He’d leveled up to 29, earning 3 skill points. As planned, he allocated two of them to Body, increasing it to 7. So he met all the requirements for the Enhanced Regeneration skill now. Upon gathering enough mana to obtain the three skills required for evolving, he would acquire all of them at the same time. He decided to keep the third skill point for the time being. Once he evolved, he would use it to increase one of his skills to the next rank.
Jake then opened his eyes and examined his body. He’d sustained some injuries during the fight with the three chasers, but they were superficial, and his body was already sealing them shut.
After that, he closed his eyes again and checked his stats. He now had a new menu called Perks. It currently contained only one perk, Enemy Appraisal, which had been given to him after successfully completing the survival challenge. He read its description.
Enemy Appraisal (Rank I): Allows you to see basic information about any living being, such as its level and attributes.
Raise to Rank II: Y/N (Cost: 1 SP)
He could already summon some information about a living being. His Enhanced Intelligence, which worked somewhat like a PDA, allowed him to see the level of a living being, as well as other details such as their name or special abilities if the target was a mutant. The Enemy Appraisal perk allowed him to view the attributes of a human or mutant in addition to the information previously available.
He also noticed that unlike skills and abilities, perks didn’t seem to have a progression bar. To upgrade a perk to the next rank, all he needed to do was allocate a skill point to it. He really wanted to do it right away, as raising Enemy Appraisal would definitely let him see even more valuable information about his enemies. After giving the matter some thought, he decided to use his third skill point to upgrade the perk to Rank II.
After that, he checked its description one more time.
Enemy Appraisal (Rank II): Allows you to see basic information about any living being, such as its level, attributes as well as skills and abilities.
Raise to Rank III: Y/N (Cost: 1 SP)
Jake couldn’t help but wonder what the top rank of a perk was. Anyway, the next time he encountered an enemy, he was going to test out the Enemy Appraisal perk on it. He was really curious to see how it worked.
He then opened his eyes, causing all the info to disappear. He walked toward the mana consumable that had materialized in the air and dropped to the rooftop when the anomaly disappeared. He picked it up.
Mana Crystal: 5,000 MP (Rare)
He clenched it in his hand, but it didn’t yield to the pressure. Unlike mana consumables of lower rarity, crystals were somewhat stronger, requiring him to exert more strength than lesser mana items. He tightened his grip on the crystal, causing it to shatter. The magical energy flowed out of the fractured crystal and drifted toward his body to be absorbed by it.
Mana consumables were extremely durable. Regular survivors couldn’t seem to break them, no matter how hard they tried. However, they could extract magical energy from a mana consumable with a mere thought. For some reason, unlike survivors, Jake couldn’t do that. Instead, to extract mana, he needed to crush a mana consumable, and he could break it without much trouble. He wasn’t sure why this was the case. Maybe his mana-infused body had something to do with it? Or, perhaps, each survivor had a secret skill or perk that allowed them to extract mana mentally, while he had a hidden skill designed specifically for him to crush mana consumables to absorb the mana stored within them?
Jake shook his head, dismissing his thoughts. Letting the transparent crystal shards fall from his grasp, he stood up and scanned his surroundings. The night was descending rapidly, casting darkness over the city. The regular world refresh was just around the corner. Planning to dedicate the next hours to hunting for mana, Jake dashed across the rooftop and leaped to another building with a burst of magical energy.
Later on, when he encountered a walker in one of the buildings, he summoned its stats. The mutant’s name and level were displayed to him. No more info popped up, though. While the walker moved toward him, Jake used the Enemy Appraisal perk on the mutant, and an additional piece of information emerged in his mind.
Ex-human Walker – Level 10
Special ability: None
Attributes: Body 2, Mind 1, Magick 0
Jake tried to summon its skills and abilities, but nothing happened. He figured walkers didn’t have any. Later on, he encountered a leaper and utilized Enemy Appraisal once more. He found out that a leaper had a Body attribute of 3, Mind of 2, and Magick of 0.
Jake spent most of the night searching the city for mana. By the time the darkness of the night began to dissipate, he’d collected enough mana to purchase the three required skills, possessing almost thirty thousand MP in total at his disposal.
He was currently standing on the roof of a high-rise building, studying the three skills he needed to purchase from the skill store.
Skill: Enhanced Strength
Description: Grants the mutant extraordinary strength and force. With this ability, the mutant can overpower opponents, easily lift heavy objects, and excel in other physical challenges. Enhanced Strength gives the mutant a significant edge in combat situations, allowing them to deliver powerful blows as well as greatly increasing their resistance to damage.
Upgrades: 0 of 3 (Common)
Although Jake didn’t think he needed to increase his strength, this skill improved his body's ability to withstand damage, which was always a good thing.
Skill: Enhanced Regeneration
Description: Significantly improves the mutant’s ability to heal severe injuries, letting their body recover at an accelerated rate while consuming the same amount of mana as before.
Upgrades: 0 of 3 (Common)
Requirements: Body 7, Magick 5, Mind 3
This skill was supposed to let his body heal faster, sealing severe wounds at an accelerated rate. Faster healing usually resulted in increased mana consumption, but with this skill, his body should use the same amount of mana as before despite the increased healing speed.
Skill: Feral Instincts
Description: Heightens the mutant’s senses to an extraordinary level, granting them keen awareness and intuition akin to a primal predator. With this skill, the mutant can perceive threats before they happen, allowing them to detect ambushes and evade attacks, staying one step ahead in any confrontation.
Upgrades: 0 of 3 (Common)
Requirements: Mind 5, Magick 3
Of the three skills, this one appealed to him the most. He wondered how it worked. Perhaps, it was similar to the spidey-sense?
One by one, Jake purchased all three skills, spending 12,000 MP in total. He believed he now met all the requirements for evolving to Stage 2. To confirm, he summoned the evolution menu and reviewed the information.
Requirements for evolving to Stage 2
Attributes: Body 5, Mind 5, Magick 5
Enhanced Senses - Rank II
Enhanced Agility - Rank II
Enhanced Intelligence - Rank II
Enhanced Reflexes - Rank I
Enhanced Strength - Rank I
Enhanced Regeneration - Rank I
Feral Instincts - Rank I
With all requirements satisfied, he was ready to evolve into the next stage. Without hesitation, Jake thought “Yes”.