I. The Systemic Rewrite: Preparing for Obsolescence
Absolutum turned his back on the Bulldog Ant nest. The insects allowed him to leave, sensing the density of the bone he now walked upon.
As he walked toward the Whispering Fungal Forest, the System did not go dormant. It began a massive, internal recalculation based on the Host's long-term directive.
[CRITICAL STRATEGY UPDATE: Modular Evolution Protocol.] [ANALYSIS: Current skeletal components (Porcupine Femur, Ant Chitin) are classified as "Tier 1 / Transient".] [LOGIC: Host will inevitably encounter superior biological materials. Current bones will be discarded and replaced. If abilities remain localized to the bone structure, they will be lost upon replacement.]
[DIRECTIVE: Initiate "Trait Decoupling". Traits must be transferred from the hardware (Bone) to the software (Marrow/Core) to ensure persistence across future upgrades.]
Absolutum stopped. The green fire of the Aura flared not just around his new leg, but through his entire skeletal frame—from the brittle Elven skull to the tips of his mandible-fingers.
[RECALCULATING...] [EXTRACTING TRAIT: Porcupine Quill Generation.] [EXTRACTING TRAIT: Bulldog Ant Paralytic Neurotoxin.] [WRITING TO REGENERATIVE CORE...]
The sensation was invasive. It felt like cold water rushing through the hollows of every bone in his body. The System was rewriting his biological code.
[SUCCESS. Traits Globalized.]
The System had fundamentally altered his biology. It was no longer just the Porcupine leg that could fire quills; every marrow pocket in his body was now a potential magazine. When he eventually replaces the Porcupine bone with something stronger, the new bone will be "infected" by this marrow, inheriting the quill ability instantly.
Furthermore, the marrow itself had changed color. It was no longer red; it was a dark, virulent violet.
[NEW PASSIVE: Systemic Toxicity. The host's marrow now naturally synthesizes Bulldog Ant Neurotoxin. All generated bone matter (Quills, Spikes, Regenerated Bone) is coated in paralytic agents.]
Absolutum clenched his fist. This was true evolution. The bones were temporary; the power was eternal.
II. The Asymmetrical Engine
He resumed his walk. The movement was different now—not clumsy, but engineered.
The System had micro-molded the heavy Porcupine femur, adjusting the pelvic tilt and reinforcing the hip socket to account for the mass. He didn't drag the leg; he planted it.
However, the perfection of the right leg highlighted the failure of the left.
[SYSTEM DIAGNOSTIC: Kinetic Disparity Detected.] [RIGHT LEG (ANCHOR): Load Capacity 400%. Torque Output: High.] [LEFT LEG (ELVEN BASE): Load Capacity 4%. Torque Output: Low.]
If he pushed off his new Anchor leg with full force, the landing on his fragile left leg would shatter it. He was a cannon mounted on a canoe.
Martial Logic: Power requires a delivery system. I have the Anchor. I lack the Spring.
III. The Shadow in the Spores
Fifty meters ahead, the fungal undergrowth shifted.
[TARGET IDENTIFIED: Shadow Runner Deer.] [ATTRIBUTES: High Agility, Sound Dampening Fur, Elastic Tendon Structure.]
The creature was sleek, moving with liquid grace. It was the antithesis of his Anchor Leg. It was pure potential energy.
Goal: Acquisition of Kinetic Suspension.
Absolutum shifted his weight. He sank onto his right leg, the Anchor rooting him into the earth.
IV. The Toxic Ballistic Solution
Absolutum calculated the shot. Distance: 42 meters.
He focused his Marrow Aura. But this time, he didn't just draw from the leg. He felt the energy ripple through his entire system, the toxic violet marrow pulsing.
[PQO LOADING: Single Shot. Velocity Max. Payload: Toxic.]
THWIP.
A single, six-inch bone quill erupted from his shin. It was coated in a glistening, violet sheen.
The quill struck the deer mid-leap. It didn't hit the spine or heart—it struck the heavy muscle of the haunch. A non-lethal hit.
