Experimentation...
~Omniscient Pov~
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Yohan stared down at his hands, flexing them experimentally. He could feel it—he was undeniably stronger, even though only a few minutes had passed. The power surged subtly beneath the surface of his own skin, yet his appearance remained completely unchanged...
With a curious frown, he pulled off his top layer of clothing, inspecting his body for any noticeable shifts. His height was relatively the same, and his musculature hadn't altered much either.
'Interesting… I don't even look different at all. One would think some of the changes would be reflected…' The thought lingered briefly before he dismissed it, figuring the transformation was likely more internal, rather than external.
He shrugged and slipped his shirt back on, his focus sharpening. Whatever had changed, it likely didn't need to be visible to be effective. And he knew just the way to test that...
He sat on his bed and placed his shoe next to the dresser. Without any hindrances, he headed out on the streets. However, despite being reborn merely minutes ago, he was still a bit weirded out about everything around him...
The town itself was a strange mix—medieval architecture dominated the skyline, with stone structures, narrow roads, and markets reminiscent of centuries past... Yet here and there, the signs of modernity and technology were undeniable. Automobiles drove alongside horse-drawn carriages, while streetlamps were powered by something that resembled electricity, yet looked far more advanced. Yohan marveled at the blending of eras, the odd fusion of the old and the new.
As he moved through the streets, he couldn't help but notice and remember the rigid social structure this world had, even compared to his old one. Just as in ancient times, a strict caste system ruled this place. Peasants trudged along in simple clothes, their heads down, while nobility passed by with their chins high, adorned in fine fabrics and their shimmering jewelry...
But Yohan had other things on his mind. His thoughts wandered to the forest that was just beyond the town, a place where a bit of opportunity was, After a few minutes of walking, he sighed, 'The forest should be nearby here... Ah! There it is.'
After heading past the town's walls, and venturing past the point where people would typically go and stay, he eventually found himself a decent enough place to test his new skills, even if they weren't all that much...
'This should be enough... But, what should I even test first?' He looked around the area and decided to test his physical capabilities before anything. Seeing a relatively large boulder nearby, he went towards it.
Taking a deep breath, Yohan crouched in front of the boulder, placing both hands firmly against its rough surface. He braced himself a bit, muscles tensing in anticipation. 'Let's see what I can do...' With a heave, he lifted with his legs.
"Phooo..." He exhaled. However, the massive boulder slowly but surely began to rise off the ground... 'I can push a bit further...' With that thought, he gripped the boulder once more and this time, he lifted it over his head completely.
"AHA!!" He laughed, dropping it immediately. 'Woah... I'm hella strong! And I only absorbed an ant!' He was excited about this. What else could he absorb? Despite his excitement, His ability wasn't that overpowered. It still had limits, being a condition that he must defeat or kill his opponents.
Not only that, it essentially locked skills that would require him to take the species he had available. However, he could live with that flaw, and in a broader sense, it wasn't all that much of one either.
'Alright, time to test my Acid ability...' He stood still, closing his eyes, he focused, sensing his energy being molded almost instinctually as if he had practiced for all his life... Instantly he opened his eyes, and he settled on his target, the boulder.
With a small grunt, his arm that glowed with a feint toxic green hue shot out from his palm, and in mere seconds, it hit the tree. And it didn't take long to see how powerful his acid was... In fact, he was very surprised at his own power...
'The tree is melting so easily... And this is only a minor-level attack?' He was baffled at it. However, it wasn't without its downside... Despite being this powerful, it was easily twice as slow as his speed of using his fire manipulation.
'And this is only absorbing traits from an ant... What else could I take?' He looked around. Anything his eyes could see was likely extremely valuable, especially the tiniest of creatures. Cockroaches, lizards, and a whole host of different things could benefit him now.
"Damn... This means I've gotta watch out for usef—" Yohan's words were abruptly cut off by a faint, yet unmistakable annoying sound.
Zzz~
'Hmm?'
His brow furrowed as the buzz zipped past his ear. He instinctively backed up, his senses on slight alert, only to catch a glimpse of what it was—a simple fly. It darted about erratically, its tiny form almost laughable in its insignificance, literally...
But then, an idea sparked in Yohan's mind. What if...? He had absorbed tiny critters, but a being with real power for its small size—but what about something as small as this again? What if absorbing the fly would grant him flight itself?
His curiosity burned, and before he could talk himself out of it, Yohan made his decision. 'Let's test this.' He focused, narrowing his thoughts on the fly as it buzzed around him, preparing himself, he chose his fire energy since it had a larger area of effect.
He built up his energy slowly and focused a bit since his target was so erratic, but after a few seconds, he surmised its trajectory.
Vwoosh!~
He shot his energy, hitting the fly dead on, "Gotcha Bitch!" He said smiling. Soon, he heard a ping, and the translucent blue screen appeared before him once more, this time it showed vastly different perks and talents...
