Crucible Aeternum: Ascending through Skill Trees

"Is this... Symbiotic Devour?"

Galeon was still stunned and confused by what happened. He had been sent on a rollercoaster of emotions in just a few seconds after all. In one moment, he was despairing at the loss of his combat suit. And in the next, he was wearing an upgraded version of it that seemingly did more than just a simple upgrade. It was quite literally an overhaul.

He could feel the seemingly bottomless sea of pure Prismana coming from his Prisma Core as it circulated all throughout his body. Indeed, it circulated throughout his body rather than the suit. Why? Simply because the suit was technically a part of his body now. More precisely, the suit itself was the Prisma Core creating a layer of Prisma around his body in the form of a suit.

It was probably more powerful than he realised, but that was not the end of it. Since most technology in Corrin now runs on Prismana which is basically the most abundant and sustainable energy source there is, it was only natural that his suit ran on it as well.

That was mainly the reason why, even though he could have learned other ways to use his Prismana even without an innate mutation ability, he never tried. His Prismana was what was keeping the suit active at all times. Any more expenditure outside that and it would have deactivated the suit.

All this to say that even the holographic displays that he had been using as well as the connection to the internet, all of them worked through Prismana. And that meant that when his Prisma Core devoured his suit and recreated it, it also included those same features. Galeon sighed in relief as he realised that his custom designs and money were not wasted at all.

Checking the time, he found that he still had half a day until the time limit for his commission. That was more than enough time for him to get back to Therion, but there was one more thing he needed to check before leaving. He focused as he tried to sense what was inside him. However, instead of actually finding what he was looking for, something else appeared.

[Name: Galeon]

[Titles: Master of the Vernal Bloom]

[Aspects: Cor Ena – Vernal Bloom | Prisma Core]

[Skills: Photokinesis (T2-S1) | Adaptive Body (T2-S1) | Symbiotic Devour (T2-S1)]

Galeon stared at it for a while, easily recognising what it was. It was his status screen or his personal profile. He half-expected something like this would appear when he was given skill trees, but it was still a surprise.

Contrary to what character profiles were like in games, there was not a whole lot of information on his own. Or perhaps it was more accurate to say that this was more concise and realistic. After all, this was real life and not a game. He was not just a series of numbers and calculations. In any case, he admired how clean it was, having only four categories to check with one being his name.

The 'Titles' category was rather confusing to him. Out of all the details present in his status, this was the only one that was out of place in that it did not seem at all relevant. His name was self-explanatory. His skills as well. Aspects was a new thing he had not seen even in games, but he could guess that they were the special and unique traits that he had.

However, Titles did not matter at all. Who would even know this title of his? It was not like there was a worldwide announcement of a conferment of this title to him. It meant nothing at all. Or did it? Galeon was not sure anymore.

This status seemed very practical and concise. Perhaps the titles were more than just decoration. He did not sense anything from it either unlike some games that add some stat bonuses and effects to equipped titles.

Galeon shook his head to rid himself of distracting thoughts. He should already be keenly aware that this was real. He should not be thinking and comparing this to games. They may be the only references that he had, but those games were made by humans. This strange system came from the alien object that crashed into Corrin from space. This was very different.

He focused again on the details of his status. Master of the Vernal Bloom was easy to understand. It was definitely because this aspect of his called 'Cor Ena – Vernal Bloom' had been assimilated into him and bound to his existence. He may not know what it was, but considering he was designated as its master cleared the final doubts he had about this strange object. He was still wary of it being potentially harmful to himself after all.

The question now was the strange name it had. It was not just called Vernal Bloom, but rather Cor Ena – Vernal Bloom. Cor Ena is likely the answer he was looking for with regards to the nature of this Vernal Bloom. If he could find out what Cor Ena means, then he would likely understand what it is he just got stuck with. He honestly had no idea how to go about investigating this though.

