Core Absorption
It took roughly two hours to complete the task, with most of the time wasted just going back and forth.
The woman, whose name he'd come to learn as Masha, was thoroughly impressed by his performance, all indications of underestimation gone from her as she gave Mike affirming nods and words between his carrying.
In the end, he was pleasantly surprised when she gave him an extra 50 Credits, making it 200 instead of 150.
"Treat it as a thank you for getting it done so quickly. I wasn't expecting anyone to take up the commission, to be honest, and you did it in record time." That's what she said, and Mike gladly took the tip. He also took her number in case there was anything else he could help with in the future.
With that done, he decided to move on to his next commission, but not before taking a stop at his dorm to eat. After that, he went to complete his next commission at the Biology lab.
The lab was situated quite a bit further than the training wing and the gym. In fact, it was within its own section of the school. The map called the place the medical wing, so he assumed this was where people studying courses related to medicine or had healing abilities stayed.
The Biology lab was also large. Most buildings in this place seemed to be. However, he wasn't allowed to enter. Instead, when he reached the entrance, a student who was acting as a guard—Mike guessed it was for Credits—asked him what his business was, and when he explained it was to accept the commission, he was led around the building to the back where several crates filled with 'rocks' of varying sizes.
These were naturally the used-up cores, but as soon as he saw them, Mike had an odd feeling...
"The disposal site should be marked on your map. Just follow it. When you get there, you'll be instructed on what to do." The student/guard said with a noncommittal tone before returning to his post.
Mike nodded and looked back at the crates. They were on wheels, so he could simply drag them, not that it was easy. Each crate was considerably large. Taller and wider than Mike by quite a bit. However, that's not what caught his attention.
Staring at them, he felt an odd sense of... hunger.
But it wasn't the usual hunger either, especially considering that he'd eaten before coming here to avoid just that. He could explain it, but it was as though SOMETHING within him needed to be sated.
He felt himself salivate and shook his head.
'Now isn't the time.' He scolded himself and grabbed the edge of the first crate before he started pulling. The wheels were a nice addition, and he could pull with one arm and walk in front of the thing. Moreover, he could keep the hologram of the map active without needing to stop from time to time.
As he pulled, though, he became more and more aware of the dead cores, and he felt himself becoming antsy.
'What would I even do anyway? It's not like I can eat them. It's said that a human absorbing a beast's core is harmful as our bodies can't properly assimilate the energy within them. I'd just hurt myself.' As he had that thought, he slowed to a stop, his brows furrowed.
'Humans absorbing it is harmful...' He repeated inwardly as he frowned.
Mike wasn't fully human, now was he?
He hesitated. It was an absurd thought. Moreover, it was just plain weird.
But what if...?
He unconsciously spread his senses, his instincts telling him that no one was watching.
He started moving again, but he discreetly grabbed one of the dead cores from the crate, and as soon as he did.
[Energy source detected. Would Host like to absorb it? +0.2 strength.]
Mike's heart started pounding.
'... What?' He looked between the core in his hand and the large crate of cores, and he felt a deep sense of excitement.
His ferocity also started to rise.
'Take a breath!' He yelled inwardly and took a deep breath as he allowed his rational mind to take over.
'If it's what I'm thinking, then that makes no sense. Still, I can't confirm anything until I try it.' He thought with a sigh, then he gave a mental command.
'Absorb.' Immediately, he felt a faint wisp of energy leave the dead core and flow into his body. It was small, but it was there, and he felt the faintest increase in his strength.
Without hesitation, he opened up his stats.
STATS
Strength: 21 → 21.2
Agility: 25
Endurance: 24
Vitality: 27
Perception: 18
Ferocity: 9% (Stable)
Allocatable Stat Points: 0
'It's real.' Mike took a breath, but he refused to let himself get too excited and start absorbing the dead cores haphazardly. Instead, he consulted the system.
'System, can you explain all of this to me?' He asked, and the ever-present metaphysical construct promptly replied.
[After becoming a Lupine, the Host has acquired the traits of the wolf in addition to his human nature. Making him a mix of both, but it isn't as simple as taking some aspects from both. The Host IS both. This includes the ability of wolves, like other beasts, to assimilate the cores of beasts to strengthen themselves. For the Host, it's a bit different as for normal beasts, it takes a moment to digest these cores. However, you have both the natural physique for absorbing this energy from cores due to your wolf side, and your human side allows you to assimilate this energy faster and more efficiently. Moreover, the system actively assists in this process, making it even easier. However, the Host cannot absorb too many cores at or lower than his level, otherwise, their effectiveness will drop rapidly, and you will stop gaining energy from them.]
The words reminded Mike that he wasn't fully human anymore, making him a bit uncomfortable, however, he simply sighed as he'd already accepted this from the get-go. Well, he'd done a lot of self-convincing on his way here, so he'd stopped panicking about it. He took solace in the fact that he was still somewhat human.
Anyway, when he heard the catch, he found it to make sense. If he could just find thousands of dead cores and absorb them, then he'd become really strong in a pretty short period.
Still, even with this restriction, it was still something he was fully intent on exploiting.
Which is why as he walked, he discreetly grabbed cores to absorb whenever he was sure no one was looking.
[Energy source detected. Would Host like to absorb it? +0.2 strength.]
[Energy source detected. Would Host like to absorb it? +0.2 agility.]
[Energy source detected. Would Host like to absorb it? +0.3 perception.]
...
Mike eventually reached the disposal site.
It was a pretty large open area with lots of boys moving around. There were dozens of pits in the ground with piles of dead cores, destroyed equipment, useless technology, and other recyclable materials were disposed to be reused.
Mike was a bit out of it, though, as he was currently staring at his new stats.
STATS
Strength: 21 → 23.8
Agility: 25 → 26.6
Endurance: 24 → 25.2
Vitality: 27 → 29
Perception: 18 → 21.4
Ferocity: 9% (Stable)
Allocatable Stat Points: 0
'... Damn.' He thought with an incredulous look in his eyes. He'd seriously increased his stats by so much simply by absorbing some dead beast cores.
He'd reached his cap on them quickly, though, as they soon stopped giving him any more stats. But even then...
'What would happen if I got complete ones?' He thought, and he felt himself getting excited. However, before he could get lost in his thoughts, at bot approached him and just waited.
Mike blinked and moved the cart towards it. It promptly grabbed it and visibly strained as it was moved to the closest pit to have its contents recycled.
Mike shrugged and jogged back to the Biology lab, feeling like a happy Lupine after his gains.