The next soldier entered the lab, and the experiment started again. This time, Ed made it so that the soldier had 80 percent human flesh and 20 percent mutant flesh, making the man much weaker than the 1st experiment. Then he locked the soldier in a prison cell for observation. For now, the man seemed completely fine.
The soldiers continued filing in. Ed continued adjusting the ratio. Whenever he went over 50 percent mutant flesh, the soldier would develop some emotional issues but still retain their sanity. If he went under 50 percent, then the soldiers experienced no changes to their emotional state or sanity. However, anything over 80 percent would result in extreme emotional issues, temporary losses of sanity, and even the eyes transforming to look like the eyes of a crocodile.
Several days passed. Ed created a total of 200 mutant soldiers, which was identical to the number of superhumans he had created previously. 'Let's see...' He stared at the soldiers while thinking. 'What to name them? Superhumans is reserved for those with the mana-battery limbs I created. Maybe I should call them lizards? Ha, I bet they wouldn't like that. Let's just call them chimeras.'
"Listen up chimeras!" He yelled while clapping his hands toward the cages. "As of now, all of you have obtained great increases in strength. Additionally, you're all currently sane. We now need to test your combat capabilities and see if fighting awakens any other problems. Follow me." He melted the cages around them and led them to a corner of the lab. He then started melting the wall. It only took a few minutes for him to form a large underground training field for the 200 soldiers to fight on.
"FIGHT!" A short red-haired soldier in the front of the group yelled as he ran towards the training field. He was the first soldier experiment and had the highest amount of mutant flesh, 95 percent. His eyes turned vertical and red as he waited. Reddish scales appeared on the corners of his eyes. Tiny flames sprouted atop those scales, giving him a menacing look.
Another soldier stepped forward. This man was tall with a muscular physique, making him look like a bodybuilder. His bald head shone brightly under the ceiling lights. He was one of the soldiers with close to 90 percent mutant flesh. He pummeled his fist into his hand and grinned. "I'll beat the hell out of you, puny shorty!" His eyes also turned vertical, but they were yellow in color. Yellowish scales appeared around his eyes.
'Mm. Interesting.' Ed nodded as he watched. 'Their elemental affinities are appearing with the scales on their bodies. They won't be able to launch long-range attacks, but they should be similar to real mutants. The capabilities of using their elemental affinities on their bodies will be a huge advantage if they ever manage to spread it to the rest of their bodies. To think I would accomplish what other espers have been researching for decades. My powers are really just too perfect for these kinds of things.'
The short soldier charged forward and threw a punch towards the tall soldier's stomach. The tall soldier caught the fist in his hands but took several steps back as a result. A difference of 5 percent mutant flesh sounded small, but it was actually quite large.
"Not bad." The tall man grinned. "What's your name, shorty?"
"Humph!" The short soldier snorted. "Shouldn't you introduce yourself first before asking for my name? Did your mother teach you no manners?"
"I'm Ochre." The tall man responded. "So, what's your name?"
"Ash." He replied. "Can we get back to fighting now?"
"Sure." Ochre smiled and lowered his body in preparation to charge forward.
'Is this a drama or something?' Ed wondered as he watched. He hadn't expected the soldiers to waste time conversing while he tried collecting valuable combat data.
Ochre charged forward. Just when he looked like he was about to tackle Ash, he suddenly fell to the floor. However, he kept charging forward. It made for a comical appearance seeing a large man hug the floor as he ran.
Ash looked confused, as if he didn't know how to fight someone with such an odd combat style. He jumped backwards to keep his distance, but Ochre stuck to him like glue.
"I've got you!" Ochre yelled as he grabbed hold of Ash's leg, causing him to topple over.
"Let go!" Ash squirmed, trying to escape the large man's grip.
"Haha!" He laughed as he tightened his hold. He moved his body so that Ash was pressed against the floor. "You must have been a street brawler before. No professional experience! That's why you're going to lose!"
"I. SAID. GET. OFF!" Ash roared as he got angrier. Red scales started appearing on the rest of his body. Flames flicked atop the scales.
