Power-Up: The Birth of My Core (Or, How I Didn't Explode)
I decided to test it out with a high-speed sprint. If Generator worked the way I imagined, then raw movement should be enough to create some kinetic energy which would in return trigger a Essence.
Stepping onto the track at the far end of my gym, I took a deep breath, feeling the floor beneath my feet. My muscles tensed, ready to explode into motion.
"Power Up."
The moment the words left my lips, something shifted.
A sharp pulse throbbed at the center of my forehead, right between my brows. A faint glow, emerald and eerie, flickered to life. Then, before I could react, essence surged toward me from every direction.
The air itself seemed to shudder. Invisible streams of essence twisted and coiled, drawn toward me like metal filings to a magnet, all of it rushing—no, slamming into my chest.
Then my heart trembled.
A deafening THUMP shook my ribcage, like a war drum struck by a titan. My entire upper body convulsed as a shockwave blasted outward, shredding my workout shirt into strips of fabric. My vision blurred, pain started flaring all over my body. And I began floating.
The sheer concentration of essence lifted me off the ground, suspending me midair as raw, unfiltered power swirled around me. My limbs trembled. My veins burned. My body wasn't built for this.
A second heartbeat followed—too powerful, too wild. Then a third. And a fourth. Each pulse sent agony ripping through my chest. Something was wrong.
Then my heart ruptured. Literally ruptured. Ruptured like an overfilled water balloon bursting all at once.
Pain unlike anything I had ever felt ripped through me. My consciousness wavered and then everything went dark.
The wild, chaotic essence that had torn through me now gathered at the empty space where my heart should have been. It swirled, condensed, shaped itself into a new heart.
It pulsed once, twice glowing a deep, vibrant green before slowly fading. Warmth returned, my blood flowing again, my body stabilizing like nothing had happened.
The essence flow stabilized, and my body gently settled back to the ground.
And then, after what felt like forever, my eyes snapped open.
I lay on my back, staring at the ceiling, my mind still reeling from the pain I'd felt just before blacking out. For a moment, I swore I had felt my own death. Terrifying.
I checked my condition, flexing my fingers, clenching and unclenching my fists. Everything seemed to be working fine. No pain. No wounds. No torn muscles, even though it had felt like my entire body had been ripped apart.
I groaned and pushed myself up, rolling my shoulders before doing a few stretches. A couple of jumps. A few quick movements to make sure nothing had stopped working.
Then my eyes landed on my chest.
A fist-sized tattoo, shaped like an intricate formation of green gears, interlocking seamlessly into a complex design, the kind used in motors, was stamped right over my heart.
"Whoa… Now this is new." I traced a finger over it, but the mark didn't feel any different from my skin.
"Did this damn talent recreate my heart?"
The gear sat there, unmoving, like it had always been a part of me. It hadn't even asked for my permission.
Something instinctive clicked in my mind. I didn't question it. I activated the command.
"Power Up!"
Ba-dump.
A deep, heavy heartbeat slammed through my chest like a war drum. My eyes glowed faintly.
Then… silence.
I understood what needed to be done.
I exhaled sharply and shot forward into a sprint. My legs burned as I pushed myself to my absolute limit, sprinting around the gym at full speed.
I completed thirteen full rounds before a faint heat began to build in my heart. The sensation was new, but instead of stopping, I pushed forward. Slowing my pace slightly, I moved toward the hanging punching bag.
I came to a halt, took a deep breath, and then went at it. My fists slammed into the bag in steady, relentless bursts, each strike landing with a dull thud as I kept hammering away nonstop feeling the rising heat in my heart.
I could feel my heart absorbing the heat and kinetic energy generated from my punches and movements. It was automatic—but I realized I could direct what to absorb, but not when. So, I focused on diverting the absorption toward heat rather than kinetic energy, letting me maintain my peak form longer and avoid muscle overheating.
But I also noticed something else, the absorption wasn't entirely efficient. Some energy still leaked away, and the process felt rough, unpolished. Still, that didn't matter. Once my talent leveled up, I knew it would refine itself. It was only a matter of time before things started working perfectly.
Almost an hour later I stopped, letting out a deep breath as I shook out my arms. My muscles still felt like they had more to give, but I had gathered enough data for now. Time to check the results.
I pulled up my status. My gaze snapped to the Essence value.
3/5.
"Hell yeah."
That was way better than I expected. The talent was still just Level 1, yet it had managed to absorb a good amount of energy. If I had to guess, maybe only 10% of what I generated actually got stored.
I grinned. Someday, when this thing hits its peak…
I pictured it—me floating in the sky, an meteor hurtling toward me at insane speed. And instead of dodging? I'd just absorb all of it like it was nothing.
The sheer thought made me chuckle.
"People would lose their damn minds. A giant space rock about to obliterate everything then boom….it just stops. Mid-air. Floating. Like, 'Nah, I'll take that.'"
I shook my head, still grinning. That was a long way off. But the fact that it wasn't impossible? That was enough to keep me pushing forward.
"So maybe another hour of intense workout, and I could completely fill the Essence."
I grabbed a bottle, took a few gulps of water, and wiped the sweat off my forehead.
I realized there was no time to waste. If I could fully charge the core now, I'd finally get to test Essence Transfer—and maybe, just maybe, push my Dexterity to 10.
With that goal locked in, I rolled my shoulders, took a deep breath, and got back to work.
After another hour of intense training, I stood there, breathing heavily, sweat dripping down my face. My eyes locked onto my status.
Essence: 5/5.
I knew it was full because of the soothing heat in my heart and the way the glow in my eyes faded, an unmistakable sign that the Generator had deactivated.
Finally, it was time for Essence Transfer.
I willed it to activate, and all 5 units flowed into Dexterity and I checked my status.
Essence: 0/5
Dexterity: 14
A subtle shift ran through my body muscles adjusting, nerves sharpening, movements feeling lighter and more responsive. It wasn't dramatic, but I felt the difference.
Of course, I knew the boost wouldn't last.
Only 10% of the 5 unit transferred would become permanent, just 0.5 points.
But if I used the enhanced Dexterity to train harder, generate more energy, and refill my Essence, I could keep cycling this process—a loop that would let me push my stats far beyond normal limits.
And so I activated the Generator again.
"Power Up!"
Without wasting a second, I launched into high-speed combat drills, shadowboxing at blistering speeds, rapid sprints across the training area, pushing my reactions and movement to their absolute limits.
My strikes became a blur, my steps barely touching the ground before I was already in motion again. And during that time, my Dexterity stat kept tickling down. In fact, it was completely spent by the halfway mark.
Two hours flew by.
By the end of it, I was spent. My Dexterity boost let me move faster, react quicker, but my current stamina wasn't built for this pace. Still, I had pushed myself as far as I could.
I exhaled sharply and pulled up my status.
[Status]
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Name : Billion Ironhart
Race : Human
Class : N/A
Laws : N/A
Level : 0
Talent :
- Generator 1
- Essence : 5/5
Attributes :
- Strength: 8
- Constitution: 7
- Dexterity: 9.5
- Psynapse : 7
Unused Stats: 0
----------------------------------------------------
I noticed my Dexterity had gone from 9 to 9.5, a permanent increase of 0.5 and the Essence was full again. Without hesitation, I transferred it back into Dexterity, pushing it up to 14.5. A rush of heightened control and fluidity coursed through me, but I knew it was only temporary. Finally, I let out a breath and relaxed.
If my calculations were right, in another hour, the temporary increase would trickle down, granting me another permanent 0.5 boost and bringing my Dexterity to its peak value of 10.
I grinned.
Almost there.