CHAPTER17: CREATING A PLANT REPLICANT
1066 Words
Alex closed the book instantly; there was no longer time for delay.
He looked at it carefully and placed it into his space. There was no way he would let some rotten people get their hands on his father's work and that precious plant.
“I can't just leave the plant here. This is the Outer Region. It's dangerous here, and I'd need it.”
He walked out of the dimly lit building and stepped closer to the plant. He bent down to the level of the plant, and on looking closer, he realized there was a faint yellow gas emitting from it, swirling slowly in the air.
Alex didn't notice this at first, but this gas had to be the reason the infected didn't dare to come close.
“They are all ignoring this part of the area,” Alex said as he looked around cautiously.
The crawlers looked mindless, shuffling aimlessly, and they paid little to no attention to him.
“Aura, is there a way the constitution of this plant can be replicated by the system?” Alex asked, hoping for a positive answer.
If there was, this would truly help him, especially if he wanted to build a large, secure bunker in this place.
“Yes, but a plant sample is required,” Aura's voice echoed softly in Alex's ear.
Alex smiled and took hold of the plant leaf, feeling its texture carefully.
If Aura could replicate this, it would turn out very well for him and what he planned to create here.
After saving his mother from that rotten, dangerous place, he would build a new outpost for his family.
“Here is the sample. Analyze it, Aura. Thank you,” he muttered.
The leaf disintegrated from his grip, and fifteen seconds later, a soft chime resounded in the quiet air.
“Sample successfully analyzed. Constitution stored. Replication available. Cost required.”
“Oh? A cost? Even though I provided the sample?” Alex rolled his eyes. Of course, the good things don't come that easy.
“The cost would be taken out of your Health Points.”
Alex was about to ask why when Aura's voice came again.
“The plant is a living organism; therefore, life energy is needed to create it. Life energy can only be gotten from the host.”
Alex nodded. It was reasonable. “Go ahead.”
Suddenly, it felt like he had been given a sucker punch to his guts, and all his air was knocked out.
He stumbled at first before stabilizing himself against the rough ground.
“H–How much did you take from me?” Alex felt dizzy and weak.
“To create the life organism, 50% was taken from your Health Points–”
“50!!??” Alex gasped. “Aura, do you want me to die?”
“You are at a lower level. As your level increases, the requirements to create this item would reduce.”
“Well, you could have told me before taking it out.”
“You didn't ask.”
“...”
The plant materialized in front of him, glowing faintly, and he held it carefully.
“It has no scent. Probably because I'm not infected,” Alex muttered to himself.
Come to think of it, he had less than a day left.
The short nap he had taken in the dark shaft lasted for the remaining night.
Soon enough, he would have to submit the things he had gotten.
With a wave of his hands, the boxes appeared in front of him, stacked neatly.
There were no labels on them, so he didn't know what was in there.
Angling his sword, he was able to tear open the boxes with ease.
“Salt? Sugar? These are golden!” Alex exclaimed, eyes sparkling.
“I'd be losing out if I had to give all these away. There's even coffee! Haha.” He smiled to himself.
Waving his hands, some items vanished into his storage space.
Of course, he would keep part of the coffee and chocolate. Who knows when he would be seeing them again?
Why were these things even around?
It had been almost a decade since the SYN virus came around.
He couldn't even tell where he was due to the lack of maps.
Maps were only available to the overly wealthy folks.
It was during the first wave of the virus that his father had driven them to safety, and since then, the man ensured his family was always moved to safety in all the waves.
Until the attempt to take over the frontier regions, which had caused a mass death, and his dad had to be recruited.
“They could have just built a better safety system instead of sending inexperienced people to fight those things,” Alex gritted his teeth, jaw tight.
Then he exhaled. There was no use crying over spilt milk. He would get these supplies back, find a way to get back to his father, and then bring his family together.
That was all.
First, he needed to rescue Trent.
Alex looked around. If he held this plant, then those infected wouldn't come close to him.
“I need to increase my sword level, but I don't want to kill them. Isn't there another way to fight?”
Then he opened his eyes, activating God Eyes.
There had to be a way he could train with a sword.
“Would hunting even work? Aura, can you search the area? Is there any way I can hunt some infected animals?”
“...”
After the long pause, Aura's voice brought a refreshing feeling to Alex.
“There's a zoo within a 2 km radius from here. The animals are locked in, and they are quite hungry. Would you be willing to try that?” Aura asked.
Alex awkwardly chuckled. The normal lion was way stronger than a human. How much stronger would an infected lion be now?
“Avoiding the stronger animals would be wiser. The weakest animal should still be able to put up a fight,” Alex mused, and his sword appeared in his hands, gleaming in the dim light.
After fighting those things and leveling up his sword skills, he would go out to free Trent.
“That lady boss already promised not to harm him, so he'd still be fine.”
- Writer
