18 An Evolution Of Perspective

Evolution, indeed, is a fantastic thing to witness.

Whether that be an evolution of a species or skill, there is always this feeling of satisfaction, watching and understanding that you are improving or that something as a whole is improving.

For me, in this case, it lies in the fact that I am currently standing at the bottom of Lake Ontario and breathing. I've been sitting here for the past couple of hours separating or, at least, trying to separate the oxygen from the H2O around me. I trapped a bunch of air within my telekinetic aura while also trying to keep the weight of the water from crushing me.

But I do admit to being a bit scared as the water is decently murky, and it is getting incredibly dark. Honestly, I'm fighting two of my biggest fears right now that being drowning and being in absolute darkness.

I never knew why I was scared of the dark. Maybe it was just because I couldn't see or couldn't understand what was in front of me, or perhaps it was just simply the unknown itself.

Although I could see fish swimming by me, they were mostly just murky shapes in the distance. I could definitely tell that this would've been very difficult without the increase in brain power from NZT. I also noticed that I'm getting much fewer nosebleeds, which I assume is eliminating the negative perk taking effect.

While it did eliminate weaknesses from any powers I will get in the future, it seems to be taking effect slowly for powers I have already gained. Most likely, it's due to the fact that my body has to adapt to the weaknesses being expelled from my body.

The best way I could equate. It is a virus within my code being replaced with something entirely different. But from now on, I won't have to worry about dealing with weaknesses at all, as it will just seemingly add the perfect version of any powers I have.

There were still things that I could improve on, though as well I could remain at the bottom of the lake. I would have to worry about pressure differences if my telekinetic aura were to fail.

I'm almost entirely reliant on my teleportation and telekinesis. While they're both very powerful abilities, I am definitely going to need to obtain a wider variety of skills in the future.

I was very interested in gaining forms of magic, especially those that could relate to technology and creation. But I knew I was going to have to take baby steps when it came to dealing with esoteric forces.

Just imagining the possibilities already has my brain combing through multiple simulations of possible usages for intent-based magic. But I have also delegated a decent amount of my thoughts to planning future jumps.

While I was definitely going to the world of Aladdin to gain access to the genie lamp, which I could use once per jump, in addition to the source of the library, which would add to my compendium of spells and esoteric law, without me even needing to search for it. Which would save me so much time as well as resources, having to search for various magic books and scrolls.

Most likely just from one world alone, I could spend years discovering magical knowledge from the comfort of my secure library, which would be connected to my cosmic warehouse after the Aladdin jump.

I don't know whether or not it was in effect of the NZT or just my own innate curiosity blooming to the surface, but I find myself seeking more and more knowledge just to have it for myself and just to learn and perfect. The very idea of it sent waves of excitement through my being.

As I begin to feel some pushback from the weight of keeping my telekinetic aura over my being, I realize that I'm about to hit my limit. Hence, as I use my telekinesis to rise to the surface, I stand atop the water and look at the night sky.

It may have been a bit juvenile, but I did walk across the water like a particular religious figure. No one was around, but it would be hilarious if the various satellites that catalog the Google Earth website found me walking atop the water.

This past year has been relatively quiet as I've had to keep my traces low, and well, that has put a damper on my social interaction. I was never one for seeking extroverted activities. Maybe it is an effective being used to being alone so often.

With my expended intellect, I often think about the past, and while it would be an ever-expanding reminder, I couldn't just allow it to weigh me down, but dealing with it will have to take more time.

Beginning to feel some tiredness in my mind, I teleport back to my apartment and grab myself something to eat from the warehouse, and it seems this week, the food theme was fast food. It brings a chuckle to my lips as it looks like even the Multiverse can't escape from McDonald's.

Thanks to my body mod, I won't ever actually need to worry about getting fat from eating junk food, and while I would never indulge in such things for too long, at least I will say that I do enjoy the taste.

I knew I had four years remaining, but not because I remember taking that drawback but because I know myself. I knew that I would find this world a bit dull, as without Eddie nor the formula for NZT becoming accessible knowledge, I wouldn't need to worry about various corporations gaining access to it.

To put it simply, there is nothing honestly to look forward to in this world, so knowing myself, I took the drawback for this jump to be cut down to five years instead of the standard ten years. While it is a bit disconcerting on how a drawback could remove my memory, since I was the one who did so, I would like to trust my judgment.

And now, thanks to my new montage perk in tandem with my boredom immunity, I could practically just use them to skip through the day or even multiple days if I desire to do so. How it was presented in my mind is similar to that of one of those training montages from movies such as Rocky or Home Alone.

