Serum

Dirk didn’t know when, but he suddenly woke up. 

His mana vision was a little hazy before sharpening as his mind processed everything. 

The sights of his surroundings appeared. He was in the master bedroom of the Sky King. Pandora was also there, leaning against a wall while flipping through her book, not yet sensing his wakefulness. 

However, he wasn’t concerned about her. 

Deep in his chest, a feeling that spurred from his soul, he could sense an entity beginning to come alive. 

‘Spyte…’

Dirk realized what it was. 

Ever since his advancement, Spyte had been deep in hibernation. It had been quite some time since then. 

Now she was waking, and Dirk could feel her presence quickly grow. 

[Initiating boot procedures…]

[Step 1: Wake up.]

[Processing…]

[Complete.]

[Step 2: Insult my Master.]

‘Huh?’

Dirk frowned as she continued.

[Generating insult…]

‘Insult me and you won’t be allowed to explore for a week.’

[...Archiving insult.]

‘Heh, good to have you back Spyte.’

Dirk smiled. He had actually been a bit worried that something had happened to her, but since he could still feel the existence of the Stigmata, he could only wait. 

He was relieved she was okay.

‘How are you feeling?’

[Oh? Is this concern and affection? Not going to tell me to simply give a briefing on all the changes?]

‘It seems you aren’t remembering how thin my patience for bullshit runs.’

[...I’m doing very well, thank you for asking.]

‘Hm.’

Dirk smirked inwardly before taking a deeper look at Spyte.

‘So, what’s got your confidence soaring?’

[Well, I’ve become better in every way thanks to your Mana Body. In the past, it was difficult to properly act as a tactical processor due to the lack of external sensors, and the nanites, while versatile, weren’t as capable as they could’ve been. But all that’s changed. I could quite literally operate your body like a puppet now. It’s no exaggeration to say that I have control over every cell of your body.]

She explained simply, causing Dirk to realize that the changes to his body, while an amazing boost to his personal abilities, were amplified several times over with Spyte’s capabilities. 

[Standby. I’m going to run a deep scan.]

She suddenly said that as he thought. Then, Dirk felt his body shudder. 

It felt like he was going to freeze. He could feel Spyte try to take control over his body, and should he let it happen, he would lose his autonomy. 

Of course, preventing it from happening proved to be under his complete jurisdiction. Spyte couldn’t do anything without his express permission, and she was a part of him anyway, so there was little need for that. Despite her antics, she never did anything he didn’t want her to, especially when it mattered. 

So while the feeling was momentarily surprising, Dirk didn’t hesitate to let go. Like that, he felt his entire body go limp and numb. He couldn’t even sense his own limbs. 

His hearing disappeared, his sense of taste, touch, and smell going with it. Only the lack of eyesight was normal for him. 

So for a while, he was thrown into a world of true sensory deprivation. While he wasn’t scared, he had to admit that the concept of being trapped in your own body, your mind floating in a world of darkness even while conscious, was a terrifying thing.

He had heard stories of people going mad from such things, and for a moment, he felt like he understood. 

But then, he suddenly regained all his faculties. His fingers twitched as if nothing had even happened. 

[Deep scan complete.]

Spyte spoke and compiled the results.

[The skill Active Biokinesis is more than just greater healing and control over your body. Your Cybernetics were integrated underneath it and enhanced. Now, your nanites are no longer a separate entity flowing through your body. They are now directly tied into your genetic code, allowing unprecedented control over the tiniest details of your constitution. Every cell in your body could be said to be paired with a corresponding nanite. This allows every part of your body to be tuned and manipulated. And I have the unique ability to tap into this biokinetic system directly, using my processing power to control everything acutely.]

‘To what end?’

[I can cause cell proliferation, stop it, monitor the energy levels of every fiber of your body, tune your muscles like an engine, and enhance every organ function within that gut of yours. It would be better to ask what I couldn’t do, and the answer to that is only the most extreme stuff. For example, I can’t simply make your muscles grow several times bigger overnight even though I can boost the effects of muscle growth. I also can’t go beyond the confines of your genetic code, so growing a second heart is out of the question.]

