“If you move your perceptions within the prosthetic, you will find a line that goes nowhere. If you feed your Experience into it, the design will activate, Hunter.”

“Really? It’s just a switch, Dee Yu Kay Three?”

DUK3 had finally estimated that my arm should be fully charged; apparently it was less about the amount of available power as it was about the sheer capacity of the material. I had noticed that as the days had gone on, any light that hit the crystal was broken into deeper shades. Maroon rather than red, and indigo instead of blue. It was pretty cool looking, and I will admit that I spent far too much time just watching it scatter the light.

“It is not a switch; however, I can see the similarity in use. While not entirely correct, for the purposes of this demonstration, yes. It is a switch, Hunter.”

I felt kind of like an idiot at having tried to trick my own abilities into activating it, when it was apparently almost as complicated as turning a light on. Still, I had no idea how hungry the arm’s special ability was, so it was perfectly possible that I had depleted it when preventing myself from smashing into a wall.

“Okay, so I just... turn it on? Do have to wait for an impact, and time it right?”

“Dee Yu Kay Three. Once activated, the design will react to the first force directed at it, Hunter.”

“... Seems simple enough, Dee Yu Kay Three. I’ll give it a try then?”

The construct just stared at me with those unblinking, burning yellow eyes, so after a moment, I accepted that they were not going to answer me. With an almost imperceptible shrug, I reached into my arm with my Praxis, inner gaze locked onto the complex arrangement of almost-physical channels inside it. It did not take me long to locate the line they had indicated, just behind my wrist. I sent my Praxis into it and waited for some kind of response, but the only feedback I received was that I could feel my energy going... somewhere.

“I, uh, think it’s working? I was expecting a glowing shield, or, well, anything? Is it working, Dee Yu Kay Three?”

“Is the design absorbing your Experience, Hunter?”

“Yes. Definitely, Dee Yu Kay Three.”

“Then it would appear to be functioning. Please block my strike, Hunter.”

“Your stri-”

Almost too fast for me to follow, the Construct threw a punch at me. As I could see it, my body did not act on its own, but I still had the benefit of reacting ahead of time and I was already moving to block even as I spoke. My left arm came up and across, sweeping to deflect the blow as I had been trained. Our two arms met – one metal and the other crystal – with a pure metallic ring as the Constructs's arm at the point of impact became concave but otherwise simply... stopped.

“Excellent, Hunter.”

The pastel blue arm retracted and the indentation filled itself in as I watched. Lowering my own arm, I tried to judge exactly how hard the blow had been, because I had felt nothing, as if I had been blocking a hologram. It was eerily similar what had happened when I had attacked the Fullmetal Asshole, but I knew I was not absorbing the energy, but supposedly reflecting it.

“Thanks? How hard did you hit me, it’s hard to tell? And how much of the arm’s capacity did that take, I can’t figure it out... Dee Yu Kay Three”

The switch had stopped accepting my Praxis, but I figured that was because it was more of a triggered effect than something I kept running.

“As the arm I have provided is only a partial replacement, I did not have sufficient room to add the aspects of the design that allow for you to monitor capacity and usage. I would have had to replace your flesh up the shoulder joint in order to include all I wished to, however Lucas assured me that you would be unlikely to acquiesce, Hunter.”

“... Yeah, I probably wouldn’t have gone for it. I’m kind of attached to my arm, it’s been with me for, well, a few months, I guess. But still, we’re pretty close. How am I supposed to track it though, Dee Yu Kay Three?”

“It is possible for one of your species to not be connected to your appendages? Perhaps I should journey to your world, free-floating limbs would be very effective, potentiall-”

“No, sorry. I was joking. Nobody I’m aware of has floating arms and legs, Dee Yu Kay Three.”

The last thing I wanted was for the nice seeming but definitely creepy Construct running around my new home trying to tear people’s arms off.

“Ah, I see. A shame. The force I exerted was roughly two-hundred and sixty-nine thousand Newtons worth, as this is roughly what I estimated your basic capacity capable of, in the absence of your electrical augmentation, Hunter.”

He did not say Newtons, of course, but it is apparently the closest comparable unit, according to my language packet. I tried to recall what that actually meant in real terms, but I lacked a frame of reference.

“Right. Uh, how many Newtons do you think I could manage without cultivation, or any Experience at all? As a, uh, Nadir? Dee Yu Kay Three.”

“Based on my examination and observation of your musculature and bone structure, I would estimate somewhere around fifteen-thousand Newtons, Hunter.”

“That’s like, almost eighteen times as hard, right?”

The number did not make sense to me; I was supposed to be fifty times as strong as a normal human, not eighteen times. I wondered if there was something wrong with me, whether the damage to my channels had weakened me somehow, and I will admit I felt a moment of panic before the truth hit me.

