Chapter 2: Ashura's Incarnation Arc - Chapter 2: Choice
Ugh... Where am I? It's so dark. Am I dead? Did I seriously just die twice? Is that Clodwal person going to show up again? My eyes are closed, but why can't I open them?
The last thing I remember was being used as a supplement.
But then, to my astonishment my eyelids began to open themselves without my consent.
The first thing that met my eyes were the two scientists and the assistant that I saw from the capsule earlier. Eyeing me with apparent fascination.
Huh?!
My head, my body, my mouth, my eyes, they were all moving without my consent! I couldn't control my body but it's moving on it's own!
「What the hell is happening!」
"!?"
After I shouted. My body flinched. It was strange, was my body shocked by my own voice? Wait, how did I talk?! I couldn't talk earlier!
W-Wait, come to think of it. This angle, this position in which my body is in, isn't this where the girl was? Wait...
The eyes lowered itself, and from that moment I realized something startling.
This isn't my body, what's there in my chest shouldn't be there and what's supposed to be in my nether regions isn't there.
I have the feeling that this body is trying to speak, but it can't for some reason around the mouth. The cheeks feel a little breezy too. And the tongue, she... Doesn't have a tongue?
This leaves me to the conclusion, that I'm seeing things from Test Subject No. 099's body!
"Hurry and examine for any differences, Professor Grindstone."
"Yes yes, on the way."
While No. 099 was looking around the place, I noticed there was a burly looking guard next to what seems to be the exit, enjoying his cup of coffee. He was wearing clothes that I would see in cosplays, he looks like some sort of bandit or pirate. During this period, the girl was being examined by the one called Professor Grindstone and had just finished.
"No- No results..! No increase whatsoever!"
The eyes of the two scientists widened in disbelief as they stared at one another.
Compared to the test subjects earlier, this girl didn't seem to have any results after consuming me. It was only when he had recovered from shock that Sir Grindstone spoke again.
"N-No way, the parasite didn't die, did it?"
"There is no such thing! Heracles worms can live in humid places and survive without oxygen in the atmosphere! It only feeds on a little amount of mana to live! There is no way it would die from stomach acid or respiratory complications!"
"Th-Then why..."
"Sample H23 was a failure... Send her to Sector 5 to be sold as a slave."
His orders were carried out and a few men came in, one of them removed the handcuffs that was burdening 099 and also seized her by the wrists.
"Get up."
He demanded, and she did stand up. I'm still not used to not having my body under control, not like this is my body anyway. It still feels weird to be inside someone's body and have it move on it's own.
Hold on, didn't that person say "parasite"? So did that mean the body I had earlier was my real body and my true identity is a parasite inside this girl's body? That explains why I can see from her point of view. But it doesn't explain why I should be stuck here!
"You can get out if you want."
What the-? It's you again?
The familiar voice of the god earlier spoke in my head. I never thought I'd get to converse with him again. But most importantly, I have to take into consideration what he said.
What do you mean I can do that? How?
"Say 'Status'. When you do so, the option of exiting the girl's body will be seen at the lower sections."
「Status.」
A chopping board sized red window appeared before my sight. Seeing how the girl is not reacting, she doesn't seem to see it but I reckon she heard me say 'Status' earlier.
Ah, I found it!
›
Name: Nameless
Host: Unknown
Race: Mutated Heracles Worm
Constitution: 20/20
Mana: 200/200
Granter: A12
Parasite Skills: [Physique Optimization], [Martial Arts], [Mind Invasion], [Telepathy], [Observer], [Skill Share], [Memory Space], [Matter Conversion], [Detect Life], [Power Boost], [Self Evolution], [Self Regeneration], [Layout Perception]
Special Skills: [Monster Book]
›
Below the status window was another status window. But it's contents were only divided to two options. And they were;
[Enter Lobby]
And
[Exit Body]
This should do. The exit button is right over there, but I have to confirm something first.
「Clodwal-san, what will happen if I exit this girl's body?」
"You will die in less than a minute."
「What?!」
It's a good thing I asked, who knows what had happened to me if I pressed exit right away in a hurry.
I wonder, should I try a different approach?
"And about the girl, as long as you don't have the intentions of conveying a message to her, she cannot hear you. As such, you can speak freely to me right now."
So that's the reason why she isn't acting weirdly whenever I spoke unlike earlier.
「I see, thank you for the tip. So... How can I safely get out of this body?」
"Are you truly willing to leave her body? I would first suggest you to use the [Memory Space] skill I gave you and think about it."
A skill? He must be referring to the ones in my status. It's a bit similar to the RPG games my daughter used to play.
Like that, I strongly concentrated my mind on having to use the skill. At that point of time, I felt my body drift up.
And my surroundings turned white in a flash. This bright color of white lasted for a few seconds. And then...
