Chapter 76: Introspection (Patreon)

Stricken by the idea of studying, I walk back to the king’s room.

No, my room.

Given the amenities of the castle, the system clearly intended for me to live here while I do the exfiltration missions.

Gotta take a shower before bed, though.

Always.

A quick pass by the mirror is another reminder of how much has changed.

A sense of loss pours over me, just like the cold water from the showerhead.

No longer studying for an exam, but for a spell that one day may save my life.

No longer dreading the next day of work, but for-

For-

…

Do I actually hate any of this?

The fear of pain is always there, even if lowered by my skills.

Dying is scary, sure, but-

The thought freezes in my mind.

Just scary?

Dying is just scary?

Not terrifying?

Not horrible enough to keep me locked in the starting room three weeks ago?

Just scary?

Why?

How could I have forgotten?

Every fight against the goblins, hobgoblins, Lords, Barons, and then against the king.

Not a single time did I consider that I might actually die.

Could it be mana changing my mind, making me think differently?

I don’t think so.

I haven’t noticed any other changes, except for eating the corpses of the hobgoblins.

Actually, that’s even more concerning.

But a hunch tells me that isn’t it.

Could it be the lust for power? The addicting feeling of levelling-up?

It’s nice, but is it worth dying over?

Hmm… maybe.

I still don’t think that’s it.

What made me step out that day three weeks ago?

Why did I step into the first room, with the goblin facing away?

Is it because I thought it was risk free, since it was facing away?

No, there’s a chance it could have heard me.

What changed in me?

What made the me right now different from the me before the integration?

As I picture myself standing in the restaurant that day, uncaring about the world and my future, a feeling rises in my chest.

A feeling I don’t experience very often.

Disgust.

At who I was.

Not at the lack of system skills, or the growing belly, or the sunken eyes.

It wasn’t the lack of strength, or the inability to kill.

It was drive.

Every single day I spent coasting, never trying my hardest.

Every single hour I mindlessly consumed entertainment, never improving.

Every single second I spent not achieving my dreams, my ambitions.

I was so… pitiful.

Finally, it clicks.

That’s why I don’t fear death.

The man I used to be…

The things he never did…

The squandered potential…

I would rather die than go back to being that man.

Slamming the water off, I slip into my system-bodysuit.

Inspiration fills me.

At the first step out of the bathroom, my muscles seize, and I fall on my face.

Worms wriggle under my skin. Bones crack, then reform. Blood boils.

Panic surges through my chest, but I suppress it once I realize what’s happening.

It’s been a while, but optimized anatomy has shown itself again.

It hurts.

Enough to send tears streaming down the side of my face.

I want it to end.

But it’s another step toward power.

Another step away from who I was.

It makes me smile.

Thanks to the command from earlier, the lack of bile in my throat allows me to eke out a couple words.

“Kevin. Sleep.”

The world returns crusted over.

Reaching over, I rub the aftermath from my eye.

I push myself up with a groan.

Speckles of blood dot the ground, barely visible over the red carpet.

System, status.

[Health: 2004]

[Mana: 1010]

[Stamina: 1826]

“Good.”

The blood must have been from optimized anatomy.

I reach over and massage my arm while rotating it.

Sleeping did a lot for the ache.

My energy slowly returns as I make my way through the pointlessly long corridors and back to the kitchen.

Brax is gone, and I don’t want to cook, so I grab another random box off the cereal shelf and sit at the metal table.

While chewing, I pull up the most pressing thing in my status since I’ve gotten back from my last mission.

[   Class skill selection available   ]

[   Optimized Anatomy(lv. 4) > (lv. 5)   ]

A quick press on the holographic screen brings up the usual five options, all listed one below the other.

[   Share Skill   ]

[   Permanently copy a skill from the user’s companion onto the user   ]

That’s… simple.

It’s the smallest description I’ve seen by far.

Sadly, useless.

Even if it overflows and allows me to add extra levels to a skill, it’s not worth it.

I’ve been in the tutorial for about three weeks, so it would only add three weeks’ worth of progress.

Which isn’t much considering I have the lifespan of a high human, however long that may be.

There’s a chance it copies the skill and allows me to receive the benefits twice, but I don’t think the system would allow that.

For all the errors I’ve received, the system still seems reliable.

[   Summon Companion   ]

[   Tear a hole in space to summon the companion to the user’s side using the pact. Stability and speed of summoning scale with Unity and Skill level.   ]

My eyes linger on the word ‘stability’.

What the hell would happen if a hole in space wasn’t stable?

A few different outcomes flash through my mind, and none of them end well for the companion.

Again, this one is useless.

Bringing myself to myself?

At best, I can use it to escape and avoid attacks.

But stasis already does that.

With more benefits as well.

And no concerns with stability.

[   Companion’s Assistance   ]

[   Through the pact, summon an ethereal physical attack from the companion to be overlain on the pact leader’s own attack. Clarity, stability, and strength of the attack scale with Unity and Skill level.   ]

Now THIS is what I’m talking about!

Double attack?

Sign me up.

The specifics of how powerful it will be are vague, but my maxed-out Unity should pay its dividends here.

I place this one in the back of my mind as I continue.

[   Resonant Souls   ]

[   Through the pact, grant the user and their companion a growing percentage of the other’s current highest stat. Percentage scales with Unity and Skill level.   ]

Dang! Another good one!

