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Chapter 115: [Arrogance]
🕑 Added 2025-08-06 18:54:24 +0000 UTCRussell's workshop had taken on the quality of a ritual chamber. The three materials lay arranged in a perfect triangle on his workbench—[Blood of Resurrection] pulsing with crimson light , [Power Demon] radiating barely contained violence that made the air shimmer, and [Horror Imitator] shifting between forms even while supposedly inert. At the triangle's center sat Arrogance's card, the symbiote practically vibrating with anticipation.
"Time to evolve, partner," Russell murmured, placing his hands on the card.
The materials began to resonate as Russell's magical energy flowed outward, creating connections between them. Unlike normal card creation, advancement required perfect synchronization between existing card and new materials. One wrong move could result in catastrophic failure—the kind that left creators as cautionary tales in textbooks.
Russell took a deep breath, tasting the metallic tang of concentrated magic in the air. His apartment's protective arrays hummed to life, containing the energy that would otherwise alert every magical sensor in a three-block radius. Privacy was essential—he couldn't afford interruptions or unwanted attention during such a delicate process.
The moment arrived. Russell activated the advancement sequence, and reality folded inward.
[Please begin compiling your story.]
The mysterious space welcomed him , wrapping him in that familiar sensation of infinite possibility. Russell had spent hours preparing this narrative, stitching together ideas from half-remembered novels and fictions from his previous life.
Time to give Arrogance the origin story it deserves.
[After acquiring the symbiote Arrogance/Venom, the otaku, driven by a classic case of eighth-grader syndrome, began a career of vigilante justice. The power was intoxicating—being the only superhuman on a planet without any others meant even his slightest move shook society's foundations. Bank robbers found themselves wrapped in living restraints. Corrupt politicians woke to find evidence of their crimes painted across their homes in symbiotic script. The media dubbed him everything from "The Dark Savior" to "The Demon of Justice."]
The energy around Russell stirred with interest. The mysterious space appreciated the modern setting—so different from the usual cultivation or fantasy narratives.
[However, as his notoriety grew, he attracted unwanted attention. Government agencies that officially didn't exist began tracking his movements. As a hardcore otaku who'd never received espionage training, his operational security was laughable. He left digital footprints everywhere—forum posts analyzing his own fights, Amazon orders for suspicious quantities of chocolate (Arrogance's favorite food), even selfies taken in costume that he thought were safely anonymous.]
Russell felt the narrative threads strengthening. The space enjoyed these touches of mundane humanity amid the supernatural drama. It made the story feel real, grounded despite its fantastic elements.
[One evening, returning home after preventing a child trafficking ring from making their delivery, he found his apartment surrounded. Military vehicles blocked every exit. Snipers lined neighboring rooftops. A negotiator with a megaphone tried to convince him to surrender peacefully. The authorities had prepared for months, analyzing every scrap of footage, every witness report. They thought they understood his capabilities.]
[They were wrong.]
[Under Arrogance's protection, he burst through their perimeter like tissue paper. Automatic weapons fire simply tickled. Tranquilizer rounds designed to drop elephants were absorbed and metabolized as nutrients..]
The mysterious space pulsed with approval. It appreciated the meta-reference, the way fiction within fiction created recursive layers of meaning.
[Fortunately, as an orphan with no social connections beyond online forums, he had no loved ones for the authorities to threaten. But their pursuit forced him into exile. With surveillance networks blanketing every city, facial recognition in every camera, he had one option—retreat to where technology couldn't follow. The deep mountains and untamed forests became his new home.]
[There, like a Lion returning to Jungle , Arrogance began to truly flourish. Away from the sonic pollution of civilization, the symbiote's natural abilities awakened. It was then the host discovered Arrogance's most terrifying power—when possessing other creatures, it could extract and integrate their genetic advantages.]
Russell paused here, feeling the space's intense interest. This was the crucial evolution, the ability that would define Arrogance's new form. He continued carefully, making sure the logic held.
[The ultrasonic echolocation of bats became his radar in darkness. The proportional strength of ants let him lift boulders that should have crushed him. A mantis shrimp's eyes granted him vision across spectrums humans couldn't imagine. Each new creature added to their combined arsenal, Arrogance serving as a living library of evolutionary advantages.]
[Months passed in this wilderness crucible. When military drones finally located him, they found not the amateur vigilante they'd chased into exile, but something that had transcended simple categories of human or inhuman. The first reconnaissance team sent to capture him simply disappeared—not killed, just deposited naked and unconscious at the nearest ranger station with "TRY HARDER" written on their foreheads in ink.]
Despite the serious moment, Russell couldn't suppress a smile. Even in advancement narratives, a touch of humor helped the medicine go down.
[Finally, the authorities deployed their penultimate option. If they couldn't capture him, they would eliminate the threat. An intercontinental ballistic missile, stripped of its nuclear payload but still carrying enough conventional explosives to level a city block, streaked toward his location. The host stood in a mountain clearing, watching its approach with calm.]
[The explosion should have vaporized everything within a kilometer. Instead, when the smoke cleared, he stood in a crater of glass and ash, Arrogance's form barely singed. .]
["It's time to go back," the otaku said, his voice carrying new weight.]
Russell felt the narrative approaching its climax. This was where character growth met power development, where the story's themes crystallized.
