Atlas blew out a deep breath as he looked at the options. Of course, it wouldn’t be that easy. Still, the fact that he had multiple selections at all—and that an outside force as powerful as a goddess had decided to intercede in said selection— told him a couple of things. First and foremost, whatever Abilities were in the grand scheme of things, they were important enough that people far beyond Atlas’s comprehension were willing to put in their two cents, and that meant whatever choice Atlas made, it would change his future in some way. It also meant that he didn’t need to decide completely on his own as he’d first been afraid of.
With that in mind, he pushed the notifications to the corner of his vision for a moment and turned to Big A, Verian, and Amaryllis. When the group noticed his gaze, they stopped chatting and focused on him. “Finished already, Atlas?” Big A asked.
Atlas couldn’t stop the scoff. “Not quite. I wanted to get your input on something.”
“Ah, of course. I must admit that I thought you were going to make all the decisions completely on your own, as most new initiates to the multiverse tend to do.” Big A had an apologetic look as he said that.
“To be honest, I probably would have if it hadn’t been for one of my Ability options being endorsed by a goddess, of all things.”
Three pairs of eyes widened at his words. Big A opened his mouth, but before he could get any words out, someone else cut in. “What rank did you say the Ability was?”
Atlas looked at the red-haired, green-eyed woman staring at him with an intense stare. He didn’t know why she cared so much all of a sudden, but he just shrugged and said, “Unique. Why?”
Even Big A’s jaw dropped at his statement. “You… you got a unique grade option for your integration Ability?” He said in disbelief, voice barely a whisper.
“Actually, I got two,” Atlas said in a cautious tone.
“WHAT?” Big A and Verian’s voices overlapped as they shouted in shock, leaving Atlas’s ears ringing. Atlas clapped his hands over his ears as he winced. The pair had the presence of mind to look apologetic.
“Sorry, kid,” Big A said, but Atlas just waved his hand dismissively. He had already healed from it as a result of a newly boosted Vitality stat. Instead, he tapped his foot as he waited for someone to explain why it was such a big deal. Sighing in relief, Big A continued speaking. “Can you tell us what you need help with?”
Atlas raised an eyebrow at the lack of explanation but decided to let it go for the time being. He started from the beginning listing off his achievements—though he did keep their exact effects to himself—, his status sheet, the question marks in his race and bloodline, and the options available to him in the Ability selection. He also briefly mentioned the notification window that he hadn’t taken a peek at yet, but he could see it was currently greyed out in the corner of his vision, as waiting for his choices with the Ability selection. He wrapped up as he said, “And that’s why I need help sorting through all this and getting some advice on what it all means.” By the time he finished speaking, everyone stared at him, jaws hanging and eyes bulging. He looked at them and asked defensively, “What? Why are you staring at me like that?”
“You are strong,” said an entirely new voice, a soft alto with gravelly undertones. Atlas spun his head to look at Amaryllis so fast his neck popped.
“You can talk?!” His voice cracked in his surprise.
“Yes,” she responded, accompanied by a simple nod.
Atlas decided to focus on the topic at hand and just said, “Huh, cool, but I don’t really think a few high-level abilities make me particularly strong. I mean, you both almost killed me without even really trying not too long ago, and unless one of these abilities will make me invincible, it isn’t like any of them would have changed that.”
Verian shook her head. “While I get where you’re coming from, I don’t think you understand how difficult what you pulled off truly is. Amy’s right. You faced off against two E-ranks while not even a full F-rank and beat us, and you still managed to close the Tainted’s Universal tear. Trust me, Atlas, even if you aren’t strong now, you will be.”
Big A nodded at her words. “She’s right. However, you need to focus on the Ability selections available to you right now.”
Atlas focused on him, tilting his head to look into the eyes of the golden giant. “Right,” he said. “What advice can you give me about… all this?”
“The first thing that you need to know is that after the initial skill and Ability selections, every further selection available to you will be influenced by three things: the type of experiences you have to level up, your class, and the abilities you choose at each rank evolution. Usually, the latter is only a small influence, and is itself influenced by the other two.”
“Usually?” Atlas cut in. “Does that mean that something different about my selection?”
