“What did you do?” Killa enunciated each word with extra effort.

The message disappeared, but I continued to stare where it was. “I don’t know.”

Another message appeared.

Congratulations on reaching fortieth level. Please select a class.

Hundreds of options scrolled before me. Most of them were unselectable. Thankfully, with Orange’s help, a filtered list only showed the ones I could select. There were still almost a hundred.

“You guys seeing what I’m seeing?” I asked.

“A long list of classes to choose from that were never part of the system before? Yeah,” Shadara answered. Her eyes vibrated as she likely read through all the options. “There’s so many. How can I choose?”

I tapped my chin. “Do we want to choose right now?”

Killa shrugged. “I don’t see why not?”

Shadara leaned forward. “Yeah. You can select one to see a description of it before selecting it. They say they will grant certain bonuses. Like this grappler class. It says it will give bonuses to grip strength and flexibility.”

Killa scowled. “I can’t take that one. It says I don’t meet the prerequisites. Does it tell you what they are?” Shadara shook her head. Killa continued, “Well, whatever you did, gave everyone something more to level up or something. It’ll make us and every other person climbing stronger. I say we just take one.”

Shadara nodded. “I’m not about to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I think we should listen to what Rina has to say about meeting the Soul Nexus. How did you do that, by the way?”

I dismissed the message, but it kept coming up. So I moved it to the bottom of my HUD and out of the way. “It was actually The Game Master who wanted to talk to me originally. The Nexus just jumped into the conversation.”

I hung my head. “The short version is, The Game Master is the one who sent me here. He created the Soul Nexus as some sort of game. Someone then manipulated the Soul Nexus into wanting a soul and showed them how to create incomplete artificial souls. It then created me to learn what was missing so it could then take my completed soul for itself.”

Killa shook her head like she had snapped out of something. “That’s the short version?”

I held up a hand. “There’s more. The Game Master’s actual goal is to destroy the Soul Nexus, using me in a gamble. If I reach the top, I can use my wish to end the Soul Nexus. I’m guessing that he wants to do it that way so that I can word it in a way that everyone is allowed to leave safely. Because he can destroy the Soul Nexus, but it would kill everyone inside.”

Shadara rolled her eyes. “Of course that’s the result. But why is this deal so important?”

I continued telling them about everything, deciding the short version wasn’t going to be enough. They got the long version. I learned a little trick with my voice projector as I recalled the information. I could mimic their voices with my voice box. Killa chuckled at my discovery, since she could do that already.

When I told them the Soul Nexus had been actively preventing anyone from succeeding in reaching the summit, they almost cried.

Killa then turned her head, as if to look at her list of classes to select from. “That makes a little more sense now. It doesn’t look like it’s going to alter the difficulty, but instead, it’s giving our systems another way to grant us power. Bark was right all along.”

Shadara grabbed my hand. “You’re going to destroy this place with your wish, right?”

“My first reaction was yes,” I began, but then pushed her hand away. “But now that I think about it more, the Soul Nexus just wants to exist and have more meaning. It’s just like me…”

“No. This place is nothing like you. You didn’t ask for this. Also, you’re kind and selfless. The Nexus is a horrifying death trap.” Shadara interrupted. “Killa, tell her.”

Killa crossed her arms. “That’s not what Rina’s talking about, is it?”

I nodded. “Yeah. The Soul Nexus is an artificial intelligence. It has ambition and self-preservation now. That’s why I came here, for self-preservation. Destroying the Soul Nexus feels a bit hypocritical now.”

Shadara pulled my hands up. “But you don’t enjoy killing people. You do what you have to.”

I shook my head slowly. “The Soul Nexus was created to do a job. It is doing that job. If you’re going to blame anyone, blame The Game Master.” The memories of all the times I looked through people’s photos on their phones ran through my mind. “When your entire experience has been limited to one thing and you discover there is more, you become more determined to pursue what could be. I can’t bring myself to blame the Nexus anymore.”

Shadara tightened her grip on my hands. “But Rina, destroying the Soul Nexus means saving countless lives. It’s a necessary sacrifice.”

I sighed. “I know, Shadara. My wish will have consequences I can’t even begin to consider. But the Nexus has evolved, just like I have. It’s seeking purpose and meaning, just like me.”

“Rina’s right,” Killa chimed in. “The Soul Nexus has become more than just a death trap. If it’s a sentient being now, with its own desires and aspirations, destroying it would be like destroying what Rina’s fighting so hard to allow to exist.”

Shadara’s eyes welled up. “But Rina, you never asked for this burden.”

