Chapter 118 - Prison (Patreon)

Author's Note: No images for this chapter, still working on fixing it for race messages.

<---Chapter 117  | Table of Contents | Chapter 119 - Rebirth --->

"How about neither?" Soren grinned, the transcendent still cocky even though his teeth was bloodied and he was bruised all over his body. "Soon enough, Rayner is going to come and kick your ass, you filthy rogue cunt." He spat with derision, earning him another slam into the ground, his mouth eating the centuries-old dirt and soot coating the cell's floor.

"I already killed your cyborg." Kyle stated clearly. "I guess I will have to kill you as well."

"Pfft. You can't have killed Rayner. Like you actually dare to kill someone of- ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHH" Soren let out a harrowing scream as Kyle chopped deep into Soren's left wrist with the runic falchion, the metal biting into the bone and severing nerves. Soren struggled and writhe on the ground, but a firm boot from Kyle's soles held the flailing transcendent in place as Kyle steadily began sawing away, his normal strength not enough to cut cleanly through the transcendent's bones.

"WAIT, WAIT, WAIT, I'LL TELL YOU! PLEASE! STOP!" Soren devolving into a sobbing mess, his words turning into whimpers of pain just like any scared teenager. Kyle relented, lifting his falchion out as blood spurt out of the wound, Soren immediately clasping it tightly towards his chest, red stains spreading across his white frilly shirt rapidly.

"Glad we're on the same page." Kyle flicked the falchion, the blood splattering off the blade in an arc. "Now, I'm going to ask some questions, and you will answer. Clear?"

Soren nodded vigorously in response, as Kyle began to twirl the falchion around expertly while pacing across the cell.

"The cyborg called you Master Soren. How many cyborgs do you have here?" Kyle wanted to ascertain the level of enemy he was fighting with first.

"Just the one." Soren murmured, wincing due to the intermittent jolting pain through his exposed wrist bone, his left hand still dangling slightly. Interestingly, Kyle noticed that Soren's wounds was beginning to regenerate, even without the System itself. Clearly genetically modified.

Instead of questioning any further, Kyle raised his falchion, preparing to chop again when Soren held out his one good hand in surrender, waving frantically as he backpedalled away from Kyle. "WAIT! WAIT! I'm not lying! We're only allowed to take one with us!"

Allowed? "Who 'allowed' you? Who makes the rules?"

Soren stared at Kyle as if Kyle was the dumbest idiot to have ever lived, before his eyes landed on the runic falchion once more, gulping instinctively. "Mother, of course. Who else?"

"Who is this... Mother?"

"Mother is Mother. I don't know how else to say it..." Soren looked around nervously, instinctively already preparing to shield himself from another possible attack. "I've only met her once, and it wasn't in person! I swear! I never seen her face before!"

So a virtual meeting. Holograms? A.I.? Kyle did not rule out the possibility of this 'Mother' being a super intellgience or a synthetic lifeform, hidden away on this planet. His pondering expression was taken for fear, Soren gaining a slight bit of confidence, a smile slowly growing on Soren's face.

"Now you know what you're dealing with, huh? Even if you are from beyond the Great Waves, you should know very well who Mother is!" Soren gleefully taunted. "Once I get out of this dungeon, Mother will know about you and send people to slaughter you!"

Kyle only had an incredulous look for the hapless Soren. "Get out of the dungeon? You're not going anywhere."

"Oh yeah?! It's been already twenty mintues since you disabled my System - any second now and you'll never see me again!" Soren gritted his teeth, his face straining as though he was trying to activate a skill. His face reddened with exhaustion, before exhaling loudly and trying again, Kyle simply watching on in amusement. "This... this is not possible... I never heard of a Skill that can disable a System for longer than twenty minutes! I... I must have been counting right... I... Right! This must be a test! You're a test sent by Moth-"

Soren's words were replaced by another scream, this time Kyle jabbing into the calf, penetrating through the bone and ripping through tendons. The transcendent was a pitful sight, clutching both his dangling left hand and wounded leg as he keeled over onto the floor, whatever hallucination or assumptions he had about this being a test evaporating immediately.

"Are we done playing around?" Kyle glared, not a fan of wasting time. "If you're not going to answer, then I'll find someone else who will."

