The Lupine System

Interface

Mike woke up with a start.

'... Huh?' He thought, his mind feeling a bit slow.

He blinked a couple of times as he tried to recall where he was, but he quickly noticed that something was off.

He blinked a few more times, and his face scrunched up in confusion.

'Why is everything so... clear?' He thought with genuine befuddlement.

Before, he could barely see a couple of meters in front of him before things got blurry, and whenever he stared up at the night sky, he could barely make out the stars.

Yet now, he could see everything with almost perfect clarity.

'Wait... stars? Am I outside?' He thought again and pressed his hand to his head as his thoughts were still jumbled up. That's when he noticed the smell, strong and almost overpowering.

He covered his nose with a disgusted sound and sat up before looking around, and then he froze.

Around him, several mutilated Lizardmen corpses lay strewn about. Some were missing limbs, others had their entrails spilled, and most were headless.

The sight would have made Mike vomit if he hadn't been so stunned.

Lizardmen? How?

That's when his memories became clearer.

The underground chamber, the ability orb, him blacking out, then...

It was blurry... but he vaguely remembered...

'Killing them...' His eyes widened as he finally realized. He'd been the one to put these Lizardmen in this state.

He gagged and threw his head to the side as he retched. He kept at it for a while, completely emptying the contents of his stomach before dry heaving for a while.

When he finished, he took several deep breaths, which were almost panicked.

'Calm down. Let's think about this.' He told himself as he put his hand to his chest. His heart was pounding with such force that it seemed to rock him to his core. He didn't know why, but something told him that if he didn't calm down, something unsightly would happen.

Without hesitation, he muted his thoughts. Without the jarring realizations, there was no way for him to react strongly. Hence, his body started to calm down.

Once he was reasonably stable, he slowly let his thoughts filter back in so that he could analyze them properly.

'Okay. Let's look at this calmly. I entered the chamber and lost consciousness just as I reached the ability orb. Then I briefly regained consciousness when those Lizardmen appeared, and then...' He analyzed the memories more closely and couldn't help but frown.

Even though everything was blurry, he could still take note of how he was ripping the Lizardmen to shreds. He wasn't that strong. Moreover, it was common knowledge that an average Lizardman was several times stronger than an average human. These were highly trained, it seemed, yet he took them all down so effortlessly.

He looked down at his body, and he was amazed to see that it was devoid of any injuries. The damage he'd taken from his fall and his internal injuries were gone. In fact, now that he thought about it, he felt great.

His body felt lighter than it had in years, and the scars that covered his body from years of work and injuries were gone. His lungs also didn't feel stuffy, like the years of accumulated substances within them had been purged. He was also naked for some reason.

He did notice how his senses seemed a lot more potent, though.

'Is that why everything is so loud and smells so strong?' He thought. After regaining his bearings, he couldn't help but wince at how sensitive his senses were. His nose picked up the smallest scents, and his ears picked up the slightest sounds.

Speaking of sounds, Mike was now fully aware of the explosions in the distance as well as the flashing lights in the sky.

'So it happened...' He thought vaguely, his eyes wide as he saw beams of energy and explosions happen high in the sky. Something he wouldn't have been able to see normally.

He pressed his lips together.

'This is what Big Joe had been talking about... dammit.' He sat there for a while, not exactly knowing what to do.

Sure, he'd survived the ordeal with the crashed ship and these Lizardmen, but with them under siege like this, would it even matter?

'I managed to get an ability, but it won't mean much if I die on this godforsaken moon.' He growled, then paused.

He rubbed his throat as he recalled the sound. It sounded so... animalistic.

'What did that orb do to me?' He thought with some worry. It's at that point that he finally noticed the small tab in the corner of his vision. As soon as he focused on it, a holographic screen appeared in front of him, startling him.

STATS

[Name]: Mike

[Age]: 17

[Race]: Lupine

[Level]: 3

---

STATS

Strength: 21

Agility: 25

Endurance: 19

Vitality: 23

Perception: 18

Ferocity: 6% (Stable)

Allocatable Stat Points: 9

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SKILLS

> (Active Skills)

• — None —

> (Passive Skills)

• Bestial Adaptation – Physical stats (strength, reflexes, stamina, and senses) are heightened even in human form.

• Cellular Recovery – Slowly regenerates minor injuries and recovers fatigue over time.

---

ABILITIES

• Primal Surge [B+]

A combat-type aura ability absorbed from a fallen foe. Enhances physical performance, reinforces strikes, and can be shaped into offensive bursts or barriers.

> [Hold to Expand for Details]

---

EVOLUTION

🔒 Locked

> Requirement: Unknown

"What the hell?!" He couldn't help but exclaim as he instinctively backed away, but no matter how much he moved, the holographic screen seemed to follow him.

He closed his eyes tightly and reopened them, but it was still there.

'Go away!' He thought, and to his surprise, it worked. The holographic screen suddenly disappeared.

'Was it a hallucination?' He thought as he looked at the small logo in his vision again. As soon as he did, the screen appeared once more, causing him to flinch, but he didn't try to run away this time.

