Jon hesitated for a moment, before deciding against integrating this "Fragment Of Mouth" into his Mana Core. Connotations aside, it was not within Jon's nature to hastily accept things without giving a situation a significant amount of thought beforehand.

Jon felt more questions bubble up from the depths of his mind, rising to the forefront of his attention.

"A "Fragment Of Mouth?", Jon muttered to himself.

'A fragment of what exactly?'.

The goat-creature that Jon had just killed, contained a "Fragment Of Mouth" within it.

Considering the horrifying structure and appearance of its mouth, it certainly made sense that such a creature would possess such a thing.

The only question was, if the creature somehow formed a "Fragment Of Mouth" due of the structure and appearance of its mouth, or if as a result of coming into contact with the "Fragment Of Mouth" did the goat-creature undergo physiological changes, adapting to this foreign element.

If such a thing was the case, then would Jon's mouth also change as a result of integrating this specific fragment?

Jon shivered at the thought.

Jon placed the "Fragment Of Mouth" into one of the pockets within his backpack, putting related thoughts to the back of his mind.

There was a certain level of ease with regards to his thoughts and emotions now. Standing up, Jon glanced down at the corpse of the goat-creature, feeling a sense of reassurance that he did not quite feel before.

He had killed this thing with his bare hands. Nothing but a duffel bag and his own wit and strength.

It was not quite pride, or even confidence, but a realization that he too was also an animal.

Despite the thin veil of civilization and manners separating man from the rest of the beasts that walked the Earth, at the end of the day, humanity was capable of same level of savagery and violence as any other creature that breathed the same air as them.

His knuckles still throbbed, suppressing a wince as he flexed his fingers, thankful that he did not break or fracture one of his knuckles.

Taking a deep breath, Jon cleared his throat before walking off in his original direction.

After encountering one of the beasts or creatures that called the small realm their home Jon could not help but examine in his surroundings every few seconds. His eyes darting about and surveying the area around him, looking for any further traces of strange goat-like creatures.

Despite his newfound wariness about the fauna that he might come across, Jon could not help but palm the greyish gemstone he tucked into his pocket, noticing that another System notification appeared in front of him.

Dismissing it once more, Jon could not help but feel an itching suspicion that it was due to the presence of the "Fragment Of Mouth" that the creature possessed such a horrifying appearance.

That horrifyingly mutated appearance, and a physical form that contained an astonishing amount of strength. Was it due to the Fragment Of Mouth, that transformed this seemingly harmless beast into such a dangerous creature?

'The System Introduction did mention that spiritual energy possesses a mutative effect on both the psyche and physiology. Perhaps integrating certain "fragments" will provoke a physical mutation?' Jon thought his theory was relatively sound, all things considered.

Bringing up his System Task page, Jon gazed at the very top of the page, reading the task in question out loud.

"Reach a degree of mastery in an ability. Individuals will receive a set reward upon the completion of this task. Do I want to be able to complete a task so quickly, even if it means integrating something like a "Fragment Of Mouth?", Jon stepped over a large fallen tree trunk, questioning himself as he brushed some moss of his pants.

If Jon had to choose to integrate something, he would rather choose something along the lines of "Fragment Of Truth", or perhaps even something like "Fragment Of Wisdom" to integrate into his "Knowledge" Mana Core.

Jon felt more reassured that such a fragment would reduce the chances of mutations occurring, the connotations of such fragments not having much in common with Fragments Of Mouth.

Additionally, although Jon could not prove such a hypothesis, he did suspect if certain Mana Cores possessed an inherent compatibility with specific fragments. Conceptually a Knowledge Mana Core would have more in common with a Fragment Of Wisdom, or a Fragment Of Truth in comparison to a Fragment Of Mouth or a Fragment Of Blood.

There was always the possibility that his head would grow bigger, and his skin turn blue, but that was a chance that Jon was willing to take.

Jon's gaze flickered towards the rest of the System Task page for a moment, almost willing the page to close itself before noticing something that was not previously there the last time he checked it.

His eyes suddenly drawn towards the bottom of the System Task page, towards a space that was previously blank.

Tasks not required before completion of System Introduction

[27]: Defeat an opponent without the use of a single ability. Individuals gain a random reward upon the completion of this task.

Blinking, Jon unconsciously reached out to touch the translucent screen, his eyes widening the moment a small crystalline shimmer appeared the instant his fingers met the screen.

A small, prismatic triangular prism manifested itself on the very tips of Jon's fingers. The object floated harmlessly in the space in front of Jon allowing itself to be plucked out of the air, prompting another reaction from the System.