Being my own tame, it’s rare to get more than one useful skill out of a selection.

More stats never hurt a man.

System, stats.

[Vitality: 135]

[Strength: 120]

[Agility: 90]

[Endurance: 138]

[Fortitude: 132]

[Intelligence: 35]

[Wisdom: 84]

[Perception: 81]

My current highest would be endurance.

So that should mean both bonuses apply to it.

Based on what the text says, it should anchor to endurance and not change, even if a different stat grows larger.

This seems like a solid investment, growing over time as I use it.

Satisfied, I nod to myself.

[   Accelerate Growth   ]

[   Through the pact, supply the companion with nutrients using the user’s resources. Allows the user to grow the companion beyond the species’ baseline. Allows for minor biological modifications decided by the user. Growth rate scales with Vitality, Endurance, and Wisdom. Growth and modification diversity scale with Unity and Skill Level.   ]

A third good one!?

Dang it! I actually have to choose this time!

With accelerate growth, I won’t even need to eat anymore.

Which is saying a lot, because I eat a lot.

I wonder what the conversion rate between resources and satiety is?

Wait, how would this work with stamina stomach?

Is it possible to get an infinite feedback loop with stamina?

Can I choose which resources become nutrients?

If so, I might be able to convert mana into nutrients, then have the nutrients convert directly into stamina using stamina stomach.

All that, and I haven’t even gone past the first line of the description.

Re-reading it, I imagine myself growing taller and stronger.

With the limit being decided by unity, which is maxed-out, how tall can I get?

Seven feet tall? Eight? Nine?

I’d have to duck to get under doorways at that point.

On the downside, it somewhat conflicts with optimized anatomy, which does the same thing but on a more intricate level.

I stroke my beard as I think.

All the options present great benefits, but there’s one that fills a weakness I’ve had since I first arrived in the dungeon.

With my decision finalized, I press down.

[   Class skill acquired: Companion’s Assistance   ]

It sucks to give up the other skills, but I NEED an active combat skill.

Eleven skills, and all but a couple of them are passive, or body and mind augmentations.

The only ones that actually extend outside my body are…

Well…

Actually, none of them do that.

…

Dang.

I really needed this.

Shaking my head of the pointless thoughts, I raise my fists.

Companion’s Assistance

I wait, but nothing happens.

Curiously, I pull my arm back and throw a simple right hook.

The feeling I now know as stamina leaving my body occurs, flowing down my shoulder.

In the flash of an eye, a second transparent fist forms from my elbow.

Identical to my fist, it swings as well, merging with my arm perfectly as I thrust.

The closer the attack comes to completing, the more the apparition phases and integrates my arm.

At the end, it’s like a thin shell over each knuckle, dissipating the instant my arm stops moving.

As usual, an involuntary grin spreads across my face.

This is so damn cool.

Focusing for a moment, I send mana through the back of the bracer and transform it into its true form.

My arm pulls back.

Again, I activate the new skill.

When I thrust, a white, cylindrical, ethereal object erupts out of my elbow, a replica of my gauntlet.

Like last time, it merges and completes as the attack finishes, giving the effect of a compounded strike.

Yeah, it’s cool as hell.

System, resources.

[Health: 2004]

[Mana: 1010]

[Stamina: 1826(1760)]

Sweet, looks like its cost isn’t too bad.

At the current rate, I could probably throw… sixty or so before running out of stamina?

Is that a lot?

It feels like a lot.

If I chose warrior starting out, I would have gotten the skill powerful swing, which no doubt costs stamina as well.

But how much?

There’s no reference to the specifics of companion’s assistance and how good it is compared to other classes’ skills.

Still, it scales off unity, which I have in spades, so at least I know I’m getting the most value out of it.

Nodding in satisfaction, I close the system window and make my way back to the exfiltration room.

One Mind/Two Bodies

I turn my mind’s eye inward while I walk and examine the changes from optimized anatomy.

It’s more of the same.

Thicker tendons, some organs smaller, some larger.

The inner-exoskeleton is looking great, almost complete around the non-vital parts of my body like my legs and arms.

Around the vital parts like the abdomen and neck, it’s finally completed.

Looks like it’s starting to grow thicker as well.

Nice.

The only parts that don’t make sense are the bones around my eyes and ears.

Well, I’m sure they’re for something.

The door to the mage’s quart- no, Brax’s room, is closed, which means he’s probably working or sleeping.

Passing around the treasure chest, I find myself standing in front of the orb filled with the twinkle of stars against the darkness of space.

Focusing on my breathing, I slap myself lightly on the face.

“Phew! You got this!”

“Kevin, don’t feel pain. fight and move perfectly. Focus on fights when they come.”

Can’t play it too safe.

Excitement fills my heart as I hover my hand above the orb.

Last time, I got to be on an airship.

What could it be this time? A wizard’s tower? An academy mission?

Filled with giddiness, I gently lay my hand on the orb.

In an instant, the surroundings vanish.

System cobblestone transforms into dark stone brick.

The flicker of orange from torches combats the creeping darkness.

The scent of blood, iron, and unwashed bodies enters my nose.

Before me, a set of iron bars. 

Behind them, seven people lie on the ground covered in patchwork cloth and shackles.

Dirty, scarred, lifeless eyes stare back at me.

My smile and budding excitement fade in a flash.

System, what the fuck?