Gareth talked for a bit with the manager at the pier, eventually he managed to get something a little better than the speedboat from before, as well as getting supplies replaced for a discount. The three players got onto the boat, sitting underneath the shade while Gareth sat at the steering wheel. Alex didn't sit down, staring at Ironclad as the boat hummed and began to move.
It was late at night, so once the boat was moving and on course, Gareth set it to cruise "Alex, if the boat begins to stall, I need you to get the extra gas from under the floor and fill it" he said "I'm going to sleep now" he laid back in the chair and closed his eyes. Alex nodded, standing there on the floor still, the three players were watching him, likely hoping he'd sleep. He found out recently he didn't require as much rest as he thought though, so he continued to be up.
"I know you three have gotten stronger" he said suddenly, turning to them. His eyes displayed a bright yellow color, while the other three looked to each other in shock.
"What do you mean?" Amber was the first to ask a question, sitting up as she studied Alex "Why do you think that?" she wanted to know just how much Alexander could possibly figure out.
"I would be surprised if you didn't after that fight, but I can also tell the potential is untapped, I would know that feeling. It is after all, the basis on which my release power works. Untapping the potential hidden inside of me" he explained "I'm not tired. So waiting for me to sleep, to do whatever you do is not going to work" Alex hummed.
Lapis sat up "Um, Alex, I have a question. What would you say if we somehow gained your powers? Theoretically I mean?"
"I wouldn't question it as much as the others at The Ark Organization would, but let me tell you something, my...powers. You called them? They are a burden and a boon. For one, my strength is unmatched in my own weight class, but my mental strength is stronger too, and that is no good thing. Every moment I'm awake, I have a headache, thinking about too much to really calm down. You've also seen my release form, and how much rage that gives me" Alex said, answering honestly while watching Lapis "I think I get it" Alex hummed "You Lightforms are like me, evolving at a rapid pace and growing stronger, you can decide in what direction you wish to grow. It explains the magic you have, manipulation of atoms maybe? I think you should stick with that, forge your own path, a choice you make on your own though is always better than one you make at the request of others" he said finally.
Death Seeker was the one to speak up next, while both Amber and Lapis were a bit shocked at how easily the NPC saw through all of that, evolution was a good way to think of leveling up. "Well, you're not wrong Alex, but, we won't evolve as great if we don't model ourselves after someone else" he said "It's hard to forge our own path too, because each of us is a typical, um, Lightform. If we just keep going down it we will be pretty generic" Death Seeker explained, he didn't know why he was telling the NPC this, but as Alex nodded and turned back to the ocean, he felt like maybe it wasn't a bad choice.
"So? It is not what your abilities are, it is how you use them right? Who cares if you're, as you put it, generic? I can tell something, Lapis, you have a high reserve of energy for your magic, though I have nothing to base it on. I am confident you're suited to the art of spam. Amber, for being someone smart, you sure are good at dodging aren't you? I saw the look in your eyes, it was hard focus, maybe you don't need to worry about being hit, if you aren't ever hit. Then you, Seeker, Do I even need to bring up that you fought four people, and were left standing, you even managed to take one down with your bare hands. I don't think any of you need what I have, you have plenty" Alex said as he looked towards the ocean.
The three players stared, Lapis was surprised his chat was quiet for a few seconds before exploding into a flurry of comments about how stupid and or wise Alexander sounded, he quickly looked away "Maybe you're right" Lapis said. "Are you sure you can't sleep? Even if you know we are going to, evolve. It's still kind of private you know?" he tried.
Alex sighed "Fine then" he said, folding his legs before laying back against one of the chairs. He went still, breathing softly and calmly after a bit.
They all waited a moment before beginning their work, they all decided to see how far they could progress with the base classes then, Alex had a point that they all used the generic ones in different ways. Maybe not more than most, but certainly different. Maybe they would find another NPC that they could evolve from in someway later.
