Chapter 177: Self-Investment

While his Spartans plunged into the Chronos War, Richard remained in his private office, a serene stillness enveloping him. He hovered effortlessly in the center of the room, his form radiating a faint, silvery aura.

This wasn’t merely a display of his burgeoning psionic abilities, but an active manifestation of his multi-layered mindscape. Within this mental construct, he was meditating at an 1:10 time compression rate. An hour in the real world equated to ten hours within the depths of his consciousness. His new technique being layering 10 mindspaces, which in normal means should magnify to 10 layers deeper time compression, it should have been 1:10,000,000,000, as he expected but the system was smart to remodify it to 1:100, meaning each layer he add, only goes +10 time compression but, each hour spent amplifying the subtle, yet potent, energies of his Anu heritage.

He had constructed ten distinct layers within this mindscape, each a complex tapestry of thought and energy manipulation. For every five minutes of real-world meditation, he gained a miniscule 0.001 PSY point, a trickle that, when amplified by the accelerated time, became a torrent. After three hours of this intensive, 10-layered mindscape meditation, he had spent a total of three hundred virtual hours in profound focus, earning a substantial +3.6 PSY. This was a crucial gain, for the system shop did not sell PSY as a direct attribute.

He slowly descended, his bare feet touching the polished floor with a faint, almost silent brush. He sighed, a soft exhalation of contentment. The mental fatigue was almost imperceptible, a mere echo of the immense processing he had just undergone.

He opened his personal status screen, the holographic interface shimmering into existence before him.

[ PROFILE STATUS ]

Name: Richard Santamo

Race: Anu

Path-Awakening: Anu 1st Grade Psi-Warrior

Age: 24

Weight: 213 lbs



Height: 6’8"

SP: 22,012,108

[ SHOP ] [ SKILLS ]

System Level: 3

Mindspace: Level 1 (10 Knowledge Crystals Required to Level up)

Attributes:Stat Points Left: 685

STR (Strength): 500

CON (Constitution): 500

AGI (Agility): 500

PER (Perception): 500

VIT (Vitality): 500

INT (Intelligence): 601

PSY (Psionics): 63.6

Technologies Learned: 6/20

Vector Core

Advanced Modular Fabrication System (AMFS)

... (and other technologies)

Skills:

Information Processing (Lvl 3)

Knowledge Acquisition

Nanite Integration

... (and other skills)

Richard’s eyes scanned his profile. He had been hoarding his stat points, waiting for the right moment. Now was that moment. He knew the cost of PSY was time consuming, and direct attribute increases were better than the slow meditation. He had a plan.

"Alright," he murmured, his thoughts racing. "First, let’s max out Intelligence." He began distributing his remaining Stat Points.

He allocated +68 INT, consuming 680 Stat Points. His Intelligence score immediately updated from 601 to 669. Almost there, he thought, a slight frown crossing his face. He was short. He remembered the system’s previous trick.

He sighed, a long, exasperated sound. "I knew it. Fine." He navigated to the system shop, then the ’Stat Points’ category. Each raw Stat Point cost 1,000 SP. He looked at his current SP: 22,012,108.

"Well," he muttered, a wry grin forming. "There’s no point being rich if you can’t invest in yourself."

With a decisive tap, he spent all of his remaining SP. The number vanished, replaced by a stark 108. In return, he acquired +22,012 raw Stat Points. "And I’m broke again," he said, but the grin widened. He now had 22,012 Stat Points. Since each Attribute Point cost 10 Stat Points, he had a grand total of 2,201.2 available Attribute Points to distribute.

"Time for some upgrades," he chuckled, a palpable excitement in his voice.

He immediately spent 3310 Stat Points to add +331 INT, bringing his Intelligence to 1000. As the number solidified on his screen, a profound shift occurred within him. His psionic energy, which usually emanated in a soft, ethereal glow, suddenly compressed, becoming denser, sharper, its silvery aura shrinking slightly but becoming far more controllable, radiating an almost visible hum of raw processing power.



