After a few more hours of waiting, Krizzik had finally been stabilized enough to be transferred into one of the healing tanks. It was only a matter of time before he was up and running now. Alex felt like he could finally breathe again. He had felt the effects of those tanks first hand. He obviously enjoyed the benefits at a much faster rate than anyone else could, at least on this planet, but he knew that Krizzik’s recovery was all but assured now.

Alex only had a few left to do while he was on Saxar IV. He needed to thin the variant numbers on the planet as much as he could. If he could, Alex would eradicate them entirely, but there was no way to know if he had gotten all of them so he would do his best. He also wanted to figure out a way to use the electric energy. He felt like this would be extremely beneficial to him for his final goal.

Really it was one of the first goals he had since arriving in the planet. It had been the thing that was gnawing at the back of his mind for close to a year now.

He was going to kill the Great One.

It seemed surreal that the time was actually here. He had struggled and fought, and it was so close.

He had already grown quite a bit during his time in the hospital. He had fought some variants and it had been enough to grant him a few levels. He still needed to gain a few more if he was going to take on the Sand Drake, but that was just another reason to hunt down any variants he could find. The last time he had seen the Sand Drake it had been level 86. It had grown since the last time he had seen it, and he was almost certain it would see another spike in power. It could be above level 90, and Alex was going to be prepared for that.

He was going to make sure that he was high enough level to contend with powerful life form. He also intended to have every tools in his arsenal up to snuff.

Alex spent hours trying to figure out how to utilize that electric energy to no avail. So, he instead switched gears and tried to understand what exactly had shifted to allow him to absorb it. Before when they had faced off against the war machine, he hadn’t been able to do anything with the energy. He doubted it had anything to do with the overall power.

Actually, I just hit 200 intelligence. I wonder if that has anything to do with it.

He thought back to when he had been able to absorb thermal energy for the first time. He wasn’t totally sure, but he was almost positive that he had hit a similar threshold with his intelligence.

Maybe I had the wrong idea about intelligence. It doesn’t make me stronger, it helps me absorb energy. It probably would help me be more efficient too.

After ruminating a little more on the subject, he went back his previous train of thought.

The war machines were the equivalent of a mortar of unfocused power. It did significant damage over a wide area. The rifles on the other hand, were precision tools. The towers were more powerful, but the rifles felt more deadly. It was like getting hit by a cannon from point blank range.

It didn’t really make sense to him. He would’ve thought the towers more dangerous overall, but in reality he was more terrified of the rifles. He wondered if his body had somehow dispersed the energy from the larger projectiles of the towers. He had no intention of taking hits from both to study their effects, so he would just have to accept the fact that he didn’t know why the rifles seemed to pack more of a punch.

He would use that to his advantage nonetheless. His group had taken the two rifles, and after their scientists had studied the firearms for few days, they had come back with the results. There was essentially a core that cultivated the energy. It almost like a nuclear core that was used to produce electricity on Earth, but it was more stable and more powerful. The Saxans had studied the cores and had even been able to replicate them to an extent. With more time, they would likely have an even better weapon than the one they had stolen.

Alex had been a little nervous to ask, but needed to practice with his new energy. The Saxans had allowed him to utilize the energy of the cores for his own experimentation. He didn’t even need to convince them. They were actually a little confused he had asked and hadn’t just taken them. Apparently, they actually belonged to him. It was Saxan law that anything claimed in battle belonged to the victor. Since he had slain the two Zotari warriors wielding the rifles, they belong led to him now.

That knowledge had changed his approach. Not only was Alex going to learn how to use the energy, he was going to wear the cores and use them continually. They were going to be his own personal batteries. He would need to wait to get stronger. Alex could start a battle with some energy already built up.

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So, he got to work. He fashioned a type of system to fasten the orbs to his body. He didn’t want it to affect his mobility, so his first thought was to put both of them on either side of his head. It made him look like the Mickey Mouse from hell with his glowing eyes and huge muscles. His second thought was to put it…well, he discarded that idea as well. So without another idea, he just decided to place them on his shoulders. He would shift them around as needed during a fight, but for the most part they wouldn’t be in the way.

