Hisssss~

"Here, this little guy might be the one you are looking for,"

Declan, the store employee who greeted Ian, said as he brought out a small transparent cage containing a small green-colored snake with three heads, looking at Ian with its big reptilian eyes.

Talents are rare in the world, even in beasts, but amongst the common talents that the majority of beasts possess, regeneration-type talents might be one of the talents that can make it onto the list of top charts.

It might not necessarily be regeneration strictly, but something along those lines or a minor or boosted variant of it; they are one of the supernatural talents that can be said to be most common in the monster kingdom.

"This is a three-headed verdant serpent, one of the non-poisonous species of snake-type beasts that are rather common in the outskirts of Echovale city," Declan explained. "It's rather popular amongst people who love to keep snake-type beasts as pets because of its beautiful looks and quiet nature."

Putting the cage down, Declan began to explain more about snakes, to which Ian paid him no mind, as his eyes were fixated on the system screen.

[Serpentile Renewal (E)]

"The biggest characteristic of three-headed verdant snakes is their talent, which all of them possess, Serpentile Renewal,"

Declan continued. "It is categorized as an E-rank talent, which allows these little guys to possess minor regenerative capabilities. It isn't exactly regeneration, but this is the only beast in our store that possesses a skill similar to regeneration."

Scratching the back of his head, Declan laughed awkwardly as Ian looked at the elegant creature behind the transparent walls of the cage with predator-like eyes full of greed, causing even the green snake to back away with fear.

"Can I touch it?" Ian asked Declan in a slow voice, his eyes fixated on the snake, looking at it like a delicacy.

"Touch it? Oh yes, you can, just be careful," Declan said, tilting his head as he began to open the cage from the top a little.

Normally, snake-like beasts are avoided as they are thought to be dangerous because of their poison, but non-poisonous ones like this one aren't considered much of a threat, as they are well-tamed enough to not harm humans.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

As Declan opened the cage, the little snake that was being stared at weirdly by Ian began to move around the cage and shake his head like a rattle.

"Hey, what's gotten into you today, little guy?" Picking up the snake that readily slithered into his hand, Declan said to it as he could feel the snake's abnormal behavior as it was shaking.

"Ok, I am touching him now..." As Ian declared, he slowly approached Declan while making a grabbing motion and excited eyes, which in the eyes of the snake, appeared like that of a molester.

The snake tried to crawl away from the range of Ian, but unfortunately for him, Declan was gripping strongly on his dry reptilian body, making him unable to move.

[Serpentile Renewal (E) (Copyable)]

[Do you wish to copy the talent?]

Yes

Still holding the tail of the beast in his hand, Ian confirmed inwardly.

[Serpentile Renewal (E) has been successfully copied!]

[Do you wish to merge?]

As soon as the new popup appeared in front of Ian, reporting to him the success, Ian let go of the tail of the serpent and gave out the brightest smile before bidding farewell to Declan and the beast whose three heads hung loosely, looking like his innocence was stripped off him.

"What a weird kid..." Declan muttered to himself as he watched Ian leaving the store in a hurry while putting back the three-headed creature into his cage.

***

Just a little over 30 minutes, it took for Ian to reach his house where he couldn't wait to merge with the new talent.

His heart beat with excitement as he reached the rundown apartment that he has rented to live in.

Shutting the door, he threw all of his belongings while he laid on his bed, where he ordered to start the process to the system.

Hmm? I don't feel anything...

Lying on his bed, Ian felt nothing even after ordering the system for talent fusion.

"Was I worried for nothing?"

If you are talking about the system every time the protagonist gains a new ability via it, the host receives an unimaginable amount of pain, as mentioned in the writing, so Ian thought he might also feel that pain, but in the end, it seems that all was just bullshit.

Yeah, after all, it was all just fiction... even if the existence of the system and regressor might be true, it doesn't mean that everything in the novels should be true too

Ian thought to himself. He tried to summon his system, but to his surprise, the screen that hovered over his head all day didn't appear before him.

What's going on? System? System?!

Ian, in surprise, immediately called again for his system, which surprisingly didn't respond. Before trying to get up, only to find himself unable to move.

What the fuck is going on!

Ian freaked out as he noticed the condition of his body. He could feel everything around him; his senses were working properly, but his body... his fucking body wasn't listening to any of his commands.

He wasn't able to lift himself up... no, not to mention lifting his body parts; he wasn't able to even move his pupils even a little.

The situation made Ian scared shitless... just imagine not being able to command your body but able to feel everything going around you.

Thump!... Thump!.. Thump!. Thump! Thump!

Ian's heartbeat quickened, and a crawling sensation soon appeared on his chest... he could feel something crawling on top of him... something small like an insect?

It felt like an ant crawling on top of his chest, which was soon followed by multiple similar sensations. As if hundreds of thousands of ants were just thrown over his body, it felt extremely creepy to Ian.

His chest, legs, groin, mouth, face, even his eyes felt like they were covered with ants and cockroaches, but thankfully, nothing like that came into his vision.

As Ian was confused by the events conspiring, a strange sensation of stinging started to appear on his body, starting from his legs, groin, to his chest and finally to his face... Everypart of his body felt the pain which was even more intense in sensitive areas like his crotch.. just imagine someones balls being stung by a group of insects while they are still awake or inside you asshole how would it feels?

The event felt like insects were eating his body out, first his skin followed by his insides. The process lasted for 30 minutes that felt like eternity to Ian, who was fully conscious the entire time, feeling the torture thoroughly, unable to lose his consciousness or even scream out of pain until the very end.

***