I sat down in the dirt, back pressed against the corral fence, still trying to process what had just happened. Kaj, my friend and member of the Bloddhound's crew, had been hiding his true level. He had apparently been a royal trainer of sorts for the emperor and his family, and oh yeah, he kicked the shit out of me and then sliced open my chest to add insult to injury. The chest injury was a nonissue; one health stim later, and the shallow cut was almost healed. Kaj had not intended to harm me physically; instead, he meant to harm my pride by completely and utterly kicking my ass in front of my friends and family without so much as breaking a sweat.

I didn't think I was the strongest person in the universe. I knew that there were many out there who were stronger than me. I did think that I was possibly the strongest in my crew, though, or at least the most capable of coming out on top in a fight due to my skills, weapons, and abilities. Kaj had completely turned that notion upside down, and now I could only seek to improve. So, what better time to start than now?

"So, all our cards are on the table, then?" I shouted to him on the other side of the corral.

"I see no further need to conceal my true identity, Captain. If you are to progress in your training, then I believe it is imperative that you are able to fight at your maximum potential. Please take some time to talk with Tiff and discuss any new abilities you may have. Once you feel comfortable, we can continue with your training. I do think it is pertinent to inform you that you will not beat me today; in fact, you will not land a single blow today. You stand at the base of a mountain of knowledge. Today, you take the first step in a long journey, Captain. The first step, however, is often the most challenging," he stood and bowed.

I stood up as Tiff came walking up to me, hands on her hips. "Well, that was unexpected. I did tell you that Malakim are not to be trusted," she said as she stood in front of me and shrugged.

"Can we just take a minute and check out my skills?" I replied, not taking my eyes off of Kaj.

"Okay, pull up your skills menu then," Tiff replied.

I mentally opened my interface and selected skills, which had an asterisk beside it.

Why haven't I noticed that before? I thought to myself.

*Skills:

Pulsar Blast – Planetary skill

Big Bang – Planetary skill

Do over – Galactic skill

*Shield of Solaris

"All of my skills have new descriptives on them," I said, tilting my head as I read.

"What do you mean, descriptives?" Tiff asked.

"Well, there used to be just the name of the skill. Now, the skills all say Planetary skill, except for Do-over, which says Galactic skill," I replied.

"Those are the rarities of the skills. I thought it was odd that your skills had no rarity when you first started to receive them. I can only assume that the rarity descriptives unlocked when you jumped in levels. Rarity describes the power level and complexity of a skill. There are generally four levels of rarity:

Planetary – Skills suited for combat within the context of a planetary power dynamic.

Galactic – Skills suited for combat within the context of a Galactic power dynamic. Galactic skill may utilize priniciples of time and space in some rare cases.

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Universal – Skills suited for combat within the context of a Universal power dynamic. Some Universal skills may incorporate complex abilities pertaining to the use of time or Aetheric properties.

Dimensional – Skills suited for combat with the context of an interdimensional power scale. More information available upon unlocking a dimensional skill or power level.

"It makes sense that Do-Over is a Galactic-level skill since it is powerful and utilizes some pretty intense interdimensional abilities, as well as being a time skill. The rest are basic melee or defensive abilities, so the Planetary rank makes sense. That doesn't mean they won't become more powerful as you progress, though. We need to dig back into each of the descriptions of the abilities and see their upgradability. For now, do you see any new skills?"

"I see something called Shield of Solaris. It has an asterisk beside it; I'll take a look at the description.

Shield of Solaris – Planetary skill

Generate a shield of solar flare energy. This shield can act as both an offensive and defensive skill, though its defensive ability will far outweigh its offensive capabilities. The skill is highly upgradeable and will charge as damage is taken. Warning: at its current level, this skill will damage the user for the duration of its use, and all healing skills and potions will have a 10-minute cool-down upon deactivation of the skill.

"This boon and curse thing is really starting to suck," I said, grimacing.

Tiff just sighed and raised an eyebrow. "You have the most advanced battle armor ever created and have been given a ship that seems just to get more and more powerful without any explanation as to how it has that ability. Maybe don't complain so much?" She smiled at me, obviously feeling a little chirpy today.

"Okay, okay," I said, putting my hands up defensively. I'm going to activate the skill for just a second to see what happens. I guess this is the benefit of training." I held my hands up in front of me and activated the skill. It wasn't necessarily flames; although it was hot, it was more like plasma began covering my hands. As I watched, a layer of the burning plasma covered my hands and traveled up my arms to the elbow. At first, it was just warm, but as I stood there inspecting the plasma, turning my hands from front to back and clenching my fist, it began to get hotter.

"Holy shit, this is getting really hot!" I said, turning to look at Tiff, who was holding her arm up to shield her face from the heat.

"Hold it as long as you can," she shouted. "We need to establish a baseline for how long you can hold it and how much damage it does to you."

I held on as long as I could as the plasma continued to get hotter. After about 90 seconds, I deactivated it with relief. "My hands are still burning!" I said as I dropped to one knee and dismissed my armor. As I looked, my hands and forearms, which were still black and reminiscent of the undercoating of my armor, were blistering from the heat. There was no lasting damage, especially with the ability to use health stims, but it would be 10 minutes before I could use one.

My hands were not flesh. No, they were created from the gift, and they were synthetic, but still somehow not. They were a part of me. My control over the Havok Bringer armor allowed me to create new hands after I lost mine in the fight against Anthragor, but somehow, I felt everything. They still reacted to heat and showed injury. I couldn't explain it; it just was another gift of, well, the gift.

"Why is this even a thing? Why do I have to get fucked every time I get a new ability?!" I held my hands out as I knelt in the dirt, shouting. As I sat there wallowing, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Get up, boy," my dad said in a low voice, "I know you didn't ask for this. I know you are doing the best with what you have been given, but I'll be damned if I am gonna let one of my boys give up."

I looked up, and my face flushed. My dad had always taught us to be accountable, to be good, strong men and women, and to always be grateful for the gifts we received.

"Dad, you don't understand…" I said, looking back at my burning hands.

"Boy, it isn't permanent. Pain is how we grow, and if you stand any chance of living up to the faith that has been put in you, then you have a lot of growing left to do. Your mom, your brothers and sisters, and I are all depending on you. Hell, everyone on the planet is depending on you, but none of us can help you on this path you're on," he helped me up off the ground and turned me to face him. "Now it's time for you to fight and grow. We will be here, we will love you, and we will do our part. Most of all, we won't let you lay down and quit; no son of mine is gonna give up on himself."

I didn't respond; I just nodded in confirmation. After about ten minutes had passed, I used a health stim. As the insect-like arms emerged from my spine and stabbed into the side of my neck, I could hear my nephews and nieces shrieking in the background. I took a fighting stance as I approached the center of the Corral again. Kaj approached and bowed as well.

It was good to be home, good to have my dad and family here to support me and help keep me in line. Most of all it was good to get a second shot at Kaj. It was time to see if I could prove him wrong and land some hits.

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