chapter 10 : Experiment

Walking through the forest, Merlin found the atmosphere in the shinobi world clear of any pollution, something that cannot be found in industrial worlds like his previous one. Even if trees are cut down, within a few months, new ones will sprout and grow.

Clearing his mind from unnecessary thoughts, Merlin continued his journey. However, he soon found himself surrounded by a group of bandits.

"Boss, look what we found! A kid walking through the forest without any protection."

"It's our lucky day; we can capture him and sell him."

"What are you waiting for? Capture him!"

Hearing their comments, Merlin remained calm. "Yes, it's my lucky day. I was just thinking of capturing a few unlucky fellows for experiments ."

Since you all came here willingly, you guys don't mind, right?" Casting the spell "Breeze Lift," he flew up to the height of 40 meters from the ground. Seeing the kid fly up, some bandits started to panic.

"What are you waiting for? Shoot him down!" yelled the bandit leader. Soon, the bandits started to throw knives and arrows at him; however, none of them managed to hit him.

'Ethereal Barrier has been further strengthened; now throwing kunai and arrows won't break through my defense.' Without wasting time, he cast Shadow Strike. Seeing the dark tentacles, the bandits started to run away; however, most of them could not escape the mad slaughter of the tentacles. More than a dozen bandits had already died.

'Well, I can't completely kill them all; need to save some for later.' Then he cast Root Bind. Soon, roots started to sprout out of the ground, capturing the remaining bandits. "Now let's make you guys obedient. "Domination Grasp."

The remaining bandits soon stopped moving.

"Follow me," commanded Merlin.

The bandits started to follow him into the forest. After reaching a naturally formed cave, Merlin instructed three bandits to guard the entrance, while the rest started to follow him inside. After a few minutes, terrifying screams could be heard from the guards outside, but they only flinched and did nothing. Soon, Merlin came out of the cave.

"Human beings are the best materials for performing 'blood sacrifice.' After one performance, the benefits received are doubled compared to wild animals."

"You three, come in. I have plans for you," Merlin instructed the bandits. As they walked in, they found the inside of the cave quiet; no trace of their former companions could be found. However, they had a feeling that something terrible had happened here.

Taking out the storage scroll, Merlin started to place various equipment inside the cave. Then, Merlin gave the bandits a red-colored pill to swallow which caused them to lose consciousness.

Merlin then placed one of the bandits on the bed and took out a knife, starting to cut open the body until he could view the bones.

"System, help me engrave runes into the bones of him and notify me if any mistakes are made."

Merlin then took out a pen completely made of bones and began engraving various rune formulas into the bones of the experimental subject. "Now, let's replace your heart with mutated tiger's." However, he found the subject was already dead. "I need to study necromancy soon. Even if the experiment subject died, I can replace the soul with wraith souls." Disposing of the body, Merlin placed the next body on the bed.

________________________________________

"Finally, the last one survived."

After a few hours, the bandit woke up.

"Come here," Merlin commanded the bandit. "What is your name?"

"Namua, master," replied the bandit.

"How do you feel now?"

"Master, I feel more powerful than before. I think I can run faster and completely destroy a boulder with a punch," replied Namua.

"Yes, I have increased your physical fitness to a new level. Try to draw power from your heart; I have replaced it with a chakra mutated eel's heart. You should be able to discharge electricity from your body and further increase your speed," instructed Merlin.

Following the instructions, Namua tried to draw power from his heart. "Is this what people with chakra feel like? This intoxicating feeling," thought Namua. Soon, electricity started to dispel from his body, but Merlin commanded him to stop.

"You can check out your power later. I have a mission for you. You need to go to the Land of Fire and investigate the situation around there. Also, try to find hidden places to build a new laboratory."

"Yes, master. I will fulfill master's command even if it costs my life." Feeling pleased with his new body, the former bandit decided to completely follow Merlin's instructions, wondering if he succeeded, would he be able to gain new power.

Seeing Namua like this, Merlin gave him a few bottles of potions. "Use these; they are healing potions. Use them wisely. If you can complete the mission, you will be rewarded."

After motivating Namua, Merlin left the cave after destroying the evidence of the experiment. "System, monitor the condition of test subject 0045. If his life force ends, notify me."

During the surgery, Merlin had already engraved a rune in Namua's brain that was connected to his system. Even if Namua died, his memory would be transferred back to Merlin. Merlin could also control Namua's life and death.

"Now it's finished. Let's go to my destination: Yugakure (Village Hidden by Hot Water)."