He stood in the smoldering, roach-charred cavern, his new [Chitin-Edged Bone Dagger] feeling heavy and real in his hand. It was, as the System noted, "inspired junk."
And he was an inspired-junk artist.
He was Lvl 6. His 17 Intelligence was buzzing. His 10 Agility and 10 Stamina made him feel coiled, like a small, green spring. He was, he felt, no longer just surviving. He was dominating.
(His 8 Strength, which was still less than an athletic human, quietly suggested he not get too cocky.)
But his "Cave-Crackle" loop had a flaw: he was, once again, out of the flammable [Roach Pus]. His grand strategy of FWOOMPH required ammunition. And that meant going back to 1-on-1 wetwork.
"Fine," he muttered, testing the serrated edge of his dagger with a claw. "Time to see if this melee build has any merit."
He stalked back into the unexplored tunnels, his 13 Perception on high alert. He was moving with a new, predatory confidence. He owned these crawlspaces. The skittering of a lone roach ahead wasn't a threat; it was a ringtone. It was the sound of a resource node politely announcing its location.
He found it. A Lvl 1 [Cave Roach (Bloated)], same as all the others.
Before, he would have hung back, used his [Junk Tossing (Lvl 2)], and played it safe.
Not now. He had a 10 in Agility and a 10 in Stamina. He wanted to save the mana.
The roach sensed him and turned, its antennae twitching. It hissed—a wet, pathetic sound—and lunged, its stubby legs moving in a clumsy scramble.
He didn't even back up. He strafed.
His 10 Agility felt like teleportation. He simply... wasn't there. The roach lunged past him, its momentum carrying it into the stone wall.
He was already on its flank. He raised his new dagger.
'Improvise' wasn't just for crafting; his 17 Intelligence applied it to combat. He saw the weak point, the gap in the chitin plates.
He stabbed.
SHLICK!
The serrated, fire-hardened chitin edge didn't just pierce. It tore. It ripped a horrifying gash in the roach's side.
[Critical Hit!]
[You have inflicted [Bleeding (Minor)]!]
The roach shrieked. It convulsed, its legs spasming.
And this is where his "bad luck" (or, more accurately, "just the universe being a jerk") kicked in.
The roach was [Bloated]. His dagger-strike had ruptured its main pus-sac.
It didn't just die. It exploded.
SQUELCH!
A high-pressure jet of foul, greenish-yellow, acidic pus shot out, dousing him from the chest down.
He was momentarily blinded, sputtering. The stench. It was the concentrated, vinegary reek of his firebombs, but wet and on him.
"AAGH! NYANGO! It's in my mouth! It's in my MOUTH!" he shrieked, spitting and clawing at his face.
He was covered. He was sticky. He was, once again, the single most disgusting creature in a cave already overflowing with disgusting creatures. This was, he decided, precisely why he hated melee.
Then, the notifications.
[You have been exposed to [Infectious Roach Pus]!]
[Your Skill [Toxin Resistance (Lvl 1)] has activated!]
[Resistance Check (10%) vs. Toxin (Difficulty 3)... Success!]
[You have successfully resisted [Stomach Sickness].]
[You have slain a [Cave Roach (Bloated) (Lvl 1)]!] [Experience Gained: 2 EXP.]
He stood there, dripping, his rage slightly abated by the sweet, sweet 'Success' message. His stupid, life-threatening gamble with the [Tainted Core Fragment] was still paying dividends. He was immune to his own weaponized bug-guts.
He angrily [Scavenged] the deflated roach-husk, acquiring one [Vial of Roach Pus (Poor)] and some [Tainted Meat].
He looked at his dagger. It was dripping with the stuff.
His [Analysis] skill, ever-helpful, passively triggered.
[Passive: [Analysis] activated!]
[Target: [Chitin-Edged Bone Dagger (Coated)]]
[Core Properties Identified: [Acid (Active)], [Flammable (Active)], [Corroding Bone-Handle].]
His 17 Intelligence didn't just process this. It had an idea. A wonderfully terrible, deeply practical idea.
The pus on his blade was corroding it. But it was also... acidic.
