Immediately after dropping from the edge, Theo's suit expanded, taking the shape of a classic wingsuit. Together with his natural wings, Theo was able to glide effortlessly through the air, experiencing that intoxicating feeling he loved so much. His mental map showed precisely his first stop, which was at the base of the mountain that he could see, just before a valley used as a choke point.
This feels amazing... I should take flying forms more often.
The clouds rapidly flew by him, his speed accelerating at a dangerous rate. He didn't want to waste any more time, so he closed up his wings, which the wingsuit followed, and flew down at around Mach 1, exactly the speed of sound. Soon after, the pterodactyl could finally see what was on the ground, and what he found paralyzed him for a moment. There were familiar structures, such as a mountain range and the valley at which he had to land, but a river that flowed into the air, around a mountaintop, and then back down toward its usual route definitely wasn't familiar. It looked like one of those fountains that moved water in a way that made it look like it was levitating, except in this it was actually flowing in the air.
What the fuck am I witnessing?
He shook his head, recording the phenomenon for later, focusing on his mission. Bright lights exploded from the valley, many of those coming from fire bursts, lightning strikes, and a myriad of other supernatural events. They radiated a considerable amount of Influence, so Theo assumed that was the soldiers battling. He tried to spot Captain Marta, which wasn't difficult at all. A moving, gelatinous blob colored dark green the size of a two-story house was currently using a massive tree with a limb similar to a hand. She seemed to hit something in front of her, but Prometheus couldn't tell what it was. Just behind her, rows and rows of different monsters, such as minotaurs, angry trees, mutated bears, and more fought against their opponents head-on, which were mostly humans, although tall ones with uniform armor, pale skin, and pointy ears.
He landed on a section where he could see monsters caring for wounded soldiers and healing them. Other than those two, a group even more in the back was equipped with a cannon-like weapon, which the soldiers used to put a lot of Influence into. It then launched a massive fireball, much bigger than those he had faced until now.
Woah... Ah! Don't get distracted!
He followed his mental instructions and moved to the supply area, which was near the Support and Restoration Unit. He found a white bear with an elegant military uniform standing upright, watching the wounded soldiers with a stern gaze. When it noticed Prometheus's approach, it forcefully connected a mental communication spell and shouted mentally, "WE HAVE BEEN EXPECTING SUPPLIES HOURS AGO! SOLDIERS DIED IN THE MEANWHILE BECAUSE OF YOU!" It finished and quickly grabbed a single box he was carrying. "New recruits, always forgetting how important time is," The bear then spat on the ground. It then went on to various soldiers, distributing objects to each of them, at times even kneeling at their sides, conversing with each one.
Prometheus didn't stop to think at the bear's words and continued on to find the next drop spot, which was close to where he was. This time, a smaller green glob, probably a slime, remembered Prometheus from his experiment some time ago, was waiting for him near a cluster of similar creatures albeit smaller than it. They were all around horse-size, except for the one waiting for him, which was a bit bigger and darker in color.
When Theo approached, the slime created a mental connection softly, completely the opposite of what the bear had done, "Thanks for your time sweetie, we really needed this. Might you perhaps be interested in spending some time with us, privately?" It then took Prometheus' shape, which he recongised as a female pterodactyl, judging from its smaller head crest. It then moved weirdly from side to side, all the other slimes in the vicinity shacking furiously their bodies at him, with some even making arms and crossing them.
How does it even know what a female pterodactyl looks like?
"I would love to, but I have to go. Good luck."
Such a kind lady, shaping herself like me to make me feel better.
"Quite unfortunate. Good luck young man!" She then waved at him after grabbing a couple of boxes.
His next and final destination was a monster that looked like a penguin on steroids sitting on a stool, looking at the ground. A silver pendant hung from its neck. Its beak was pointing directly at the ground, with its eyes closed. Prometheus got closer, and upon seeing the bird's lack of response, created a mental connection.