Class: Inventor 2
Skills: Improved Scan, Learning Aura
Abilities: Focus Mode, Innovation Creation (you can make a small modification to any weapon or item you can hold in your own two hands, you can do this once per day. You can serrate a blade, allow a gun to use magic based bullets, or make a pouch hold a little more than it should. This ability also only makes one modification on something, applying or making a new one causes the older one to stop working, or for it to revert back to normal)
Statuses: None
Stats follow below
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 11
Intelligence: 14
Endurance: 10
Wisdom: 10
Luck: 0
Notes: All around average, stats of ten are considered the average, so you're healthy. Your intelligence is your highest score, as befits an inventor. You have used your one ability increase by putting it into dexterity, meaning you are slightly faster than the average person, even without focus mode.
Amber put the stat point into dexterity after thinking for awhile, sighing as she laid back "Alright. I'm sleeping" she said, logging out and falling 'asleep' on the boat. The Innovation Creation seemed like an interesting ability, she would need to think about how best to use it though.
Class: Warrior 2
Skills: Sudden Weapon Improvement, Harming Intent, Ambush (when you manage to attack an enemy unaware of you, your weapons supernaturally become more powerful. This also works if someone is distracted and isn't thinking about you at the moment for whatever reason)
Abilities: Fighting Spirit
Statuses: None
Stats follow below
Strength: 11
Dexterity: 11
Intelligence: 10
Endurance: 13
Wisdom: 10
Luck: 0
Notes: All around average, stats of ten are considered the average, so you're healthy. Your dexterity and strength both being slightly good means you're slightly good with most types of weapons. Your higher endurance is very befitting a frontline warrior, and you've only increased that more with your stat point.
"I'm going to focus on sustaining myself longer, ambush isn't really all that useful" he muttered quietly, how would that ever work if he was on the frontline? Then again, if an enemy was distracted it could also work "I'm, uh, sleeping too" he said to lapis, logging off.
Class: Magician 2
Skills: Spellcasting, Quick Cast
Abilities: None
Magic: You know ember, snowflake, static, thunder snap, acid flick, poison flick, mend minor cut, create minor cut, minor miracle, stich wounds, chaos ball (a magical attack that as a magician you can use, it is a first level spell capable of being any element, including radiant or necrotic in your case), vanishing trick (disappear when you are attacked in a puff of smoke, appearing somewhere nearby).
Statuses: None
Stats follow below
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 10
Intelligence: 13
Endurance: 10
Wisdom: 12
Luck: 0
Notes: All around average, stats of ten are considered the average, so you're healthy. Your intelligence lets you cast arcane spells, while wisdom lets you cast holy spells. As a magician, you cast a bit of both, you've put one stat point into intelligence, making your normal elemental arcane spells stronger.
Lapis was left alone, well, not fully alone, chat was still talking to him, though it was starting to die "Night everyone" he said, looking around the boat, but mostly talking to chat before he logged off.
Alex waited till they all logged off, sitting up and standing as he sighed, returning to standing and staring out across the ocean. He had to think, he used the free skill he got to make his small firearms immunity work. Putting his free creation point into wisdom, directly boosting his stat, would get rid of his hypnosis. He paused though, thinking, what would breaking it do? He didn't want to rebel, there was no point in doing it. He would raise wisdom again just like how he's always just did it, it's why he had enhanced physique.
He felt he also had enough abilities, but what skill to make? He stared ahead for a long time as he was deep in thought, eventually getting an idea, beginning to write it out. He bit his lip, the skill to have a passive higher regeneration than most was rejected outright, deemed too powerful. The system suggested he pick a specific thing to regenerate faster. He thought for a moment before getting an idea, and smiled as it was approved, albeit with a flaw.
It wasn't quite regeneration, but this meant if he was badly burned, or poisoned somehow with a nerve gas, he would be able to heal from even that. He also mainly picked this, because his foot still hurt like hell, and he hoped it would heal it faster. He took a deep breath before he began to relax. The wound begun to burn, slowly healing as it felt less sore and more like there was a constant warmth on it, a very uncomfortable warmth like he was too close to a fire, way too close. He took off his boot and socks to look at the wound, biting his lip "Well, it missed bone at least" he sighed, sitting down finally as he looked up at the night sky and trying to ignore the heat.
He didn't talk for a bit, staring up at the stars as the ocean just made sounds of rushing water from the new boat making waves. After a long while he took a deep breath, keeping himself awake for a long time. "Those players who've rebelled, I hope that they aren't too tough" he muttered "I want a fight, but more, I want a fight I can actually help out with" he said.
