Steel Bones
Alexandre entered the Skill Tree tab and was quickly overwhelmed with unexpected information. He'd been expecting a small handful of options, but there were hundreds of both active and passive skills available! For example:
╔═══════Aurora Nexus V0.23.1 : Skill Tree═══════╕
╟─╼[Skill][Active Skill]
╟─╼[Name] Heavy punch
╟─╼[Description] Concentrates your Hunter Energy in your muscles to deliver a devastating punch.
╟─╼[+][Skill Points] 0/3
╚══════════════════════════════════╛
This seemed like a fairly typical Boxer skill, and not really anything special. In fact, Alexandre didn't really understand how this was different from a normal punch. He decided to ignore it for the moment and kept looking over the list. It wasn't long before another skill caught his attention.
╔═══════Aurora Nexus V0.23.1: Skill Tree═══════╕
╟─╼[Skill][Passive Skill]
╟─╼[Name] Steel Bones
╟─╼[Description] Your bones become as tough as reinforced steel.
╟─╼[+][Skill Points] 0/5
╚══════════════════════════════════╛
Alexandre wondered how this would interact with his habit of tearing his own bones from his body. For example, his bones were already much stronger than those of ordinary humans. If he made them even tougher, would this make it harder for him to break his own bones? Would it make them regenerate more slowly?
Moreover, it was likely that there were better attacks available than simply dismembering himself to get a weapon. If Alexandre had to fight multiple zombies at once, using his bones as weapons would become far less useful indeed.
At that moment, Alexandre still hadn't fully recovered from the incident in the laboratory. His hand was knitting itself back into shape, and his femur was filling itself back in like a honeycomb.
The more Alexandre thought about it, the more he realized that it might be necessary to adjust his fighting style in order to capitalize on his innate advantages. The [Immortal] skill, after all, was like a multiplying bonus to all other forms of toughness that he could attain. Because he could regenerate much more quickly than even other Hunters, being able to reduce the severity of wounds would effectively make him immune to minor damage and able to survive attacks that might even instantly kill other Hunters!
With this in mind, Alexandre clicked on the [+]. Suddenly, a page opened in the middle of his vision.
╔════════Aurora Tactical System V0.23.1══════════╕
╟─╼[Log]: You have just acquired an active skill!
║ ╰╼[Learned skill]: "Steel Bone (1/5)"
║ ╰╼[Skill Point]: -1
╚══════════════════════════════════════╛
Alexandre quickly opened his character sheet.
╔═══════Aurora Nexus: Character═══════╕
╟─╼INFORMATION
║ ╰╼[Name]: Alexandre HautVille
║ ╰╼[True Name]: Alexandre Goldberg*
║ ╰╼[Biology] Hunter
║ ╰╼[Class] Boxer
╠══════════════╡
╟─╼LEVEL
║ ╰╼[Level]: 2
║ ╰╼[Exp]: 51/100
╠══════════════╡
╟─╼STATS [Tier]: E+
║╰╼[Strength]: 1.72
║╰╼[Intelligence]: 1.15
║ ╰╼[Agility]: 1.15
║ ╰╼[Endurance]: 1.4
║ ╰╼[Resistance]: 1.1
║╰╼[Dexterity]: 1.35
║╰╼[Perception]: 1
╠══════════════╡
╟─╼SKILLS
║╰╼[Steel Bones (1/5) (Lv.1)]
║ ╰╼[...]
╟─╼PASSIVE SKILLS
║ ╰╼[Immortal]
║ ╰╼[Hunter Regeneration (Lv.1)]
╠══════════════╡
╟─╼EQUIPMENT
║ ╰╼[...]
╠══════════════╡
╟─╼GUILD
╟─╼[Guild]
║ ╰╼[Guild Funds]
╠══════════════╡
╟─╼SUMMARY
║ "You've got a long way to go, but your body is ready!"
╚═══════════════╛
Alexandre smiled in triumph. Everything was beginning to come together. He closed his eyes as a wave of exhaustion came over him. It was time to go to bed and allow his body to keep healing…
…and evolving.