Arpious of the Planes

"We should probably use this later," I say with a grin.

I looked down at the dirt that covered the seed and couldn't help but sigh. This seed will probably take a few months to grow or maybe just a few weeks. We'll have to wait and see.

"I should probably assess my new fighting style without the 2 ancient fires since I relied on them the most for strong opponents. It would also be nice if I can get a temporary healing skill to replace Ichimei," I mutter to myself.

I walked a bit farther away until I reached a dip in the waterfall hills. It was an open grassy plain with very few monsters roaming around. The monsters were a species I haven't seen before… well it was the first time I saw a land monster in the waterfall hills.

[Killer Rabbit]

[This rabbit resides anywhere with open fields. This rabbit is always out of its burrow and only rarely does it go back inside of it for something. Beware of this rabbit's huge, sharp teeth which can puncture and tear anything apart, including steel.]

They are the same size as normal rabbits but their ears are much longer and droopier. Their eyes are blood red with their large and sharp teeth protruding from their mouth at all times. Their fur is a light tan color with streaks of brown going down their ears only.

[Lesser Sun Child]

[This monster resides only in places where the sun shines continuously throughout the day. It is born from the sun's rays that fuse with tiny bits of mana, creating the sun child. They do not have a definite shape which is why they imitate other monster forms. These monsters are normally passive but will retaliate if threatened. They use [Sunlight Control] to form orbs that float towards their enemies. If it touches the enemy they will receive severe burns. Their main weakness is [Moonlight Control] or [Moonlight Magic].]

The sun child that I used [Inspect] on took the form of a killer rabbit which is why I was a bit confused at first. It looked exactly like the killer rabbit but was completely yellow and slightly see-through.

[Plains Slime]

[This slime resides only in places that have an open field with grass. They might be one of the weakest out of all the slimes. If they don't continuously eat grass they will eventually melt down and die. Physical attacks do not work on it so skills using magic is your best bet of slaying it. Their form of attack is, jumping on you and hoping that their body starts to melt your skin.]

They look like any slime you would find in a fantasy book besides their light green color. Their color allows for great camouflage that any normal person would have had a hard time seeing.

Also, this might be the first time I have a seen slime in this fantasy world which seems crazy to say. They would usually be the first monsters you had to slay, but I went instantly to wolves.

"The best way to test out my new fighting style should be with monsters," I mutter after assessing the monsters around me.

[Shadow Garden of the Infinite Night]

A dark circle grew in size below me, covering a 10-meter radius. Different types of carnivorous plants started to protrude from the shadows below me, scaring off any prey that was near me.

Suddenly long beams of shadows shot up into the sky turning a 10-meter radius around me, dark as night. Whenever I moved the shadows below me and in the sky followed on top of me, but the shadow plants that were created, stayed implanted in the ground no matter how far I walked.

I kept the skill activate while I activated another skill.

[Tangible Bloodthirsty Aura]

A familiar red aura rose from my body. I was expecting it to lash out any monster in the vicinity but realized that it stayed put right next to my body. I touched the aura and surprisingly was able to grab it.

The aura was squishy but at the same time felt hard as steel.

I let go of the aura and tried to manipulate it with just my mind. I thought of it turning into spikes and it quickly followed my order. I looked like a red porcupine from afar.

I then manipulated it to where it created a halo similar to Homura's, where it was standing upright on my back. With this, I could have easy access to it and also can protect my backside quickly if there is ever a sneak attack.

"Shall we start this killing spree now?" I ask myself with a grin.

Since I was in an open field, the monsters that ran away from me were still in sight. I didn't let any of them escape as I dashed forward with all my might.

My first victim was a killer rabbit who charged towards me as well but once it stepped into my shadow garden, it immediately started to sink in, while the carnivorous shadow plants stabbed and ate away at it.

[Gained the following skills]

[Piercing Kick]

[Body Modification: Killer Rabbits Strong Muscles]

So the shadow plants can use my censored skill as well which's convenient. Now I don't have to eat them one by one but just feed them to the plants while I continue to slaughter more monsters.

My shadow garden made quick work of any monster that stepped onto it but, they adapted. Some realized they couldn't run away so they jumped over the garden which didn't activate any of the plants, so I had to deal with it myself.

If they jumped in front of me then I would swat them away with my hand, instantly killing them due to the stat disparity between us.

Sneak attacks from behind didn't work since I already sensed them due to [Heightened 5 Senses and More]. When they approached close enough, I manipulated the halo to stab it before letting it drop into the shadow garden.

[Gained the following skills]

[Sunlight Control]

[Summon: Slime Weapon]

[Body Modifcation: Slimes Easy Digestion]

"This isn't fun, maybe I should try something new…" I mutter to myself after yawning a bit.

I manipulate the red halo on my back to where it was over my head, but I didn't want to look like a saint so I made my own unique halo. I condensed it to where it was a deep red and it curved like an arch above me.

The deep red arch above me would create spikes that would kill anything that approached a 1-meter radius around me.

I was never really religious in my past life because no matter how long or hard I prayed to god for a better life, I got nothing but bullying. One day I was fed up and instead of praying on my knees, next to my bed, I decided to start working out.

This made the beatings I received much easier to take but I was still unable to defend myself, which is why I learned martial arts after school since I had no money for classes.

As I continued to walk around the field, slaying every monster in my way, I decided to check one of my suspicions that I've always had with [Assimilation].

I always felt whenever I used [Assimilation] I was missing something. It's almost like I have been using a loophole of the skill but not for its original purpose. I felt like [Assimilation] could do much more than just fuse skills and body modifications together.

I tried to concentrate on my shadow garden and soon after all I could hear was the chomping and digestion of the shadow plants. I reached out to them and ordered them to not eat any bones from the monsters they devour.

I swear I saw them give a tiny nod before continuing to eat.

Not long after, I had a pile of tiny bones from the killer rabits right in front of me.

I activated [Assimilation] and my status screen still popped up but instead of fusing my skills, I used it on the pile of bones below me. I closed my eyes while trying to picture the form that I want the pile of bones to take.

The creaking and cracking of bones could be heard for a short moment before stopping not long after.

I looked up to see a 5-foot tall black and white skeleton, with giant rabbit ears made from bones. It also had a pair of wings on its back but they were made from bones as well, making them essentially useless.

『Status』

[Race: Bone Servant]

[Status: Servant]

[HP: 500/500]

[Strength: 40]

[Defense: 40]

[Speed: 40]

…

It stood straight up in front of me, awaiting my order, but… I wasn't done.

I grabbed one of the plains slimes that were about to be devoured and used assimilation on it with the bone servant. This time my status didn't pop up which surprised me.

Maybe my status always popped up since that was my original opinion on how the [Assimilation] skill worked. And now that I know I have been taking advantage of a loophole or maybe it was intentional it doesn't display my status window anymore.

『Status』

[Race: Slime Bone Servant]

[Status: Servant]

[HP: 500/500]

[Strength: 50]

[Defense: 50]

[Speed: 50]

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