The crew gathered around me as I finally regained my wits and decided to check my new stats. Everyone had made it through the battle unscathed, and we were happy to celebrate the windfall of experience gained by taking down the nest of Aether Wraiths.

Before I brought the crew into the Tower of Power, my level had stalled at 50. I had been unable to advance beyond that, believing the stall was due to the imbalance in my stats. I assumed I wouldn't be moving up to another grade until after level 75, or maybe even level 100, so I didn't think much about it. Since stalling, I had reviewed my stats several times and thought back now to the screen I had committed to memory.

Name – Andrew Timothy Dawes

Race – Human

Level – P-50

Class – Havok Bringer

Stats –

Strength – P-54 – 12%

Intelligence – P-50 – 98%

Dexterity – P-53 – 96%

Defense – P-53 – 26%

Current skills:

Health stim activation

Stamina Stim recovery

Current abilities :

Pulsar Blast – Planetary class ability. Upgrade status – 82%

Big Bang – Planetary class ability. Upgrade progress – 76%

Do Over – Galaxy class ability – Upgrade progress – 0%

Shield of Solaris – Planetary Class Ability -Upgrade Progress 34%

After defeating Jax in the Arena in Lucida, on the Council's capital planet of Boutelerien, I had achieved level 50. I also got a notification stating that I had unlocked a new ability, but was unable to choose the ability due to my armor suppression. Mysteriously, I never got the chance to select a new ability, even after regaining the use of my armor. I chalked it up to the stall in my level and decided it would work itself out when I was able to gain experience in the Tower. What I didn't expect was that I would jump into an entire new grade so early.

"What crazy shit did you unlock now?" C.J. slapped me on the shoulder and sat down on a rock beside me, dragging his vape as he looked on intently.

"Hold on," I raised my hand, seemingly staring off into the distance as I tried to make sense of my new stats.

Name – Andrew Timothy Dawes

Race – Aetheric Scandare*

Level – G-00

Class – Havok Bringer

Stats –

Strength – G–00

Intelligence – G-00

Dexterity – G-00

Defense – G-00

Current skills:

Health stim activation

Stamina Stim recovery

Current abilities :

Pulsar Blast – Planetary class ability. Upgrade status – 82%

Big Bang – Upgraded to - Galaxy class ability. Upgrade progress – 00%

Do Over – Galaxy class ability – Upgrade progress – 0%

Shield of Solaris – Upgraded to - Galaxy Class Ability -Upgrade Progress %

Aetheric infusion – Galaxy class ability – Upgrade Progress – 0%

System Administrator note – Congratulations initiate "Andrew Timothy Dawes". You have proven yourself to be capable of navigating the path of strength. As an outlier…outlier…outli…Correction, as a gross aborition in the mechanics of the meticulously maintained system, some might even say a freak, you have superceded the bounds of natural power progression and been upgraded to Grade-G.

Very few Scandare have been identified throughout the history of the System, and fewer still have progressed beyond Grade-G. Count yourself among the proud Scanda…Scand…correction, Aetheric Scandare? (This term is unfamiliar to the system administrator, and as such,any details specific to the race – Aetheric Scandare will be withheld.) So, what does this mean for you? Below you will find a list of changes to your power progression and levelling ability. The information provided is the sum of information available to the System Administrator as Scandare fall outside the governence of the System Administrator. (Be aware that experience point allocation is still the sole responsibility of the System Administrator and will continue to be awarded based on the discretion of the System Administrator.)

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1. Stat point allocation will no longer be dispensed by the system administrator and must be manually allocated by the initiate.

2. Percentage amplifiers on weapons and armor can be utilized by the initiate.

3. The rule of duplicity no longer applies to the initiate and any curses previously applied will be removed.

4. Scandare must report to the ruling Galactic Monarch for review and cataloguing within 30 Earth days. (If the Scandare does not report to the Galactic Monarch in this time frame, the System Administrator can and will use a one-time suppression on said Scandare until they are declared legally catalogued.)

I shook my head in disgust as I read the words. I was dealing with an intense mix of emotions here. Firstly, I was ecstatic to see that I had finally moved into another power grade. Randi couldn't fuck with me anymore, well, mostly, and I now had control over my stat allocations, which seemed incredible. On the other hand, if I didn't report this advance to the Galactic Monarch, there was a chance that Randi would suppress my powers altogether. No, not a chance, that asshole would take any excuse to mess with me, so I had to be sure I didn't give him one.

"What is it? What are you shaking your head about?" Tiff asked, kneeling in front of me.

"I am now Grade-G, level 0. I have full control over stat allocation, and I seem to have a new ability as well."

"Seems like a whole lot of good shit! Why are you pouting? Didn't get a planet-killing ability?" C.J. said facetiously.

"No, asshole. Apparently, my race has changed. I am now listed as an Aetheric Scandare instead of Human. I have no idea what that even means. On top of that if I don't report to the Galactic Monarch for review and cataloguing withing 30 days then Randi will have the power and an excuse to suppress my powers."

"Galactic Monarch? Like the woman you told me about meeting in the arena suite?" Tiff asked nervously.

"I would assume it means her or her dad, but I don't even know where to find them. I am also fairly certain we're not exactly on speaking terms. I just wanted to spend some time farming and working on team tactics. Is that too much to ask?" I whined.

