The spearhead sliced through the spider’s stomach, from the left all the way to the right. The outer shell opened like a large maw and intestines poured out to the ground.

--Oh that’s horrid. Bleh!

Agis kept one hand on his mouth, trying hard not to throw up, and used his spear to poke around. He wanted to find a core. He wasn’t sure why he needed it. Thinking back to humans, palaces would keep a treasury full of cores. They were rare and hard to find, so kings would always try and get their hands on as many as they could. He still didn’t know what they did with them past that though. He never really tried to find out. Know though, he wished that he had.

The Sopho told him to max out his core as well. He figured that at minimal, he would need another core. It just seemed weirdly correct. Upgrade a core with a core. The idea seemed like a good place to start. But for how, or why, Agis had no clue. He just knew that monsters had cores, and they were important. But which monster had cores, and how to find them, he was cluesses on. So he just kept searching, even with his limited knowledge. Even through the disgusting remains of the two digested centipedes.

--Great, my feet have bug guts touching them, and I got nothing out of it. Just awesome. I’m giving up on lower level monsters. If they had cores than humans wouldn’t have a problem finding any. They wouldn't be so rare at least. I’ll put off my search till I get to the expanse.

Agis stepped over the guts and left the area. He didn’t want to be near all this ‘food’. Something would come along to eat it, and he was in no shape to fight whatever that was.

……….

A few hundred meters or so away, Agis found another crack in the wall that he was able to rest in. Hesitating for a second, he decided to stab his spear in first a few times though. Seeing the spider come out of the ceiling earlier didn’t do well to make him feel safe in these little hiding spots anymore. He clambered in and slumped down to the ground. He was beat. He pulled out his stick of jerky and began to snack while he thought about recent events.

--I was way too hasty to go fight again...I almost got myself killed. It got to my head when I killed that gecko. I’m still not strong. Going out half injured is a death wish...ugh, idiot. Agis, think before you act. Do what Dad would do.

…

--This healing though, it really is something. Even now my leg is getting visibly better and my chest is feeling less...broken. I wonder if that’s because of the core, my toughness, or because I’m technically a monster now. I’m not sure. I should mess with it in the future though. I’ll sink some stats into my toughness when I get a chance and see if things change. I’m not sure how to do that, but I’ll figure it out. I guess for now I’ll check my skills. I want to spend that new skill point!

----

Name: Agis

Level: 3 (Core)

Might: 17

Toughness: 12

Cunning: 25

Will: 22

HP: 30

MP: 10

Skills: Sprint 3; Stealth 3; Dash 1; Lunge Attack 2

Species: *#*ERROR$%*

Biomass: Invalid

Skill Points: 1

----

--Level three! Sweet! I wonder why my stats haven't changed at all though? Maybe I have to ‘evolve’ first. The Sopho said something about that. I’m not sure, let's put that on the back burner for now. Open that juicy skills menu!

[Tunnel sense: cost 1sp, improves sense of direction when underground. Requirements: Spend at least 24 hours underground. All requirements met.]

[Mana manipulation: cost 1sp, basic skill to manipulate absorbed mana. Requirements: Have at least a basic core. All requirements met.]

[Dodge: cost 1sp, improves the ability to dodge incoming attacks. Requirements: Dodge five potentially deadly attacks. Progress: 3]

[Stealth attack: cost 1sp, increase strength when attacking a foe that is unaware of your presence. Requirements: Three successful attacks on enemies unaware of your presence. Progress:1]

--Dodge? Stealth attack? Where did these come from? Did I have to successfully complete a requirement before it showed up? What the hell, that’s a rip off! Think of all the amazing skills out there and I just don’t know how to unlock them! The world is a cruel place. I feel cheated. Where’s my “how to be a monster” manual?

*sigh*

--I’ll figure it all out eventually. Now skills. I know that I wanted to get tunnel sense, but I’m really lacking on attack power. My spear is great and all, but it won't always be around. What if it breaks? Then I’m just fucked. And, I need something to do while I’m waiting to heal, otherwise, I’m just wasting my time…

[Would you like to buy mana manipulation? It will cost 1 skill point.]

--Yes.

That euphoric feeling swept itself over Agis’s brain. His body uncontrollably shivered in delight. It was an amazing feeling, nothing could surpass it.

--Ahhh that feeling will never get old. Alright then, mana time. Maybe I try and shoot out a ball of mana? I don’t know how any of this works. Ughh, it feels like I know nothing.

Agis put his mind to gathering mana into a ball in front of him. He wasn’t sure what mana was like. He felt this misty, heavy feeling around him that seemed almost invisible. It was as if it wasn’t a real feeling, like his senses were playing tricks on him. But it was there, it was real. He focused on that, trying to gather it into a ball.

The veins on his head began to feel as if they would explode, forcing him to stop. Sweat trickled down his forehead and he wheezed for air.

--Holy crap this is hard. Maybe I should try and gather it in my core? I don’t know, but it is a core after all. Magical like objects and mana seem to always get along.

He tried gathering mana again, this time focusing on his core. He could feel it, there was already mana there. He just needed to ‘manipulate’ it. He focused on the shape of the ball first, trying to push mana into a circle. He could picture it in his mind, he could picture the invisible object taking shape inside him. Focused on bringing that out in front of him, the ball started to take shape. Agis could feel the power from it, it was as if he could feel the danger radiating from it. But just as quickly as it appeared, it started to wobble and it faded out of existence. Agis took another few long breaths.

--Gahh. My brains on fire! This is gonna take a bit of practice...