Chereads / GENE DEVOURER / Chapter 16 - Axolotl

Chapter 16 - Axolotl

*Ding!*

[Activate Exoskeleton Armor—Grade 5 ]

*Punch the floor 1000x*

Note: Failure to activate will incur appropriate punishment.

Rewards: 10 Gene tokens!

2 XP!

Time limit: one hour!

'It isn't that I don't want to activate the armor but what is with these rewards'

Marcus was displeased, he gave the floating purple screen a long gaze of scorn.

"And what the fuck is it talking about? Punishment?"

"Me? It will punish me?"

Marcus burst into a peal of large laughter suddenly, he felt amazed, like how would something talking in his head punish him, maybe it would materialize in front of him and start flogging him, or what?

'I don't really seem to understand, it wasn't that I'm not grateful for it saving me back then but what did it mean by punishing me?' Marcus gave the floating screen a long scowl.

"Pathetic!" He said at once while his face contorted in disgust.

"Don't get too cocky! I'm the fucking host here!"

'Yeah, the fucking system needs to know its place, after all, I'm the host, the host has the final say, not a damn parasite like it'

Marcus nodded his head in affirmation of what he thought.

He relaxed his tensed-up body and face.

"Anyway let's get on with it and try out the damn armor"

"Perhaps I could stand in front of a moving truck and test its strength"

Marcus shook his head, even if it is a strong armor, what of the impact? Since his body strength was still that of an average human, it would surely crush his organs and bones.

He didn't want to die foolishly.

Marcus thought he could as well use sledge hammer to hammer his arm or forehead when he activated it, although a small hit at a time to test how protective it was.

What Marcus was expecting the Exoskeleton armor should be was a sheen silver encasement all over his body.

He used his hand to prop his body up from the bed and crouched on the floor of white tiles.

The weather remained cool, he clenched his fist and placed it on the cold floor.

"Gotta do this" Marcus muttered and landed a punch in the floor.

"THUD!!"

*Ding!*

Punch:1/1000

"Tsk!! You don't need to be bringing the damn notification every time I punch"

He said exasperatedly while clutching his head as the notification sound almost gave him a headache.

Marcus started punching the floor repeatedly although not really hard, all he was hoping was that when he reached 1000 times the armor would somehow manifest.

THUD!!...

THUD!!...

[Host isn't taking quest seriously, no impact! Host needs to punch hard enough to shatter the floor, or else, armor wouldn't manifest to protect host fist!]

All Marcus could do was only grit his teeth

'Shatter poor Mei Ling room floor? Come on, that is cruel, not to talk of the fact that an ordinary human like me couldn't possibly shatter a tile floor with a fist'

Marcus felt demotivated immediately and he sat down on his butt from the crouching position.

"Wait" he gazed at the white ceiling and came to a realization "Am I really ordinary?

"No ordinary person would be talking back to something talking to their head right?"

He heaved a resignation sigh.

"Ok, let's do this" Marcus was somehow motivated because he knew in one way or another that, having an armored body is like having a superpower, since he didn't awake any power, Marcus felt the need to at least get one.

He continued rushing the floor with a barrage of fists.

THUD!!...

THUD!!...

[Notice!: 120/1000]

[Not enough impact!]

Marcus didn't even mind what the system said, he kept doing his thing.

THUD!!...

THUD!!...

*Ding!*

[Punch: 550/1000]

Marcus kept punching on the cold floor.

*Ding!*

[Punch: 995/1000]

Marcus was actually counting, after he reached 1000 he keeled over to the bedside, he sprawled on the floor, and breathed hard, it didn't even take up to twenty minutes.

"Whew!...

*Ding!*

[Daily Quest failed!]

The voice sounded sullenly in Marcus' head.

He made a disgruntled expression at the ceiling.

[Punishment will commence in the next one hour, Host should get ready!]

"Seriously!" He laughed out loud.

'Perhaps the punishment is some loud notification sounds or the system will yell in my head till it becomes tired'

Marcus scoffed at the thought, after all, something which lack a physical body threatening a person with punishment seemed to be acting too cocky.

Marcus brushed aside the issue and his gaze fell on the tanks of fish which lined the base of the flat screen while he sprawled on the cold floor.

He sat up and walked towards the tanks.

The view was beautiful, and Marcus felt like he was probably into fish.

Various species in different tanks, swimming or floating within their confines in a slow hypnotic dance.

Marcus sea sea-blue eyes lit in wonder as he saw a creature different from the fish in the last tank.

'Isn't that um...' he searched his mind to remember, Marcus thought he had probably seen it before in his biology textbook.

It looked like a salamander but frilly gills extended from either side of its head like a delicate crown, it was pale and almost translucent as it swam around in the tank.

*Ding!*

[Name: Axolotl]

[Specie: Ambystoma mexicanum]

[Level: —]

"Hmm... This system comes in handy, so it can identify creatures"

[Precisely, identification of living organisms except humans is within system scope]

"What does that level mean?"

[The level of the Axolotl is a representation of its potential for evolution, however since it didn't evolve like any other mutant beast, its level is marked '—']

"Hmm...."

"I remembered this creature is mostly found in Mexico lakes, how obsessed is Mei Ling?" Marcus wondered while his eyes narrowed at the creature, it glued at one corner and gazed back at him.

[What made them truly remarkable is their ability to regenerate. An axolotl could lose a limb, even parts of its heart or brain, and grow it back perfectly!]

"Wow!" Marcus exclaimed,

'well I knew before but it still feels amazing anytime I hear or think about it'

[Would host like to gain such ability?]

Huh? Marcus was dumbfounded for a second as he tilted his head slightly as if he didn't hear it clearly.

Of course, that is to be expected, able to grow any part of one's body, that is an amazing ability but he was stunned.

[Host could Usurp gene remains using Gene Usurper!]