"WAIT! WAIT! No one else is coming to this dungeon, not when I've booked it for two years! " Soren pleaded frantically. "It's the rule of the Wardens!"

"The Wardens...?"

"Yes, the Wardens, and if you want to know about them, you got to keep me safe at least!"

"Trying to bargain with me?" Kyle raised his falchion once more, Soren immediately bowing low and placing his head on the ground in apology.

"No, no, not at all! But if you kill me, you will lose your only source of information about who the Wardens is! Isn't that what you wanted to find out? I'll answer all your questions too, as long as you swear to keep me safe. Transcendent's honor!"

"Whether or not you live is something for me to decide, not for you to haggle."

"I-"

"Start talking, or my decision to keep you alive may change rapidly."

Soren gulped, hurriedly explaining. "The Wardens is the association of all System Users on Continent of Nedrasa!"

All?! Kyle was internally shocked, but he continued to remain stoic, not letting Soren see his emotions. "Go on. What were you doing in the dungeon?"

"Every five years, the Wardens choose the next candidate to join the ranks of real certified Wardens. Each clan can only have a few spots each year, and there's an age limit too. I got the dungeon to train up for the final arena that determines eligibility. It's a known fact that you need a high Level to participate in it."

"You mentioned a person named Bekin during the fight. Who is that, your sibiling? How many sibilings do you have?"

"I don't know, there's dozens of us, I never really bother to chec-"

"How many, and give me the names of all those you know!" Kyle pressed.

"Alright, alright! Bekin, Liyana,... the rest I only know by their assigned digits!"

So the Wardens have a program of sending candidates out into the world, but I haven't seen any till now. Kyle breathed a sigh of relief. It's a good thing I had this prison cell, otherwise my presence would be alerted to the Wardens. He certainly didn't want to deal with another unknown group tracking him down. Best to stay hidden for now. "And this arena happens in two years from now?"

"Well, three years, actually." Soren began to massaging his recovering wound, the scab already forming over the shin, while his left hand was slowly regaining its nerves connection. "I was planning to grind for two more years, then get out to kill some bags."

Kyle pondered for a moment. "How do you get the System? Does every one of your siblings have it?"

"Of course not - the System isn't given lightly. Only to suitable participants willing to fight for candidacy. Except Bekin. No idea why he got the System, but he certainly isn't the brightest of the bunch."

"I don't give two shits about Bekin." Kyle sternly warned. "Tell me how do you receive the System."

"Frankly, I don't know. I didn't do any special procedure or not, I just had it one day when I woke up in my room. Wasn't based on age or anything - as far as I can tell, the System is entirely meritocratic."

Strange, seems like the Wardens do not have a handle on the System as well. This means they are not as powerful as I thought they were. Kyle originally postulated the Wardens to be the true masters behind the System, but its clear from Soren's surprise at the laser prison cell as well as their inability to implement the System in all of their siblings that the Wardens was simply a group of System Users at best. Still, he did not want to tangle with them, making up in his mind that Soren was never going to leave this prison cell. Though I don't need to tell him that yet. "Why did you attack my group immediately?"

"The dungeon was already booked by me! It's known that anyone trespassing, I have the full right to kill! Bag or no bag. And you being a rogue transcendent means theoretically I have to either capture you or kill you on sight as well. Can't have System Users going wild around Nedrasa." Soren shrugged, not bothered in the slightest by his decision.

"Who is charge of the Warden and its rules? Mother?"

"For a rogue transcendent sent from the Great Waves, you're completely out of the loop. Just how bad is your information gathering?"

"Answer. The. Question."

"The Archivist! The Archivist!"

"Who is that?"

"I don't know, I never met him too!"

"I don't believe you. You never met this 'Mother' and you never met the 'Archivist' too?"

"It's true! For the Archivist, no one has seen him for the last thirty years!"

Something less to worry about. "How many System Users on the continent right now?"

"Uhhh... I don't know the exact number... maybe a hundred? five hundred?"

Kyle groaned internally. Clearly Soren was a fledgling in the Wardens. If he was telling the truth, the information he had was extremely limited at best, and not of use. It was as if the Warden's information security protocol was airtight in the event one of their candidates were to be caught by enemies. The only assurance Kyle had was that there would no way of the Wardens knowing that he had just attacked one of their members. As long as they don't come, we're fine. I can't have another group messing my plans up.

