Cerebrum…. I mulled over Noemie's words, for some reason I felt a deep sense of awe at the mention of that name of the big cube in the sky and what it does.
"The Cerebrum has existed for as long as existence itself and it's the one thing that no one tries to find information about." Noemie added. He glanced up at the massive cube, his black beady eyes filled with awe.
'I see…'
"So the moment we landed on this planet, it realised that we were outsiders and tried to form a link with us…"
Vaku suddenly stopped digging through the beast,
"It did?" he asked.
"Yes." I confirmed. "Isn't that how it forms a link with everyone?" I asked.
"No. We are born with access to the system." Vaku replied as he went back to digging.
"To answer your question, there are many beasts on planet Xythris and billions more on other planets, but they are not equal."
As Noemie spoke, Nerissa, Faris and myself listened attentively, momentarily forgetting our curiosity towards what Vaku was doing and even ignoring the pungent smell in the air.
"Just like how there are different races with different genome stages, there are also different beasts with different levels of strength."
As members of the SADF, we've learnt to value information, especially one that came free like this.
"How does this beast compare on the rankings?" Faris asked,
"It's at the lowest rank, it's a fragmented beast."
"The lowest?...." Nerissa and Faris looked at me.
"How many levels are there?" I asked.
"Fragmented, Primitive, Mutant, Sacred and Ancient. Xythris is a weak planet, only mutant creatures can be found here."
"How strong are they compared to this one?"
"This is a Larvae, it's weak even among fragmented creatures. We've not encountered Mutant creatures, we avoid them at all cost but I've fought a few primitive creatures."
All eyes fell on Vaku as he stepped away from the monster corpse with a small glowing orb in his hand. It was the size of a golf ball and it had a strange allure to it.
"This larvae won't last a second against a primitive creature. The few times I've fought one,...." Vaku stopped his words but I could guess what he was feeling.
I am a commander too, I recognised a mourning face when I saw one.
"This is the core of the monster. A core allows one to manipulate Aether and gain a special affinity. It also houses genome points consumable by other creatures."
Vaku handed the orb to me and I stared at it for a while before handing it over to Faris to look at.
"That core is precious and others would kill for it." I maintained eye contact with Vaku, I understood what he was saying immediately.
'This is an extension of goodwill…'
"Absorbing a core is easy, you just have to swallow it, your body and the Cerebrum will take care of the rest. Well, at least that is how it is for us and other races in Xythris."
I looked at Nerissa and Faris, I've already made my decision on who would absorb the core. I reached out and collected it from Nerissa,
"You guys will get the next one."
I took a deep breath and placed the core on my tongue, it was cold in a soothing kind of way but I quickly swallowed it before I registered anything else.
Unlike what I expected, there was no resistance, instead, all I felt was a trickling cool sensation filling my body. Slowly, it began to spread, sending a numbing sort of sensation through my body.
Then came the voice, cold and emotionless,
[Fragmented Genome points earned]
[Quest—kill a creature and absorb its genes—completed]
[Calculating rewards…]
[Achievement points earned]
[One random gene awarded]
[Re-analysing subject's integrity]
[Barest minimum reached]
[Re-establishing mental link]
[Initiating connection protocol]
[Link established]
[Converting achievement points to karma]
All of a sudden, the voice stopped. My eyes remained closed as I felt the cool sensation increase for a moment before gently receding.
"Status."
For some unknown reason, this word seemed to have been implanted into my head, like a gentle whisper.
﹂[User Details]
▷ Name: Alderic Wayfinder
▷ Species: Homo sapiens [Human]
▷ Level: 0 [15% EXP]
▷ Title: -
▷ Profession: -
▷ Skills: -
▷ Trait: -
▷ Karma: 175
﹂[Status Detail]
▷ Strength: 5.28
▷ Dexterity: 8.10
▷ Durability: 6.34
▷ Agility: 7.56
▷ Will: 0.99
▷ Aether: -
﹂ [Evolution Details]
▷ Genome Stage: Tier 0
▷ Genes: Fragmented(5), Primitive(-), Mutant(1), Sacred(-), Ancient(-), God(-)
[100 gene points required for evolution]
I opened my eyes to see a holographic screen floating before me and in it was information that was easy but also complicated to process. I could and couldn't understand them at the same time.
I looked beside me, all eyes were on me but no one seemed to be paying attention to me.
"I'm the only one that can see the system interface?" I asked and Vaku nodded his head.
I glanced at his hand, there were two new objects in them, both of which looked like sack organs. I had no doubt they came from the larvae.
"These are the poison and silk organs of the larvae. It is the larvae of a deadly creature of legends, the death moth."
Noticing my gaze, Vaku explained,
"Although we can't process them yet due to lack of occupation, the death moth Larvae's poison sack would be extremely useful in the future. The same goes for the silk sack."
I nodded my head in reply to Vaku before paying attention to the hungry stares of my teammates.
"How is it, commander?" Nerissa asked.
"I can't sense any obvious change, but I know there have been changes."
"How did you swallow such a big core?" Faris asked and I looked at him weirdly, but ultimately answered.
"I don't think I swallowed it,.... It felt more like it melted into my mouth."
"Was there anything else? How was the process of connecting with the Cerebrum?"
"A little bit weird but aside that, nothing."
Nerissa seemed a bit disappointed at my replies, I couldn't blame her. I also felt like I should have gained more from the endeavour.
"Don't worry, the moment we are in a safer place, I'll begin experimenting. Till then,..."
I glanced between Vaku and Noemie, the former suddenly chuckling, already knowing what I was going to say next.
"We have the Medusaes to answer our questions."