Chapter 37

  Jake tried to get more info ohree attributes, but nothing happened. Well, at least, they seemed to be self-expnatory. Body should make him stronger, allowing him to deal more damage while making his own body more resistant to damage. Mind probably made him smarter and sharpened his senses. As fick, it apparently was reted to, well, magic. Though he still didn’t know how the magic system worked for him now that he was a mutant.

  So he had one skill point to i in one of these attributes. He was choosiween Body and Mind. Upgrading Magick at this point seemed impractical, sidering he wasn’t even aware of how to use magic yet. Maybe Magick had nothing to do with casting magic spells at all. Perhaps this attribute simply allowed him to store more mana inside his strange body. For all he khe magical energy stored within him might simply be used to heal him, without anything more to it than that.

  Anyway, he was sidering putting the SP into Body. It felt like the best use for his very first skill point. However, he decided to check out the rest of his stats before allog the skill point. He shifted his gaze to the line of text below his three attributes.

  None

  Jake stared at it for a moment. What was that? He didn’t know. Deg to leave it alone for now, he shifted his attention to the st three lines of text in his stats.

  Enhanced Senses: Rank I (16%) (on)

  Enhanced Agility: Rank I (24%) (on)

  Enhanced Intelligence: Rank I (11%) (on)

  So he actually had enhanced senses, agility, and intellige expined why he could move more easily and swiftly, think sharper, and notice more details in his surroundings than he had as a human. As he gazed at the three lines, he realized he could summon additional information on each of them with just a thought.

  Skill: Enhanced Senses

  Description: The mutant gaiened senses, improving their perception, grantier awareness of their surroundings, and sharpening the ability to detect subtle ges in their enviro.

  Upgrades: 0 of 3 (on)

  Requirements: None

  Cost: Already Owned

  He couldn’t help but notice a couple of iiails about the skill. First, it could be upgraded. Sed, it was beled as on, which likely meant it could potentially be upgraded to the rarity level at some point. He decided to give more attention to these two details at a ter time, though.

  He moved on to check out the skill.

  Skill: Enhanced Agility

  Description: The mutant’s inhuman agility enables for much faster and quieter movement. When moving, the mutant hardly produces any all.

  Upgrades: 0 of 3 (on)

  Requirements: None

  Cost: Already Owned

  Thanks to this skill, all his movements were much swifter and mile than before. Enhanced Agility also helped him move much more quietly. He remembered moving through the foliage, hardly disturbing the branches of the bushes he passed through. However, while this skill made him faster and mile, it didn’t really improve his ability to dodge melee attacks, as Jake had discovered during his ret enter with the walker. Perhaps there was another skill designed specifically for that purpose?

  At st, he read the description and the stats of the third skill.

  Skill: Enhanced Intelligence

  Description: The mutant’s enhanced intelligence helps them solve problems quickly, learn fast, and think clearly. They uand things deeply, e up with smart pns, and adapt easily to new situations. With their sharp mind, they art their enemies, predict outes, and find clever ways to overe challeheir exceptional brainpower is a big advantage in handling tough situations and succeeding in different tasks.

  Upgrades: 0 of 3 (on)

  Requirements: None

  Cost: Already Owned

  So each of the three skills was currently at Rank I. Each of them had a progression bar. Currently, Enhanced Senses was at 16%, Enhanced Agility at 24%, and Enhanced Intellige 11%. Did his Enhanced Senses, Enhanced Agility, and Enhanced Intelligencrease every time he utilized these skills? Or did he o exert more effort—think harder, move faster, and remain more attentive—for them to go up? Unsure, he decided to pay closer attention to determihe answer from now on. When the progress of a skill reached 100%, he would most likely be able to level it up to the Rank, making the skill more powerful.

  Jake theurned his attention to the line of text he still hadn’t figured out.

  None.

  He stared at it for a sed. Then he focused on it with more attention, and suddenly a new piece of info materialized in his mind.

  Geic Development Interface

  Evolution Stage 1: “Primordial Form”

  Abilities: 0 of 3

  Skills: 3 of 7

  Ability: Cws

  Requirements: Body 1

  Cost: 1,000 MP

  Ability: Smashfists

  Requirements: Body 2

  Cost: 2,000 MP

  Ability: Swords

  Requirements: Body 3

  Cost: 3,000 MP

  Skill: Enharength

  Requirements: Body 5

  Cost: 3,000 MP

  Skill: Enhanced Reflexes

  Requirements: Body 5, Mind 3

  Cost: 3,000 MP

  Skill: Feral Instincts

  Requirements: Mind 5, Magick 3

  Cost: 4,000 MP

  Skill: Enhanced Regeion

  Requirements: Body 7, Magick 5, Mind 3

  Cost: 5,000 MP

  Skill: Enhanced Senses

  Requirements: None

  Cost: Already Owned

  Skill: Enhanced Agility

  Requirements: None

  Cost: Already Owned

  Skill: Enhanced Intelligence

  Requirements: None

  Cost: Already Owned

  Wow, Jake thought. So from the Geic Development Interface, he could acquire new abilities and skills. He already possessed three skills, which had been grao him after he underwent the mutation. After cheg the menu one more time, he became aware of two key points. First, to obtain a new skill or ability, he o spend a certain amount of MP, which meant that mana points also served as currency. Sed, each ability and skill had specific requirements. Currently, out of all the skills and abilities listed, he could obtain only one. If he put his skill point into Body, he would be able to purchase the ability called Cws. He focused on the ability to gather more info about it.

  Ability: Cws

  Description: The mutant transform their hands into razor-sharp cws, allowing for swift and deadly attacks and capable of cutting through almost anything.

  Upgrades: 0 of 3 (on)

  Requirements: Body 1

  Cost: 1,000 MP

  This was basically a on. It was just what he had been hoping for! He needed something more powerful than his bare fists to use in battles against mutants.

  He checked how many mana points he had. He recalled having over a thousand, but he wao double-check.

  MP: 1,740

  It was strange. He remembered having 1,755 mana points after the ssh on his shoulder healed. Now he had 1,740. Where had the 15 mana points gone? Perhaps his new body funed on mana, gradually ing it. Sure looked that way. However, Jake decided to delve into that matter in more detail at a ter time. What was more important right now was that he had more than enough mana points to acquire Cws, and after obtaining it, he would have some left.

  He shifted his attention to his attributes. With a thought, he allocated his skill point into Body. He then summohe Geic Development Interface more. Below the Cws ability, there was now a new line of text.

  Acquire: Y/N

  Jake chose “Yes”.