The deer landed, ready to bolt. It took one step, then stumbled. Its legs seized up.
[EFFECT CONFIRMED: Rapid Paralysis. Neurotoxin circulation complete.]
The deer collapsed, its muscles locked in a rigid spasm, eyes wide with terror but body failing to respond. The poison synthesized from the ants was far more potent when refined by the System.
Absolutum moved forward, his heavy leg eating up the distance.
"Collection," he rasped.
V. The First Tendon Harvest
The deer was paralyzed but alive. Absolutum ended it with a precise severing of the brain stem using his mandible-scalpels.
He sliced into the hind legs.
[COMPONENT LOCATED: Shadow Runner Metatarsals (Left & Right).] [COMPONENT LOCATED: Shadow Elastin Tendons (Achilles Group).] [SYSTEM PROPOSAL: Global Tendon Integration.]
He removed the bones and the thick, white cords of tendon.
[NOTE: Tendon integration will not be localized. The "Elasticity Code" will be written to the System. Future muscle and tendon growth will share these properties, even if these specific tendons are later discarded.]
VI. The Silent Spring Integration
He removed his left foot. The Elven ankle bones were discarded.
He placed the Shadow Runner Metatarsals against his left tibia.
"Integrate. Enhance."
[INITIATING PLASTICITY INDUCTION.]
The green fire of the OPM flared. The System initially molded the left foot into a Digitigrade posture (dog-leg style), adding six inches of height to the structure.
Absolutum held the Shadow Elastin Tendons. He pressed them into the bone channels.
[TENDON WEAVING ACTIVE.]
The Aura threaded the deer tendons through the bone, fusing them tight. As they set, they pulled taut with a resonant snap.
[INTEGRATION COMPLETE.] [NEW COMPONENT: The Silent Spring (Left Leg).]
VII. The Recalibration: Return to Normalcy
Absolutum stood up. He was a nightmare of asymmetry. His right leg was a thick, heavy stump; his left leg was a long, spring-loaded digitigrade limb. He was powerful, but he was monstrous.
[COMBAT ENCOUNTER: CEASED.] [THREAT LEVEL: ZERO.] [INITIATING PROTOCOL: Morphological Normalization.]
The System pulsed. It did not accept asymmetry as the final state. Perfection demanded balance.
[RECALIBRATING SKELETAL GEOMETRY...]
Absolutum fell to his knees as his legs began to liquefy.
On the Right (Porcupine Leg): The massive, thick bone hissed. It didn't lose mass, but it compressed. The bone density increased exponentially as the circumference shrank. The rough, spiked surface smoothed out. The bowing straightened. It transformed from a jagged club into a sleek, deceptively thin tibia that matched the dimensions of an Elven leg, yet retained the weight of a boulder.
On the Left (Deer Leg): The long, digitigrade foot bones groaned. The System forced the heel down. The bones shifted, re-aligning from a dog-leg shape back into a humanoid plantigrade foot. The extra length was absorbed into the density of the bone. The tendons, originally stretched tight over the long ankle, were coiled internally, winding around the bone core like hidden springs.
Within seconds, the green fire faded.
Absolutum stood up.
He looked... normal.
To the naked eye, he was a standard, symmetrical skeleton. Both legs were the same length. Both feet were flat on the ground. The heavy bulk of the Porcupine and the alien length of the Deer were gone, hidden beneath a facade of Elven elegance.
But the data remained. The marrow remembered the Porcupine's spikes. The connective tissue remembered the Deer's spring.
[NORMALIZATION COMPLETE.] [AESTHETIC: Standard Elven Form.] [HIDDEN ATTRIBUTES: Right Leg (Anchor Density/Quills), Left Leg (Shadow Spring/Elasticity).]
He was no longer a Frankenstein monster of mismatched parts. He was a Sleeper—a flawless, unassuming form hiding the strength of beasts, ready to discard these bones the moment something stronger appeared.
[NEXT OBJECTIVE: Upper Body Reinforcement. The skeletal ribcage is currently 98% brittle Elven bone. It cannot contain the torque generated by the new leg assembly.]