Welcome, Jack.
Allocation Network Expanded. Resource Distribution Updated. Some items have been removed. Some items have been expanded. Chit Total Updated.
Mission Status Updated: Terminals Connected: 3.
Acceptable Task Progress, Personnel-Soldier-Trainee Jack!
He couldn’t help but chuckle, that really rolled off the tongue.
Your Personnel Level has Increased!
You’ve gathered Nano-Trace. Allocation Increased!
You’ve Enhanced your Skills!
You’ve Developed New Skills!
Congratulations, you’ve Leveled Up your Personnel Level! Reach Level 10 to Access increased Clearance.
You’ve reached Level 7!… Error! ;)
You’ve reached Level 9!
Additional Security Personnel Detected, Emergent Protocol adjusted.
Did… the Terminal just wink at him?
[https://i.postimg.cc/fLLB3wqJ/Screen-Shot-2022-09-07-at-12-26-41-AM.png]
Seeing the 15 Allocation sitting there felt pretty good. It made the last couple of hours absolutely, almost completely, worth it. He suspected it before but he was sure this time, his EQ was definitely dropping. He wasn’t sure if it was going to keep dropping even if he added points to it but if he put a single point in then it would double its effectiveness. He added it in. Glancing back again towards his captive… colleague he added another one on top of it.
Finally taking a moment for himself he felt the accumulated detritus and fluids still on his face. Making sure no more Medjel was on his fingers he ran a hand to remove the most noticeable chunks he could actually visually see sticking onto his face from the corner of his eyes.
Did… was… had he been smiling like this the entire time? He squashed the desire to look back at his colleague in horror. Was it because of those Skills or was it because his EQ was so low? Wiping his face again to make sure The Smile was gone he was able to imagine how terrifying it must have been to wake up to him smiling like that with her chest open and tied to a table. He barked out a quick laugh then caught himself and carefully listened. Still good.
Moving on, he absolutely needed to increase his combat and staying power. Holding the doorway with the crab river had made him acutely aware of how close he was cutting it in each of his encounters so far. His Strength seemed to have been holding up ok but he had noticed his Energy flagging in each encounter.
He pumped 5 into Endurance, closed his eyes and leaned his head back as he waited. He absolutely noticed an improvement in his health, “Will to Live,” and in his total Energy Capacity, but it wasn’t the world-shaking feeling he had been looking forward to. He debated for a second then thought better. He would wait a few Personnel Levels before pushing it to 20. The worst case would be hitting 20 and not have anything to show for it.
The blurry image of the crab-man overlaid his vision for a brief moment. He needed to stay ahead of the game. He put 4 into Strength bringing it to 14. He flexed his grip in a smile he double checked to make sure it didn’t stay plastered on his face.
Since he knew for a fact that the big improvements were at 5 and 10 he put three into Agility and one into IQ. This was the stuff, he didn’t even notice the smile spread out this time. His body hummed and purred. It felt like a supercar engine purred in the body of a Lion. He felt ready to MOVE. The IQ then kicked in an he felt connections form in his mind. Things he could have done better. More ways he could prepare. In the room that he dismissed as barren before he now saw possibilities.
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Cold-Blooded Mind. Improved! v.1.5 ->v.2
> While in this State you have a corresponding increase to your IQ. EQ is also slightly raised. Empathetic rebound is disabled. IQ increase is dependent on variance of blood loss level and competing emotional states. Over-compartmentalization can lead you to enter this dissociative state without corresponding blood loss trigger. Recovery in blood volume and/or extreme emotional resonance may interrupt this state.
Is that why he felt so cold earlier? He had been idly wondering why he felt so removed from it all. He further assumed that the beginning of this disabled “empathetic rebound” was responsible for the creepy aspects of it all.
Improvised Battlefield Surgeon. Newly Acquired! v.1
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
> Permanent increase in hand dexterity and manipulation due to optimized neural pathways when carving into new friends, old acquaintances, or even your favorite crab. Dexterity Improvements scale with Skill Level. Dexterity boost is doubled when Cold-Blooded Mind is active.
>
> Future Skill Development Prediction: wider application of Dexterity Improvements and/or the ability to identify optimal cutting points in your “patients.” (PUS and Task Achievement DEPENDENT).
Right, he remembered that, “Personnel Usage Statistics.” The “Task Achievement DEPENDENT” didn’t surprise him at all. He wasn’t shocked that the Terminal AI would hold improvements over his head to do its dirty work. He was going to do it anyways but that didn’t mean he had to like it or the computer’s attitude about it.
