Chapter 13: Flesh Assimilation
"So this is all you managed to get?" Ethan’s voice came out sharp.
An hour had passed since he ordered the eight zombie blood ants to find him corpses.
Originally, the eight blood ants were F-rank monsters. To Ethan, they sounded like a perfect team to hunt normal animals.
However, contrary to his beliefs, the group brought in a disappointing amount.
In front of him, only a handful of corpses of small animals could be seen.
"Five rabbits and three half-eaten parts of other animals..." Ethan’s gaze coldly swept across the group.
As monsters who had submitted to Ethan through his class skill—Zombie Sovereignty—the ants instinctively cowered upon meeting his gaze.
While catching the rabbits, they believed their master would praise them for their good work. However, feeling his disappointment and anger, the ants trembled uncontrollably.
At the same time, a system window appeared before Ethan.
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[#/System Notification/#]
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[Class Trait Activated.]
└ ■ Zombie Sovereignty (SSS)
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[Your subjects have perceived the overwhelming authority of their sovereign.]
[Status Effect Inflicted.]
└ ■ Supreme Fear
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[Supreme Fear]
Those beneath your authority instinctively recognize the vast difference between themselves and their sovereign.
Targets afflicted with Supreme Fear experience overwhelming reverence and terror toward the user.
Their willingness to disobey, betray, or oppose the user is greatly reduced.
The effect becomes stronger as the difference in rank and authority increases.
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For a moment, his attention was diverted as he read the screen’s content.
’Supreme fear? Hmm... Sounds perfect for an overlord. Anyhow, I did not expect them to perform this pathetically.’ Letting out a sharp breath, Ethan silently raised his left arm and pointed towards the corpses.
[Estimated Time Until Full Recovery:]
└ ■ 1 Hour 1 Minute
At the moment, Ethan’s arm had been half regenerated. New bones protruded from his shoulder, while a new network of veins and blood vessels was established. Then, a layer of jade-green flesh and muscles was added.
"System, activate flesh assimilation," Ethan muttered beneath his breath.
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[#/System Notification/#]
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[Class Skill Activated.]
└ ■ Flesh Assimilation (SSS)
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[Compatible biological matter detected.]
[Beginning assimilation...]
[Converting biological matter into biological energy...]
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[Assimilation in Progress...]
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Almost instantly, the dry air around his arm began to ripple. Within a few breaths, the air currents strengthened, turning into a strong gust of wind.
Surprisingly, however, a bright crimson hue emerged in the air, painting the currents.
The gust stretched towards the corpses, elevating them off the ground. Then, the strong wind currents assaulted the corpses, cutting them into several pieces like a blade.
Witnessing the skill for the first time, Ethan widened his eyes in a mix of shock and awe.
"So this is flesh assimilation... During the emergency protocol, I never even got to witness it. No wonder the system considered it an SSS-class skill..." Ethan’s mouth slightly hung open, short gasps escaping through his lungs.
A bright green hue covered the chunks of their bodies, slowly disintegrating them into fine particles of energy.
They slowly flew towards Ethan’s recovering arm and were absorbed into his body. The gust, on the other hand, completely dissipated!
Immediately, the timer before Ethan’s eyes began to tremble. His arm began to regenerate rapidly as the timer began to shorten.
One minute.
Ten minutes.
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[Regeneration Efficiency Increased.]
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[Estimated Time Until Full Recovery:]
└ ■ 4 Minutes
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[Flesh assimilation has supplied sufficient biological energy.]
[Recovery speed greatly increased.]
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Before long, a whopping fifty-seven minutes had been reduced!
This conversion shocked even Ethan himself!
For a brief moment, his mind went blank. Then suddenly, he jolted awake and stared at the system with a rather suspicious gaze.
’Y-You—! What the hell?!’ He yelled in his mind, unable to process what he had just seen!
’Last time it took around 80,000 individuals for me to regenerate my body and increase my level to level nine. But now, only five rabbits and three half-rotten animal body parts are enough to regenerate my arm?!’ Ethan couldn’t help but recall this incident in confusion.
*Ding!*
Instantly, a familiar sound rang in his head. As if acknowledging Ethan’s doubt, the system decided to explain the situation itself.
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[#/System Notification/#]
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[Analysis Complete.]
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[The designated user has expressed confusion regarding the efficiency of flesh assimilation.]
[Displaying explanation...]
***
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[#/Information/#]
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[Flesh Assimilation Analysis]
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[Previous Assimilation Event:]
└ ■ Approximately 80,000 individuals.
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[Reason for Low Biological Yield:]
■ The majority of assimilated biological matter had remained exposed for many years.
■ Most flesh, blood, and organs had already decayed beyond efficient biological recovery.
■ A considerable portion of the available biological energy had naturally condensed into Blood Stones.
■ Large quantities of biological energy had already dissipated into the surrounding environment.
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[Current Assimilation Event:]
└ ■ Recently deceased biological matter.
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[Advantages:]
■ Biological energy remained largely intact.
■ Negligible biological decay.
■ Minimal energy loss during assimilation.
■ Significantly higher conversion efficiency.
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[Level Growth Explanation:]
The designated user’s class is ranked SSS.
Higher-ranked classes possess vastly greater growth potential.
As a result, the biological energy required for each level greatly exceeds that of ordinary lifeforms.
The designated user’s evolutionary ceiling has expanded far beyond conventional limits.
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[Conclusion:]
Although the previous assimilation involved an enormous quantity of biological matter, only a small fraction of its original biological energy remained available.
Fresh biological matter possesses substantially greater assimilation efficiency.
High-quality biological matter will always produce greater returns than severely decayed matter.
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Reading through the explanation, Ethan subconsciously nodded in agreement.
’It makes sense!’ Unable to refute what he had just read, he simply decided to ignore his thoughts.
As of now, he had gained some rather crucial information.
’If I need to grow stronger later on, I’ll have to kill the strong monsters myself. Only then can I assimilate their corpses before their biological energy dissipates.’
"Hmm?" Suddenly, he felt his heart sinking as his mind felt as though he had lost one of his limbs.
However, strangely enough, he could not feel any pain.
"This..." Instinctively, his face turned grim as he understood what was wrong.
At the same time, a system window appeared before him, confirming his suspicions.
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[#/System Notification/#]
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[Updating Undead Registry...]
[...]
[Undead Loss Detected.]
└ ■ Zombie Blood Ant (F) ×1
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[Current Registered Undead:]
└ ■ Zombie Blood Ant (F) ×111
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[Total Undead Under Authority:]
└ ■ 111
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