Lowly Ascent

Just getting out of school, the last bell still ringing in his ears. Cain thought about a certain someone from a few nights ago. 

Cyprus. He was suspicious. Alarm bells went off when he first met him.

Who didn't know what bacteria was? It was taught everywhere, even hillbillies knew of it, and it had been like this for thousands of years! So the fact that Cyprus didn't know it was odd.

Cain made his way to the outer ring. His destination was some run-down tavern called the Blistering Toe, it served workers and was popular in the local area.

Cain was used to the wealthy lifestyle, he was quite horrified by how disgusting the inside was.

The tavern reeked of stale beer, vomit, and body odor. Cain grimaced as his boots stuck to the grime-coated floorboards. Patrons yelled and gambled at the corner tables, oblivious to their squalor. Upstairs, the half-lit hallway echoed with creaks and moans from the rooms.

He tiptoed around all the blood and barf, all the way to the barkeep.

"Hey Barkeep, do you know of a guy named Cyprus?"

"Cyprus? That Bandit Killer? If you can't see him here he's on the second floor."

Cyprus had some status as a mercenary; he had killed a group of bandits in the vicinity, which had saved a merchant, so he gained a little reputation. 

It was one of the reasons he was let into Free City, the help of a merchant could get someone into anywhere. 

Going upstairs, dodging the rotting steps, Cain found Cyprus drinking and eating. He simply walked up and sat down. 

"Hey, Cain! How's it going? Here to drink?"

Cain shook his head. "No, but I would like to cash in that favor you said you'd do for me. No matter what"

Cyprus lifted his cup. "Fire away, happy to help!"

"You're not from Netherane, so tell me everything you know." Cain was straightforward.

Cyprus choked on his chicken leg. Looking up in bewilderment. 

Cain cut him off before he could speak. "Don't say anything. It was obvious since you didn't even know what bacteria was. Even people who have never left the slums know of basic hygiene, even if they don't employ it." Cain's gaze lingered on the building's ceiling, it was leaking. 

"Shit. Okay! I do owe you…but if I get caught telling you anything, I'll be tortured and killed. It's illegal to even travel through this place. Could you please just ask something else?"

'I knew it!' Cain's grin stretched far enough to reach the ends of his face. "No, spill it or I'm going to report you. Start with what's outside of Netherane and make it detailed."

"Ha… fine. You must never tell a soul…" Cyprus took a deep breath. 

"There are many places in the landfill, and so people made zones. Depending on the cycles a piece of land has existed, they are part of a certain zone. The closer to the Landfill's center, the longer it's been there."

Cyprus took a pause, hoping this was enough. But it wasn't, and Cain's famished eyes seemed to be unfilled with his words, so Cyprus continued.

"Netherane is in the outer zone and is around 1-10 cycles old. There's also the middle and inner zone. I'm from the abyss, the abyss is the zone where new pieces of land are found. Each territory is less than a cycle old. Netherane is in the middle of the outer zone, so it should be a few cycles old."

'So depending on how long a piece of land existed it's in a different zone?' Cain wanted to ask more but there were more important questions. 

"Why is Netherane not in contact with the rest of the world? Why did you say you could get killed if you came here?"

Cyprus took a long swig of ale before responding. "Well, I know there was trading of information between this place and the surrounding lands a long time ago." He lowered his voice. "For some reason, bordering lands had outbreaks of diseases. To protect themselves, they all allied to block anyone going in or out of this place.

"There were also rumors of this place becoming a dump zone. Dump territories are areas where people are sent, you call them contaminants, so the rumors are true."

"What? Tell me more!" Cain's hand slammed on the table, he forgot to control himself, but no one paid any attention."

Cyprus seemed easygoing with this information, "All I know is that dumping zones are avoided, there like the trash compactors of the landfill, or that's what I've heard. I don't know what's up with the contaminants, this is all strange to me too."

Sipping his beer, Cyprus studied Cain's reaction. Cain hid his emotions well and he shot off another question. 

"If that's the case, why are you here? Where are you going? What's the way to get there?"

Cyprus sighed, "I'll tell you, but after this, no more questions!" He finished his beer and answered, "I'm traveling to a kingdom on the border of the middle zone. There's a waterfall with a cave exiting to another territory to the north, or at least that's what I was told."

"So…  you're a fugitive or something?" Cain asked.

"Of course not! Lots of lands are restricted and marked to be avoided. People always find ways around it. Once I'm out of the waterfall I should be in a Territory not bigger than say…the Empire here. What's interesting is that its path is of combat with weapons. But my information is dated so it could all be exaggerated."

Cain raised a brow. "Path?"

"I'll tell you no more! I've repaid you, and I at least know my worth." Cyprus put his foot down. "I'll be leaving the city to continue my travels. I hope we don't see each other again. Well, as long as it's in this Territory."

