"A Genetic Nexus, huh? Just what I need!"
Everette pumped his fist at his glorious luck before storing it.
"Genetic Nexus Gate!"
***
[Genetic Nexus]
[Mutated Dog's Mana Core]
***
"Mana core? So I guess that green and black aura that it used in our fight was Mana, huh? But why did it look different compared to mine?"
Everette then pulled up its 3d image and Description.
The core looked like a sphere about the size of a baseball and contained what seemed to be the dog's Mana. The Mana was like a raging storm of green energy that kept crashing into the side of the core. On closer inspection, a small figure rested in the eye of that storm.
"It's the dog!?"
Everette stared in surprise as he enlarged the rotating image of the core.
"Is this some kind of spirit?"
He scratched the back of his head before shrugging.
"Meh... I'll figure it out later like I usually do."
Everette then moved his attention towards its Description.
["A loyal dog to its master was then submitted to the energy of the corruption. After unwillingly surrendering to the violent urges brought forth by its infection - it devoured its owner. It then devoured more shortly after, eventually reaching the mutation stage. Even now, it still mourns for its master."]
Everette's gaze softened as he read its Description. He tightly gripped the appendage he had stolen from its corpse and decided to make this his new Impression.
{"Would you like to absorb this to acquire a Random Ability or use it to create an Imprint?"}
"Don't worry, little pup, I'll become your new master."
{"Confirmation of creating an Imprint using Mutated Dog's Mana Core accepted."}
The spike then began to form a cocoon made from his Mana before it started to take on a greenish and blackish colour.
'Hm? What the...? Why is it not glowing like the spear did—!?'
Everette was shocked. He expected a blue glow from the spike, which he thought was a process.
'Is there something different?'
The cocoon then began to form cracks on its body before shattering and revealing Everette's new Imprint.
The root of the spike turned into a smooth circular hilt, while the spike turned into a double-edged blade. The core separated the handle and the blade, acting as a sword guard. The short sword also had several tiny lines etched, all connected to the core.
***
[ Name: A Dog's Mourn ]
[ Tier: 4 ]
[Description: "A shortsword created by Everette Garden, using one of the 4 spikes of a Mutated Dog and also its Mana Core."]
[ Abilities:
Active abilities: "Dog's Mourning": ["When activated, the spirit of the Mutated Dog residing in its Mana would begin to cry out - inflicting the Hesitant debuff on those you deem as enemies in a 5-meter radius. Only works on stages equal or lower than yours."] - Cost: 50 Mana, Cooldown: 2 minutes
Passive abilities: "Sentient Weapon": ["Because the Genetic Nexus has a soul residing in it, the weapon is now somewhat sentient."], "Low Mana Conductivity": ["It can conduct mana to a small degree to make it sharper"]
[Analysis: "Sure, because nothing says 'man's best friend' more than turning them into a murder weapon."]
***
"Sentient? TIER FOUR!?"
*Woof! Woof!*
Everette then looked down at the sword's sword guard and saw the miniature figure of the dog barking at him.
"..."
'Does this guy not remember I just killed it a few moments ago?'
He sighed and pulled it closer to his face.
"Hello, little buddy. You and I are gonna be great friends."
Everette's unsettling smile even unsettled the Mutated Dog. He extended his arm and gave it a good swing at a wall.
*SCRAPE!*
It caused a sizeable diagonal slash mark to appear on the wall.
Everette nodded and decided to focus on the mana conductivity function of his sword.
Gripping the hilt tightly, he felt his Mana feed into the sword. The lines that decorated the blade began to glow a dark green. All of this was the cause of the core acting like a heart and pumping the Mana through the lines like they were arteries.
Feeling that the sword could not conduct any more mana, Everette swung his sword again. The slash mark crossed over the last one. The slashing capabilities of the sword became more prominent as it left a longer and deeper scar on the wall.
"...Hohoho... This is what I needed to make my plan come true!"
He then wiped away dust or tiny bits of concrete that had gotten onto his blade before patting the core.
"Good boy... Or a girl? I wonder which is it."
"...I guess only one way to find out."
Everette turned his sword at an angle to see the dog's underside. After finding the right angle, he saw that the dog had male genitalia, befitting its size while it was still alive.
"...You would've been a hit of the dog gals out there. Now then... A name..."
With a snap of his fingers, he called out a name befitting it.
"I call you Mourn!"
Everette was never really good at naming things.
***
Everyone back on the first floor had a worried expression.
It's been half an hour, and they haven't seen Everette return yet. They felt tremors from below, occasional screams, and even laughter.
They began hearing footsteps echoing up the staircase. Everyone then began stepping behind the ones that were at higher levels than them.
Jack and Amelia stood at the front and held up their weapons.
Jack aimed his compound bow while Amelia brandished her knives.
The nervous tension was then suddenly broken when the Man's voice they fought might have died rang out.
"All clear now! You guys can... WOAH! ITS JUST ME GUYS!"
Everette's figure appeared with raised arms. His used-to-be somewhat clean black T-shirt and trousers were stained with red.
Everette raised his arms in panic.
"Are you… Everette?"
Jack stared at him sceptically - not believing he was really Everette.
"Why would you think not? Did my face change or something?"
Everette tilted his head.
"… What was the alias you used when you created our party?"
"Ugh…"
Everette covered his face with his palm.
"VainValor"
"Hahahaha!"
"Shut It!"
***
"Your appearance changed a whole lot, Everette."
Jack looked at him from top to bottom.
"It's not that dramatic, is it?"
"No, no. It definitely is."
After saying that, Jack pulled out his phone before switching to the camera app and showed his screen to Everette.
Everette widened his eyes.
"Holy! I look pretty good!"
He yelled after turning his face to the side a couple times and admiring it.
Amelia was looking at him with a concerned look.
"I-is that your blood?"
"Huh? Oh yeah…"
Everette looked down at his clothes and frowned.
'This is a pain…'
"What kind of injuries did you sustain to bleed that much?"
Jack patted him down to try to feel some kind of wound.
"Just the loss of my left arm. Nothing much."
"…"
Everyone went silent.
"A LOSS OF AN ARM!?"
"ARE YOU OKAY?!"
Jack grabbed Everette's left arm and began shaking it.
Everette sighed and yanked his arm back.
"I'm fine. I still have it, as you can see."
He shook his left arm.
"… Aren't you the slightest bit traumatised?"
"I mean… I was… But now it's just one of the many loose screws I have."
He gave a dismissive shrug.
'If all it takes for me to go crazy to be able to survive, then I'll be the craziest person there is.'