24 Starting the extraction
Later that day, Erik went home as usual. Meeting the Military in that circumstance had been hard, but luckily, they didn't pry further.
Hopefully, they didn't find the thaid body or discover that the creature's brain crystal had been removed. He had no way of knowing and could only hope things went that way.
"Quests," the young man said. There was only one thought: make his last daily quest and obtain ten additional DNA points. He would end up with forty points, just a day away from achieving his goal.
As Erik observed the quest list, he got up from his sofa and started working on the last quest, doing his usual workout.
He was showing signs of improvement, but it was still too early to say they were huge. But even so, he did feel like his strength was growing by leaps and bounds.
His stamina was also increasing steadily. It wasn't enough yet, but if he continued with this pace, he could start having some sick abs.
Two days had passed since Erik got his deformity fixed, and he had been busy. However, he started training to make new neural links. The process worked as intended, but there were no doubts about that. The System could be trusted.
Erik fell asleep on his couch, as he did every day, watching TV until late into the night. When he woke up, the first thing he did was check his quest list and accept the quests.
Then he prepared breakfast, and after eating, he completed the daily quest that would have made him obtain enough DNA points to unlock the unknown thaid's power.
"System, how much time will unlock Densoph's power be required?" Erik asked.
[ANSWER: TWO HOURS AND THIRTY-FIVE MINUTES WILL BE REQUIRED.]
"Will something happen to me if I use the DNA points to extract it?"
[ANSWER: THE HOST WILL BE UNCONSCIOUS FOR THE ENTIRETY OF THE PROCESS UNLESS HE USES MORE DNA POINTS AND PROVIDE THE SYSTEM MORE ENERGY TO WORK. IF NOT, THE SYSTEMS WILL REQUIRE ENERGY FROM THE HOST, MAKING HIM LOSE CONSCIOUSNESS.]
<It looks like I can't use the system power yet,> Erik, though.
He couldn't miss school, despite wanting to do so. He then prepared himself to go out, put on his uniform, and left the house after having grabbed his backpack.
Once at school, he avoided everyone like the plague, wanting things to go smoothly today.
Fortunately, Logan kept a low profile, so he wasn't giving him problems. Erik arrived in class, and later, people, including Professor O'Leary, started coming to the class.
"Well, guys. This will be another training day for you," the teacher said while walking through the room.
The students all concentrated and started channeling mana, as they did every time. Erik did the same, the familiar soothing and warm feeling of mana flowing inside his body, particularly in his head, spread inside him.
Soon enough, Erik felt the familiar tingle spreading across his entire brain, which meant mana was circulating inside his brain.
Once again, Erik didn't want to miss anything important during this period. Not only he concentrated on the mana inside his body but on every little difference compared to the previous times he performed the technique to make neural links. Time passed, and apparently, nothing major happened.
Usually, Erik would have lost the connection to mana, stopping him from making neural links.
This time, nothing like that happened. Erik couldn't avoid smiling despite having already tested this, something Professor O'Leary didn't miss.
"Did something happen, Mister Romano?" The teacher asked. The other students turned to look at the young man as if he was a psycho.
"I think I found out how to channel mana properly, sir," The young man replied without losing his smile.
"Really? Glad you finally learned what other people learn at ten," he paused. "Stop wasting time and concentrate; you must make up for all the years you lost," Mister O'Leary said.
"Yes, professor…" Erik replied while the others looked at him with confused looks.
The day went on usually, with Erik following theoretical classes, math, history, and the like, but since he injected these topics into his brain, he didn't even pay attention.
The lessons ended later, and Erik left the school to work on the farm, after which he went back home. As he walked through the city streets at night, Erik trembled in excitement because of what would happen; he would get the power from a thaid HE had killed.
The stars shined brightly that night, and the sky was clear and full of light, as no clouds were visible.
Erik stood under those stars, looking at them intently, feeling their beauty. He knew that soon; everything would change for good. Even though Densoph was probably not going to give him an exceptionally strong power, one different from his birth was already an achievement.
Previously, the young man did ask the System if he could have only a limited number of powers. The biological supercomputer told him there wasn't a cap and that he could have as many powers as he wanted.
Erik kept walking; he was almost home, and people were still outside minding their business. A man was sitting alone near the sidewalk, a homeless person who probably lived around here somewhere.
Two men sat together on the other side of the street, drinking alcohol. One had a big scar on his face, and the other wore a leather jacket.
The young man finally arrived home; he went up the stairs, opened the door, and once he entered, he closed it shut behind him.
"Status," the young man said. He then spent some time checking the status screen.
(A.N: Look at the status screen page in the auxiliary volume, press CTRL+F, and input CHAPTER 24 to see the status screen.)
<Oh, I have a hundred and ninety experience points, just a daily quest, and I will level up!>
Erik thought. The young man observed his DNA points; he had fifty, just enough to use the System's power.
Erik lay on his couch with a pillow under his head.
< System, I'm ready,> he said to the biological supercomputer. A robotic voice echoed inside the young man's head.
[UNDERSTOOD. SYSTEM READY. DNA POINTS USED. COMMENCING EXTRACTION. HOST IS ADVISED TO LAY ON A BED.]
Mana started swirling inside Erik's body. It was like a hurricane inside of him was ravaging everything. Then he started feeling a warm sensation inside his stomach.
He felt the warmth spreading from his core towards his extremities until it reached every part of his body. It spread through his whole being and into the air around him.
"It feels good," Erik murmured as he lay there, but then his head spun dizzily until his sight darkened. His eyes closed, and his consciousness faded away.
