Progenitor System - Chapter 5 The System Improves.

I continued to scratch Saga’s soft ears. She closed her eyes in silent enjoyment of the attention and the soft touch. It was a form of meditation and habit for me after three years. Losing myself in the soft warmth of her fur while I cleared my head and went over everything that had happened. The battle had been short, in the grand scheme of things, but a fight of any length always feels longer than it truly is. It is a taxing drain on the body and mind. It had still gone well, all things considered. Father was injured but alive and resting. Saga wasn’t injured at all, nor was I. It told me her training was going well.

I could have had her dive in and fight toe to toe with the Goblins. I had little doubt she would have won in the end, though without the lack of injuries. The Goblins would have been able to climb onto her and nick her with their blades in that case. I’d rather fight smarter than harder as well. I’d need to continue her training and think of new commands to add to it. Her training had consisted of hit-and-run tactics along with the basic things I felt were needed, much like when she hauled father into the wagon. It was a utility form of training and had shown its worth as well. She had most of the training a K-9 unit went through as well, minus the drug hunting. I doubted cocaine and other narcotics were going to be something I hunted down in this world whether they were and issue or not.

My own performance was lacking though. I’d made the most use of my size and speed but that meant since the Goblins were my own size and more gangly. I’d wasted several seconds throwing the Goblin over my shoulder when I should have just snapped a quick shot to the groin or throat and moved on, if not outright killing the creature. The blow to my shoulder had hurt a lot as well. The Goblins were far stronger than my body. Not surprising, they were full-grown Creatures while I was a ten-year-old boy. It was more amazing I survived, from a practical standpoint.

I let out a sigh, while it had gone well it could have very easily gone far worse. I’d need to find a way to train my body without damaging it. I’d need to start adding light weights during my runs to help build muscle while pumping the limbs. It made me miss my old life, my old body. I’d earned that body through decades of harsh and brutal training. Having to start over made it far more annoying. The one perk is I could apply all I learned on a fresh ‘canvas.’

It was time to move onto another matter, getting frustrated over what couldn’t be changed would do me no good after all. I looked again at Saga and brought up her stat page via the Progenitor System. It was a habit after I sent her out hunting that I enjoyed. I’d learned that she could gain ‘levels’ after hunting or fighting. It seemed everything she did with a purpose could increase a stat or her level for an overall improvement with increments too small for the System to quantify but were noticeable when I paid attention. It is one of the reasons I was so shocked when instead of her stat page a new window showed up. The background was pitch black with a golden border and lettering.

{Achievement Earned!

Against All Odds

Condition – Defeat a foe who is physically stronger than you in single combat without being injured before Progenitor System reaches level five.

Reward – Auto-loot and Inventory function.}

{Progenitor System has unlocked the Achievement, Auto-loot and Inventory function prior to reaching level five. An added bonus of seeing success chances has been granted.}

I raised a single brow while staring at the text. What in the actual fuck was this? There were achievements, apparently, and doing them gave me some sort of bonuses. I’d managed to gain the ability to see the success chances, though it never stated for what. It could mean for everything involving the System but I was a cynic and took that with a grain of salt. More than that it said ‘before level five’ I wonder what exactly that implies. Does it mean level five will be a major milestone with the System itself or that it’s something minor that was unexpected and simply rewarded? I’d need to level to be certain. I took in a deep breath and checked Saga’s stats now that the Achievement display was done. I would see what all changes the progenitor System had, rather the functions of said changes after.

{Lupine

Level – 5

Female

Str – 4

End – 5

Spd – 4

Int – 2

Skill – Lone Hunter

Improvement Success Chance – 42%

Description – A relatively uncommon breed of the canine variety. May be improved extensively.}

I see. With this, I could confirm the success chance of improving Saga now. I had no idea how it was measured of course, but it was a start. It got me thinking a bit as well. They always say children and infants have unlimited potential, what would the improvement chances be for the newly born Swift Horror or Centipede.

