Sure, it means that I got way further from overflow and therefore further from leveling [W%M;G,P], but I can deal with that. It's not like we're short on monsters for Jerome to kill.

Besides, it's about time he got a new skill. His fights are getting a little one-note.

I'm not sure what kind of skill I want to give him. There's a world of things I could focus on, from memorized mana sequences to the properties of the dirt in this room, and the variety of choices is honestly kind of dizzying. Far too much for me to just decide randomly.

Wait, I have a special ability for this. One that's always been hard for me to invoke, both in this life and the last, but one I've been increasingly more willing to use.

That's right! I'm going to ask him a question!

P-System Message Query: what kind of skill do you wish to receive? Hero's Personal Log 075

Hmm... that's a tough one. I don't think I'm taking any damage, and either I don't need to breathe at all or this slime is breathable because I'm not having any issues with that which is a whole issue in itself but I'm not going to get into that right now and

Sorry. I'm gonna cut myself off there, I was rambling. Anyway, I'm not taking damage right now. That means that I've got some time to think, right?

P-System Message Affirmative. Hero's Personal Log 076 Can I get something to liquify the slime, maybe? P-System Message Due to the nature of the Health stat, feats such as partial destruction of enemies or conversion into other states of matter are not possible. Hero's Personal Log 077

Ah, okay. I guess that makes sense.

Maybe an explosion or something? Something with enough kinetic energy to move this thing. Either that or some form of teleportation, maybe, since there's a possibility an explosion might just get absorbed by this stupid fuckin' thing's passives.

But explosions are fun. I like explosions.

P-System Log Explosions and teleportation, huh? I can definitely try something like that. P-System Message Acknowledged. Party Chat

[Aster K'lon]: Are you alright in there? I saw that your HP had dipped quite low, but I refrained from intervening because I sensed the creation of powerful new skills from your System.

[Jerome Smith]: I gained [Acid Immunity]. I'm working with my System to get a new skill to get me out of here.

[Aster K'lon]: I do believe I told you that your System was strong.

[Jerome Smith]: You did.

[Aster K'lon]: Very well. Use this channel if you are in desperate need of help and your System is unable to assist you.

[Jerome Smith]: Yeah, got it.

Private Message [Aster]

[Aster K'lon]: I see you found a threatening enough situation to act in.

[P-System]: Did you influence this?

[Aster K'lon]: I did not. Of course, the choice to go to the dungeon was inspired by my decisions, but the existence of a boss in a [Common] dungeon with a rarity and level this high is not one that should ever occur. I must report it to the Dungeon Corps after this.

P-System Log

Hold on, Dungeon Corps? I guess that's either a subset of the Adventurer's Guild or a different, related group that solely tackles dungeons. Still, that name... whoever designed that org has got to be a big pun guy. Dungeon Corps for Dungeon Cores, huh?

Anyway, that's besides the point. I have a skill to create, after all.

He wanted explosions and teleportation. I think I can bastardize teleportation out of the steps that Aster took to use [Cloud Step], but explosions might be a little harder. [Blazing Spear] is less TNT and more match-and-gasoline, and [Magic Missile] is pretty much pure mana.

In that case...

Time to utilize that dangerous skill of mine again.

Private Message [Aster]

[P-System]: Request. Please cast a skill that can create an explosion.

[Aster K'lon]: An explosion? I shall, but an explanation is much needed.

[P-System]: It is for the purpose of forming a skill.

[Aster K'lon]: How intriguing. I shall cast, then.

Undercharged [Delayed Detonating Death] cast! P-System Log

Now if that isn't a chunibyo name. Wow. Who the hell names these skills? I mean, I guess the alliteration is neat, but that name is weird as shit when most of the other skill names have been relatively normal.

Whatever. The important part of the skill here is the spell itself. Looks like a magic hand grenade, basically. Aster just threw a ball of mana--undercharged somehow, I'll have to ask how she managed that--into the air, and it's just hovering there for now.

...and there it goes. Its detonation is pretty different from the other skills I've seen before. Kind of like a fireball, really. Actually, I probably should've asked to see if she had a fireball spell. That probably would've worked just as well, and I'm sure every fantasy world worth its salt has a fireball skill of some kind.

Eh. I got the data I needed. The feel of the mana, the elements of the explosion itself, its intensity... yep, we're good.

Combine that with the movement aspects of [Cloud Step], removing the weird cloudy part that I accidentally used to create [Misty Strike], and hopefully we get a usable skill. This is only my second time experimenting with something that isn't a 1:1 copy of another skill, but this feels a lot more natural than the copying did for some reason.

Still, I don't think I have it perfect yet. I'm pretty sure there's a decent shot at getting another skill that I wasn't aiming for, just like how I fucked up getting [Cloud Step]. That's fine. As long as I don't eat up too much W Inertia and the skill is good enough to get Jerome out of his current bind, we're chilling.

Here goes nothing.

[W%M;G,P]

Compensating...

New skill created!

New skill unlocked: [Explosive Teleport] Detonate and reappear a short distance away. P-System Log Huh. Damn, I wasn't expecting that to work. It looks like my [Unique] skill played a pretty big role in that one. I mean, I'll take it, but I have to say it's a little cre P-System Log

Glad the Origin System could help me there.

...I feel a little weird. Wonder what that's about.

Anyway! New skill!

P-System Message Request has been satisfied. Current W Inertia: 37125 P-System Log Damn, that took a decent bit. More than a hundred, I'm pretty sure. I wonder how good the skill is. [Misty Strike lv. 1] Stat Value XP 0/300 Damage 10d6+8 / distance from target Mana Cost 30 Overcharge Multiplier (max) 1.5 Cost Multiplier 15% Range 5 meters [Explosive Teleport] activating! Passive [Amorphous Body] triggered! [Explosive Teleport] dealt 32 damage! Party Chat

[Aster K'lon]: Ah, you made it out. Congratulations.

[Aster K'lon]: Use [Blazing Spear]. That skill will not inflict friendly fire in a space this large, and this monster is exceptionally weak to fire. If my memory serves me correctly, the reason is because its [Gelatinous Body] is comprised of flammable materials.

[Jerome Smith]: Got it.

Overcharged [Blazing Spear] activating! [Blazing Spear] dealt 126 damage! Enemy defeated! Experience rewarded!