He read it over after regaining his composure.

'This is... my status?' He thought with surprise as he looked it over. He knew abilities varied wildly, but he'd never heard of one that explained the general condition of the holder.

'Huh? Lupine?' Mike focused on the race area and became confused. He was a human though. Why did it say Lycan?

When he focused on it, a description suddenly appeared next to it.

[Race: Lupine

Half Man, Half Beast, the Lupine is a mix of human and wolf, containing the intelligence and cunning of the human while also having the primal power of the wolf, creating a powerful mix between the two. Lupines can also convert others into Lupines and have a strong bond with those they convert. However, sometimes, the rational mind and instinctual urges may clash. May you find balance between your dual natures.]

Mike read the description over and over, then he snorted.

'That can't be right.' But as soon as he had the thought, he already knew that he was lying to himself.

He... didn't know how to feel about that.

He'd been a human for his entire life, so to suddenly learn that he was part beast was jarring, to say the least. If he was being honest, he didn't know what to do with that information.

He shook his head and decided to throw the thought to the back of his mind.

He refocused on the screen and studied the other things that showed up.

'Level three? Can I level up? Like, in a game? But how did I even... oh.' He glanced at the corpses of the Lizardmen and looked back at his level. He grimaced.

Then there were his stats, and he had no idea what to make of them. Were they great? Were they bad? He had no clue, so he just decided to move on and focus on the next interesting thing.

Ferocity.

Just like before, he focused on it, and he got a description.

[Ferocity.

For you, emotions and power are closely linked to each other. The more emotional you become, the closer you get to your bestial side, making you stronger, but reducing your rationality in return. Keep a close tab on your emotions, or you may lose yourself when you least expect it.]

'... That's not the most encouraging.' Mike huffed. The description just boiled down to 'get too emotional and turn into a mindless beast while getting stronger.'

He wouldn't say he was an overly emotional person, but he still felt them. So the idea of having to constantly keep them in check was daunting, but there wasn't much he could do about it.

'So far, not a fan of all this.' His lip curled, but he kept going as he moved on to the next thing. Skills.

'What do you mean no active skills? I'll have you know that I am an expert and scavenging!' He protested inwardly, but still focused on the passive skills.

> (Passive Skills)

• Bestial Adaptation – Physical stats (strength, reflexes, stamina, and senses) are heightened even in human form.

• Cellular Recovery – Slowly regenerates minor injuries and recovers fatigue over time.

'Oh?' He thought, pleasantly surprised for once.

[Bestial Adaptation.

All physical stats are heightened due to your DNA possessing the adaptive nature of humans and the raw power of the wolf. With the two merging together, your physique has reached new heights as it possesses the traits of both and none of the weaknesses, making you a force to be reckoned with.]

[Cellular Recovery

Possessing the natural tenacity of humans and powerful survival instincts of the wolf, your regeneration occurs on a cellular level as not only is your vitality a sight to behold, but you also recover from wounds at an astonishing rate. What may seem slow is actually faster than most beings at your level. This ability also grows as you get stronger.]

'No wonder I healed so quickly.' He thought as he looked down at his body.

'Huh, now that I think about it, I'm jacked!' He suddenly realized. He was pretty skinny before now for obvious reasons. But now that he looked at his body, he realized that he had gone from looking like an underweight child to someone who regularly worked out. His muscles were lean but clearly defined through his skin, and his abs looked like they'd been carved from stone.

Mike smiled unconsciously. No matter what, males would always like to see themselves shredded.

'And with almost no effort either. Well, if you forget that I almost died...'

Moving on.

Abilities.

• Primal Surge [B+]

A combat-type aura ability absorbed from a fallen foe. Enhances physical performance, reinforces strikes, and can be shaped into offensive bursts or barriers.

> [Hold to Expand for Details]

Now this was interesting. Mike was confused as he thought the ability he got was the entire thing related to Lupines, so what was up with this extra section? Maybe it was a sub-ability? He'd heard of some abilities having sub-abilities under them, like someone who could control water being able to control ice as well.

[Primal Surge [B+]

After extracting a compatible ability from a fallen enemy, you now possess the Primal Surge ability. The ability grants you a combat aura that can be used to enhance your body in a variety of ways. It is also highly adaptable and can be used in conjunction with several things like fighting styles and weapons. It is an ability with strong potential and its growth depends on the user and their effort.]

Mike frowned again. Not at the skill, no, the skill was great.

His issue was the 'after extracting a compatible ability from a fallen enemy' part. Had one of the Lizardmen had the ability? If so, he'd extracted it from it after he killed it?

How did that work?

[Ability Stealing.

The user is able to steal the abilities of others after killing them. However, these abilities must have a 70% compatibility rate with the user, otherwise, there will be a rejection. Moreover, the stolen ability can only be taken once, and the target must die before their ability can be stolen. Number of available slots (1/1)]

Mike froze.

'Eh?' His jaw dropped.

He could steal abilities???