Breakfast was great. Don't get me wrong, onboard the Bloodhound, we could get anything created in the galley, but it still wasn't Mom's home cooking. Cathead biscuits with sausage gravy and Mom's homemade Mayhaw jelly- nothing made artificially could ever compete with that. We all ate our share before we set out to really see what upgrades the Havok Bringer armor had been hiding away.

Yes, it had been a couple of months since I had killed Anthragor and leveled up to P-40. Yes, I got the notifications after the level-ups, and yes, I had figured out how to silence non-urgent notifications. Who likes a bunch of random notifications, especially during battle?

"So, would you like to explain why you didn't tell me about these upgrades sooner?" Tiff asked, obviously annoyed as we walked toward an old cattle coral that was currently not being used.

"I kind of silenced them…" I cringed as I said it.

"Andrew, how many upgrades do you have? Why haven't you checked on them sooner?" Tiff asked, again, aggravation in her voice.

"I don't actually have a good excuse, Tiff. After the Quasar, we went right into reconnaissance mode, and we weren't really doing any fighting. During training sessions with Elvis and Kaj, I just focused on melee combat since that is where my most glaring weak spots are. Honestly? It just kind of slipped my mind," I said, shrugging.

"Slipped your mind? Slipped your mind?! How can something as important as this just… slip your mind?!" Tiff stuck her hand out to stop me.

"Uh Oh," C.J. held his hands up and looked at Kaj, "Seems like were needed over near the corral,"

Kaj looked around to see nobody, "C.J., has someone asked for our assistance? I cannot remember anyone asking for our assistance."

"Believe me, Kaj, we should go see if they need our help," C.J. shrugged at me with a knowing look. I gave him the stink eye while trying to signal him to stay; I knew what was coming. He just held up his hands and backed away slowly, like someone who had inadvertently run into a grizzly bear feeding in the woods.

"Coward," I mouthed as he chuckled and turned to walk away with Kaj, who still seemed confused.

Now it was time to put my hands up defensively," Tiff, I know what you are about to say, and I get it. I need to be more focused and understand what is at risk here."

She just stood there with her hands on her hips, looking to the side into the forest," Andrew, we have been through a lot together in such a short time. I know that you have come a long way. You are not the same person you were when we first met in the tutorial room. I am glad for that. I am also glad to see that you haven't completely lost what makes you… well, you."

I understood what she meant. I started to feel like I was losing myself after the first fight with Anthragor when I lost my arms. Then we went straight into the hell that was the Alcaran moon. The brutality and killing changed me, not completely, but I could tell that I wasn't exactly the same. Then, after we went through the quasar, there was downtime. C.J., Elvis, and I had trained, but we had also played games and just took some time to forget about the chaos that was enveloping the universe. It was nice, it helped me disassociate, and I welcomed it. Unfortunately, it had also been the main reason I had not fully invested in improving my armor and ensuring I understood my new levels and upgrades.

"I'm sorry, Tiff, no more slacking. I still need you to help me understand everything about this armor and my levels. We can start today, okay?" I smiled and nudged her shoulder.

Tiff just shook her head in response, a small smile forming as she spoke," No more slacking Andrew, I mean it."

"I have some things to tell you, by the way. I had a strange dream last night. You aren't gonna believe this." I said as I recounted the details of my vision from the night before.

"It sounds like you're going on a mission, then. We can start planning today; this does not sound like a simple task."

"It could be, who's to say it won't?" I asked with a half smile.

"I have heard of seeds of power before. Seeds are usually planted before every dungeon to allow the interdimensional development of a particular dungeon. These seeds usually involve opening doorways to other dimensions. Once the seed is planted, the Coeus would take over from there to ensure the cultivation of the dungeon dimension was successful."

"Okay, well, they didn't really give me any details; they just told me that there was one in our galaxy, and I needed to find and activate it. Apparently, they want to level the playing field for everyone."

