Chapter 241: New Skills

Joo Joowon did not find this rule particularly difficult to accept. The limits of each species were indeed different.

Put a tiger and a cat together. Although both were felines, under normal circumstances, a cat would never be able to defeat a tiger. Their level limits would naturally be different as well.

After all, even if they were at the same level, the attributes possessed by the former would still show an overwhelming advantage over the latter.

The Pet Companion panel did not display the pet’s attributes. It only displayed its skills and talents. This made Joo Joowon somewhat disappointed. Fortunately, there was still a status section, allowing him to know the pet’s current condition.

Joo Joowon clicked on the details one by one and took a look.

[ Titanic Form (Common)]

Basic Bonus: 1~20

Description: An enhancement-type skill that consumes the user’s own energy to enlarge the body, temporarily increasing all attributes. It can increase the original attributes by up to twenty times. The amount of energy consumed depends on the multiplier of the increase.

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[ Fervent Embrace (Elite) ]

Basic Bonus: 1~80

Description: "Father, hug me!" An enhancement/bond-type skill. In order to fulfill the expectations of its "father," the user burns its own life force. The stronger its desire to satisfy its "father’s" wishes, the greater the enhancement. The skill’s cooldown cannot be restored through conventional methods and can only be restored through its "father’s" embrace. If the current skill has no cooldown, the embrace can also slowly accelerate the recovery of other attributes. (Note: Special bond-type skills cannot be copied into skill books for other creatures to learn.)

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[ Life Link (Common) ]

Basic Healing: 1~20

Description: A healing-type skill. Each use consumes the user’s own life force to restore the life force of its master. The healing target is limited to its master. (Note: This skill can be upgraded.)

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[ Madness Surge (Green) ]

Basic Attack: 1~40

Description: A pollution/curse-type skill. It can be released when the user’s emotions reach a certain threshold. While in use, Mental Power continuously decreases, dealing Mental damage to enemies. There is a certain chance of polluting the enemy. If Mental Power decreases to a certain level, it may cause irreversible effects.

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[ Kindred Sense (Common) ]

Description: A perception-type skill. When another member of the same species approaches, the user can sense its presence. When actively used, it consumes the user’s Mental Power to increase the range of perception.

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[ Talent: Mind Veil ]

Description: The vast majority of Mental attacks are unable to cause effective damage to you.

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[ Talent: Predator’s Feast ]

Description: Increases the user’s efficiency in absorbing food and allows the user to improve certain traits by devouring various objects. When the amount devoured reaches a certain level, there is a possibility of obtaining additional abilities.

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[ Favorability: Deathbound Devotion ]

Description: The target’s hatred toward you runs as deep as the sea. As long as you remain alive for one more day, the target will not let you off for one more day.

...

Joo Joowon: ???

He rubbed his eyes, suspecting that he had seen it wrong. Hwi hated him? Wasn’t this a joke?

"Meow~"

Joo Joowon felt the moist licking beside his ear and subconsciously reached over to touch it. From the softness and smoothness of the fur, he immediately recognized that it was Hwi, and he could not help pausing.

With this kind of attitude, they were saying that Hwi hated him?

He glanced at Hwi’s panel and quickly understood the reason why this situation had appeared.

First of all, setting aside whether the level was something Hwi had possessed before or something that had only increased now, before Hwi encountered the whispers, the skills he possessed should have only been [Titanic Form] and the talent [Predator’s Feast]. As for the current panel, which could be described as extremely impressive, it was obviously the reward Hwi had received after enduring, or perhaps adapting to, the mutation.

However, this reward had not come without a price.

[Madness Surge], [Fervent Embrace], and the talent [Mind Veil] could all explain the problem.

Although he had indeed allowed Hwi to avoid the fate of mutation, the soul was ultimately the most important and mysterious part of a living creature. Once changes appeared there, it was very difficult to return to its original state. Because of this, Hwi’s mind might have developed some problems. Perhaps it was not just some problems.

In any case, under the influence of the mutation, there should have been some changes in the way Hwi viewed emotions. This change had caused the Age of Apocalypse to give a somewhat astonishing evaluation when determining Hwi’s Favorability toward him.

However, this did not mean that Hwi actually hated him. A living creature’s emotions could fluctuate. They would not remain permanently fixed at a single value, nor were they something that could be completely detected.

That was why the Age of Apocalypse’s Favorability detection might not use a number such as 1 to 100, but instead often use a word to describe it.

Just like the first-stage mission of the Lord Qualifications that Joo Joowon had received before, which required his followers’ Favorability toward him to reach at least [Trust]. Even then, Favorability had not been quantified into a specific number.

Therefore, although [Deathbound Devotion] was mostly used to describe the relationship between enemies, it was actually not impossible to understand it as meaning that Hwi would never leave him, would always remember him, and would remain with him until death.

Hmm... Perhaps there was an even more accurate word to describe it, yandere.

Joo Joowon’s expression became somewhat complicated. He could not help taking a white electronic candle out of his spatial waist pouch and lighting it.

The cold white light illuminated Hwi’s large, bun-like face. His originally clear golden cat eyes had now turned into a smoky gray color like thick fog, but he was still cross-eyed, making him look harmless and innocent.

With a cat face like this, pretending to be stupid, a glutton, or a complete fool would be very convincing.