ALL NOVEL Chapter 147
Settling in, Kyle tuned out the world around him as he focused on his center.
KYLE MAYHEW. ARTHRO-HUMAN CHIMERA (PARASITE), SURVIVALIST. LEVEL 40 (D)
ADAPTIVE ANATOMY – 7/? – ENHANCED CARAPACE, AURIC PERCEPTION, EXOSKELETAL STRENGTH, CEASELESS VITALITY, INSTINCTIVE INTELLIGENCE, COVERT DEXTERITY, UNBREAKABLE WILL
VITALITY: 685
ENDURANCE: 755
STRENGTH: 262
DEXTERITY: 517
WILLPOWER: 968
INTELLIGENCE: 968
PERCEPTION: 780
FREE ATTRIBUTES: 90
Immediately, he saw the final attribute of the seven glowing with a red node. He kept his attention on it, and the words appeared soon after. Unbreakable Will. There wasn’t much to the impression, and given the nature of Willpower, it was unlikely that C.H.A.D.D. would be able to provide much detail with a scan. The other changes brought by Adaptive Anatomy had each been something visible, something tangible. This… was something altogether different. It would take experimentation and reflection to get a better understanding.
The moment he turned his attention away, however, he got a prompt.
[ADAPTIVE ANATOMY COMPLETED. METAMORPHOSIS AWAKENED.]
Kyle felt a rising sense of panic, and felt his center slip away as a strange grouping of sigils appeared before him. It looked like a varying set of overlapping scars on a canvas, each jagged and unique. There was no discernable pattern, though as he watched they began to erratically pulse with crimson energy, seeming to grow and widen as the energy passed through them. Kyle could feel power building within the sigils, and he gazed at them transfixed, apprehension and anticipation warring for supremacy.
Suddenly, the pulses stopped. All of the scars glowed brightly, and then the whole space seemed to collapse on itself. There was a brilliant flash of scarlet light, and left in the void was a jet-black sphere. Its surface looked like cooled magma, swirling and uneven. The same scar-like sigils that he’d seen before seemed to run across the surface as well, though the fierce energy had abated. As Kyle watched it, words appeared before his eyes.
[CORE OF THE PARASITIC DEVOURER – AWAKENED. 0% FILLED]
Whatever a ‘Parasitic Devourer’ was, Kyle was certain he didn’t like the sound of it. His displeasure grew as the sight faded and he returned to his center. All of the glowing nodes on his attributes now had faint trails of crimson energy flowing out of them, coalescing around this ‘core.’ It was superimposed onto the image of his path, as if it was issuing a challenge for the central tenets of his progression.
Kyle stayed in his center for a moment, uncertain if there were more unexpected changes. When he was confident things were stable, he turned his attention to the orange node signifying a skill upgrade. He decided against allocating his attributes, as he wanted to see what options he would have with his skill first. Focusing on HASTE, three choices opened up before him.
ACCELERATE: This felt like it would offer a very natural upgrade path. Kyle saw the integration of his mana pathways expand significantly in both his legs and behind his eyes. Each strand broadened and thickened, and Kyle expected he would see a fairly significant boost to his mobility if he made this choice. The bonuses would be significant, though Kyle expected the strain associated with the skill would increase to a similar degree. Overall, that didn’t concern him. ADAPTIVE REGENERATION already eliminated that drawback when it came to HASTE, and he expected, with time, it would do the same if he selected ACCELERATE.
STRIDER: The second option was also really interesting to him. Kyle saw his mana pathways expand even farther across his body, though they didn’t seem to be directly connected to the pathways that improved the speed of his movement. Instead, it looked as though he’d be able to project tangible tendrils of mana as he ran. He had the impression he could use these to scale vertical surfaces, make rapid turns, and possibly even run over water for a short distance. Even if it wasn’t a direct upgrade in terms of speed, Kyle was quite drawn to the flexibility offered by STRIDER. His breath caught, however, when he saw the last upgrade choice.
IGNITION: Kyle saw a pattern of mana entirely different than any he’d seen before. Rather than an expansion of the existing network, Kyle saw what he could only describe as ports forming along his spine and above his eyes. The closest thing Kyle could picture was C.H.A.D.D.’s upgraded collection formation, though on an entirely different level. The purpose was clear: the skill would begin drawing in ambient mana at an incredible rate, and then push it through Kyle’s mana pathways.
The promise of power was incredible. Kyle had no doubt that IGNITION would provide mobility beyond ACCELERATE, while effectively turbocharging his other attributes. Kyle also suspected that he’d be able to use the excess energy to add more oomph to his other skills. The downside was equally clear. He’d be drawing in atmospheric mana, and forcibly burning it through his system. Kyle wasn’t sure if it would be as detrimental as when he linked to the atmosphere through PARASITIC RESONANCE, but even if it wasn’t, the backlash from using the skill would be orders of magnitude greater than he was used to.
Confronted with three distinctly different paths for one of his foundational skills, Kyle found himself at an impasse. The safest bet was to go for ACCELERATE, as a straight boost to his mobility would mesh the best with his current style. It would let him do more of what he already did well, which was appealing. The flexibility offered by STRIDER couldn’t be understated, though between PARASITIC RESONANCE and C.H.A.D.D.’s proficiency utilizing plant life, he felt that he had sufficient means to cover it.
