"There you are, number 69!" the game master said in a cheerful tone, and I honestly didn't know what to say, so I just stared at him. "Not the talking type, eh?" the games master said with a smile as he began pacing around me.
"Well, no matter," the game master remarked with a shrug. "I've brought you here to congratulate you on defeating the undead king and to give you your reward!" he stated as he stopped in front of me.
"Now, let's see what we have here," the game master said, pointing his index finger at me, which caused a curtain of cyan light to run through my body from head to toe.
"Aura, huh? I haven't seen an aura user in quite a while!" he remarked, and I felt my eyes twitch at how casually he identified my power. "But that's not all there is to you, is it?" he asked with a thoughtful expression.
"Someone or something locked a part of your memories away, and I can't for the life of me figure out how!" he said with a confused expression.
'I'm seriously starting to think killing the undead king was a bad idea.' I struggled to keep a neutral expression as the game master stared at me in wonder like I was an exotic creature of some sort.
"Well, no matter!" the game master remarked with a shrug as he reached out to the side, causing a white block to materialize in his hand, and I had to resist heaving a sigh of relief at the change of subject with all my being.
"This here, my dear contestant, is a block of adaptive fiber ore, and it will be your prize for slaying the undead king!" he added while raising his hand for me to get a good look at my prize.
"But it's useless to you the way it is right now, so let me make some adjustments first!" he exclaimed as he held the block with both of his hands, causing it to change shape and ripple erratically in the game master's hands.
He then cut a small piece of it with his finger and flicked it towards my ear, and I didn't even try to dodge because I've already been in a similar situation before and knew there was no point.
The small piece went into my ear, and I prepared myself for the pain, but it was unnecessary as it immediately dissolved, as if it was never there.
"Adaptive fiber is a material that can take any shape and copy characteristics of any material, but it requires guidance to do so as it's an inanimate object with no sentience!" the game master explained while playfully tossing the block in his hand.
"Which is why I injected you with a small shard of the fabric, to connect you with it, giving you mental command over it!" the game master added, and that's when I noticed a sort of connection between the adaptive fiber and myself.
"It will take some practice, but you will be able to control it effortlessly with time!" the game master stated, and I felt myself nod unconsciously.
"As I've said, this adaptive fabric can turn into anything, but you have to understand the characteristics of what you want it to turn into!" he concluded with a smirk, shoving the white block in my hand.
"Now be on your way, and good luck!" the game master waved me off with a smirk, and I felt the ever-familiar tugging sensation dragging me back towards the ruined city.
"Well, that went ok, I guess," I murmured with twitching eyes as I immediately began scanning my surroundings to locate the nearest safe spot, so I could sit down and plan my next move.
...
I frowned in concentration as the adaptive fabric slowly began changing shape, and my intuitive aptitude immediately activated, sending a rush of information to my brain.
I froze for a second, overwhelmed by the sheer amount of info coursing through my brain, but I shrugged it off with a shake of my head as half of the adaptive fiber finally broke off, taking the shape of a shiny, white desert eagle pistol.
I gave the pistol a twirl in my hand, familiarizing myself with it as intuitive aptitude went to work again, making me a bonafide pistol master, and gunplay.
I pointed the gun to the side and pulled the trigger, and unsurprisingly, nothing happened as it was just a gun with no ammunition.
[You have one new notification and several unread ones. Would you like to view them?]
'Yes.' I quickly began browsing the notifications, and most of them were kill notices from the zombie my clone killed, with the only interesting one being the undead king's kill notice.
[You have slain a B+ rated enemy. You have received 280 experience points.]
I already had a decent amount of EXP stockpiled, and with this recent addition of 280 points, I should be able to upgrade at least two of my parameters.
Now let's see what other notifications I have other than kill notices.
[Bloodsport has absorbed imperial undead bloodline. Unlocked ability: Siphoning Touch]
[Siphoning Touch: you will absorb a small amount of energy and stamina from your enemies with every connecting swing of your baseball bat]
"That will most definitely come in handy!" The new ability will provide me with a great deal of self-sustain, enabling me to fight longer and harder without worrying too much about exhaustion.
[Harmony has found a suitable host. Please focus on your adaptive fiber block to view its new parameters after integrating with Harmony.]
[Snow white: a piece of adaptive fiber that can copy any shape or attribute as long as the wielder understands the intricacies of what he wants snow white to mimic]
[Unlocked ability due to integrating with Harmony: Energy absorption]
[Energy Absorption: the ability to absorb and release energy based on the wielder's will]
"Snow white, eh?" I murmured with twitching eyes. "I feel like a portal would open up in front of me with a lawyer coming out of it and slapping me in the face with a copyright infringement lawsuit."
I shook my head to get rid of all useless thoughts for now as I took control of snow white, making it take the shape of a desert eagle again.
I pointed the gun to the side while channeling energy into it as I pulled the trigger, causing a red transparent bullet to shoot out of its barrel, hitting a solid brick wall and punching a baseball-sized hole through it in the process.
"Huh, neat!" I murmured with a smirk. This new energy absorption ability will finally give me a decent method of attacking from range, among many other things. But I would need to do some testing before I know what more this ability can do for sure.
'Might as well spend my EXP before heading back to the outskirts'
Name: Kaden Solomon
Age: 19
Race: Human
Bloodline: None
Parameters:
Strength: C-
Agility: C- -> C+
Endurance: C+
Intelligence: C-
Energy: C+ -> B-
Overall evaluation: C
Perks:
[Waste lander: You know your way around a desert, a snowy area, or any other harsh environment.]
[Undetermined Fate: Despite what most people want to believe, everyone has a fate that they can't avoid, but you are the exception and, as such, you have the power to decide your destiny and change the inevitabilities of those around you.]
[Intuitive Aptitude: You can learn and understand the complexity and exactness of any organism or object with no need for long-term or special education.]
[????????]
Inventory:
[Mysterious Amulet] [8 Greed game badges] [Blood Sport (Discord)] [Snow White (Harmony)]
...
Inside a top-secret military facility within OWR territory, a man is standing in front of a mirror, inspecting his outfit. It was a single piece of elastic, black fiber with plates of solid, metallic red armor covering all over the man's vitals.
The man sighed after making sure he was wearing his attire appropriately, raising his head to look at his own reflection, and was met by a handsome face with masculine features, blue eyes, and short, spiky, brown hair.
The man continued to look at his reflection with a thoughtful expression, seemingly thinking about something, but a quick and loud knock on the door forced him out of his daze.
The man sighed again as he moved to open the door, taking a step back as another man wearing a black suit made his way inside the room with a smile on his face.
"There you are, Clay!" the suited man said in a cheerful tone. "What's with the frown, buddy? Something on your mind?" the man in a suit asked in a confused tone upon noticing Clay's troubled expression.
"I have a bad feeling about the upcoming operation, but it's probably nothing," the armored man, Clay, said, promptly shaking his head. "Of course, it's nothing. You're the fucking deterrent, for fuck's sake!" the man in the suit replied with a smirk.
"What could go wrong with you there?" the man in the suit asked while playfully slapping Clay's shoulder, causing him to smile as well while shaking his head in amused exasperation.