NOVEL NEXT B2 | Chapter 19
Aqua
[You have been granted the Trait known as 'Special Core 1x' for crushing a Special Core. Through this Special Core, you have now awakened the Hidden Stat known as MEN.]
[-Special Core 1x- Special Core 1x awakens the MEN Hidden Stat, which refers to the user's mental strength. Growing this stat will increase the user's mental offense and defense. As this stat was awakened through a Special Core, the only way to increase it is to use Free Points. Additionally, the stat awakens at the average of all the user's current base stats including their current Free Points but not including the user's other Hidden Stats. Lastly, as the user now has two Hidden Stats awakened, they may only awaken one more Hidden Stat in their life.]
This will help.
A lot.
Normally mental attacks aren't very common. But at the same time, mental defenses are even rarer.
So mental attacks are considered incredibly powerful across the universe.
After all, most people don't have any real way to defend against them.
The only way to make any sort of defense against them is the natural aura around a person made of their mana that is built up as they level up. But even that doesn't actively defend them against mental attacks.
All it means is that the higher someone's level compared to the source of the mental attack, the less the mental attack will affect someone.
I'm actually rather happy to have a mental attack myself. Even if it's only usable underwater.
Wait a second.
I blink at that thought. Then I open my list of skills.
[REQUESTING SKILLS: USER AQUA AZURANTH]
[12 SKILLS RETRIEVED]
[MORE THAN THREE SKILLS DETECTED]
[ALL SKILLS CONDENSED]
[Skill 1: Abyssal Kraken's Embrace]
[Skill 2: Hydrokinetic Wrath]
[Skill 3: Call of the Abyss]
[Skill 4: Abyssal Kraken's Partial Shift]
[Skill 5: Pressure of the Abyss]
[Skill 6: Abyssal Reversal]
[Skill 7: Maw of the Abyssal Kraken]
[Skill 8: Devourer of the Abyss]
[Skill 9: Converging Maelstrom]
[Skill 10: Abyssal Ruler]
[Skill 11: Light of the Abyss]
[Description: Allows the user to shine a deep blue light from their eyes that attacks the minds of all those who see it. In addition to the damage taken by their minds, those who see the light will also be forced into a dazed state. Light of the Abyss also does more damage when used underwater than outside of it.]
[Cost: Light of the Abyss costs 100 mana to use.]
[Cooldown: Light of the Abyss has no cooldown.]
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[Skill 12: Claw of the Abyssal Kraken]
[END SKILLS]
Huh.
Interesting.
I was wrong. It looks like I misread it before.
Light of the Abyss is usable outside of the water. It's just that it's not as powerful outside of the water as it is inside of the water.
A grin spreads across my face at that sight. Then I close out of the skills list and focus on my status after allocating my Free Points.
[REQUESTING STATUS: USER AQUA AZURANTH]
[STATUS RETRIEVED]
[Name: Aqua Azuranth]
[Level: 147]
[Mana: 1470]
[Strength: 192(128)]
[Dexterity: 102]
[Constitution: 98]
[Magical Strength: 97]
[REGEN: 1821]
[MEN: 106]
[Free Points: 0]
[Traits: Physique of the Abyssal Kraken, Apex Predator of the Depths, Lifeblood of the Abyssal Kraken, World First Ranker, Scales of the Abyssal Kraken, Galaxy First Ranker, Special Core 1x]
[Skills]
[END STATUS]
The new Hidden Stat is pretty high. So that's going to be very helpful.
Very helpful indeed.
Hidden Stats don't apply until after they're awakened. So with this skill, it's like my mental resistance and power just went from zero to over a hundred in one go.
So now mental attacks shouldn't have anywhere near as much of an effect on me anymore.
I can't help but grin at that thought.
Especially since there are two types of creatures with the most mental attacks in the universe.
Underwater creatures like the ones I've been facing.
And insects, arachnids, and just bugs in general.
Those are the two types of creatures in the universe most likely to have mental attacks.
Deep underwater creatures at that. Not surface level ones.
Although the types of mental attacks the two have are different.
Deep water creatures generally have light based mental attacks, whereas insects, arachnids, and bugs in general tend to have sound or just general sight based mental attacks. Attacks that they can attack with just a glance from them.
Unlike the light based mental attacks that attack someone when they look at the light.
Kind of like opposites.
With this stat, I not only have a defense against mental attacks, which are known to dominate the Alliance in a lot of places, but I also have a way to power up my own mental attacks. Mental attacks that work outside of the water.
It gives me a new way to fight outside of the water if necessary.
Now I kind of hope I get more mental attacks.
It'll help me a lot when I get off of this planet and have to fight in the Alliance Games. Where there won't be much water.
Although a Domain skill would be far more useful. Since it would let me place water everywhere instead of needing to fight outside of the water.
But that's not likely to happen for a very long time. Even if it'll probably eventually happen.
Most Bloodliners get Domain skills after all.
Eventually.
I turn my attention away from my status at that thought, and as the dungeon begins to tremble even harder. Mostly because there's still something very important that I need to do before leaving this dungeon.
So without any hesitation, I turn towards the boss' corpse. At which point I activate Abyssal Ruler.
And for the first time ever, I see the sinister deep blueish black aura coating over an entire kilometer. Which is very terrifying. At least, according to the chat.
[Holy shit…]
[That's terrifying to watch…]
[WHAT IF SHE MANAGES TO GET ITS BLUEPRINT?! I WANT TO SEE THATTTT!!!]
[this will be an incredible abyssal servant if she succeeds…]
[But will she extract it? Or will it fail?]
All at once, the aura snaps away. Marking the extraction as a failure.
After that, I immediately try again.
Only for it to fail again.
And again.
And again.
I grit my teeth as I take a deep breath. Then I try one last time.
Activating Abyssal Ruler and making the aura spread over the entire monster again.
And just like with the shark, it finally succeeds on the final try.
I let out a sigh of relief.
Meanwhile the monster itself begins to regenerate bit by bit. With massive bits of flesh just reattaching itself and regrowing. All while the monster's body changes color and texture.
Turning into a regular abyssal creature.
Then I find the dungeon shattering all at once. Leaving me and my currently summoned abyssal servants being dropped in the middle of the ocean where I originally opened the dungeon.
Which makes for a bit of a problem.
Specifically when I find my new enormous, kilometer-long boss-turned-abyssal servant just kinda dropping down in the water. Deeper and deeper. Nonstop.
Ever so slowly leaving my sight as the poor thing sinks.
Huh.
Well then.
I guess that's to be expected. But I don't think this boss is going to be very useful to me in a lot of battles. Not when the thing is so enormously massive and heavy.
And more importantly, can't swim and can only stand up from the bottom of the ocean.
It won't be able to fight in the open ocean, nor will I be able to summon it when I'm in a cavern. It's just too large to fit.
I watch the thing as it finally fades out of sight before dismissing it. Then I turn to look, only to find several humans staring at me in both terror and shock.
When did they get here?
And why are they so afraid…?
I blink at that thought before looking at the abyssal servants around me, then down at the waters below where I just dismissed the enormous servant.
Oh. Right.
That would explain it.
I focus on them again.
Well this is going to be awkward.
Maybe I can just act like they didn't see anything?
Yeah, here's hoping that works.