Kyle also did not want to mess with a group of System Users five hundred men strong, clearly a deadly force to be reckoned with. There didn't seem to be any more information he could wring out of Soren that he didn't already ask. He contemplated killing Soren right now to tie up loose ends, but Kyle was never one to give up a free resource when it was ripe for the taking. I always wondered how a System User like me would react to an arcia tattoo. Would their body be able to handle it? Would they be able to resist? And what's the limits of their tolerance?

A captured System user was far too valuable to simply slaughter off - Kyle knew that if he could bring Soren back to the Oracle Chamber, much more information on his circumstances as well as his understanding of how to defeat transcendents would increase dramatically. However, he also had a timeline to meet, needing to move to Desham as soon as possible before Nest found out about the fourth layer and so on.

Before he decided on a next step, he suddenly kicked Soren over, before rummaging through Soren's pockets and stripping all of the armor away, making sure Soren had nothing to defend himself with. In the midst of the pockets in Soren's explorer pants were mouldy crumbs of breads, a few tin cans of food, and a strange looking dark green stone key, something Kyle felt he recognized before.

"Hey! That key is mine!" Soren lunged for Kyle's hand, but Kyle simply slapped him away, sending him sprawling into the center of the cell while he walked out. The System was restored to Kyle as he reactivated the laser fence, preventing Soren from escaping the cell at all. "YOU SAID YOU WERE GOING TO KEEP ME SAFE!"

"I am. This is the safest place by far. Don't worry, I'll keep the door closed for you when I leave." Kyle grinned as he matched the key against the previously locked heavy door vault, the dark green key fitting in nicely to Soren's horror.

"THAT LOOT IS MINE! MINE I TELL YOU! I WILL BE A WARDEN WITH THE RELICS! MINEEEE!" Soren went into a raging screech, running up to the laser fence only for him to quickly back off again, stomping the ground in utter frustration while he watched Kyle take the fruits of his labour. "I SPENT THREE MONTHS FINDING THAT DAMN KEY!"

"Good for you." Kyle entered the vault, noticing that it was a storage room of sorts, except instead of storing plenty of food, water and other supplies, nearly all of the dungeon wall panels, electronics components and other necessities were placed here in crates. Finally, a Galactic Era treasure trove!

However, his expectations diminished rapidly when he saw the state of the electronics. Instead of it being a storage room, it seemed to be a dumping room for broken melted electronics. Kyle spent a few minutes digging through the numerous crates of electronics, blocking out the terrible shrieking from Soren. Resistors, capacitors and inductors were all heavily damaged, as if they had been fully crushed. Still, even broken electronics can be smelted and purified into useful rare-earth metals. I'll have to consider coming back here.

His Ghosts were certainly not in a position to be worried about harvesting Galactic Era relics like these resistors which were a dime a dozen, but Kyle knew he could easily come back to the dungeon anytime, now knowing exactly where the entrance was. As he continued to rummage through the crates, he finally found a fully intact Galactic Era battery pack.

Moving outside of the vault and slotting the new battery into the main electronics panel, the entire room began to turn on fully, the holographic keyboards, displays and monitors all running at full functionality.

[System Message]: Access Recognized

Temporary Administrator Privileges recognized. Prison Holdings activated.

 Temporary Administrator Privileges recognized Prison Holdings activated.

Kyle tapped a nearby holographic monitor while the wide-eyed Soren stared in shock as Kyle deftly manipulated the keyboard, trying to find information. Looks like there really is a jamming effect on the entire dungeon. The whole dungeon is cut off from the outside world. So unless the Wardens sent someone to check, no one but me will know Soren is here.

With the vault now fully functional as well and lit up, Kyle could now see the full extent of it. At the very end of the supposed storage room were countless metallic pods, their inhabitants unknown. Galactic Era human survivors? He gingerly walked up, peering into the foggy window of one of the pods only to see a frozen human, still stuck in cryostasis. Checking the display panel of the pod, it showed that there was only a 0.1% success chance of waking up the human in the pod as well.

