AA. 209

[[Patreon butchered the system stuff last time and I can't figure out why.]]

As expected, Nil received several options for a new feat when he used the Gold Ascension Token. 

• Overcoming Enormous Odds: Only rare individuals have the necessary grit to take on powerful foes who counter them and find victory. You overcame impossible odds. Increase your Mind potential to Silver and gain the willpower of Gold Realm.

• Master of Fundamentals: Talent and potential are crutches of the lazy. A master overcomes their limitations with endless practice. Your natural inclinations for the three fundamental energy techniques are immaterial. Practice will let you overcome all limitations. Mastery and natural growth rate increase with Spark.

• Glimmer-Touched: You have tangled with the Glimmer, overcome, and absorbed it. Now, a fragment persists in your core, merged with your energy, ever-present. Influence the perception of all who view your constructs. Potency scales with Spark.

• Attention Of Primordials: Rare individuals get the attention of Primordial entities because of their talents, skills, or potential to be good. Only a rare few do the same with their achievements. You have attracted the attention of two. Enhance your Might or Mind potential to Platinum, and pick a related ability.

• He Who Maimed A God: You have permanently disfigured an entity far older than you or your species. Few living entities can make such a claim. You’re infused with greatness. Put it to good use. Increase the potential of one attribute. Enhance an aspect of yourself that you truly believe is lacking.

As Nil ascended the realms, the offered feats and abilities felt more tailor-made to suit his needs. Much like with his last selection, Nil didn’t need to think long about what he wanted. A glance was enough to settle on a decision. 

My Body Is My Temple and supercharging psychic fortitude made the first option redundant. The second felt like a more specialized version of Through Sheer Grit but for energy techniques and not limited by potential. Meanwhile, the third came with too much ambiguity. It could’ve provided Nil with a completely new approach to combat. However, he didn’t know how it would affect his companions or how to go about mastering such an ability. Finally, Attention of Primordials felt like a lesser version of the last option and he skipped it too.

Pick a potential to upgrade.

“Spark,” Nil said. 

The feat can’t upgrade potentials past Immortal.

“How about Finesse?” 

Your Finesse potential has been upgraded to Immortal! Please pick a lacking aspect to improve.

“How about my energy-wielding techniques?”

Please be more specific.

“Energy emission?”

Your natural energy emission skill has been improved to match energy shaping. Efficiency and speed have increased.

Manipulation was Nil’s most lacking natural skill. However, he considered improving something mediocre to be great a better use of the boon. In comparison, becoming decent in a skill which he sucked at felt like a waste. Manipulation demanded far too much intent and concentration. His speedy combat style didn’t allow for it.

After much insistence from Selia, he used a lesser power seed and gave the other to Emily. Instead of gaining a new ability, it gave him the opportunity to grant any of his sub-abilities an additional evolution. Since the Schema refused to let him use it on the Source Gauntlet’s abilities, he powered up Toggled Supercharging. Using two boosts simultaneously became cheaper, and he got the option to add an additional boost to the pool. Nil went with reflexes since it would help him get better returns on the Immortal-Potential Finesse and also let him push his speed to greater heights. On the downside, the ability’s rank was reset to Bronze-Zero. It was still a welcome powerup that he was sure would give him an edge in the Silver Gauntlet and on quests.

• Might: Silver 1 | Potential: Silver

• Finesse: Gold 0 | Potential: Immortal

• Mind: Bronze 3 | Potential: Bronze

• Spark: Gold 0 | Potential: Immortal

Brutal Battery: Silver 1

• Absorb: Silver 1

• Expend: Silver 1

• Toggled Supercharging: Bronze 0

• Anti-Friction Lattice: Bronze 0

• My Body Is My Temple: Bronze 0

Feats:

