Bang! Bang!
Hard knocks were heard in the small house.
"Boss! Are you there, Boss?"
Yeshua, who was traveling the path of Eden with tears and blood in his dreams, was suddenly awakened by the knocks on his door. Before he could make sense of everything, Yeshua's mind instinctively reacted to the sudden happening.
"Whose voice is that this time? Are we not done with surprises?!" Yeshua suddenly jumped from his bed and observed his surroundings. He was still in his shack and the door was closed. No one was around there to attack him or turn him into a monster.
Bang! Bang!
"Boss, you're there right? I heard you!" A voice full of relief and excitement was heard behind the door alongside the hard knocks.
"Yeah, I'm right here! Don't break my door!" Yeshua answered the voice from outside the house. He was relieved that at least he was safe and nothing dangerous was around him.
After opening the door, the first thing that Yeshua felt was the burst of sunlight that warmed his body. The sun was already high. It was obvious that it was already noon.
Yeshua realized that he slept this long. Maybe because of exhaustion of his body and his mind, he was not able to wake up until he heard someone breaking his door.
"Ai, he was actually knocking," mumbled Yeshua as he looked at his uninvited visitor.
The man who was wearing a pair of linen shirt and trousers looked like he was around Yeshua's age. With black hair and blue eyes, the man was good-looking. Though he was shorter by a head than Yeshua, it could not be denied that the man could be considered charming. It was just that his sweaty face and trembling fats were distracting to anyone who looked at him that they discounted his handsomeness.
"What a waste! This fatty really needs some exercise!" Yeshua blurted.
"Boss, you know I'm really trying to lose weight! I exercise every day!" The man exclaimed when he heard Yeshua's comment.
"The only exercise you do is eating, Bobo." Yeshua scoffed at Bobo.
(If I had that face, I will not be an Alterer. I will be a gigolo!) Though Yeshua could be considered handsome, seeing someone better looking than him made him feel bad.
Bobo's face looked hurt after being called fat. Even fatties have feelings, you know. But then he realized his reason why he was here. His face became filled with relief as he stared at Yeshua.
"Boss, I thought something happened to you. You were not here last night and I remembered that you accepted a job from that gang. I wanted to go here in the morning but you know that I have to be at the bakery for my apprenticeship. I'm only able to sneak out this time because it's my break. I'm really worried. It's really good seeing you safe now, Boss." Bobo said while sighing with relief.
(Actually, something really happened to me. I turned into a monster, turned into a human again, then, I had to kill the one who experimented on me. And it all happened in just one night! It also took a miracle just to survive. I was also worried for myself, you know.)
Looking at his only friend, Yeshua was reminded of his memories of Bobo.
Bodiah Romaro was also an orphan like him. But unlike Yeshua, Bobo's father did not die during a beast attack instead he just did not come back from one of his hunts.
Bobo's father was also a hunter like Yeshua's father. In fact, they were friends. During the beast attack, the man who carried him away from his father was Bobo's father. He carried him together with Bobo. It was just unfortunate that the life of a hunter was a life of risk and danger.
In this world, Alterers mostly ventured to the wild to hunt spirit beasts to collect their spirit gene materials and forage resources such as gene herbs. Even those with clans and organizations still entered the wilderness to train.
It was just that the poor Alterers advanced slowly than them since Alterers relied on resources to speed up their cultivation.
Hunter was the profession of most Alterers. They sold the things they got from the wild to support their cultivation and at the same time to support their living.
Poor Alterers stayed at low levels for a long time not only because of the lack of resources but also because they started late in their cultivation. The age of fifteen was the most optimal start to become an Alterer. The older the person became the harder it would be for them to advance. So it was better to unearth the soul potential earlier if possible.
Bobo's father was late on his cultivation same as the other poor people who aspired to become Alterers. His death was only one of the many deaths of the Alterers who risk their lives in the wilderness whatever their reasons may be.
The death of his father caused the aspiring hunter inside Bobo to just become a baker and live a normal life.
Yeshua became a gloomy boy after the death of his father. Bobo was the only friend who stayed with him during those times. So when Bobo lost his father five years ago, Yeshua helped and supported Bobo. Afterward, this fatty started to call him boss since he said that he was like a big brother to him.
