New Abilities And Corruption

Shen's mind had finally boiled down to two sides of the same coin. On the one hand, he would be hoping that his Life Fiber ability would be enough to get him through the world of RWBY for who knows how long. On the other hand, he may have a chance of getting more abilities, but he would be completely vulnerable if he ended picking a fight he couldn't win.

'Actually, there may be a way for me to avoid the first option from happening. I'm sure the White Fang has a pretty extensive network when it comes to information. If I can use that to get info on any characters or unforeseen groups that may be a threat I can element the need for the Inspect function at least for a little bit while I get stronger.'

Of course, there would only be a handful of people in the White Fang who would have access to that level of information. And he definitely wasn't one of them. 'But there are a few ways I can manipulate things in my favor...' Shen began thinking for a few minutes in silence. Possible plans and objectives were being made and crossed off a mental list.

After giving it a little more thought, Shen nodded his head. "Alright, then let's do that. In the end, It will let me obtain more abilities, and as long as I don't screw myself over the loss of the Inspect Function should be mitigated." Shen had made his choice and selected the third option being presented to him.

His eyes were still lingering on the Inspect function, but soon he let it go. [New Function Added! The Gacha System is now available.] With that, Shen's decision was made."Nice now all-" Before Shen could open his System, he heard a knock on his door. "Hmm?" Walking over to the door and opening it, he saw a recruit ranked member of the White Fang standing there.

In their hands, they were holding a mask with strange plastic cards underneath it. "Are you Shen?" Verifying his identity, Shen nodded. "The Branch Leader has decided to promote you to the rank of High Officer due to your success in your recent mission. Please accept this." Pushing the items he was holding forward, Shen didn't show a look of surprise or shock and simply accepted them. "You can request your custom uniform to be created whenever you desire.

Also, the Branch Leader would like to meet you personally. The alert of when should be sent to your scroll shortly." With a polite bow, the White Fang recruits left, and Shen returned to his room. Fiddling with the mask in his hand, Shen saw it was made of grey metal, unlike the ones recruits get. It resembled a visor you would see a ninja or something of the like wearing with slight alterations on the bottom, giving it small fangs.

Putting the mask aside, Shen saw a dozen small plastic cards that were all different colors. "Money?" In the world of RWBY, they used disposable cards. For example, a green card could contain a certain amount of money, and such one could be worth 1 Lien or 500. It all depends. Of course, as the colors change, that minimum and maximum range rose.

Originally Shen wouldn't have thought much about it. He may have required money initially, but now he was in the White Fang. However, once again, his thoughts on money had changed, and it couldn't have arrived at a better time. Opening up his System Shen looked over everything for a moment.

{Personal Information}

Name: Shen

Level: 5 [480/2000]

Race(s): Life Fiber-Hybrid (12%)

Abilities: Life Fiber Manipulation [Lv. 2]

Skills: Tangle (Life Fiber Manipulation)|Appearance Manipulation (Life Fiber Manipulation)|Mental Refitting (Life Fiber Manipulation)

…

"Wait level 2?" Shen looked at his Life Fiber Manipulation ability and realized it had gone up. He didn't even notice it, but it had finally gone up a level, and in even better news, his Hybrid percentage had gone up as well. 'Maybe my abilities are restricted by my Level as well? But I got to level 5 and the level of Life Fiber Manipulation stayed at 1.'

It was a little strange, but then again, Shen wasn't going to complain. Instead, switching away from the main screen, he went to the newest function in the System.

{Gacha System}

Gacha Currency: 0

Category: Undecided

Spin Type: Basic

Spins: 0

…

Looking over the Gacha System, Shen inspected everything and figured out how it worked fairly quickly. First, the Category of the spin could be decided by him, so he could control that much. Afterwards, he would simply use his spins to obtain something by random. The only catch was two things.

One was that he would have to convert something of real value into the currency used by the Gacha System. And two, depending on how much of that currency he spent, he would be able to upgrade the Spin Type for that specific spin. 'So that means it's time to cough up some money.' Out of the Lien he was given, he had two cards that were red, which would be the third most valuable out of the seven types.

Grabbing the red card, which should be worth around 10000 Lien if it was maxed out. He touched it against the Gacha System. [Would you like to convert this currency?] Shen agreed, and soon the red Lien Card disappeared, and his Gacha Currency changed. However, when it did, Shen's eyes widened. "Are you serious?"

{Gacha System}

Gacha Currency: 100

Category: Undecided

Spin Type: Basic

Spins: 0

…

The third most valuable Lien Card in the entirety of Remnant was only worth 100 in the eyes of the Gacha System. "That's only enough for two basic spins…" Shen felt his brain go into a brief relapse as he kept staring at it. Eventually, he shook from his shock and let it go. The System was strict without a doubt, but he would have plenty of chances to make more money.

