*Puyon. Puyon*
Ever since he acquired the skill 'Invisibility', Luka decided to be bolder.
Instead of going to school, he switched places with a clone halfway there while he himself stayed invisible in the form of a little blue bird.
It was easy to leave Konoha like that. No one noticed him until then.
He then returned to the river where he first appeared.
Not because of sentimental value or anything like that, but because it was a very hidden place, and it also had many different kinds of insects.
With invisibility active, he approached a deer that was drinking water from the river.
Even with the sound of "puyon" as he jumped, the deer didn't detect him, despite seeming to glance in the direction where it heard the sound.
Jumping higher, Luka landed on the deer's back.
Finally the deer reacted, but before it could run away, Luka heard the Great Sage's voice.
<<Activate Skill [Predation]? [YES]/[NO]>>
'Yes!'
In the next instant, his slime form stretched enough to cover the deer's body, neutralizing its limbs, soon covering it completely.
<<[Predation successful!]
1: [Enhanced Senses (Iron Lv.1 – 00%)] acquired!
2: [Spatial Intelligence (Iron Lv.1 – 00%)] acquired!
3: [You acquire the basic senses of a [Deer]]
4: [It becomes possible for you to transform into a [Deer]]
5: [+20 EXP]
6: [+2 Points]>>
Unlike the other times, this time the process took longer, however, the chance rate of obtaining mimicry increased by at least 50%. It was a gigantic leap.
Not to mention that, despite being indifferent, it was cooler to hear the Great Sage's voice than the cold voice of the system.
'Great Sage, how does the skill [Spatial Intelligence] work?' He asked mentally.
<<Answering. You can measure distances and evaluate the environment by moving your head>>
As soon as he heard the answer, he tested it and indeed, it was possible to do that.
'This could be really useful.'
Acquiring these two new skills also made him think that, if he kept increasing his arsenal of skills, soon he would have so many skills that he wouldn't even know which one to use.
Sometimes, having too much is not the best result.
'After I get the [Devil's Pieces], my priority will be obtaining the skill [Synthesis]!'
Transforming into a deer, he noticed that his fur had become predominantly golden.
The antlers on his head extended in a way that resembled tree branches with dragon claw-shaped tips.
Deer were good swimmers, capable of crossing rivers and ponds.
Luka jumped into the river and dived.
Seeing a fish, he transformed into a Slime.
[Hydraulic Propulsion]!
With control and precision, he engulfed the fish.
<<Activate Skill [Predation]? [YES]/[NO]>>
'Yes!'
<<[Predation successful!]
1: [Stress Resistance (Iron Lv.1 – 00%)] acquired!
2: [You acquire the basic senses of a [Tilapia]]
3: [It becomes possible for you to transform into a [Tilapia]]
4: [+1 EXP]
5: [+0,1 Points]>>
Luka changed form into a tilapia. Unlike the gray tilapia, he became golden, reflecting the sunlight on his golden scales with 20 cm in length.
Swimming, he approached another tilapia and devoured it.
Besides gaining a few EXP points in the [Stress Resistance] skill, he didn't gain another skill.
'I thought it would give me a swimming skill or maybe, fins...
<<[Predation successful!]
1: [Tilapia Fins (Iron Lv.1 – 00%)] acquired!
2: [+1 EXP]
3: [+0,1 Points]>>
As soon as he thought that, upon devouring another tilapia it actually happened that he gained fins as a skill.
'There are many fish here, I'll 'eat' some of these, increasing these skills, then move on to the next targets.' He thought.
If he followed the river, perhaps if he appeared in a larger area, he would find sharks, but no rush, something of that size can wait until later.
His priority right now is not quality, but quantity.
<<[Predation successful!]
1: [Gill Breathing (Iron Lv.1 – 00%)] acquired!
2: [+1 EXP]
3: [+0,1 Points]>>
'Hmm... It's not very useful for me who doesn't need to breathe oxygen, but it's better to have it than not have it, I guess.'
