MoPako System

It took me a moment or two of understanding the explanation provided, but after taking a look at the store and the skill path tree, it became clear. Core Abilities undergoes qualitative change as the higher phase one goes, combining multiple lower tier skills to form a higher-tiered one. What would the final level look like then, as Exalted already have the peak of mastery? Maybe that's why it's locked. 'Cuz it would be beyond anyone's wildest imagination.

As for Auxiliary abilities, it's similar in the same way except there's really no relation between Crafting Phase and Aether Bestowment Phase—which I guess works like a buffing spell? Man, this is kind of complicated. All in all, it's an evolution of the abilities themselves. Utter brain-gasm.

I moved onto the skill tree chart, which looked like a constellation system of some famillliiiarr thing (a honeybee), I noticed four abilities branching out from my initial two general abilities: Forceful Sting, Barrage Sting, Mandible Thrust, Mandible Slice.

But they were blacked out. When I clicked on the blacked-out icons, it stated that you need initial practical experience to be able to learn it. Additionally, the system said I could manually learn the skills myself by training. Neat.

Although they were locked, I did acquire the Evasion primitive core ability by myself. Heh, I have a natural knack for avoiding stuff, even responsibilities!

Taking a moment to glance at the future abilities and considering which build I should take, I closed it and checked my status sheet:

 Robert Aphens:

[ MoPako System – Monster and Companion; destined ones to change the world's fate.

{ Skill Tree Chart} { Evolution Path} {Store} { Title Traits} {???} {???} { ???} {???}

Name: Robert Aphens

Race: Mel Apis Infans (Honeybee Worker Infant)

Level: 3 (Evo 1)

Strength: 10

Agility: 10

Constitution: 11

Intelligence: 14

HP: 20/44

Skills:

Core Abilities:

General: Bee Sting lvl 3, Bee Bite lvl 1, Evasion lvl 1

Auxiliary Abilities: Tier 1 Navigation Auxiliary Ability

Titles: N/A

Skill points: 0

Stat Points: 0

Do you wish to confirm the changes? ]

Hmmm I have injuries, but as a magical monster, I probably have the ability to heal just by digesting. This is but mere speculation though, if I don't heal during my sleep, I have no choice but to go for another level up.

And hit that change, Mister or Miss MoPako System! When I affirmed, I felt a slight tingle over my entirety. That was weirdly therapeutic?

When all was said and done, the only thing left to do… is make up my bed. Make sure the entrance is well hidden and go to sleep. So, I went on to work, gathering any clumps of thickets and vines along with these willow tree branches outside the grotto, making sure to be stealthy. All the plant life surrounding the shore had this characteristic striped vibrant pastel purple spiraling their frames. It was quite frankly, aesthetic.

My stealth powers from hours of playing RimSky, Gear Metal, and Creed Assassins came into play at this juncture, my buzzing wings moving the minimum degree to fly me. Zipping to and fro hiding spots of rocks, bark and bushes.

Not one monster caught onto my presence. After the designing work, the entrance appeared glamorously fabulous, I must say.

*Feat gained! Simple Joys under Pressure. +10 store points! Tier 1 Store Point Reduction 50%, gained +5 store points!

Well would you look at that? I entered inside with a jump, piled the stack of these fluffy looking leaves like oregano leaves the size of a palm tree leaf. I laid down. It wasn't easy to sleep. But how can I without an eyelid? Right, the honeybees just stay still, relaxing until a state of quiescence. I worried if this was going to work, but eventually—the fatigue slowly closed off my mind. I let everything wash over me. Then, the emotions swept down. All that I experienced shattered my restraint. How does a miserable honeybee look like? I wish I never knew.

...…

…..

Bazzah! I am up. Yep, that's going to be my morning call. Gotta pump my energy. And already I could feel the physical changes in my body from the system changes. Tougher. Slightly faster. Stretching my limbs and antennae feels great. Wow, this is amazing, I could get used to this. I took a look at my hp and saw that, precisely, I recovered 10 hp! Nice.

I had a few test runs on my durability; banging my head against the wall. It hurts less, alright. I think? Alright, time to put my plan into motion. I wasn't sure about my goal other than survival was, but to find where my colony and reunite would take priority. Many bees are more than a single bee. Strength in numbers.

