As instructed by the General yesterday, early in the morning after having breakfast, Hikaru was guided by one of his subordinates through the labyrinth of corridors to the basement’s second level. There, amidst the hum of activity, Hikaru was warmly welcomed by the General in the confines of a distinguished office. The General first wanted to assess Hikaru’s knowledge, so he tested him by asking several questions.
The General was curious about how Hikaru determined that the corpses he found near the hideout were subjects of experimentation rather than mere victims of torture, so he asked Hikaru: “Hikaru, enlighten me on what made you think that the corpses you found were experimented on and not subjected to acts of torture or mere killings?”
Hikaru leaned in, eyes focused, and said: “General, it's in the details of the wounds. Picture a surgeon's precision—sharp incisions, meticulous removals. The bodies of the corpses bear the signature of careful craftsmanship, less like a crime scene and more like a calculated experiment. It's not the chaotic aftermath of rage; it's the deliberate dance of someone with a methodical agenda.”
General Fujimoto arched an intrigued eyebrow and remarked: “Fascinating. Yesterday, you spoke of knowledge. What unique insights do you bring to the table that could assist me in my experiment?”
Hikaru responded: “Before our meeting, I delved into extensive research on blood and its attributes. My goal was to strengthen my body by forcefully awakening the latent potential of my ancestral bloodline.”
Pleased with Hikaru's responses, General Fujimoto guided him to a room filled with medical equipment on the third level. There, the general then began introducing various medical instruments and explaining their usage. The General then told Hikaru to show him what he had been researching. Hikaru demonstrated his research by extracting DNA from a fruit and comparing it to his own DNA using medical equipment in this world that functions similarly to the electron microscope on Earth. After observing Hikaru's demonstration and listening to his explanation, General Fujimoto noticed that Hikaru was researching a similar topic, a rarity since DNA research was frowned upon.
The Orb Universe lags in technological advancement for two main reasons. Firstly, the absence of a centralized information hub akin to Earth's internet hinders widespread information sharing and collaborative idea generation. Secondly, deliberate intervention by celestials inhibits technological progress by prohibition of knowledge exchange of certain branch of science, as well as restrictions on automation and mass-production technologies.
The General was satisfied with his decision, believing that Hikaru's DNA research would be a valuable addition to his own. He designated the current research room for Hikaru, instructing him to regularly report his findings. The General also introduced Hikaru to the inventory management team responsible for providing him with the necessary materials for his research. After all was done, the General informed him that he would check up on him from time to time and concluded their meeting.
Unlike typical jobs with fixed schedules, Hikaru's research position granted him complete freedom over his schedule. Hikaru seized this opportunity to learn more about DNA, particularly his own, while also resuming his regular training near the secret base. The General regularly visited him to ask about his needs and collect his research reports.
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Three years later.
After three years of relentless conflict, the Aran war persisted with ominous signs of escalation. During one of his routine visits, the General engaged in a conversation with Hikaru.
General Fujimoto opened the conversation with a remark: “Hikaru, you're fortunate to work for me. If you are still enlisted for the Aran war, the odds are stacked against a trainee like you. According to Colonel Kemal, 90% of trainees don't survive, and those who do often sustain severe injuries. Only 5% of trainees survive with minor wounds.”
Hikaru responded to General Fujimoto's remark with gratitude, stating: “I am deeply appreciative of your generosity, General.”
General Fujimoto then commented: “Your report on the DNA sequence controlling lower leg growth was truly insightful! Do you require any assistance in obtaining materials?”
Struggling with the limitations of his dwarf physique, General Fujimoto embarked on a quest to increase the height of dwarfs. With Hikaru's invaluable assistance, his research accelerated significantly.
Hikaru responded: “The blood samples General provided were more than enough, but all of them were from regular and lord-grade orbies. If General could also provide blood samples from mythical-grade orbies, I might be able to paint a clearer picture and draw more conclusions.”
General Fujimoto then replied: “Hmmm, obtaining those blood samples would come at a hefty price. While I can certainly try, the cost would be quite steep, so I can't make any promises.”
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Despite being a lord-grade dwarf himself, General Fujimoto desired for greater power, so he granted Hikaru permission to explore ways to strengthen bloodline. Some of the blood samples General Fujimoto acquired did not come from his subjects or from casualties of war. Instead, they were procured through black market connections, paid for using soulstones obtained during the war.
Six months ago, Hikaru's intelligence attribute reached 50 points, granting him access to level 2 neutral magic skill inherited from his mother. This magic skill greatly accelerated his research progress, as one of the spells proved to be highly useful for his current line of research. Due to this spell, the General was pleased with Hikaru's research progress and paid special attention to him.
