CHAPTER 58: SHARED ABILITIES

Jethro couldn’t believe what he was seeing, but of course! It made perfect sense when he thought about it.

He had studied biology well enough to know that certain lizards were thematic. This meant that lizards— compared to most animals back on earth —adapted faster to new environments.

One of the major reasons for this was because many lizard species had relatively short lifespans. This meant that natural selection acted on them more rapidly than on an animal with a long lifespan, like a whale or a tortoise.

And so, in a situation where they needed to adapt to maintain their short lifespan, they did so very quickly.

Jethro had even hoped that this trait applied to mechlizards here in Nebulon. Because if it did, Scorch could very well be on his way to become a dragon; a mechbeast that didn’t have a short lifespan.

Not even close.

But what was happening to Scorch right now was unprecedented. Completely.

Jethro would have been happy with his lizard simply increasing the DNA and Core Signature Similarity, and completing the first phase. He never expected that it would come with a transformation of sorts.

Because this indeed was a transformation.

Scorch was becoming something different. A total new kind of lizard.

A section of his synthetic, crimson scales along his back began to bubble and blacken. Jethro could see it now because Scorch was swimming on the lake, not merely floating in its waves.

Its limbs were stronger now. Jethro could tell.

A sizzle, sickening and moist, came from its back as the scales sloughed off, charring instantly in the lake of golden fire.

Now Jethro could see the new growth that came from underneath. The scales were not any smoother than it was before. But they were more jagged, the Vincintine this time was obsidian-dark, rough and spiky in texture.

Lines of red stretched through its body. They acted as tiny, intricate heat-venting tubes, like microscopic chimneys. They formed themselves between the cracks on Scorch’s new metallic skin.

Then, Scorch’s tail stretched, splashing on the river. His head grew smaller— No. His body grew bigger! It now matched the size of his formerly large, newly black head!

The claws on his fingers sharpened, the frills below his neck extended then compressed, and his eyes, his eyes were crimson now.

Just as crimson as the flame-based molecules of aether it had absorbed.

Jethro, eyes wide, heart pounding, took an excited glance down at his beastlinker’s hologram.

[Phase One: 98%]

[Core Signature Match Target: 65% (Currently 64.9%)]

[DNA Similarity: 10.2%]

[2% left to complete this phase]

Jethro read through the lines with his excitement barely contained. "Oh, I get it now," he mumbled, glancing at Scorch and then at the linker.

"The 4% change in Scorch’s DNA is what led to this. Not only is his Soul Core even becoming more like a dragon’s, but his body is changing alongside it. This new aether is causing a growth in his body parts."

His eyes narrowed. "Except the change is not supposed to be this radical. This is way too much change for one evolution phase."

Ding!

[1% left to complete this phase]

He looked at Scorch. "I was right. Mechlizards are just as thematic as lizards in my former world. Evolution works even faster on them because of this."

This new realization left him stunned, eyes wide with the possibilities flashing in his mind. "It’s like lizards were made to evolve."

He glanced at the fire lake again.

Scorch was no longer whimpering. He was growling, a continuous, vibrating sound of effort and pain channeled into focus. The new obsidian scales spread, crawling over his flanks, darkening his tail. The heat vents glowed brighter.

Then everything abruptly stopped.

Ding!

[This phase is now complete]!

Jethro stared at the holographic announcement.

[Evolution Path: Aether Priming

-Phase One: Complete]

[Core Signature Resonance: 65.1%]

[DNA Adaptation: 11.7%]

[Mechbeast is now allowed to exit the flame-based environment. No more dangers for cultivation or evolution paths. Regression is unlikely].

"Scorch!" Jethro gasped, excitement in the depths of his voice. "You did it! You magnificent, crazy lizard! You did it!"

Scorch glanced up at him. The fear was gone, replaced by a humorous kind of confusion. Scorch was oblivious to what had happened, though Jethro could tell that it knew it was stronger.

He could feel it in his Core at that moment.

Even Scorch’s eyes, they were darker, more intense, like there was something ancient and powerful beneath the exhaustion.

Still a cute little lizard, though.

"Hold on, let me get you out of there," Jethro said.

He quickly lunged both hands into the fiery lake, aiming to grab Scorch and pull him out. His fingers closed around the lizard, careful to avoid the sensitive new growth. He pulled the lizard free from the clinging fire.

The first thing Jethro noticed was that the flames didn’t burn him. In fact, he felt completely immune to it.

That was surprising given that the fire had earlier attempted to actually burn him. Meaning it was just as if not hotter than Decterion’s flames.

