7 The first of many.

Several days passed as I simply stayed within my room, practicing Final Soldier Style, and cultivating my energy through the night. By the second day, I was comfortable circulating my energy from one dantian to the next, and converting the energies. On the third, I started to experiment with using more than just Mortal Energy.

The effects were incredible. I had gotten used to my new Battle Step skill, and learned that the distance was directly correlated to the amount of energy I focused in my foot. Then, I learned that it starts to work differently, depending on which energy I used. For instance, Mortal Energy was explosively strong, and always put a bit more power into the kick off than was probably needed. Earthly Energy, though, shortened the distance I was able to travel by half. In exchange, my speed almost doubled. Part of me felt that it was the better choice. Then... Ugh, I'm still confused from testing out Heavenly Energy. I don't know why, but Heavenly Energy didn't actually move me. It threw an afterimage at the wall.

Two days passed after that, while I refined my practice with the Battle Charge, and felt my cultivation rising pretty evenly as well. And I started to notice some changes within my body.

I was growing taller. If I had to guess, I'd say I'm almost six foot six. It was crazy, since I was only six feet tall when I first got here. Not even the strangest part, though. My legs, arms, and chest had gotten a bit thicker, and I could feel the muscles in my legs were tougher than they've ever been. I felt like I could kick apart stone, and not even flinch. My endurance had gotten crazy too... Over these last five days, I've slept maybe twenty hours total, and I haven't felt even slightly exhausted. I could run, flat out, for three hours. I have never had this kind of endurance!

God damn... Martial techniques are insane.

I hadn't really felt much of a change in my senses, though. Guess that comes later.

...

I was seated within my room, circulating my energy as I held Tat in my arms. A pretty useful part if having a pet, they could gift some of their own energy to support your own cultivation. I was doing just that, feeling Tat's energy entering my dantians as I strengthened by cells.

Using different energies was... odd. The feeling was chaotic, like trying to mix fire, water, and lightning all together, without letting them destroy each other. It wasn't painful, per say... Just incredibly exhausting to experience. I did learn a few things, though.

The energies really were different. When they reinforced cells, they each changed them in different ways. Mortal Energy, for example, toughened the cells and made them incredibly hardy and strong. Earthly Energy, though, increased the capacity of the cells, letting them absorb and generate more energy. And as for Heavenly Energy, it was like it purified and strengthened the cells, casting out weakness.

I had come up with a plan, over the last few days. I directed the Mortal Energy into my muscles, flesh, and organs. My Earthly Energy was infused into my blood, and my dantians. Lastly, I focused my Heavenly Energy into my bones, my brain, and everything I didn't reinforce with the other two. That one took the longest, simply because I produced so little in the way of Heavenly Energy.

After another day of that practice and infusion... Another breakthrough occurred. This time, the energies were even worse than before, throwing my bed, cracking the floor, and blowing out my door.

[Congratulations, you have reached Body Refinement Stage 2. You may now select your first Warframe.]

[Warframe: Volt. Affinity: Lightning.]

[Warframe: Mirage. Affinity: Illusion.]

[Warframe: Khora. Affinity: Beasts.]

[Warframe: Nidus. Affinity: Mutation.]

"Woah... Okay... I gotta choose this well. What do I need right now?" Many thoughts went through my mind, as I recalled everything I could about that game. Volt could be quite good, and lightning is always respected and feared in these sorts of settings. But then there's Khora, who can help me out with making Tat stronger as well. What the hell do I choose... Fuck it.

"Eris. You pick. Whatever suits my current style best."

[Warframe: Nidus, choice confirmed.]

I raised an eyebrow, before an overwhelming pain ripped through my body. Dim light, composed of pure Void Energy, began to wreathe my body, forming a divine corona behind my back. As the light overtook me, the pain was gone.

...

A heartbeat of a moment passed, and the light cracked and broke like an egg. A creature rose from the center of the room. It resembled Adam, in only the most vague sense. It had his face, uncovered and blank of all emotion. His hair was hanging over his face, hiding it as well. But the changes began from there.

Covering his jaw, bone-white chitin was now present. It resembles two pieces fit together, as the chin met the rest of the jaw at a crease. Up near the back of his jaw, just below his ears, rested two magenta orbs, like gemstones pulsing with life.

The chitin continued down his neck, and to his chest, flexing as he breathed. Another magenta jewel was centered in the core of his chest, and small spines were apparent running down the back of his neck. Uniquely, a long growth of bone ran in a line from his right shoulder to his waist. If you studied it, you could make out joints, and serrations. It reached all the way to his back, ending at his right shoulder blade, with another joint and muscular growth. Across his back, there were several bone plates, laid flush against the rest of the chitin, though the outlines remained. Two magenta orbs pulsed with life, near the location of his kidneys.

Finally, the white chitin met with grey chitin covering the forearms and legs past the knees. On each, a seam ran down the back, up until the wrist and ankle, where the grey chitin formed into dreadful looking claws. And of course, there were those magenta growths placed on each calf, and on the back of each hand.

The aura of the room was still, for a long time. Adam did not move, did not show any emotion. Some hidden spines, plates, and scales flexed occasionally, and the magenta orbs started so hum gently.

And then, Adam woke up.

...

Confusion was the first thing I felt. Did I get knocked out? Why am I standing now? I looked down, and saw that my clothes were in tatters on the floor. Though, that wasn't what shocked me.

"What. The. Fuck."

[This is your Nidus form. The ever-evolving warrior. Would you like to know it's special features?]

I stared at my body, flexing and admiring the impressive chitin armor I now wore. Oddly, it felt the same as my own skin. I didn't feel uncomfortable in the slightest, in fact I felt more powerful than I ever have before. Mentally, I assented to Eris' question.

[Nidus is the embodiment of the concept of mutation, survival, and infection. You have three innate traits within this form. Virulence, Parasitic Link, and Mutation Awakening.]

[Virulence imbues each and every one of your strikes, as well as your energies, with an infectious, destructive nature. When you strike an enemy, you will gradually weaken them, disrupting their energies, and disturbing their minds.]

[Parasitic Link can be triggered for any attack using energy. It will burrow your energy into your opponent, building a siphon that will allow you to recover your strength by stealing your opponent's own.]

[Finally, Mutation Awakening is a powerful ability, and a sort of side effect. After an extended time in this form, your body will erupt into its true form, and your power will explosively rise. While a normal Warframe will double your effective strength, Nidus will nearly triple your combat power when fully awakened. As a side effect, activating any martial techniques will manifest minor changes to your form, allowing for increased potency.]

My head hurt, with all the information Eris was giving me. So... This was a ridiculous form to have. Looks like it's just going to just get harder and harder for others to kill me. I'm not complaining, but damn.

A few moments passed in silence, with me observing myself, and even checking my face in the water basin. Honestly... this form is kinda badass. I can definitely get used to using this stuff.

Before I could power down, though... A person was standing in my doorway. Chen Bao. The nice kid from next door. Of course, I don't underestimate him. If he's living in this area, he's one of the strongest outer disciples around. Looks were definitely deceiving though. He was short, scrawny, and bald. Looked like he just got out of a hospital or something, his skin was just so damn pale. He was friendly enough though. Shared food with me, and treated me like a family member. Right now though... he just looked shocked. Like he was looking at a living god.

"Brother, you've got a talent?!"