Evan sat in the middle of the magical laboratory's halls, his eyes closed as he reviewed the changes he had made to his body. A slow, self-satisfied smile crept across his face as he took in the full extent of his new abilities. He had been locked up in R'hazul's laboratory for three consecutive days, studying the preserved draconian corpses around him with a singular focus. He sat cross-legged on the cool stone floor, surrounded by books, mirrors, scrolls, and a dragon corpse lying in front of him, beside another, slightly different corpse. Sweat dripped down his face. After completing the final modifications to his body, the strain was starting to take its toll. His muscles ached, and his mind was foggy from the intense concentration he had needed to pull off this feat. He rubbed his eyes and yawned, feeling a wave of exhaustion wash over him. He had barely slept and hated cramming; without the right skills, it was pointless. But this had been oh so worth it.

He exhaled in a huff, and closed his eyes, focusing on the dragon's anatomy, and his own. He could feel every minute change he had made.

"Wow," he said, opening his eyes and flexing his new muscles, testing his newfound strength "I think I might have outdone myself this time." It felt like he could lift the whole building now, like he had the [Unbreakable] skill every warrior dreamed of having. He looked at his reflection in a nearby mirror and couldn't help but to let out a laugh.

"I still look like a damn kid" he muttered to himself, grinning from ear to ear. Only he knew what truly lay beneath the surface of his flesh.

As he examined his new body, he noticed something strange. His eyes were glowing, a deep red hue emanating from his pupils. He blinked, trying to shake off the feeling, but the glow persisted. He focused and could sense no biological reason for the glow.

"What the hells?" he muttered, confused. Wondering what had caused this, his thoughts went back to the past three days.

At first, he had made progress. He'd strengthened his nerves and muscles, almost doubling ten years' worth of work in just twenty four hours. He had decided to focus on muscle quality and reaction time rather than size and increased the number and density of contracting muscle fibers until they resembled those of a juvenile dragon. I have baby dragon strength now, He laughed at the thought. He could generate a massive amount of force and had hardly changed in size. He felt as if he had the [Relentless Strength] skill every youth prayed for. And the changes to his nerves had caused his reflexes to greatly improve, he was faster than he had ever been and could rival any person with [Swift Parry], if he focused. And when he focused, he could see every detail of things in motion, watching a grain of sand making its journey through the wind, before catching it, lightning quick between his fingers. He could grasp everything in an instant, his mind parsing through the information in a moment, and his muscles and joints moving even faster to keep up with its commands.

By the second day, he had been having trouble getting all of the changes to work, one new aspect or change would throw his body’s whole system off, and two had caused a cascading effect of organ failure that almost took his life. He was stumped, he had almost considered just settling for the dragon's scales or fire glands and calling it a day.

That was until he studied the Chimaera. Then, inspiration hit him like a ton of bricks.

Its body was a perfect blend of a majestic Angelum, the powerful bone structure of a Wyvern, and the fierce paws of the cat-like Duskstalker. The soft fur on its body was a combination of white and gold, with dark streaks, each strand glistening in the low light. He was mesmerized by the seamless fusion of different creatures, by how all of these foreign elements were blended seamlessly together, and how each part of the creature seemed to complement the others, creating a new form of life with a new purpose. It was as if each element had been chosen specifically for its unique qualities and combined to create something greater than the sum of its parts. The way the cat-like skin and fur merged and blended with the Angelums wings, the stripes of colour across its form, and hard scales underneath, the sharp claws and teeth of a predator, and the sleek form of a hunter all combined to form a unique and deadly being never seen before.

He had been thinking too small. Why settle for just copying the natural capabilities of monsters? He could change his very being, and become anything he wanted, with his new understanding, and control, he could alter cells in a multitude of new ways. Why not take everything he’d learned and make something completely new?

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By the third day, Evan had succeeded. Not only had he strengthened himself to a level he hadn’t thought possible, he had taken it even further. Taking inspiration from the Chimaera, he created specialised muscle tissue, proteins, and structures that were capable of storing and releasing kinetic energy rapidly. Now that he had changed the genetic code of his muscle cells and increased their contractile force and efficiency, he could generate more power with each movement. His dense bones provided a strong foundation for the muscles to push against. He had added hinges to his fist that resembled a dragon's jaw, and he now had a snapping, crushing grip that could bend and warp steel. He then focused the design of his structure on several points; his joints, and his fists.

