Chapter 3

As the sun slowly set, the sky grew dim.

[Light Energy +1]

Inside the prison cell.

Hearing the last notification sound, Syd opened his eyes with regret.

"The sun has set already? I haven't absorbed enough yet. I wonder if moonlight can be converted," he muttered to himself.

That was something he could verify later. For now, Syd looked at the energy points displayed on the panel, feeling a surge of joy.

He should have enough energy points to unlock the next ability!

However, he didn't rush to acquire a new ability but instead pondered the characteristics of the mimicry mutant ability.

"I wonder if the Orochi I'm mimicking is the one from the game or from the lore," he thought.

If it was the game version, aside from the Dark Particles he had already obtained, there might also be abilities like spatial transfer, rebound shield, soul extraction, divine finger, spiritual light column, sunlight irradiation...

Maybe even levitation?

Different versions had different skills, and Syd could only remember these more prominent ones.

The lore version was more terrifying. As the Will of the Earth, it would have many abilities, but unfortunately, Syd only remembered a few.

For instance, projecting thoughts to communicate with others, reading minds freely, and manipulating the power of the void, among others.

"It's unclear what exactly my mimicry is based on," Syd murmured to himself.

Moreover, he wondered why he was mimicking Orochi and not some other being.

"Could it be based on my thoughts and memories?" Syd pondered. "Maybe it's also related to me absorbing sunlight at the time?"

After all, Orochi had the title of Sun God, and his ultimate move, sunlight irradiation, seemed related to sunlight.

So, he suspected that the mimic target might be drawn from his thoughts and memories.

Even the abilities of the mimic target could be influenced by his impressions.

After all, he had never seen the so-called Orochi and didn't know much about it. Who knows what powers it had and the principles behind those techniques.

Impressions, supplemented by imagination, and based on reality?

"Damn, if you think about it, isn't this mimicry mutant ability a bit too subjective and outrageous?"

It was as if the concept of absurdity opened the door for more absurdity!

Syd was somewhat astonished by this thought.

"Maybe I'll understand better once the unlock progress reaches one hundred percent."

After thinking this through, he became curious about who his next mimic target would be.

Just as he thought this, he sensed a disturbance in his mutant abilities.

In a haze, he seemed to see a woman enveloped in red energy, dressed in red, though her face was unclear.

A name then appeared in his mind.

Scarlet Witch, Wanda!

As soon as the name surfaced, he snapped back to reality.

"My God, is it her?"

Thinking of this name, he felt a mix of surprise and excitement.

This character was a well-known power wielder in the Marvel universe, possessing reality-altering chaos magic!

Not only was she an Omega-level mutant, but she also had formidable power. In the comics, a mere outburst of her abilities erased nearly all mutants with a single sentence!

Even in the movie and TV show universe, she had altered an entire town!

To put it simply, if she disliked reality, she would create a world of her own, forcibly altering everything in a town to fit her desires!

Even her deceased lover, Vision, was conjured by her alterations, a truly terrifying feat!

And, with her powerful chaos magic, she even turned "Doctor Strange 2" into "Wanda's Quest for Relatives," reducing Doctor Strange to a mere supporting role.

"The next mimic target is her, which means I might also possess chaos magic?"

Just thinking about it made Syd's heart race.

Chaos magic, an Omega-level power!

If he possessed it, wouldn't he be unstoppable?

Unfortunately...

"Sigh, I need to fully unlock Orochi first before I can mimic Scarlet Witch."

Syd was impatient but had no choice; the feeling from his powers told him he must first complete mimicking Orochi before he could mimic the Scarlet Witch.

"But it won't be long now. Given the current unlock progress, it shouldn't take much longer."

Syd was somewhat expectant, thinking, "And Orochi's abilities are not bad either. Just the spatial transfer alone would let me teleport out of this place, not to mention the others."

Thinking this, he was excited about the upcoming unlocks.

The next second, he opened the panel and spent all his energy points.

Immediately, a notification sounded.

[Ability: Rebound Shield (Unlocked)]

The panel flashed, and new data appeared.

[Name: Syd Castell]

[Age: 16 (Remaining Lifespan: 83 days)]

[Mutant Abilities: Mimicry, Energy Absorption]

[Current Mimic Target: Orochi (Title: Sun God, Will of the Earth)] (Unlock Progress 23%)

[Abilities: Dark Particles (0/100) Level 1, Rebound Shield (0/100) Level 1 (Unlocked)]

[Energy Points: 0]

Syd frowned slightly, noticing that the unlock progress consumed more energy points than before, but he didn't dwell on it, focusing instead on the newly unlocked ability.

"Rebound Shield?"

He was somewhat disappointed.

After a while, he consoled himself, "Well, the Rebound Shield isn't bad. It seems to block and rebound some energy attacks and physical attacks?"

As for its effectiveness in actual combat, he would have to test it to know.

Speaking of real combat, Syd looked around, and finding no cameras, he entertained the idea of trying it out.

He squatted next to the bed and extended his right palm.

[Dark Particles Experience +1]

[Ability: Dark Particles (1/100) Level 1]

Along with a notification sound, a sesame-sized blue spatial particle appeared at his fingertip. Then, the spatial particle repelled the surrounding space, instantly creating a finger-thick black distortion.

With a whoosh, the solid concrete floor was devoured, leaving a deep, small hole.

Syd was shocked by the destructive power, then couldn't help but complain, "True to its Level 1 status, the range is pitifully small; you'd think that hole was made by a gunshot."

Suddenly, a severe pain in his neck intensified, abruptly halting his plans to continue using his powers.

"Ah!"

Holding the beeping mutant controller on his neck, Syd's forehead vein throbbed.

It took him a while to recover.

Now, he frowned deeply, staring gravely at the mutant controller on his neck.

With this thing on, not to mention practicing his abilities, even using them a few more times might draw the attention of the surveillance staff!

Syd frowned, "It looks like I need to escape soon."

After thinking for a while, he devised a plan for his escape.

The next ability unlock was almost there, either 25% or 30%; by tomorrow night, he should be ready to make his break!

(End of Chapter)