A Plant's Life

Bearly enough!

In the dream world, a plant warmly held the bear and whispered: "Sleep now, little one, you did well, let me take it from here."Red eyes fell into a deep sleep, one that he was unlikely to ever wake up from.After putting his vessel in a vegetable state, John assessed his gains: "Excellent results were reached within this time, now I am an expert in mind control. I reckon that I've long surpassed the knowledge available in my previous life. Even with my highest level of clearance in military research, nothing could be comparable to the results I have reached. This subject had a more complex thought process than I originally expected. It was very close to a 12-year-old child. I suspect mana to be the reason for this improved level of intelligence. Using mana to decode the brain and magical waves had a marvellous outcome. I can now feel what they think. The closest description would be mind-reading in a close range. It would work better with physical branches and simpler thought; doing so feels like hacking their brain!"John had used his time inside the brain to gain permission for entry, he did not need it, but for the sake of safety and experiment, he had done so. He would expand his influence each passing day by sending thin branches, connecting himself to different parts of the brain. Gaining physical access raised the proficiency, speed, and likelihood of success. It had taken him a substantial amount of time, but now he had complete control. Even if the bear had not been in a coma, John had the power to inject ideas into his vessel's mind, which would be assumed as instincts or the vessel's own notion. Each life form had different brain functions, yet John was confident in unlocking their brain sooner or later by using mana.For the first time since he had mounted this body, he communicated with mana imprint: "System, show my stats."[Name: Reed (Red Eyes)Race: mutated brown bearClass: N/ALevel: 1HP (Health Point): 60/50!MP (Mana Point): 10/10SP (Stamina Point): 52/50!Attributes:Strength – 6Dexterity – 4Constitution – 5Intelligence – 0.5Wisdom –0.5Charisma – 0.5Skills: N/ACondition: In deep sleep, body potential maximizedXP (Experience Point):??/10Abnormal condition detected, HP is higher than the allowed amount, SP is higher than the allowed amount, XP is more elevated than permitted amount]John had not been so immersed himself in research to forget his mount. He had utterly isolated the mana mark in this time, performing the upgrades himself. With the bear's energy consumed daily, he slowly built a strong foundation, increasing the body functions. This resulted in increased stats without changing the level. John had simply fulfilled the potential of the body before upgrading it. This way, it could store more energy for upgrades. He merely held the remainders once the body could not be further improved by traditional means. So much so that the bear felt being full at last, falling into a deep slumber to digest excess food.This had been the secondary goal of this step, to test potentials and whether John could perform upgrades himself or the mark had to be used. As the results indicated, the system had an ironclad grip on subjects with mana marks, not allowing for any fundamental transformation. So, he intended to use this stored energy coupled with the maximized potential to increase his evolution options. Since he had maximized the potential of this type of bear, the transformation was bound to change his race. It could be said this loophole had been utilized by him due to the incredible level of energy manipulation John possessed. He had hypothesized other methods to consume a sudden high level of energy. Which had many issues, the exact amount of energy used, what to do with the excess, or transformation triggers. A life form could simply explode when its body could not operate that level of vitality.Now for the moment of truth, John called out to the system for his evolution path: "System, show me my growth options."[1. Onikuma, walking demonic bear2. White bear, increased size and strength3. Brown king, the ruler of brown bears4. Otso, increased nature affinity]"From the names and description, options 1 and 4 seem to move towards the development of magical creatures. However, I do not plan to use this body as my foundation, so they will not be useful, as I need temporary transportation for now. Thus, size and strength should be prioritized. A polar bear is superior to a grizzly in size and ferociousness. Also, it is a new race, making confirmation for some theories possible. I wonder what more specimens will I see once I leave this remote area. This small jungle I am in beside the field of plants should be to cultivate a small ecosystem and not the main ground," He assessed.Relaying to the system, John ordered: "System, I chose white bear."The energy flowed out of the symbol, and as John witnessed, it changed the DNA and foundation of this young bears' body. Once the flow arrived at the brain, it went through without being alarmed about any abnormalities. John had completely fused with his mount, so he was a part of this body in the scenes of the mana symbol.John concluded: "The level of this area has to be very low, as the sizeable predators are being managed by pre-programmed functions of the core as well. I was completely prepared for any actions taken by the imprints, but it followed the best possible outcome predicted. Now I have witnessed the process of changing genes by the system. I have to say, it did not impress me at all. This system has a very crude operation, wasting too many resources for simple tasks."As a pioneer in the biochemical field, genetic improvement was one of Jonathan's highly used tools.This time John did not stop the release of sedatives in the bears' system, as he needed the body to be in prime shape after the operation. Sometime later, a glorious white bear roared, similar to a king establishing his presence, which made all prey run in fear.After some adjustment period consisting of many tumbles, John adjusted to his new body. Then, he started to run towards the lake, checking his stats and appearance. Giving a life-threatening scare to any animal around the area, John arrived by the lakeside. He started measuring himself with surrounding trees. Any bystander would be surprised to witness a colossal ball of white fur was intelligently measuring all body parts! After the initial assessment, John deduced: "I seem to have grown to 4.5-meters tall, with a very built body and soft white fur."He then commanded the system for the status window.[Name: Reed (Red Eyes)Race: mutated white bearClass: N/ALevel: 1HP (Health Point): 60/80MP (Mana Point): 20SP (Stamina Point): 60/74Attributes:Strength – 10Dexterity – 8Constitution – 7Intelligence – 1Wisdom –1Charisma – 2Skills: N/ACondition: In deep sleepXP (Experience Point): 0/20]"It seems there has been a substantial increase in my stats. I suspect the SP is being calculated with the formula of constitution*10+dexterity/2. The HP and MP also seem to follow a trend, but they get added with the original races' minimum. Nevertheless, it is time to release some energy I stored before the growth began. It is more than enough to fill up XP for the second round of transformation," John thought.He did not withhold the sedatives so that he could have another round of transformation immediately after the first time. He had noticed before that the imprint would dispel extra energy within the body in time of evolution, as it would disrupt the operation's progress. So, after releasing the needed power, John asked the system for an evolution path again.[1. Bigger size2. Higher intuition]"It seems this bear did not have many talents within him. So the choice is fairly obvious." He analyzed then commanded the system: "I chose option 1."This time, John took charge of the evolution, improving leaps and bounds. By the time he finished, the bears' body was shaking uncontrollably due to the pressure of 2 consecutive transformations. Laying down, John asked: "System show my status window."[Name: Reed (Red Eyes)Race: mutated white bearClass: N/ALevel: 2HP (Health Point): 60/104MP (Mana Point): 20SP (Stamina Point): 60/104 (CON*10+DEX/2)Attributes:Strength – 12Dexterity – 8Constitution – 10Intelligence – 1Wisdom –1Charisma – 3Skills: N/ACondition: In deep sleep, Exhausted XP (Experience Point): 0/30]"Calculating the HP, the white bear seems to have 24 initially. So, the formula should be constitution*8 + Specific race minimum. Charisma has also increased, which shows intimidation as part of my charm! This process was indeed fruitful. I will use the remaining energy to cultivate my core. The results of core improvement are starting to truly fascinate me. My processing power seems to have sored; memory, learning, and energy manipulation have also improved drastically. Becoming strong is quite an addicting feeling."A massive white bear mumbled something that would scare any bystanders present. Then closed his shiny red eyes: "change of DNA took a heavy toll on this vessel. After resting, it is time to hunt again."