44 Massive jump in power?
New week, a new chapter.
Enjoy.
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PS: There was a little problem I had with edit.
I edited this chapter last week, but when I came here to re-edit it, I saw that some words and phrases were simply missing for some reason.
This pissed me off, but I tried my best to fix them, however, I kind of lost the meaning of some conversations after so long...
If you spot any inconsistencies, tell me.
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'Before he opened the box, Philip made sure to protect himself.'
'Although the Principal was cooperative and his words were very believable, it was still hard for him to completely trust him.'
'Different from the other people he met so far, spending or already knowing a great deal about them, he knew close to nothing about the Principal.'
'You could say he was being too paranoid, but who knows, there were 101 ways for someone of his level of knowledge to screw Philip over.'
'So he simply prepared to the best of his abilities before opening the box…'
"..."
'But nothing happened...'
"Hm…"
'It wasn't the time to drop his guard though.'
'Inside the box, he saw an assortment of items.'
'A ring with a blue crystal embedded into it, a small brown satchel filled with thousands of tiny crystals similar to the one on the ring, and 2 sets of vials of multiple colors.'
'Some of those vials seemed to be filled with a smooth liquid like water, others were filled with salts...'
'There was also a letter on top of it all, it simply had 2 simple words:'
"Luxius Ermi?" Philip said out loud
/Flash!/
'The ring suddenly flashed, almost blinding Philip…'
"Urg… Fuck."
Did I trigger a spell? But I didn't notice or feel anything at all in those words…
A safe code?
'Philip thought of several possibilities while he considered retreating for safety, but something beat him up to it.'
"Took you long enough young man!" Said a male voice coming from below him
"Huh?!"
'As his vision quickly returned, Philip turned his gaze to the box, specifically, towards the ring that was now glowing in faint purple light.'
"What?..."
Did it speak just now?
"I know, this is probably very confusing, it's not every day you see a talking ring."
'As the ring spoke, it flickered faintly.'
"You…"
"Ah, pardon me for my rudeness. The name bestowed to me is Laplabe."
"But you may also call me… A Mimic!" He said in a formal tone
"What about you young man? How may I call you?" Lablabe asked as he flickered slightly
'Philip frowned, but he then replied:'
"I'm Philip, and I'm also known as... A Hero?"
'He then focused and started to ask the real questions:'
"But Mimic?... You mean those..."
'The ring flickered, it was thinking deeply.'
"Ahh... Yes, I think we should address this issue first."
"Just to be clear, I'm not like other Mimics, I find no pleasure in eating other creatures for sustenance."
"And as you can see, I have quite the advanced intellect when compared to the others belonging to the same species as me."
"As for my background and story, it's pretty simple, although not devoid of memories..."
"I grew under the care of the man you knew as the Principal, and under his guidance and care, I advanced further than many other Mimics and attained sapience of a much greater level than any of them could ever dream of."
"If they're even capable of that... It's pitiful really."
'The Mimic then said in a depressed tone:'
"Prior to his death, I was tasked with a mission… One that I now have the pleasure of completing with you."
'Philip frowned and remained silent for a moment, thinking…'
'As he thought, the small letter on his hand started to change as more words started to appear on it…'
'It was a message from the Principal, explaining to him what was and how this Mimic would help him on his journey…'
"As you must've read, I'm here to help you."
"Thanks to my contract with the Principal, I have a faint idea of where his body is at any given moment, and I also know his requirements for a successor."
"As long as I am with you, I'll be able to say to you if someone is qualified or not to inherit his will…"
"Of course, only the outermost layer of it… Another test would have to be conducted to see if the candidate is indeed fully qualified to do so."
"A piece of Trivia, I do think you're qualified to inherit his will, so if you ever grow tired of looking for someone, you could try the test and see if you pass, after all, why not?"
"You're already here doing his last wishes, why not go all the way and claim his legacy as well?"
'Philip took a deep breath and said:'
"So uh… Laplabe… How exactly should I proceed? No, first, how are you even talking?"
"Oh? I didn't expect that question, but it's fairly boring."
'A certain part of the ring started to glow brightly, showing a tiny hole, so small that it wasn't visible by the Human eye.'
"There is a tiny hole I always keep open somewhere on my body."
"It's meant for me to breath and also to talk, although don't worry, I can keep my breath for months if necessary, but normally I hold a tiny pocket of air within my body just in case something goes wrong."
"As for the other question, it's even simpler, just carry me with you wherever you go."
"And ah... I don't believe I'm saying this but... I don't need to 'defecate', at least, not in the way you think, so uh... No need to worry about that..." He said awkwardly
'But Philip felt a bit off… He didn't feel safe carrying a Mimic with him everywhere, he could wear the ring of course, but that also posed a risk…'
"I can tell by your emotions that you're feeling conflicted, and I can totally understand your point. I am a dangerous creature that's for sure, and even though I think Humans are just as dangerous if not worse, there is also the physiological factor."
