Choice, Return, and Premonition

'Now what?' Kai asked himself.

He wanted them all, but he wanted the first and the third the most, and with equal hunger. His greed for anything related to the scientific fields he was a master of, had no limits.

'All Hidden Missions grant Skills, master,' Item-M had told him once.

This sentence was buried deep in his heart, for whenever he recalled it, it brought with itself unimaginable fury. Luck controlled the rewards, and he had 3 points in it.

That's why he was probably the only Contestant in the history of the Primordial Tower who didn't have a single Skill, even after ascending to the 4th floor.

Fortunately, Kai had one thing that others lacked.

He didn't know what was the case with other Contestants who had Glitch too. But he had one thing that probably not even Kings could be extravagant about.

Abilities!

'The path to the peak of Absolute Power is like playing a game of chess,' Kai told himself, closing his eyes. 'The player must sacrifice pawns. But when the time comes to sacrifice a Chess Piece, one shouldn't deter from doing so, either. It's all a part of the process. Yes, just a gap, which must be bridged one way or another.'

Kai took a moment, and when he opened his eyes, he was ready to do it. It pained him, but the gains outweighed the loss by an incomprehensible margin. Abilities made Kings, it was true, and Kai had learned the sheer difference they could make in a fight and a mission.

The only thing was, he had just too many of them.

Not to mention, with every next Blood Essence, he would have at least one more.

'Running fast is well and good,' he thought. 'But every step must be as calculative as the last as well. Otherwise, what's the difference between me and other common runts?'

"I choose Yautja Genes," Kai declared.

A tiny vial appeared on the table immediately. Kai picked it up and observed the substance within it. It was murky brown as if someone had scooped it up from a puddle of mud and worms.

Kai stored it in his MRB.

[[

You can sacrifice Skills, Items, and Abilities to get the other rewards.

A status bar is shown against both rewards. Your sacrifices must fill each bar for the respective reward.

]]

Kai had no Items, other than Murasame, Eon Soul Dew, and the Tales of Beedle the Bard, which could let him have these rewards. And he would let none of these three Items go.

He must sacrifice an Ability, Kai knew.

But which one?

There was Advance Filth Manipulation, the Ability Kai had spent the most time on. No, this one won't do. Almost all Random Worlds had sewers, and Filth Manipulation was just too important in such worlds for hidden operations and hideouts. Besides, it could regenerate HP now, enhance HP and MP regeneration rate, and let him control rot and filth, making this Ability undeniably valuable.

Then there were Advance Telepathy and Telekinesis. One was related to Occlumency and Legilimency, according to Kai's plans, and the other had become an intrinsic part of his fighting style. These won't do, either.

Elementary Seamanship was necessary for One Piece, and Elementary Pokemon Trainer was invaluable because there was a possibility that he would never get it back.

Advance Emotions Manipulation was just in-line with Kai's nature. So this had to be eliminated too.

Only two remained.

Advance Cold Suppression and Parseltongue.

'Parseltongue…' Kai gritted his teeth. This Elite Ability was like a Divine Drink which Kai had yet to know if it was poisoned or not. He also knew the moment it would show its poisonous nature, it would already be too late to do anything about it. Yet, no matter what, Kai couldn't bring himself to sacrifice it and be done with it.

It had to be the Advance Cold Suppression.

Kai had yet to figure out completely how to increase its proficiency, and its effect could easily be replicated using cheap Items. He knew it would become deadly once grown up, but this opportunity would never return.

"I sacrifice my Advance Cold Suppression Ability for the Royal Facehugger," Kai told the Systems.

Crunch!

Almost instantly, Kai felt a stabbing pain in his chest as if some giant mirror had shattered inside him.

On the screen, against the reward, Royal Facehugger, the bar, shot up. When it stopped, the number on the bar was displaying 93%.

'Tch!' Kai tsked. He took out the single Pokeball-Generation I, 6 Custom-made Pokeballs, 5 Mass-produced Dagger, and 10 Mass-produced Sabers, and sacrificed them all.

The bar rose by another 0.2%.

'Fuck!' Kai was now becoming a little anxious. The Custom-made Pokeballs were all Common Grade Items. If even these couldn't fill the bar, then…

Kai ran his hands through his hair, felt the wetness of sweat, and came to a decision.

This time, he took out a single HP pill. With an expression, more pained than he had shown while sacrificing his Ability, Kai let it go too.

The bar barely hit the limit.

[[

Congratulations Candidate Blood Demon

You have obtained the reward, Royal Facehugger

To get the last reward, you can keep sacrificing…

]]

'Like hell I would,' Kai cursed, his eyes landing on the large cylindrical tube that had just appeared on the table. [Image 1]

He approached the tube and saw the overgrown Facehugger, suspended in some green-yellow solution.

A smile surfaced on his face involuntarily.

"Send me back," he said, putting the reward into his Inventory.

[[

Very Well

Details of the next Stage will be announced to you three days before its commencement

Sending Candidate Blood Demon back to his Time Node…

]]

"Haha!" Kai laughed. "Well, that went quite smoothly."

He composed himself, for he would return to the sleeping Darcie, and he didn't want to lose his comprehension.

Yet, the moment he composed himself, this sudden calmness made him focus on his instincts.

"Something's wrong," he told himself, the blue shimmer becoming bluer around him. "What am I forgetting?"

Then he disappeared.

****************************

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