167 Upgrades #167

Finished with writing my preliminary plan of action, I sighed, scratching my head at the long list of challenging tasks. 'I'm gonna need a power boost...' I mused, shaking my head before conjuring my system interface.

'Might as well see what I'll be working with...' I mused as I turned to the accumulated notifications, and there was a shit ton of them, much to my relief.

[Due to prolonged exposure to a great deal of alien and supernatural forces, the host's body has permanently changed, causing the following changes]

[The perk; Enhanced Durability has evolved to; Superhuman Durability]

[Enhanced Durability: your physical durability, the ability to withstand damage, is extremely high, allowing you to take numerous blows of internal or external assaults before succumbing to the effects. (The user can withstand bullets, grenades, and low to medium explosives)]

-->

[Superhuman Durability: The muscle tissue, skin, muscles, and bones of the users are incredibly resistant, allowing them to withstand potent attacks. Like extreme atmospheric/water pressure, temperatures fatal to an average human, like a cold that borders on absolute zero, or a heat that rivals the sun's surface]

"Well, I don't have to worry about being grilled to death by someone like Brimstone again, at least..." I muttered to no one in particular, smiling as I read through my incredible new perk.

[The perk; Enhanced Stamina has evolved to; Superhuman Stamina]

[Enhanced Stamina: sometimes called enhanced stamina, it is a term used to describe the ability of some characters to function without tiring or feeling undue strain. People who possess this perk can often go for long periods of time without rest or even sleep]

-->

[Superhuman Stamina: the user's stamina is glaringly, obviously, and super/unnaturally more potent than other beings in their universe, including but not limited to; Physical and mental fortitude, hunger, sleep, pain suppression, and overexertion immunity]

'And it looks like I won't have to rest anytime soon either... good...' I mused as I finished reading through the Superhuman Stamina perk that couldn't have come at a better time.

[+54 points to the Body attribute]

I sighed, bitterly smiling at the least of my physique changes that were all incredible, feeling conflicted. It felt like I was being rewarded for my thoughtless actions, but I needed the power boost, and beggars can't be choosers.

'Whatever... moving on...' I shook my head as I continued scrolling the rest of the notifications.

[Due to prolonged exposure to a great deal of alien and supernatural forces, the host's mind has permanently changed, causing the following changes]

[The perk; Perfect Recall has evolved to; Panmesia]

[Perfect Recall: sometimes confused with genius-level intellect and known as photographic memory, it is the ability to recall anything and everything you have ever seen or learned over the course of your life]

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[Panmesia: the ability to remember and recall everything you have ever experienced, encountered, or learned in your lifetime. You need only to read, feel, hear or see something once and you will never forget it, endlessly increasing your brain capacity as you learn and granting immunity to memory manipulation]

'Boy, do I wish I had this one when Martian Manhunter offered to fix my brain...' I mused, feeling the urge to curse. Still, the memory manipulation immunity alone made it incredible, not to mention never forgetting anything.

[You have unlocked the perk; Psychic Shield]

[Psychic Shield: You are highly resistant to any/all mental intrusion, including psychic or empathic powers, Hypnosis, Mental Hallucination, deception, etc. Mind readers only "hear" static, while mind controllers will have trouble manipulating those with this perk]

[+28 points to the Mind attribute]

'Now you're just fucking mocking me...' I rolled my eyes, not in the mood to linger on the subject as I moved on to read through other notifications with a huff.

[Due to prolonged exposure to a great deal of alien and supernatural forces, the host's soul (Spirit) has permanently changed, causing the following changes]

[The perks; Energy Channeling and Energy Manifestation have merged and evolved to; Energy Proejction]

[Energy Channeling: the power to channel through your body parts into the outside world in different forms as a means of attack. (the range, strength, precision, and everything in between rely on the user's energy reserve and proficiency)]

+

[Energy Concentration: The power to focus one's energy into any point of the body to perform attacks, techniques, or spells (if they are trained in the arcane arts)]

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[Energy Projection: The power to emit, project, shape, and concentrate energy in different shapes and forms, such as waves, blasts, auras, etc. The applications include but are not limited to; Concussive Force, Energy Attacks, Energy Aura, and Energy Constructs]

'Energy constructs... eh?' I mused, thoughtfully scratching my head as I compared my new perk to the two it had replaced. It basically did the same thing with the added ability to create Energy Constructs.

