“Jack, what’s going on? Upgrade chance?” Monty stared at Jack as he tried to process the jumble of emotions.

  “Yeah man, I was going for the dramatic flair to try to prove a point. But instead, I think I have a skill upgrade for my shockwave. Do I just like, activate it? What should I expect?” Jack asked as his curiosity won out over his frustration.

  “Umm just acknowledge the skill upgrade. Most skills at the lower tiers will have a direct basic upgrade path and some small improvement. Nothing is normal with you so far and well the Origin seems to have taken an interest in you. So chances are you might have more options. You don’t have to accept it straight away, so you can talk it out if you want,” Monty said. There was an eagerness in his voice as he spoke. He was always excited when skills were mentioned.

  “Okay, here we go,” Jack said; he reached out with his mind and poked at the itch. His mind was flooded with information.

  Mastery of skill has been demonstrated and acknowledged. Skill will be progressed to Tier 1.

  Due to observation of actions so far following induction, unique upgrade paths have been presented.

  [Shockwave] (Tier 0) Focuses and compresses mana into a single point within the body before forcibly expelling the mana outwards. As the mana exits the user's body, it is physically manifested, creating a concussive shockwave. The user's mana frequency may affect the physical nature of the shockwave.

  Select Tier 1 Upgrade to [Shockwave]:

  [Efficiency] - Increases the efficiency of the compression aspect, reducing mana usage.

  [Control] - Increases control over the shape of the shockwave.

  [Overcharge] (UNIQUE) - Enables a delayed activation window [Max: 3 Seconds]. During this delay, the user may continuously funnel additional mana into the compression point to multiply the output force. Mana held within the skill construct is isolated and does not contribute towards the user's Body Capacity.

  [Resonant Pulse] (UNIQUE) - Maintains the skill activation as a temporary construct for a variable duration [Max:30 seconds] post initial discharge. During this window, mana may be channeled into the construct to retrigger the initial wave.

  “Ooow that felt strange. Give me a second,” Jack said as he tried to process the information that popped into his brain.

  Jack wasn't going to complain but it did seem like he was getting some sort of preferential treatment. He didn't feel he had done anything that special yet, he had just followed Monty around and been a battery for him. Sure he had blasted a few wolves, but that was from the safety of a room; granted, he made that room unsafe, but still nothing heroic or noteworthy.

  His inner gamer was happy with the word unique though, who wouldn't be? Unique meant special and special meant powerful.

  The first two were obviously the default options, not bad but basic. If he had to pick from the two he would probably go with [Control]. Mana usage wasn’t going to be an issue for him in the long run but control had been a problem for him already.

  Obviously though, he would skip those as he had two unique options to go over. They seemed interesting and he thought he knew which one he would prefer but he could admit he didn’t know enough to make an informed decision.

  “Ok Monty, I have four options, two that look like default choices, efficiency and control,” Jack said half staring off into space as the weird feeling of recalling information occupied him.

  “Four! You have two unique options for a Tier 1 upgrade?!” Monty exclaimed.

  Jack let the smile stretch a little wider as he explained the options to Monty. Monty made him repeat the exact wording twice before he sat down and scratched his head.

  “I have never heard of those two before. I guess they are ‘Unique’. But the universe is a massive place and things follow patterns and share similarities. I think the interesting part is the scope here.” Monty started to gesture with his hands, making a small circle and expanding it.

  “Normally a unique upgrade might change a ‘slight increase’ to a ‘moderate increase’. Or it could take one of the default options and add something to it. Some are completely unique but they generally are specialised and do one specific thing.” Monty pointed at Jack.

  “You mister special, somehow have TWO completely unique options! Both of which do multiple things. Hell, I think Overcharge does three!” Monty shook his head as he held up one finger.

  “It lets you delay the activation, which could be very useful on its own. If you had that alone I would recommend picking it.” He held up a second finger.

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  “Secondly, it theoretically lets you use a shockwave charged with well over your maximum capacity. As you increase your body’s mana capacity that could be terrifying.” Monty held up a third finger.

  “Third, well if you pick this one. I think based on the wording here, if you pick up the right trait at some point, well, you might be able to create an infinite loop and make a terrifying shockwave. Honestly I almost want to advise you to not pick this for the same reason I want to. This would be on the list of things to never tell anyone,” Monty said as he shook his head with wide eyes.

  “Wait a second, what do you mean? It sounded pretty good and that was what I was leaning towards but why is it so scary?” Jack asked.

  “Ok look I got excited and jumped the gun a little bit. I think there is the potential that this skill could be much more powerful than we think. If you get a specific type of trait as well. For now let’s put that on hold and we can talk with Turrel if we pick it,” Monty said.

  “Nah man, you can’t dangle a carrot like that and then just be like, 'Nuh, don't worry about it. What sort of trait?” Jack asked. It sounded like an exploit and if Jack wanted to achieve his goals as quickly as he could, well an exploit would help. His amplification did seem to be a prime candidate for abusing certain abilities.

