Universal Power System

Erin had already gone ahead, excitedly admiring her new bow, and he could see Alexi off in the distance testing the balance of his new dual short swords. However, Mako knew that his path wasn’t just about the katana. He wanted to make sure his kit was as versatile as possible.

He quickly glanced around, scanning the other items displayed at the stall, his eyes landing on the second weapon that had caught his attention while he was browsing earlier.

That being an oddly shaped handgun that would honestly catch anyone’s attention. The design was so intriguing with a bright pinkish purple cylindrical handle attached to another cylindrical tube on top that was made of multiple different materials.

The shaft was made of glass making the inside see-through which had multiple smaller glass tubes twisting and swirling around. However, the most intriguing thing about the handgun was that there was no muzzle or exit space for a bullet to be shot out of, instead, the tip of the handgun hoisted a bright and shiny pinkish-purple crystal.

The overall design and shape of the gun were weird enough but the fact that Mako couldn’t figure out how the gun would be loaded or shot made him curious and he decided to use Analyze to find out more.

[Analyze]

[Grade 3 Energy Condensed Hand Cannon] ⓘ

[An Ingenius weapon with an internal energy amplification system, capable of channeling and intensifying the stored energy before firing. At the tip of the barrel, instead of a traditional muzzle, sits a unique power crystal, the core of the weapon’s function. This crystal serves as the focal point for firing, harnessing, and condensing the energy stored within the glass tubes. When activated, the crystal glows brighter as it prepares to release a concentrated burst of energy.]

[The gun does not use physical bullets but instead, fires condensed energy bolts, harnessed from energy cells that have to be manually added. The glass tubes inside regulate the flow and compression of the energy, making the weapon’s output powerful and precise. The energy is discharged directly from the crystal.]

[Attack: Variable]

After having time to read and understand the details about the handgun, Mako was quite impressed, and although originally he was going to go the same route as Alexi by investing in an upgraded weapon and the best quality of armor, after giving the idea some thought while he was calculating the cost of essentials with the group he decided that he was going to be proficient in every means of combat during the exam so that he could rack up as many kills as possible.

Unlike the rest of the cadets, who were just taking the test to survive, complete tasks, and receive rewards from the military, Mako had an added agenda on his list which was to gain EXP.

Ever since Mako had reached Level 15 and had failed with his first mission, he hadn’t been receiving any major quests at all, only his regular daily quests, and sometimes he would receive a basic quest that would just reassign what the teacher had already assigned to them with an added challenge for minuscule amounts of EXP and nothing else.

With the changes to his progression system and Attribute Points becoming a limited resource, Mako’s growth in stats had greatly slowed down. He was still able to level them up naturally through training, which he was trying to do but unlike his Strength and Agility attributes which were still rising steadily, certain stats like Mentality were rising way too slowly for Mako’s liking.

Mako wanted to further level up his stats and abilities, learn more moves and advanced skill sets, and practice and experiment more with mana manipulation; however, he was just stuck where he was as his limited mentality prevented him from growing further.

For a lack of a better way to put it... Mako was stuck. Without EXP he wouldn’t be able to level up any further. He was quite shocked by the rate of progression at the start of the year when he had just received the system and how fast he was growing but now he realized that the system was just giving him a jumpstart so that he could leave behind all the low-level crocks in Emerald City and get on the same level as the kids who had the privilege of growing up and train with their abilities.

Sooner or later, everyone would start catching up to him and even surpassing him if was to remain at the same pace that he was now which is why he came up with a plan for himself.

His fingers tightened around the oddly shaped handgun as his mind raced with plans. The more he thought about it, the clearer his course of action became. The other cadets might be focused on surviving the exam or earning rewards, but Mako had a deeper objective—to rack up as much EXP as possible.

He remembered the time when they were facing the multiple waves of beasts at the end of the recruitment test and how it provided him with tons of EXP, hard and more rewarding quests, and beast crystals.

Compared to the special exam, the recruitment test was like a toddler. They would be stranded on a whole different planet that is teeming with a massive population of hundreds of different species of beasts with no form of supervision or safety net unlike during the recruitment test where the patrol officers played an active role in supporting the cadets from the shadows and helping them out in tough situations that didn’t result in their immediate elimination.

Every beast that he would eliminate during the special exam would just equate to added EXP and another crystal which Mako could trade with the system for more beneficial things such as Attribute Points and Coins.

Mako was sure that every task that the military would assign them to complete would be compiled into a juicy quest; however, he was also sure that in an unfamiliar environment, he was bound to receive a couple more quests based on the situation they found themselves in which would all pile up in some great rewards

"No more waiting around," he muttered under his breath.

He knew that most of the cadets would be playing it safe, arming themselves just enough to survive the exam, but survival wasn’t enough for him. He needed to dominate. If that meant becoming proficient with a broader range of combat styles, so be it. The hand cannon was just the beginning.

He took a deep breath, adjusting his mindset. His original plan had been to follow Alexi’s example: investing in top-tier equipment and high-end armor, much like the other cadets were doing. But now, his focus had shifted. If he wanted to push past the limits of his system, he would have to approach the exam differently.

Mako’s first priority would be versatility. He couldn’t rely solely on his katana or his elemental abilities anymore. They had served him well so far, but against stronger opponents and more complex challenges, he needed options. This hand cannon was his ticket to mastering energy-based attacks and having a long-range weapon. The more he diversified his combat abilities, the better equipped he would be to handle any scenario.

He paid for the hand cannon which cost 200 special tokens along with 50 additional special tokens for energy cartridges to actually power the gun, leaving him 300 special tokens left which he would spend on the best quality of armor that he could afford and thanks to Analyze, he was going to do just that.

*********************

With his game plan set, Mako began thinking about his Mentality stat while browsing through different pieces of armor on display. It had been stagnant for too long, and even with all of his attempts to spend time meditating and studying in the library, it had barely increased at all.

It was then that he realized that he had been thinking about the Mentailtiy attribute all wrong. He had been jumbling it up and associating his Intelligence attribute with his Mentality when in reality, the two were completely different things.

His Mentality was actually his mental strength and capacity, not his intellect or knowledge. It was a stat that basically described how strong his mental state actually was. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Mako had always been sharp, able to make split-second decisions in battle, and looking back on his journey thus far and the various intense situations he had been in, the more he realized how great of a role Mentality played in his survival.

It was now that he suspected that Mentality required a different kind of growth. His body could get stronger through physical exertion, but Mentality needed mental and emotional challenges, things he wasn’t getting from his routine quests. He was stagnating because the system wasn’t offering him anything that could push his mind and spirit to their limits.

"I need to take bigger risks," he realized.

It was the only way to break through this mental barrier. By surviving dangerous and difficult encounters, he would condition his mind and help his Mentality to grow. The exam was the perfect opportunity. If he threw himself into every situation, fighting on the frontlines and taking on the toughest bests, there would be no shortage of mental strain.

"The more dangerous the encounter, the more EXP I’ll earn as well," Mako concluded; however, he had to make sure not to become overconfident and put his team in danger.