NOVEL WEB Chapter 84 Odd Encounter (4)
Within Erik's body, a whirlpool of mana began to form. Slowly it started streaming inside his body like raging water. A river that could not be contained or halted; but which would soon drown everything on its path.
Then, as if the body of water passed over an underwater volcano, the river started heating up and warmth spread through the young man's body. It began in Erik's midsection and worked its way out to his extremities. After it had gone to each and every area of his body, it finally left his system.
When the message from the biological supercomputer sounded in Erik's brain, and after a brief period of disorientation, Erik began to lose consciousness. Under the impact of the system, his eyes began to feel heavy, and he closed them as tightly as he could, falling asleep a couple of seconds later.
...
...
...
[PROCEDURE COMPLETE. LEYLARHAD'S BRAIN CRYSTAL POWER ASTRAL WOLF BITE SUCCESSFULLY EXTRACTED. CONGRATULATION HOST.]
With this notification ringing inside his head and appearing on a floating window in Erik's peripheral, Erik woke up once the allotted amount of time required to absorb the power had elapsed.
Erik opened his eyes and slowly looked at his surroundings. A clock hung on the wall showed him the time; it was currently 06:14 in the morning.
The procedure didn't take much time, and for this reason, he woke up early. Nothing changed in his surroundings: his computer was still placed on the small desk in front of the table, the backpack placed at the foot of the table, some keys still on top of it, and his door and windows closed shut.
The young man slowly stood up from the couch, his head dizzy from the procedure, and went into the bathroom to wash his face. He then walked back to the living room, where he was eager to test his new power.
According to the information he downloaded about the thaids living in Frant, the Leylarhad had a mighty brain crystal power that increased the power of its bite several folds and strengthened its teeth to sustain much more force. Since Erik wasn't a Leylarhad, he wondered how this Brain Crystal power would have worked with him.
For this reason, the first thing the young man did, was channel mana through his new neural link, the one he knew was related to his recently acquired power. After a couple of seconds of having done so, mana swirled into the air, just above his left shoulder, and a bluish-transparent adult Leylarhad head appeared. It was a sight to behold, never had Erik seen something like this, despite having seen many powers in his short life.
The wolf's head was huge compared to his. Its mouth alone was nearly double the size of his whole head! His tongue was also long by human standards, and its teeth were at least 20 centimeters long. That head was massive.
The wolf-like head growled but did nothing more than that; the reason was that Erik didn't actually have any target in mind for the wolf to bite, but he didn't know this.
Erik observed the wolf's head for a little bit before he stopped channeling mana, making this new power of his stop working. It was very similar to the one he got from the bush hedgehog, as since he didn't actually have spikes, what he acquired was the power to create a solid projection made of mana that worked in such a way to compensate for the lack of physical and biological characteristics.
Though, it was a weird power, and he wasn't sure how to use it during a fight, with it being a highly situational power. Despite being slightly disappointed by what he obtained, Erik wasn't depressed because he gained three levels by killing the wolf-like thaid.
That thought made Erik remember that he had fifteen attribute points to spend. "System, show me the status!" the young man said, and a white and blue screen immediately appeared in front of him.
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[Host Information]
NAME: Erik Romano
AGE: 16
LEVEL: 11
EXPERIENCE: 2225/2257
DNA POINTS: 1680
HEALTH: 440/440
MANA: 370 /370
[Attributes]
STRENGTH: 18
INTELLIGENCE: 9
DEXTERITY: 19
ENERGY: 17
Available Attributes point: 15
[Powers]
[Biological Super Computer Powers]
-Brain Crystal Manipulation
-Brain Crystal Power Extraction
(Allows the absorbtion of the brain crystal , making the host able to acquire the power contained within. Notice: the DNA must be changed in order to allow the body to use the power. See DNA extraction.)
- (LOCKED)
- (LOCKED)
- (LOCKED)
- Brain Crystal Power Strengthening
(Allows the gaining of the energy attribute points)
(LOCKED)
-DNA Manipulation
-DNA Extraction
(Allows the absorbtion of foreign DNA, making the host able to replicate it inside his own body. Notice: Changing the DNA is a slow process and it is required to use new brain crystal powers.)
