Ryan looked down at the body of Liam "Swift" Davies. It felt wrong, somehow, to just leave him there.
But what could he do? Carry him back to the Outpost? He wasn't nearly strong enough for that, even with the temporary +1 Strength from Boulder's boot still faintly buzzing in his muscles.
And there was the small, slightly morbid thought: Liam had an Aptitude. Liam had essence.
A shiver ran down Ryan's spine. Extracting from a dead animal was one thing. Extracting from a dead person that felt like crossing a line he wasn't sure he wanted to cross.
But his SSS-Tier system, "Ultimate Infinite Extraction System," didn't seem to have a "moral objections" filter.
The Interface was already helpfully displaying:
Target: Deceased Code-Bearer [Liam "Swift" Davies, Fading Vital Signature]
Aptitude Detected: Hyper-Awareness [D-Tier]
Potential For Essence Extraction: Yes
"Code-bearer?" Ryan murmured. "Is that what we are? Like lines of programming in this giant, scary god Verse game?" It made a weird kind of sense.
He hesitated. His system description had mentioned "deconstruction and assimilation of essence." Liam's "essence" was tied to his Aptitude, his "Hyper-Awareness."
It was a D-Tier, not amazing, but probably better than Ryan's current "Slightly Better at Noticing Shiny Things" which was his default setting.
"This feels ghoulish," he said to the quiet jungle. "But if this power is supposed to help me survive"
He took a deep breath and placed his hand gently on Liam's still shoulder. "Sorry, Liam," he whispered. "Hope you don't mind. And I hope this doesn't turn me into some kind of soul-sucking monster."
He activated the extraction.
The sensation was different this time. It wasn't just a gentle pull. There was a faint resistance. A whisper of something that felt like a personality, a fleeting memory. It was unsettling.
The Interface chimed.
Extraction Initiated from Code-Bearer
Warning: Extraction from Sentient Code-Bearers Carries Unpredictable Consequences and Potential Psychological Repercussions. Proceed With Caution.
Essence Assimilation in Progress.
Acquired: Aptitude – Hyper-Awareness [D-Tier]!
Effect: Passively enhances your senses, allowing for quicker detection of subtle environmental changes, potential threats, and hidden details.
System Note: Well, that was a bit heavy. Try not to make a habit of this unless you enjoy existential dread with your power-ups. The system is not responsible for any resulting nightmares or urges to talk to squirrels.
Ryan pulled his hand back quickly. He felt strange. A little sad, a little guilty, but also more alert.
The sounds of the jungle seemed sharper, the play of light and shadow through the leaves more distinct. He could almost feel the tiny vibrations of insects crawling on a nearby tree.
His normal awareness had just been given a pair of really good prescription glasses.
"Unpredictable consequences, huh?" he muttered, rubbing his temples. "Hopefully, that doesn't mean I start craving brains." He looked around. No new urges to talk to squirrels, at least not yet. That was a relief.
He turned his attention back to the Spine Whelp corpses. He'd already extracted their Agility Essence. Was there anything else? He focused on one of the dead creatures again, this time trying to be more specific with his mental "request" to the system. "Not just raw power," he thought. "What about how they think?" Or, well, how a porcupine-dog thinks.
Target: Spine Whelp Corpse [Level 1, Partially Depleted]
Initiating Focused Extraction Protocol: Neural Patterns
Extraction Complete!
Acquired: Residual Neural Patterns [Spine Whelp Pack Tactics – Fleeting Fragment]
System Note: You've snagged a faint echo of this critter's basic instincts regarding group hunting and danger responses. It's not a skill, more like a temporary gut feeling. Don't expect to suddenly start barking at the mailman, but you might feel an urge to flank your groceries.
Suddenly, a weird jumble of images and feelings flashed through Ryan's mind the urge to stay low, the instinct to circle prey, the importance of yelping to warn the pack.
It was gone in a second, leaving him blinking. He didn't know Spine Whelp pack tactics, not like he'd read a manual.
But he had a fleeting, instinctual feel for them. Like he'd just had a very short, very weird dream about being a porcupine-dog.
"Okay," he said, shaking his head. "That was new. Temporary muscle memory for how to be a Spine Whelp. Useful, maybe? Definitely strange."
He spotted Liam's Utility Knife lying in the mud a few feet away. It was identical to his own. An idea sparked. His knife had a "Potential Refinement Slot." Could he improve Liam's knife too? Or maybe use one to fix the other?
He picked up Liam's knife. It felt cold.
He held his own knife in his other hand. "System," he began, "can I take the… uh… 'Refinement Slot Data' from my knife and put it into this one?"
Query Received. Attempting To Extract 'Refinement Slot Meta-Data' From User's Primary Utility Knife… Success.
Applying Meta-Data to Target Utility Knife [Liam Davies] ....Success!
Potential Refinement Slot Opened [1/1] On Target Knife.
