《Connection Evolved》


 Prologue

    Atlas could still feel the hospital drugs pumping through his system and dulling his mind as the car pulled up to the imposing, wrought-iron gates of the Esper Foundation, a facility he had only heard of within the last two weeks. In fact, before that, espers had been closer to real-life superheroes, something heard about on the news and admired but far out of the reach of any ordinary person. At least it had been until¡­


    Atlas was wrenched from his spiraling memories as the door he leaned against was wrenched open. Someone reached in and grabbed Atlas by the collar around his neck before pulling him out of the car. Atlas stumbled as he regained his balance and let his eyes adjust to the sun before looking around. The imposing building before him would have made some Universities shrink in shame with the massive marble steps leading to an entryway surrounded by Roman columns. He could even see other impressive-looking buildings in the distance off each side of the main complex.


    ¡°Welcome to your new home, kid,¡± the police officer who had pulled him out of the car said. Atlas turned to her and opened his mouth to respond when he heard footsteps coming down the steps behind him.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take it from here, officer.¡± Atlas and the officer both turned to see a woman walking down the steps towards the pair. Despite the conservative pantsuit she was wearing, her beauty was undeniable. However, despite the soft contours of her face, her voluptuous body that no amount of clothing could hide, and her sweeping blond hair, Atlas was astounded by something else entirely.


    She¡¯s¡­ strong, he thought, noticing even through the drug-induced cloud in his mind. He didn¡¯t know how he knew, but Atlas could feel the power radiating off her as she stopped in front of him and the police officer.


    ¡°Alright, ma¡¯am. But both you and the kid will have to sign that I¡¯ve released him into the custody of the Esper Foundation,¡± the officer said, holding out a clipboard. Atlas reached out to grab the pen she offered but his hand just couldn¡¯t seem to hold the pen correctly no matter how hard he tried.


    The woman in the pantsuit watched for a moment before she turned to the officer, the look on her face so stern it sent the uniformed woman stumbling back. ¡°What is the meaning of this?¡±


    ¡°Meaning of what, ma¡¯am?¡± The officer responded, sweat trailing down her forehead as an overwhelming pressure seemed to bear down on her.


    ¡°Not only do you have a future student of the school wearing one of those vile collars, you¡¯ve even pumped him full of mind-numbing drugs!¡± By the end, the woman was practically spitting with rage causing the poor policewoman to shrink even further.


    ¡°My¡­ choice¡­ for drugs. Collar¡­ not work¡­ Made pain¡­ hurt worse.¡± Atlas interjected, barely coherent enough to string the words together in a desperate attempt to defuse what even his addled mind could tell was a tense situation.


    The esper looked at him before letting out a sigh. ¡°Very well. I will accept your explanation¡­ for now. However, that doesn¡¯t mean you can stay like this. You¡¯re an esper now; Time to accept it.¡± She reached out and touched him on the shoulder for a moment. Atlas felt energy flow into his body, disperse the fog in his mind, and completely remove the drugs from his system.


    Atlas gasped in a deep breath as his head cleared for the first time in days. He hadn¡¯t fully appreciated the ability to complete a thought and comprehend everything around him. At the same time, he could now feel an uncomfortable pressure in his whole body like a hose with the opening blocked in an old Tom and Jerry cartoon. He tried to ignore the feeling as he took the clipboard and pen from the policewoman. He scratched out his signature and held the items to the woman next to him.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    Taking a hint, the esper took the pen and signed her own name before handing both the pen and the form back to the officer. While giving the esper a wary side-eye, the policewoman looked the form over before saying, ¡°Everything looks to be in order. Come here, kid.¡± She pulled a key from her belt as Atlas moved in front of her.


    She reached out and took off his handcuffs and gave Atlas a chance to rub his wrists and work some of the stiffness out of them. When he had, Atlas gave her a nod and lifted his chin to give her easy access to the collar. He felt as the key slid into the keyhole, followed by the tumblers turning, until finally, a click sounded out, loosening some of the tension around his neck. The officer¡¯s hands started shaking as she undid the clasp. Atlas looked the woman in the eyes as she finally pulled the collar off his neck and took a step back, almost as if she were afraid of him. He opened his mouth to ask her if she was okay, only to get cut off as he felt something in his body click into place, like he had been a puzzle with a piece stuck between two different spots and that piece had now been put in the right spot.


    Power that he had only faintly felt when it had happened rushed through his body, sweeping through his mind, muscles, nerve centers, organs, and veins before exploding out of him with terrifying ferocity. At first, it felt painfully euphoric, like he was stretching out a stiff limb and popping it back into place. Yet, the pain quickly began to grow and outpace everything else he felt, and a rush of sensations seemed to be sucked in and forced back out in an agonizing cycle. As Atlas opened his mouth in a silent scream, he lost control of all sensation and felt his mind being pulled back to the situation a few weeks before when all the madness had started.


    ~~~


    As she felt the boy¡¯s power about to erupt from him, Sharon unleashed her own aura and focused it into a shield that surrounded her and the policewoman. Sharon had to admit that she had not been expecting the sheer density and strength of Atlas¡¯s aura as his power was finally free to move through his body as it was intended to. For a newly awakened esper like him to already have an aura this strong was certainly promising. Sharon now understood why he had been restrained with both the collar and drugs. The collar had only been a Rank G collar, and the boy easily landed in mid-Rank F. It still made her shake with rage at the thought, though.


    Forcing her anger, she turned to the policewoman, whose skin had lost all luster and was covered in sweat from the stress of facing Atlas¡¯s aura and the brief flash from Sharon¡¯s anger earlier. Granted, that only made reaching into the woman¡¯s mind and pulling out her name easier. She could have gone deeper, but Sharon didn¡¯t want to tax Officer Renee Montoya¡¯s mind. It hadn¡¯t been her who had drugged the boy, after all.


    She snapped her fingers, drawing Montoya¡¯s attention before she spoke. ¡°Seeing as how it will take a moment for his body to acclimate, why don¡¯t you tell me more about how we reached this point, Officer Montoya?¡± She worked up that she had read the woman¡¯s mind to scare her enough to cooperate, even if finding someone¡¯s name was child¡¯s play for a Mind-based esper like her.


    ¡°I-I don¡¯t know what to tell you,¡± Montoya replied with a stammer. ¡°E-everything is in the report the Esper Foundation received from the Department.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but a police report is so impersonal. And I distinctly remember reading your name on the report, Renee,¡± Sharon smirked as she finished and both saw and felt the woman give in.


    ¡°How did you¡­¡± Stopping herself, Montoya let out a deep sigh as her shoulders slumped. ¡°Fine¡­¡±

 How it Began

    It hadn¡¯t seemed like a special day when he woke up. Same old alarm. Same old dorm room bed. Same old bleary eyes staring blankly into the mirror as the toothbrush buzzed across his teeth. Even still, something just felt off about everything he did.


    Perhaps against his better judgement, Atlas ignored the feeling and went about his day. He worked on a paper as the morning passed, turned in a response on a discussion board, and intermittently watched episodes from the 2001 Justice League until his alarm for the first class of the day went off. With the depression of a Monday morning compiled with the ever-increasing feeling of offness in everything he did, Atlas just knew it was going to be a shitty day.


    And a shitty day it was. The teacher for his first class of the day never showed up, having forgotten to cc him in the email, only to realize after class time had started that he had done so, but Atlas would still need to finish the 1000-word essay he¡¯d assigned in exchange for the free class period done by the end of the day. Then in his ceramics class, a fellow student had knocked over the project Atlas had been working on for the last week, sending it shattering across the ground. Atlas had just barely managed to restrain himself from killing the guy.


    Needless to say, Atlas was completely drained by the time dinner rolled around, and the headache pounding against his skull certainly didn¡¯t help matters. It seemed to be spreading too, going from his head down to the rest of his body. At a certain point, the pain had reached beyond physical and become an emotional ailment too. It almost felt like Atlas¡¯s very soul was screaming in pain. So, of course, that was when everything went to shit. Across the room, a loud crash rang out, causing everyone to turn and look. Against his better judgement, Atlas followed suit, and he could already see a problem on the way if the scared, food-covered woman standing in front of the school bully was anything to go by. Considering that everything had been just fine less than ten minutes before, he couldn¡¯t help but wonder what had happened.


    ~~~


    Sarah swiped her school ID into the cafeteria and started looking for an open spot, trying to keep her head down. She found one in the corner across from a boy who held his head like it was being torn apart. and set her backpack down, claiming it. She walked back and got in line for the spaghetti. She didn¡¯t really like tomato sauce, but it had the shortest line. She pulled up the hood on her sweatshirt as she grabbed a plate and put a small scoop of spaghetti with some broccoli on the side.


    She walked back towards her table thanking whatever gods existed for no problems when a voice called out behind her. ¡°Oh my god! Look who it is!¡± Sarah let out an embarrassing squeak as she warily turned around. Even though she knew whose voice she¡¯d heard, Sarah still felt her heart sink at the sight of Lara Young, the school queen bee and Sarah¡¯s tormentor. Standing behind her were two of Lara¡¯s ever-present gaggle of yes women, though Sarah didn¡¯t recognize either one.


    ¡°H-hi, Lara. H-how are you?¡± Even though she wanted to simultaneously cry and crawl into a hole and die, Sarah still tried to be polite. Lara would just make her life worse if she didn¡¯t.


    ¡°Sarah! Honey, why are you, like, acting so nervous?¡± Lara said with faux concern before a cruel smile crawled its way across her perfect face. She leaned in and whispered, ¡°Nothing¡¯s gonna happen to you as long as you did the homework for my psychology lecture today.¡±


    Sarah¡¯s eyes started to well up as her fear started to overwhelm her. ¡°Y-you never gave me any homework,¡± she squeaked out. What happened next surprised absolutely no one.


    Lara''s smile dropped and her brow furrowed. ¡°After all I¡¯ve done for you, you can¡¯t even do me one little favor?! You ungrateful little slut!¡± With an upward slap, Lara knocked Sarah¡¯s tray out of her hands and sent the spaghetti flying all over her. Lara put her hand over her mouth in an expression of fake remorse that fooled no one before she spoke in an overly loud voice. ¡°Oh my god! I am so sorry, Sarah.¡± In a much quieter voice, she added, ¡°Maybe next time you¡¯ll do what you¡¯re told, right?¡±


    Though every survival instinct in her body told her not to, Sarah couldn¡¯t stop herself. ¡°What else can you do to me? Kill me? You already make my life a living hell. Nothing else you do can possibly be worse!¡±The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°You think you¡¯re good enough to talk back to me, Adams?! You¡¯re getting awfully big for your britches, little girl. Especially for someone who¡¯s here on a school scholarship.¡± Lara¡¯s cruel smile flashed back on her face at her words.


    Sarah¡¯s face paled. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t,¡± she whispered in horror.


    ¡°You wanna bet? I own this school! No one¡¯s willing stick their neck out for a waste of space like you and risk pissing me off. I could beat you to a pulp right now, and no one would care! In fact¡­¡± Lara raised her hand and curled it into a fist.


    Sarah closed her eyes and prepared to take the punch, the risk of losing her scholarship taking all the fight from her. She waited for the strike to land¡­ and waited.


    She slowly opened her eyes to see a hand stopping Lara¡¯s arm right before her fist could hit Sarah¡¯s face. Sarah looked past the fist to see Lara¡¯s shocked face before her eyes moved to track the hand of her savior back to their face. It took her a second to see past the long, blond hair that covered the face of her savior and realize it was the boy from earlier.


    ¡°I think that¡¯s enough for today. Don¡¯t you, ladies?¡± Compared to the agonized expression he had worn when she¡¯d seen him only a short time ago, the boy now had a smug smirk.


    Lara ripped her arm from his grip and sneered. ¡°Driscol, what do you want?¡±


    ¡°Just a calm lunch. Now, are you gonna back down?¡± His voice dropped and almost seemed to reverberate in the air around them.


    ¡°You don¡¯t get to tell me what to do, Driscol. Between my boyfriend being the head athlete and Daddy being the head of the school board, I¡¯m untouchable. I¡¯m the queen of this school, and there¡¯s nothing you can do to stop me.¡± Despite her defiant words, Sarah thought she heard nervousness bleed into Lara¡¯s voice.


    ¡°Oh?¡± The boy, something Driscol, raised an eyebrow, and his smirk turned a touch colder as he leaned closer and his voice changed to a cruel whisper. ¡°Is that so? Then, I guess it doesn¡¯t matter if I start spreading those recordings from Freshman year.¡±


    ¡°You promised you wouldn¡¯t do anything with those,¡± Lara hissed back, all confidence gone.


    ¡°True, but what about those ones of your boyfriend with whats-her-name from the registrar¡¯s office? Oh! Oh! And that one I caught of ¡°Daddy¡± taking a cash ¡°bonus¡± when no one was around.¡± By the time he finished, Sarah could barely hear his voice much less the countless people trying to listen in. ¡°So, still think you¡¯re invincible, or are you willing to walk away and start playing nice with people? I don¡¯t like what I¡¯m doing, but don¡¯t think I¡¯m just going to let you and your little cult of elites torture everyone without repercussions.¡±


    Pale as a ghost, Lara could only nod before she backed away without another word and left. The boy watched her go for a moment before shaking his head and turning back to Sarah, whose eyes tracked him warily.


    ¡°Sorry about that. About the only way I know how to handle Lara these days. You okay?¡±


    She flinched a bit when he spoke but responded after pulling herself together. ¡°Y-yeah. Thanks for that. Aren¡¯t you scared of what she¡¯ll do to you though?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you worry about me. In case you couldn¡¯t tell, I can handle it.¡± He gave her a cocky smile before his expression changed and he snapped his fingers. ¡°Oh, that reminds me. What¡¯s your email?¡±


    A little stunned at the sudden change in topic, Sarah mumbled out her email before she realized it. ¡°Wait, what do you need it for?¡±


    ¡°Just giving you a little protection,¡± he responded before clicking something on his phone. ¡°There we go.¡± The buzzing in the back of her pocket let Sarah know that whatever his protection was, he had just sent it. ¡°See you around.¡± With a little two-fingered salute, the boy began walking off.


    Sarah was about to call out to him when he randomly spun around, causing all the eyes that had finally been about to give up spying to snap right back to him. ¡°I forgot to put away my plates!¡± Sarah couldn¡¯t help but giggle as everyone else nearly fell over at his words and could only watch with incredulity as he sprinted back to his seat and gathered his plates before leaving again, any sense of grace he had before now completely gone.


    After she watched him go, she gathered up her own stuff, deciding to head back to her dorm and change out of her spaghetti-covered clothes. After she deposited her plate, she remembered to check the email the boy had sent her. It was titled, Insurance and only had two video attachments that she could guess the contents based on what the boy had said. Taking one last look at the name of the sender, she muttered, ¡°Atlas, huh?¡± before exiting the dining hall with a big smile, for the first time feeling like some of her problems had finally been resolved.

 Why You Should Never Go to the Movies Alone after Blackmail

    Surprisingly, Atlas¡¯s headache had almost completely disappeared when he had stepped in between Sarah and Lara in the cafeteria. He remembered how quickly he had moved and how when he had spoken the air itself had rumbled with the released pain. He certainly didn¡¯t understand it, but he wasn¡¯t going to question whatever weird psychosomatic pain relief experience he¡¯d had, especially when it came to getting in the way of Lara Young¡¯s constant bullying. Atlas couldn¡¯t help but feel a little bad when he thought back to the look on her face when he mentioned her boyfriend¡¯s ¡°extracurricular activities.¡± He imagined that Lara¡¯s boyfriend would soon be her ex-boyfriend.


    His phone¡¯s buzzing broke him from the thoughts of his ex-friend. He pulled it out from his pocket and checked the screen. He saw Sarah¡¯s name on the email and smiled as he clicked on it. He couldn¡¯t help but chuckle as he read the overly long thank you email, knowing that he would probably have put too much thought into it too if he had been in her position. He sent a quick response and picked up his pace for his next class. Atlas was just grateful it was his last one for the day.


    He was taking notes and watching the last few minutes of class tick away on the clock in the corner when he felt his phone buzzed in his back pocket. Trying not to let his professor see him, he reached into his back pocket and pulled out his phone, using his laptop as a shield. Thankfully, it was nothing important, just the reminder for the movie that night that he had pre-ordered tickets for. He slipped his phone back into his pocket just as the professor decided to wrap everything up. Atlas just sighed in relief as he packed his laptop and notebook up, his headache starting to come back with a vengeance. When he got back to his dorm, he popped back an ibuprofen and opened his laptop to get to work.


    For the next few hours, Atlas worked on some homework until his alarm went off. He shut his laptop and stood up. He grabbed his jacket as he walked out the door, avoiding looking at the mirror, only to spin around and grab his room key from where it had fallen to the floor. ¡°Whew, that could have been bad.¡± He thought for a second about grabbing his car keys and driving to the theater now that he was back in his room. ¡°Nah. It¡¯s only October,¡± he said before walking out to the hallway and letting his door come to a slow, creaking shut behind him.


    The walk to the movie theater only took five minutes, and he took the time to pull up his ticket on his phone and send a quick check-in text to his mom. As he slipped his phone back into his pocket, he realized that he was already in front of the movie theater. He opened the door for a couple coming in right behind him before following behind them. Pulling his phone back out, he showed his ticket to the attendant who directed him to a theater on the second floor. He stepped on the escalator as he felt someone¡¯s eyes boring into him. He looked around the room as he rose, confused as to why anyone would want to stare at him. However, not seeing anyone looking at him, he just shook his head and waited till the escalator carried him to the top. As he stepped off and made his way to the right room, he put the feeling out of his mind, not wanting to bring back his headache.


    For the next two hours, Atlas put any concerns about Lara or school or anything else out of his mind. He let himself get lost in the movie, and when the ending credits started, he let out a sigh of contentment as he stood up. ¡°Damn good movie,¡± he said out loud before he realized it. He looked around to make sure no one had heard him. ¡°Whew. Talk to yourself too much and people are gonna realize I¡¯m not as sane as I look,¡± he said before letting out a self-deprecating chuckle and walking out.


    He shivered as he exited the cinema doors. He pulled on his jacket as he started walking. Atlas glanced at the different shopfronts as he walked through town, enjoying the laughter and giggling screams of kids as they walked hand in hand with their parents, faces lit a warm orange by the grated hearth fires spread across town. He passed by a pizza place when a shot of pain blasted through his head, causing him to stumble as he grabbed at his head with an agonized moan.


    Atlas ducked into the nearest alley and fell against a dumpster desperately trying to hold in his screams. Tears began to well up in his eyes as he struggled to stand up against the overwhelming agony. Distracted by the pain in his head, Atlas didn¡¯t notice the footsteps coming up behind him. A vague sense of unease was all he had the time and ability to notice before a fist crashed into his cheek and knocked him to the ground.


    Atlas tried to blink through the pain so he could see who hit him. When the face of his aggressor came into focus, Atlas groaned even louder than he had been. ¡°Agghhh¡­ Hello to you too, Jason.¡±


    ¡°Shut it, you little shit!¡± The broad-shouldered linebacker snarled down at him. ¡°You just had to tell her didn¡¯t you, Driscol?¡±


    ¡°Uhng¡­ Which is it, Jason? You want me to shut up or answer your question? I can¡¯t really do both now, can I?¡± Even with as much pain as he felt, Atlas couldn¡¯t keep his mouth shut. That earned him a swift and solid kick to the side. With a yelp, Atlas couldn¡¯t help but curl in a ball in pain.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    ¡°Last chance, dweeb. Why¡¯d you tell Lara about my fun, huh? I wasn¡¯t hurting nobody.¡±


    ¡°You keep telling yourself that, Jason. Doesn¡¯t make you any less of a POS for cheating on your girlfriend, even if she is a witch like Lara. Ack!¡± Atlas cried out again as Jason dropped down on him and threw a fist into his exposed kidney. It hurt so bad Atlas didn¡¯t even notice the pressure in his skull get joined by one in his chest. ¡°Besides, even if she¡¯s a different person here, she was a friend at one point. This balanced that karma as far as I¡¯m concerned,¡± he forced out through gritted teeth.


    Jason let out a surprised laugh before mocking the boy cowering beneath him. ¡°That¡¯s it?! Hope it was worth it, punk because I¡¯m gonna pound you into the ground now.¡± With those words, he seemed to throw all concerns to the wind and pummeled Atlas relentlessly.


    Atlas tried to fight back, but the pain had reached the point of complete debilitation with whatever was beating against his head and chest from the inside actually hurting worse than the fists of the 260-pound jock on top of him. He could feel some paper-thin barrier deep inside growing closer to crack. For some reason he didn¡¯t understand, that scared him worse than what was happening to the outside of his body. He started desperately trying to push the larger man off of him, but his out-of-shape body was no match for the frenzied rage of¡ª


    Crack.


    At the very thought of the linebacker¡¯s rage, Atlas felt that barrier inside get covered in hairline fractures. Unnoticed, strange red threads connected him to Jason before being swept away by a sudden surge of rage that left the edges of his vision tinted red. That same rage flooded Atlas with strength which he used to throw Jason off and further into the alley.


    ¡°Finally grow a spine, eh, twerp? Well, let me show you how a real man fights,¡± Jason said, standing up and taking a boxing position with both hands up.


    Completely swept up in the rage that had possessed his body, Atlas could only bull-rush his bully without a hint of skill or finesse. Even though each hit Atlas managed to land carried the force of five of his usual blows, Jason fought him off with ease, landing haymaker after haymaker as Atlas charged him over and over. It seemed like Atlas was rushing to his own beat down until one of Jason¡¯s fists crashed right into Atlas¡¯s temple.


    Crack! The fractures in the barrier expanded into full cracks, and thin threads once again spread out undetected in the fight until they reached whatever destination and turned a light yellow that grew almost toxically bright as it grew closer to Atlas. Though they disappeared completely as soon as the yellow touched Atlas, their work was done.


    Atlas began to giggle ominously before it grew into a mad cackle. His movements changed, turning more unpredictable. It threw Jason off his game. His angry smirk slipped into an uncomfortable grimace, and his punches started to falter and miss as he could no longer keep up with Atlas. Whereas before Atlas had been a bull blindly charging, he now acted like a hyena, each strike cruel and unpredictable yet still powered by his previous rage as his cruel cackles filled the alley.


    The tables had completely turned, and soon, Jason could no longer keep up. Driven up against a wall, he could only slide to the ground and curl up into a ball not so different from the one he had forced Atlas into only a short time before. Atlas could practically taste the fear coming off the bigger man.


    CRASH!


    What remained of the cracked barrier inside him, shattered to pieces, and the fear that he had just been tasting of all things came rushing in to fight the rage and insane giddiness inside him. It completely broke the hold the foreign emotions held over him and caused him to drop to the ground as the conflicting emotions seemed to tear up not just his heart and mind but his very soul as well. In a moment of desperation, Atlas tried forcing the emotions out.


