Physical Changes

Searing pain shot through his entire body. He could feel his bones growing, his muscles reshaping. Stabbing pain pierced his eyes and face. He blinked his eyes, hoping to get rid of the pain, but to no avail.

The world blurred and distorted. Then, suddenly, the pain disappeared. Silas stood up, hoping that was the end of it. When his vision came into focus, he was shocked.

Everything was crystal clear. He could make out details he never could before, like the cracked spines of books on the shelf and the wood grain of the floorboards.

Silas flexed his hands and forearms, looking at the way his muscles ripple beneath his skin. He felt like a new person. A person who could run a marathon with only mild difficulty.

System Notification: Stats screen updated.

Silas thought about the stats screen again and it popped up.

Stats:

Name: Silas Blackwood

Species: Hybrid: Human/Leviathan Larva

Mana core: Leviathan

Magical Affinities: Neuromancy, Biomancy, Essomancy

Magical Deficiencies: None

Magical Voids: None

HP: 10/10

MP: 21/25,000

Level: 1

Exp: 0/10

Strength: 18

Agility: 17

Stamina: 16

Intelligence: 10

Luck: 10

Silas was in awe, but unsurprised at the changes to his strength, agility, and stamina. He could feel the changes already. As for the other part, he was more than a little curious.

His species now read, "Hybrid: Human/Leviathan Larva." The same with his physical stats, he wasn't surprised, but the implications made him curious. Clearly, the integration of the Leviathan mana core had changed his physical make up, potentially down to the DNA level.

The words, "Leviathan Larva," made him the most curious. Did this imply there were developmental stages to his transformation? Would every progressive stage make him stronger? He could only assume the answer was yes. The most important question was how many stages were there? How much stronger could he get just by furthering his transformation?

"Mom, what does this Leviathan Larva thing mean? How many stages are there? What will they do?"

"I can only guess, since I was never able to test the Leviathan core with the system, but obviously, Larva is the first stage."

"Right, but how many stages do you think there are? Like, how strong will I get?" Silas asked eagerly.

"I'd guess between 5 and 8. Considering a leviathan is roughly 100 times stronger than a human, I will use the scientific term, ridiculously strong."

"Thank you, mom. That's very helpful." Silas said sarcastically, but with a smile on his face. Having even a semblance of his mom with him, felt amazing. He didn't realize until now how much he had missed her.

His magical affinities had stayed the same, but his deficiencies were gone, replaced by the beautiful word, "None." And his MP…Silas blinked, making sure he was seeing it correctly. 21/25,000. His current MP had gone up to 21 but his maximum mana capacity went up to a staggering 25,000.

Which was amazing, but he was still concerned by the fact that he still couldn't produce his own mana, and the mana core had been depleted down to 21 remaining mana. It made sense, he had been feeding off the mana core for several years and performing spells with it, it was bound to run out eventually.

He didn't know how much time this left him but it couldn't be much. A day at most. After that, he would either die or have to siphon mana from another source.

System Notification: New Level 1 Biomancy Skill: Venom Synthesis!

Silas pulled up the Biomancy skill tree:

Biomancy:

Drain lv. 1

Venom Synthesis lv. 1

He opened the venom synthesis skill.

Venom Synthesis lv. 1: The ability to synthesize venom within your body with varying effects.

Current effects available: Paralysis

Nice! He had a new skill already. He didn't love that it implied he had to bite someone or something to use it, but it was better than nothing.

Having figured out his system changes, he went up to a mirror on the wall to see if he had any physical changes.

As he looked at himself in the mirror, he was once again unsurprised to see differences in his appearance, but in awe of how drastic and strange they were.

Hard, black scales had sprouted on his cheeks and jawline. His eyes had changed from a warm brown to a neon pink. The sclera of his eyes, which should have been white, had darkened to an inky, black.

Feeling something in his mouth, he opened it to discover his canine had elongated and sharpened, similar to a snake. This must be how he would deliver his venom to his targets.

Stepping back, he noticed he had grown taller, about an inch or two. His muscles had grown more defined and prominent, making him look like an athlete or fitness model. He flexed his arms, his muscles straining the remaining fabric of his sleeves.

Despite the improvements, he knew the other changes were a problem that needed solving. How was he going to hide this at school? For the eyes, he could wear sunglasses, but then would he wear them in class? That would seem very suspicious. And the scales, maybe he could pull them off?

Silas reached up and grasped one of the scales on his cheek. He pulled at it tentatively, afraid it might hurt, but found that it came away with only mild resistance. Relieved, he began plucking the scales from his face, wincing as each one detached from his skin with a strange, slick sensation. Beneath the scales, his flesh was smooth and slightly slimy to the touch. He quickly washed away the residue, finding underneath was smooth natural skin.

Having relatively fixed his appearance problems, he felt better, but he worried about what the future held in store for him. Would later stages in his transformation cause even more noticeable changes? Would the scales eventually become permanent?

He had no way of knowing the answers to these questions. He could only put his head down, and do his best to move forward. Take the hits as they came.

Silas suddenly remembered the acceptance letter he had in his pocket. Arcanium University, once the most prestigious institution for magical learning in the realm, had accepted his application. Being his father's alma mater, it was Silas's first choice.

But as he had read through the letter, Silas's joy turned into frustration and disappointment. The university had changed much since his father's time. It had been transformed from a beacon of scholarly pursuits into a combat school designed to produce mage knights for the military.

The letter spoke of rigorous training regimens, of courses intended to hone the skills of battle magic and tactical thinking. It was vastly different from the stories told by his father, of long hours spent poring over ancient tomes and engaging in lively debates with fellow students.

Silas sighed, pulling out the letter and setting it on his mother's desk. He knew the war with the Fae had taken a toll on the magical world. The government had taken over many similar institutions in an effort to bolster their ranks. Knowing and seeing were two entirely different things though, and seeing this made his heart ache and his blood boil. He couldn't help, but feel betrayed. He wanted to learn the secrets of the universe, not learn how to kill people more efficiently.

And yet, Silas knew that he had no choice. With an ongoing war with the Fae and a mandatory draft, he needed Arcanium University to learn how to survive on the battlefield. He wouldn't let himself become cannon fodder.

With all that his mother and father had sacrificed for him, it would be wrong for him to give up. Then, after his tour of duty, he could settle into a normal job, maybe even become a professor at a normal magical college and finally get to invest in scholarly pursuits.

Silas reached for the system embedded in his chest, feeling the comforting hum of his mother's presence.

Silas snatched a pair of aviator sunglasses from his mother's desk and put them on. Looking back in the mirror, they were reflective enough to hide his eyes, but he would need to come up with a more permanent solution and soon. He couldn't wear the glasses forever, especially not in class.

Silas hurried back up the stairs to finish packing. He started to pass his father in the hall, but suddenly gave Aldrich a big hug that lasted longer than normal. "I love you. Thank you for everything you've done for me."

"I love you too, Silas. What brings this on?" Aldrich hugs his son and pats him on the back.

"I was in mom's study. I just realized how much you and her have done for me."

"You're welcome, son. I know it may not have seemed like it sometimes, but your parents care about you a lot."

Silas ended the hug and walked off to his room, leaving his father standing there stunned at what just happened. "He's not on drugs is he? No, that can't be it."

Silas tugged on his luggage harder than he needed to, unused to his new strength, and almost fell over. He made his way downstairs, aviator glasses still firmly perched on his face. His father stood waiting by the door.

"You ready?"

"Never been more ready."

Silas stepped out into the sun, the warmth feeling good on his face. As they walked through the streets of his district and hailed a carriage, Silas couldn't help but notice people looking at him strangely.