The Rise Of A Porter

"Interesting..." Arnold murmured, "But if the 'core' dissipates inside a human, how can the same process be used to activate the human's 'true form'?"

"I'm glad that you asked. Even when the core within the humans 'dissipates', it never leaves the host's body. That is, it only changes its form. After all, the core is the thing which provides the warriors with their abilities, hence if the core was to disappear completely from the body of the host, the host would never be able to use their abilities." Devon explained.

"It just shifts from being a solid core to a simpler form. In layman terms, it can be said that the core imprints itself on the DNA of the warriors. Which explains why humans can use their abilities even though they don't have a core in them. Thus injecting the crystal solution in humans enhances or reprograms their DNA which in turn leads to the manifestation of their 'True form'. But like any other doping process, there are a few risks associated with the procedure in humans as altering DNA isn't easy nor is it safe. The tiniest of mistakes can lead to a disaster."

"Disasters like inhumane transformations," Arnold concluded Devon's thesis with his words, "Unstable physical outgrowths and other mental disorders."

"You're correct. There's a reason why all of my test subjects lacked in one thing or the other. The augmentation process is no joke, but those fools treated them as one."

"It was the same with your son as well?"

"No..." Devon smiled wryly, "I'd be ecstatic if that had been the case. But sadly, his case is different."

"Different, you say. Do you mind me asking how?" Arnold asked Devon.

"For starters, this process can only be used on people who have achieved a certain level of vitality or those lucky enough to have two lives." Devon mumbled, "But as you know, my son had none of them so I couldn't reprogram my son's DNA like the others. His body was too fragile to tolerate or adapt to the rapid changes of the procedure."

"Then what about those lizard scales on his back? Weren't they a product of this... evolution process?"

"No. As I said, this process can only be used on people who have achieved a certain level of vitality. And to achieve that, I fused Gary's cells with that of the lizardman as thinking that their regenerative properties that could help Gary to slowly build up the required vitality. Which it did but at the cost of his appearance. It was all thanks to Talos' research that we could finally get rid of the unnecessary complications regarding the process and completely heal Gary." Devon responded before showing something to Arnold on his computer.

"The process is still somewhat dangerous," He continued, "But the success rate of the new procedure is way better than the old one. Before we had a 69% success/survival rate and now, it has been increased to about 94%. Quite an interesting feat if you ask me." 

Arnold's mind was filled with questions. Devon's explanation about the human cores was believable, but if that was true, then how were Talos, Duke and Cerberus able to use abilities and skills? Arnold was confused as they were technically made of rocks and metal and did not have DNA like them or the monsters.

"I know what you're thinking." Devon smiled, "However, the answer to your question is simpler than anything you're thinking."

"Is it?"

"Of course it is. But first, let me ask you one thing, you didn't make Talos from the scratch did you?"

Arnold shook his head, "You could say that all I did was to assemble him." 

"I thought so." Devon closed his eyes, "I just wanted to confirm whether my hunch was correct or not. You see, Talos isn't someone who is bounded by human logic. His creation is not something a human can accomplish on their own, no matter how great of a genius they are."

"I think you're underestimating master a bit-" Talos intervened but Arnold waved his hand, telling Talos to remain silent.

Devon once saw himself as superior to Arnold. But his perception of him had shattered when they met face to face for the first time. He no longer saw himself to be Arnold's equal let alone being superior to him. However, they had formed a bond of mutual understanding and respect. Thus Arnold had given Devon the privilege only a handful of people had: He was free to speak his mind in Arnold's presence.

Even Arnold found it a bit weird that two people who had been thirsty for each other's blood, had now formed such a bond within a small timeframe. 

"I don't mean any disrespect, but the technology used to create Talos simply doesn't exist... yet."

"Hm... but I have created other automatons similar to Talos. What do you have to say about that?" Arnold threw another question at Devon.

"I refuse to believe that someone as perceptive as you haven't noticed the crystal clear differences between Talos and the other automatons."

Arnold didn't reply to him, he just smiled. Of course, he had noticed the difference between Talos and the rest of the Automatons. The automatons were made from the same source and materials was just for the saying. What made Talos different from the rest was his emotional intelligence.

None of the other automatons had it. They were like tools that'll do whatever was asked of them and nothing more. while Talos would the same things in a different way. He would ask questions and make a calculated judgement based on the scenario. But maybe that wasn't all.

"So you're saying Talos can undergo the procedure?" Arnold asked a final question.

"Yes, he can. And so can your ice golem Duke and lava hound Cerberus among your inanimate summons because they already have a core within them. Otherwise, none of them would have been able to use a variety of abilities. Obviously, your undead summons can also undergo the process."

'Already have a core within them... is he referring to the transformation blood rune that they have?' Arnold smiled, 'I just might have given them the greatest gift I possibly could and I wasn't even aware of it.'

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get on with unlocking the true forms, shall we?" Arnold hadn't felt this excited in a long time and now, he was back to being his former self.