"It's simpler to trust a handsome Human with a child than an ugly Mimic, even though the Human is a mass murder in disguise, and the Mimic is a completely harmless creature... In that specific instance, Mimics aren't harmless but you got my point."
"..."
'Philip did not reply, he was right, at the end of the day, it was a matter of trust.'
"If that's the case, then you mustn't know something about Mimics, and that's the fact that knowing the name of one gives you full control over it."
'Philip frowned.'
"Is it?..."
'He thought and tried to remember...'
"Now that you say…"
There was indeed a passage about that from one of the books I read.
Mimics that are given a name they fully heartily accept will fall under the control of whoever knows said name.
It's a form of contract, and in the situation where the Mimic breaks the vow, he'll lose his name together with all of the memories attached to the said name, pretty much, a complete loss of self.
A Mimic with a name is also much more dangerous than one without it as they can learn and grow much faster than other Mimics...
'The more he thought about this the more he remembered, to a point he even remembered the name of the book and when he read it.'
'The record of exotic beasts, he read it in the Library in the Palace before he left for his journey…'
However, said contract only lasts for a year, and at the end of the year, the Mimic can choose to say his name again to his contractor, but if he doesn't, the contractor will forget the name of Mimic.
Of course, in the situation where the Contractor doesn't forget it, he can say the Mimic's name out loud and the contract will be automatically renewed… It's pretty complicated how all of this works.
It's pretty simple to abuse it as you could simply write the name down on a paper, such is the poor life of a Mimic.
That's why, for a Mimic, sharing your name is such a big deal.
"But are you okay with that?" Philip asked
"... Thank you for worrying for me, but I have many debts left to fulfill, and until they're done, I'll be by your side, perhaps even after that, who knows what fate has in store for us?" The Mimic said in an oddly gentle tone
Or until the day you get corrupted by your own greed and start to covet the items meant for his successor...
But I don't believe that'll ever happen.
"Even if this venture lasts over a year, I'll still renew our contract as many times as needed as long as I'm alive and my debts remain unpaid."
Besides, it's not like I have anywhere else to go…
'Philip smiled a little and said:'
"Okay, but… Your form… A ring is too conspicuous for me to use in the open."
Nor do I like using them... I do have several special rings to use, but I normally don't wear them.
The only 'special' ring I have is the one given to me by the princess, but due to its unique history, I keep it hidden below my shirt and tied to my neck.
This is because the ring has the ability to soothe my mind, and it was very useful during my 3 weeks of training to alleviate stress.
"Ahh, that is true. This is mainly a form I took under the request of the Principal, it wouldn't be hard to become something else."
"Can you… Become a person?"
It's just my curiosity…
"... Yes I can, however, I find it a waste of effort and energy."
"The anatomy of a Human or any other similar race is too complex for me to emulate effortlessly, even though I'm not a normal Mimic."
"I can imitate the appearance of one while maintaining my normal anatomy, but that would go against the initial intention of disguising as one."
"Besides, I'm not that good at moving around with the Human senses… No, not good is an understatement, I'm terrible at it."
"I could go on and on about several more reasons why…"
"So unless strictly necessary, I hope it'll never come to it."
"I can become small animals, although similarly as complex, they're still less work for me to worry... Insects tend to be the simplest."
'Philip nodded.'
"There are a few more things I need to warn you, however…" The Mimic said worriedly
"First, you must've noticed these crystals, right? They aren't decorations as they have a pretty important role."
"I'm a Mimic, and Mimics are known to be… Aggressive when hungry... Well, they are already known to be very aggressive when hunting, but it becomes very evident when they're hungry."
"Even after many years trying, of failed experiments and self-meditation, I've been incapable of maintaining my sanity when I'm hungry for extensive periods of time…"
"Still, I find flesh distasteful, so that's when these crystals come into play… They're my food, quite tasty actually, at least for me, the principal never liked them, said that they taste like sand..."
"..."
How does he know that?
"There are a total of 6 thousand of them, and each one of them can last me 2 weeks no problem, for a total of 24 a year, meaning, these ones could last me 3 thousand years…"
"Of course, that's not the case, before even 100 years pass, most of them would decay naturally as all things, so they're mostly here in case I need to use more energy than necessary."
"Besides, I'll hit the bucket before even a tenth of those 3000 years comes to pass."
"They aren't that hard to find on the market if you know where to look, and they aren't really that expensive either, but getting them will never be a problem."
'Philip nodded silently once more.'
"Noted, never make you hungry."
