Daniel mulled over his options before he finally made an important decision. He set aside the Kharnidd stones and pulled out one of the normal Xenos’s Delta class stones, pulling up the description, “Delta Class Morphic Stone: Personal Attribute: Survivor’s Physique. Value: 302,000 Credits.”
Getting into a lotus position, he absorbed the stone, feeling the power flow through him with an energizing tingle. It wasn’t long before it was all absorbed, and Daniel pulled up his stat sheet again,
User Name: Daniel Sylvester Hardgrave
Age: 18
Pioneer Class: Delta
Rank: Sergeant
Status
Strength: 328 -> 330
Dexterity: 435
Constitution: 298 -> 346
Adaptability: 346 -> 378
Psyche: 497 -> 498
…
Personal Attributes:
…
Slot 5: Survivor’s Physique (Delta) (MP=0/15)
- Significant enhancement of natural Constitution
- Significant enhancement of natural Adaptability
- Scales with Constitution (E) and Adaptability (E).
…
Survivor’s Physique was one of the most powerful personal attributes any Pioneer could get, especially if you didn’t include the various attributes that the Kharnidd stones could give. Its scaling was weaker than that of similar attributes, but that scaling bonus was applied to two different stats, so it was basically doubled. The effect was powerful, if less specialized, and it was sought after by many high-level Pioneers. Daniel’s Codex gave him the official, semi-regulated military price, but if he had auctioned that stone on the black market, he probably could have brought in as much as 500K. To have the officers give it to him for free so easily…
Daniel stood up and caught the captain’s eye as he was in discussion with Lieutenant Arrivo, giving the man a deep nod of gratitude. When he looked back up, he saw the captain give him a slight wave, as if to say ‘No problem, kid’, then return to his conversation. Daniel let out a small exhale, sat back down, and made his next move. He pulled out the stone that came from the Goliath, turning it over with a careful eye before absorbing it as well. It was the most powerful of all his D class resources, but he didn’t want any of the Goliath’s Attributes or Capacities beyond what he already had, so there was no point in saving it. Unless he were planning on selling it, of course, but that would be a severe breach of trust.
The Goliath stone’s energies were far more difficult and painful to absorb than the Survivor’s Physique stone. It seared his muscles and needled his flesh, but it was far less onerous than it had been when Daniel was a lower class. He fought through the pain with relative ease, absorbing the last of the stone and checking his stats again,
Status
Strength: 330 -> 383
Dexterity: 435 - > 452
Constitution: 346 -> 375
Adaptability: 378 -> 390
Psyche: 498 -> 513
Psionic Capacities:
...
Slot 2: Destroyer’s Strike (Delta) (MP=3/21) -> (MP=9/21)
- Use Psionic Energy to temporarily Enhance a user’s limb or weapon.
- Enhancement increases the attack power and durability of the limb or weapon.
- Enhancement reaches its pinnacle when first activated, losing power quickly over time.
…
Personal Attributes:
…
Slot 2: Titanic Might (Delta) (MP=3/15) -> (MP=9/15)
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- Considerable enhancement of natural Strength.
- Toughens skin, making User harder to damage.
- Scales with Strength (D) and Adaptability (E).
…
The buff to his lagging strength was nice, and the fact that he’d earned Morphic points in both a Capacity and an Attribute was excellent as well. As one would expect from a Kharnidd Morphic stone.
Daniel then proceeded to absorb all the remaining Stoneborn Morphic stones (one D class and two E class), both of the Skulker Kharnidd stones, and the two remaining assorted stones that Lieutenant Alron had given him. None of them gave him the stat gains that the Goliath stone had given him, thanks to the increasing difficulty of raising stats the higher you went, and the relative weakness of those stones in comparison to the Goliath’s. Nevertheless, they gave him a ton of MP, allowing him to upgrade his Titanic Might, Predatory Grace, and Survivor’s Physique. Daniel was breathing heavily after all of that, but he didn’t hesitate to reach for the Thrall based Morphic stone.
A reasonable person might worry about a Psionic overdose or poisoning, but Daniel had both possibilities covered. An overdose happened when you absorbed Psionic resources far beyond your class. They usually happened when someone absorbed a stone at least two classes higher than them, like a Zeta class individual absorbing a Delta class stone. Such an event provoked an immune response from the body, which usually involved it shutting down its ability to absorb Psionic energy to avoid serious damage or death. This usually resulted in the overdose victim being knocked out as the Codex began to work with the body to carefully filter out the excess energy and minimize damage.
