"It’s so big,"

"I don’t know if I could take it."

"I could take this, right?"

Kazuichi’s monologue was a bit suspicious as he carefully scrutinized the huge meteorite in front of him. He had absorbed countless meteorite ores in the past month, but this one was the biggest one by far.

The small meteors weren’t really a problem since he could easily absorb them without difficulty. As for the medium-sized ones akin to normal rocks, Kazuichi had a harder time absorbing them, but it barely gave him an estimate regarding the large meteor he was holding.

After all, it was able to affect the Zombie Plant in such a severe way. Who knows how much it would affect the virus in Kazuichi’s body?

Furrowing his brows, Kazuichi stared at the meteorite ore before he pressed both hands against it. "Yeah, I should just go through with this and then figure it out the rest of the way."

Before he did anything, he confirmed whether there were certain threats around him. Finding nothing, he proceeded to absorb the meteor.

In recent weeks, the rankings of Hybrid had varied, but their advantages and disadvantages remained the same. Just like the infected, there were stronger Hybrids depending on their types. Obviously, there were Hounds stronger than other Hounds, there were Bulwarks stronger than other Bulwarks, and there were Mercs stronger than other Mercs.

There were also the same types that were stronger than their disadvantaged types. It was just the way of the natural order.

Naturally, Mercs were stronger than Bulwarks, but there were Bulwarks who were stronger than Mercs maybe because of experience, or they simply overpowered them.

As such the rankings were updated, and these ranks were divided into four categories— I, II, III, and IV.

Once a Hybrid reaches the third or fourth rank, they could easily go against their disadvantage type. A Hound I is stronger than a Merc I, but a Merc III could go against a Hound I and win. The higher the number, the higher the rank.

It was also believed that a fourth typing existed, called ’Dements’ but no one had encountered it before. Rumors had it that the fourth typing could go against any Hybrid type and win. They were the strongest of Hybrids and are easily the best amongst the typings.

Honestly, Kazuichi had an inkling that he belonged to the fourth type of Hybrid, but then again, there was no way to make sure. As of right now, the fourth type was just an urban legend.

"Well, let’s just get this over with," Kazuichi said to himself as he began absorbing the meteorite.

As soon as he firmly pressed both hands against the meteorite ore, he felt the sudden surge of zombie virus entering his system. It was so potent that he coughed up blood. Even though he was absorbing as little as possible, it was still too much for his body to handle.

"Kugh~! This is harder than I thought." Kazuichi said to himself but he didn’t let go of his hold. The first surge was over and he just had to endure until the meteor was completely absorbed. If he were to remove his hold, he’d have to experience the first surge of the virus once again, and it might kill him on the second try.

"Urk!" Kazuichi coughed up blood another time, but he still didn’t let go. He was getting used to the sudden surge of the virus. Furthermore, his control over his body was still intact.

There were no signs of him going berserk or anything, which was weird considering that he’d heard cases where Hybrids turned into mindless infected when they absorbed a sizeable meteorite ore.

A couple of minutes passed, and the absorption process became more tolerable than normal. Kazuichi expected to encounter a couple of roadblocks here and there but to his surprise, the absorption was a smooth ride from there on out.

Crack!

Wincing in slight pain, Kazuichi could’ve sworn that he heard a crack in his head. In the process, he gained new knowledge about the virus, as if the mutation was taking over his body and letting the instincts flow.

From his mind, he gained the ability to harden his hand and transform it into its mutated form. He had no idea what it would look like, but the idea felt like it was an extension of his body so he didn’t question it that much.

He continued absorbing the meteorite ore.

This time, he felt like he gained the ability to harden his other hand, which meant that it could also transform into its mutated form. Now both his hands were affected by the ability, and Kazuichi could only expect what would happen next.

His legs were then affected, and it didn’t take long before his entire body was affected by his newfound ability. He wasn’t even sure what to call this ability, and he couldn’t wait to use it in actual combat so he could gauge its potential. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

In any case, the absorption of the meteorite proved to be useful, and it didn’t seem like it would negatively affect his body. That’s why he didn’t take some rest. He just continued absorbing it as if he was sipping on his favorite drink.

’Just a little more. Just a little more.’ He repeated to himself, despite the fact that he had no idea how much time he had left.

At this point, Kazuichi had already lost track of time, and the only way he knew he was done absorbing the meteorite was when he didn’t feel anything on his hands anymore. His grip on the meteorite ore became smaller and smaller until he was holding both his hands in place.

He had completely absorbed the meteorite ore.

"I can’t believe I managed to do that in one go." He told himself, heaving a sigh of relief. Aside from feeling more powerful compared to before, Kazuichi could also tell that his senses were heightened even further, and he also easily detected his newfound abilities as well.

"Time to head back, I guess." He said, dusting himself off as he stood up for a quick stretch.