"Yes, that's pretty important, if I were to lose it…"
/Silence…/
"Well, I'll normally eat on my own as long as they're close by, it's not like I need to be spoon-fed like a kid, worst come to worst I can resort to eating plants and other things... Even animal flesh."
"But in the situation where I can't access any of those sources, or I end up using too much energy at once, I'll make sure to warn you if I start to get hungry, I can maintain my sanity for a few moments when extremely hungry anyway."
"That works for me." Philip said with a nod
"But as I was saying, a ring is too noticeable… Can you turn into... Um... How about a pocket watch?"
'Philip always had one by him, and it wouldn't be too much to change his watch for this Mimic…'
"A watch?... Show it to me and I'll do it. There's almost nothing I can't imitate."
'Philip thought that as well, if this Mimic could replicate the complexity of a Human body, what to say a watch?'
'He took his watch from his chest pocket and showed it to him.'
/Tremble…/
'The ring trembled slightly, and it became small black goo with many tendrils that wrapped itself around the clock…'
'Philip frowned, this was indeed an alien creature... It was strange to think that a few seconds ago, he was having a rather normal conversation with it...'
'Almost the instant the goo completely covered the watch, it jumped to the side, slowly transforming into an identical copy of the watch… With a blue gem in the middle of the pointers.'
"Done, I copied all of the mechanisms perfectly… Even the strange object within it… It seems to be some sort of container for chemical reagents…"
"It's a battery, and it was used to power the clock mechanism… But that's unnecessary to have now…"
"In fact, how about you hollow that area and use it as a container for these Crystals?"
I brought this Pocket watch with me from the Dream… But it's time to put it on the shelf.
Like most Hunter tools, they've become obsolete in this place...
I still have some useful tools I keep hidden, it's just that I didn't find the opportunity to use them...
The last time I used most of them was against the Orc Army... But even they weren't enough for me to test it all.
"Oh! That's a good idea…"
...
"... And I'm done, I can house about 8 of these Crystals, I must say I quite like this design."
'Philip carefully grabbed the watch and observed it… But he saw no flaws at all. Even the chain looked legit.'
'As he grasped the clock, it increased in size slightly to fit his hand...'
"It's actually pretty cool."
"I'm glad you liked it haha!"
'Philip tied the chain's end to his pants and it was perfect, no one would be able to notice it.'
"Another problem done… Now, can you tell me more about the rest? What are those Vials all about?"
"Those? It's your reward of course… More like advanced payment."
"Armund, the Principal, albeit terrible in other crafts, was rather proficient in Alchemy, so he would always be doing some sort of concoction or experiment in his free time."
"Each of these Vials contains one of these carefully brewed potions."
"In the past, Armund used to make these and give them to his students to aid their growth, and although that was a long time ago, Armund kept his habit and continued to make them, either selling them, something he rarely ever did, or putting them up as rewards for the students of the Academy."
"What you see are a set of Stimulants and a set of Strengthening Attribute potions. There are many more of these inside the portable space, but taking more than what's here won't really change much."
"You can take them anytime, however, it's better if you prepare some free time as the time it takes for them to take effect can take a while, and the aftereffects can also last a while."
"They work the best when taken at the same time and at once… If you can tolerate the pain that is."
"However, for maximum effects, It'd be better to consume the correspondent Potion for the Stimulant."
"The more of them you take at once, the higher the pain due to more parts of your body changing and being stimulated at once..."
"You could say that being cut in the finger is manageable, but if you were to lose the entire skin of your arm the pain would be unimaginable."
"None of Armund's students were able to use all of the stimulants and potions at once and receive their full effects exactly due to how painful it was."
'Philip scratched his chin and replied:'
"How strong is the pain?"
'Laplabe had to think for a moment before saying:'
"Very high… At least as high as the feeling of having your limbs being torn from your body... And that's all of them at the same time. It's more than enough for you to die of pain."
"This is because these potions were made to stimulate your body, and then to strengthen it… However, everyone has a limit, and once that limit is reached, your growth stops… But the potion's effects don't."
"It'll keep pushing until it forcibly breaks through that limit…"
"Isn't that pretty dangerous if that's the case?"
"Yes, but this is a high-grade item, death has been taken out from the list of possibilities a long time ago…"
"Although exceptions are always possible, people can react strangely to the potions, and as I said, sometimes, even the shock from the pain is enough to end someone's life…"
"I see." Philip said with a straight face
"So it's best if you… Wait… What are you doing? What are you doing Philip?!" Laplabe exclaimed as Philip chugged in all of the supplements and potions at once
/Gulp gulp…/
"Ahhh… It's actually quite refreshing and cool." Philip said as he licked his lips
It has a fruity taste…
Finally, some good fucking supplements, the shit I had to take at the hands of that guy back at the Palace…
"You… Are you going to take it all at once? After everything I said?!" Laplabe said loudly
"Yes, pain is the least of my problems…"
My body is always prepared, I can't see myself being more prepared later than now.
