'The infection within the host Jeremiah Godfrey has reached 43%. All memories have been appropriately altered to perfection, but further personality alteration cannot be performed until the infection reaches 100%.'

N2 notified Nier of the changes in Jeremiah's physique and the overall condition of his mind, which had been somewhat altered. Looking back, Nier couldn't help but acknowledge that his Corrupted Cells were a terrifying ability to have.

When combined with his other innate abilities "Vision of the Wicked" and "Dark Impulses", these three make for a fairly lethal combination. The eyes that can see through sins and secrets of the world, the voice that guides and aids in manipulation, and highly infectious cells that allow him to control not only the body but also the mind of another.

And it forced him to complete all he had already accomplished. But what produced another challenging mix was his recently acquired ability to live in the future via his class choice that allowed him to make wishes to a God once a month. And with that wish, he got his hands on the innate ability of "The Simulation System," which, when combined with his "Equivalent Exchange," allowed him to prepare for any eventuality while simultaneously feeding off the anguish of the countless individuals who were victims of the apocalypse various horrors.

Nier's entire strength was well balanced; he was powerful but not absolute. Fortunately, he realized this early on, before the true apocalypse occurred, but it only spurs him to take even greater precautions to ensure his safety.

Because at that moment, he had begun to recall all of his past experiences. And what he needed to do in order to be ready for the impending events. The simulation predicted, the main one being the Lizardman rebellion, which killed practically all residents before the apocalypse in the surrounding area.

For one thing, he had to put a stop to it, and not for heroic reasons! If the Lizard men began killing randomly, he wouldn't be able to harvest corruption points from the collective pain of his neighbors and surrounding encounters.

Murder, in his opinion, would allow him to gain despair, hatred, and dread. However, because the negative energy is at its greatest when marinated over the course of time, he desired that the residents suffer in a more traditional manner. He desired to sow conflict, as well as anguish and despair among everybody. And, when all is said and done, he effectively has a flawless corruption farm from which he may harvest points from.

So dealing with the Lizardman problem within the limits of his territory was priority number one, followed by seeing both Jermiah and his mother in the real world, especially since all of Jermiah's memories were now within his head. He was going to make the most of it. Last but not least, he would spike the Monster Lord by blowing up the bridge were it reside.

But, anyway, he got what I wanted, for the time being, therefore it was time for him to return to his base. As a result, he prepares to employ his long-distance teleportation properly by manipulating the shadows around him.

With that, he laid Jeremiah on his back, as his head rested on his shoulder, while the boy fell asleep peacefully. Meanwhile, the shadows around Nier began to twist and distort as they shifted and swayed into a single point, creating a sea of twisted shadows beneath Nier's feet. Nier and Jeremiah at this point were both plunging down into the shadow dark abyss in the following occurrence.

It happened swiftly because both Nier and Jeremiah were no longer seen in this location. On the other hand, across the city, inside a large house, a huge sea of shadows could be seen growing on the balcony as two persons slowly emerged from the darkness underneath them.

"Interesting, So that's how it feels to teleport via Shadow manipulation, interesting indeed.... This skill is more powerful than I give it credit for, seeing as I can travel anyplace in the cosmos as long as there is a shadow I can cross through."

"And, unlike making weapons, limbs, or clothes like I was doing prior to now, I noticed that moving from one place to another by using the shadows around me as a doorway isn't tiring at all, I'm curious why, given that we're talking about literal teleportation here."

Nier questions himself, realizing that there are certain secrets behind his own powers that he does not entirely comprehend.

But it wasn't something he was going to pay attention to right now! seeing that all of his attention was now focused on one thing: which was devising a plan to fight the lizardman's, and also to find a way to free himself and Jeremiah of their mysterious mark.

With this in mind, Nier proceeds to set Jeremiah on his bed to sleep, while he goes downstairs to get a drink. Of course, he made certain to carefully secure the balcony and tuck his new pet... I mean his new son into bed before leaving for the downstairs.

Nier was now situated on his living room sofa, his legs on the footchair, and a glass of cold red wine in his upper left hand. On the other hand, he placed his hands on the television remote beside him and turned on the television.

But, to his surprise, the television claimed there was no signal available; this, of course, perplexed Nier for a variety of reasons. The world may have ended, but not to the extent that the broadcast station could no longer present anything relevant on television. However, Nier had no choice but to turn off the television and disappear into his thoughts while sipping on his vintage beverage.

He then looked up to his room and noticed his ceiling fan spinning at a moderate speed. On the other hand, he sighed and said while looking at his cup of wine with a neutral expression.

"*Sigh!* Wine has always been the one thing that permits me to think clearly. But, in any case, I need to devise a strategy. Let's start with the Lizardmen; N2, tell me, am I marked right now?"

'No anomalies have been detected on the master's body, yet it is not so simple. I believe that whatever the lizardmen utilize to mark their prey is not biological nor skill-related, and might be something else that is completely different. I can't say for sure, but I'd advise we capture a Lizardman and infect it with your cells to learn more about the mark and their species as a whole.'

"I see, well, we should work on that right now because I don't want them to hurt the boy in whom I intend to invest." But I'm not sure what I'll find when I discover their hiding place. As a result, I believe I will acquire some new skills through the utilization of equivalent exchange. Tell me, N2, what are some good abilities that are both affordable as well as useful for the current scenario? You are my inner instinct, therefore you should know way more than me in these matters."

When Nier asked N2 what he should do in order to give himself a power-up, N2 responded immediately.

'Now recalling all of the experiences the master experienced in the previous loop, and the current circumstance to assess what are the most appropriate and affordable abilities that the master should design to aid him in the present predicament.'

