6 Chp 6: First Victim...
.
.
.
After exercising for most of the day, only Daniel was completely spent on everything, while Jacob took mock breaths of tiredness. When daniel had stopped, he kept going for a few more hours while taking believable breaks in between...
*Huffs...*
*Huffs...*
"H-How... Can someone go for that long?" Daniel asked, exhaustedly. He was shocked that Jacob could have this much stamina, much less any normal human...
"Ha, It's an honest day's work, now, I have some proper food for you, so sit tight. I'll be back in a jiffy."
Jacob had left the room, heading into another...
On the other hand, Daniel looked at Jacob's figure realizing that he looked slightly different than usual, 'Why does he look, bigger?' He kept looking, but decided not to go through with it anymore, realizing it was a little rude to stare...
After a while, Jacob returned, with a dish filled Cabbage and other vegetables...
Daniel looked dejected at it all. But, he made up his mind to change, especially when given an opportunity like he had been given...
Realizing Daniel's reluctance, Jacob smiled internally, "Bottoms up! Eat, everything... And after you do, on your way home, don't try and buy any snacks... I'll know if you do." Jacob added venomously, causing daniel to flinch a little.
He had already made up his mind that this was he would change the guy, and himself...
"Alright..." Daniel finished his meal, albeit with great reluctance. After 10 minutes of agonizing chewing, they were finished...
"I'm done... Can I go now?" Daniel asked. Jacob nodded, while chuckling to himself.
"Yeah, we can pick this up tomorrow, for the time being, stay careful around others... In fact, be invisible if possible." Jacob warned Daniel, he wouldn't aways be there if bullying was taking place, and he had to fit in.
However, he decided that staying in school is practically a waste of his time and talents...
After a good while, Daniel packed his things and left with wobbly legs. Jacob felt happy that he managed to convince the young blob to exercise, he was very satisfied. As daniel grew, so would he...
'Now, since he's gone. I'll need to move with my plans, much faster and I need to somehow find an alternative for school, I don't want to, or need to go there...' he thought.
He looked at himself, realizing that he had changed slightly. He was practically malnourished before, but it wasn't as bad as it was then. He had gained a tiny bit of mass, although it was barely noticeable...
He harbored a suspicion about the reason behind his little increase. "Looks like my recovery time accelerates muscle gain... I'm practically a cheat code, hehe," he mused with a grin playing on his lips.
It was a basic concept, muscle when destroyed and then repairs grows slightly stronger and thicker, and Jacob via his physiology, could regenerate 7x faster than a normal human, what someone could do in a week, he easily could do in a day...
Glancing at the clock, he became aware that it was slightly past 8 pm...
"Hmmm... I think, I'll go for a little walk. I need to think for a bit." Jacob washed off and left his house, the door closing behind him with a soft click. The night air embraced him as he strolled down the dimly lit streets...
.
.
.
.
.
*Whuuushh~*
'Nothin' beats a nice cool breeze...' He stretched, smiling.
He looked off in the distance, seeing the city's lights shimmering in the distance, casting a warm glow over the quiet neighborhood. Jacob pondered on where he would go, knowing he could buy practically anything he wanted...
"Meh, I'll just buy some kimchi..." He made his way down towards the nearest grocery store...
As he made his way down to the store, he looked at the amount of trees that surrounded his area, since his home was practically by itself...
As he walked, he suddenly heard a subtle shift in the bushes nearby. Thinking it was nothing more than a wild dog or cat, he continued, until he heard it again this time getting closer to him, with the usual rustling of leaves taking on a more pronounced tone...
'Hmm?' Curious, he back up, slightly...
With his heightened awareness, he stood still for a moment, while thee rustling persisted, prompting a mix of caution and curiosity in his mind. However, for some reason, Jacob felt that he had to look, and in doing so, he saw gleaming eyes, focused slowly on himself...
'What, the...?' He looked at a glowing slit like eyes in the bushes, as if it was hiding from something... No, like it was stalking it, him...