"Agh! Fuck!" Ochre let go in panic and backed away. The flames had burned parts of his body.
"GRR!" Ash crouched down, staring at Ochre like a predator eyeing its prey. He looked like a reddish blur as he leapt forward, his fist held out in a claw shape.
"AHH!" Ochre screamed as he knelt to the floor. Five bloody gashes appeared on his stomach. Ash's attack had been too fast to dodge.
Ed's eyes went wide as he watched the fight. 'First scales and now claws? This... has gone far beyond what I expected.'
Ash's hands and feet had turned into sharp claws. His sanity continued fading away as he fought. He charged forward again, preparing to release a strong kick.
"Damnit!" Ochre crossed his arms defensively just in the nick of time. He was knocked flying through the air and slammed into the wall. "Ugh!" He groaned as blood dripped down his lips. Fortunately, the underground training field wall was made only of compressed dirt. Otherwise, it would have done a lot more damage.
Ed rose his hand, preparing to stop the fight. But then he noticed something and stopped. He watched silently as the fight continued.
The yellow scales around Ochre's eyes spread to the rest of his body. They lacked the intimidating effects that Ash's scales had. However, they were scales of the earth element, meaning that his defense improved drastically.
Ash charged forward and leaped into the air, his two claw-like feet aimed in a downwards stomp. Ochre moved faster than before and caught the attack. Then he twisted his body and slammed Ash into the wall so hard that it partially crumbled.
"GRR!" Ash roared as he struggled to break free once again.
Ochre growled back while pressing Ash to the floor. It appeared that his fighting style stayed the same despite his slowly deteriorating mental state.
Just when it seemed like Ash was about to lose, another surprising development happened. A red crocodile tail sprouted from his back, pushing against the floor beneath him. This newfound strength allowed him to forcefully overpower Ochre, reversing their positions on the floor.
'A tail?!' Ed hadn't been that shocked by the previous developments, but this was completely different. This was an entirely new appendage that appeared from nowhere. He stepped forward to interrupt the fight. A blast of high-pressure water shot from his hand, forcefully separating the two soldiers.
"GRR!" They both turned and glared at him. There was nothing left to indicate they were still human.
"Humph!" A snorting sound rang out. Little Tao on Ed's shoulder had woken up upon sensing the angry glares of the two men. It stared calmly into the two soldiers' eyes.
"Ah." Ash groaned as he grabbed his head, his pupils and sanity returning to normal. A brief moment later, and Ochre experienced the same thing.
Ed rushed forward and grabbed ahold of Ash's tail, examining it and the body with his mana. 'Hmm. Was the tail created from the flesh within the body? I did compress the muscles and flesh a lot to make them stronger. Does this allow the spare flesh to turn into scales, claws, and the tail? No, that shouldn't be it. Everything in his body is still the same as before... Come to think of it, the history books said that mutants appeared at the same time as mana. Logically, ordinary animals shouldn't be able to transform into larger sizes when they don't have enough flesh to do so...'
Ash's tail started to shrink while Ed examined it. A short moment later, the tail vanished completely. Then the scales started to vanish as well.
'So, the tail and scales turn into mana and reenter the body. Mana must have created them as well then. I can sense his body absorbing mana just like an esper's body would.' He glanced up at Ash. "Make the tail reappear. I need to watch as it happens."
"Uhh..." Ash blushed while scratching the back of his head. "I... I don't really know how?"
"Hmm." Ed frowned at the response.
"Hiss!" Tao glared at Ash. Suddenly, the scales started reappearing on Ash's body. The tail started to grow back as well.
'Mm.' Ed nodded in understanding. 'The mana stimulates the flesh to expand and grow into the necessary components. It's kind of like a controlled tumor. In ordinary mutants, this process is irreversible. However, the chimeras can reverse the process, with the mana breaking down the extra flesh and returning to their bodies. It's interesting that these hybrids can go back-and-forth, but it's going to be difficult to control them properly.' He glanced at the crocodile resting on his shoulder. 'It's fortunate this guy followed me. It's going to make my life a lot easier.'
