The Lupine System

Assessment

The following walk was... weird.

Mike had expected some questions as they walked down the hall that was... surprisingly bland.

Well, it looked bland anyway. His senses picked up on several things watching him as he walked, and he had a feeling that acting out in any way wouldn't end well for him.

Not that he would.

He also took this time to inspect the man. He hadn't dropped his name, so referring to him as 'the man' constantly was getting annoying, but what could he do? Anyway. He observed him and couldn't help but be impressed.

The way he carried himself was... solid. His stride and stature were all straight like a blade, his gaze fixed forward, and his eyes sharp. He looked primed and ready for a battle at any given moment.

'I heard that when one gets in enough fights, it becomes harder and harder for them to drop their guard. I wonder how many he has fought.' Mike thought as they finally reached a door. He opened it, and what was revealed was a pretty bland room made of metal.

In the center was a single metal table with two chairs opposite each other.

'Is this the so-called minimalist style? Looks plain.' Mike thought as he entered after the man.

"Take a seat." He gestured to one of the chairs and Mike complied. Once he sat down, the man also sat opposite him.

The two of them locked eyes, and for a moment, Mike felt a bit intimidated. The man's eyes were dark, and the way he stared at Mike made him feel like, if it came down to it, he wouldn't be able to do anything to defend himself if the man attacked.

And for some reason, that irked him.

The idea of averting his gaze made a strange feeling well up within him. An odd mix of defiance and pride, which surprised Mike, as he wasn't the most confrontational person. Yet right now, that hardly mattered.

They stared at each other in silence for a good minute, neither side willing to back down. Then...

"Hm. You have some spine. I like that." The words were abrupt, making Mike blink as he was snapped out of his stupor.

"Huh?" That was all he could say, and the man offered a faint smile.

"Mike, right? My name is Gerald." He reached out across the table for a handshake. Mike blinked before quickly returning the gesture.

As soon as their hands met, Mike's eyes widened.

'What is this grip strength?!' He exclaimed inwardly as he felt as though his hand had been put into a metal vice.

To avoid his hand getting crushed, he squeezed back, but even then, it was a losing battle.

Veins bulged on his head as he concentrated. Was this some sort of power I play? A show of dominance?

If Mike hadn't liked the staring contest from before, he certainly didn't like this.

A low growl left his throat as his heart started to beat more forcefully.

Ferocity: 9%

Freocity: 12%

Ferocity: 20%

His ferocity meter started to climb rapidly, and with it, so did his strength. His eyes started to glow faintly and his canines sharpened slightly within his mouth.

A trace of surprise appeared on the face of Gerald, and after a moment, he released his grip.

Mike immediately pulled his hand away with a wince. It felt sore.

"Impressive. You're strength is quite high, despite your stature." Gerald said, and Mike looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"Was that some sort of test?" He asked, his tentative approach melting away to reveal something a lot more confrontational.

Gerald smiled.

"Just a bit of personal assessing on my part. Nothing official." He explained, and Mike had to take a few deep breaths to get his temper under control. It wasn't hard to guess that anything above 20% wasn't good for hiding his secret.

"So. I will now start the proper assessment." Herald said after Mike had calmed down. The latter simply nodded.

"Alright. First of all, I'd like you to recount your experience in finding the ability orb. I understand you already explained it to that squad captain who added it to his report, but I'd like to hear it from you." He explained, and Mike once more became aware of another thing observing him.

'To record my responses maybe?' He thought, but he replied anyway.

"Well..." He went on to explain what had happened. His desire to scavenge, finding the crashed ship, falling into the ravine, and waking up hours later, stumbling through the darkness into the chamber, once more leaving out key details like the wolf statue and markings. He then explained how after he regained consciousness, he found himself surrounded by Lizardmen corpses, and he spent a while trying to make sense of the situation before he got evacuated.

Gerald listened intently while also looking through the tablet he had gotten before, no doubt comparing what was there with what Mike was telling him.

A moment later, he nodded.

"Alright. Your story matches." He said, and Mike was surprised.

"You believe me?" He couldn't help but ask. He expected a bit more skepticism as the story sounded outlandish, even to Mike, and he was the one it happened to.

"There is a camera observing you that can tell whether you are lying or not. So far, it has ascertained everything you said to be the truth." Gerald explained calmly, and Mike blinked.

"So that's what it does." He mumbled, then froze.

Gerald raised a brow.

The silence immediately turned awkward.

"... So you noticed it?" He asked.

"Uh... yeah." Mike forced a cough, looking sheepish while inwardly scolding himself.

'Idiot. How did you slip up just like that?!' He chastised himself.

"Hm. Does your ability increase your perception?" Gerald asked, bringing Mike out of his thoughts. He hesitated before nodding.

"I see. Well, would you mind giving me a brief explanation on how it works?" Gerald asked the big question.

Mike blinked and made a show of averting his gaze, which was really just him looking at the system interface. He'd already noticed that he was the only one who could see it after asking some awkward questions back on the rescue ship.

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]

[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.]

"It's an aura-type ability. It can enhance my body when I use it. That includes my physique and senses. It also seems to work in accordance with my emotions." He gave an extremely rudimentary explanation of the ability while throwing in a bit of his own beliefs. He wasn't sure if the skill truly worked in accordance with his emotions, but when he tested it in the bathroom on the rescue ship, he got pretty excited, which caused the aura to surge and nearly break something.

"Can you show me?" Gerald asked, and Mike nodded slowly.

He raised his hands and his brows furrowed slightly. With a slight grunt, he felt as though his pores suddenly opened up.

A blue vapor seemed to leave his body, and he felt himself get warmer. His muscles felt like they'd gotten stronger and denser, his already absurd senses sharper, and he was certain that if he ran, he'd be much faster than before.

He'd done it before, but he still decided to look at his stats now that he had activated the ability.

STATS

Strength: 21 → 31 (+10)

Agility: 25 → 33 (+8)

Endurance: 24 → 30 (+6)

Vitality: 27 → 29 (+2)

Perception: 18 → 26 (+8)

Ferocity: 8% → 11% (Spiking)

Another reason Mike guessed his emotions affected his ability was due to how it affected his ferocity. While it was activated, he realized that his emotions were far more volatile, so the slightest thing could set him off. Hence, as soon as he activated it, he turned off his thoughts in case Gerald said or did something particularly infuriating.

"Hm. It's quite crude, but I suppose that's due to your lack of mastery over it. Regardless, at this stage, it provides quite the boost." Gerald smiled before standing up and gesturing for Mike to do the same.

Once they were both standing, Gerald moved over to him and held out his palm.

"Hit it."