"I witnessed all my dearest friends die in front of my eyes by a boulder. An enemy soldier threw it at us, and we tried to evade it. I was the only one to escape unharmed. The others were crushed. I can still..." The penguin breathed deeply, a single tear dropping from its eye, "I can still smell the blood. Some of it even got into my mouth. Do you understand?"
It directly glanced at Prometheus, "I tasted the blood of my fallen comrades, do you understand? I... I can't help but feel like I should have died with them."
Prometheus took advantage of the pause to add, "I have to deliver these."
The penguin got up and took the single remaining box, its flaps awkwardly holding the cardboard, "Of course, of course, I apologize for my rambling."
Prometheus turned around to leave before the creature interrupted him, "Please, stay here for a little longer, I beg you." The penguin pleaded with Prometheus.
"I have to go, I need to finish this trial quickly."
"Please, I don't have anyone left, I'll make it worth your time," At Theo's confused look, the bird monster removed the pendant and opened it. A small, black marble rested in the middle of it, held by golden claws. It seemed to absorb all light around it, casting the pendant in continuous shadow.
"This is a family heirloom, a skill stone obtained by my ancestor thousands of years ago. He reached incredible heights of power and managed to slay a calamity coming from the abyss in the sky. It has been passed down from generation to generation. The family decided to protect this skill stone in memory of our ancestor. But now..." The penguin monster hid its face with a flap, "They are all... fuck. A group of elves invaded our village.. and..." It breathed heavily once again, trying to regain its composure. "I am the last one alive in my family. I don't need this anymore. Please take it for yourself. To use it just eat it. I hope it will bring you the power I lacked to protect my comrades. Now, I have to go. Thank you for listening to my last words."
Prometheus nodded and took the skill stone, immediately eating it. The bird monster walked over to the frontline soldiers and disappeared in the battle. A notification interrupted the shapeshifter,
New skill acquired!
Skill: Low-rank Anomalous sense.
Prometheus nodded before being interrupted a second later,
Warning!
Compatible skills detected, fusion of Low-rank Soul sense and Low-rank Anomalous sense initiated...
Fusion? Is it mixing the two together?
Skill fusion was successful!
Low-rank Supernality sense acquired!
Woah, this feels weird.
Theo's Soul sense seemed to work as usual, although slightly weaker than before due to the new skill being level 1, but another sense clawed at his mind. A constant feeling of uneasiness permeated the ground, air, and everything around him. The feeling was much stronger on a couple of monsters and soldiers, and those seemed different from the rest. Either by being much stronger than their comrades with the same Soul tier, or some other unexplainable event separate from Influence. Prometheus noticed that one fireball launcher from the enemy side didn't use any Influence to create the massive scorching projectiles. Focusing on other soldiers, he noticed how much Influence was being used for everything on the battlefield, such as throwing objects, sword fights, and much more.
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I hate this feeling, mused the shapeshifter.
A portal whirring behind him interrupted his thoughts, which surprised him pleasantly. The pterodactyl was glad to escape the battlefield and the constant clawing at his consciousness. Taking off the suit and neatly putting it in a nearby box, he stepped through the portal, finding himself on the familiar stone platform. Examiner Brown was as chill as ever, snapping a mental connection with the pterodactyl, "Hi, mm, why did it take you so long?"
Prometheus remembered the Tribulation strike, which took hours to recover from.
"I got hit by ten lightning strikes in a row. Took me a couple of hours to recover," he replied simply. I think I understand what attracts those lightnings to me. Just the thought of Earth seems to put me in danger.
As to confirm his suspicions, electrical charges gathered in the air, but stopped once Theo cleared his head. Examiner Brown didn't seem too bothered by his reply and urged him forward, nodding to the next monster in line. While walking down, the capybara sent him a single thought through the connection, "Nice form."
He greatly appreciated the compliment on his looks and found Zilch lying against a wall near his other companions, trying to remain upright. He glided over to his companions, noticing that Lunch and Splash were having the same problem. they held onto a wall to not fall down.
"What's going on? Are you alright?" He asked with a hint of worry.
