Mutation Abyss-Chapter 61: Meteorborn Aero (MAero)

"This thing’s faster than anything I’ve faced..." Theo thought, clenching his fists. "I need to ground it. Keep it from taking flight."

MAero launched first, vanishing in a sharp blast of wind.

[Predator Reflex activated. Duration: 20s / Cooldown: 60s]

Theo pivoted, barely dodging a sweeping strike that cut a gash into the ground where he once stood. Wind blades. It could slash just by moving.

"Too fast head-on," he muttered. "I need to slow it down."

He slammed his palms into the ground.

[Stoneborn: Seismic Counter - Activated.]

The ground pulsed violently, cracking beneath MAero’s feet. The sudden tremor broke its momentum, causing it to stumble mid-run. Theo didn’t wait.

[Pyreflame: Ember Step.]

In a flash of flame, Theo vanished and reappeared behind MAero. His axe swung, a flaming arc aimed at the creature’s back.

CLANG!

It whipped around mid-air, parrying with a winged limb. Wind exploded outward, throwing Theo into a heap of broken crates.

He winced, brushing off splinters.

"That wing deflected my hit. I need to break it or at least, bypass its defense."

He darted behind cover and tapped his chest.

[Stealthborn: Shadow Step - Silent Strike - Engaged.]

Slipping into the shadows, he vanished from view. MAero hissed, slashing wildly through the air as it searched.

Theo’s voice echoed in his mind, ’You can’t dodge what you can’t see.’ He emerged behind the MAero and plunged his axe into the base of its left wing.

MAero shrieked, spinning violently, gusts whipping into a full-blown storm. Theo shielded his face.

[Energy Shield: Reinforced - Active.]

Wind blades slammed against the glowing barrier. Sparks flew, but it held.

Breathing heavily, Theo backed away. "Now!" He thrust his palm forward using Kinetic Pulse. A concussive blast of force slammed into MAero’s chest, launching it against a rusted textile machine. It crashed hard, stunned.

Theo advanced, activating:

[Pyreflame: Pyre Burst + Ignite Form]

His body ignited with controlled fire, each strike now enhanced with explosive force.

He lunged. One. Two. Three strikes, burning into exposed joints.

MAero shrieked again, but faltered. One leg gave out. Blood seeped from its wounds, black and steaming.

"Time to end this."

Theo gathered his strength, gripping his axe with both hands. Flames surged through it.

[Enhanced Physique: Advanced - Boosted Strength]

With a final roar, he swung down.

[Kinetic Pulse + Pyreflame: Finishing Strike]

The axe crashed into MAero’s chest, piercing through the wind-charged core. The creature stiffened then shattered into shimmering ash and vapor.

Theo fell to one knee, panting. "That... was close."

[Ding! Special Quest Completed: Heart of the Meteorborn]

[EXP Gained: +10,000]

[Gold Coins Gained: +1,000]

[Special Menu Unlocked: Gold & EXP Conversion (Limit: 1,000 Gold/day)]

[Initiating Meteorite Core Absorption...]

[Extraction complete. New ability and power acquired.]

[You have acquired: Aerogale Meteorcore]

Infused with the essence of wind and motion. Grants enhanced stealth efficiency, sharper reflexes, and fluid agility by manipulating air currents to mask movement and sound.

[New Mutation Powers Unlocked:]

Wind Veil (Passive/Active)

Wraps the user in thin wind currents to muffle footsteps and mask body heat.

Passive: Slightly active when moving slowly.

Active Duration: 15 seconds

Cooldown: 90 seconds

Aero Dash (Active)

Performs a short-range dash enhanced by compressed wind.

Dash range: Up to 10 meters

Can be chained 2 times

Usable mid-air

Cooldown: 10 seconds per dash (chain resets after 20 sec idle)

Gale Fangs (Active)

Generates slicing wind projectiles from slashes or punches.

Adds wind blades to melee or ranged attacks

Can stack with other skills (e.g., Silent Strike, Pyre Burst)

Cooldown: 30 seconds

Theo frowned as he read through the updated logs. His system notifications looked differentm, more detailed, with clearer formats. Still, he liked it.

A grin stretched across his face. "This is nice," he muttered. "I can finally convert Gold Coins to EXP now!"

He immediately opened his updated stats.

[Rank: Mutant]

[Mutation Level: 4]

[HP: 84 / 150]

[EXP: 22,090]

[MP/EP: 41 / 150]

[Strength: 80 / 100]

[Agility: 80 / 100]

[Intelligence: 90 / 100]

[Endurance: 90 / 100]

[Perception: 60 / 100]

[Wealth: 3,549 Gold Coins]

[Special Abilities:]

Enhanced Physique

Adaptive Healing

Kinetic Pulse freёwebnoѵel.com

Energy Shield

Ability and Power Extraction

[Mutation Powers:]

Pyreflame Variant: Ember Step, Pyre Lure, Pyre Burst, Ignite Form

Stealthborn Variant: Shadow Step, Silent Strike, Predator Reflex

Stoneborn Variant: Granite Skin, Immovable Stance, Seismic Counter

Aerogale Variant: Wind Veil, Aero Dash, Gale Fangs

"Seriously?!" Theo blinked in disbelief as he saw the massive drop in his HP and MP/EP.

"Shouldn’t the system warn me first before burning my stats like that?" he muttered, annoyed.

[Notice: Please upgrade ’System Hints’ to receive enhanced combat feedback.]

Theo rolled his eyes and opened his system interface again. "Fine. Let’s upgrade System Hints before this kind of thing gets me killed."

He navigated to the [System Settings] and found the option blinking.

[Available System Hints Upgrade for Mutant Rank Level 4]

[Combat Pulse Assist - 1,200 EXP]

Adds real-time danger sense. Pings you when nearby threats spike.

[Auto-Diagnosis Module – 1,500 EXP]

Monitors internal energy and health to auto-alert before critical thresholds are hit.

[Ability Synergy Preview - 2,000 EXP]

Suggests combo chains or unlockable synergy bonuses between active abilities.

Theo tapped each one without hesitation.

[Confirm Upgrade? Total EXP Cost: 4,700]

YES / NO

"Just take it," he muttered and hit YES.

[Ding! System Hints Upgrade Complete.]

[Combat Pulse Assist Activated.]

[Auto-Diagnosis Module Installed.]

[Ability Synergy Preview Enabled.]

[EXP Remaining: 17,390]

A faint pulse buzzed at the back of his head, and a small icon lit up in the corner of his vision. He could feel the changes immediately like a second sense kicking in. A low hum quietly warned him of movement patterns and energy shifts in the air. The world seemed sharper.

[New Notifications:]

Threat spike ping enabled

Health/MP alerts at 25% and 15%

Active abilities now show synergy tags

Theo grinned. "That’s more like it."

He pulled up one of his abilities, Pyre Burst, and noticed a small glowing mark next to it.

[Potential Synergy Detected: Pyre Burst + Pulse Wave = Scorch Pulse]

His eyes widened. "No way... I’ve been sitting on that combo?"