The Over-Break System

With a thought and a flick of his wrist, the two Omnipoison gems appeared in his palm.

‘A versatile Element that allows for both offensive and defensive benefits, but do I want to start my chicks with something so dangerous? Not to mention I’m not sure they wouldn’t kill themselves accidentally with this Affinity.’ Frowning in concern as he examined the tri-colored gems, Cynrik lost himself in thought.

‘I shouldn’t be thinking about it in that manner. I should be thinking about how to best complement both my own and their abilities. If only I could have a firm grasp on what Nátt Hrafn can do. That bastard from the store could only give me a summary of the species, yet here I am about to try hatching them, completely blind.

‘I mean, it isn’t my first time raising a bird; back on Earth, I did have Jake and Peety (Cockatiel and Parakeet), plus I took care of Polly, the neighbor’s Parrot, but those are just regular animals.’

DEE DEE DEE

The second Incubator chimed out, signaling it was warmed up and ready to be used, snaping Cynrik out of his thoughts and making him stand up to double-check the device was working correctly.

“Sigh, well, at least I won’t have to wait long. Initially, I thought it would take weeks or even months to hatch the little guys, but if the manual is correct, it should be no longer than an hour.” Thinking aloud, Cynrik ran through the Incubator’s diagnostic settings, double checking that the only Mana particles present in the chamber tube were of the Dark Element. When he received the reading that it was as it should be, Cynrik activated [Mana Sight] and began pumping his own Mana into the device while being sure only to add Dark Particles into the chamber.

“The hatching process is based on Mana Type, Creature Type, and Tier categories. According to Tobs, my Nátt Hrafn will hatch at Tier-0 but grow fast, so…” Using the touch keyboard, Cynrik keyed in the species as Avian and the Tier as zero before confirming and stepping back.

Through his ocular skill, he could see the swirling storm of multi-colored particles making up the machine and how they all worked in unison. The bulbous fixture atop the Incubator was a type of intake valve that would constantly draw in large amounts of particles and then filter out all the unnecessary ones.

To Cynrik’s surprise, after registering the creature being hatched as the Avian variety, the Cylindrical tube that made up the bulk of the device began liquifying and changing shape..

Within seconds a small nest appeared in the center of the tube, and a small environment was formed within, one that would be perfect for hatching newborn chicks.

Nodding in content, Cynrik moved on to the other device, made the proper adjustments, and stood back satisfied with his work.

“Welp, now that everything is squared away, at least as far as it can be, for now, it’s time to carve my [Mark of the Tamer].” His face shifted from content to focus as Cynrik glanced at Selene one last time and left his bedroom, heading toward the training room.

With no idea of how violent a reaction his carving would cause, it was better to be in a contained location, where if things went south, he would be able to take the proper precautions.

Half a minute later, Cynrik closed the door to the training room, took off his tank-top t-shirt, and sat down in the center of the room while taking out the package containing the materials he had ordered online.

“Alright, Tobs, this was your idea; walk me through it,” Cynrik said as he unpacked the Mid-Class Mana Efficiency Booster, Mid-Class Mana Stabilization Pill, and the four Affinity Stone Fragments, Dark, Fire, Wind, and Lightning.

It had cost him a large chunk of funds to buy everything, especially the Dark and Lightning Affinity Stone Fragments, but it was a necessary purchase in his eyes.

-It was necessary to make some changes to the standard carving process since you wish to have your Mark installed on your Codex rather than on your flesh.-

-For starters, the amount of Mana you will be channeling needs to be vastly increased due to the density and durability of your Codex. As such, you will require secondary assistance in the form of the Efficiency Booster, which will temporarily boost your proficiency in handling and manipulating Mana Particles.-

“Makes sense, the Affinity Stone Fragments have the potential of flooding my Codex with Elemental charged Mana Particles, and since they need somewhere to go, I will need a higher level of control to prevent them; from going crazy.” Nodding his head and unpackaging the four Affinity Stone Fragments, Cynrik spread them out on the ground and moved on to removing the two bubblegum ball-shaped Pills from their containers.

-Precisely, that is also why I requested you get a Stabilization pill since a large amount of new Mana entering your body will quickly swell and go out of control. The pill will calm it down for a little over 2 hours, long enough for you to expel the Mana and use it to carve the correct runes necessary to form your [Mark of The Tamer].-

“Is there anything else I need to know before I start?” Cynrik asked while rolling the two pills around in his palm.

-It will probably hurt like a son of a bitch.-

“Of course, it will; everything in this world seems to FUCKING HURT!” Hearing Tobs’ off-handed remark, Cynrik’s face fell, and he sighed loudly before cursing.