"That doesn't make any sense; that isn't how it works. A seed creates an alternate dimension, and only once inside the alternate dimension can people gain powers and access the leveling system, which, by the way, was still controlled by the Coeus. How will finding a seed of power help now?" she said to herself.

"Well, that is something we can figure out later. Right now, we have some training to do," I jumped over the rails into the coral.

"First, pull up your stats so we can see the difference. I still need to spend some time digging into your individual stats to ensure you don't start to see a log jam that will keep you from leveling as efficiently as possible," Tiff said, standing in front of me outside the coral.

"Sure thing," I said as I mentally selected and expanded my stat menu.

Name – Andrew Timothy Dawes

Race – Human

Level – P-40

Class – Havok Bringer

Stats –

Strength – P-40 – 0%

Intelligence – P-40 – 0%

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Dexterity – P-40 – 0%

Defense – P-40 – 0%

Current skills:

Health stim activation

Stamina Stim recovery

Current abilities :

Pulsar Blast – Planetary class ability. Upgrade status – 24%

Big Bang – Planetary class ability. Upgrade progress – 05%

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

I read off my updated stats to Tiff as she made notes on her own interface. "Something has been bothering me," I said, running my hands through my hair. "When I was level 1, I was as strong and fast as a normal human male. Now, I am level P-40, and all my stats are level P-40. Shouldn't I be as strong as, I don't know, like 40 men?"

"Tiff just looked at me dumbfoundedly, "Have we not discussed this?"

"Umm….No. I never asked. I guess I just assumed."

"It doesn't work like that; nobody really understands the math, but it isn't a direct magnification of base abilities. You have to understand that as far as anyone knows, there is no limit to leveling as long as you can find foes or challenges that allow you to continue to progress. You are a bit of a special case with your mysterious level designators, and I am not actually sure what your leveling will look like in the future. I have read some unverified studies, and combined with the Galaxy class designator of your newest skill, I believe you will see your biggest power gains when you shift into your next power state. I am assuming that you will revert to level G-1 when that happens. My best guess is that you will shift into the next power grade somewhere between level 70 and 100. So, for now, while you are much stronger than you were initially, the stat points don't necessarily translate directly to the amount of increase."

"Okay, so how does it work then?" I asked.

"Your level is more of an indicator than your stat points are. For example, you are now level P-40, so you should have approximately the strength of four pre-drop humans. Your strength stat is at P-40, with zero percent progression to the next level. You will continue to grow in strength within the current level until your strength hits P-41. It is my understanding that you can grow individual stats beyond your master level but cannot increase your master level until all stats are individually at the next master level threshold. This will be an issue in the future, and you will need to focus on training each individual stat to ensure efficient leveling." Tiff put a hand on my shoulder. "Andrew, leveling has been exremely easy to this point. You cannot get into the habit of thinking it will continue to be this easy. As you grow, leveling will get more complicated. Some individual stats will grow easily, like strength and dexterity, while others will be harder to level, causing your overall progress to come to a halt until you train that individual stat up. Start training with a purpose now to ensure that doesn't happen.

"I don't understand, I am stronger and should be able to punch or kick someone as hard as another level 40, right?" I said, grasping at straws to try and understand.

"Right and wrong," Tiff said. "While you will both have similar base strength, there is more to it than that. Let me give you an example. Let's say that you and C.J. could both lift 100 pounds; your base strength is the same, right?"

"Umm, yeah?" I said questioningly.

"Using the same example, let's put a brick in front of each of you and ask you to break it. You break it, but C.J. doesn't; why?"

"He didn't hit it right?"

"Not as simple as that," Tiff said, "You knew how to use your strength; you could channel the strength to the parts of your body that needed it most to help you accomplish the task. C.J. had the same base strength as you, but he didn't know how to control it," she explained. As she continued, I started to understand. The stat points within the levels allowed me to control different areas of my being better. For dexterity, it meant that I would have insane body control, would be more able to handle two-handed weapons, and would be able to pick up weapon skills and abilities more easily. My base level on the other hand affected things like overall health pool. It was all pretty convoluded but in summary it meant that as I levelled up I would have a higher health pool, and health stims would work more quickly, allowing me to heal faster; this was important, especially in battle.