{Swift Horror

Level – 1

Female

Str – 1

End – 1

Spd – 3

Int – 1

Trait P – Speedy

Trait C – Limited, Single Birth

Improvement Success Chance – 90%

Description – Common insect found worldwide. Bred with an increased speed these Creatures are both swift and silent. A stalking predator. May be Improved immensely.}

I frowned at that, wondering I I had wasted multiple opportunities with Saga and the other Creations I had managed by not taking more risks. I had mostly been focused on adult Creatures because I felt awful when looking at the infants and then thinking about the System I was given. It didn’t matter in the end, couldn’t change the past. Let’s improve this little thing a bit while it has such a high chance.

Improvement worked similar to Creation by giving me a screen based representation of the Creature and showing me quantified changes based on what I did. The changes themselves were based entirely around their current stats, level, and species. I wasn’t really limited to what I could do, though I had felt more meant a higher chance of failure. This little one had some interesting Improvement options beyond base stat increases as well.

{Skill – Requirement

Poison Secretion – End 3

Leg Scythe – Str 5

Basic Understanding – Int 3

Average Understanding – Int 5

Advanced Understanding – Int 8

Stealth – Spd/End 8 (4+4)

Poison Spray – Str/End 5 (2+3)}

I palmed my face in frustration at the required stats which equated to level 4-5 stats if I pumped nothing but those during an improvement. I increased the little things Str as a test while eyeing the success chance. It went down to eighty-nine percent. I was confused with that, only a single percent decrease? I increased End next and it went down by a single point again. Interesting indeed. I eyed the requirement for some of the skills that would prove useful when it was older and increased the stats a little based on that. End was increased to three, as was Int. Str I moved up to two and speed by two. It brought the success chance down to eighty and I was feeling excited for once when doing this. It still left a twenty percent failure chance, but still.

When I went to add a skill, Basic Understanding, the chance dropped by five. I clicked my tongue, I knew it was too good to be true. It was something at least. A seventy-five percent success chance for multiple stat increases and a skill that allowed the insect to understand more. If it failed then I could never remake this sub-species because it had already been brought into the world. I mentally confirmed the changes, willing to risk it. A flash spread through the semi-empty room momentarily before I checked the changes again, ignoring the sudden weight increase in my hand.

{Swift Horror – Matriarch

Level – 1

Female

Str – 3

End – 3

Spd – 5

Int – 3

Trait P – Speedy

Trait C – Limited, Single Birth

Skill – Basic Understanding

Improvement Success Chance – 31%

Description – Common insect found worldwide. Bred with an increased speed these Creatures are both swift and silent. A stalking predator. May be Improved immensely.}

The chance went down drastically, and the level had remained the same. Was it based on the Creatures level? Age? There were several factors to consider. Several factors I would need to start testing when I managed to get my hands on a few Creatures that I could sacrifice, though it would pain me. The Centipede or Swift Horror had increased in size as well. The Carapace had grown denser and gone from a milky brown to a brownish-black coloring. The legs had grown thicker, an edge growing further on them as well as elongating a few centimeters.

I knew its brain matter had increased based on the Int stat as well. Physically it showed more curiosity and alertness to its surroundings. She continued looking around before homing in on me for a moment, then curling into a ball and going still. I regarding the infant Creature a moment longer before placing her back into my pocket and opening the Progenitor System to see what these new functions might represent. They were self-explanatory, of course, but like any tool, you had to know it inside and out for it to be of use.

{Progenitor System

Level – 4

Create +

Combine +

Improve +

Inventory +

Achievements +

Creatures Created – 3

Creatures Killed – 86

Creatures Combined – 3

Creatures Improved – 18

Monthly allotment of creations available – 0

Monthly allotment of Combinations available – 0

Monthly allotment of improvements available – 0}

The System had leveled which was a good thing, of course. A few things aside from that stood out as well. The added bars for Achievements and Inventory as well as the increase in Created and Improved Creatures. The fact the killed section had not changed was different. Did that only apply to Creatures killed during the respective functioning of the System? If that was the case it was both good and bad.

Good because it would allow me to continue keeping track of my failed attempts and a numerical value for possible progress. Bad because that meant killing monsters wouldn’t increase anything for the Systems odd experience value for its level. I eyed it a moment more before moving on to the Achievement tab. It showed the Achievement I had earned and nothing more, so it was a tracker. Simple and concise. I liked it.

The Inventory, when I opened it, showed a grid that was nine deep and nine wide for a total of eighty-one boxes. The interesting fact was one box was actually occupied by something that looked like an orb. What the hell was that? I reached a hand to it and pulled it out. Ignoring the shock that had worked I looked at the Orb and a prompt appeared.