I may lose my chance to go to the party, but that doesn't matter to me at all.
Instead of leaving this for later and regretting it in case something happens, I'll take them now.
But…
"How long did you say this was going to take?..."
"It... It depends on person to person… It could last a few hours to even a few days…"
"Philip… You shouldn't be hasty about this… I'm not trying to say you can't take it but… They say it's extremely hardcore…"
"It's too late now anyway." Philip said with a smile
"No, it isn't! As long as you don't take the Strengthening Attribute potions it'll be okay!"
The stimulants were meant to be taken together with the potions, but right now, if he takes anything more there'll be a serious risk...
Although a bit of the total effects will be lost, as long as he takes the potions later, he'll survive...
"Wouldn't that break the entire purpose of it? The potion has to be taken after the Stimulant." Philip said as he grabbed the potion vials
"But if you take it all, your body may not be able to handle it…"
Just, please... Give up...
"Didn't you say it was only painful? Now you're saying something else?"
"I won't die from the pain, that is what I'm most confident of..."
I'm more confident in my mental capacity to resist pain than in my body's ability to last through it...
"..."
'Laplabe remained silent.'
I… I just don't want to see my contractor… If you do…\
[DING!]
[Your body is being stimulated]
[Rapid growth has started!]
"I'm starting to feel a bit hot…" Philip said as he messaged his belly
"... Philip, are you sure you want to do it like this?"
"I'm already doing so though…"
"Yeah, you are… Damn… Alright, let's do it then."
"The potion effects will soon start, and it's better if you go somewhere open and resistant as this room will probably be trashed…"
'Philip nodded, immediately storing the box back in the golden ball and leaving the room quickly.'
'He made his way to the training room and saw the maid cleaning it…'
'He kindly asked her to leave as something urgent had popped up, and she did it with a smile, and he gave the maid an order, to not disturb him unless strictly necessary.'
'Once they were alone he said:'
"Time to shine."
/Gulp!/
'Philip drank all of the strengthening potions at once without hesitation.'
[DING!]
[Your body is being nourished by an unknown solution]
[The solution is strengthening your body]
[DISCLAIMER!]
[A resonant effect between the different consumed solutions has caused your body's rapid growth to increase massively]
[Physical + 0.1]
[Physical + 0.1]
[Mind…]
"You're either ignorant, or your courage is taller than a Dungeon Tower…" Laplabe said astonished
"Both may be an option..." Philip joked with a smile
'If he could Laplabe would roll his eyes, but the most he could do was spin the clock's pointers rapidly to show his frustration...'
"Okay then Philip, it's better if you focus now, try to use any method you know to relax your body as much as possible and prepare for the worst."
'Philip started to remove his clothes, setting them aside as he remained in his underwear.
"No matter what, you must never puke during the process, try to maintain calm breathing so you don't choke and lose your rhythm since that can be actually fatal."
"Imagine if you were to choke… It wouldn't be impossible for you to end up bursting a vein due to the pressure…"
"You also need to keep your body as still as possible… In fact, if you can, try to do a set of light stretches to warm it up a little before the potions start to kick in…"
"Sure thing… But I'm not feeling that much different." Philip said as he started to stretch
I can hear the notifications increasing, and I feel warm, but nothing else.
No pain, no discomfort… Not quite!
I feel relaxed… The mental strain I was feeling due to the past 3 weeks is just going away…
It's quite soothing… I'm actually starting to get tired from this.
"It's been 2 minutes, 23 seconds since you took the Stimulants… It is indeed taking longer than expected, but it's impossible for it to not happen…"
"It can only mean that your body is quite compatible and the initial changes have been easily accepted… Hey... HEY! Philip?... Don't sleep!"
'Philip, who had closed his eyes and was enjoying the feeling suddenly opened his eyes wide.'
"Eh? Sorry… I just feel so… Comfortable."
"..."
Impossible… Absolutely impossible.
'Laplabe couldn't believe what he had just heard…'
Comfortable?... Is that a joke?
At this point in time, he should start to feel slight irritation in all parts of his body...
Is he telling me that his body has so much room for growth that even these potions merely induce a feeling of relaxation in him?
Is this a massage for him? No no… This…
His body is already way beyond what a normal Human young adult was supposed to have...
He doesn't train in any of the basic methods nor the more exotic ones I know of… But even so, his body is already beyond the normal Human limit.
