the first true step.

the talk with mister knee ended without any trouble. On the way home, Linda asked, " So, what do you plan to do now?" " I will try to complete my stepping skill," I answered her. "What do you mean by complete?" she asked curiously while driving. "I have the feeling that it is incomplete. there is more to it than what I have right now." I answered her. "Then why not use your strongest skill instead of your basic one?"

"That is exactly why because it is my basic skill it will improve everything I do so there is no better one to complete first. even if I don't know what that will do to it." after that she was silent for a bit then asked, "How come no one ever did what you want to do?"

I thought about it and then said, " I don't think no one has ever done this but no one reported it, most people are selfish." Linda then said, " ahh because we already found out that you are trying something, you reported it to us. If we hadn't would you have reported it?"

Thinking before I said anything we were silent for a bit then I said, " It would have depended on what I would have found. I still don't know what it is exactly what I'm trying. I could even kill myself in the process." I realized then that I was talking to my mom's sister. " Please don't tell mom about that, ok"

Linda smiled at that and asked, " That depends."

I then answered some of her questions, I told her that I had managed to use the auto-correction to train my skill once, that I had managed to enter the plane once with my one strength just today and how. we talked till we reached my home and Linda dropped me off.

Once I entered through the front door dad was there waiting. right away he asked me, " how did it go?" it was then that he saw the new module on my PAS and instantly said, " Congrats, It is great the got you a diver progression contract. Honey, we never need to worry about our son's finances again, he just scored the jackpot." Confused I looked at him.

He smiled at me and wanted to say something but mom came into the entrance and a hugged me right away. She then asked dad, " that's great what jackpot did he get? The covered expense you suspected he could get?" Dad shook his head and said, " The diver progression contract." he smiled at her and she then hugged me even harder. when she finally released me she said, " this needs to be celebrated, we are ordering something today." she then hurriedly went into the kitchen and came back with a flyer dad looked at her and said, " you just wanted a reason to order there didn't you?" mom blushed a little as dad had seen through her and me and dad started to laugh. the evening was peaceful and nice. I like my parents were much. when I entered my room I took out the alignment crystal and took it into my hand. I started to move the energy in my body for my stepping skill wanting to enter the plane but then something unexpected happens the crystal activated on its own. I was surprised at that. I felt how the energy I moved pulled the crystal into my body integrating into the path the skill took. then I felt how knew information appeared inside my head. I had two choices, but instead of needing the time to understand them I knew right away what they were and what the benefit would be. the first was ENVY it would reduce the bonus from me but instead deny everyone around me what I would have gotten. the second was CHARITY it would allow me to pass my a part of my skill effect to others. I didn't expect the modifiers to be like that but I didn't think much about it. The choice was clear I choose CHARITY. I felt how the path of the skill changed, the skill became stronger, more natural. I felt like I was on the right path then I felt another skill changing it was the fusen skill it now allowed me to share a part of my aura with others. this was a great improvement for me. then suddenly I coughed up blood, it was black and smelled extremely bad. I wanted to stop right away but I couldn't my stepping skill was out of my control. it didn't want to stop. So I gave up trying to stop it and tried to direct it somewhere where there was space so I used more and more or the neural network to use the skill till it calmed down. It was then that I entered the crystal plane and saw that the skill crystal had shrunken in size but felt an overwhelming power coming from it. But it still felt wrong. Something wasn't right. I touched the crystal and it felt as if the energy inside it was locked there not able to do what it should do. feeling that it was my energy I tried to move it through my neural network and it worked the skill moved and started to move on its own in constant circulation. the crystal started to shine and I felt that there was a choice for me to make. the choice wasn't as clear a before. it was more abstract but it was like it asked me to define the skill. I didn't need to think about it at all what this skill was to me.

It was my basis.

It was my support.

It was from my friend.

It was then that something in the skill showed me a vision. Of an empty sky then a single light went up and took its place at the sky. it looked lonely but it was also glad to be my friend.

Then the vision was over and I opened my eyes. It was then that I was hit by an incredible smell. Looking around my bed and myself were covered in black slime. I fought against the urge to vomit and hurriedly moved to the bathroom and took a shower with my clothes on. It took me an hour till I removed the stench from myself. the wet clothes I threw right into the watching machine. I went back to my room.and discovered that mom was there with a breathing mask removing my bedsheets. she turned around and looked at me then she screamed, "Mortimer your eyes."