Chapter 13: Cyre’s special inner skill

Nova had used many reset stones as he ventured through the stages. Since his only available method of acquiring skills was absorbing blood through skin bathing over a long period, his skill acquisition couldn’t progress. Each method could only grant one skill—using the same method again wouldn’t add a new skill but would replace the current one.

It wasn’t until several stages later that he finally obtained a tool to inject blood. However, Cyre refused to use it.

Nova had gained an armor creation skill through the blood injection method.

“Cyre, this skill is really useful. You have to get it. Look,” said Nova, creating an armor from his energy, which formed on top of his hand's skin.

He could create armor wherever he wanted and reshape it as he pleased. He could even create a short knife with it.

“No, I don’t want to. I can use it too without the injection,” replied Cyre, joking as she streched out her tongue.

But both of them were surprised when Cyre was able to create armor on her hands.

"Emm... Yeeeey? Why can I use it, big bro?" asked Cyre, tilting her head and gazing straight into Nova’s eyes.

"Mmm, maybe you got it through the method of inhaling some gas at a certain stage. But there was no white light shining, so it can’t be that," said Nova, gazing back at Cyre as he lowered his head to her height.

They started a gaze-off game after that, each trying to outlast the other. The winner was Cyre, who managed to scare Nova by getting her two fingers an inch away from his eyes.

“Well, it’s a positive thing, nothing to worry about. We can try many things later to figure out what your special inner skill is,” said Nova, straightening his back. “By the way, what color did your shine when you got your special inner skill, Cyre?”

“Orange,” answered Cyre, making a victory sign with her two fingers in front of Nova's face.

When someone received a special inner skill, the colors ranged from worst to best: white, black, yellow, green, blue, red, and orange.

“Highest grade? Wow. But wait, why does the best skill only give you the ability to merge with another living being’s flesh? Are you sure you’re not lying about getting an orange color?” asked Nova.

“I’m not lying,” said Cyre, punching Nova in the stomach. “Look at how I learned the armor creation skill. There’s something strange about my special inner skill.”

“Is it related to sight? You’ve seen a lot of aliens and even people use their skills, right? Try using the skill of someone we met before.”

Cyre attempted to use an earth ability, but nothing happened.

“Hmm, let’s think about it later. Let’s eat first,” said Nova, rummaging through his new bag.

…

Nova managed to obtain a method for drinking a creature’s liquid. Once again, Cyre refused to do it.

“Cyre, to check how your skill works, I want to try a few things. During this period, when I’m trying to gain a new skill, don’t touch me. And don’t touch me after I’ve gained the skill either. I want to know if you can acquire a skill just by touching another person,” explained Nova, drinking the slimy liquid.

“Okay,” replied Cyre, her face scrunched in disgust as she watched Nova drink the slimy liquid.

On the other side, Nova shone with a white light after drinking the liquid.

“Cyre, try this,” said Nova. He placed his arms at his sides, palms facing upward. From his palms, a surge of wind burst out, lifting all his hair into the air. He held the skill for a few seconds before turning it off.

“Alright, I’ll give it a try,” replied Cyre.

She mimicked Nova’s stance and focused her energy into her palms. But nothing happened.

“Boo! That’s boring,” she pouted, puffing out her cheeks.

“Now, try touching me and do it again,” said Nova.

Cyre reached out and touched him, then turned her palms toward his face. Channeling energy into her palms once more—this time, it worked. A powerful gust of wind shot forward, sending Nova flying.

…

Nova had asked Cyre to touch various people and alien creatures as they crossed the stages.
As a result, it was confirmed—Cyre could indeed copy the skills of others just by touching them. It also became clear that her merging ability came from physical contact with a creature.

After some time exploring, the two of them took a break beside a lake, sitting atop a fallen tree trunk.

“Hey, Cyre, I think I read somewhere that some bacteria can merge with each other or something. So... I can call you bacteria girl, right?” said Nova, turning to her with a grin.

Without a word, Cyre pressed her palm firmly against his face and shoved him backward. Nova toppled off the trunk, landing flat on his back.

“Wait, there are also cute and useful bacteria, you know. I think you’re one of the cute ones, Cyre—so don’t be mad,” said Nova, sitting back up. “By the way, please try making wine or alcohol using the fruit and water we have? I’ll teach you how.”

“Can I?” asked Cyre, tilting her head.

“I have no idea. Let’s find out,” replied Nova.

Nova began teaching her how to make alcohol, guiding her step by step. Just a few minutes later, they had a finished product.

Holding a mug in one hand, Nova examined the contents. “Yep, this is definitely alcohol,” he said proudly before tilting the mug all the way back, drinking it until the last drop was gone.

“Why did you drink it all!?” Cyre yelled, glaring at Nova.