Even if he increased his own limit prior to this, which is very likely, these potions were meant to push it even further…
It's been only 3 minutes… He won't be able to last much longer than…
"ZZZzzz…"
'But when he noticed, Philip was already sleeping…'
"... Ahhh… What do I do?..." Laplabe said in a low tone
'But despite his worries, nothing else happened even after 10 minutes had passed, so he started to calm down, taking in the role of observer.'
'Time passed, but apart from getting hotter, nothing much happened to Philip.'
'He only slept silently… Under the chime of the notifications…'
…
/Around half an hour later…/
'Philip's body was so hot that even steam was rising from it…'
'Even Laplabe moved slightly, not like he couldn't remain at his side, but the ground next to Philip was completely filled with sweat and other substances that were excreted from his body…'
'And he didn't want any of that to touch his body…'
'But despite his silence, the notifications kept ringing in his head. Thankfully, Philip had long ago decreased the noise they make, so it wasn't enough to wake him up.'
[...]
[Energy + 0.2]
[Energy + 0.1]
[Spiritual +2]
[All 4 basic attributes have reached their maximum value]
[Your body structure is incapable of advancing further]
[Your limits are being pushed]
[Apex Evolver has automatically activated]
[Your body is adapting, your limits are widening, your potential increases]
[The forces within your body are getting out of control]
[Golden body has activated, the energies within your body have been forcibly stabilized and equalized]
[An unexpected occurrence, your body is Mutating!]
[Your race is changing from Type 1 Pure Human to Type…]
'From the outside, it seemed as if Philip's muscles were moving beneath his flesh, it was truly a horrific scene to witness…'
'But that wasn't all...'
[***** mode has been released]
[A Great Achievem%$ ERROR]
[Cannot Process, calculation failed… Missing Directives to calculate scenario!]
[Trying to contact *****]
[E̷̗͕͗͑̂͂̌̔̔̉͋͋R̶̡̩̖̤̤̗͐͜͜R̵̬͙͎̪̜̻̿͒͊̄͊̋̾̔̋̾Ơ̵̱͋̽̑͊̿̐̓̈͒R̵̡̤̔͒͐̉̂̇!̸̗͇̍͊͂̃͒͑̓͜ The process has been forcibly terminated…]
[Rebooting... Cannot proceed]
[Critical System Error, en-en-en…]
[̶͉͙̘͍̂̏̏̀̈̈́C̶͍̼̜̙̮̪̰̠̒͆̓̊̍r̶͔͔̳̮̬̮̩̪͌͂͑͠͝ị̷͍̖͓͚̗͐̀̂̏̈̐͘͘̕͝t̵̨͇̑̈i̵̡̟͉̽́̇̾̍̌͘ċ̶̛̰̭͚̣͍͚͉̱̍͒͊͒͒́a̵̼̭͕̅̆̀̄ļ̷̗̙͍̙̽̇̓̒̃͒̿͠ ̷̨̛͎͖̙̖̟͖̥̥͐̈́̽͆͒S̵̱͙͍̠̫̈́̾̚ͅỳ̵̡͎͇͚͕̦͎̏͐̆͆͂͒͘͜ͅs̷̭̱̗̐̄̍̓̋̃t̸͔͔͖̾͠e̸̡͓̺͉͇̼͉̠͎̍͑̽̈́̑̂͑̇̚ͅm̷̡͍͔̆̿̕ ̵̺͖̫̟̗̪̪̙̺͉̑̈́̔̃̎̃̅͝͠E̷̢̳͖̞̹̾ŗ̷̳̭̫̭̠̍̃ṟ̵̨̨̯̩̪̐o̵̡̖̳̼̮̣͕͇͍͆͊͒͒͊̈́͒̎͊͝ͅr̶̝̠̻̬̬̺̘͖̲̰͐,̴̢̘̝͙̦̯̦͇͉̪̃̂̌̀̾̓͒̀͆͒ ̷̮̠̐̿̔͂͊e̶̠̬̫̜̞̝̝͑͋̽̊͜n̸̨̰̱̝̮̉̈́͛͌̂̓̐̐ẗ̷̟̗̼̮̃̉̋̕͠͠ȩ̶̟̼̺̝̫̯̱̲̠̊̎̐͋͌̐͛̚͠r̴͇̬̃̌̆̎͑̏̈̈́͝i̵̤̰͛̒̐̍͊̈͐̅̚̚n̴̨͈̞̱̖̯̼̫̯̏̿̒̇̉̆͆g̵̤̰̘̞̫͍͓͙̜̾̅̄̈́̕͝͠ ̶̡̲̻̘̮͚̋̾̋̀͋͗͘͠*̷̢̢̳͙̹̞̞̻̀̋̅͋̍̉̕͜͠*̵̨̗̰̣͓̙́̽͂̐̑̾̀ͅ*̴̧͖͓͎̮̂̕ͅ*̸̯͆̑̓͜͠*̵̖͇̺͉̿͂ ̵̧͈̫̭̫̌̈́ͅm̶̥͉͔̤̺̩͎̘̜̘̄̍̀ö̵̩͚̈́̆͐̎ḓ̶̤̓̒̀͜͝ȩ̴̪̥̾͒ ̴̜̖͉̖̥̘͎̇̔̄̈́̅̚͝t̷͎͖̪̖̖͉̊̓̀̆̿͌͛͋͝ô̷̺̻̰̻̬̅̔̈́̀ ̶̧̖̼̜͎̗̟̺̞͔͑ą̷̧̛͙̰̣͈̑̆͒͑v̶̧̛̪̪̦̣̳̍͊̄͑̕̚͝ö̶͚͓̓͛̈́̓͗̽̕͠ͅi̵̛̖̍̌̄͐̎̓͒͘͝ḑ̸̧̩͚̜͖̫̞̞̔̉̄̈́͂̈́̌̚͠ͅ ̴̬͔̮̽͌͆͘f̵̢̧̙̯̣̹̥͂͛̒̅͌͜͠ṷ̸̦͂̽̌r̷̛̗͖̉̄̉͊̐͐̃̀̈t̶̼̥̺̣̰͙̑̉̅͌͛̃̋̋͗̀h̴̩̹͈͚͈̱̫͐̀̄̈́̈́̾̽́͐͘ẽ̷͖͚̬̗̾̇̄̿̌͝͠r̴͖̙͍̙̠̟͗͂̌̓͝͝ ̴̢̔ḑ̴͇̮͚̱̹̹̝̏̈́͋̽́̓̒͜ą̷̛̥̲̯̱̮͕͓̀̾̊̿̽̈́̚m̸̨͎͕̙͊̐̈́̎̄͋̕̕͠a̷̦̯̮̗̯̖̍̄̀̓͊̿g̷̯͔̜̳͙̑̚͜ë̷͙̬̳̅̽͜͠͝͝s̸̛̥̦͙̺̘̔͛̐̔͋͝…̷̢̼͙͓̭͖̥͕͙̓̏̓̂̚͝]̶̫̘̙̖͕͇̘͕̙̋̿͆̾͂̈͗̈́
