Transcendent Gene-Chapter 268: Connection [4]

Gio loved the concept of "secluded training."

He always loved the idea of locking himself away for a long period of time and facing the world again as an unbelievably stronger version of himself. It was a beautiful concept, really, and it felt incredible to be the center of it.

The problem was that secluded training was difficult for Sequencers. It was a matter of having the money to get everything needed to improve rapidly in one place.

Well, in the eyes of the current generation, that was the problem.

’It takes a lot of work to make a lot of materials safe for consumption by humans. Our bodies have adapted to technology and are now used to incredibly processed materials, but that doesn’t mean everything is bad for us raw.’

In fact, humans were able to consume many things labeled dangerous for consumption. Merely, they would experience some side effects until their bodies had a chance to realize that they weren’t being harmed.

It was the same as what happened when one inherited a Bloodline or absorbed a Sequence. After a period of adaptation, the negative effects would disappear and be replaced by positives.

’A lot of the raw materials we have are usable too.’

Gio had no choice but to use raw materials when he was in the tower. He used trial and error and experimented on his own body until he learned what he could and couldn’t consume.

He couldn’t pass those lessons on to his comrades quite yet, but that didn’t stop him from eyeing the raw materials they collected.

Shiro, Serene, and Neriah were already working through the bundles of resources they had. With Neriah’s help, four cubbies were built into the earth where they could seclude or sleep.

Gio was in his own cubby, but rather than training, he was looking through his [Memory Book] and finishing translations.

’It’ll take at least three days to get through everything.’

However, he could already confirm that these books were useful.

’This one is called The Delineation of Habitats and Ecosystems in AZAEREAL.’

The final word was spelled out in all capital letters, a phonetic spelling of something the past humans had only overheard.

’As it suggests, it’s really only talking about the different regions of this place called Azaereal. It doesn’t look like the name of the entire monster world, but of a single area instead. The actual living habits of the "creatures" in this book don’t matter to me, but...’

The introductory paragraph said it perfectly.

[To you who may be reading this in the future, remember that a Monster Territory is more than what meets the eye. Never fool yourself into thinking that all monsters appear and live like beasts and animals. We thought the same when we first came here, however, we were soon to find out otherwise. We were turned into slaves in Monster Territories. Creatures who live like animals don’t have the intelligence to turn humans into slaves.]

Cities were also considered monster territories by the author of the book. Gio hadn’t reached a proper explanation of one, but he translated a table of contents that led him to what he was looking for.

He was currently translating such an entry. So far, he’d only learned the presumed name of the city and the types of monsters within, but he knew that important information was going to present itself soon.

’I’m finally learning more about intelligent monsters.’

What he saw in that Riftworld wasn’t some kind of elaborate lie. It was a ruin that told of the monster world’s history.

They had cities. They had populations who lived ordinarily. Only, "ordinary" to them was different.

’Human slaves were used for a variety of purposes, but there were three main roles.’

The luckiest of them would become house slaves who did chores and ran errands for their owners. Those with a bit less fortune would become workers at perilous or demeaning jobs or pets who were treated like domesticated animals on Earth.

Those with only misfortune in their futures were used by monsters how captured monsters were used by humans.

They were experimented on and used as resources for research.

’This man, Leonides...’

He was the author of the book, and though he made it expressly clear that it was only an assumption of his...

’...he believed that monsters were improving their genes and bloodlines using our bodies. He proposed that they learned human language and societal standards through these methods.’

It was an absurdist way of thinking, but Gio felt like there could be some truth in it. If humans could get stronger by incorporating specific traits of other races, what was to say others couldn’t do the same?

’I need to stop viewing monsters as an unintelligent race.’

He also had that prejudice. He also thought the majority of monsters were like the ones who lived in Wild Zones on Earth.

’But those are not my enemies.’

Not all of them. Only the absolute strongest of them had the intelligence to be on Gio’s radar.

The rest?

’The rest is no different from beasts. In fact, they might even be considered the beasts of the monster world.’

The more he translated, the more his mind was filled with new theories and assumptions.

He learned a lot about the similarities between humans and monsters over the course of the next few days, but it didn’t soften his view of them.

If anything, it made him more concerned. Leonidas described their humanness as a danger, seeing it from the same perspective Gio held. He knew what threats could arise if people started thinking they could reason with the other side.

’But this isn’t the most important thing.’

Learning more about monsters was vital. As he translated the books in his mind, he wrote down new versions that summarized their information and adapted it to fit the missing gaps in the current day’s knowledge.

However, Gio was looking for something specific.

’Where is it? Where is the connection? If anyone wrote about it, it had to be you.’

The people who had no reason to withhold information were those who had no choice but to die in this world with no hope of salvation. Only they had no misgivings, no regrets, and no attachments.

Gio knew he wouldn’t find what he wanted in human cities. He knew the information would be as far away from written records as it possibly could be.

But here...

’It has to be here.’

He searched vehemently for an answer in the books. Any time spent otherwise was spent on training.

Gio’s body improved significantly through the use of Elixirs. He used two more syringes of Gene Fluid as well, cementing some of the changes made last time.

His body was growing well. He didn’t count his physical proficiency or fortitude in the slightest.

He needed to focus on his Sequences.

’None of the finished products we found this time will help, but luckily, I was able to get this out of the split.’

When he gave up his share of the finished resources, he asked for only one thing.

’This is a Wyrm Heart.’

He looked at the lump of vital matter in front of him.

He was certain of it. He had seen a Dragon Heart before and he’d even seen the greater Dragon Soul with his own eyes. A Wyrm Heart was the weakest variety of such resources, fit for the consumption of ordinary humans and those of similar levels.

’Wyrms lose most of their energy when they die, so their hearts are used mainly as a supplement for rich people to "maintain their youth." People see it as a scam, but it’s really not.’

They weren’t getting much of an effect from the heart, but the vitality-preserving effect wasn’t a lie.

Rather, it was the heart’s influence on their genes.

Ordinary people and normal Sequencers had no way of utilizing all of the benefits of a Dragon Heart or any of its lesser variants.

That technique was known only to some of the most experienced of this day and age...

’...and me.’

Gio smiled as he picked up the heart.

’I can do it better than all the rest combined.’

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