Immediately after accepting the assimilation process, Alik closed his eyes in anticipation for whatever might come. If the process had a lethality rate, then it would most likely be painful at the very least.
A tingling sensation, starting from his head and spreading through his body, took over him. It spread through his skin in a slightly ticklish manner, before fading a few seconds later.
Well, that wasn't so bad... Alik thought foolishly, right before the next part of the process started.
Almost at the same time, all of his muscles cramped, leaving him grunting paralyzed. Sharp pangs of pain erupted from within his torso as his implants and artificial organs were violently purged from his body through the shortest path. To an outside observer, it would seem like he was suddenly bursting blood, as the nanites were expelled among the rest through his skin.
With a blurry vision and already sure that he was going to die, the cramps faded, replaced by a hard to describe blissful relaxation.
Like the relief of peeing after a whole day without being able to, and drinking a cold cup of water in the summer heat. Like eating a plate of food that reminds someone of home. All of that, at the same time.
The unknown sensations of nostalgia and relief were enough to cause Alik's eyes to burst in joyful tears.
And then the effect passed. It was as if his mind felt sharper and more present, as if for the first time he could focus, even without the assistance of the Cluster. Then, several different new sensations nearly overwhelmed him once again as he closed his eyes and took deep breaths, trying to stay in control.
After calming himself, the feeling passed. Alik checked his latest notifications, eager to know of what his future might hold and ignoring the strange taste that he could feel within his mouth.
Assimilation Notice
: You have successfully assimilated the |Savage Myconian| essence, acquiring the versatile "Plurality I" affinity.
: Your unusually high compatibility has allowed you to preserve your mind, opening new evolutionary paths for the future.
: Your mental state is unaltered due to your high compatibility.
: Your maximum Vitality has increased tenfold. 75 => 750
: Your maximum Endurance has increased tenfold. 75 => 750
: Your maximum Mana has increased tenfold. 25 => 250
: You have acquired new Abilities.
: You have acquired new Passive Modifiers.
: You have acquired new Resistances.
: Your body has progressed into a new threshold, becoming stronger and more durable. Further changes will be enacted when all of your related abilities progress into the first Zenith.
What? Tenfold? Is this linear? How is this possible? Alik was shocked at the changes. He hadn't expected such changes were possible with such an ambiguously numeric and fast process. It had even been less painful than his full integration into the Cluster Network, in his early childhood.
Considering that the entirety of the Empire's efforts had led him to 'only' have fifty percent as much vitality and endurance as a normal human, suddenly increasing that difference by an entire order of magnitude seemed nothing short of absurd.
He then remembered about the 'unstable' modifiers, and how much they were weakening him. It was possible his normal attributes were boosted much higher. Maybe that had even been what allowed the Myconian creature to injure him as much as it had, but he quickly dismissed the thought.
Its presence had felt dangerous, and he had long learned to trust his gut.
Curious, he first checked the additions to his abilities.
Abilities
: Plurality I
:: "Mucous Absorption I",
:: "Fungal Adaptability I",
:: "Chitinous Growth I",
:: "Crypsis I",
Four of them, just like that? That's pretty good. Let's see what they're about.
Ability | Mucous Absorption I
: Absorb and break down organic compounds directly from a living source, as long as you're in direct contact with the being.
: Absorbing excess mass will increase your Vitality recovery to extreme levels, and weaken the target by equal measure.
: Categories- Combat, Healing.
So I can eat stuff. Through my skin. That seems disgusting, if I'm being honest. Why can't I just materialize a nice little nutri-cube? I guess I'll still use it if needed, since it appears to be quite useful in tough spots. What's the next one?
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Ability | Fungal Adaptability I
: Repeatedly suffering damage will slowly and temporarily change your skin's properties, leading to less damage accrued from that source.
: Your body retains a small fraction of those properties, developing long term resistances through extensive exposure.
: Categories- Combat, Physical.
So this one makes me tougher the longer I get beat up. If only it took more than a single well placed stab or bullet to have someone killed, I'd be more excited about this one. That said, I'm not discarding the potential, considering my new, seemingly absurd Vitality value and its long term effects. I wonder what Chitinous Growth going to be?
Ability | Chitinous Growth I
: Consume your body's nutrients to slowly create a hardened carapace on your skin for defensive or offensive purposes.
: There is a variable limit to the maximum thickness depending on location.
: The carapace's resilience to external damage is tied to your maximum Vitality.
: You may accelerate the effect with the expenditure of mana.
: Categories- Combat, Physical.
Great. Alik sighed. He was more and more feeling like some strange kind of bug that had escaped from some exotic-food farm on Mars.
I guess my concerns about getting stabbed to death are now no longer that pressing, at least. So I've got that going for me, which is nice. I wonder what the last one is, though. Strange word. Please don't tell me I suddenly have to sleep in a crypt.
Ability | Crypsis I
: You are able to camouflage yourself to your surroundings by changing the color and texture of your skin and other external tissues with mana. Skin is your most versatile tissue.
: Category- Stealth, Physical.