    For a moment, it seemed to work, but Atlas quickly noticed Jason start to seize on the ground. The shock caused him to lose whatever control he¡¯d held, and the emotions came rushing back, only this time they weren¡¯t alone. Alongside the already maddening concoction that had been inside before, he felt additions of overwhelming sadness, confusion, and several other emotions he couldn¡¯t even identify.


    Atlas dropped to the ground and began to shake from the weight of the strange emotional overload running through him. Even if he couldn¡¯t stand the jock recovering next to him, Atlas refused to let him get any more affected by whatever this was. It was all he could do to force his head in Jason¡¯s direction and gasp out ¡°Run!¡± Jason, barely recovered enough to hear him, could only limply nod before he took off running. Atlas could only let out a weak chuckle at the irony of him letting Jason go from the alley he¡¯d been attacked in before he passed out, and his power took free reign on his body and soul.

 Entering the Foundation

    Gritting his teeth, Atlas forced the memories away. He didn¡¯t need to see a police-accompanied Esper put that damn collar on him anyway nor did he want to experience his drug-laden time in the hospital. He tried to stop the energy surging from him, but he couldn¡¯t control it no matter how much he struggled. If anything, the power surging out had grown stronger since the force surging through him had awakened, as if angered by its suppression.


    Atlas could feel his hold growing weaker as whatever powers surged through his body fought to regain control. His muscles strained from fighting against the foreign instincts running rampant through his body, and his head pounded from pressure as emotions not fully his own ran through him. The pain was beginning to overwhelm his mind, and spots popped up in his vision as the edges turned gray.


    Why am I fighting this? He thought. All the pain would go away if I just¡­ gave in¡­


    At the thought, Atlas¡¯s eyes widened. For the first time since his powers had awakened, the anger he felt came completely from him. ¡°No way in hell!¡± He shouted out as he pushed himself to his knees. He didn¡¯t have any idea of what to do, but with all the strength he had left, he let loose a scream of frustration. The only thought on his mind was trapping the aura of energy back in his body.


    He didn¡¯t even have the strength to wonder if it was possible or doing anything. Soon even the thought itself lost coherency, and all that remained was a defiant refusal to give in to something else. His vision grew dimmer, and when he seemed to lose the fight, he finally felt the power break first. It lost its color and shifted to a sharp, electric purple. In the inverse of how it had been released, the aura pulled back into Atlas¡¯s body, and with it, all the strength he had spent came rushing back into his body. He could tell that it was still there, just locked away putting a strange pressure deep within him.


    At the same time, he felt strangely better than he had even before the power had appeared. He felt complete like a part of him that had been suppressed had been released. However, that just made him realize something else. ¡°You were testing me, weren¡¯t you?¡± He muttered, even though he didn¡¯t get an answer back. He didn¡¯t need one.


    A clapping behind him reminded him that he had an audience. He turned and looked at the two women, unencumbered by drugs, suppression collar, or strange influences for the first time. He raised his eyebrow when he saw them standing about ten feet further back than when the power had broken free. The Hispanic officer who had brought him here, Officer Montoya if he remembered right, stood behind the blonde in the pantsuit who had yet to introduce herself. The blonde was the one clapping.


    ¡°I must say, Mr. Driscol. That was an impressive demonstration, especially for an esper who hasn¡¯t fully awakened to their powers yet.¡± Though her words were complimentary, her tone held a mocking lilt to it, and Atlas couldn¡¯t help but feel condescended to, like a child who had just shown a parent their crayon drawing.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Still, anti-social as he was, he knew taking the compliment offered the best way forward on whatever was going to happen next. ¡°Thank you, Miss¡­¡± He trailed off.


    The woman took the hint. ¡°Ah, my apologies. How rude of me. My name is Sharon Helsing. I¡¯m the director of student affairs, and depending on the choices you make, I may be one of your professors this semester.¡± Despite her words, she didn¡¯t seem the least bit apologetic, and Atlas got the feeling that the second part of her introduction held more significance than it first seemed.


    Rather than commenting on it, he turned his attention to Officer Montoya. ¡°I¡¯m sorry if I caused any inconvenience or distress. I haven¡¯t exactly been in my right mind since all this began.¡± He tried to smile at her, but he was sure it came out as more of a grimace.


    She stepped out from behind Director Helsing and walked over to Atlas. ¡°No worries kid. I don¡¯t really know what just happened, but it seems like you''re doing better.¡±


    Atlas let out a light chuckle. ¡°Yeah, I think I am. Thank you.¡± He tipped his head in thanks and held out his hand.


    Officer Montoya took it and gave him a firm shake. ¡°You¡¯re welcome. Take care of yourself,¡± she said before she reached into the pocket of her uniform and pulled something out. ¡°Give me a call if you¡¯re ever back in town and need some help. As a member of the Siren City police force, I¡¯d be happy to help.¡± Atlas took the card and nodded.


    Officer Montoya turned to Director Helsing. ¡°It was a pleasure to meet you, Sharon. I appreciate you shielding me from¡­ whatever just happened. It¡¯s nice to know who to call if Siren City has any more esper incidents.¡±


    ¡°The pleasure was mine, Rene. I found our conversation quite¡­ informative. Have a safe journey back to Siren City.¡± Atlas couldn¡¯t help but notice that any resentment over the drugs or suppression collar had seemingly disappeared, making him wonder what the two had talked about while he¡¯d been dealing with whatever he had been dealing with.


    He watched as Officer Montoya walked back to her car. As she opened the door to get in, he called out, ¡°Thanks for visiting me in the hospital!¡±


    A look of surprise crossed her face before quickly being replaced by a smile. ¡°You just stay out of trouble!¡± She shouted back before getting back in her car.


    Unable to resist, Atlas retorted, ¡°No promises!¡± He saw Officer Montoya just shake her head and smirk before driving off. He watched her car for a moment before turning to Director Helsing, who had moved to his side during the exchange.


    ¡°Shall I show you to the office, Mr. Driscol?¡± She asked, her tone still tinted with a mocking lilt.


    ¡°Lead the way,¡± he responded, gesturing her forward with a mock bow. Two could play at that game.


    Director Helsing¡¯s eyes widened for a second before she smiled. Atlas got the impression that he had impressed her. ¡°Right this way, then.¡±


    Atlas grinned at the small victory as he followed her into the building.

 The Tour

    ¡°Though the Esper Foundation is comprised of espers from across the country and primarily aims to train them in the safe use of their powers, we also offer training in a variety of fields for those who don¡¯t wish to do what the less informed call ¡®Superhero work,¡¯¡± Sharon said as she held the door open for Atlas, trying to give an introduction to the Foundation without giving too much information away before she took him to the headmistress.


    After Atlas nodded in understanding, she continued. ¡°If you take the option of enrolling here, you can either follow the track that espers are more traditionally associated with, protecting the citizens, or you can choose to take courses that guide you in how to use your powers in civilian roles.¡± Sharon could tell Atlas found that the school wasn¡¯t single-track interesting, but she couldn¡¯t tell which he was more inclined toward. However, if her experiences with every young adult, especially young men, who came through here were anything to go by, he would choose to try the former. Unfortunately, in her experience, most young men who did so vastly overestimated their abilities, and if they survived the experience, they often switched tracks. It was that expectation that led to Atlas¡¯s next question catching her off guard.


    ¡°You keep mentioning options and the choice of enrolling here. Does that mean there¡¯s a third option?¡± he asked. Her eyebrow raised in silent surprise, Sharon observed the boy for a moment and allowed her powers the barest glance of his thoughts. To her surprise, Atlas was sincerely open-minded about his options. Of course, like any young man his age, he found the idea of being a hero attractive, but it wasn¡¯t all-consuming like for most students who found themselves in the Esper Foundation. What pleased her even further was that Atlas, despite clearly finding her attractive, had yet to think any of the less-than-pleasing thoughts that she got from some of his gender.


    Her opinion of Atlas rising by the second, she gave him a smile she had trained over her career in the Foundation. She felt a small trill of amusement when she read the annoyance that crossed his mind as she did so. ¡°That is for the headmistress to discuss with you. However, no matter your choice, I am sure you will continue to surprise me.¡±


    Sharon started walking again from where they had paused, leaving Atlas to catch up. She heard him let out an annoyed sigh and follow after her, causing her to chuckle before she resumed the brief tour on the way to the headmistress¡¯s office. She pointed out the gymnasium/training gym, computer lab, and art studios. To her surprise, the latter caught his attention far more than the others. His reaction reminded her of something in his file.


    ¡°You are a Studio Art minor, no? Would you like a glimpse of the studios before we go to the headmistress''s office?¡± She asked.


    To her surprise, Atlas shook his head. ¡°No thanks. I¡¯d rather not go in if I don¡¯t have the time to at least experiment with the clay or paint. Thank you for the offer, though.¡±


    She smiled. ¡°No problem at all. Don¡¯t be afraid to use whatever facilities are available to you, should you stay.¡±


    Atlas nodded. ¡°Thank you. I look forward to it.¡±


    ¡°In that case, let¡¯s continue,¡± she said as she began leading him further into the building. Though she did point out a couple of points of interest they passed along the way, the two seemed to have reached an unspoken consensus that any further in-depth introduction to the school could wait until Atlas had made whatever choice she kept referencing. Sharon had to admit that the boy had impressed her continuously since she had met him less than an hour before, both in the will he had shown when fighting his overwhelming power for control and the maturity he¡¯d demonstrated since.


    The most test is still to come, however. Even if the boy before her made the choice she imagined he would when they met with the headmistress, he would still have to prove he could withstand the pressure that would follow. I just hope he can handle it. With what¡¯s coming, we¡¯ll need all the help we can get.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ~~~


    After another five minutes of navigating the halls of the Esper Foundation, Atlas began to wonder if they would ever reach the headmistress¡¯s office. The size of the building impressed him as the inside seemed to expand much more than the outside made possible.


    ¡°How did you make the inside so much larger than the outside?¡± He asked Director Helsing who only smiled in response. Atlas felt his cheeks heat up. ¡°Ah, right. Esper powers. Please pretend I asked a much less obvious question.¡±


    Helsing chuckled at his embarrassment, whatever dark thoughts that Atlas had noticed before gone for now. ¡°No, no. It¡¯s a fair question. It¡¯s done through a process called Esper Energy Enhancement and Infusion of Materials.¡±


    ¡°Quite a mouthful,¡± Atlas said in a dry tone.


    ¡°Indeed. For that reason, some of those who worked on gave it the colloquial name ¡®Enchantment.¡¯ Certainly a more convenient name, and an easy-to-understand comparison to what happens during the process. The enchantments here at the Foundations cover a wide range of functions, including expanding the interior far more than the dimensions of the building.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s pretty impressive,¡± Atlas said, though he wished he knew more about it so he could continue the conversation. Still, he meant what he said. He could only imagine having abilities strong and useful enough to help people. His just caused him to collapse from feeling emotions.


    Unaware of his internal self-deprecation, Helsing stopped and opened the door to a well-decorated waiting room with plush chairs, two doors leading into offices on each side for the two Directors under the headmistress, and a receptionist desk manned by a guy not much older than Atlas with black hair had streaks of yellow reminiscent of lightning bolts. Director Helsing smiled at the man as she and Atlas walked in.


    ¡°Good afternoon, Liam. Is the headmistress still in?¡±


    Liam smiled back. ¡°Welcome back, Director Helsing. She just got back from her rounds.¡±


    ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll go ahead and take Atlas in to introduce him to her.¡± At her words, Liam''s eyes drifted to Atlas. Without exchanging a word, the two gave each other nods in recognition before Liam focused back on Helsing.


    ¡°Actually, she instructed me to inform Atlas to head in alone. There¡¯s been a development with Beta Squad on the coast, and it needs your attention.¡± Liam¡¯s face turned serious, a reflection of the severe look that had taken residence on Director Helsing¡¯s face.


    A moment later, she turned to Atlas. ¡°I must apologize for not being able to complete your welcome to the school.¡±


    ¡°No worries.¡± Atlas felt too confused by the sudden change in tone to say anything else.


    ¡°Should you decide to stay with us, I am sure we will have the chance to finish our tour, but if you don¡¯t, it was a pleasure meeting you.¡± With a slight grin, Helsing walked into her office without giving Atlas the chance to respond. He looked at Liam for some guidance on what to do now.


    Liam gave him a sympathetic smile and said, ¡°Just head on in. The headmistress is waiting for you.¡± He turned back to the computer.


    Atlas looked on in shock before looking toward the ornate double doors he had neglected to focus on earlier. He walked over and reached out to grab the door handle, but his instincts went into overdrive, screaming out a warning of the danger of whatever was behind the door. Far stronger than the feeling of staring at a loaded gun Sharon Helsing had aroused, Atlas could tell that whoever waited behind this door was more akin to a nuclear bomb, ready to detonate at any moment.

 Threatening Choice

    Atlas knew that fear was the natural response to such power. He could feel the power calling for the submission of all who witnessed. It demanded obedience and respect from those weaker its source, and yet¡­


    Atlas smiled. His power, silent since he¡¯d pushed it away, roared to the forefront, bolstering the defiance that the oppressive force had aroused. He grabbed the door handle and twisted, walking into the room with his head held high.


    That confidence lasted all of two seconds when he entered the room. From outside the room, the aura forced those to acknowledge they were entering the territory of someone far above them. From inside, it told them they stood on the holy ground of a goddess and should worship as such lest they be branded a heretic.


    Fortunately, Atlas wore the brand of heretic with pride. He gathered his will as his powers continued to act contrary to how they¡¯d first appeared, boosting him, and walked to one of the chairs in front of the origin of the tyrannic aura, a confident smirk on his face. He could feel the woman behind the desk observing him, but he slowly looked around the room and took in all the decorations. After over a minute, he finally focused on the headmistress.


    Smirk still in place despite the ever-increasing impression pressure of the woman¡¯s aura, Atlas said, ¡°Quite the room you have here. Got a real Professor X meets Lara Croft vibe going on. Could use a little more natural light, though.¡±


    The headmistress stared at him for a moment in disbelief before she raised an eyebrow. ¡°You know, most people who come to see me show me a little respect.¡±


    Atlas¡¯s smirk twisted into an impetuous snarl at her words. ¡°Respect is earned, lady, and all you¡¯ve done so far is crush me with whatever weird-ass vibes you¡¯re letting off. Not exactly respectful behavior.¡± Atlas took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down when he finished talking. Even if the stress from the constant shift in circumstances had caught up to him, losing his head wouldn¡¯t help here.


    The woman across from him stared at him for long enough to make him more uncomfortable than he already felt before her cold expression morphed into a small smile. The pressure in the room abated as she said, ¡°Just so, Mr. Driscol. Please accept my apologies.¡±


    Caught off-guard by her sudden tone shift, Atlas hesitated before saying, ¡°Uh¡­ Of course, no harm done. Would be great if you could tell me what I¡¯m doing here, though.¡± Atlas could hear the desperation in his voice at finally getting some answers.


    Other than a slight chuckle, the headmistress ignored how pathetic Atlas knew he sounded. ¡°Of course. Where should I start?¡± She tapped her finger against her chin in thought.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    ¡°A name would be great,¡± Atlas interjected, tired of calling the woman ¡°the headmistress¡± in his head.


    ¡°Ah, yes. My name is Andrea Arellano, and I lead recruitment and training for the Esper Foundation. I also help with the adjustment of newly awakened espers whose powers are of a¡­ less predictable nature.¡±


    ¡°You mean powers that are just as likely to cause them to off themselves as they are actually to do something useful,¡± Atlas said bluntly.


    ¡°Perhaps not how I would have put it, but yes. I work to find those who might cause more harm than good if left unchecked. That¡¯s especially true if they get found by the less savory players of esper society.¡±


    ¡°You mean the Oracles of the End,¡± Atlas guessed. At his words, the air in the room went dead silent. He could feel the tension rolling off Arellano at the mention of the esper supremacy terrorist group.


    ¡°I¡¯ll thank you not to mention those monsters, Mr. Driscol,¡± she forced out, her tone clipped and cold. Her oppressive aura, which she skillfully controlled even before he entered the room, became erratic and overpowering. Atlas felt like a guest who risked offending a foreign ruler. Now he ran the risk of being sentenced to execution.


    As sweat began to run down his back at the feeling, Atlas¡¯s logical mind screamed at him to let it go and back off the topic, but he had never been one to listen to logic when it came to opening his mouth. ¡°You have experience with them, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I do, and that¡¯s all you need to know for now. Anything more will only complicate the rest of this conversation.¡± A tacit warning hid beneath her terse tone, but Atlas was grateful enough that she at least pulled her aura back under control.


    Atlas watched her warily for a moment as his heart slowly came back under control. He let out a shaky breath as he rubbed his chest and said, ¡°You know, I¡¯ve heard that there¡¯s this whole career based on helping with anger issues. You should check one out.¡±


    She glared at him and flared her aura for less than a second before she stopped and chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re quite impudent, aren¡¯t you? It¡¯s a refreshing difference from the amount of people who instantly capitulate the moment they get a whiff of my powers.¡±


    ¡°I blame it on being a dumbass at heart, really helps with the whole not giving a fuck thing. Besides, life is so much more interesting when you actually tell people the truth. Enough about me being an idiot, though. You were saying something about the rest of our little chat. I¡¯m guessing that includes whatever choice Director Helsing kept referencing to oh so mysteriously,¡± Atlas said, his tone growing especially dry at the end as his annoyance at the woman¡¯s vagueness bled through.


    Arellano shook her head and sighed in exasperation. ¡°That girl,¡± she muttered before addressing his statement. ¡°Yes, the choice she talked about is one of my duties and a pretty important one at that.¡±


    ¡°And that choice would be¡­?¡± Atlas encouraged, annoyed with how Director Helsing and Headmistress Arellano delayed telling him the supposedly massive choice.


    The latter chuckled at his impatience but her mirth quickly died as her expression shifted and her tone took on a heavy gravitas. ¡°The choice of whether or not to keep your powers and become one of the illustrious superheroes that you¡¯ve no doubt seen on the news.¡±


    When she didn¡¯t continue, Atlas prodded her forward by saying, ¡°Or?¡±


    ¡°Or having your powers permanently stripped away and facing a possible assault charge for what you did to that boy from your school?¡±

 Connection Established

    Atlas blinked. He stared at Andrea with visible confusion. He couldn¡¯t have that right, could he? ¡°You¡¯ve got to be fucking kidding me!¡± He was on his feet before he noticed.


    ¡°Language, Mr. Driscol,¡± she scolded before she continued speaking. ¡°And I can assure you that your situation is anything but a joke.¡±


    ¡°¡®My situation,¡¯¡± Atlas snarked, putting up air quotes, ignoring the first part of her statement. ¡°That bastard attacked me first, the fucking prick, and if not for my powers, who knows what would have happened!¡± Unnoticed in his rage, the pressure the headmistress controlled rolled over Atlas as it tried to suppress him, only to be forced back as a red glow surrounded Atlas and fought it back.


    While Arellano certainly felt impressed by the potency of the boy¡¯s aura, she did not stop and increased it to the point that Atlas¡¯s rage could not fight back. As if a boulder had been placed on his chest, his breath grew shallow and reedy, and he dropped back into the chair with a wheeze. The headmistress watched him for a moment before speaking. ¡°There is something that you obviously don¡¯t understand, Atlas,¡± she said in a gentle tone that surprised Atlas but did nothing to calm the defiance in his eyes. ¡°When you became an esper, you lost some of the basic rights that every human is afforded, including self-defense against normal humans. The moment your aura touched him, the fight went from a conflict between two people to an esper attacking a human with excessive force.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s bullshit,¡± Atlas spat out through gritted teeth.


    ¡°I agree, but that is the world we live in, at least until espers become more populous. Your particular brand of power certainly doesn¡¯t help.¡±


    ¡°What the hell does that mean?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s inconsequential unless you choose to join us,¡± she said with a small smirk.


    Atlas knew she intended to wind him up, but he couldn¡¯t stop himself. ¡°It¡¯s not a fucking choice! Either I live the rest of my life as a soldier enslaved to you people, or I get a part of me torn out as I¡¯m locked away for something that wasn¡¯t¡­ that wasn¡¯t even my fault.¡± Just hearing himself say it washed away his anger, and hopelessness overwhelmed him as he slumped back in his chair, and his voice broke at the end.


    Andrea released him after waiting a moment to see if he would start fighting again, and Atlas¡¯s breathing began to even out. She watched him for a moment more before she said, ¡°It might not be as bad as you think. Espers who participate in the Earth¡¯s defense earn prestige, money, and quite a bit of fame, and they never have to worry about material needs again.¡± She took Atlas¡¯s continued silence as a sign to continue. ¡°Aside from the more mundane rewards, you will become stronger than anyone you¡¯ve ever known. Should you push yourself and prove to have some level of talent as an esper, you could even reach a level of power similar to Director Helsing. How does that sound?¡± Finished with her spiel, Arellano sat back and let Atlas process her offer, his head down.


    He remained silent for well over a minute as a clock on one of her bookshelves ticked away the seconds. She pressed her palms against the arms of her chair to stand up and check to make sure he was all right when he lifted his head and met her eyes. Her breath sucked in as she saw the resolve in his eyes. She knew his choice before he even spoke.


    ¡°Fuck off.¡±


    His voice was soft but firm, carrying the conviction of a hardened warrior. Andrea, sure she knew what he meant, asked anyway. ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡±


    Atlas gave a dark little chuckle. ¡°Fuck off with your offer.¡± He stood up, and even though Andrea tried to force him back down with her power, he acted as if he didn¡¯t notice it. ¡°I¡¯ve been here at least ten minutes, and all you¡¯ve done is push me down, threaten me, and tell me that the reward for selling my soul is money and power. Well, fuck your offer, lady!¡± The boy''s aura began to swell once again, but now it felt strong and clear. No longer tainted by the Atlas¡¯s anger, rather his anger boosted the aura and fought off any of Andrea¡¯s influence. ¡°My life is my own, and I refuse to give that up to you or anyone else, nor am I going to become some attack dog that you point at your enemies to kill.¡± Andrea watched as his aura seemed to grow stronger and covered more area until it pressed against her shelves and caused them to shake. She began making out what appeared to be thin threads made of energy in that aura as Atlas continued to speak. ¡°I refuse, and if that means that I have to live with you ripping something out of me and go to jail then so be it.¡± With his final words, Atlas¡¯s aura pulled back into his body as he let out a heaving breath, though even with his aura gone he stood despite Andrea releasing a portion of her own aura. She couldn¡¯t help but be impressed as an idea wormed its way into her mind.


    ~~~


    Atlas watched the woman in front of him warily as his chest heaved up and down from the effort of what he¡¯d just done. The silence that filled the room was heavy, and he quickly realized what he had just done. He had told a powerful woman who could obviously crush him like a bug to ¡°fuck right off¡± before taunting her and goading her to rip something out of him. Granted, he meant every word of it, but what the hell had he been thinking?!


    A snicker broke Atlas out of his internal panic. He looked at the only possible source of the noise, convinced he¡¯d heard wrong. After another second, Arellano snickered again, only this time it continued, and before long, the snickering grew into a true laugh and from there into a mad cackle. It scared the shit out of Atlas.


