I sat there alone for a while. I knew someone must be watching, especially Cipher. Spying and monitoring were kind of his thing.
But I needed to see. So I opened the gift box. Another flash of pain, but this time, it was bearable and warm instead of biting and painful. It had a sort of electric charge to it. Apparently, the soul I saw getting shredded had really left me a gift.
I checked my body. No change. I checked everywhere. No change. So what was the gift?
Check your stats.
Jesus! That voice startled me. It was taking a bit of time getting used to the system.
STATUS
Code - Not Set
Name - Not Set
Core - Iron 1
Shield - Iron 1
Radiance - 100/100
Power - Mirror
Trait - None
Abilities
Crest - None
Quell - None
Echeleon - None
Xenith - None
Shards - 70,003
Book - No Entries
Okay. So now I had 70,003 shards to use. How do I use them? But wait. Before we go into all that. Tell me a bit about yourself system. Cause this does not seem like a light novel to me. Who are you, truly? Where did you come from?
To understand that. You need to understand a bit about radiant abilities. Radiants are people who interact with Radianite and manifest Radiant abilities. While the exact trigger is not known. The abilities almost have something to do with who you are, what you are interacting with, and what you wish for.
Your exposure to Radianite happened through a mirror and unstable energy. While you wished to know and understand things. So that is how this has manifested. Your brain now has the power of a supercomputer. But your emotional mind and what I think is your soul were never meant to bear the load of so much information. So, I was created. I am like an AI Assistant, as you said. that can only process information that you already know consciously and subconsciously.
I know of your powers, not because I know a lot. But because I was still listening when they moved you. Subconsciously, of course. I saw the tests Sage ran on you. And so I can draw conclusions.
I am just the most comfortable way of your extramind to represent itself.
Okay. I had decided to go with the flow for now. Fine. That seems good enough. So tell me, what can I do with my Shards? I asked the System. I preferred to still call it System, as calling it myself made me feel crazy. In fact, I'll call it after the coolest AI in fiction that I know of. I'll call it Jarvis.
From what I understand. You can copy the abilities and traits of the other agents.
"What?" I exclaimed, then toned it down in my mind, remembering where I am.
Yes, but you can't have more than 4 abilities at a time. Copying abilities will not be easy. Also, once you pick an ability for the first time. Each time you want to switch, you will have to pay thousands of shards to switch an ability.
Got it. I can switch, but for one battle. I will only be as strong as one combination of moves? Or I will have to save up for the move switch for weeks in advance?
Yes. That seems to be the case for now. You should really pick the abilities you have carefully. 5,000 each for minor abilities, 10,000 each for ultimate, and 50,000 for a trait.
Wait! Can't I have like 4 ultimates then?
No. Look at the first letter of your ability names. A human soul cannot bear the load of that many abilities. At least not without traits and shield. I have theories that can be used, but you are a long way off from them. Just note this. You can have multiple traits. And more traits are good.
I took a look. Oh! I get it. C, Q, E, and X. The keys to respective ability slots.
Now I know the kind of abilities each slot could give. Makes sense. What is a trait?
It is like the Flame Body of the Phoenix that heals in fire. Or Bioelectricity of Neon. Without their abilities, they will be very minor boosts. But they will be boosts nonetheless.
Note: You cannot change your abilities if you do not have the required Trait.
I get it. So the Trait is like the Agent template I am using. But I can modify it with certain aspects. And I don't need Radiant Artifacts like Yoru's Glove or Harbor's gauntlet to manifest those abilities. And that's my advantage.
I was not as overpowered as I would have liked. But this was more than enough for me to survive on.
In hindsight, I think revising your power to Energy Manipulation will be better.
"Naah, I think I'll keep it, Mirror. I kind of like it."
Confirmed.
I was feeling high. On instinct, I tried to imitate Phoenix.
"I got this!"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I haven't got this!"
I slammed into the mat with a thud.
"Well, learn fast, rookie. The commander wants to see you up and running as fast as possible."
This morning, when Sage gave me another healing orb, this gentleman showed up in all black with a matching outfit for me. Apparently, I am lacking the necessary training as an agent of the Protocol. My question is, when the fuck did I sign up for the protocol? And weren't they a secret outfit? Is admission of an unknown alien that easy? Things weren't adding up. I was not a curious guy by nature. But this kinda concerns my life.
"Get up!" he screamed right into my ear.
"Fuuuck! Jesus! When did I even sign up for this shit!"
Apparently, there were more people than just the agents in this place. Which made perfect sense. You won't ask the saviors of the world to cook and clean for themselves, right? But I just didn't expect them, so it was kind of a surprise.
Apparently, this place was crawling with them. They were just given codes by VA. Like Mr. VA347 over here. Who was apparently proficient in training new recruits. As I stood up, he came at me with a side jab that I tried to block, but was too slow to do so.
"C'mon, rookie! Did you even prep before signing up?" his voice now had a hint of irritation.
"I told you, I didn't sign up! They just kind of kidnapped me off the street!" It was technically true.
Now even he was confused. He looked over to the window, where Jett was supposed to be sitting, but she had vanished somewhere during our session. I'm pretty sure he wanted to confirm what I said, but chose not to go and disturb Brimstone in the end.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For the next whole week. I got bruised and battered in training during the day. Then in the evening, the infirmary would patch me up. Not Sage, the normal doctors and nurses. The VA-347 would show up, and the day would start all over again.
Jett usually showed up to my beat-up sessions. She would work out for a while and then proceed to jump and tag everything in sight. The whole training ground was tagged with graffiti. Which was impressive cause my first day here, there were none. Now I could see 20. After she tired herself out, she would get on her phone for a while. She disappeared often, too. Only for Sage to drag her back in. The girl was like her ability. Swift and chaotic like the wind, with the patience span of a hummingbird.
And I was pretty sure watching over me was her punishment for something.
After the first day, I was getting a proper basic crash course in being a Valorant Agent. Although why they insisted I train. I had no idea. But frankly, I was worried about my parents now. In the hostel, I didn't call them every day. So they would be fine for a few days. But what about now? Have they reported me missing? Are they searching for me? Is my big brother taking care of them?
A punch knocked the wind out of me. "Pay attention, kid. This shit might just save your life!"