…
When Dante regained consciousness, he found himself in the very place where yesterday's horrifying incident had taken place. As he surveyed his surroundings, he searched for the monster's corpse, only to discover withered remains that appeared to have been consumed by maggots.
Feeling a bit disoriented, he slowly rose to his feet and attempted to clean the blood off his face. In doing so, he accidentally hit himself quite hard, further adding to his confusion.
---
Status:
[Name: Dante (self-proclaimed)]
Race: -
Talent: N/A
Attributes:
Strength: F+ (G-)
Agility: F+ (G-)
Mana Pool: C (F)
Mana Quality: ?
Dexterity: F+ (G)
Intelligence: B-
Magic: E (F)
Stamina: E (G)
System Appraisal: {You can hold a duel with a goblin now! Probably...}
System Skills: [???], [System], [Appraisal], [Everlasting Evolution].
Skills: [Self-Healing (Mutated)] (New)
Per Bond: 1/1, [???]
Current Status: rejuvenated, hungry, ???
Exp: N/A
{The host and the system have lost connection to the Council. The experience rewarded for taking and killing lives has been disabled.}
{[Self-Healing (Mutated)]: This skill allows the host to heal any injuries as long as the host doesn't die. Uses mana.
-Mutated: This ability has been altered by a void spawnling. This skill allows you to change the shape and structure of your limbs. You can heal others' injuries.
Chitin can be grown.
-Mutation Limitation: You can change the shape of your limbs freely. However, you will have to spend mana to grow something bigger than the already existing limb.}
---
"My stats have changed... I obtained a new mana core," Dante murmured, his gaze fixed on the brown-gray carcass of the pale monster. Mixed emotions surged within him as he contemplated the creature's act of unconditional care, sacrificing its own mana core for his sake.
However, an odd numbness pervaded his emotions, leaving him with a sense of emptiness. It felt as though he had shed countless tears, leaving nothing more to cry for. Even laughter seemed forced after having laughed so much.
Retrieving his bag, Dante exited the cave he had explored earlier, leading him to a dead end adorned with piles of human and monster bones. Perplexed, he wondered why the monster had referred to him as its Liege and exhibited such profound concern. Why did it go to such lengths... eh?
Lost in thought, Dante felt a wriggling sensation on his arm. Rolling up his sleeve, he discovered a red snake-like tendril entwining around his arm. Surprisingly, he remained calm and devoid of worry, yet he could sense the tendril's happiness to be with him, almost as if it conveyed emotions.
The tendril had embedded itself in his skin, seemingly aware of his curiosity. To demonstrate its intent, it attempted to leech his mana, now lacking its own mana core. Despite relying on Dante, it expressed gratitude for the opportunity.
During his journey back, all eyes fell upon Dante, understandably shocked and bewildered by his appearance drenched in blood and entrails. The scrutiny intensified as he reached the center of the capital, near the academy. Multiple individuals stopped him, searching for answers, but found nothing amiss.
Upon reaching the academy's entrance, a guard greeted Dante with a concerned expression. It was highly unusual for a person, let alone a child, to be in such a state.
Forcibly taken to the healing facility, Dante felt the red tendrils burrow deeper into his flesh, making their way toward his abdomen. Surprisingly, he remained unperturbed, as if their presence was second nature.
"It seems I've undergone some sort of alteration... I can clearly feel it," Dante mused silently. Perhaps it was one of the side effects resulting from merging with a "void spawnling," as the system labeled it.
"System, what was the monster's objective in entering the forest?" Dante inquired, seeking information.
{The system is not omniscient}, the system replied.
"... Then what do you think its objective was?" Dante persisted.
{To reform your core}, came the system's response.
Dante's confusion grew. "How did you come to that conclusion?"
{When it saw you, the monster sacrificed its core for you and referred to you as its master. The abundance of bones and remains indicates that it hunted hundreds of monsters to create an artificial core}, the system explained.
"But why wouldn't it simply give me its own core? Why go through the trouble of creating a new one only to surrender its own?" Dante questioned.
{Apologies for the poor choice of words. What I meant was that the monster was attempting to stabilize its core away from its point of origin. Cores cannot remain stable when separated from their origin and will crumble immediately. However, I'm uncertain of how it accomplished this feat. The necessary information is not available in my data.}
As Dante made his way back to his room, the terrified gazes of those around him followed his every step. The situation became even more macabre when they observed his nonchalant demeanor.
"What happened to you, my little experi- ahem, I mean my little Dante?" Iris, the magic theory teacher, inquired.
"I don't know," Dante calmly replied, meeting her gaze.
"Are you telling me you have no idea how you ended up drenched in... living's insides?" Iris pressed, her disbelief evident.
"Yes," Dante responded wearily, his exhaustion apparent.
"However, you do realize we were supposed to meet yesterday for our experiments, right? I'll let it slide this time," Iris said with a smile, as though her leniency deserved praise.
"Teacher, aren't you being rather harsh? I just woke up covered in guts and blood," Dante retorted, his voice, however, was void of any emotions.
"I know, I know. I'm such a good teacher. Now come along and follow me," Iris replied, taking Dante's hand and leading him toward her office, seemingly unfazed by the blood staining his hands.
As they entered her office, the door swung open on its own, when I tried to step in, I started levitating toward a bathroom door.
"I can't have you making a mess with all that blood. Go wash yourself. We'll commence our research shortly."
...
After a few minutes, Dante joined Iris again, and she guided him toward a door leading to the basement.
"Teacher, you do realize how eerie this is for a ten years old kid." Dante remarked sarcastically, taking in the sight of creatures hanging from the ceiling and small reptile-like beings contained in glass containers filled with green liquid.
The entire environment screamed of artificial and illicit experimentation. Dante's lack of surprise stemmed from his expectations when he initially signed up for this endeavor.
"Oh, don't be such a sissy," Iris retorted dismissively. "The worst thing that could happen to you is remaining alive, haha." She chuckled at her own disturbing joke.
Continuing their walk, Dante noticed that the spatial distortion extended even to the underground area.
Finally, they arrived at a steel bed, already stained with red.
"Teacher, this isn't exactly sanitary," Dante commented, his concern, however, nonexistent.
Iris frowned in response. "Do you truly believe I'm an amateur? There's a spell in place to prevent bacteria from multiplying. It doesn't affect humans, at least not in the short term."
"What does that mean?" Dante inquired, his curiosity piqued.
"You see, the spell affects your intestinal microbiota to some extent, but not significantly. Alright, I'll fetch my tools. Stay put and make yourself at home," Iris instructed before leaving the room.
"Make yourself at home." He murmured, a weird sense of joy appeared in his heart.
Dante was then left alone, surrounded by the remnants of blood on the ground and the table, contemplating the events that had transpired.
…