As midday approached, a notification echoed in Syd's ears.
[Sunlight Experience +1]
[Ability: Sunlight (0/2000) Level 4]
With the notification, Syd immediately felt changes within his body.
Warm currents spread throughout him, his cells becoming more intricate and mysterious, filled with an increasing amount of energy.
The symbiote dormant in his right hand was abruptly awakened by this surge, sensing a threat. It quickly transformed into black liquid and slithered out of his hand.
"Syd, what's going on with you again?"
"Uh, why do I always seem to say 'again'…"
The symbiote formed a black head and stared at Syd, who was glowing faintly. It was at a loss for words.
How many times had this happened?
It seemed Syd experienced such phenomena at regular intervals.
Syd paid no attention to the symbiote, focusing instead on his own condition.
Not only had the light energy within him become more refined and abundant, but he also found that controlling sunlight was much easier now.
"How far can I control sunlight with Level 4 Sunlight?" Syd wondered, eager to test it out.
[Sunlight Experience +1]
In the next moment, the light energy within Syd drastically diminished.
With a mere thought, an astonishing phenomenon occurred!
The sunlight in his field of vision began to twist and distort!
The range of this distortion was far greater than it was at Level 3.
After some calculation, Syd was astounded to find that the sunlight within a radius of nearly one kilometer—about a kilometer in every direction—was being distorted!
"Level 4 Sunlight can cover such a large area?"
This leap in capability left Syd amazed.
Previously, at Level 3, even with enhanced light energy, the range of Sunlight was just over a hundred meters. Now, it had increased exponentially!
One kilometer is a considerable distance; even a normal person would need around fifteen hundred steps to walk out of this area!
He could hardly imagine the destruction this could cause if used in a city.
After assessing the range, Syd canceled the use of Sunlight, and the depleted light energy within him gradually returned to normal.
"What about the specific power? How much has it increased?"
Curiosity piqued, Syd wanted to see the decomposition speed at Level 4 Sunlight.
Unfortunately, Sunlight couldn't be freely activated for demonstration, limiting his ability to observe the specific effects.
Suddenly, Syd had a thought.
"I wonder how Sunlight now compares to the Phoenix Force?"
After some contemplation, he believed that even if Sunlight couldn't surpass the Phoenix Force, it might be able to hold its own to some extent.
"What about Level 5? What changes will occur then?"
Syd had a premonition that reaching Level 5 would bring unprecedented transformations compared to Level 4!
He was excited to see what would happen when Sunlight reached Level 5 and eager to test the effects of Level 4 Sunlight.
Having explored the general changes in Sunlight, Syd turned his attention to the unlock progress, looking at his panel.
[Unlock Progress: 44%]
"44%. I wonder how much it will take to unlock the Light of the Gods…"
"45%, 50%, 60%?"
Syd pondered this.
Only by fully awakening divine power could he truly be considered a god, just as Thor was only a mighty alien before awakening his divine power. The difference between them was significant.
Syd was eager to gather energy points, but unfortunately, his light energy was currently depleted and needed replenishment due to the usage of Sunlight.
As the sun began to set, his light energy quickly recovered.
[Light Energy +1]
With the notification, Syd's light energy was fully restored.
At this moment, he noticed a significant increase in his light energy.
With the current level 4 ability, he could perform nearly two hundred uses before exhaustion.
Syd shook his head, no longer surprised. "The energy is still too scarce."
Level 4 Black Particles could only be used about two hundred times, after which he would be drained. It was somewhat disheartening.
[Light Energy +1]
[Light Energy +1]
As Syd collected energy points and prepared to increase his unlock progress, he walked down a secluded street.
During a lull, he glanced at his panel's lifespan section.
[Age: 16 (88 days remaining)]
The last time he checked, he had 81 days remaining…
So, upgrading Sunlight to Level 4 only extended his lifespan by seven days?
No, including the time spent upgrading Sunlight, it seemed the lifespan had only increased by about twenty days…
Syd frowned slightly, feeling the cancer issue was rather troublesome.
While deep in thought, he suddenly heard distant sounds.
Faintly, he caught snippets of people shouting.
"Run, Dario! Don't worry about me!"
"No, I can't…"
Hearing these shouts, Syd was intrigued.
"Another mugging?"
Recently, he had witnessed numerous incidents of street muggings. It seemed that in the chaotic streets of America, gunfights were a daily occurrence.
Of course, this might also be due to his habit of traversing through rough areas, but it didn't change his perception of America as dangerous and chaotic.
Syd decided to investigate, walking toward the source of the noise.
He had no intention of intervening to save anyone; he was merely curious and bored. Moreover, there were plenty of superheroes around, like a certain spider-themed hero, who could handle such situations.
As he approached, Syd emerged from the alley and looked toward the direction of the noise.
In the distance, he saw two young men running frantically.
Behind them, a massive black robot was pursuing them, while a crowd of onlookers stood at a distance, pointing and whispering.
The sight of the pursuing robot was strangely familiar to Syd.
"Is that… a Sentinel robot?"
Syd was taken aback, his brow furrowing immediately.
It hadn't been long, yet the government had already developed Sentinel robots?
And they were out hunting and capturing mutants…
It was almost certain that the two being chased were mutants.
Syd scrutinized the two young men.
With just a glance, he was taken aback.
One was dressed in black, the other in white, both wearing masks and disguises.
Seeing their familiar attire, Syd couldn't help but smirk.
(End of Chapter)