Cyprus got up and almost ran to the door, paying his tab and leaving Cain by himself, deep in thought.

'Ha, so much information. What should I do, are contaminants something that only happens here? Damn it, I must get strong and complete my body transformation!'

Cain stood up and walked out of the bar, brimming with vigor.

Heading back to the manor, Cain went to his room to continue experiments, but not on the bacteria he had just received. 

Sitting on his desk was the Zimo vial of his collected samples. 

It would be much easier to study this disease if there was more information on it. A perfect research subject, a somewhat common disease that could still be considered exotic.

Cain spent hours, the hours stacked into days. Cain had lost himself in scientific rapture. He got John to arrange school leave, and he spent 2 weeks studying the Zimo disease with full financial support from John in the form of books and materials.

He completed his research. Cain even went as far as improving the original disease a bit. He had improved the Zimo disease's vitality and regenerative properties, even the endurance of the zombies should see some improvement.

If Cain was right, If the augmentation worked, his needs like food and sleep should be erased by a large degree!

This Zimo virus would help his body use its resources more efficiently. Like putting the same amount of coal into a furnace, but somehow getting more energy out of it.

After Cain finalized everything and made sure the serum was 'perfect', he went to John, who was shaking with excitement.

"You did it! Your talent knows no bounds! Haha, hurry. We must do the ritual!"

The master and apprentice then went to the deepest part of the mansion, to a room with a strange table made of a stone slab. 

Runes were carved into the stone slab. Cain thought the stone was ancient, here even before the manor above it. 

"With this, no matter what, the modification will have a 100% chance of working and even strengthening the bacteria fused. I can't wait to see the improvement, hehe!"

After John finished his remarks. He gave Cain a set of instructions.

Cain got on the table and was strapped in. John then prepared the materials. First, he poured the serum on Cain's bare body. Using powders and mysterious herbs, he sprinkled them on the runes, even scattering some on Cain's body as well.

The herbs dulled Cain's thoughts. John's words began to sound warped. Numbness seeped through Cain's limbs as the ritual began.

It started with the words John spoke...three incomprehensive words. Though they were close to human language.

'Mutatio, Demuto, Mutatis!'

The powder glowed, and Cain's body went numb. The herbs on his body grew into plants that then seeped into his skin. He looked like a tree man.

Cain could feel the plants growing and twisting throughout his body, puncturing tissue as they spread. They sucked up the serum and blood, then withered to ash. He could feel something begin to flow into him. 

Withering, the plants turned to green ash as they gained life. For Cain, this symbolized the start of hell.

Gruesome screams echoed from the bowels of Cain's throat. His vocal cords sounded as if they were snapping from the overload of vocal vibrations. 

Still, Cain dealt with the pain. He winced every few seconds. Grueling hours passed. John kept giving him a liquid to stay awake. He would say, "You can't sleep now. Hold on!" 

7 hours into the pain, it started to die down, and Cain felt different.

He tried to lift his arm, and the leather strap broke. Cain looked at his jade-like hand as John gave him a mirror. He saw his reflection, seeing just how much his body had changed.

His skin appeared to be a pale green like he just shed his skin. His appearance had improved a bit, though it wasn't noticeable.

"Haha! It does work! You've reached a low-high tier augmented body! It may not be a big improvement, but high-low-tier bodies could destroy a building with a single fist! At your level….you could break a brick wall without breaking a sweat. Haha! I did create a monster!"

John kept laughing, but his obsession with Cain made him sure to run some tests. 

He now had a good understanding of Cain's body, performing and witnessing the ritual opened his eyes to how Cain's body worked. 

John's findings showed that Cain's body could advance into any type of augmented body he wanted with enough resources. But he knew that this more or less confirmed it.

For now, John called Cain's current body: The Elite Zimo body. 

He also found that as long as Cain played his cards right, the body could accept any disease that existed, or at least the rare and exotic bacteria and viruses, no matter how incompatible they were. 

He could have very few though, maybe 2 or 3 more diseases. Unfortunate but well worth it if he were to go down that path. 

John even had an end goal for Cain calling it the body the Myriad Plague God Body.

This was just a hope that John was fanboying over, Cain knew that it would be impossible to achieve something that could fill the title of a God. 

It was impossible. 

"You have the rest of today off, though you must go back to school tomorrow." John removed all Cain's restraints and smiled. 

Exhausted, Cain nodded and left John's lab. 

He collapsed into bed, exhausted. His muscles ached from the ritual's strain as memories surfaced. The searing pain, John's manic gaze over him. Unanswered questions about the stone slab's symbols spun through Cain's mind, but soon sleep overcame him.