The transformation in my body was reversing. That hideous, purplish-gray, stone-like layer of skin didn't shed like a snake's; instead, it was reabsorbed deep into my flesh. The hardened tissue softened, and the blackened veins returned to their former faint, blue state.
Only I remained. Panting, drenched in sweat, wearing a torn t-shirt, standing over the melted corpse of my best friend.
The air in the lab was filled with the acrid, throat-burning scent of acid and the heavy, metallic taste of burnt flesh. My stomach churned. I fought back the urge to vomit.
The red notification flashing before my eyes was as persistent as reality itself.
[MAIN QUEST UPDATED: 1/5 LEVELS]
"Main quest?" I whispered. My voice echoed in the empty lab, sounding foreign even to my own ears. "What the hell is this?"
As the thought took shape in my mind, it was as if an invisible hand turned a page, and a much more detailed, blood-red window opened before me.
[MAIN QUEST #1: BREAKING THE ICE] [OBJECTIVE: REACH LEVEL 5 WITHIN 48 HOURS.] [PROGRESS: LEVEL 2 (CURRENT)] [REWARD: NONE] [FAILURE PENALTY: DEATH.]
My eyes scanned the lines, reading them over and over. I looked for a mistake. A typo in the "Reward: None" section, a joke in the "Penalty: Death" part... But there was none.
"Heh." An involuntary, hysterical laugh escaped my lips. "No reward, huh? Great. Truly motivating. My eyes are tearing up at your generosity."
Then the laugh froze on my face. A bead of cold sweat trickled down my temple.
"They didn't even tell us," I muttered. I fixed my eyes on Matt’s unrecognizable corpse on the floor. "What if I had hidden in that cabinet instead of killing Matt? What if I had run away in terror and locked myself in a bathroom? Would I have never known about this quest?"
The answer was simple. No. When the time ran out, I would have seen the words "Time Expired" in my hiding hole, completely unaware, and died right there.
"Fucking apocalypse..." I slammed my fist onto the laboratory bench beside me. Glass shards dug into my hand, but I didn't feel the pain. "Everything happened so fast. Five minutes ago we were solving integrals, and now we’re lab rats racing against time to survive. What is going on?"
I took a deep breath. The smell of acid in my lungs made me cough, but it also cleared my mind. It was no time to panic. Matt was dead. I was alive. And if I didn't want to be dead in 48 hours, I had to figure out the rules of this damn system.
"When I thought about the main quest, I learned the details," I said to myself, checking the lab door. Screams were still coming from the corridor, but they weren't close. "I received a notification that I leveled up and earned stat points. So..."
I closed my eyes. I thought about the RPG games I had played for years. "Status Window."
With the command in my mind, I opened my eyes. That familiar blue box appeared, hovering slightly in the air.
[STATUS WINDOW]
IDENTIFICATION
- Name: Alex
- Class: Genetic Abomination
- Level: 2 (0 / 100 EXP)
HEALTH STATUS
- HP (Health): 55 / 60
- MP (Mana): 90 / 100
ATTRIBUTES
- Strength (STR): 3
- Agility (AGI): 4
- Vitality (VIT): 3
- Intelligence (INT): 5
- Luck (LUK): 3
[DISTRIBUTABLE STAT POINTS: 3]
My eyes moved across the "Attributes" section. I was familiar with them from games, of course. STR was likely my physical damage, VIT was my health. But this wasn't a game. In real life, what would a "Strength" point change? Would it increase my muscle mass or just my striking power? Would "Intelligence" make me smarter or just give me more mana?
"I don't know," I whispered. "I can't spend points by guessing. These points are my life insurance."
I focused my attention on [Strength (STR)]. "What does this do?" I thought, as if demanding the answer from the system.
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At that moment, I felt a sharp sensation of obsession inside my brain. It was as if someone had opened my skull and poured a cold liquid inside. My vision blurred; I stumbled and reached for the bench for support.
Information. Pure, processed information was flowing directly into my cortex. I wasn't reading it; I was remembering it.
- Strength (STR): Determines muscle fiber density and explosive power. Increases physical damage capacity, carrying limit, and the success of actions requiring brute force.
- Agility (AGI): Manages the nervous system's reaction time, body flexibility, movement speed, and balance skills.
- Vitality (VIT): Determines cellular regeneration speed, tissue resistance against external impacts, immunity to disease/poison, and total Health Points (HP).
- Intelligence (INT): Increases the brain's processing capacity, perceptual clarity, magical energy (Mana) storage limit, and learning speed.
- Luck (LUK): Probability manipulation. Affects critical hit chance, loot quality, and the outcome of luck-based skills.
I held my head. "Damn it... it would have been more polite if you'd just given me a user manual."
The headache eased when the information flow stopped. Now I knew what was what.
I had 3 points.