"Was there anything in the message directing you on where to go?" Tiff asked.

"No, not that I saw. I see an asterisk beside my new ability, so I am assuming I can expand that to see a description, but no directions on where to find this Galactic Monarch."

Kaj walked up, his majestic wings stretching before tucking neatly behind his back. "Captain, we must focus first on that which we can control. You have gained much power and a new ability. Let us learn what this new ability can do to improve you fighting and defensive techniques. Once that is done, we can begin to devise a plan to find this…Galactic Monarch.

"Yeah, control what you can control, I guess." I sighed and focused on my interface, highlighting the new ability as it expanded.

Aetheric infusion – Galaxy class ability – The cold, bitter void of space, thought to be nothing more than mind-boggling stretches of nothing. What if that wasn't true, though? A once-popular Earth concept suggested that space was, in fact, a Luminiferous Aether and was filled with a medium for light waves and other unexplained energies to travel. Of course, later this theory was disproven, or was it? The void of space is filled with Aether, an energy that even the greatest minds of the Galactic Council have failed to analyze and explain fully. By some twist of fate, you have unlocked the ability not only to use, but fully control this enigmatic power of the cosmos. Using the power of Aether, you can now combine or infuse existing skills or yourself with the Aether to push the limits of destruction and violence that you dispense on your foes. Be mindful of the power at your fingertips, for with great power…comes the ability to really, really fuck things up.

I read the description out loud as the others listened. It seemed that Ses was responsible for this new power, based on what just happened in my fight against the Aether Witch.

"Ses, do you know anything about this new ability?" I questioned.

A dark shadow formed beside me, materializing into a rough approximation of a humanoid figure.

"Whoah!" C.J. jumped back in surprise, reaching for his sidearm at the sight of the unexpected figure.

"Apologies, Craig Jennings. I did not intend to frighten you. I was not sure I could create a physical approximation of myself and should have announced my intention to do so. I am Ses. It is an honor to finally meet you all in person."

"Ses?!" I jumped to my feet. "You can do that now? How?"

"With your promotion into G-grade, I now have access to a much larger pool of energy. Many of the restrictions I previously faced have been removed since your advancement in power. I fear that I can still not perform many tasks that might assist you in the physical plane, but this should make our interactions less…awkward."

"This is great!" I looked around excitedly at the rest of the crew, who were honestly getting so used to weird shit happening around me that this just seemed like another Tuesday.

C.J. walked up and slapped me on the shoulder. "I gotta be honest, Andy. It is a relief to know that you weren't just talking to yourself all this time."

"You didn't believe that Ses was real?"

"Hey man, everyone has different coping mechanisms," C.J. took a long drag of his vape. "I got this thing, Kaj has his innate ability to teach and mentor, Elvis had extreme violence, Tiff has her superiority complex."

Tiff shot a cold look at C.J. "Careful, I am still 40 levels stronger than you."

C.J. grinned and shot a thumb in Tiff's direction. "See what I mean?"

"So, for months now, you thought, what? That I have been talking to an imaginary friend to cope with everything that has been happening?"

"I think you meant to say, Oh damn, what an amazing best friend! You accepted that I created an imaginary alien friend of unknown origins and accepted me for who I am!" C.J. shrugged.

"May I address the question of what this new power is? Or is it in bad taste to interrupt…whatever is happening?" Ses asked.

"Everyone, pop a squat and let Ses educate us on the origins of this new ability. We need to take a quick break anyhow." I sat down in the grass and deactivated my armor as everyone else also grabbed a seat and started breaking out water and rations.

"I fear that I am, in fact, the origin of this new ability," Ses announced. "My people have had the ability to harness Aether for generations. Unfortunately, though, you are not the only being in this galaxy that can harness its power."

"Okay, explain." I said.

"The entire system was created from technology stolen during the study and experimentation of my body and the vessel I arrived in. The True Havokium were able to combine their discoveries with technologies they themselves created to form the system mechanics you are now familiar with. Randi, as you call him, is the system administrator and handles all of the necessary dispensation of classes and abilities, and was in fact the original architect of the system as we now know it. He is the system of checks and balances created to prevent abuse, though I fear that the Council found ways to exploit initiates for their own benefit long ago."

"But that doesn't explain where the power comes from, or what exactly it is." I said.

"Patience, Andrew. I will explain." Ses replied. "My people have a natural attunement to Aetheric energies. We are capable of weilding the power naturally without the constraints of a system, or System administrator. While initiates in this galaxy are given a filtered version of Aetheric energies, with exact parameters for use in the form of specific classes, my people suffer no such hindrance. Instead we are naturally attuned to the Aetheric energies and can use them at will. We can create and fine tune our powers over time based on the necesities of our packs. Aether is present in the void at all times, although concentration varies wildly. The True Havokium unlocked the ability to gather and harness Aetheric energy when they captured and experimented on my and my vessel. I do not understand the exact technique or technologies used, but I do know that they didn't expect the emergence of these Scandare, and could have in no way planned for the emergence of a being that was able to combine the system they created with a natural born Aether attuned being such as myself." Ses turned his flicking black figure in my direction. "Andrew, I fear that you will be capable of great and terrible things."

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