Chapter 212 - 212: God Engine

"To conquer the impossible, one must become impossible."

Deep underground, beneath the Luna TRC headquarters, Richard lay still. This was Lina's masterpiece: a hidden base, separate from the joint military complex. Here, Richard had his own Q-Cogitator Core, a massive, humming machine built for one purpose. Unlike the Praetoriani, who used a 1:48 time compression for training, or the Ordo Infernalis, who trained for what felt like 500 years in just six months (1:1000 compression), Richard was on another level.

He was in a simulation. He had been there for months in real-time. Inside, his mind was compressing time even further, using his ten-layer mindscape. This wasn't just a simulation; it was a hyper-accelerated reality. His mindscape multiplied the simulation's 10,000-time compression by another 100 layers.

The math was simple, and terrifying: 1:1,000,000 time compression.

To put that in perspective: Richard had been in the simulation for 90 real days. In his mind, 2,737 years had passed. Twenty-seven centuries of meditation, of processing, of evolving. He had spent more time in his own head than most civilizations had existed. He was a living paradox, a being experiencing millennia in a blink. His body, in the pod, shimmered faintly, brimming with contained light.

In the 10th layer of his mindscape, Richard's eyes snapped open. The silence of deep meditation shattered. He was met not with cosmic visions, but with the familiar, stark blue of his System notifications.

[ TOTAL PSY GAINED: 57,560 ]

[ Path Awakening Evolved: 4th to 11th Grade Psi-Lux Sovereign ]

[ PLEASE UPGRADE YOUR CON AND INT STAT TO AVOID PSIONIC OVERLOADING BEFORE THE NEXT EVOLUTION ]

Richard sighed. A long, weary sound that echoed in his mental space. "Fine, fine. I've been busy with a lot of things lately, especially all that fucking politics, and business meetings. Well, I say fuck that shit. Let's open my profile status and get this done already."

He called up his profile.

[ PROFILE STATUS ]

Name: Richard Santamo

Race: Anu

Path-Awakening: Anu 11th Grade Psi-Lux Sovereign

Age: 28

Title: Psionic Sovereign

Weight: 224 lbs

Height: 7"7

SP: 50.3 Billion

[ SHOP ] [ SKILLS ]

System Level: 3

Mindspace: Level 2

Attributes: Stat Points Left: 10,000

STR (Strength): 50,100

CON (Constitution): 50,000

AGI (Agility): 50,000

PER (Perception): 50,000

VIT (Vitality): 50,000

INT (Intelligence): 50,000

PSY (Psionics): 89,564

Evolution: All Attribute Must Reach 100,000 Threshold to Initiate Evolution.

Technologies Learned: 8/20

Vector Core

Advanced Modular Fabrication System (AMFS)

...(and other technologies)

Skills:

Information Processing (Lvl 3)

Knowledge Acquisition

Nanite Integration

...(and other skills)

Richard thought. The System now priced 10,000 SP for every stat point. It wouldn't make sense if it suddenly jumped to 100,000 SP per point when he reached 100,000 attribute points. That meant his 10,000 stat points left weren't enough to stabilize his body. The overflowing psionic energy was too much. He wouldn't be able to control his power with his current physical limits.

"Okay, let's just buy 300,000 more points," he muttered to himself. "So I can upgrade the threshold attributes to 100,000. That's gonna set me back for three billion SP." He scoffed. "That's just chump change, compared to my 50.3 billion reserves. With a total income of 53 million SP per day…"

He laughed. A deep, booming sound that echoed through his mindscape. "HAHAHAHAHAHAhA! I'm fucking rich!" He sighed, a happy sound. "But it wouldn't make sense if I don't spend it all. So let's buy 300,000 stat points."

[ 3 Billion SP deducted ]

"Yeah, yeah. Now let's upgrade all of my baseline attribute stats to 100,000." He smiled wide. "Hehehe, I wonder what happens if I pass that ceiling? Am I gonna become a god? I'm already excited. Let's get this over with." He assigned 50,000 points each to STR, CON, AGI, PER, VIT, and INT.

Outside the simulation, in the core's chamber, Richard's body in the pod underwent changes again. His skin glowed brighter. His muscles rippled under the surface, growing denser, more defined. Lina, watching from a nearby console, became increasingly worried. The pod's internal monitors flashed green, but the sheer energy output was immense.

Lishnurak, the ancient Anu elder, patted her shoulder. His hand felt like warm stone. "Don't worry, Lina. Bossman is just evolving again. He's safe. On the contrary, you should be happy for him."

Lina sighed, her tension easing slightly. "Thank you, Lishnurak."