    I¡¯m absolutely fucked, aren¡¯t I? He thought, unwilling to interrupt the cackling witch.


    After another minute of the terrifying cackle, and Atlas continued each second in fear, Arellano finally calmed down enough to take a deep breath. She took a moment to sit up straight and wipe away a tear. She took one more deep breath to steady herself and looked at Atlas.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Here it comes, Atlas silently bemoaned. He desperately tried to keep a straight face.


    ¡°I¡¯ve changed my mind. You¡¯re far too interesting to just let go, Mr. Driscol. I think I¡¯ll keep you.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Atlas¡¯s mind short-circuited. He tried to replay what she said in his mind, and it still didn¡¯t work. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, what?¡±


    Arellano chuckled at his confusion. ¡°Allow me to explain myself. Each professor or Director is allowed to pick a student who matches their philosophies and powers to take under their wing and train them for the future. As of now, I have been unable to find someone who fits those criteria. Until now that is.¡±


    Atlas¡¯s confusion turned to irritation. ¡°You¡¯re not listening to me. I already said I¡¯m not going to be your fucking attack dog.¡±


    ¡°Mr. Driscol, we will definitely have to do something about that mouth of yours. You''re not listening to me. I don¡¯t want an attack dog. I want you.¡± She leaned forward, and as she looked at him, Atlas felt vulnerable in a completely different way than he had the rest of the day. It felt like she could see straight through to his soul.


    ¡°What? Why?¡± He questioned as he pulled his chair back in and sat down again.


    ¡°Even aside from the fact that you very obviously have potential as a soul-based esper, you didn¡¯t take my offer. That is something that most would have done even without the threat of power loss and imprisonment.¡±


    There was too much in her statement that Atlas couldn¡¯t follow so he focused on the one part he could. ¡°Are you saying it was all a test? That I wasn¡¯t going to go to jail and get my powers taken?¡±


    Arellano shook her head. ¡°Not at all. The threat was quite serious. This meeting was a test, however. I needed to see if the power you hold had gone to the wrong person. It did not.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean? I don¡¯t care what you say about me. I¡¯m not a soldier or one of you superhero-for-hires, and I certainly don¡¯t plan on signing a deal with the devil to become one.¡±


    ¡°If you accept my proposition, Mr. Driscol, I will not be turning you into one of the superheroes that land on the ten o¡¯clock news. No, I will help you become a leader on the real front lines protecting the Earth.¡±


    ¡°Protect it from what?¡±


    ¡°There are certain agreements in place that prevent me from revealing any more until you¡¯ve awakened fully as an esper, but I can tell you that those crime fighters are more of a public front than anything else.¡±


    ¡°Why me? I¡¯m no hero. I¡¯m barely a good surface!¡± Atlas only grew more confused at this complete change in the conversation.


    ¡°Let¡¯s say I have a hunch, and I like to believe in my hunches. However, I can understand your hesitancy in committing yourself to something you do not understand. In that case, what would you say to agree to one year? Give me that long to show you what I see in you. If at the end of that time, you are convinced this life isn¡¯t right for you, you can be transferred to the course track for students returning to civilian life. How does that sound?¡± Atlas¡¯s indecision must have shown on his face because she continued. ¡°Atlas.¡± He jumped at the sound of his first name, and as he looked deep into her eyes, he saw her vulnerability. ¡°Please give me the chance to show you what you can do.¡±


    He stared at her for a moment before letting out a deep sigh. He could feel his powers guiding him toward a choice, and he agreed with them. ¡°Okay,¡± he said. ¡°One year.¡±


    Arellano smiled at him before she said, ¡°Thank you, Atlas.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah,¡± he muttered, feeling self-conscious at her overt sincerity. ¡°What do I have to do?¡±


    ¡°Well, Mr. Driscol, it¡¯s quite simple,¡± she started, the moment of vulnerability passed. ¡°All you need to do is grab this and think, ¡®Yes.¡¯¡± As she spoke, she pulled something out from her desk and set it between them. She didn¡¯t say anything more, leaving the decision to him.


    Atlas looked at the object in confusion. It looked like a gemstone but not one that Atlas had ever seen before. It seemed to change colors shifting from ruby-red, to emerald-green, to sapphire-blue before continuing through the rest of the rainbow and beyond. Atlas reached out to grab it, but he stopped right before he touched it. He glanced at Arellano one last time, and receiving a small nod from her, he committed.


    ¡°Fuck it,¡± he muttered and grabbed the gemstone.


    He instantly regretted it as it felt as if an electric current ran wild through his body, burning away everything within. He almost dropped the gem, but he could just barely make out Arellano saying something.


    ¡°Push through, Atlas. You can do this, embrace who you are.¡±


    Taking her words to heart, he gritted his teeth and brought his left hand to join his right on the gemstone before lifting it off the desk. That only increased the pain, and he only barely managed to hold on as he screamed out in pain. Following some gut instinct, he grunted and brought it close to his chest, and with one final cry of effort, he shoved it into his chest right over his.


    That pushed him over the edge, and he dropped off his chair, writhing in pain. He thought he heard Arellano shout something, but he could no longer hear her over the sound of his own screams. He thought he might die. No, he wanted to die, if only to escape the pain. The only consolation he had came in the hallucinations that flashed across his eyes as words.


    Wait. Atlas forced himself to reread the words.


    PARTIAL AWAKENING DETECTED


    PROCEED WITH COMPLETION


    YES


    NO


    Unable to think about why video game-esque text had just appeared, Atlas used the last of his consciousness to focus on the ¡®YES¡¯ option and select it. For a moment, nothing happened, and Atlas feared that he had just voluntarily killed himself by listening to a deranged Esper woman.


    The next second everything disappeared into a void of black, and Atlas found himself floating completely naked. He was just about to try calling out when new text appeared in his vision.


    CONNECTION ESTABLISHED


    COMMENCING INTEGRATION

 Easy Rating. Thats Nice. Wait! Stop Changing!

    CONNECTION ESTABLISHED


    COMMENCING INTEGRATION


    Atlas stared at the text in confusion as he floated in the void. ¡°¡®Commencing integration?¡¯ What the hell does that mean, and what am I connected to?¡± He tried to turn around and see if the area he found himself in had any features other than mind-bending darkness, but he could barely turn his head, much less the rest of his body. ¡°Wonderful. Couldn¡¯t just be smart and completely avoid all the esper nonsense, could you, Atlas?¡± He grumbled to himself. ¡°Nooo, you heard protecting the world, and you just had to take the crazy esper lady¡¯s offer. Well, great fucking going, you dumbass?¡± Atlas would have thrown up his arms in anger, but he still couldn¡¯t move.


    ¡°Well look where that got you, genius. You¡¯re stuck in a fucking computer loading screen that doesn¡¯t even change¡ª¡±


    SCENARIO GENERATED


    SCENARIO DIFFICULTY: EASY


    He smiled in relief at the easy difficulty. ¡°That won¡¯t be too bad,¡± he said.


    ...


    DIRECT ABSORPTION INITIATED


    ADJUSTING DIFFICULTY


    ADJUSTED DIFFICULTY: NORMAL


    His smile faded at the change in difficulty, but he forced himself to remain positive. ¡°Ok, normal won¡¯t be too hard. I can handle it, I¡¯m sure.¡±


    ...


    HIGH-QUALITY INITIATION STONE USED


    ADJUSTING DIFFICULTY


    ADJUSTED DIFFICULTY: EXTREME


    SCENARIO CHOSEN: FALLEN¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Atlas wanted to cry as the difficulty rose once again, but he didn¡¯t even have time to finish reading the notification before another one took its place.


    ERROR_POTENTIAL HIGHER THAN SCENARIO PARAMETERS


    ADJUSTING DIFFICULTY


    ...


    ADJUSTED DIFFICULTY: CHAMPION


    SCENARIO RANK: F


    SCENARIO CHOSEN: TITAN¡¯S BURDEN


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Atlas only had a moment to look at the notification before a flash of light replaced the void with an entirely different environment. Unfortunately, Atlas did not have the sense to appreciate the new environment.


    He was currently on his knees on the ground staring numbly at the notification. He was silent for a long moment before he finally managed to string together words. ¡°I¡¯m fucked, aren¡¯t I? Haha. Haha.¡± What started as a broken chuckle exploded into full-blown hysteria, and Atlas continued laughing for five minutes. Tears streamed down his cheeks, and his face turned red. Soon, he couldn¡¯t even breathe from the laughter, and he crumpled to the ground before he could stop.


    When Atlas finally regained enough sense to force himself to a kneeling position, he realized that he wore clothes again, though not the ones he¡¯d been wearing when he¡¯d arrived at the Esper Foundation. Instead, he wore a jerkin over a tunic straight out of a Renaissance fair and a pair of pants that matched. His boots also matched, and they fit his feet surprisingly well, though, on second thought, Atlas figured his hallucinogenic mind or whatever force was manifesting everything would at least compensate for all the other insanity he was going through with comfortable footwear.


    A new notification popped up in his vision, distracting him from his strange new clothing. As he read through it, his mouth contorted into a frown. A second later, he let out a sigh of relief and, focusing on the X in the corner of the notification, dismissed it.


    WELCOME PROGENITOR!


    YOU HAVE ELECTED TO DEFEND YOUR PLANET AS A MEMBER OF THE VANGUARD IN THE ADVENT OF THE SYSTEM. SUCH A CHOICE IS WORTHY OF PRAISE. HOWEVER, THIS TASK IS NOT ONE TAKEN LIGHTLY. AS SUCH, YOU WILL UNDERGO AN INTEGRATION TO EVALUATE YOUR POTENTIAL AND WILL WHEN FACED WITH POWERFUL FOES. AS THIS IS A TRAINING SIMULATION, DEATH DURING INTEGRATION WILL ONLY RESULT IN AN INABILITY TO ACCUMULATE ANY FURTHER BENEFITS BEFORE RETURNING TO YOUR PLANET! HOWEVER, THE LONGER PARTICIPANTS LAST THE GREATER REWARDS AVAILABLE, WITH BONUSES IN THE FORM OF ACHIEVEMENTS BEING AVAILABLE TO THOSE WHO PERFORM EXCEPTIONALLY.


    A SCENARIO HAS BEEN CHOSEN BASED ON SEVERAL FACTORS AND WILL BE DELIVERED IN THE FORM OF A QUEST. DO YOUR BEST CHAMPION, AND REMEMBER.


    THE SYSTEM REWARDS THE EXCEPTIONAL.


    Atlas felt relief that he wasn¡¯t completely doomed despite the crazy increase in difficulty that he had somehow managed to land himself with. However, he certainly didn¡¯t plan on being one of the ¡°exceptional,¡± reward or not. He had enough on his plate with the stupid Champion difficulty.  Unfortunately, the aforementioned quest arrived a moment later, and his frown wormed its way back onto his face, though he did chuckle at the ironic connection he had with the quest.


    SCENARIO QUEST ASSIGNED:


    NAME: TITAN¡¯S BURDEN


    DIFFICULTY: CHAMPION


    DETAILS: THE TITANOS WERE A RACE THAT CONTROLLED LARGE PARTS OF THE GALAXY LONG AGO. IN THEIR HUBRIS, THEY ATTEMPTED TO HARVEST AND CONTROL KNOWLEDGE AND POWER FAR BEYOND THEIR STATION. AS A PUNISHMENT, THEY WERE ELIMINATED, SAVE FOR A SELECT FEW WHO WERE GRANTED MERCY FOR THEIR ATTEMPTS TO MAINTAIN BALANCE. IN EXCHANGE, THE FINAL REMAINING GENERAL, ATLAS, WAS TASKED WITH ENDURING THE ROLE OF INCARNATION OF THE VERY POWER HIS PEOPLE SOUGHT TO CONTROL, THE ENERGY OF THE BEYOND, A REALM OF THE UNKNOWN, THE PRIMAL, AND THE FORGOTTEN. THE BEYOND IS ALSO REALM OF CORRUPTED ENTITIES LOCKED AWAY BY THE SYSTEM, THE TAINTED. THOSE SAME ENTITIES ARE NOW ATTACKING ATLAS IN THE HOPES OF GAINING THE POWER OF THE INCARNATION OF THE BEYOND.


    THOUGH YOU ARE FAR WEAKER THAN THE TITANO, YOU HAVE SHOWN COMPATIBILITY WITH THE BASE COMPONENTS OF THE BEYOND AND MUST NOW BEAR PART OF THE WEIGHT OF HIS DUTY SO THAT HE CAN REGAIN HIS STAMINA AND FIGHT OFF THE FORCES OF THE TAINTED.


    TIME TO COMPLETE: 1.5 HR


    TASK: ASSIST THE UNSTOPPABLE TITANOS IN HIS BATTLE AGAINST THE TAINTED.


    (O/2 COMPLETED)


    #1: TAKE AT LEAST .1 PERCENT OF ATLAS¡¯S POWER FOR 5 MINUTES CONSECUTIVELY (0/5:00)


    #2: TAKE AT LEAST .01 PERCENT OF ATLAS¡¯S POWER FOR A TOTAL OF 15 MINUTES (0/5:00)


    BONUS OBJECTIVES:


    #1: TAKE GREATER THAN .1 PERCENT OF ATLAS¡¯S POWER FOR AT LEAST 5 SECONDS DURING THE QUEST


    #2: TAKE AT LEAST .015 PERCENT OF ATLAS¡¯S POWER FOR 75 PERCENT OF THE EVENT


    #3: SURVIVE THE ENTIRE EVENT


    REWARD


    SUCCESSFUL INTEGRATION AS EARTH¡¯S MULTIVERSE VANGUARD


    CHOICE OF ONE ADDITIONAL STARTING SKILL (RARE)


    CHOICE OF ONE STARTING ABILITY (RARE)


    EXP & ADDITIONAL REWARDS BASED ON QUEST COMPLETION


    PUNISHMENT


    REJECTION FROM EARTH¡¯S MULTIVERSE VANGUARD


    LOSS OF ALL ACHIEVEMENTS EARNED DURING QUEST


    DEATH (CHAMPION DIFFICULTY OVERRIDES TRAINING PROTECTION)

 Meeting the Other Atlas

    Atlas wanted to curl into a ball at the final line but forced himself to stay standing. Complaining would do nothing but prolong his inevitable demise. At least, that¡¯s what he thought until he gave the wording a second glance. If the punishment only applied to failing to complete the quest, then his death wouldn''t be permanent so long as he could survive long enough to fulfill the two main objectives, especially if he could do them at the same time as the wording implied. Of course, that still required him to not die for fifteen minutes, something that he had no doubt would be almost impossible.


    ¡°Whatever. I can¡¯t take this shit back now. Might as well do it now,¡± he muttered, before realizing one problem. ¡°How do I start the damn thing?¡± He gave the notification another read and saw a line he had missed because of the punishment section.


    ACTIVATE QUEST PYLON TO BEGIN SCENARIO


    Atlas realized that he had yet to check the environment that he found himself in. He pushed away the notifications with a mental nudge before examining the area around him. Fortunately, he hadn¡¯t missed any integral features other than a floating purple crystal with gold structures floating around it. Atlas assumed that was the pylon, but other than that no other features decorated the plateau he stood on. It took the shape of an almost perfect circle that seemed to be out 50 meters across. Atlas couldn¡¯t see anything past the edge due to a thick cloud cover, so he walked over to the pylon.


    With no indication of how to activate the thing, Atlas just put his hand on the crystal and focused on his quest. A moment later, a prompt appeared in his vision.


    VANGUARD INITIATE DETECTED


    INITIATE SCENARIO


    YES


    NO


    Atlas focused on ¡°YES,¡± and the prompt disappeared. When nothing happened, he began to wonder if it had broken. That thought was quickly discarded when the pylon disappeared and in its place appeared a humanoid, causing Atlas to stumble back in surprise. Atlas would have assumed it was a human man, except the being stood at least four meters tall and had golden skin. He could only guess that this was his namesake, Atlas the Titanos. Atlas decided to call the larger being Big A in his head to avoid confusion. He also ignored the timer ticking down in the corner of his vision.


    TIME UNTIL SCENARIO BEGINS: 10:00


    Big A looked at Atlas and spoke in a deep voice that reminded Atlas of Mufasa from The Lion King. ¡°It would seem that I have a visitor and a World Vanguard at that.¡±


    Atlas¡¯s eyes widened in surprise. ¡°You know what I am?¡± He asked.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    Big A gave a booming laugh that shook the air. ¡°I was millennia old even before my race reached beyond their means. I have come across many vanguard members, including humans.¡±


    ¡°There are other humans in the universe?¡± Atlas questioned, reeling in surprise.


    ¡°Indeed. Your race is perhaps the most populous and varied in skills and occupations, though you are also known for being amongst the most average in combat capabilities. I am surprised that you are not familiar with this. This is common knowledge, even for the World Vanguards.¡±


    Atlas gave an awkward chuckle. ¡°Hehe. Yeah, about that¡­¡± Big A¡¯s eyes narrowed at Atlas. ¡°I¡¯m kinda in the middle of my integration, whatever that means.¡± He rubbed the back of his head.


    Big A stood silent for a long moment before reaching up and rubbing his chin. ¡°That¡­ explains much. You are not the first person the system has assigned to help me fight the tainted as part of a scenario, but you are certainly the weakest. Your potential must be great indeed for the System to award you with as difficult a scenario as this one. However, two advantages come with having an integration as hard as this one.¡±


    Atlas perked up at his words. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Before that, perhaps you might share your name. I am aware that the system gives you that information beforehand, but it does no such thing for me.¡±


    Atlas blushed in embarrassment. He still hesitated before speaking, worried about how name sake might react. Still, he took a deep breath and said, ¡°My name is Atlas Driscol. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Atlas the Titanos.¡± As he finished speaking, he watched the giant before him for any reaction.


    Big A looked at him before laughing with a thick booming guffaw that rang in Atlas¡¯s ears. Atlas wasn¡¯t sure how to feel about this being the second time in one day. After he had composed himself, he spoke, ¡°Oh, never let it be said that the System has no sense of humor. This will certainly be interesting. Forgive me, young Atlas, but this has never happened before. I sense the hand of Fate at work here, as fickle as she may be.


    ¡°To answer your question, the first benefits us both and greatly increases your chance of survival. The System, as harsh as it may seem, never creates a scenario in which you cannot complete the base requirements. That means the enemies coming through this attempt will be limited in strength, though still quite dangerous.¡±


    Atlas liked the sound of that. ¡°And the second?¡± he asked.


    ¡°As it is champion level, should you complete the scenario, any achievements or awards you gain will be vastly superior to those offered at any of the other six levels. Such high-level scenarios are seldom successfully attempted as a first scenario, only five or six a generation. That is especially true for a World Vanguard like yourself, who has certain benefits due to your status.¡±


    Atlas¡¯s head was spinning from the amount of information Big A had given him in such a short time. He focused on the part that seemed to apply the most to his current situation. ¡°Six other levels? But, I thought there were only four: Easy, Normal, Hard, and Champion. At least that¡¯s what showed up when the system generated my scenario.¡±


    For the first time, Big A seemed truly surprised. ¡°Atlas, there are seven difficulties for system-generated scenarios. Easy, Normal, and Hard are the first three, yes, and they are considered the basic level for the average citizen of the multiverse, but the other four are where the truly talented venture. In order, they are Extreme, Terror, Demonic, and Champion. For you to skip so far shows just how strong your potential truly is.¡±


    Atlas reeled at the news of just how dangerous a situation he¡¯d found himself in, but he took a deep breath and forced himself to stand steady. He had known from the moment his difficulty changed to Champion that he¡¯d probably die, even if he hadn¡¯t realized just how much of a change it¡¯d been. The only difference now was that he learned just how good his rewards actually were. Having steadied himself, Atlas took one look at the timer that had been counting down all this time.


    TIME UNTIL SCENARIO BEGINS: 2:17


    Atlas looked up at Big A, a serious expression on his face. He stared the giant in the eyes and said, ¡°I¡¯m ready. Show me what I have to do.¡±

 The Scenario Begins

    After handing Atlas a crystal that he claimed would allow Atlas to fulfill his quest without being fully initiated, Big A took almost the entire remaining two minutes to explain how to become a secondary incarnation of the beyond, including how to regulate the amount of power his body bore. That was a fact he stressed very carefully to Atlas. According to Big A, the more power that Atlas took upon himself, the more power that Big A could utilize against the Tainted, the tradeoff being that Atlas¡¯ body could only handle so much. If he pushed beyond his limit, Big A told Atlas that the Beyond would simply burn him up from the inside.


    When Atlas asked how he would figure out what the limit was, Big A said, ¡°All of my previous visitors¡¯ thresholds were approximately equal to the quest parameters. The System appears to want you all to push yourselves but not to a lethal extent, and I would trust that trend to continue with you.¡±


    Atlas nodded, but he said nothing as he watched the timer reach the end of its countdown and mentally prepared. He quickly took the chance to hide behind one of the few boulders on the plateau.


    TIME UNTIL SCENARIO BEGINS: 0:05


    Atlas took a deep breath and gripped the crystal tightly.


    TIME UNTIL SCENARIO BEGINS: 0:03


    He focused on the power that constantly emitted from Big A.


    TIME UNTIL SCENARIO BEGINS: 0:02


    He steeled his willpower, ignoring the risk he was about to face.


    TIME UNTIL SCENARIO BEGINS: 0:01


    With a grunt of concentration, he called the power into him, inviting it to leave Big A and flow into him.


    TIME UNTIL SCENARIO BEGINS: 0:00


    INTEGRATION SCENARIO INITIATED


    With a ripping sound, the universe tore open, but the Titano didn¡¯t even flinch as the power left him. Atlas, blocked out the strange plane he was on, sure Big A could handle himself. He had a far bigger problem to worry about, as he had completely underestimated the power he took from his larger namesake.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Despite Big A¡¯s warnings of the power that now ran rampant through his body, Atlas had seen the .01 percent mentioned in his quest and thought that he would easily be able to handle it. In most multiversal residents, that may have been true, but Atlas wasn¡¯t even the average F-Rank. He hadn¡¯t been fully integrated, meaning that even the weakest multiversal residents could pummel him into the ground. This especially came into play for a scenario like this, where he had to survive something as powerful as the Beyond just to succeed.


    Atlas learned as much when the extra-universal equivalent of ten thousand volts ran through his body, dropping him to the ground. His muscles seized and spasmed as his teeth clenched in a grotesque pain-enforced grin. At that moment, Atlas wanted nothing more than to give in and let the source of the pain go. He almost gave in to the feeling, but in the corner of his vision, he saw Big A fighting against the horrifying humanoid creatures pouring in from the tear in space.


    They stood at least two meters tall each and their disproportionate bodies were covered in harsh cyan scales broken up by toxic green veins that extended out from horrifying cores glowing the same color. Their oddly long arms ended in six three-inch claws, and their maws were filled with teeth so sharp that Atlas could see them from the ground where he lay. The worst thing, however, was their eyes. Partially hidden under ridges of rocklike skin, they glowed red and twisted chaotically, like two miniature orbs of blood in a tornado. Atlas gasped in horror even as the pain pulsed through his body.