Soon, he heard a deep growl coming from it where he saw the pair of eyes...
"Shit!" He shouted. He realized it wasn't just some cat or dog. It was much bigger than that. Even with his night vision, he could barely see it, it was simply that experienced at hiding itself...
The creature leaped toward him, leaving Jacob with barely any time to react. In a split-second maneuver, he narrowly dodged the charging creature. As he turned to face the massive creature, the realization of the perilous situation struck him...
'It's barely my second day here... And, I already get a damn tiger!?' The sheer size and power of the thing were intimidating...
The tiger growled lowly, maintaining its predatory stance, circling Jacob as if sizing up its prey...
"What kind of messed-up world is this? Can I not catch a break?" Panic welled up within him. Unlike Logan, this situation felt entirely different, and for the first time, fear crept in... This creature posed a genuine threat, and Jacob was acutely aware that it could end him...
And he could tell that by instinct...
His abilities, usually a source of his strength, were not that powerful, yet. In this moment, he was undeniably mortal, understanding the stark reality of his limitations, at least, currently...
Due to not having any 'biomass' in excess, he couldn't perform 90% of his abilities, he could barely do the claw at his level, the others needed more mass to be effective...
There was no outrunning the tiger; it was clear he had to confront it head-on. The only option that he had was to fight for his life and take down the thing before it could do the same to him. The gravity of the situation sank in as he braced himself for the battle...
As the tiger walked around him, it lowered its stance as if ready to charge again...
'I just need a single touch... Just one, and it's mine,' Jacob thought. The idea of infecting the tiger flashed through his mind, but uncertainty lingered. Could he prevent the creature from tearing into his flesh during the process?
With it lunging it would be possible... So he banked on it, he didn't want to lose an entire limb, and where his body was at the moment, that would happen in a single bite...
'I'm not dying to anything yet...' He could feel the adrenaline rush through his body.
As if a silent agreement passed between them, both Jacob and the tiger came to an abrupt standstill. The tension in the air was palpable. Jacob crouched lower, ready for what was to come, and the tiger mirrored the shift, preparing for a different kind of assault. This time, it wouldn't be charging; instead, it would sprint directly toward him...
With a growl, It ran towards him...
.
.
.
'Wait for it... Wait...' Jacob's breath hitched as the tiger drew nearer, each step echoing in the charged silence...
'NOW!' He yelled in his mind.
It jumped towards him, with barely any time to react, he ducked the leap, touching the tiger on its stomach, infecting it... But, unluckily, it got a good chunk off his arm with it's claws...
'Damnit!' he groaned in pain, through clenched teeth, feeling the pain coursing through his injured limb. Quickly surveying the surroundings and finding no witnesses in the distance, he redirected his attention to the wounded tiger writhing on the ground.
'Serves you right, fucker...' He clenched his teeth, and faught through the pain, a mixture of triumph and agony as he stood over the writhing tiger. The infection was enough to paralyze it completely...
Not wanting to make this take any longer. He quickly walked up to it, grabbing onto its body. Instantly, he willed his tendrils that morphed from his flesh to wrap around the creature.
He huffed, tired. Wondering what the hell had just happened. It was as if the idea of a tiger attacking him had just crossed his mind...
'No... I need to focus... '
With focused intensity, he initiated the absorption process. The tendrils worked their way over the tiger, not only consuming its flesh but also extracting the surrounding blood... As he finished the assimilation Jacob felt his body growing heavier, denser from this ordeal. But soon, something else came...
He held his head, "GAAHHHH!!!!" He screamed, feeling his muscles and mind suddenly rip apart from the process...
However, the pain was most concentrated in his head, rather his brain. Years of information flashed through his mind. How to stalk, hunt, crawl, bite, eat, lung, run, and think... His mind flashed with these memories as if they were his own. And, it was painful.
He quickly fell to the concrete, gripping his hands tightly and gnashing...
"ARGHHH!"
"ACCKKK!!!"
"GAAAHHH!!!"
.
.
.
"GU-AAHH!!!"