Fragment Of "Instinct" discovered.

Would you like to integrate this into your Mana Core?

Y/N

Jon held the so-called Fragment Of Instinct in the palm of his hand, hesitating for a moment. His mind trying to draw parallels between "Knowledge" and "Instinct". There was a certain divide between the two which Jon couldn't find a bridge between.

Knowledge governed truth, free from any moral bias or inherent preconceptions of good or evil. Knowledge was not inherently right or wrong, merely everything in front of oneself, all at once.

Instinct was something inherently subjective. The definition and related experiences of which changed from person to person. Additionally, instinct was a pattern of behaviour made in response to external stimuli. Instinct was based on past experiences and feelings, of which knowledge was included in.

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If Jon had the opportunity and the patience to wait for a more suitable fragment to integrate into his Knowledge Mana Core, he would have continued to do so without question. If it meant lowering the chances of physical mutation, and increasing the possibility of obtaining a greater advantage during the System Introduction Jon would never be so indecisive.

But after encountering that goat-creature, Jon knew that the next time he encountered a mutated creature, he might not be so lucky.

Glancing around, Jon moved towards one of the larger trees within his vicinity.

Placing his back towards the yellow-barked tree Jon took a deep breath while cradling the prismatic, triangular prism in the palm of his hand. The Fragment Of Instinct was cool to the touch, although did not emanate any sort of strange or abhorrent spiritual energy that Jon could discern.

'Although if I knew what such a thing felt like, I suppose it would be much easier to visualize and comprehend', Jon thought to himself.

If physical mutations were commonplace within the small realm, then Jon knew he needed some sort of edge to survive within such a hostile environment. If the average creature within the System Introduction had integrated at least just a single fragment, then how would he be able to fight against something with a Fragment Of Titan or a Fragment Of Annihilation?

Jon did not possess any weapons on his person, the tools which allowed humanity to claim their place as the dominant species on Earth were not available to him.

His mind and body where the only weapons Jon could rely on, beyond the abnormal sense of clarity his Knowledge Mana Core brought him. But if a Fragment Of Instinct would become that edge, then it was a gamble that he had to be willing to take a chance on.

Jon rolled the prismatic triangular prism in between the tips of his fingers, nodding slightly.

"I can't believe I'm doing this", Jon mumbled to himself before accepting the integration request.

There was an awkward tension which filled the area around the yellow-barked tree Jon had backed up against. For the first few seconds, there was no sound or notification popping up in the corner of his vision.

'Wait! Will this hurt?', Jon asked himself, his face blanching.

Jon paused for a moment, quickly moving to bite down on the straps of his backpack.

If there was another bout of pain even remotely similar to the integration of his Mana Core, Jon knew that he was about to be in another world of hurt.

The young man continued to stand still amidst the trees and shrubbery, nervousness causing his stomach to churn and for his palms to sweat.

An even greater amount of time had passed now, then when Jon had been in the Pure Room, integrating his Knowledge Mana Core.

After about ninety seconds of waiting, Jon was pleasantly surprised to see another screen appear before him.

[Fragment Of Instinct] [Monstrous Intuition] (Knowledge, Passive, Ability, Enhancement, Sensory, Perception)

Effect (Mortal): Dramatically increases the effectiveness of natural instincts and intuition. Moderately increases memory retention and effectiveness of the five senses. The more "Knowledge" you can grasp on a target, the greater the effectiveness of this ability.

Jon felt his eye twitch, immediately kneeling behind some shrubbery, adjusting to the sudden effects of his new ability. Everything, all around him, suddenly seemed so… bright, yet dark.

Instinct was a behavioural pattern designed in response to certain external stimuli, something that all animals constructed during their formative years.

However, Jon was not the type to follow his instincts, rather trusting in his logical deductive reasoning to eliminate the least efficient routes towards his goal, or in solving the current problem in front of him.

Intuition was a similar notion as well. A method, or perhaps an ability in its own right to obtain knowledge without any logical or deductive reasoning behind it. There was no sense of logic or rationality within intuition, other than they both often came to the same conclusion.

Jon suddenly felt the need to walk in a direction approximately ninety degrees to his left. From the angle of certain trees off in the distance, Jon could discern that the elevation of the ground in this direction would gradually drop downwards, despite the curvature of the small realm creeping upwards.

With his entire focus solely laid in discovering water, Jon felt all give of his senses heighten, urging him to push forward in this direction.

