Chapter 19
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An iPhone alarm rang out, screeching in the early morning air as David came awake. It was 4 A.M. He yawned as he got up, putting on an undershirt and a pair of slacks. He quickly put another shirt over his undershirt, buttoning it up.
It was Sunday, the day that he was supposed to go be tested, with Stacy and Shin. They had all agreed on meeting at David's place around 8. They had decided that leaving early to visit the testing site would be smart, making sure they got there without having to resort to Shin teleporting them there. While it would be more convenient, they didn't want to draw too much attention to themselves if they decided not to join.
David opened up his status, reviewing his stats.
Name: David Care Points: 590 Race: Human Lottery Slots: 5
Class: Life Orb Master (1/1) Energy Stored: 663.2 hours
Abilities: Life Orb Designate, Life Orb Create, Store/Expand Energy
Stored Inventory: Glock 17 Gen4 Handgun
Life Orbs: 297
"Nearly 300 Orbs." He mused aloud, thinking. The past week, David had been training his control of his Orbs and planning. He had done a great deal of research into his Life Orb Shop, checking out new powers and trying to decide what would be the most useful for him. After reading for days, David had found a power that he decided he absolutely must get before he went in for the recruiting exam posted by the government. He opened his Life Orb Shop.
Life Orb Designation Shop ----------------------------------------------------
Please make your modification from the list below.
…
All Seeing Eye – 80 Orbs
Yin & Yang manipulation – 2000 Orbs
Duplication – 2000 Orbs
Poison Generation – 400 Orbs
Water Generation – 400 Orbs
Acid Generation – 400 Orbs
Fire Generation – 400 Orbs
Environmental Adaptation – 2500 Orbs
Enhanced Reflexes – 200 Orbs
Enhances Strength – 200 Orbs
Enhanced Agility – 200 Orbs
Night Vision – 25 Orbs
All Language Comprehension – 1000 Orbs
A.I. Assistive Companion – 250 Orbs
…
(page 1/21)
David tapped on the one at the bottom of the list, the A.I. Assistive Companion. It brought up a small screen with information listed.
A.I. Assistive Companion – 250 Orbs
This purchase will gift the user with an artificially intelligent supercomputer companion. This assistive companion can assist the user with a variety of things.
As usual, the System gave practically no helpful information at all. David had been forced to pay an information gatherer Super 20 points to procure more information about the power.
David reviewed the information he had received from the Intermediate Information Gatherer.
A.I. Assistive Companion – 2500 points (5/5)
This purchase will gift the user with an artificially intelligent supercomputer companion. This assistive companion can assist the user with a variety of things.
This assistive companion scans the environment using both the users senses as well as the A.I.'s own. It can sense anything within 25 meters of the user. The A.I. has access to an extremely large database, integrated with the current dimensions reality and the System's own information.
The A.I. can also be of use in route plotting, planning combat, scouting, learning new skills, practice, accelerated thinking, and more.
For more information, please use the ability: Advanced information gatherer.
The name of the ability had caught his name when he first saw it. David had been a math major while he was in college, and had dreamed of having a built in computer a few times, assisting him with his classes. Therefore when he noticed this power, especially combined with the fact that he could afford it, he quickly researched what it could do.
After contemplation, David decided he would purchase it today. He would have nearly 50 Life Orbs leftover, more than enough in his opinion, and he thought it unlikely that anything extremely dangerous would happen today. This ability was something he judged too valuable to pass up, especially in this new and dangerous world.
David tapped on the screen, clicking yes to accept the power. Immediately, a small blue screen popped up.
Thank you for your purchase. Physical Modification currently being applied.
David tapped off the screen waiting. He say down on his bed as his vision began to blur. As he collapsed backwards, the last thing he heard was a soft whirring sound, vibrating in the air.
3 hours later
An alarm blared loudly, waking David up. He stuck his hand out automatically, clicking the alarm off from his iPhone. David opened his eyes, looking around. He stared down at the slacks he wore for a moment before remembering what he'd done. He quickly opened his status screen.
Name: David Care Points: 590 Race: Human Lottery Slots: 5
Class: Life Orb Master/A.I. Mod Energy Stored: 663.2 hours
Abilities: Life Orb Designate, Life Orb Create, Store/Expand Energy
Stored Inventory: Glock 17 Gen4 Handgun
Life Orbs: 47
"Alright! It worked!" David smiled, looking at his screen. His "Class" had changed slightly, adding a "A.I. Mod" tagline to it. He assumed that was the A.I. power he had purchased. He looked around his room, trying to see if anything had changed.
When no change was forthcoming, David decided to try talking out loud to the A.I.
"Yo, you here?"
Nothing responded.
"A.I. activate!" He guessed.
Immediately, a small blue screen popped up.
Activate: A.I. Assistive Companion?
Y/N
David quickly tapped yes. Immediately, the whirring sound he recalled hearing as he fell unconscious sounded out again. Suddenly, the world around David changed slightly.
His entire room seemed to be in complete focus. David looked around in awe, taking in the incredible detail portrayed to him. He wasn't sure how he did it, but his eyesight suddenly zoomed it as he tried to focus on some writing on his desk across the room from him. He found that he could read each word clearly, his vision enhanced.
