Chapter 279 - The Scale Of Sentience

Shika's dimensional storage was pretty simple, but spectacular at the same time. After all, having observed its workings by being connected to all her senses, he managed to understand its secrets.

It was the space!

The dimensional storage was no different to her space, but unlike the space where only the mutated beasts could be in, this space was able to house everything, including mutated beasts.

That means, if she housed a mutated beast there, she would be able to use its ability just like usual. But for some reason, she didn't use it for that, using it as a mobile storage that she filled to the brim with items.

They consisted of canned rations, oil, seeds, agriculture tools, medical books, electronics with portable chargers, solar panels, etc. There were at least three spares to everything.

She had planned in such a way that no matter where she ended up, she would be able to survive. Even though having mutated beasts there would give her twice the advantage, using the dimensional storage to store abilities was way better.

After all, that's how she was able to keep and conveniently use a lot of pearls.

It wasn't shocking that someone had two spaces in them. The power system of this world wasn't as rigid as the information influx showed. It could be modified through a variety of means.

Dwun was an example, despite being a System Host, he had become a Grassmen. The horned humans were another example, possessing the powers of mutated beasts despite being humans.

Everything was due to evolution.

Those that were sentient obtained the space to capture and control mutated beasts. And those that weren't sentient enough grew horns to turn into mutated beasts.

The horned humans were a mix between that, losing their intelligence in exchange for a mutated beast's power. That was why Compass Carburettor had an odd feeling the first time he gazed at the people surrounding that goldfish.

They were actually losing their intelligence while slowly turning into mutated beasts. Conversely, as the number of horns increases, the intelligence of the person also increases. So, for those that quickly increased their number of horns, they retained their human-level intelligence.

More or less, the horned men were dumber than humans, but not by much. It has to be noted that animals weren't dumb. They had exceptional senses to rely upon. But, they were instinctual creatures, acting mostly based on instinct that was coded into their genetics as a product of evolution.

They were unlike humans that could voluntarily become smart or dumb. The choice was in their hands. 

And, here arose an interesting question: What makes someone or a race sentient?

A simple answer would be that any being that is able to consciously feel everything they perceive is a sentient being. Typically, animals feel and perceive things that are most times superior to humans.

But, this isn't conscious. They do so instinctively, actuated by their subconscious impulses. But humans weren't like that, hence termed sentient.

But, sentience was a broader term than that. It was the depth to which a being can consciously feel everything that they perceive. It was a gradual scale.

And beyond a certain point, one was termed to be sentient. And, this was how the power system of this apocalyptic world functioned upon. There was a mark on this scale, the mark of sentience.

Those beyond this became sentient while those below this were not. And, the sentient ones awakened a space in them while those not sentient enough grew horns.

Suppose sentience could be quantified, then it was what determined the growth one would achieve. The more sentient they were, the larger their space could grow, which directly correlated to the Stage they could reach in the future.

Even for mutated beasts, as they become more sentient, the number of horns they could attain also increases.

'That is why the Grassmen are limited to three horns. It's because they weren't sentient enough.' Compass Carburettor understood the reason now, feeling that a lot of things made clearer sense.

This was where Shika was terrifying. On the scale of sentience, she had attained a scary level. And, she possessed this pre-apocalypse.

Her level of sentience was possible to attain in the apocalypse, once the human reaches a high Stage after facing enough life and death experiences that they perceive the world itself with a different set of eyes.

It's similar for the mutated beasts too.

Moreover, this apocalypse was one in which all living creatures on earth evolved, including the trees. So, for Shika that possessed such a frightening extent of sentience, she condensed a second space in her, one that was more special than others.

This was her own power, and not something that was given to her by her System. Though, it also made sense when he thought about it. 'After all, in a lot of stories, the main characters would have some hidden or sealed bloodline that is either unlocked by the System or with its help they come to realise it. It does make the main character relevant when the power scale of the scenes continue to escalate.'

After completely understanding Shika's space, Compass Carburettor was anticipating something. And, just as he had expected, after healing herself through the night, Shika got up with a start, stretching herself to see that she had made a full recovery.

She then took out the goldfish's orb from her dimensional storage and swallowed it along with three pearls, feeling powerful energy emanating her, enveloping her in it as a gush of information flooded her mind.

She grunted a little before sitting cross-legged, digesting all the information.

Seated within the space, and suppressing two mutated beasts was Compass Carburettor, also getting all the information. This was the reason he continued to stay within her space. After all, the Night Ranger System seemed pretty arrogant, having not once checked up its Host's space.

And, once he digested all the information related to the goldfish, he smiled, waiting in response. Immediately after, the Night Ranger System took action, speaking to Shika.

[Host, let me modify this goldfish. I'll make it stronger]

"Amazing!" Shika laughed in joy, "Do it! I want to see how powerful it can get!"