Third Molting (1)

As soon as System's blood cooled down, he lost all sense of the outside world.

He was unable to see as if his compound eyes had lost their function. His vision, which was still clear due to the mushroom's fluorescence a moment ago, was suddenly lost. It was as if the lights had been turned off out of a sudden.

System could not hear nor smell while his antennae seemed to have lost their function. Previously, he could smell the cave's fishy odor and sense the gentle breeze, but they were undetectable now.

System could not feel touching the ground, the flow of his blood, or the beating of his heart. He had even lost the sense of temperature, gravity, and direction. He perceived that his body should be up but suddenly realized that he could not discern which direction was up.

He was also unable to use [Self-Information Generation], which he had been using with ease.

System could only feel the presence of his spirit and the time passing by.

…

As if in the midst of chaos, System thought to himself, 'How's Shava…

Suddenly, his spirit detected a very violent tremor. It was not the first time, as it pervaded him on a regular basis three or four times per second.

"Is this my… heartbeat?"

After becoming aware of this, System could feel his body again.

Although he was still cut off from the outside world, he had a clear grasp of his body. He could sense his blood flowing through his body and the movement of his flesh.

System had regained his body's consciousness, meaning he could use [Self-Information Generation] now.

Thus, he activated [Self-Information Generation], and it displayed the progress of [Molting Growth] on it.

He was undergoing his third molting successfully, and soon, a familiar rhythm came from his bloodline, urging him to make a choice.

[Choose!]

System did not hesitate and channeled the strengthening power the [Molting Growth] generated to [Digital Code].

Soon, System appeared in the ocean of numbers once again. He turned into a giant ball of light, with several planets made of numbers surrounding him in a fixed orbit.

This time, System was under the impression that the sea of numbers around him was different. Many numbers gathered randomly and aggregated to form different solid-shaped blocks, floating freely in the sea of numbers.

After observing for a while and not finding anything strange, System began to channel the power of [Molting Growth] to enhance the sea of numbers.

Perhaps due to this being his third molting, the power generated by [Molting Growth] was potent.

The giant number-formed planet that had ultimately failed to aggregate in the sea of numbers the last time succeeded easily this time. Then, that planet started to orbit around System, and countless numbers gushed out of it, gradually forming a brand new satellite around it.

System could tell the [Molting Growth]'s power was gradually decreasing while strengthening the sea of numbers. Due to the previous two molting experiences, System had learned his lesson. Thus, he voluntarily withdrew from the sea of numbers, avoiding the possibility of falling in a coma.

After exiting, System observed and perceived his molting body's changes. His flesh and blood were moving regularly, albeit slowly. The molting process was progressing smoothly, and just like the previous two times, he did not need to control anything by himself.

However, at that rate, it seemed that his third molting would take a considerable amount of time before completion.

System checked the [Self-Information Generation] and realized that his talent [Digital Code] had increased by two levels.

[Digital Code] (3/3) → [Digital Code] (5/5)

Many of the abilities associated with [Digital Code] were also improved. At the same time, he had acquired an extraordinary ability, [Data Compilation], and its derived ability, [Ability Enhancement]. They were the newly-formed giant planet and its satellite in the sea of numbers.

…

[Data Compilation] (3/5): A special talent acquired from [Digital Code] and [Molting Growth]. Has the ability to compile and process data. System's unique talent.

[Ability Enhancement] (3/5): A derived ability from [Data Compilation]. Allows you to strengthen the ability of yourself or other targets. System's unique ability.

…

System did not know much about his talent [Data Compilation] and had the feeling that he could only use some basic features of this strange ability.

Surprisingly, even its basic features were very special.

System could use that special ability and create a brand new interface by slightly altering the [Self-Information Generation]'s interface.

He could easily add some functions to it, such as a timer, measure, compass, calculator, video recording, and camera.

System was not a programmer in his previous life and had not worked with anything related to program compilation, but he easily created a menu interface now.

Unexpectedly, at the moment when the menu interface was created, System acquired a new ability.

…

[Information Menu] (2/5): A derived ability created by System using [Data Compilation]. Has the unique ability to measure time, identify direction, calculation, photo-taking, etc. System's unique ability.

…

System designed the [Information Menu]'s interface somewhat similar to the computer desktops and smartphones in his previous life.

System discovered that the [Information Menu] he had casually created could also be integrated with some other abilities.

He easily integrated three derived abilities, [Self-information Generation], [Information Entry], and [Information Reading] into the [Information Menu].

Immediately after the integration, these four abilities combined into one and became a new ability.

…

[Tools Menu] (5/12): Special ability created by System by the integration of [Information Menu]. Has many unique abilities, such as viewing self-information, information entry, reading, and analyzing. System's unique ability.

…

System played with his [Tools Menu]. He was a bit curious about his [Tools Menu]'s form in [Digital Code]'s sea of numbers. If he were to enter it now, how would it look like?

Would it be a planet? Satellite? Or… a comet?

System continued manipulating the [Tools Menu] and tried to incorporate [Data Compilation]'s derived ability, [Ability Enhancement] as well.

However, after several attempts, he found that it could not be integrated.

Although [Ability Enhancement] was a derived ability of [Data Compilation], it was a complex ability that System had yet to understand. That's why he was unable to integrate it.

Although he could not understand, System could still use this ability freely.

[Ability Enhancement] was special and gave System the feeling that he was playing an RPG game. Because of that ability, he could now control the EXP bar in his body and distribute the points at will.

Actually, it was not an EXP bar. After he had mastered [Ability Enhancement], System found that the EXP bar could raise his rank and was actually more like his potential stored in his body.

[Ability Enhancement] allowed System to use this potential and strengthen his various abilities.

In the past, during the leveling process, his body's instinct and [Insect Adaptability] effect had been responsible for automatically strengthening his abilities.

It was just like the stats and skill points that could be freely assigned when a game character leveled up. The only difference was that the only thing System could assign his EXP bar.

Not only that, but System also discovered that he could even use this ability to strengthen other targets…