‘How unfortunate.’

Dirk chuckled to himself. While a second heart did seem fun to have, he wasn’t interested in playing with his genes. He might mutate into a monster if that happened. 

[Other than that, my abilities as a tactical processor are now completely unlocked. They’re even better than when you were a supersoldier. I can directly assist in your physical combat, and with your mana body I can mimic the functions of your missing auxiliary hardware. This was technically possible before, but greatly dampened in scope. Magic simply introduced too many obstacles and made some things obsolete, but now, I can operate at full capacity. Also, there have been some major changes to your Stigmata.]

Suddenly, the tattoo on Dirk’s back, that of a black cat, fluctuated before disappearing. Spyte then appeared on his chest in her feline form. 

She looked the same as she did before. Black fur, golden eyes, and faint golden stripes on her back. Other than that, the only change Dirk noticed was how she looked a bit more ghostly, like some sort of spirit. 

At the same time as she appeared, Pandora noticed and turned. Dirk also rose from the bed, sitting up and crossing his legs. 

“Dirk?”

“Good morning.”

Dirk spoke while stretching. As he loosened up, Spyte sat down in front of him. 

Pandora looked at them and tilted her head. 

“I had noticed that the cat hadn’t been around much. Something happen?”

“She went into hibernation. Right now she’s telling me about her changes.”

“Oh.”

Pandora nodded and went silent. Then, Spyte’s eyes glowed. 

[Turns out, Stigmas are not set in stone. First, the pistol form.]

Spyte suddenly transformed with those words, appearing as a black pistol in Dirk’s hand. 

He raised it, not noticing any changes. 

[This pistol is capable of firing low power spells with complexity capped at a single spell circle. Generally useful as a magic tool, but not conducive to being a weapon that can fight above your power level. It’s good enough for crowd control, but where you’ll be going, you’ll need something that packs a bit more of a punch. So, allow me to introduce your newest armament.]

Saying that, Dirk saw the pistol transform. 

It hovered before him, elongating into a much larger weapon and taking almost a minute to solidify into its new form.

Then, it finished, landing in both of Dirk’s hands. At first glance, he actually recognized it.

It was a huge rifle almost as long as he was tall. On one end was a large platform where he was supposed to hold it. This rifle platform was decorated with hundreds of intricate circuits that flowed across its body. At the core of the circuits was a large cavity about the size of three fists, and from the cavity the circuits extended out to reach the barrels on the other side of the gun. 

In fact, an entire half of the gun was composed of these barrels. There were 6 barrels that floated in front of the platform in a hexagonal formation. This hexagon was about 10 inches wide, and the barrels were about 3 feet long, creating a massive firing chamber. 

The barrels weren’t physically connected to the platform, but they still acted as a singular entity. Dirk could also sense the complex magic holding the entire thing together. The knowledge that went into its construction was far beyond him, but he also knew that Spyte, a piece of his soul, was what comprised this weapon. So unless he learned about the soul, he wouldn’t be able to understand its composition. 

Dirk admired the black weapon covered in gold circuits. At the same time, Spyte explained. 

[This is the M6888 Experimental Arc-Cannon. Of course, this isn’t an actual railgun that fires projectiles. It’s simply modeled after it. But when forming magic, this model is actually a guide for how the magic is fired. Keep that in mind.]

“Mm. I know quite a bit about this gun.”

Dirk smiled while stroking the floating barrels. 

He had used this weapon no small amount of times as a Supersoldier. It was basically a mobile tank with the punch it packed, but it was only ever placed in the hands of supersoldiers. 

Back then, he had sunk entire warships with it. He had even downed enemy aircraft, both jets and high altitude drones. With his equipment and the ability to control his body with impossibly precise cybernetics, he pulled off amazing feats of accuracy and destruction. 

