Reborn as an Evolving Space Monster: Harem Of Otherworldly Beauties-Chapter 297: Trouble In Paradise

"Gruesome deaths too." Cero commented, seeing the state of the cages and rats. "Did they blow up or something?"

"Something like that. You seriously have to be careful with that ability."

"Yeah…" Cero clicked his tongue. "I know." He massaged his face silently for a moment. "I haven't used it since."

"Good." Raya nodded. "We've been running tests for the last six months, but the real testing only starts now. In any case, we noticed that the subjects survived longer and longer as your ability got stronger."

'Through the use of Skill Points.'

Raya moved a hand to her chin.

"This one died after a month. This one after three weeks. This one survived for two weeks…"

"And this is the one from two days ago, right?"

"Yeah. It barely survived two full days."

"We've seen worse."

"Yes, the quickest death of the subject was less than a full minute later."

"It's a good thing I didn't start overusing it right away."

"It's a good thing that you told me about it as well."

"Obviously." Cero muttered while staring at the bloody cages. "That's always a good thing."

"In any case, build and strength seem to have an effect on how long they can hold on. Therefore, what is fatal to them might not be to one of us. Still, to remain in the clear…"

"We should focus on what isn't fatal to them, and therefore definitely isn't to you."

"Right. I'll be studying them more thoroughly and testing different combinations of compounds to see if they can help."

A couple of silent seconds passed.

"How are the three remaining doing?"

"Nothing wrong with them so far. This one has survived the longest. Five months and still kicking with zero issues."

"That's the one I applied my ability to once."

"Correct. To the one next to it, you've applied the ability twice. And the one after, thrice."

"Four times to the one after… Who died." Cero nodded. "So three times is the limit."

"I think it's better to stick to one time. Anything beyond that… We just don't have concrete evidence that it won't cause problems down the line."

"Right."

Raya took a deep breath in, staring at the worried expression on Cero's face.

"You don't have to worry so much. I'm sure they can handle it."

"Yeah…"

Cero let his body fall onto one of the only two chairs in the room.

"I've used it once on Liz and once on Lith."

"And they've been doing great."

"Still, I should have thought about it. Just because they're granted an ability doesn't mean that they're granted the ability to handle it." Cero sighed. 'It would be the same as granting them Poison Production without granting them Poison Resistance. I, as a Paru, naturally get both… More like my body changes in a way that allows me to use something and handle it. But it's different for them. Burning Mist Production allows me to store a combustible gas inside of my body. This requires different organs to store and produce the gas. Additionally, space needs to be made for those organs. Because of these requirements, the more I use the Skill Share Skill on a rat, the faster it dies. On the one that exploded after less than a minute, I had used Skill Share ten times.'

"I'll need to run in-depth tests. Hopefully, they will confirm that 1, 2, and 3 have received absolutely no drawbacks from it."

"And if they don't confirm that?"

"Maybe it'll confirm it for 1 and 2 alone?"

"..."

"In any case, what matters is one-time application for now. Don't forget that on the one that survived two days, you've applied your ability ten times. Survivability went from a minute to two days!"

"Right." Cero scratched his chin. 'Through the use of Skill Points, I managed to get Skill Share to Level 6.' He shook his head. "Still, I applied it on Lith and Liz before it got as strong as it is now."

"Yes, well… That's the grey zone we're in. It remains true that the Simbiora Lianas, while not much is known about them, can grant abilities to the creatures around them to form a symbiotic relationship. It's likely that it only shares one ability with each one of those creatures. At least, that's what the limited info we have says. Strong creatures made stronger through it, agile creatures made more agile, the ability to see in the dark, to produce toxins… Each instance mentions one ability being heightened or shared."

"Yeah. I mean… Yeah."

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"Just to be cautious… You've told Liz not to use it, right?"

"Repeatedly."

"What about Lith?"

"It's… More complicated with Lith."

"How so?"

"It's unlikely that Lith will feel any drawbacks. The number of applications isn't the only variable. It's also about which abilities are granted."

"Right. Like the one that died from its bones piercing its skin and organs."

"Yeah." Cero sighed. 'Through Skill Share, it had been granted Blade Of Bones, Infectious Cut, Spiderweb Production, and Poison Production. Because Blade Of Bones is now Level 3 and because of the different organs needed by those Skills, it must have felt like its insides were about to explode as its organs pushed against one another to make space… It activated Blade of Bones on more than just its limbs, punctured itself, and… Well, a gruesome result anyways. Others can handle Blade Of Bones, as long as there aren't other Skills shared with it.'

"Your ability got stronger, right?"

"Yeah."

"Think you can choose which abilities to grant now?"

"No. It's still random. More like… It depends on the individual. An ability of mine resonates with the person or creature I'm trying to grant an ability to. Maybe it's the most suitable or safe ability that gets granted first? Maybe that's why we haven't seen any problems with one-time applications."

"Then after that, the second safest… That's possible. Although second safest doesn't mean much. It could already be 90% less safe than the first. The first being the safest doesn't mean much either. Safest might just mean the one that will kill you the slowest."

"..."

"I'm being pessimistic, sorry."

"No, it's true. We have to think about this. Run as many tests as you think we need. Right now, nothing is more important than this."

"Right." Raya nodded and started walking. "In that case," She opened a door, revealing a room filled with dozens of cages. "We'll need more test subjects." She said while trying to keep a straight face.

"As many as you need, my dear mad scientist."

"Oh, come on. Don't call me that…"

"Yeah, right. You love it. Stop acting like you don't."

"Well, maybe…"