“Joshua Elias Tanner, in regard to your previous concerns, Lieutenant Junior Grade Nang is not aboard the Hegemon. However, I strongly suspect she and her team need your… assistance sooner rather than later. Should I communicate the details, or would you prefer to operate in your usual fashion—to run off uniformed and be ineffective?”

Josh and Sen were both half-upright, pivoting away from the Clone. They straightened up and spun to face him. Sen bowed in respect, mumbling greetings to ‘Lord Clone’.

Josh bowed his head. Whether it was in acceptance, or acknowledgement of the Clone’s point, even Josh wasn’t certain. Regardless, it seemed to satisfy their neon blue slavedriver.

“Very well. First needs first. Assess your status and the changes in response to acquiring your second Attunement. Cultivators have differing reactions to each Attunement, mainly based on the physicality and spirituality they started at. You two have a boon optimizing both. As such, you will have received the maximum benefit from the Ip’pul fruit.

“Note that ignorant Cultivators widely consider Mind Attunement to be predominantly supportive. It is often viewed as an Attunement that only increases an individual’s free and Core-bound Essence capacity along with their speed of propagation.

“This is the thinking of weak and unmotivated Cultivators. With the expression of Psychic Essence outside of the Meridians, many mind-specific abilities will be opened to you. This is both opportunity and tribulation as a new field of battle and growth is now accessible. The skills involved are arduous for the uninitiated to combat. Apply this information to your training.

“Check your status. Do so now.”

Josh was nearly chewing through his cheek to keep from railing at the Clone to tell him about Alysa. Yet as much as Ole Neon Blue was being crotchety in leaving the news to last, Josh had to admit the Clone was right.

As the noble adventurer, Lando Calrissian, said, “You always need to check the charge on your blaster before you walk into an unfriendly room.”

He decided to take the advice of the smuggler turned Rebel leader. He did his best to focus on the changes in his status.

Body

Earth Attunement: 100% probability of increasing your health status from 500% → 1500%.

100% probability of increasing the molecular density of your skin from 780% → 2020%.

Weapon Enhancement: Invest 200 units of Earth-Attuned Essence into a weapon for 100% probability to increase the weapon’s durability by 1000% and its damage rating by to 1500%. Duration is dependent on use. Earthen shield.

Earthen Shield: Channel 100 Earth-Attuned Essence per second to form an isolated microenvironment to serve as an external layer of protection.

Shield strength increases with increased channeling of Essence per second. Further increase your health status, connective tissue density, and Earth-Attuned skills by increasing your level and Cultivation.

Psyche

Mind Attunement: 100% probability of increasing your Core and free Essence capacity by 1000%.

100% probability of increasing the propagation of Essence utilization rate by 1000%.

Increased probability of being able to manipulate Psychic Essence outside of your Meridians. Further increase your Essence capacity, propagation rate, and externalization of Attunement skills by increasing your level and Cultivation.

Spirit:

Spherical Cultivation level 0% to stage 3/7.

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

Weapon: None

Skill Level:

None

Damage:

None

Armor: None

Second Spherical Earth Attunement resilience.

Physical Health Status:

5000 → 15000

Spherical Cultivation units

Free Essence:

4050 → 40500

Spherical Cultivation units

Josh’s eyes were as wide as saucers. That’s more than the density of Uranium... our body’s molecular structure is now denser than uranium! Almost three times as dense as before! And the Mind Attunement wasn’t even specifically related to his physicality!– But that would mean…my 180 lbs on my Earth would be weighing in at…his science mind did a quick calculation…3,608 lbs!

Josh waved his arm in front of him and didn’t feel any great new weight or mass that should be attached to a great new weight either. He didn’t see the momentum of his arm tear through the cloth of the working clothes he had been wearing on the Sundai farm. He next stomped his foot hard on the deck and was met with the muffled thud he would receive if he had stomped the deck plates of the Eisenhower carrier back on Earth.

Well…I don't doubt that my molecular structure is denser or has the qualities of a substance as dense and as heavy as uranium back on my Earth…

But for whatever reason he didn’t feel like he weighed any more than before. His science mind jumped out in front and offered several possible explanations for the results of the simple experiments with his new body.

