Chapter 6: EsGen
A man in his late twenties, with short brown hair and a trim beard, said with a glint in his eye as he greeted the students curtly.
"Alright. To the main business of today." As the students murmured amongst themselves, a few robotic assistants entered the room carrying a box made out of a strange metal alloy.
The robots approached the man and laid the box before him. The students immediately quietened down. The man, seeing as he had gotten their attention, gradually opened the box.
Click!
A white mist immediately escaped the opening, seeping into the surroundings and dissipating into the air a few seconds after.
"As you all know, humans discovered the ability to "merge" their genetic signatures with that of mutated beasts, and in doing so, can temporarily or permanently gain their powers, enhancing their overall capability. Over the years, the method to do this has been refined to the point of near perfection. Which brings us to this..." He mysteriously said as he brought a cylindrical glass container with a metal lid.
Inside the container was a murky golden yellow liquid that was dense as mercury. The liquid continuously flowed within the container as if it was alive, giving the students a mysterious feeling.
A bunch of curious eyes peered at the strange liquid.
"This...is a Genetic Symbiote. Once released, it targets the nearest living genetic signature and automatically fuses with it. It is a new way of merging with beast genes. This particular badboy is made from the genes of a Demon Scaled Lion. It's classified as a Rank B genetic symbiote." The man explained.
"How are these things classified exactly?" A yellow haired boy with a fierce looking face asked curiously.
"Genetic Symbiotes are classified based on three things: the level of the beast, it's evolutionary potential and the purity of refinement.
For instance, if I were to make a symbiote based on a type 3 mutated beast and another symbiote with a type 4 mutated beast, it is expected that the symbiote created from a type 4 beast would possess a higher rank. But what if I made two symbiotes from both type 4 mutated beasts? The symbiote created from the one with a higher evolutionary potential would surely be higher in rank than the one with less. But even then, the success rate would not be a total 100%." He explained patiently.
Seeing that the students were a tad lost, he continued.
"Now, take two people, one who has experience in creating gene symbiotes; and one who doesn't. They are both asked to create a symbiote with different source material. The experienced person has a type 3 source material and the other has a type 4 source material. In this scenario, there is a 60% chance that the more experienced person would create a higher ranked gene symbiote. It all depends on the creator's skill." He smiled.
Seems like I've hooked these students with my knowledge. Time to reel in the bait. He thought.
"So...what you're saying is, it also depends on the luck, skill and experience of the person creating the symbiote?" Zayn lazily asked.
"Yes, and people who specialize in creating gene symbiotes are called Gene Synthesizers." The man said calmly.
"Oh. What a catchy name. So how do we determine the rank of a symbiote by its purity?" Zayn was nonchalant.
The teacher frowned. This kid...was truly annoying.
"In the end, it all boils down to the refinement. When synthesizing a symbiote, the objective is to extract and transform the beast cells into what is known as "X-Genes." These X-Genes are responsible for fusing the mutated beast's genetic code into your DNA, either temporarily or permanently." His voice was slightly impatient as he continued to speak.
"When 0-10% of beast cells have been transformed into X-Genes, they are known as Impure Symbiotes and do not possess any rank. When 11-25% of beast cells are transformed, they are classified as E-rank. When 26-34% are transformed, they are classified as D-rank. When 35-46% are transformed, they are classified as C-rank. When 47-58% are transformed, they're known as B, 59-78% are known as A, 79-99% are known as S, and 100% is known as Perfect rank. I think that pretty much covers it." He said, glancing through his memory to see if he overlooked something.
"Why are the thresholds for the ranks so...unequal?" Zayn asked again.
The man's eyebrow twitched. What the hell was wrong with this kid?
"Well, I don't really have an answer to your question. But one thing is for sure. A higher ranked symbiote has a great deal of advantage over a lower ranked one. And not just in the name. But you'll just have to find out for yourselves, won't you?" He said with a smirk.
"Sir, you said that when the symbiote automatically fuses with the nearest living gene signature. What if that person is not the owner? And also, what if the person is not a human?" Zayn smiled.
The man chuckled.
"Well, if the symbiote fuses with someone that's not it's owner, that's your problem, not mine. You pay for it, you own it. Losing it to someone else is none of my business. And don't think that this technology will be easily accessible to the public, so, you've got absolutely nothing to worry about. Plus, do you think fusing with a gene symbiote is instantaneous? Oh please! It'll take at least one to three hours for a fusion with a symbiote." He spoke causally, but the fears in the students' hearts increased exponentially.
