Upgrade I

The wind flowed into the room through the open balcony, cooling me as it brushed over my face and hair while I gazed at the three syringes filled with blood on the desk in front of me.

It was seven o'clock in the evening. The sky outside was dark, with a shiny crescent moon hanging in it, casting its light below. As usual, the cold air danced around the place.

Claire had left a long time ago after our talk. We discussed how she would confront her father, how she would pretend to know nothing, just as the Haitian had told her, and how she would help me.

When I briefly explained how her blood could assist me, to my surprise, she agreed without hesitation, even joking that we'd become blood-related before we knew it. She even offered to provide me with some now while she was here.

A little excited, I went to the basement and rummaged through some of my mother's stuff until I found three syringes.

Claire gave me her blood, and then she stayed behind for a while, watching some movies I had on my computer with me to take her mind off everything. She left after she was satisfied.

That was about thirty minutes ago. Now that I was alone, it was time to implement the final stage of my plan: boosting my power, or in other words, subjecting myself to a lifetime of self-torture.

I shifted my gaze away from the desk and left the room. Leaning on the handrails, my eyes landed on my dad, who was quietly reading a book in the living room.

"Dad," I called to him, and he took his electric blue eyes off the book to look at me. "I'm going to sleep. Have dinner without me."

"...Alright, son," he nodded in understanding and said, "I'll leave your portion in the fridge in case you wake up hungry in the middle of the night."

"Thanks, Dad," I smiled at him gratefully, and he smiled back, shifting his eyes back to the book. "I'll see you tomorrow." I turned to walk back.

"You too, Bud. Sleep well," I heard my dad say as I walked back into my room, locking the door behind me.

"It's time," I whispered as I walked to the desk, grabbing the three syringes on it and the small bin standing beside the desk.

Sitting down at the foot of my bed in a lotus position, my back leaning on the bed, I gently placed the syringes and the bin beside me on the carpeted floor and took a deep breath, readying my mind.

"Here goes nothing," I uttered under my breath, and in the next moment, I activated my power. The usual shift occurred, and my body began floating off the ground as the room and everything my eyes could see turned colorless.

Right now, I could keep my power active for a little more than thirty minutes before the migraines started. This meant I had to wait patiently for thirty minutes before the torture would begin. I didn't want any distractions, so I had to wait idly with my mind at ease.

...More than enough time to prepare my mind for the pain. For now, I'd just concentrate on happy thoughts...

Quietly, I waited patiently for the time to pass, and after a while, it did as I started feeling a headache building up inside my mind. Normally, this would be my cue to let go of my power, but I didn't and continued waiting.

In two minutes, a migraine sprouted up in my mind out of nowhere, accompanied by a nauseating sensation. The former assaulted my mind vigorously, while the latter made me feel like my head was spinning, making me sick.

"No!" I yelled and gritted my teeth in pain as the migraine intensified, the control of my power slipping, causing my body to flicker as if canceling, but I held on with every ounce of my willpower.

The nausea thickened largely, the migraine driving on intensity, making me scream out in pain as it felt like someone was pounding my head constantly with a metal hammer.

Unable to take it anymore, after a couple of minutes passed, I let go of my resistance and immediately slumped down as my power deactivated.

Immediately, my head felt like it was spinning rapidly in a tornado, and I stretched my hand to grab the bin as the nausea reached its peak, causing me to bow my head down to vomit my guts out inside it.

"Hah...hah...hah." Breathing heavily as I raised my head from the can, placing it down, I leaned on the bed weakly as the nausea disappeared.

I groaned in pain at the migraine that hadn't disappeared but was slowly subsiding. I took a glance at the blood-filled syringes, tempted to use one to get rid of the pain.

But I shook my head slightly to dispel that thought and removed my gaze from them, my chest heaving up and down. No, it wasn't time. I backed out at the last moment, so it wasn't ideal to use them for this. I had to reach the breaking point first. And I'd do it right now.

Inhaling sharply, my eyes narrowed as I steeled my aching mind and clenched my teeth in pain. I forced myself to concentrate and activated my power again.

The moment it activated, the migraine, which had been subsiding at a turtle's pace, instantly intensified. It didn't even reach two minutes before I began screaming in agony.

My mind that already felt hammered felt like it was being cut open by a blunt knife, causing a searing pain to envelop my brain.

My screams reached a crescendo by the third minute, and I started scratching at my head, as if trying to claw out the pain, as my body started flickering, my power trying to shut down, but I forced myself to hold on despite the torture.

Blood started seeping out of my nostrils, and at this point, I didn't know what was going on anymore, be it the time or whatever, everything felt and behaved fuzzy to me.

I felt something break or tear, and before I realized it, my pain and everything disappeared, and everything became black as I blacked out.

After an unknown period of time, my eyelids reluctantly opened slightly. Everything I could see was hazy and blurry in the dimly lit room. I had lost almost every sensation in my body, which lay on the ground, terribly weak.

Beneath me was a steady stream of blood flowing from my nostrils to drench the carpet, and a few inches away from my fingers was one of the syringes. My eyes were tired, and I wanted to sleep, but my mission popped up into my weak mind, and I resisted the feeling. Slowly, I recognized what the syringe was and what it could do.

The next instance, I weakly extended my left fingers to touch it and weakly wrapped them around it. Using the remaining strength in my body, I slowly pushed the needle into a vein in my other arm. My thumb pressed on the head of the syringe, and the blood was inserted into my veins. As my eyes closed, too tired to resist, I suddenly gasped deeply and loudly, quickly filling my lungs with the cold air.

It was almost instantaneous. My weak body was flooded with strength and energy, allowing me to raise my body up. My damaged mind suddenly cleared and became heightened

as it healed, allowing all my senses to come alive. Coughing, I supported my back on the bed again and wiped the residual blood from below my nose, my mouth, and chin away with my sleeves.

Then, glancing at the dark sky through the opened balcony and the dark houses in the neighborhood, I smiled wryly and chuckled darkly. My mind felt clearer and more alive than ever, no longer feeling the cuts hiding beneath my bandages. I was fully healed...

That was a close call, very close. I was sure that if I had been even a second late, I would've suffered brain damage or worse, either died or gone into a coma. But it was all worth it.

At the moment, even without transitioning, I could feel a very faint connection to the fourth physical dimension. It was as if I could feel it close to me, something I could touch if I stretched forth my hand.

It was something I had never felt before, not even once. It was weird in a good way and gave me a small feeling of power.

Plus, my mind was working better than ever. Everything seemed clear and vivid to me as I sat on the floor, observing the surroundings, I was acutely aware of everything surrounding me.

Even some of the complex things I had learned and forgotten years ago in college were gradually coming back to me, as clear as the day I had learned them.

This was just the first attempt, and I was already reaping benefits. What other changes would happen if I continued? Would I be able to see time, manipulate matter, or even evolve my brain to gain an eidetic memory?

I shuddered in excitement at the thought. I didn't know, and I doubted anyone else did either. Shifting my eyes to the remaining two syringes, I grinned.

"I guess I'm going to find out."