After finishing his meeting with the General, Hikaru resumed his research. He examined the blood samples from orbies with sovereign lineage and compared them with his own. He discovered that his DNA was related to fire, water, earth, and wind sovereign lineages altogether, which was unprecedented. However, despite having four types of bloodlines, he didn’t possess any innate skills, which made him scratch his head.
In Erudite, it was common knowledge that each orby could only possess one lineage, granting them access to a single type of innate skill. Therefore, Hikaru's condition of having four types of bloodlines without possessing any innate skills was unheard of.
Hikaru belonged to the Kaya clan, renowned for their Fiery Fowl Fire Sovereign bloodline, which represents the lowest tier among fire sovereign lineages. Although the Kaya clan has the lowest tier of the fire sovereign lineage, they possess the same fire sovereign DNA sequence as any other orby with a higher-tier fire sovereign lineage.
Three months had passed since the General's last visit, and during this period, he hadn't checked up on Hikaru as he typically did. It was during this time that Hikaru found out that the different tiers of bloodline lineage are based on one’s epigenetics. Regular orbies with a bloodline usually only have about 10% of their bloodline DNA sequence activated, while Lord-grade orbies typically have about 40% of their bloodline DNA sequence activated. Hikaru himself only had 1 to 3% of each of his sovereign bloodline DNA sequence activated.
After this discovery, Hikaru attempted to extract DNA sequence from higher-tier bloodlines and integrate them into lower-tier bloodlines of the same lineage, hoping to apply the procedure to his own bloodline. However, the initial success rate of Hikaru's extraction and integration procedure seems quite low, at only about 1%.
After wrapping up his day of research, Hikaru retreated to his room to replenish his mana and assess his current stats through meditation.
Name : Kaya Hikaru Cell Regen Rate : Moderate Age : 17 years
Lifespan : 95 / 100 years
Race : Human Sub-race : Bamborean Soul Space : 20 Vose Sacred Essence : 14.2 / 14.2 Vose Chi : 34k / 34k Chi Regen : 5.67 chi/minute Mana : 31.3k / 45k Mana Regen : 1.25 mana/second
Attributes:
Str: 28 (8); Def: 19 (8); Int: 55 (12); Wits: 35 (12)
Affinities:
Fire: 35 (10); Water: 10 (10); Earth: 10 (10); Wind: 10 (10)
Resistances:
Heat: 1%; Cold: 1%; Electricity: 1%; Poison: 3%.
Existential Essence composition: 5.8 Vose (0.8 Vose of Incomplete Skill Anima)
Neutral Magic (solo skill/L1-L2): Mana Control (active/L1), Magnifying Glass (active/L1)
* Mana Modulation (active/L2): This spell grants the user the ability to manage mana within inanimate objects by initiating or halting mana release through direct contact and provides precise control over this release, including the ability to set the direction, amount, or conditions for the mana release by adjusting the variables within the magic diagram (Req: Mana Control mastered).
* Kudu Shrimp's Vision Mimicry (active/L2): This spell allows the user to temporarily mimic the vision mechanism of the Kudu Shrimp, which lives in a toxic ocean surrounded by 99.99% of toxic planktons. After adapting to this environment, Kudu Shrimp can quickly differentiate non-toxic planktons from their toxic counterparts. By utilizing this spell, the user can also differentiate minute details of any object at an incredibly fast pace.
Body Arts (solo skill/L1):
* Body Fortification (active/L1): This technique allows the user to rapidly increase the amount of defensive chi in their body, enhancing their defense by 30%.
Leg Arts (solo skill/L1): Leg Chi (active/L1)
Fire Magic (solo skill/L1): Fireball (active/L1)
Status Effects:
* Irregular Soul: This soul cannot be subjected to Universe Law related to fate, as it is a foreign soul.
Several changes occurred to Hikaru's stats after Lukito's soul possessed his body. These changes included a reset to his lifespan, an expansion to his soul space, and the acquisition of a perpetual status effect called irregular soul. After training at the secret base, Hikaru not only experienced an increase in all of his attributes but also acquired an additional solo special skill called Body Fortification.
Nowadays, Hikaru found himself needing to meditate frequently to replenish his mana, especially since he constantly relied on Kudu’s Shrimp Vision Mimicry spell inherited from his late mother for his research. However, even though he meditated for several hours, he still couldn’t fully replenish his mana reserve. Hikaru's primary challenge now is his slow mana regeneration rate. He must allocate his time wisely between meditating and resting his body, as he cannot do both simultaneously due to the different brainwave frequencies associated with each state.