Chapter 36: BII: Chapter Eight

"You all should have your proposed builds ready for the professions of an electrician, welder, and automotive mechanic with the zero-tiered Charge power. Everyone will turn in their papers at the end of class. Three of you will present one at a time. Your peers will score your presentation if you choose to volunteer. Then, there'll be an open debate or forum style discussion. If you present, be ready to defend the choices of your proposed build. Remember, if you pursue a career as a Power Consultant or any other job in the industry, you'll need these skills and the discretion to defend your points. Sound good?" Dr. Avery Moiranne glanced across the decently full lecture hall before she pulled out a chair at her desk and sat.

"First volunteer?"

Eli didn't care about what Herbert would do. He pumped his hand in the air hard immediately. He needed to win and get the Charge power.

"Come on down."

Eli walked down the aisles nervously while he held his stack of papers in his hands. He disliked presentations normally, but the reward of a new power was well worth the adrenaline and anxiety. Once he reached the podium in front of the board, he turned to face the crowd of blank faced or almost asleep students that were all mostly older than him. He was just a kid from high school who didn't even finish.

"Name?"

"Eli Newton, or well, Herbert, but I go by my middle name now." He rested his papers on the podium while he leaned on it for support. All of his anxiety-boosted strength flowed into the enchantments in the wood to keep it from breaking. A hummingbird seemed to beat its wings in his chest while blood rushed into his face as he met the eyes of the crowd.

"Ready whenever you are, Mr. Newton. Which occupation are you going to cover?"

"The mechanic." She made a note of it on a piece of paper, then waved for him to start.

Eli took a deep steadying breath as he rekindled his internal stores of light and lumencloud before he read out loud, with frequent glances at everyone in the audience. He explained that Charge, as stated, was a simple power to collect and release any unspecific type of energy available. How a mechanic would be best served to not focus on any one type of energy like the other two examples, but to learn how to harness thermal, kinetic, and electric energy to start with.

Then, he spoke about how a more broad application of Charge could allow for the potential of transferring and converting different kinds of energy between their different states and with themselves. If they focused on finesse, they'd be able to use harmlessly released energy for a diagnostics and to potentially fix issues that would otherwise be impossible to reach without more mechanically focused powers or equipment.

"If they attempt to broaden their horizons, the mechanic will improve far more both as an individual in their personal life, and as a professional mechanic." Eli ended at last as he wiped his clammy hands on his jeans before grabbing his papers to head back up to his seat.

"Stay up here, please." Dr. Moiranne said while she scribbled out some more notes before a chair appeared beside her desk crafted in one go from a glittering green metallic material. He sat down with his papers folded in his lap. She spoke again. "Next volunteer?"

"I'll do the electrician," said a woman swaddled in a gray hoodie with AU written across the chest. She had dark hair and wore glasses. Did she not have any body focused powers or stats?

"Very well."

Eli watched while the next volunteer walked down to the stage. She had a very business-like attitude. Her every step was precise, and she cast a frowning glance over at Eli before she took her place behind the podium with her hands in her pockets. She had no papers or any notes at all.

"Name?"

"Lacey Blake."

"And you're doing the electrician?"

"Yes, Professor."

"Begin whenever you're ready."

Eli leaned back into his chair while tried to recharge with another wave of restrained Lumencloud Fortification. Why had Herbert signed up for this class at 8 AM? Turns out Hyper-Regeneration wasn't as good for restoring energy anymore. It was entirely healing focused. He smiled dimly at how upset Roman had been this morning when he couldn't get a pick-me-up of Restoration.

"Charge as it stands is a fairly straight-forward foundation power, but it is only that, a base. As such, it should be primed to focus primarily on two different factors: range and electricity. If our electrician in question made a point to transfer electricity between objects as much as possible, then it would be more than likely for them to get an option to evolve Charge into an enchanting based power. That would be the ideal first progression with a Technomantic Mastery power as a close second. With either of these two options to start, the electrician would go from a glorified battery to a more than adequate electrician able to perform in a far wider area. Once they evolve again, they should either become more optimized or ideally shore up any weaknesses in performance by acquiring the other proposed power they lacked." Lacey rattled off in a brisk tone while she stared into the crowd of barely aware students.

But she turned to look right at Eli as she spoke her final line.

"Therefore Charge is a superior candidate for an electrician."

"I see. Thank you, Ms. Blake. Any other volunteers?" Dr. Moiranne asked the crowd that was nearly in a slumber. No one responded or moved in the course of a few minutes. "Very well. Looks like the debate is between you two."

Eli stood up nervously while Lacey's eyes seemed to pierce through him with their inquisitive squint.

"What are you waiting for? Begin."

