He summoned his system screen, still feeling the same ticklish sensation.
What was happening? How had he suddenly evolved? He looked at the species section. It had changed from "Human" to now show "Majin." He clicked on it, looking for an explanation, and that’s how he discovered something else.
[Intrinsic Skill: Mana Sustenance]
[Type: Passive]
[Description: Your body has evolved to subsist on pure mana. So long as mana exists within your body, you are immune to suffocation, starvation, dehydration, and all other sustenance needs. Mana regeneration rate increased by 50%.]
[Note: As a being reliant on mana to survive, the consequences of mana exhaustion are doubled.]
Cipher observed the description. It was a species trait, kind of like a class trait. And the benefits were quite good too. As for the last part about consequences doubling, this was quite vague, but the last time he experienced mana exhaustion, he had almost died, so it was better not to test it.
[You actually acquired a Grandmaster’s body. I guess your talent isn’t all that bad after all,] the Heavenly Demon spoke, surprise evident in her voice.
"Grandmaster’s body?" he asked.
[That’s right. It’s a body that’s achieved by people who have broken through to the Grandmaster realm. It opens up one’s meridians and enhances the qi circulation. It also slightly boosts talent.]
Cipher observed himself. No wonder he was feeling so ticklish - his meridians had been opened and his mana sensitivity had increased.
"But why does it feel so uncomfortable?" he asked.
[You’re just not used to it. Your qi pathways are just overstimulated at the moment. As long as you continue using your mana, the sensitivity will calm down and eventually return back to normal,] she explained.
He looked at himself. He really hoped so. It felt as though tiny bugs were crawling all over him.
He returned his attention back to the system, looking at his species. If every species had an intrinsic skill, then was he missing out on something now that he wasn’t human anymore?
No, more importantly, what would happen to him? Would he be unable to return to his world through the gate now that he was not human?
He calmed himself. No, he should be fine. He wasn’t the first one to change species. Yuki, for example, was a demon fox, so there should be no problem with him becoming a Majin. And even if he really couldn’t go back, then he would just use his Fast Travel. The cheat was described as having no restrictions, so it should be fine.
He closed the system and looked ahead. His sensitivity had reduced, but just a tiny bit. Still, he didn’t have any time to waste as this world was already being actively devoured, so he continued flying.
...
Cipher flew until he encountered the area most populated with robots so far.
Although he was quite high, he could see fairly well thanks to his Agility stat, which was related to perception. He was also supporting it a little with Mana Dominion for increased range.
Below, he noticed that while there were more robots still spread out in the direction he was going, the ones in this specific area were the most concentrated. At that moment, one robot looked up and they seemed to lock eyes.
He smiled nervously. It definitely noticed me, he thought.
But surprisingly, the robot didn’t make any moves to attack and just returned to acting normal as if nothing had happened.
Cipher smiled. He had definitely hit gold with this one. They were definitely protecting something there. Something so important that they ignored a so-called outsider despite being so heated before.
He descended towards them. He needed to get into that building and see what exactly they were hiding. As he approached, he scanned all the enemies around. There was almost an uncountable amount of low-ranked robots, hundreds of B-ranked, almost fifty A-ranks, and ten S-ranks.
He steadied his breath and activated Unwavering Will as well as Mana Dominion at maximum, enhancing his entire body with mana. He needed to get through to them. If the thing inside was capable of dialogue, he would negotiate. If not, or he couldn’t make it inside, he would just leave with Fast Travel.
Cipher charged full speed towards the building. The robots began reacting to him immediately. Some stepped before the entrance while others charged toward him to attack. He still needed to negotiate, so he wouldn’t kill them, which restricted him greatly.
His battle instinct activated, drawing thousands of red lines from his opponents and blue lines from himself. The air became a web of trajectories - enemy attacks painted in red towards him, and his path to heaven traced in blue. He navigated through these lines, weaving between strikes, evading by mere inches, attacking non-lethally, and swerving between the mechanical bodies that converged on him from all sides.
But the S-ranks were no joke. Despite his enhanced perception, despite reading their movements before they made them, he still got hit here and there. A metal fist grazed his ribs. An energy blast clipped his shoulder. Each impact sent jolts of pain through his body, but he remained determined.
He couldn’t stop. Stopping meant death.
Thankfully, with the upgraded Regeneration, he recovered almost instantly. Combined with Infinite Stamina, he was unstoppable.
He ducked under a sweeping arm, deflected another with a palm strike, twisted mid-air to avoid a laser blast. The entrance was just ahead. The S-ranks closed in, their speed matching his own. He pushed harder, pouring more mana into his body until his muscles screamed.
Finally, he broke through the entrance. He moved at top speed, his feet barely touching the ground as the ten S-ranks followed just a hair’s breadth behind him.
At that moment, he noticed someone in a chair.
A girl sat motionless in the center of the room. Her eyes were open but vacant, staring at nothing - she didn’t seem all there. She had long, disheveled hair that fell around her pale face, and some sort of machine was connected to her head, its wires snaking into her skull like some sort of parasitic root.
Her body was thin, almost frail, dressed in a tattered white gown that might have once been pristine.
He smiled. This was it.
He knew he couldn’t negotiate now with how violent the S-ranks were. If he stopped even for a second, he would be dead. But he had already accomplished his mission. With Appraisal, if he appraised someone, as long as he didn’t close the window, he should be able to view the info.
He appraised the girl before him and instantly activated Fast Travel just as the S-ranks were about to catch him.