Chương 11: Approval

After a dreamless sleep, Ray awoke feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day. He began by doing a light workout, followed by yoga and meditation. It had become routine at this point to do his daily training and he would only feel off if he didn't complete it. After washing, Ray stood in the center of his room and pulled out the Earth Essence. He decided to put one of each Essence in his left and right arms. This left his head, pelvis and both legs for further absorption.

The process was identical to the first time and the brown orb began to glow as he held it to his left arm. A System message popped up as it began to turn into particles. [Essence absorption commencing] Ray felt the Mana rush into his Soul Core as the Earth Essence dissolved and was absorbed into his arm. [Essence absorption complete] [Earth Essence Ability obtained: Mud Wall] [Mud Wall: Conjure Mana-infused mud based on the amount of Mana spent. Can be shaped into anything the user desires] [Mud Wall (Common) Mana usage: varies] [Earth Mana, Rank 1 (Stone)] [Essence absorbed: 2/7] Ray felt a surge of information about the Ability enter his mind, provided by the System of course. Mud Wall allowed him to conjure essentially any object and its size and density would be based on the amount of Mana he applied. This was a perfect Ability to match his already created Tech as it would make using his Mana efficiently much easier when creating objects.

He could already picture all the ways he could use this Ability. Without wasting any time, he decided to retrieve the Dark Essence. It was a jet-black orb that had a silver sheen to it. It broke down into black particles and entered his right arm. Ray once again felt the Mana rush into his Soul Core as multiple System messages appeared. [Essence absorption complete] [Dark Essence Ability obtained: Fungal Cloak] [Fungal Cloak: Summon a cloak made of ethereal fungus. This fungus will then create a gas that inhibits Mana usage and regeneration. User may also glide a short distance with the cloak] [Fungal Cloak (Common) Mana usage: low] [Dark Mana, Rank 1 (Rot)] [Essence absorbed: 3/7] Once again, Ray instinctively knew everything about his newfound Ability. This was exactly the type of Ability he was hoping for. With the addition of Fungal Cloak, Ray now had an Ability for each category. Offense. Bolt. Defense. Mud Wall. Utility. Fungal Cloak.

Additionally, if Ray trained enough he could use the Abilities for each category interchangeably. For what felt like the hundredth time in the span of a day or two, Ray pulled up his status.

[User: Raymond Foley, Stage: 1 Phase: 1] [Attributes: Strength: 105 Agility: 107 Intelligence: 102 Mana: 100%] [Soul Core saturation: 0%] [Absorbed Essence: 3/7] [Title: Recruit] [Abilities: Bolt, Mud Wall, Fungal Cloak] [Tech: Mana Circuit] A satisfied grin crept across Ray's face as a look of excitement appeared in his glowing green eyes. Three different Elements sat inside him now, each offering something the others didn't. That was exciting.

It was also three different ways to screw up if he treated having an Ability the same as knowing how to use it. Ray had his foundation. Now he needed to see what it could actually do. - Ray decided to go to the training room he frequented during his first week. Other Recruits could also make use of the facility, but when he arrived, he found it empty. Ray willed for the System to create obstacles and he began to parkour through them, reaching a speed incomparable to what he had displayed before.

What before looked like a display of high athleticism had now turned into a series of impossible stunts followed by gusts of wind. Ray was moving so quickly and at such odd angles that he himself could barely keep up. His body was faster, more agile and more powerful than before. Finding a balance between exerting his full strength and relying on honed movements was difficult. He could no longer simply sprint at full speed, though he was moving as quickly as if he did. This book is hosted on another platform.

Read the official version and support the author's work. Deciding his usage of Bolt was adequate for now, he began to pull on the Earth Essence to activate Mud Wall. Nearly as quickly as he had thought of using the Ability, Earth Mana pooled in his extended hand and thick mud began to spray out. The mud immediately hardened and took on the shape of a simple pillar. Ray wanted to test its durability and had poured nearly 25% of his Mana into conjuring the pillar.

He sent a punch at the pillar, his fist colliding with the solidified mud and causing the pillar to vibrate. Surprisingly, the pillar remained intact, even after a punch from Ray carrying at least 80% of his physical strength. Ray doubted it could withstand a Bolt-infused punch but it was quite sturdy for only a quarter of his Mana. After a few more attempts, Ray found that 20% was the cutoff, and the mud wouldn't become denser past that amount.

This meant it wasn't able to take on any real attacks but could easily provide cover or be an obstacle. Mud Wall was just as versatile as Bolt in regard to where he could conjure the mud from. If he chose, Ray could conjure pillars of mud from his feet and rise up into the air before using Bolt to send himself flying. The possibilities were endless. Fungal Cloak turned out to be a much simpler Ability. The gliding aspect was the simplest part. The cloak would keep him aloft so long as he provided it with Mana.

Easy. The gas made by the cloak was another story. He had no real way to test its effectiveness but found it quickly filled the entire training room barely a minute after activation. This took less than 10% of his Mana. The amount of poisonous fog he could create for 1% of his Mana was actually insane and he was sure it would prove useful. Ray spent well over an hour trying his Abilities in different combinations.