"Mr. Newton, what future options do you propose your mechanic take?" Lacey asked with a cough.

"Well, he has quite a few options. I'd agree that aiming for Technomantic Mastery would be wise, but it wouldn't necessarily be crucial. Anything with a focus on the senses or perception would help with synergy. But I think the most important next step would be that he —or she— chooses whatever will fulfill them both personally and professionally."

"That's your advice? Take whatever power is fun?"

"I suppose." Eli shrugged, even though that wasn't quite how he worded it. That's what he's always done, and it worked out pretty well for him. "My favorite power I ever obtained and trained up was Telekinesis. It broadened my horizons a lot, and I used it far more than I would have if I had focused only on what would've worked with my Initialization power. Plus, it really helped me learn how to use my powers differently to this day, even though it was the first power I merged."

"I'm sorry, but you wasted an important and valuable decision on what power to take from the System, for an arguably good power, but still... you took it because it was fun?"

"Yes?" Eli frowned at her then turned to regard the crowd full of quite a few people that stared at him incredulously, as if he had told them the sky was purple or that he came from another dimension. "I knew someone once who was insistent that she’d only take powers that would help her limited build. She only had two powers for the longest time and one of them she only got because she killed a mons... a spawn and took it from them."

"But that's normal! You're supposed to focus on anything that will help your Initialization power and choose a career path that'll help with that, slot that power, and then take either the best power for horizontal or vertical synergy. You'd really advise someone to take whatever powers struck their fancy when they need their build to be precise for their job? What about their System Portfolio?"

Eli shrugged. He had no idea what was in Herbert's System Portfolio still, but he found it a bit annoying how easily they sucked the joy and fun out of superpowers. Although, he supposed to them they were just natural abilities and barely powers at all. "Mechanics, electricians, welders, and everyone are far more than their jobs, obviously. Why should they hamstring themselves to be so narrowly specialized? What if the mechanic wanted to be a carpenter someday or a software engineer, or just anything else? If they took your advice, they'd have permanent choices, forcing them into a position where they'd be stuck."

"That's fair, but that's what auxiliary powers or enchantments are for. You'd really have someone make an inferior build and derail their future? How would your mechanic be able to keep up with their competitors, both as an automotive mechanic or in another job if they switched tracks?"

"They might have some difficulty, but I'm not saying they should take powers haphazardly, but to keep more than one goal in mind. I don't know if you've noticed, but the assigned occupations have a lot of overlap. With what I suggested for Charge alone, my mechanic would be able to assist or even do work in any of the other fields, while your electrician would struggle to do more than fiddle with the battery and radio. It depends on what you value."

"Okay, but they could take as many side powers as they want after they've prepared for their final stat and then when they're ready they could slot it in for their Cla—"

Glittering darkness flashed as Dr. Moiranne appeared beside Lacey. She whispered quietly, but Eli could still hear after using Body of Light to heighten Lumencloud Fortification. "Need I remind you, Ms. Blake, that it is taboo to bring that up in public if it isn't confirmed that someone has all three stats and transitioned?"

"I'm sorry, I got carried away..." Lacey mumbled quiet and meek.

Dr. Moiranne's power dissipated as she walked back to her desk. "I believe we've heard enough, anyway. Mr. Newton encourages a detailed optimization but with room for balance. However, Ms. Blake vehemently disagrees and believes that strict care must be taken with power builds. What do all of you think?"

"I mean, aren't they both kind of right? Herbert has a point that it's better to have powers that can be used in more area. My uncle's Initialization power was Cleanse, and he didn't barrel down and turn it into the ultimate cleaning power. He got a few other powers until he had the best power for him," said a younger man in the front row with a beanie on.

"What does your uncle do?" asked Lacey before Dr. Moiranne could respond.

"He's a fisherman."

"By choice or because his powers are too subpar to—"

"Ms. Blake." Dr. Moiranne interrupted with a firm warning. Lacey stopped talking. "I bet your uncle has a variety of uses for whatever Cleanse turned to that help him out as a fisherman. He likely has the cleanest boat, catches higher quality fish, and might even help keep wherever he fishes clean."

"Yeah. He does really well with it, but he says he's happier than if he went into mass cleaning, chemistry, or into the medical field like everyone suggested he should."

"But he'll never be as good as someone with a water focused build or something else better equipped to help him!" Lacey protested with a point.

He shrugged. "He still does well enough and has equipment and a crew that has their powers. It’s what he likes to do."

"What do you think, Mr. Newton?"

"Well, I think it sounds like he has it figured out. As long as he's happy, does it really matter? They're his powers, so it's his choice. Besides, what's the point if everyone has nearly the exact same build for each job?"

