[1.46] Treats and Deets (Part 1)
[Toxic Imbuement Lv.3]
[Poison Eater Lv.2]
[Vigor, Malice increased]
[Pestilence Attunement increased]
“Oh gosh, so full.” Angelica patted her bulging stomach while staring at the pile of plates in front of her. Though she was not normally a big eater, she had just consumed literally more than she would typically eat in at least a few weeks, potentially bordering on a month. She was at a buffet, and the amount of calories she’d just consumed would make her fat in no time.
Angelica briefly wondered whether the staff would give her judging looks when they came to pick up her dishes. It was a very ritzy place, the kind that couples went to on dates when one wanted to show off. She’d already gotten a few side-eyes since she’d come alone, apparently not a common occurrence. The diner instinctively wanted to reach down and undo a button on her pants, but she was actually in a dress for once, a fabricated one using Transfiguration since she didn’t want to dig out something fancy. It was probably a bit much, but it made her feel pretty, and kept her from being turned away at the door since it was that kind of place.
Honestly, the snobbiness of the place made her want to dine and dash, turn into an Imp and waltz out the front door to avoid paying. But… there was no need. She had money, more money than ever in her life. In the grand scheme, it wasn’t a lot, just under $5,000. But according to a recent survey, because she was curious, about three-quarters of the adult population in her country didn’t even have that much saved. For her, it was a momentous occasion, so she planned to treat herself.
Part of that treat was testing out Toxic Imbuement on the many delicious things she just ate, combining it with Poison Eater to get herself up to 100% Health. So now she was riding that high too. Honestly, Angelica couldn’t remember the last time her body felt this good. No aches or pains, no fatigue just from existing, it was like she was a kid again with infinite energy. Plus, perhaps it was part of her Pestilence Attunement, but the poisoned food honestly tasted better to her, like adding a good pinch of salt to something that was just a bit bland.
And the self-care wasn’t over yet, because it was time for some dessert.
[Would you like to consume 622 Essence to reach Imp Lv.11?]
Yeppers! Her nighttime outing with Rastille and the other Summoners had gotten her just enough for four full levels. She’d been hoping for three, but certainly didn’t mind the little extra. That escapade had actually been two days ago now, well, closer to a day and a half. Yesterday, Angelica had essentially given herself the day off since she’d worked so hard the night before. However, she still stuck in accordance with her lifeplan, something she’d now need to tweak a good bit thanks to new knowledge.
Pretty much she spent the whole day working on Merlina’s Boutique, using the inspiration from the Malignant hunt to make a whole actiony arc that the series typically lacked. She had banged out two weeks of content in a single day, and it felt damn good.
[Inspiration Lv.4, Summoner Rank: Initiate Lv.11] plus a bunch of Creativity increases, had been her reward from it. Sadly, she somehow still hadn’t crossed the threshold of increasing her Fabrication Attunement. As someone who did consider herself a semi-professional artist, it felt a bit sad having the Attunement centered around it still at its base level when she’d been making gains in things like Destruction and Pestilence.
[Demon Rank: Imp Lv.11]
[Spend 4 GP to unlock Starvation?]
[Active Skill: Starvation Lv.1 unlocked]
[Malice increased]
[Famine Attunement increased]
[Famine Attunement has improved from Aware to Touched]
Wow, now Fabrication really was the only Attunement she had still stuck at Aware. She’d have to grind some levels in Reprint just to right this imbalance with the world.
Angelica patted her stomach with a bit more intention this time. The act was wholly unnecessary for the Skill to take hold it would seem, but that felt right to do, and immediately, her hand lowered along with her belly. In a split second, she went from a stuffed stomach to an empty tank. There had been an instinct that had inquired if she wanted to apply Hunger, but why would she do that to herself?
Instantly, the gluttonous bloated feeling from overeating vanished and she was a bit peckish again, not quite literally starving like the skill name would suggest, but given a few minutes without correction, or if she’d applied the status effect, and the gnawing hunger would undoubtedly encroach. Now it was like she had never eaten a thing, which meant it was time for more food! There was a lot of choice at this buffet, but she had barely scratched the surface before she could cram no more. That felt like a waste of the experience and the impending bill, so she wasn’t leaving until she tried everything the place had to offer. Every single dish.
During her second round of plating, Angelica took a look at her Health, grimacing that it had plummeted to 84%. Undoubtedly, removing the food had done her dirty, but as she ate more, especially with a lovely Toxic glaze, it’d be right back up again. Regrettably, it meant she had to end underneath 100%, because before she did leave for good, she’d empty her stomach pit again, and just eat enough to get her through the rest of the day, picking foods of a healthier variety that she’d be fine digesting. While she was honestly a bit too scrawny and could serve to put on some weight, why accept the demonous calories when they could just magically disappear?
