UNLOCK: I CAN SEE MY STATS

chapter 24 : alive ...

The maritime region under the Eastern Archipelago... inside a merchant ship under attack.

"Uugh... water..."

Marcus opened his heavy eyelids to a flickering oily light.

"Hmm... I'm alive..."

He whispered with a hoarse voice due to his dry throat. He had not expected to ever open his eyes again. He thought that was the end, but clearly fate had other plans.

"Thank God..."

He muttered, then looked around. His eyes narrowed when he found himself back in the same situation, inside a metal cage with many people of different races and ages.

"Damn it... don't tell me it was all just a dream..." he thought with fear and anxiety.

"The bracelet..." his eyes lit up. He ignored everything else and quickly lifted his right hand to see the one thing that could confirm whether what he went through was just a dream.

"Haah...!"

"Whoaa... damn it... what is happening..." Marcus yelled in a hoarse, hysterical voice, waking up the other captives.

"Who the hell is that?!"

"This kid has gone insane!!!"

"Shut up, you bastard, your voice will bring the sniper guards here..."

"Damn it, you scared me..."

"Shut up..."

"Shut your mouth, you crazy brat..."

He ignored the curses and insults coming from the various cages of the imprisoned slaves.

"Aagh..."

Marcus screamed in pain when one of the slaves sharing his cage kicked him.

"What’s wrong with you, man, your damn screaming woke me up..."

"Ease up on the kid, Loger..."

"I remember you screaming like a little girl when that guard hit you..."

"Man, how can you compare that to this, plus that damned guard took me by surpr..."

Marcus clenched his teeth in rage and glared at the man who had kicked him, who was still busy arguing with someone else, standing there defenseless.

"You think I'm an easy target..." he shouted angrily, adjusted himself, then kicked the man hard between the legs.

"Aaagh..."

Clap!

The other man who had been arguing with Loger, who was now writhing on the ground in pain, clapped.

"That probably hurt like hell, but nice! Thanks kid, that idiot deserved that kick..."

He looked at Marcus who was staring at him with a deep scowl, then smiled and pointed his finger.

"Look to your right, in the upper corner..."

"You'll find your wrist there..."

Marcus didn’t look where he pointed. Instead, he adjusted himself with difficulty, sat up, then opened his mouth and asked in a hoarse voice.

Because of his dry throat, after all, he hadn’t eaten or drunk anything for three days. If not for his body being stronger than the average person, he would have been sprawled on the ground by now.

"What happened?! Where am I?!"

The rough-voiced man answered,

"Hmm, where do I start, as you can see, you’re now aboard a slave trader’s ship. I remember that guard saying he caught you or something like that..."

Marcus’s eyes narrowed, anger rising. "Great, what luck... from a Promised’s ship to a slave trader’s ship," he thought with sadness and bitterness, before he lifted his right arm and looked at his severed wrist. Strangely, the cut had already fully healed.

As he inspected his wrist, suddenly his sixth sense flared up again and he felt a dangerous crisis. But before he could move or dodge, the man’s voice came in a grim tone.

"Loger, if you want to die... keep going."

"Tch... damn lucky brat..." snarled the one called Loger, who had been about to attack Marcus in revenge for that painful kick.

"Lucky?! Heh, if you only knew just how lucky I really am..." Marcus whispered sarcastically, ignored him, and pointed to his severed right wrist.

"Did you see how this happened? Who cut off my hand..."

He asked again with a gloomy expression. The man didn’t hide anything and answered.

"Hmm, if I’m not wrong, that guard who brought you here was trying to take something from you. I couldn’t see what it was because of the dark, but judging by your face now, it must’ve been important. The strange thing is..."

"I remember he started cursing and beating you..."

"I don’t know exactly what happened, but he took you upstairs. Not long ago, when he brought you back, you were in this state... in my view, you’re lucky. That guy is known for his sadistic nature. If this ship hadn’t been attacked right now, you’d be in a much worse state..."

After knowing what happened to him, Marcus ignored the man who kept rambling about what might have happened and how awful his fate would’ve been if the ship hadn’t been attacked by someone.

"Son of a bitch... he cut off my hand to take the bracelet..." Marcus thought in anger and spite.

"I’m sure he didn’t even know its value, otherwise..."

"Most likely he was just drawn by its strange appearance..."

He touched the spot of the amputation, now completely healed. That was what Marcus found truly bizarre.

A wound like this would usually take many days to heal, yet according to the talkative man, less than half an hour had passed since his wrist was cut.

Grrr...

His stomach growled, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"I’m so damn hungry..."

He whispered weakly as he looked around for a piece of bread or anything edible. But aside from rusty metal cages, trash, and waste that reeked unbearably, there was nothing to eat... unless he counted his severed wrist lying in the corner.

He fell back and thought with regret.

"Damn it... without that bracelet, how am I supposed to get out of here..."

He closed his eyes and imagined if he still had that magical piece, he would’ve transformed again into that giant sea serpent monster and destroyed this place in his fury.

When that idea crossed his mind, he suddenly felt a sting in his chest, then in an instant, his skin rippled and turned purple.

Scales began to form, but suddenly the transformation stopped and reversed, returning him to his human state.

"Huff... huff... huff..."

He started panting heavily, sweat soaking his skin. He lifted his right hand to wipe the sweat, but it didn’t do what he wanted.

"I’ll need time to adjust to my new condition..." he stared at his severed wrist and muttered with a scowl before smiling like a fool. He lifted his left hand and touched his chest, his smile widening when he felt the strange texture there.

He laughed loudly, ignoring the other prisoners in the cell who started mocking him, calling him finally insane. Because of the dim light, they hadn’t seen his bizarre transformation just moments ago.

"The bracelet was meant for me... I don’t know how, but it seems that guard never got it, and somehow it ended up inside my body and became part of me, embedded in my chest, and not just that..."

He thought with delight and focused on the mechanical voice that started echoing in his mind when the transformation failed.

[Insufficient energy...]

[Full transformation mode unavailable...]

"Hey bracelet... what do you mean by insufficient energy?! Is it your energy or my body’s?!"

Marcus asked, remembering that his mother once mentioned that genetic powers depended on the strength of one’s physical fitness.

[Transformation depends on the host’s physical energy...]

"Haah!! It actually answered!!" his eyes widened in shock, even ignoring his weakness as he sat up straight.

He hadn’t expected to actually get an answer, but it seemed the bracelet was far more intelligent than he imagined.

The sounds of battle and gunfire brought him back to focus, clearing his mind, and he quickly asked, hoping for a positive reply.

"Hey bracelet... isn’t there any way to transform?! I want to get out of this damned place..."

[Hybrid mode available...]