Lishnurak walked towards the other ancient people. They had just awakened from their crystallization pods a year ago, after the Human-Krill War. They were the same people who had survived the first Krill War, 500,000 years ago. They were pretty much surprised what their descendants had progressed. Despite being manipulated by the Krill for centuries, humanity had come out as the winners for the first time. All because of Richard.

They now stared at Richard in the pod, their ancient eyes filled with a mix of awe and grim understanding.

One elder, his face lined with millennia of wisdom, murmured, "D'you think he's gonna ascend into his godhood before the final battle?"

A younger ancient, his eyes fixed on Richard, replied, "The prophecy speaks of it. The inheritor of the Anu, the one who will face the Dragon."

The elder smiled, a sad, knowing expression. "I think so. He needs to be ready to fight against that Chaos Dragon. Even the 1st grade gods back in our time were no match for the Chaos Dragon when it was in its early maturity. Now we see that Chaos Dragon who absorbed its sibling's essence during our war with the Krill, 500,000 years ago. After that, we only recently learned the fact that the Chaos Dragon absorbed all of Mars' energy, which the planet has now turned to a barren planet devoid of life. Back then, it was a sibling to Earth, but a lot colder. Still, there were three billion Lunari who lived in Mars before its destruction. Now the Chaos Dragon is heading for Earth to continue its evolution. If he doesn't stop that now, the Chaos Dragon will evolve into a being that will absorb entire stars."

The younger ancient nodded, his expression grim. "Let's just put our hopes in him. He's all we have."

Meanwhile, in the simulation, Richard was now browsing through the System Shop. A vast, holographic interface spread before him, filled with categories. He focused on psionic techniques. He needed tools. Weapons. Ways to fight a cosmic entity.

He scrolled through the list.

1. Psionic Package: The Apex Offensive Doctrine

Cost: 4,800,000,000 SP (4.8 Billion SP)

Description: This blueprint instills the ultimate mastery of psionic offense, transforming a practitioner into a living weapon of unparalleled destructive force. It focuses on direct, overwhelming mental assaults, strategic environmental manipulation, and rapid target elimination. Designed for front-line combat, siege-breaking, and total battlefield dominance, allowing a single individual to command power rivaling tactical ordnance.

2. Psionic Package: The Phantom Infiltration Protocol

Cost: 2,500,000,000 SP (2.5 Billion SP)

Description: This blueprint grants complete mastery over stealth, subversion, and silent penetration. It trains a psion to become virtually undetectable, capable of bypassing the most advanced surveillance, manipulating perceptions, and neutralizing targets without a trace. Ideal for espionage, assassination, and covert operations across interstellar distances.

3. Psionic Package: The Guardian Aegis Doctrine

Cost: 1,200,000,000 SP (1.2 Billion SP)

Description: This blueprint specializes in unparalleled defense, resilience, and the tactical safeguarding of assets and personnel. It trains a psion to become an immovable force, capable of shrugging off devastating attacks, rapidly healing, and reinforcing allies with potent mental energies. Their presence ensures survival, enables recovery, and provides unbreakable support against overwhelming odds.

4. Psionic Package: The Cerebral Dominion Pact

Cost: 3,800,000,000 SP (3.8 Billion SP)

Description: This blueprint unlocks the highest echelons of direct mental influence and psychological warfare. The Cerebral Dominion Pact trains a psion to subtly or overtly command the wills of others, implant complex suggestions, manipulate emotions across crowds, and establish telepathic control over multiple targets. It's the ultimate tool for political subversion, mass obedience, and information extraction, capable of altering the course of civilizations from within.

5. Psionic Package: The Omni-Perception Nexus

Cost: 1,500,000,000 SP (1.5 Billion SP)

Description: This blueprint grants unparalleled mastery over sensory input, remote viewing, and psychic data acquisition. The Omni-Perception Nexus allows a psion to extend their senses across vast distances, perceive hidden truths, read residual psychic imprints of past events, and process torrents of information at incredible speeds. It is invaluable for reconnaissance, intelligence analysis, and uncovering concealed threats or opportunities anywhere in a star system.

6. Psionic Package: The Bio-Harmonic Restoration

Cost: 1,000,000,000 SP (1 Billion SP)

Description: This blueprint focuses on the profound manipulation of biological processes for healing, enhancement, and biological defense. The Bio-Harmonic Restoration trains a psion to accelerate cellular regeneration, purge diseases and toxins at a fundamental level, and fortify biological systems against external threats. It's a critical asset for emergency response, prolonged expeditions in hostile environments, and extending the operational lifespan of vital personnel.