Neo

A screen blinked open in the corner of my vision, still smeared with translucent traces of blood-splatter across the UI.

Would you like to absorb the unknown creature? For research purposes.

I sighed. "Oh, hell no."

The words on the screen paused. Then scrolled.

Please?

I narrowed my eyes. "…No."

Like, pretty please? I won't make you eat it this time.

"Oh, now you're begging? Real professional." I crossed my arms. "How would it even work?"

Another notification popped up:

Since you possess both Mana Control and Mana Pattern Recognition, I could just extract and copy the creature's mana code. No digestion required.

"So what, I just touch it and you do the brain work?" I asked, not sure if I was talking to a notification bar or a needy intern.

Yeah, basically.

A new screen flickered across my eyes, more persistent this time:

Would you like to absorb the creature?

Yes / No

I hesitated, glancing down at the chameleon's ruined remains, viscera still steaming in the humid air. Blood had pooled beneath it like a grotesque shadow.

"…Yes," I muttered, grimacing. The moment I touched the damp crimson puddle, my body gave a strange jolt—like a soft internal tug, as though someone pressed a key in the center of my chest.

Analyzing…

"Hey," I muttered aloud, mostly to distract myself from how not okay this was starting to feel. "What's your name, anyway? I mean, sure, you're technically just a chip… or a highly advanced AI… or whatever… but still."

There was a pause. No answer.

Then, in embarrassingly small font:

I don't have a name.

I blinked. "Seriously? Elon Dusk made you and didn't even name you?"

Another long silence.

No. He didn't.

I don't even know why I assumed. He can't even name his own kids normally—let alone hardware. I sighed, wiping a smear of blood off my cheek with the back of my hand. "That's kind of sad. I mean, not that I'm any good at naming stuff. I once named a fish Goldy. Not proud of it."

The system waited.

"What about… Neo? Short for Neolink. It's kinda lazy, but—"

It's fine.

The message popped up faster than I expected.

"…Okay?" I said, blinking.

Update Complete. Data Analyzed. Stats Updating…

I watched as new numbers flickered in place:

+10 Agility

+2 Strength

+5 Health

Current Stats:

Agility: 15

Strength: 3

Health: 25

Defense: 1

Intelligence: 58

Title: Genius Inventor

"I still have no idea what half of this means, but hey, I'll take the free upgrade," I muttered, staring blankly at the glowing numbers. "At least my intelligence stat is stacked. That's… encouraging, right?"

Neo didn't answer, thankfully.

I turned toward the forest, the air thick with mana haze, the trees curling unnaturally into spirals and hooks. The direction the chameleon had come from looked darker now—twisted roots, pulsing air, more danger than opportunity.

"Well," I sighed. "If that thing came from that way…"

I turned in the opposite direction.

"…then I'm going this way."

I took one confident step—

—and immediately tripped on a root and faceplanted into a patch of weird moss.

I lay there groaning into the dirt. "Great."

Neo remained silent.

Smart.