Three days later.

[LEVEL UP.]

Erik was at his home, he decided to stay at home that morning since he had something important to do. He was staring at his status window; there were three things he was looking at, his level, the number of DNA points, and the two powers he had unlocked.

—————————–

[Host Information]

NAME Erik Romano

AGE 16

LEVEL: 1

EXPERIENCE: 10/200

DNA POINTS: 110

HEALTH: 100/100

MANA: 10/10

[Attributes]

STRENGTH: 3

INTELLIGENCE: 6

DEXTERITY: 4

ENERGY: 1

[Available Attributes points: 5]

[Powers]

[Biological Super Computer Powers]

-Brain Crystal Manipulation

-Brain Crystal Power Extraction

(Allows the absorption of the brain crystal, allowing the host to acquire the power within. Notice: the DNA must be changed to allow the body to use the power. See DNA extraction.)

– (LOCKED)

– (LOCKED)

– (LOCKED)

– Brain Crystal Power Strengthening

(Allows the gaining of the energy attribute points)

-DNA Manipulation

-DNA Extraction

(Allows the absorption of foreign DNA, allowing the host to replicate it inside his own body. Notice: Changing the DNA is a slow process, and it is required to use new brain crystal powers.)

– (LOCKED)

– (LOCKED) ｂ𝚍ｎｏｖ𝚕．ｃｏｍ

– (LOCKED)

-DNA Strengthening

(Allows the gaining of the Strength, Intelligence, and Dexterity attribute points)

– Analysis

(Gives the host information about his surroundings, plants, creatures, and ores)

-Brain Information Injector

(It allows the injection of information directly to the brain-Based on touch)

-Device Manipulation

(Allows the Host to manipulate electronic and mana-driven devices- Based on touch)

[Host’s Powers]

-Rapid Growth [Plants] (FSIGMA1E-Ranked)

(Allows the host to make Plants Grow Faster)

—————————–

<DNA Extraction and Brain Crystal Power Extraction, uh?> the young man then looked at his level.

“Finally,” Erik said. Now he had only to choose where to spend his attribute points. From a certain point of view, he couldn’t improve the mana storage capability that his Brain crystal could harness because he didn’t have the means.

The military developed some techniques that strengthened the brain crystal. Still, he had no access to them now, meaning that increasing Energy was necessary.

Usually, strength, intelligence and dexterity increased as the number of neural links increased because the higher the number of neural links, the higher the amount of mana that went from the brain crystal to the rest of the body.

That, even if no one understood how, changed the body at the molecular level. Erik wasn’t sure of the mechanism behind it, but it probably had something to do with the DNA.

After all, even the biological supercomputer system often talked about DNA. This meant that there was no reason to increase Strength, Dexterity, and Intelligence at the moment since, by making neural links, his stats had to increase naturally.

[HOST IS ADVISED TO USE THE DNA POINTS TO FIX THE DEFORMITY PROBLEM BEFORE INCREASING ENERGY]

<Are you reading my mind?> Erik said.

[THE BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER AND THE HOST ERIK ROMANO ARE NOW INTERTWINED. THEIR THOUGHTS ARE NOT THEIRS ANYMORE BUT BELONG TO BOTH.]

<Ah. Why should I fix the problem before increasing the attributes?> Erik asked the system.

[ANSWER: THE BRAIN CRYSTAL WILL EXPLODE IF IT PROCESSES MORE MANA.]

“WHAT?!” Erik shouted. He couldn’t believe what the system was saying. He was basically going to kill himself a couple of seconds ago.

<Ok, then start the procedure to fix the problem.>

[HOST IS REQUIRED TO USE A HUNDRED DNA POINTS TO TEMPORARILY UNLOCK THE FEATURE AND FIX THE PROBLEM, DO YOU WANT TO SPEND THEM?]

“Yes,” the young man replied.

[UNDERSTOOD, THE SYSTEM WILL NOW TEMPORARILY UNLOCK THE FEATURES: DNA EDITING AND BRAIN CRYSTAL POWER EDITING, TO FIX THE BRAIN CRYSTAL DEFORMITY LOCATED NEAR THE FRONTAL LOBE. WARNING: THE HOST MAY INCUR IN PHYSICAL PAIN DURING THE PROCEDURE.]

“Oh, shit…” were the last words Erik could say before falling to the ground. A sharp pain penetrated his head like a knife through butter.

It felt almost impossible for him to think. The world around him started to spin, and at the same time, he started to feel a weird sensation in his ears.

His earing suddenly decreased its sensitivity, and he suddenly had tinnitus. Though the pain increased and increased as the procedure went on, now it wasn’t any more like being pierced by a knife, but it was worse; it was like his brain was on fire.

