After that, Master Johnson even wanted to arrange a spar between the two of them.
Queen Maeve shut it down.
With her current speed and strength, sparring with Ivan Greevs would basically be bullying a kid.
After class, Ivan left the training gym and returned to his room. The fusion progress on his panel had finally reached 100%.
Only now did he feel like he had enough confidence to step into other worlds.
He tapped the staircase icon, and a prompt quickly popped up.
[Do you wish to spend 100 Fantasy Points to enter a one-star fantasy world?]
"Yes."
[100 Fantasy Points deducted. Please select the world you wish to enter.]
The moment the points were deducted, the panel in front of Ivan shattered into countless streaks of light, forming a glowing cluster. Thin white strands peeled away from it, drifting around him like floating threads.
"Please let it be something I actually fucking know."
The sheer number of light strands made Ivan dizzy. They all looked the same to him, so he just grabbed one at random.
In the next second, the chosen strand shot straight into his body.
The radiant cluster collapsed back into the panel.
[Fantasy World: Parasyte]
[World Level: One Star]
[Stay Duration: 5 Months]
[Reminder: Time flows at a ratio of 150:1 compared to the main world]
In the brightly lit room, Ivan's body broke apart into countless points of light, then vanished completely into thin air.
…
On the road to West Tokyo High School, a sharp slap rang out.
"Izumi, you idiot!"
A pretty girl stormed off in anger.
Of course Ivan recognized this iconic scene. He glanced at the high schooler whose glasses had just been slapped off and muttered, "Yeah… definitely Parasyte. Phew~ Thank god I watched that shit.."
Then he pulled up the identity the system had assigned him.
The name hadn't changed. Still Ivan Greevs. The original owner of this body had transferred into West Tokyo High half a month ago, ending up in the same class as the protagonist. A complete nobody. Quiet, withdrawn, barely noticed by anyone.
"Izumi-san, that counts as sexual harassment. I think I should call the police."
Ivan smiled as he raised his phone toward Shinichi Izumi.
"N-no, it's a misunderstanding… my right hand just wouldn't listen to me earlier."
Shinichi hurried to explain, but the more he talked, the worse it sounded. In the end, he slumped his shoulders and said weakly, "Alright, Ivan… I know how ridiculous that sounds."
"Haha, I'm kidding." Ivan grinned and gave him a knowing look. "You and Murano Satomi are dating, right? Still, pulling something like that in public… no wonder she got pissed."
Shinichi's face turned red as hell, like a boiled shrimp.
"Fine… it's my fault."
Better to be mistaken as a couple than get labeled some freak who gropes girls in broad daylight.
At that moment, a short-haired girl walked over, bent down, and picked up Shinichi's glasses.
Her name was Tachikawa. She had seen everything just now.
"How could you do something like that?"
While the two of them talked, Ivan quietly brought up his panel and used Analyze on Shinichi.
Just like when he had analyzed Queen Maeve, Shinichi's projection appeared on the screen.
[Please select the ability to analyze]
Ivan's real target wasn't Shinichi.
It was the parasite living in his right hand, Migi.
Back when he watched the anime, he had always wanted those abilities. Now that he had the chance, there was no way he'd pass it up.
"Analyze all abilities of the parasite."
[Analyzing… Progress: 1%]
[Do not move away from the target during analysis. Effective range: 1 meter]
Ivan hadn't expected that analyzing all of a parasite's abilities wouldn't be instant like before. Maybe it was because he hadn't specified a single target. The panel that had popped up out of nowhere didn't come with instructions, so he still had to figure most of it out himself.
Luckily, the analysis wasn't slow. The progress bar was moving at a visible pace.
"Go on. Apologize properly to Satomi. She'll forgive you."
Ivan gave Shinichi a light pat on the shoulder.
Shinichi nodded. It seemed like the only option.
Compared to their earlier casual acquaintance, the two of them were clearly getting along better now.
A moment later, they ran into Satomi on her way to the next classroom. The moment she saw Shinichi, she huffed and turned her head away, but the tips of her exposed ears were already bright red.
"Yeah… you really need to apologize."
Walking into the classroom and returning to his seat, Ivan leaned forward and said with a grin to Shinichi, who sat in front of him.
At that moment, the progress bar on the panel had reached 99%.
Ding, ding, ding.
As the class bell rang, the noisy room quickly fell silent.
At the same time, the progress bar hit 100%.
[Target analysis complete]
[Talent Ability: Parasitism]
[Requirement: Consume five parasite corpses]
[After fusion, most of the player's genes will be altered, allowing them to parasitize a host. After devouring the host's brain, assimilation will begin from the head until full control of the body is achieved.]
[During this process, the player's emotions will be suppressed while gaining exceptional learning ability. The host's physical capabilities will also be enhanced.]
[However, the player must rely on the host's internal organs and digestive system to survive. Leaving the host results in immediate death.]
[Additionally, the required food source is the same species as the host.]
The moment this ability appeared, Ivan mentally tossed it straight into the trash.
First, there was no way he was ditching his current body just to turn into some parasitic creature. Second, eating was one of his favorite things. If he ended up parasitizing a human, what, he'd have to live like Hannibal Lecter?
Yeah, fuck that.
Thankfully, there was another talent listed on the panel.
[Talent Ability: Morphing]
[Requirement: Personally kill a parasite]
[After fusion, the player can freely reshape their body, hard as steel or soft as rubber. Using this ability consumes a large amount of stamina, and the extent of transformation depends on the player's physical condition.]
After reading the second ability, Ivan finally let out a breath.
This was what he actually wanted.
Sure, it had limitations, but nothing deal-breaking. He could easily accept it. And from the look of it, the ceiling of this ability might be higher than he'd first thought.
"Ivan, please pay attention."
The teacher walked over and knocked lightly on his desk.
"Sorry, I'll focus."
Ivan gave a faintly apologetic smile.
The teacher's real target wasn't Ivan, though. It was Shinichi, who had been messing with his phone under the desk the whole time.
Compared to Ivan spacing out, Shinichi's behavior was way worse. It was basically a slap in the teacher's face.
Completely oblivious to the teacher's death glare, Shinichi kept going until Tachikawa, who was sitting nearby, couldn't take it anymore and quietly warned him.
"Izumi…"