I’ll Take You To Hell With Me. Improved! v.1.3 —> v.2
> Now when in this state you are able to maintain enough mental concentration to use complex tools and techniques. Not quite as likely to shove you hand down a crab’s throat as before. Unless you had to of course, then you would absolutely still do it.
Undetermined Integration with Electric Affinity.
Electric Affinity. Improved! v.1.1 —> v.2
> Who says hurting yourself isn’t good for you. What doesn’t fry you makes you harder to…fry. Each of your cells can store, transfer and expel between themselves minute amounts of electricity.
Unregistered Cross Development between Skills!
Deposit Cellular Sample (3x3 centimeter square of nerve, musculoskeletal, spinal cord, and brain cells) for detailed ElectroCellular Capability Analysis.
Yeah, no thanks. He had already done heart surgery today and the day wasn’t even over. He had no desire to continue it with a self-inflicted lobotomy. There was no way he was going to be asking the AI to do it either.
He stared up at the ceiling. He had no idea how he’d be able to tell when the day was actually over. He gathered himself and continued.
Itch Resistance Improved! v.1.3 —> v.2
> You suffer and you inflict it on others. Further decrease in ability to senses minute agitation.
Radiation Resistance Improved! v.0.1 —> v.0.5
Swing it Harder. Improv… ER@%R! Skill Evolution!
New Skill Acquired! LumberJack v.1
> Combines developments from Swing it Harder including stronger shoulder muscles and activation speed on dominant side. New Skill Improves reciprocal muscle strength and activation. It’s not only how hard you swing, it’s also about how hard you get ready to swing again.
Active Skill Modification Acquired!
> Hack: Upon activation of this Skill Mod your musculature will snap and constrict at an accelerated speed resulting in an extremely fast swing.
The name was weird and felt oddly personal but whatever got him stronger. He shrugged and continued to read. He really liked the new Skill Mod. He guessed it was kind of like using dodge. Intend it and mentally send the command and it would fire off. He would have to try it out.
Me? Move? Improved! v.0.5 —> v.1
> Improved hip and core muscle coordination. Your Center of Balance can be adjusted slightly lower when this skill is active.
The usual rolling burn flowed from his hips to his feet and back again. He had to steady himself on the Terminal as his center of balance shifted down then back to normal.
New Skill Development!
Get Back! Newly Acquired! v.0.5
> You don’t like people close to you. When they meet your pink shield they will understand. Muscles in your non-dominant hand have been adjusted. Fast twitch muscle replacement and reinforcement will occur. Same muscle, better pop.
>
> Active Skill Modification: Bash. It’s not difficult to understand what this does. In addition to prior improvements this gradually increases hydrodynamic cavitation and Nitrogen storage in arm joints over time. Tendons reformed and banded. Prepare.
Before the last word had made sense something sharp shot through his palm locked against the pad and his forearm tore apart from the inside. It continued to shred its way up his tricep and through his shoulder. As it hit his back he gasped and leaned heavily against the Terminal. By the time he centered himself to look at his right arm it was already back to normal.
Hold the Line! New*(@$&(_____@($)%))!ª•¶¡§
ERROR. Conflicting Skill Development.
New Skill Development Cancelled.
Hey! He had to fight for those skills. The Terminal ignored his mental protests as it continued to stream.
Combining “Me? MOVE?” and “Get Back!”…
New Skill Development!
“No, YOU Move!” Newly Developed! v.1
> This combines the stability and positioning enhancements of Me? MOVE? with the shield-bearing improvements of Get Back! Active Skill Mod: Bash is Enhanced when both feet have secure footing.
Muscle Imbalance Detected…
Scanning…
Enhance Itch Resistance to address muscle imbalance? Y/N
He shrugged his shoulders and flexed his arms, as much as he could tell with his hand trapped, he didn’t see much of a difference but he did feel a difference. He couldn’t be sure what it was exactly but it felt like his shoulders were seriously out of balance. His left was lean and tight and his right was bulky with muscle. He remembered that the AI had warned him to not enhance his itch resistance too much but as he pictured running all over this place he decided that he did not want to do it while fighting for balance the entire time.
“Y.”
The same ripping feeling didn’t occur, instead it felt like a thin, additional layer of muscle had snapped on top of what was already there. Even though the Terminal AI didn’t populate it he definitely felt like his throwing skill had jumped up.
Itch Resistance Enhanced! v.2 —> v.3
A tingling wave left an odd feeling of numbness.
Disregarding the feeling he looked to his new Chit total: 75
It would set him back from the Gauntlet but he still smiled widely and warmly, it almost felt like an old friend had returned. He didn’t have any of those, but what he did have was a new Zappa.
He turned from the Terminal while testing it out.