After sitting back down, while grazing upon her second field of food, she took a look at her Skill Weave, wanting to see what all had become available from her myriad of new unlocks. As stated, her Combo Skills didn’t appear on the screen anywhere, similar to Traits. Then Multi-Bounce didn’t connect to anything, probably because it was a race exclusive Skill, making her wonder why it was there at all. Maybe the DGS just wanted to keep all Active, Passive, and Hybrid skills organized in the Weave, even if they were dead ends.
All of her other Balletic Attunement Skills, which were floating right next to Multi-Bounce, connected to a single Skill with no other branches. So if she wanted to continue with that path, it looked like she only had one way to go for now.
[Active Skill: Hold Fast | Unlock: 4 GP | Arrest your movement entirely, regardless of location and the forces against you, even in the air, negating the effects of gravity. Attempting to move will disable the skill. Additional MP may be spent to resist the effects of new incoming forces. Cost: Variable MP to engage depending on the present forces + MP drain to hold. Arresting strength scales with Skill Level, Obstinance, and Balletic Attunement. Growth scales with Obstinance. Additional Unlock Requirements: Intertwined Balletic Attunement]
Hmm, neat. That sounded like an improved version of Flutter. So basically she could just stop anywhere, in the sky, on the ground. If she was punched and flung, she wouldn’t need to bounce around like a ball anymore with that Skill. And it didn’t sound like she’d need to keep spending MP in order to maintain the spot unlike with her gimpy wings. That could definitely be worth getting, though it wasn’t as high of a priority, probably after Seeking Projectile since she could see that working really well with Frostbite for a poisoned icy barrage.
There was also the whole issue of needing a higher Attunement. What tier was Intertwined? Embraced was the third tier, and Intertwined didn’t feel like a huge step up, so maybe it was four or five. Regardless, she had her eyes on something more important anyway: Auto-Color. Now that she’d gotten Starvation, that amazing artistry Skill was next on her lifeplan, and nothing would stop her from getting it!
[Passive Skill: Suspecting Skin | Unlock: 1 GP | Sense dangers and malicious intent directed toward you through your skin's sensitivity. Sensitivity and detection range of dangers scales with Skill Level, Lucidity, and Gnostic Attunement. Growth Scales with Lucidity]
Well… there maybe was one thing. She found that along with the other sensory Skills under Gnostic Attunement. That must have unlocked with Hunting Nose, though it was connected to Scrying Ear and Diving Eye as well. Apparently there was one for each natural sense, so there must be one for taste too, right? Otherwise the set wouldn’t be complete. Maybe Tongues, also under Gnostic Attunement, counted for that, but that honestly had more to do with seeing and hearing than her mouth. Unless… could she speak any language with it as well? Angelica hadn’t tried, and since everything was auto-translated, would she even realize? Either way, it still didn’t quite use the sense like she’d imagined it.
As for purchasing Suspecting Skin, well… it wouldn’t hurt. In fact, it would hopefully save her from many such hurts. Angelica had always been a bit on the paranoid side. Coupled with her naive side, it led to her being constantly confused as to whether or not she should be worried. She had too many sides, so hopefully that would eliminate one. Would it tell her if the waiters were indeed looking at her with judgement eyes, as the voice inside her head—not the Demon Growth System, just her own ratty subconscious—whispered to her?
And it only cost 1 GP. Sure, that would be another level that Gelic would have to earn before she could get Auto-Color, but that could take a while, and she could be safer in her life now. As her lot in life would show, Angelica was not great at saving. But that changed now, well, after this lunch. Both money and GP, it was time to be frugal. No more frivolous spending, buying things or fancy meals or Skills she didn’t need, at least not until she was living her best artsy life.
[Passive Skill: Suspecting Skin Lv.1 unlocked]
[Lucidity increased]
[Gnostic Attunement increased]
As soon as she bought the Skill… nothing happened. She felt nothing whatsoever, either different or dangerous. What would it even feel like? Would her skin literally crawl? Would she get goose bumps, the heebie-jeebies, have her hair stand on end? That was an amusing image if she were in her puffball form at the time. So apparently there was nothing immediately threatening her? Was it a dud skill, a scam, Ferrul laughing at what a sucker she was?
Could she ask for a refund? Probably not. If anything, she should take it as a relief, but at the same time, didn’t want that to lead to an overconfident comfort. The best thing to do was try to forget about it for now, and hopefully the weird sense would come to save her someday. It was like buying insurance. Yeah, that sort of made her feel better when she thought about it that way. Just unlike some insurance companies, hopefully it would actually pay out when it was needed.
Oh, purchasing Suspecting Skin did actually trigger something after all: a new Skill for purchase in her Skill Weave. It was another connected to the four sense Skills she had so far, but not the taste one as she would have guessed. No, it seemed to be one that had only become available from having possessed so many of its type, a sense Skill that only worked with all of them combined. Basically a Combo Skill on the next level, but this was even greater than that if it worked as it said. And not only that, it was also tethered to Transfiguration, bringing Gnostic and Fraud Attunement together.