"I don't know. As soon as I got back from the trial together with those two, who wanted to do the trials as well, I started feeling sick. Even now..." The worm then fell to the ground, losing consciousness. The two other monsters followed soon after. Buzzelina hovered over them worriedly, trying to help her friends up. Prometheus immediately measured their vitals, noticing nothing out of place, when he suddenly noticed something that confused him.
The sensation of wrongness... it is still present but... Zilch?
His new sense identified Zilch as 'wrong', the same as what he had experienced with those individuals on the battlefield. The same base level of wrongness was present in the base.
What does it mean?
He shook his head and focused on trying to help his companions, with the wasp queen hovering over his head.
Wait, why do Zilch's cells look...modified already? It was supposed to take more than a week!
He quickly moved to the other two unconscious monsters and noticed both of them already possessed the modified cells. He hadn't noticed before as none of the changes were external.
What is going on?
He decided that for the moment he would stay near them and make sure nothing went wrong, so he and Buzzelina moved their sleeping companions to a tunnel that they had played many times in.
Prometheus made sure they were all hydrated and well-fed throughout their sleep.
Is it possible that their cells replicated so quickly that their bodies converted this soon? The speed is not normal, it would have been... 67.2 times faster than what should have happened.
The feeling of wrongness permeated Zilch like a shadow in his senses.
Wait. Could it be his intangaìibility power?
There was no other option. Prometheus walked out, asking Buzzelina to take care of their companions in the meantime. Theo checked the large number of monsters present, checking for that feeling of wrongness. Only two others seemed to possess that quality, those being Major Fuoco and a slime moving around with a humanoid skeleton inside.
He happily trotted to the Major, who was drinking a cup of lava, held by his tail. A flaming tablet was floating in front of the snake's face, the latter clearly relaxing.
As soon as his eye landed on Prometheus, he closed his eyes and exhaled deeply, shaking his head tiredly. When the shapeshifter moved in front of the old reptile, a mental connection was created.
"I can see you're still alive, kid. How can this old snake help you?" Major Fuoco smiled widely, smoke coming out his nose with every breath.
"What's your power?" Asked Theo directly.
The snake laughed like a stereotypical old man, almost being a perfect fit for a mall Santa, if that world had mall Santas at all.
"My ability is a secret, little hatchling. As you grow in power, you'll realize the importan-"
"Not your ability, old man. Your power."
The snake's smile disappeared like it had never been there in the first place. His tail found itself coiled around the pterodactyl, squeezing tightly.
"Did you forget so soon your lesson in humility?"
"Sorry, SORRY!" Apologized Theo quickly upon seeing his broken bones.
"So, now ask that again in the proper way." He then dropped Prometheus on the ground, which slowly fixed his broken body, before continuing, "I don't want to learn what your ability is. I know that has to do with your Soul or something. I want to know your Power, like the one Zilch has."
The reptile narrowed his eyes and asked, very confused, "I don't know what you mean. I never Triggered, so I don't have any powers. Why would you ask?"
Mmm, maybe my new Supernality sense isn't that accurate.
"Nothing, please forget it." Prometheus then turned around and flew to his companions, continuing to take care of them. Meanwhile, Fuoco followed the pterodactyl with his piercing gaze, flames escaping from his back.
---
It had been a couple of hours since his companions had fallen unconscious, but they still showed no signs of waking up, worrying Theo quite a bit. He decided to experiment with his toolbox, which surprised him on the Stealth trial. He took it out of his inventory and studied it. Last time, it had jumped around to eat scraps and tools, but now it looked lifeless. There was some influence on it, in patterns too complex for him to understand. Having near zero information on Influence and what it could do did him no favors.
last time it got angry when I tried to reach inside directly.
"Hammer," He said out loud. The toolbox opened up and spat a hammer in front of him.
Nice.
"Tongs," the toolbox spat them out immediately. Theo nodded, satisfied.
He remembered that he only put a single hammer in the toolbox, so he tried asking for another. It did nothing.
