Currently lying in his creaky, wooden bed, Lazarus sat up quickly. He gasped, his hands running all over his body, and specifically his stomach area, where a gaping hole dripping with guts and crimson previously was.
"My stomach...it's...healed."
In complete disbelief, Lazarus caught his breath, his mind racing as fast as his heart. He thought and thought, wondering how the hell he got in bed, and how the hell he was healed. Then he began wondering if it was all a dream, a long dream.
"Yeah, that must be it...a dream. A dream, that's all."
'But it's all so vivid, so real. That pain, that feeling of helplessness and anger, no dream can produce that feeling. Or, can it? I wouldn't know.'
"Then there was that sound, that 'ding'..."
[DING!]
Upon hearing the mind-echoing ring, Lazarus jumped and fell from his bed onto the cold wooden floor of the room. He looked around, touching everything to make sure this was real and he wasn't going crazy.
"What was that? It sounded close, no...it sounded like it came from inside my head."
[Synchronization is incomplete...]
[2% remaining...]
[....]
[1% remaining...]
[...]
"What is this?...what am I seeing? These...interfaces."
[SYNCHRONIZATION FULLY COMPLETE!]
[You have fused with the 'Transcendent Gene System']
"I-I'm so confused. Fused? Synchronization?...Gene system? What is this? Was some robot chip placed in my head?"
[This is the 'Transcendent Gene System'. A system designed for the host's growth.]
[You are the perfect candidate to inherit the infinite power of the system, as you are the weakest there is.]
'That..hurts.'
"Explain more, I get what you are, but what do I do? How do I use you?"
[Defeat powerful enemies. Absorb their strongest genes. Evolve beyond limits. Ascend to supremacy.]
Lazarus read the message from the system, digesting its words into his mind, reflecting upon them before asking his next question.
"So, I can...absorb powers and genes? Can I grow strong? I don't have to be cursed any longer?"
[Precisely.]
Lazarus didn't know whether to be excited or confused. He couldn't tell if this was some dream, afterlife wish, or...real.
"Alright. Let's do it."
[For insight, the host has currently been regressed in time a week before your death and kidnapping into the Arena.]
"That explains the hole in my stomach being gone..."
[Please call out the 'status' host.]
Not thinking much of it, he called out status in a mumble.
"Status."
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(Transcendent Gene System)
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[
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"Woah. There's a lot to look at, but what does all of it mean? Like the stats, why does it only go up to 100?"
[That is the cap that your current body can handle. Once the host grows stronger, it increases. For example, if you have 2 gene powers, and your genome stat reaches the cap, a genetic mutation happens, increasing the gene's power. It may allow you to gain its physical GP(Gene Points) or gain a Genetic ability.]
[In this world, the human body can only handle 100% expression of a gene strain before the cell begins to destabilize. However, the system allows you to go beyond that, and gain even more gene powers.]
"Ah. It's a bit hard to get right, but I'm sure I'll understand eventually."
Lazarus notices the free points for distribution. He knows that his current gene is crippled and has no use, so putting points into genome is useless for him right now.
As he placed the points into his stats, he felt his body grow stronger and denser. With just one squeeze of his fist, he could feel how much power he could put in his fist.
"This is amazing!"
Lazarus jumped up from the floor he was still sitting on since falling from the bed. He walked over to the wall, bringing back his fist and punching it. A loud crash and shockwave came from where he had hit, he saw a medium-sized gaping hole where he had punched.
"And that's with only 3 points in strength! I can't imagine what I will be like when I cap out."
A knock sounded on his door.
"What is all that ruckus, you cripple?!"
Lazarus turned, "Ah, sorry!"
"Hurry out, there are people who need you to do their chores," The person behind the door said in a dismissive tone.
'Oh yeah, I'm still some cripple chore boy to them.'
He looked in the corner to see his usual chore materials, grabbing them.
As he walked behind the male who spoke to him like some chore dog, dark thoughts swirled.
'This is the guy that makes me do all of this. He makes me do all the chores and takes a huge cut from the pay.'
He remembered the system's words.
[Defeat powerful enemies. Absorb their strongest genes. Evolve beyond limits. Ascend to supremacy.]
"I have to be strong and defeat my enemies."
Lazarus raised the metal case in his hand that holstered all of his chore materials. Without a second thought, he brought it down upon the guy's head, immediately causing him to be knocked out.
"You bastard! You beat me every day when I don't do something right, you take all of the money that I worked for! And you even go on to sell me out to young master Jin. I couldn't care less about what happens to you!"
'I won't kill him for now.'
[You have defeated your first foe.]
[They have a 'Sprout' rank gene.]
[Absorbing gene.]
[+5 in all stats.]
[You have leveled up!]
[The 'Sprout' rank gene has been fused!]
Immediately, Lazarus opened up his status panel, his breath halting as he sees that his crippled gene was accompanied by another. He also saw how, upon leveling up, he gained 3 free points.
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(Transcendent Gene System)
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He felt like a new person, as his stats were raised, his power and body changed with it.
"This is the start of my new life. Get ready, you wretches."
[Gene: Feral Pulse (Sprout Rank)]
[Ability: Launch a burst of raw gene energy through your arm, adding a short-range shockwave to a punch.]
Without waiting much, Lazarus activated his new gene power, feeling energy bubble up in his arm, and just 2 short seconds after activation, he launched his fist forward, allowing that energy to burst forth. Upon hitting the stone wall of the dorms building, it created a door-sized gaping hole, leaving the shattered rock and stone crumbling with dust.
"I'm already so damn strong. I must be at least as strong as a mid-ranking 1st-year."
Currently, Lazarus resides in Iron-City's Academy. But he wasn't a student, but a worker. One of his earliest memories is of himself being abandoned out of spite by his parents. Growing up in the slums of Iron-City, he began working as a janitor at Iron-City's Academy from the young age of 12. That was also the same year he awakened his gene, which was a great disappointment that earned him the title of a cripple.
"I shouldn't think of that. That's the past, this is the now. I'm getting stronger. I can't stay weak, I don't ever want to be that again. My current goal is to get strong enough to kill young master Jin."
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