Right now, all he knew was that it was likely a mineral of a similar kind as Prisma. But at the same time, it did not behave like a mineral. In fact, it seemed to have a life of its own as shown by how it seemed to have been budding and stretching its roots when he first found it. Then again, it is called Vernal Bloom so that curious trait might not be one that is present for all of these Cor Ena, if there are more of them out there.

Galeon sighed in exasperation as he realised that he was getting nowhere at all with this. He had too little information to be dwelling too much on this at the moment. He stood up and left the room, heading to the parking space to fetch his hoverbike. He had already decided on what to do when meeting with Valerian Emporium.

He would definitely not reveal anything about the Vernal Bloom. All he would say was that there were many beasts in the area that were engaged in a brutal battle against each other when he arrived. He killed them and looked around to find the object, but there was nothing there other than a crater that he suspected might have been where the object crashed. And he took his time scouring other nearby areas in search for the object which was why he returned late.

It was not the most convincing story, but there was nothing anyone of them could do. Valerian Emporium would just have to take his word for it. After all, even if they try searching his body for it, they would not find it. He himself could not detect the Vernal Bloom's presence in him.

What he was afraid of, however, was them finding the Prisma Core on his chest. They might want to dissect him if only for that alone. But if it came down to it, he would fight. Even if the Guild ends up hunting him down as a criminal, he would not allow himself to be treated like a lab rat again.

He finally reached his hoverbike after a few minutes and was about to hop on when he suddenly froze. He remembered what happened to his suit. The damned Prisma Core devoured it before he could even react. What if it does the same to his hoverbike? Will the Prisma Core even be able to recreate it?

He was not certain of that at all. For all he knew, recreating his suit was fluke. If it devoured his hoverbike and was unable to recreate it, then he would have to run all the way back to Therion. He definitely did not want to do that. It was three hours away already if he was driving. It would take half a day or more if he had to run. By the time he got back, his commission would likely have ended. It would be too late to regret then.

But by the same token, what the hell was he going to do if he was not going to touch his hoverbike? He would not be able to ride it back either way. Galeon was barely resisting the urge to rip off the damned Prisma Core from his chest, but he steeled himself.

He would never get anywhere if he did not act now. So he reached out with his hand and... nothing happened.

His hoverbike was completely safe and intact, waiting for him to ride it across the vast lands again. He sighed in relief, chuckling at that unnecessarily tense moment. He hopped onto it as he ran his fingers across its slick black surface. And as he held both handles, it was like he was literally lashed by whip to the head.

The Prisma Core roared to life within him as a surge of liquid crystals gushed out of his suit, spreading and coating the entire hoverbike. In just a few seconds, the entire thing was completely devoured. That hoverbike was twice his size and yet, it was gone just like that.

Galeon just stood there in a daze for a good few minutes, processing what just happened. He felt as though he was being mocked, like a desperate nomad searching for water only to find that the oasis he stumbled upon was just another sand dune. But unlike what one might expect, he was not angry. Instead, his mind clicked as it latched onto a subtle detail.

He looked at the sword hanging on his waist and touched it, just wanting to feel its texture. It did not disappear into a flood of liquid crystal. And then, he grasped it while thinking of all the ways he could kill his enemies with it, and immediately, the Prisma Core reacted. It devoured the sword, sheathe and all. And Galeon finally understood this damned skill.

It was his intent to use something that triggers Symbiotic Devour. If he only wanted to touch something without intending to use it, it would not be devoured. But the moment he thought of using the item, the Prisma Core would move. This did leave him apprehensive though.

What about when he would eat or drink? Would the Prisma Core devour his utensils and glass too? If he brushed his teeth, with it devour the brush? He honestly hoped it had a limit to its ridiculousness or else daily life would be a hassle.

In any case, now that he knew the secret to its activation, he knew how to recreate things now as well. A simple thought was all it took for a gush of liquid crystal to lift Galeon's body up as he soon settled on a similar looking hoverbike. Without thinking too much about it, he left the outpost and headed back to Therion.