BlueShear
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Chapter 44
🕑 Added 2025-01-16 16:28:17 +0000 UTCCHAPTER FOURTY FOUR
“Oh, quit being such a baby,” his body double chided.
Hand still planted on his chest, his superego did… something, and suddenly, the screaming stopped. The pain stopped. Actually, a lot of sensations just below his neck stopped sensation-ing entirely. Well, more like all of them really, if he was being completely honest.
“D-did you just do what I think you just did?”
“Paralyze you from the neck down? Yes. Why?”
“Rude!”
His double raised an eyebrow.
“Would you have rathered I left you to scream in agony?”
Richard grimaced.
“Well… no. But you could’ve asked!”
“I’ll keep that under advisement for next time.”
“Yeah, I’m sure you will,” Richard grumbled. “And there’s not going to be a next time with thatkind of attitude.”
“Promise?” the man sounded genuinely hopeful.
Richard made a sour face, but didn’t answer. Now it was his doubles turn to frown. The moment passed. Seconds went by in silence, while the personification of his subconscious ran his hands all along Richards body. Leaving ripples and knots in his wake, which he then smoothed over in the next pass. Eventually the silent treatment, coupled with the mounting tension, and the occasional tremor that rocked his library down to its very foundations, was too much for Richard to bear.
“Mind clueing me in on what exactly you’re doing?”
“Y-you don’t know!?” his double was so shocked he paused in his work briefly. “Might I remind you that this was your idea? In fact, it could be argued that you’re the one currently making these changes. I’m just a convenient standin. A figment of your imagination to help mask the true extent of your temporary mania.”
“Well, yeah but- I- you-! Can’t a guy just want to make conversation!”
“With yourself? That’s what crazy people do. You do know that’s what crazy people do, don’t you?”
“Just answer the question!”
“Yes, yes. Fine. There’s no need to shout. There are four main areas I’m hoping to address with this procedure,” as he spoke, medical journals floated up to obscure his visage—flipping through it’s contents rapidly before being replaced by another.
“Your neural, muscular, metabolic, and recovery systems are in desperate need of improvement. It is my opinion that these four should aid you the most, and in a number of areas. From faster synaptic efficiency, to a higher count of fast-twitch muscle fibers, to greatly improved nutritional intake, to, well, faster overall recovery.”
“I see. I see,” Richard paused. “And that means…?”
His double sighed.
“That you’ll react faster, hit harder, grow muscle more easily, and recover incredibly quickly.”
“Oh! So basically just an all around improvement. Why didn’t you just say that?”
“You-!” his doubles eye twitched. “You do know that I could do terrible things to you right now? Terrible, permanent things?”
Richard opened his mouth to reply, then shut it just as suddenly.
“Uh, right. Shutting up. You won’t hear a peep from me, no sir. Just go ahead and do your thing. I’ll just be… here. Yeah.”
And, not even deigning to dignify his answer with a response, his super ego did exactly that. The procedure continued, Richard unable to move a muscle and unwilling to interrupt himself in the middle of what was effectively surgery. Well, anymore than he already had. Which ultimately left him with little to do but gaze up at the roiling black cloud of fog cutting him off from the vast majority of his knowledge repository, and watch his soul palace slowly deteriorate.
Tremor after tremor came and abated, dust and stone chips raining down with each quake. Though more concerning were the hairline fractures which raced along the ceiling. A spider web of failing foundations which boded anything but well. And yet, despite the world literally falling down around them, his superego never faltered in his ministrations.
Hands slowly roaming up and down. Up and down.
Occasionally his palms would rest above his head, or cover his eyes. At which point Richard’s vision generally failed him, and, the next thing he knew, he was waking up to find that an unknown amount of time had passed. Considering his trouble double was effectively playing with the meat stuff of his brain, he couldn’t help but feel grateful for that lapse in attentiveness. He wasn’t particularly keen on the idea of receiving brain surgery without the aid of anesthesia.
Eventually though—after what could’ve been hours, but was more likely a few minutes—the violent tremors proved too much for even his double to ignore. The shaking having gotten so bad that parts of the balcony they were on had begun to tilt and shift precariously. Wiping the sheen of sweat from his brow, his superego gave a frustrated huff.
“Well, that’s good enough for now I suppose,” more dust rained down from above, coating his hair and shoulders in a layer of white. “Not my best work by any means, and I wish I had more time, but it should serve. More or less.”