By contracting his muscles with maximum force and applying his energy to his bones, he could create a shockwave that travelled through his body, redirecting his energy in an instant, and if he chose to, creating massive shockwaves.

His punches were now faster than arrows, amplified by his altered bone structure; a series of spines, hinges, jaws, and mandibles spread throughout his body’s interior. He was now faster than a person with [Swift Strike].

The shockwave would be amplified by his altered bone structure, causing it to reverberate and grow stronger as it instantly moved through his body, or if he chose, bounced from point to point and continued to grow in strength until he released it.

Finally, when the shockwave reached his fists, it would be released in a powerful burst of energy and sound. And he couldn't wait to try it out.

The outer layers of his muscles were made of interlocking layers of a mineralized material, the same found in dragon bones and teeth, He had reinforced the outer fibers with fibers of dragon scales, a tough and flexible material. His muscle tissue was as strong and resilient as the scales of a young dragon. The changes he’d made to keep them light and flexible as muscle had made them weaker than an adult dragon scales, but any blade angle towards him would not cut deep at all. He had implemented the dragon's breath: two small glands in his neck producing the chemicals, which, when combined, released a spray of dragon flame from his mouth. The heat was enough to turn blades to slag under a focused breath, but not much more. And burned his skin, but not the dragonscale muscle-fibers beneath. To be honest it was pretty impractical, he just thought it was cool.

He twisted his arms and skin, admiring the new tapestry of deep and dark red scars that crisscrossed all over his form. His body was now a canvas of scars and taut wireframe muscle; marble-like cords of intricately woven dragon scale fibers were woven and stretched into tight cords of protective muscle beneath the map of scar tissue. He could heal and remove all of the scars, with the regeneration of his new blastema cells, and did to the ones on his face, but he couldn't resist leaving the rest. He thought it made him look like a seasoned hunter, like the many he had admired, scarred through the experience of battles and evolution. Observing his new toughness, he felt as though he had his own [Steel Hide] skill. Evan was ecstatic.

With his acquisition of the Wyrm-Wyvern's blastema cells, He knew he was only one beast away from using the regeneration cells to being able to create a clone of himself, he would have to ask R’hazul about that. He was looking forward to the coming days, with every moment he spent observing these creatures his understanding and potential for growth would grow to new heights. By the end of the month, he would be able to create things nobody had ever seen before. When he returned to the present he would be prepared to gather the artifacts around the City, and at some point, he would need to build his own lab, to take his capabilities to the next level.

Project ‘BetterBody™’ was a success, and had now become project ‘BabyDragon™’.

Or was it project ‘‘BetterChimearaBody™’ now? Evan mused. Nah, better to just stick with BetterBody, he concluded.

As he stood there, he could now feel the kinetic energy coursing through him, just waiting to be unleashed. He closed his fists and entered a stance, not quite sure what he was doing, and focused. Feeling the energy quickly building up inside him. With an instant burst of motion, he lashed out with his fist, lightly, only releasing a small amount of energy, not wanting to cause too much damage. And still, his fist snapped out and struck the air with incredible speed and force, as a cracking sound followed. The resulting shockwave rippled through the air, sending a gust of wind through the room.

Evan cackled, revelling in his own brilliance. "They said it couldn't be done," he said, his eyes sparkling with delight. "They said I was mad. But who's laughing now, eh?" Of course, nobody had said this, but Evan believed that acknowledging his accomplishments was a key part of success. He looked up to admire the deep red of a dragon's fiery breath that he had caused to emanate from his laughter. He was feeling quite good. And plus, he was alone.

“I thought you said he was smart?” a female voice chimed from the distance

Evan turned to the lab entrance as three people entered.

R'hazul strode into his laboratory and approached, followed by a stunning woman, and a man, both dressed in strange gear. R'hazul tilted his head towards her “He is, just give him time”.

“Allow me to introduce you to my daughter, Esme,” R’hazul called, gesturing to the young woman who stood at the far end of the room.