According to Tiff, stamina, intelligence, and strength, all needed to be trained consistently as they were not only important but the most controllable aspects of my being. According to her, it wasn't normal to jump 25 levels in an instant. Killing an enemy that was 60 levels higher than me was also not normal, and without the Do-Over ability I gained at level 15, it shouldn't have been even remotely possible. That, coupled with the fact that Anthragor was caught off guard and unprepared for an ability that literally broke the laws of physics, allowed me to do something that shouldn't have been possible.

"Okay, I think I get it now. Levels equal expanded resources and power, and stat points equal control of that power," I said, nodding.

"Right, it isn't a perfect science, but it is the closest thing to a good explanation that we have," Tiff responded. "You also need to be aware that most classes dont grow the way yours does. Different classes have different benefits and drawbacks…most of the time. Your Havok Bringer class seems to be the most balanced class I have ever heard of. On top of that your ability to level quickly is astonishing. Andrew, it took me nearly a decade to reach level 50 in my class. That was a decade of intense non-stop training and focus. You, on the other hand have reached level 40 in a matter of months. That is insane progress. I am sure it has something to do with your level designator…I just can't put my finger on exactly what is causing the accelerated leveling."

"Is it something we should be worried about? I mean, I'm not exactly mad about it, to be honest. The stronger I get, the more I can protect the people I love." I said, only realizing how it must have sounded as it came out. Tiff looked at me awkwardly, seeming to almost blush.

Trying to salvage the situation, I pointed at my family gathering around the coral. "My family, the people of Earth and of course my friends." I made sure to put extra emphasis on the word friends.

"That is a good thing, Andrew," Tiff said with a smile. "I just feel like something is off. I will continue researching to see if I can find any similar cases. I wish I had more info on the Scandare. Unfortunately, there is little in the Council database."

"The Scandare?" I asked.

"That is the term for those who are able to transcend the traditional parameters of leveling set by the system. There are scattered cases throughout the reapings of the past, but they tend to do their own thing after. The Council has a few in their employ, but they are only utilized in very rare cases," Tiff emphasized this next part, "You need to avoid them at all costs, Andrew. These beings are planet killers. They make Anthragor look like a bumbling idiot. I don't think we are in danger of meeting one any time soon, but if the Council learns that you are Scandare it could be bad."

"Worse than sending an army to take over my planet and kill or kidnap a large portion of its people?" I asked flippantly.

"At least your planet is still here. From everything I have read, a high-level Scandare could change that." Tiff replied. "It isn't worth worrying about right now. The Council only deploys Scandare for the protection of their home system, but I have read rumors that they also try to ensure that no more Scandare mature and become a threat. You will be a threat at some point, but not today. Just focus on training," She nodded toward the center other side of the corral where Kaj waited. "Kaj looks ready to go, hope some of that training stuck."

"I feel…good," I said as I held my hands out in front of me and clenched my fists.

"Great, now try to focus on a clean fight. Your stats are much higher, so this should be easy," Tiff said, before smiling and looking at Kaj. "Kaj, don't take it easy on him, it's time take off the training wheels. Captain Dawes requires a challenge."

Kaj shot up into the air from his seat atop the coral fence. He spun up into a graceful arc before cresting slowly to a halt in the air, wings spread for effect. He smiled and flew down, landing in front of me with his scythe drawn as dust and dirt shot up into the air. "Through pain, we are molded, Captain. It is time that I show you the true power of a Malakim," Kaj swept his scythe across the ground in front of him and entered a battle stance.

I smiled and equipped my armor before settling into a fighting stance myself, "Don't hold back, buddy. I sure won't!"

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