Atlas shrugged. He didn’t know what he’d done, and he said as much. “I wish I could tell you, but I don’t really know what happened. For most of the fight, I wasn’t consciously doing anything, and even when I did have control over my body, I listened to my instincts more than anything else. I’m not even sure I could try to do it again, with how much I had boosted myself during that fight. I mean look at what happened last time.”
“But—” Verian tried pushing further, but Big A cut her off.
“Listen to the boy, Verian. Besides, he can’t do anything until he is fully integrated anyway.”
Atlas latched on to the change in subject. “What do you mean? I thought finishing the quest automatically integrated me into the System.”
“Not quite. Have you accessed the notification logs since you woke up?” Atlas shook his head, only then realizing that a small icon flashed in the corner of his vision, similar to a video game mailbox. “Before you open it—” Big A’s warning came too late as Atlas accessed his notifications.
Atlas's notifications overwhelmed him like a stampede of animals escaping through a broken fence. He couldn’t see anything through them, quickly giving him a headache. Fortunately, he managed to mentally direct the notifications to show one by one which lessened the visual stimulation, though he could feel pressure in his head like a balloon filled with too much air. With that handled, he could manage reading the first notification.
ACHIEVEMENT EARNED:
DEFIANT (UNCOMMON)- SURVIVE AN E-RANK OR ABOVE FACTION’S CORRUPTION ATTEMPT
UPGRADE EARNED:
INDOMITABLE (LEGENDARY)-SURVIVE AN S-RANK OR ABOVE FACTION’S CORRUPTION ATTEMPTS
THE ABYSS STARED INTO YOU AND YOU STARED RIGHT BACK. IT TRIED TO BREAK YOU DOWN, BUT YOU DUG DOWN DEEP INSIDE AND FOUGHT IT OFF, EVEN AS IT THREATENED TO CONSUME. THE EXPERIENCE TEMPERED YOUR SOUL AND DEVELOPED YOUR PRESENCE TO NEW HEIGHTS, THOUGH ONLY TIME WILL REVEAL THE CHANGES THAT RESULTED. CORRUPTION-BASED ENEMIES NOW KNOW OF YOUR IMMUNITY TO THEIR POWERS
+15% WILLPOWER, +WILLPOWER EFFECTIVENESS OF SOUL AND AURA-BASED POWERS, + 1 (MENTAL RESISTANCE SKILL SELECTION), +(CORRUPTION IMMUNITY)
ERROR: LACK OF INTEGRATION DETECTED: REWARDS WITHHELD UNTIL COMPLETION
HUH! Atlas could hardly believe the skill he’d just received. He didn’t understand it all, but the upgrade from Uncommon to Legendary seemed like a major jump, especially if the way you earned it was surviving the Tainted’s corruption poison. Atlas’s eyes flicked to Amaryllis’s tail and back to the notification. It sucked that he wouldn’t get the rewards from the achievement until fully integrated, but he had a feeling that wouldn’t be a problem in a moment. He continued going through his notifications, even though he couldn’t imagine getting anything near the level of his first reward.
YOU PURIFIED [TAINTED SECOND LIEUTENANT- AMARYLLIS- LVL 75]- EXP REWARDED
BONUS EXP FOR LVL DIFFERENTIAL
F TO E-RANK DIFFERENCE- BONUS EXP FOR RANK DIFFERENTIAL
NON-INTEGRATION BONUS- BONUS EXP
ERROR: LACK OF INTEGRATION DETECTED: EXP WITHHELD UNTIL COMPLETION
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Atlas skimmed through the notification before moving on to the next two, both of which seemed related to his successful purification of Amaryllis. He smiled when he saw the achievements.
ACHIEVEMENT EARNED:
PUNCHING UP (COMMON)- DEFEAT AN E-RANK WHILE STILL IN F-RANK
IT TAKES A SPECIAL FOOL TO FIGHT AGAINST THOSE HIGHER THAN THEM. IT TAKES A GREATER FOOL STILL TO TRY TO WIN. AS AN F-RANK, TO PULL IT OFF IS A SIGN OF POTENTIAL.
