“Wow,” Wyatt said, staring down at his new item.

There were no stats for it, only that its level was 1.

Which meant the arrows didn’t indicate how many levels an item would increase, nor how many items it would give.

Level 1 or not, it was still impressive.

The item which he’d upgraded was his shirt, and it now looked nothing at all like a normal t-shirt.

It had grown, covering him head-to-toe, a seamless garment that would have made him look naked were it not for the textured surface that resembled metallic volcanic rock with subtle, shimmering veins of liquid gold running throughout its structure.

The part that covered his head had a clear faceplate over his eyes that, while perfectly transparent, limited his field of view.

As he moved, the skin’s tone shifted subtly, making his movements hard to track even to his own eyes.

While it looked like hard rock, it was surprisingly flexible, not restricting his movements at all.

He found he could make it cover whatever parts of himself he wanted, and if he shrunk it down as much as it would go, there remained a diamond-shaped patch of shimmering gold and stone on his chest.

Doing all of this took a small amount of Energy, and he marveled at how easy and natural it was to run Energy into something, and wondered just how much he’d been changed. There was the smelling monsters and literally hungering for orbs. What other changes had there been that he hadn't noticed?

He thought back to Akira’s weirdly shimmering metallic blood, and shook his head.

Putting more Energy into the titan skin once it fully covered him made the veins glow and parts of the armor become thicker.

There was also an aura around him when he did this, making him seem larger.

The only downside he could see was that it took Energy not just to expand, but to keep expanded. Not a lot, but he could definitely feel it being used.

He wondered what if any stat would make it regenerate faster.

I guess I should get more points and find out. And keep looking for whoever Hunter is.

He was sorely tempted to use the rest of his genesis seeds now and upgrade the other items he had, but he didn’t want to waste them.

Then again, I’d still have two left…

Is it possible to put two seeds into one item to make it more powerful?

He tried using two genesis seeds.

Genesis seed primed

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Choose item to reform

Only one. Oh well.

He focused on the cerements and reformed them.

Shadows coiled and lashed around the material like living tendrils as the cerements lifted up into the air, surrounded by a black glow, changing and growing, the ropes weaving into the fabric until what floated before him was a flowing black cape with dark red veins like lava flows.

⦗Mantle of the Hierophant, Level 1⦘

He reached out for it and felt his Energy connect, but instead of going to his hand it flew behind him, attaching itself to his shoulders.

A jolt went through his spine that felt like shadows and death and power.

It now fluttered behind him, moving on its own in an absent wind.

A skin-tight costume and now a cape…

Am I becoming a superhero?

A new message appeared.

Synergy discovered

He frowned at it, trying to get more. Nothing came.

These messages are very vague.

Does it mean a synergy between the armor and cape?

He inspected both items again, but nothing had changed, still just their name and level.

He checked his status. This too was the same.

I guess for now I’ll just assume they work well together.

The mantle took no Energy on its own, but putting Energy into it made him feel… weird. Off balance.

His eyes widened as he realized something.

No way.

He looked up. The ceiling here was very close, only a couple arm-lengths above him.

Setting the Empty Orb down, he ran energy into his titan skin, making it cover his head and arms, then tried lightly jumping.

Luckily he’d put his hands above his head, because he slammed hard into the ceiling.

He fell back down, wrists throbbing.

He rolled them around. Sore but not broken, probably thanks to the titan skin, because there was damage to the ceiling from where he’d hit it.

So the mantle makes me lighter when I put Energy into it?

That’s what it felt like. His leg strength felt the same.

A new message appeared.

⦗Skin of the Titan⦘ Cohesion: 99%

Did that damage it? Can I repair it somehow?

He picked up the orb again and considered it. Neither of the items it would become seemed immediately useful.

I’ll save the remaining genesis seeds for now, see what other things I encounter that can be upgraded.

He went to put the orb back in his boxers, wishing he had pockets, then wondered just how malleable the titan skin was.

He concentrated, focusing on making a pocket.

To his surprise, it morphed even more than he’d expected, forming something like a belt with pouches around his waist. One of them was perfectly sized for the orb.

Wow. Can I make weapons with it?

He held up his hand. The armor shifted over his fist, becoming a hammer. He tested it against the wall.

A chip fell away.

He focused on the armor again. Cohesion hadn’t changed.

It’s more durable when I form it into a weapon?

Next he tried forming a blade.

This also worked, but it wasn’t very sharp.

Is it because I’m not adept enough with manipulating it, or because of the skin’s level? I wonder if items upgrade like skills do.

This made him realize he’d forgotten something, and he focused on the armor again, using the Reformation Orb.

• ⦗Skin of the Titan⦘ ? Unavailable

• Missing Formula

• Missing Formula

So I can upgrade it multiple times, but not yet. Will upgrading it repair it? And I only have one formula for it. I wonder if three is the max options, or if maybe getting whatever blueprints are would change that.

He tried to upgrade the mantle as well, but it was the same result: unavailable.

Well, at least I have armor and weapons now.

He played around with changing his armor a bit more. He could make blunt or sharp weapons appear around his fists and feet, and could make certain parts thicker, but other than the belt, he couldn’t change the shape much beyond that of his own body.

Feeling much more confident with his new gear, he strode off in search of who or whatever Hunter was.