Chapter 16: Chapter 16 — Escaping the Flood Infection Swarm, Six’s Mutation, and the System’s Evolution

Raya watched anxiously on the side as Six's body tore itself apart, tentacles bursting out of her back lashed out at her surroundings until they too decomposed into rotting flesh.

Behind them, the swarm of parasites was close to their position, catching up to them quickly. Raya had no choice but to drag the half-conscious Six forward while looking for a place to take shelter until Six was capable enough to escape on her own.

Many times did she think about abandoning Six and escaping on her own but quickly suppressed the thought as soon as it appeared. Besides, Six is her partner now.

Not even 5 minutes of struggling to swim away with Six had passed and the swarm of parasites caught up to them.

More and more parasites entered Six's body to infect her but instantly melted away the moment blood gushed out. What was left of the decaying flesh was a slither of black goo that had a green highlight to it. It also squirmed its way into Six's body before disappearing.

Raya's pace slowed down as she protected Six the best she could when she realized Six had fallen unconscious. Her life signals were fluctuating as if she kept dying and coming back to life over and over.

⌈ If only I had an offensive skill... ⌋

Her desire to become stronger rose within her heart as she abandoned her defensive stance before bursting out with all her strength.

Even though the parasites still surrounded her, there weren't as many compared to being in the center of the swarm.

Raya swam for what felt like hours until her senses picked up the sudden slope in the seafloor rising upwards. Another surge of energy erupted from her body that pushed her to swim faster.

At the same time, the parasites grew restless when they felt the waters becoming shallower. Their low intelligence and instincts told them that if the two 'prey' continued on their path, they would eventually escape.

They too burst out with amazing vigor trying to catch up and stop the fleeing 'prey'. Unfortunately, the difference in strength was too great.

No matter how many of them piled on top of Raya, biting and drilling into her, she simply ignored them, only occasionally tearing them off if they hindered her movements.

Gasp!

A glossy pristine object broke the surface of the once calm waters followed by the sounds of water splashing and hissing.

Raya, who was covered in thorns, spores, and tentacles, escaped the dangerous black sea carrying a lump of grotesque, unidentifiable... Thing on her back.

That thing of convulsing flesh and pus was exactly Six who had been infected too much by the parasites and the unknown black goo.

Just looking at her made Raya unconsciously shudder and step back.

She only then noticed that the parasites no longer attacked Six. The majority of them around her were willingly fusing with her, sacrificing their vitality and bio-mass to hasten the process of her infection.

The peace of the Black Sea was broken by the two groups' intrusion. The once calm surface became turbulent from the restless Parasites that dared not leave the sea, only lingering around in the shallow waters.

Raya took this chance to recover some energy by eating the nearby Parasites, and of course, avoiding the ones that gave her a sense of danger. They were most likely the ones that had the weird black goo inside them, she thought.

Noticing that staying meant being eaten by the hateful alien before them, they decided to reluctantly leave. Few of them however decided to stay as they wondered closely around Six's motionless 'body' if you can call it that.

⌈ Damnit... ⌋

She cursed in a low hiss as she stared at the unmoving Six. Nonetheless, she still picked her up and carried Six on her back. Two long and thick tentacles hung over Raya's shoulders.

***

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Time gradually passed.

Raya guessed that it had been a few days since she and Six escaped from the parasites and entered the withering forests. The land was barren and dry, the trees, plants, and grass withered away and the sky was covered by a thick layer of gray fog.

It was as if the place was in a constant state of decay, yet not enough for it to fully become a wasteland. Just enough for it to be on the verge of collapse but have enough vitality to keep the various lifeforms alive.

During this time, Six had undergone a drastic change, and soon the mound of writhing flesh began to converge and warp into its earlier appearance.

Raya wasn't idle and continued to hunt for prey, small rodents, and animals that looked like mutated rats and dogs.

They, themselves, didn't give much bio-energy points, but the mutagenic agent flowing in their blood gave her plenty.

However, after absorbing a certain amount of the mutagenic agent, the system seemed to undergo a transformation. The feeling was vague but she could feel it in the depths of her mind, that it was changing due to the mutation.

Finally, after another few days passed after settling down on the edge of the withered forest, Six's appearance returned to normal apart from a few changes and the two-fold size increase.

In softer parts of her body such as the joints and organs her original black exoskeleton now had a lighter shade of dark gray. Her dorsal fins were replaced by long fleshy, grayish-black tendrils that extended halfway down her tail. On the tips of these tendrils were terrifying, razor-sharp blades.

⌈Six?⌋

It was hard to tell whether or not she was breathing so Raya had to take a closer look. As she did, her face neared closer to Six's until she heard a faint hiss come out of her mouth.

⌈Where am I?⌋ (Six)

⌈We're on the island. I had to carry you out from the sea, free from those parasites.⌋ (Raya)

There was silence between the two for a while until Six spoke again with complicated emotions. ⌈Why didn't you leave me?⌋

Raya also wondered that and asked herself the same question. ⌈We're partners, now. I don't expect the same from you, but at least try not to betray me. Otherwise... I won't mind killing and eating you myself.⌋

The two of them stared at each other when suddenly Raya heard a sound inside her head.

[System evolution complete. Host, please check the system's newest feature.]

[Parasitic Resonance (1/5)]

⌈Parasites: Six (0.1%)⌋

The system's new feature was more of an exclusive skill and was also listed along with her other skills.

Through the information she obtained from the system, Raya could choose to attach a mental seed to an organism through mental connection, or telepathy. This seed will continue to grow until it reaches 100%. Upon completion, Raya can view the status of the infected organism, and even influence it to an extent. Moreover, the parasites can obtain skills from the host, Raya, that are compatible with their bodies.

However, this process was extremely slow at about 0.1 percent every dozen seconds and required her to be near the organism, the further she was, the slower the progress. Fortunately, she could use bio-energy points to speed up this process.