Skills, Hero Name, Hero Team!
Dan continued to gather Chi for the next 15 days, he even managed to achieve Energetic Manifestation and Conductive Precision from the Automatic Chi Absorption process. This meant that he could now create Chi constructs by Projecting his Chi outside his body. Of course, he'd managed to perfect the ability used by Iron Fist, except that he could cover his entire body. It would be more appropriate to call this technique Iron Body instead.
Of course, his stats had all increased exponentially during that time, all of them reaching or even passing the 100 mark by now, but after that, they'd started to slow down a lot after passing 100 however. Dan's Iron Body technique could also greatly increase his physical stats. While active, all current physical stats would receive a temporary +25 boost. That would only increase as he strengthened the technique over time.
Dan pulled up his stats.
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Stats:
Vigour: 103
Sapience: 101
Deftness: 102
Constitution: 100
Luck: 41
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Once Dan's stats reached 100, he received a few passive skills related to them.
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Vigour: Enduring Vitality
Effect: Increases your maximum Vitality by 20%.
Description: Your physical resilience grants you enduring vitality, significantly bolstering your health and fortitude, allowing you to withstand greater challenges and endure prolonged conflicts.
Sapience: Sage Insight
Effect: Increases learning speed & knowledge gathering speed by 17.5%.
Description: Your profound intellect and wisdom grant you sage insight, enabling you to absorb knowledge and wisdom from your experiences at an accelerated pace, thus deepening your understanding of the world and enhancing your skills.
Constitution: Indomitable Fortitude
Effect: Increases damage resistance by 20%.
Description: Your unyielding physical fortitude grants you indomitable fortitude, diminishing the impact of harm upon your body and strengthening your ability to endure the trials of life, ensuring your resilience in the face of adversity.
Deftness: Agile Precision
Effect: Increases precision in movements or senses by 15% to 25% (player's choice).
Description: Your unmatched agility and dexterity grant you agile precision, refining your movements or senses with unparalleled finesse. Whether it be in actions or perceptions, your enhanced precision allows you to navigate the world with grace and efficiency, adapting to any challenge with ease.
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After passing 75 and 100 in all stats, aside from luck, he completed 2 more achievements. 1 for entering the top 2500 in Physical and mental Prowess, and the same for entering the top 1000. Dan received 2 more Superior Boosters, and 1 Advanced Booster. He'd activated the 2 Superior boosters immediately in order to extend the duration of the current booster. This also activated the Booster stacking effect. So now his boost was at 48x rather than just 25x.
Still, he'd been completing his daily quests, and hadn't received any boosters in a long time. However, something he'd been thinking about during one of his breaks had been coming up with a proper hero name for himself. After much deliberation, he'd decided on the name Darwin, it was the name that matched his ability the best, and was a homage to Charles Darwin. His information window had been updated after that with the "Hero Name: Darwin" after that.
Dan hadn't yet tried out his Chi Projection capabilities yet, and honestly, he was excited to test his new abilities. Yauheni had forbidden him from using it indoors after Dan launched a Chi ball which created a mini crater in the floor. The crater was around 80cm wide, and 28cm deep. Luckily, nobody had been close-by at the time so no injuries were caused as a result of Dan's reckless test. He had long since preferred using the metric system since the imperial system confused him.
He'd also found that metric measurements were way more precise and easy to use. Aside from that, his Density Control ability had been worth it so far. Dan could grow taller or shorter, make his muscles look smaller, but that was about it for now. He could grow or shrink up to 35cm, and could make his muscles look as if they weren't even there. This meant that his appetite was no longer a problem.
A stat for Chi and a stat for Mana had been created. Chi was currently at 240, and Mana was at 2, and he'd discovered that he couldn't do too much with mana currently. Dan had phoned Angela and asked if she had thought of a name for their hero team. Angela thought that was a great idea, and decided to work on that with the other heroes. Dan had also received a call from Tony, letting him know that the first prototype for his armour suit had been created.
Dan had asked Tony if he would be able to assist with the battle against The Hand and the other 3 organisations that had shown-up so far. Tony had agreed to come along, he even seemed eager to do it, mainly because he wanted to try out his new toy in an actual combat situation. All of this activity had also attracted the attention of Nick Fury, who had decided to pay Dan a visit. It seemed that he was very aware of Yauheni's little taskforce.
He was currently in a meeting with Yauheni and the other 5 executives who Dan hadn't met yet. Dan was currently being watched closely by 2 other men who had come with Nick, they had introduced themselves as Phil Coulson and Clint Barton. Clint was now sporting several bruises after he had been sent to "test" Dan's capabilities by Nick. The fight had been almost completely one-sided. Clint's pride had also taken a blow after Dan had dodged most of his arrows.
It was even worse when Dan had managed to shrug off the effects of the explosive arrows with his Iron Body form. Just as Dan was about to try and make amends, another guest showed up. He made his way to the front door, and after opening it quietly, he spotted an elderly man waiting there. At least, he looked like an elderly man, thanks to Dan's heightened senses; he quickly realised that this was none other than Tony Stark.
Of course, in order to keep up appearances, Dan helped the "elderly" man inside, and after closing the door, he dropped all pretence. "Hey Mr. Stark, what brings you here? I'm somehow not surprised that you managed to find me. Was there some kind of tracking device in my car, or was it a location tracker in my phone?"