“Yes,” Big A said before he let out a deep sigh. “It is extremely rare for even higher-ranked beings to get multiple abilities from one selection, and it always plays a heavy influence on their powers.”
“Why?” Atlas asked, narrowing his eyes.
“Atlas, what you need to understand about abilities is that they are always more than what their description says. Even ones that don’t explicitly state that they affect affinities or stats permanently will start to influence the potential for those things. They form a cycle. You have to prove to have compatibility with the Ability, and in turn, the Ability will positively improve your compatibility with it, even to the point of making adjacent skills more likely to appear from that point on. That only grows with the rank of the Ability, to the point that high-grade abilities appearing have consistently led to the rise of paragons across the system.”
“And two abilities only give that much stronger of an advantage,” Atlas said as he filled in the dots. “Okay, that makes sense. But one of my abilities is only rare. How strange is Unique to make you guys act like I’d just committed some sort of multiversal taboo?”
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“Anything Unique-grade under the System’s purview tends to be… interesting,” Verian said, her voice trailing off at the end. “Most races have Unique skills just for their race. It’s what makes each one special, but when an individual gets something graded in the Unique-spectrum, it is always rule-breaking. You have it for achievement and an Ability selection with two options, one of which would make you the ultimate warrior for dozens of the major factions and public enemy number one for dozens more.” She stopped speaking for a moment and frowned. “I don’t know anything about the concepts mentioned in the second option, though.”
“Okay, but what about that part about the goddess of purity endorsing one of the abilities?” If anything, that part confused Atlas the most.
“Once beings evolve past S-rank, they reach true immortality and a level of power that can truly only be categorized as ‘godly,’” Big A explained. “Usually, that requires connecting to a concept the god identifies with. Even after reaching Godhood, they are still under the purview of the system, though. Instead, they have a certain level of clout and authority that lets them influence the selections of others they think have potential for them to sponsor.”
Atlas rubbed his chin as he thought about that. “So, this ‘goddess of purity’ noticed me freeing these two,” he nodded his chin at Verian and Amaryllis, “from the Tainted, and thinks I have potential as some sort of purifier. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it makes sense in a weird sort of way. I can even understand how I got the option, but is it worth it, especially compared to the other option?”
Atlas was surprised when Big A just shrugged his shoulders. “That choice is solely yours to make. Everyone’s path is their own, and either Ability will prove a powerful tool for you in the future. Even your rare abilities options are more powerful than the common or uncommon that most people get for their first selection, even the elites of the multiverse. All I can advise is that you should pick the ones that fit the path you want to walk right now.”
Atlas stayed silent as he looked over at the options available to him again. He needed some time to think over what the others had told him. “Thanks, you guys. I’m gonna go think it over.”
“Of course,” Big A said.
Atlas nodded at them all again before he walked over to sit on a boulder. He propped his head on his hand and pulled the selection notification back to the center of his vision. He focused on the Rare options first.
RARE SELECTIONS:
OPTION 1: (RARE) MOMENTUM (PASSIVE): ENERGY AND DAMAGE ABSORBED GRADUALLY INCREASE STRENGTH AND DEXTERITY AS LONG AS COMBAT OCCURS; PERCENTAGE OF BOOST CAN BE STORED BASED ON RANK
OPTION 2: (RARE) MOMENTARY ADAPTATION (PASSIVE): ONE ELEMENTAL OR STATUS-BASED RESISTANCE WILL GROW DURING BATTLE BASED ON RECEIVED DAMAGE OR EFFECTS; ALL RESISTANCE WILL BE LOST UPON BATTLE’S CONCLUSION
OPTION 3: (RARE) UNKNOWN ENTITY (PASSIVE): ALL IDENTIFY-BASED SKILLS USED BY THOSE WITHIN TWO RANKS OF YOU WILL FAIL; LIKELIHOOD OF SUCCESS BY THOSE THREE RANKS HIGHER OR ABOVE WILL INCREASE BY 25% PER RANK
OPTION 4: (RARE) INVENTORY (PASSIVE)- DIMENSIONAL SPACE WITH A MAXIMUM STORAGE OF 10X10X10 METERS; ALL ITEMS WITHIN ARE FROZEN IN TIME; NO LIVING THINGS MAY BE STORED
Right away he eliminated Unknown Entity. Atlas simply didn’t know enough about how common high-level Identify-based skills were, nor was it important to block them back on Earth, at least right now. He also discarded Momentum, as it seemed great for someone willing to stand still and take hits over and over to land one giant counterattack. Atlas simply had no interest in that. The Ability also seemed extremely combat-focused. The fight had aroused some excitement, but he didn’t feel that was all he wanted his path to be.