He looked down at his fingers "My talk about evolution, it's an accurate statement. However I'm still at my core, human. Would it be wrong of me to discard that in the name of power?" he mused, to no one but himself. Being left alone, processing emotions, in the darkness, and with the waves, his mind was working overtime. "What abilities or even skills would require me to give that up though? I've done fine so far" he hummed "Something to think about, if I really am to evolve, I need to think of what that means" he said to himself, before going quiet, thinking.
- Humans can't normally regenerate nerves, I know this is probably something common to know, but I really didn't think about it.
- My idea of Alexander/Ultima is of course, based on TLM, but honestly, thinking about it. He's a lot more like Alex Mercer from Prototype. Without the eating people part. He can sort of transform, he creates weapons out of his body, and now he's starting to heal from injuries he shouldn't. I really like Prototype, but I wasn't thinking about it as I wrote a character.
- Here's one about me, and possibly this will be used later, I really like mechanical legs. Like, as in legs people use from the back, part of a costume or something. I think it's a cool sort of ability to have as it is either an extra avenue of attack, or in some cases an additional form of travel.
Funfacts over, goodnight or good day!
True, humans cannot normally regenerate nerves. However, Ultima has been heavily modified, and depending on how much science you put in, could have a regen ability. Not painless, but his whole shtick was better skills by having conditions.
Possible explanation would be the ability to subconsciously/instinctively trigger stem cell allocation to replace damaged tissue. Greatly increases metabolic requirements while active, and was once used for torture by a certain evil organization due to the immense pain caused by the process of nerve regen. Would fix the cuts, scrapes, and bullet holes, but probably not limb regrowth due to complexity and biological lazyness.
Note for later to rewrite a bit, because nerve regen is immensely painful. Thank you for your comment. Uh have a cookie and goodnight
Update: changed wording a bit, I cannot imagine how painful it is, so I went for it being extremely hot and uncomfortable at first. However, it would get worse the more fresh and large the wound is I suppose. ULR still isn't painful though, at least, not in the moment it isn't.
Could do it in phases. Nerve regen now, the next upgrade would be using stem cells and other bodily resources to do emergency treatment--stop bleeds, purge toxins, a minor recovery of hp at the cost of energy and a potential decrease in endurance that needs treatment later--and faster clotting, faster poison recovery passively.
Next stage would alterations to bone marrow or somewhere else, to add stem cell spawners and give them an easy access to the body via the cardiovascular system. At this point, he'd probably have a minor hp regen (something low enough it doesn't influence combat, but high enough that over the course of a day it might matter), with most wounds that don't involve broken or missing bits recovering much faster than normal humans. Basically, if a normal human might heal something in a 4 weeks, he'd do it in 3 weeks with a possibility of 2 if he can consume appropriate meals, or something along those lines. This level would also give more charges of the emergency treatment effect or reduce the cooldown between uses of it.
After that, probably improved digestive system to provide resources more efficiently to support his regen related abilities better. This on the whole would give or improve emergency treatments, and reduce the chance of endurance loss so long as he isn't in a malnourished status.
After that he'd have the bodily systems in place to regularly support faster recovery of most areas of the body.
This way he can slowly get a sort of regen that keeps him going longer, but isn't anywhere near something as outrageous like Wolverine, and for combat he gets something, that while not really regen, will keep him going when he should be down.
The overall downside to this, which might make it more okay than straight regen, if he does it this way, instead of 1 point for regen like he tried, he'd need more like 3 points to get an improved human regen, then every point invested after that gives him an improvement in a related area that slowly increases the regen, but will still not reach an op regen level. Unless the system power creeps that way after a while.
@BobTheLost Thank you for the long comment, BobTheLost. I'll keep your idea in mind, as having it broken down for me is rather, interesting.
@ThatRandomWriter feel free to add or subtract as you want if you use it. Could add more steps to make it cost more, could change steps, or add farther ones. In a way this is an idea for a series of enhancements for his enhanced body.
Also if you wanna go evil and sci fi with it, given the nature of the organization, replace stem cells with cancer cells or a fictional combination there of.