    At the sight, he forced himself to get to his knees and kept channeling the power in his body. He couldn¡¯t help but remember what Big A had told him of the Tainted.


    ¡°They are truly horrifying creatures, driven only by a terrible instinct to destroy or corrupt anything in their way. They have no morals, and only C-ranked or above have the intelligence to speak. The Grunts make up for that flaw with sheer numbers, numbers they can easily replenish if they come across a world without any C-ranks. That is why the System sent you here. They are a scourge and must be stopped.¡±


    As much as Atlas wanted to just roll over and give up, he couldn¡¯t let the Tainted run free. If they got far enough into the Universe, they would reach Earth, and Atlas was pretty sure that Earth had no C-ranks to stop them. With that in mind, he put his hands on the ground and forced himself unsteadily to his feet. At first, he felt pretty woozy, but he kept himself steady.


    He looked at Atlas again, and he saw that the Titano had grabbed the attention of almost all of the Tainted Grunts. The giant tore through their ranks, each punch obliterating the Grunts it came in contact with. Still, with the sheer amount of creatures streaming into the universe, some had managed to get around Big A and were slowly beginning to spread out. Though they wandered aimlessly for now, Atlas knew it would only be a matter of time until they found some way off the plateau, having heard from Big A that their unique status as residents of the Beyond made them impossible to imprison on a single plane. Once that happened, any small planet they found themselves on would be doomed. After all, it only took one cut for the Tainted¡¯s corruption to infiltrate the body of a victim, killing them and taking control of the corpse, like a toxic-scaled zombie, though there were two major differences between the Tainted and the Undead.


    According to Atlas, living people could become undead if they were willing. In the case of corpses, they would be reborn as entirely new beings without the memory of their former life. Tainted, however, completely trapped the soul of their victims inside the body, torturing them as they slowly drove them mad and broke them into willing drones. It was that very same danger that made Atlas happy to sit back and let Big A fight the horde. Big A, as strong as he was, could resist the corruption; Atlas could not.


    However, when he saw one of the Tainted get close to the edge of the plateau, Atlas started to move before he could stop himself. ¡°God dammit,¡± he cursed before running out from behind the small boulder he¡¯d been sheltering behind. ¡°HEY! Scales for brains!¡± He shouted.


    Immediately, the Grunts that had separated from the horde attacking Big A started charging at Atlas, pulling away from the borders of the flat. Atlas raised his fists in a boxing position and shouted out a challenge.


    ¡°C¡¯mon! Bring it!¡±

 Fighting the Tainted

    Atlas felt the sweat dripping down his back as the Grunts charged toward him at his taunt. He once again questioned his life decisions but forced himself to stay still and face the monsters as they started closing the final ten meters to him. As they grew closer, Atlas bent his knees, and when they moved within five meters, Atlas did the only thing he could.


    He took off at a sprint. He pumped his arms and legs as hard as he could as he heard the Grunts behind him. He knew he stood no chance in a fight, but if he could hold out long enough for Big A to finish off the rest of the Grunts in the Horde, he wouldn¡¯t need to¡­ Hopefully. With that thought in mind, Atlas kept running.


    As the minutes passed, Atlas absently noted that the small group of Grunts behind him had gradually picked up enough to become a full-on monster train. He risked a glance over his shoulder as he cut across the middle of the plateau to try and get a better idea, and he immediately wished he hadn¡¯t. There were at least 30 Grunts chasing after him, their screams and moans combining like a horrible siren. The only bright side that Atlas could see came from how his stamina had held up for far longer than his out-of-shape body should support. Unfortunately, he had no idea how long or if it would last.


    Mind scrambling as he tried to figure out what to do, he passed by Big A for what had to be the fifth or sixth time, and he felt his heart plummet as he saw that the Titano was close to being forced down by the Grunts. As strong as Big A was, he could annihilate any of the Grunts individually. Even when it had been one against fifty, he had been able to fight them off with ease. The problem was that hundreds were pouring out of the tear. Big A simply couldn¡¯t kill enough in each strike to push them back.


    At least, not at .01% of his power, he can¡¯t, Atlas realized. Knowing he was taking a risk, Atlas pulled his attention from the Titano and split it between running and the crystal still clutched in his hand. He tried to connect with the crystal as he had as the Scenario started, but it proved exponentially harder when he couldn¡¯t stand still. Any turns he made to follow the outer rim of the plateau or avoid Big A broke his focus. Atlas also felt that doubling the amount of power he was holding would not be enough to let Big A fight off the neverending Grunts.


    ¡°Dammit!¡± Atlas cursed, as he abruptly stopped and turned to face the charging Tainted, thankful for their lack of speed. He took a deep breath, and with all the focus he could muster, he concentrated on connecting with the crystal. As a pleasant surprise, Atlas found that once he had stopped, connecting with the crystal proved far easier than when he¡¯d initially done it. Within seconds, he had managed it, and though he was not looking forward to the paint, he quintupled it to around half a percent.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Though he tried to brace himself for the pain, Atlas still felt like a lightning-strike victim as the power of the Beyond ran rampant through his body. Atlas tried to stay standing through the experience, but his knees could barely handle his weight. He knew that he definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to run until his body fully adjusted. Unfortunately, that time was not something Atlas had as the Grunts rapidly closed the distance he¡¯d created.


    ¡°Big A! Help!¡± He screamed out, even if he didn¡¯t know what the giant could do from across the plateau. When he didn¡¯t receive a response, Atlas believed he was on his own. Fortunately, that belief quickly proved incorrect as a shockwave blasted through the charging horde, turning them into a spray of disgusting blue-green mist. Atlas looked over at Big A. The Titano gave him the briefest of nods before turning back to the rip in reality.


    It seemed to Atlas that his risky maneuver had paid off in spades. Whereas before Big A hadn¡¯t been able to keep up with the numbers pouring out of the tear, he now destroyed each wave with a single strike. Atlas sighed in relief, thankful that at least for the moment, he didn¡¯t have anything more to do. Without a weapon, Atlas couldn¡¯t do anything as fighting up close only put him at risk of getting corrupted, according to Big A. With that in mind, he began limping his way back to the boulders he¡¯d started at to rest, get used to the increased power running through him, and stay out of Big A¡¯s way.


    Of course, that happened to be when the Scenario bared its fangs once again. Atlas heard Big A let out a shout of pain behind him. Spinning around in surprise, Atlas saw what had caused the giant to shout. Surrounding him in a half-circle stood a group of Tainted, different than the Grunts who had come through the portal up to then.


    The new Tainted stood slightly shorter than the Grunts, just under two meters, but that by no means meant they looked weaker. Their muscles, apparent even from the distance Atlas stood, were corded and taut against their scales, and their eyes held a spark of intelligence absent in the Grunts. At the same time, Atlas noticed that the cores of these Tainted shone brighter and harsher, like poison in an old cartoon. He could only assume that whatever powered the Tainted was far stronger in the new ones and possibly made them better at corrupting those around them. Either way, he wanted nothing to do with them. Unfortunately, that wasn¡¯t even the most dangerous aspect of the new variety of monster.


    No, that honor belonged to the fact that each of the eight Tainted surrounding Big A wore armor vaguely reminiscent of Roman soldiers, sans the helmet, and in each of their horrible clawed hands rested a spear that ended in a barbed hook covered in blood¡­ blood that currently ran from Big A¡¯s body.

 Ramping Things Up

    Atlas panicked at the sight. He could hardly believe that the Titano, someone even the System had lauded as one of the most powerful beings in the world, could bleed, despite how strong the new Warrior Tainted might be. And the worst part? Atlas knew it was his fault. If Atlas hadn¡¯t been as weak, he could have handled more of the Beyond, and Big A would be that much stronger.


    However, even with Atlas¡¯s limited capabilities, Big A still held enough strength at .05 percent to fight off the Warriors. With a shout, the giant lunged forward and ripped the spear from the hands of the Warrior closest to him with one hand. Off-balance, the Warrior couldn¡¯t avoid Big A grabbing its head with his other hand, spinning the spear, and stabbing it under the creature¡¯s chin, all in less than five seconds. Ignoring the remaining seven Warriors and Atlas all staring in shock, Big A slipped the spear out from the Tainted and shuffled back to create some distance.


    Atlas grinned with relief at the blatant display of skill, even as the rest of the Warriors charged at Big A with horrible shrieks. Big A swept the spear so fast that he split the first Warrior in half at the waist. Unfortunately, the rest fell back fast enough to avoid it. Rather than chasing after them, Big A stabbed the head of the one he¡¯d just taken down. Atlas didn¡¯t understand why until he saw that the core of the creature only went out after Big A stabbed its head.


    Now sure of its fate, Atlas focused on the fight between Big A and the rest of the Warriors, though the fight might have been an exaggeration. Despite the weapons and increased durability of the Tainted and Big A¡¯s limitations due to Atlas, the Titano¡¯s skill with the spear more than made up for everything. With every movement fluid, every thrust calculated, Big A moved through the Tainted like a natural disaster. One moment he had a Tainted impaled on his spear, the next he split one in half with a vertical sweep, though how Atlas didn¡¯t know. Even when more Warriors and a few grunts started to exit the portal and join the remaining five, Big A easily held them off.


    Still, Atlas knew that if enough Tainted came through the portal, Big A would never be able to handle them, and eventually, some would make it off the weird plateau they stood on or come after him. He shivered at the thought and sighed, knowing what he had to do.


    ¡°Welp. This is gonna hurt, isn¡¯t it?¡± He grumbled before increasing the percentage of power to .06 percent. The pain that ran through his body hurt exponentially more than before, and something Big A had told him before the Scenario began popped into his head.


    ¡°Listen, boy. The power of the Beyond is not something easily measured, even by the System. System-compatible people, the ones your planet calls Espers, can be likened to a cup with walls that thin the closer to the top you go, and the Beyond¡¯s energy is an energy-filled fluid that fills it up. At the base, the walls of the cup are thickest. At that point, the Beyond mana is minimal as is the strain.


    ¡°However, the more power you try to contain in your body, the higher the cup fills, and the thinner the walls become, putting more strain on your body. Usually, this isn¡¯t a massive problem as the higher level and rank a person becomes, the more resilient their bodies become, similar to the walls of the cup growing thicker. You don¡¯t have that advantage. As someone about to do their system integration, your body is only on the level of an above-average human. Frankly, I¡¯m surprised that your body can handle a thousandth of the power mine does, much less a hundredth. Your affinity for the Beyond, or some aspect of it, must be incredibly high, and I¡¯m only able to handle as much as I can thanks to System intervention.¡±This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    When Atlas had asked what he was supposed to do so he wouldn¡¯t break down, Big A had gone strangely silent. He had resumed speaking, but his voice turned extremely tense.


    ¡°I can¡¯t help you there. For most forms of attuned mana, the solution would be converting the energy to something else, but from my experience, doing that with the Beyond is not realistic. The best you can hope for is that your affinity for it is strong enough that your body can handle enough that you can reach the level needed for your quest.¡±


    ¡°And if I can¡¯t handle it?¡± Atlas had asked nervously.


    ¡°Then, you will die, and I will only be able to handle the Tainted for so long before they succeed in getting off the plateau, attacking and converting anyone and anything they come across.¡±


    Though Atlas had found the conversation overwhelming, he had still absorbed enough to realize that he had hit a threshold where the Beyond energy, or mana as Big A had called it, put more strain on his body. That meant that every time he drew in more of the Beyond from here on out, he¡¯d be more likely to kill himself. Sadly, Atlas knew that if he wanted to get out of the Scenario alive, he¡¯d have to continue increasing the strain, not just because that was the only way Big A would be able to fight off the Tainted while he was there, but also because he hadn¡¯t even reached the level that he could begin the first quest requirement.


    TASK: ASSIST THE UNSTOPPABLE TITANOS IN HIS BATTLE AGAINST THE TAINTED.


    (1/2 COMPLETED)


    #1: TAKE AT LEAST .1 PERCENT OF ATLAS¡¯S POWER FOR 5 MINUTES CONSECUTIVELY (0/5:00)


    #2: TAKE AT LEAST .01 PERCENT OF ATLAS¡¯S POWER FOR A TOTAL OF 15 MINUTES (15:00/15:00) - COMPLETED


    Atlas was pleasantly surprised that he had completed the second part of the quest, but when he checked the timer, that pleasant feeling faded away.


    TIME REMAINING: 45:00/1:30:00


    Half the time had passed, and Atlas hadn¡¯t even gotten to seventy-five percent of the remaining task. As painful as it was going to be, that meant he needed to step it up.


    ¡°Big A!¡± Atlas shouted. ¡°I¡¯m going to start ramping things up!¡±


    Big A swiped the head off of the final Warrior in the most recent wave of Tainted before turning and shouting at Atlas, ¡°Are you sure, boy?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I got this.¡± Then, testing the waters of his new acquaintanceship with the Titano, Atlas added, ¡°You just make sure not to slack off on your part, old man!¡±


    Big A¡¯s brow rose before the giant man burst out laughing. The Titano turned back around as a new group exited the portal and called back, ¡°In that case, put your money where your mouth is, boy! I¡¯m excited to see you show your worth.¡± With those closing words, he charged back into the fight, a new spring in his step.

 Meeting the Lieutenants

    For the next thirty minutes, Atlas continued to increase the amount of the Beyond that he accepted into his body by about a hundredth of a percent a level as often as he could, around once every ten minutes. Big A took full advantage of his increasing strength to completely obliterate any of the Tainted before they completely exited the portal, though he was now so strong that any weapon he took from the Warriors disintegrated after one or two uses. Atlas appreciated it because acting as a conduit for the Beyond and increasing the amount of power as quickly as he had started to take its toll. At first, when he had increased it to around a seventh of a percent, he had only felt a little dizzy, but with each subsequent increase, the damage to his body had gotten more apparent to the point where he sat down just to ensure he didn¡¯t pass out and crack his head.


    Meanwhile, at the portal, the number of Warriors and Grunts spearing themselves on the end of whatever weapons Big A took from them rapidly decreased until it trickled to practically nothing. Atlas¡¯s hopes began to rise that Big A had managed to kill the entirety of the invading horde, but the Titano shot that hope down when he didn¡¯t relax his stance. Instead, he backed away from the portal wearily and shouted over his shoulder at Atlas. ¡°Be ready, boy! The next ones to come through will be the lieutenants of this horde of Tainted. They might only be around E-rank, but more than two at a time will be a challenge right now.¡±


    Atlas felt fear rise in his stomach and he gulped down the lump that had appeared in his throat. If Big A was telling the truth, and Atlas had no reason to believe he wasn¡¯t, the giant would need all the power he could get, and soon. Unfortunately, soon came far quicker than Atlas liked.


    With a pulse of power that knocked Atlas¡¯s head against the rock he leaned against and caused him to see stars, the portal let out a flash of light, blinding Atlas and Big A. When Atlas managed to blink away the spots in his vision, he observed the people who had exited the portal. Atlas gulped as he realized Big A needed the power even more than he¡¯d realized.


    In front of the portal stood three of the Tainted and Atlas did not doubt that they were the lieutenants that Big A had mentioned. The sheer aura that the lieutenants let out had more than enough strength to push back Big A¡¯s at .09 percent. What disturbed Atlas the most was how human they seemed as they were far more developed than the warriors had been, and the spark of intelligence had grown into full-blown sapience if the cruel smiles on their faces were any indication. There were some differences that he observed, however.


    The most human of the bunch stood to Atlas¡¯s right. Female, Atlas couldn¡¯t help but think of some of the Alien fanart his friends in high school had forced him to see. A layer of chitinous armor with an almost blinding green-glowing core covered her body and extended from her neck down to her feet, so form-fitting that he could see far more of her body than he felt comfortable with. She stood at least as tall as Atlas with a build similar to a gymnast and had a massive battle axe gripped in her hands. The most inhuman thing about her was her face, as Atlas could see her eyes had no sclera and her teeth were sharp and pointed.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    The man in the middle wore similar armor to the first of the lieutenants, again far too revealing for Atlas¡¯s comfort, and it revealed tight, ropelike muscles on a thin, runner¡¯s frame. He shared his partner''s pointed teeth and sclera-less eyes, but a pair of dark, bat-like wings loomed out from his back. Atlas saw a pair of swords between them peaking out from the man¡¯s shoulders. Atlas¡¯s fear of the man¡¯s swords was quickly overtaken when his eyes landed on a whip hanging on his waist. Comprised of pitch-black leather strips, the whip glowed with an ominous green light that matched the Tainted¡¯s cores and emanated an aura of corruption.


    Just looking at the whip sent shivers down Atlas¡¯s spine, so he quickly looked at the last member of the trio. Muscles bulged along her arms, and her tight suit highlighted an eight-pack on her abs. Her muscles were only really matched by her voluptuous assets, something Atlas found impressive considering how muscular she was. Despite her pointed teeth and sclera-less eyes, Atlas¡¯s eyes gravitated to her long and pointed ears. He absentmindedly wondered whether they were an effect of the Taint before his eyes landed on the most inhuman feature of her body: the scorpion tale that extended out from behind her and hooked over her shoulder, ending in a wickedly sharp stinger that dripped a glowing green liquid.


    Big A also used the brief lull that filled the air after the Tainted lieutenants exited the portal. When he tensed up and dropped into a more defensive battle stance with a spear crossed defensively in front of him, Atlas knew they were in trouble. Trying to get out of the way, he crawled behind the boulder he¡¯d been lying against.


    He peeked over the top and watched as the Tainted man took a step forward. He looked at Big A before he said, ¡°When the higher-ups told me that I would be leading a strike force against the legendary Titano general, Atlas the Unbreakable, I wondered if I had been sent to die for some unknown slight. I guess not. You¡¯re barely even out of F-Rank right now, are you? I have to admit, I¡¯m disappointed.¡±


    Atlas gasped in shock. They could talk!? He ducked further down behind his boulder as he predicted things would go bad real quick. That prediction came true when Big A responded.


    ¡°That is ambitious talk for someone fresh off their mother¡¯s tit. I may be limited to early E-Rank strength, but I can put you in the ground any day, worm.¡±

 The Lieutenants Attack

    ¡°That is ambitious talk for someone fresh off their mother¡¯s tit. I may be limited to early E-Rank strength, but I can put you in the ground any day, worm.¡±


    The man¡¯s mocking smirk vanished, replaced by an ugly snarl. He lunged at Big A, his swords pulled free from his back as he tried beheading the Titano. Tried being the operative word.


    The shortswords clanged against Big A¡¯s spear as he blocked them. He gave the Tainted a cold smile as the Titano shoved the chiton-covered man back with the spear. He gave the Tainted a long look before he said, ¡°It seems you have some potential after all, though you slash far too wide. It leaves you open to counters from those more experienced. I would like to know whose potential I am about to extinguish.¡±


    The Tainted man and Atlas both looked at Big A in shock as he complimented and gave advice to the Tainted. When he proceeded to calmly threaten the Tainted while still smiling, the invader clicked his tongue. ¡°Tsk. You¡¯re an arrogant old bastard, aren¡¯t you? Very well. You should know the names of the ones who kill you.¡± Scared as he was, Atlas couldn¡¯t resist rolling his eyes at the arrogant tone of the Tainted idiot. ¡°These are my subordinates, Second Lieutenants Amaryllis and Verian.¡± He gestured to the woman with the scorpion tale and axe-holding woman respectively. ¡°And I am First Lieutenant Celeron of the Tainted Hordes.¡±


    Atlas watched as Big A¡¯s shoulders tensed at the mention of Celeron¡¯s rank, and he assumed that things had gone from bad to worse. Big A¡¯s next words confirmed it. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize that the System had cleared this invasion for Low D-Ranks.¡± It only took Atlas a moment to realize how bad things had gotten if Big A, who only had access to a Low E-Rank¡¯s stats, went up against two higher E-Ranks and a Low D-Rank. Atlas didn¡¯t fully understand the difference between ranks, but if Big A was taking it seriously, it had to be bad.


    Celeron pretty much guaranteed that when he said, ¡°It hasn¡¯t, but when I was selected for the invasion, I hadn¡¯t yet evolved, so in exchange for sending any more of the Grunts or Warriors, the System made an exception.¡±


    ¡°How kind of it,¡± Big A said through gritted teeth, dropping into an even more defensive stance.


    Desperate to give Big A whatever boost he could, Atlas tried connecting to the Beyond through the crystal in his hand. He concentrated and sent out his will just like he had up to that point, and he felt the crystal begin to respond. The pain that followed matched what he¡¯d experienced so far, like lightning running through his veins, but after doing it so much, he managed to brace himself. He only needed to get a hundredth of a percent to complete the quest, and if Big A were right, nothing more would be needed to fight back the invasion.


    Unfortunately, right as he made to absorb the building power and complete the quest, he hit a wall, and all the energy rebounded, attacking his body from within, causing him to scream out in agony. The pain was so great that he almost lost control of all the power he had managed to take from Big A up to that point and passed out, but he managed to force himself to stay awake. Atlas¡¯s breath heaved as all of the power that attacked him dispersed back to Big A.


    As his senses returned, he grew aware that he had flopped over the boulder he¡¯d been hiding behind while flopping around in pain. His hopes that he¡¯d gone unnoticed by the Tainted somehow were dashed when he looked up and saw Big A looking at him in horror. Celeron had an expression of unrestrained glee which was bad enough, but the way Amaryllis and Verian looked at him, like predators who¡¯d spotted easy prey, made him want to curl into a ball and cry.


    As Atlas struggled to keep from whimpering, Celeron began laughing with unrestrained glee. ¡°Hahahaha! Are you under Scenario restrictions, and that¡¯s what you have to work with, a child? I¡¯m surprised you made it past the Grunts. It¡¯s a testament to your skill, but it seems you¡¯ve fallen out of favor with the System, old man.¡±


    ¡°You think so? I would have to disagree, but I guess the lack of experience makes you blind, Lieutenant,¡± Big A responded calmly.


    ¡°I guess you¡¯ll see when I¡¯m standing over your corpse, General,¡± Celeron said before turning to the women behind him. ¡°Corrupt the boy. I¡¯m sure the freaks back in the Void would love to tear apart a Grunt made from a partial incarnation of the Beyond.¡± Atlas¡¯s eyes widened in fear as the pair nodded and took off running.


    ¡°NO!¡± Big A shouted as he tried to get in their way, only to be blocked by Celeron, who moved far faster than before. Atlas barely had time to realize that his first attack must have been a test of Big A¡¯s capabilities before he dove to the side as Amaryllis¡¯s stinger struck the boulder he¡¯d been using as support, pulverizing it and sending bits flying across the ground.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Atlas hissed in pain as he scraped his already-battered body, only to roll to the side to avoid the war axe that Verian had thrown barely avoiding having his head split open. He scrambled to his feet and sprinted to a sword one of the Warriors had dropped that Big A hadn¡¯t used and destroyed. He spun around and barely managed to block Amaryllis¡¯s tail with the sword, though it slammed the weapon against his chest and knocked the wind out of him.