For those same reasons, he ruled out Momentary Adaptation. It had a little more utility, in that any type of elemental or status effect-based damage could lead to it working, but Atlas still didn’t want to have to get hurt by something. He’d rather just figure out a way to work around it.
Of course, all that meant that he was left with Inventory, but he didn’t mind the option. If anything, he got excited at the idea of being like a video game character able to pull out any weapon or item he wanted at any time. He did wonder what the background effects that Big A had mentioned to him would be, but he guessed that was up to him to figure out. With that in mind, he selected the Ability.
In an instant, he could tell the difference as he grew aware of a large space disconnected from the area where he sat. Testing the Ability, he concentrated on a few of the pebbles around him and discovered that if he spared the faintest bit of attention, they would disappear into his inventory as long as they were within around two meters of him. As he pulled them in and out of his storage, he noticed that the effort grew easier each time, and every time he put something into his Inventory he saw the name of the item appear in his status under a new section, a pleasant surprise to be sure.
As he played around with the Ability a little more, Atlas began to perceive more than just the space inside his Inventory. Little by little, any space within two meters of his body came under his perception. He couldn’t truly see anything, at least not in any great detail, but he could tell where everything was fairly accurate. If anything, it felt like sonar. He could already imagine the uses for it in the future.
After playing with his Inventory and a new bit of spatial awareness, Atlas turned his attention to the remaining ability selection. He gave the two options another look:
UNIQUE SELECTIONS:
OPTION 1: (UNIQUE) THE TOUCH THAT SCARES THE DARK (PASSIVE): YOUR TOUCH TURNS THAT WHICH IS CORRUPTED OR MORPHED BACK TO ITS PURIST FORM. YOUR AURA STRENGTHENS THE HOLY AND BREAKS DOWN THE CORRUPT. SEEK PURITY, SEEK THE LIGHT. GAIN HOLY-AFFINITY AND A HOLY-AFFINITY AURA SKILL. [ENDORSED BY THE GODDESS OF PURITY]
OPTION 2: (UNIQUE) THE EYES THAT SEE BEYOND THE THREADS (PASSIVE): TO MOST, THE THREADS CONNECTING EVERYTHING IN THE UNIVERSE ARE HIDDEN, BUT YOU HAVE SEEN THEM. NOW, YOU SHALL SEE BEYOND THEM. YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE UNIVERSE NOW INCREASES AT A FAR FASTER RATE, AS DOES YOUR COMPREHENSION OF CONCEPTS YOU STUDY. SKILLS RELATING TO THE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE RESIDENTS AND PLACES UPGRADE FAR EASIER AND ARE FAR MORE EFFECTIVE. GAIN (LEGENDARY) THREADSIGHT IDENTIFICATION SKILL. ALL ADDITIONAL IDENTIFY SKILLS GET UPGRADED BY AT LEAST ONE RANK. YOU SEE THE PATH AND THE PATH IS YOUR OWN.
With each option, he could see a future path branching out before him. In the first, he imagined himself as a paladin, allied alongside the forces of light, seeking out and purifying that which was corrupted. Behind him stood a veiled goddess, supporting him as he grew stronger. On that path, he knew he would go far.
The second option told a story of mystery and adventure. One where his power came from seeking an understanding of the universe through study… and battle. However, compared to the first option, nothing was certain, and any support he found would be hard-earned.
As Atlas imagined these paths, he listened to his gut and found an answer. To make sure, he read his selections one last time. Seeing nothing to sway him, he made his choice. For a moment, the universe went silent. Even Big A and Verian stopped speaking as if they sensed he had made his choice. To Atlas, it felt like an eternity, and he even started to worry that something had gone wrong.
However, before his worries could develop, the whole world began to warp before his very eyes.