___
"I am hope."
-Morpheus(Dream of the Endless)
Word Count 1285
___
Yeah, I couldn't feel or hear my heart beating as usual.
And in addition to that, my need for oxygen to breathe was nullified.
It was as if both my heart and lungs physiological functions were tagged as useless by the evolved strain... E-Prototype.
My brain activity had also been significantly boosted.
My thought processing was almost hundred times better than a normal human and my parallel thinking capabilities were also fundamentally improved.
If we had to use a technological comparison, then it would simply mean that my refresh rate and RAM had been expanded.
I couldn't even begin to imagine how intense my synaptic activity was.
I was curious to know how the system had quantified my changes and if there would be some rewards.
What I had done was simply a remarkable achievement.
Just thinking about the complexity of the E-Prototype and how much effort I had to put to create the super-serum, made me drool at the influx of Resource Points that I would be receiving.
I was brazenly counting my chickens before they hatched.
"Status," I ordered.
___
[Status]
Name: [Kal El]
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 210lbs
Title: [Mad Scientist] [Humanity's Greatest Sinner] [One With the Binary] [Nerd] [Genius Inventor] [The Thinker] [Battle Maniac] [Gym Rat] [Butcher] [Crazy bastard]
[Stat Attributes]
Strength: 2.5
Speed: 2.5
Defense: 2.6
Intelligence: 2.7
[Resources Points: 0]
[Unallocated Stat Points: 0]
___
"Tsk, after all that drama as if I was gonna turn into Hulk at any given moment, this is only the level of increment that I could experience." I clicked my tongue in distaste.
"And the nerve of the system to call me a crazy bastard." I complained as if I was the sanest person in the entire universe.
[Stop being a bastard]
"Eh?"
"..."
"..."
"You are still alive?"
[I am also surprised that you haven't died... host.]
I chuckled lightly.
The system's AI had been silent for a very long time that it seemed like centuries since I heard its mechanical voice.
And what's with the 'host' naming? It makes it seem as if we were in some sort of symbiotic relationship... more like parasitic?
"My name's Kal. Calling me host this and host that, gives me the chills... system." I corrected the System AI.
[Noted.]
"So where. Are. My. Rewards?" I didn't beat around the bush.
'Aye, when it comes to System rewards I am always straight to the point.'
[Calculating host's achievements...]
[Quantifying achievement...]
[You have been rewarded with 5 Resource Points.]
"..."
I was left speechless.
"Greed is an imperfection that defiles the mind." I quoted what Buddha once said.
"It is what it is. I am naturally a greedy person but it's not good to be too greedy." I reconciled with myself.
"I will test my newly gained abilities after the lottery draws." I nodded to myself after that.
"Lady Luck, do you want me to clap them cheeks this time?" I took a praying posture but my prayer was… unlike a conventional prayer.
"Auntie Spider, please look out for your son."
I became the man who took shamelessness and prayers to tier 0.
Oh, how hard am I tripping? I thought in amusement.
[...]
[Shameless.]
[-5 RPs]
[Using all allocated Resources Points to draw the lottery]
"Hey, why are you-"
[Congratulations, you have been rewarded with:
-Beretta 92FS Inox Pistol (Black Lagoon)
-M41A Pulse Rifle
-Memory Scanner (Dexter's laboratory)
-Concussor (Artemis Fowl)
-Black Suit (MIB)
___
"I see."
And I went to clean up all the impurities from my body.
The rewards this time weren't too useful. They were just mid at best.
As warm water from the showerhead washed over my true naked form... My mind wandered over to the 'good' rewards.
"Black lagoon was good... since most of the time, I was watching out for a busty momma called Balalaika." I hate to admit but during my youth, I had gained a major simp PhD just for her. Villainy women are... kinda hot. Especially when they have that Slavic accent to boot.
Like Black Widow.
Rawwrrr.
"Oh, youth. Those days of science, love, and anime."
"Beretta 92FS Inox Pistol is Rebecca's signature weapon." Still mortal.
"Memory Scanner... fuck, isn't that kind of ancient?"
"The system really... Wasn't I like five or six during those times? How time really flies." I sighed like someone who had experienced the vicissitudes of time.
"Concussor, a knockout kind of weapon... not too grandiose but good when dealing with 'mortals'."
"As for Black Suit... I am not gonna use it... I am xenophobic." I lied to myself.
"It has alien germs." Another lie.
"Definitely gonna wear it." I then concluded abruptly.
I turned the shower off and looked at the mirror... on the wall
My skin was more vibrant and softer-looking than usual but still not at the level of the young masters.
It was just flawless.
But my eyes...
They weren't normal.
They looked... vampiric.
They had slits like those of a feline or reptilian creature. A deep vibrant vampiric blue.
"Looks more like Selene's eyes from Underworld but with slits."
With those eyes, I felt a certain impulse from my mind to look at my hands.
I was shocked by what I saw.
"I can see my skin cells... the epidermal layer... my phalanges... RBCS... Holy-"
"I can see everything at a microscopic level..."
But I decided to look further beyond… to explore more out of the micro-versal domain.
"Fuck, that double helix structure... the origin code of life... I can see the DNA!" My voice was unsteady due to the shock and wonder swirling in my mind.
I then quickly rushed out of the bathroom and hastily wore my clothes.
I had a theory formulating in my mind.
If my vision could peer into the micro-versal domain, then what about at the macroscopic level?
I dropped myself on the fake 'Mobius Chair' and pressed on the anti-gravity button.
Yeah, this masterpiece could levitate and defy gravity from just a touch of a button. Those were gravitons in play.
I flew 'til I reached the level where the ground should presumably be.
With just a thought, I made the automated shielding wall to open up and make way for a reinforced, pristine, transparent glass that provided me with the view of the night sky.
"Astronomy... wonders of space..." I murmured inaudibly while focusing my eyes to see beyond the veil of Earth's atmosphere. My eyes felt like an ultra-high resolution telescopic lens.
"I can see beyond the Earth's atmosphere..." I absentmindedly raised my hand toward the sky.
"I can see the stars in extreme detail."
"Constellations. Truly beautiful."
"Sadly, I wasn't into constellation alignment. I have never given a thought about those superstitious zodiac signs."
"But the stars... the origin of life in the universe."
Stars played a major part in the emergence of all life.
Humans are fundamentally part of the remnants of a star that has undergone supernova.
Helium and the little bit of lithium in our bodies... are all from a star.
"Stardust energy... Veldanava... Now, I understand." My mind wandered off again to another topic of interest.
"Stardust, the Primordial energy of creation..."
"If only I can harness such power." A pipe dream.
There was no way in hell I could ever inherit Veldanava's legacy!
I was not yet a mountain destroyer with my own physical power(leave the nukes and Jaegers out of the list) and yet here I was... sitting... and daydreaming about characters that could destroy multiple universes with just a sneeze.
But the concept of hope was still there.
After all, Hope could defeat even Lucifer Morningstar!
-O-O-O-