11 The Oriole

[Status]

[Identity: Mutated Wolf]

[Race: Unknown]

[Height: 18 meters]

[Length: 46 meters]

[Weight: 50.2 metric tons]

[Objective: Survive and Evolve]

[Penalty: Death due to predation]

[Innate Trait: Genetic Archiving]

[Skills: Enhanced Speed, Enhanced Strength, Perfect Vision(+360 degrees vision), Enhanced Sense of Smell, Accelerated Healing, Enhanced Growth, Enhanced Hearing, Enhanced Durability, Fearless(New!), Bullet-time perception (New!)]

***

I have grown bigger in one day partly due to the huge amounts of growth hormones flowing through my bloodstream and the constant eating to keep up with my extremely high metabolism.

It really sounded ridiculous that I was in such a state of horror when real-life biology came into the picture.

The exaggerated level of cellular growth makes me wanna thank the heavens just for existing. The possibilities of the emergence of tumours in such a biological dilemma were high.

It seemed I was going to grow to a Kaiju-level height within days.

As I looked at my status window, I realized that the skill [Enhanced Vision] had changed to [Perfect Vision] after combining with [Near 360 degrees vision].

'Combination. Interesting.' I marvelled at this special function.

'I can't wait for future combinations even though they are not under my control.'

[Perfect Vision: From the superior sight of an eagle and the omnidirectional field of view of the dragonfly, those two unique skills have been perfectly fused to make [Perfect Vision]. The user's vision is both telescopic and microscopic, capable of extending to thousands of miles and viewing the microscopic environment in 3D. Since it's 'perfect', the user won't have any blindspots and may even predict the actions of the opponents through slight focus. Able to see through the electromagnetic spectrum.]

I toggled off the explanation mode and began to test the full potential of the ability.

It was truly unfair for the preys.

GULP!

I nonchalantly swallowed a small scaly reptilian creature that was an expert in camouflage.

It was kind of tiny, but its ability was what had caught my attention.

I knew about the animal kingdom but I wasn't highly knowledgeable about many things since the species in existence were so many that it was basically impossible to remember most of them.

New species in the animal kingdom are constantly being discovered which makes the knowledge about the animal kingdom seem almost infinite. The biodiversity in the Amazon was a good example of what I am talking about.

***

[You have absorbed the chameleon.]

[Chameleon's genes successfully extracted and copied into the genetic bank]

[Predation effect has been triggered.]

[The unique skill 'camouflage' has been acquired successfully!]

[Do you want to merge with the unique skill 'camouflage'?]

[Yes/No]

***

'Let's go.'

[Camouflage: change skin colour and texture to mirror your intermediate surroundings perfectly. You can look like a gigantic grey rock in a place with many rocks and much more. Not to be confused with shapeshifting or invisibility.]

'Oh. Let me give it a try.' I then focused on changing my colour and texture to look like the barks of the trees.

From an aerial point of view, I looked like a huge log.

I then shifted my skin colour to fit the verdant green colours.

It was kinda fun as I continued to look for interesting species.

I met an innocent-looking green frog loudly croaking and basking in the sun.

'Hey froggie, you look cute. Let's be friends.'

Uuummm!

[You have absorbed a common green frog.]

[Amphibian's genes successfully extracted and copied into the genetic bank]

[Predation effect has been triggered.]

[The unique skill, underwater breathing, has been acquired successfully!]

[Do you want to merge with the unique skill 'underwater breathing'?]

[Yes/No]

It was simply perfect as I sensed significant changes on my skin as it mutated and evolved to give birth to an impossibility.

There weren't major physical changes on my skin as seen in real amphibians.

My skin just became more sensitive towards the atmospheric air.

[Underwater Breathing: Able to breathe underwater like a fish or a frog. Due to an unexpected mutation, the user can stay underwater for unlimited durations.]