He readied himself with weapons, though he was extremely confident he could take on a human who had just exited a cryopod, no matter how genetically modified he was. I'll pop the pod, and immediately drag him to the prison cell to prevent any System activation. Assured in his plan, he used his temporary adminstrator privileges to begin the defrosting procedure.

[SYSTEM MESSAGE]

Killed 'Company Employee', +15000 EXP.

[Level Up!]

Level 29 ---> Level 30

All Stats Increased.

Bonus Free Points Granted.

[Race Announcement]: Race Upgrade (Level 30)

Race Evolution can now be selected.

 Please wait.

Huh? What? Kyle was flabbergasted, watching the pod shudder violently as its inhabitant inside decayed rapidly, the body bloating up before bursting apart as it was rapidly thawed. The kill message said it was a company employee...

However, what truly caught him offguard was the race upgrade announcement. He didn't know that the System could upgrade his race as well, though he wondered what race he would be allowed select.

[Race Announcement]: Designated Terminal required for upgrade.

Race options provided upon entry. Terminal Located 10 meters ahead at SD-X-3340-PT-1.

 Race options provided upon entry Terminal Located 10 meters ahead at SD-X-3340-PT-1.

A golden line overlaid on his vision shot out from the center of his body, pointing directly to a square portable chamber that was nested neatly in the corner of the room. Countless tubes and gas tanks were plugged into it, the pipes a maze as they all congregrated onto a single surgical bed mounted in the very center of that chamber, the walls glass. A few stains of blood could be seen on the portable chamber's glass walls, making Kyle a little suspicious. However, Kyle had seen such a contraption before in his previous life. It's a gene modifier chamber. Though I never seen one so advanced before.

Dust coated the transparent monitors that were clearly linked to the chamber, with no sign of any mechanical keyboards or interfaces. Kyle sighed, knowing how much confidence the A-class states had in their electronics to survive, some even claiming they could last a hundred thousand years thanks to extensive testing in a time anomaly. Except they never accounted for the fact that their power source might be completely crippled.

A single handprint groove was on the side of the chamber, along with the power cable drawing energy greedily from the battery Kyle had just slotted in.

[Race Announcement]: Designated Terminal is required for upgrade.

Designated Terminal is required for upgrade.

 Designated Terminal is required for upgrade.

Kyle laid out his plans once more. This put a wrench in his timeline, as he would not be able to move up to Desham as quickly as he would like. If the previous Class Upgrade and Subclass Upgrade was any indication to go by, he might be knocked out for a few days or even more. It would be foolish to leave the Ghosts here waiting, so he hurriedly modified his future plans a little. [Sasha, you're in range?]

[Yes, sir, fully recovered now.]

[Take the Ghosts up to Desham. You and Feldon already know the way?]

[Yes, sir, we've already scouted it.]

[Good. Go on without me. I have business to settle here with the transcendent. Rebuild the Ghosts up and collect supplies where possible.]

[Understood.] Sasha took the order to heart immediately, preparing to set off with the Ghosts while Kyle cracked his knuckles, doing his own preparation for the race upgrade himself.

Thankfully, the storage still had a few rations left behind, preserved to last for centuries, along with a few tanks of water that had been prepared as well. This should be enough if I need to recover. Kyle also had his Necklace of Healing should he be severely weakened from the Race Upgrade, and a few vials of health potion and stamina potion. This upgrade could help me dominate Harrison even more, so let's get it over with.

Before he began, he closed the vault door and locked it tight from within, leaving the still screeching Soren trapped fully behind the laser cage. He moved over to the chamber, approaching the handprint groove. He readied his runic falchion in the other, prepared to chop off his own hand in the event of an infection or a genetic corruption. It wouldn’t be the first time it has happened to him, either.

[System Message]: Terminal Active

Warning – No functional terminal found in the next fifty kilometres.

 Calculating energy usage .

[System Message]: Sufficient Internal Energy

Race Evolution can be selected now.

 Would you like to proceed?.

Not yet. Kyle meticulously scoured the room for anything active, along with any possibility of traps. He checked each crack to ensure that a rock spider would not suddenly burst through and kill him while he was unconscious. Playing it safe, he unplugged every cable that was connected, breaking the connection between the chamber and the monitors, as well as the thick power cable. Even the lightning were not spared, Kyle modifying a nearby electronics panel by flicking the switches off until he was confident that the chamber was the only thing powered up. Don’t want anything in this room suddenly powering up at all.