Tony looked a little deflated, and after taking off his disguise, he quickly answered. "Neither actually, Yauheni and I were just talking the other day, and he asked me to come in person. Hey kid, it's been a while, you've changed a lot from what I can see. You were just the run of the mill butter boy when I last saw you, now you look like the modern day Captain America. It's quite the improvement, is there any chance I could sway you towards working for me?"
Dan wasn't expecting Tony to ask a question like that, then again, he knew about Dan's ability, which was probably why he asked in the first place. Dan did however feel hesitant about accepting Tony's offer however, he really loved his job at The Front Line after all. As if reading his mind, Tony was quick to follow-up with another offer. "I know how much you love your work in the Hero Management Department.
Your enthusiasm was all there when you interviewed me. You weren't like anybody else who interviewed me, they often look like they want to be anywhere else but there. I'll tell you what, I'll give them a call to see if it's possible for you to work part-time there and part-time for me. You can spend Mondays to Thursdays at The Front Line and Fridays and Saturdays over at Stark Industries. How does that sound?"
Dan was overjoyed to hear this, this sounded much better. "I'd be honoured Mr. Stark, but It'll have to wait until we've dealt with The Hand. Please be honest with me, I know you're excited about this, but please tell me there's at least some nervousness. You'll be stepping into a warzone filled with superpowered individuals causing destruction and very possibly death!"
Tony's carefree expression slipped for a moment. "Yeah, I started to realise that as I was driving over in 'Stealth Mode', I saw a lot of things that scared me, those guys mean business. As much as I don't want any part of this, I don't want to be a coward anymore. I've always worked in the weapons industry with the idea of profits, and helping my country, for a price of course. As soon as I realised that my tech was ruining livelihoods, my whole view was changed forever.
I have no doubt that this war against The Hand and those others you mentioned won't be pretty. It can't be that bad though, right?"
Dan sighed, then nodded, "I can't pretend to know much about being in a warzone like this, to be honest, I'm terrified. While it's true that I adapt to the situation much faster, those feelings still resurface. I never really wanted to be a hero at first, but I knew that once my powers started to manifest, I just couldn't sit by anymore, that's just not the kind of person I am. I'm sure that there would be plenty of people who'd happily not get involved.
Human greed and fear for our own lives isn't something that most of us can avoid. I can't help but question the morality of what I'm about to take part in. Sure, these people are evil, I know that, but it's still the idea of taking a life that's been gnawing at me. I've become so much stronger now, and there's a good chance that even my basic punches could kill an ordinary person, or at least cripple them at best."
Before they could continue their conversation about the morality of the situation, Dan received a call from Angela. "Hey Dan! So, we've come to a decision, our team name will be Team Gamma for now, it's not the best, but it fits at least. I hear that Tony Stark will be making his debut as a hero soon. I look forward to hearing from him about that."
Dan laughed after hearing Angela's last comment, and put the phone on Speaker mode. "Well, why not ask him yourself, he's here with me now!"
Tony glowered at him, but decided to play along, "Hey Angela, long time no see. It seems like I'll be making my debut in a way I never expected. I heard about The Hand and all those other guys from Dan and Yauheni first, I'll be putting my latest invention to the test on the battlefield. I'll probably never hear the end of it from the ministry of defence after I test it though."
"Tony, I do hope you realise what you're getting yourself into, you're choosing to take part. Dan doesn't have that choice, he became an enemy of The Hand and we probably have too by now. It'll be no different for you, these aren't your run-of-the-mill jacked up thugs with knockoff Stark tech. These people have powers beyond your wildest dreams. Tony, it's still not too late to back out, we won't think any less of you if you decide to not join us."
"I know Angela, I have a pretty good idea by now, but it's time for me to stop running away, I said the same thing to Dan here."
"Alright Tony, as long as you understand, I hope that you don't come to regret your decision, everyone will be heading to the frontlines tomorrow morning."
Dan, Angela, and Tony continued to talk for a while, and Nick Fury, along with Yauheni and his executives also joined in the conversation. Dan reflected on the events of the the past couple of months or so, just over 2 months or so ago, he would never have imagined doing any of this. This was only the beginning, he knew that much, The Hand was such an insignificant speck in the grand scheme of things.
He remembered learning about Tiamut and Eternity, maybe someday I'll become as powerful as them, but that's going to take a long time. Dan slept that night for the first time in the last 15 days, and before he knew it, it was morning. Dan immediately jumped out of bed, got changed into his new combat gear. He met Tony Stark and Nick Fury outside his room, both were there waiting for him.
It was time to head out, they had the world's quickest breakfast, and then headed to the garage. Hell's Kitchen was about to be embroiled in a war, the likes of which had never been seen before. The usually bustling streets were now devoid of any life, the same went for the various shops, houses, and other businesses.
Very soon, devastation would be unleashed, this small part of the world waited with baited breath, it was as though the very air itself was crackling with anticipation of the battle to come.
This marks the end of Volume 1. Volume 2 will start with war/battle preparation and then the war itself of course. It won't take up all of that Volume though. Keep in mind that this won't just be the New York branch of The Hand, everyone will be showing up here. Tony will most likely be getting his PTSD episodes much sooner, it won't be on the same level as the ones following the events of "The Avengers (2012)" though.
Volume 2 is already in the works, I've already started planning the first few chapters.
Small update: I haven't had much time to write recently, but I will soon. I now have time to write again as of today (12th April)!