Alexander swiped away the message taking up his view in haste but a smaller font still existed of his mission in the corner of his eye. Just out of view enough for him to notice it freaked him out the more he thought his life would turn into a video game he use to play before school.
'Can you see what I see, Lunaris? The words and messages won't disappear. They just float in the corner like a dust smudge. What does absorb a soul mean? Does A'rathèl want me to kill someone?'
'I also see the display. I have no knowledgeof a spell that it could have originated from. It seems to be a sort of Ancient magic, known only to A'rathèl, as it gives off a powerful aura only we can see.' Lunaris scanned Alexanders body multiple times, finding nothing harmful or out of place. In fact he was far healthier than he was three or so months ago.
'Well I don't feel any different than normal. All my parts work and nothings num. What about you partner?' ,
Alexanders awareness of the nanites increased and so did his outside awareness along with reaching D rank. When he focused on his core and felt it briming with mana, a dull reddish glow nearing orange revealed itself. When he thought about himself as a whole, another message apeared in A'rathèls gothic font.
Stats:
//Body:12
//Magic:8
//Stamina:5
Sub stats:
//Souls: F rank:34, D rank:4
"Intresting. Are these stats real? What are these, souls? I apparently have a good number of them? The only things I can think of that could have souls, are those dead Goblin bodies I have in the crystal. Let's see," Alexander pulled the bodies out, still fresh from their deaths.
The Goblins' bodies each showed a slight glow of energy like a smoft shine. While a few others had a slightly stronger one that was clear as day.
//Ding!! Absorb Soul? Y/N//
Alexander thought yes and the screen accepted it.
Soft white orbs floated out of the goblin corpses like soft cotton candy. Flowing into the Ring of the Firstborne like a flowing waterfall.
Ancient runes lit up around the dark stone ring as Alexander absorbed the F rank souls and impowering him with their miniscle strength. He didn't feel much. A slight warmth here and barely any change to his stats on the screen.
//Body:12.05^ +.05//
'That felt great, like a refreshing shower after a work out. I hate it faded so quickly. It could be the potency of the soul absorbed. I devoured an F rank soul, im a D rank now, so let's absorb a D rank soul.'
Alexander thought about absorbing the soul and immediately felt a difference in potency. Like tasting wassabi, his senses cleared enough to sense everyone in his immediate vicinity for a time. From the cleaning crew, to the assistants and managers that discussed the earnings from today's auction. He could sense there approximate power level and any strong unshielded Artefacts they had on.
"That lasted awhile," Alexander exhaled. The souls stats were on another level and left him with hightened senses.
Alexander saw things clearer and even heard smaller details than he could not have before. Leaves became rustling roofs. Twigs became a cocaphony of noise and ants even made a trail of deafening bombardment.
If Lunaris didn't immediately start filtering his attention from the newfound senses, we cringe the thought.
The amount of information his brain could process as a D ranked Hunter wasn't much more than a regular humans as he was still a human and held all the limitations of one. Now that he absorbed a D ranked sou, his abilities had artificially increased.
Sights became too much, making him close his eyes, finding no relief from the dark of his eyelids.
Sounds were a concussive, overwhelming his mind with footsteps, clacks of pens, buzzing of AC units. What normaly would have been naturaly adjusted in time, had pulled onto him in seconds.
'Adapting to senses... Complete. Sight has been augmented and hearing adjusted.' Lunaris chimed.
Huff! Huff!
'What the hell was that?' His senses returned to managable levels, but where still hightened. He quickly realized that absorbing power at his low level, could be the end of him. '
'I'm still to weak to even use this overly powerful skill. I need to strengthen my body and then I can increase my power. Thank you, Lunaris. It would have taken me days to correct myself. I'm not going to absorb the rank D souls. So I'll put them back easily enough, but the F ranked ones I will. But what about the bodies? I don't have enough space for them and the rest of the supplies I bought.'
Alexander felt a nudge from Lunaris and he remembered she could handle that part. He absorbed all 33 F rank souls and felt their power become his. Got a second he remembered the vampire and wondered was he any different than that monster now.
His attention wondered to the nanites as they swarmed the pile of goblin corpses, devouring every organic material. Evolving quicker.
The nanites had evolved twice, their form changing each time to be more efficient at their task. Before they were little more than a collective of slime, now they moved like sand with there new crystalline bodies. They attached to a surface and immediately stripped it apart, spliting into even smaller clusters to cover more ground.
Alexanders stats after absorbing the souls and the nanites devouring the F rank goblins now read:
//Body:13
//Magic:8
//Stamina:6
Substats:
//Souls: D rank: 03
//First daily mission completed. Absorb a soul: done. Rewards given.//
"Interesting. I definitely feel stronger, it even registered my increase In power. Another gift from the dark mother it seems."
Alexander put everything inside the Dimension Crystal quickly to go back to his family who were still shopping. When a hard knock rapt at the door of his suit.
The sudden rap, confused Alexander. His hightened senses could not pick up the intruder and even though he knew they where at the door, he still could not feel anyone there.
'Could it be an aggrieved patron wanting to see who took all the low grade tools were.'
"Occupied!" He spoke, heading to the side door that connected to the other hallway. He opened the door as silently as he could, stepping through and closing it quietly.
"Heh. Are you trying to escape?" Kalani asked humorously. Standing behind him was the beauty of the Akamai clan, Kalani Akamai.
Alexander flinched reflexively. He jumped over her in a ack flip and braced himself.
"When did you... never mind. Why are you here, scarring the crap out of me, Kal. Jeeze."
"I've been here the whole time, shorty. Somebody, bought all the materials I wanted to get under the name Akamai. So I had to find out who wanted to die, using my family's name. But I saw grandpa down stairs, so when I sensed you, I figured he told you about the adoption. I guess I should call you cousin now, eh. "
"Call me whatever you want. Why were you here, don't you and Kahawai have servants to buy things like this for you?" Alexander bemused.
"Tsk. Not every Akamai is afforded the family funds like that. Especially those who have been exiled. Don't get all sentimental on me. You didn't know. But that just means you can spoil your cousin with your new found wealth."
"Heh, yeah no problem." He said compassionately. 'What's another family member as a pain in my backside.'
Alexander sensed her energy fluctuate for the first time. Kalani's gaze was far away, as if she was deep in thought. Alexander brushed her shoulder kindly to get her attention.
The next moment Alexanders world turned upside down as he came crashing down on his back. His senses were strong but the speed at which Kalani moved was incredible. He saw every action she took in slow motion, with no way to stop it. His senses might have improved but not his reaction speed.
BANG!
Gasp!
"I am so s.." Kalani began.
"No, it was my fault... I touched you without permission... I just need a minute," he responded in pain. Small cracks had formed under his body as he laid there unable to move himself as Lunaris healed his wounds.
A message flashed above him, alerting him to an intresting reaction.
// Augmented defense activated. Critical damage recovered. Physical damage resistance increases to 1 percent.//
'Resistance? Could taking damage and healing from it give me some sort of passive buff? This Guardian thing is so over powered