New Body

Roger felt himself float by some strange force.

It didn't feel bad, but it wasn't very good either. There was no texture or feeling to it; it just was.

Over time, he felt a burning sensation that focused around his injured leg first and then spread up his broken ribs.

From there, the energy washed over the rest of his body, descending it in a flame that targeted all of his wounds. 

He wreathed in pain and opened his mouth to scream, but no words came out. No substance was left in his body to let his vocal cords create noise.

How he could feel pain but not move his body, he didn't know. All he wanted was for the experience to end.

All he could see around him was an unending darkness that stretched forever, encompassing him in the eternity it promised.

After what could have been a lifetime, or mere minutes, the sensation ended abruptly, and he felt himself fall into a liquid, the darkness not leaving quite yet.

Motes of swirling light began to collect above him, banishing the black infinity that had surrounded him. 

It formed into a large orb and shot into his chest, flooding his body with an icy chill. It connected to something near his heart and the feeling began to fade, leaving in its presence a constant thrum of a newfound power.

His fatigued body now felt full of energy, and his shattered bones felt rebuilt and stronger than ever.

Opening his eyes, Roger found himself looking up at a large canopy of green with brown branches crossing all over. The sounds of the forest filled his ears. Chirping birds and scavenging critters created a calming sound.

He slowly pulled himself to his feet and felt a large amount of liquid drip off his back. Turning around, he saw that the liquid he had fallen into was the tiger's blood.

He had been resting in the chest cavity he had carved out.

The sight disgusted him a little, but that quickly gave way to pride in taking down the far larger beast. 

In a show of childish arrogance, he walked up and kicked the corpse, reveling in the knowledge it could not kick back.

"Who's the predator now, huh? Who needs big claws and… and… large fangs! Not me! All I need are my two hands and a dumb idea!"

He purposefully omitted his own usage of the claw to kill the beast, trying to delude himself into thinking the task was anything more than pure luck. 

He was the apex predator now, after all! He had a reputation to maintain.

Noticing the scars on the beast's fur once more, Roger quickly discarded that notion. He was still little more than a flea in comparison to some of the other creatures roaming these woods.

He stepped towards the open wound and grabbed the fang still lodged in the creature's deflated lung, pulling out with a burst of blood.

Roger's eyes widened as he realized he had walked on his injured leg, but felt no pain. Looking down, he saw it was pink and healthy as if it had never been hurt in the first place.

In fact, he felt no pain anywhere. 

Looking all over his body, which was worryingly exposed to the elements due to the tears his clothes had sustained, he saw that it was spotless. He could've sworn he looked like he had more muscle on his frame than the day before, too.

He flexed his bicep and saw a small mound, whereas before there would've been nothing due to his years of malnutrition.

Roger couldn't believe his eyes. It wasn't every day you woke up more toned than the last, and not by a small degree at that. 

'What happened to me?'

He suddenly remembered the screen he had seen before passing out.

[System Finished Initializing]

[Rebuilding body, please stand by…]

A smile crossed his face as he thought about pulling up the system, and sure enough, it showed something different.

[System Initialized]

[Body Rebuilt]

[Welcome, Roger]

After reading the text, the screens vanished, but Roger felt that he could open a new tab if he willed it to open.

Giving it his mental assent, a new screen appeared.

[Your element will now be selected due to actions accomplished and personality traits…]

[Element Chosen]

[Element Name: Dark Mimicry]

[Element Rank: Omega]

[Ability Acquired: Echo of Abilities]

[Formulating rewards for killing a [Spike-Tailed Tiger] before System acquirement…]

Roger didn't really understand anything in front of his eyes, except that he had been given an element just like the Administrator said, and it seemed to come with a single ability. The name "Dark Mimicry" made him think it had something to do with copying things, but he couldn't be sure. 

He also saw he was going to get a reward for killing the beast, which he now knew was called a [Spike-Tailed Tiger]!

Also, what was up with that rank? Omega? What does that even mean? Why couldn't they have just used a one through ten scale to make things simple? 

He had no clue if his element was rare or not.

The screen in front of him blinked out, drawing his attention to it. Seconds later, another screen appeared in its place.

[Username: Roger]

[Rank: Alpha]

[Species: Human]

[Element: Dark Mimickry]

[Element Tier: Omega]

[Abilities: Echo of Abilities]*

There was a small asterisk near his ability, so he focused on it and a new screen appeared.

[Echo of Abilities]

[Ability Description: Mana is an energy that weaves through all living things. When something dies, it leaves a trace of mana in its soul. You now can harness this mana, temporarily obtaining one of the abilities the being had in life. You may only obtain abilities that are less than or equal to your rank.]

[Ability Duration: 24 Hours]

[Ability Amount: 1]

His eyes widened again, and he involuntarily took a step back so he would not collapse from the shock. 

Although he was unsure about what everything meant, it looked very promising. If he understood it right, he would be able to copy the abilities of a dead creature for a certain amount of time, so long as that ability was near his rank.

He was unsure of what ranks were, but he knew his own was currently Alpha. Strangely enough, he did recognize that word.

It was what the government called the first generation of colossi, each one being an Alpha Colossus. It was those machines that had first established control of Mars, breaking through the rebel lines and reestablishing the glorious rule of the government.

Thinking about the government soured Roger's mood, so he shook his head to clear the thoughts and focused on the ability again.

If he had to assume, he would say that Alpha was the first rank and that he could increase it over time to strengthen his ability.

Would he get more abilities too? He was unsure, but it seemed probable. 

It would be strange for each element to only get one tool, after all. At least, he hoped.

The other thing that brought him pause in his status was that his species was listed.

It might not have seemed like much, but to Roger, it stood out like a sore thumb. As far as he knew, humans were the only intelligent species in the galaxy, so why would the System bother mentioning it?

'Unless there are other species on Avar!'

The thought struck him like lightning, and the possible implications were huge.

If there were other species, they were probably unrelated to the government of Earth! Roger could try and find them and live among them, possibly trading information about Earth for shelter and protection from the government!

He took deep breaths to calm himself, remembering the trouble his assumptions had caused him in the past.

Although his current train of thought made him think there could be other species out there, it was far too risky to go searching for them. He was just as likely, if not more so, to find a human settlement and be caught by the government. 

He grit his teeth just thinking about being put in chains after going through all this trouble.

Thinking about it more, running around blind was the worst action he could take right now. He needed information, and that would take time.

For now, he should make or find shelter, get a steady source of food, and learn what his abilities could do. As far as he was aware, they were his best shot at surviving an encounter with another of the Administrator's so-called "unique" beasts.

Just as he was about to reach down and touch the corpse beside him to test his ability, another screen appeared in front of him, surprising Roger and causing him to stumble backward.

[Reward Formulated]

[Granting…]

In front of his eyes, a brown box the size of his chest appeared and fell to the ground, followed by a small brown bag tied with rope.