'When everything seemed to have gone silent…'
{Multiple interruptions have been detected over a short period of time}
'A new message appeared floating above Philip, this one was as black as ink, darker than the night sky…'
{Potential breach has been detected}
{Scanning… No breaches have been detected}
{Problem detected, calculating solutions...}
{Request for direct interference… Negated}
{Request for outside operation… Negated}
{Request for forced Reboot… Negated}
{Processing extra data… Another solution has been found}
{Request for System Repair… Accepted}
{Initiating System Repair using the fragments of Ithas… Completed}
{Terminating broken Directives...}
{Initializing Sub Directive}
[***** mode has been released]
[Calculating all missing Parameters]
[Impossible to recover corrupted Data]
[Scanning for new Data...]
[Scanning complete, formulating an adequate response...]
[A reward shall be given]
'And then silence…'
"..."
'Laplabe also remained silent, observing the changes within Philip's body without moving…'
…
/A few more minutes later…/
/Shaaaaa…/
'The water around Philip was boiling, but he still slept…'
"This is getting ridiculous." Laplabe said as he watched all of this
It has been almost an hour, yet nothing extreme happened, his body is taking in all of the excess energy like a sponge with water.
No… He reached his limit as I expected, but his body went beyond that as if it was the natural thing to happen!
"This level of change... It's a Mutation I'm sure of it..."
"But how did this?..."
For a moment I thought it was going to start, that the pain would soon wake him…
But before anything happened, his body broke its own limits alone by using the energy from the potions…
How do I even explain this? I don't understand. No race has such a body…
I expected his body to be somewhat Unique, but that is way beyond what I thought…
"Hm…" Philip mumbled as he started to move
"!"
He's waking up…
'Philip slowly opened his eyes, he felt relaxed like never before, but the more his senses returned, the more he felt something was weird…'
'His body was all sticky…'
"Urg… I fell asleep before even realizing it… How unprofessional…" Philip joked with himself as he looked around
"Don't even tell me…" Laplabe said from the side
"Who?... Oh yeah, it's you…" Philip said as he shook his head
I forgot about him for a sec…
"Wait… What about the pain?" Philip asked confused
"Why are you asking me that? I can't feel it for you…"
"How much time has passed?"
I'm still alive and my body feels great... Looks like things ended well.
"Long enough for the effects of the potions to pass, that's for sure." Laplabe replied annoyed
'But he let out a small sigh of relief soon after…'
"Beside that… Are you feeling okay?"