He rolled on the concrete multiple times over but after what felt like an hour, finally feeling the pain started to dwindle...
After some time, he stood up, his body changed from the ordeal, and his injuries gone...
He then inhaled, and exhaled... He stretched his body, earning slight creaks and crackles...
'So that's how it feels...' He thought. He was very calm right now... Eerily so. He didn't feel like, himself. He knew he just absorbed the tiger, he didn't just absorb it... He, felt like he was the tiger...
He saw its life, living in the jungle, growing up, and learning from it's experiences. It's experiences burnt into his mind as if they were his... The hearing, smell and his sight had improved vastly compared to before, it was almost overwhelming how much the changes were from just a single tiger...
Jacob looked down, feeling much stronger than before, his muscles felt powerful, faster, and he wasn't malnourished anymore, rather his body had changed, now lean with subtle signs of musculature.
Not only that, he felt as if he had more awareness, as if he could instinctively feel presences around himself to a decent degree...
He felt as if he had underwent a major evolution, just like with the ant, but this was much more, potent...
He took a deep breath...
"Status..."
--------------------
Name: Jacob Mercer
Age: 17 Years old
Life-span: 356--> 478 Years old
Height: 5'4--> 5'5
Weight: 64kg--> 73kg
Energy: Nil~
Talent Value: B+
Str: 31kg--> 34Kg--> 171.5kg/500 Tons--> 800 Tons
Spd: 7mph--> 46mph/Mach 28
Mov-Spd: 7mph--> 9.2mph--> 27.45mph/375mph
End: 2--> 4/185
Sta: ∞
Cha: 2--> 3/9
Int: 5--> 6.2/8
Abilities;
(New) Tough Skin I: Your skin is 50% tougher than a normal human's own.
(New) Heightened senses III: Gives 10x sense of smell, hearing and 2x clearer sight...
(New) Denser Bones I: Your bones are 50% tougher than normal.
(New) Danger Sense V: You have a great sense of danger/immanent threats...
(New) Tiger's Physiology: Grants you a bit of what Tiger's have in their physiology. Increasing your own traits...
Enhanced Reflexives I--> III: Gives the 4.5x faster reflexes than normal...
Ant's strength VII--> VIII: Increases the Max physical strength potential of the user by 40x.
--------------------
.
.
.
Jacob looked at his stats, smiling. He had gotten quite the powerup, but, there was still ways left to go...
His intelligence rose by another point, and his strength skyrocketed from 30kg to a 170+Kg, a massive increase, his speed was now above the fastest man alive on his old earth now too, but just barely...
'Heh, To think A wild fucking tiger would be my first true victim...' He chuckled to himself. He looked at his clothes that were scratched, it was too obvious to just go to a market at the moment...
Jacob turned around, not seeing the purpose of going anymore. He also checked to see if there was any evidence of his little fight.
"I'll need to hide my strength a bit better from now on, nearly 400 pounds strength is nothing to scoff at, even if it's relative to 800, Tons..." Jacob sighed. again. He really had a long way to go, however with his new memories came new problems.
'Now it feels so weird just to walk...' What he had learnt his entire life felt off, him absorbing the tiger, he absorbed its memories and experience, so with every step he took, he felt as if he wanted to get on all four limbs and walk but he stopped himself, and now his steps it sounded as if he hadn't moved at all too.
After walking around for a few more minutes, his ability to copy came in handy as he quickly had gotten used to his old movements again, still keeping his new ones too..
Slightly amazed at himself, or rather daniel, he had to respect him a bit more, 'To think 'copy' would be this effective...' He hadn't tested it before, but for some reason, had the capacity to remember the movements he needed to, truly hack like. Even if it wasn't instant, it was damn near close.
He had another pressing issue though, 'Looks like, absorbing brains are a no-go unless absolutely necessary...' Scratching the back of his head. Remembering the pain he felt...
"Guess I don't need these anymore..." He quickly took it off and tossed his pair of glasses, not having use for them...
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
END