{Goblin Core

Rank – E

Quality – Poor

Description – A core pulled from a Goblin that holds its abilities, stats, or traits. Due to Core quality, you may increase a Trait by 0.1 or increase Success Chance of Improvement, Creation, Combine by five percent. This effect may stack up to a total of 100% Success Chance.}

What the fuck? Something like this was possible? Why haven’t I seen a Core in any of the other Creatures that were killed? Mother and father never mentioned anything like them either. Was this something unique to the System? Regardless it was a boon. It would allow me to bypass the limitations of the Success Chance if I obtained enough of these Cores. The question left would be if it added up for all Improvements I attempted during the session or if it only ensured a single Improvement chance increase.

It made me wish I had my notebook so I could write this shit down for later but it was back in the wagon that was in the Guards custody at the moment while the verified our scuffle and the information I gave them.

I tried to place the Orb back into the Inventory screen and saw it disappear from my hand and reappear in the Inventory. Perfect, I’d test if it could hold other things later on. I had to stop my tests now because I heard voices outside the door. I couldn’t risk anyone else knowing about this odd ability of mine.

Saga rose when she realized my attention was on the door instead of her and turned toward it herself, placing her massive bulk between the people there and me. Such a good girl. “Saga, sit.” No need to have her on alert like that here. It’d just set the guards on edge and an on edge guard was a headache no one needed.

A moment later and the heavy wooden door opened to show two men. One was an old and grizzled bastard that was more scar and wrinkles than human, I think, in old and worn leathers. I liked him instantly. The other was younger, though not by much judging from all the grey at his temples and in his salt-and-pepper beard. I knew the younger one, he was the guard captain that had spoken with me and ensured that we didn’t have to pay the fee for the Doc, whatever price it had been. I can’t imagine that potion, even a few drops, was cheap. I had no idea who the older one was.

The Captain spoke after shutting the door and giving Saga a wary glance. His voice was deep and rough after years of shouting orders and drills for his men. “Crispin, this is Guild Master Stewart. I need you to tell him everything you told me as well as where you found the initial instigation of this coming Tide.”

I eyed the old man. Guild Master, eh? So if I joined the Guild he would be my direct superior. I went into detail, as I did before, about Saga finding the sight and leading my father and his farm hands to it. I left out Lily, mother would kill me if adding her into the mix got her taken away and I would rather be nice to the woman who birthed me in this regard. I finished my tail with the Goblin fight itself. It earned me an odd look from Stewart but he made no comment. “You will have to wait for my father to awake before you can learn the exact location of the initial point though, I didn’t go with him.”

“Nor should you have boy.” came the withered old man’s voice. It sounded like sandpaper rubbing against itself. “Captain, how long till the man, James, wakes?” I was dismissed from his attention without much in the way of a thank you. I knew I liked this old man, reminded me of my old TO.

“The Physician we hired, Colbert, said it would take a few hours, at the least. He needed two drops of the healing drought to save his life and it was a near thing. The boy bound the wound with his shirt before rushing here in the wagon. It is likely the only thing that ensured he survived in the end.”

I received another glance from the two men but they didn’t speak to me so I stayed silent, focusing instead on reaching over and scratching Saga behind the ear. That resulted in her tail sweeping back and forth, the sound of it as it hit the chair creating an audible thunk.

“We’ll be back in a while, Crispin. I’ll have someone bring you a new shirt. I’d rather not have to explain to your father why I let his boy catch cold under my care. Nor would I wish to have that conversation with your mother.”

I nodded but otherwise remained silent while paying attention to Saga. I was curious why he mentioned my mother in that. As far as I knew she had no actual combat ability, though I could be wrong. I had been wrong before. The two men left the room shortly after and I fought the urge to shiver. It was bloody cold in here, but the idea of taking the blankets keeping father warm was a poor one so I had Saga lie down on the ground and made her my pillow. Her fur warmed my skin in a few minutes while she set about grooming her paws and muzzle free of blood. I’d need to brush her down later, keep her fur clean and all that. For now, though I’d wait for father to wake and go over what I had learned from the System with the unexpected changes I had earned.
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