A few days passed and the forest seems to grow restless after he popped out of his cocoon. Ernest Quelt has adapted to his current surroundings and acknowledges his abilities. Along with his weaknesses that can easily bring about the end of his life. However his knowledge as an alchemist helped him survive, this forest was a sign of death
[System: The bones of the thornerus hounds can not only repair the host's broken bones but can also be manifested as a projectile
Outcome: Body preservation mode has been changed into the means of combat! The manifested bones will become a sharp and piercing needle]
"Golden eyes of the abyssal tiger, respond to my call, the hosts require your power," The thick vegetation of the forest was something that piqued his interest
When he encountered a variety of herbal remedies on his daily expedition, he finally move on and attempted his next goal. With his very few materials, he manages to make do with his limited resources and create a tool of mass destruction. He shoots out a spike and it pierces through the durable scales of his target
But it never ended with a minor poke, the Void serpent flailed around upon its body to be invaded by an outside force. Before it could bleed any further, it attempted to escape and return to its nest, but it was unfortunate to encounter its enemy. The needle was spiked with his newly created poison which courses through the entirety of his foe
[System: The void serpent is being affected by the poison within the bone of the thornerus hounds!!!
Status: [Paralysis] has taken its effect the target will be incapable to move its body. [Weakening] has been triggered earlier when the target had a whiff of the powdered essence]
"Empower," When every status effect was applied to his prey, he stands up from where he positioned himself and leaped for the finishing blow
His knife struck the skull of his prey and with the help of his newly attained skill, he needed only a swing. His second attack was a downward slash and he successfully severed its durable scales. When the armor of his advisory was no longer in his way, he swung his knife once more severing the serpent's head from its body
[System: You've killed a monster, the collected experience will now be given!!!
Calculating: Congratulations, you've leveled up from 11 -> 13, your level is drastically improving at a faster rate
Rewards: 20 stat points will be sent to your status screen, you have yet again caught the interest of the system. The system wishes to grant this talented guardian another skill. Would you like to accept?]
[Nameless LVL 13
Title: Defier of fate, First blood, Super rookie
Class: None
Race: Unknown???
Health: 57
Attack: 30
Int: 31
Luck: 29
Dex: 36
Speed 44
Defense: 17
Stamina: 39
Mana: 15
Status points: 36
Skill: Unparalleled alchemical knowledge (SSS+) Empower (F+) Crafting (F-) Herb gathering (F-) Brewery (D+)]
'This is the fifth time this week? It looks like my way of hunting these monsters is way too intriguing. I'll do it once im done skinning this monster, if I remember correctly, this monster brings about 20, 000, 000 dollars,'
'This monster was well known to be one of the toughest monsters that dwell inside the dark forest. I can make a full set of low-grade armor, but the thing that piqued my interest is its core. While im at it, I might as well collect a few of its venom,'
His level wasn't the only thing that changed, as of now his wearing the dead fur of his first adversary the demonic hog. It wasn't the best option that he could've ever made, but it was the only thing he could have wear
His raggedy cloth didn't grant him any kind of bonus stats. Its purpose was to cover him from the temperature that was affecting his feeble body. Even if he couldn't feel any pain, his body could still react to anything else aside from that function
"They're a little too early?" He could hear the howls of the higher-ranking monsters by a mile away
Their howls were something he couldn't ignore and he stopped his daily hunt and withdrew from his base. Where exactly was his base? It was the very place where he awakened after all these years, a place of death and the birth of his new vessel
His burial ground was now reformed as his base of operations due to being one of the few uninhabited territories. Vials and test tubes which he found next to his bag were neatly displayed within a certain part of the cave. This hole which he used as his temporary dwelling was spacious and yet it was empty with no tenant apart from himself
'Lately, I realized that my body has changed after I've leveled up a couple of times, the abilities within the materials... One by one they appear without any warnings, what's more, peculiar is that they feel a little natural,'
'These abilities can activate by themselves, if I were to put them in a simpler way of words, they act similar to breathing. It's a natural occurrence that I the creator of such a thing am fascinated by this change. Unfortunately, there are still a few downsides to my newly created form,'
'I'm not complaining about my situation, I'm already grateful for the reason that I retained a human form. But there's something that's never been concluded, it's the most noticeable difference in my new vessel my lack of emotions. It's not fully gone, but I can only feel a hint of its presence, but I can't react as my old self would. It feels like im different,'
Throughout the week that he spent in this horrifying environment, he didn't feel any kind of emotions welling up inside his body. There wasn't a hint of anger that was targeting his allies' betrayal, he wasn't sad nor felt a little lonely for being isolated
Normally he would feel these emotions even though he's a person that has a very good grip on his mentality. It felt a little odd that he didn't feel even an ounce of these emotions, when he dug a little deeper into the mystery he found his answer
At the back of his head was the cause of the anomaly in a form of a mark that pierces through his skull
'Looks like that dagger did not only disables my skill it also nullifies the effect of the stats provided by the system. If I were in my prime, not even falling from a height of 500 meters away from the ground could harm me,'
'But when I got struck by that dagger, most of my bones shattered to a gorge that only scales 17 meters at most. It seems that the homunculus didn't fix the problem concerning the damaged nerves in my brain. Since it didn't have any negative effects on the functionality of my brain,'
'I hypothesized that it didn't see my numbness to emotions as something that would prove to be valuable to be fixed. Hence the reason why I can't feel my conscience, my emotions were something that was holding me back, and now that I don't have it... My body... It's been released from its shackles!'
