With an involuntary squeeze of his claws, they slid into the corpse of the deer, further reinforcing once more just how deadly he had become.
He took a deep breath.
"Okay… here goes."
Unlike before with the claws, he took the process slowly.
For the first second of two, the changes were not noticeable.
Then the surface of the deer's body twitched. The fur seemed to sink inward, collapsing unnaturally as if the structure beneath it was dissolving.
A low, wet shhhlrrk sound followed.
Seth's stomach tightened. "Ugh… that's… uncomfortable."
The deer began breaking down rapidly, not rotting—disassembling.
Muscles, bone, tissue… all of it liquifying at the molecular level from the feedback he somehow instinctively understood.
Organic matter slowly converting into something usable.
And then it started flowing into him. A grotesque sight to behold.
Dark strands spread from his arm without him even meaning to do it, pulling everything inward. The deer thinned out fast, collapsing in on itself as it got absorbed into him in dense streams of biomass.
He felt it. Sensed it. Vividly.
It wasn't anything painful by any means. But it wasn't a pleasant feeling either.
It was like forcing down way too much food too fast—except the "food" was being injected straight into every cell of his body.
"Okay—yeah—I'm definitely gonna need to get used to this," he muttered, trying not to focus on the sound.
The forest was pretty quiet except for the faint, slick noise of matter assimilating.
He could feel new data integrating and filtering that raw biological information.
Everything about the deer body opened up in his mind as the memories it possessed began settling into what he remembered was the web of intrigue.
It all folded neatly into him.
Within less than a minute, it was over.
The space where the deer had been was empty—save for a dark stain of blood soaking into the dirt from the crashing.
Seth slowly pulled his hand back and stared at it. They were still clean. All the blood that was on it was absorbed.
"…That's insane," he said under his breath.
He stood up and flexed his fingers. Then his arms. Then rolled his shoulders.
"I don't feel particularly stronger," he commented.
[Biomass assimilated. Physical parameters marginally increased.]
"So a whole deer didn't add much, huh? Well, glad that's over. I'm not taking my time next time for nothing."
He threw up his arms in mock defeat.
Although he couldn't immediately tell the difference in strength from before, he did feel that he was much denser.
Like there was more weight inside him. But that was just mass.
He bounced lightly on his feet. The ground cracked slightly beneath him.
He blinked.
"…Okay. Still not used to that."
Looking down at his hands, he flexed them again, then slipped into a loose boxing stance like he'd seen in videos.
Left. Right.
"Cha, cha! Cha, cha, cha—CHA!"
His last punch cut through the air so fast it made a subtle boom sounds with every swing, kicking up dust and leaves in front of him.
He stopped.
"…Yo."
He threw a few more punches, faster this time.
"Alright, I'm kinda busted," he muttered with a grin.
[Host is advised to focus on establishing a long-term goal.]
He stopped mid-punch.
"…I guess."
[Current location lacks infrastructure, resources, and information. Recommendation: locate civilization.]
Seth dropped his hands with a sigh. "Yeah, yeah. I know."
He turned in a slow circle. Trees. More trees. Even more trees.
"Okay… got any ideas on which direction am I supposed to take?"
"System, you got a map? GPS? Something useful?"
[Scanning...]
Click
[No urban structures detected within current sensory range.]
Seth stared ahead blankly.
"That is the least helpful answer you could've given me."
He rubbed the back of his neck. "Alright… think. Civilization means people. People mean noise…"
He looked up at the treetops.
"…Guess I'll have to get some height."
With the new addition of deer biology and memories, he had gained a wide variety of survival skills.
Two such skills, if given names, would be something along the lines: leg loading and launch timing.
He crouched down in a way that would maximize his elastic recoil and focused intently as he calculated the safest angle for take off.
"Foooo… mmph!"
CRACK!
The ground beneath him shattered, sending shockwaves surged under the force generated as he launched upwards past the trees at blinding speeds.
Whoosh—
In less than a heartbeat, he was already higher than the canopy—not sure if that was the plan.