'Now I won't be ragdolled by an aquatic creature or whatever. Both King Ghidorah and Kong struggled helplessly when they fought Godzilla on his own turf - the water. It's good to be advantaged on both ends.' I silently mused as I followed a river that probably flowed out of the state.

All of a sudden…

WIIIII!

An irritating low-frequency sonar sound disrupted my peace.

It was a beckoning call meant for specific targets like me.

Due to the bat DNA already encoded in Pathogen-R, I naturally gained the ability to respond to special low-level frequencies through biosonar communication systems.

I simply ignored the encrypted call from Claire Wyden. Call rejected.

Then from Wyoming to Nebraska to Iowa, I travelled through these states with the goal of absorbing every leak of nuclear radiation from the nuclear power plants.

I squeezed out everything without restraints, only to leave a statewide power crisis.

My actions immediately caused a sensation in the net as I continued to wantonly absorb nuclear energy.

I didn't have the same physiology as the titans in the MonsterVerse who constantly release small amounts of radiation to the environment, but that didn't bar me from being capable of radiation absorption.

Of course, there were many casualties due to my destructive behaviour and wherever I walked humans would tend to panic and run away in fear of my abnormal monstrous size.

That was an understanding that I came to even before I set off on this journey of evolution.

Many lives were going to be lost due to my very existence. I was a walking titan and the humans that I saw below me were like ants which can be trampled upon whether intentionally or unintentionally.

I was not trying to sound hypocritical by justifying my own actions, I was just clear-headed and pure in my approach and goals.

Let me ask you this. When humans walk, do they take their steps with caution and meticulousness so as to avoid crushing every ant they see or don't see on the ground? That answer was simply a big NO.

Well, that was exactly my situation. I wanted to evolve and the humans as usual were naturally going to get in my way. Co-existence, huh? That was currently no more than a pipedream.

The military didn't like uncontrollable entities wreaking havoc on American soil.

[Status]

[Identity: Mutated Wolf]

[Race: Unknown]

[Height: 22 meters]

[Length: 56 meters]

[Weight: 53.2 metric tons]

[Objective: Survive and Evolve]

[Penalty: Death due to predation]

[Innate Trait: Genetic Archiving]

[Skills: Enhanced Speed, Enhanced Strength, Perfect Vision(+360 degrees vision), Enhanced Sense of Smell, Accelerated Healing, Enhanced Growth, Enhanced Hearing, Enhanced Durability, Fearless(New!), Bullet-time perception (New!), Nuclear radiation absorption (New!), Underwater Breathing, Camouflage]

***

Wow, It seems nuclear energy was a growth accelerant for me.

Then I looked at the military fighter jets appearing in the sky.

They responded quite fast. I thought all their attention would be concentrated on Chicago where the main events were about to happen, if I wasn't wrong.

'Aye, they want to bomb me. I will play with ya till despair.'

My reaction speed via [Bullet-time perception] helped me in evading every precision-guided missile thrown in my way. I was simply agile.

The only missiles I couldn't outwit were the heat-seekers that could perceive infrared wavelengths.

Anyway, even the heat-seekers couldn't really harm. The more I grew, the more my defences were also being constantly upgraded.

Conventional weapons were now just toys in my eyes.

But it's a pity that I still haven't been able to extract 'Wing genes' to facilitate flight as seen in kaijus like Rodan, Mothra and King Ghidorah. In Pacific Rim, we had Otachi only.

Then there was also the flying turtle, Gamera, and even though it didn't have wings, it could achieve flight through jet-like propulsion. I have always thought that Gamera was a low-key Cybertronian.

Everything was going according to plan as I waited for Lizzie and George to be injured or even kill each other before I entered the scene.

Davis Okoye was probably going to do everything to instil rationality into his rampaging albino monkey.

I would let them fight and exhaust themselves.

The art of war was cruel and devious and you wouldn't want a gigantic monster to be capable of that.

I was the Oriole.

***

For more 10+ advanced chapters and extra support (Patreon.com/OneArmedImmortal)

avataravatar
Next chapter