Bobo said that he admired Yeshua because of his tenaciousness in becoming an Alterer. Remembering his father's death caused Bobo to be discouraged but seeing Yeshua's determination made him feel that his dream of being a hunter could be realized by Yeshua.
And so, when Yeshua became desperate to earn money that he accepted a job from a gang, Bobo became worried for him since that gang was led by an Alterer and did sketchy things.
"Boss, you really should not have accepted that job. That gang is notorious for doing bad things. I know that you want to become an Alterer as fast as possible but mixing with them was not a good thing."
"It's alright. I already accepted the job and here I am… Actually, I just remembered. I was not able to finish that job!" With a timely realization, Yeshua suddenly remembered.
Indeed, Yeshua was not able to deliver that package!
Yeshua was kidnapped by Wendel while he was carrying the package. He did not see the package in Wendel's house, so it meant that the package was lost. Wherever it was, he did not have any idea.
"Boss, that's not good! That gang will kill you if they found out you did not do the job. I heard that there was someone who accepted a job from them but did not do it properly. He was found floating in the creek missing some limbs like he was eaten by a beast!"
Bobo was squealing with panic. His relief in finding Yeshua safe was short lived and danger was looming at his friend.
Yeshua thought about it. Actually, he was not worried that much. After the things he experienced last night, he felt that offending some gang was still something manageable. He just had to think about how he would deal with it especially since the leader was an Alterer.
"It will be alright, Bobo. I will deal with it. You don't have to worry." Assuring his friend, Yeshua was thinking of doing what he planned to do today.
To have his first Alter Beast, Yeshua needed to buy level 1 genome crystals. He planned to go to the Trade Association to purchase them. If he had his Alter Beast, he would be able to deal with this gang.
"Though if I remember, the boss of the gang is a level 1 stage 3 Alterer…," mumbled Yeshua while knitting his brows.
There were nine levels of the genome sequence. Every upgrade of the genome sequence meant a level up of the Alterer. Each level was divided into nine stages called soul temperance.
Alterers tempered their soul through cultivation. Their way of cultivation was to maintain the transformation of their Alter Beast. Then, they could engage in a battle or practice their abilities.
Alter Beast was the power of the Alterer but at the same time, it was also their darkness. The beast was their alter ego. The bestial self of a human was strengthened when they were in their Alter form.
Maintaining an Alter Beast was like unleashing the beast within an Alterer. The savageness of the beast would affect the mind of the Alterer. If they lost control, they would turn into a real beast called Feral. The Feral only had the savageness and the instinct of the beast.
But when in Alter form, the spirit genes in the body continually affected not only the body but also the soul of an Alterer. The soul would be stimulated to release its potential to resist the savageness. The soul would be refined until it advanced to the next stage.
That was why maintaining their Alter Beasts was a way of tempering the soul as they control the savageness of the beast. The Alterers must reign on their beasts.
As their soul temperance increased, their control of the beast would also increase and the influence of the savageness would weaken. Soul tempering gene medicines could speed up the cultivation of the soul.
If they were confident that they already fully controlled the savageness of their Alter Beast and they were also at stage 9 soul temperance, they could initiate a sequence upgrade.
Although he also became an Alterer through the mysterious shard, Yeshua could also not be considered as a true Alterer. So he was still at the beginning of his soul temperance. If he could get the AI to reconstruct a genome sequence, he would start as a level 1 stage 1 Brave Alterer.
Yeshua was not sure if the strength that he would get after he had his Alter Beast would be enough to deal with his situation but he could only deal with it when it happened.
"Boss, that gang is dangerous. How about you hide? Maybe you disguise yourself then you hide on the other side of the city!"
"Yeah, maybe I should consider doing…" Before he could finish what he was trying to say, Yeshua saw a group of people walking towards him.
"They say that you should not speak of the devils because they will really appear. Bobo, you called them a lot of times. Look what you've done!"
"Boss, it's not my fault!"
Seeing the menacing gang members, Bobo squealed like a pig.