    As he gasped for breath, he followed the tail with his eyes as it coiled back behind Amaryllis¡¯s body as she and Verian stalked toward him. While the former only had a slightly hungry look on her face, Verian adopted a cruel smile as she lifted her axe with ease from where it stuck up from the ground.


    ¡°Awe! He looks so deliciously scared, don¡¯t he, Amy?¡± Verian licked her lips hungrily as Amaryllis nodded blankly. ¡°I could just eat him right up.¡± Done speaking, she took a single step and appeared right in front of Atlas before swinging her axe. Atlas barely managed to swing his sword and deflect the blow, but the axe moved so fast and heavily that it sent shockwaves up his arms, and they went numb. Atlas tried to back up and make some distance between him and the terrifying Tainted, but she kept just close enough to continue beating against him as she laughed. ¡°Hehehe! C¡¯mon boy! Show me something fun. Make it interesting for me! If you¡¯re a good boy, maybe I¡¯ll show you a good time once you¡¯re a grunt! Hehehe!¡±


    That last sentence simultaneously terrified Atlas and grossed him out, and he began to frantically swing his sword, just to make Verian back off. Sadly, the gap of strength and skill between the two was too wide, and Verian merely moved her body from side to side to avoid his attacks. Finally, the Tainted lieutenant seemed to grow bored, and with a single strike of her axe, she broke Atlas¡¯s sword in half before following up with a sidekick to his chest.


    With a massive CRACK! Atlas felt his ribs break as he went flying across the plateau before he landed roughly in front of the Tainted¡¯s portal. He gasped for air, pain lacing each breath, and his thoughts felt foggy and dulled. He struggled to look to the side to where Big A struggled against Celeron.


    The Titano shouted out, ¡°Atlas! Hold on! I¡¯m coming!¡±


    Celeron cackled. ¡°I don¡¯t think so, Unbreakable. You just stay over here and watch as the boy becomes one of us.¡±


    Atlas slowly turned his head back to look up at Celeron¡¯s subordinates who now stood over him. Verian had the same cruel smile on her face, and Amaryllis¡¯s remained consistently blank, though he would have sworn that he saw pity in her eyes had he been able to think straight.


    Verian turned to Amaryllis. ¡°Do it,¡± she ordered.


    The other woman nodded, and Atlas could only watch as her tail snapped down and stabbed him in the chest. Broken from his stupor, Atlas screamed as the corruption began to take hold, though he quickly lost even that capability. The pain rushed through his body, yet he couldn¡¯t move.


    Soon, his thoughts became dulled and blurred, and the world faded away. As things went dark, he noticed the timer in the corner of his vision, still counting down.


    TIME REMAINING: 5:05/1:30:00


    As he looked at the time ticking away, he realized he would die before the System even had a chance to kill him. For some reason, he internally chuckled, his poisoned muscles unable to move with the laughter. That amusement quickly died as he realized he would never see his mom or any of his family again, which forced him to face another fact.


    I don¡¯t wanna die. He thought into the void.


    Surprisingly, the void answered.


    What if you didn¡¯t have to?


    Atlas didn¡¯t even have the wherewithal to question the voice


    How?


    Stop holding back.


    But I¡¯m not, Atlas protested.


    Yes, you are, the voice said with a nudge from a very recently awakened part inside Atlas.


    How is that supposed to help? Atlas asked, even as his last vestiges of consciousness noticed the time ticking away.


    TIME REMAINING: 5:01/1:30:00


    Let go!


    So he did.

 Changing Momentum

    As his rapidly deteriorating spear blocked another of Celeron¡¯s strikes, Atlas the Titano grunted, forced back as the D-Rank¡¯s strength pushed him back. The giant looked down at the D-Rank in disgust as he tracked the boy running from Amaryllis and Verian across the plateau. Despite how scared he seemed, the human picked up a rusty sword and managed to fend off a strike from the scorpion-tailed woman.


    Atlas missed what happened next as he jumped back to avoid a horizontal slash from Celeron, though he mistimed the attack. As he landed, blood started dripping down his bare chest.


    That was sloppy, Atlas, he admonished himself, parrying one sword and blocking another. The boy¡¯s quest said there were only fifteen minutes left before the lieutenants arrived, and the punishments didn¡¯t mention the Tainted staying in the punishments. He managed to survive this long, surely he can handle a few minutes more. As much as it annoyed Atlas that a D-Rank Tainted would be pulled back, it was the best he could hope for with the human unable to handle the .1 percent the quest required, especially since the D-Rank had neglected to use the ominous whip at his side despite the powerful aura it held.


    Unfortunately, Atlas¡¯s estimation of the boy¡¯s abilities fell short, as less than thirty seconds later, he flew past Celeron and Atlas before rolling to a stop right before the Tainted¡¯s portal. He didn¡¯t move other than slowly turning his head to look at Atlas and Celeron. His eyes glazed over, the boy stared at them blankly.


    Atlas knew if the boy died, the quest would be considered a complete failure, leading to his (temporary) demise and allowing the lieutenants free range of his sector of the multiverse. He shouted out to the boy. ¡°Atlas! Hold on! I¡¯m coming!¡±


    Celeron cackled, his pointed teeth showing as he forced Atlas back. ¡°I don¡¯t think so, Unbreakable. You just stay over here and watch as the boy becomes one of us.¡±


    Atlas ignored him and tried to force his way past, only to be rebuffed by the D-Rank as Verian ordered Amaryllis to convert Atlas.


    ¡°NO!¡± Atlas screamed out as the woman¡¯s tail impaled the human¡¯s heart. The boy''s screams only served to worsen the Titano¡¯s guilt as he watched the ugly scales of the Tainted begin spreading across his body. Still, Atlas focused back on the Tainted before him. Atlas figured the boy had less than a minute before he was fully converted, but if he continued to channel the power of the beyond until then, Atlas might manage to kill Celeron in a suicide attack.


    ~~~


    Celeron realized what Atlas planned, and he jumped back and took a defensive stance, a cocky smile on his face. Atlas still tried rushing the Tainted, but now that he only had to defend and avoid the weakened Titano¡¯s attacks, Celeron had nothing to worry about, especially as Verian and Amaryllis left the human¡¯s increasingly corrupted body to join in his wearing down of the Titano.


    At least, that¡¯s what Celeron thought until a roar echoed across the plateau. At the same time, Atlas sped up, his strikes far swifter and stronger than before, which prevented Celeron from looking at the source of the sound. He snarled and shouted to his subordinates as Atlas landed a glancing blow on his cheek. ¡°Verian, Amaryllis! What¡¯s happening?¡±


    Whatever response they meant to give got cut off as an aura surged from where the boy lay being corrupted. However, when Celeron used his D-Rank strength to make an opening between him and Atlas, he took the chance to look over at Amaryllis and Verian to see why they hadn¡¯t answered him. Seeing them staring at something in shock, he glanced past them and gasped.


    The human stood, his face hidden by his long as he stared at the ground, but he had changed. His hair had drained of all color, turning white as snow, and at first, Celeron thought it was only a strange mutation in the corruption process from the powers of the Beyond running through his body. He quickly realized that couldn¡¯t be the case, as the scales that had been in the process of covering the boy¡¯s body had turned into a smooth suit that held none of the toxic green of the Tainted, nor one of their cores. Instead, glowing, purple veins of energy outlined his body, and when the boy raised his head, his eyes held none of their former color, instead taking on the same glowing purple. That still didn¡¯t explain the strange sense of dissonance that nagged at Celeron, though he quickly realized what it was.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    The aura radiated from the boy, and Celeron couldn¡¯t detect a single trace of the Tainted¡¯s Corruption within.


    ~~~


    Atlas Driscol stood still as he stared at each being on the plateau in turn. Even his Titano namesake looked at him wearily as the boy¡¯s aura expanded rapidly. All signs of fear gone, he didn¡¯t say anything. Finally, Verian grew tired of waiting for him to do something, and she shouted, ¡°He¡¯s obviously not all there! Let¡¯s just kill the washed-up general, and we can¡ª¡±


    Verian cut off abruptly as Atlas took a single step, appearing in front of her as his fist crashed into her stomach with the force of a freight train and a cracking sound. With a cry of pain, Verian flew off and crashed into a boulder at the edge of the plateau. Everyone stood stock still, jaws hanging at Atlas, who still had yet to speak a word. His hand hung at an odd angle, already turning black and blue over the bones visible beneath his skin. A moment later, his hand made more cracking sounds as it returned to normal, as did his leg which had broken when he moved to attack Verian.


    All the while, the power of his aura continued to increase by leaps and bounds. It billowed out of him in waves, the center tinged with the same purple glow as his eyes. Celeron and Big A quickly realized what was happening, though each reacted differently.


    Celeron shouted in surprise. ¡°How?! Whatever. Amaryllis, kill him!¡±


    Big A cut him off from giving any further orders as he flashed forward with his spear, forcing the Tainted to dodge back. The Titano felt far more of his power flowing through his body enough to push him to D-Rank, and he only grew stronger as Atlas absorbed more power. He just hoped the boy would stop before it burned him from inside. Still, he had to kill Celeron before he could worry about that.


    Amaryllis had no such concerns as she charged at Atlas, her tail pulled back to strike. She moved far slower as the pressure the boy released washed over her, but she pushed through. However, the moment she entered the radius of the purple part of his aura, threads began appearing in the air behind her connecting her to the portal and her comrades. In the chaos of the moment, no one noticed. No one except Atlas.


    The moment the threads appeared, his head snapped to look at her so fast it cracked. His eyes stared at her intently, and his aura grew even stronger. Amaryllis forced herself through and as she moved within 5 meters of him, she launched her tail forward. Her unexpressive face finally showed surprise as Atlas merely twisted his body to the side, avoiding the tail before he lunged forward with the same speed that he¡¯d attacked Verian with, his ankle snapping once again from the force.


    Amaryllis crossed to block her body from the strike, but Atlas shot past her. He stopped right behind her. Before she even had time to react, Atlas¡¯s aura shrunk down, concentrating around his hand until it glowed so brightly that it disappeared. With a voice far different than his own, Atlas said, ¡°Your Fate Is Mine to Decide.¡± As he finished speaking, Atlas slashed down with a bladed hand and cut the threads.


    The whole battlefield went silent at his actions as a shockwave rolled out from his action, the threads unraveling and fading into the air. Even Big A and Celeron stopped attacking as the shockwave crashed over them, though the former just looked shocked whereas the latter seemed somewhat ill. The silence was broken as Amaryllis dropped to the ground shrieking and flailing as if in pain.


    His aura returned to its uncontrolled state as his gaze drifted away from the woman writhing in pain. His eyes landed on Celeron for less than a moment before moving off the D-Rank and focusing on the boulders Verian had landed in, though he did nothing more than stare. The only indication he gave of even noticing Celeron was his aura ratcheting up to at least double the strength.


    The next moment, Atlas the Titano threw aside the spear that had broken down from his rapidly increasing presence as his suspicions were confirmed. It seemed the potential World Vanguard from Earth had figured out how to use the power of the Beyond he absorbed from the gold-skinned giant to boost himself, though how he did that Atlas didn¡¯t know. Either way, the loosening of restrictions on the Titano allowed him to throw aside the broken-down spear he had been holding together with sheer will as his power flooded back into his body.


    Celeron wasn¡¯t about to let such an opportunity go. He blasted off the ground with all the force his D-Rank legs could muster and launched a pair of overhead slashes at Atlas in an attempt to split him down the middle. As he did so, his swords began glowing the same toxic green as the core in his chest as he activated his skill.


    However, just as the swords came within inches of Atlas a blinding golden light blasted out from his hands and blocked the blades before swinging out at Celeron and forcing him back. The light died down and Atlas slammed the butt of his newly conjured spear into the ground before looking at it fondly.


    ¡°It has been too long, Apollyon, my old friend,¡± he said softly to the golden spear before turning back to Celeron. ¡°Now, I think it¡¯s time I showed you why your useless elders are so scared of me, Worm.¡±

 Sunburst Remnant

    ¡°It has been too long, Apollyon, my old friend,¡± he said softly to the golden spear before turning back to Celeron. ¡°Now, I think it¡¯s time I showed you why your useless elders are so scared of me, Worm.¡±


    Any traces of overconfidence that remained on Celeron¡¯s face disappeared. His eyes began glowing, and he growled at Atlas. ¡°It seems I have no choice,¡± he said, sheathing his swords behind his back before grabbing the whip at his waist. The moment he unfurled the weapon and cracked it in the air his body began to change.


    His muscles bulged against the scaled suit covering his body, and the toxic green light that softly radiated from his body drained into the whip until all that remained was the core at his center and the light in Celeron¡¯s eyes. At the same time, a pair of bony wings extended out from his shoulders, and they began to beat slowly, raising him a few inches off the ground. His already pointed teeth sharpened even further as his mouth widened to extend across his face. Finally, as the physical changes ended and he landed back on the ground, Cerlon stopped changing with a final boost to his presence that confirmed what had just happened.


    ¡°I did not realize the Tainted were so willing to take this location that they would sacrifice not only a Cursed-Evolution Weapon but also a D-Rank capable of using it,¡± Atlas said, unfazed.


    Celeron snarled at the larger man. ¡°You have been a thorn in the Tainted Army¡¯s side for too long, and it was decided that you needed to die no matter the cost. No matter what happens to the portal here, there are other ways out of the Beyond, and even a legendary warrior like you couldn¡¯t fight a mid-tier D-Rank while still in E,¡± he said, confirming Atlas¡¯s suspicions of his increased rank.


    ¡°You are awfully confident for someone who will die after this meeting, whether I am the one who makes the killing blow or not.¡±


    ¡°Standing over your corpse is worth it!¡± Celeron roared as he cracked the whip at Atlas.


    The Titano blocked the strike but still stumbled back at Celeron¡¯s strength. When he caught his footing, he realized that the Tainted had disappeared. On instinct, he dove to the side narrowly avoiding the whip as it struck the ground where he¡¯d been standing. He followed the whip back to its origin in the sky where Celeron flew above him, the confidence back on his face now that he had flown out of reach of Atlas.


    To Celeron¡¯s surprise, Atlas seemed entirely unconcerned by the flying man, though his next action proved why. Atlas slammed the butt of his spear on the ground once, and Apollyon changed from a melee-based dory to a shorter javelin. In one fluid motion, Atlas used the momentum of the spear bouncing off the ground as he took a step forward and launched the spear at the Tainted.


    Celeron¡¯s eyes widened as he dodged to the side but the force of the glowing javelin as it flew past him kicked up enough air to send him spiraling. He stopped his spiral before he entered Atlas¡¯s reach and rapidly flapped his wings to put more distance between the two. Despite how close the spear came, the confidence hadn¡¯t left his face. ¡°What are you going to do now, oh great general? You threw away your only¡ª Ack!¡±


    He screamed in pain as another javelin shot through his stomach. He managed to keep his position in the air but it cost him more energy than before as he beat his wings much faster than before just to keep the same height.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    Atlas looked at him with an annoyed expression, as the spear he¡¯d just thrown reappeared in his hand. ¡°Are you done flapping around like an overgrown pigeon, or do I need to clip your wings?¡±


    ¡°Fuck you, old man!¡± Celeron shouted, striking at Atlas with his whip before he tucked his wings in at his sides and dove at Atlas. He no longer cared about his own safety, He just needed to kill the Titano.


    Atlas twisted to the side to avoid the initial whip strike, but he didn¡¯t have time to notice the lack of force behind it before Celeron¡¯s fist collided with his face, blasting him back. He felt his body bounce off the ground multiple times before he slid to a stop. Celeron wasn¡¯t about to let such an obvious opening go and struck at Atlas with the whip, though the golden giant managed to roll to the side as he regained his feet. He did sustain a few small wounds from the rocks the whip kicked up, but he shrugged them off easily as he kicked off the ground toward Celeron.


    Apollyon¡¯s glowing form shifted back to its original dory as Atlas shot toward Celeron. He stabbed out with the spear three times in less than a second when he grew close to the Tainted. Though his first two strikes managed to stab through Celeron¡¯s armor, the D-Rank used his wings to get a burst of speed and height as he jumped over Atlas and dodged the third strike. He used the brief opening to whip Atlas¡¯s back, and the wound his whip inflicted began to glow a sickly green as the skin around it took a black tinge. Atlas hissed in pain but stayed standing as he spun around and caught Celeron with a glancing blow.


    The interaction repeated itself as the pair moved so fast that any normal human¡¯s eyes couldn¡¯t keep up. It was only a couple of minutes, but to the warriors, it felt like hours until they finally disengaged, each covered in wounds. By all rights, Atlas should have been completely overwhelmed by the rank differential, but his experience had allowed him to close the gap. Of course, there was one other thing that Atlas attributed his continued survival to as his stats gained another small boost from his human namesake¡¯s actions.


    Even then, the battle had been hard-fought, and Atlas struggled to remain standing as the Taint-affinity mana from Celeron¡¯s whip wreaked havoc on his body. Still, the confident smile of the General of the Titanos sat on his face as he looked at Celeron, infuriating the man.


    ¡°What¡¯s so funny, old man?¡± When Atlas said nothing, Celeron lost his temper. ¡°Fine! This ends now!¡± He reeled back his arm as he prepared to strike.


    ¡°I agree,¡± Atlas said, finally breaking his silence. He slammed the butt of his spear on the ground one final time, and with power infusing his voice, he commanded, ¡°Apollyon, Sunburst Remnant!¡±


    Before Celeron could react, all of the wounds that Atlas had inflicted with his spear exploded into blindingly radiant mini-stars. The Tainted¡¯s skin burned and his wounds simultaneously blew open and cauterized as the stench of burned flesh filled the air. The worst of the wounds was from Atlas¡¯s javelin at the beginning of the fight, as the injury was big enough and close enough to Celeron¡¯s hip that when it exploded, it blew off his leg, dropping the Tainted to the ground.


    Now that his opponent was too weak to move, Atlas hobbled his way over to Celeron, who lay gasping, obviously on his last legs, even as his tainted nature tried to regenerate his body. The Titano looked down at him and raised his spear one last time.


    ¡°Well fought,¡± he said. With all the strength he had to spare, he impaled Celeron through the skull, ending the Tainted Lieutenant for good.


    He heaved a sigh of relief and turned to go help his human counterpart, only for his breath to catch again as he saw the remnants of the fight that had been happening simultaneously to his own.

 Finishing the Fight

    Going back four and a half minutes, Atlas paid no attention to Big A or Celeron as the two began to fight, though to be fair, Atlas wasn¡¯t fully in control of his body. Instead, since he¡¯d stopped holding back and listened to the voice, his fading consciousness had shifted, and he¡¯d felt like a viewer in a futuristic VR POV movie. He had only been able to observe as his body had blasted Verian into the boulders and then cut the strange threads that had led from Amaryllis to the Tainted¡¯s portal. He hadn¡¯t even felt more than a flash of pain when he¡¯d broken the bones in his hand and legs during the times.


    Not that he was complaining. Atlas had never trained in any sort of martial arts outside of the karate classes at the YMCA when he¡¯d been ten. If anything, Atlas had gone most of his life trying to avoid fights, so even if he wasn¡¯t thrilled that something he didn¡¯t understand had taken hold of the reins, he could deal with it this once if it meant he would get out of this god-forsaken Scenario alive. One thing that he experienced did surprise him, however.


    How much fucking fun he was having in this fight. Even if his sensations were dulled in his current state, the adrenaline pumping through his body outshone anything he¡¯d ever felt before. Atlas had always been one to ¡°just say no¡± when people had offered him things at school, but even if he had taken them up on their offers, he couldn¡¯t imagine it could match up to any of what he had felt in the last minute. That was especially true for the power he¡¯d felt flow through his body and into his hand when he¡¯d compressed his aura and debilitated Amaryllis.


    Maybe that¡¯s why he felt excited when Verian regained consciousness and pushed herself out from the rocky rubble around her. It took the scale-suit-covered woman less than a second to take in her surroundings, including Amaryllis, who now lay only the ground limply, the only sign of life left her shallow, wheezing breaths and the occasional shiver. Surprisingly, seeing her ally in such a state seemed to seriously affect the sadistic woman. ¡°You bastard!¡± She screamed as she rushed toward him barehanded, her axe lost somewhere after Atlas¡¯s first blow.


    Atlas felt her bloodlust physically wash over him, trying to freeze him in place like a deer staring down a predator. However, the entity controlling Atlas¡¯s body paid it no attention and matched her charge with a punch containing so much power that Atlas could feel the muscles tearing as his arm moved. Prepared this time, Verian blocked the punch by crossing her arms in front of her body as the energy running from her Tainted core to the rest of her body reinforced her arms. Atlas still managed to send her sliding back as scales flew from her arms and toxic ichor followed, but he paid for it as the bones in his hands shattered.


    The power flowing through him quickly remedied that as the bones cracked and shifted back into place, any fractures disappearing as if they never happened. At the same time, the torn muscles in his arm mended together. Even better was the feeling of excitement flowing through his veins at the exchange. The fact that Verian seemed so shocked by his strength as if she¡¯d thought his first hit had been some sort of fluke, made it all the better.


    ¡°What did you do to Amy, you half-done freak?¡± She snarled at him as she caught her balance.


    As much as Atlas wanted to say that he didn¡¯t have a clue and ask her why she¡¯d called him that, he had no control over the muscles to move his mouth, so he couldn¡¯t give her an answer.


    That obviously irritated the Tainted woman, who lunged at him with a wrathful screech. In a reverse of the last exchange, Atlas found himself on the defensive as the fury-filled Verian threw punches and kicks. Rather than block them, Atlas¡¯s strange autopilot tried dodging as efficiently as possible. The only downside was that the speed at which he had to move to avoid the E-Rank movie caused micro-tears and tiny fractures, though with the increasing speed of his regeneration from the equally-increasing Beyond mana flowing through his body they healed instantly.


    As Atlas continued dodging and slipping in between her strikes, he began to sync back with his body. He still didn¡¯t have control, but all the sensations that had been dulled before came with a roaring vengeance, though any pain that should have appeared still stayed gone. Perhaps he should have been concerned, but in all honesty, Atlas loved it. The exhilaration he felt skyrocketed, and he felt his facial muscles respond by curling up into a smile that had to have been insane from any normal person¡¯s perspective. That smile only expanded as he noticed that the threads from Amaryllis had appeared behind Verian as well.


    The change from his autonomous blank expression to a mad grin also served to throw Verian off her rhythm, and she overextended herself on a punch and disrupted her balance. Unwilling to let such an opening go, Atlas moved before he could realize he had control of his body back and threw a Beyond-mana empowered elbow into the woman¡¯s face knocking her to her back on the ground. She hit so hard that the rocky ground of the plateau cracked, and though she hadn¡¯t been knocked unconscious, she was dazed.