“Oh! Good. That’s a relie- wait! More or less?!”
“Don’t worry. It should be fine. Probably.”
“Probably-?!”
“And really, do try to be considerate next time and sleep on it first, before you go and try anything foolish. I don’t think my heart can take another scare like this one.”
“Wait just one second-!”
Not giving him the chance to get a word in edgewise, however, the smiling fiend reached forward and tapped Richard on the brow. When he awoke from his soul palace, he was wracked with incredible pain. Having known what to expect, however, de-clawifying his right arm proved far easier than it’d been the first time.
With a sharp tug, Richard yanked the internal ability cube from his chest, and promptly slumped over, limp as a wet noodle.
Uurgh… that- that’s never not going to suck is it…?
Still, it was very hard to argue with the results. Lying limp on his side, his bodies inability to move didn’t stop him from pulling up his status screen.
-|—Status—|-
Name: Richard Penn
Level: 15 [Locked]
Age: 1 month old
Class: None [Pending]
Body Grade: G [Pending] [3 Star Prestige]
Soul Grade: G
Core Grade: Blank (1st Level Purity)
Master Formation: G
Peerage: Lowly Serf
Noble Regalia: None
Strength: 100
Endurance: 100
Resilience: 120 (MAX)
Regeneration: 100
Control: 100
Mana Capacity: 26 (of Unknown)
Free Points: 0
Abilities: (0/2)
Class Skills: (0/3)
Equipment: (0/7)
Title: |Liora’s Embrace| [Legendary]
Heh- heheh…! Nyehehe- NYE-! oh-? Wait a second! What’s this? Even more goodies for me to drool over?! Aww, you really shouldn’t have…. Sike! Gimme! Gimme!
DING!
•—Achievement Earned!—•
Gain One Hundred (10x Racial Average) Points In A Single Attribute.
For Achieving Such a Remarkable Feat, You Have Been Granted a Title!
+-|—[Fledgling Ascender (I)]—|-+
(Passive effect: In a contest of attributes, factors such as weight class, muscle mass, and other physiological advantages are marginally less impactful.)
<+1 [Uncommon] Blank Lottery Ticket!>
(Note: this title has no active effect. This title is retroactive. Advancement in this set of titles will result in the destruction of this title.)
DING!
•—Achievement Earned!—•
Gain One Hundred (10x Racial Average) Points In Three Or More Attributes.
For Achieving Such a Remarkable Feat, You Have Been Granted a Title!
+-|—[Fledgeling Ascender (II)]—|-+
(Passive effect: In a contest of attributes, factors such as weight class, muscle mass, and other physiological advantages are moderately less impactful.)
<+1 [Rare] Blank Lottery Ticket!>
DING!
•—Achievement Earned!—•
Be The First G Grade Member of Your Integrated Universe To Earn One Hundred (10x Racial Average) Points In A Single Attribute.
For Achieving Such a Remarkable Feat, You Have Been Granted a Title!
+-|—[Baby Ascender (I)]—|-+
DING!
(Passive effect: You are marginally less likely to be physically, mentally, or spiritually suppressed by grade disparity.)
(Note: this is a unique title. Only 1244 other members of the greater multiverse have ever received this title. Because it is still considered a unique title, base rewards x5)
(Base rewards dependent on race.)
<+5 [Rare] Blank Lottery Tickets!>
<+25 Free Points!>
•—Achievement Earned!—•
Be The First G Grade Member of Your Integrated Universe To Earn One Hundred (10x Racial Average) Points In More Than Three Attributes.
For Achieving Such a Remarkable Feat, You Have Been Granted a Title!
+-|—[Baby Ascender (II)]—|-+
(Passive effect: You are moderately less likely to be physically, mentally, or spiritually suppressed by grade disparity.)
(Note: this is a unique title. Only 59 other members of the greater multiverse have ever received this title. Because it is still considered a unique title, base rewards x5)
(Base rewards dependent on race.)
<+15 [Rare] Blank Lottery Tickets!>
<+50 Free Points!>
Richard had to blink back tears staring at those last two announcements. It was like it knew…had watched his struggles, spectated his pain. All those trials and tribulations he’d faced on his way here, and how he’d soldiered on through regardless. Never backing down. Never surrendering. Watched as his plans and gambles came to fruition. Richard abruptly feeling truly seen and genuinely grateful for the first time in-
Oh who am I kidding! This isn’t enough! It was never about enough! More! I need more! All the goodies will be mine!