Okay, it can't duplicate tools. What about asking for something vague?
"I need something to drive in nails." It then spat it a mallet. Not perfect for the job, but it would do.
Mmm, I remember it also repaired tools.
He slightly chipped the mallet's handle and put it inside again. Theo then waited a couple of minutes and asked for the same mallet. It came out pristine, without the damage he had done. He chipped the hammer's head, which was made of iron, and repeated the same procedure. It once again came out pristine and repaired, but it took much longer. More testing revealed it was a matter of what material needed to be replaced. Denser materials took much longer to replace at the same volume as less dense ones, so the hammer's head made of iron took longer than the handle made of wood.
I bet I could farm iron with this. Iron farm. The scientists said something similar while playing on their computers.
He tried studying how the toolbox was creating matter out of thin air, but he could only see that it was gathering Influence from the air and doing...something, to transform it into matter, as well as expanding its size inside. Not to forget the fact that it recognized vocal commands and could act on its own to give the tool requested.
This thing truly is a treasure.
Just then, Zilch moved slowly up. Theo ran to his companion's side, checking if everything was fine.
"Zilch, are you okay?" Asked the pterodactyl quickly.
"I.. I think so. I feel... so much stronger. This is different from when I tiered up. My blood feels stronger, my muscles," The worm flexed its now developed muscles, "And my skin feels... completely different." It then spent a couple of minutes figuring its new body out. Zilch's appearance remained the same, that of a white earthworm with a circular mouth full of razor-sharp teeth. Its size also remained the same, at around a large dog's one.
"As I told you last time, your skin can now change its property depending on what is surrounding it. Try it out." Suggested Theo.
The worm's skin shifted slightly in color, going from its typical white to gray, and finishing with a dark red.
"You'll have to practice and control it. If your skin is completely covered in dirt or something else that's solid it should be much easier. It should also prevent you from getting discovered like last time." Explained the shapeshifter.
"I'll try it out now!"
Zilch burrowed into the ground, immediately moving to the area where they had dug so many tunnels. Prometheus decided to use the same strategy he used last time, as in creating a magnetic sonar to find Zilch, he moved to the center of the clearing and slowly shifted one of his wings to possess enough electrocytes for the sonar. Once he charged enough electricity, he hit the ground, sending out a magnetic wave, which acted as a sonar. When it came back, it didn't know anything out of place.
I am a genius.
Prometheus laughed in glee at his own prodigious mind. Creating a type of skin cell that was able to adapt to its environment and copy its properties such as magnetic permeability was nothing short of revolutionary.
Congratulations! For improving your trusted companion with a purely biological adapting skin, your Genetic Manipulation leveled up twice and ranked up!
Low-rank Genetic Manipulation lvl 3 -> Medium-rank Genetic Manipulation lvl 1!
Two level-ups AND a rank-up? I must have impressed the Hacker quite a lot for that. Even he agrees that I am marvelous.
He then moved to check on his two other companions, Lunch and Splash, who were still getting up. He asked them how they were feeling and they told him that they felt much stronger and much better. Buzzelina created a mental connection with him after that.
Wait what? Since when could make mental connections?
She asked him to perform the same upgrade procedure that the others had gotten, so he accepted. She also told him she had learned the spell from sensing it so often around her.
With the improved Genetic Manipulation skill this should be easier hopefully.
He put his Wasp pet to sleep and started, shifting into his usual Sponge form. This time, he was truly shocked. Creating the carrier cells and moving them around became so much cheaper and faster, and it also looked like his genetic modifications weren't being rejected from the body nearly as much! He was in fact able to improve every facet of Buzzelina's body, from energy efficiency, to muscular structure and many more. He didn't want to touch the reproductive organs yet as he had plans for making a hive in the future.
In total, improving Buzzeina, which was slightly smaller than Zilch, took no more than fifteen minutes, while the first time he had done the genetic improvement procedure on the goblins it took hours.
Theo smiled, as much as a pterodactyl could, and when the wasp queen woke up, he decided to play some games once again with his friends.