There was no logical or sensible explanation for it, other than the fact that he somehow knew that what he was looking for would be in that direction.

Jon noticed that the colours around him seemed brighter, perhaps a result of increasing the effectiveness of his five senses. Taking a deep breath through his nostrils, Jon could quite clearly still smell the scent of vomit and blood on him, forcing him to suppress a gag as he focused more on the various new colours around himself.

Greens possessed a much greater variation than simply light green, green and dark green. Shamrocks and pines seemed significantly more visible through Jon's new vision. The occasional shade of juniper and sage appeared on certain shrubs and petals.

Jon's hearing was slightly better too, although the only thing he could hear in any direction was the sound of leaves rustling against the breeze. Jon didn't quite understand how spiritual energy could mutate his five senses to become stronger and more efficient, but he was quite pleased with their effects, if he was being completely honest.

"So, this is what an ability can do", Jon said, a hint of awe in his voice.

Bringing up his System Status page, Jon examined it for any significant changes.

Name: Jonathan Randall Guilliman Age: 18 Rank: Mortal Tier: First Initiation Title: N/A

Mana Core(s):

[1]: Knowledge [Fragment Of Instinct] [Monstrous Intuition] (Knowledge, Passive, Ability, Enhancement, Sensory, Perception)

[2]:

[3]:

[4]:

[5]:

[6]:

Jon was slightly disappointed, seeing that the only change was the addition of his ability [Monstrous Intuition] beneath his Knowledge Mana Core. He hoped that there would be some sort of change to his Tier through the integration of a fragment into his Mana Core.

There was still the option of integrating the Fragment Of Mouth into his Knowledge Mana Core as well, so there was still possibility for another ability even without having to obtain another Mana Core.

There was nothing that Jon did not already know or had not originally considered even after obtaining his first ability. He understood that this ability was supernatural in origin, a result of spiritual energy mutating certain qualities about himself, however, there was no sensation of manipulating spiritual energy or utilizing it like he thought there would be.

The System stated that [Monstrous Intuition] was a sort of passive ability. Through it Jon assumed that the effects of which were active regardless of whether Jon wanted to turn them off or not.

Jon's eye twitched, as if hearing someone boast about their stupendously outrageous achievements before frowning, rubbing his temples with a shake of his head.

'Did my ability just… no, it can't be. I'm probably just imagining things' Jon thought to himself.

Ignoring the rational part of his brain, Jon gave into his intuition, following the direction in which it urged him to move towards. His movements through the untamed forest seemed vaguely swifter as his eyes and senses continued to examine the shrubbery and undergrowth, monitoring for any signs of movement or traces of animals within the vicinity.

His gaze flickered towards a certain smudge on a large patch of grass. Getting a closer look, Jon could see that the patch of grass concealed a small pile of pellet shaped excrement.

Although there was no paw or hoof print leading away from this location, given the scent of the droppings, Jon could tell that whatever had left this had passed through here recently, perhaps within the past several hours.

Jon did not know what type of animal left pellet shaped droppings, but hoped it was a mammal before adjusting his route through the forest. His eyes glanced towards a relatively small fallen tree, examining some of the more thinner branches closer towards its trunk.

Now that Jon had known he was not alone within the small realm, he would have to take steps to prevent himself from entering situations similar to those with the goat-creature.

Even if Jon could use his duffel bag to protect himself against animals who rely on their mouths to kill their prey, it wouldn't do much against a stronger predator, one complete with claws, talons, or sheer mass to suppress him.

Jon did not think of himself as a warrior, but knew that having a tool in his hands, even just to create distance with would assist him if he ever encountered another goat creature. It would help if the tool was sharp enough to pierce through or cut through flesh, but Jon knew he couldn't be too picky.

Leveraging his weight onto his foot, Jon let out a soft grunt, snapping a thin tree branch off at its base. While Jon did not have a knife, or any sort of stone to sharpen the tree branch with, he could settle for merely removing the tiny sticks and leaves growing out of it, letting his hands get a feel for the weight and balance.

Jon snapped off a portion of the branch at the opposite end, throughout away a more narrow and flimsy part of the branch. Although it reduced its length, Jon didn't want to fight another creature only to stick them with the wrong end of his fake spear. At least like this, even if he was forced to make a thrust with either end, it should still puncture through flesh, provided he put enough force behind it.

Smiling, Jon gripped the makeshift spear in his hand before continuing off in his chosen direction. His passive ability [Monstrous Intuition] occasionally twitching, alerting him to the various dangers lurking within the forest.

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