“This is so fucking wrong!” he thought. He tried to get up, but he found out that his legs weren’t working correctly anymore. Something didn’t work right.

Then everything stopped, becoming dark once the pain became unbearable, and Erik lost consciousness…

***

[PROCEDURE COMPLETE. BRAIN CRYSTAL DEFORMITY FIXED.]

When Erik woke up again, his head hurt so badly that he didn’t know whether or not he’d be able to stand.

Then there was also the fact that the room was completely dark, but some faint lights came out from outside the window, slightly illuminating the place. Erik realized that it was already nighttime.

Things seemed different somehow. There was no visible change; it was more a feeling than anything else. The young man tried to stand up, but his legs were weak.

After a lot of effort, he finally managed to get up, and then he went to the couch. His legs gave way under his weight while he was sitting down on the sofa, and he sank in.

He lay still for a while, unable to think clearly or move. When his mind was clear enough, the young man looked at his status again

—————————–

[Host Information]

NAME Erik Romano

AGE 16

LEVEL: 1

EXPERIENCE: 10/200

DNA POINTS: 110

HEALTH: 100/100

MANA: 30/30

[Attributes]

STRENGTH: 3

INTELLIGENCE: 6

DEXTERITY: 4

ENERGY: 1

[Available Attributes points: 5]

[Powers]

[Biological Super Computer Powers]

-Brain Crystal Manipulation

-Brain Crystal Power Extraction

(Allows the absorption of the brain crystal, allowing the host to acquire the power within. Notice: the DNA must be changed to allow the body to use the power. See DNA extraction.)

– (LOCKED)

– (LOCKED)

– (LOCKED)

– Brain Crystal Power Strengthening

(Allows the gaining of the energy attribute points)

-DNA Manipulation

-DNA Extraction

(Allows the absorption of foreign DNA, making the host able to replicate it inside his own body. Notice: Changing the DNA is a slow process, and it is required to use new brain crystal powers.)

– (LOCKED)

– (LOCKED)

– (LOCKED)

-DNA Strengthening

(Allows the gaining of the Strength, Intelligence, and Dexterity attribute points)

– Analysis

(Gives the host information about his surroundings, plants, creatures, and ores)

-Brain Information Injector

(It allows the injection of information directly to the brain-Based on touch)

-Device Manipulation

(Allows the Host to manipulate electronic and mana-driven devices- Based on touch)

[Host’s Powers]

-Rapid Growth [Plants] (FSIGMA1E-Ranked)

(Allows the host to make Plants Grow Faster)

—————————–

It was there that he had a pleasant surprise. His mana increased by twenty points.

“YES!” the young man shouted. His problem was fixed; from that point onward, he would be able to make neural links between his brain and the crystal.

This would make him physically stronger and able to use his power more efficiently. There was a but, though, the system kept recognizing his power as F ranked. As the young man took notice of that, he sighed.

“I guess this nightmare won’t stop soon.” Though despite this little problem, Erik now had a chance to make things right, but it was then that he recalled the attribute points. “That’s right,” the young man said.

<System, allocate all the attribute points toward Energy,> the young man telepathically ordered.

[UNDERSTOOD, FIVE ATTRIBUTE POINTS SPENT OVER ENERGY]

The young man then felt a surge of energy spreading inside his body, starting from the brain. He couldn’t quite discern exactly where it started but assumed it came from the brain crystal.

The feeling was indescribable; it was fantastic. A mix between tingling and soothing warmth spreads through every cell of the body.

It made sense, after all, the brain crystals were, in a sense, like batteries. With those five extra attribute points allocated to his energy attribute, the young man knew that he could do much more than before.

Erik again looked at his status, and it was then that he received a pleasant surprise. Not only his mana reached one hundred and fifty points, but his health increased to two hundred and twenty. This was not the most surprising thing of all, though.

There was one that was much more meaningful. His power was no longer listed on F on the Ferebitz scale, which measured the mana storage capacity of the brain crystal but on E, meaning that his brain crystal was stronger.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAH!” Erik laughed. He laughed like he never did in his life. That was a turning point for him.

After so long, he finally got something back from life. Something tangible. No matter what happened next, he had a chance to fight back and become who he wanted to be.

After some time contemplating, Erik decided to prepare something to eat. He went to the kitchen, grabbed a few ingredients from the fridge, and then ate.

He later went to bed thinking about his father; for once, the old man did something good for him. But where was he? What was he doing? Didn’t he say he was going to come back? Why wasn’t he here yet? All these questions swirled around in his head, and the young man fell asleep after a while.