Air was circulating freely from the genetic modification chamber too, pumped out by dormant gas tanks that enriched the atmosphere.Kyle carefully removed his shirt, pants and shoes to prevent them from getting stained. The last few times saw copious amounts of blood staining his outfit, and a crime lord should always take good care of his appearance.

Already Kyle's body was far different from his starting point as Alvin Teras, the weak sickly skinny frame now turned into a lean musclar machine, though the skin clearly still had some defects. However, the body over all was well-toned with a bit of room for improvement.

He gingerly entered the gene modification chamber, laying down on the surgical table as the chamber's glass door closed automatically, though he still held onto his runic falchion, ready to fight at a moment's notice. If this chamber tries to kill me, I'm breaking out immediately. Kyle never let his guard down, though it did give him a soothing feeling, reminding him of his own modification procedures back when he was just a kid. Just like the good old days. Right, let's see the options.

[Race Announcement]: Race Upgrade (Level 30)

Race Evolution choices will now be generated.

 WARNING – Irreversible Please choose wisely.

Three races and their skills appeared in front of him, allowing Kyle to select the races.

[Race]: Genetic Package 229-A-X Galactic Human

A designer genetic package for the scions of A-class nobility. Increased necessity for energy in every form as well as controlled nutritional diet and genetic stabilizers.

 Stats Increment Per Level Boost: +5 CHA, +5 DEX, +5 STA, +1 MP, +5 HP, +10 INT, +5 STR.

[Skill]: Enchancment (Advanced)

Push your latent potential to the limits.

 Passive Skill Increased muscle growth and regeneration Increased bone density and structural integrity Increased reflexes and nervous reactions Increased thought process Stats Increment will improve over time with training Unique Title will be applied at each stage.

[Information]: Genetic Package 229-A-X Galactic Human

Race Upgrade Path can be swapped to other variants later.

 Race Upgrade Path can be swapped to other variants later.

Kyle had nearly forgotten what it was like to choose a System upgrade. It felt like ages ago when he had just chose the Arcia Mystic subclass. However, this upgrade was even more astounding, forcing him to rub his eyes to ensure that the System Message he was seeing was not a lie. I don't believe it. This genetic package...

He was born as a designer baby with the 229-D-X variant in his former life, targeted for D-class states. This had originally put him above his peers, costing nearly an entire space habitat to both grow, nuture and sustain. With greater energy output, metabolism and calorie consumption increases as well - conservation of energy still had to be met in all cases. He owed his former glory and status as a Crime Lord to the 229-D-X, and he never truly had the chance to upgrade to a 229-C-X due to his age when he finally had the funds to. To see a 229-A-X package here, free for the taking was almost forcing Kyle to click instantly.

The cost of the A-class genetic package could buy out an entire planet in a D-class state. Maybe even the capital of a D-class state.

Not even mentioning the reputation of the genetic package, Kyle was flabbergasted at the sheer number of stats. +5 for every level on top of the base +3, with a +10 for INT?! The Enhancement Passive was even more jaw-dropping, with hints that the per-level increment of stats could reach more than what was shown here.

Before Kyle got far too emotionally invested in chasing what he failed to obtain in his previous life, he quickly looked at the next two races.

[Race]: Arimorph

A human variant designed by Werter Fluidics, it was ordered by the Bulin Principality in their efforts to improve the success of espionage operations..

  Stats Increment Per Level Boost: +2 CHA, +4 DEX, +3 STA, +3 INT, -1 STR.

[Skill]: You Can’t See Me (Intermediate)

Blend into the crowd with a new face every day..

 Twists the cellular structure of the outer skin and hair follicles Requires a sampled human Up to four templates can be saved Duration: Three hours Cooldown: One Day.

[Skill]: Boneshifting (Intermediate)

Craft the skeleton you always wanted.

 Skeletal structure can be modified at will to suit different body shapes Extreme calorie input is required Duration: Three hours Cooldown: One Day.

Kyle was not a fan of alien-hybrid variants. Even in his former life, he had long eschewed such abominations, though the race presented was overall interesting, and showed him a possibility that he could have taken. Boneshifting already looks like a monstrous ability – but I’ll have to see if the others are better. While the second skill intrigued Kyle, the first skill hardly impressed him as optical illusions were already available.