On that account—do I know how to use my pheromones? The answer is: I don't know. I could feel something else being released when I was injecting my venom into the worm. Pretty sure those were my alarm pheromones. No way of proving it, though. Other than that, pure ignorance. Surely, I could discern a bee pheromone if I come across it? I gotta be careful though, if it's a stranger honeybee colony, I might just be ripped to shreds.

Ah damn, I don't remember the scent of my comrades. In that dilemma, the course of action came to me: investigate where I was born. That centipede wouldn't have remained there all this while and I still recall the way.

I set out abuzz with purpose, sneaky-sneaking making my way through.

...

…

Without any hitches, I arrived at the place. It only took half an hour to get here. If I accounted my first run-away, only estimated around 12 minutes of all-out buzzing, then my survival was truly tremendously lucky. How'd that even happen? I scouted the whole area out.

The muddy soil was utterly ravaged. A whole section of the forest became a broken clearing, where bits and pieces of honeycomb lie like toys. The ground had a gaping hole, as if leading to the unknown depths. A high-pitch was blowing through the tunnel, cold wind venting out. Not one remains of my comrades left behind. Not even our home. Remembering the scene of their last-stand added a weight I never was aware. Yet even now, it was being scavenged by scavenger monsters. Crows, Hyenas, the same Lubrica Burrowlings. Only a few of them.

Desecration flit through my mind. It was weird. I never spent time nor exchanged affection with my fellow honeybees. Do I actually feel camaraderie? A sense of kinship? Perhaps. Loneliness is a poisonous mistress, after all. Where else to get strength but my supposed friends? But I did manage to find my goal, even as I hid in a high tree branch. It was faint, very, very faint. A pheromone trail, its direction pointing to the azure mountain range far away. Although I could see its peaks, it merely resembles a pebble in my position. How far away is it? I clench my mandibles hard. Someday.

I turned away, returning the way back. I have to get stronger first. Strong enough to survive on my own in this jungle forest of macabre.

And so, days of slaughter had passed. The honeybee fully leaned into his monstrous instincts. Struggling to scout, learning an enemy's habits and habitat, planning the perfect moment to strike.

Only one time my ambush succeeded in one strike, and it was a wounded monster. The others, I had to fight mandible and sting. Blood. Guts. Pain. Hunger. A cycle of it all around. At some point, I started thinking if I was truly a honeybee myself, and the memories of the human Robert Aphens was simply implanted into me as a cruel joke. This is a cruel joke. I could only laugh to survive. Stay still and bazzah! Go out and observe, at some point—I acquired the auxiliary ability Living Observation, naturally. Helps me analyze monsters better. Man, I wish I had someone to talk to.

I killed another three monster worms, two monster moths, a monster cricket, a wounded wolf, a monster crow, and a monster rat. All of them Evo 1, most are higher-leveled than I.

However, I failed one time. It cost me agony. I had to run away with almost half of my body melted into a puddle. Ah, it hurts.

It was against a harmless-looking poisonous frog. Simply assuming its modes of attacks were its spit and tongue, I didn't expect that it could expel a poisonous fume out of its porous body from an instantaneous kick. Although I dodged the kick, I couldn't escape from its fume discharge. So thick and sticky was it that it attached right away to my exoskeleton. I only managed to scrape by through with a mere 5 hp remaining even by exhausting one minor healing and one stamina refill. I didn't want to waste the last minor healing, so I endured it.

It took a whole week before I could completely digest all my stocked-up food, with only a bit more than half of my total hp restored. In this time, I gained 12 levels, making me a level 15 Mel Apis Infans.

Robert Aphens:

[ MoPako System – Monster and Companion; destined ones to change the world's fate.

{ Skill Tree Chart} { Evolution Path} {Store} { Title Traits} {???} {???} { ???} {???}

Name: Robert Aphens

Race: Mel Apis Infans (Honeybee Worker Infant)

Level: 15 (Evo 1)

Strength: 22

Agility: 22

Constitution: 23

Intelligence: 17

HP: 50/92

Skills:

Core Abilities:

General: Bee Sting lvl 7, Bee Bite lvl 6, Vision Focus lvl 4, Evasion lvl 5, Stealth lvl 3, Flight lvl 4.

