Imposter System

Chapter 24: Skill Potential

Matt returned to his room and stuffed the bag into his safe and locked it. This was dangerous meat and could kill someone so he decided to prevent Alexis from accidently finding it. Once he sat down at his desk he leaned back and let out a sigh. He had walked for almost two hours with his weak and poisoned body he wanted to take a nap. In the personal quarters that Alexis and Matt shared, there were two office rooms for their personal use, one large bathroom, a large bedroom, and a medium sized common room. Compared to the military quarters which were typically just a room with four beds, this was a luxury suite.

The irony didn't escape him. The manual, which was over a thousand pages long, outlined many mission criteria. One of the key aspects was the conservation of resources for the mission. However, the crew quarters were set up in such an obvious caste system that it was ridiculous. Once they landed on Exveus, the ship would be converted to the main base on the planet. It would likely never take to the skies again. Matt put his thoughts to rest and made his way to the bed. He set his personal device to wake him for dinner and fell asleep.

During his nap, Matt had a strange dream. He was back home on Earth getting ready for school. He got up and prepared breakfast for himself and then left his house. However, when he opened his door, there was a solid wall. He checked every other door and window and they were all just walls. Then, the sound of an intercom was turned on and a robotic voice began speaking to him. Matt couldn't understand the words it was saying, but he could hear laughter in the background. The room began to get smaller and smaller until he only had a few feet of space around him.

Suddenly, Matt woke up in a cold sweat seconds before his alarm went off. At the first ring, he disabled it and sat up pondering. He clearly felt that he had a very frustrating dream but couldn't remember anything about it. Thinking about dreams and how intense he felt right now, Matt wondered how powerful the Dream Casting would be. He caressed his chin and pondered. The extra abilities in the Mind Flayer branch were new to Matt. In the game, the first thing you get access to is telepathy and a mind-based attack.

'Wait, perhaps I am thinking too shallowly. In the game, these abilities naturally needed mechanical use in the correct setting. However, since this is reality, the abilities are a bit truer to their nature. Whispers is clearly the precursor to telepathy; does that mean Dream Casting is the precursor to a mental attack?'

With that thought in mind, he became excited. Based on the description, it could only affect dreams currently. However, Matt wasn't even able to see the result of his manipulation. But the ability seemed cheap and auxiliary abilities in the game usually weren't too expensive. If Dream Casting could become strong enough to throw someone into a waking hallucination in the future, wouldn't it be an extremely powerful tool for him? The anxiety from the strange dream was practically washed away and he only felt excitement for the discovery.

For his immediate goal, Matt wanted to eat some more steak and max out his DNA Absorption. However, the cost would be too high once he reached a later level, so for now he wanted to just reach the point where a steak would give him three points. As for the goat remains, he was saving that for a rainy day. Since they were toxic, he wanted to make sure he was at full strength before chomping on them. Additionally, based on his calculations he would gain sixteen evolution points from the flesh he carved out.

Since he didn't want to waste good raw meat, Matt planned to level his absorption first. His limbs were a lot stronger than before he took a nap, which he was appreciative of. Walking around like before was very strange and he didn't want people remembering that in the future. Fortunately, he didn't encounter that many people who saw the way he walked so he should be fine. When he arrived at the cafeteria, Alexis had already reserved a seat and waved him over.

"You're looking at bit better than before."

"That's because you're here."

"What what are you talking about" Alexis looked away to hide her facial expressions. Matt leaned forward over the table and got really close to her and whispered in her ear.

"I'm saying that you're the best medicine."

When she felt his breath near her ear and heard what Matt said, Alexis immediately punched him in the jaw. He leaned back and rubbed his sore jaw and chuckled. He noticed when he arrived that she was feeling nervous again. Instead of hypnotizing her again, he felt jovial because of the earlier realization about his powers. Because of his mood, he decided to tease her. In the past, whenever Matt tried to be smooth with her, she would resort to violence.

"I see you're feeling better now." Alexis realized what he was saying and felt touched.

"You're a lot smarter than before. I don't know if that's a good thing."

"I've always been incredibly smart, what do you mean?"

"Tsk, so shameless. I meant you are better with emotions. Before, you were the typical closed-door researcher. Sometimes I wondered if you were the one that impregnated that goat"

"Really? That's what you thought of me? Well, since it's you saying that, it must be true. Maybe you awoke me to my inner bad guy." Hearing Matt call himself that made her spit take the water she was drinking.

"If you're a bad guy then I'm an alien."

Matt felt his eye twitch. That was strange. If she were an alien, that would put them in the same boat. However, whether he was good, bad, nice, or evil weren't important to him. All that mattered were results. If Alexis was not confident for her skirmish, she wouldn't move forward to the First Strike squad. If she wasn't so attached to him, she wouldn't be easily manipulated. Of course, as Matt's first follower, he wouldn't treat her poorly. Perhaps he would consider gifting her with one of his sub-bodies and turn her into a true ally.

"So, what's the situation with the skirmish?"

"Surprisingly, it was moved up for once. It will be tomorrow. If you aren't busy, you should come and watch. Two whole decks will be sealed off for this battle. It will be one of the biggest skirmishes we have ever done. It will last several hours."

"That does sound quite interesting. Actually, I am going to be free for a while, so I'll definitely be there."

"Great! You can leave with me tomorrow."

Their food arrived so they began eating. Matt was happy to see that the Commander stayed true to his word as he devoured the steak. He realized that he didn't care much for the flavor anymore, his true obsession was the evolution point. He paused eating at this realization and thought that it might become a problem in the future. Being cool and logical was not only his preferred mentality, but also the safest. He decided to focus on the taste and try to not think about the points too much.

"You seem like you're having an internal struggle over your meal, haha."

"Yeah, I'm thinking about what I should eat next, and you're looking very appetizing."

This, however, netted him another kick in the shin. She was kind enough to hit his uninjured leg. Or perhaps it could be considered cruel in another sense. Matt finished his meal first and stared at Alexis. He said it jokingly, but there was a modicum of truth in his words. His thoughts were wandering toward dark paths again and Matt realized just how 'hungry' he had been without a daily source of evolution points. To his human consciousness, these points were like a game to become stronger. However, to his parasite body, these points were nutrients and a source of life. Simple foods wouldn't satisfy him.

"What are you thinking now?"

"What I should do to avoid getting kicked again."

"That's easy, just stop saying cheesy one-liners."

[Hypnotism Activated.]

"Do you really hate it so much?"

Alexis looked straight into his eyes so Matt decided to distract himself from his hunger by training his hypnosis. The answer to the question wasn't really important to him, but it seemed like it would give him some proficiency. Matt realized that he had the ultimate tool for figuring out what someone really felt. He would kill to have had this power in his past life. Alexis set her utensils down, crossed her arms and looked away shyly.

"I don't hate it."

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Let's goooo. Weekend mass release hype? Well, I'll try my best to write more than two chapters haha.

1/2 regular chapters

0/8 bonus chapters