Of course, that weapon didn’t come out often. It was no different from a tactical missile that couldn’t be defended against or stopped by countermeasures. The occasions that warranted its use were slim, and of those occasions, not all of them were acted upon. This left him very few chances to utilize that beautiful piece of engineering. 

But all of them were wonderful experiences that came flooding back when he held it in his hands. 

Of course, it wasn’t exactly the same. This thing would fire magic, not projectiles. But the thought of being able to cast extreme magic with this thing capable of rivaling that cannon on Earth made him giddy. 

Of course, he’d have to develop the magic first, but that would also be fun. 

Pandora watched as Dirk stroked the weapon with a wide smile, his fingers scanning every corner of its construction. Her eyes couldn’t help but widen at his weirdly affectionate actions. 

“Wow, you handle that thing more than me. You’re about to make me jealous of a piece of metal.”

“Hm.”

Dirk hummed and looked over at her. He stared for a few seconds before willing the railgun away. 

Spyte spawned as Dirk rose from the bed, crawling off it and walking over to Pandora who leaned against the wall. 

He stopped in front of her, taking both her hands. She looked at his curiously as he did so.

“What’s up with you? Oh, I also know about my grandfather. No need to hide it.”

“I figured you would find out. He’s helping me.”

“Which is the only reason I haven’t done anything about it.”

“How thoughtful. It seems you’re always helping me out like this. I have very little to worry about with you here.”

“I’m glad you recognize that. Hey, you seem a bit different. You don’t usually give me compliments like this.”

“I suddenly felt like doing so.”

Dirk smiled. Then, he looked down at their hands. 

Suddenly, he took both of her hands into one of his own. Then he raised them, bringing her arms over her head and placing them against the wall. 

Pandora’s eyes widened in surprise. 

“Oh my..!”

She squealed a bit as Dirk suddenly went in and kissed her. 

It wasn’t light either. After a moment, she could feel their tongues wind around each other. 

Everything was so sudden and intense that she lost herself in the feeling, her eyes fluttering closed and her body feeling a bit weak. 

That feeling was further amplified as she felt him press his body against hers. Not only that, but a shiver went down her spine when his knee rose between her legs, as if to prop her weak body up and tease her all at the same time. 

The final straw was when his free arm slid around her back, his hand rising up to her skull where he lightly pulled on some of her hair. Although he used that to angle her head better, it simultaneously acted to melt her completely. 

Despite his every action being gentle, she felt completely subdued. Her overactive mind almost couldn’t keep up with it. It felt like every sensation was completely new, and she didn’t understand why she had turned to putty so easily. 

Well, she faintly understood why. It was the understanding that, although he was gentle, his obscene strength could utterly dominate her at any given moment. And the anticipation that he would spurred something deep within her that she didn’t even know was there. 

Then, after several minutes and when she was about to go entirely limp, Dirk pulled away. 

He slowly separated from her as she slid to the floor. Her breathing was labored and her eyes were misty and a bit vacant. 

Dirk smiled as he adjusted himself. 

“My goodness. You make this so difficult for me. I can’t believe I have to hold back for the foreseeable future.”

“...”

Pandora was silent as he walked out of the room. Inwardly though, she wasn’t sure if she was too baffled to even think straight, or if she was utterly enraged by his audacity to say something like that. 

Hold himself back? Was she not the one being blue balled?! 

If she didn’t mysteriously feel like she couldn’t walk, she would’ve cast some grand magic to teach him a lesson. She almost didn’t believe that he was actually Dirk. 

But after thinking for a moment, she suddenly grinned wide. 

Pressing their bodies against each other had left nothing to the imagination. And Dirk, who she had known to be as stoic as a monk, had suddenly become a bit more expressive. 

She surely wasn’t imagining the steel beam in his pants. To think that he had actually gotten horny! And for her!

Or was it the new gun?

No, it was definitely her!

Pandora felt like she had achieved a victory. So with those thoughts, she took some time to enjoy all the dopamine in her brain.