60 Upgrade II

I could hear my increased heart rate as sweat trickled down my spine and snaked down my neck, my chest rising and falling rapidly as I breathed heavily.

My head was pounding like crazy, as if a high-speed drill was boring into it, the nausea spreading in my gut, making my eyes a little hazy and my usually sharp mind a little clouded.

Looking down at my left palm, which held the last syringe, I furrowed my eyebrows as I steeled my heart for what was to come.

I was down to my last syringe of Claire's blood. The second one had been used roughly two hours ago to heal me after the second procedure, providing me with another set of benefits that complemented the ones I received after the first.

It's difficult to explain, but I could feel my intelligence increasing with each passing minute, and the overall structure of my mind felt stronger and more profound than ever, like it was forged from tempered steel.

If this had been me three hours ago, the pain I was experiencing would've been enough to bring tears to my eyes and render me unconscious. But now, I had grown accustomed to it. Heck, I had even embraced it.

Additionally, that particular connection I had felt earlier had deepened. I could sense something resembling a tether, no, a bridge extending and stretching far within my consciousness.

It was almost ethereal in nature, something otherworldly, and an inner voice told me that all that remained was one final push to make everything fall into place, one final shot to make everything complete.

...And thankfully, I had that one shot in my hand.

Slowing down my breathing, I closed my eyes and concentrated on my power. The next second, it activated, and instantly, waves of pain crashed down on my mind, making me clench my teeth so hard that they began to ache.

I held on as the intensity of the migraines skyrocketed to enormous proportions, nearly causing me to falter as I felt my body's presence stabilizing and destabilizing intermittently.

More and more minutes passed, perhaps half an hour, though I lost count due to the mental anguish. I focused every ounce of my willpower to maintain my power's activation.

It felt as though a hydraulic press was continuously compressing my brain while the insides felt like they were being dissected piece by piece by a scorching scalpel, magnifying my pain as though it were being doubled.

Suddenly, as the pain reached its boiling point and my mind started to go blank, my eyes shot open. The power canceled on its own, and I fell to the carpeted floor on my knees, the last syringe rolling from my palm as my hands reached for the sides of my head.

Despair...that was all I could feel as my mouth opened to cry out in pain, but nothing came out. It felt as if my brain were expanding, bloating even, as though it wanted to explode. All I could hear was a clear ringing sound echoing in my ear, drowning out everything else.

Here's the improved version of that part of the chapter:

Then my entire face began to throb with pain as blood started oozing out of my orifices. It trickled down from my ears, nostrils, eyes, and even my mouth, gradually intensifying the agony coursing through my entire body.

My mind remained solely aware of the excruciating pain, while everything else faded into obscurity. My eyes grew unsteady as they lowered to the ground, bringing the syringe into my view.

It took a while before I recognized what it was, staring at it idly. When I eventually did, I weakly retrieved it from the floor with my left hand, and, anxiously and without thinking, I jammed it into my thigh, forcing its contents down.

My thigh trembled, and my body convulsed in agony. It felt as if my heart had momentarily ceased to beat as the pain reached its zenith, but then, abruptly, all the suffering vanished in an instant.

The next moment felt as though all the energy in my mind had been rerouted to enhance my consciousness. My eyes widened to their fullest extent, pupils dilating, and my eyebrows shooting upward as a fog lifted in my mind.

Everything became...clear, crystal clear. It was as if my mind had opened up, avidly absorbing and capturing everything around me.

The speed at which my mind processed data underwent a drastic change. My neurons fired at speeds that seemed impossible, allowing my thoughts to be analyzed and quantified with such efficiency that it felt as though they were being scrutinized one by one, examined down to their very core.

Certain memories and knowledge that I had long forgotten or buried deep within me started resurfacing with vivid clarity, as if I were reliving them all over again.

All I had to do was think of something, and it would instantly pop up in my mind, much like retrieving a file stored in a computer. It was as though I could remember anything at will.

Even complex subjects, such as quantum mechanics and logical arithmetic, which I had encountered briefly during my college years, were being analyzed and dissected so effectively and thoroughly that they began to make profound sense to me, as if I were receiving a fundamental education from the ground up.

It was surreal and incredibly challenging to explain; the sharpness of my mental faculties operated with a precision reminiscent of a computer.

...Nothing had ever felt so perfect or appeared so flawless. It was as if my mind had evolved or transcended to a higher plane of existence. I felt...better, superior to anything in this world.

But just as I was about to revel in the euphoric high of my newfound mental acuity, an unexpected change occurred. It affected my vision.

"...Oh God..." I gasped in shock as I reclined at the foot of the bed, taken aback by what my eyes were revealing.

I could perceive everything, I mean absolutely everything. From the rooftop of the house to the front and back yards, every single room, the basement, the garage, and even the tiniest creatures lurking in the remote corners of the house.

...And I could perceive everything, even my sleeping dad and myself, from every conceivable angle, as if I had an infinite number of invisible eyes covering every inch of the house, every square inch...

Fascinated by what I was witnessing, my omniscient-like vision shifted its focus primarily to my body, as the desire to explore deeper flashed through my mind. As if in response to my thoughts, my vision changed once more.

This time, it was as if my eyes had zoomed into my body, focusing solely on my body, like a microscope. It allowed me to see the topmost layer of my skin, the epidermis.

This provided me with a close-up view of the numerous mites and other microscopic organisms crawling on the surface of my epidermis, nestled among my sweat glands that resembled skyscrapers. The sight filled me with dreadful unease, triggering goosebumps.

It was repulsive to watch, observing thousands of those creatures roaming around my body, to the point where I felt a strong urge to vomit.

Previously, I couldn't see them, so I didn't care about this, but now, it made me feel as if I wanted to peel off every piece of my skin.

It was profoundly disturbing, and I realized that if I continued to see them, I wouldn't be able to look at another human being in the same way. So, I vigorously shook my head, willing that sight to disappear, and to my surprise, it changed.

However, this time, my 'eyes' zoomed in even further, allowing me to see my skeletal structure, my internal organs, the crimson blood coursing through my veins and arteries.

Overwhelming excitement surged within me, forming a wide smile on my face as I observed the inner workings of my body with extreme interest, admiring its complexity in its entirety.

After a few minutes, I snapped out of my daze and decided to experiment. I concentrated on my new power, contemplating diving even deeper, and the zoom effect occurred once again.

"...This is absolutely amazing!" I exclaimed, a mixture of shock, disbelief, and joy in my voice, as new extraordinary and unbelievable details gradually appeared.

I could now see my very own cells! It began with me observing the structure of my red and white blood cells, my capillaries, and the lumen of my arterioles, moving deeper to the nucleus or cell body of my cells and bacteria.

It was indescribable, even bizarre. The sight of billions upon billions of various types of cells and bacteria, concepts I had been taught during my biology major in university, all within my body. It was like watching an incredibly detailed documentary.

As I continued to observe, I winced in pain as a powerful migraine sprang up in my head, clouding my mind.

"Time's up, huh? Tsk, I should have expected it." I clicked my teeth and muttered in annoyance, the migraine intensifying while my enhanced vision remained active.

Unsurprisingly, the seemingly boundless amount of information my mind was processing had overwhelmed it. My mind couldn't handle it any longer. I had to cancel this ability.

But before doing so, I needed to test the limits of this newfound ability. Perhaps I could zoom in even deeper and see my DNA, nucleotides, or even my atoms.

Who knew? So, I had to give it a try. If I could do it, then the consequences would undoubtedly be worth it...

"Let's go further, shall we?"