Chapter 13: The Assimilation Ends In Blood.
The first things he wanted to study were these skills he had received. Skills were of great importance to a Hero. And usually, Heroes were stuck with the number of skills they awakened, growing more proficient with them as they themselves grew. That was why a Hero’s rank was always determined from the very start. It all came down to the kind and number of skills they got, and to the quality and quantity of their mana.
Theo, however, had received a skill that was incomplete, along with a very low amount of mana. Yet the skill could run for a long time anyway, precisely because it was incomplete.
He was not supposed to have another skill. At least, that was what he had thought. And yet here he was, with two more.
The first being:
[Appraisal Eye]
[Rank: C
Type: Perception
Description: You can instantly see the stats and hidden information of a particular target. The wider the gap in strength between you and the target, the less you can see.
Mastery: 0.1%]
’Damn, I really got another skill.’
His mouth had fallen slightly open. Even now, with the skill floating right in front of his eyes, he almost didn’t want to believe it.
’With two skills, I should already be a D rank Hero. But then, I even have one more.’
Theo excitedly brought up the second skill.
[Shadow Sword]
[Rank: Mythic
Type: Combat (Sword)
Description: This is a sword technique created by the vanquished Shadow Clan, a skill capable of resolving ahead of perception. It is as versatile as your body allows, and operates on an incredibly flexible philosophy that mirrors only your own style. It can be tailored too, if you dare. Because of its rank, it is capable of producing sub-skills when certain proficiency checkpoints are reached.
Mastery: 0.0%
Subskills: nil.]
’Oouuu... a combat skill, a combat skill is incredibly rare!’
Theo could count only three heroes who had combat skills, and each of them was an untouchable sky who had migrated to the Tower, making only rare, special appearances in Meteor City from time to time.
If you were strong enough to be recruited by an In-Tower Agency, then you were the shit. And judging by that alone, Theo dared to surmise this skill had to be an incredible boon.
At the same time, he was reluctant to follow the thought all the way through. He had been just this confident before his first awakening, and then THAT had happened to him. This time, he wanted to be careful.
’Aside from that, the rank is Mythic, and the highest class I know of is SSS. If something exists above SSS and it hasn’t been publicized or even known about, then doesn’t that mean I have to be careful — especially about revealing the rank of my abilities?’
Theo exhaled.
’I might have to keep some things hidden until I can confirm more. I can’t afford to move recklessly. Especially since, right now, some people think I’m dead. So if I turn up alive, I’d better be strong enough to protect myself when they come for me again.’
Theo sighed and moved on to the next item on his agenda.
It was the Circulation Art and the Body Script.
These were things Theo had never known about. From the little he had picked up from his father, he knew the Tower treated mana very differently. But he didn’t know how differently, or what that difference even was. He barely knew much about mana to begin with.
Theo summoned the Body Script first.
[Limitless Body Script]
[Rank: Mythic
Type: Constitution
Description: The Earth has its limits. The Heaven has greater limits still. But somewhere between the Heaven and the Earth lies a domain ruled by unlimited Adaptability. From the forge-heart of that domain, this script was written. And it has come to you. You can receive boons related to this Art when certain mastery conditions are met.]
State: Unassimilated.
Mastery: 0.0%]
[Would you like to assimilate with this Body Script?]
Theo inhaled deeply and nodded.
’Why wait any longer?’
"Yes."
The system immediately went red.
[Warning!!!]
[This is an excruciatingly painful process. You might want to gag yourself.]
[The Limitless Flow Art and the Limitless Body Script share the same origin. Integrating them simultaneously could bring you greater synergy and boon. However, the process is likely to be more painful than aforementioned.]
[You could die, if anything goes wrong.]
Theo’s head jerked back.
’Hey, hey, hey... death?’
[Would you like to assimilate the Limitless Body Script and the Limitless Flow Circulation Art?]
[Y/N]
Theo stared silently at the two options. He thought about his life so far, and about his horrible death. He thought about the Villainess. As much as he wanted to sacrifice everything right now, if he died here, then they would lose their chances too.
’It’s simple, fool. Don’t die.’
Theo pulled off his tie and folded it into his mouth, bit down on it, then checked the time before answering the question.
’It’s 10:44 PM. Alright, let’s do this.’
[Commencing Assimilation]
Barely five seconds after the system finished its announcement, a thunderstorm of pain came down on him.
He groaned hard, the sound scraping out of his throat, his eyes bulging as a vicious heat scorched through his veins, his bones, his bloodstream, melting everything inside him only to force it back together in some new shape. The cords of his neck went taut, straining so hard they looked ready to rip clean out. It was the same for almost every vein in his body, each one standing up dark and swollen against his skin. His face went red from all the screaming and the biting down on the poor tie, and sweat poured off him like he was climbing uphill through a scorching desert with no end in sight.
Theo tried to think of anything, anything at all, to keep from confronting the heat burning through him. He tried to think about Thall, but they didn’t have enough of a relationship yet for him to find any solace in the thought of her. He thought about his father, and that only made the pain more unbearable.
There was one other person he could turn to. The one who had been the source of all his joy since his teenage years. But that very person had killed him, and the thought of her sent rage surging into Theo’s heart.
While rage made good fuel for reason, it only bred a monster. Those were his father’s words, and Theo heard them clearly even now, so instead he turned his mind to the things he still wanted to accomplish.
He wanted to grow strong. So strong that he could protect his wives, at the very least. Strong enough to defeat the Disaster King and smash Jupiter Lady’s face into the elevator door. Multiple times.
He might have overindulged in that particular thought for a while, because when he finally opened his eyes, it was already dawn. There were splatters of blood on the ground. And Theo was quite sure that blood wasn’t his.
***
[System Notice]
[Hate_the_author has been generous enough for a bonus info that never made it to the pages of the novel]
[Limitless Flow Art]
Rank: Mythic
Type: Circulation
Description: The Earth has its limits. The Heaven has greater limits still. But somewhere between the Heaven and the Earth lies a domain ruled by unlimited Adaptability. From the forge-heart of that domain, this art was torn out, created to beat adaptability into the body. You can receive boons related to this Art when certain mastery conditions are met.]
State: Unassimilated
Mastery: 0.0%
***
[System Notice 2]
[The Author has announced that they will be releasing a bonus Chapter for every 50 power stones. If you want to see more Chapters then give more power stones]