Transforming into a tilapia again, he went toward the next victim.
<<[Predation successful!]
1: [Ectothermy (Iron Lv.1 – 00%)] acquired!
2: [Enhanced Senses – Lateral Line (Iron Lv.1 – 00%)] acquired!
3: [It becomes possible for you to transform into a [Trahira]]
4: [+1 EXP]
5: [+0,1 Points]>>
'My successful predation rate is around 70%, I think.'
If he continued at this pace, soon he would have the mimicry of every fish in this river.
A few minutes later, besides improving the skills already acquired and gaining EXP and points, no new skill was acquired.
Jumping out of the water like a tilapia, Luka changed form into an eagle, becoming invisible right afterward.
Flying, his eagle eyes noticed something in the distance.
Like an arrow shot, he headed in that direction. In front of him was a beehive.
In the air, he transformed into a semi-transparent golden slime cloak, but until then, invisible to the naked eye.
Something inside or near the hive sensed his presence and tried to escape, but it was not fast enough.
<<Activate Skill [Predation]? [YES]/[NO]>>
Covering the hive and everything around it, even the tree branch that was being used, Luka exclaimed 'Yes!' in his mind.
There were many bees trying to escape, but their struggle time did not last long before being dissolved, then analyzed and then absorbed.
Only at this moment did he understand that he was wrong, very wrong!
His skill 'Thought Acceleration' when used by the Great Sage together with the skill itself, analyzed the hundreds of thousands of bees even faster. It didn't even take a second to calculate that there was a total of 53 thousand and 987 bees in the hive.
And the result was:
<<[Predation successful!]
1: [Ultraviolet Vision (Iron Lv.1 – 00%)] acquired!
2: [Polarized Perception (Iron Lv.1 – 00%)] acquired!
3: [Vibrational Sensitivity (Iron Lv.1 – 00%)] acquired!
4: [Enhanced Smell (Iron Lv.1 – 00%)] acquired!
5: [Venomous Stingers (Iron Lv.1 – 00%)] acquired!
6: [Agile Flight (Iron Lv.1 – 00%)] acquired!
7: [Reaction Speed (Iron Lv.1 – 00%)] acquired!
8: [Hive Mind (Iron Lv.1 – 00%)] acquired!
9: [Fatigue Resistance (Iron Lv.1 – 00%)] acquired!
10: [Temperature Resistance (Iron Lv.1 – 00%)] acquired!
11: [Resistance to Light Toxins (Iron Lv.1 – 00%)] acquired!
12: [Honey Production (Iron Lv.1 – 00%)] acquired!
13: [Pollination (Iron Lv.1 – 00%)] acquired!
14: [Bee Wings (Iron Lv.1 – 00%)] acquired!
15: [Wax Moth Wings (Iron Lv.1 – 00%)] acquired!
16: [Enhanced Hearing (Iron Lv.1 – 00%)] acquired!
17: [It becomes possible for you to transform into a [Bee]]
18: [It becomes possible for you to transform into a [Wax Moth]]
19: 53,987x [+0,1 EXP]
20: 53,987x [+0,01 Points]>>
21: 20x [+0,1 EXP]
22: 20x [+0,01 Points]>>
"..."
'This is... A complete mess! In a good way, of course...'
It was so much information that his head started to hurt a little, but only a little, soon it eased. Even so, it was ridiculous to see that although all low-level, he had gained so many skills at once.
Many of the skills he acquired worked passively. At that moment, Luka felt as if nothing could escape his enhanced senses. It was a feeling that made him start to deify himself. Honestly, he felt that something like this was not good to feel.
'I need to stay grounded.' He thought.
No matter how invincible he felt, that was only because the threat level he had been exposed to was minimal.
As a former fighter, he understood very well what it was like to feel like that. The feeling of being better than others was stimulating, but at the same time, dangerous.
Many powerful people fell because of their own arrogance and he did not want to be one of them.
'This won't work, I need to ask father to train with me!'
Only when he understood the vastness would he learn to be humble again.