I looked at Matt’s corpse. He was strong. He had bent the metal door with his claws. If I put my points into strength, I could hit like him. But... I almost died when he caught me. If it wasn't for Hardened Skin, I would be lying on the floor right now with my neck snapped.
Vitality? More health, maybe tougher skin. But the pain was still there. And if a group of monsters attacked, no matter how durable I was, they would eventually crush me.
Intelligence? Mana is only used for spinning the roulette for now. And the roulette is a total gamble.
Luck? I couldn't leave my life to chance. At least not for now.
"Agility," I said, making my decision. "I have to be fast. A target that can't be hit is better than an armored target. I need to be able to run, hide, and when I attack, I need to be able to retreat before they even realize what happened."
I fixed my eyes on [Agility (AGI)].
"All points into Agility."
[PROCESS CONFIRMED.] [AGILITY: 4 -> 7]
The change happened instantly. I felt a tingling in my muscles, but this time it wasn't painful. It was as if all the weight on my body had been lifted at once. My vision became slightly clearer. I could see the dust motes floating in the air more distinctly. I dropped the glass shard in my hand; its fall seemed slower than normal.
My reflexes had quickened. My nerve endings were on high alert.
"Good," I said, opening and closing my fist. "Now, let’s get to the real business."
I scrolled through the window and focused on my Class Skills.
CLASS SKILLS
[Passive] Biological Harvest
- Description: The cornerstone of the Genetic Abomination class. The user analyzes and copies the genetic codes of entities they come into contact with (via touch or blood).
[Active] Genetic Roulette
- Description: Temporarily blends the genetic code stored in a slot with the user's own DNA.
- Mechanic: A random trait (Active skill, Passive skill, or Physical Mutation) is gained for 5 minutes.
- Cost: 10 Mana (MP)
GENE SLOTS
- [Slot 1]: MUTANT HUMAN (LOW TIER)
"Only one slot?"
I gritted my teeth and stared into the void. There was no other indication at the bottom of the list, no locked box, or "Continued" text. There was only Slot 1, and it was full.
"Is there a way to increase this? Or do I have to make do with a single gene until the end of the game?"
This was a major problem. If my slot count didn't increase, I would have to make a difficult choice every time I encountered a new monster. If I wanted to get a new gene, would I have to delete Matt’s? Or did the system automatically overwrite it?
"If it overwrites, what happens if I accidentally touch a weak creature in the middle of a battle? Will I lose my strong gene and get a useless one instead?"
Questions were piling up in my mind, but the System had no intention of answering.
Then my eye caught the Genetic Roulette skill.
"A random trait..." I muttered, the words leaving a bitter taste in my mouth.
I thought about what Matt had turned into. He was savage, he was strong, he had teeth and claws. But at the same time, his skin was melting, and he was in pain.
"What will this skill give me?" I asked myself. "I was lucky just now; I got hardened skin and survived. But next time? What if it gives me a negative trait from that creature? What if it just copies its pain? What if it sprouts a useless, extra organ?"
A cold sweat broke out on my back. The System was silent on this. There was no ratio table, no list of probabilities. I was taking a completely blind shot.
"Can't I at least see which skills I can gain?" I shouted into the empty lab. "Is this a casino or a battlefield? I need to know the percentage of what I’m getting! If there’s a 1% chance I’ll make a fatal error, how can I use this skill with confidence?"
No answer. Only silence and the sound of distant sirens.
"Damn it," I said, slapping my forehead. "Couldn't I have gotten an OP (overpowered) class? Like, I don't know, 'Dragon Lord'? I could burn the school down with a single breath. Or 'Shadow Sovereign'? I’d say 'Arise!' and Matt would be my soldier. What did I end up with? 'Genetic Abomination'."
I looked at my own body. I looked normal now, but when I used the skill... I turned into a monster. And I couldn't even choose which monster I’d turn into or which part of me would change.
"I’m literally a walking slot machine," I said bitterly. "The only difference is, I spend mana instead of coins, and when I lose, it's not money that's gone—it's my life."
Still...
I looked at Matt’s corpse one last time. That massive fire extinguisher had crushed his head. But if my skin hadn't hardened, I wouldn't have even had the chance to pick up that extinguisher. That "gamble" had kept me alive.
This class was dangerous. It was unstable. It wasn't fair. But its potential...
"If I copy a powerful creature," I thought. A dangerous, ambitious glint appeared in my eyes. "For example, an incredibly strong monster with no negative traits... If I can use the power of such a monster even for 5 minutes... Then nothing can stand in my way."
The more risk I take, the stronger I get. That was the rule.
I walked toward the exit of the lab. I was faster now. More conscious. And most importantly, I now had a goal.
48 hours. Level 5.
"Wait for me, world," I said, gripping the door handle. "The Abomination is coming."