Second Genesis

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[>Magnetic Push (Mind Combat)]

[>Magnetic Pull (Mind Combat)]

[>Magnetic Resonance (Mind Enhancement)]

—

Grey stared at the list for a long time and then he just started to laugh.

Why was he wasting his time trying to figure out whether this was the best decision to make or not? Why should he care whether this was the perfect path or an imperfect one?

Being picky was the luxury of someone with a lot more rope to work with and a lot fewer people chasing after him for his death.

The tutorial information was very bare bones. While the Proving, Established, and Vector Classes had been briefly introduced to him, he didn’t know much about the nitty gritty details of it all. The only reason he even knew so much about Neural Frames was because of Prometheus.

But the information he got from Prometheus was gated, and what he had right now was only a bunch of information on mech introductions and Neural Frames in relation to mechs themselves, not so much in terms of personal power.

"Fuck it, we ball."

Grey clicked on Magnetic Push and immediately felt a jolt of electricity run through his body. The violent surge almost made him feel like he was being fried from the inside out. But, it wasn’t the worst thing he had ever experienced, not by a long shot.

’This feels like...’

Grey’s gaze flickered, memories of his body burning and melting into the body of the Last Goblin Swordsman replaying again and again.

The feeling was exactly like that, but far less dramatic and not nearly as painful.

Soon, the process was finished.

"Hm? That’s it?" Grey’s eyes blinked.

He looked down at his hands but didn’t really feel any different. When he opened his status screen he also didn’t see any new abilities.

’Maybe I have to do all of them first?’

Grey clicked on Magnetic Pull and then Magnetic Resonance one after another. Each one was just a little more painful than the last, but the end result was much the same. There was no change on his status page.

For a moment, Grey felt like he had been scammed. Or maybe he really did need a Nexis Suit after all?

’No, that shouldn’t be the case. Everything is working just fine, so what am I missing?’

After a moment, Grey’s gaze flashed. ’Copy it.’

Maybe he was being too much of a backseat driver. He wasn’t just supposed to stand here and hope the Warp did everything for him. All it did was prime his Neural Frame. The rest of it...

Grey’s eyes sank into a deeper crimson hue and he felt for the changes to his Neural Frame.

He closed his eyes. In his mind’s eye, he felt his skin fade into obscurity, and then went his flesh, and then his body. All that was left was a complex network of firing neurons and his brain standing in empty space.

Sparks of electricity sparkled and pulsed in rhythmic waves. There was no pattern to them, just an endless chaos that was as erratic as it was beautiful.

The image was carved into Grey’s heart. For some reason, he found himself lost in the sight. It pulled on strings within him he hadn’t even known he had left.

And then he seized control of it all.

In that moment, the chaotic mess of patterns was squeezed and focused. As though a catalyst that sent a wave through his entire Neural Frame, the chaos became ordered and predictable.

—

[You have awakened the Mind Combat Ability {Magnetic Push} to Level 1]

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[You have awakened the Mind Combat Ability {Magnetic Pull} to Level 1]

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[You have awakened the Body Enhancement Ability {Magnetic Resonance} to Level 1]

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[You have Awakened the Magnetic Hero Frame to the Proving Class]

—

[Name: Grey Temolt]

[Frame: Prometheus]

[Frame: Magnetic Hero (Proving Class)]

[Pending Quests: 2]

Stamina: 10/10

Sync Rate: 0.01%

Energy Reserve: 0.3/3.7

Sync Rate: N/A

Energy Reserve: N/A

STR: 33 (+15) SPD: 25

DEX: 27 INT: 11

END: 21 PER: 23

Harmonic Stats: N/A

Free Stat Points: 0

Abilities:

Body

Resistances: N/A

Combat: N/A

Enhancements: Lv1 Metal Body; Lv1 Metal Digestion; Lv1 Metal Fusion

Mind

Resistances: Lv1 Mental Fortitude

Combat: Lv1 Magnetic Pull; Lv1 Magnetic Push

Enhancements: Lv5 Goblin Warlord Spirit; Lv1 Metal Affinity; Lv1 Magnetic Resonance

—

Grey blinked. ’Well I’ll be damned.’

It seemed that the answer to his questions had been right in front of him all the while. It was just that Prometheus wasn’t even considered to be at the Proving Class yet at all, and was that really a surprise? He still didn’t even know what that Frame did, let alone how to progress it to the appropriate level.

But he had a feeling that that would all be laid bare before him once he could successfully accumulate 10 units of Energy Reserve and open his Cyber Space.

Until then, Magnetic Hero would have to do.

"What a lame ass name." Grey shook his head and turned to leave. He was going to go and see if maybe he could sell some of his items to buy an Uncommon Holy Item.

If he could do that, then he wouldn’t need to give up the bracelet and he would have a chance to have his cake and eat it too. He had certainly accumulated enough treasures.

Grey stepped outside his private safe room and walked down the hallways until he returned to the bar and common area. But when he finally did, he immediately found several gazes locking onto him.

A group of three was sitting at the bar. A small red-headed woman, a hulking behemoth of a man, and a more average-sized woman with caramel skin.

Grey didn’t recognize any of them. If he had, he probably would have known that they were the group that attacked him the moment he left the city.

The hulk man—Brad—stood the moment Grey appeared and walked over until his shadow practically consumed him.

Grey wasn’t short by any means. In fact, he was the same height as Brad. The problem was that Brad had probably twice his width, the latter’s capped shoulders being the size of bowling balls.

Yet, when Grey sensed his hostility, he couldn’t help but grin. He might not have known who attacked him earlier, but he could see the bow on Stella’s back, and at this point... he really, really, really hated archers.

"Do you have something you want to say? Or does it take a bit of time for that hollow skull to come up with a few words?"