17: Next step to unlock…

“Congratulations, you have unlocked the Parasite ability.”

“Hmm,” this sudden notification took Nings father and son by surprise.

“Another unlock?” Ning A asked.

“Could it be that we are already close to success?” Ning B did not hide his confusion.

“Hey, System, what does this Parasite ability mean? Explain it!!” Ning A shouted loudly.

“Parasite: Allows a person to choose a creature as a host and extract energy from it.”

“Extract energy? Like stealing energy from inside a living organism?” Ning A was surprised.

“No, no, no, before that, when you said 'host', did you mean us living inside a group of animals?” Ning B asked.

“Oh, me, then does Parasite mean exchanging the physical body for a life form?” Ning A thought to himself.

“Yes. You will change your body and live inside a life form. However, you will not be able to control them or influence their decision-making ability.”

“Did you hear that? We can go now.” Ning A shouted loudly.

“Yes! System, does this switch require an animal to touch us?” Ning B asked.

“No, as long as the distance between the host and the creature is within 10 meters, the host can use Parasite.”

“Okay, System, use Parasite on one of those wolves.” Ning A said.

“No, target the leader, the one that howled first.” Ning A immediately revised his command.

“Oh, yes, that’s even better.” Ning A suddenly understood.

“Using Parasite requires 100,000 energy. Continue?”

The cost of transfer was truly too high. Nings father and son were initially surprised and hesitant, but after thinking for a few seconds, they realized they had no choice. Either they hoped someone would pick up the scabbard, or they would follow the wolf pack.

The answer was obvious.

“Do it.” Ning A said.

“Yes, quickly.” Ning B echoed.

“Confirmed.”

“Energy below threshold.”

“Parasite ability is locked until the host restores energy to the required threshold.”

The familiar sensation of bodily transformation surged through them. Their consciousness disappeared from the scabbard and appeared within the wolf’s body. Now inside the wolf, they couldn't see the wolf itself, but they could see the bloodied faces of the other wolves in the pack.

“Oh my, that looks truly disgusting.” Ning B said.

“Hmm, you can say that again.” Ning A shook his head helplessly as the wolf pack gradually dispersed and headed deeper into the forest.

“Where are we going this time?” Ning A asked.

“Aren’t we supposed to be in the same area? I remember reading that wolves usually have a hunting territory and won’t change it unless threatened by a stronger monster.” Ning B said.

“Well, looking at the monsters Freya had to fight, I think they have a pretty good reason to leave this area.” Ning A looked around, finally sighing, “So we’re moving again, aimlessly, just following the wind?”

“I’m even starting to wonder why I had to die. If they wanted to make me depressed, my old life was just fine.” Ning B said.

The two were silent for a moment, then Ning B finally spoke again: “Why do you think we unlocked this so quickly?”

“Maybe we’re already close to unlocking it? Maybe that—uh, what was its name—maybe that 360-degree perception was unlocked a long time ago, and we just unconsciously didn’t know it.” Ning A said.

“Besides that, have we unlocked anything else?” Ning B asked in confusion.

“Let’s see, System, show us the unlocked codes.” Ning A commanded the System.

“Understood.”

“Unlocked List

Energy: Unlocked

10: Auditory

25: Directional Auditory

50: Rotational Movement

100: Auditory Spatial Sense

200: Thermal Perception

500: Motion Perception

1000: Sense of Direction

2000: Gravitational Perception

5000: Texture Perception

10000: Pressure Sensing

20000: Proprioception

50000: Unidirectional Vision

100000: Emotion

200000: Body Transformation

500000: Sound

1000000: Parallel Thinking

2000000: Omnidirectional Vision

5000000: Parasite Ability”

“Wow, so much has been unlocked already? It feels like this list was only a few words long not long ago, and now, look, it’s huge.” Ning B said with surprise and satisfaction.

“Hmm… It seems we didn’t unlock anything else besides Omnidirectional Vision while we were sleeping.” Ning A said.

“It’s amazing how, in just the blink of an eye, our income has almost doubled.” Ning B said.

“I mean, that blink of an eye lasted nine months, but you’re right.” Ning A said.

“Parasite ability… Didn’t the System say it would absorb the host’s energy?” Ning B asked.

“Didn’t the System also call us ‘Host’? Do you think it’s also draining our energy?” Ning A said.

The two immediately burst into laughter. They had the same sense of humor, so when one said something funny, the other would always laugh.

“Seriously, System, where is the energy you promised us?” Ning A said.

“Energy notifications are currently off.”

“Then turn them on again and let’s see.” Ning A said.

“Affirmative.”

“You gained 450 energy.”

“You gained 450 energy.”

“You gained 450 energy.”

A series of notifications began to ring in their minds. “Alright, no more.” Both of them winced at the continuous sound.

“Oh my, at this rate, we might actually unlock the next skill.” Ning A said.

“That reminds me. What’s the next skill? Hey System, show us our status.”

Suddenly, seeing this status, a flood of information appeared in their minds.

“No way… no way? Am I dreaming?” Ning A looked surprised.

“If you’re dreaming, then I am too, although I think this is right. Oh my, I can’t wait.” Ning B said excitedly.

“Status

Energy: 4,932,154

Task: Collect 5,067,846 additional energy

Reward: You have unlocked the Shop

Shop: Locked”

The next thing to unlock was the long-awaited Shop.