"Hmm?" Theo stared at the screen. He squinted his eyes, tilting his head slightly as if changing his perspective would magically alter the text floating right in front of his face.
But the word remained the same, written in glowing letters at the very bottom of his status panel.
Parasite.
He closed his eyes for a moment, digging deep into the merged memories of his sixteen years of life in this world.
He clearly remembered the grand tales the caravan guards used to tell around the campfire.
They spoke of cultivators who could fly on swords, burly body refiners who could shatter boulders with their bare hands, and elusive scholars who could manipulate the elements with a wave of a fan.
There were glorious classes in this world. Things like ’Aura Knight’, ’Spirit Tamer’, or ’Heavenly Alchemist’.
But a class named ’Parasite’? There was no record of it.
He knew that from the memories packed into his brain, there was no class named this in the entire history of the continent.
It actually looked like a blatant insult... was the system mocking him?
Was it labeling him like a common leech just because his most powerful trait required him to cling to a Reborn Empress to get his rewards?
He didn’t ask to be a slave, and he certainly didn’t ask to be insulted by the interface that was supposed to save his life.
Even so, he knew better than to judge a book by its cover.
He shouldn’t jump to conclusions. If the system was powerful enough to change his physical structure with a single sip of water, he needed to trust that it had a plan.
The panel shimmered, and the single word broke apart into a large paragraph.
[Class Description: Parasite]
[Details: The host possesses the authority of biological and spiritual assimilation. Upon the defeat, discovery, or consumption of any non-human entity, the host may absorb its essence, bloodline, or core.]
[Doing so allows the host to extract and integrate the creature’s innate skills, physical traits, and elemental affinities into their own body without suffering from any genetic rejection or spiritual backlash.]
Theo read the glowing text once, twice, and then a third time, just to make sure the dusty air of the road wasn’t making him hallucinate.
This class made him absorb anything non-human and take its skills.
If he managed to trap and kill one of those giant cliff spiders he had seen in the borderlands, could he absorb its essence and permanently learn how to scale vertical walls?
If he found a winged beast hunting in the wilderness, could he assimilate its bloodline and sprout wings from his back to fly?
What if he absorbed a monster covered in impenetrable iron scales? Would his own skin become as hard as forged steel?
A deep itch started to form in the center of his chest.
He couldn’t believe himself... just thirty minutes ago, he was a slave who was willing to accept a beating just to survive another day.
But now? Now he possessed an innate water affinity and the limitless potential to become a chimera of endless abilities.
He wanted to break these cuffs, sprint into the deepest forest he could find, and absorb every single monster he saw.
The urge to hunt, to grow, and to evolve was almost intoxicating.
However, the rattling of the chain against his chafed wrist grounded him back in reality.
He was still a prisoner. He was still chained to the iron ring of a moving cart.
Vane was still sitting just a few feet away, holding a cane, and the road was likely patrolled by local guards.
He closed the class description panel and looked back at the top of his status interface.
[Available Free Gacha Rolls: 1]
A smile crept onto his face. It was time to cash in his starting bonus.
"System, use the free roll."
Instantly, the panel dissolved. In its place, the gacha wheel he had seen back at the academy gates materialized in the air.
Theo watched it with eager eyes.
Come on, he prayed. Give me a sword. Give me a sharp dagger. Give me a key! Give me anything I can use to pick this lock or cut this damn chain!
The wheel ticked slower and slower...
It crept past a golden sliver that looked incredibly promising, slowly ticked over a bright purple wedge, and finally came to a dead stop on a dark, silver section.
The wheel suddenly shattered into countless glowing blue particles, raining down like snow before vanishing.
In its place, a single, item card remained. The card spun in the air twice before flipping over to reveal his grand prize.
[Congratulations! Host has obtained: Novice Soul-Reaping Scythe.]
Theo stared at the image glowing on the card.
A scythe?
It was a long, curved black blade attached to a dark wooden pole.
It looked like the kind of tool a poor peasant farmer would use to harvest tall wheat in the fields before winter.
Or worse, it looked like a cheap prop meant for the grim reaper in a stage play.
He blinked, confused.
How was he supposed to swing a farming tool in a life-or-death battle without chopping off his own leg?
More importantly, how was a polearm supposed to help him pick the lock on his iron cuffs? He couldn’t hide a five-foot farming implement in his tattered pants.