The tennis ball sized orbs were black with dark purple, swirling energy inside, which was great because it fit his aesthetic rather well. He was glad that everything so far had more or less stuck to a theme. Nothing was worse than a superhero costume that just didn’t make any sense. Where he wasn’t exactly designing his costume and just finding useful items, it was pretty well coordinated.

He started to probe the orbs attempting to stir up any kind of reaction. It took him a lot of experimentation, but eventually he discovered a method to channel the energy within. With intense focus and a precise control over his breathing, Alex felt the power begin to crackle in his chest. He imagined the energy circulating rhythmically almost as if it were a mill constantly turning in a river. With each revolution, the power both grew and condensed.

After churning the energy for a few moments, he felt like he should be able to release it. He pointed out two of his fingers at a nearby rock. The electric energy surged through him and he felt like he had just put a fork in an electrical outlet. The hairs all over his body stood straight up.

The moment finally arrived and the electricity began to extend out of his fingers.

“Ouch!”

It didn’t produce more electricity than when he had walked around on carpet with his socks on. Only a small branching arc of electricity shot out from his finger. It hurt him a lot more than it would have hurt anybody else. It was probably the equivalent of attaching jumper cables to his nipples.

“That’s a start. Not what I was expecting, but at least I can do something with the energy.”

He spent the remainder of the week honing his skill with the electricity. It still wasn’t where he wanted it, but it was enough to be considered an attack. He would like still need to rely on his thermal energy for his major battles, but he should be able to sprinkle in some electric attacks here and there. Getting some actual combat experience with new energy would be crucial. He didn’t want to get in a situation where he would need it, but couldn’t rely on it. At least he had a constant source of energy attached to his body all the time.

Alex spent nearly the entire remainder of his time left on the planet grinding out levels. He hunted every variant he could find. The Saxans still hadn’t received any reports of variants in any other locations. That didn’t necessarily mean that they weren’t anywhere else, but it was at least a good sign that they hadn’t mass produced the vastly more powerful Zotari. During his hunt, Alex had yet to come across another of the sleeper variants that held multiple power ups. This meant that commander was likely the first and only so far. Alex hadn’t been able to track the man down yet. He was certain that he was still alive, but without catching him there was no way to know.

Alex thought back to their conversation. He had been so close to hearing if he could somehow get out of his conscription. Obviously, he could have been lying the entire time just to get Alex to lower his guard, but he had sounded genuine.

I wonder if I’ll ever get out of this.

His time was drawing to an end so he went over his gains and checked his status page.

Alex Sullivan

Race- Human

Rank- Private

Grade- F

Class- Shift

Level- 87

Strength-537 (683)

Agility- 393 (463)

Intelligence- 252 (301)

Durability- 837 (1,090)

Endurance- 512 (600)

Health- 10,900/10,900

Stamina- 6,000/6,000

P.E.- 0/10,900

He would still need to hunt down the Sand Drake to know whether or not he was at a disadvantage, but he felt confident with his recent growth. With bonuses, he had over one thousand durability now. He hoped that if nothing else, he would be able to outlast the creature. His strength and endurance were also seeing a significant increase.

His intelligence was now past 250 and he could say now, there was at least some relationship with that stat and how he processes energy. The electric energy was starting to get much easier to manipulate. Part of that was no doubt due to him practicing more with it, but it had gotten noticeably easier when he had gained a few levels. It was still by far the most difficult for him to utilize to date, but it was getting more manageable.

The potential energy store scaling with his durability was a blessing. He imagined that he would take a significant beating, and so having that large of a pool to fill was relieving. He would obviously take a ton of damage to fill it, but that was tomorrow’s problem. No sense worrying about it now.

Alex set out to hunt down the Sand Drake. He could feel king Nagaar growing restless in his mind. It had been a while since he had lost complete control to the snake, but Alex was still wary of him. If he lost control, Nagaar could blow his chances of actually defeating the Great One. He was after all, only a passenger in Alex’s body. Alex was the one that had spent months growing and learning in his new power and abilities. Nagaar would just be guessing.

He wasn’t sure exactly where the Sand Drake was, but he was pretty confident he could find it before he had to leave. Either he would see the Sand Drake patrolling the skies like it normally did, or Alex would just wait out at the lair he had stumbled upon when he was wandering the desert.

It was finally time.