Perhaps a quality of the Essence gives the rigidity of Uranium without requiring its mass effect? Perhaps the materials all around them, having been grown, processed, formed, etc., in an iteration which was Essence rich would handle the new weight without difficulty? Perhaps gravitons didn’t respond the same way to Essence enhanced matter like it did non-enhanced matter? Probably a mixture of all three in some way–

Focus Josh! We have larger matters to deal with right now. And ‘Taskmaster Josh’ was correct. These were all questions for later. Josh moved on.

~Sen! Josh gave the man a wide-eyed smile. ~The gaps between growth levels in Cultivation are huge! No wonder I couldn’t get through Nagal’s scales. He was at least as dense as uranium when I hit him!~

~Yes, brother... I did try to explain to you that Naga were durable, especially one with a dual Attunement that included Earth...~

~I know. I know.~ Josh mentally waved him away ~You did. But we’ll just have to see what happens in the Thrilla-in-Manilla rematch if I ever run across that bastard again!~

Josh continued looking over his new Status. The escalation of his free Essence was off the chain. Perhaps this was a result of their Boon providing ‘maximum benefit’ from the fruit. Could different results be obtained for individual Cultivators based on the order in which Attunements were gained? Maybe, but this was a thought to discuss with Gusti later... if they ever got the chance. Something told Josh the Clone and ultimately, Zenyak would tightly control where, when, and in what order they would get their Attunements. But for whose greater good? Only time would tell.

As to what mind powers Josh was going to be able to manifest... he had some ideas and was looking forward to trying them out after he got down to the bottom of whatever trouble Alysa was in... again! There was no doubt in his mind after discussing with Chiteki’s clone that Alysa and Sophie, and maybe all the Alysa’s and Sophies of the various Iterations were Karmically linked in some multiversal daisy-chain of support and perhaps risk...

Josh narrowed his eyes. ~Whatever it is, we need to be there for them!~

~Agreed!~

Josh smiled tightly. There was no need to focus on their Karmic Bond for Sen to know his feelings. It was impossible to imagine not having it and he knew Sen felt the same way.

“Very good. I take it there are no burning questions about the nature and function of the Mind Attunement?”

The Clone didn’t even pause as he continued speaking.

“Good. Moving on. You will also note that your Cultivation Spirit and Core have been advanced to the third of seven rings in the stage of Spherical Cultivation. You will need to again promote your Cores by absorbing the Essence from suitable spirit beings. No beasts on the Hegemon-4 have adequate spiritual strength to allow for this growth. The necessary resources will need to be found elsewhere.”

Josh furrowed his brows and shot a glance at Sen. ~Cronos was more right with his vampire comment than I thought he was.~

~It seems so... ~

“Moving on to Lieutenant Junior Grade Nang and her team of space marines. While I was away from the Hegemon-4 dealing with, among other things—overly informative clones... the ship was attacked and nearly occupied– however briefly, while passing through an asteroid field several light-years from here in the Danguin System.

“The raiders were well-armed and utilized fast-moving ships. Lt. Nang led a counteroffensive with several of the newly produced StarGen cannons mounted on a prototype insertion vessel supported by AI-controlled cruisers. The cruisers were used as decoys and expected to be sacrificed. However, Lt. Nang’s team was to board the enemy’s command ship, assault their bridge and attempt to prevent pursuit of the Hegemon-4’s trail through hyperspace. She was then ordered to rendezvous with an extraction team and be brought back aboard.

“She was successful in preventing the Hegemon-4 from further pursuit.” The Clone waved his hand to encompass the Hegemon-4 around them. “However, she did not make her rendezvous with the extraction vessel. As we speak, she is believed to be captured or pursued by the combatants. Please note that nine Cultivators in the attacking ship attempted to board the Hegemon-4. It is thought there are more with the attacking force.

“You are tasked with exterminating the animals that attacked my ship and retrieving Lt. Nang and her team–and, Joshua Elias Tanner, before you run out, please keep better track of this, will you? It is certainly not my role to pick up after you...” The Clone waved his hand, and Josh’s bastard sword appeared, sporting a noticeable chip in the blade’s tip where he had struck Nagal with it.

“The ship’s stores and facilities do not have better, but given your recent Attunement, you will both need to secure superior weapons, and soon.”

Josh nodded thanks to the Clone before they both sprinted off for the hangar where their transport and support staff would be waiting.