Alik grinned. This feels more like the kind of cool stuff I was hoping I could do on my last mission. Would've come in handy. Even if my hair, fingernails, and I suppose chitin armor, aren't as good at it.
He wanted to check on his other changes, but the view was getting quite stale from under the tree, and he was still incredibly thirsty. He could check them while looking for a river or lake.
Stronger and more durable, it said? Let's see how much, then.
Taking a deep breath, he pushed at the tree with his right arm and knees. Slowly, it raised enough for him to get his previously mangled arm out from under it. The latch that had held his sleeve to his chest had been shattered by the tree's impact, he noticed. Looking at the arm, it was almost identical to the rest of his body. Blistered, but no longer broken in several spots.
Now with both of his arms loose and functional, Alik pushed on the tree trunk, slowly rolling it out of the way until finally, he was free. He grabbed and gently pressed on his left arm, tenderly. It was still sore, and the bone fragile and thin. It had started to hurt halfway through the process, but Alik decided to risk pushing through the pain.
It will probably take a few days at this rate until the arm can safely pull something like this off again. I have to be careful not to break it again. I don't have my old implants anymore... Then again, would I even need them?
He noted that the trunk he had been stuck under had several pieces of warped metal stuck to its side, from where his torso had expelled the metallic inserts from his surgical implants.
Alik's blisters didn't seem as red and irritated as when he had woken up, to his joy. His old armor and battered cloak, however, were shredded beyond use. He kept the once slash-resistant cloak for a small degree of protection, but took out the few parts of armor he still had and tossed them in a large nearby bush.
The faded green cloak told nothing to an observer, but the armor's design was undeniably imperial. In its current state wearing it would only prove dangerous, either due to its appearance or its metal's quality.
Alik took a blissfully deep, unimpeded breath of fresh air. He still felt the strange taste in his mouth, but he couldn't place it exactly. Sniffing the air like in the night before led to nothing. Sadly, there was no noticeable wind in the forest at this time. The birds' chirping was now coming from all around, due to the time of day.
After a few moments retracing his previous day's footsteps to figure out in which direction he was going before being ambushed, he found the way he had been going.
Looking up to the light rays cast by the Sun amidst the trees, he determined an approximate direction. Westward it is, then.
Wanting to learn more about his latest tools, Alik checked his remaining changes as we slowly walked through the dense forest. He wasn't too concerned with stumbling into another Myconian, since he assumed they were nocturnal from his previous experience, and his more stable condition. He still paid some attention to his surroundings, however.
Affinity Description: Plurality
: Understated harbingers of life, fungi are the discreet keepers of life. With their wide-spanning bodies, they link the roots of thousands of beings, exchanging not only nutrients, but information and mana, allowing for the forests you might find in both humid and arid regions.
: Even in the most arid of sands, the heat is unable to pierce their hardened membranes, leading to invisible kingdoms amidst barren fields.
: Given enough time and mana, many forms of intelligence may follow, expressing potent variations of such characteristics and dominating their territories with their shared senses and minds.
: As one of select few humans, you have managed to acquire an affinity exclusive to these organisms while retaining your individuality, opening many promising doors for your future.
: Your mind is untouched, but where once was an impassable barrier separating you from the world, now rests a thin veil. Only you can discover your new limits, if you are resilient enough to do so.
: Should you fulfill your potential in the future, you shall be seen by those with peerless eyes.
Damn, I suppose I should look at my abilities with a bit more appreciation. With a description like this, it seems that my skills are the kind that only seem situational, but could become extremely complex and powerful if I learn how to use them. Alik grinned slightly, choosing to ignore the unease he felt at the last remark of the description.
Coming closer to a wide tree, he pressed his arm against it and concentrated.
Now how do I camouflage myself?
The process turned out to be quite simple. By merely imagining his arm to take the appearance of the rough brown trunk, his ability sprung into action.
Within a few seconds, his arm had gone from a dirty and bloodied human limb, into a near-invisible extension to the vegetation. Moving his head around slightly, he noticed the effect included depth, to his surprise. Touching it with his other arm, which was still normal, revealed that his skin also felt somewhat rougher than usual, as if it had taken the consistency as well as the color.
Removing the limb from the tree surface had no effect, until he wished the ability to disable. In the blink of an eye, his arm was back to normal. He felt slightly light-headed for a moment, but he attributed it to his thirst and hunger.
So I just need a sample to trigger it, but I don't need to be immobile if I want to disable it. Practical.
He reorganized his shredded cloak to cover more of his body, using the color and holes to improvise the most low-effort ghillie suit he had ever seen. Approaching the tree again, Alik focused so that his whole body took on the appearance of the trunk. A slight nausea took over him, along with a new notification.
Mana: Low (15/250)
Crap. I forgot to check that. Alik clicked his tongue in slight annoyance. He noted, however, that the skill apparently didn't have upkeep, so he managed to keep it functional without issue. I should figure out how to increase my mana as soon as possible.
He ripped off a small chunk of the bark that had already been slightly loose from the tree. That way, he could test if he could use it as the template without needing to touch a tree directly, whenever his mana recovered.
Once again on his path, he decided to check on his passive modifiers.
Let's see what else I can do for now.