And so saying, Richard promptly plopped all seventy five free points into mana capacity, bringing it up to a cool one hundred and one.
Pain exploded just behind his sternum. The blooming pressure nearly taking his breath away, as his mana core was made to expand several times its original size—several years worth of natural growth—in mere fractions of a second. Thankfully, the intense, burning pain only lasted for so long, leaving a stabby sort of throbbing in its wake. His mana core feeling hot and tender, like he’d swallowed a stone and now it was just sitting there—the area around it extremely enflamed.
In hindsight, it might have been better to drip feed his free points over several days to avoid this very thing. But then, if he did that he risked not receiving as good a title as he’d earned. And the better titles he got, the better off humanity would be.
If you think about it like that, it would’ve been selfish for me not to go for broke here, right? Richard sighed. It isn’t easy, being this selfless, but it’s the cross I’ve decided to bear…
DING!
•—Achievement Earned!—•
Gain One Hundred (10x Racial Average) Points In All Attributes.
For Achieving Such a Remarkable Feat, You Have Been Granted a Title!
+-|—[Premier Ascender (I)]—|-+
(Passive effect: In a contest of attributes, factors such as weight class, muscle mass, and other physiological advantages are less impactful.)
(Note: you are one of less than 100 members inside your integrated universe to have received this title. Premier titles such as this one come with special perks and added benefits that are not privy to the public)
<+1 [Epic] Blank Lottery Ticket!>
[Grants Early Access To The Global Leaderboard.]
[Grants Early Access To The Leaderboard System.]
DING!
•—Achievement Earned!—•
Be The First G Grade Member of Your Integrated Universe To Earn One Hundred (10x Racial Average) Points In All Attributes.
For Achieving Such a Remarkable Feat, You Have Been Granted a Title!
+-|—[Premier Baby Ascender (I)]—|-+
(Passive effect: You are less likely to be physically, mentally, or spiritually suppressed by grade disparity.)
(Note: this is a unique title. Only 9 other members of the greater multiverse have ever received this title. Because it is still considered a unique title, and because you are only the tenth to receive such a title, base rewards x20)
(Base rewards dependent on race.)
<+20 [Epic] Blank Lottery Tickets!>
<+300 Free Points!>
Ohoo yeah. That’s the stuff. Not half bad for a baby born with no talent, if I do say so myself.
Richard wasn’t even trying to keep the stupid grin off his face anymore. And why should he? He had earned it, hadn’t he?
Three… HUNDRED free points?! Opon…? Was this your doing? Did you hamstring the competition so that I might feast upon this glorious bounty…?
And that said nothing of the titles themselves, the leaderboard, the metric crap ton of blank lottery tickets he received. What basically amounted to free loot, if you didn’t mind gambling.
Now, with everything he’d gained he was more than ready to evolve to F Grade. And from there? Plans, oh he had so so many plans. This world wouldn’t even know what hit it! And of course his very first step towards world dominat- ahem, towards securing world peace—yes that’s much better—was obviously… obvious… ly…
Huh?
Richard blinked. For the first time since he’d first woken up to a wall of system messages, he noted the blinking “unread messages” prompt at the top corner of his vision. Astounded by the sheer number of them, he opened the chat window, and was immediately bombarded with yet another stream of messages. However these were of a far less jovial nature.
<Penelope Green> food?
<Penelope Green> hungry?
<Penelope Green> please food?
<Penelope Green> you sleep?
<Penelope Green> you sleep; find food.
<Penelope Green> no food… can’t find…
<Penelope Green> no friends; hide and seek?
<Penelope Green> hide and seek; friends good.
<Penelope Green> friends good, can’t find.
<Penelope Green> no friends… can’t find.
<Penelope Green> no friends can’t find!
<Penelope Green> wake up?
<Penelope Green> wake up?
<Penelope Green> no friends.
<Penelope Green> friends?
<Penelope Green> look for friends; you sleep.
<Penelope Green> looking…
<Penelope Green> friends can’t find!
<Penelope Green> oh.
<Penelope Green> found friends.
<Penelope Green> oh!
<Penelope Green> can’t tell; it’s a secret.
<Penelope Green> uh oh.
<Penelope Green> mean cat man is mean.
<Penelope Green> I’m stronger.
<Penelope Green> oh.
<Penelope Green> he’s strong.
<Penelope Green> okay, talk later.
