Friggin Beta Testers

Raven grinned as he fought the creature's tendrils. He was simultaneously taking in Aura to condense his Core, integrating more wounds received from the monster, and ensuring the two energies synergized. 

As a tentacle cut a deep gash in his right arm, Raven laughed. 

'Looks like my gamble paid off!'

There were several reasons Raven had decided to gamble on being able to enhance both his Core and his body at the same time. 

Firstly, Raven was enhancing himself in a controlled environment. Usually, enhancing your body was something done slowly over time. Meanwhile, developing an Aura Core usually required finding an area that was naturally suffused with Aura. 

Instead, Raven enhanced himself in an empty chamber packed densely with Aura. He was safe here, as long as he stayed far enough away from the cage, and could focus entirely on enhancing himself without interruption. 

The second was his player's system. Having TP in both his Aura and Physique Disciplines allowed him to learn and train at an abnormally fast rate. More importantly, however, was that his Aura Discipline was rank four.

After a Discipline reached level four, a player could begin to develop Supernatural Abilities. Leveling a Discipline past four made it easier to develop Supernatural Abilities, and those abilities would be more powerful. 

Before beginning the enhancement process, he talked with Sol and Kara. Both of them had developed Supernatural Abilities, so he asked how the process went. 

Importantly, he confirmed that the abilities gained were not random, but were dependent on the player's actions. 

While Sol was cautious, and didn't say what his abilities were, Kara was a bit more forthcoming. Apparently, she had been pummeling a man in plate armor with her bare fists. This hadn't accomplished much, until she developed a Supernatural Ability that gave her fists the power to penetrate armor.

While dodging a couple tentacles, another cut deep into his leg. Meanwhile, Raven sighed. 'Still, I was hoping I could develop an ability useful for more than just condensing my Core. Guess that would have been too powerful for an ability developed with only four TP.'

Supernatural Abilities were not immensely difficult to develop, at least the first one for a Discipline. However, they were also not too difficult to lose. 

If a player dies, they lose all their Supernatural Abilities. When they respawn, they will have to develop new ones. 

Raven had laughed a lot at the people complaining on the game's forums.

The effects of the potion soon began to wore off, and Raven stepped back from the cage. He collapsed to the ground, exhausted. He smiled, as he panted and sweat profusely. Laying down, he fully focused on finishing up his Core and body.

The Aura surging through his body was finally condensed fully. It solidified, turning into a massive Core that replaced his heart. At around the same time, the countless black scars scattered across his body finished infusing his body with their dark energy.

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You have formed an Aura Core!

Size: Huge

Quality: Poison

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Rankup Quest Completed: Aura Core Formation.

Perk [Poisonous Aura] has evolved into [Parasitic Core]

You harvested the life of the innocent to fuel your growth. In return, your poisonous Aura grows stronger, gaining the power to steal the life of others.

___________

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You have enhanced your body!

Quality: Abyss

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Congratulations, Raven, for being the two hundred and seventy sixth player to achieve dual enhancement! Your extraordinary feat has earned you a Supreme perk!

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Raven sighed as he basked in the glorious sound of the several simultaneous notifications.

"Hey, are you alive?"

A voice suddenly interrupted his relaxation, and Raven sighed. He stood up and stretched, cracking his joints. "Yeah, I am. Come on in, I sucked up all the poisonous Aura in the air."

Ace opened the door all the way, and stepped inside. Sol and Kara followed behind. 

Ace crouched down, examining Raven's body. "So... did you succeed or fail?"

Raven laughed. "I aced it, Ace." Raven looked towards Kara. "I barely managed, though. You think you can handle it?"

Kara snorted, crossing her arms. "If you could barely handle it, I should be able to manage with ease! Don't get jealous when I get it done without breaking a sweat; it's just a difference in talent, that's all. It's not your fault you were born weak, and pathetic, in comparison to me."

Raven grinned and gave her a thumbs up. "Of course, great and all-powerful Kara. I shall humbly await your success. You are certain to utterly emasculate and embarrass me with the ease at which you complete this task."

Kara nodded. "Of course. I am the best, after all."

Sol offered a hand towards Raven, and helped him stand up. "I must apologize for my dear Sister's hubris, and thank you kindly for humoring her. Now, please, would you still be willing to give her advice? My gaming experience will probably turn sour should she fail, and I would owe you a great favor if you helped her succeed."

Raven shrugged. "I was going to offer advice no matter what, so you don't owe me anything. Yeah, she might be a little strange, but she is strange in an endearing way, you know?"

Kara frowned. "What the fuck, guys. You know I can hear you, right?"

Sol laughed. "You are absolutely correct. She is quite the strange lady. My lord, you wouldn't believe what her childhood was like..."

Kara cracked her knuckles. "You guys are actin' mighty cocky, despite being in range of my [Deep and Penetrative Fists]..."

Sol turned towards Kara and frowned. "No. Your Supernatural Ability is not called that. Stop calling it that, please."

Ace coughed politely. "Alright. Well, you guys enjoy yourselves. I am going to start bringing in the next batch of kids. Kara, focus and prepare. You have a chance at becoming the second person to ever enhance both the body and core at the same time. This is-"

"She would actually be the 277th person to achieve it."

Ace frowned. "The 277th?"

Raven nodded. "When I achieved it, the system told me 276 other players had already done it."

Kara cursed. "You gotta be kidding! How?"

Sol cocked his head. "Actually, that shouldn't be surprising..."

Raven stretched his body, getting used to the new feeling of it. "Exactly. I wasn't surprised, either. It has to be the beta players."

Sol thought for a moment. "However, there was only around a hundred beta testers, correct? That means they must be teaching other players how to perform a 'dual enhancement.'"

"Yep. Not only that, but beta players are going to have a much better understanding of this world's power system. The Aura type they pick for their core, and the creature they use to enhance their body, are bound to have much better synergy than the options we had."

Kara was about to curse, but than suddenly stopped. Instead, she smiled. "Wait, why am I mad? That just means there is gonna be a ton of powerful players to fight, right? That sounds awesome!"

Sol sighed. "My lord, keeping her safe is going to be a pain..."