- (LOCKED)
- (LOCKED)
- (LOCKED)
DNA Strengthening
(Allows the gaining of the Strength, Intelligence, and Dexterity attribute points)
(LOCKED)
- Analysis
(Gives the host information about his surroundings, plants, creatures, and ores)
-Brain Information Injector
(It allows the injection of information directly to the brain-Based on touch)
-Device Manipulation
(Allows the Host to manipulate electronic and mana-driven devices- Based on touch)
[Host's Powers]
-Rapid Growth [Plants] (ESIGMA2E-Ranked)
(Allows the host to make Plants Grow Faster)
-Sharpening (ESIGMA1D-Ranked)
(Makes Every thing sharper according to the quantity of mana imbued into the item or body part)
-Mana Poisonous Spikes (ESIGMA1E-Ranked)
(Create Ethereal Poisonous spikes from the user's back. The amount of Toxicity and the spike's length depends on the mana used)
-Poisonous Mana Darts(ESIGMA1D-Ranked)
(Conjure poisonous mana darts whose lethality depends on the mana injected)
-Bone Manipulation(ESIGMA1E-Ranked)
(Manipulate, enlarge, and increase the density, shape, and sharpness of the user's bones)
-Animal Shapeshifting (ESIGMA1E-Ranked)
(Shapeshift the body into that of an animal. Animals must be absorbed to unlock their shapeshifting.)
-Mana Exoskeleton (ESIGMA1E-Ranked)
(Create a bone-hardened exoskeleton whose strength depends on the mana used to create it)
-Astral Wolf Bite (ESIGMA1D-Ranked)
(Conjure an astral but solid projection of a Leylarhad's head whose only aim is to bite at whatever target the host is aiming. Notice: the target must be close to the projection)
[Skills]
Kyokar hand-to-hand style (BEGINNER)
(A military fighting style developed in Frant)
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The first thing that Erik noticed was that the power he gained was a D-ranked one. That was understandable since it was common knowledge that Leylarhads had D-ranked brain crystals.
Though, Erik also understood why the head did nothing, Erik needed a target for the astral projection to work, which he didn't have.
The second thing he noticed was that he had 2225 over 2257 experience points, meaning he was very close to leveling up again.
In a totally weird way, Erik was glad that the Leylarhad cub appeared; sure, he almost died to a puppy, but he also gained a lot from the encounter.
If there was something that the young man understood from his near-death experience was that he needed more mana.
Until now, he was able to manage it well, so that he had enough mana to strengthen his powers and make them last long enough, but he also realized that he was able to kill the Lomalins and the bush hedgehog only because they were weak.
As for Conal, Orson, and Logan, it was a different matter altogether. They were inexperienced, they weren't strong because they had few neural links, and their mana wasn't even that high.
Only Logan had a significant amount of mana since he had a D-ranked brain crystal. Still, even with that, his inability to gauge his opponent's strengths his inexperience to fight against people and thaids, and his stupid waste of mana against the Lomalins made it so that Erik could kill him.
The young man not only realized that he had been lucky to have been stronger than all his opponents until now but also that he couldn't rely on his physical stats.
The fight against Zakir proved that. It was true that he was physically stronger, but having enough mana to create multiple tendrils, and giving them the power to break stones, made Erik realize how physical stats meant nothing in front of a brain crystal powers.
It was true that having more neural links meant that he was bound to be much stronger and faster, but relying on one's physique wasn't the right way for a human to fight.
That was thaids' strong point, one that gave them an edge, sure, but that couldn't also be replicated by the human race. Humans could only use their power efficiently to fight thaids on equal grounds.
Erik knew that those who had the power to conjure mana weapons usually learned to use them. The human fighting style relied on techniques, strategies, tactics, and skills.
This was simply because, as a race, they were inherently weaker than wild creatures such as thaids, not only in terms of strength but also of mana. The only difference between them and the monsters was their intellect which led to the development of neural links and the ability to efficiently use their powers.
Mana, mana, mana... Everything revolved around mana, so Erik decided that the next 15 attributes point were going to boost his Energy.
"System, dump all the attribute points into energy!" The young man said.
[UNDERSTOOD. 15 ATTRIBUTE POINTS ALLOCATED TO MANA. PROCESS ENDED, HOST ENERGY: 32 POINTS; MANA: 740]
Erik observed the notifications. He almost doubled his mana reserves and energy points, meaning he was bound to be twice as strong.
He could only use his sharpening power among the humans, which was not a very strong power compared to powers such as Adam's or Amber's. Instead, while fighting thaids, he had several powers at his disposal, and with twice as much mana, he was bound to make leveling much easier.