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Entity: [Common Fly] Race: [Musca domestica] Age: 15-30 days
Skills Tab: Active Skills (Toggleable);
Flight Mastery {C+}: Capable of high-speed flight with extreme agility, able to change direction rapidly and dodge most attacks. Allows for sustained flight without fatigue.
Minor Acid Secretion {D-}: Produces weak acids from saliva, useful for breaking down organic material for consumption. Limited to small targets.
Minor Vibration Sensory {D+}: Detects vibrations in the air and surfaces, allowing for early detection of approaching threats and the ability to react quickly.
Passive Skills;
High-Speed Reflexes {C-}: Reflexes enhanced by 350%, enabling near-instantaneous reaction to environmental changes.
Environmental Adaptation {C}: Grants resistance to temperature variations, extreme heat, and dehydration, typical of harsh environments encountered in nature.
Compound Vision {C+}: Possess a 360° field of vision due to compound eyes, providing superior motion detection.
Enhanced Agility {B-}: Maneuverability is enhanced by +300%, allowing rapid movement and precise control during flight.
Disease Carrier {D-}: Ability to carry and transmit diseases through contact with surfaces or ingestion, posing a danger to other organisms.
Talents; None
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Without much hesitation, Yohan activated Plunder again, focusing on the fly with intense concentration. The familiar sensation of energy surged through him, but this time it felt different. Instead of spreading throughout his body, the seething force seemed to concentrate around his eyes and brain.
The sensation was both strange and intense, a prickling heat that seemed to pierce into his senses. His body convulsed, though not as violently as before. He gritted his teeth, enduring the brief but sharp discomfort as his body processed the new absorption...
"GarAhhh!~" He groaned.
His vision blurred momentarily, and a dizzying rush of information flooded his mind... It was as though he could feel the fly's tiny, rapid movements, its instinctual patterns, and even its microscopic view of the world. The process was swift, leaving him with a residual buzz in his senses as he slowly regained control...
As the convulsions subsided, Yohan took a deep breath, steadying himself... He glanced around, trying to assess any immediate changes. Though he didn't feel any significant physical differences, there was a peculiar sense of heightened awareness, particularly in how he perceived motion itself...
He tested it out by glancing around himself, imagining what it would be like to move with the agility of a fly... He concentrated, and as he did, he noticed a subtle shift in his ability to sense his surroundings—almost as if he could now perceive small, rapid movements with far greater clarity.
'I-Is this what flies perceive daily? It's absolutely insane...' He could not only react better, he could see with much better visual acuity than before, and it wasn't even close. He knew that the human mind would fill in the blanks, but his eyes no longer fed him what it couldn't handle... It was as if they could actually see anything within their path...
'System...'
_____________________
Name: [Yohan Newman] Age: [16] Height: [169.2 cm] Race: Human
Health (HP): [End*10 = 63] / [63]
Energy (EP): [Int*5 = 20] / [20]
Physique; None
Physical Growth Rate: {F-}
Mental Growth Rate: {E+}
Attributes; (Each stat point has a 20% multiplicative difference between itself... Can only be increased through suitable training.)
Strength: 5 * 29 --> 23.5
Agility: 5
Endurance: 4 * 1.5 --> 6.3
Intelligence: 7
Control: 4
Perception: 5
Skills Tab: Active Skills (Toggleable);
Flight Mastery {C+} (Inactive): You are capable of high-speed flight with extreme agility by sheer instinct, able to change direction rapidly and dodge most attacks. Allows for sustained flight without fatigue...
Minor Acid Secretion {D-}: Produces weak acids from saliva, useful for breaking down most organic material for consumption. Limited to targets smaller than your mouth's capacity.
Minor Vibration Sensory {D+}: Detects vibrations in the air and surfaces, allowing for early detection of approaching threats and the ability to react quickly.
Passive Skills;
High-Speed Reflexes {C-}: Reflexes enhanced by 350%, enabling near-instantaneous reaction to environmental changes.
Environmental Adaptation {C+}: Grants resistance to temperature variations, extreme heat, dehydration, and any typical harsh environments encountered in nature.
Compound Vision {C+}: You now possess a perfect 180° field of vision due to semi-compound eyes, which also provide you with +230% superior motion detection capabilities, and image processing capabilities...
Enhanced Flexibility {B-}: Physical maneuverability is enhanced by +300%. This also allows rapid movement and precise control during flight.
Disease Carrier {D-}: Ability to carry and transmit minor diseases through contact with surfaces or ingestion, posing a danger to other living organisms.
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He glanced at his new passives and skills, mentally pulling up the interface to review them. Even without checking the specifics, Yohan could already sense the subtle but significant changes coursing through him... His body no longer felt stiff or even restricted either.