-Quit your complaining; the longer you drag out this process, the more pain it will cause. So speed and efficiency are essential. Although the Codex forms as a crystalline structure, it is more like a cluster of nerve endings supercharged with power. So any damage or changes made will feel no different from carving your body with an acid-dipped super-heated blade.-

“Tss, this is going to suck, but it has to be done. If I only had one birb, I could have hidden the Mark somewhere on my body, but because I have two, I need to change the standard procedure. I need to allow for a constant flow of Mana into the Mark, and the best way I could come up with is to place it directly onto my Codex.” Clicking his tongue, Cynrik tossed both pills into his mouth and swallowed.

Not even a full second later, he felt his mind clear and, for the first time, could feel the soft pulsations caused by his Codex, which seemed to be acting like a second heart.

“Right, there is only one thing left,” preparing his mind, Cynrik scooped up all four Affinity Stones, two in each hand, and positioned himself into the lotus position.

“Tobs, gimmie that sweet, sweet hype music.” Smirking as he curled his fingers around the Affinity stones, Cynrik left the song choice up to her.

-Now playing “Through the Fire and Flames” By Dragon Force.-

“EH! OI TOO MUCH HYPE TOBS!” Cynrik screamed as the familiar rock song he had spent months perfecting in a video game began playing in his mind.

But it was too late to stop; ignoring his complaints, Tobs triggered the notification chain.

-Dark Affinity Stone Fragment has been Located.-

-Lightning Affinity Stone Fragment has been Located.-

-Fire Affinity Stone Fragment has been Located.-

-Wind Affinity Stone Fragment has been Located.-

“FUUUUUCK, PUMP UP THE VOLUME AND LOOP THE SOLO WHEN IT HAPPENS TOBS!” Feeling the intense surge of Mana coursing from his palms to his chest, Cynrik grit his teeth hard enough to hear them crack; as he set about churning the Mana in a circular pattern.

In his left hand were the Fire and Dark Affinity Stone Fragments; in his right, the Wind and Lightning; splitting up the two SAG stones allowed Cynrik to adjust the interaction between the conflicting particles manually.

-The Affinity Stone Fragment absorption rate is 32%; you will need to completely drain all four of the Affinity Stone Fragments if you wish to have enough energy to carve your Mark.-

From inside Cynrik’s SOC, the hologram Tobs monitored his vital signs and the state of his body with her head tilted to the side cutely.

The world she was in had changed drastically with the evolution of Cynrik’s Fire Affinity along with the addition of his Lightning Affinity. The once desolate hellscape had transformed into an even fiercer environment, where fire, tornados, and Lightning scattered the Dark, windy territory.

If before Cynrik’s Sea of Consciousness had the appearance of a dying star, now it indeed looked like Hell.

However, none of this mattered to Tobs, who calmly monitored Cynrik as he continuously drained all the Mana stored within the crystallized stones.

While she watched a small monitor showing Cynrik’s Codex and internal workings of his body, unknown to her, her foot was softly tapping on the surface of the ground, in time with the song.

Back in the training room, Cynrik felt the strain of absorbing too much Mana into his body. Once Tobs notified him that 70% of the abundant particles stored within the Affinity Stone Fragments were coursing through his body, he exhaled forcefully and activated his, Húðflúr and Æsir Mode.

As if a switch had been flipped, Cynrik felt the tidal wave of Mana in his body freeze and fall under his control; however, he didn’t have time to bask in the euphoric feeling as his body quivered with intense pain. This was a sign that he was reaching the absolute limit his Tier-3 Body could withstand.

Still, he pushed further until finally, Cynrik received the notice that the four Affinity Stone Fragments had been entirely drained to the last particle.

While noticing the bulging veins and muscles that had transformed his appearance from the light and athletic build he knew into one more befitting of Brance or Benny, Cynrik almost laughed.

Quickly forcing that thought down to the recesses of his mind and focusing on his left index finger, he began imagining the intricately woven rune formation of his [Mark of the Tamer].

Numerous strange slashes and squiggly runes came into his head as they swirled and formed an intricately constructed pattern that needed to be written in a specific order. Any mistakes would cause the entire formation to collapse, wasting all the resources he had put into it as a result.

Cynrik willed all the Mana in his body into his hand, storing as much MP as possible into the glowing markings of his Húðflúr, shifting them from their standard blue color to the same purple color Ragnar had used.

Next, he allowed the quad-elemental Mana to pool into his fingertip and, using his ocular skill, located the small gem beating like a second heart within his chest.

‘All or nothing, there is no turning back now.’ With that final thought, Cynrik pushed his hand forward, envisioning that his finger was a hair-thin tool, and began carving the runes, bringing about a new type of pain he had never experienced.