"That's almost time! Please drop off your reports before you leave and be prepared for a discussion next week about which style is more correct." She created two chairs and pointed at them. "You two stay behind."

Eli waited for the last few minutes to tick by while everyone packed their laptops and notebooks away before dropping their papers off and filtering out. Soon it was just the three of them.

"You two laid out the exact schism in theory in Power Crafting on which is best for an individual and society as a whole." She pulled out a cartridge that strobed with energy as grooves filled with light before dissipating. "But now, I have a question for you both. What will you do with Charge if I give it to you?"

"... I could find a use for it, but it wouldn't fit my build very well as it is. Most likely I'd dismantle it for its Energy perk." Lacey admitted, then she added as if it were an afterthought, "Or I'd sell it."

Dr. Moiranne turned to Eli.

"I'd probably focus it on light mainly, but also use it for kinetic, but I feel like I could push it to help boost my other powers before merging it."

She nodded and handed the cartridge over to him.

"Neither of you won the debate, but I expect you both to bring better arguments next week. I also want to hear how you're using this new power, Mr. Newton." Dr. Moiranne's voice was warm, but brisk. Lacey left before she finished. "I am glad to see you taking more of an interest in something other than Delving."

"This assignment really made me think, and I saw a use for this power. Thank you." He smiled at her before she shooed him away.

"You're welcome. Be prepared next week and don't backtrack on this new-founded interest and progress."

Eli dropped off his papers before he retrieved his backpack and left to head over to the dining hall near their dorm. He checked his phone inside of his voidspace and winced at the litany of texts from Herbert's family who were getting concerned that something had happened. He still didn't know what to say to them, except that he was sorry and that he was stressed about finals.

While he walked, he fumbled with the cartridge that seemed to burn his skin while he held it. Warmth radiated from it as it reached a crescendo before words crawled across his vision.

<Authenticating user>

You are reading story Power Initialization [Superpower Crafting LitRPG] at novel35.com

<Processing...>

<User confirmed: Elias Newton>

<[ERROR] has initiated a power trade with you, Elias Newton, for N/A

In return for Charge Ev. 0/Lv. 0>

<Do you accept or want to offer another power?

Accept

Offer Power in Trade

Decline>

Eli hit accept and shivered as he felt the power slot itself into his status with ease. The cartridge turned chilly, as it became nothing but plastic waste. He shoved it into his voidspace while tried to think while he walked.

He really needed to get that last level and max out Voidspace Mastery. He checked the time with his phone and grimaced. If he ate lunch, he'd only have an hour or so until his next class, but the 3Delve gym should be empty. Eli fired off an apology text to Roman and Hazel while he changed his course. It was time to get that last level.

While he walked, he shoved as much of his attention into Voidspace Mastery that he could until the world around him and the space in-between brimmed with potential. Detail slammed into his mind from the gaseous flow of the air to the specks of dust that floated around him. Silhouettes of people passed by him. Some were obscure from a high resistance surrounding them like an aura, or he couldn't sense any deeper than the surface of their skin.

Others were an open book that he could see the faded details of their skeleton, their muscles, and the sprawl of their veins. Dots of empty space called out to him in between all the yawning gaps and cavities, from their joints to portions of their stomachs and anywhere else hollow.

Eli stalked into the gym and marched down the warren of hallways before he reached the staircase at the back. He teleported down to the bottom in a series of hops, unable to wait any longer. He ignored the robotic voice as he tore into the empty gym and let his backpack fall beside the door.

Eli drew his spatial field back until it only surrounded him, then he popped out two flat disks of voidspace on either side of him.

When he had stepped into the Crucible, it had felt like a window or door with a bridge folded inside of it as if the other side was just around the corner. But these were just constructed disks of voidspace. He needed to turn them into something more than hardened space or newly created space entirely. He closed his eyes while he ran his will across the panes of voidspace while he searched for the apertures inside of it.

If all normal space had a small amount of the void inside of it, then why wouldn't the void have some small bit of space inside of it too? After all, he had mastery over both together. Eventually, he found a barely there network of tiny holes like passages spread throughout each disk. He molded both of them until they resembled each other in unison, rather than one being a copy of the other.

Eli had a solid grasp of what he needed to do, but no actual idea on how to copy it or make it his own... except he had a few other ideas about how to do it.

First, he reached into his voidspace linked directly to his power and not whatever ambient bits and pieces floated in space around him. Distortions spread in fractals around him in cracks of tainted violet light as he wound a tether from both disks, but instead of linking them through the voidspace, he inverted the tether and twisted it where he connected them. Wind howled while reality bled between both nascent portals as the two separate spaces interacted.