    Unwilling to let her get back up, Atlas didn¡¯t even take the time to think. He gave into his instincts once again and felt as his aura contracted around his hand once again. His voice changed once again as the words slipped through his lips on their own once again as his hand began to drop. ¡°Your Fate Is Mine to Decide.¡±This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    Verian only had time to widen her eyes in horror before Atlas cut through the threads connecting her to the portal. As they dissipated into the air, she let out a scream of pain identical to Amaryllis¡¯s before she began to flail about just like her fellow lieutenant. Atlas only bothered to watch her for a moment before turning away, gaining no enjoyment from her agony.


    Now that he no longer had to worry about the two E-Rank lieutenants, Atlas took a deep breath to calm his heart and looked over to where Big A and Celeron had been fighting, only to see the Titano standing over the corpse of the D-Rank, staring at Atlas with a look of shock on his face. Atlas took a step forward to congratulate the Titano only to stumble as his muscles turned weak. He forced himself to remain standing as he gave himself a once over. Finding nothing obvious, he decided to test an idea.


    He reached down and grabbed a shard of metal left over from the many broken weapons across the plateau and used it to cut his palm. Even as blood began to well up, the wound rapidly healed. At the same time, the feeling of exhaustion in his body increased by a small amount confirming his suspicions. Even outputting as much of the Beyond¡¯s power through his aura as he had, the strain it had put on his body as it healed him and flowed through his body had rapidly depleted his body¡¯s energy.


    ¡°Guess I overdid it a little, huh?¡± Atlas said with a tired grin as Big A walked up to him.


    ¡°You certainly did more than could have been asked of you. You can rest easy now. Since the lieutenants have all been stopped and this was not a mid-level invasion, no one else will come through the portal,¡± Big A said, also visibly tired as he leaned on Apollyon.


    Atlas wanted to shout in disbelief at the idea that what they¡¯d been through was an ¡°easier¡± invasion, but he felt too tired. ¡°Still got some time left before I can let it go,¡± he said, his eyes flicking to the timer in the corner of his vision.


    TIME REMAINING: 0:45/1:30:00


    TAKE AT LEAST .1 PERCENT OF ATLAS¡¯S POWER FOR 5 MINUTES CONSECUTIVELY (4:15/5:00)


    ¡°Until then, I can¡ª¡± Atlas cut himself off as his instincts screamed at him to go to the portal. He wanted to ignore them with how tired he was; instead, he said, ¡°Big A, I need to get to the portal, now!¡±


    To his credit, the Titano didn¡¯t question Atlas¡¯s sudden tone change, and he just unsummoned Apollyon picked up the human in his golden arms, and moved across the plateau in an instant. He set Atlas down and took a step back, letting the human do his thing.


    As his Beyond empowered aura covered the portal, Atlas realized why he had felt it so important for him to get there. Hundreds of ripped and torn threads extended from the edge of the portal, and Atlas realized that his original impression of it being a tear in space wasn¡¯t far off. He also realized that even if he and Big A had succeeded in stopping this invasion, leading to the portal¡¯s closure, it would only be temporary. The tear would reopen and it would happen again, possibly with even stronger enemies. Atlas couldn¡¯t let that happen, and he had a feeling that his aura could help him. The problem was that even with his aura boosted to as high as it was, though he¡¯d kind of stopped keeping track, it still wasn¡¯t strong enough.


    Letting out a sigh, Atlas shot another glance at the timer.


    TIME REMAINING: 0:35/1:30:00


    I¡¯m getting real tired of these damn time limits, he thought. Even as he griped, Atlas let his thoughts fade away, relying purely on his instincts to guide him. He reached out to the Beyond mana that had been raging through his body all this time, and following it to its source in Big A, he willed even more of it into his body, a call it willingly answered.


    ¡°Atlas, what are you doing?!¡± The Titano said in shock.


    Atlas didn¡¯t bother answering as he grit his teeth and grunted in pain. He could feel the power accumulating in his body, and he gradually used it to strengthen his thread-revealing aura, increasing its glow. He chanced a quick glance at the timer.


    TIME REMAINING: 0:23/1:30:00


    Knowing he was out of time, he threw caution to the wind. With a scream, he forced every bit of the power of the Beyond in his body out through his aura even as it refilled from Big A. As he did, blood began running from his tear ducts, nose, and pores, and he only then realized just how infinite the power of the beyond was. Still, he was too far along and far too stubborn to stop now with so little time left.


    TIME REMAINING: 0:15/1:30:00


    Luckily, his efforts paid off, and his aura was so thick that the air felt liquid. With force of will, he focused his aura on the portal threads, and began to force them together, the white threads now purple with his power. For one final time, he felt something powerful rise in his throat, though the words were different this time.


    ¡°The Tapestry of Fate is Mine to Weave.¡±


    As Atlas finished speaking each power-infused word, he felt the threads give into his will and snap together. They began to tie together and interlock in a complicated weave, Atlas¡¯s aura still powering them.


    Finally, Atlas¡¯s body could handle the strain no more, and he dropped to the ground as the portal threats snapped to completion. As his vision turned black, he gave a victorious smile, and in a quiet voice, he said, ¡°Fuck yeah,¡± at the timer before passing out.


    TIME REMAINING: 0:00/1:30:00

 I DID WHAT?!

    The pounding in Atlas¡¯s head felt like a military band¡¯s percussion section invaded his brain as it broke him from his sleep. He wondered what he had drunk to get this bad of a hangover, but when he tried thinking back, all he could remember was a strange dream where he¡¯d fought alongside a being that shared his name against creatures from his scariest nightmares. Obviously, that couldn¡¯t be right, so he decided to just get up from his unusually uncomfortable bed and see if his phone would give him any answers.


    Only to lift his head and open his eyes to one of the Lieutenants from his dream staring down at him.


    ¡°Holy shit!¡± He screamed, instinctually flinching backward to hit his head on the hard ground. Sparks flashed across his vision as his headache lashed out with fury at the impact, and the pain seemed to set off a chain reaction across his whole body. Atlas wanted nothing more than to scramble back, but the pain and an unnatural weakness in his muscles prevented him from moving.


    ¡°Amy back up a little! You¡¯re scaring the poor kid,¡± a voice called from behind the blank-faced woman above him, who Atlas now realized was Amaryllis, though something seemed different about her.


    As Amaryllis pulled back out of his vision with what Atlas could have sworn was a slight pout, Big A leaned in from his other side. ¡°How you doin¡¯ kid?¡± He asked with a slight smile.


    ¡°Big A? What¡¯s¡­ the lieutenants? What¡¯s going on?¡± Atlas couldn¡¯t even put together a sentence between the headache and the shock of the lieutenant¡¯s appearance.


    ¡°Hold on, kid. Let¡¯s get you sat up, and I¡¯ll explain what I can,¡± Big A said before reaching under Atlas and lifting his torso enough to push a boulder behind the human closer to brace him as Big A set him down. Atlas hissed in pain at the movements, the shock of it keeping him from being overwhelmed. Sure that Atlas wouldn¡¯t fall, Big A backed up and sat down in a lotus position so the much shorter man wouldn¡¯t have to crane his neck quite so badly. That wasn¡¯t bad by itself, but when Amaryllis and Verian sat down next to the Titano, it almost sent Atlas into another panic before Big A held out his hands in a placating gesture to stave off his reaction. ¡°Easy there, Atlas. They¡¯re not going to hurt you. Things have changed quite a bit while you were unconscious.¡±


    Atlas looked at the two suspiciously as he tried to confirm what Big A said. He partially succeeded as they had gone through some serious physical changes at the very least. Both women¡¯s armor had morphed from the unnerving combination of scales and chitin into form-fitting bodysuits with a subtle texture reminiscent of threaded metal wire but far more flexible than any similar material Atlas knew. The cores that had sat in the middle of the old armor remained, but instead of the vile green they had been before, they now had a purple glow that matched Atlas¡¯s aura during the fight, though he could see flecks of yellow now and again that tickled something in his brain.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Ignoring the feeling, he observed that Varien and Amaryllis¡¯s eyes had regained their scleras and changed back to what Atlas guessed were their original brilliant colors of green and blue, respectively. However, they still had slitted pupils, and Atlas felt like he saw flashes of the same electric purple as in their cores but he couldn¡¯t be sure. The rest of their faces had also lost some of the harsh angles he¡¯d seen previously, though they still had a few scales that framed their faces and trailed down under their armor.


    Each one had also changed in a few unique ways. Varien had lost a few inches, but that hadn¡¯t affected her physique negatively. If anything, she¡¯d gotten more ripped, the new armor revealing her toned biceps and legs and an eight-pack of abs that could grate cheese. Atlas could also see that past her flowing red hair she¡¯d recovered her weapon while he¡¯d been unconscious, and its head had shifted from the double-headed war axe to a war hammer-axe combo with a spike protruding from between the two heads. Atlas wondered what had caused the weapon of all things to shift as he traced the serrated blade and octagonal hammer combo weapon.


    As he switched his attention to Amaryllis, Atlas saw her sitting down with her legs crossed and hands folded. Whatever shift had come over the formerly Tainted woman, it hadn¡¯t affected her expressionlessness as she sat there calmly. At first, Atlas couldn¡¯t see any changes in her compared to Verian, but then Amaryllis tilted her head. Behind her rising in the air and swaying slowly was her tail. However, it had changed far more than Atlas could have expected, especially when the memory of the grotesque and colorless scorpion tale that had stabbed into his heart not so long ago.


    Instead, her tail had changed to a beautiful gold color, with shimmering veins of pearlescence breaking it up. The chitin composing the exoskeleton of the tail might also have changed, though Atlas couldn¡¯t tell for certain. The change that drew his attention the most was Amaryllis¡¯s stinger. The area where the stinger met the rest of the tail gradually shifted from gold to darker and darker shades until it reached the base of the injector where it abruptly moved to a constantly shifting rainbow. Atlas would have found it rather pretty if bugs didn¡¯t completely petrify him.


    The pair blushed after having him staring for so long, and Atlas realized that if he were in one of the LitRPG books he liked, it would¡¯ve made a shitty exposition chapter. He cleared his throat. ¡°Is it true?¡± He asked. ¡°You two aren¡¯t about to kill me?¡±


    Amaryllis shook her head in an enthusiastic no, though Atlas wasn¡¯t sure to which question. Verian answered it when she asked with confusion on her face, ¡°Kill you? Why would we kill you? You saved us after all.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, thanks to you we¡¯re finally free. You even made the pair of us an all-new race I¡¯ve never heard of before,¡± Verian said as Amaryllis nodded enthusiastically behind her.


    ¡°I DID WHAT?!¡±

 Three Ways to Become a Different Being

    Atlas¡¯s gaze ping-ponged back and forth between the two women. After letting him flounder for a moment, Verian covered her mouth, hiding a giggle. Atlas could only stare at her in shock as he tried to figure out if she was playing some cruel prank on him.


    Verian finally took pity on him enough to stop giggling and explain. ¡°General Atlas told me that you¡¯re a new Vanguard in your world. Is that right?¡± When Atlas nodded, she continued. ¡°Well, in that case, you probably don¡¯t have experience with races outside of humans, right?¡±


    Atlas tilted his head in confusion. ¡°On my planet, race is a word that breaks humans into groups based on physical traits like skin color. I¡¯m guessing that¡¯s not what you¡¯re talking about.¡±


    ¡°No, that just seems like a great way to cause a race to internally implode when there¡¯s already more than enough conflict to go around.¡± Atlas wanted to defend his planet, but that was definitely true if Earth was any indication. ¡°Instead, in most of the rest of the multiverse, races are categorized by the difference in stats and racial skills members get as they level up and evolve. Physical features can be used to recognize the race as a whole, but it¡¯s not the main point of it. Understand?¡± Atlas nodded. ¡°Well, usually there are only three ways to change your race in the multiverse.


    ¡°The first is through natural evolution between ranks. For most monsters, evolving your race enough grants sentience and the ability to take on a human form, though it differs depending on the path of the individual. For the so-called ¡®enlightened races,¡¯ which really just means those with the capability for both classes and professions, it¡¯s the point where most evolve their classes and professions to the next step with the possibility of changing or upgrading their race if they meet the requirements and the capability exists.¡±


    ¡°Can everyone not evolve their race?¡± Atlas asked.


    Big A answered this one. ¡°Most races have a limit as to where they can start, though there can be some mutations that appear here and there. My base Titano race had a cap of A-rank.¡±


    Atlas nodded before a thought came to him. ¡°Does that mean that some races are simply inherently stronger than others? What about humans?¡±


    Verian retook the lead. ¡°As to your first question, the answer is yes and no. The limit is more about the rank that children can start at, making it easier to rank up and gain strength than races with a lower cap; however, that also means they generally have some kind of drawback in exchange. As for your question about humans, we¡¯re the most generic race in the universe, mirrored by our highest base rank-cap being C-Rank.¡±


    Atlas found the whole thing interesting and said as much, but he felt that they were diverging from their original conversation a little too much. ¡°What about the other two ways that someone¡¯s race can change?¡±


    Big A answered him. ¡°There are several skills or blessings that can change a person¡¯s race, but they usually have specific requirements, or they only work on the person who holds them. Undead conversion is the most common way to have your race dramatically changed.¡±


    ¡°Undead?¡± Atlas raised an eyebrow. The word brought to mind online stories of axe-wielding draugr, skeleton knights, and cursed trappers. ¡°How does that one work?¡±


    Big A had a serious expression on his face. ¡°It¡¯s a ritual that turns the spiritual energy veins in the body of a being into miasma veins, altering the life affinity that keeps most creatures alive into death affinity. That turns someone into an undead, though the exact type of undead depends on the specific ritual and materials used.¡±Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Atlas¡¯s next question weighed heavily on his mind. ¡°In Earth media, the undead are usually depicted¡­ poorly, and turning into one is never done by choice, except for certain sparkly vampires, maybe.¡± He smirked even though he knew no one else would get the reference. He sobered up as he asked, ¡°Is that the case for the multiverse? Can someone be forcibly turned undead?¡±


    Big A¡¯s already serious expression turned downright somber. ¡°Atlas, the answer to that is¡­ complicated. How familiar is your world with the concept of the soul?¡±


    Atlas scrunched his brow at the question. He wiggled his torso slightly to get more comfortable as he regained some feeling in his upper body and thought about it. ¡°We¡­ do have some ideas of it,¡± he said hesitantly. ¡°But, it¡¯s debated pretty heavily, and no one really knows for sure.¡±


    ¡°Well, the soul is the vessel that holds all of the information that makes you who you are. It is multi-layered, and the deeper in the soul one goes, the more secure and untouchable the information is.¡±


    This information was absolutely fascinating, but Atlas stopped himself from going too afield as he realized where Big A was heading. ¡°How deep is the information about someone¡¯s race stored?¡±


    Big A thought for a moment. ¡°If I had to guess the astral body, which is the informational basis for physical appearance and racial traits, is stored halfway to the Origin, the center of the soul, which only the System can access.¡±


    Atlas looked at the big man for a moment. ¡°How do the Undead convert people if it¡¯s so difficult?¡±


    ¡°The Origin aside, the soul can be affected by others in two situations, forced and voluntary. Forced manipulation of the soul can be done, but it is usually only seen in the case of inspection skills, soul attacks, or telepathic and empathic abilities. Any more than that it becomes nearly impossible for anyone short of a god to make serious changes to even an F-Rank.¡± Atlas filed away the existence of gods for a later date.


    Big A continued. ¡°Voluntary soul changes are still extremely difficult, but they allow outside sources to directly interact with specific layers of the soul and make changes without fighting through and damaging others. This allows larger transformation-based factions like the Undead Republic or Automaton Technocracy to convert other races to their own, usually through special rituals or skills unique to certain paths.¡±


    ¡°So, to become an undead, you have to willingly change, or be risen from the dead as a risen corpse?¡± Atlas clarified, rubbing his chin in thought.


    ¡°Exactly,¡± Big A confirmed. ¡°Though any corpses risen from the dead will retain none of the original memories of the living person.¡±


    ¡°Makes sense. So the system can change your race between ranks or in special cases, and factions like the Undead can do it with rituals or skills.¡± Atlas counted them off with his fingers. ¡°You mentioned three ways. What¡¯s the third way?¡±


    The three faces across from him darkened, even Amaryllis¡¯s which surprised Atlas.


    ¡°Existence torture,¡± Verian spat.


    Atlas had no idea what that meant, but her tone told him enough. ¡°I¡¯m guessing that¡¯s what the Tainted did to you.¡±


    She gave a dark, humorless laugh. ¡°You would guess right. The Taint crawls inside of both your physical and Astral bodies, and it corrupts both of them, breaking down anything that stands in the way. The body is primed for any changes, and any layers before the Astral body are also corrupted. Extreme personality changes can occur, though not everything changes, and the consciousness is usually suppressed. It is an agonizing process that leaves the soul completely aware of what is happening to them until they give up, and it will shape them into a Tainted being, usually a Grunt.


    ¡°As you increase in rank, you regain sentience, but you feel yourself breaking apart and becoming more and more corrupted, both physically and mentally until you¡¯re completely loyal to the Tainted.¡± Both she and Amaryllis shuddered at the memories, and Atlas sympathized with them at the horrible experience. ¡°It¡¯s horrible and completely inescapable¡­ at least, it should have been.¡± Atlas felt her gaze bore into him. ¡°You, however, a weak human who hasn¡¯t even fully integrated from an outlier planet, managed to do what no one else has done before, and you not only removed the Tainted¡¯s influence, you purified it. I want to know how.¡±

 Getting Rewards

    Atlas shrugged. He didn¡¯t know what he¡¯d done, and he said as much. ¡°I wish I could tell you, but I don¡¯t really know what happened. For most of the fight, I wasn¡¯t consciously doing anything, and even when I did have control over my body, I listened to my instincts more than anything else. I¡¯m not even sure I could try to do it again, with how much I had boosted myself during that fight. I mean look at what happened last time.¡±


    ¡°But¡ª¡± Verian tried pushing further, but Big A cut her off.


    ¡°Listen to the boy, Verian. Besides, he can¡¯t do anything until he is fully integrated anyway.¡±


    Atlas latched on to the change in subject. ¡°What do you mean? I thought finishing the quest automatically integrated me into the System.¡±


    ¡°Not quite. Have you accessed the notification logs since you woke up?¡± Atlas shook his head, only then realizing that a small icon flashed in the corner of his vision, similar to a video game mailbox. ¡°Before you open it¡ª¡± Big A¡¯s warning came too late as Atlas accessed his notifications.


    Atlas''s notifications overwhelmed him like a stampede of animals escaping through a broken fence. He couldn¡¯t see anything through them, quickly giving him a headache. Fortunately, he managed to mentally direct the notifications to show one by one which lessened the visual stimulation, though he could feel pressure in his head like a balloon filled with too much air. With that handled, he could manage reading the first notification.


    ACHIEVEMENT EARNED:


    DEFIANT (UNCOMMON)- SURVIVE AN E-RANK OR ABOVE FACTION¡¯S CORRUPTION ATTEMPT


    UPGRADE EARNED:


    INDOMITABLE (LEGENDARY)-SURVIVE AN S-RANK OR ABOVE FACTION¡¯S CORRUPTION ATTEMPTS


    THE ABYSS STARED INTO YOU AND YOU STARED RIGHT BACK. IT TRIED TO BREAK YOU DOWN, BUT YOU DUG DOWN DEEP INSIDE AND FOUGHT IT OFF, EVEN AS IT THREATENED TO CONSUME. THE EXPERIENCE TEMPERED YOUR SOUL AND DEVELOPED YOUR PRESENCE TO NEW HEIGHTS, THOUGH ONLY TIME WILL REVEAL THE CHANGES THAT RESULTED. CORRUPTION-BASED ENEMIES NOW KNOW OF YOUR IMMUNITY TO THEIR POWERS


    +15% WILLPOWER, +WILLPOWER EFFECTIVENESS OF SOUL AND AURA-BASED POWERS, + 1 (MENTAL RESISTANCE SKILL SELECTION), +(CORRUPTION IMMUNITY)


    ERROR: LACK OF INTEGRATION DETECTED: REWARDS WITHHELD UNTIL COMPLETION


    HUH! Atlas could hardly believe the skill he¡¯d just received. He didn¡¯t understand it all, but the upgrade from Uncommon to Legendary seemed like a major jump, especially if the way you earned it was surviving the Tainted¡¯s corruption poison. Atlas¡¯s eyes flicked to Amaryllis¡¯s tail and back to the notification. It sucked that he wouldn¡¯t get the rewards from the achievement until fully integrated, but he had a feeling that wouldn¡¯t be a problem in a moment. He continued going through his notifications, even though he couldn¡¯t imagine getting anything near the level of his first reward.


    YOU PURIFIED [TAINTED SECOND LIEUTENANT- AMARYLLIS- LVL 75]- EXP REWARDED


    BONUS EXP FOR LVL DIFFERENTIAL


    F TO E-RANK DIFFERENCE- BONUS EXP FOR RANK DIFFERENTIAL


    NON-INTEGRATION BONUS- BONUS EXP


    ERROR: LACK OF INTEGRATION DETECTED: EXP WITHHELD UNTIL COMPLETIONUnauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Atlas skimmed through the notification before moving on to the next two, both of which seemed related to his successful purification of Amaryllis. He smiled when he saw the achievements.


    ACHIEVEMENT EARNED:


    PUNCHING UP (COMMON)- DEFEAT AN E-RANK WHILE STILL IN F-RANK


    IT TAKES A SPECIAL FOOL TO FIGHT AGAINST THOSE HIGHER THAN THEM. IT TAKES A GREATER FOOL STILL TO TRY TO WIN. AS AN F-RANK, TO PULL IT OFF IS A SIGN OF POTENTIAL.


    +5 TO ALL STATS


    ERROR: LACK OF INTEGRATION DETECTED: REWARDS WITHHELD UNTIL COMPLETION


    ACHIEVEMENT EARNED:


    DEMANDING RECOGNITION (EPIC)- FIGHT AGAINST A SYSTEM MEMBER WHO HAS UNDERGONE AT LEAST ONE RANK EVOLUTION BEFORE INTEGRATION COMPLETION


    TO FIGHT AGAINST ANY INTEGRATION SYSTEM MEMBER PRE-INTEGRATION IS A CHALLENGE. TO DO SO AGAINST ONE WHO HAS UNDERGONE EVOLUTION IS AN ACT OF SHEER DEFIANCE THAT ONLY THOSE LACKING IN INTELLIGENCE OR COMMON SENSE. SOMEHOW YOU PULLED IT OFF, A SIGN OF YOUR WILLPOWER AND LUCK.


    +5% LUCK, +5% WILL


    Atlas didn¡¯t feel any disappointment despite the lackluster rewards in comparison to his first achievement. As low as his stats had to be, any advantages he could get might be the thing that kept him alive for whatever the future brought.


    YOU PURIFIED [TAINTED LIEUTENANT- VERIAN- LVL 79]- EXP REWARDED


    BONUS EXP FOR LVL DIFFERENTIAL


    F TO E-RANK DIFFERENCE- BONUS EXP FOR RANK DIFFERENTIAL


    NON-INTEGRATION BONUS- BONUS EXP


    ERROR: LACK OF INTEGRATION DETECTED: EXP WITHHELD UNTIL COMPLETION


    Atlas noted that he didn¡¯t hadn¡¯t received any new achievements for purifying Verian, only the bonus experience for the rank difference and his lack of integration status. Still, he couldn¡¯t help but wonder what his level would be after the EXP of two enemies over 75 levels above him. The growing excitement prompted him to move on to his next notifications.