I saw myself in a third-person point of view, which I would attribute to my camera item from the chronicle jump, allowing me to see the montage unfold.

I do try to keep myself to a routine of training as well as further exploration of the possibilities of my powers. I have been exploring avenues towards gaining the ability of Pyrokinesis through exciting the atoms in the air to form flames.

But I do admit to not making much progress on that front as I have yet to reach down to the microscopic or atomic level. But sometimes, you need to run before you can walk, and I need to learn my ever-expanding limits.

As yesterday's me cannot compare to the next day, I always need to do better as there are always possibilities to improve. To lift that extra weight and try to teleport further and faster and faster.

At my current pace, I expect to be able to be at least able to manipulate bacteria by the end of the second year of this jump, or maybe the third, if I genuinely lack in progress. Something that I am not lacking in progress on is my current financial gains.

As of last month, I had officially become a billionaire. Well, it does seem like a bit of a small victory, but for a man who used only to have barely a couple hundred dollars to his name, it was an emotional moment.

I may or may not have used my telekinesis to form a pool of gold coins using some of the gold I had. And I did not, in good faith, channel my inner Scrooge McDuck.

Based on my current calculations, my warehouse has been filled to at least 55 to 70% capacity. Most of it is precious minerals, but I do keep a decent amount of toiletries and extra food and water.

Due to my more highly efficient body, with my current stores of food and water, I could last, I would say, a jump lasting ten years and one lasting five years before I would run out of water. And even now, my stores are increasing as I do take regular time to buy bottles of water as well as other necessary energy drinks.

Those who say money cannot buy happiness are utter and complete fools. as having the amount of money has definitely brought me peace of mind.

I was holding a small, icy compress to my head to lessen the headache. I close my eyes and just enjoy the silence. These small moments of peace truly and on ironically make me feel alive as, thanks to my telekinesis, I am hyper-aware of myself.

I could feel the individual beats of my heart and could almost feel the various white and red blood cells flowing through my veins.

It also helps that I could use my telekinesis to make it so sound waves don't hit my ears, so I don't need to listen to the honks and horns of cars down below as well as planes passing by.

That last one makes me feel happy about the fact that the movie takes place in 2011. But a more morbid curiosity does form within me, thinking if I could use my telekinesis to stop those two planes.

I have yet to try to stop a moving plane as I don't want to run the risk of possibly injuring people. Because while I am innately a curious person, I would instead not step into the territory of megalomania.

Although I have stopped moving trucks many times, one can barely cross the street in these big cities without worrying about getting run over.

It reminds me of one time when I had to stop nearly an entire line of cars from running me over due to their impatience. Stuff like that is why I mostly stick to teleporting and flying. Now, it's just so much easier than having to deal with ordinary people.

"And there's the ego gonna need to cool it," I mumbled to myself as I reopened my eyes.

Getting up from the couch, I teleport to the top of a glacier I found in Alaska and begin flying upwards. My current top speed is around 200 to 250 mph, which is around a quarter of the speed of a typical commercial plane.

Currently, the highest I can go is to the top of the mesosphere as, sadly, my telekinetic aura wasn't strong enough to handle reentry just yet.

But it was high enough just to get a glimpse over a large part of the earth, and as I rose high into the air, I could feel my blood pumping as I rose into the air, kilometer by kilometer.

After reaching nearly the height of the mesosphere, I stop and turn around and then enjoy the view of the world below me. Grabbing my backpack, I spread my telekinetic aura over its contents, as well as the backpack itself, to grab myself a small bag of popcorn and just enjoy watching the clouds moving across the sky.

The only thing really interrupting my peaceful process was my brain, ironically, as it was trying to calculate the various speeds of each of the clouds passing by, as well as the strength of the various storm systems I could see.

Seeing the enormity of the world around me it truly puts into perspective how powerful some beings are out there as with the amount of time that I've had to study various pop culture media, watching even the most ridiculous television show puts into perspective how small I am.

From being such as super soldiers to veritable cosmic forces made manifest, all of which exist simultaneously across an infinite omniverse. But I like to think of my current situation as a means of growth instead of despair. It is easy to fall into cynical nihilism, but I know better now.

Finishing up with my bag of popcorn, I stuffed the garbage into my backpack before teleporting back into my apartment and continuing my telekinesis training. I'm also reading a manga called Hotd.

A zombie apocalypse would be a perfect world to test my telekinesis in battle. That one thought stays in my mind as I continue reading the manga.