Shadowed purple energy sparked between and through them in a flickering strobe light as each tendril of volatile energy thickened. He felt the singular portal warp as it deformed into a tunnel full of air and other energies that were ripped apart by the churning motion.

Eli slashed his will through both portals as he crumpled them into harmless wads of voidspace before he dismissed them. Raw violet voidspace crackled through the air with a cascade of echoing pops before they trailed off into silence.

He was close, but still off. The Crucible was protected. Separate from both sides of the portal. Whatever he'd just done had not been separate at all. It was better than his previous attempts, but still a failure. If he had thrown something inside of there, he would've bet that it would've been unraveled by the escalation of the sheer destructive power within. Whatever this was, it bore further testing inside of the Crucible later. He didn’t want to blow himself or the school up without protection.

Voidspace bent to his will as he popped out two disks again with a separate spatial bubble fitted around it. Otherwise, he repeated everything the exact same way as it was before, but he paid more attention to the tether in-between. Eli's eyes widened while he heightened his Perception with Lumencloud Fortification.

There was only one way for things to travel between both portals and since they hadn't been sealed, it had forced everything it touched through it constantly. All the air and other airborne particles had been constantly displaced by itself. A shiver trembled down his spine. What could this do after his next evolution and even the one after that? He didn't feel like it was a potential atomic bomb or anything. It was far too thorough in its annihilation, but it was still a devastating weapon, regardless.

Eli split and twined the tether so there was a firm coordinated passageway from one portal to the other. Anything that went through one wouldn't intersect with itself. A flicker of will later and he activated them. Space untainted by light bent and twisted in a series of infinite distortions around the portals, but they didn't deviate from them. He stepped around and peered through the one portal and grinned at the image of himself not reflected back at him, but seen as if he stood where the portal was.

He waved idly at himself. After the rush of exhilaration at finally making a portal, he watched them with a wary eye while he slipped the junk cartridge that used to hold Charge out of his voidspace and tossed it in.

Radiant light consumed his body as he transformed in anticipation of it reacting while he focused every micrometer of his will on containing and shutting any reaction down. He watched instead while the cartridge shot flashed through the one portal, got compressed and shaved down to a perfectly rounded cylinder, and then shot out the other side.

He teleported it back into his hands and rolled the smoothed plastic around in his hands before he swapped it out with one of the beach rocks he had saved from when he was grinding Imbue. Another set of spatial bubbles appeared to encase the interior of the tethers that he expanded out to perfectly match the dimensions of the portals without changing the size of the needle thin tether.

Eli tossed the rock inside and then beamed—literally—as the rock fell with a clatter on the other side of the portal with all of its momentum. He teleported it into his hand again, then looked up to flash a thumbs-up at himself. The rock was unchanged.

<Congratulations, Elias Newton! You have leveled up the following power: Voidspace Mastery Ev. 1/Lv. 9 -> Voidspace Mastery Ev. 1/Lv. 10>

<Congratulations, Elias Newton! You have maxed out the following power:

Voidspace Mastery Ev. 1

You may now select from one of the following options:

Evolve Power

Slot Power into Stat

Obtain New Power

N/A>

Eli's smile shone while he prompted the evolve power option, then widened even further after he re-selected it with the Macro-Control perk equipped. Then he accepted the second evolution.

<Would you like to evolve Voidspace Mastery into Voidspace Authority? Y/N?>

<Would you like to evolve Voidspace Mastery into Voidspace Horizon? Y/N?>

Space exploded around him as his spatial field expanded farther than it ever had before. Eli didn't just feel the entire room, he felt into the elevator shaft down into the murky depths of the airlock where the Crucible was. He felt the stairwell bloom behind him, nearly all three flights of it with the same level of detail he had felt before. He teleported down into the airlock with a gentle puff of air that fueled the kindling storm of lumencloud inside of him while he stared at the double doors of the Crucible.

Before he accepted another prompt, he had to test something out first.

<Synergy detected between a power above Evolution Stage: 1>

<Would you like to recycle Voidspace Horizon into Intra-Voidspace Horizon Ev. 0? Y/N

Note: This option will be available if declined>

[Stats:

Body: Light (Photon Shot)

Perks Equipped: [Might]

Mind: None

Will: None

]

[Equipped Power List:

Slot One -- Enchanter's Dominion Ev. 0/Lv. 2

Slot Two -- Lumencloud Fortification Ev. 0/Lv. 3

Slot Three -- Voidspace Horizon Ev. 2/Lv. 0

Perks Equipped: [Subspace]

]

[Unequipped Powers:

Hyper-Regeneration Ev. 0/Lv. 1

Charge Ev. 0/Lv. 0

]

[Unequipped Perks:

Blight

]

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