It was obvious they weren't designed to flow together but he found it easier and easier to make them do so. His training was interrupted by a System message. [Mission Assigned: Form a group of 5 with other Recruits and accept an expedition from the directory] [Reward: 100 contribution points] A breath after Ray read the mission info, he received another message. [Incoming communication request: User: Phora Striker] He willed the System to accept. Phora's voice came through the System directly into his head.

It was full of static and had a slight lag.

"I say we try to bag Frangle. He is a total tank and we need some heavy hitters on the team who can also play defense." Ray had to agree with her. Even though he didn't exactly consent to being in her group, the thunder family royalty would make a good teammate. She had skills, backing and a calculating mind. Phora had mentioned several ideas she had about Ability usage during their talk aboard the ship.

The plans for team fighting and even the way she handled the Soldier asking about their early return were impressive. Phora was obviously a talented and sharp girl. Ray could do worse. The pair decided to ask Frangle once either of them came into contact with him. In the meantime, Phora charged Ray with creating a post on the System's message board. The post would announce tryouts for their team. Ray thought this was pretentious but Phora assured him that there would be a decent turnout.

The tryouts were to be held the next morning and Phora had told Ray she wanted him to meet someone. - Phora had asked Ray to meet her on the west side of the base. They both needed to purchase better equipment and the person he was supposed to meet was set to be there. Ray figured it was another teenager with a wealthy background. Phora seemed quite sociable, so he was sure she had another friend in mind for the group. Ray entered Smith's facility and greeted the bearded man.

"Hey, Smith," he said.

"Those whiskers sure are fluffy today." Smith gave Ray a sly grin before returning the greeting.

"Hey, bud. The battlegear I gave ya' too heavy?" The two laughed a moment longer before Ray asked about upgrading his battlegear. Turns out, he had the 'basic package,' as Smith called it, and could receive what the man called the 'full package' for only 750 contribution points. This was when Phora arrived. She agreed with Smith's pricing and urged Ray to buy the battlegear. Deciding to buy it, he noticed that the main Mana, Health and Stamina Runes had remained much the same.

Their effects saw a slight increase but it was mostly the ease of activation that saw an improvement. The overall durability of the armor had increased the most. Ray also noticed that his new battlegear came with water breathing and fall resistance, along with heat resistance, cold resistance and a feature that would recycle urine. Once someone reached the 2nd Stage, the need for food and water would be all but gone. Below that, a small amount was needed to survive.

Ray decided to add enhancements to his caestus as well. It cost him 250 contribution points, but after seeing the System message, it felt worth it. [Black Blade Caestus(Enhanced): Create small blades that are unbreakable within the 1st Stage. Mana consumption is lessened while output of Mana can be maxed even higher than before] Ray was rather pleased with his upgrades. Even Phora was impressed by the quality of his battlegear.

She didn't have the liquid funds to afford such a setup and would have to ask her family to provide something of the same quality. After Ray had finished, Phora led him to another complex on the west side of the GLMB. This complex was further tucked away and Ray had yet to enter this area of the base. The two teens made their way into a large room that was divided into cubicle-like sections. Each section had a monitor and what appeared to be rails around the exterior.

Phora led Ray to one of these cubicles and walked up to a man sitting at it. The man looked to be in his early 30s. Very fit, with platinum blonde hair. His moustache curled up on either side, accenting his otherwise shaved face. The man stood and Ray noticed he was easily two and a half meters tall.

"Ray Foley," the man said, extending his hand to initiate a handshake. Ray obliged, noticing the strong amount of Mana radiating off the man.

"My name is Hordon Striker," the man continued.

"I'm Phora's father." Ray's pupils contracted as his skin tightened due to the sudden anxiety he felt.

'Phora's dad?' he thought.

'Like, the second most powerful Commander, Phora's dad?' Hordon seemed to notice Ray's shock and put on a charming smile. A smile that did nothing to lessen the threatening vibe he gave off.

"I've heard many things about you," Hordon continued." Not only has Burgen spoken of our most promising Recruit but, lo and behold, my own daughter asked me to make sure you would be on her team. That's a reputation even I admire, young man." Phora seemed to perk up when her father called Ray the most promising Recruit. There was no look of disagreement, only a look of recognition in her eyes. She knew he was probably the strongest but hearing her father say it was a different story.

Ray seemed to gain his bearings and took this time to finally speak.

"I'm not anything special," he said.

"I want to be a generalist, so I got to work way harder than everyone else. That's the only reason I seem so far ahead right now. Not to mention I woke up four days earlier than anyone else. The other Recruits will fly past me once we reach the next Stage." He paused.

"I have to do everything I can to not be left behind." Phora was stunned to learn that Ray had woken up as early as Rize did, maybe even earlier. Her whole world seemed turned upside down when it came to Ray and that made her all the more certain she needed him on her team. Hordon had an appraising look on his chiseled face, not showing any sign of his true thoughts.

"Just keep working hard, son," Hordon said in a comforting tone." No one who walks our path has it easy. Especially someone that tries to make their own way." The Commander stood and began to walk out of the cubicle before he looked back at Phora.

"I approve."