My Werepanther System: Starting with Nine Lives

Rex didn't get to find a pair of clothes. Since he was going to suit up with the others AG Brennus said there was no point.

The military had a weird obsession with getting people naked around eachother and he hated it.

He jogged through The Box until he was in the armor-smiths dugout stationed beneath the platform where they sold wares.

The room was white and spotless— unlike everything else and suits of armor were fit over mannequins and in glass shells.

Not that it mattered as he entered to everyone staring.

"Well, welcome. Who…. Are you?" Specialist Sunder asked.

"That's the third person to act like they didn't know me...it can't just be the tattoos. What the hell?—" Rex kept himself covered, "Kalico Rex."

Victor, Imani, Hunter, Frank and a few others who knew of him all gasped in some form or another.

Specialist Sunder pulled up the data page on his phone and looked back to Rex.

"Your Inheritence Ability must be evolution based. You look…. different."

"Yea. It is." Rex replied.

"Well, congrats on surviving. Join your class, you're just in time for the kitting process."

Rex nodded and took the only open spot beside Tyson.

They waited in awkward silence before Tyson spoke.

"Hey man, you ok?"

Rex nodded, "All good."

"I mean maybe not all good…. You're ass naked in a armor bunker after making enemies of all the upperclassmen boys. I heard you ate a grenade?"

"I said I'm all good." Rex stated again.

"So is the gem in your chest your ability? Does it shoot fire or give you some type of defensive aura?"

"Something like that."

"But I thought it was evolution based…" Tyson said.

"Hey man, are you a journalist or a soldier?" Rex spat in a hushed whisper.

"You two, be quiet before we make you hit combatives until sunrise." Corporal Green said.

Tyson began itching his patch of lizard skin.

Rex looked up to find Victor across the room eyeballing him.

Before anything could be soundlessly exchanged, the doors into the bunker opened again.

A man no taller than three feet stepped down into the room with a blue Mohawk and beard down to his round belly. He sported a belly so round it had its own compartment despite him wearing full coverage armor.

"I heard you little bastards had an interesting first day so far. A lizard boy, someone blew up the boys berrics and….. why are you naked?" He turned and faced Rex.

"Because I blew up the boys berrics." Rex replied, keeping things on topic with ease.

"Got ya." The short man nodded as he stroked his beard, "Well, I suppose it's time to get you all geared up so you can actually live through tonight's punishment, aye?"

He was met with silence.

"Great. My name is Staff Sergeant Huge. If any of you laugh, I'll send you out into the jungles as naked as him." Sgt Huge pointed at Rex.

Rex sighed in response to his predicament. Thankfully, the small statured armorsmith worked quickly.

"Todays focus is simple. You'll be issued your first set of armor as new recruits. Learn its functions and limitations. Modify it to your liking. Use the credits you get for quest and training completions to install upgrades and repairs, etcetera."

"Yes, Sergeant!" The class said in unison.

"To start, is everyone familiar with Mana stones?"

"Y—"

"I'll explain anyway." Sgt Huge pulled a blue rock out of his belt, it steamed like he just pulled it from an open flame, "This pretty lady here is the start of everything for you here. All of you will be issued a basic stone, but as you get credits and rank up, you'll be able to upgrade. Mana Stones come in five grades, A through F with A being the best quality. These stones have the same mana circulation as Drift Dimensions. Only at a much lower and stable frequency. Something that won't fry your suits or turn you into…. well, explaining that is above my pay grade. Either way, each of you has been issued a stone. They're at your armory desks beside you."

The students turned to their raised podiums referred to as desks.

The top portion split open and up came an encased mana stone on an even smaller podium.

Rex grabbed his— trying to ignore how his backside was exposed to the world. It was cold to the touch. But burned. It made his arm hairs stand on end. He watched it sizzle in his palm and suddenly realized his palm was darkening and his claws were extending.

"Oh shit—" He put the stone back on the podium and tried to remain calm.

Shifting was a lot easier than the opposite.

"Next up, we've got your suits." Sgt Huge clicked a button on a remote he carried in his left hand, suddenly the walls opened up giving way to a series of walk in closets where suits hung up on hangers in the back.

Rex faced his closet and found himself looking at anything other than what he expected. Dungeon Diver suits tended to be more armored and cool looking. He faced what looked like a suit for snorkeling. A black second skin with human looking veins and muscle insertions.

"What you're looking at probably isn't what you expected huh?" Sgt Huge asked.

"Why are we being issued tights?" Tyson asked, "I can't post cool pictures to my social media with this!"

"You start at the bottom, folks. These are your government issued MK37 Martial-Skins. They're protective against the elements, maneuverable, easy to maintain and can handle your abilities. Now suit up."

Rex dove into the closet. For obvious reasons, he was the first to come out in his suit. It hugged his frame like a glove. Movements felt easier to make— like the suit threads were following the commands of his mind to move in tandem with his muscles.

"Now, at the back of your necks, there's a Mana stone insert point. Obviously, that's where you'll place the stone to turn the suit on." Sgt Huge explained.

Rex lifted his stone in a rush, and quickly let the stone fall into the metal frame cartridge at the back of his neck.

Immediately, the suit heated up. The humanoid veins shifted and slithered, fitting themselves over Rex's own and glowing blue with mana flow before abruptly turning purple.

He looked around and found no one else's doing so other than Victor and a few others.

"As you all can see, Inheritence Ability users tend to have unique Mana signatures and circulations. It makes you targets in training. Go figure." Sgt Huge commented.

Tyson's suit began to go haywire beside him. The skin jumped and bubbled. Like oil, portions slithered and coated his hand until he wore a glove. "What the hell is happening?! It burns!"

"As you can see, Martial-Skins also have a built-in virus containment response. It's usually a life saver, but sometimes you'll get your arm cut off over a graze. Be careful. It teaches you to remain calm."

"That sounds dumb as hell." Rex thought before catching the gleam of characters on the underside of his forearm and inside of his calves.

"Last thing, as you can see on your arms and legs, you have a couple Sigil Sequences. Like your Mana Stones they are F grade. It's all the stones can handle without dusting. This means when wearing the suits you'll have a one to three percent increase in your speed, strength and dexterity. It's not a lot…. But it's not nothing either." Sgt Huge said. "Now, who's ready to hit the jungles?"

No one answered, but Rex could feel Hunter's eyes on him.

"You want another round? Fine by me. Just know things are different now."