Lin Wu woke up groggily and felt heavy upon waking up. It was as if there was extra weight placed on him.
"What is this? Why do I feel so heavy?" Lin Wu muttered to himself.
He looked around and saw darkness everywhere. It seemed as if it was nighttime and the sun had gone down. Lin Wu laid on the ground for a few minutes, after which the heavy weight that he was feeling on his body finally went away. It was then that the sound of notification appeared.
~Ding~
NOTIFICATION: Upgrade process complete, please check the relevant window.
'What, the update was not complete when I woke up? Did it just complete? But it hasn't done this before, did the tranquilizing effect perhaps wore off earlier?' Lin Wu wondered.
Having thought of this Lin Wu called out to the system.
"Host Data." Lin Wu ordered.
~Ding~
—————————————————————————————————
HOST NAME: Lin Wu
AGE: 30 days
LIFESPAN: 2 months
HOST SPECIES: Common Mud Worm (enhanced) [Adult]
HOST CULTIVATION: Fourth stage of the Body tempering Realm
-Vital energy required to upgrade = [000/500] units
QI STORAGE: Unavailable [Insufficient cultivation]
BLOODLINE: None
CULTIVATION TECHNIQUES: None
QI SKILLS: None
INVENTORY: Empty
BEAST CORE: Not formed
VITAL ENERGY STORAGE: 42 units
SYSTEM ENERGY STORAGE: 20 units
RAW BLOODLINE DATA COLLECTED: 1. Common Grass Mouse
—————————————————————————————————
There were a few changes that Lin Wu noticed right away. First of all, the Cultivation level of Lin Wu had risen to the Fourth stage of the Body tempering Realm, and the energy required to upgrade to the next stage had increased to 500 units from the previous 400 units. The second thing he noticed was the Vital energy storage that had decreased to 42 units.
Another thing that he noticed was the status of his species, it had changed from Juvenile to Adult.
"What's this? I'm an adult now? But I feel no difference." Lin Wu spoke to himself.
Just to make sure, he looked at his body and checked for any difference. But didn't find any changes, at least not any that were visibly apparent. Not knowing the exact reason, he decided to ask the system.
"System, why do I not have any changes now that I'm an adult?" Lin Wu questioned.
~Ding~
—————————————————————————————————
ANSWER: The host's body was previously enhanced, thus the host is already bigger than the matured adults of his species. The host's adult status means that the host can now procreate.
—————————————————————————————————
Lin Wu was a little dumbfounded upon hearing the system's answer. He knew what the meaning of being an adult entailed, but was still a little taken aback. He also didn't expect that he was already bigger than others of his species.
"System, how much of a difference is there between me and others of my species?" Lin Wu questioned.
~Ding~
—————————————————————————————————
ANSWER: Due to the enhancement, the host is ten times as big as an average Common Mud Worm. The host is also able to cultivate unlike the others of his species.
—————————————————————————————————
This was another surprise to Lin Wu. He knew that he was big but had not expected the difference to be so great. Even the fact that his species could not cultivate normally was a surprise to him. He wanted to know more about his species as he didn't know if it was the system that made him able to cultivate or something else.
"System, tell me more about my species and why can't they cultivate but I can?" Lin Wu questioned.
~Ding~
—————————————--——���——--—————————————
ANSWER: The Common Mud Worm is a native species of worms that are common on the entire planet. They are a hermaphrodite species that is unranked in the beast categories. They belong to the lower level of the food chain and are the prey of higher class species.
The reason why the host can cultivate is due to two factors, one of them being the system itself and the other a natural mutation.
—————————————————————————————————
Lin Wu read the entire answer a couple of times before he went back to the part that told him that his species is hermaphrodite. That was the part that had stunned him as he collapsed back to the ground.
"I'm… I'm a Hermaphrodite? No, this can't be! I refuse! That's right, I just don't have to accept this. No one can force me, anyway." Lin Wu muttered to himself in a creepy tone.
Having given himself a little pep talk, Lin Wu returned to the answer and saw the second part. He had guessed that the system had allowed him to cultivate, but didn't know that there was something additional involved as well.
