Dr. Mendez had left the alleyway under the questionable control of Stephen and that detective. He couldn’t remember the man’s name, but figured it was unimportant anyway. He needed to review the readings in the van. Thankfully, it had a portable lab in its back.

As he walked, he fidgeted with the device in his hands. It was like the small handheld that he had been using earlier, but this one was slightly larger. It hung on a strap around his neck, and had a larger monitor and full keyboard. Despite being less portable, this spectrometer gave far more precise readings.

*Whoop whoop whoooooop!*

Suddenly the device let out a huge alarm and the screen flashed red several times! Dr. Mendez immediately pressed a series of keys, looked at the screen, and then glanced up and around him.

Sure enough, 100 meters away, Stephen suddenly shot out of the alley and took off running towards him, “Dr. Mendez! Dr. Mendez! Did you see that too?!”

He grinned, “Yes! Quickly! To the van!”

Without hesitation, they both jumped in the van and tore off down the street. Another anomaly had just occurred. This one was much stronger and showed evidence of a huge power surge in park nearby.

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Gareth’s ears rang, his head throbbed, and his toes and fingers were tingling. ‘DEE, why the heck did that hurt so much?’

*Simply put, your body has not adapted to the influx of external energy. Don’t be concerned. As your body develops more abilities to shunt the excess energy, the process should be less… debilitating?*

‘Huh, I see.’ He shook his hands and grimaced as the feeling slowly returned. ‘Oh yeah! My quest and status!’

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Quests:

Retrieve a second energy particle mass from Dawnstone Park (Complete) Step 1: Travel to Dawnstone Park. (Completed) Step 2: Surveillance has been detected near the exit of the alley. While avoiding surveillance, cross the street and jump down onto the walking trail. (Completed) Step 3: Surveillance has been evaded. Proceed down the walking trail to the park. (Completed) Step 4: Defeat the crazed squirrel. (Complete) Step 5: Absorb the energy essence from the defeated monster. (Complete) Step 6: Follow the arrow to the next location. (Complete) Step 7: Absorb the nearby energy particle. (Complete)

Reward Options:

Select from the following augmentation and skill set:

Mind/Proximity Attunement- Passively allows the user to sense the position of every living entity within 200 meters.

Hand/Directed Pulse- Creates a single-line force wave for 20 meters.

Hands or feet/Gravitational Attunement- Allows the user to adjust the microgravity of any surface so long as contact is maintained within six centimeters.

Skin/Structural Fortification- Rearranges the molecular structure of the user’s skin and boosts tensile strength by 1200 times.

Additional one-time reward: 1800 pph

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‘DEE? A little help here? What do those rewards mean?’

*Think of the first like a radar for living things. The second is like a high powered blast that shoots 20 meters. The third essentially increases your ability to grip objects. The fourth increases your defense by a lot.*

‘Alright. So what would be the use of the third?’

*Examples include: Free-climbing a glass wall, preventing yourself from sliding across ice, or running extremely fast on gravel without losing much traction.*

Gareth wasn’t actually interested in that option, but wanted to understand it more, “What would the fourth one help with?”

*It’s an extremely high defensive boost. To put the ability in perspective, 689476 Pascal is the typical minimum pressure needed breach the skin. This increases that amount to just over 828 million Pascal. That is almost double the pressure required to cut steel.*

‘Dang. Are there any limitations?’

*Yes, while the strength increases, elasticity remains the same. This means that energy will still transfer through your skin. A high enough power impact, such as getting run over or shot by a high powered gun, could still technically liquify your internal structure and squeeze it out through any available orifice.*

Gareth nearly threw up in his mouth, ‘Ew! That’s nasty, DEE! What is the point then?”

*Simply put, any sort of slashing or piercing damage would be drastically reduced. You could fall onto glass spikes from 100 meters and your skin, and all it protects, would be protected from being pierced. Getting stabbed with a sword would be nearly impossible.*

‘I’m assuming things like heat and could, though…’

*That’s correct, energy transfer would still function, so those could still harm you. Keep in mind, though, this is just your first augmentation. Other abilities will be made available to us later.*

‘Hm. Do you have a recommendation?’ Gareth was leaning towards either the first option or the fourth option. He felt he had been doing an abnormally high number of dangerous things today, and it seemed likely that would only increase over time.

*While the defensive boost is extremely tempting, at this point the “radar” may be more beneficial. No offense, but you humans are squishy. Right now, it’s better to run away than to get in a fight.*

‘Yeah, that’s what I was thinking too. Alright. I choose the first options.’ Gareth made up his mind.

*Alright! Just a warning though, you probably should lay down somewhere comfortable and less conspicuous. This isn’t going to feel that great.*

‘Of course… of course it isn’t.’ Gareth glared at DEE in his mind.

*Don’t give me that look. I can’t help it you humans are so fragile. Hehe.*

Gareth stood from the grass and looked around. A nearby bench was free of snow. He went and lay on the bench, then readjusted his position and balled his scarf under his head as a pillow. ‘Alright. Let’s do this!’

*Acknowledged. Beginning augmentation… 3… 2… 1…*

Pain flared through Gareth’s mind and he squeaked in surprise, “Eep…” Then he passed out.

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Gareth groaned and struggled to open his eyes. His body jolted. Why did it feel like he was moving? His eyes snapped open. He was in a van. The back seat of a van? He tried to sit up, but both his legs and his hands were tied. “What!? Why am I tied up?”

“Oh, you’re awake? Don’t worry. We’re researchers from the power company. What’s your name, kid?”

Gareth’s was scared and angry. “’What’s my name’? Forget that, what’s your name!? Why are you kidnapping me?”

“Kidnapping? Oh, no. That’s not what we’re doing. I’m Dr. Mendez. This is Stephen. Say hi, Stephen.” Stephen waved from the from passenger seat. “We’re researching you! There was an energy anomaly right next to you. Do you remember anything?”

Gareth was silent for a moment, ‘DEE? Can they detect your presence?’

*Sorry. I tried to wake you, but you were out cold. They shouldn’t be able to detect me, no. However, it’s almost certain that they’ll pick up energy fluctuations from within you from the augmentation process.*

Gareth nodded inside his mind, “I don’t remember anything. I ran away from where I live this morning, and must have fallen asleep on the bench?”

“I see. Well, then here’s what we’ll do. We’re going to run some tests on you, and then we’ll take you back to where you live.” Dr. Mendez grinned in the mirror.

“What type of tests? Will they hurt?” Gareth had more than enough pain. All he wanted was a good night’s sleep at this point.

“Not at all! There won’t even be any needles.” Dr. Mendez smiled in a friendly manner.

“Ok… than why am I tied up?” Gareth asked.

Dr. Mendez and Stephen chuckled, “That’s simple. You were asleep on a bench in a park. Would you let some random stranger into the back of your vehicle without ensuring your safety?”

“I suppose not.” Gareth sighed and tried to reposition himself. They had a valid point, even if it inconvenienced him.

“Don’t worry, we’ll be to the lab soon. Probably in about 10 minutes, right professor?” Stephen smiled at him in a very friendly fashion. Gareth got the impression that he was laid-back, friendly, and sincere. He wasn’t sure what to make of Dr. Mendez yet.

“Indeed! Then we can get this over with for you!” Dr. Mendez grinned.

Gareth shivered. Something didn’t quite seem… right about that smile.