If Jethro was somehow immune to it now, did that mean the Conqueror’s flames wouldn’t have hurt him at all?

The other thing was Scorch. He felt different. But that was expected given what had just happened.

Jethro could feel the new weight in his Soul Core, like an extra, stronger layer of energy has been added. Scorch was also heavier. And hotter, but with a contained, potent heat, not just the ambient burn.

The new obsidian scales were rough but they surprisingly didn’t sting Jethro. Scorch knew to compress them each time his master reached to grab him.

"Can you believe how big you are now?" he whispered to the mechbeast, bringing it closer to his face, their eyes, both crimson, locked to each other.

"I can’t even carry you with one arm anymore."

Scorch chirped, like he was accusing Jethro of something.

Jethro chuckled. "Of course I brought an aether poisoning toxin with me, I’m not stupid enough to come to a place like this without one. Though I am going to be owing Kekius quite a lot of credits after this."

Scorch chirped again.

Jethro’s eyes narrowed, head tilting in curiosity. "No nodding," he muttered. "Guess you’ve evolved past that. Though I am going to miss it, to be honest."

He placed him gently on the floor. "But I hope you’ve also evolved past drooling. Not going to miss that."

With a heavy sigh, he got up to his feet, dusting himself. But then, another notification came from the beastlinker.

Jethro frowned. All the notifications so far had been expected, so he had no idea what this could be about.

Did something go wrong in the evolution phase? Was the pathway ruined?

He pushed the thoughts outside and raised his hand to his face, activating the linker. The interface popped up instantly with a loud Ding!

[Increase in mechbeast’s aether harnessing, has amplified the Red Lizard’s powers]

[New abilities unlocked]!

Jethro’s eyes widened. Scorch had new abilities!

[Total Heat Resistance: Complete resistance to heat or any heat like structure or force. This includes: fire, magma, nova, beams or lightning].

[Claw Spin: Create a mini-vortex of claws caused by rapid bursts around a target, swiping newly enhanced claws at dangerous regions]

[Outside Burn: Heat up a particular region of space, causing extreme distress, worn out or damage to opponent]

[Camouflage: Minor light/heat refraction field. Blends mechbeast with immediate environment. Effectiveness scales with ambient energy absorption.]

[Regenerate: Accelerated cellular repair fueled by ambient heat/aether. Minor tissue damage reversed passively.]

Jethro stared at the beastlinker’s interface, the blue glow painting his stunned face in the hellish light. "Scorch is no longer a worktype mechbeast. He has combat powers now!"

He looked down at the lizard who was gazing up at him, eyes glistening.

"Do you hear that, Scorch?!" Jethro exclaimed. "You can actually fight now!"

Ding!

Jethro paused. ’Wait. Another notification?’

He looked at the interface.

[Soul Contract has authorized new shared abilities.]

[User has unlocked five new shared abilities!]

Jethro’s mind raced, trying to grasp what had just happened as the notifications scrolled:

[Regenerate: Accelerated cellular repair fueled by ambient heat/aether. Minor tissue damage reversed passively. Passive/Active Skill]

[Wall-Climb: Enhanced epidermal adhesion. Traverse vertical and inverted surfaces. Duration/Speed influenced by surface integrity. Active Skill]

[Camouflage: Minor light/heat refraction field. Blends user with immediate environment. Effectiveness scales with ambient energy absorption. Active Skill]

[Deep Sense] Multisensory enhancement. Night vision (thermal/low-light), auditory amplification, olfactory precision. Passive environmental awareness radius: 15 meters. Passive Skill]

[Solar Charge: Absorbs ambient thermal/light energy. Boosts effectiveness of all other abilities. Drains environmental heat sources to sustain active skills. Passive/Active Skill]

Jethro didn’t know what to say. He didn’t even know what to think. He had just been recovering from the excitement of Scorch unlocking new abilities and now he gets hit with this?

Wall Climb? Deep Sense? All these new skills. Five of them!

Wait...

His mind paused, his excitement silenced for a moment. Deep Sense?

An ability that gave him extraordinary sensory abilities. That let him know when danger was lurking...

Was that why he heard the roars of the burning trees in a different manner? Like a symphony of crackling frequencies.

Was that why the stench of sulfur and magic stung his nose even more, resolving into layered chemical signatures that he couldn’t understand.

Was that why he could feel the currents of the heat and its eddies? And was that why through the shimmering thermal haze painted across his vision, he could see a pair of molten beast-like eyes watching him.

Like prey.