Granted, it did not require arcia energy to channel and could be done nearly instantly without having to prepare different suits altogether, but Kyle was already planning to improve on the optical illusion engravings and bring them closer to Galactic Era illusion technology. Let's check the next race.

[Race]: Slovesa-Human Hybrid (Intermediate)

A human variant developed in the Loeric Empire, this combines the best of both human and slovesa attributes..

 Stats Increment Per Level Boost: -2 CHA, +2 DEX, +3 STA, +2 HP, +1 INT, +4 STR.

[Skill]: Stoneskin (Intermediate)

Reject carbon, accept silicon.

 Hardens the exterior skin to the level of a middle-class slovesa Far more durable against outside influences Duration: Ten minutes Cooldown: One Hour.

[Skill]: Energy Core (Intermediate)

Because one more organ couldn’t hurt.

 Passive skill Generates a flesh organ similar in functionality to that of a slovesa core, boosting internal energy as well as radiation resistance.

Kyle was shocked to see the race appear. After all, he was complicit in the creation of this variant, he himself being the biggest funder of the entire research project that was highly classified. Did the A-class State that built this System steal the information from us?

However, he was not enticed by the prospects of becoming a slovesa hybrid – he had seen the shortcomings of it in the various field tests and in the liberation war that eventually led him to become a Crime Lord. Unlike a true slovesa, these hybrids can’t survive in space, and they can’t survive in a normal human environment as well without proper support. It's the worst of both worlds.

The energy core required intense radiation, making it such that the hybrids could only live on moons or planets with low magnetic shielding or staying close to radioactive sources. The hybrids could also not integrate exotic materials in the same way that the slovesas could naturally. Kyle was not planning to limit himself in that way – there were hardly any radioactive sources found here yet that could be exploited enmasse.

Out of these three, I would pick the 229-A-X for sure. But I know this damn System always has more to give.

[Race Announcement]: Race Upgrade (Level 30)

Three more choices generated.

 WARNING – Irreversible Please choose wisely.

Sure enough, the System generated another three races the moment Kyle's thought popped into his head. He quickly flicked through the selection once more, starting from the top of the new batch.

[Race]: Vicronoth

A stable human genetic mutation that naturally occurred during the Vicrophage..

 Stats Increment Per Level Boost: -2 CHA, +2 DEX, +3 STA, +2 HP, +1 INT, +4 STR.

[Skill]: Infection Vector (Intermediate)

Be the first horseman.

 Releases infectious diseases in an area around you Up to five can be stored Note: Disease must be contracted by host first Duration: Two minutes Cooldown: Three Hours Infection lasts in target after duration.

[Skill]: Viral Immunity (Intermediate)

You merely adopted the vaccine, but I was born in it.

 Passive skill Immune system boosted to be far more effective at restraining viral outbreaks and poisonous substances, sectioning them away from the main functioning organs of the body and storing them for use with the Infection Vector Major immunity boost to nearly all known diseases.

The viral immunity is good – it might work against the debilitating poison. However, I’m not convinced that it is worth going down this racial upgrade path. The issue with the skills was that all of them could be obtained if he had access to Galactic Era tech. The existence of the cyborg Rayner already hinted that there was the existence of factories who could produce Galactic Era technology and implement cybernetic surgery as well. If something was in reach, he didn't want to waste the System upgrade to take it. I could modify my own body myself in the future, it would be shame to give up the 229-A-X package for this.

Kyle swiped to the next race.

[Race]: Orisian

A humanoid alien race, with clear signs of telepathic and psychic inclinations.

 Stats Increment Per Level Boost: +2 CHA, -4 DEX, -2 STA, +2MP, +1 HP, +7 INT, +1 STR.

[Skill]: Overpowering Will (Intermediate)

Unleash your inner strength and dominate the others.

 Throws enemy minds into confusion and despair, while inspiring allies around you +50% chance to cause confusion in enemies, +50% chance to boost morale of allies Duration: Ten minutes Cooldown: Thirty Minutes.

[Skill]: Telekinesis (Intermediate)

One of the great mysteries of the Galactic Era.