• Armmaster’s Disappointment

• Through Sheer Grit

• The Power of Belief

• Primal Origins

• Inducted by Vanheim

• He Who Maimed A God

Source Gauntlets: Bronze 5

• Wield The Source: Bronze 5

• Galvanized: Bronze 5

• One With The Source: Bronze 0

Ironroot Drakeling: Bronze 3

• Reinforce: Bronze 5

• Regenerate: Bronze 3

• Quiksilver Burst: Iron 2

Nil hadn’t paid much attention to notifications related to Meatball during the final challenge. She had assisted by dealing with the smaller, more delicate scuttlers that tried to sneak up on Nil or Iris. Consuming the vial of World Dragon’s Blood had given Reinforce a boost. Crimson veins of light now peeked through the cracks in her woody carapace. Her claws and her four tentacles also ended in black obsidian and had a glassy texture. Nil expected incredible changes when she ascended to Silver.

The pursuit of the Cleansing ticket and completing the event came with incredible growth. Nil intended to take it slow for a while and focus on mastering the Source. There were far more constructs to try and master. He had more than two years until the Labyrinth and didn’t expect to get his power seed to Gold before then. Nil also held on to all of his Schema tokens for now. Climbing the ranks got harder the closer one got to the next realm. He planned on investing in his loved ones and focusing on natural growth until the next major event.

Completing the Cleansing had also made him eligible for the Silver Gauntlet. Nil didn’t feel ready for his next match. Finishing tasks for the Nexus took priority. He wanted to help find the symbiote and put the chapter behind him. Then, he and Selia would enjoy a long vacation while Emily and Sam were away on Ashe Fall. Climbing the ranks could wait until then. The arena intelligence had given him six months before he needed to enter his first match and officially register for the gauntlet, and Nil was in no rush. Life had been hectic and high-pressure ever since he became a Summoned. Taking a break felt appropriate and much deserved.

Since Selia wasn’t yet done with her body ascension, Nil spent some much-needed alone time with Andrew.

“You’re a scary beast, Sunny-boi,” the soulsmith commented, studying the Source Gauntlets. “Seriously. I thought you’d go back to your old self after the Glimmer, but the experience seems to have made you more confident and driven. It's amazing to watch but nonetheless scary.”

“Bunty and his viewers agree,” Nil said, lying on the inspection table in the workshop. “Some are insisting my title be changed from Godpuncher to Godslayer. I didn’t kill the Void Lord, but they don’t seem to care.”

“I get it. You haven’t been punching a whole lot off-late. It's unlikely anyone is complaining about that. You’re competent and entertaining. That’s all that matters.” Andrew frowned, studying the gem on the back of Nil’s right hand closely. “It’s as I thought. The soul weapon’s core, namely the bit housing Watcher’s essence, has also assimilated a fragment of the Glimmer you dissolved. I suspect it will impact the weapon’s silver upgrade. Hopefully, the Source Glass will give me some freedom in chassis and ability development, but that’s yet to be seen.”

“We have time to figure things out. For the time being, focus on Selia’s upgrade and make something for Emily. It's hard to believe she’s already qualified for the Iron Gauntlet and is preparing for the Gauntlet of Ten.”

“You were hoping she’d find it too hard and back out, didn’t you?” Andrew asked.

Nil nodded. “But she’s driven and a bloody hard worker. I don’t think any amount of convincing or challenges will get Emmy to back down once she sets her mind on something. The best we can do is to equip and train her for it.”

“Well, she’s getting more facilities and training than Lucy Wilson. I’m sure she’ll become a terrifying superstar in no time.”

Someone, probably a disgruntled Wilson Luduses employee or someone seeking a hefty payout, had confirmed what everyone had suspected using childhood photos and photographs of a birth certificate. Luciana Erin Wilson was Arthur ‘Technomancer’ Wilson’s daughter, making her Adrian’s niece. Apparently, the tech mogul had no interest in raising a family, caring more about his inventions and company. He only threw money and gifts at her while Adrian played the father-figure role and had raised her. The reports said that he had given up several valuable quests and matches during Lucy’s troubled pre-teen years and it was the only reason he hadn’t yet ascended to Platinum Realm—or so many in the organization believed.