+5 TO ALL STATS
ERROR: LACK OF INTEGRATION DETECTED: REWARDS WITHHELD UNTIL COMPLETION
ACHIEVEMENT EARNED:
DEMANDING RECOGNITION (EPIC)- FIGHT AGAINST A SYSTEM MEMBER WHO HAS UNDERGONE AT LEAST ONE RANK EVOLUTION BEFORE INTEGRATION COMPLETION
TO FIGHT AGAINST ANY INTEGRATION SYSTEM MEMBER PRE-INTEGRATION IS A CHALLENGE. TO DO SO AGAINST ONE WHO HAS UNDERGONE EVOLUTION IS AN ACT OF SHEER DEFIANCE THAT ONLY THOSE LACKING IN INTELLIGENCE OR COMMON SENSE. SOMEHOW YOU PULLED IT OFF, A SIGN OF YOUR WILLPOWER AND LUCK.
+5% LUCK, +5% WILL
Atlas didn’t feel any disappointment despite the lackluster rewards in comparison to his first achievement. As low as his stats had to be, any advantages he could get might be the thing that kept him alive for whatever the future brought.
YOU PURIFIED [TAINTED LIEUTENANT- VERIAN- LVL 79]- EXP REWARDED
BONUS EXP FOR LVL DIFFERENTIAL
F TO E-RANK DIFFERENCE- BONUS EXP FOR RANK DIFFERENTIAL
NON-INTEGRATION BONUS- BONUS EXP
ERROR: LACK OF INTEGRATION DETECTED: EXP WITHHELD UNTIL COMPLETION
Atlas noted that he didn’t hadn’t received any new achievements for purifying Verian, only the bonus experience for the rank difference and his lack of integration status. Still, he couldn’t help but wonder what his level would be after the EXP of two enemies over 75 levels above him. The growing excitement prompted him to move on to his next notifications.
YOU CLOSED A TAINTED BREACH PORTAL- JOB EXP REWARDED
ERROR: JOB NOT DETECTED
REWARD ALTERED: JOB PATH IMPROVED UPON SELECTION
ERROR: LACK OF INTEGRATION DETECTED: REWARD WITHHELD UNTIL COMPLETION
UNIVERSlAL FIRST ACHIEVEMENT EARNED
TYING UP LOOSE ENDS EARLY (UNIQUE): CLOSE A BEYOND FACTION’S BREACH PORTAL BEFORE FULL INTEGRATION
TO LEAVE THE ENEMY AN AVENUE FOR RETURN IS TO TEMPT THE KARMIC KNOTS THAT HAVE FORMED BETWEEN YOU, SO IT IS COMMON PRACTICE IN THE UNIVERSE TO DESTROY ANY PORTALS LEFT ONCE AN INVASION HAS BEEN STOPPED. HOWEVER, THIS LEAVES FLAWS IN THE VEIL BETWEEN THE MULTIVERSE AND THE BEYOND. YOU HAVE MANAGED TO DO WHAT ONLY A FEW MASTERS OF UNIVERSAL MANIPULATION HAVE DONE, REPAIRING THE BREACH PORTAL INSTEAD OF DESTROYING IT… AND BEFORE INTEGRATION! WAS IT DUE TO STUPID LUCK AND SHEER BULLHEADEDNESS THAT YOU PULLED IT OFF? MAYBE. BUT IT’S IMPRESSIVE ALL THE SAME.
+25 LUCK, +5% WILL, +10 FATE, +1 KARMIC MANIPULATION SKILL SELECTION
ERROR: LACK OF INTEGRATION DETECTED: REWARD WITHHELD UNTIL COMPLETION
Holy shit! A universal first achievement’s gotta be good, right? Atlas wanted to crow with joy at the notification, but he held himself back. There were still a few to go, and if the order were any indication, the next one would be a big one.
QUEST COMPLETED!
ASSIST ATLAS THE UNBREAKABLE IN HIS BATTLE AGAINST THE TAINTED.
(2/2 COMPLETED)
#1: TAKE AT LEAST .1 PERCENT OF ATLAS’S POWER FOR 5 MINUTES CONSECUTIVELY (5:00/5:00)
#2: TAKE AT LEAST .01 PERCENT OF ATLAS’S POWER FOR A TOTAL OF 15 MINUTES (1:30:00/15:00)
GENERATING REWARD
COMPLETE INTEGRATION IN THE MULTIVERSAL SYSTEM
COMMENCING IN
3…
2…
1…
INTEGRATION INITIATED