"… Woah, woah, woah!!"
I guess not.
He was at least fifty meters up. Probably more.
Quickly using another one of his newly acquired skills which he now dubbed, Midair Correction, to micro adjust his balance.
The forest stretched out endlessly beneath him, a massive sea of green.
From up here, the world looked… peaceful. Like nothing insane had just happened five seconds ago.
"Nice," he muttered, trying not to think about the fact that he hadn't planned the landing yet.
"That's a view."
His eyes darted across the horizon, taking pictures with his eyes.
Somewhere off to his right—past a patch where the trees thinned—he caught sight of a clearing before hills and mountains.
"…Wait."
He twisted midair slightly, squinting.
Boxes? Crates? Buildings?
Before he could get a better look, gravity reminded him it hadn't gone anywhere.
He angled himself downward.
BOOM.
He hit the ground hard enough to leave a small crater, knees bent to absorb the impact.
The earth spiderwebbed beneath his feet, but he stayed upright.
"… Thank god my landing has been optimized," he muttered, brushing some dust off his shoulder.
He straightened and turned in the direction where he'd seen the clearing.
"System. Did you catch that?"
[Affirmative.]
"What was it?"
[Structures detected. Resemble residential housing units.]
"So those were houses?"
[Probability: 87%.]
A slow grin spread across his face.
"Alright! How far?"
[Estimated distance: 1.67 kilometers from current position.]
"Looked further to me," He cracked his neck lightly. "That's nothing."
He was about to start walking when—
[Host is advised to address current attire.]
He paused mid step and glanced down.
Silence.
"…Oh."
No shirt.
No pants.
No shoes.
Just him.
Completely naked—his nuts were blowing in the wind.
"…You couldn't have reminded me before I launched into the sky?" he asked flatly.
[Clothing was not a priority for vertical reconnaissance.]
He pinched the bridge of his nose. "I cannot walk in front of people like this. Or can I…"
[Not recommended. Host might be labeled a pervert.]
"Okay. Fine. So how am I supposed to get clothes? I'm not exactly carrying a wallet."
[Will it.]
"…Excuse me?"
[Host possesses full molecular control over biomass. Clothing can be formed.]
He stared at his hands.
Then down at his very naked body again.
"…I nearly forgot that I can now do that!" He clapped his hands. But now he has reached another dilemma. "But what should I choose?"
It's easier to choose when presented with limited options, but right now?
He had everything as an option.
"…Okay, system. Suggestions?"
[Clothing selection should align with environmental and cultural context.]
He blinked. "Which is…?"
[Detected architectural structures resemble pre-industrial designs. Estimated technological level: medieval.]
[Host may select modern attire if desired.]
[However, this will increase scrutiny from the local populace.] it warned.
"Right. Don't wanna get labeled a witch or something."
[Possibility not zero.]
"Great."
He rubbed his chin. "Okay but like… how do medieval clothes even look in real life? I only know stuff from games."
He closed his eyes and started picturing armor sets, NPC outfits, fantasy tavern guys…
"Alright. We're freestyling it."
He focused.
Biomass shifted under his skin, flowing outward in dark waves.
Black material began forming over his torso first—smooth, clean. A short-sleeved jacket took shape over a plain white inner garment. Gold detailing traced along the edges in subtle patterns, a bit too flashy.
For dramatic effect, he added a long, flowing extension at the back of the jacket.
He opened his eyes and looked down at himself.
"…Okay."
He turned slightly. "Wait." He twisted his torso side to side. "That's actually kinda clean."
He brushed imaginary dust off his shoulder.
"System. How do I look?"
[…]
"…That's it? Seriously?"
A second later—
[Just remember, host, as the Blacklight virus, you are effectively immortal.]
He stared ahead in silence.
"…That's not what I asked."
[Statement remains relevant.]
"Why does that sound like a warning?" He squinted suspiciously but then it disappeared. "…You know what? Doesn't matter. I look good."
Chapter 3 end.