The system's enhancement process occurred with terrifying efficiency - one moment Ethan stood whole and human, the next his very molecular structure was being rewritten by unseen forces. There was no pain, no dramatic lightshow, just the silent certainty of evolution as his Strawskin Manifestation transcended its previous limitations. Where seconds ago it had been a mere D-grade ability useful for minor transformations, it now thrummed with potential that made his enhanced nerves tingle with anticipation.
Full Transformation: Strawman Mode Activated
The change was both horrifying and beautiful to witness. Ethan's flesh visibly desiccated, his skin cracking like parched earth before flaking away to reveal the golden stalks beneath. His organs atrophied in seconds, their biological functions replaced by some unknowable supernatural equivalent. His heartbeat stuttered, paused, then ceased entirely as his cardiovascular system dissolved into strands of living hay. His entire physical form collapsed inward like a deflating balloon, only to reassemble into a towering seven-foot humanoid figure woven from animate straw that pulsed with eerie vitality.
This dwarfed his previous partial transformations. Where before he could only convert limbs or sections of his body, now every cell, every neuron, every strand of DNA had been rewritten into this new configuration. His consciousness wasn't merely housed in this form - it was distributed throughout the fibrous network, giving him a spider-like awareness of every individual stalk comprising his being.
Ethan flexed his new hands, watching with fascination as thousands of individual straw strands rippled like muscle fibers. The prehensile bundles twisted and knotted with serpentine grace, each movement generating a dry rustling whisper.
"So this is true inhumanity," he murmured, his voice the sound of wind through a wheat field. He focused on a single stalk protruding from his index finger, watching it writhe with unnatural autonomy before willing it to extend. The strand shot outward with bullet speed, embedding itself in a skyscraper window 300 meters distant with a crystalline ping.
WHOOSH!
With a thought, his entire body unraveled along the connection, reforming at the anchor point in a fraction of a second. He swung through the predawn air like some nightmare version of Spider-Man, straw cables retracting and extending with perfect coordination to propel him skyward. At the rooftop's edge, his arms spontaneously morphed into broad glider wings, the individual stalks rearranging themselves to catch thermal updrafts for completely silent flight.
SPROING!
His landing was a masterpiece of biological engineering. Moments before impact, his straw body exploded into a swirling cyclone that dispersed the kinetic energy harmlessly before reassembling into human form five paces from what would have been a massive impact crater. The entire sequence - from transformation to flight to landing - took less than thirty seconds but demonstrated capabilities that would take years for normal humans to master.
As the transformation released, Ethan staggered back into his flesh-and-blood form. His human lungs burned as they reinflated, his sweat-drenched back muscles trembling from the sudden return to biological constraints. The toll was brutal - just five minutes of full straw form had drained him like running back-to-back marathons while solving complex equations.
But the savage grin splitting his face made it all worthwhile.
Enhanced Capabilities Assessment:
Near-Complete Invulnerability: Ballistic testing confirmed immunity to anything short of high-caliber armor-piercing rounds. Blades passed harmlessly between stalks, blunt force trauma dispersed across the entire fibrous network.
Unlimited Morphological Freedom: Gliding, grappling, dispersal/reassembly - limited only by imagination and stamina. Preliminary tests suggested potential for subterranean movement via root-like penetration.
Offensive Flexibility Upgrade: Straw tendrils now demonstrated 10m effective range with enough piercing force to penetrate standard steel plating (up to 15cm verified).
Cognitive Distribution: Consciousness appeared to backup across the entire straw matrix, suggesting potential decapitation survival.
Ethan massaged his aching temples as he reviewed the data. "Only two real weaknesses remain," he noted aloud. "Fire, obviously... and this damn stamina drain." The full transformation would remain an emergency option until he could boost his endurance.
Phase Two: Bloodprice Curse Upgrade
"System, enhance Bloodprice Curse."
The response was instantaneous:
[Ding! 8 Supernatural Points deducted.]
[Bloodprice Curse (D) → (D+) evolution initiated]
[New Parameters Verified]
Target Capacity: 2 simultaneous victims (previously 1)
Damage Reflection Ratio: 150% returned (was 100%)
Penalty Conditions: High-constitution foes (STR/CON >6.0) may partially resist
Duration Extension: Now maintains for 8 hours post-activation
Ethan's pupils dilated as he processed the implications. A 1.5x damage mirror that could simultaneously link two attackers? When paired with his straw form's near-invulnerability, this created a devastating feedback loop - every injury he sustained would ravage his attackers worse, while his distributed physiology could tank damage that would kill normal humans. He'd become a walking torture device, a living embodiment of the karma principle.
Status Reassessment - Post-Upgrade
Ethan Cross - Updated Metrics
Strength: 4.1 (Can deadlift 850kg)
Speed: 4.1 (40m sprint in 3.2s)
Constitution: 4.1 (Withstands .50 caliber rounds)
Spirit: 5.1 (Basic psychic shielding)
Abilities:
Strawskin Manifestation (D+)
Bloodprice Curse (D+)
Gluttony (D)
Combat Rating: C-Class (City Block Threat Level)
In Beihai City—officially a Tier-3 urban zone—this promotion cemented his place among the elite. Most Bureau C-Class operatives commanded entire tactical divisions, answering only to the Mayor's office during emergencies. The realization sent a jolt of electricity down his spine.
No more cowering. Ethan's whisper cut through the dawn as the rising sun bathed the skyline in gold. For the first time since his transmigration into this nightmare world, the suffocating dread coiled around his heart began to unravel.
He flexed his fingers, the straw-conversion scars still prickling beneath his skin. First, resupply. The Hundred Herbs Hall's storerooms would replenish the medicines Gluttony had devoured—this time, he'd need triple the dose to stabilize his enhanced body.
Then came the true test: stress-testing his upgraded abilities in live combat. That derelict high-rise loomed ahead, a banquet table set for one.
Let the ghosts come. His fingertips brushed the fresh scar along his ribs—where a Roaming Corpse's claws had failed to pierce him yesterday. Their screams will herald my C-Class reign.
Abandoned Building - Bureau Standoff
Lucian Steelgrave called the retreat as the first true sunlight breached the horizon, its warmth doing little to dispel the unnatural chill clinging to the derelict structure. Thirty-plus Entity corpses littered the perimeter - mostly physical-types like Roaming Corpses and the occasional Flesh Amalgam. Only a handful of the more dangerous ghost-types had taken the bait this time.
"They're learning," he grimaced, watching the building's shadowed maw with professional unease. The patterns were clear - the Entities were adapting their behavior, becoming more cautious. "Tomorrow's hunt will be bloodier." The words tasted like ash in his mouth.
His gloved fist crushed an empty stimulant syringe, the fragile glass reduced to powder. Without proper C-Class elemental support, this war of attrition would bankrupt his squad long before they cleared the nest. The math was simple - they were running out of time, resources, and most dangerously, luck.