After an overdose, the body took time to regain its original ability to absorb Psions. This was why Daniel had been so hypersensitive in the aftermath of his overdose, preventing him from absorbing the stones. His body’s “Psionic receptors” had been operating at less-than-normal capacity. Or so Nuntius had said. Now that they were back online, he could absorb a hundred D class Morphic stones in a row without issue, assuming he could ignore the Psionic poisoning that that would cause. Which he could, thanks to the Litradia. The only remaining mystery was how he’d suffered an overdose in the first place. Nuntius had a few hypotheses, but nothing certain, beyond observing that the Gamma class stone had been supercharged far beyond what a normal one would be. The AI speculated that the Kharnidd Mentalist had taken far too much of an empowering medicine, like an Enhancement sphere, which altered its Morphic stone permanently. Such a phenomenon had been extremely rare and poorly documented, even to the Aeterna. This caused both Daniel and Nuntius to be blindsided by the overdose, and both man and machine had resolved to be more cautious in the future.
Daniel absorbed his second-to-last Morphic stone and felt something click internally. He then absorbed the second Thrall stone anyway, using it to upgrade the Hunter’s Domain and form a new Attribute. Then, he checked the final tally,
User Name: Daniel Sylvester Hardgrave
Age: 18
Pioneer Class: Gamma
Rank: Sergeant
Status
Strength: 383 -> 527
Dexterity: 452 - > 555
Constitution: 375 -> 473
Adaptability: 390 -> 462
Psyche: 513 -> 600
Psionic Capacities:
Slot 1: Hunter’s Domain (Gamma) (MP=0/60)
- Establish an Extrasensory Domain with Psionic Energy surrounding the User.
- Senses are enhanced within the Domain. User extends Senses throughout the Domain.
- Dexterity is enhanced while the Domain is active.
Slot 2: Destroyer’s Strike (Gamma) (MP=0/60)
- Use Psionic Energy to temporarily Enhance a user’s limb or weapon.
- Enhancement increases the attack power and durability of the limb or weapon.
- Enhancement reaches its pinnacle when first activated, losing power quickly over time.
Slot 3: Overclock (Gamma) (MP=0/60)
- User expends Psionic Energy to improve the power of any Psionic Capacity temporarily.
- Can only boost one Capacity at once.
- Cannot be used in rapid succession.
Slot 4: Empty
Personal Attributes:
Slot 1: Predatory Grace (Gamma) (MP=0/42)
- Major enhancement of natural Dexterity.
- Improves the ability of the User to move silently.
- Scales with Dexterity (C) and Adaptability (D).
Slot 2: Titanic Might (Gamma) (MP=0/42)
- Major enhancement of natural Strength.
- Toughens skin, making User harder to damage.
- Scales with Strength (C) and Adaptability (D).
Slot 3: Pneumonic Enhancement (Delta) (MP=3/15)
- Increases lung efficiency, allowing the User to survive with less Oxygen.
- Allows User to more easily convert the atmosphere around them to Oxygen, making breathing in many hostile environments possible (e.g. Breathing underwater)
- Scales with Adaptability (D).
Slot 4: Empowered Psyche (Gamma) (MP=0/42)
- Major enhancement of natural Psyche.
- Can more easily process sensory information.
- Scales with Psyche (C) and Adaptability (D).
Slot 5: Survivor’s Physique (Gamma) (MP=0/42)
- Considerable enhancement of natural Constitution
- Considerable enhancement of natural Adaptability
- Scales with Constitution (D) and Adaptability (D).
Slot 6: Aerial Combatant (Delta) (MP=0/15)
- Considerably improves balance, awareness, and Dexterity while flying.
- All other boosts to physical stats are also enhanced in flight.
- Scales with Dexterity (D) and Adaptability (E).
Slot 7: Empty
Slot 8: Empty
Integrated Technologies:
Slot 1: Archangel System (???) (Power=19%)
He’d finally hit Gamma class, blasting through the stat sum threshold of 2,500. The enthusiasm from hitting a new class was almost matched by the excitement he felt when scrutinizing his new Attribute. Daniel had hoped to get Aerial Combatant from the Thrall’s stone, especially because of that second clause. ‘All boosts to physical stats are enhanced in flight.’
If his theory was correct, that bonus should apply to the Archangel System’s bonuses as well. Further improving some already absurd buffs could eventually turn Daniel into a killing machine, especially when paired with the high-speed power of the Makiel Protocol’s Maneuverability gear. But Daniel wasn’t done yet. After he finished reading, he took another deep breath.
And he pulled out the Ravager’s stone.
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