Mandible Constellation: Mandible Slice lvl 3, Mandible Thrust lvl 2

Abdomen Constellation: Venom Tip lvl 5 Forceful Sting lvl 4, Barrage Sting lvl 3,

Wing Constellation: Buzz Evasion lvl 1, Aerial Strike lvl 2,

Auxiliary Abilities: Tier 1 Navigation Auxiliary Ability, Tier 1 Living Observation

Titles: N/A

Skill points: 0

Ability Points: 0

Do you wish to confirm the changes? ] 

[ Tier 1 Store

Feats: 8 (!) Achievements: 0

Total Points: 229

1. Minor healing: 5 pts (non-consumable, repeatable only one time)

2. Minor mana restoration: 6 pts (non-consumable, repeatable only three times)

3. Minor stamina refill: 4 pts (non-consumable, repeatable only two times)

4. Tier 1 Tracking Auxiliary Ability (Survival): 10 pts (Requires Navigation Ability)

5. Tier 2 Navigation Auxiliary Ability (Survival): 25 pts

6. Upgrade Tier 1 Store to Tier 2 Store: 35 pts

7. Unlock Evolutionary Path Evo 2 Requirements: 50 pts

Feat gained! Endured Torture. +85 store points. Tier 1 Store Reduction Price 50%, gained +43 store points!

Feat gained! At Death's Door. +95 store points. Tier 1 Store Reduction Price 50%, gained +53 store points! ]

* Confirm purchase of Tier 2 Navigation Auxiliary Ability (Survival), Tier 1 Tracking Auxiliary Ability (Survival)? *

*Do you wish to upgrade Tier 1 Store to Tier 2 Store? Costs 35 points.*

Yes and yes to all. Still, looking at my ever-increasing wall-of-text of a status sheet I now have, I really… got through so much, huh? How long have I been here? Weeks? Pushing myself to the brink, honing my skills as much as possible, scouting and killing. Consecutively. Well, I had to go that far. Otherwise, I wouldn't have survived till now.

Ah here comes the tingle. Whooo.

*Grumble*

Yep, I know. My body needs sustenance. Have to go out soon Should be fairly strong against the normal mobs 'round here. Even if I make a mistake, it shouldn't be fatal. Yet, before that, I gotta check out the new store.

[

Tier 2 Store

Feats: 8 (!) Achievements: 0

Total Points: 159

1. Minor Healing: 5 pts (non-consumable, repeatable only one time)

2. Intermediate Healing: 15 pts (non-consumable, repeatable only three times)

3. Minor Mana Restoration: 6 pts (non-consumable, repeatable only three times)

4. Intermediate Mana Restoration: 18 pts (non-consumable, repeatable only three times)

5. Minor Stamina Refill: 4 pts (non-consumable, repeatable only two times)

6. Intermediate Stamina Refill: 12 pts (non-consumable, repeatable only three times)

7. +3 stat points: 20 pts

8. +3 skill points: 60 pts

9. Tier 1 Trap Laying Auxiliary Ability (Survival): 10 pts

10. Tier 1 Shelter Building Auxiliary Ability (Survival): 10 pts

11. Tier 1 Resource Identification Auxiliary Ability (Survival): 10 pts

12. Tier 1 Non-verbal Language Auxiliary Ability (Survival): 10 pts

13. Tier 1 Tracking Auxiliary Ability (Survival): 10 pts

14. Upgrade Tier 2 Store to Tier 3 Store: 75 pts

15. Unlock Evolutionary Path Evo 2 Requirements: 50 pts

]

This is unreal. 20 points for +3 stat points? 60 points? What has the world come into… but, I could literally buy all of them and still have plenty left—I am literally rich! I am a self-made wealthy noble, damn it! The question is, do I greed now? Of course, with 154 remaining I could just simply upgrade the store now, maybe even twice. All my other feats so far are things I did while surviving like setting up base, training for the first time, ate monster meat. Going forward, I need to get more value out of my feats, and god allow it, achievements, for the long term. I am pretty comfy right now so let's do it.

*Do you wish to upgrade Tier 2 Store to Tier 3 Store? Costs 75 points.*

But just as I was about to say yes, another holographic system prompt popped in my face.

*Another user of the MoPako System is nearby.*

Huh?