"Alright let's set the category to…" Shen thought to himself for a moment. 'Lets see… I don't need a weapon or anything like that so I can cross that off. Anime Abilities are nice but at the same time there are a lot of useless ones out there. I could go with something from Marvel Or DC?'

No matter which of those three he chose, his chances of getting something good were low. However, there was one way he could almost guarantee to get a semi-useful ability. Shen set the category to Video Game Abilities without a moment's hesitation and then spent his Gacha Currency on buying a single spin.

'Ok, let's see if I'm lucky!' Without further ado, he activated the spin, and the Gacha System Menu disappeared from his sight. Dropping into his arm's a red present appeared. It was as big as his head, and it had appeared rather suddenly. "Well, that was unexpected." Holding the present, Shen opened the lid, and light poured out of the present.

It was blinding, and by the time he could see again, the present was gone, and a notification appeared in front of him. [Congratulations! You have received the Ability 'Devil Trigger' from DMC.] Shen's excitement immediately rose as he looked at the Ability he had received. By all means, he had gotten lucky beyond belief.

While he wasn't the biggest fan of DMC, he still loved the two games he played, DMC 4 and 5. And through them and a lot of reading when it came to lore, he knew just how powerful Devil Triggers were. 'Looks like Video Games were the way to go. Alright, let's try this one more time.' He had another spin and was feeling confident after getting such a powerful ability.

Once again, the Gacha System disappeared, and another present appeared in Shen's hand. Opening it, a flash of light filled the room before a notification appeared. [Congratulations! You have received the Ability 'Karmic Retribution' from Undertale.] 'Huh?' Reading what he had gotten Shen showed a look of confusion.

Yes, he knew what Undertale was, but he wasn't sure exactly what Karmic Retribution's ability did or if it even showed up in the game. 'Lets see…' Closing out of the Gacha System, he clicked on the ability and got a fairly detailed description of it.

{Ability Description}

Ability: Karmic Retribution

Level: Max

Description: Karmic Retribution is an Ability that grows in effectiveness based on the sins of the target. Any attack dealt by the user while this Ability is active will infect the victim with KARMA. As a result, their Vitality and Mental State shall slowly deteriorate over a set amount of time. However, this time period will extend depending on how many times they are infected.

...

"That's… Good? Really good actually!" He was unsure at first, but this kind of ability was amazing as he thought about it. Sure it might be useless against people whose worst sin was stealing from their parents, but there were all kinds of people out there. And the most dangerous of which have killed people and performed unspeakable acts.

This kind of ability was a godsend to him and would be a living hell to fight against, depending on your alignment. Just like that, Shen's luck had shone through the cracks, and he obtained two abilities. Not only were they good, but they were useful to his current situation.

{Personal Information}

Name: Shen

Level: 5 [480/2000]

Race(s): Life Fiber-Hybrid (12%)|Human Demon-Hybrid

Abilities: Life Fiber Manipulation [Lv. 2]|Karmic Retribution[Lv. Max]|Devil Trigger [Lv. 1]

Skills: Tangle (Life Fiber Manipulation)|Appearance Manipulation (Life Fiber Manipulation)|Mental Refitting (Life Fiber Manipulation)

…

Shen noticed that he had also become a Demon-Hybrid. 'My blood must be messed up right now.' He was a Hybrid of two different races at this point, and it was only making him stronger. Though he definitely didn't want to know what would happen if he ever had a kid. "In any case I'm excited to see what my Devil Trigger can do. I should test it outs-"

Shen's words were stopped as he heard yet another knock on his door. 'Again?' Sighing, he put the idea of testing his Devil Trigger aside and walked out to his door. He was expecting to see another member of the White Fang, but instead, he saw Blake. She was standing there with a depressing look on her face, and at the same time, she seemed a bit nervous.

"Blake? I thought you would have left the base by now." Shen was actually surprised to see her here of all places and was also wondering what she wanted. Blake held back speaking for a moment before finally saying something. "Can I come in? I- I wanted to talk to you about something."

Looking at how she was acting, Shen suddenly smiled. 'So it's about what happened on the mission.' He knew it would affect her since she's in no way a killer but not to this extent. "Sure, take a seat." Blake sat in a chair opposite Shen's bed as he brought up the crux of the issue. "You're blaming yourself for that guy's death?"