'I never once thought of doing something like experimenting with the core of a monster... It goes to show that my body was being hindered by my reasoning. However, my reasoning won't get me anywhere and it'll only be a hindrance if it's currently present. If I want to escape this place as soon as possible and reach out to the outside world, sacrifices must be permitted,'
He takes the core of the serpent from his inventory and proceeded with his plan to infuse its essence. Apart from his life's work, the homunculus which he uses a variety of monster parts to create
He never once dug any deeper into the uses of monsters in his experiment, not after what horrible things he had witnessed. His conflict with the demonic guardians originated from the investigation of the missing people for which he volunteered
'Their actions were unforgivable!!! They've used innocent civilians as their guinea pigs and turned them into a horrific mess. Not even I could heal what they have done to those innocent people and if I spared their lives!!!'
He clenches his fists and his tone would get louder as he recollects those horrific memories. Though his facial expression remains to be unchanged and his mind was set on doing what he detests the most
'I didn't have a choice and killed all of the victims, they'll only live to be ashamed of what they have become. They begged me to save them from that nightmare as an abomination that was born from these experiments,'
'Nonetheless, I find myself doing the same thing, however, im no longer a guardian. I'm just a person... Can I even call myself a person? I guess not, im only a survivor that wishes to remain in the living realm,'
[System: You've ordered the devouring leach to prey upon the modified monster core]
After uttering those words he calls upon the devouring leach within his body to swallow the core. Which he modified with the items that he collected from dozens of monsters that he slaughtered
"Arghhh... Grrrrrh... Aaaaaaaahhhhh!!?" He entered a crazed state after the leach had swallowed the essence
The essence was coursed into his body, his calm demeanor was nowhere to be found and he slowly became rageful. His body strongly reacted to the essence and he quickly loses control over his body. He rampages into his dwellings and knocks every vial and tube alike
[System: The guardian has swallowed the essence of a monster core
Status: An unknown anomaly is taking place inside the body of the guardian. This resulted in his enraged state, which causes the guardian to fight the remnant of the serpent. In a battle that takes place in his mind
Treatment: Any solution to nullify the effect doesn't have a single result. We advise you to prepare for the worst to come, for not even the system knows what's about to occur]
Slowly he could feel the surge of power flowing through his body alongside the anger and frustration. That resides in the essence, he saw the remnants of the monster's consciousness within the core. He was overwhelmed by its force, and his body was wrapped around its tail. Without any means of escape, he slowly loses his strength and the snake was about to open its mouth
"I guess this is it... I knew I shouldn't have messed with the forbidden rule," Something within his body awakened a force that wasn't like anything else
The soul of the Void serpent me to face the consciousness of an unknown entity. It was a figure that couldn't be explained in words arrived in his mind. It dons a horrific form that easily fended off the monster, and slowly it walks closer to Ernest's subconscious
'You are the one that touched the forbidden fruit...? I expected it to have a peculiar form, however, im impressed. Since you've piqued my interest im not going to charge you even though I saved your life. I'm not sure what you'll find in this journey of yours, but im interested in witnessing it all,'
The voice disappeared from his mind once he awakened. When he opened his eyes, he found a peculiar-looking function within his system
[System: You've successfully swallowed the essence of a monster!!! The evolutionary path has been unlocked and the race [Homunculus] has been added. You can choose to evolve to a higher plane of existence]
"What is this?" He was a little shocked after he find a new function in his system