He took the fresh [Vial of Roach Pus] he'd just harvested and, with grim purpose, poured it over the blade, re-coating it.
'Improvise.'
[Improvise (Lvl 1) Check (Int 17) vs. Difficulty (6)... Success!]
[You have created a [Corroded Chitin-Edged Dagger (Poor - Temporary)]!]
[Your skill [Improvise (Passive)] has gained 30% EXP.]
He [Appraised] his new, dripping, frankly vile weapon.
[Corroded Chitin-Edged Dagger (Poor - Temporary) (Weapon)]
Rank: F-rank (High)
Description: Your... 'inspired' junk dagger, now coated in mildly acidic roach-pus. It's dissolving, but it's also incredibly vicious.
Effect: Inflicts [Piercing] damage + [Bleeding (Minor)] + [Acid (Minor)] damage over time.
Durability: This weapon will dissolve into useless sludge in 10:00 minutes.
A 10-minute, high-damage melee buff.
He looked at his pus-soaked chest, then at the dissolving dagger in his hand.
"Okay," he rasped, a truly terrifying grin splitting his face. "Let's not let this go to waste."
He didn't stalk. He ran.
His 10 Agility carried him in a blur through the dark tunnels. He was a Lvl 6, acid-dripping, pus-covered gremlin on a 10-minute clock.
He found another roach.
HISSS-
SHLICK!
The sizzle of the acid hitting the roach's internals was audible even before the [2 EXP] notification. He didn't even bother to [Scavenge] yet. He ran.
Another roach.
Dodge. Stab. SIZZLE.
[2 EXP Gained!]
Another.
Lunge. Stab. SIZZLE.
[2 EXP Gained!]
He was a whirlwind of chitin-murder. In five minutes, he had killed seven more roaches, his dagger-buff still ticking. He was moving so fast, his 10 Stamina barely registered the exertion.
[EXP Threshold Reched! YOU HAVE LEVELED UP!]
[Level 6 -> Level 7]
[All Base Attributes +1]
[You have 19 EXP remaining. (25 + 14 = 39. 39 - 20 (to Lvl 7) = 19)]
(System Recalibration: Lvl 7 EXP requirement is 70. You are Lvl 7 (19/70 EXP).)
His dagger dissolved. The blade just... melted, the chitin flakes sliding off the corroded bone-nub, which then crumbled to dust.
He stood in the darkness, breathing hard, his 11 Agility feeling even more electric.
His new stats:
STR 9, AGI 11, STA 11, INT 18, PER 14, MANA 8.
He was... fast.
He went back and [Scavenged] the seven corpses, his skill finally leveling up.
[Your Skill [Scavenge (Lvl 2)] has gained 100% proficiency!]
[Skill: [Scavenge (Lvl 2)] -> [Scavenge (Lvl 3)]]
[Success rate greatly increased. You can now sometimes find [Hidden] properties or materials in 'Junk'.]
He now had seven new [Vials of Roach Pus]. He had a pile of [Tainted Meat] to cook. He was out of a melee weapon, but he had the materials to make a dozen more.
He had cleared, he was sure, all the "stray" roaches.
He pushed deeper into the last, unexplored section of the crawlspace.
And the sound...
It wasn't the skitter of a few bugs. It was the roar. A unified, chittering, hissing ocean of them.
His 14 Perception told him he wasn't looking at a nest.
He was looking at the colony.
He found the opening. It was another large cavern, as big as the goblin-king's, but this one was pulsing. The walls, the floor, the ceiling... it was a living carpet of [Cave Roaches]. Thousands of them.
And in the center, on a raised mound of... eggs... was a creature the size of a large dog.
It was a roach, but its chitin was thick, black, and spiked. It had six glowing, compound eyes.
His [Cowardice] passive, which had been silent for so long, flared faintly.
He didn't need to [Appraise] it. He knew exactly what it was.
The Queen.
He looked at the seven [Vials of Roach Pus] on his belt. It wasn't enough.
"Okay," he whispered, backing away very slowly. "So, that's a 'no' on the melee build."
He grinned.
"Time to go shopping for more fuel."