His mind felt like a hyper-accelerated quantum computer, capable of analyzing, deducing, and connecting information with blinding speed. He smiled wide; the sensation was exhilarating.

A system notification flashed: [ INT Attribute Point Cost now 100 Stat points. ]

"I knew it," Richard said with a resigned sigh, but no real surprise. "Fucking system." He accepted the new cost with a shrug. The vast influx of Stat Points he’d just bought was enough to cover the increased price, for now.

Next, he spent 5000 Stat Points (at the new cost of 100 per attribute point) for +500 CON, bringing his Constitution to 1000. His body visibly transformed, his muscles rippling, compressing, and reforming into an even denser, more resilient structure. He didn’t bulk up excessively, but his frame became impossibly solid, his every cell reinforced. "That feels nice," he murmured, flexing a hand. He was back to his usual muscular, powerful physique, but now it was denser, tougher, like forged steel.

Then, another 5000 Stat Points were spent on +500 VIT, pushing his Vitality to 1000. The transformation wasn’t as dramatic as the strength or intelligence boosts, but he felt an internal surge of raw life force, a profound wellspring of endurance and regeneration. His body’s systems optimized, running with perfect, effortless efficiency.

He assigned another 5000 Stat Points to +500 PER, bringing his Perception to 1000. The world around him sharpened, every detail becoming vivid. He could now clearly see the subtle energies swirling in the air that were always invisible to the naked eye – psionic residues, energy currents, even the faint distortions of gravity.

More remarkably, he gained instantaneous, conscious control over his perception of time. He could choose to see the world in slow motion, every micro-movement of a falling dust motes stretching into a leisurely descent, or accelerate his processing to match hyper-speed events. This wasn’t merely fast reflexes; it was a fundamental alteration of how his mind processed reality. He could now observe and react at speeds that would make even enhanced beings seem sluggish.

With his primary physical and mental stats maxed out, he looked at his remaining Stat Points: 3700. He immediately assigned +370 AGI, bringing his Agility to 870. He felt a surge of incredible grace and responsiveness, his movements becoming fluid, almost liquid. Every muscle, every nerve, was perfectly tuned.

He smiled, a sense of immense power and purpose settling over him. "Next goal," he muttered, stepping out of his office, his movements now so precise and efficient they seemed to blur. "Get that PSY stat to 100. And then, max out Agility to 1000. Let’s see what those milestones bring." The world, he knew, was about to become his playground.

Out in the office, Lina’s avatar shimmered into existence, her usual calm demeanor tinged with a subtle urgency. "Sir, we have additional information on Subject Alpha-0’s brain."

Richard, still savoring the rush of his attribute boosts, turned to her, his silver eyes gleaming. "Oh? The Krill. Go on, continue."

"Yes, sir. I’ve modified the brainwave and memory scanners component of the Chronos-Weave system," Lina explained, her voice precise. "Through it, I’ve accessed some of its deep memory data. It appears there is an interesting type of hostile wildlife under their control that they can deploy for surface invasions."

Richard’s brow furrowed. "Wildlife? What do you mean?"

"In simpler terms, sir," Lina clarified, a holographic visual beginning to form in the air: a blurred, massive reptilian shape, "they’re deploying similar wildlife to locusts that ravage and eat all biological mass. Specifically, meat."

The visual sharpened, and Richard’s eyes widened in genuine shock. His jaw dropped. "Is that a... a T-Rex?"

Lina nodded. "Yes, sir. Apparently, their height varies, from fifteen to twenty-five feet tall."

Richard staggered back a step, a mix of disbelief and a strange, morbid fascination. "That’s actually... cool. Or worse. Definitely worse. But it would make total sense for them to raise T-Rexes, wouldn’t it? Given they claim they’ve been on Earth for five hundred millennia."

Lina switched the image on her data pad, revealing a Krill warrior atop a smaller, but still formidable, T-Rex, like a knight mounted on a monstrous steed. "They’re also being used as mounts, sir. Like cavalry."

"Uhhhh..." Richard muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "That’s cool. I mean, worse. Much, much worse."

"I also think they have some kind of symbiotic relationship with the Krill, sir," Lina continued, her analysis flowing.