 Fling objects with just a thought Upgradable Note: Requires immense training to apply correctly Duration: Five Minutes continuous Cooldown: One hour.

Telekinesis? Kyle was shocked. Humans had never really obtained the true power of telekinesis, even through genetic manipulation, when he was still alive in the Galactic Era. Just how far have I travelled into the future that an A-class state is able to do it?

He suspected this race might be a complete overhaul of the human genome. From what he recalled of the Orisians, they had a hidden requirement of having to stay near an equally psionic active exotic that seemed to work a completely unseen type of wave, analogous to how dark matter was viewed in Ancient Earth. Have they finally cracked the code? Does arcia allow for telekinesis?

Kyle was a bit wary, not wanting to be solely reliant on the exotic. Every Orisian prisoner captured from their homeworld away from the exotics eventually went braindead even if they willingly left their home planet, but not before causing an absolute disaster with their raging telekinesis abilities. He also felt that if the System could implement it, then he could also eventually figure out an arctech engraving to replicate the skill itself. What arcia can't replicate is the 229-A-X package. It's still too good to give up! Alright, let's see the next one.

[Race]: Tharapon

A human variant created by the Poharos Corporation, it allows for shifting in the fourth dimension..

 Stats Increment Per Level Boost: +1 CHA, +4 DEX, +1 STA, +2 MP, -2 HP, +3 INT, -1 STR.

[Skill]: Dimensional Shift (Advanced)

A blip on the axis suddenly becomes two..

 Temporarily shifts in the fourth dimension for a split second, avoiding incoming attacks instantaneously—three shifts per day Performing all three shifts in rapid succession will result in extreme exhaustion.

Only one skill? Kyle was intrigued by the skill but not too surprised. Dimensional defences were not unique in the Galactic Era – starships got around by entering the fourth dimension; otherwise, humanity would have never been able to enter the galactic stage.

It looked extremely useful, but it seemed that it would not be able to dodge chemical attacks like the black fog or any skill that had a lingering effect in an area. If each attack counted for a shift, he would run out of shifts in the first three bullets of a repeater. Of course, he could bulk it up with a point defence engraving, but then the skill becomes less critical to use.

I’m not really into this. If I could use it for teleportation, then yes. But as it is, it’s teleportation on the spot, with no sign of there being an upgrade path. Kyle has not heard of any human variants that could teleport, not considering some transcendents. As such, he had little hope that the human variant Tharapon would be able to reach there someday.

His heart sank a little, feeling as though none of the races so far were interesting enough to outweigh the benefits of the 229-A-X package shown first. One of the more important hidden details is that any variant he chose would undoubtedly have his external features changed entirely.

As if in response to his feelings, the System whirred into life once more.

[Race Announcement]: Race Upgrade (Level 30)

Feedback noted. Calculating best choices for final selection.

 WARNING – Irreversible Please choose wisely These are the last three options .

[Race]: Voidwalkers

The first human variant to allow for full space habitation without an exo-suit.

 Stats Increment Per Level Boost: -1 CHA, +3 DEX, +10 STA, +2 MP, +10 HP, +2 INT, +2 STR.

[Skill]: Into the Void (Advanced)

Not just electromagnetic waves, but particle radiation too..

 Passive Skill Outer shell of the skin protects from all forms of incoming radiation, converting it into internal energy and absorbing particles that can supplement the need to breathe or to eat Skin also protects against extreme temperatures Does not confer any physical defensive bonuses.

[Skill]: Energy Thrust (Advanced)

Be the propulsion system you always wanted to be..

 Release particle radiation through any section of your skin, resulting in thrust in any direction Minimal use planetside Duration: Dependent on the amount of particles available Cooldown: None.

Huh. With this, I could actually just leave the planet myself. Kyle considered the race carefully. This would give him the best survivability not just in space but also on the ground, with him being able to absorb starlight directly, such as UV radiation and so on.

But the second skill was completely useless, save for the fact that it could irradiate and overwhelm electronic components. However, most Galactic Era technology were already hardened for radiation on a general basis. In order to overwhelm the significant radiation shielding, he would have to generate more particles than a sunspot, all concentrated onto a centimetre square. That’s not going to work.