He stood up and returned to the crowd of soldiers. Ash and Ochre followed behind him, their bodies returning to normal as they did so.
"You and you next." Ed said while pointing.
Two soldiers stepped forward. Each one only had around 20 percent mutant flesh. Their fight showcased their newfound strength but left much to be desired. No scales or other irregularities occurred.
Next, two soldiers at the 50 percent level stepped forward. Their fight was more interesting, as they too developed scales and vertical pupils. However, it took longer for them to do so, and they couldn't create claws or tails. Fortunately, they didn't seem to have any sanity issues, and instead only experienced enhanced emotions.
Last were the 80 percent soldiers. Just like the first fight, these soldiers also developed claws and tails, though at a slower rate than the 90 percent level. They also started losing their sanity until Tao stepped in to help them.
'Good.' Ed nodded in satisfaction. 'They've turned out much better than I ever expected. I'll increase all of the 20 percent chimeras to 50 percent. That will also be the limit I set for myself for now. I'll have to wait and see whether the 80 percent and higher soldiers manage to control themselves without Tao's help in the future. If they can, then I'll consider further increasing my own percentage of mutant flesh. If they can't, then I'll just stop at 50 percent and find other alternatives.'
Ed looked towards Tao. "Think you can watch over them while they train?"
Tao released a hiss while jumping down from his shoulder. He held his head high, as if he was looking down on the chimeras.
'I wonder why it feels more attached to me than the other soldiers? Logically speaking, they have more mutant crocodile flesh than me. Was it because I was there when it hatched?' He shook his head and gave up the pointless line of thought. Then he yelled towards the soldiers, "Anyone that failed to transform is to follow me. I need to make further adjustments."
About half the soldiers followed him back to the lab. It took an entire day to readjust their levels to 50 percent. He could go even higher, but it'd be easier if some of the soldiers were stronger. They could control the weaker soldiers more easily. More importantly, he didn't want to deal with the mental issues for all 200 chimeras. Just 20 of them were at the 80 percent level or higher, and that was more than enough.
The soldiers continued to train while Ed collected more data. Tao acted like a miniature drill sergeant as it marched back-and-forth between the soldiers, occasionally returning them to sanity as they fought. It always held its head high as it stared at them with disdain.
'Good. I should have enough data now. Time to upgrade my body.' He created a private room within his lab and began the process. He started with the skeletal system, which took up about 15% of his total body mass. His bones were incredibly strong by now. They'd be hard to break for most espers, unless they dropped a giant ice meteor from the sky like he had done to the crocodile.
Next was the internal organs and muscles. He had to be picky, as he had a limit to how much he could change. He decided to replace only the organs that corresponded with his cultivation method. This included the lungs, heart, triple burner, small intestine, large intestine, spleen, kidney, liver, bladder, and stomach.
'What an interesting feeling.' He felt blissful as he replaced the organs. The changes had affected his mana-paths despite them being spiritual in nature. He could feel the meridians he already opened were capable of holding more mana than before. His heart was stronger and passed blood through his body faster. His lungs absorbed more oxygen, making his body feel much more powerful.
Next, he changed his flesh, muscle, nerves, and veins. The entire circulatory system was converted, as well as most of the nerves. Flesh and muscle took up most of the body, so he only partially converted them throughout the body. As for the skin, he converted it while mixing in more ceramic fiber.
Bu-bump. Bu-bump. Bu-bump. He heard his heart beating loudly in his chest. Dopamine levels spiked in his brain as he entered a heightened emotional state. 'My body state seems quite similar to the 50 percent chimera soldiers. I guess the mana-core doesn't play a particularly large role when it comes to the body.'
He concentrated his mana, causing scales to appear on his body. Each one releasing a 7-colored glow. His pupils also adopted the 7 colors while turning vertical. 'Hmm. Can't form claws or a tail.' He nodded in understanding. As he had better control of mana, he thought that he might be able to forcefully create the benefits of the higher percentage chimeras. Unfortunately, he could not.
'Guess I'll go check on the soldiers and see how Dupe's plan is coming along.' He smiled as he exited the private room within his lab.