Chapter 23: An abnormality

Chapter 23: An abnormality....

The bounty hunter cracked his knuckles, feeling the satisfying pop of tension release. He was a fourth-tier being himself, and as for Gift, Well, even if he happened to be a third-tier in the end, that still meant that the strength gap between them was about a hundred kilograms, Since each tiers within the 9 tiers had a difference of 100 kilograms per tier, with those at the peak of the 9th tier possessing close to 1 ton of destructive power!.

But fortunately, Those at the 7th, 8th and 9th tier were all very influencial figures within Faeryn and the bothering nations, each of them had the power to invoke a brutal war, Decide the faith of several millions in an instant and even change the rules and laws governing the kingdoms in a matter of moments.

And even among each tier, There was a difference, with each tier being split up into Beginner stage, Initial stage, Mid stage, Late Stage and Peak Stage.

Unlike fighting those of a higher tier, it was far more easier to defeat someone within the same tier, so long as the difference in combat power wasn't to high.

This was the most common power ranking in Faeryn and the neighbouring kingdoms so the bounty hunter wasn’t worried, knowing that it was simply too rare for someone to fight those at a higher level.

Gift was strong, sure, but the bounty hunter had dealt with tougher prey. Besides, Even if things decided to go south, he still had a little contingency plan in mind.

A broad grin spread across his face, exposing his somewhat yellowish teeth as he began walking toward the inn, his boots thudding softly against the cobblestones.

"Time to earn my keep....." He thought with satisfaction.

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Back inside the inn......

_Pixel, show me the projection of all active nano bot colonies within the parameters of the town_ Gift commanded.

The instant he spoke, His body began to glow faintly, casting the room in a soft, cosmic light. 3 dimensional Stars seemed to materialize in the air around him, swirling in slow patterns like the night sky itself had taken residence in their room. At the center of the display, a flat sonar like plain emerged before him with a few glowing red, green and yellow dots moving about, each one a host to his nano bots.

As for the main 3d landscape of the town, Gift couldn't replicate that in his projection since he could only replicate the hosts of his nano bots in the projection.

'There we go,' Gift thought as he stood up from the bed, moving closer to the projection. 'Let’s see who’s ready for harvesting.'

The hologram zoomed in on a handful of individuals, their glowing full bodied 3d silhouettes marked in green. These were the ones where his nano bots had reached the necessary threshold, ready for extraction, while the red ones were still in the development stage, as for the yellow ones, they were all close to getting ready for extraction.

[Several targets are ready to be collected Sir.] Pixel informed him. [Moreover Sir, one in particular has accelerated faster than anticipated but it seems it's condition is a bit chaotic I'm afraid.]

_What do you mean?......_ Gift inquired, his brows raised a bit.

[I think it's best I show you Sir]

Gift narrowed his eyes at the silhouette highlighted by Pixel. With his keen eyesight and sharp memory, he quickly deciphered who the silhouette belonged to. Out of all the taverns patrons he had 'infected', it turns out the Person in the silhouette was the woman from the tavern earlier that evening, the one with the tight-fitting clothing and overly friendly demeanor.

_Her?_ Gift thought, slightly amused when he thought of how Sera would react if she was awake and witnessing this right now. _Why her?._ he questioned.

[Well Sir, Her emotional state appears to have increased the replication rate of the nano bots within her bloodstream] Pixel explained.

Gift raised an eyebrow, Actually finding it difficult to believe such a thing. _Emotions?, You’re telling me her feelings have sped up the process?, how's that even possible._ Gift asked since although he was a tech genius, that didn't mean he was as knowledgeable about biological matter's, if his knowledge in both fields were equally as high as the other, then it would've been easier for him to create far more powerful nanotech.

'Pixel, are there any risks involved with her progressing so quickly?' he asked, just to be sure.

[None at the moment. The nano bots are functioning within normal parameters. However, it is unusual for emotions to have such a drastic effect on replication rates.]

[Regarding your earlier question Sir, From my analysis , I think her Increased heart rate and emotional arousal lead to faster blood flow, which, in turn, increases the replication rate of the nano bots.]

A weird smile suddenly creeped onto Gifts face. _Your kidding me, are you saying her weird crush on me is what's causing all this?._ he thought, finding the notion even more unnatural since all he had done to her was apologize and thank her for her forgiveness?.

[I'm afraid that's the least likeliest possibility Sir, From what my systems are picking up, I'd say it's something far more erratic instead.] Pixel replied.

Feeling confused, he zoomed in on the woman’s silhouette, the green glow pulsating around her as if reflecting the speed at which the nano bots were replicating inside her bloodstream. He also wanted to collect from the others as well, but not yet, since he wanted them to develop even more before collecting them. The others were progressing at a normal pace, so they could wait until tomorrow night at the very least

Gift paced back and forth, thinking it over. This was something worth exploring. If emotions could accelerate the process, maybe he could find a way to control it. He could use people’s feelings, fear, excitement, love, as a tool to enhance his strength even further, but pixels words felt like a thick veil suddenly sneaking up behind him and covering his horizon.

_ Well go on, tell me, what is it?._ Gift asked when he suddenly saw the lady's green projection on the screen turning yellow as her projection began shrinking.