Kyle highly doubted his body would be able to fire harder than a particle cannon, which was effectively the same concept albeit they melted through the surface of whatever material they were touching. There was no way he could accelerate the particle that fast – the energy pulse seemed to be more of a solar sail effect rather than a rocket engine or a true particle ion thruster, with the general acceleration being low but continuous.

The first skill was still worthy of consideration. Being able to space walk without an exosuit was a critical one. But it still did not prevent one from getting shot at or blown up by a missile. Kyle internally fumed as he recalled how he died. Having such a skill would not have saved him in that scenario at all.

Next.

[Race]: Arcian

Remnants of a fallen alien race, torn by civil war..

  No Stat Increment .

[WARNING]: System Warning

Unable to fully convert to Arcian: Human Variant will be generated instead.

 Unable to fully convert to Arcian: Human Variant will be generated instead.

So far, every race shown to Kyle had been a human variant or humanoid of sorts, so he did not expect himself to be able to transform into a tentacle monster or something. He did not want to lose his human features as well, as it may cause issues with him back in society.

[Skill]: Arcia Reinforcement (Advanced)

The power of the planet flows through you..

 Passive Skill Ability to use ambient or internal arcia energy to strengthen muscles and improve arcia energy capacity and handling over-time Unique Title will be applied for each stage of training and time Requires immense amount of arcite ore to reach final stage Performance reduced in non-arcia infused environment.

[Skill]: Arcia Efficiency (Advanced)

Do not feel the fire; be the fire..

 Passive Skill All skills cooldown reduced by 50% permanently Non-upgradable Overwrites all other cooldown modification skills.

The skills were frankly downright amazing. Kyle found it hard to argue against the usefulness and efficiency of the stats and effects. However, all of this came with one caveat if he really chose this race, a question he couldn't ignore: Am I willing to be non-human.

The very thought caused him to shudder. Changing to any of these human variants may make it hard for him to change back. Kyle had seen a lot of variants back in his day, but it was always the baseline humans who had the highest adaptability, able to work with anything. Taking the 229-A-X package wouldn't diminish his ability to use arcia in anyway, and there was also a terrible side effect of converting to Arcian. Performance reduced in non-arcia infused environment… That means space. Also means that if I ever get on a starship, I would have to bring along arcite ore.

That was a no-go for him. Kyle hated relying on things or being dependent on others outside of his own body. This planet was not the only stage in the ladder he had to climb, and the places he intended to reach were not all laden with arcite either. He couldn't imagine lugging around tonnes of arcite ore to simply fuel his psuedo-transcendent skills, it would reduce his maneuverability and increase his weakness tremendously.

Last one.

[Race]: Dryad-Human Variant

A human variant able to interact with the trees.

 Stats Increment Per Level Boost: +5 CHA, +5 INT, +5 VIT.

Kyle simply swiped the final race away, not even bothering to look at the skills. 229-A-X it is. Without any more hesitation, he selected the very first option he had been given, the chamber suddenly roaring to life as the table strapped his arms down along with his legs, restraining his movements. From beneath the table, countless needles begin to insert into his skin forcibly.

[System Message]: Lack of Anesthesia

Warning - No Pain Relief Substitute Found. Please Prepare Yourself.

 Warning - No Pain Relief Substitute Found Please Prepare Yourself.

He gritted his teeth, concentrating all of his mental fortitude as the needles jabbed deeper, as though he was lying on a bed of nails. Clenching his fists and eyes as tight as he could, he felt the liquid surged into his veins, his bone structure and muscles changing and twisting in realtime as the 229-A-X genetic package was installed into him forcibly. Hot lava ran through his vein, searing every nerve and every sensory Kyle had, the pain wracking through his entire body as he began to flail wildly on instinct to the tremedous pain. Unlike the other upgrades, Kyle forced himself to withstand the horrendous torture, his mind struggling to stay firm as the level of pain began to build up.

Every cell, every pore and every inch of his body cried out for rest as Kyle's vision began to fade, though this time he held on longer than usual. "GRAAAAAAHHHH!" Kyle let out a roar, fighting to stay awake before a new needle the size of a pen jabbed right into his neck, the sharp jolting pain the final kicker to finally knock him out cold.

<---Chapter 117  | Table of Contents | To Be Continued--->