UNLOCK: I CAN SEE MY STATS

chapter 27 : high-tech device

The Open Sea, aboard the ship Marcus had seized after killing its crew.

[ I am a high-tech device, designed for genetic transformation technologies... ]

"Huh!?" Marcus paused mid-bite of the apple in his hand, scratching his head stupidly when he heard the bracelet’s reply. "Am I an idiot?" he muttered bitterly, not fully grasping what the bracelet meant.

He coughed to hide his embarrassment and asked a different question.

"Ahem... how did you make me turn into that sea monster?"

[By scanning the DNA of organism X03, its genes were stored in the genetic library, and the transformation into this organism was unlocked.]

This time, the bracelet responded in simpler language. Even if he didn’t understand what DNA or a genetic library was, he understood the phrase "transformation unlocked," because it reminded him exactly of what he had heard when he first transformed into the sea monster.

He had hundreds of questions, but set them aside and focused on the bracelet with his mind. Ever since his wrist was cut off and the bracelet settled inside his chest, Marcus discovered he could transform just by thinking about it, no longer needing to press any button. It had become like breathing, and even the other creatures stored inside the bracelet felt somehow familiar to him.

"Hmm, since I’ve regained my strength, let’s try out the other transformations..." Marcus whispered, then pushed the thought through his mind.

His body began to change, his skin turning a reddish-gray, his head distorting slightly. But unlike his previous transformation, this time he started shrinking instead of growing.

He shrank rapidly until he was about 20 centimeters tall, maybe even smaller.

"Huh!!..." his eyes widened in shock as he felt his thoughts racing hundreds of times faster than before, the gears in his brain whirling.

"This is amazing! I feel insanely smart..." Marcus hopped around like a monkey, but quickly lost his excitement.

"Pathetic! Is increased intelligence all this form can do?..." he muttered in disappointment.

"Better change back before I become lunch for those birds..." he whispered while staring at a seabird circling above the ship.

He returned to his human form and curiously watched the bird as it landed after spotting a human.

"Oh! It’s a messenger bird..." Marcus thought, eyeing the basket full of newspapers. He pulled out several banknotes and handed them over, then took the paper. Marcus ignored the bird hopping joyfully at the generosity of this human and opened the newspaper, starting to read.

"Hmm... the death of Captain Darov, leader of the Black Shadows crew..." Marcus read a small article about the death of that pirate captain. The crew name was familiar, as he used to collect news about outlaws in the Open Sea. He hadn’t expected a man with a bounty of 16 million to die so easily.

"Hmm... too bad. If I had taken his head to the guards, I’d have gotten that 16 million..."

Marcus sighed, but then his eyes lit up. "I’m a genius, haha. With the bracelet’s help, I can become a bounty hunter. I could make millions..."

Finally finding a goal, he kept browsing through the newspaper.

"Lightning Fist Erin..." his gaze fell on the photo of a young man holding a spear. "50 million!!" his eyes widened at the string of zeros behind the bounty.

"If I could get his head, I could live like a king..." Marcus laughed hard, imagining himself swimming in money, his family never having to worry about poverty again.

He stopped daydreaming and put a hand on his chin, thinking.

"But sadly, that man is probably heading for the deeper seas..."

He tossed the wanted poster and the paper aside, sat back in the chair and closed his eyes to rest from his accumulated fatigue. He didn’t know navigation, so it was best to take a nap and see where he ended up.

"Better to return home, then after that I can figure out this bounty hunting idea more seriously..."

...

Far from Marcus’s ship, out at sea on a small sailboat.

A gentle sea breeze played with the sail as Dice stood at the bow of the boat, holding a spyglass and scanning the horizon with alert eyes.

Without warning, he kicked the young man sleeping beside him and said loudly,

"Oi! Erin, wake up!"

"Waah... meat? Huh?!" Erin mumbled as he rubbed his side where the kick landed, then looked up at Dice with a pained, wounded stare. "Stop kicking me, you tyrant..."

But Dice completely ignored him, pointing forward with a serious tone.

"Over there... an unknown ship just appeared on the horizon!"

Erin’s eyebrows shot up instantly, sleep vanishing from his eyes, replaced by a spark of burning curiosity. He sat up quickly, then jumped to his feet.

"A ship?! Oh! Really?! Where?!"

Erin snatched the spyglass from Dice’s hand eagerly and said with excitement,

"Let me see! Let me see!"

He lifted the glass to his eyes, adjusted the lens with casual skill, then froze for a moment, his eyes locked in deep focus on the ship in the distance.

Several silent seconds passed, then he lowered the spyglass slowly and said with a puzzled tone,

"Strange... I don’t see anyone on deck. The ship looks completely abandoned."

"Abandoned?" Dice muttered, his brow tightening. "Adventurers don’t just leave their ships like that... it’s suspicious."

They exchanged a quick look, then Erin said with a wide grin,

"Let’s go check it out ourselves!"

"Huh?! You’re serious?!" Dice said nervously, but Erin was already preparing.

"Of course I’m serious! What if there’s treasure? Or supplies? Or even meat?"

Dice let out a slow sigh, then moved beside him, picking up the oar.

"Fine, but if ghosts show up, you’re fighting them alone."

Erin burst out laughing and leaped to the back of the boat, starting to row.

"Deal! But if I find meat, I’m not giving you a single bite!"

The little sailboat quickly approached the mysterious ship, which bobbed along the waves, drifting toward the unknown.

Erin’s excitement had peaked, and he couldn’t wait another second.

"I’ve run out of patience!"

Without warning, his body ignited into crackling electric energy and shot through the air, leaving a glowing trail behind.

"Eriiin!! Slow down, you idiot!!" Dice shouted, nearly falling out of the boat as he tried to catch him in vain.

"That boy doesn’t know the meaning of patience..." Dice muttered with exasperation as he picked up the oar again and kept rowing alone.

He sighed bitterly, watching his friend speed toward the abandoned ship like lightning, then muttered to himself with a note of reassurance,

"Forget it... with his bizarre abilities, no one can harm him."

He ran a hand through his hair with impatience, then looked again toward the horizon where Erin landed on the ship’s deck. Faint sparks still danced on his body before slowly fading.