Richard mused aloud, "Well, I mean, they’re both reptiles, aren’t they? Reptile to reptile. The T-Rexes might be their cousins. Or," he added, a darker thought forming, "bioengineered."

"Precisely, sir," Lina affirmed, her tone indicating the latter was more likely. "These T-Rexes act like domesticated dogs in front of the Krill, but are extremely hostile towards others. They make perfect attack animals, and indeed, any other slave races or wildlife that they might use as cannon fodder."

"There actually is another slave race, sir," Lina corrected, and switched the image from her data pad. Now, a familiar image appeared: the classic ’Gray’ alien, slender, large-headed, with almond-shaped black eyes, familiar from human conspiracy theories. "These are similar to the ’Gray aliens’ that the US has on their databases. They appear to be the ones responsible for building Krill technology. I think it’s safe to say it’s a mutual cooperation rather than slavery. Look at these ships, sir."

The image morphed to show sleek, menacing alien vessels, far larger and more intricate than anything the Spartans had encountered in the simulation, even bigger than the ones Richard himself had designed. "They’re actually quite bigger than the ones we designed in the simulation," Richard noted, a flicker of concern in his eyes. "Any combat data on that?"

"Yes, sir," Lina replied, her data streaming. "The Krill themselves do not possess necessary combat and ground tactics. They act more like barbarians and Vikings. Their ranged forces typically consist of engineered combat droids, manufactured by these ’Grays’ as I’d like to call them. However, these droids act in simple, predictable patterns. The Krill ships mostly use torpedoes armed with nukes similar to Earth’s, as well as directed energy beams."

"I guess they don’t have any sort of automation or artificial intelligence beyond basic programming," Richard surmised.

The ships mostly use torpedoes armed with nukes similar to Earth’s, as well as directed energy beams. That nukes been bothering me though, but I guess they’re only there as last resort for them, since they don’t want to destroy their own "farms".

"No, sir," Lina confirmed.

"Then I guess when it comes to ground battles, these Krill only rely on their strength and arrogance, and these dinosaur knights, too," Richard concluded, a strategy beginning to form in his mind.

"They typically act like a swarm, sir," Lina added, "and mostly use directed energy weapons at mid-range for ranged support."



"Use this new data and apply it to the simulation," Richard commanded, his voice sharp with purpose. "Also, progress the scale. While the Krill currently have little to no tactical prowess, we must make them adapt to any and all situations as possible within the simulation. We need to face every worst-case scenario. That’s the only way to be ready for the real thing."

"Yes, sir," Lina acknowledged, her avatar’s eyes glowing faintly with the new directives.

Richard paused, a new thought occurring to him. "You said ’brain’ earlier, Lina. What else did you do to Subject Alpha-0?"

Lina’s tone became even more meticulous. "I’ve dissected all parts of its body, sir, and applied various simulations for different kinds of pathogens to its biological components."

Richard stared at her, genuinely in awe. "And what for?" he asked slowly.

"It’s for a bioweapon, sir," Lina stated simply, as if discussing a new software update. "It’s a new type of ordnance, specifically designed to eliminate all Krill inside a ship. It is primarily useful for salvaging Krill ships and bringing them back for research in the future, once we have the means to infiltrate their vessels without direct engagement."

Richard was stunned. "Huh... how many pathogen combinations were successful?"

"I’ve developed three thousand one hundred and thirty-four pathogen combinations, sir, each with available antibodies to ensure our own forces are immune," Lina replied, her voice completely devoid of any emotion about the scale of biological devastation she had just engineered.

Richard blinked, then let out a nervous laugh. "Oooo... kayyy... Sometimes you’re a little bit too scary, you know."

Lina turned, her avatar walking away, and a faint, almost imperceptible smile touched her lips. "Thank you for the compliments, sir."

Richard chased after her, shaking his head. "That’s not a compliment, you know!" But a smile played on his own face.

With Lina at his side, and the Krill’s secrets now laid bare, the coming war felt, oddly enough, like a challenge he was ready to embrace.