In fact, there was as if he had an underlying lightness to his body, like a fluidity in his movements was there that hadn't been there before. Testing his hunches, he bent his arms backward; and to his surprise, he could easily grab and wrap it around his body as if were a cloth...
'This is so cool!' He smiled. He might as well stay out here longer, there might be more bugs he can just absorb. But he also remembered to be careful, he knew if he ventured too far, he might encounter the monsters that lurked out there... Although there were Humans, Werewolves, and Vampires, which were the main factions.
There also existed creatures that were powerful with the drive to kill, like ghouls, krakens, scrawls, and others... He shivered at the thought of it a bit. He might have gotten a bit stronger, but he had little to no hopes of even looking at creatures of that kind, much less to fight them.
'Ah~ C'mon man, think positive thoughts.' He continued a bit farther and deeper. Now, his mind was on the skills he just acquired. He realized that he saw a 'conditional skill'. Those were the ones he could absorb that needed certain prerequisites in a sense to be able to use. Just like the ant, he needed their race, and for the fly he likely needed wings; But the beauty of this type of skill, was that it would be 'partially' active once he did eventually get wings...
Luckily, it had two benefits instead of just flight, so he could benefit from one of the boons the passive gave, which was more than good enough for him. Currently, he was marveling at the sight of everything, his eyes were receiving practically everything in far greater clarity, and he was perceiving things in slow motion as well, it was weird at first, but he felt himself getting used to it all rather quickly.
Focusing on the trees, he looked across hoping to spot any critters, and oddly there were few if any, 'Kind of odd when you need bugs the most, they don't even show up...' He sighed. It was pretty late, and he only needed one more before he went home, but just as he was about to give up, he caught something in the corner of his eye.
It shifted in the leaves below him, and that's when he saw it, a lizard. His eyes sparkled, 'Don't these things regenerate? I just hit the jackpot!' He smiled eye to eye once more, slightly menacingly at that... He would be satisfied with just this thing alone.
He focused his arms a bit, flames forming in the middle of his palm again... With a small grunt, he released the attack, "Hah!"-
Vwiishh!~
-Causing the area to burn up slightly. Not long after, he saw the panel again... It didn't take him long to smile, pleased at what he was going to get. 'Plunder!' he commanded mentally, and just like that, the familiar wave of pain hit him, searing through his body with more intensity than before. His muscles tensed up, and his body convulsed as the abilities began to merge with his own physiology.
The pain was sharper this time, longer, as if his body was resisting the changes more fiercely. Yohan gritted his teeth, barely managing to stay on his feet as the burning sensation twisted through his limbs and bones. But through the agony, he could feel it—his cells adapting.
After what felt like an eternity, the pain finally began to wash away... Yohan collapsed to one knee, panting heavily as his body adjusted to its new power. Slowly, he glanced down at his hands again, flexing them, feeling the subtle changes in his flesh.
'System!'
_____________________
Name: [Yohan Newman] Age: [16] Height: [169.2 cm] Race: Human
Health (HP): [End*10 = 63] / [63]
Energy (EP): [Int*5 = 20] / [20]
Physique; None
Physical Growth Rate: {F-}
Mental Growth Rate: {E+}
Attributes; (Each stat point has a 20% multiplicative difference between itself... Can only be increased through suitable training.)
Strength: 5 * 29 --> 23.5
Agility: 4
Endurance: 4 * 1.5 --> 6.3
Intelligence: 7
Control: 4
Perception: 5
Skills Tab: Active Skills (Toggleable);
Minor Camouflage {C}: Allows blending into surrounding environments by subtly adjusting skin coloration. Effective in natural, earthy settings, particularly against predators or when ambushing prey.
Limb Regeneration {C-}: Can shed and regenerate tail to escape predators. The regrowth process of a limb takes several months.
Minor Climbing Mastery {D+}: Grants ability to scale vertical surfaces, particularly trees and rocky terrains, with moderate agility.
Passive Skills;
Thermal Regulation {C}: Increases ability to maintain body temperature, providing further resistance to cold temperatures and enabling survival in fluctuating climates.
Enhanced Reflexes {D+}: Reflexes heightened by +250%, allowing for rapid evasive maneuvers when threatened.
Enhanced Stamina {C}: Increases Stamina by +70%.
Environmental Adaptation {C-}: Improved ability to survive in a variety of habitats, including forests, grasslands, and urban areas, without specific dietary needs.
Regenerative Tissue {D+}: Reduces all injury recovery time by +30%, and +100% in cases of minor wounds.
Talents;
Stealthy Predator {C-}: Increases the success rate of ambushing prey by 40%, with emphasis on silent movement and strategic positioning.
Survivor's Resilience {D+}: Provides resilience to hunger, thirst, and injury, enabling survival during extended periods without sustenance by +35%.
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"Phew..." He shook off the edge his body was under. 'I'll call it a day... I'll come back tomorrow and train myself a bit.'
With that thought, Yohan dragged himself back home...
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END