Ryan stared. He'd just copied and pasted a knife upgrade slot! This SSS-Tier power was like a cosmic cheat code.
Now, what to use for refinement? He looked around. His eyes landed on a thick, dark vine hanging from a tree. It looked incredibly tough, almost woody.
"How about you, Mr. Super Vine?"
He touched the vine and activated his extraction.
Target: Ironwood Vine [Anomalous Flora, Tier E]
Initiating Extraction Protocol: Structural Integrity
Extraction Complete!
Acquired: Ironwood Vine Fibers [Reinforcing Material]
Applying Ironwood Vine Fibers to Target Utility Knife [Liam Davies] Via Open Refinement Slot…
Reinforcement Successful! Utility Knife [Liam Davies] Upgraded to Utility Knife [Reinforced, Tier E]!
System Note: It's a little bit stronger now! Still won't cut through a bank vault, but it might handle tougher pickle jars. Or, you know, monsters.
Liam's knife now had a faint, almost invisible dark grain running through the metal of the blade, and it felt a tiny bit heavier, more solid.
It wasn't a magic sword, but it was definitely better than the basic model.
Ryan's own Interface updated his personal status:
Threat Level: Basic Human+
"Basic Human Plus, huh?" Ryan grinned. "I'm moving up in the world. From 'Mostly Confused' to 'Slightly More Dangerous Confused Guy'."
Just then, his newly acquired Hyper-Awareness tingled. He heard the sound of multiple footsteps, clumsy and hurried, approaching through the undergrowth. Not Spine Whelps. These were human. A lot of them.
He didn't want to explain what he was doing standing over a dead body with two dead monsters and a slightly glowing knife.
Using the dense foliage for cover, and moving with his newly enhanced agility, he slipped away into the shadows of the jungle just as a large group of about fifteen novices stumbled into the clearing.
They were led by a cautious-looking woman with intelligent eyes. Ryan recognized her from the CommNet chatter;
Emma "Sage" Thorne, who supposedly had a B-Tier "Tactical Insight" Aptitude. The group gasped when they saw Liam's body and the dead Spine Whelps.
"Oh no… Liam!" Emma said, her voice tight with shock. "What happened here?"
Ryan watched from his hiding spot as they milled about, clearly shaken. He decided it was best to stay hidden. He had his own path to follow.
He spent the next few hours carefully navigating the Shifting Wilds. His Hyper-Awareness was a massive help, warning him of rustling in the bushes or strange smells on the wind before he blundered into danger.
He found more Spine Whelps, usually in small packs of two or three. Thanks to his increased Agility [ now at 14 after two more Whelp extractions, it seemed he could get +1 Agility up to three times from each Whelp type, but with diminishing returns on subsequent kills of the same individual creature ] and his fleeting understanding of their pack tactics, he managed to hunt them with surprising efficiency.
He was still clumsy, still scared, but he was learning. He was adapting.
He also kept an eye out for interesting plants or rocks. He extracted "Minor Toxin Resistance" from a weird purple mushroom and "Increased Density" from a surprisingly heavy gray stone, which his system said could be used to reinforce armor if he ever found any.
His Assimilation Level slowly climbed. 80/100… 90/100…
Then, as he was pushing aside a large fern, his foot hit something hard and flat half-buried in the damp earth.
He knelt and brushed away the dirt. It was a tablet, made of some kind of dark, smooth stone, covered in strange symbols he didn't recognize. It felt ancient.
Target: Ancient Precursor Tablet [Damaged Artifact]
Initiating Extraction Protocol
Extraction Complete!
Acquired: Corrupted Data Fragment [Precursor Lore]
System Note: Ooh, ancient mysteries! This fragment is too jumbled to make much sense on its own, but the system will attempt to analyze and integrate. This might take a while. Or it might give you a headache. 50/50.
Ryan held the fragment. It was just a small, jagged piece of the tablet, but it pulsed with a faint, almost imperceptible energy.
His Interface began to whir with new lines of code he didn't understand. Then, a single, clear line of text appeared from the analysis of the Corrupted Data Fragment:
"god Protocol Flawed Containment Breach Imminent Seek the Weavers…"
"Flawed protocol? Containment breach?" Ryan's eyes widened. "Seek the Weavers? What does that mean?"
This SSS-Tier power wasn't just about making him personally stronger; it was apparently also a key to unlocking the secrets of this bizarre new universe.
His Threat Level updated again, not because of a new skill, but because his Agility and general combat experience had improved enough:
Threat Level: Novice Hunter
He was still a novice, but he was a hunter now. And he had a feeling the mysteries were only just beginning.
The Shifting Wilds were dangerous, but they were also full of things to find, things to extract, and secrets waiting to be uncovered.
He just had to survive long enough to piece them all together. And maybe find a decent snack that wasn't beige goo or a survival brick.