He knew about natural mutations and knew that they would happen every so often. Though more likely than not they would be useless or disadvantageous. It was a rare chance that an advantageous mutation would occur.
'Well, I guess I got lucky.' Lin Wu thought as he stroked his imaginary beard with his imaginary hands.
He turned to the boar corpse and guessed the amount that was left behind. Lin Wu had already eaten the four legs and estimated that the mass of the body should be a little more than the weight of the four limbs combined.
"Let's see how much energy I get from this. Hopefully, it should be enough to upgrade another level." Lin Wu spoke to himself.
He then made another hole in the boar's skin, this time in the torso, and crawled inside as he started eating. If it was a normal person and they were eating the boar, they would perhaps only eat the meat and leave the organs behind. But for Lin Wu, who was a worm, it didn't matter, he could just eat it all. It didn't taste bad to him, anyway.
Lin Wu experienced a difference in strength now. His speed had increased and he could eat even faster. Even his biting force had increased. Unlike before when it took him 80 hours to eat four legs, it only took him 30 hours to eat the entire corpse, leaving the bones behind.
If one were to look at the boar corpse now, they would find that it was literally 'skin and bones'. Lin Wu had devoured every single bit of flesh, leaving behind just the tough skin and hard bones. He crawled out and looked at the corpse.
'It feels a little wasteful to leave the skin, I'll eat it too.' Lin Wu thought for a moment before eating the tough skin.
It took him another ten hours to finish the skin. By now, a sizable mound of refuse had built up on one side. The product of Lin Wu's feast. He had been subconsciously been ignoring it, but its size had become too much for him now. Even though there was no unpleasant smell, it was still very uncomfortable for Lin Wu.
"Ugh, I need to move soon." Lin Wu muttered.
'Now then let's see the gains.' Lin Wu thought to himself with hope in his eyes.
"Host Data." He ordered.
~Ding~
——————————————————————————————————
HOST NAME: Lin Wu
AGE: 1 month, 2 days
LIFESPAN: 2 months
HOST SPECIES: Common Mud Worm (enhanced) [Adult]
HOST CULTIVATION: Fourth stage of the Body tempering Realm
-Vital energy required to upgrade = [000/500] units
QI STORAGE: Unavailable [Insufficient cultivation]
BLOODLINE: None
CULTIVATION TECHNIQUES: None
QI SKILLS: None
INVENTORY: Empty
BEAST CORE: Not formed
VITAL ENERGY STORAGE: 602 units
SYSTEM ENERGY STORAGE: 20 units
RAW BLOODLINE DATA COLLECTED:
1. Common Grass Mouse
2. Rock Trampler Boar
——————---———--———���——————————————————
Lin Wu felt satisfied upon seeing the increase in Vital energy storage. He also noticed the extra entry that was added to the bottom about the Rock Trampler Boar.
'Hmm, so every time I finish eating a complete beast, it's added to the list. But whats, the use for this?' Lin Wu wondered.
"System, what is the use for raw bloodline data?" Lin Wu questioned.
~Ding~
—————————————————————————————————
ANSWER: Raw bloodline data is obtained from the beasts that are completely consumed. This data can be used to modify and enhance host's characteristics. Such changes are only possible after sufficient data is obtained and analyzed. Certain types of bloodline data are incompatible with the host and thus won't be useful even if they are added.
The host does not have any bloodline, thus the system can allow them to create one for themselves.
————---———��————————————————————————
Lin Wu was incredibly intrigued by the system's answer.
'Seems like this is an extra advantage I got because of my species being weak and low class. I wonder up to what level I can modify the bloodline.' Lin Wu thought.
"System, how can I modify my bloodline?" Lin Wu questioned.
~Ding~
—————————————————————————————————
ANSWER: For unlocking the bloodline creation function, the host needs to reach the Qi refining realm and also collect a sufficient amount of bloodline data. The host will also need a sufficient amount of system energy to actually carry out the process. The amount of energy required will vary depending on the level and complexity of the Bloodline.
—————————————————————————————————
"I guess, I can't do much until I reach the Qi refining realm. For now, I just need to upgrade." Lin Wu muttered.
"System, use 500 units of vital energy to upgrade my cultivation to the next stage."