Huffing and puffing, Jack leaned onto a nearby tree. The shade cooled him down, both mind and body. After his head was capable of finally comprehending what had happened, he darted his eyes to the surrounding green scenery.
His memories of long lost were rejuvenated. There were some blurry things here and there but thanks to the therapy of always spouting random things within the isolated white space, his memory was preserved to some extent.
The sudden power up dissipated into nothingness. Jack swore that he had experienced something like this before but he couldn't grasp it. He might want to ask Sephiroth for it.
"Mind telling me what was that?" Jack smirked.
[It's certainly not one of my services. That's for sure. In possibility, there might be some hidden power in your soul. More than both of us could comprehend.]
"That makes me feel a little better, hahaha." He immediately stood up the moment that he could breathe normally again, trying to find a thing or two that could be utilized for his survival. "Knowing that I'm special in some area—in the world where a giant worm and octopus exist, I need a little bit of a boost of confidence."
[You're too old for that.]
"Heh, when age starts to get chipped away by the sands of time, an overextended adulthood will make a person turn childish."
[The aging of the mind, I see. You humans are certainly an interesting race.]
Jack wanted to work out on his newly acquired service. But before he did so, he scoured for material to be turned into tools.
Survival instinct ran a course in his veins. There were several strange beasts roaming around but with the power of patience and mental stillness in his mind, he managed to bypass most of the threats as he deftly marched through the dense forest.
'Ehehe, this forest is full of resources.'
Just like that, he casually picked his target item right under a giant ape's nose. He didn't know much about why he was able to do it, but it was probably a skill in his past life.
Jack then looked for a nearby river with medium branches and rocks cradled in his arms. He felt like his smelling sense was heightened, so he decided to use it to find his destination. As he was out of most monsters' vicinity, he could finally start yapping his youthful mouth again.
"Bah!" He huffed. "The flesh that I'm piloting is weaker than a baby chimaera at my former home!"
[Why do you speak like you're a jellyfish inside a flesh-wrapped skeleton?]
Jack wryly sneered. "Did I? I'm actually complaining that you sent me into a weak body, if that cleared the little misunderstanding."
[Old fart, I've already given you a ten-year boost so that your body at least matured a bit before reaching the state that is compatible for surviving. The human genes are so weak at body growth that I must be vigilant all the time.]
"Ahahah. I'm surprised that you didn't turn me into something animalistic." Jack realized that he was carrying too much stuff. "We humans are so pampered by the progress of civilization that it took more than a year for us to be able to walk. That aside, I just remembered that I can attach the tentacle as my body part. Can I do it now?"
[All you need to do is to put your intent on 'Placing the Tentacles'.]
"Is that so."
Doing what was told, he could see the diameter of 'Basic Tentacle' upon numerous holographic grids that covered the entire surface of the object within his vision.
"How do I put it in a place that is not covered within my sight?" While he was asking, he tried to see if he could do it with his space perception that was trained to convert mana. "Oh! I can do it now!"
Jack summoned the Basic Tentacle on his back, where the lower spine was located to be exact. A digital portal appeared in the size of the estimated width, and in just a second, the Basic Tentacle sprouted from his back with a smoke of small blue numerical binaries.
"Holy squirrel, it's heavy!"
With the implant of a new body part, the Basic Tentacle immediately fused its neuron path.
All of the basic memory of its movement was sent to Jack's brain. Without any motoric displacement, Jack was finally able to move the tentacle on his back.
Testing it with sparkling eyes and a thrilled smile, he contracted and folded the tendril again and again.
"Sephiroth! Look! An octopus tentacle! I can move it!"
[I'm amused that you're this exhilarated by an extra appendage.]
"It's like having a new arsenal of stupidly strange things to play with, I'm sure that you understand what I'm feeling!"
[Ahaha, I can see that.]
Jack then used his tentacle as a backpack, grabbing the thick wooden branches and carrying them as if they were strapped to his back.
[Basic Tentacle> Length: 99cm(+1) | Weight: 16kg(-1) | Kinetic Strength: 21kg(+1)]
"Ooh! What is this new tiny screen in my vision?"
[That is your Basic Tentacle growing, Jack. By deploying it whether on a surface or as your extra body part, the tentacles will receive stimulus and adapt to the environment they're in_
[The higher their IQ, the faster they evolve and acquire more skill. Although it's heavily recommended to attach a Mutagen on them if you want faster growth. That way, they can acquire a mutated ability.]
"Ohohoh! How do I acquire this Mutagen and how do I attach it?"
Multitasking, Jack continued to deftly stroll into the direction of the humid fresh water smell, grabbing some detachable vines along the way while effortlessly avoiding danger.
[You can just tell me what object and material you wanted to turn into a Mutagen.]
"How about this rock?" Jack showed himself the rock on his cradle of numerous objects he carried.
[Affirmative.]
The rock that Jack pointed with his eyes evaporated into digital dust.
[Mutagen {Rock} acquired.]