Chapter 80: Forceful Genome Fusion!?
The crimson runes on the slab flared, and in the next moment, the slab twisted in and vanished, a red vortex blooming in its place and expanding to roughly three meters in diameter.
"We go in."
The man said, stepping into the vortex
Following behind were the 3rd years, then the 2nd years, and finally White, who looked around him once more before he also jumped in.
It was a different sensation from teleportation.
It felt as if he had instead fallen from a high place, descending onto the ground with speed.
Pitch darkness was all there was around him, and all of a sudden.
BAAAANG!
He felt as if he had slammed into something hard, and his consciousness was immediately lost.
_______
CLAAANK!
CLAAANK!
Clanking noises reached White first.
It appeared distant, but then, it increased, louder and louder, eventually forcing him to snap his eyes open.
What he saw next was the pitch-black ceiling and crimson rays of light across his face.
He could feel a couple of presences around him.
Five people wore lab coats, but unlike the usual white, these were black.
Their faces couldn’t be seen, hidden behind a mask, with a bulging underside that made it resemble a gas mask.
The first thing he tried was to move away, but nothing happened.
Looking down at his feet, he found the reason.
He had been chained tightly to the bed, both legs wide from each other, and the same was true for his arms, neck, and waist.
He had been fully pinned down.
"You’re awake. That’s just in time..."
A feminine voice reached him, and from the corner of his vision, someone appeared.
A woman with crimson colored hair and eyes.
She wasn’t normal, as there was a pipe sticking out from her back behind her, and into the side of her right neck.
Dark fluid coursing through the pipe in a steady stream.
Her hands reached for his forehead, and he tried to stop it.
"Activate Limitless."
He ordered, but then the panel flashed.
[SKILL ACTIVATION IS TEMPORARILY IMPOSSIBLE.]
[HOST ESSENCE CORE HAS BEEN SEALED WITH AN ADVANCED SEALING RUNE.]
It said, and her hands landed on his forehead.
"Did something fail to happen?"
She asked him, a grin on her lips, noticing his shocked expression.
"You’ve sealed away my essence core. We have been told that will happen. Now let me go."
He said,
"Shoosh, shoosh, shoosh."
She made shushing sounds, her hands resting on his lips.
"We’re not done yet, cyber. Far from it, actually."
White snapped his neck to the side, leading to her fingers sliding off his lips, landing on his jaw instead.
"You’re a feisty one, I see." She said, giggling as she took back her hands, continuing, "Fortunately for you, I don’t hate those."
"Prepare to begin the Genome Transplant Surgery."
She said, and White’s brow furrowed.
"Genome Transplant?"
He asked.
"Yes. We’ll be fusing you with a supernatural part. Don’t tell me your instructor didn’t tell you that much?"
She asked, picking up a tube from the side and inserting a sharp needle at its base.
"We can choose between Genome Transplant or Otherworld Dream. I plan to choose Otherworld Dream!"
He said, but then she shook her head.
"It doesn’t work like that anymore, feisty. Rules changed around here two years ago."
"Since the interchange happens once every three years, I’m guessing your instructor has no idea of that."
"Safe to say, her information is a bit outdated."
She said.
"Why?"
He asked.
"Too many deaths occur in here in Aether Beyonder."
"It’s been recorded that 60% of newcomers die in their first month here, and 90% of those deaths were from students who choose to cultivate Otherworld dreams...students like you."
She explained as White’s brow creased.
"And why is that?"
"When you cultivate Otherworld dream, it’s a lot slower process, finding an Otherwordler and fusing with him."
"Even that doesn’t guarantee instant power; your body still needs time to properly harness the otherworlder’s power."
"Otherworld dreamers are stronger, sure... eventually...if they survive sharing their soul, but they’re slower to gain power."
She said, and it was clear to White that she wasn’t a fan of Otherworld Dream.
"Since things here are at their most brutal in the first month, newcomers who undergo genome fusion gain power almost immediately with clear physical power boosts, and some even gain weapons like claws and fangs."
"This makes the Otherworld dreamers who are still normal humans essentially walking food, and they are slaughtered en masse."
"The academy didn’t like seeing so many good potential dead due to that flaw, and since it refused to change its hard rules, it called forth a new rule."
"Every Newcomer will be made to undergo Genome Fusion, whether they like it or not. Then, after that, they will be given the manual to Otherworld Dreaming."
"That way, they can choose to be Otherworld dreamers or focus on gene transplant."
"If they gain enough power from Otherworld dreaming, then they can choose to reverse the genome transfusion, taking away their transplants, and becoming full Otherworld dreamers."
She explained, lengthily, having fixed up the needle, and walking to White’s neck.
Saying he was annoyed was an underestimate of what White truly felt, but even through that, he kept a cool head.
He knew he was as helpless as a baby right now, with five people surrounding him while he was bound.
Even if he managed to escape the bind, which he couldn’t, he wouldn’t survive fighting these weird people.
So, in the end, he could only gather as much information as possible about what would be done to him.
"Which supernatural creature part are you fusing me with?"
He asked, as the woman steadied the needle and quickly pierced through a vein in his neck, sending the dark liquid into his bloodstream.
"Actually, for now, you just get a Supernatural Heart Implant."
"What supernatural creature’s heart...to..be..exact?"
He asked, feeling a sudden dizziness.
"You showed a 87% compatibility with quite a unique Supernatural Creature."
"You might not know, but 87% compatibility with a supernatural creature is ultra rare."
"The highest I’ve personally seen is 76%, though I’ve done hundreds of surgeries."
"Just tell me...the damned creature!"
White roared out in anger, and she paused.
Bending slightly, she leaned closer to his ears and whispered a name that sent a chill down his spine.
"It’s a...."
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