[As a symbiote, Arrogance had no inherent morality—it was a tool that reflected its host's will. When they returned to civilization, the authorities discovered their quarry had evolved beyond their comprehension. Absorbing peregrine falcon genes had granted true flight, turning the sky into his domain. Fighter jets sent to intercept became expensive fireworks, their pilots ejecting to safety as Arrogance casually dismantled their vehicles mid-flight.]
[The escalation reached its peak when they deployed a fuel-air explosive—the most powerful non-nuclear weapon in their arsenal. The blast turned night into day, shattered windows twenty kilometers away, and created a mushroom cloud visible from orbit. Surely nothing organic could survive such devastation.]
[When the smoke cleared, drone cameras captured a sight that redefined their understanding of "survival." A figure stood at ground zero, flesh seared away to reveal bone and organs, yet still conscious. Still standing. And as they watched in horrified fascination, the damage reversed itself. Muscle fiber rewove. Skin regenerated. Within minutes, he stood whole again, gazing directly into their cameras with Red eyes.]
["Lucky I have you, Arrogance," the host whispered.]
["No." A black and red head extended from his shoulder, its alien features somehow conveying affection despite the nightmare visage. "Not you. Us."]
[The host paused, understanding blooming. "Yes. We are Arrogance."]
[They walked back toward the city, form shifting with each step—businessman, jogger, student, tourist. Arrogance's mimicry had evolved beyond simple disguise into perfect camouflage. They would grow stronger in secret, gathering power for the day when hiding was no longer necessary. He was not ready to challenge the entire world.]
[Not yet.]
The narrative complete, Russell felt the mysterious space's satisfaction wash over him like warm honey.
Russell opened his eyes to find his workshop transformed. Darkness writhed at the edges of his vision—not the absence of light but something more fundamental, as if Arrogance's evolution had touched the very concepts of shadow and substance. The three materials had vanished, their essence absorbed into the new card floating before him.
The card itself had changed. Where once it showed a simple image of the symbiote, now it depicted a figure caught mid-transformation—human and monster and something beyond both, rendered in blacks and reds that seemed to move when viewed peripherally.
"Great. This way, my safety will be greatly improved." Russell's laughter held genuine joy as he reached for the card. The moment his fingers made contact, information flooded his mind.
[Symbiote · Arrogance]
- Level: Silver
- Quality: Red
- Category: Creature
Skills:
- [Shape Change]: The symbiote can alter the host's form at will—size, color, texture, even apparent species. Perfect camouflage, limited only by imagination and available mass.
- [Super-Speed Regeneration]: Accelerated healing that operates on conceptual rather than biological principles. (Note: Consumes mental energy proportional to damage severity)
- [Gene Replication]: By possessing other organisms, Arrogance can extract and store their unique genetic advantages. (Currently Obtained: None | Currently Active: 0/1 | Possession Limit: Silver level | Each organism provides one module only)
Characteristics:
- [Battle Master]: Millennia of combat experience accessible to any host. Even complete novices gain elite-level fighting skills instantly.
- [Indestructible]: Conventional weapons are irrelevant. Military-grade explosives are inconvenient. True destruction requires conceptual attacks.
- [Intermediate Body Enhancement]: Permanent physical improvements that persist even when Arrogance is dormant. (Current limit: Bronze level physiology)
Introduction: Join the glorious evolution.
Bond: None
"Damn, this is overpowered!" Russell couldn't contain his excitement, the words bursting out with genuine amazement.
[Shape Change] and [Super-Speed Regeneration] were expected evolutions of existing abilities, though far more potent than anticipated. [Battle Master] simply formalized what he'd already experienced—Arrogance's gift of instant combat expertise. Even [Indestructible] made sense as the ultimate development of the symbiote's defensive capabilities.
But [Gene Replication]? That changed everything.
"The mysterious space really outdid itself," Russell muttered, mind already racing through possibilities. In the original comics, symbiotes could copy some abilities—Venom famously retained Spider-Man's web-slinging and spider-sense. But this was different. This was systematic, purposeful acquisition of genetic advantages.
His original plan had been —maybe copy some enhanced senses from animals, possibly improved strength or speed. Standard physical improvements that would make him harder to kill. But this ability suggested far grander possibilities. What constituted a "genetic advantage"? How broadly did the mysterious space define "organism"? Could he copy abilities from magical creatures? From cards themselves?
"One module at a time though," he noted, tempering his enthusiasm with practical consideration. The limitation was significant but not crippling. It forced strategic choices rather than allowing him to become an omni-capable monster. Quality over quantity.
He could imagine the alternative—unlimited gene storage creating an arms race of acquisition. Within months, he'd need spreadsheets to track his abilities. The mysterious space had wisely prevented that path, maintaining game balance even in reality.
"If I advance Arrogance further, the limit probably increases," Russell speculated, already planning future upgrades. One slot at silver, perhaps three at gold, five at emerald? The progression would be worth tracking.
As for genetic collapse or compatibility issues? Russell felt no concern. The mysterious space didn't create flawed products—if it allowed gene modules, they would work perfectly. Besides, technically Arrogance would be using the abilities, not him directly. A useful distinction if anything went wrong.
(End of Chapter 115)
Comments
Raphael Espinoza Angulo
I want a Knull
firerock laser
King in black Arrogance is awesome. Thanks for the chapter