<Penelope Green> must protect friends.
Richard blinked at the final message. Knuckles growing white around the healing syringe he was already injecting in his thigh. His heart raced. His vision began to tunnel. What… what was he even thinking right now? Contemplating this- this was ridiculous. Foolishness.
Richard rose unsteadily to his feet.
She’d shown herself to be perfectly capable of handling herself. Pragmatism dictated he just leave her to it. She said she’d protect them, and he had absolute confidence in her abilities.
Richard began to stagger forward, awkwardly at first, but growing more confident with every stride.
And the kids? Well, they had their titles, did they not?
His slow trundle became a slow trot.
If worse comes to worse, they could just huddle up in their little bubbles and wait out the danger. It would be fine. It was doubtful anyone would even get hurt.
His trot became a hitching jog, the medicines slow in patching up the many injuries he’d so selfishly inflicted upon himself.
There was no use in worrying. In getting hung up on every little thing. Wasn’t it in the best interest of humanity he get as strong as was humanly possible, in as short a time frame as possible? To better prepare for the enemies they would face? What were the lives of a few insignificant brats compared to the whole of humanity?
He was running now, feet kicking up chunks of dry earth as he rapidly outpaced the clearing.
He had points to spend, and lottery tickets to cash, and he’d never even gotten around to finishing his soul seal. What about his F Grade evolution? What about his class, for Opon’s sakes?! Wasn’t this everything he’d been working towards? And he’d still yet to find that infernal named elite. Wasn’t his personal progression far more important than some blabber mouthed-
The world blurred around him as his one hundred points of strength pushed him faster than he should’ve been capable of at his low level and grade.
-overly familiar
His face scrunched up into an expression so rarely seen in public.
-incredibly annoying
Hate, black as pitch, marring his cherubic features. Warping them until they were nearly unrecognizable.
-far too trusting
A pit of something hot and vile burned molten in his stomach, scorching his chest with the excess heat.
-impossibly adorable
The world lurched as Richard placed twenty points into each attribute until they were all maxed out at one hundred twenty. He then dropped the remaining two hundred and twenty points into mana capacity.
Mana Capacity: 321
-innocent
His core burned, but he endured the pain. Relished it. In the far distance, a tiny pillar of gray fire rose high into the sky. Richard altered his trajectory and made a b-line towards it. Trees whipping by so fast, he figured he had to have been moving at upwards of 80 miles per hour.
-little kids. …his kids…!
Richard roared. Letting out all the pent up rage and frustration he’d kept bottled up for nearly a decade in one long go. Birds startled from their nests. Critters scurried into their burrows. Predators grew very very still, lest they become prey. Richard leapt high into the air, rocketing upwards to blast through the leafy canopy above.
The earth shuddered and quaked in his wake.
Wait for me! I’m coming! Please, just hold out for a little bit longer!
Comments
Apoca
I wonder where is the next milestone. I thought it would be 250 but he did not get another for mana. Or maybe he just did not saw the notifications
Gopard
Thanks for the chapter! Can't comment need to read on WTF such a cliff!!! I'm so glad I'm reading this in bulk!
Gopard
I really hope this gets used now... Can't wait till we reach the new class!
Moon Winchester
It would be an achievement that never existed before because no one has ever unlocked it, now I would be honored if you use my idea or at least the essence of it. Since I feel like not once have I really ever seen a true speed running achievement for a baby.
Biz
Oof, the suspense is killer. Can’t wait to read about the show down.
Bamen Sanders
THIS IS GENIUS! ❤️
Moon Winchester
I’m curious why there is no achievements for acquiring all of these stats in capabilities as an infant. In a way they could be speed running achievements that don’t track your total ability at your age, but instead track where you started and where you ended up at your age. This is so natural, born gods and divinities. Do not get those achievements and are unable to because they already start off too high. But because our guy started off at G rank the lowest possible rank there is that he didn’t even know existed. Maybe he could get a sort of speed running achievement for that. And without having to rewrite the chapters, you can have that achievement appear when he gets his class. Being the youngest person Ever who is integrated into the system to achieve their class in the span of time at their age range compared to the greater universe as a whole. And it would tally up all of his prestige, his stat advancements his achievements and more and take all of those into account. Because he’s a baby.
CherMi
He's gonna kill them all with 300 mana. I really hope the mascot gets killed too and counts as a Named Elite. Although with all those achievements and titles I expect something better than a rare class.