I was not human; I was a ren. Cultivation did not increase a person’s natural strength linearly, like beasts did, but it was rather measured against humans, as they seemed to be the most common. So, I was as strong, and fast, etc. As fifty humans, with a ren on top, just as Reff was a strong as fifty humans, with a risi on top. That difference had less and less of an impact as people progressed, because what’s a ren or risi on top of fifty, five-hundred, or even five-thousand humans?

“Never mind, sorry. I guess I divided by the wrong thing. So, that’s about as hard as I can punch without lightning? And I felt nothing. Wow. Can you tell me how much of my arm’s storage that took, Dee Yu Kay Three?”

The construct reached out and placed their hand on my arm for a moment before retracting it once more.

“It seems I underestimated your Praxis. The blow utilised roughly one-percent of the arm’s capacity, Hunter.”

“One-percent?! Okay. So, I can block a hundred or so Core strikes, ten Foundation strikes, or one Pinnacle punch... Still, that’s pretty good! More than I could block before. And, I assume that will increase, as I refine my Experience further, Dee Yu Kay Three?”

“Based on this new information, I would estimate that if the increase in orders stays relative, at your, Foundation stage, you will be able to block a hundred of your own blows, and ten of the higher level. And at Pinnacle, ten again. Though, of course, your capacity to block weaker blows will also increase, Hunter.”

“Awesome! Though, I guess it’s only a guesstimate. I should be careful with people who might have increased strength, or those with speed enhancements... Still, thanks, Dee Yu Kay Three. Not only did you give me an arm – that I can feel with – but it has a built-in ability. And a pretty useful one.”

“Your gratitude is accepted with equanimity, Hunter.”

“Should we... should you hit me some more, so I can try to get an idea how fast it charges? Though, maybe that wouldn’t be useful, because once I go home it won’t charge as fast, right, Dee Yu Kay Three?”

“The material will not absorb Experience from the environment as rapidly, however your own Praxis will continue to charge it. At the moment, your transference of Praxis is mostly passive, however it can be directed. There is simply no need to at this point, Hunter.”

“Wait, I could have been actively charging it? And potentially practicing for days? You need to work on your communication, Dee Yu Kay Three.”

“Perhaps if you had expressed the question, you would have been informed sooner. I am powerful, but not omniscient, Hunter.”

“Yeah, fair enough. I guess I was being a little unfair there, it’s not like you’re used to giving half-limbs to people who aren’t familiar with the concept. Thank you again, Dee Yu Kay Three.”

“You are once again, most welcome. In regards to the charge rate of your arm, as it will not be uniform once you leave this world, you will need to rely on charging it. As you push Praxis into the arm, it will simply... cease when it reaches capacity, Hunter.”

“Well, it’s a little vague, but I guess I’ll just have to be selective in my use of it. Dee Yu Kay Three.”

*

***

*

Over the next few days, I practiced switching my Focus some more; it did not feel like I was making any progress, but I felt like I was starting to shave time off it after the first couple, though it is possible that the gains were all in my imagination, as they were not large by any means.

I was getting pretty good at switching my arm on though; what had started as something I needed to look for to do, I was doing pretty reflexively now with some time spent practicing. It was a little odd, a sharp contrast to using my Focus or Exemplar, which I did as naturally as walking or moving my arms. It was the difference between moving normally, and trying to do it on a dead-leg; it was possible, even quickly, but it was not the same experience.

I had also taken to keeping Walker’s dagger in my belt again; I had stored it when I first started practising, knowing he would not be looking for me yet, but given the amount of time that had passed, it was possible my friends had made it back. Yet till now, no rainbow energy portals.

Lucas had mostly started ignoring me, once they were done with their testing, and I had no idea if he was even still on the planet. I had been wanting to ask him if he had maybe a book, or if he could sketch out some more Sigils for me. The addition to my core had been effective – in short bursts – and I was eager to try adding more. A small part of me worried that adding more Sigils might eventually result in a less than effective – and potentially even dangerous – combination. But I cannot deny that I was excited to potentially be creating my own system. I also hoped that Darina’s Master – the Apex of the Mending Flesh would assist me in redrawing my channels. I did not want to risk losing my higher capacity or max output, which meant one of two things had to happen. I had to either try to implement the increased efficiency of DUK3’s designs as part of the existing structure, or redraw the existing structure to include the design. Without dying. Hence I need the help. I was not looking forward to it.

Of course, that did require getting home first. I glanced down at the dagger and slipped it free of my belt and began to tap it against the floor.

“Any minute now, guys.”

Sighing, I slid the dagger home at my waist and lay back on the floor. It was difficult to get bored when you are at the bottom of an alien ocean on a dead world with one or more semi-Ascended beings, but I was getting there. The constant testing and practice had been great for keeping me occupied, but now that it all had mostly tailed off, long days alone in a mostly featureless and seemingly endless series of near identical halls and corridors had started to make cultivation difficult, even with the insane amount of environmental energy. It seemed that even with the pressure generated by the shear abundance, I still needed experiences to Experience. I supposed the clue was kind of in the name.