Chapter 68 - 68 - A New Look

*Ding!*

With the arrival of the familiar ringing of the bell in his mind, the dark, transparent screen appeared in front of Lucien at the same time. The blood-dripping nightmarish font slowly, but steadily continued to be drawn in the holographic board, forming a series of messages after only a few passing instants.

[…::: Homo Sapiens (Lvl 1 - Category: Mammals) mass has been found! :::…]

[…::: Absorbing essence… :::…]

As if upon command, it was at this time, that the limp body of the deceased leader of the so-called 'Hudson Reavers' began to violently convulse and drop the defining traits of his physique in an instant, reforming itself into a mass of dark, globoid shape of a fluid. 

From flesh, bones, and organic matter it was now a floating viscous ball of life essence, swirling around the three distinct ebony tendrils that shot out from the center of Lucien's right palm. 

The tendrils hungrily began to gobble up the gelatinous remains of the human, its powerful suction caused the lingering essence to vanish in the blink of an eye. 

As soon as the process of absorption was completed, the message indicating it was also relayed on the system's screen.

[…::: Absorbing Essence… Completed! :::…]

However, this was not all. In the next instant, several new lines have appeared, flowing from top to bottom one after another.

[…::: Homo Sapiens (Lvl 1 - Category: Mammals) - Creature Page has been created! :::…]

Almost in an instant, the conformation of the consumed mass was displayed as well.

[…::: Through the absorption, the following updates has been granted: 

+ 0.05 Strength,

+ 0.03 Stamina,

+ ???? ฬ๔гɭร

+ 3 EP  (Full Consumption Bonus),

+ 0.1% Power Increase :::…]

Surprisingly there was something extra, something unknown he also gained through the absorption and the subsequent assimilation of this delinquent thug's body. Unfortunately, what it was, or what he gained, the system either refused to show, or it was mayhaps hidden from it as well.

Still, as it turned out, the gains were rather minimal, Lucien didn't gain anything. There were no unique traits, skills, or abilities that this gang leader provided him with. Nothing of the-

Suddenly, the letters appeared once again, drawing a new, unexpected line, and bringing Lucien's attention to a new and already forgotten revelation.

[…::: Biomass matching Host's data, alternative DNA strands assimilated. New options regarding current form unlocked in the Essence Pool. :::…]

Once again, the system mentioned and pointed towards the mysterious feature that Lucien still not checked, mostly due to his own forgetfulness. Yet, this time the system offered a few options related to what he had gained.

[…::: The below mutation has been unlocked and thus available for evolution for the Host's Ocular Receptors: 

- Variegation of the Optic Tissue Layer: Cost 30-75 EP :::…]

As Lucien had no idea what the term even meant, he wasn't a scholar, he barely had the chance to wizen up through the years of his captivity. It was actually one of the most pressing matters he was hoping to address now that he was relatively free and capable. 

It was also strange that contrary to what he believed to be the case, the offered option didn't have a definite cost attached to it, but rather a range was shown to him. What did it mean? 

Without any hope to glean any extra information from the system's screen, he focused his attention on the alien-sounding term in hopes of being shown a bit more detail about it and also hoping for some explanation about the price range.

Sure enough, in the next instant, a small window popped up, detailing the option.

[…::: Evolutionary Pool - Ocular Receptors :::…]

[…::: Available Mutations :::…]

[…::: Variegation of the Optic Tissue Layer (Iris): Through the available coagulated mass of absolved data, the tissue layer governing the number of light particles to enter through the pupil into the retina can be altered in terms of surface pigment.

The following options are available: 

(Note: Costs vary based on the compatibility from source data to the host's current form. Some gradients may cause unexpected results. The host is advised to be vary.)]

Below the note, several common colors like dark brown, black, and dark blue, and even some rather unique colors, such as golden and deep purple were listed with an EP cost attached to it. 

The one at the top, with the least cost, was the 'Dark Brown' the color that matched the thug leader's eyes, with the friendly price of 30 EP attached to it.

There were quite a lot of the better-sounding picks that were currently grayed out, unavailable for selection, but still, there were a variety of options for Lucien to pick.

Looking through the list, Lucien pondered for a bit, as he actually never really bothered with how his eyes looked. However, now that the option to change was given to him, he began to ponder what he should pick.

It was true that masking his unique, monstrous look would be advisable, at least if he really wanted to meld into modern society, yet he didn't know what to pick.

In the end, after some thought, he picked the one at the top of the list, dark brown, the very same that the deceased gang leader had.

As soon as his selection was made, he saw as his arduously collected points were sucked away, dropping from the proud 203 all the way to 173 in an instant.

At the same time, on the outside, an incredible phenomenon was playing out in front of Sera's surprised presence.

Aiden's charcoal black, heterochromatic eyes began to shift and change. A uniform and undoubtedly much more common dark brown color appeared, covering up the strange scarlet outline on his right creating the same result as it was visible on his left. Lucien's heterochromatic trait was fully covered, masked, and hidden behind this newly activated evolutionary mutation.

In the span that must have not been two full minutes, the burly, tattooed man was gone, vanished forever from the face of the Earth, his DNA and mass now serving a very peculiar purpose: Giving a new, more acceptable look to its dominator.

However, as Lucien finally settled this matter, another quickly appeared. As his look changed, his gaze was met with a similar-looking, but much more shocked and scared-looking one. 

The short, dark-haired, thin teenager that was the target of this gang's assault, and also the point of interest and the reason for Lucien and Sera's interruption and timely save was gazing back at him, his eyes showing clear terror and fright. 

His thin frame was shivering under the gentle hold of the blonde woman, he couldn't muster up any meaningful word but just stuttered garbled phrases.

"He-.. He— He… Y-y-y-you…!" 

His consternation, however, didn't last long. After a few seconds of visible anxiety, the boy closed his eyes and began to control his breathing. 

Inhaling large gasps of the air, he held it inside for a few heartbeats before slowly exhaling it.

After repeating the process a couple more times, Lucien and Sera could hear as his heart rate stabilized, his scare was now dismissed. Clarity returned, lifting the cloud of chaos from his mind.

Albeit still aware of what had transpired, the shopkeeper now looked at this unknown teen with a more scrutinizing gaze, ignoring the mature woman standing at his side for the moment.

Finally, his gaze rested on the newly upgraded dark brown eyes of the unknown figure. Clenching his fists to retain his vigil, he was the first to throw out a question with a cold and unfriendly tone.

"Who… no, more importantly: WHAT are you? What do you guys want from me?"