Kai woke up, groaning as he sat up. There was a sharp throb on his left cheek. He rubbed it and winced — a fresh, swollen bump greeted his fingers.
Manny, lounging on the bunk across from him, glanced over with a smirk. "Weakling, what happened to you? Did you headbutt a vending machine?"
Kai blinked. "Let's just say… someone slapped me."
Manny whistled. "She must've had a mean right hook."
He didn't reply. But in his mind, I feel like an idiot… That slap still echoed in his skull like a punishment from the heavens. Akari hadn't even said anything.
She just turned red, yelled something incomprehensible, and bolted out of the station like a rocket. And Kai, being the genius he was, had stayed frozen like a brick.
He dragged himself to the academy anyway.
He trained for hours, punching reinforced dummies, sparring with auto-defense bots, weaving through illusion routines until sweat dripped from his brow and his arms shook.
No one else was around. He liked it that way.
Then — a beep echoed in his mind. No, not just in his head.
[GENEDEVOURER SYSTEM UPDATE: PARASITE EVOLUTION ADVANCEMENT DETECTED]
[Current Cultivation Stage: Instinct Layer – Tier II Achieved]
[Parasite Capacity: Increased – 10 Active Slots Unlocked]
[Riftborn Combat Rating Updated – You Can Now Defeat All E-Class Riftborn Solo]
[New Evolution Branch Accessible – Mind Nest Path Tree Expanded]
[Illusion Stability Increased: Illusions No Longer Flicker Under Direct Gaze]
[Base Vitality Boost: +12% Endurance, +8% Reaction Speed]
Kai paused mid-punch.
His arms lowered, and for a second, he just stood there in the empty training hall, staring into space, watching the notifications ripple across his vision.
Finally.
Ten parasites. That meant more loadouts, more flexibility. He could store more Georges, prepare different configurations for speed, defense, offense, or deception.
And his illusions — they'd been unstable for weeks. They were too easily shattered when looked at directly. But now? Now they'd hold.
He grinned.
Then he dropped into a stance again, sweat rolling down his back, arms tightening with focus.
Time to push harder.
▸ CORE STATS
Host Name: Ottokai Von Seraphis
Host Level: 10 [+2]
Parasite Level: 10 [+2]
Gene Count: 36
Available Level Points: 4
Compatibility Check: [Available]
Rift Clearance: E– Rift [3/??? Completed]
Host Tier: Instinct Layer – Tier II
▸ BASE ATTRIBUTES (New Interface Update Detected)
STRENGTH: F-
ENDURANCE: F-
AGILITY: F
INTELLIGENCE: D+
PERCEPTION: F
REACTION SPEED: E+
GENE: F+
PARASITE: A+
ILLUSION: E
Wait… what the hell is this? Kai blinked and tapped the new tab.
Is this a new update Manny installed? No… he would've bragged about it for a week straight. It must be automated… maybe from the system itself after hitting Tier II.
It looked rudimentary. Bare-bones, almost like a prototype diagnostic menu from a dev console. But it was functional — stats laid out plain.
I'm still weak… Strength and Durability at F-minus?
He scowled and clenched his fist.
So even with Tier II… I'm nothing yet.
▸ GENEDEVOURER TREE – EXPANDED ACCESS GRANTED
Three new branch extensions blinked to life beneath the interface:
▸ [Mind Nest Path – Tier II Access]
— Illusory Clone Complexity Upgrade
— Phantom Synapse Web: Projected illusions now emit faint neural signals, making them harder to distinguish via instinct.
— Mental Feedback Circuit: Damaging an illusion can cause psychic backlash if attacker lacks resistance.
▸ [Symbiote Core Stabilization]
— Adrenal Trigger: Auto-activates defensive genes under critical threat
— Stability Boost: Reduced mutation backlash during combat
▸ [Predator Instinct Protocols]
— Enhanced Aggression Tracking: Increases movement prediction of hostile Riftborn
— Organ Remapping: Can temporarily reroute internal organ function to bypass damage
— Low-Light Adaptation: Improved performance in dark environments
Kai tapped between them, eyes scanning fast, thoughts racing faster.
Illusions get stronger... and they can fight back now. I can react faster, mutate faster. And that predator branch... That one's built for frontline combat.
He closed the interface with a soft flick of his finger.
Ten of them burned in the corner of his screen, begging to be spent.
He cracked his knuckles.
"Let's get to work."
The whole day, Kai trained over and over. Strikes, footwork, parasite syncing, reflex loops. Sweat poured and .uscles ached. The bump on his cheek was still swollen.
Then Reno showed up, grinning like an idiot. "Let's peep through the women's sauna."
"...What?" Kai paused, halfway through a combat pose.
"I mean, c'mon! For the culture!"
He hesitated. This is dumb. Very dumb. But I've been serious all day.
"...Fine."
Reno fist-pumped. "Hehe… you won't regret this, Otto."
They tiptoed like cartoon villains through the dorm hallways, ducking past cleaning drones and hugging corners. The women's sauna was across the third courtyard.
"Be careful, partner. We need to be careful…" Reno whispered.
"I will."
They reached the wooden wall beside the sauna. Reno slid aside a maintenance panel and revealed a tiny hole.
He peeked through it—and instantly turned red.
"Otto… this is amazing!"
Kai leaned in—but before he even got a look, Reno flinched hard. "Wait—RUN!"
"Wait, what? I didn't even—"
Then they were caught.
Two figures blocked their escape. One had familiar fluffy pink hair, towel wrapped tight—Sylvie, the explosive vocalist of the Midnight Band. Her left arm morphed with crackling parasite tissue.
Beside her stood Marin, the calm but strangely terrifying girl still in a towel. She was holding her signature frying pan like a divine weapon.
"...You two are dead." Sylvie's voice was soft. Too soft.
Then chaos.
THUD.
SLAM.
CLANG.
Later—
Kai lay on the grass, twitching. His hair was frizzed from static discharge. Reno was next to him, eye swollen shut.
"Partner… are you alive?" Reno wheezed.
Kai could barely breathe. "Say goodbye to my parents…"
"I will, partner!"
Then—
"Background Character… how dare you!"
Freya appeared like a boss monster from nowhere, cracking her knuckles. She grabbed Reno by the collar and punched him over and over again.
"Ow—WAIT—I'M SORRY—"
"You're ruining our reputation! I told you not to drag people into your pervert missions!"
Kai closed his eyes.
Never again.
---
Kai slumped onto his bed after the brutal day, the bump on his cheek still throbbing. The dim light of his room flickered slightly, and then—
"Kai, what's good? It's been a while since I talked to you," a familiar voice echoed inside his mind.
Sekh. His parasite. His long-time, complicated companion.
Kai smirked, rubbing his sore jaw. "You know what, Sekh, you're a great parasite. I can't believe I was scared of you for three years."
Kai's voice continued, "Well, I think that's because you were threatening me..."
Kai sighed, exhaustion settling deep in his bones, but he pushed it aside. Being tired isn't an option. I'm going to finish another rift tonight...
Sekh's tone softened. "That's great, Kai…"
Kai closed his eyes, the weight of the past years pressing down, but a new fire kindling inside.
"You grew as a person… I'm glad you aren't the same isolated person you were before."
Kai opened his eyes and smiled faintly. "Neither am I."