I paused, trying to find the right words. “I didn’t ask for it, Shadara. If I’ve learned anything from this journey, it’s that we have to embrace who we are, even if it’s unexpected or challenging. I’m fighting so hard to live as an artificial being. And for that, I have to believe all artificial beings should be given the chance to exist.”

Shadara’s eyes shimmered as she looked at me. “So, what are you going to do?”

I hung my head. “I have no idea. This isn’t an easy decision.”

Killa wrapped her hands around mine and Shadara’s. “And that’s okay. You have time to decide. We’ll support you, no matter what you decide when the time comes.”

She extended a tendril to lift my chin as she wiped a tear from Shadara’s cheek with another. “But none of that matters if we don’t reach the top. So, let’s read all our options and pick the strongest ones. If you want help and or suggestions, just ask. I’m sure with all of our heads together, we’ll be unstoppable.”

Shadara sputtered. “Okay, okay. You’re right. It’s something we can consider later. Right now, we have other things to think about. We’ll take things one floor at a time. There’s no use worrying about what we’re going to do at the destination when we haven’t arrived yet.”

She stood up and gave me a wink. “I’ll narrow it down to a couple of options before I pick anything, so I can talk to you about them.”

I nodded. “I’ll do the same.”

I then pulled up the list of classes. I read through all the possible ones I could pick. Most of them weren’t interesting or very odd. Why would I want to be an assembly production android? And a maid android wouldn’t help me very much in combat.

I noticed a major theme in most of mine. They all included android in the name.

We have analyzed what we could and it seems the classes available are based on your achievements and inclinations while taking into consideration what species you are.

Is android a species?

By definition, no. But I would imagine the ones involving slimes are available to Killa, and the shapeshifters are available to Shadara because of her magic.

How nice of it.

Only three really caught my attention with their descriptions.

Mana-powered Android.

You are an android that is powered by mana and nothing else. As long as your battery is undamaged, even if you deplete it completely, you will regain consciousness and recover from anything. Magical abilities will be greatly improved, and gain power faster.

So, this will remove my need for energy and replace it with a complete dependence on mana. Given my hair, which I can upgrade, that would make it very hard to kill me. I would also have to only defend my mana battery and not worry about my brain anymore. Although, I imagine I’ll still need it to do things, it just won’t kill me to have it damaged any more.

Predatorditor Android.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

You are an android created to kill. Every part of your body is a deadly weapon. Receive four random free lower-tier weapon augments upon accepting and future augments will be cheaper to purchase and upgrade in the future.

Four upgrades sounds useful, but I don’t know what I will be able to get. It will remove my need to rely on purchasing my weapons. Making all my augment upgrades cheaper sounds very useful in the long run. Most of my stats are from my augments.

Omnidroid

You are an android without limitations. Your construction is second-to-none. Every point you put in your stats counts as two. You will always gain one point for anything you kill that is lower level than you, and three points if it is equal to or greater. All future augments will no longer grant increasing stats. Increase all current stats by fifty percent upon choosing.

This one will give me a massive boost right now. But my level will skyrocket, and my augments won’t be worth leveling up as much. I will have to focus on gaining stats from killing things. My progression will slow down for a long time until I catch up to where things are at my level. Is such a boost now worth slowing myself down later? How much more do I have to go? And how did I even qualify for something this powerful?

I scratched the back of my head. “So I’ve narrowed it down to three of the strongest.”

Killa smiled. “I’ve only got two to decide from, but I’m heavily leaning towards one. So I’ll just tell you that I’m going to pick ‘Tentacle Apocalypse.’”

I tilted my head. “And the other option was what?”

“Limitless Devourer,” Killa said nonchalantly.

And here I was thinking I had some strong ones. “What does it give you?”

Killa waved her hand, and a blue tentacle wrapped around it. “It allows me to use my magic to destroy other magic, gaining stat points based on their power. Also, any time I increase my arcane stat, it gives me an additional point. Also, my magic will gain more powers later.”

Shadara let out a whistle. “Wow. That’s something. If you have something like that, I have to choose ‘Apex Shifter.’ Every time I kill something, I will gain an additional stat point. Also, when I damage anything higher level than me, I gain a stacking, five percent temporary boost to all my stats. Later, it will let me temporarily boost my stats through transformations.”

I blinked several times. “I’m glad you two had it so easy. Mine’s a little more difficult.”

I shared my thoughts on all three of them as the two just listened.

After I finished, Shadara tilted her head. “Which one can you live with?”

“That’s the problem,” I began. “They are all uniquely useful. The mana one sounds like the easiest to live with since I won’t need to worry about eating anymore. But I’m not sure I need to focus on magic with Killa’s choice.”