    YOU CLOSED A TAINTED BREACH PORTAL- JOB EXP REWARDED


    ERROR: JOB NOT DETECTED


    REWARD ALTERED: JOB PATH IMPROVED UPON SELECTION


    ERROR: LACK OF INTEGRATION DETECTED: REWARD WITHHELD UNTIL COMPLETION


    UNIVERSlAL FIRST ACHIEVEMENT EARNED


    TYING UP LOOSE ENDS EARLY (UNIQUE): CLOSE A BEYOND FACTION¡¯S BREACH PORTAL BEFORE FULL INTEGRATION


    TO LEAVE THE ENEMY AN AVENUE FOR RETURN IS TO TEMPT THE KARMIC KNOTS THAT HAVE FORMED BETWEEN YOU, SO IT IS COMMON PRACTICE IN THE UNIVERSE TO DESTROY ANY PORTALS LEFT ONCE AN INVASION HAS BEEN STOPPED. HOWEVER, THIS LEAVES FLAWS IN THE VEIL BETWEEN THE MULTIVERSE AND THE BEYOND. YOU HAVE MANAGED TO DO WHAT ONLY A FEW MASTERS OF UNIVERSAL MANIPULATION HAVE DONE, REPAIRING THE BREACH PORTAL INSTEAD OF DESTROYING IT¡­ AND BEFORE INTEGRATION! WAS IT DUE TO STUPID LUCK AND SHEER BULLHEADEDNESS THAT YOU PULLED IT OFF? MAYBE. BUT IT¡¯S IMPRESSIVE ALL THE SAME.


    +25 LUCK, +5% WILL, +10 FATE, +1 KARMIC MANIPULATION SKILL SELECTION


    ERROR: LACK OF INTEGRATION DETECTED: REWARD WITHHELD UNTIL COMPLETION


    Holy shit! A universal first achievement¡¯s gotta be good, right? Atlas wanted to crow with joy at the notification, but he held himself back. There were still a few to go, and if the order were any indication, the next one would be a big one.


    QUEST COMPLETED!


    ASSIST ATLAS THE UNBREAKABLE IN HIS BATTLE AGAINST THE TAINTED.


    (2/2 COMPLETED)


    #1: TAKE AT LEAST .1 PERCENT OF ATLAS¡¯S POWER FOR 5 MINUTES CONSECUTIVELY (5:00/5:00)


    #2: TAKE AT LEAST .01 PERCENT OF ATLAS¡¯S POWER FOR A TOTAL OF 15 MINUTES (1:30:00/15:00)


    GENERATING REWARD


    COMPLETE INTEGRATION IN THE MULTIVERSAL SYSTEM


    COMMENCING IN


    3¡­


    2¡­


    1¡­


    INTEGRATION INITIATED

 Getting Integrated

    Energy ripped through Atlas¡¯s body, lifting him off the ground and into the air. He struggled against the System, but he quickly found himself paralyzed. A pins-and-needles feeling started in his feet and rose through the rest of his body. His skin began to itch and ache, but he couldn¡¯t move a muscle. His whole body had locked up, and he could only grit his teeth as the pain escalated to sheer agony. Atlas¡¯s skin and the muscles below began to tear and compress, and even his skeleton ground itself to dust only to reform, far stronger than before. At the same time, a noxious black substance oozing with miasma bubbled up from his body exiting through his bloody pores.


    Soon, tears of blood ran down the sides of his face, and even more blood welled up in his nose and throat. He wanted to cough it up, or even to scream, but his body refused to listen to his commands as the pain grew. The blood began to clog his airways, and he couldn¡¯t take a single breath without blood forcing its way down his lungs. The edges of his vision turned dark, and Atlas wondered once again why he hadn¡¯t just agreed to go to court instead of putting up with all the bullshit he¡¯d faced that day.


    Would¡¯ve beat dying, he thought sluggishly.


    Just as Atlas had given up, accepting that he had finally reached his limit, a notification flashed across his eyes, but he ignored it and dropped to the ground, all his pain gone, though the memory was enough to make him want to cry. Instead, he began to cough, hacking up all the blood, adding it to the rest of the blood, viscera, and foul-smelling gunk his body had shed through whatever process he¡¯d just experienced.


    Though he wanted nothing more than to pass out and recover from what he¡¯d just experienced, Atlas couldn¡¯t stand the smell the concoction of his body¡¯s excretions was letting off, so he pushed himself to his feet. His eyes widened as he moved more fluidly than ever before. As he moved closer to Big A and the two Tainted, he could feel the new strength in his muscles, and he could see the muscles clearly in his arms and legs. His mouth tilted in a small frown when he realized that not all of the body fat around his belly had disappeared.


    ¡°Oh, well. Can¡¯t win ¡®em all, I guess,¡± he muttered as he drew closer to Big A¡¯s group.


    ¡°Feeling better?¡± Big A asked.


    ¡°Yeah. Surprisingly. I thought I was going to be down for a while when I woke up. Now I feel better than I ever have. Could do without the smell of this¡­ gunk, though,¡± Atlas said, gagging after getting a whiff of himself and connecting it to the oily residue of whatever ooze his body had just excreted.


    ¡°Here,¡± Big A said, tossing him a small vial filled with a sparkling liquid. ¡°That stuff was created to clean any filth off the body, and it works especially well against impurities from integration and ranking up.¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Atlas uncorked the tiny bottle and poured it over his head. In less than a second, the dirt, blood, and oily, miasmic residue evaporated into white smoke, and its foul stench was replaced by the pleasant scent of vanilla. Atlas smiled at how clean he felt. ¡°That¡¯s way better.¡±


    ¡°As unpleasant as it is, the integration process is a right of passage for every newly integrated member of the multiverse. It¡¯s one of the joys of being part of the vanguard. As is the feeling of getting your integration rewards.¡± With near picture-perfect timing, a System screen appeared in Atlas¡¯s vision. It took Atlas a second to understand what it was, but when he had read it over, he smiled. Big A saw the look on his face and said, ¡°I presume you received said reward.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll say,¡± Atlas said, showing him the notification.


    INTEGRATION COMPLETED: SYSTEM USER¡¯S STATUS IS NOW ENABLED AND MAY BE ACCESSED TO RECEIVE FINAL REWARDS


    ¡°Very good,¡± Big A said with a nod before giving Atlas a serious look. ¡°Atlas, it is very important that you do not show anyone the full extent of your status. Only show parts, and even then only when absolutely necessary or to people you trust. Otherwise, people will use that knowledge against you.¡± Verian and Amaryllis both nodded at his words.


    Atlas could tell that Big A was only looking out for him, so he nodded. ¡°Okay. I understand. I don¡¯t know why anyone would come after me, though.¡±


    Verian looked at him incredulously. ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me. Kid, you passing a Champion-level integration quest would be impressive enough to be a threat to some of the more fragile ego-bearing factions out there. The fact that you properly closed a Tainted escape portal and cured two Tainted lieutenants while still not a full F-Rank is a sign of crazy talent. Any factions that learn about you will want you or want you dead.¡±


    ¡°C¡¯mon,¡± Atlas scoffed. ¡°Surely, you two are blowing this all out of proportion.¡± When neither one responded, his light-hearted smile fell away. ¡°Oh, you gotta be kidding me.¡± He ran a stressed hand through his hair.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid not, Atlas. Some of the factions of the multiverse do not take kindly to being shown up. Fortunately, the only ones remaining who know of the level of your Integration Scenario are the four of us, and I very much doubt that anyone here is in a rush to share. Isn¡¯t that right?¡± With those words, he sent sharp looks at both women, who hurriedly nodded.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Atlas said with a sigh as he took a second to steady his nerves. If that¡¯s the case, how do I open my status?¡±


    ¡°All you need to do is think of how you want your stats displayed and focus,¡± Big A answered. ¡°In time, it will become second nature and automatic, but the first must be done intentionally.¡±


    Atlas nodded as he closed his eyes and thought about what he wanted, not that he needed to. He¡¯d been a gamer for years and knew exactly what he wanted, with a few personalizations. After he had worked those out, he locked the image in his mind, concentrated, and thought, Status.

 Well, that certainly didnt help.

    ATLAS DRISCOL


    RACE: 95% HUMAN, 5% ???


    CLASS: N/A


    RACIAL LEVEL: 1 (EXP WITHHELD)


    HP (HEALTH POINTS): 110/110


    SP (STAMINA POINTS): 85/90


    MP (MANA POINTS): 140/140


    STRENGTH: 12


    DEXTERITY: 10


    VITALITY: 11


    ENDURANCE: 9


    INTELLIGENCE: 14


    WILLPOWER: 17 (15)


    LUCK: 26 (25)


    FATE: 10


    ABILITY: (SELECTIONS AVAILABLE)


    SKILLS:


    RACIAL SKILLS (HUMAN):


    FOR THE GOOD OF ALL (UNIQUE)- HUMANS ARE COLLECTIVELY KNOWN AS ONE OF THE WEAKEST GROUPS IN THE MULTIVERSE, BUT THEY MAKE UP FOR IT WITH THEIR NUMBERS AND INEXPLAINABLE POTENTIAL FOR GROWTH. ALL POWER STORED IN A HUMAN¡¯S ORIGINS CAN BE USED TO BOOST THE ORIGINS OF THOSE RELATED TO THEM.


    SHORTSIGHTED BOOST (F-RANK): HUMANS HAVE PROVEN TIME AND TIME AGAIN THAT THEY ARE WILLING AND ABLE TO SACRIFICE THEIR FUTURE FOR CURRENT BENEFITS. TO THAT END, HUMANS CAN SACRIFICE THE CURRENCY OF THEIR COLLECTED POTENTIAL, FATE, TO GAIN +5 IN ANY STAT. BE WARNED: THE SYSTEM REMEMBERS THE WISE¡­ AND THE FOOLISH


    PERSONAL SKILLS: CORRUPTION IMMUNITY (LEGENDARY); (SELECTIONS AVAILABLE)


    CLASS SKILLS: N/A


    BLOODLINE: ??? (UNIQUE)


    ACHIEVEMENTS:


    TYING UP LOOSE ENDS EARLY (UNIQUE), INDOMITABLE (LEGENDARY), DEMANDING RECOGNITION (EPIC), PUNCHING UP (COMMON)


    At first, Atlas was a little overwhelmed by all the information, but he understood it after a second. Vitality determined his health points, his Endurance his stamina, and his intelligence his mana at a 10:1 ratio each. Granted, he could only scratch his head at how those numbers actually affected him, not to mention the question marks in his race and bloodline, but he just shrugged it off and focused on the next thread of notifications flashing before his eyes.


    SCENARIO QUEST COMPLETED: GENERATING REWARDSStolen novel; please report.


    ONE ADDITIONAL STARTING SKILL (RARE)


    ONE STARTING ABILITY (RARE)


    BONUS OBJECTIVES COMPLETED:


    #1: TAKE GREATER THAN .1 PERCENT OF ATLAS¡¯S POWER FOR AT LEAST 5 SECONDS DURING THE QUEST: COMPLETED


    #2: TAKE AT LEAST .015 PERCENT OF ATLAS¡¯S POWER FOR 75 PERCENT OF THE EVENT: COMPLETED


    #3: SURVIVE THE ENTIRE EVENT: COMPLETED


    REWARD: ADDITIONAL ABILITY SLOT AND ONE ABILITY SELECTION (UNIQUE)


    HIDDEN OBJECTIVE DETECTED:


    DEFEAT AT LEAST ONE E-RANK ENEMY: COMPLETED


    REWARD: ONE ADDITIONAL SKILL (EPIC)


    DISTRIBUTING REWARDS


    Atlas had completely forgotten about the hidden objectives if he was being honest. He¡¯d just been trying to survive, but if the System wanted to reward him for that, he certainly wasn¡¯t going to stop it. He was a little conflicted on the hidden objective though. He didn¡¯t really consider what he did ¡°defeating¡± his enemy, considering he hadn¡¯t been in control during the fight, and both of said enemies were currently sitting across from him and glancing over as they chatted with each other and Big A. On the other hand, arguing with the System when it was trying to give him something that would probably keep him alive better didn¡¯t seem like the smartest idea. Keeping that in mind, Atlas accepted the rewards only to be bombarded by two new notifications. He focused his attention on the shorter of the two.


    ABILITY SELECTION: CHOOSE ONE ABILITY (UNIQUE) AND ONE ABILITY (RARE)


    RARE SELECTIONS:


    OPTION 1: (RARE) MOMENTUM (PASSIVE): ENERGY AND DAMAGE ABSORBED GRADUALLY INCREASE STRENGTH AND DEXTERITY AS LONG AS COMBAT OCCURS; PERCENTAGE OF BOOST CAN BE STORED BASED ON RANK


    OPTION 2: (RARE) MOMENTARY ADAPTATION (PASSIVE): ONE ELEMENTAL OR STATUS-BASED RESISTANCE WILL GROW DURING BATTLE BASED ON RECEIVED DAMAGE OR EFFECTS; ALL RESISTANCE WILL BE LOST UPON BATTLE¡¯S CONCLUSION


    OPTION 3: (RARE) UNKNOWN ENTITY (PASSIVE): ALL IDENTIFY-BASED SKILLS USED BY THOSE WITHIN TWO RANKS OF YOU WILL FAIL; LIKELIHOOD OF SUCCESS BY THOSE THREE RANKS ABOVE OR HIGHER WILL INCREASE BY 25% PER RANK


    OPTION 4: (RARE) INVENTORY (PASSIVE)- DIMENSIONAL SPACE WITH A MAXIMUM STORAGE OF 10X10X10 METERS; ALL ITEMS WITHIN ARE FROZEN IN TIME; NO LIVING THINGS MAY BE STORED


    Atlas¡¯s eyes widened as he saw the rare options. He didn¡¯t doubt that any one of the abilities would be useful, but they were all situational, especially Momentum and Momentary Adaptation. Atlas could also tell that his actions in the scenario had at least partially affected the first three. He and Big A had grown progressively stronger throughout the fight through him absorbing the Beyond mana from the Titano, and he imagined that by successfully resisting the Tainted¡¯s attempt at corrupting him, he had gained resistance to their powers, leading to both Momentum and Momentary Adaptation. He could even imagine the Tainted Lieutenants¡¯ constant identifying of his rank led to Unknown Entity appearing, but he had no idea where Inventory came from. Nor did he know which he would pick. He had a few ideas, but he also realized that what he chose could be what he was stuck with for a while. With that in mind, he scrolled down on the notification to look at the only two unique options to see if they would help his decision.


    UNIQUE SELECTIONS:


    OPTION 1: (UNIQUE) THE TOUCH THAT SCARES THE DARK (PASSIVE): YOUR TOUCH TURNS THAT WHICH IS CORRUPTED OR MORPHED BACK TO ITS PURIST FORM. YOUR AURA STRENGTHENS THE HOLY AND BREAKS DOWN THE CORRUPT. SEEK PURITY, SEEK THE LIGHT. GAIN HOLY-AFFINITY AND A HOLY-AFFINITY AURA SKILL. [ENDORSED BY THE GODDESS OF PURITY]


    OPTION 2: (UNIQUE) THE EYES THAT SEE BEYOND THE THREADS (PASSIVE): TO MOST, THE THREADS CONNECTING EVERYTHING IN THE UNIVERSE ARE HIDDEN, BUT YOU HAVE SEEN THEM. NOW, YOU SHALL SEE BEYOND THEM. YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE UNIVERSE NOW INCREASES AT A FAR FASTER RATE, AS DOES YOUR COMPREHENSION OF CONCEPTS YOU STUDY. SKILLS RELATING TO THE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE RESIDENTS AND PLACES UPGRADE FAR EASIER AND ARE FAR MORE EFFECTIVE. GAIN (LEGENDARY) THREADSIGHT IDENTIFICATION SKILL. ALL ADDITIONAL IDENTIFY SKILLS GET UPGRADED BY AT LEAST ONE RANK. YOU SEE THE PATH AND THE PATH IS YOUR OWN.


    After he read them, Atlas stared at the Unique grade options, jaw to the floor. That certainly changed things up, especially now that gods were real and had an interest in his choices here, amazingly enough. Despite that, one thought dominated his mind as he looked back and forth between the rare and unique options.


    Well, that certainly didn¡¯t help.

 Seeking Advice

    Atlas blew out a deep breath as he looked at the options. Of course, it wouldn¡¯t be that easy. Still, the fact that he had multiple selections at all¡ªand that an outside force as powerful as a goddess had decided to intercede in said selection¡ª told him a couple of things. First and foremost, whatever Abilities were in the grand scheme of things, they were important enough that people far beyond Atlas¡¯s comprehension were willing to put in their two cents, and that meant whatever choice Atlas made, it would change his future in some way. It also meant that he didn¡¯t need to decide completely on his own as he¡¯d first been afraid of.


    With that in mind, he pushed the notifications to the corner of his vision for a moment and turned to Big A, Verian, and Amaryllis. When the group noticed his gaze, they stopped chatting and focused on him. ¡°Finished already, Atlas?¡± Big A asked.


    Atlas couldn¡¯t stop the scoff. ¡°Not quite. I wanted to get your input on something.¡±


    ¡°Ah, of course. I must admit that I thought you were going to make all the decisions completely on your own, as most new initiates to the multiverse tend to do.¡± Big A had an apologetic look as he said that.


    ¡°To be honest, I probably would have if it hadn¡¯t been for one of my Ability options being endorsed by a goddess, of all things.¡±


    Three pairs of eyes widened at his words. Big A opened his mouth, but before he could get any words out, someone else cut in. ¡°What rank did you say the Ability was?¡±


    Atlas looked at the red-haired, green-eyed woman staring at him with an intense stare. He didn¡¯t know why she cared so much all of a sudden, but he just shrugged and said, ¡°Unique. Why?¡±


    Even Big A¡¯s jaw dropped at his statement. ¡°You¡­ you got a unique grade option for your integration Ability?¡± He said in disbelief, voice barely a whisper.


    ¡°Actually, I got two,¡± Atlas said in a cautious tone.


    ¡°WHAT?¡± Big A and Verian¡¯s voices overlapped as they shouted in shock, leaving Atlas¡¯s ears ringing. Atlas clapped his hands over his ears as he winced. The pair had the presence of mind to look apologetic.


    ¡°Sorry, kid,¡± Big A said, but Atlas just waved his hand dismissively. He had already healed from it as a result of a newly boosted Vitality stat. Instead, he tapped his foot as he waited for someone to explain why it was such a big deal. Sighing in relief, Big A continued speaking. ¡°Can you tell us what you need help with?¡±


    Atlas raised an eyebrow at the lack of explanation but decided to let it go for the time being. He started from the beginning listing off his achievements¡ªthough he did keep their exact effects to himself¡ª, his status sheet, the question marks in his race and bloodline, and the options available to him in the Ability selection. He also briefly mentioned the notification window that he hadn¡¯t taken a peek at yet, but he could see it was currently greyed out in the corner of his vision, as waiting for his choices with the Ability selection. He wrapped up as he said, ¡°And that¡¯s why I need help sorting through all this and getting some advice on what it all means.¡± By the time he finished speaking, everyone stared at him, jaws hanging and eyes bulging. He looked at them and asked defensively, ¡°What? Why are you staring at me like that?¡±


    ¡°You are strong,¡± said an entirely new voice, a soft alto with gravelly undertones. Atlas spun his head to look at Amaryllis so fast his neck popped.


    ¡°You can talk?!¡± His voice cracked in his surprise.


    ¡°Yes,¡± she responded, accompanied by a simple nod.


    Atlas decided to focus on the topic at hand and just said, ¡°Huh, cool, but I don¡¯t really think a few high-level abilities make me particularly strong. I mean, you both almost killed me without even really trying not too long ago, and unless one of these abilities will make me invincible, it isn¡¯t like any of them would have changed that.¡±


    Verian shook her head. ¡°While I get where you¡¯re coming from, I don¡¯t think you understand how difficult what you pulled off truly is. Amy¡¯s right. You faced off against two E-ranks while not even a full F-rank and beat us, and you still managed to close the Tainted¡¯s Universal tear. Trust me, Atlas, even if you aren¡¯t strong now, you will be.¡±


    Big A nodded at her words. ¡°She¡¯s right. However, you need to focus on the Ability selections available to you right now.¡±


    Atlas focused on him, tilting his head to look into the eyes of the golden giant. ¡°Right,¡± he said. ¡°What advice can you give me about¡­ all this?¡±


    ¡°The first thing that you need to know is that after the initial skill and Ability selections, every further selection available to you will be influenced by three things: the type of experiences you have to level up, your class, and the abilities you choose at each rank evolution. Usually, the latter is only a small influence, and is itself influenced by the other two.¡±


    ¡°Usually?¡± Atlas cut in. ¡°Does that mean that something different about my selection?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Big A said before he let out a deep sigh. ¡°It is extremely rare for even higher-ranked beings to get multiple abilities from one selection, and it always plays a heavy influence on their powers.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Atlas asked, narrowing his eyes.


    ¡°Atlas, what you need to understand about abilities is that they are always more than what their description says. Even ones that don¡¯t explicitly state that they affect affinities or stats permanently will start to influence the potential for those things. They form a cycle. You have to prove to have compatibility with the Ability, and in turn, the Ability will positively improve your compatibility with it, even to the point of making adjacent skills more likely to appear from that point on. That only grows with the rank of the Ability, to the point that high-grade abilities appearing have consistently led to the rise of paragons across the system.¡±


    ¡°And two abilities only give that much stronger of an advantage,¡± Atlas said as he filled in the dots. ¡°Okay, that makes sense. But one of my abilities is only rare. How strange is Unique to make you guys act like I¡¯d just committed some sort of multiversal taboo?¡±This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Anything Unique-grade under the System¡¯s purview tends to be¡­ interesting,¡± Verian said, her voice trailing off at the end. ¡°Most races have Unique skills just for their race. It¡¯s what makes each one special, but when an individual gets something graded in the Unique-spectrum, it is always rule-breaking. You have it for achievement and an Ability selection with two options, one of which would make you the ultimate warrior for dozens of the major factions and public enemy number one for dozens more.¡± She stopped speaking for a moment and frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about the concepts mentioned in the second option, though.¡±


    ¡°Okay, but what about that part about the goddess of purity endorsing one of the abilities?¡± If anything, that part confused Atlas the most.