"Well… I just feel sticky and… Holy shit! What is this yellow stuff around me?!" Philip exclaimed as he looked around
It also smells pretty bad...
"It's mainly a mixture of sweat, fat, water, urine, dead skin, hair, dust, blood, and a few other substances that were excreted by your body, mixed with the dirt on the ground, then boiled by your body heat."
'Philip frowned in disgust.'
"Aside from feeling disgusted, I feel completely fine… No, I feel better than before."
'Philip tried to get up, but stumbled slightly… His equilibrium was a bit off?...'
"What? Why do I keep stumbling on the ground when I try to take a step?..." He mumbled to himself
"That's because you became taller, your subconscious is still trying to get used to this change, so every time you try to walk, you stumble."
'Philip widened his eyes.'
"I became… Taller?"
"Not by much, around 8 Cm, that is normal as these potions accelerate your growth and push your body beyond its previous limits, this includes height and…"
'Laplabe then stopped talking as he saw what Philip was doing…'
"Wh-What are you doing?..."
"Holy shit! My Claymore got bigger?" Philip exclaimed as he checked his underwear
"..."
"Cough… I mean… Not like it needed to get bigger, you get my drift?" Philip asked Laplabe
"..."
Is this your bigger concern? The size of your...
"Ho..."
But I grew by 8Cm?... That's enough to almost make me go beyond 190Cm... I'm big now...
I don't know what to say about this, I feel as if I grew too tall.
'Philip went to scratch his neck but he immediately realized something strange…'
"Hair?... What? Look at the size of this beard!" He exclaimed as he grabbed a mouthful of hair from his chin
Not only that… My nails are also massive! It's as if I didn't cut them for years…
'Philip quickly took out a mirror from one of his inventories, gasping in surprise…'
"I look like I stayed on a deserted island for a year… My hair looks like a mop and it's all oily…"
"Sigh… As I said before, these potions accelerate your growth, so despite getting taller, your hair, nails, and beard grew as per normal…"
'As the Mimic talked, Philip started to cut the excess things out of his body…'
'First he trimmed his nails on both his hands and feet to an adequate size, it was quite novel having them this long, but if he wanted bigger nails he could just buy some fake ones…'
'He then cut his beard, but he cut it in a cool way as to see how he'd look with a beard and mustache…'
"Hm… I'm not half bad. But smooth is better… It's too soon to grow a beard and mustache..."
/Flash!/
'His hands were like shadows as they cut his beard clean…'
"Next my hair… To be honest, I quite like it this long, there was a time when I was younger that I tried to have it grow during a lockdown, I let my hair grow for a year and it went all the way to my shoulders… But this surpasses that."
"A shame that it's quite bothersome, if I move my face too fast my hair becomes a whip to my eyes…"
But I'm not a barber… I'll ask Sebastiano… Perhaps he knows how to cut hair?
"Okay… Now I just need a bath." Philip said as he sniffed around
'It wasn't pleasant at all…'
"Oh yeah, what time is it?"
"You finally remembered me huh? It's 10 minutes to 8h…"
"So I stayed like this for an hour?"
"Pretty much."
"Phew… Took much less than I thought." He said as he stretched
I have more than enough time to take a shower and choose some clothes…
"Now that this is out of the way… To clean this mess…"
'Philip thought for a moment before having a great idea… He would just burn everything to ashes!'
/BURN!/
'A great flame, one way bigger than he expected formed in his hands.'
"What? How did this happen?..." He asked in surprise
Did I lose control over my own techniques just because of a change?
"This is normal, your body has greatly changed, it would be strange if the effects of your techniques didn't change with it."
'Philip nodded.'
"Looks like I'll stay in this place for a little longer than expected…"
If I get out without familiarizing myself with my own body, I'll definitely commit one and a few mistakes later on.
'Without further ado, Philip burned everything…'
'Once he was done, he used the little magic he knew to fill a bucket with water before washing his body slightly, just enough to make the sticky feeling disappear.'
'His Pthumerian Combat art can help him control fire, blood, and other substances, just a shame he couldn't control water…'
'No... Perhaps he could, a shame he never tried to do so, and now wasn't the time to experiment with something new.'
…
/Another half an hour later…/
/Fwush!/
/Bam!/
'Philip swung his fist in the air, causing a loud snapping sound.'
"Phew… This will have to do for now…" Philip said as he opened his Status
"..."
'Not much had changed but this wasn't the time to think it over.'
"Are we leaving?" Laplabe asked, bored
"Yes, I still need to prepare for a party you see."
"I would say it's best for you to rest deeming what happened, but you seem fine, so it's up to you."