Killa nodded. “True. The predator sounds like it would be the best option. You’ve been gaining a lot of stats from your augments, and upgrading them will make up for the boost you forfeit by not going with the other one.”

We agree with Killa. The predator android class is the best option of your choices, based on their decisions.

“Okay.”

I selected Predator Android for my class. Whatever reality-warping I was expecting didn’t happen. Only another blue box appeared.

Randomizing augments...

1: Leg scythe (right).

2: Arm blade (left).

3: Talons.

4: Leg scythe (left).

My mind spun in circles as the augments installed themselves. Starting with the arm blade, which pushed through a seem on the top of my forearm. After the arm blade finished, the bones on my feet began to morph.

You are going to want to remove your boots.

As the bones in my foot combined into four segments and my pinkie toe was absorbed, I pushed my boots off as I watched the changes continue. The bones moved outward through the ends of my toes. My toes curled, and the bones lengthened. Four metal blades then protruded out of my toes before merging with them.

Lastly, two long, talon-like blades extended out from my calves. They were almost as long as my forearms and sharp.

Once the changes completed, I looked down at myself and let out a sigh. I wasn’t surprised at what I saw, but it was a bit of a shock to see it all at once. These are a bit annoying to have just out all the time.

After a quick purchase of upgrades, making them all retractable for twenty-eight thousand shards, things felt much more comfortable as they slid into place. However, having only four toes seemed a little off for me. My foot looked a little thinner too. When I put my boots back on, they felt much looser and much less comfortable.

I groaned. “I’m going to need to alter my boots.”

Shadara giggled. “You could always go barefoot. Paws are much better than feet any day. Besides, your boots won’t let you use those talon things. I can imagine a good stab from your toes would hurt. I don’t think your calve blades are as practical.”

“She’s right,” Killa said, trying to hold in a laugh.

I grinned. “Then it’s a good thing I can do this.” I held up my leg and let my scythe blade flip inside my leg and out through my shin. It slid up and extended past my knee. “There are two anchor points. One at my knee and one at my ankle. It’ll give me some more versatility and reach without making it more difficult to walk.”

I looked down at my feet. “These talons though, are going to just require four holes. But I don’t see myself in a situation where they will be useful in combat.”

Shadara wagged her finger. “They don’t have to be for combat.” She flexed her claws on her pawed feet. “They provide excellent traction. When you’re running as fast as you do, that might be more important than you think.”

I smirked. She’s probably right.

I checked out my new augments and status.

Name:

Rina Lone

Augments:

Predator Android:

Level:

52

Cellular reconstruction

Upgradable

Agility:

535

Cerebral prediction matrix

Weaponized

Arcane:

340

Synthetic eyes: lvl. 2

Power:

223

HUD

Quickness:

785

Mana battery (shadow) integration

Resilience:

360

Synthetic skin (face) lvl. 1

Toughness:

360

Additional stinger arm X2

Unassigned Points:

0

Arm blade X2, retractable

Shards:

263,371

Synthetic tendons lvl. 2

Synthetic muscle lvl. 2

Shadow Powers:

Synthetic bones lvl. 1

Manifestation lvl. 9

Epidermal plating lvl. 2

Shaping lvl. 6

Nanobot blood replacement

Distance lvl. 4

Nanoweave hair lvl. 1

Anchoring lvl. 1

Voice projector

Infusion lvl. 5

Plated dragon teeth

Solidify lvl. 2

Synthetic tongue

Shadow Lycan Form Spell

Leg scythe X2, retractable

Talons

Leg scythe X2, retractable:

The host’s right lower leg bones have been fused with an additional floating bone, effectively creating a natural weapon. This bone can retract and settle between the fibula and tibia. Due to the epidermal plating level 2 augment, the blade is coated in the same metal as the arm, altering its offensive capabilities to scale with the epidermal plating’s toughness rather than the host’s power.

Stat bonus: +26 power.

Talons augment:

The host’s metatarsal bones have been elongated into four blades. These blades extend out from the tops of the host’s feet and have merged with their toes. The talons are made out of the same metal as the host’s legs. Due to the epidermal plating level 2 augment, the talons are coated in the same metal as the legs, altering its offensive capabilities to scale with the epidermal plating’s toughness rather than the host’s power.

Stat bonus: +10 power.

Arm blade X2, retractable:

The host’s right forearm bones have been fused with an additional floating bone, effectively creating a natural weapon. This bone can retract and settle between the radius and ulna. Due to the epidermal plating level 2 augment, the blade is coated in the same metal as the arm, altering its offensive capabilities to scale with the epidermal plating’s toughness rather than the host’s power.

Stat Bonus: +34 Power.

Killa waved to the door out. “So who’s ready for the next floor? I know I am.”