Spoils

Day 3

*Yawn*

Still half asleep while curled in a tiny ball in my new residence, my eyes wander slowly between a series of screens floating in midair as I plan how best to use my recently acquired wealth.

After sleeping my anima has leveled out at 232, to me this seems like a fortune but the amount needed for any enhancement from the system seem to suggest otherwise.

Adding onto the already hefty cost of each skill the list of available skills seems to have grown slightly since the last time I looked, though only a few are worth considering due to their sheer cost or lack of apparent usefulness.

Looking over my options I can't help but feel a bit disappointed, I was really hoping for some kind of magic or game changing abilities but none appear.

I suppose my expectations may be a bit high since I am technically a baby, I'm sure I'll get more options as I grow.

I take a bit of time to separate the traits I want and begin planning how best to use my limited pool of anima compiling a list of the best possible options for my current situation.

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50/anima :(Thermal vision Lens LV.1): Briefly overlay a thin thermal lens over the user's eye providing a weak thermal vision in a short range. The strain on the lens limits its use to short bursts of a few seconds before it must recover for a similar amount of time.

150/anima :(Reinforced Jaws LV.1): Boost the muscle density in the muscles used to bite down while also strengthening the jaw bones enough to withstand the extra force.

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I decide on these traits mainly because they're the most straightforward things I can afford, stronger jaws should help me rip through some tougher enemies while thermal lenses help me find some camouflage enemies and provide a basic way to detect in the dark.

After selecting what I want from the list, I almost immediately hit confirm before hesitating briefly...

Alistair: [Hey system, how does this work once I confirm it will hurt.]

[Upon confirmation your body's genetic blueprint will be altered to suit the acquired traits this is a painless process that only lasts a few moments.]

Alistair: [oh awesome then nothing to worry about.]

Ok confirm pressed now I just wait and…

[Then the purging process begins.]

Alistair: [Wait what's a purging process!]

[Once your genetic blueprint has changed the vitae in your body will reject the outdated material and induce its immediate liquidation and replacement. In the host case this includes the lower and upper jaws, most of the facial muscles and the eyes.]

Before I can voice any further complaint a feeling of pins and needles starts at the hinge of my jaws and quickly spreads to encompass my entire head ending with my eyes.

Just when I think that's all…

*Plop*

My head suddenly feels vastly lighter looking down at the source of the sound on the ground below me, I quickly see why, most of the lower half of my head has fallen off as it rapidly decays into a reddish sludge.

Luckily I don't have much time to dwell on it as my vision turns red before completely fading as a sharp twinge of pain fills my eye sockets.

Despite the surprisingly minimal amount of pain the entire experience is incredibly uncomfortable, not to mention stressful.

This is the first time I have ever had to outright replace a bone or any large part of my body with vitae and while I can't see what's happening currently I can feel the disgusting grating sensation of new bones and muscles forming and snapping into place.

The process itself lasts no longer than a minute and ends with me slowly regaining my vision, aside from the puddle of melting goo on the floor and some mild trauma it's like nothing ever happened.

All in all I don't feel much different though I think my lower jaw is ever so slightly larger than before.

After a few moments of mentally cursing the system "which of course prompts no response from it" I crawl up to my feet and climb atop one of the larger mushrooms in the grotto so I can try out my new eyes.

Their surprisingly simple to use just by focusing on it a bit the lenses slide into place briefly turning the world into a spectrum of blue, red, and everything in between.

The stone walls around me form a dark blue backdrop painted with many patches of yellow and orange created by the surrounding fungal growths.

Overall, happy with my new acquisitions I move on to the last item on my to-do list before going out to make the most of the brief period of light in the chasm, the orb floating a few feet above me…

Getting it down proves easy enough as I simply jump off one of the larger mushrooms near it and latch on.

The instant I cling to it, whatever invisible force was suspending it ceases dropping both me and my prize on the floor below.

With it now on the ground and showing no sign of trying to float on its own I take the time to examine it closely.

The orb itself is flawless and perfectly clear with no sign of damage despite its fragile glass like appearance.

Aside from its oddly perfect appearance I can't find anything remarkable about it, if not for the fact it was glowing when I first saw it I might even dismiss it as just a weird piece of glass but i'm certain there's more to it.

As I gaze into the orb I ponder how I might uncover its true nature, even if it turns out to just be a glorified nightlight if it's magic I want to know its secrets.

Wait a minute can't I just scan this thing with the system, no surely it can't be that easy?

[Arcana sphere]

Well shit.

I probably should have thought of that before I spent the better part of an hour staring at it…

Still not as much information as I had hoped for but nice to learn that the scan works on objects as well.

I wonder if I can improve the scan in the future at all. It would be nice to get some more relevant information from it since it's only good for checking an enemy's vitae at the moment…

[The information I was created with suggests that my functions can be developed and improved though the exact method and to what extent are omitted. The condition to unlocking this seems to be simply progressing your growth stage.]

Well after killing that spider monster I am almost ready to do just that if I can find enough smaller creatures I might be able to push for that today.

Infact this should be the perfect opportunity to test the last of my new skills.

(Predatory instinct lv.1: Bolsters the user's instincts to aid in tracking and killing weaker creatures considered natural prey, This also aids the process of detecting hidden prey and delivering fatal attacks.)