“Kids aren’t allowed to drink alcohol, you know that, righ—” said Nova, turning to face Cyre. But then, he was dumbfounded by the sight before him.

Two long, rabbit ears were sticking up from Cyre’s head.

“What is that long standing fluffy ears, Cyre?” asked Nova. He stepped closer to Cyre and began rubbing the soft ears with his hand.

“I like rabbits,” replied Cyre, looking up at Nova. “So I tried to imitate that rabbit-like alien we met before.”

Cyre walked over to the bag and started rummaging through it. She pulled out a small blue stone, already reshaped into a bracelet. Then, she attached it to her tail.

Nova was once again surprised by a sudden appearance of wonder.

“Wait... do you mean you’re going to—?” asked Nova, stopping mid-sentence.

Cyre channeled her energy into her tail, then into the bracelet. From thin air, water extended outward—forming into a sharp, sword-like shape.

"You actually did it, Cyre! You’ve made a major breakthrough in invention… or maybe not. It’s actually a pretty simple idea,” said Nova, hyping himself up, only to feel disappointed right after.

“But still, it’s a solid idea. With this, the limitation on carrying only a few pieces of equipment might change." said Nova, smiling. “Hey, Cyre, do you think there’s a shapeshifter ability that lets you turn into a dragon? We can have an extra tail and wings right, also the horns.”

…

Nova had ventured through many stages, and along the way, he discovered more about Cyre’s skill. After touching a stranger, if she didn’t know what skill they could use, she couldn’t activate it either.

Meanwhile, Nova continued experimenting with ways to control and use his energy. He eventually figured out how to compress and release a massive burst of energy as an attack. However, the old problem resurfaced—the technique drained his energy too quickly, leaving him exhausted afterward.

Nova decided to train with a bow, since his absorption technique couldn’t keep up with the energy drain from his new skill. Unlike the stretched arm weapon, the bow offered longer attack range, making it the better choice.

He was currently in the process of crafting it, sitting in the middle of a vibrant floral forest filled with a wide variety of plants. The creatures inhabiting the area were living, mobile plants—using roots to walk and vines to attack.

He occasionally glanced at Cyre, who was in the middle of a fight.

“Wait, you’ve done something incredible again, Cyre,” said Nova, standing up. He leapt to her side and punched one of the plant creatures that was creeping up from Cyre's another side.

Nova grabbed her hands and lifted them up. Her furry hands were now covered in armor, created using the armor skill.

“You mean the armor over my fur? But you can still cast a fireball while wearing armor too, big bro,” Cyre replied.

"No, it’s about you being able to stack body enhancements. Your rabbit transformation stacked with your self-energy enhancement," said Nova, letting go of Cyre’s hands.

"You remember that we can't shoot a fireball and wind cutter at the same time from one hand, right? The most we can do is shoot a fireball from the right hand and a wind cutter from the left. But your special skill is amazing; it can stack two skills and multiply your power significantly. I guess this is why it’s called a highest-grade skill, an orange skill," added Nova.

"I see, so I can stack things, right?" said Cyre, nodding. She shot a massive fireball at the incoming plant creature. The creature screeched and squirmed.

"Hey, big bro, stacking things up is indeed nice, but I want those legs," said Cyre, pointing at some plant creatures dangling from the ceiling and walls with their feet.

"Wooooah, I want that too actually! Why didn’t you say it sooner?" replied Nova.

…

Still in the floral forest, after defeating all the creatures that could climb walls and ceilings and creating equipment from them, Nova and Cyre stood upside down on the ceiling.

"I guess this isn't as easy as playing an FPS game. Well, moving just one hand and moving the whole body are different after all. I’ve just realized that balance and leg strength are also important for landing a powerful hit. More than anything, it’s so hard to aim without the crosshair from an FPS game," muttered Nova.

"Haha, big bro, you're stupid, haha. How don't you know something as simple as that?" said Cyre, playing with the plant creature below. She used a rod with a piece of meat as bait, pulling it away whenever the creature was about to catch it.

Nova’s face flattened in response to Cyre's words. “Well, while I train myself, having fun annihilating these stupid flowers easily one by one from above is nice too,” said Nova, ignoring Cyre.

“Boooo, not funny,” Cyre pouted, puffing her cheeks.

At that moment, the creatures below started throwing rocks at them. Nova and Cyre jolted, then immediately ran.

“Haha, well, training to shoot while moving is also important. At least I’m shooting at an unmoving target,” said Nova, after his body jolted from surprise.

The creatures followed Nova, moving around to evade his arrows while chasing him, running toward him.

“Okay, sometimes forcing yourself to the limit can be a good thing. Training to shoot a moving enemy is important too, to simulate a real battle,” Nova said, furrowing his eyebrows. He was clearly troubled.

“Hahaha, big brother is being funny again. Hahaha,” Cyre laughed, thoroughly enjoying herself.