《Proficiency has reached a certain level. Skill "Appraisal LV3" has become "Appraisal LV4"》 Oh, finally Appraisal leveled up.
Lately, Appraisal sickness hasn't been bothering me as much, so things are going smoothly.
Now then, with the level up, what do I get this time?
『Small Lesser Taratect LV6 Name: None』
Huh?
Nothing changed?
That's what I thought, but then I noticed a few colored bars just below the species name.
What are these?
『HP Bar』
I instinctively appraised the topmost green bar.
The result told me what that bar represented.
HP — a common abbreviation in games.
People say "aitch-pee," but basically it's a stamina gauge that shows when it hits zero, you're game over.
That gauge was showing up in the Appraisal results.
This is quietly amazing.
Until now, I could only tell how much damage I'd taken by feel. From now on, I can just look at this bar to know my condition.
Right now, the HP gauge is almost full.
It looks like it's decreased just a tiny bit — there's a slightly darkened portion of the bar on the right edge.
Hmm.
At this point I'd really like it to show actual numbers, but I guess that's asking too much.
Anyway, below the HP bar there are three more bars.
Let me start by appraising the blue one right under the HP bar.
『MP Bar』
Well, just as expected.
HP goes with MP, right?
I'm pretty sure this represents the remaining amount of magical power.
That said, I can't use magic, so this one probably doesn't matter much to me.
It probably decreases when you cast spells.
I haven't used any magic, so my MP hasn't gone down at all.
The mystery is the two bars below the MP bar.
There's a yellow one and a red one, and they're stuck together, forming what looks like a single thick bar.
I can't even begin to guess what these represent.
So, Appraisal it is.
『SP Bar』
Hmm?
SP?
Skill Points?
Huh?
Is there even a point in making a bar for that?
Wait, hold on.
Maybe this isn't Skill Points after all?
It's abbreviated as SP, so I have no idea what it stands for.
Alright, let me Appraise the SP.
『SP: Stamina Point』
Oh?
So it really wasn't Skill Points — it's an abbreviation for a completely different word.
That's so misleading!
Phew.
So, Stamina, huh?
Like a physical version of MP — it decreases when you move around?
Hmm?
But why are there two gauges?
And the top yellow gauge is full, while the bottom red one is depleted by about a third.
What's the difference between these two?
Let me try Appraising the Stamina Point further.
『Stamina Point: Points consumed through physical activity』
Oh, yeah.
Still doesn't tell me much.
Ah, but if I keep observing, I'll probably figure it out eventually?
I'd like to keep an eye on my HP at all times, so ideally I'd want to keep Appraisal active on myself constantly.
Let me try sustaining the Appraisal I cast on myself.
Hmm, something like this?
Yeah.
I think that worked.
Now, as long as I don't intentionally cancel the Appraisal, I can always see my HP and everything else.
This is really convenient.
But, I mean, being able to see my own stats is nice and all — but wouldn't seeing an enemy's HP and MP be an enormous advantage?
If I could see how much HP they have left, I'd know how many more hits it'd take to take them down. And if I could tell that a magic-focused enemy was running out of MP, that'd practically be a win in itself.
Well, I haven't run into any magic-focused Monsters yet, but still.
Even partial information about an opponent should be a huge advantage in a fight.
This is really starting to feel like a flag for "Appraisal really is a cheat skill," isn't it?
Fufufu.
I obtained this supposedly useless Appraisal Skill on purpose, precisely because I foresaw this!
It's not like I had no idea it would come in handy!
...Let's just go with that!
Anyway, enough of that — time to explore, explore.
Oh, Monster spotted.
『Elurofelect LV2 — Appraisal of Status failed』
Take that back.
It really is useless.
Why does it fail at the crucial moments...?
Sigh. I was the fool for getting my hopes up.
For now, let me deal with the Monster I found — a Geji.
Hmm.
But the positioning makes a surprise attack tricky, doesn't it?
That thing hasn't noticed me yet, it seems, but it's facing this direction.
Oh, I've got a great idea!
Quietly, I creep up the wall.
Having a spider body really comes in handy for stuff like this.
And I reach the ceiling.
Ugh, clinging upside-down to the ceiling is honestly a little rough.
But if I grit my teeth and push through, it's not impossible.
From there, I inch my way along the ceiling.
Come on, legs, do your work!
Huh?
The Stamina gauge is decreasing?
No — right now I need to focus on the plan.
I've arrived right above the Geji.
Perfect.
It hasn't noticed me directly above it.
I attach a silk thread to the ceiling and silently lower myself down toward the Geji.
And then I pounce!
The Geji panics, but it's too late.
Gotcha — wrapped up in silk!
And chomp!
Fufufufu!
This is the "Watch Out, Attack from Above" strategy!
Total success!
Now then, time to eat.
Hmm.
While I'm eating, let me think back to that Stamina gauge for a moment.
When I was clinging to the ceiling, the one that decreased was the upper yellow gauge.
It had been slowly draining while I was straining to hold on.
But now it's fully recovered.
Hmm?
《Proficiency has reached a certain level. Skill "Paralysis Resistance LV1" has been acquired》 Oh, oh!
Geji, you had Paralysis, did you?!
Maybe if my surprise attack hadn't worked, this thing could've been pretty dangerous?
I should be a bit more careful going forward.
Huh?
Hmm?
The red gauge below the Stamina gauge is slowly recovering?
It was depleted by about a third, but it's been gradually refilling, and now it's only down by about a quarter.
Why?
Did I do something that would restore Stamina?
...Oh, I was eating.
Ah!
So that's it!
I see, I see.
I'm starting to understand.
So the bottom red gauge represents my total stored physical energy.
And the upper yellow gauge is the Stamina I can use in short bursts.
Let me test it by sprinting with everything I've got.
The yellow gauge drops in no time flat.
The moment it hits zero, I'm completely spent.
Pant, pant.
Ugh — sprinting at full speed right after eating... what was I thinking?
My stomach hurts.
That was rough.
But now I'm certain.
The yellow gauge is my burst gauge.
When it runs out, I get completely winded.
But since it's for short bursts, it seems to recover pretty quickly too.
Sure enough, once I caught my breath, the gauge refilled rapidly.
So, the bottom red gauge is total stamina.
When I sprinted just now, the red gauge decreased a little too.
If the red one runs out, that's probably bad news.
Like maybe I'd become completely unable to move?
I'd really rather not find out.
It recovers if I eat and replenish my nutrition, so I should keep a careful eye on the red gauge's remaining level.