V-00000.3 - Mutant

  Slowly I began to return from the void of unconsciousness; thoughts flowed slowly as if each idea was trapped in molasses.

  Where… What happened… Oh gods, the pain, it... the darkness... I thought I died.

  I began opening my eyes, and I felt resistance, along with a tugging sensation on my eyelashes, trying harder as I felt the strength slowly returning to my limbs. I heard a soft cracking sound.

  Light burning white, searing light dug into my retinas as my eyes creaked open. More cracking noise sounded as my eyes fully opened as I saw tiny glimmers of black dust and crystal falling from my eyes.

  With every movement and the tensing of my body, I could feel more of the strange black substance cracking off my body when I stretched; my joints snapped and popped violently, sending shudders up and down my body as I endured the spasm-inducing pain.

  “What the fuck is this dust? How long have I been on the ground for my body to be bent this out of shape?” I said aloud, feeling more of the black crystal turn to dust falling away as I spoke and began to stand.

  Looking around, I noticed something strange. My vision was crystal clear in a way it hadn’t been since I was a child; I could see the black glass like dust gathering on the ground; the lines between the floorboards were equally clear to me; and so was the dirt and grime in my apartment that I never paid attention to because I simply could not see it.

  In the midst of looking around, I took note of another sensation. I felt like something that was intrinsic to my existence had been carved from my life, and only now did I realize the absence.

  That was when I noticed the soft red glow just at the edge of my vision, and when I twisted to face it, it moved with me, always staying in the corner of my peripheral. I kept turning, slowly growing frustrated.

  “Oh what the fuck, just give me a break, would you? oh. I’m the dumbass, fair enough.

  When I focused my eyes far left and focused on the red with my sight instead of twisting to face it, the glow immediately expanded, bringing up a Crimson screen that looked a lot like a notification window.

  I could feel my heartbeat raising as I read through the notifications. Seeing the error brought both a slight feeling of hope and fear to me—fear that I was broken and hope that I had escaped whatever this was. Those feelings both, however, began to fade in the wake of how angry and violated I felt.

  This... thing just reached into my life, and what did it even do? Make me a monster? A "HYBRID,” am I even human anymore?

  I said, looking down at my hands and turning them over, everything looked normal—rough palms, clear nails, blue veins, striking a contrast to my deathly pale skin.

  Looking back to the system screen, I asked, “What an archetype?” and without wasting even a moment, the screen expanded, showing a list of options along with a symbol alongside each description.

  Reading through the options presented to me, I could feel excitement and anticipation blooming within me—a sensation I hadn’t enjoyed in a long time. This felt different—different from the drab college and job applications that I cared nothing for, different from the motions I had been going through my entire high school career. I studied each option carefully.

  Warriors obviously out; sure, I might be a pretty kickass in a brawl, but let’s be real, my bodies been falling apart for a long time, and yesterday just hammered that point home, barely even a fight, and I was aching the whole way back.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Honestly, Ranger appeals to me; I love the woods. I love camping and bushcraft survival type stuff, but... it’s not right and doesn’t feel like me... I don’t want to settle into the woods and just become a part of nature. I want to do something myself; I want to choose my own path, not become part of another.

  I could feel a draw to Ranger, and it was a powerful one. However, magic was something I’d wanted my entire life. I felt an instantaneous sense of connection to the occultist archetype, as if it were calling out to me. I felt it was promising to fill this void in me. I’d only just noticed

  I felt a weight in my voice; I hadn’t expected my choice to solidifying within my mind.

  “I select Occultist as my archetype.”

  Congratulations, archetype Occultist set! Skill gained Mana Sense.

  “Holy shit, that’s… a lot,” I said with a chuckle. “After all that shit, I said about how dumb it was that your whole life gets decided by numbers on a test when you’re a teenager. Here I am, my entire life summed up into numbers as a teenager.”

  I began reading over my stats, trying to understand what each of them meant and why I had pluses on some and minuses on others, when during my thinking a set of boxes began to open.

  I processed that information with a bit of confusion, especially about the glamour, getting a bit concerned that there was going to be people who could just mind control other people with waves of pheromones or similar, then I moved onto questioning the weird brackets next to my stats.

  Huh… how delightful the amount that my disability is fucking me up is actually quantifiable; it’s actually halved my vitality and dexterity, which explains a depressing amount about my life.

  “Any chance you’ll tell me what the average is for a human?”

  Well, Fucking A? I guess even crippled, I’m still at least on the low end of average, and I’m pretty goddamn awesome everywhere else; hell, I'd be above average across the board if I wasn’t being consumed from the inside by this whatever the fuck, now for the good shit, I suppose? What does animal instinct and mana sense do?

  Alright, I’ll admit it, that’s pretty fucking awesome.

  “Last but hopefully not least, what’s up with these abilities and mutations?”

  I finished reading the status report in stunned silence, simply processing the new information that I’m apparently now capable of consuming things life-force with my ghoulish ability parasite, and that I am apparently able to mutate at will and immune to... Cancer? I guess.

  I looked left and right a few times, almost expecting something to just happen, as if suddenly a band of ogres was going to appear or I’d get summoned to fight the demon king... and after a sufficiently long time passed that I was pretty sure no shenanigans would take place, I relaxed, letting out tension I wasn’t aware I had.

  Bringing my hands up, I combed my fingers through my long hair, feeling it was a little longer and that my stubble had progressed to a full-on depression beard.

  “How long have I been passed out... It must have been days at the least for my stubble to have grown this far out.”.

  Walking through my apartment, I stepped into the bathroom, looking myself in the mirror.

  Long black hair fell down my face in a mess coated in the strange black dust that covered my unconscious form; my hazel eyes shone in the dim sunlight, a deep emerald for the outside ring with amber on the inside; my lips were cracked and dry quite possibly from laying on the floor for days.

  I stretched and yawned, feeling my back crack and joints snapping into place, allowing me to stand straight. That’s when I saw myself yawning in the mirror; my mouth opened wide enough to easily fit my entire fist in, and my tongue was hanging out past my chin, seeming thinner and having a somewhat pale blue tint rather than pink.

  Holy shit is that creepy... What the fuck! I guess they call it a mutation for a good fucking reason.

  Examining the rest of my mouth brought nothing new to light; my teeth, throat, and roof of my mouth all felt and looked completely normal.

  Looking out my window, I stared down at the streets that seemed a little less vacant than previously. Staring out to the horizon, I wondered to myself.

  What am I becoming?

  Unfortunately, I didn’t have the time to ponder my current situation. With my eyes still fixed on the streets below, I noticed some familiar faces in the crowd. Taking note of my ex-associates, I quickly noticed, to my utter chagrin, they were heading straight for my apartment.

  They walked into the windows blind spot and shortly after I heard a set of loud heavy knocks against my door.