His shock was followed by another look at the status window, but he still couldn't understand why his race was showing him as a monster instead of a human.
"This does not make any sense..."
Just then, his fingers made contact with the soft white fur of the rabbit, causing a white shimmering light to erupt from the body of the dead tiny creature.
Realizing that something strange was happening, Ethan quickly pulled his hand back. In front of his eyes, he saw a tiny white orb, looking like a condensed ball of cloud, pop out of the rabbit's body. It hovered there, pulsing gently.
[RABBIT ESSENCE]
Driven by an inexplicable instinct, Ethan reached out. As soon as his fingertips brushed against the floating white ball, it liquefied, shooting straight into his skin like water being absorbed by a dry sponge.
[GENE EXTRACTED SUCCESSFULLY.]
[NEW GENE ACQUIRED: MUTATED HARE.]
The blue screen flickered again, forcing his attention back to the readout.
Race: Monster (Hare)
[ABILITIES UPDATED]
Transformation: [Mutated Hare]
Ethan stared at the text, rubbing his eyes to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.
"Race... Monster (Hare)?"
This made Ethan question if he really was seeing things right. First, his race was shown as a monster, even when he looked exactly the same as before—a human. "Now it's saying that I can transform into a hare?"
Everything was shrouded in mystery.
Ethan had no idea where he was or what was happening to him, except for the nagging feeling that he was playing some high-end VR game. But unfortunately, the pain in his knuckles and the smell of the forest told him this was reality.
Ethan looked at the new ability listed.
He felt that even if he could transform into a monster, it was useless to turn into a weak-ass rabbit that died from a single kick. But the eagerness to know how it would feel made him decide to give it a try.
"Transform..." Ethan thought.
With his thoughts focused, he suddenly felt a strange stimulation within him. Ethan felt his blood boiling, the heat rising rapidly beneath his skin.
It wasn't just heat, though; it was accompanied by a terrifying sensation, as if thousands of ants were crawling all over his body, under his flesh, rearranging his very structure.
"Arghh!"
He gritted his teeth, expecting to shrink down into a tiny, fluffy creature. He was prepared to feel weak.
But he was wrong.
Instead of shrinking, his body convulsed violently and began to expand. His bones creaked audibly, snapping and reforming thicker and stronger. His muscles swelled, ripping through the fabric of his prison uniform.
"What... what is happening?!" his voice choked out, already sounding deeper, guttural.
Thick, coarse white fur sprouted rapidly across his skin, covering the burgeoning muscles.
His face elongated, pushing out into a sturdy muzzle, and his ears stretched upwards, becoming long and pointed. His hands and feet reshaped themselves into massive, powerful paws tipped with dark claws.
The pain was excruciating but brief. As quickly as it started, the boiling sensation faded, replaced by an overwhelming surge of raw power.
Ethan stood up, realizing his viewpoint was higher than before. He wasn't a tiny rabbit on the forest floor. He was standing on two legs, tall and imposing.
He looked down at his body. His prison uniform was in tatters, hanging loosely around a torso rippling with dense, powerful muscles covered in white fur. He flexed his new hands; they were large enough to crush a human skull easily.
He hadn't turned into prey. He had turned into a predator, a monster more precisely.
"This... now I'm really a monster!" he growled, his voice raspy and deep.
He felt incredible strength coursing through his veins, a primal instinct that was never part of him, but it didn't feel foreign to him. He could hear the sap flowing in the trees; he could smell the distinct scent of the soil.
Zzzzt.
The blue holographic screen reappeared, updating automatically as if acknowledging his successful assimilation of the gene.
[TRANSFORMATION COMPLETE.]
[STATUS UPDATED.]
Name: Ethan Winterbell
Race: Monster (Hare)
Gene Level 1 (40/100 EXP)
Class [Brawler] (Lesser Monster)
Title [Slayer]
Health (HP) 150/150
Mana (MP) 50/50
[ATTRIBUTES]
Strength 25 (+13)
Agility 28 (+14)
Stamina 20 (+9)
Intelligence 9
Sense 22 (+7)
[SKILLS]
Passive: [Military CQC (Level 3)], [Firearm Mastery (Level 4)]
Active: None
Additional Skills Passive: [Thunderous Legs (Lv.1)] - Greatly increases jumping height and kicking power, allowing for sudden explosive movement and devastating leg attacks.
[Enhanced Instincts (Lv.1)] - Heightened primal senses improve reaction time, environmental awareness, and danger detection.
Active: [Gale Kick (Lv.1)] A powerful, rapid kick infused with concentrated force, capable of momentarily stunning opponents or creating a small burst of wind. Cost: 10 MP.
[Pounding Strike (Lv.1)] A quick, powerful downward chop or punch utilizing the massive strength, generating immense impact force. Cost: 15 MP.
...
Ethan stared at the insane stat boosts. His strength had more than doubled in this form. A mixture of shock and exhilaration washed over him.
He looked at his massive, furry hands. They felt soft and fluffy on the outside as he touched his hare face, but inside, they felt rock-hard, showing that he was now truly a monster, not a human anymore.
He ran a clawed hand over his bulging pectorals. "What am I if not a monster ," he muttered with a wry smirk. "Guess I don't have to worry about skipping leg day anymore. Or wearing pants, for that matter."
He chuckled, looking at his monster legs. Then with serious expressions, he look at the forest around him.
"I'm still not sure what type of world this is, except that I'll find more mutated monsters in this place," he thought.
"But before that, I need to test this strength," he said in an excited tone.
Closing his eyes, he focused. His [Enhanced Instincts] hummed, an overwhelming sensation, sharpening his focus.
He could feel the slightest shift of air between the leaves, the movements of small bugs crawling deep in the dirt, and the subtle vibrations of the earth.
"Ready." He crouched low, his powerful new [Thunderous Legs] coiling before leaping high in the air.
WHOOSH!
The ground vanished. He soared high, the speed and height shocking him deeply. He flew high enough that he crossed the entire canopy of trees below him. The feeling of pure shock and the momentum in the air was exhilarating.
From his vantage point, he could see the vast green blanket of the forest stretching to the horizon. Then, his eyes caught a thin, snaking line of brilliant blue cutting through the expanse.
"A river," he muttered, the sudden thirst hitting him hard, like he hadn't had water for a very long time.
But gravity reclaimed him. He plummeted fast, gathering incredible momentum. Just a few meters from the ground, he channeled energy into his legs, directing the force downward.
"Pounding Strike!"
The impact was immediate and deafening.
BOOM!
A spray of dirt and tiny stones exploded outwards, creating a crater—not huge, but enough to turn a normal human into meat paste.
Ethan didn't stop there. He launched himself toward the thickest tree nearby, the one still tragically stained with the blood of the dead rabbit. He spun, channeling energy into his foot.
"Gale Kick!"
The thick tree trunk, easily wider than his human body, crunched inward, the wood screaming before it snapped cleanly in half, the top half crashing heavily with a crack sound.
Ethan stood amid the destruction, his massive chest heaving. The excited look on his face told the story: as a special forces soldier who had always sought the edge in combat, Ethan was shocked and exhilarated by this raw, destructive power.
He heard the system voice chime softly in his mind.
[Mana (MP): 25 (-25)]