Blake's head shot up as she stared at Shen and slowly nodded. Right now, Shen was the only person she actually knew in the base. And she refused to turn to Adam about it, especially considering she was berating him for 'Accidentally' killing humans. She didn't know whether to feel like a hypocrite or a murderer, and it ate at her more than she thought.

"I mean it was my fault." Blake's voice spiked before calming down. "I know we just met so your not obligated to anything. I just needed someone to talk to. Because of me someone else's life came to an end. Even if he was an enemy he might have had a family or..." Blake's voice shuddered as Shen listened quietly.

"I can't tell if what you did was morally right or not. But if this is really eating at you then there is something I can do to help." Shen's voice sounded kind and caring, but his eyes told an entirely different story. He had thought he would have to wait for his chance to do this, but Blake had come to him mentally shaken all on her own.

Hearing Shen, Blake looked up. "What is it?" How desperate she was written all over her face as Shen told her to move the chair closer and turn around. Blake complied as she sat down facing the wall. Shen extended both of his hands and placed them on her head, causing Blake to freeze up. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to use that ability from before. It should help you calm down a bit." Thinking back to what Shen did to the Chief Of Security at the Schnee Dust Company Facility, Blake wavered. "It's not going to hurt or anything right?" Once again, Shen sounded as gentle as possible. "Of course not just relax and try not to resist too much."

Blake's shoulders began to lower as she lightly nodded. She had fought alongside Shen, and that caused her trust in him to be much higher than if they had started off as friends. Overall, Shen had acted kind and nice in front of her, and compared to Adam, he seemed like a saint. That, coupled with the fact he personally carried her out of the Facility when she was in a daze, made her trust him to a new degree.

So as her defences lowered, she didn't notice the grin slowly appearing on Shen's face. 'Mental Refitting can be used in two ways. One if by force, completely constricting a person's mind and will while forcing your own onto them. It makes them into a puppet and a slave. But the second is more subtle.'

Life Fibers began to release themselves from Shen's palms as they probed into Blake's head. "This feels weird…" Blake's face showed a strange expression as Shen comforted her. "Don't worry, just give it a second." If someone was too strong or their will was overwhelming compared to the user's, then Life Fiber's couldn't do anything.

But if the victim is vulnerable and trusts the person performing the Mental Refitting, that's a whole nother story. Compared to before, the Life Fibers Shen released were not violent or forceful. They coaxed themselves around Blake's brain but did not constrict it. "I personally believe in self preservation over sacrifice. As long as you live you can change things in the future however you see fit. But relying on someone else to make those changes for you is a foolish endeavour."

Shen's tone of voice had changed, and so did the way he spoke. If Blake was in her right mind, she would immediately catch on; however, her mind felt a bit hazy at the moment. And even more surprisingly, she found Shen's words interesting. "What do you mean?" As Shen's Life Fibers slowly grew more numerous, he continued to speak to her.

"People consider being selfish a bad trait especially if its to an extreme. The concept of sacrificing myself for someone I knew would never amount to something more than me made me sick. I could easily accomplish their goals and my own so why use my life in place for theirs. I lived my life that way and in turn I lived comfortably using whatever I had at my disposal."

"However in the end I guess I had a few doubts and ended up putting myself in the line of fire for another person without thinking. But in that moment I realized something. I wasnt glad that I just did what I did but instead I was angry. I had done the one thing I said I wouldn't do and I felt immediate regret after it."

Shen's eyes narrowed as he sighed. "So now here I am still alive and I realized something. If being manipulative and a cruel human being got me far in life. Then what if I pushed it to the extreme? Then what heights would I reach then? Thats something I've yet to see but I'm interested in finding it out." Shen began to push his will through his Life Fibers even more as he finished speaking.

"So no in the end I don't think you were in the wrong. Your life was simply worth more than his because you can be so much more than that trash could ever be. Have confidence in that fact and you'll see just how wonderful the changes can be." Shen noticed he was letting his personality slip a bit too much and immediately corrected his expression.

Pulling his hands away from Blake's head, the haze she had in her mind slowly disappeared. "Huh?" Realizing it was over, Blake touched her head and felt something was different, but she couldn't figure out what. Shen's words echoed in her mind, and instead of rejecting and questioning them, all that flowed from her was more interest and even hints of acceptance.

The depressing atmosphere she had around her disappeared, and she had a new look in her eyes. "That felt amazing." Her words were still slightly dazy as she turned around and thanked Shen. "I feel alot better now. I appreciate it." Shen nodded. "Of course drop by another time and I'll be happy to do it again."

Blake nodded with a slight smile as she stood up and left Shen's room. As she walked down the hall, she didn't notice her mind had been partially corrupted by Shen.