'Might as well try it...' I shrugged as I raised my hand and frowned in concentration, channeling energy and manipulating it to take the form of a simple knife.

It was considerably more complicated than creating constructs with the red energy ring. But I eventually managed to do it, even if the knife I manifested looked like something a pre-historic cave dweller would use.

'I really need to invest some time into learning how to use my energy properly...' I shook my head, already intent on mastering my new perk, as it would save me a lot of trouble if I had to fight someone like Bromstone again.

[You have unlocked the perk; Energy Conversion]

[Energy Conversion: the ability to transmute and manipulate pure energy inside your body and change and release it in any form, depending on the user's understanding of the targeted form's properties]

[+49 points to the Spirit attribute]

'Understanding of the targeted form's properties...?' I internally parroted, trying to make sense of the perk. 'Let's try this...' I mused as I raised my hand, conjuring a ball of pure energy in my palm.

"As far as energy forms... I'd say I understand heat the best..." I muttered, recalling the searing sensation I suffered while fighting Brimstone and wearing the red ring, causing me to grimace.

I shrugged it off and concentrated on the energy, channeling my unfortunately intimate understanding of heat into the energy ball. My eyes widened as the ball slowly turned red.

Because of my newly gained Superhuman resistance, I didn't sense the heat until my chair caught fire, snapping me out of my daze. I immediately dissipated the energy and threw the chair into my inventory.

"I guess you could never have enough firepower... Neat..." I remarked, raising an eyebrow as I looked at my hand, which didn't have as much as a scratch or a slight burn wound.

I still have to test its limits before using it in combat to avoid accidents, but I could already tell it was one hell of a perk to have and would tremendously help me in future fights.

'Now let's see what my skills look like...' I mused as I dismissed the notifications I'd already read and browsed the remaining ones.

[+4 levels to the Brawling skill]

[Brawling (54)]

[+2 levels to the Crime skill]

[Crime (51)]

[Due to reaching a milestone in your Crime skill, you have unlocked the perk; Menacing Presence]

[Menacing Presence: you have an overwhelming and intense presence that induces fear, respect, and, or insanity upon those within range, instantly triggering awe, despair, and terror toward you on an instinctual and unconscious level, depending on the host's crime level, and the target's mental fortitude]

[+5 levels to the Acrobatics skill]

[Acrobatics (37)]

[+2 levels to the Gun Mastery skill]

[Gun Mastery (29)]

[+2 levels to the Mechanics skill]

[Mechanics (51)]

[Due to reaching a milestone in your Mechanics skill, you have unlocked the perk, EMP Surge]

[Emp Surge: The user can produce a surge of electromagnetic energy, disrupting all technology nearby. The pulse may come from the user's hands or even from their entire body]

[+4 level to the Medival Weapon Mastery]

[Medival Weapon Mastery (18)]

[+3 levels to the Knowledge skill]

[Knowledge (12)]

[+6 levels to the Chemistry skill]

[Chemistry (7)]

[+13 levels to the Chemist Class]

[Chemist (29)]

[+39 stat points]

[Stat points: 43]

'Only one more level to max out the Chemist class...' I sighed, scratching my head as I finished reading the last of the notifications and took another look at my stats.

'Oh well... it's not like I'll have any use for another skill since I'd barely leveled up Chemistry...' I concluded, shrugging my shoulders as I dismissed the system interface.

"Time to get back to work..." I muttered as I rummaged through my inventory and retrieved all the toys I'd accumulated from everyone I'd fought and defeated, like a seventies serial killer collecting trophies.

"Time to put those toys to good use..." I remarked as I reached for the flying discs I'd taken from the Intergang members from the abandoned hospital.

"I'm getting tired of walking around like a peasant..."

...

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