Chapter 23: Aura?

'System, is that all the upgrade I will get from my second evolution? Do I only get a bigger body?'

'Does host want to see the evolution catalog?'

'Yes please!'

Then, the familiar rectangular box, the same that he had seen last time during his first evolution, appeared again on his right side. He could see words written in white color on top of the box saying 'Evolution Catalog' and under it, there's a list that extended downward.

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Evolution Catalog

+Increase in body size and mass

+Increase in overall muscle strength

+Massive Increase in tongue's muscle strength and length

+Minor Increase in teeth and claws toughness

+Increase in venom's potency

+Unlocked Aura Pathway

+Unlocked Chameleon Innate Aura Ability

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'Well isn't that practical? Why didn't it appear by default in the first place? It can save me a lot of time trying to zoom in and out and rotating it around to see what upgrades I got.'

As Matthew had a feeling that the system wanted to give him a retort, he countered it before the words left the system's mouth or whatever the system uses for talking to Matthew by saying,

'Yes, I did not inquire about it and hence the reason why it didn't appear first right?'

'Host is correct.'

'Yes, I thought so. Now, let's see what kind of nice things that I got this time.'

Looking at the catalog list, Matthew noticed that there is a lot of the word 'increase' in it. From the 'increase' in his body size to 'minor increase' in the toughness of his teeth and claws and there is also the 'massive increase' in his tongue's muscle strength and length,

'What does that mean, system?' Matthew asked.

'As the name implies, 'minor increase' only gives a slight boost to the said attribute, while 'increase' gives a moderate boost, and the 'massive increase' gives a very significant boost. And there is also 'major increase' that gives more boost than the ordinary increase, but less boost than massive boost.'

'Thanks system, but I already understand that. What I wanted to know is how much is a slight increase compared to a massive increase and does that boost translate in real-world comparison?'

'Data is insufficient, host can test them out once the evolution process is finished.'

'...'

'Alright, thanks system… I guess I can't do anything about that for now, let's just see the other stuff.'

Going down the list once again, Matthew also noticed that his venom glands will get an increase in the venom potency that the glands produced.

'System, why did the venom glands evolve too? Aren't they not a part of my original chameleon body?'

'If host adds other animal body parts to the host's body during the evolution process, the added part will be considered as part of the host's original body and will also get upgraded following host's next evolution.'

'Now that's awesome! That means that I don't have to hunt stronger spiders to get stronger venoms right? And that also means that if I add the wolf's body parts right now it will also be upgraded on my next evolution?'

'WAIT A MINUTE…'

'SYSTEM! CAN I ALSO GAIN THE WOLF'S INNATE AURA ABILITY? AND THE SPIDER'S TOO?'

'yes.' the machine-like voice answered shortly.

But as Matthew wanted to celebrate since he will be OP as heck if he added all the aura ability that he finds to his collection, the system added again,

'But with a condition that the host has to add the original body part of the user of the aura ability to host's body and host has to consume the body of the original creature that is already able to use their own aura ability.'

'So that means that getting the wolf's aura ability is possible since I've eaten the alpha wolf that is already able to use his own aura ability, but it's not possible for me to gain the spider's since I've never consumed a spider that is capable of using their own aura ability?'

'Host's understanding is correct.'

'I mean it's fair if I think about it and the initial investment of hunting the creatures will be worth it if I can use my aura ability and the wolf's at the same time. I don't know what my aura ability will be, but the wolf's aura ability is an overall enhancement to my strength so that will always be a bonus.'

But then the system said again, 'There is also a limitation when using the innate aura ability, that is host is only able to activate one innate aura ability at a time.'

'Well, at least I can change the aura ability depending on how the situation will go.'

The system wanted to say something, but after only 1 word, Matthew decided to cut it short.

'Host…'

'If you are gonna bring up another limitations or conditions or whatever 'tions' that exist out there, can you please just tell me all the 'tions' this time and not wait until I get my hopes up for you come up with another 'tions' and bring my hopes back down.'

Not affected by Matthew's sarcastic retort that cut its words halfway, the system continues to explain 'Host's understanding of aura will increase over time and with enough proficiency with the aura. Host is able to manipulate host's own aura to have the same effect as the wolf's innate ability without actually using the wolf's innate ability.'

Hearing the system explanation about the use of aura, Matthew then got an idea and his face then light up,

'Does that mean that I will still be able to use my chameleon innate ability and then manipulate the aura on my own to recreate the wolf's innate ability then I will end up as if I'm using two innate abilities at the same time?'

'Yes, host's understanding is correct.'

'Now that's useful information, Thank you system!'

Matthew then looked at the last 2 items on the evolution catalog and he guessed that the aura pathway is an essential when using the aura ability and after confirming it with the system, his guess turns out to be correct.

'What this world called aura is the energy that comes from the host's body. When a creature is first born, their aura pathway is locked since the body is not mature enough to handle its use. But after reaching adulthood, their aura pathway will be unlocked and aura will start flowing throughout their whole body.'

'Then, how do I use my aura ability?'

'For host's innate species aura ability, the system will guide the host on how to use it after the evolution process, but for the other applications of aura, host must discover them alone without the system's help since the system also didn't have the necessary data to do so.'

'That's okay system, thank you.'

Matthew then took his time for a while to think about aura, a concept that he is really foreign with since no such things ever exist in the real world back on earth. After trying to fully understand it and failing, in the end, Matthew just thinks of the aura just like mana or qi, the things he is more familiar with since such things are common in games and movies that he watched back on earth.

In those games and movies, qi or mana is the energy or power source that enabled humans to make an unbelievable feat, such as splitting a huge rock in two with only their bare hands or even enabling them to use magic to make things appear out of thin air or even make themselves able to fly without the help of any wings or machines.

Then Matthew remembered something about qi or mana that he also often sees in the stories,

'System, can I train my aura? Like having more quantity of aura or increasing their quality so that my aura ability also becomes stronger?'

'A creature's aura quantity and quality depend on their species at birth, their luck, and also talents. All those factors play an important role in determining the quantity and quality of a person that uses aura.'

'Can I know my aura quantity and quality?'

'Host's level is insufficient for the related information. Please level up and evolve further to gain the information.'

Matthew wanted to shout out loud and ask God why did he have to make these limitations to the system and why not just spoon-feed him everything to make his life easier, but he also remembers that having a system itself is already an unfair treatment compared to the others, so he chooses to remain silent about it and moved on to another topic.

'Now that I have enough about aura, let's proceed to the fun part of my evolution.' Matthew said with anticipation in his voice.

'What is the keyword again? System, can you open the special evolution tab?'

-Do you want to open the special evolution tab?-

'Yes!'