    ¡°Once beings evolve past S-rank, they reach true immortality and a level of power that can truly only be categorized as ¡®godly,¡¯¡± Big A explained. ¡°Usually, that requires connecting to a concept the god identifies with. Even after reaching Godhood, they are still under the purview of the system, though. Instead, they have a certain level of clout and authority that lets them influence the selections of others they think have potential for them to sponsor.¡±


    Atlas rubbed his chin as he thought about that. ¡°So, this ¡®goddess of purity¡¯ noticed me freeing these two,¡± he nodded his chin at Verian and Amaryllis, ¡°from the Tainted, and thinks I have potential as some sort of purifier. I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m saying this, but it makes sense in a weird sort of way. I can even understand how I got the option, but is it worth it, especially compared to the other option?¡±


    Atlas was surprised when Big A just shrugged his shoulders. ¡°That choice is solely yours to make. Everyone¡¯s path is their own, and either Ability will prove a powerful tool for you in the future. Even your rare abilities options are more powerful than the common or uncommon that most people get for their first selection, even the elites of the multiverse. All I can advise is that you should pick the ones that fit the path you want to walk right now.¡±


    Atlas stayed silent as he looked over at the options available to him again. He needed some time to think over what the others had told him. ¡°Thanks, you guys. I¡¯m gonna go think it over.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Big A said.


    Atlas nodded at them all again before he walked over to sit on a boulder. He propped his head on his hand and pulled the selection notification back to the center of his vision. He focused on the Rare options first.


    RARE SELECTIONS:


    OPTION 1: (RARE) MOMENTUM (PASSIVE): ENERGY AND DAMAGE ABSORBED GRADUALLY INCREASE STRENGTH AND DEXTERITY AS LONG AS COMBAT OCCURS; PERCENTAGE OF BOOST CAN BE STORED BASED ON RANK


    OPTION 2: (RARE) MOMENTARY ADAPTATION (PASSIVE): ONE ELEMENTAL OR STATUS-BASED RESISTANCE WILL GROW DURING BATTLE BASED ON RECEIVED DAMAGE OR EFFECTS; ALL RESISTANCE WILL BE LOST UPON BATTLE¡¯S CONCLUSION


    OPTION 3: (RARE) UNKNOWN ENTITY (PASSIVE): ALL IDENTIFY-BASED SKILLS USED BY THOSE WITHIN TWO RANKS OF YOU WILL FAIL; LIKELIHOOD OF SUCCESS BY THOSE THREE RANKS HIGHER OR ABOVE WILL INCREASE BY 25% PER RANK


    OPTION 4: (RARE) INVENTORY (PASSIVE)- DIMENSIONAL SPACE WITH A MAXIMUM STORAGE OF 10X10X10 METERS; ALL ITEMS WITHIN ARE FROZEN IN TIME; NO LIVING THINGS MAY BE STORED


    Right away he eliminated Unknown Entity. Atlas simply didn¡¯t know enough about how common high-level Identify-based skills were, nor was it important to block them back on Earth, at least right now. He also discarded Momentum, as it seemed great for someone willing to stand still and take hits over and over to land one giant counterattack. Atlas simply had no interest in that. The Ability also seemed extremely combat-focused. The fight had aroused some excitement, but he didn¡¯t feel that was all he wanted his path to be.


    For those same reasons, he ruled out Momentary Adaptation. It had a little more utility, in that any type of elemental or status effect-based damage could lead to it working, but Atlas still didn¡¯t want to have to get hurt by something. He¡¯d rather just figure out a way to work around it.


    Of course, all that meant that he was left with Inventory, but he didn¡¯t mind the option. If anything, he got excited at the idea of being like a video game character able to pull out any weapon or item he wanted at any time. He did wonder what the background effects that Big A had mentioned to him would be, but he guessed that was up to him to figure out. With that in mind, he selected the Ability.


    In an instant, he could tell the difference as he grew aware of a large space disconnected from the area where he sat. Testing the Ability, he concentrated on a few of the pebbles around him and discovered that if he spared the faintest bit of attention, they would disappear into his inventory as long as they were within around two meters of him. As he pulled them in and out of his storage, he noticed that the effort grew easier each time, and every time he put something into his Inventory he saw the name of the item appear in his status under a new section, a pleasant surprise to be sure.


    As he played around with the Ability a little more, Atlas began to perceive more than just the space inside his Inventory. Little by little, any space within two meters of his body came under his perception. He couldn¡¯t truly see anything, at least not in any great detail, but he could tell where everything was fairly accurate. If anything, it felt like sonar. He could already imagine the uses for it in the future.


    After playing with his Inventory and a new bit of spatial awareness, Atlas turned his attention to the remaining ability selection. He gave the two options another look:


    UNIQUE SELECTIONS:


    OPTION 1: (UNIQUE) THE TOUCH THAT SCARES THE DARK (PASSIVE): YOUR TOUCH TURNS THAT WHICH IS CORRUPTED OR MORPHED BACK TO ITS PURIST FORM. YOUR AURA STRENGTHENS THE HOLY AND BREAKS DOWN THE CORRUPT. SEEK PURITY, SEEK THE LIGHT. GAIN HOLY-AFFINITY AND A HOLY-AFFINITY AURA SKILL. [ENDORSED BY THE GODDESS OF PURITY]


    OPTION 2: (UNIQUE) THE EYES THAT SEE BEYOND THE THREADS (PASSIVE): TO MOST, THE THREADS CONNECTING EVERYTHING IN THE UNIVERSE ARE HIDDEN, BUT YOU HAVE SEEN THEM. NOW, YOU SHALL SEE BEYOND THEM. YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE UNIVERSE NOW INCREASES AT A FAR FASTER RATE, AS DOES YOUR COMPREHENSION OF CONCEPTS YOU STUDY. SKILLS RELATING TO THE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE RESIDENTS AND PLACES UPGRADE FAR EASIER AND ARE FAR MORE EFFECTIVE. GAIN (LEGENDARY) THREADSIGHT IDENTIFICATION SKILL. ALL ADDITIONAL IDENTIFY SKILLS GET UPGRADED BY AT LEAST ONE RANK. YOU SEE THE PATH AND THE PATH IS YOUR OWN.


    With each option, he could see a future path branching out before him. In the first, he imagined himself as a paladin, allied alongside the forces of light, seeking out and purifying that which was corrupted. Behind him stood a veiled goddess, supporting him as he grew stronger. On that path, he knew he would go far.


    The second option told a story of mystery and adventure. One where his power came from seeking an understanding of the universe through study¡­ and battle. However, compared to the first option, nothing was certain, and any support he found would be hard-earned.


    As Atlas imagined these paths, he listened to his gut and found an answer. To make sure, he read his selections one last time. Seeing nothing to sway him, he made his choice. For a moment, the universe went silent. Even Big A and Verian stopped speaking as if they sensed he had made his choice. To Atlas, it felt like an eternity, and he even started to worry that something had gone wrong.


    However,  before his worries could develop, the whole world began to warp before his very eyes.

 Threadsight

    For one second, the world around Atlas lit up in overwhelming light as glowing threads appeared on the plateau covering every color in the rainbow and even more that went beyond the visible spectrum. The light shone so bright that it burned into Atlas¡¯s retina, and he covered his eyes with a scream. As he tried rubbing the pain away, his head pounded, and his stomach turned. Even after the pain faded, the nausea didn¡¯t disappear.


    He looked at his status sheet and saw what he thought was the problem: His mana was only at 15 out of its original 140. 125 MP in a second! What the hell? He read through the rest of his status to figure out why, and his eyes landed on a new entry in his skill section.


    THREADSIGHT (LEGENDARY): FATE AND KARMA ARE EVER-CHANGING, AND TO GAZE UPON THEM IS TO GAZE UPON THE WORKINGS OF THE UNIVERSE AND THE SYSTEM. THERE ARE MANY WAYS IN WHICH THEY IMPACT THE UNIVERSE AND MANY MORE WAYS TO CATCH A GLIMPSE OF THEIR EFFECTS, THOUGH FEW AND FAR BETWEEN ARE THOSE THAT DO SO UNPUNISHED. YOU HAVE EARNED SUCH A GLIMPSE AT THE THREADS OF CONNECTION WHERE THE TWO FORCES INTERTWINE WITH EACH OTHER AND THE PHYSICAL REALM. TO ENDURE SUCH FORCES, YOUR EYES HAVE BEEN MAGICALLY CHANGED AND WILL CONTINUE TO BENEFIT AS YOU GROW, THOUGH THE EXACT EFFECTS REMAIN TO BE SEEN. HOWEVER, SUCH A POWER DOES NOT COME WITHOUT A COST, AND YOU MUST EARN THE RIGHT TO WIELD THE FULL POWER OF THE THREADS OF CONNECTION.


    EFFECTS (F-RANK): GAZE UPON THE THREADS OF CONNECTION THAT AFFECT SENTIENT BEINGS AND GAIN GLIMPSES OF TRUTH


    COST: 25 MP/SECOND x ACTIVATED LEVEL


    LEVEL 1: <LOCKED> RACIAL LEVEL 5 REQUIRED


    LEVEL 2: <LOCKED> RACIAL LEVEL 10 REQUIRED


    LEVEL 3: <LOCKED> RACIAL LEVEL 15 REQUIRED


    LEVEL 4: <LOCKED> RACIAL LEVEL 20 REQUIRED


    LEVEL 5: FATED OMNISCIENCE: TARGETS ALL DESIRED TARGETS IN SIGHT; ALL PAST AND PRESENT KARMIC THREADS RELEVANT TO CURRENT DESIRES AND WEAKNESSES OF E-RANK ENEMIES AND BELOW BECOME VISIBLE


    Atlas stared at the notification, stupefied. 125 mana per second?! That alone told him he had stumbled across an incredible skill, but combined with the name ¡°Fated Omniscience,¡± he could only imagine how powerful the skill was. Sure, most of the skill levels had requirements, but that just meant the skill had to be that much more powerful. The only real downside came in the mana cost, but he hoped that getting stats as he leveled up would resolve the problem. Overall, he couldn¡¯t be happier with his choice of ability, and he hadn¡¯t even gotten to experience the aspect that increased his comprehension speed for concepts.


    After he had taken some more time to look over his new ability, Atlas turned to his final order of business before he could go back to Earth and the Esper Foundation. His skill selection. If the rewards from his achievements and quest were anything to go by, this would be a doozy. With that in mind, he pulled up the final notification window and began reading.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    INTEGRATION SCENARIO COMPLETED: INTEGRATION SUCCESSFUL: NOW INITIATING MULTIVERSE VANGUARD SKILL SELECTION, INCLUDING 2 SYSTEM APPROVED BASIC-GRADE AND 1 COMMON-GRADE SKILL


    SKILL SELECTION AVAILABLE: BASIC (2); COMMON (1); RARE (1); EPIC (1); MENTAL RESISTANCE (1); KARMIC MANIPULATION (1)


    Atlas was surprised to learn that the system gave him skills just for being integrated, not to mention his rewards for his performance in the scenario. He just hoped there weren¡¯t so many possibilities that he wouldn¡¯t be able to decide. Either way, it was time to decide, and he wasn¡¯t going to be delayed any further. With that in mind, he decided to start from the bottom once again. As he opened the basic screen, he noticed that the options were thankfully fairly limited.


    SYSTEM INTEGRATION SELECTION- BASIC (2):


    OPTION 1: WEAPONS HANDLING (PASSIVE)- GAIN A BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF HOW TO HANDLE AND WIELD ALL BASIC WEAPONS


    OPTION 2: BASIC STEALTH (PASSIVE)- GRANTS A PASSIVE UNDERSTANDING OF PROPER MOVEMENT AND BODY CONTROL FOR PEAK PRE-INTEGRATION STEALTH CAPABILITIES


    OPTION 3: BASIC MANA MANIPULATION (PASSIVE)- ALLOWS FOR SYSTEM-ASSISTED MANIPULATION OF INTERNAL MANA SUPPLY


    OPTION 4: STORAGE (ACTIVE)- OPEN A ONE CUBIC METER SPACE TO STORE OBJECTS; NO LIVING BEINGS; TIME MOVES REGULARLY; COST: PASSIVE STORAGE- FIVE MP PER DAY/ OPEN PORTAL- 10 MP+ 1 MP/SEC


    OPTION 5: VIEW (ACTIVE)- VIEW NAME, RACE, AND LEVEL OF TARGET ENTITY OR OBJECT; COST: 10 MP/USE


    These¡­ kinda suck. As harsh as it might be to think, Atlas certainly wasn¡¯t impressed by the options the basic selection had granted him, especially when compared to the crazy abilities he¡¯d been offered. Still, that made the process a fair bit easier. He eliminated Storage right away as it was a far worse version of his Inventory ability even without the mana cost.


    That left him with four options, and Atlas already knew that he would be taking Weapons Handling. His complete inexperience using a weapon had almost killed him when fighting Verian, and he needed to fix that fast. At least, that¡¯s what he hoped would happen.


    He forced himself to hold off selecting Basic Mana Manipulation when he read the description again. ¡°System-assisted, huh?¡± He muttered to himself. That implied that he could learn to do it on his own, and it meant he could eliminate Mana Manipulation, which left him to choose between Basic Stealth and View.


    Logically, he knew that View would be the better option, especially with the effect of his The Eyes that See the Threads ability, but he held off. He had a common, rare, and epic selection left, and he imagined this wouldn¡¯t be the last Identify-type ability he¡¯d see. Plus, the upgrade from his ability would be worth more the longer he waited, he reasoned. With that thought, he selected Basic Stealth.


    It definitely wasn¡¯t because he wanted to sneak up and play pranks on people and go places he wasn¡¯t supposed to¡­ No, absolutely not.


    As soon as Atlas selected his second basic skill, he felt a sharp sting stab into his brain at the same time as information on proper weapon-wielding posture, silent footstep movements, and all manner of weapon-wielding and sneaking tidbits. Immediately, Atlas straightened up and widened his stance into a far sturdier position than before.


    ¡°Well that was surprisingly cool,¡± Atlas said, impressed at how much of a change the basic skills made. He turned his eyes to the common section. ¡°But now it¡¯s time for the fun choices to begin,¡± he added as he rubbed his hands together.

 Atlas Has Got the Skills

    SYSTEM INTEGRATION SELECTION- COMMON (1):


    OPTION 1: EMPOWERED STRIKE (ACTIVE)- UTILIZE THE INTERNAL POWER OF THE BODY TO INCREASE THE POWER OF YOUR NEXT ATTACK; COST: VARIABLE SP/STRIKE - ADDITIONAL SP LEADS TO ADDITIONAL POWER


    OPTION 2: TAUNT (ACTIVE)- MOST WANT TO AVOID THE ATTENTION OF THE ENEMY, BUT YOU DEMAND IT; CONCENTRATE THE ANGER AND ATTENTION OF A SINGLE TARGET ON YOU COST: 30 SP/USE


    OPTION 3: MAGIC MISSILE (ACTIVE)- USE A CONDENSED BALL OF LOW-LEVEL MANA TO FORM A PROJECTILE; REFLECTS THE AFFINITY OF THE USER; COST: 25 MP/USE


    NOTE: ABILITY TO MANIPULATE MANA REQUIRED FOR USE


    OPTION 4: IDENTIFY (ACTIVE)- VIEW YOUR TARGET AND SEE THE TRUTH; REVEAL THE NAME, RACE, LEVEL, AND BASIC DESCRIPTION OF TARGET ENTITY OR OBJECT; TARGETS HAVE A CHANCE OF NOTICING THEY¡¯VE BEEN TARGETTED; COST 15 MP/USE


    Right away, Atlas could tell that this choice would be harder than the first. Each skill looked incredibly tempting, though having to consider the mana and stamina usage of each made it much harder to pick one. He did eliminate Identify right away for the same reason he¡¯d eliminated View. His gut told him there would be another chance, and he should take the opportunities available to him that wouldn¡¯t be seen again or something he could replicate himself.


    With that in mind, he threw out Magic Missile as well. It only confirmed his belief that he could learn mana manipulation on his own, and Atlas was willing to bet that he could make more than just magic missiles if he could figure it out. Unfortunately, that still left him having to choose between Taunt and Identify. Given the choice, he did the most logical thing he could think of.


    He listened to his gut and chose Taunt. He couldn¡¯t explain why, but a feeling deep down, an instinctual rumble deeper than his heart and mind, told him Taunt would be extremely useful to him going forward. As he selected it, he felt a shiver run up his spine, and the skill clicked into place somewhere inside, finding resonance with¡­ something. The feeling passed as fast as it came, but Atlas knew he made the right choice.


    He turned his attention to the rare options interested to see what could be so different between skills separated by two whole grades. His eyes widened as he realized just how big that difference could be.


    SYSTEM INTEGRATION SELECTION- RARE (1):


    OPTION 1: RULER¡¯S DIGNITY (ACTIVE)- A TRUE RULER DOES NOT NEED TO ASK THEIR SUBJECTS TO KNEEL, THEIR MERE PRESENCE FORCES THEM TO DO SO NATURALLY, AND THEIR ENEMIES CANNOT EVEN MUSTER THE STRENGTH TO DO THAT MUCH, INSTEAD FALLING PROSTRATE BEFORE A GOD SUCH AS THEM. AT THE SAME TIME, THEIR RAW CHARISMA BOOSTS THE MORALE OF THEIR TROOPS, DRIVING THEM FORWARD TO BATTLE WITHOUT FEAR; NOTICED BY GODS, YOU TAKE THE FIRST STEP, AND YOUR AURA HAS TAKEN ON HEAVENLY INFLUENCE; ALL ALLIES HAVE A CHANCE TO GAIN THE ¡°MORALE BOOST¡± BUFF WHILE WITHIN YOUR AURA; ALL ENEMIES HAVE A CHANCE TO GAIN THE ¡°STYMIED TREASON¡± DEBUFF WHILE WITHIN YOUR AURA; EFFECT AND CHANCE SCALES OFF OF INTELLIGENCE; COST: 50 MP/SEC


    OPTION 2: HEALING DEFIANCE (PASSIVE)- BEING DEFIANT INEVITABLY LEADS TO PUNISHMENT, AND FOR THOSE WHO ARE FOOLISH ENOUGH TO INVITE SUCH PUNISHMENT, IT IS IMPORTANT TO BE ABLE TO RECOVER TO LEARN FROM THEIR MISTAKES¡­ OR MAKE THEM ALL OVER AGAIN; YOU REJECTED THE CORRUPTING POWER OF THE TAINTED WITH IMPRESSIVE DEFIANCE, AND YOU EVEN REJECTED A GODDESS¡¯S OFFER OF POWER. SOMEHOW, YOU SURVIVED BOTH AND NOW YOU WILL RECOVER FAR FASTER FROM WOUNDS DURING SUCH FOOLISH ACTIONS; FIGHTING ENEMIES OF HIGHER LEVEL WILL INCREASE REGENERATION RATE; EFFECT SCALES ON WILLPOWER; MAX LEVEL SCALING- 50 LEVELS ABOVEThe author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Atlas barely managed to keep his jaw from dropping to the ground at the skills. First of all, the names! Ruler¡¯s Dignity and Healing Defiance sounded so much cooler than Magic Missile and Weapons Mastery. Even the effects held incredible potential. The only downside that Atlas could see with the two rare skills was the ambiguous nature of the chances mentioned in Ruler¡¯s Dignity and the increase in regeneration rate in Healing Defiance. The skills also pointed out a need to build a skillset around certain stats.


    Even with the unknowns, Atlas had to force himself to wait before selecting Ruler¡¯s Dignity for the buffs and debuffs alone when he remembered the strange aura that had appeared around his body three times now, two of which had been in the last twenty-four hours. Each time, the aura had affected the world and people around him in ways he still didn¡¯t fully understand, almost killing Jason when his powers first awakened. If he could learn to control that power, would Ruler¡¯s Dignity possibly work against that or prevent him from learning how to do it at all?


    When he looked back at the two skills again, Atlas realized he hadn¡¯t noticed the main difference between the two with him at that moment. Ruler¡¯s Dignity scaled off of his intelligence stat while Healing Defiance scaled off of Willpower, which had a ten percent increase, meaning the latter would grow stronger far faster if he made sure to add a few stats to it. It also read as Ruler¡¯s Dignity worked best against enemies that were at a lower level while Healing Defiance would benefit against stronger opponents, where Atlas had more interest and needed more assistance. At least, that¡¯s how Atlas¡¯s gut told him it would work, so he selected Healing Defiance and watched as its counterpart grayed out on the list.


    Seeing as there were no higher-level enemies around him, nothing happened, and Atlas moved on to the final non-specialty skill selection: epic grade. He scrolled down on the notification to begin reading the options, only to stop and stare at the first, and only, option.


    SYSTEM INTEGRATION SELECTION- EPIC (1):


    OPTION 1: ANALYZE AND ASSESS (ACTIVE)- AN IDENTIFYING SKILL, A BASIC TOOLS OF ANY MULTIVERSAL CITIZEN, AND AN OBVIOUS CHOICE FOR ANY NEWLY INTEGRATED WORLD VANGUARD WHO ISN¡¯T A FOOL; REVEALS THE (DESCRIPTION LOCKED; MUST BE IDENTIFIED TO BE UNLOCKED; COST: (DESCRIPTION LOCKED)


    Atlas couldn¡¯t suppress the chuckle the singular option caused. It seemed the System was now forcing him to choose an Identifying skill, tired of him passing them by. He somehow didn¡¯t feel any surprise at the outcome, with the System having pushed Identifying skills in the first two selections, though the sass in the description raised more than a few questions. It wasn¡¯t wrong in any way, so rather than waste any more time, he selected the skill.


    THE EYES THAT SEE BEYOND THE THREADS TAKES EFFECT: (EPIC) ANALYZE AND ASSESS EVOLVES TO (LEGENDARY) SEEING BEYOND THE TRUTH


    (LEGENDARY) SEEING BEYOND THE TRUTH (ACTIVE) - THE BEYOND IS A REALM OF BURIED TRUTHS, REVEALED FALSEHOODS, AND FORGOTTEN PASTS. THE THREADS OF KARMIC CONNECTION LEAD THE PATH TO SUCH STRANGE REALMS AND REVELATIONS. YOU HAVE BEEN LUCKY ENOUGH TO CONNECT WITH BOTH AND SURVIVE, AND IT HAS LEFT YOU CHANGED. GO FORTH AND CONSUME KNOWLEDGE NO LONGER HIDDEN FROM YOU; TARGETS HAVE THEIR NAME, LEVEL (IF SENTIENT), GRADE(IF ITEM), AND DESCRIPTION REVEALED; PIERCES ALL IDENTITY-ALTERING MAGIC, SKILLS, AND ITEMS; HAS A CHANCE TO REVEAL HIDDEN SECRETS, STRENGTHS, AND WEAKNESSES OF TARGET; EFFECTS AND CHANCE SCALES WITH WILLPOWER AND LEVEL OF TARGET; COST: 50 MP/SEC


    Atlas seriously considered jumping in the air with joy at the skill he¡¯d just received. It told him just about everything that a skill could with him being at level one. Not only that, but it was another skill that scaled with his willpower, just like Healing Defiance. However, the best part about the skill was that it could reveal the secrets of whatever he scanned, and for Atlas, who had always found secrets far more annoying than the rest of his peers, that was perfect. That he could potentially see the weaknesses of whomever he scanned was just the cherry on top. His ability had already more than made it worth the choice, and Atlas couldn¡¯t wait to see what he could do with the skill in the future.