David decided to test his new powers a bit more. He gave a mental command and a dozen Life Orbs floated out of the small pouch he had set by his bedside.
As he focused on the Life Orbs, he mentally willed a trajectory pathway to appear.
Immediately, small blue lines popped up, indicating exactly where the Orbs were floating and their future route. David sent the Orbs spinning in random directions, watching as each trajectory route changed to perfectly predict where the Orbs would go.
He suddenly pulled all the Orbs close, bashing them together. He returned them back to the pouch by his bedside. Then, he asked aloud,
"A.I. system thing, can you respond?"
Greetings. I am Terabitha, the A.I. Assistive Program created to assist you. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them.
The voice sounded faintly female and gave off a sort of inhuman machinelike feel.
"Okay, okay." David thought, excitement filling his eyes. A large part of why he wanted to purchase this power was for the information stores the A.I. would contain. He had so many questions he wanted answered, and in this new world, information was power.
"What is the purpose of the System?"
The System origins are unknown. The chief reason that the System has been adapted in this world is due to a protocol initiated for unknown reasons by the Chief Operating Unit. The System was formulated as a way to help the base intelligent species in a dimension combat the Apocalyptic Event they would face. In this dimensions case, it is the coming of a series of beings known as Titans.
David's mind raced as he reviewed what he was being told at a lightning speed. He quickly asked,
"What are Titans? Why are we facing such an 'Apocalyptic Event'?"
The Titans that Earth will be facing are massive beings from Earth's legends and myths. This includes but is not limited to Norse Gods, Greek Pantheon Gods, Ancient Gods, Egyptian Gods, the countless Hindu Gods, Ancient Titans, Aztec Gods, Mayan Gods, Atlantian Gods, Forsweld Gods, and more. These creatures are all at a minimum of a Class B danger in my rating, with several of the strongest ones rated as a Class S. Reasons for facing the Apocalyptic Event of Titans are unknown.
David stared off into the distance, shocked.
"We have to fight against Gods of legend?" He thought, disbelief flowing into him. He thought aloud in despair. "How the fuck are we supposed to win?"
It should be noted that these creatures are not actual Gods, or all-powerful beings, and are just empowered creatures created by the System. While dangerous, they can be defeated.
"Yeah, I gotcha. Of course." Hope returned as he starting breaking down the problems one at a time. Humanity had been thrown countless disasters in the past and had always survived. He had no doubt that they would survive the upcoming apocalypse.
"If you can't tell my why this is happening, can you tell me what I should do now to prepare?" He asked, trying to figure out a plan. He walked over to his closet and put on some socks and a pair of nice shoes as he got dressed for the day.
After analyzing your power, as well as the limitations placed on how many abilities you can purchase, I have come to a few conclusions. While my information units do not have complete knowledge on the specific battle capabilities per ability, I would recommend purchasing the Demi-God upgrade as soon as possible. While your current number of Life Orbs are as of now insufficient, if you save up for several months you should be able to purchase it. From there, more possibilities will become available. A second option would be to purchase the Rank Up upgrade and work on leveling up your Rank.
David nodded and left his room, committing the two upgrades he should buy to memory. He walked over to the kitchen stove, turning it on to cook himself some breakfast. He grabbed a few eggs from his fridge and popped them on a frying pan, waiting for the stove to heat up.
"I assume that I am the only one that can hear you talk, correct?"
Yes.
"You can detect things within a certain distance right?"
Yes.
"Okay, then here's the plan, Terry. In a few hours I'm going to visit a testing area to potentially join a government alliance of Supers. However, just to be on the safe side, I want you to highlight anything dangerous within my eyesight or your senses that could harm me."
Affirmative. Applying.
Immediately, David's vision burst into blue light as practically everything in his apartment kitchen was highlighted. The stove before him, the cupboard to his left, even the refrigerator was lit up. He shut his eyes tightly, grimacing.
"Alright, I take that back. Highlight things that are dangerous enough to kill me, and nothing else."
Affirmative. Applying.
Nothing changed.
David sighed, annoyed.
"Alright, alright. Highlight things that will be dangerous to me in the immediate future, only things that have a high probability to be detrimental to my immediate health."
Affirmative. Applying.
The world around David darkened and returned to normal, his vision once again bearable. The only thing still glowing was the stove in front of him and the heated section of the pan he was holding.
"Thank you."
David quickly cooked himself some eggs and ate a small breakfast. He finished getting dressed and checked that he looked sharp in his mirror. As he got ready, he asked Terabitha about the status of the world in general.
From her information stores, David found that the world had greatly changed in the past month.
In America, the military, combined with state militias and police force, had almost fully restored order. The vast majority of people had no particular ability or modification, with only a select few gaining enough points on S-Day to purchase something significant. However, large scale rioting and looting had broken out several people took advantage of the chaos. It had taken a full three weeks before the entirety of America had been restored to order. The government had made several statements about the changes, asking people to act logical and obey the law. Most people did, and the few that didn't were quickly captured.
However, while the vast majority of America was secured, there were a few areas that had been declared danger zones. Large tracts of land in various states had been rendered uninhabitable due to large-scale fights between Supers and other Supers, or criminal Supers and the military.
A series of new laws had also been passed by the American government, allowing people with abilities/physical modifications full support by the government, and full legal rights to immigrants with these abilities. All in all, America had responded quickly to the disaster and restored order, though with some collateral damage.
The European Union was probably the best off out of all the various nations after S-Day. The various nations in the Union had also fallen into chaos with the advent of Supers. However, while most nations did not have an enormous military force like the United States did, very few states were as free with guns as America. Thus, when looting and rioting broke out, the police and military easily routed regular citizens, quickly restoring order.
Several small wars had broken out between Supers from vying nations. However, before anything had escalated too quickly, a small group of extremely powerful Supers had banded together and formed an alliance called the "Supers Union", inviting Supers from all of the various nations in the E.U. to join. After several weeks, the Supers Union was officially recognized by the majority of nations in the E.U. and given their own official headquarters. A group of seven extremely powerful Supers ruled the Supers Union, known as the Council of Supers.
Russia had been the worst off out of all of the various nations after S-Day. After hundreds of powerful Supers were released in the nation, an enormous civil war had broken out as vying political powers engaged in conflict. The entire nation was split in half as regular citizens fought against regular citizens and Supers fought against Supers. The civil war had yet to cease and the nation was still embroiled in chaos.
China had undergone an extreme upheaval as time went on. On the advent of S-Day, like every other nation chaos had broken out. However, China managed to restore complete and total order in just three days, forcing business to return to normal. Nearly a week after S-Day, though, an odd civil war had broken out. A group of seventeen powerful Supers, all young men and women that had been in college, had rebelled against the Chinese government, stating that they refused to allow censorship in their nation anymore. These 17 students were all extremely powerful, with abilities and strengths that made them into a poignant threat. The leader of this movement, known simply as Emperor Han, was one of the very few with a Demi-God physical modification. There was video footage of Emperor Han walking into the National Peoples Congress and demanded change. When the military had tried to remove him, they were flung away. Bullets had no effect on him as he spoke to the congress members, handing out an ultimatum. The situation had yet to stabilize, and China was currently in chaos.
Japan definitely had the most unique reaction to S-Day. Chaos and panic had broken out throughout the nation as people gained strange powers, but, for the most part, most of the Japanese acted like everything was completely normal. David didn't know whether it was because their culture was so inundated with mysterious things, but the Japanese had taken S-Day surprisingly well, and order had quickly returned over the rest of Japan.
Australia, the last country David had time to hear about in detail before he met up with Shin and Stacy, had been split into two large factions on S-Day as one faction vied for military power while another vied for legal election. The legal faction was headed by the current Prime Minister of Australia, the only world leader that had become a Super. The military faction was headed by a coalition of the Australian Military that felt like the current Prime Minister was a threat. Both sides of the country had several powerful Supers supporting them, and chaos had yet to recede in the smallest continent. There was also some sort of blocking signal covering a great deal of Australia that made it difficult for Terry to discover information.
Terabitha had also informed David that several groups of super wealthy people were stockpiling points and recruiting small armies of Supers, forming their own private military. Many of these groups were also purchasing extremely powerful weapons and armors from the System, arming their troops. With the enormous potential that Supers held, these small armies were becoming increasingly dangerous as time went on.
As David took in all of this information, time had quickly passed. Soon, it was nearly time to meet up with his friends to check out the government Department of Supers recruitment site.
As Terabitha was in the midst of explaining how the NATO alliance was affected by S-Day, David heard someone knock at his door and yell out.
"Hey David! Let's go!"
David hopped up from the couch he'd been sitting at and yelled,
"Coming!" as he raced to the door.
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
An iPhone alarm rang out, screeching in the early morning air as David came awake. It was 4 A.M. He yawned as he got up, putting on an undershirt and a pair of slacks. He quickly put another shirt over his undershirt, buttoning it up.
It was Sunday, the day that he was supposed to go be tested, with Stacy and Shin. They had all agreed on meeting at David's place around 8. They had decided that leaving early to visit the testing site would be smart, making sure they got there without having to resort to Shin teleporting them there. While it would be more convenient, they didn't want to draw too much attention to themselves if they decided not to join.
David opened up his status, reviewing his stats.
Name: David Care Points: 590 Race: Human Lottery Slots: 5
Class: Life Orb Master (1/1) Energy Stored: 663.2 hours
Abilities: Life Orb Designate, Life Orb Create, Store/Expand Energy
Stored Inventory: Glock 17 Gen4 Handgun
Life Orbs: 297
"Nearly 300 Orbs." He mused aloud, thinking. The past week, David had been training his control of his Orbs and planning. He had done a great deal of research into his Life Orb Shop, checking out new powers and trying to decide what would be the most useful for him. After reading for days, David had found a power that he decided he absolutely must get before he went in for the recruiting exam posted by the government. He opened his Life Orb Shop.
Life Orb Designation Shop ----------------------------------------------------
Please make your modification from the list below.
…
All Seeing Eye – 80 Orbs
Yin & Yang manipulation – 2000 Orbs
Duplication – 2000 Orbs
Poison Generation – 400 Orbs
Water Generation – 400 Orbs
Acid Generation – 400 Orbs
Fire Generation – 400 Orbs
Environmental Adaptation – 2500 Orbs
Enhanced Reflexes – 200 Orbs
Enhances Strength – 200 Orbs
Enhanced Agility – 200 Orbs
Night Vision – 25 Orbs
All Language Comprehension – 1000 Orbs
A.I. Assistive Companion – 250 Orbs
…
(page 1/21)
David tapped on the one at the bottom of the list, the A.I. Assistive Companion. It brought up a small screen with information listed.
A.I. Assistive Companion – 250 Orbs
This purchase will gift the user with an artificially intelligent supercomputer companion. This assistive companion can assist the user with a variety of things.
As usual, the System gave practically no helpful information at all. David had been forced to pay an information gatherer Super 20 points to procure more information about the power.
David reviewed the information he had received from the Intermediate Information Gatherer.
A.I. Assistive Companion – 2500 points (5/5)
This purchase will gift the user with an artificially intelligent supercomputer companion. This assistive companion can assist the user with a variety of things.
This assistive companion scans the environment using both the users senses as well as the A.I.'s own. It can sense anything within 25 meters of the user. The A.I. has access to an extremely large database, integrated with the current dimensions reality and the System's own information.
The A.I. can also be of use in route plotting, planning combat, scouting, learning new skills, practice, accelerated thinking, and more.
For more information, please use the ability: Advanced information gatherer.
The name of the ability had caught his name when he first saw it. David had been a math major while he was in college, and had dreamed of having a built in computer a few times, assisting him with his classes. Therefore when he noticed this power, especially combined with the fact that he could afford it, he quickly researched what it could do.
After contemplation, David decided he would purchase it today. He would have nearly 50 Life Orbs leftover, more than enough in his opinion, and he thought it unlikely that anything extremely dangerous would happen today. This ability was something he judged too valuable to pass up, especially in this new and dangerous world.
David tapped on the screen, clicking yes to accept the power. Immediately, a small blue screen popped up.
Thank you for your purchase. Physical Modification currently being applied.
David tapped off the screen waiting. He say down on his bed as his vision began to blur. As he collapsed backwards, the last thing he heard was a soft whirring sound, vibrating in the air.
3 hours later
An alarm blared loudly, waking David up. He stuck his hand out automatically, clicking the alarm off from his iPhone. David opened his eyes, looking around. He stared down at the slacks he wore for a moment before remembering what he'd done. He quickly opened his status screen.
Name: David Care Points: 590 Race: Human Lottery Slots: 5
Class: Life Orb Master/A.I. Mod Energy Stored: 663.2 hours
Abilities: Life Orb Designate, Life Orb Create, Store/Expand Energy
Stored Inventory: Glock 17 Gen4 Handgun
Life Orbs: 47
"Alright! It worked!" David smiled, looking at his screen. His "Class" had changed slightly, adding a "A.I. Mod" tagline to it. He assumed that was the A.I. power he had purchased. He looked around his room, trying to see if anything had changed.
When no change was forthcoming, David decided to try talking out loud to the A.I.
"Yo, you here?"
Nothing responded.
"A.I. activate!" He guessed.
Immediately, a small blue screen popped up.
Activate: A.I. Assistive Companion?
Y/N
David quickly tapped yes. Immediately, the whirring sound he recalled hearing as he fell unconscious sounded out again. Suddenly, the world around David changed slightly.
His entire room seemed to be in complete focus. David looked around in awe, taking in the incredible detail portrayed to him. He wasn't sure how he did it, but his eyesight suddenly zoomed it as he tried to focus on some writing on his desk across the room from him. He found that he could read each word clearly, his vision enhanced.
David decided to test his new powers a bit more. He gave a mental command and a dozen Life Orbs floated out of the small pouch he had set by his bedside.
As he focused on the Life Orbs, he mentally willed a trajectory pathway to appear.
Immediately, small blue lines popped up, indicating exactly where the Orbs were floating and their future route. David sent the Orbs spinning in random directions, watching as each trajectory route changed to perfectly predict where the Orbs would go.
He suddenly pulled all the Orbs close, bashing them together. He returned them back to the pouch by his bedside. Then, he asked aloud,
"A.I. system thing, can you respond?"
Greetings. I am Terabitha, the A.I. Assistive Program created to assist you. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them.
The voice sounded faintly female and gave off a sort of inhuman machinelike feel.
"Okay, okay." David thought, excitement filling his eyes. A large part of why he wanted to purchase this power was for the information stores the A.I. would contain. He had so many questions he wanted answered, and in this new world, information was power.
"What is the purpose of the System?"
The System origins are unknown. The chief reason that the System has been adapted in this world is due to a protocol initiated for unknown reasons by the Chief Operating Unit. The System was formulated as a way to help the base intelligent species in a dimension combat the Apocalyptic Event they would face. In this dimensions case, it is the coming of a series of beings known as Titans.
David's mind raced as he reviewed what he was being told at a lightning speed. He quickly asked,
"What are Titans? Why are we facing such an 'Apocalyptic Event'?"
The Titans that Earth will be facing are massive beings from Earth's legends and myths. This includes but is not limited to Norse Gods, Greek Pantheon Gods, Ancient Gods, Egyptian Gods, the countless Hindu Gods, Ancient Titans, Aztec Gods, Mayan Gods, Atlantian Gods, Forsweld Gods, and more. These creatures are all at a minimum of a Class B danger in my rating, with several of the strongest ones rated as a Class S. Reasons for facing the Apocalyptic Event of Titans are unknown.
David stared off into the distance, shocked.
"We have to fight against Gods of legend?" He thought, disbelief flowing into him. He thought aloud in despair. "How the fuck are we supposed to win?"
It should be noted that these creatures are not actual Gods, or all-powerful beings, and are just empowered creatures created by the System. While dangerous, they can be defeated.
"Yeah, I gotcha. Of course." Hope returned as he starting breaking down the problems one at a time. Humanity had been thrown countless disasters in the past and had always survived. He had no doubt that they would survive the upcoming apocalypse.
"If you can't tell my why this is happening, can you tell me what I should do now to prepare?" He asked, trying to figure out a plan. He walked over to his closet and put on some socks and a pair of nice shoes as he got dressed for the day.
After analyzing your power, as well as the limitations placed on how many abilities you can purchase, I have come to a few conclusions. While my information units do not have complete knowledge on the specific battle capabilities per ability, I would recommend purchasing the Demi-God upgrade as soon as possible. While your current number of Life Orbs are as of now insufficient, if you save up for several months you should be able to purchase it. From there, more possibilities will become available. A second option would be to purchase the Rank Up upgrade and work on leveling up your Rank.
David nodded and left his room, committing the two upgrades he should buy to memory. He walked over to the kitchen stove, turning it on to cook himself some breakfast. He grabbed a few eggs from his fridge and popped them on a frying pan, waiting for the stove to heat up.
"I assume that I am the only one that can hear you talk, correct?"
Yes.
"You can detect things within a certain distance right?"
Yes.
"Okay, then here's the plan, Terry. In a few hours I'm going to visit a testing area to potentially join a government alliance of Supers. However, just to be on the safe side, I want you to highlight anything dangerous within my eyesight or your senses that could harm me."
Affirmative. Applying.
Immediately, David's vision burst into blue light as practically everything in his apartment kitchen was highlighted. The stove before him, the cupboard to his left, even the refrigerator was lit up. He shut his eyes tightly, grimacing.
"Alright, I take that back. Highlight things that are dangerous enough to kill me, and nothing else."
Affirmative. Applying.
Nothing changed.
David sighed, annoyed.
"Alright, alright. Highlight things that will be dangerous to me in the immediate future, only things that have a high probability to be detrimental to my immediate health."
Affirmative. Applying.
The world around David darkened and returned to normal, his vision once again bearable. The only thing still glowing was the stove in front of him and the heated section of the pan he was holding.
"Thank you."
David quickly cooked himself some eggs and ate a small breakfast. He finished getting dressed and checked that he looked sharp in his mirror. As he got ready, he asked Terabitha about the status of the world in general.
From her information stores, David found that the world had greatly changed in the past month.
In America, the military, combined with state militias and police force, had almost fully restored order. The vast majority of people had no particular ability or modification, with only a select few gaining enough points on S-Day to purchase something significant. However, large scale rioting and looting had broken out several people took advantage of the chaos. It had taken a full three weeks before the entirety of America had been restored to order. The government had made several statements about the changes, asking people to act logical and obey the law. Most people did, and the few that didn't were quickly captured.
However, while the vast majority of America was secured, there were a few areas that had been declared danger zones. Large tracts of land in various states had been rendered uninhabitable due to large-scale fights between Supers and other Supers, or criminal Supers and the military.
A series of new laws had also been passed by the American government, allowing people with abilities/physical modifications full support by the government, and full legal rights to immigrants with these abilities. All in all, America had responded quickly to the disaster and restored order, though with some collateral damage.
The European Union was probably the best off out of all the various nations after S-Day. The various nations in the Union had also fallen into chaos with the advent of Supers. However, while most nations did not have an enormous military force like the United States did, very few states were as free with guns as America. Thus, when looting and rioting broke out, the police and military easily routed regular citizens, quickly restoring order.
Several small wars had broken out between Supers from vying nations. However, before anything had escalated too quickly, a small group of extremely powerful Supers had banded together and formed an alliance called the "Supers Union", inviting Supers from all of the various nations in the E.U. to join. After several weeks, the Supers Union was officially recognized by the majority of nations in the E.U. and given their own official headquarters. A group of seven extremely powerful Supers ruled the Supers Union, known as the Council of Supers.
Russia had been the worst off out of all of the various nations after S-Day. After hundreds of powerful Supers were released in the nation, an enormous civil war had broken out as vying political powers engaged in conflict. The entire nation was split in half as regular citizens fought against regular citizens and Supers fought against Supers. The civil war had yet to cease and the nation was still embroiled in chaos.
China had undergone an extreme upheaval as time went on. On the advent of S-Day, like every other nation chaos had broken out. However, China managed to restore complete and total order in just three days, forcing business to return to normal. Nearly a week after S-Day, though, an odd civil war had broken out. A group of seventeen powerful Supers, all young men and women that had been in college, had rebelled against the Chinese government, stating that they refused to allow censorship in their nation anymore. These 17 students were all extremely powerful, with abilities and strengths that made them into a poignant threat. The leader of this movement, known simply as Emperor Han, was one of the very few with a Demi-God physical modification. There was video footage of Emperor Han walking into the National Peoples Congress and demanded change. When the military had tried to remove him, they were flung away. Bullets had no effect on him as he spoke to the congress members, handing out an ultimatum. The situation had yet to stabilize, and China was currently in chaos.
Japan definitely had the most unique reaction to S-Day. Chaos and panic had broken out throughout the nation as people gained strange powers, but, for the most part, most of the Japanese acted like everything was completely normal. David didn't know whether it was because their culture was so inundated with mysterious things, but the Japanese had taken S-Day surprisingly well, and order had quickly returned over the rest of Japan.
Australia, the last country David had time to hear about in detail before he met up with Shin and Stacy, had been split into two large factions on S-Day as one faction vied for military power while another vied for legal election. The legal faction was headed by the current Prime Minister of Australia, the only world leader that had become a Super. The military faction was headed by a coalition of the Australian Military that felt like the current Prime Minister was a threat. Both sides of the country had several powerful Supers supporting them, and chaos had yet to recede in the smallest continent. There was also some sort of blocking signal covering a great deal of Australia that made it difficult for Terry to discover information.
Terabitha had also informed David that several groups of super wealthy people were stockpiling points and recruiting small armies of Supers, forming their own private military. Many of these groups were also purchasing extremely powerful weapons and armors from the System, arming their troops. With the enormous potential that Supers held, these small armies were becoming increasingly dangerous as time went on.
As David took in all of this information, time had quickly passed. Soon, it was nearly time to meet up with his friends to check out the government Department of Supers recruitment site.
As Terabitha was in the midst of explaining how the NATO alliance was affected by S-Day, David heard someone knock at his door and yell out.
"Hey David! Let's go!"
David hopped up from the couch he'd been sitting at and yelled,
"Coming!" as he raced to the door.
An iPhone alarm rang out, screeching in the early morning air as David came awake. It was 4 A.M. He yawned as he got up, putting on an undershirt and a pair of slacks. He quickly put another shirt over his undershirt, buttoning it up.It was Sunday, the day that he was supposed to go be tested, with Stacy and Shin. They had all agreed on meeting at David's place around 8. They had decided that leaving early to visit the testing site would be smart, making sure they got there without having to resort to Shin teleporting them there. While it would be more convenient, they didn't want to draw too much attention to themselves if they decided not to join.David opened up his status, reviewing his stats.Name: David Care Points: 590 Race: Human Lottery Slots: 5Class: Life Orb Master 1/1 Energy Stored: 663.2 hoursAbilities: Life Orb Designate, Life Orb Create, Store/Expand EnergyStored Inventory: Glock 17 Gen4 HandgunLife Orbs: 297"Nearly 300 Orbs." He mused aloud, thinking. The past week, David had been training his control of his Orbs and planning. He had done a great deal of research into his Life Orb Shop, checking out new powers and trying to decide what would be the most useful for him. After reading for days, David had found a power that he decided he absolutely must get before he went in for the recruiting exam posted by the government. He opened his Life Orb Shop.Life Orb Designation Shop ---------------------------------------------------- Please make your modification from the list below. All Seeing Eye 80 Orbs Yin & Yang manipulation 2000 Orbs Duplication 2000 Orbs Poison Generation 400 Orbs Water Generation 400 Orbs Acid Generation 400 Orbs Fire Generation 400 Orbs Environmental Adaptation 2500 Orbs Enhanced Reflexes 200 Orbs Enhances Strength 200 Orbs Enhanced Agility 200 Orbs Night Vision 25 Orbs All Language Comprehension 1000 Orbs A.I. Assistive Companion 250 Orbs page 1/21David tapped on the one at the bottom of the list, the A.I. Assistive Companion. It brought up a small screen with information listed.A.I. Assistive Companion 250 Orbs This purchase will gift the user with an artificially intelligent supercomputer companion. This assistive companion can assist the user with a variety of things.As usual, the System gave practically no helpful information at all. David had been forced to pay an information gatherer Super 20 points to procure more information about the power.David reviewed the information he had received from the Intermediate Information Gatherer.A.I. Assistive Companion 2500 points 5/5 This purchase will gift the user with an artificially intelligent supercomputer companion. This assistive companion can assist the user with a variety of things.This assistive companion scans the environment using both the users senses as well as the A.I.'s own. It can sense anything within 25 meters of the user. The A.I. has access to an extremely large database, integrated with the current dimensions reality and the System's own information.The A.I. can also be of use in route plotting, planning combat, scouting, learning new skills, practice, accelerated thinking, and more.For more information, please use the ability: Advanced information gatherer.The name of the ability had caught his name when he first saw it. David had been a math major while he was in college, and had dreamed of having a built in computer a few times, assisting him with his classes. Therefore when he noticed this power, especially combined with the fact that he could afford it, he quickly researched what it could do.After contemplation, David decided he would purchase it today. He would have nearly 50 Life Orbs leftover, more than enough in his opinion, and he thought it unlikely that anything extremely dangerous would happen today. This ability was something he judged too valuable to pass up, especially in this new and dangerous world.David tapped on the screen, clicking yes to accept the power. Immediately, a small blue screen popped up.Thank you for your purchase. Physical Modification currently being applied.David tapped off the screen waiting. He say down on his bed as his vision began to blur. As he collapsed backwards, the last thing he heard was a soft whirring sound, vibrating in the air.3 hours laterAn alarm blared loudly, waking David up. He stuck his hand out automatically, clicking the alarm off from his iPhone. David opened his eyes, looking around. He stared down at the slacks he wore for a moment before remembering what he'd done. He quickly opened his status screen.Name: David Care Points: 590 Race: Human Lottery Slots: 5Class: Life Orb Master/A.I. Mod Energy Stored: 663.2 hoursAbilities: Life Orb Designate, Life Orb Create, Store/Expand EnergyStored Inventory: Glock 17 Gen4 HandgunLife Orbs: 47"Alright! It worked!" David smiled, looking at his screen. His "Class" had changed slightly, adding a "A.I. Mod" tagline to it. He assumed that was the A.I. power he had purchased. He looked around his room, trying to see if anything had changed.When no change was forthcoming, David decided to try talking out loud to the A.I."Yo, you here?"Nothing responded."A.I. activate!" He guessed.Immediately, a small blue screen popped up.Activate: A.I. Assistive Companion? Y/NDavid quickly tapped yes. Immediately, the whirring sound he recalled hearing as he fell unconscious sounded out again. Suddenly, the world around David changed slightly.His entire room seemed to be in complete focus. David looked around in awe, taking in the incredible detail portrayed to him. He wasn't sure how he did it, but his eyesight suddenly zoomed it as he tried to focus on some writing on his desk across the room from him. He found that he could read each word clearly, his vision enhanced.David decided to test his new powers a bit more. He gave a mental command and a dozen Life Orbs floated out of the small pouch he had set by his bedside.As he focused on the Life Orbs, he mentally willed a trajectory pathway to appear.Immediately, small blue lines popped up, indicating exactly where the Orbs were floating and their future route. David sent the Orbs spinning in random directions, watching as each trajectory route changed to perfectly predict where the Orbs would go.He suddenly pulled all the Orbs close, bashing them together. He returned them back to the pouch by his bedside. Then, he asked aloud,"A.I. system thing, can you respond?"Greetings. I am Terabitha, the A.I. Assistive Program created to assist you. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them.The voice sounded faintly female and gave off a sort of inhuman machinelike feel."Okay, okay." David thought, excitement filling his eyes. A large part of why he wanted to purchase this power was for the information stores the A.I. would contain. He had so many questions he wanted answered, and in this new world, information was power."What is the purpose of the System?"The System origins are unknown. The chief reason that the System has been adapted in this world is due to a protocol initiated for unknown reasons by the Chief Operating Unit. The System was formulated as a way to help the base intelligent species in a dimension combat the Apocalyptic Event they would face. In this dimensions case, it is the coming of a series of beings known as Titans.David's mind raced as he reviewed what he was being told at a lightning speed. He quickly asked,"What are Titans? Why are we facing such an 'Apocalyptic Event'?"The Titans that Earth will be facing are massive beings from Earth's legends and myths. This includes but is not limited to Norse Gods, Greek Pantheon Gods, Ancient Gods, Egyptian Gods, the countless Hindu Gods, Ancient Titans, Aztec Gods, Mayan Gods, Atlantian Gods, Forsweld Gods, and more. These creatures are all at a minimum of a Class B danger in my rating, with several of the strongest ones rated as a Class S. Reasons for facing the Apocalyptic Event of Titans are unknown.David stared off into the distance, shocked."We have to fight against Gods of legend?" He thought, disbelief flowing into him. He thought aloud in despair. "How the fuck are we supposed to win?"It should be noted that these creatures are not actual Gods, or all-powerful beings, and are just empowered creatures created by the System. While dangerous, they can be defeated."Yeah, I gotcha. Of course." Hope returned as he starting breaking down the problems one at a time. Humanity had been thrown countless disasters in the past and had always survived. He had no doubt that they would survive the upcoming apocalypse."If you can't tell my why this is happening, can you tell me what I should do now to prepare?" He asked, trying to figure out a plan. He walked over to his closet and put on some socks and a pair of nice shoes as he got dressed for the day.After analyzing your power, as well as the limitations placed on how many abilities you can purchase, I have come to a few conclusions. While my information units do not have complete knowledge on the specific battle capabilities per ability, I would recommend purchasing the Demi-God upgrade as soon as possible. While your current number of Life Orbs are as of now insufficient, if you save up for several months you should be able to purchase it. From there, more possibilities will become available. A second option would be to purchase the Rank Up upgrade and work on leveling up your Rank.David nodded and left his room, committing the two upgrades he should buy to memory. He walked over to the kitchen stove, turning it on to cook himself some breakfast. He grabbed a few eggs from his fridge and popped them on a frying pan, waiting for the stove to heat up."I assume that I am the only one that can hear you talk, correct?"Yes."You can detect things within a certain distance right?"Yes."Okay, then here's the plan, Terry. In a few hours I'm going to visit a testing area to potentially join a government alliance of Supers. However, just to be on the safe side, I want you to highlight anything dangerous within my eyesight or your senses that could harm me."Affirmative. Applying.Immediately, David's vision burst into blue light as practically everything in his apartment kitchen was highlighted. The stove before him, the cupboard to his left, even the refrigerator was lit up. He shut his eyes tightly, grimacing."Alright, I take that back. Highlight things that are dangerous enough to kill me, and nothing else."Affirmative. Applying.Nothing changed.David sighed, annoyed."Alright, alright. Highlight things that will be dangerous to me in the immediate future, only things that have a high probability to be detrimental to my immediate health."Affirmative. Applying.The world around David darkened and returned to normal, his vision once again bearable. The only thing still glowing was the stove in front of him and the heated section of the pan he was holding."Thank you."David quickly cooked himself some eggs and ate a small breakfast. He finished getting dressed and checked that he looked sharp in his mirror. As he got ready, he asked Terabitha about the status of the world in general.From her information stores, David found that the world had greatly changed in the past month.In America, the military, combined with state militias and police force, had almost fully restored order. The vast majority of people had no particular ability or modification, with only a select few gaining enough points on S-Day to purchase something significant. However, large scale rioting and looting had broken out several people took advantage of the chaos. It had taken a full three weeks before the entirety of America had been restored to order. The government had made several statements about the changes, asking people to act logical and obey the law. Most people did, and the few that didn't were quickly captured.However, while the vast majority of America was secured, there were a few areas that had been declared danger zones. Large tracts of land in various states had been rendered uninhabitable due to large-scale fights between Supers and other Supers, or criminal Supers and the military.A series of new laws had also been passed by the American government, allowing people with abilities/physical modifications full support by the government, and full legal rights to immigrants with these abilities. All in all, America had responded quickly to the disaster and restored order, though with some collateral damage.The European Union was probably the best off out of all the various nations after S-Day. The various nations in the Union had also fallen into chaos with the advent of Supers. However, while most nations did not have an enormous military force like the United States did, very few states were as free with guns as America. Thus, when looting and rioting broke out, the police and military easily routed regular citizens, quickly restoring order.Several small wars had broken out between Supers from vying nations. However, before anything had escalated too quickly, a small group of extremely powerful Supers had banded together and formed an alliance called the "Supers Union", inviting Supers from all of the various nations in the E.U. to join. After several weeks, the Supers Union was officially recognized by the majority of nations in the E.U. and given their own official headquarters. A group of seven extremely powerful Supers ruled the Supers Union, known as the Council of Supers.Russia had been the worst off out of all of the various nations after S-Day. After hundreds of powerful Supers were released in the nation, an enormous civil war had broken out as vying political powers engaged in conflict. The entire nation was split in half as regular citizens fought against regular citizens and Supers fought against Supers. The civil war had yet to cease and the nation was still embroiled in chaos.China had undergone an extreme upheaval as time went on. On the advent of S-Day, like every other nation chaos had broken out. However, China managed to restore complete and total order in just three days, forcing business to return to normal. Nearly a week after S-Day, though, an odd civil war had broken out. A group of seventeen powerful Supers, all young men and women that had been in college, had rebelled against the Chinese government, stating that they refused to allow censorship in their nation anymore. These 17 students were all extremely powerful, with abilities and strengths that made them into a poignant threat. The leader of this movement, known simply as Emperor Han, was one of the very few with a Demi-God physical modification. There was video footage of Emperor Han walking into the National Peoples Congress and demanded change. When the military had tried to remove him, they were flung away. Bullets had no effect on him as he spoke to the congress members, handing out an ultimatum. The situation had yet to stabilize, and China was currently in chaos.Japan definitely had the most unique reaction to S-Day. Chaos and panic had broken out throughout the nation as people gained strange powers, but, for the most part, most of the Japanese acted like everything was completely normal. David didn't know whether it was because their culture was so inundated with mysterious things, but the Japanese had taken S-Day surprisingly well, and order had quickly returned over the rest of Japan.Australia, the last country David had time to hear about in detail before he met up with Shin and Stacy, had been split into two large factions on S-Day as one faction vied for military power while another vied for legal election. The legal faction was headed by the current Prime Minister of Australia, the only world leader that had become a Super. The military faction was headed by a coalition of the Australian Military that felt like the current Prime Minister was a threat. Both sides of the country had several powerful Supers supporting them, and chaos had yet to recede in the smallest continent. There was also some sort of blocking signal covering a great deal of Australia that made it difficult for Terry to discover information.Terabitha had also informed David that several groups of super wealthy people were stockpiling points and recruiting small armies of Supers, forming their own private military. Many of these groups were also purchasing extremely powerful weapons and armors from the System, arming their troops. With the enormous potential that Supers held, these small armies were becoming increasingly dangerous as time went on.As David took in all of this information, time had quickly passed. Soon, it was nearly time to meet up with his friends to check out the government Department of Supers recruitment site.As Terabitha was in the midst of explaining how the NATO alliance was affected by S-Day, David heard someone knock at his door and yell out."Hey David! Let's go!"David hopped up from the couch he'd been sitting at and yelled,"Coming!" as he raced to the door.