  “Ok, look all I will say is there are some traits that can temporarily allow you to channel a quantity of mana that is well above your capacity.” He winked at Jack.

  “I should know as I have one because of my absorption primal. Most of the time when I use it I end up overloaded. The trait gives me a period of time where I can’t overload my body with mana. So as long as I use it within that timeframe I am fine,” Monty said.

  Jack sat there for a moment thinking. It seemed like a serious theory crafting session and some basic skill and trait knowledge was going to be a priority when they got out of the rift. Knowledge was power, he didn’t want to miss something because he simply didn’t understand or see a synergy.

  Jack thought about the second Unique, [Resonant Pulse]. It seemed interesting and he could think of a few uses of it with his limited understanding. It didn’t stand out to him though, at least for the moment Jack thought he should lean into his strengths and that seemed to be power. If he had access to more mana than most other people he should find ways to use that.

  “Will I have the same options next time the skill level goes up? If I pass on them now will that be it?” Jack asked.

  “Honestly I don’t know. For the default options, yes. They will still be there along with additional options once you progress down a path. The Unique options, I don’t know. If someone is offered a unique skill they will probably pick it,” Monty said.

  “Not everyone is lucky enough to get two… at Tier 1… Look I don’t want to drive you in one way or another Jack, this is your decision. There are many different points of view on these things and you will never find a consensus. I personally prefer skills that offer flexibility or versatility over being overly specialised. The pulse ability is amazing and does exactly that. It is flexible and there is a lot of potential there for traits later. But there is no way I could pass up on the Overcharge though, even if I am wrong about the way it might work, the possibility is worth it and it is a solid upgrade regardless,” Monty said as he sat shaking his head.

  “Hmm, do you have a unique upgrade?” Jack asked Monty.

  “I thought I told you that it was rude to ask, Jack... But to be fair, yes, I have more than one,” Monty said with a proud expression on his face. “For different skills that is, but still.”

  Jack had questions, he always did, but once again he knew that really with the options he had presented to him there was only one choice. It was his initial thought when he got the options and after Monty’s reaction he knew he had to go with Overcharge, but that didn’t mean he couldn't have a bit of fun.

  “All right, done. I guess we will find out if I get offered Overcharge on the next skill upgrade. Do you get new options for your Unique skills as you level up?” Jack said as he looked off into the distance, keeping an eye on Monty.

  “Jack... I honestly do not have the mental capacity for jokes right now. If you want the Rift Guardian loot then honestly what did you choose?” Monty asked, rubbing his temples.

  “Spoil sport… nothing yet. I am probably going to go with Overcharge. It seems pretty good. In most games I played I would always go for more damage, the best defence is a strong offence right? But really, will I get options to upgrade it if I chose it down the line? Like could the duration increase or some other modifier get added?” Jack asked.

  “Life isn’t a game Jack, the stakes here are real so it would be wise to make sure you focus on defence as much as offence. But still I think it is a solid choice and yes you might get options to upgrade it, but it isn't likely to happen at every upgrade,” Monty replied. “Go on then pick it and let’s move on and test it.”

  Jack sat down, he wasn’t sure exactly what would happen when he selected the option but he didn't want to end up falling flat on his ass. It would be awkward to survive the bunker assault only to die of a concussion afterwards.

  He thought about his skills and the options he had been presented with, and he felt the information in his mind again. He focused on the word Overcharge and it almost felt as it was a thought in his mind that was getting louder.

  [Overcharge] (UNIQUE) - Enables a delayed activation window [Max: 3 Seconds]. During this delay, the user may continuously funnel additional mana into the compression point to multiply the output force. Mana held within the skill construct is isolated and does not contribute towards the user's Body Capacity.

  Confirm selection

  The words popped into his head, he thought the word confirmed and the thought seemed to fade from his mind. A cold shiver raced through his body and then it was done. He thought about his skills to confirm.

  SKILLS:

  —--------------------------------

  Mana Sense (Internal): Tier 0

  Shockwave: Tier 1 - [Overcharge]

  Purge Mana : Tier 1 - [Passive]

  There it was. If he was being honest he expected a little more, something? A burning sensation, an info dump or aura flames. Instead he got a cold flush. Still he couldn’t wait to try it, he held his hand back out and activated another shockwave.

  As this one reached the point where it felt like it would leave his body and trigger he felt like he could lock it. He did. It felt like there was a small ball of mana stuck in his palm, slowly spinning and waiting. It all felt instinctual, even though he had never done this before it felt normal. As another cycle completed in his vortex he fed the mana into the orb as if he was preparing another shockwave.

  The ball seemed to spin faster, then he knew the timer was approaching its limit. He tried to hold tight to the cone shape he was applying and let it go.

  Jack was knocked backwards, being unprepared for the additional force, he stumbled over an uneven spot on the ground and fell on his ass. Not sure what exactly he expected, it was exactly what it said. It was a shockwave that was basically twice as strong as a normal one. He looked over at Monty and smiled.

  “So that went about as expected, right?”