Chap 2

"What… what's happening?" Seth said, clenching his teeth through the pain. "AI... report status."

The AI displayed its findings on the phone's screen, [Reporting. Your body has already acclimated itself to your exclusive skill. While a skill rank-up is painful, it is not excruciating. There is a high probability that you're gaining a new skill or that your exclusive skill skipped ranks.]

"Start… analyzing."

His AI processed the data for a few moments, taking its time to calculate every ins and outs. Seth was overjoyed because a long calculation period meant it wasn't an evolution with similar properties to those already recorded in the MHA database.

With hundreds of millions of skills recorded to date, Seth was almost certain this was a good sign.

His pain progressively receded as his AI opened a new notification window on his phone.

[Analysis successful. 80% accuracy is guaranteed. Processing. Opening.]

While AIs could analyze skills, they were not perfect. They relied on the built-up database, algorithms, and the changes in one's body to predict what a skill could do. In Seth's case, where the AI had little to no prior data, the analysis could not reach its usual 99% accuracy—there was always a 1% error factor taken into account.

'This is…,' Seth thought, his eyes sparkling with confusion. 'UNBELIEV-FUCKING-ABLE!?'

Outside, passersby jumped in surprise at the voice of a man that appeared to have trouble in a public toilet cabinet.

[Congratulations! Your exclusive skill "Breathing" has ranked up! Would you like to change its name?]

[Congratulations! You have acquired a New Skill! Would you like to name it?]

An evolved human was allowed to name a new skill or change a skill's name after a rank-up. It was within the user's right to name his skill after all.

Seth rapidly went through the skills' descriptions. His eyes widened in surprise, rereading each description twice. He thought back to his years of suffering. Seth has tried to evolve, reach greater heights until now, to almost no avail. But he never gave up once.

And now, his struggle was paying off.

"Change the name of Breathing."

If there was one name he thought was appropriate for this skill, it would be…

____

[Rank Up: Breath of Evolution (Passive)]

Rank: A

Description:

1. You can control your breathing and heart rate. Increases healing, stamina, and mutagen recovery rate by 200% (according to your current capabilities).

2. If you so desire, your breath can now absorb the content of gene cores from a distance. Approximate Range: 10 meters (this result may require further calculations).

3. Absorbing a gene core no longer requires a process of digestion. It is instantaneous. However, toxins can still be deadly to your body. Be wary of your toxicity level.

4. Any active skill acquired through absorbing gene cores will be converted into a Breath skill to suit your exclusive skill's compatibility. Drastically increases chances of acquiring active and passive skills by absorbing gene cores.

5. Increases affinity with breathing techniques and skills by 1000%.

6. Increases your current lung capacity by 200%.

7. No mutagens are required for usage.

Evolution Requirement: Absorb 100 000 gene cores (this result may require further calculations).

____

[New Skill: Focus (Active)]

Rank: F

Description:

1. Provides more oxygen to your body upon activation, resulting in a temporary increase in Strength and Dexterity. The increase will vary depending on the quantity of oxygen absorbed. Current Threshold: +2.5 to Strength and Agility.

2. Relax the body and mind to better prepare for a fight.

Evolution requirement: Repetitive uses. (AI Note: As it will depend on your own understanding and capabilities the number cannot be measured accurately.)

____

Seth's mouth was wide open as he touched his unkempt small black beard.

How could it be Rank A? He didn't know exactly why and could only theorize. He had heard of hunters called late bloomers. Those people had waited months or a year to actually manifest their exclusive skills.

When those skills manifested, they could rank higher than F or E.

He had assumed he was one of them. All this time, he had the firm hope all this would be worth it, but never did he think the result would be a Rank A skill!

Skills were ranked by letter that represented their evolution rank, respectively F, E, D, C, B, A, and S, the latter being the most powerful. There was a supposed higher rank, the G rank, but no skill recored to date has yet to reach such height!

Taking that into account, a rank A skill for a collector like him was simply amazing.

Seth deserved it. Ten years spent surviving and patiently waiting for this day. Ten years spent in a world filled with danger and without any real means to fight back. Ten years of suffering.

No more waiting. He wanted to test Breath of Evolution now.

Like a drug addict in need of his daily shot, he brought out the gene core of a Ratatax—a giant rat monster—he had previously borrowed from Mark while that asshole was beating his ass. Probably why Mark was so angry earlier.

But who cared? He was always angry.

Anyway, gene cores with genes inferior to one's own would never result in an increase in capabilities. However, a Ratatax was above Seth in terms of evolution.

'Thank you, Mark, for this little treasure. I promise to make my vengeance less… excruciating.'

He breathed in, sucking in the putrid stench of feces, old materials, and the accumulation of foul indoor smell in the public toilets.

From the gene core, a red volatile thread flew into Seth's mouth, throat, lungs, and straight into his heart, fueling his own gene core, that instantly digested the content.

Using his heart, his gene core pumped newly acquired genes into blood vessels that fed his entire body. Changing its DNA, strengthening it.

[Red gene core absorbed. +0.1 Strength]

'Amazing,' Seth thought. Normally, it'd take some time to digest a foreign gene core, but he did it instantly! Now that opened myriads of possibilities and a faster way to the top.

He tapped on his smartphone, opening his status window to check if there were any improvements.

[Searching. Improvements found. Analysis. Analysis complete. Opening Status Window]

____

[Seth Belüm]

Level: 1

Job: Collector

Title: Blank

Age/Height/Weight: 22yo / 178cm (6ft) / 78kg (172lbs)

Species: Human

—Stats—

Strength: 2

Stamina: 1.9

Agility: 1.9

Constitution: 1.9

Mutagen: 1.9

—Skills—

Passive: Breath of Evolution (A)

Active (1/3): Focus (F)

____

'Hum… still stuck to level 1. Guessed as much. All my stats will have to reach 2 for an increase. Still…' he thought, trembling, tears running down his cheeks. 'Seeing a passive AND an active skill is so satisfying.'

Suddenly, his smartphone buzzed with a notification sound. His AI popped up a reminder.

[Collector Seth Belüm, your mission will start in thirty minutes. Please head to gate N-01 as soon as possible.]

"No worries. It's a ten-minute walk top," Seth said. "Besides, I may need to use the toilets for real now."

[Translating response. Understood. Please, do not forget to flush afterward, Collector.]

"..."