I'm glad everything ended well… And also flabbergasted…
It's such a shame… Such a shame you went ahead without meeting this kid, old friend.
Even if he couldn't become your disciple, at the very least you would've had a lot of fun watching him…
'Philip smiled.'
"There's only one thing bothering me..." He said as he took out his Golden orb and a small box
"Now I have 2 storage items..."
"That isn't a problem." Laplabe said
"That box in your hand compresses space, while the orb is a subspace. Meaning, it is possible to put it inside without risk of everything falling apart."
"The only thing you can't do is put it inside another compressing device as that will put a severe strain on the shell of the object... Potentially causing it to collapse and that would be a disaster."
"Is that so? Well, one less thing for me to worry about." Philip said as he stored the box inside the Golden ball
'He looked around, and aside from a massive burn mark in the middle of the room and an awful burning smell, there were no clues about what had just happened.'
'He put on his clothes and left the room after calling a few maids to clean everything.'
'Philip felt a bit embarrassed for what he's making them do, but he knew this was her job and they wouldn't complain.'
'He entered a hot bath and remained there, thinking…'
It's time.
'He opened his Status:'
[
Name: Philip Vinten
Race: Type 2 Pure Human (+)
Home World: Earth (+)
Registered World: Eden (+)
Level 0
Class: None (+)
Title: Apex Evolver(Mental lord) (+)
/Resonation Effect: Brain sponge/
All Titles:
Exterminator of Nightmares; Hunter Genius; Ancient Archeologist; One man army; Jack of all Trades; Scholar; Martial Adept; Magical enthusiast; Mental Lord; Blessed; Apex Evolver; Soldier; Protector
-Vital info-
(+)
Mind> 269.3 (299.9)(+)
Physical> 247.2 (281)(+)
Energy> 250 (+)
Spiritual> 223 (231.8)(+)
Mystique> 60 (+)
Abilities:
Pthumerian Combat art(Modified) LvMax (15)(Hybrid)
Mental force Lv9 (Hybrid)
Mental force manipulation Lv11 (Hybrid)
Mental Domain Lv3 (Hybrid)
Skills:
Gamerverse (???)
Advanced Skill fusion Lv1 (Hybrid)
Western continent language Lv2 (Hybrid)
Scholar Vision LvMax (10)(Active)
Combat Genius LvMax (Passive)
Predator's presence LvMax (Hybrid)
Traits:
Castle Town ***** (Weakened)
Hardworking
Unyielding
]
"It's truly impressive how much has changed…"
Each one of my main 4 Stats increased by nearly 100, some beyond, some below that.
Mental force almost doubled in Level, from 5 to 9, probably due to the massive increase in Mind… Although my Trait still says weakened… But that is to be expected.
I'm still far from a Mental Lord…
My Mental Domain also increased in Level, once again, most likely due to the increase in my Mind Stat.
Aside from that, not much has changed.
Mystique increased by 9, but for such a hard stat to increase, any increase is good... Or so I hope, from what I understand it could also signify bad things... Such as bad luck/misfortune.
But the most important change… My Race changed! Whatever that means...
Not only do I not know what this change means...
I wasn't even given the option to choose it… Nor can I see the system log, it probably got deleted after a while...
Yet I didn't see it as I was sleeping…
"I didn't get a single extra thing though… I mean, this is already huge, but normally, doing such a huge thing would be followed by system rewards…"
Or at least some sort of notice… Did I miss it all?
Sigh…
"Hm... Wait a minute." Philip said as he looked at his status
'It was faint, but he could see symbols on the top section of his status, right above his name.'
'They were very similar to the 3 symbols on the Origin Orbs he collected so far...'
"... Am I thinking too much?..."
Why did these appear?... I'll take a proper look later.
'Unfortunately, Philip missed the very small icon on the corner of his Status page, due to the recent events, he ended up missing it...'
'Philip enjoyed the rest of his bath before leaving and putting on another pair of clothes.'
'He would think more about all of this and explore more of his stats later, now it was time to meet with Sebastiano and prepare for the party.'
…
.
.
.
Notes
So, cool chapter?
A few things I wanted to say about his power.
As I said before, a Class isn't the sole source of power for people.
They may grow with it, but also through outside training and resources.
Someone may start as a Soldier, and rise in the rankings until they become a Commander around Level 90.
Each time they do so, the bonuses they get change, but what they gained from self-training and outside resources never changes.
Because of this, we could say that Philip's current stats are similar to the one someone would have at Level 100.
In the situation where the average of their stat gain per Level is around 2.
Yet as we know, such stat gain per level isn't that big of a deal, so even with these stats, I consider Philip to have medium stats.
He is strong due to his techniques and abilities.
This is kind of how I think, the power level and scaling can change as time goes on.
See ya.
