Slug Heist

With his new viney friend, Ash swung from branch to branch using his vines.

The creature he targeted was supposedly sensitive to vibrations on the ground, so he was forced to swing on the tree branches tarzan style.

He had avoided this by arriving there earlier and waiting out patiently above the tree, but the stag had ruined his plan for him.

So now, he needed to improvise.

Ash finally arrived at the area where the creature should appear, no huge viney stag in sight.

Ash told his viney doppelganger to wait on top of the tree branches while Ash hung himself once more on a tree branch.

'If I got a coin every time I need to hang myself on a tree, then I will get two coins.

It's not much, but it's annoying that it happened twice…'

He waited and waited, his eyes scanning the dead tree trunk in the middle of the area.

It was nighttime, and he didn't have the ability to see at night, even if he had the ability to literally make a semi-autonomous doppelganger made out of vines.

'Strange how these abilities worked… Maybe I should find some more mushrooms that could give me night vision or anything…Mushrooms are always trustworthy.'

So, Ash needed to be as close to the dead tree trunk as possible, relying on the faint moonlight seeping through the dense leaves above, which was not much.

Ash slowly lowered himself, elongating his vines more and more until he was finally only a meter away from the dead tree trunk.

Then he finally saw them.

Creatures half the size of his arm, oozed slimy mess wherever they 'walked' and ate the rotting tree trunk as if it were wagyu beef.

It was giant slugs.

Not so giant if they were compared to the stag or the giant carnivorous tree, but if compared to the normal slugs Ash knew, then they were easily 5 times their size.

Some already enjoyed the buffet while the others had just dug out of the ground and glided towards the tree trunk.

So, what was wrong in Ash's twisted mind that he decided to use slugs as his catalyst ingredient?

One day before, on a beautiful, calm night, he was walking around the area when he saw these slugs.

And not far from the area, a centipede, one that gave Ash his twitch step ability, were eyeing one of the slugs.

The centipede wasn't aware. When it was observing the slug, a certain disease-filled human was also keeping his eyes close on it.

Ash wanted to get a quick kill, catching the centipede off guard when it attacked the slug.

But when it happened, Ash was the one who was left gaping his mouth.

He saw the centipede's teeth bite the slug, injecting its venom inside.

But the slug was almost nonchalant about it.

When the part of its body began convulsing from the venom, the slug just cut its own body apart, leaving the convulsing part behind and quickly regenerating the missing part.

It then continued eating the tree trunk, while the centipede happily returned with its prize, a section of the slug's body.

Well, the centipede still didn't get a happy ending, considering a shameless human smashed its head after a few moments.

But Ash was now dead set on getting a new disease with a broken ability.

Ash set his sights on one of the slugs that was still making its way to the tree trunk.

Slowly but surely, a crimson vine crept up above the slug.

Not even knowing where the attack came from, the whole body of the slug was buried under a crimson vine.

The slug's slimy nature didn't help with the crimson vine's grip. But the thorns helped in keeping a tight hold on it.

It tried separating its body to escape the vine, but the necrotic venom did its job very well.

Killing the slime's nerves before it could separate too small for the vine to strangle.

Ash released his grip on the tree branch and landed on the ground, causing a vibration loud enough for the slugs still gliding on top of the dirt to go back underground.

But he didn't care anymore. He already had what he was looking for.

Summoning his codex, Ash inserted the whole body of the slug into the codex, finally completing his second spliced disease.

[All components inputted.]

[Beginning splice.]

[...]

[Complete.]

==========================

Tier 2

Sanguine Coil Syndrome

A volatile bio-plague that floods the host with mutagenic hormones and twisted regenerative enzymes. 

+Symptoms:

-Hemorrhagic Overload: Surge of blood pressure bursts microvessels, painting the skin with faint crimson veins.

-Neuro-Spasm Reflex: The body twitches violently before bursts of uncontrollable high-speed movement.

-Auto-Scarring Regrowth: Muscles tear and repair in real time, leaving hardened, scar-like tissue patterns.

+Ability Unlocked: Redshift Berserker (Active)

Temporarily enter a hyper-adrenalized state for 10 seconds. With a cooldown of another 10 seconds. Vastly increases strength, speed, pain tolerance, and body regeneration.

=========================

One of the things Ash wanted to do most in the whole world right now was read his new codex entry peacefully.

Savoring his genius and his new ability fully.

However,

'It should come any second n-,'

Not even letting him finish his sentence, Ash dropped down to the ground.

Sharp pain assaulted his whole body. It felt like thousands of needles pricked him all over from head to toe.

His blood vessels burst out before quickly healing in the next second.

Every other second, his limbs twitched uncontrollably, moving at an unimaginable speed.

Ash's limbs trashed on the dirt ground, hitting the dead tree trunks and tree roots all around him.

His strength even shot up, destroying the dead tree trunk into pieces and yanking small roots from the ground.

Fortunately, his mind was still clear.

'Just… One… Damn…Minute…!'

He gritted his teeth, swallowing his urge to scream every curse word known to mankind in pain.

'Just a little more!'

Half a minute had passed, but it felt like an eternity when your blood vessels continued bursting each passing second.

He kept his mouth shut to the best of his ability to alert anyone or anything.

Alas, his limbs kept breaking things. 

The ravaged ground and the destroyed wood scattered around screamed enough for him.

On the corner of his eyes, a familiar figure came running towards him.

Standing 6 meters tall with a body made out of vines, a silver glow in its eyes, reflecting the scarce moonlight that seeped through the trees.

The stag had come.