98 Look into my eyes!

Acquired Curse of the Evil Eye Level 1.

Yay.

Since I’ve obtained it, I need to find a monster to serve as an experimental subject.

So, let’s search the probe’s data for something suitable.

Hmm.

Hmm-hmm-hmm.

There’s something over there, seems like it.

Distance is still too great to confirm details, but it appears to have emerged onto land.

Perfect—this one will be my test subject.

‘Elrogea Frog Level 4

Status

HP: 85/85 (Green)

MP: 75/75 (Blue)

SP: 68/68 (Yellow)

AP: 68/68 (Red)

Average Attack: 67

Average Defense: 59

Average Magic: 46

Average Resistance: 46

Average Speed: 43

Skills

Poison Synthesis LV3, Acid Attack LV3, Projectile LV4, Swimming LV2, Dark Vision LV7, Poison Resistance LV2, Acid Resistance LV2, Heat Immunity

Ah, an evolutionary form of frog.

This one appears to be the evolved form of the once-common frog.

Doesn’t feel significantly stronger, but likely evolved to adapt to the conditions of this mid-tier zone.

Heat Immunity is present, after all.

Also, someone with Dark Vision in a magma-lit area—probably an evolved form from the upper tier.

Upper and lower tiers are pitch black.

Likely wandered in from above, forced to evolve out of necessity.

I hope there aren’t any from the lower tier ascending to the mid-tier.

If one evolved to adapt to mid-tier conditions, that would be terrifying.

Also, just noticed something about this frog’s skill—what I thought was saliva-based attack appears to be a poison synthesis identical to mine.

It seems to launch it using a projection skill.

Nice. That skill.

I want that too.

Then I could create poison projectiles far stronger than this frog’s.

If I keep shooting threads forcefully from my rear, would that increase proficiency?

While the Information Specialist comes up with something trivial, I’ll just get this done quickly.

First, set all damage-based weak poison effects to minimum via Poison Synthesis.

Then set paralysis to maximum.

The frog has Poison Resistance, so it won’t die from weak poison, right?

Slip behind the frog and apply weak poison synthesis.

Yes. Frog experiment subject complete.

Ah, Body Specialist, good work.

Now I can conduct the curse Eye experiment without hesitation.

Alright, activating the cursed Eye.

Hmm.

Activation was successful.

How does it feel?

O-oh.

Frog's HP, MP, and SP are decreasing slowly.

Level 1 does indeed result in slower damage accumulation.

SP is decreasing on both the yellow and red sides, but yellow recovers faster—no meaningful effect.

When level increases, damage may exceed recovery.

Then it could maintain constant breathlessness.

That's extreme.

But before that, HP will likely deplete and cause death.

HP and SP are roughly similar in value.

O-oh. Status values are also decreasing.

A label "decreasing" appears beside the numerical value.

Also, maximum value in parentheses now displays current value.

Hm.

So this notation appears when afflicted by status-reducing attacks.

One glance reveals the damage sustained immediately.

As expected of the Inspector, flawless in every regard.

This cursed eye, after all, is not a passive skill with no cost.

MP is decreasing.

Yet the rate of decline is not particularly rapid.

Approximately one per ten seconds.

The frog’s damage occurs every five seconds—efficiency isn’t poor, then?

Considering my current MP, I could sustain it for over fifty minutes. At that rate, the cost-efficiency appears favorable.

As levels increase, the rate at which damage is received will rise accordingly.

Ah, the paralysis from the frog is about to break.

And just as I thought, the body specialist added another round of poison synthesis.

As expected of me.

Prompt response.

Hmm.

HP continues to decrease steadily, but the rate of status depletion has begun to plateau.

Status values decreased at a rate similar to HP up to about half their initial value, but afterward, they scarcely declined at all.

Is there a lower limit to stat reduction?

Well, thinking about it, that makes sense.

If stats kept decreasing indefinitely, defense could drop to zero.

What is that paper?

More like a frail, paper-thin constitution.

But if they halve, that’s significant.

For weak foes like frogs, negligible impact. But if a strong monster like an eel sees its stats halved...

Monsters rely more on stats than skills in combat. Stat weakening equals substantial reduction in strength.

An eel with half stats becomes no different from a catfish.

This could serve as a decisive counter against powerful monsters.

Must prioritize skill level-ups from now on.

Huh?

Wait.

The frog is dead?

What?

It should still have HP left...

HP dropped rapidly—why?

Ah, SP turned red before HP dropped.

Ah, that’s why.

Red SP depletion triggers rapid HP loss.

Terrifying!

Ugh.

That’d be extremely dangerous right after evolution.

Lucky—there was food.

Gluttony prevents red SP depletion from occurring frequently, but I’ll remain cautious from now on.

Regardless, the cursed Eye seems usable.

I’ll activate it when MP has surplus, to level up proficiency.

Yes.

For safety, I’ll keep at least half MP reserved. Use the remainder for the Eye.

The Eye can be activated during movement, too.