'A total of 32,321,564,906,242 different outcomes could have occurred, each with a different outcome, half of which are impossible for master to do due to a lack of Corruption points, albeit out of the remaining half 6,432,134 appear viable..... now calculating the best result to determine how to solve this situation base of protection and defense.... 119,857 alternatives have been found. Now consider the best-case scenario by calculating events with such abilities using the Vision of the Wicked..... There are seventeen different skills that can be used as a game changer; do you want to know all 17 or do you want me to choose the efficient one?'

N2 questioned Nier, who began to respond.

"The most efficient scenario please."

'Command recongnize..... Final conclusion, scenario #6 should suffice.'

"And what exactly is scenario #6 N2?"

'Scenario #6 deals with the lizardman situation in the best way possible..... the main goal is to safeguard the boy, catch a lizardman, infiltrate their stronghold, and gather information on their kind and goal. As a result, I've determined that we need seven abilities to make this happen, and these seven abilities are as follows.'

'Elemental Barrier Manipulation: 10,413 CP.'

'High Human Creation: 2,689 CP.'

'Reptilian Pheromones Generation: 643 CP.'

'Echo location: 327 CP.'

'Stamina Regeneration: 17,104 CP.'

'Telekinetic Bullet: 1500 CP.'

'Glass Membrane Skin Formation: 781 CP.'

'The grand total for all of these abilities will be 33,457 CP, leaving you with 438 CP; it's a high price to pay, but I can guarantee the mission's effectiveness if you have these powers at our disposal.'

N2 announced, on the other hand, Nier began to consider it for a moment, it was certainly pricey, and cost him virtually his whole stock of corruption points, but in the grand scheme of things it was but a tiny price to pay for more power and overall outcomes, so he announced to N2 without hesitation.

"Go ahead do the purchases, and explain to me the abilities, and there uses."

N2, of course, did as he was told and bought all the abilities he needed to infiltrate the Lizardman stronghold.

'Command accepted, presently acquiring all seven abilities as instructed by the master.'

'All seven abilities have been purchased, and they are now added to the master's inherent ability tree.'

'The Character Notebook has been updated; please check to see what has changed.'

Announced N2, on the other hand, Nier wasted little time in looking up his new abilities in his character Notebook, all of which were active abilities.

[Active Abilities]

- Elemental Barrier Manipulation.

  - You can use this power to generate, manipulate, alter, and control natural and systematic elements such as wind, earth, fire, water, lighting, plasma, space, time, gravity, and Matter as a whole to form very small barriers the size of a particle, to massive barriers the size of a universe. There are no boundaries to how big they can grow or what shape they can take, and while no elemental force is the same, the basic element is very easy to handle and overall safe. However, the more sophisticated and powerful element that falls under systematic like time, space, and gravity is harder to use. The control element you choose to use to create a barrier, the more stamina-intensive it will be on you, the maker. Overusing this ability can kill you because it consumes one's energy quickly, so it is recommended that you do not create barriers that are larger than what you can handle at first.

- High Human Creation.

  - With this innate ability, you can produce a High Human from a single drop of blood or sweat. Essentially, everything on your body that has your DNA can be used to create a High Human. A High Human is the final evolution of what the human race was supposed to achieve if given more time to strive.

They are not only significantly stronger, smarter, more durable, and all-around superior than the average human being. They can even detect mana in the atmosphere and manipulate it to their liking. However, a High Human's most distinguishing feature is their innate powers to read minds, communicate via telepathy, use telekinesis to some extent, and even remove friction from objects.

Biologically, they are so perfect that they can breed and be impregnated by anything regardless of race. And, unlike humans, they have a lifespan of 10,000 years, though they are comparable to box jellyfish. Because, when they reach a particular age or their bodies sustain too many injuries, they simply rewind to a younger stage of their life, and begin to live a new life with all their memories, and if they decide they want to be male or female in the next life, they can do so.

Although a High Human's weakness is their head, they are effectively dead without it. However, because this is a stamina-based ability, there is a limit to how many High Humans you can make at a time.

- Reptilian Pheromones Generation.

  - With this ability, you may produce pheromones that can entice any reptilian species to approach you; the aroma is so potent that it can trigger the mating season of the reptile creature the moment it smells the pheromones. However, be warned: this ability is universal, which means that as long as said monster or creature is reptilian, you will become a target of rape, depending on how much power said reptilian has over their will.

- Echolocation.

  - The ability to detect items in the environment by hearing echoes, actively making sounds, or whether the target is moving, which will send signals to the brain to generate a perfect mental picture in the mind that is continually changing based on vibrations stemming from the environment.

- Stamina Regeneration.

  - This ability has a link to "Dark Impulses." It allows the user to keep track of their stamina and recover it as time passes; it also makes gaining stamina much easier. Your stamina regenerates at a rate of +20 every minute, and your stamina bar is presently at [1,320/2,500]. Because practically all innate abilities are stamina-dependent, this ability is basically a major cheat in the monster community.

- Telekinetic Bullet.

  - The ability to shoot imaginary bullets that can physically harm a target. The initial power and speed of these bullets are determined by how much stamina the user is prepared to expend. All the user has to do to activate it is holding their hands like a gun and say "BANG!" either mentally or physically.

- Glass Membrane Skin Formation.

  - This ability, as the name suggests, allows the person to naturally produce a thin flexible transparent glass membrane over the skin of themselves or others. Furthermore, it will just make the body appear slippery, and physical strikes will slip off to some extent, but the same cannot be said for attacks that Peirce or cut.

These were the seven abilities Nier purchased with the help of N2, who had a plan and now had everything he needed. It was time to hunt some lizards and their que