Day 1-10/Day 5

We went hunting for food today too. Gobukichi was forced to clearly understand our hierarchy, with who’s above and below whom, after going through my ‘instructions’. The experience yesterday helped us obtain prey immediately today. Although it was just another horned rabbit, it was at least twice the size of the one before. It might’ve been even more dangerous though because Gobukichi was only using a wooden stick, while I still had the horn from yesterday. Its performance in combat was better than I expected.

While Gobukichi caught the rabbit’s attention, I smashed its spinal cord and gouged out its heart from behind.

Though a small portion of the horn was damaged due to the rough handling, the battle was still a success because of the spoils we had received.

Just like the rabbit that was killed yesterday, I broke off its horn.

I unintentionally called the weapon “The Most Legendary Horn”, but the announcement which came after corrected me.

Goburou obtained Small Animal Horn!! I decided to ignore it since I don’t understand it very well. While I was thinking that, I found Gobukichi staring at the game with hungry eyes.

While munching the meat, crunching the bone, and slowly gulping it, I felt as though my entire body was brimming with life.

This convinced me of a matter that I had thought of yesterday.

It seems that even through reincarnation, I had retained the ESP ability [Absorption]

This means that I’m like in a New Game Plus mode since I inherited it.Though I wasn’t very happy about it in the start.

By the way, from the time mankind was able to advance into space and even several centuries before that, the probability to be born with an ESP ability was one out of a thousand. Some even say that the [Psychic] are an evolved version of the human race. Though some might say that, ESP abilities are a non-successive kind of gene.

There is no such thing as a [Psychic] with a one-hundred percent chance of passing on their ESP capability to their child. The probability of inheriting abilities isn’t absolute, so how they’re developed is a mystery.

ESP capability had become a natural part of everyday life. Even if somebody developed an ability through an unnatural way, like by coming into contact with aliens, because psychic powers were recognised as part of a person’s individuality, nobody would look down on that person. The time when [Psychics] were persecuted for their abilities was over. Though if a user was still uncomfortable with their power, devices that were capable of suppressing it could be bought in the market.

My [Absorption] ability was a major power, even rarer than the likes of [Psychometry], [Telekinesis] and [Teleportation], which were of the general class. It made it so, no matter how hard or poisonous something was, I would be able to eat it. My teeth could tear through the likes of iron and gold easily. While toxins would be restructured, rendered harmless and edible in my body. The characteristics of whatever I ate, whether it be an item or another living being, would be absorbed and assimilated into me, so that I could use them as well. This was an ability that could only be obtained at a fixed probability.

I’m not quite sure how it works though… Oh well, I just wanted to inform you about what my ability was. To question the principles of supernatural powers would be nonsense.

By the way, just because I’ve eaten something that has an ability, doesn’t guarantee that I’ll absorb its powers. For example, if what I just ate was a living being, its freshness is an important factor as to whether I’ll get an ability or not. After its death, I have twelve hours to eat it before the chance to absorb its abilities are gone.

That said, there are certain parts that give abilities easier than others such as the heart and the brain, where most of the power is concentrated. Physical strengthening, and an improved recovery rate, can be obtained in addition to the ability absorbed. Furthermore, if the being that I consumed was stronger than me, there was a certainty of simultaneously acquiring multiple abilities. Moreover, its possible to strengthen an ability that’s been acquired, by consuming the original ability owner multiple times. Although [Absorption] isn’t strong on its own, the more I eat, the stronger I become. Naturally, there is a limit though.

Before I reincarnated, I strengthened myself by devouring creatures of mass destruction, and evil-doing espers.

Unfortunately, the abilities I had gotten from them seemed to have been reset. Since there were some useful powers there the reset had been regrettable, but I was fortunate enough to keep the [Absorption] ability which more than made up for it. Thus, food, like the horned rabbit and the mysterious insects, should be eaten without hesitation. It was mortifying, however, to know that it was the only ability that I retained after my reincarnation.

Since it’s necessary to eat for survival, common sense and ethics could be easily discarded. The ability I obtained this time was called [Escape]. “When fleeing or running away, the probability of escaping and adapting to the environment increases.” I wonder why the rabbit didn’t try to escape when we confronted it today… Oh well. After that two more horned rabbits were successfully captured and eaten. Going to sleep with a full belly was a pleasant feeling. It seems that the amount that Gobukichi is relying on me is rapidly increasing. It’s probably because the law of the jungle rules this world that contributed to him recognising me as the superior being.