Dismissing STRIDER as an option, he turned his attention back towards IGNITION. It was a wild card choice. In the short term, Kyle knew he wouldn’t be able to count on the skill for prolonged mobility. The wear and tear wouldn’t be feasible for extended use until ADAPTIVE REGENERATION built up a resistance. Even then, there were no guarantees. As he’d just experienced, his connection to the atmospheric mana through PARASITIC RESONANCE was damage that tied more directly to his pathways. While they’d recover with time, ADAPTIVE REGENERATION hadn’t been terribly effective at warding off that damage.
ACCELERATE was the safe choice. It was the most sensible choice. Kyle understood that clearly. Still, he couldn’t shake the possibilities IGNITION would open up. It was the harder choice, and one that would rely on his own discipline and effort to make work. From that perspective, it almost felt that it aligned better with the path of the Survivalist. He had one more brief moment of hesitation, then selected IGNITION.
With a sigh, he returned to his center. The last item of business was allocating his free attribute points. With 90 available, he only thought for a moment before bringing both Intelligence and Willpower to 1000, and splitting the remaining points between Strength and Dexterity. His physical attributes were still a major weakness, and without HASTE in its prior form, Kyle knew he’d need to shore them up, at least a bit. He turned his attention to his newly transformed status screen, gazing at it with satisfaction.
KYLE MAYHEW. ARTHRO-HUMAN CHIMERA (PARASITE), SURVIVALIST. LEVEL 40 (D)
CORE OF THE PARASITIC DEVOURER 0%
ADAPTIVE ANATOMY – 7/? – ENHANCED CARAPACE, AURIC PERCEPTION, EXOSKELETAL STRENGTH, CEASELESS VITALITY, INSTINCTIVE INTELLIGENCE, COVERT DEXTERITY, UNBREAKABLE WILL
VITALITY: 685
ENDURANCE: 755
STRENGTH: 275
DEXTERITY: 530
WILLPOWER: 1000
INTELLIGENCE: 1000
PERCEPTION: 780
FREE ATTRIBUTES: 0
He noticed the Core of the Parasitic Devourer was present now, but otherwise he took a moment to appreciate his growth. He’d accomplished an incredible amount in a very short time after achieving D Grade, and felt that there would be more to come. His path was connected with overcoming hardships, and he’d seen more than his fair share.
Exiting meditation, Kyle stood up stiffly, stretching as he did. His body was mostly recovered, though he was hungrier now than he’d been in a while. Having a ship stocked with nearly endless food spoils a guy.
“C.H.A.D.D., anything you’re spotting on the map that could be good to eat?”
[I’LL LET YOU MAKE THE DETERMINATION, DR. MAYHEW. ALTHOUGH I WOULDN’T RECOMMEND TRYING TO EAT THE LOCAL FAUNA WITHOUT A HEAT SOURCE.]
Kyle heard a soft snap, and a map of the area sprang to life in front of him. His eyes widened as he took in the sight. The island had been dotted with anomalous mana signatures before, now the map only showed some muted variations. The field they were standing in had been one such area, and it was completely devoid of the telltale sign of treasures.
“Did this happen –“
[DURING THE FIGHT WITH THE STORM?] C.H.A.D.D. interrupted. [YES, IT DID. WHATEVER TECHNIQUE YOU USED AT THE END DREW ENERGY FROM ALL THE TREASURES. WHILE THE FINDINGS ARE INCONCLUSIVE, I THEORIZE IT IS THE SAME TECHNIQUE THAT CAUSED THE SEED TO STIR.]
Whatever he’d done when he connected with the mana in the air, it had done a number on the island. There was still plenty of ambient mana, but the density had dropped significantly. Kyle expected it could recover with time, though it was unlikely new treasures would form any time soon. Chester would be upset, though there was an easy answer to that development.
“Are you willing to blame this on the shrimp?”
[CERTAINLY, DR. MAYHEW.]
The duo spent the rest of the day gathering fruits, with the scorpions that inhabited the island not daring to come close. Something had changed after Kyle awakened the Core of the Parasitic Devourer, and now not even the mindlessly aggressive beasts would approach him. He was content to leave them be, and it made the foraging that much easier.
After his stomach was filled, Kyle decided it was time for some practice. As C.H.A.D.D. confirmed, scans didn’t reveal anything different about him, despite the Unbreakable Willpower and Core of the Parasitic Devourer. He’d have to learn about those on his own. For now, he had another exercise he’d been itching to try. Closing his eyes, he activated IGNITION.
He felt the power flow into his body immediately and smoothly, followed by a burning pain. It was much less debilitating than the connection to the atmospheric mana, though the sensation was already beginning to intensify. Opening his eyes, the first thing he saw was a flowing crimson aura surrounding him. It was a departure from the electric blue of HASTE, and the glow was far more pronounced. He would not be using IGNITION to sneak around, that much was certain.
Kyle set his gaze on a distant tree, and sprinted towards it. Previously, it was a distance he could have covered in five or six seconds. Now, he crossed it in three. He winced as the pain amplified, each movement causing more and more. The last thing he tried before deactivating the skill was a simple palm strike against the mana-reinforced bark.
His Strength was well into the realm of superhuman by now, and he expected that with the reinforcement of the skill he would shake the tree, and possibly leave a handprint in the bark. He did not expect for his hand to punch through the wood up to his elbow. The resounding crack could be heard all across the island, and Kyle deactivated IGNITION. The pain was shooting needles all across his body, yet he grinned in spite of it. There was a lot of field testing to be done with this incredible skill.