「!」
Memories. Experiences that was never mine rushed to my head. This was all this young girl's memories before ending up here.
After I finished absorbing all this knowledge, I was taken into another space.
And this time, unlike the last, I could see my body the same as earlier. The parasite body with all these tentacle stuff I was sitting on a couch within an enclosed room. This room had a single couch and in front of me was a large TV screen.
「Is that... What the girl is seeing right now?」
From the TV screen I could see that this girl, whose name I haven't found out in her memories was following the guards and was led to a room with various other failed test subjects. It seems like in this place, I can't feel her senses so I can't make out the situation as properly as earlier.
"This is the Lobby. It's a place where you can rest yourself mentally. It should be quite tiring to be in a body you cannot control."
And sitting beside me was a man of great stature. He looked perfectly like a boy in his 20s, equipped with black messy hair and a pair of golden eyes as his god-crafted physique's arsenal. He wore a black suit that are typically used by businessmen in my world.
「...Why are you showing me these? It seems to me you're trying to convince me to stay in this body.」
He didn't speak for a while and just stared at me as if I said something casual. But then it changed into a slight grin.
"So you have caught on."
He diverted his gaze from me and watched the girl's perspective. She was currently sitting on the floor and eyeing a number of other people in the same room as her.
「So?」
"Hn, it does seem like polite etiquette to be truthful and blunt with you. I'm giving you a task for this life so it wouldn't be boring, your task is whatever that girl has deep in her heart."
Deep in her heart, I have a rough guess of what it is from that memory peeking skill. Deep down, I also wanted to help her.
"Since you have made up your mind, I will be taking my leave. Although you can contact me anytime for me to pay a visit."
The man vanished to tiny particles of golden dust. In his place, a smartphone appeared. With my hands, I caught it before it fell.
Hold on, hands?!
Taking a closer look at my body, I could see that my body from the previous world is back. But...
I'm naked!
Where do I get clothes?!
As if the room heard my worries, clothes I wore from my previous life manifested in thin air and crashed on my head. Most of them were the ones I wore at home.
I was buried underneath my own clothes and only my head was poking out.
「Ugh, just great. The problem is fixed but there's another problem... Hm?」
That's right. I almost forgot that skill infos can be checked in a game although I'm not sure about this, I'll give it a try.
I checked the info for the [Enter Lobby] I thought it wouldn't work since it wasn't categorized as a skill, but a brief explanation was given.
[Enter Lobby]
- A unique ability of an incredibly intelligent parasite. By gaining access to the host's nervous system, a small virtual space can be created with the parasite in full control. Any events and constructs in this space can be managed by the parasite at will.
My clothes started to float around after I imagined it to, then folded themselves to avoid having them all wrinkled. Ofcourse I took a whole set and wore them on. I look like a NEET shutting himself in his room.
Half an hour had passed since I figured out how to control this room. I can expand it to some extent and I can slightly alter it's environment. Whether making it a desert or a forest was no impossible feat.
During my experimentation, at last I heard a voice from the TV screen. The people outside has been keeping quiet since the moment this girl came in.
Her sight moved to look at the room's entrance where ten men went out of. They were wearing clothes that varied from each other apart from a common atmosphere that they looked like terrorists.
"These are the only ones we got today? They're not as much as last time."
Not much? There's like 40 of us here! Doesn't this mean there were alot more before I came that got sold as slaves?
"Save it, atleast we get free merchandise from those crazy alchemists."
Now I'm sure of it, these guys are bandits.
I opened my status window and selected the "[Exit Lobby]" that replaced the option from when I wasn't in this place yet. My sight shifted itself to the young lady's eyes as if I just went full screen.
I should start by conversing with her beforehand, we will have to talk sooner or later anyway if we are to ever have a partnership.
「Hey, can you hear me?」
I can tell she flinched just now. A chill ran down my spine, it really seems like our senses are connected.
"Who is this?"
It seems like she did hear me. But she spoke to me with her mind, it really doesn't look like she can speak with that injured mouth of hers. But leaving that aside, she's pretty calm to respond so easily to a voice she just heard in her head.
Since I'm now in this world, I should make a new name for myself, something she'll address me as and a name that will make her easier to trust me.
「My name is Ashura, the War God that your clan worships.」
In this world, there seems to be various gods that the people worship, in this girl's particular clan called the Ashura Tribe, the god they worship is the 'God Of War, Ashura'. I don't know if they are real but I personally don't think they do exist. If it's blasphemy, I'll just have to apologize.
"Lord Ashura... Have you come here to save me?"
「Yeah, that's right. I'm here to save you, but before that, can you answer my questions first?」
Without any hesitance, this girl nodded her head vigorously. The information I can gain from her will no doubt benefit me- if she even has any useful ones.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone