Cyclopes were one of the most well known monsters from Greek Mythology. They were practically known throughout the world by any person who had remotely read Greek Mythology.
In fact, they were even known among a lot of the general populace through books and magazine - as monsters, a one eyed giant seemed pretty popular as is.
It was not a surprise that the Cyclops had given him so many points.
[Customization Points: 690]
Without waiting, he started upgrading.
First of all, he had no real way of locating Reuben and Freddy now. He could navigate the labyrinth to get to places, but he couldn't really get to other people lost in the maze.
So an upgrade for his compass was the first thing he did.
[Compass of Desire: Points to what the user wants.] The cost was 40 points, a sum he would have found astronomical before.
After that, he finally upgraded his spirit for 5 points, bringing it on a similar level to his other two stats.
Then, he moved onto the real upgrades.
With a smile, he opened up the tab and began modelling something from a comic series he had read long long ago.
By bringing the mind, body and spirit to work towards a single goal, the total potential of the self is reached; bringing one closer to their reflected divine image. What the mind commands, the flesh obeys; where the spirit leads, the body naturally follows. It was the method of killing and self-perfection, the art of murder founded by the first murderer himself.
The Hercules Method; originating from the Image Comics title - the Strange Talent of Luther Strode.
Nathan had thought about what type of loaded item he should make to increase his basic stats. But in the end, he came the conclusion that if he made such an item, it would have diminishing returns in the long run. The Super Soldier Serum upgraded only his physique. He could model it to increase the spirit and mind as well, but it was a one and done increase. It was largely similar with the viruses. While the T-virus was known to mutate, he was skeptical about spending points to make them 'controlled' when he could make something a lot better.
The Hercules Method, as it was called, allowed for the simultaneous focus of all three of his stats, the body, the mind and the spirit, bringing them into alignment and increasing their power. It was an increase that was largely intrinsic and Nathan preferred than that the other options.
The final nail in the coffin was that it would allow for incremental strength gains later and the user could heal himself mid fight. The practitioners of this method were seen surviving having their intestines ripped out, their heads snapped 180 degrees, their bodies ripped to shreds and could catch bullets in their muscles, outrun cars, rip through solid metal with their bare hands and could see the organs, muscle structure and bones of other people. If their eyes were damaged, they could even sense the world with their hearing and smell.
It was, in a few words, the perfected art of bodily supremacy.
And since it was a method which would classify more as a skill than a loaded item; promising incremental gains and not instant returns, it was significantly more cheaper than if the Serum or the Viruses were modified to his wishes.
Nathan thought over the name for a few moments. Naturally, he could not call it the Hercules Method. Names had power after all. So, after racking his brains for a few moments, he simply decided to call it 'The Method.'
He wasn't very good at coming up with names...
It cost 150 points, and as the Method was completed, Nathan felt a wave of information arrive into his mind. He suddenly felt completely aware of each and every muscle in his body, how each organ functioned and how his mind interacted with all of them.
Shaking his head, he broke out of his reverie and saw that the Method hadn't appeared in the skills section.
Is it because it's mostly knowledge? Nathan's brows furrowed. In hindsight, it made sense. Even Skills and Loaded Items were things that gave instant returns, but the Method was largely a training guide. On that note, the Method could be considered an 'item.' It was only that this 'item' was knowledge.
Moving on from there, he sought to upgrade his weapons skill.
To his surprise, the All round mastery skill's cost was 240 points, but to upgrade Axe Mastery and Archery to Melee and Ranged proficiency could cost 70 and 80 Customization points respectively.
Naturally, he picked the cheaper option.
He didn't feel any real change, but he figured he would notice it when he picked up another weapon like a spear.
Next, he made a new bow for himself for 2 points. It was a recurve bow with 120 pound draw weight. He refrained from adding enchantments for now.
Next, he moved to the arrows, infusing them with poison lethal to monsters and upping their durability by another level. He also adjusted their weight so they could be fired with the new bow with its increased draw strength. They cost 20 points in total.
He had spent a total of 367 point until now, and so, he had a thought.
His armor had helped him a ton in the battle, and he knew he would need more protection going further. But he didn't want a normal armor. He couldn't just tell the monster to wait while he put his armor on in battle could he? And any normal armor would be restrictive when moving through terrain or fighting in general. Heaviness wasn't a problem as it could be fixed with a weightlessness enchant.
But still, he felt that the normal armors weren't it. He sought to make a self adjusting armor, like nanomachines or something but made with celestial metal dust.
He tried to make it.
[Divine Dust: Dust made out of every Godly Metal in existence. Linked to it's creator, it can morph into any armor or weapon and can heal small wounds.]
As expected, the cost was way out of his range. 5,300 points. Considering his over the top description, it was fair. He edited it out, making it only Celestial Bronze Dust.
The Price dropped to 990 points.
I don't even feel like that's worth it at this point. He thought. He could make a lot of improvements with that many points. And right now, making his base stats stronger and more varied was better than to invest everything into a single item.
Shaking his head, he moved on from the matter.
Next, he modelled a shield for himself, the same one Kratos had in GOW 2018; one that could fold into his gauntlet. He modelled it to be made out of an alloy of 5% Celestial Bronze, 10% Stainless Steel and the rest Spring Steel for damage rebound. He also modelled layers of graphene fibres into the metal lattice. Once again, he did not add any enchantments into it.
The cost was a manageable 20 points.
Next, he modelled a skill.
The icon was a minecraft enchantment table with many Nordic runes on top. The name was simple - Runic Enchanter, which gave him basic proficiency and knowledge about the usage and applications of runic enchantments. It cost him 10 points.
As he felt some basic information about runic enchants invade him mind, he thought back to when he had newly awakened the system, where he had tried to make runic magic held by Odin. That magic was a whopping 10,000 points in cost; completely unlike the Runic Enchanter skill he was making.
It was obvious there was a sizable difference between the two. The former was a form of primordial magic that contained the power and secrets of the world. It was something Odin had gained after he sacrificed an eye, impaled himself and hung on the branches of the world tree for 9 days and 9 nights. This was a simple enchantment system, distinct from runic magic.
He upgraded the runic enchanter skill three times, costing him 10, 20 and 50 points in order.
As three + symbols appeared behind the skill, he felt his head swell with information he didn't know he had. He knew he could now use the nordic script, imbue it with magic and combine simple enchants to make more numerous and lethal enchants.
He didn't linger too much on that and quickly moved on to the next upgrade.
Once again opening the Custom Order tab, he modelled a set of lungs. They were a normal pair of lungs by all accounts; and they would be the first Loaded Item he would make.
With a smile, he defined the properties.
[Revitalizing Breath: With every breath, draws in the infinite vitality of the wind; healing and rejuvenating the body, mind and spirit.]
[Gale Strength: Draws the Boundless Strength of the wind, regenerating stamina with every breath.]
[Purifying Talisman of the Wind King: Draws in the purifying power of the wind, purging all toxins, venoms, corruption and curses with time.]
This was an item he had wanted to make since he found out about the Loadable Items function of the system. An all round, healing item that provided him basic immunity to mortal poisons and would purge all magic ones. Each breath would recover stamina, making him basically inexhaustible.
Such a function was significantly better than giving oneself the 'immortal,' 'resistant negative effects,' or 'inexhaustible' traits, while having basically the same effect. Of course, this item could still be overwhelmed, but so long as he was not pushed to his limits for very long, it was to be his strongest item and power.
He named it [Titan's Lungs]
And the cost?
180 points.
It was an investment he was willing to make.
Finally, with 657 points spent and 33 left, he upgraded Hunter's Instincts for 30 points, getting another + sign behind it.
Now, with 3 points left, he decided to leave them be to brainstorm a good skill later on.
[Name: Nathan Hill
Occupation: None
Earned Titles: None
Loaded Items: None
Perks: Monster Lore; Hunter's Instincts(+++); Blessing of Mana-Yood-Sushai
Skills: Melee Proficiency; Ranged Proficiency; Mist(+); Concealment; Runic Enchanter(+++)
Physical Conditions:
Fitness: ++
Spirit: ++
Insight: ++]
Items: Leviathan Axe, Quiver, Arrows(30), Transmutation Cube, Compass of Desire, Bow, Guardian Shield, Titan's Lungs]
With a sigh, he moved the Titan's Lungs into his loadable Items tab, and replaced his lungs with them.
Instantly, he felt a void in his chest that was filled just as quickly as it appeared. At that moment, he took his first breath with his new lungs.
And Boundless vitality seemed to flow right into him. The air seemed to wrap gently around his body, each inhale bringing with it a strange energy.
Every single one of his cells yelled out in joy as strength filled his legs.
"Whoa!" He yelled in surprise. His body which had been stinging with pain just moments ago began to ease up and was filled with energy.
Nathan greedily inhaled like a man starved for oxygen. After a minute of sucking in air without stop, he got up, able to walk without problem again.
"Man that minute of just breathing really got me going again. I feel like I could run a marathon. The investment was 100% worth the points." He nodded internally and grabbed into the air. He first donned the guardian shield gauntlet from his inventory, watching it's golden hue glimmer faintly due to the celestial bronze in it. Then the axe appeared in one hand and in the other appeared a compass. With a smile, he headed off into the tunnel.
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A/N: Did you like the upgrades?
Comment your thoughts on what may happen next or what you want to happen. I might get inspired your comment and might add something in. Also, drop a review.