"Plus, the symbiote only targets signatures with at least 55% human DNA. So, don't think a random animal can suddenly fuse with it." The teacher waved his hands as he glanced at Zayn.
"Alright. I've said too much. Now, it's time for your welcome present. Voila!" The man spoke, and immediately, a list of items suddenly presented themselves on each of the students' communicator watches with a ping.
***
[ 1. Lightning Sparrow, S-rank GS, 80% pure. Cost 1070 points.
2. Thunder Scaled Centipede, S-rank GS, 84% pure. Cost 1375 points.
3. Fire Drake, S-rank GS, 83% pure. Cost 1250 points.
4. Dark Wolf King, A-rank GS, 78% pure. Cost 970 points.
...]
***
"I'm sure you've all guessed it. Those are gene symbiotes the school has kept in store for you. But they cost points. And since you're Sixth-Year students, they'll be significantly harder to get. But hey! You got all this cool stuff right?" The man laughed as the students curiously browsed through the list of gene symbiotes.
"A warning for the wise though: do not try to bite off too much than you can chew. Although you might be able to endure the strain of two, three, maybe even four symbiotes, be warned. If you wanna go crazy, five is the limit of gene symbiotes that your bodies can endure. The thing with power is, the more you take, the less you have. If you think that I'm just playing you and you foolishly decide to throw your life away in the pursuit of power, you'll end up just like this." He showed them the photo of a grotesque looking creature with a beastly looking appearance.
"Eww. What the hell is that shit?" Kai was genuinely disgusted by it.
"That...is an Abberation. They are humans whose bodies could not endure the strain of the beastly genetic code within them and mutated...they have no rhyme or reason. Their only goal in life is to kill and devour. Though, I doubt they could be called alive in that state." The man thought sadly.
"Which is why, there have been several restrictions on the access of genetic symbiotes by the academy. First, you all only possess a quota of three genetic symbiotes, so be careful of how you spend your hard-earned points in the future.
Second, you will all undergo a compatibility test whenever you purchase a gene symbiote. This is to reduce the chances of one of you lot turning into a freak. If the compatibility level between you and the gene symbiote is less than 20%, you will not be allowed to fuse with it. Though you may be able to pick another one, if your points are enough. Or you can just get a refund." He laughed.
"And lastly, remember that I said that points would be increasingly hard to get for you guys? Well, it's related to that too. But, that's for another time. You may have noticed that your Division Rank has been reset. Any student below a Division Rank of 45 will not be permitted to purchase a symbiote." The teacher said matter-of-factly, dropping a bombshell on the students.
The students were shocked. Some of them had extremely gloomy looks on their faces. The others were unperturbed. Kai looked at some of them and grinned. It seemed like a fool would soon pick a fight with him soon. It was good then. His hands were itching anyway.
In the Skylark Academy, about six hundred to one thousand students were admitted each year. During the course of their stay here, they would learn many things, with combat being the most important. It determined 60% of their overall grade.
The students were then separated into various divisions each with an equal number of people. The students overall grade was made into a rank, which determined the level of the student. Most times, even if a student had enough points to spend on a particular set of knowledge, they couldn't get it because of their limited rank, making them very disgruntled. And this announcement was basically telling them to focus on their studies, or at the very least, challenge someone and move up the ranking, else they'd stay at the bottom of the ladder forever!
They'd rather die than do that! I mean, look at some of the symbiotes here!
Among the Sixth-Year students, there are six divisions, each with 60 students. There used to be 10 divisions with 60 students, but during their course of study, some of the students were found unfit due to various reasons and were rusticated. It seemed these were the lucky 360.
Some of the students looked around, trying to gauge the strength of the other students to see if they could take their spot on the ranking. After all, their lives depended on it!
"If you're lucky enough to get a gene symbiote, you'll find that life is so much sweeter as an EsGen rather than a regular Esper." The man said, breaking them out from their chaotic thoughts.
"What's an EsGen?" A random student asked.
"An Esper Genetic Warrior. You like it huh? It's such a very nice name..." He smiled to himself.
Zayn shook his head with a lazy smirk.