It left Nil to wonder whether Lucy was a plant in Golden Aegis to look out for new talent while also keeping an eye on other interests. CIT had failed to deal with the symbiote themselves. However, they had uncovered valuable evidence. Neither they nor the Nexus knew yet what to do with the information.

A friendly source in a secret intelligence agency—Katherine Park—had sent photos and a lead. Doctor Shina Patel had been found shaking hands with Arthur Wilson at what now seemed like a secret facility in Azerbaijan, on the border of lands ravaged and twisted by the cataclysm. The leads had sent CIT down a rabbit hole and now they knew that Shina and Arthur had been collaborating for years. Symbiotech wasn’t an Arthurtech or Wilson Enterprises subsidiary. However, the powerful parties funding everything and helping with cover ups were now obvious. The news hadn’t been shared with Shawn yet, and there was no telling how he’d receive it.

It was hard to believe that Adrian wasn’t in on the plot. The more Nil got to know him and learn about him, the more slimy he appeared. At first, Nil had doubts too. Adrian was a not-so-closeted Summoned Supremacist, after all. But then he wondered whether the artificial power seeds and soul weapons were the means to creating a subservient super population who’d be at his beck and call, acting as the organization’s enforcers. There was a lot to unpack and Nil didn’t know how he or the Nexus wanted to deal with it.

The news was an almost relieving revelation. It confirmed Nil’s distastes and dislikes. They weren’t baseless. Now, the probability of Adrian planning a coup or takeover that put his Summoned allies in power was even greater. A subservient group of superhumans who relied on the higher ups to maintain and grow their power, would make such a takeover significantly easier.

“Samara told me to look out for these, but I didn’t think you’d find one so soon,” Andrew commented, holding up the Source Glass to the light. “I can feel its power and have manuals detailing how to use to them, but I’m unpractised and untrained. There might be some loss because of trial and error.”

“But you can use it with the chassis expansion?” Nil asked.

Andrew nodded. “Do you know what you want yet?”

“Not really. More coverage on the arms and legs could be great. Maybe spine or neck reinforcement and protection?”

“You don’t want an arm cannon?”

“I’m going to say yes and you’ll say it's not possible,” Nil replied, eyes narrowing.

“You take all the fun out of fucking with you.” Andrew laughed. “Besides, something like a canon would require a full ascension. It probably won’t be possible for Silver, but I’ll see if I can pull something off for Gold Realm. For now, just extending the arms and shoulder is probably best and I’ll do something for your shoulder blades and spine. The Source glass might also help with another amplifier gem.”

“That’s good enough. Galvanized’s protection from the rear will give me a fair bit of protection. Extending the tail from a spinal brace might even help improve the technique.”

“It will take a fair amount of materials, but how about I run something all the way from the base of your skull to your tailbone?” Andrew asked, he grabbed a piece of paper and threw together a quick diagram. He drew thin lines that ran from the spine to the gauntlets and also added a new, larger gem between the shoulder blades. “Then we can expand around it, providing neck and perhaps abdominal protection when you reach Silver. Between this, sorting out Zora and Emily’s weapon, and eventually upgrading Selia’s, I might just ascend to Silver Realm before the Source Gauntlets are ready for the next upgrade.”

“Sounds like a plan. Maybe we can get started after the symbiote nonsense is done and we go on holiday?”

“You’re in no rush, are you? How about we just leave it until you and Selia return from your romantic getaway? I’d rather focus on Emily’s chassis first. If we establish a decent plan, I can get most of the work done while she is on Ashe Fall.”

“I’m good with that,” Nil replied. “I assume you have more than enough materials or do you need some seed money?”

Andrew chuckled. “Given the amount of stuff you brought back from the Cleansing, we have enough to get everyone’s soul weapon to Silver Realm. Only thing holding us back now is my ascension.”

“Well, all the Silver Ascension tokens I bagged are for you, Emily, and Susan. You just need a fire under your ass to get shit done.”